John Moore Lester (4 September 1851 – 24 December 1919) was a British priest who served as

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Litchborough Litchborough is an historic village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 300 people,

and

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west ...

. He was the son of

Frederick Lester Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Parkinson Lester, KCB, (3 February 1795 – 3 July 1858) was an army officer in the East India Company, third son of John Lester, merchant, of Racquet Court, Fleet Street, and his wife, Elizabeth Parkinson. Ear ...

. Lester was a clergyman and academic and grandfather of James Shaw, Baron Kilbrandon, Philippa Lester, the second wife of Cecil Davidge, and biological grandfather of

Katherine DeMille Katherine Lester DeMille (born Katherine Paula Lester; June 29, 1911 – April 27, 1995) was a Canadian-born American actress who played 25 credited film roles from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s. The adopted daughter of director Cecil B. DeM ...

Early life

Lester was born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

in the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

, to

and Charlotte Pratt Fyvie, niece of the Baroness Bradford. He went to school at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and received an

M.A A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

Clerical career

Lester began as vicar of

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester (Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town co ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

, from 1880 to 1884, he went on to be vicar of the Holy Trinity Church in Ayr in 1884 but was then appointed vicar of

Shifnal Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the ...

in Shropshire and

in the diocese of

on 12 February 1891. Lester also helped his friend,

Chauncy Maples Chauncy Maples (1852 – 2 September 1895) was a British clergyman and Anglican missionary who became Bishop of Likoma, with a diocese in East Africa. Early life Born at Bound's Green in 1852, he was the son of Frederick Maples, a solicitor, ...

, Bishop of Likoma, with his biography. On 26 May 1903 he was appointed vicar of Yarcombe in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. He was then appointed to the Rectory of St. Leonard's,

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

on Friday, 13 October 1905. He was finally appointed

Litchborough Litchborough is an historic village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 300 people,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

Family

Lester married Amy Hunt, daughter of John Hunt on 26 June 1877 at the Lancaster Gate Christ Church, Westminster. They had nine children together, including Gladys Elizabeth, who married James Edward Shaw and was mother to Charles James Dalrymple Shaw, Baron Kilbrandon and Edward Gabriel , MC (1887-1917), who married Cecile Colani and was father to Katherine Lester DeMille. Lester's first wife died on 30 October 1896, he married Mary Julia Horton, daughter of Samuel Lewis Horton of Park House,

in 1898, her father was the grandson of the engraver Lewis Pingo. They had a further three children together, including Peter Francis Lester (1903–85), who married Gertrude Hewett, niece of Sir John Hewett and was mother to Philippa Lester, wife of

Cecil Vere Davidge Cecil Vere Davidge of Little Houghton House DL (14 February 1901 – 27 January 1981) was a British lawyer and academic, who served as a Fellow and bursar of Keble College, Oxford, and as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire. Life Davidge w ...

. Mary was the niece of Thomas Lowndes Bullock and cousin of

Guy Henry Bullock Guy Henry Bullock (23 July 1887 – 12 April 1956) was a British diplomat who is best known for his participation in the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition. As expedition mountaineers, he and George Mallory found a northern acc ...

and Sir Claud Severn. She died in 1947. Lester died on 24 December 1919 at Rectory,

Litchborough Litchborough is an historic village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 300 people,

, England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, John Moore 1851 births 1919 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of University College, Oxford 19th-century Church of England clergy 20th-century Church of England clergy Church of England priests British editors