James Godkin (1806 – 2 May 1879) was an Irish author and journalist who was influential on ecclesiastical and land questions.
Early life and family
Godkin was born at
Gorey
Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is bypassed by the main N11 road (Ireland), M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the Gorey railway station, railway network along the same route. Local newspape ...
in
County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
, into a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
farming family. As a young man he married Sarah, a daughter of Anthony Lawrence, described as a "comfortable proprietor" of
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
,
[Smith, G.B., 'Godkin, James (1806–1879)', rev. C. A. Creffield, '']Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'', Oxford University Press, 2004) who was of Cromwellian
settler ancestry.
[Lucas, C. P., 'Godkin, Edwin Lawrence (1831–1902)', rev. Roger T. Stearn, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004)] Together, they had three daughters and two sons, one of whom was
Edwin Lawrence Godkin
Edwin Lawrence Godkin (2 October 183121 May 1902) was an American journalist and newspaper editor. He founded ''The Nation'' and was the editor-in-chief of the ''New York Evening Post'' from 1883 to 1899.Eric Fettman, "Godkin, E.L." in Stephen ...
.
Career
In 1834, Godkin was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
as a
Congregational
Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...
minister and became a pastor in
Armagh
Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
. He later worked as a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
to Roman Catholics for the
Irish Evangelical Society.
In 1836, he published ''A Guide from the Church of Rome to the Church of Christ'' and in 1838 founded the ''Christian Patriot'' newspaper at
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. His counter-blast to the
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...
, ''The Touchstone of Orthodoxy and Apostolic Christianity, or, The People's Antidote Against Puseyism and Romanism'', appeared in 1842. His religious work was forceful but showed little bigotry.
In 1842, Godkin became an ally of
Charles Gavan Duffy
Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (12 April 1816 – 9 February 1903), was an Irish poet and journalist (editor of ''The Nation (Irish news ...
on the Irish land question, and his interest in religion began to give way to his involvement in political protest. In 1845 it was revealed that he had written a prize-winning essay called ''The Rights of Ireland'', and he parted company with the Irish Evangelical Society.
Godkin became a journalist. He edited the ''
Derry Standard'', and in 1848 he decided to abandon the ministry. He next moved to London, where he worked as a contributor to many publications, including the ''
British Quarterly Review'', the ''
North British Review
The ''North British Review'' was a Scottish periodical. It was founded in 1844 to act as the organ of the new Free Church of Scotland, the first editor being David Welsh. It was published until 1871; in the last few years of its existence it had a ...
'', the ''
Standard of Freedom'', the ''
Belfast Independent'', and the ''
Freeman's Journal
The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper.
History Patriot journal
It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified ...
''. In 1850, he was an active member of the
Irish Tenant League. After two years in England, he moved to
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, where he took up the chief editorial post on the city's new ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'' newspaper. Simultaneously, he was the Dublin correspondent of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' of London.
Godkin was an influential writer on ecclesiastical and land questions. He published a treatise called ''Ireland and her Churches'' (1867), which advocated equal treatment of the churches in Ireland, as well as security of
land tenure
In Common law#History, common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement betw ...
for the Irish people.
It also contained outspoken views on the
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...
, emigration, the
Land War
The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...
, and education. A British government led by
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
decided to support the
disestablishment
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...
of the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
, and the
Irish Church Act 1869
The Irish Church Act 1869 ( 32 & 33 Vict. c. 42) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which separated the Church of Ireland from the Church of England and disestablished the former, a body that commanded the adherence of a small mi ...
took effect on 1 January 1871. In the 1860s, Godkin's work on Irish subjects appeared in the ''
Fortnightly Review''.
In 1869, he travelled around much of
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
and the rest of Ireland to test public opinion on the land question, which led to his book ''The Land War in Ireland'' (1870).
This coined the name of the ensuing
Land War
The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...
rural agitation of the 1880s. The book was influential as it coincided with the Dublin Land Conference in 1870 and the
Landlord & Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870, the first of the reforming
Irish Land Acts
The Land Acts (officially Land Law (Ireland) Acts) were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by ...
.
Godkin also published work on religion and education in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and a history of England from 1820 to 1861.
In 1873, on the recommendation of Gladstone,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
granted Godkin a pension from the
Civil List
A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom, and its former colonies and dominions. It was ori ...
. When he died in 1879 he was living in England at
Upper Norwood
Upper Norwood is an area of south London, England, within the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth and London Borough of Southwark, Southwark. It is north ...
, Surrey
and was buried at
West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.
One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...
. One son,
Edwin Lawrence Godkin
Edwin Lawrence Godkin (2 October 183121 May 1902) was an American journalist and newspaper editor. He founded ''The Nation'' and was the editor-in-chief of the ''New York Evening Post'' from 1883 to 1899.Eric Fettman, "Godkin, E.L." in Stephen ...
, became a notable newspaper editor in America, editor-in-chief of ''The Nation'' and the ''
Evening Post'', and in 1870 declined the appointment of professor of history at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
.
Godkin's ''Ireland and Her Churches'' was republished in 2007.
Ireland and Her Churches by James Godkin
(Read Books, 2007, 660 pages, & ) at books.google.co.uk
References
External links
*
''The Land-War in Ireland'' (1870) by James Godkin
full text at gutenberg.org
*
James Godkin 1806-1879
at openlibrary.org
''A Hand-book of the Education Question'' by James Godkin
(London: Saunders, Otley, & Co., 1862) at books.google.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godkin, James
1806 births
1879 deaths
Irish Congregationalist ministers
Converts to Congregationalism from Roman Catholicism
Irish journalists
Irish newspaper editors
The Times people
Irish Congregationalist missionaries
19th-century Congregationalist ministers
Freeman's Journal people
Burials at West Norwood Cemetery
19th-century Irish journalists
Irish male journalists
19th-century Irish male writers
19th-century Irish businesspeople