Moultrie, John and Gerard

(1799-1885)

   • John, the father, 1799-1874

   Born in London, he was the son of George Moultrie, Shropshire clergyman, and grandson of Governor John Moultrie of Charleston, South Carolina. His great uncle William fought in the War of Independence and features in Thackeray's Virginians (1857). In 1776 his successful defense of the fort guarding Charleston harbor against a British fleet made him a national hero, but he was a prisoner of the British from 1780 to 1782. John was educated at Eton College and graduated M.A. from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1822. He was ordained in 1825 and took the parsonage at Rugby, at the same time as Thomas Arnold was made headmaster. He died at Rugby and was buried in the parish church, to which an aisle was added in his memory. He published non-fiction books and wrote several hymns as well as poems. Some of his poetry publications: Dream of Life, Lays of the English Church, 1843. Psalms and Hymns as Sung in the Parish Church, Rugby, 1851. Altars, Hearths, and Graves, 1854. Some of his poems: "The Fairy Maimounè," "Forget Thee?" "My Brother," "The Three Sons," "To Margaret in Heaven," "Violets."

   • Gerard, the son, 1829-1885

   He was educated at Rugby School and graduated M.A. from Exeter College, Oxford, in 1856. When he took holy orders he became third master and chaplain in Shrewsbury School; chaplain to the Dowager Marchioness of Londonderry (1855-59); curate of Brightwaltham, Berkshire (1859) and of Brinfield, Berkshire (1860); chaplain of Barrow Gurney, Bristol (1864); vicar of Southleigh, Devon (1869); and warden of St. James' College, Southleigh, where he died. The author of a great number of hymns, he also translated many Greek, Latin, and German hymns. Some of his publications: Cantica Sanctorum, or Hymns for the Black Letter Saints Days in the English and Scottish Calendars, 1850. Hymns from the Post Reformation Editions, 1864. Hymns and Lyrics for the Seasons and Saints' Days of the Church, 1867. The Espousals of Saint Dorothea and Other Verses, 1870. Some of his poems: "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth," "Let all mortal flesh keep silence," "Mary at Cana of Galilee," "Shadow of the Star," "St. George, Patron Saint of England," "The Loss of the London."

   Sources: A Sacrifice of Praise: An Anthology of Christian Poetry in English from Caedmon to the Mid-Twentieth Century. James H. Trott, ed. Cumberland House Publishing, 1999. Biography of Gerard Moultrie: Stone Campbell Archives (http://www.bible.acu.edu/s-c/Default.asp?Bookmark=13416). Carmina Mariana: An English Antholog y in Verse in Honour of or in Relation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Orby Shipley, ed. Burns and Oates, 1894. Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Folk Songs: John Williamson Palmer, ed. Charles Scribner and Company, 1867. Literary Heritage, West Midlands (http://www3. shropshire-cc.gov.uk/extracts/E000088a.htm). Poems that Touch the Heart. A.L. Alexander, ed. Doubleday, 1956. The Age of Revolution (http://www.npg.si.edu/col/age/moultrie.htm). The Best Loved Poems of the American People. Hazel Felleman, ed. Doubleday, 1936. The Book of a Thousand Poems: A Family Treasury. J. Murray Macbain, ed. Peter Bedrick Books, 1983. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Cyber Hymnal (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/index.htm). The New Oxford Book of Romantic Period Verse. Jerome J. McGann. Oxford University Press, 1993. The Patriot Resource: History-American Revolutionary Era (1775-1781) (http://www.patriotresource.com/people/moultrie.html ).