T. P. Wilson
Rev. Theodore Percival "Percy" Wilson (1819 or 1820 – 8 August 1881), generally known as T. P. Wilson was an Anglican priest and author known for his pioneering, albeit brief, work in Adelaide, South Australia.
History
Wilson was born in England, a son of Thomas Wilson, solicitor and later mayor of Adelaide and his wife Martha Wilson, née Greenell (1790 – 29 January 1858), whose sister Mary Anne Greenell was the mother of Alfred Russel Wallace. His parents and his four younger siblings emigrated to South Australia aboard Duke of Roxburghe in 1838. Wilson completed his Masters degree at Brasenose College, Oxford, and was ordained a priest of the Church of England.
He was sent out to Tasmania, where in 1845 he accepted a call to take over the newly-built St John's Church, Adelaide, but instead returned to England on account of his wife's illness.[1]
He was sent out to South Australia by the barque Derwent, arriving in December, 1847 in company with the Augustus Short, Lord Bishop of Adelaide, and Dr. Hale. He was appointed first Head Master of St Peter's College, at that time held in a small room behind Trinity Church, and also acted as Bishop's Chaplain, and in 1849 incumbent of MacGill and Walkerville churches.[2]
The college moved to its current location in 1850, and in 1851 Wilson resigned over differences with the school's governors. He served for some 15 months as incumbent of St John's Church, then returned to England at the end of 1852. He was appointed curate of Bardsley in 1854,[3] and, at some unspecified date, "a living" near Shrewsbury.[4] His last posting was as vicar of Pavenham in Bedfordshire, where he died.[5]
Publications
Wilson was a confirmed teetotaler and almost certainly preached on the subject. Back in England, he entered a competition hosted by the Band of Hope, who were looking for a popular novel to promote their cause. Wilson's entry, Frank Oldfield, set partly in England and partly in South Australia, won the £100 prize, and was published to some critical acclaim.[6]
Family
Wilson married Barbara Sophia Cameron (fifth daughter of the Rev. Charles Richard Cameron, Rector of Swaby, Lincolnshire) at Kensington, South Australia on 5 November 1850. They had five sons and one daughter.
References
- ^ "St John's Church". South Australian Gazette And Colonial Register. Vol. I, , no. 1. South Australia. 5 July 1845. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Weekly Intelligence". Adelaide Times. Vol. 1, , no. 27. South Australia. 2 April 1849. p. 3. Retrieved 21 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Ecclesiastical". Adelaide Observer. Vol. XII, , no. 584. South Australia. 2 September 1854. p. 8. Retrieved 21 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "St Peter's College Memories". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. XCI, , no. 26, 483. South Australia. 5 July 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 21 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "The Late Rev F. P. Wilson". Adelaide Observer. Vol. XXXVIII, , no. 2087. South Australia. 1 October 1881. p. 35. Retrieved 22 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Review". South Australian Register. Vol. XXXV, , no. 7495. South Australia. 21 November 1870. p. 5. Retrieved 21 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
Category:1819 births
Category:1881 deaths
Category:Australian Anglican priests
Category:Australian temperance activists