Henry Harper (bishop)

(Redirected from Henry John Chitty Harper)

Henry John Chitty Harper (c. 1804 – 28 December 1893) was an Anglican bishop in the second half of the 19th century.[1]


Henry Harper
Primate of New Zealand
Bishop Harper in 1869
ChurchChurch of England
ProvinceNew Zealand
In office1869–1890
PredecessorGeorge Selwyn (as Metropolitan)
SuccessorOctavius Hadfield
Other post(s)Bishop of Christchurch (1856–1890)
Orders
Ordination1832
Personal details
Bornc. 1804
Gosport, Hampshire, England
Died (aged 89)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Alma materThe Queen's College, Oxford
RelativesHenry Harper (son)
George Harper (son)
Leonard Harper (son)
Emily Acland (daughter)
John Acland (son-in-law)
Charles Blakiston (son-in-law)
Charles Tripp (son-in-law)
Arthur Paul Harper (grandson)
Eric Harper (grandson)
Hugh Acland (grandson)
Jack Acland (great-grandson)
Bishop Henry John Chitty Harper, c.1860
Harper's memorial in ChristChurch Cathedral

Life

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Henry John Chitty Harper was born in c. 1804 in Gosport, