James Calvert (3 January 1813 – 8 March 1892), was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

missionary. James Calvert was a native of Pickering, in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

. He was sent out in 1838, in company with John Hunt, to work as a missionary in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. From 1837 Fijian chiefs had regarded missionaries as a threat to their authority. He remained in Fiji until December 1855, during which time he witnessed a successful advance of Christianity. He returned to Fiji (May 1861-July 1864) as Chairman of the Wesleyan District of Fiji. In his work with the Fijians, Calvert was supported by his wife, Mary Fowler Calvert. They had married on 22 March 1838, five weeks before sailing for Fiji (via Sydney). They had four daughters and three sons, all born in Fiji. Mary died in January 1882 in Torquay. In February 1889 James Calvert married his second wife, Matilda, the widow of the Rev. Dr. Andrew Kessen. Through Calvert's ministry the Fijian King

Seru Epenisa Cakobau ''Ratu'' Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian chief, monarch, and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes, establishing a Fijian kingdom. He served as i ...

was converted to Christianity, renounced

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

, and for many years after lived a consistent life. His last act as a king was to cede Fiji to the United Kingdom. In February 1856 Calvert sailed from Sydney to England on the "Light of the Age", arriving on 23 May 1856. The family settled at Woodbridge in Suffolk.George Stringer Rowe, James Calvert of Fiji, London, 1893, p.179. During his stay in Britain he superintended the printing of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

in the

Fijian language Fijian (') or iTaukei is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000–450,000 ethnic Fijians as a native language. The 1997 Constitution of Fiji#New Consti ...

. Following his second period of Missionary service in Fiji, he and his wife arrived back in England on the "Yatala" in May 1866. After living in Bromley from 1867 to 1871, in 1872 he was sent out by the

Wesleyan Missionary Society The English Wesleyan Mission (also known as a Wesleyan Missionary Society) was a British Methodist missionary society that was involved in sending workers to countries such as New Zealand and China in the 19th century. Mission to New Zealand The En ...

to South Africa. He and his wife Mary returned to England from South Africa in 1881. James Calvert died at

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

, England, in 1892 aged 79. In that year he founded a Wesleyan chapel in Hastings; after his death it was named the Calvert Memorial Chapel. Two of his daughters pre-deceased him. His youngest son James (c.1852-1910) attended New

Kingswood School Kingswood School is a private day and boarding school in Bath, Somerset, England. The school is coeducational and educates over 1,000 pupils aged 9 months to 18 years. It was founded by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in 1748, and is the ...

from 1863 to 1866, and in October 1885 married Elizabeth Anna Clarke, the second daughter of

John Creemer Clarke John Creemer Clarke (30 May 1821 – 11 February 1895) was an English merchant and cloth manufacturer and a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1885. Early life Clarke was the son of Robert Clarke of St Giles in the ...

MP; his father presiding at their wedding. James Calvert (junior) went on to become a member of the London Stock Exchange in 1887.

References

1813 births 1892 deaths 19th-century Methodists English Methodist missionaries People from Pickering, North Yorkshire Methodist missionaries in Fiji British expatriates in Fiji {{UK-reli-bio-stub