John Barton (1836–1908) was an English

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

missionary in India. He served as the founding principal of the Cathedral Mission College in Kolkota in 1865.

Early life

Born at

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, on 31 December 1836, he was the sixth child of John Barton (1798–1852) by his wife Fanny, daughter of James Rickman. His background was of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

Quakers, and

Bernard Barton Bernard Barton (31 January 1784 – 19 February 1849) was known as the Quaker poet. His main works included ''The Convict's Appeal'' (1818), in which he protested against the death penalty and the severity of the criminal code. Family Bernard ...

was his uncle. His mother died in 1841, and her sister Josephina brought up the family. After schooling at Bishop Waltham and

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, Barton matriculated at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, Michaelmas 1855. He founded the Cambridge University Church Missionary Union, and graduated B.A. in January 1859, M.A. in 1863. He was ordained in September 1860 and sailed in October for

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Missionary in India

After receiving priest's orders, Barton went to

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

. There he helped in superintending St John's College, Agra with an attendance of 260 students, and the orphanage at Secundra, five miles away, with 300 children. He was transferred to

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

in May 1863, and was appointed in 1865 principal of a new Cathedral Mission College at Calcutta. From 1871 to 1875 he was secretary of the

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

mission, twice visiting the missions in South India.

Later life

During 1870–1, and again during 1876–7, Barton did administrative work at the Church Missionary House in London. From 1877 to 1893 he was vicar of

Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge Holy Trinity Church is a church in Market Street, in the city of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, England, on the corner with Sidney Street. Its current vicar is Stuart Browning. Theologically, it stands within the charismatic evangelical traditi ...

, but was absent in Ceylon for four months in 1884, and during 1889, after refusing offers of the bishoprics of both

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

and

Tinnevelly Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British Raj, British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the List of cit ...

, was in charge of the latter district. In 1893 he refused the call to a bishopric in Japan, and left Cambridge for London to become chief secretary of the

Church Pastoral Aid Society The Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) is an Anglican evangelical mission agency that works across Ireland and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1836. History The CPAS was founded in 1836 in the midst of the social upheaval of the Industri ...

, whose "forward movement" he organised. He died at

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

on 26 November 1908, and was buried there; a tablet and memorial window were placed in Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge. Barton was a keen botanist, geologist, and mountaineer.

Works

Barton published ''Remarks on the Orthography of Indian Geographical Names'', reprinted from ''Friend of India'' (1871); ''Missionary Conference Report'' (1873), and ''Memorial Sketch of Major-General Edward Lake, Commissioner of Jalundhur'' (2nd edit. 1878). A map of India, made largely by him while in Calcutta, was published in 1873.

Family

Barton married twice: # in May 1859, Catherine Wigram (d. 1860); and # in October 1863, Emily Eugenia, daughter of Charles Boileau Elliott. His second wife, six sons, and two daughters survived him. A son, Cecil Edward Barton (d. 1909), missionary in the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, was rector of

Rousdon Rousdon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Combpyne Rousdon, in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is off the A3052 road between Colyford and Lyme Regis in Dorset. In 1931 the parish had a popu ...

, Devon, and joint author of ''A Handy Atlas of Church and Empire'' (1908).

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, John 1836 births 1908 deaths Anglican missionaries in India 19th-century English Anglican priests People from Eastleigh English Anglican missionaries Burials in Surrey Missionary botanists Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge