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

Litchborough Litchborough is a 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 city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

. He was the son of Frederick Lester. 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 an American actress who played 25 credited film roles from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s. The adopted daughter of director Cecil B. DeMille, she was ...

Early life

Lester was born in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in the Bombay Presidency, to Frederick Lester and Charlotte Pratt Fyvie, niece of the Baroness Bradford. He went to school at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and received an

M.A Ma, MA, or mA may refer to: Academia * Master of Arts, a degree award * Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California * Menlo-Atherton High School, a public high school in Atherton, California * Minnehaha Academy, a private high schoo ...

from

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

Clerical career

Lester began as vicar of

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a market town in Buckinghamshire and a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located on Watling Street, historically the Roman road from London to Chester. It is also a civil parish with a town council in the Cit ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, from 1880 to 1884, he went on to be vicar of the Holy Trinity Church in

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

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 Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 motorway and A5 (road), A5 road ...

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, a ...

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

Yarcombe Yarcombe is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England, situated on the A30 road near the towns of Honiton and Chard. It is sited in the steep rolling meadows and ancient woods of the Yarty Valley ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

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

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish 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 United Kingd ...

on Friday, 13 October 1905. He was finally appointed Rector of

Litchborough Litchborough is a 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

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 Sir John Prescott Hewett, (25 August 1854 – 27 September 1941) was a British Indian civil servant who served as Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh and later as a Conservative MP for Luton. Early life Hewett was born ...

and was mother to Philippa Lester, wife of

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

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

Sir Claud Severn ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

. She died in 1947. Lester died on 24 December 1919 at Rectory,

Litchborough Litchborough is a 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 British editors