Honor, Charles Garton (1832-1904)

Primitive Methodist Magazine 1883
Primitive Methodist Magazine 1905
Sale poster 1872. On display at the Museum
Englesea Brook Museum

Early years

Charles was born in 1832 at Hackney, Middlesex, London to parents William and Ann. He was baptised on 19 August 1832 at Hackney. The baptism record identified that William was a tailor.

In 1851 Charles is working for Ebenezer Newell as a baker in Hackney, London.

His parents were Methodists and among those who left the Wesleyans during the ‘Reform’ agitation. Charles was converted in 1848 and joined the newly formed Stoke Newington Society.

Ministry

In his early ministry at Cowes, Chelmsford and Dover, Charles faced much opposition. Many times the right to speak the ‘Word of Life’ in the open air had to be vindicated before civil authorities.

At St Austell, he was associated with ‘Billy Bray’ in a remarkable revival that broke like a wave over Cornwall.

The passion for open-air and pioneer work determined much of the character of his work; the Filey cliff top and beach, on the piers at Bridlington, on the decks of fishing craft and in the market place at Driffield.

Family

Charles married Hannah Plumbley (1832-1871) on 5 October 1858 on the Isle of Wight. Census returns identify seven children.

  • William Abraham (b1859)
  • Sarah Ann (1861-1937) – a housekeeper
  • Hannah Julia (1862-1943) – married Albert William Badminton, a teacher, and later married William Lighton Clarkson, a baker
  • Charles Maurice (1864-1937) – manager of a cabinet and furniture manufacturers (1911)
  • Minnie Jane (1867-1874)
  • Mary Kate (1869-1899)
  • Eva Catherine (1871-1871)

Charles married Mary Welbourn, nee Jackson (1846-1930) in 1872 at Driffield, Yorkshire. Census returns identify three children.

  • Myra Beatrice (1883-1918) – a nurse
  • Josiah Garton (1886-1963) – a telegraph engineer (1915), lived in Argentina for many years
  • Frances Leake (1887-1956) – a baker and confectioner in 1911, died in British Columbia, Canada

Charles died on 27 April 1904 at Beverley, Yorkshire.

Circuits

  • 1854 Isle of Wight
  • 1855 Chelmsford
  • 1856 Deal & Dover
  • 1857 St Austell
  • 1859 Frome
  • 1860 Grimsby
  • 1861 Brigg
  • 1863 Driffield
  • 1866 Hull ll
  • 1868 Filey
  • 1869 Louth
  • 1870 Bridlington
  • 1872 Epworth
  • 1874 Tetney
  • 1876 Bromsgrove
  • 1877 Brierley Hill
  • 1878 Cradley Heath
  • 1879 Worcester
  • 1883 Alfreton
  • 1885 Canterbury
  • 1888 Margate
  • 1890 Brighton ll
  • 1893 Hull l (Sup)
  • 1896 Beverley

References

Primitive Methodist Magazine 1873/114 (Hannah); 1883 (Portrait); 1905/406; 1930/493 (mary)

PM Minutes 1904/23

W Leary , Directory of Primitive Methodist Ministers and their Circuits , 1990

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers

 

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Comments about this page

  • This page was modified on 24 February 2018 to add a transcription of the obituary published in the Primitive Methodist Magazine 1905.

    By Geoff Dickinson (24/02/2018)
  • This page has been updated to include a sale poster for household furniture belong to C G Honor. As the sale took place shortly after his marriage to Mary Welbourn, a widow with two small children, was this actually her furniture?  Before the Married Women’s Property Act, women could not own anything - it all belonged to their husband. As the wife of an itinerant minister, Mary would not have her own furniture, just whatever was provided in the manse. This was often very little!  After the death of his first wife, Hannah, Charles attributed the cause of her death  as ‘frequent removals, long journeys, damp houses, and an occasional lack of such furniture as a due regard to health rendered imperatively necessary’.  It was not easy being a minister’s wife!

    By Jill Barber (27/05/2017)

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