Richard Aslatt Pearce
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Richard Aslatt Pearce (9 January 185521 July 1928) was the first
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
person to be ordained as an
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 ...
clergyman. He was educated via the
sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...
of his era, he became
Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
to the
Deaf and Dumb Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...
, and he fulfilled this duty in the
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
area for the rest of his life. In 1885 he was introduced to
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 ...
, who then ordered the ''Royal Commission on the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb and Others of the United Kingdom'', 1889.


Background


Family

Pearce came from a
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
family. His paternal grandfather was Chatham-born officer of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
Robert Pearce, and Sarah née Seward, both of Southampton. Their son, and the father of Richard Aslatt Pearce, was Richard Seward Pearce, a solicitor and town clerk of Southampton, who married Frances Aslatt in 1854 at
South Stoneham South Stoneham was a manor in South Stoneham parish. It was also a hundred, Poor law union, sanitary district then rural district covering a larger area of south Hampshire, England close to Southampton. In 1911 the parish had a population of 193 ...
. Frances Aslatt was the daughter of John Aslatt, liveried coach manufacturer of Above Bar, later high sheriff of
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
1845–1846, and his wife Hester Martha Colson. Pearce was born in
Portswood Portswood is a suburb and electoral ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley. Portswood ...
on 9 January 1855, one of four siblings of whom three were deaf. Two of his siblings were artist Walter Seward Pearce, and Fanny Pearce, all three described as "deaf and dumb from birth" in the 1881 Census. His single hearing sibling was solicitor Arthur William Pearce, who was mayor of Southampton 1917–1918. There are two indications that Pearce did not speak. One is that in his own handwriting on the 1911 Census form he differentiated himself, as "deaf and dumb", from his wife whom he described as "deaf." The second is the ''Hampshire Advertiser'' description of his sermon at Golden Common in 1887, as "silent eloquence."


Education

Pearce's father paid £50 () per year from 1860 to 1872, for him to attend the Brighton Institution for Deaf and Dumb Children at 127–132 Eastern Road,
Kemptown, Brighton Kemptown is a small community running along the King's Cliff from the Old Steine to Black Rock in the east of Brighton, East Sussex, England it includes the Kemp Town residential estate known as Sussex Square and Lewes Crescent to its easter ...
, where he received private tuition using only the manual system. His headmaster, who gave him personal tuition via the manual and sign system of that era, was William Sleight.''Deaf and Dumb Times'', 1889, 1, pp. 24–25 The 1861 Census shows him at six years old, already at the Institution, when it had 82 inmates and two teachers besides the headmaster.United Kingdom Census 1861: RG9/591/30 p3, Brighton Institution for Deaf and Deum Children, Eastern Road, Brighton In 1871 when Pearce was 16 years old, the Institution had 93 inmates, plus several former female inmates employed as servants and as an assistant teacher. Besides the headmaster who taught, the only other teachers besides the deaf former pupil, were an assistant master and a pupil teacher; however, all the inmates were described as "scholars". In that year, 40 of the inmates were of unknown origin, and 31 were of vague origin, where only the county or country were known.


Marriage

Pearce met his wife Frances Mary Monck at St Saviour's, Oxford Street, in 1887, and they married on 26 April 1888. She was born in
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 ...
, the daughter of
Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck (10 October 1819 – 29 November 1894) was a British politician who served as the last governor-general of the Province of Canada and the first Governor General of Canada after Canadian Confederation. ...
, who until 1869 had been
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...
. Her 1911 Census record, completed in her husband's handwriting, says that she was deaf "from illness". Her father did not want them to marry, believing that because they were both deaf, they would be poor, but they moved to Southampton where Pearce was to remain in employment, serving the deaf community for the rest of his life. Pearce and his wife had no children. It is not known whether Pearce's childlessness had any connection with recommendations of castration of the congenitally deaf by early 19th century
eugenicists Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the ferti ...
who held those views which were later developed by
Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...
. In 1901 he and his wife were living at 2 Christ Church Road, Winchester, with two servants. The
1911 Census The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...
finds them living at Christ Church Lodge, Winchester, where he describes himself as "chaplain to the deaf and dumb in the Diocese of Winchester." It is not known why the same record, completed in R.A. Pearce's own hand, states that he and Frances were deaf "from illness," when according to his 1881 Census record, his father informed the enumerator that he was "deaf and dumb from birth." Similarly, the 1861 and 1871 Census, in which the enumerator was informed by the Brighton Institution, state that the inmate Pearce was "deaf and dumb from birth."United Kingdom Census 1871: RG10/1073/ p52, Brighton Institution for the Deaf and Dumb However, by 1911 a congenital condition such as profound deafness could potentially have made him a target for eugenics. On 21 July 1928 he died in Winchester at his home, two years before the death on 30 October 1930 of his wife Frances.


