Hodgson, Andrew (1879-1961)

Transcription of obituary published in the Minutes of Conference.

ANDREW HODGSON: born at Marsden Moor, Staveley, Derbyshire, in 1879. Converted at sixteen, he became a local preacher and trained as a mining engineer, but in 1905 he entered Hartley College. He spent his probation in the Harrow and Faringdon Circuits, and on being ordained he served in Cowes, Leintwardine, Bottesford, Wolverhampton, Bolton, Ashbourne, West Ham, Melton Mowbray, London Mission and Ipswich. He retired to Romford in 1945, where he continued to preach until he was eighty. 

Possessing a strong physical frame, he delighted in bodily activities, entering them with an enthusiasm and vigour which won the admiration and support of the young people of his Churches. He had a quiet charm, a measure of shyness and a kindly disposition, though he could be fearless when he came to deal with anything wrong or unworthy. His was a very choice spirit, gentle, kindly and friendly. He was widely respected, not only within his own Church, but by all members of the community, and those who knew him best honoured him most. He was a sincere and thoughtful preacher, conscious of men’s needs, and he never treated his pulpit responsibilities lightly. Throughout his ministry he revealed a love for people which made him a splendid pastor. The people to whom he ministered were greatly blessed by his gifts of mind and heart, and enriched by his knowledge of the presence and grace of God. 

He had considerable administrative ability, and the District committees on which he served greatly valued his judgement. He loved being a Methodist minister; indeed, so zealous was he in his devotion to his work that he allowed himself little time for outside interests, and this remained characteristic of him even in the years of his retirement.

He died on 14 October 1961 in the eighty-third year of his age and the fifty-fifth of his ministry.

Family

Andrew was born on 3 July 1879 at Marsden Moor, Staveley, Derbyshire, to parents William, a coal miner, and Elizabeth..

In the 1901 census return Andrew is recorded as a coal miner below ground.

He married Daisy Smith Hyson (1886-1972) in 1911 at Abbeyvale PM Chapel, Vincent Rd, Sheffield. Birth records identify three children.

• Andrew (1913-1991) – a schoolmaster (1939)
• Bessie (b1917)
• Nancy (b1920) – a comptometer operator (1939)

Andrew died on 14 October 1961 at Romord, Essex.

Circuits

• Hartley
• 1907 Harrow
• 1909 Faringdon
• 1911 Cowes
• 1912 Leintwardine
• 1914 Bottesford
• 1918 Wolverhampton
• 1923 Bolton II
• 1927 Ashbourne
• 1933 West Ham
• 1937 Melton &c
• 1939 London Mission SE
• 1940 Ipswich Rope
• 1945 Romford (Sup)

References

Methodist Minutes 1962/194

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

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers

Note: A Comptometer is a key driven mechanical calculator.