Duncan Convers (August 2, 1851 - April 22, 1929) was a prominent American Anglo-Catholic priest, author, and social commentator. He was born in

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking and Muskingum River, Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus, Ohio, Columb ...

, made deacon on June 11, 1876, and ordained priest on December 20, 1876, following studies at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Convers served initially in the Missionary Diocese of Colorado. In 1886 he was professed as a mission priest of the

Society of Saint John the Evangelist The Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) is an Anglican religious order for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make monastic vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford, Eng ...

(SSJE, Cowley Fathers) and began missionary service in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He was elected rector of S. Clement's Church, Philadelphia in succession to

Basil Maturin Basil William Maturin (15 February 1847 – 7 May 1915) was an Irish-born Anglican priest, preacher and writer who later became Catholic. He died on board the RMS ''Lusitania'', during the First World War. Life He was born in Ireland in 1847 t ...

SSJE in 1889 and served in that position until 1891. He subsequently served at the SSJE's mission Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Bowdoin Street, in

Beacon Hill, Boston Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is also the location of the Massachusetts State House. The term "Beacon Hill" is used locally as a metonym to refer to the state government or the legislature i ...

. Convers next left the Cowley Fathers to serve as rector at St. Paul's,

Gas City, Indiana Gas City is a city in Grant County, Indiana, United States, along the Mississinewa River. The population was 6,157 at the 2020 census. History Gas City was first known as Harrisburg when settled on May 25, 1867, by Noah Harris. It became a boo ...

(1902 only), the Church of Our Saviour in

Montoursville, Pennsylvania Montoursville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported its population as 4,745. It forms part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

(1903-1905) and at St. John's Church, Toledo, Ohio. Convers then renounced his American citizenship to become a subject of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, and lived in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

as rector of the Church of St. John the Baptist there from 1908 to 1913. He returned to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and SSJE vows in 1913 and submitted a petition for re-naturalization in Boston on January 12, 1916. He was restored to

American citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Consti ...

on April 14, 1919. He died unmarried and without issue in Boston in his own residence rather than the Cambridge SSJE monastery and was buried in

Foxborough, Massachusetts Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, it is about southwest of Boston. The population was 18,618 at the 2020 census. "Foxborough" is the official spelling of th ...

in the Cowley Fathers Cemetery, adjacent to the cemetery for the sisters of the Arlington-based Order of St. Anne. He was a popular retreat conductor, guest preacher, confessor, and spiritual director.

Bibliography

*''Once Married, Married Till Death: A Sermon Preached (in Substance) in St. Clement's Church, Philadelphia, at the Night Service on the Second Sunday After Easter, April 27th, 1884'' (Philadelphia, 1884) *
Marriage and Divorce in the United States: As They are and as They Ought to be
' (J.B. Lippincott, 1889) *''Our Three States: In the Image of God, Fallen Nature, Renewed Nature'' (London: A.R. Mowbray, 1899)
A Forgotten Memorial
(1921, journal article and stand-alone pamphlet)

References

*"Funeral Tomorrow of Rev Fr Convers: Sick Long Time—Ordained Over 50 Years Ago," ''The Boston Globe'', April 23, 1929, p. 8. *Obituary, ''The Boston Globe'', April 24, 1929, p. 28. *Charles Allen Converse, ''Some of the Ancestors and Descendants of Samuel Converse'' (E. Putnam, 1905) *
An Embattled Priest: The Life of Father Oliver Sherman Prescott
', by Jervis Zimmerman (2012) *Steven Haws, ''The Cowley Fathers in Philadelphia'' (AuthorHouse, 2019) *Serenhedd James, ''The Cowley Fathers: A History of the English Congregation of the Society of St. John the Evangelist'' (London: Canterbury Press, 2019)

External links

Grave
at Gethsemane Cemetery in

{{DEFAULTSORT:Convers, Duncan 1851 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American Episcopal priests American Anglo-Catholics People from Ohio 20th-century American Episcopal priests Anglo-Catholic clergy Anglo-Catholic writers