Work

Pearce left the Institution in 1872 to work in his father's office as a secretary, but in his free time he sought out other deaf people, assisted and educated them, and organised groups for Sunday worship. His group grew in size, so that his time was needed for more mission work with the deaf in Hampshire. By 1881 he was still living with his parents and siblings, describing himself as "lay reader to deaf and dumb," He was ordained deacon on Sunday 21 May 1885 by the
Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...
, after being mentored via sign language by Reverend Charles Mansfield Owen who was at that time vicar of St George's Church, Edgbaston and was later to become
Dean of Ripon The Dean of Ripon is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds. The dean is the head of the chapter at Ripon Cathedral – his predecessors were deans of the same church when it was previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Rip ...
. Thus Pearce became, "the first deaf ... clergyman to be ordained in the Church of England." In the same year he became Chaplain to the Deaf and Dumb, employed by the Winchester Diocesan Mission to the Deaf and Dumb, which itself had been established by the efforts of Owen. This organisation founded the Mission Church in Oak Road, Southampton (now demolished), for the continuation of their work in 1891. It was completed in 1895 with the financial assistance of Sir Arthur Henderson Fairbairn (1852–1915) who was deaf, and other supporters. ''The Portsmouth Evening News'' said this: Because he was the first deaf person to be ordained as an Anglican clergyman, Pearce was invited to meet Queen Victoria who "knew deaf people on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
": After meeting Pearce, the Queen requested a ''Royal Commission on the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb and Others of the United Kingdom'', which completed its report in 1889. It included the comment: "The missionary under the bishop of the diocese f Winchester/nowiki> (the Rev. R.A. Pearce, who is the only ordained deaf and dumb clergyman in the Church of England) devotes the whole of his time to the work, visiting the deaf and dumb at their homes, or at places of business and workshops." In 1886 Pearce also visited the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb at
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
. In November 1887, Pearce preached a sermon at St Saviour's in London. "It was a grand service, and was most highly appreciated." On 20 November 1887, he took a communion service and preached a sermon for deaf and hearing people at Holy Trinity,
Colden Common Colden Common is a civil parish in the Winchester District of Hampshire, England, approximately 5 miles south of the city of Winchester, covering an area of with a resident population of approximately 4,000 people. It includes the village of C ...
, near
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, Hampshire. "The deepest attention was paid by the congregations throughout the whole of the services, who perfectly understood them, and expressed hope that the sermon would be long remembered. The parishioners of Golden Common were evidently deeply impressed by the reverential manner and silent eloquence of the preacher." On 26 April 1888 he became Reverend of Christ Church Lodge at Winchester.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 1908, Oxford In Brighton in 1912, Pearce served as interpreter at the funeral of William Sleight, who had provided his school education. He retired in 1924, having served in the diocese for 43 years.''The Frat'', Nov. 1945, p. 3


Historical context

To put Pearce into the context of his time, although he was the first deaf Anglican preacher whose service was formally ratified by
ordination 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 ...
and
benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
, he was not the first or only person to preach to the deaf by sign language in England. For example, in 1846, before Pearce was born, the ''Leeds Intelligencer'' cites two instances which drew praise in Yorkshire:


See also

* Charles Baker (instructor)


Notes


References


External links

*
Facebook: images of 19th-century children's toys found by Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit under the floorboards of Richard Seward Pearce's house in Southampton.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Richard Aslatt 1855 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Anglican deacons English deaf people Deaf religious workers Educators of the deaf Deaf educators 20th-century Anglican deacons Clergy from Southampton 19th-century Church of England clergy 20th-century Church of England clergy Clergy with disabilities