Moses Browne (1703 – 13 September 1787), poet and cleric, suffers from uncertainty about the details of his birth. Some records suggest Severn Stoke in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, but a London birth is more likely, as he became a pen-cutter in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

, London, after the death of his patron, Lord Molesworth, in 1725.''English Poetry 1579–1830'
Retrieved 23 August 2018.
/ref> He then became a poet, and in middle age a clergyman of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

London life

Browne contributed poems to

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...

, winning several prizes from its founder. Moses Browne married Ann Wibourne in 1738 in Clerkenwell. Moses and Ann had at least 11 children – some records indicate up to 13.

Church appointments

Browne found success as a devotional writer, and on the instigation of the evangelical writer James Hervey, was ordained in 1753. He was then appointed Vicar of Olney,

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 ...

in 1753. In 1764, Browne took the additional post of Chaplain at Morden College in Blackheath, London, one reason being that his Olney post could not sustain such a large family. However, he remained a plural Vicar of Olney at the same time as Vicar of Sutton (probably Long Sutton, Lincolnshire) until his death in 1787.Alexander Chalmers, in General Biographical Dictionary (1812-17) 7:131-32
Retrieved 23 August 2018.
/ref>

Noted works

1729 – ''Piscatory Eclogues''
1742 - ''The Universe''
1750 – ''The Compleat Angler''
1752 – ''The Works and Rest of the Creation''
1772 – ''The Excellency of the Knowledge of Jesus Christ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Moses 1704 births 1787 deaths People from Olney, Buckinghamshire English male poets 18th-century English poets 18th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers Morden College