Bishop John England

England, John, Bishop of Carolina and Georgia, was born in Cork, 23rd September 1786. He entered Carlow College in 1803, and while there founded a female penitentiary, and poor schools for both sexes. Admitted to orders at Cork in 1808, he was soon appointed Lecturer at the North Chapel and Chaplain of the prisons. There he edited a religious magazine, and distinguished himself in the cause of Catholic Emancipation. The courage of his utterance more than once brought him before the courts; on one occasion he was fined £500. After filling other appointments, he was in 1817 made parish priest of Brandon. In 1820 he was appointed Bishop of Carolina and Georgia, and settled at Charleston, South Carolina. There he established the Catholic Miscellany, the first Catholic paper in the United States, and otherwise exerted himself to extend Catholicism. His writings in favour of slavery attracted considerable attention. In 1832 he travelled in Europe, and spent some time in Rome, when the Pope appointed him Legate to Hayti. He died at Charleston, 11th April 1842, aged 55. His works were published in 5 vols. 8vo. in 1849.

Sources

16. Authors, Dictionary of British and American: S. Austin Allibone. 3 vols. Philadelphia, 1859-'71.

37a. Biographical Dictionary—American Biography: Francis S. Drake. Boston, 1876.

39. Biographical Dictionary, Imperial: Edited by John F. Waller. 3 vols. London, N.D.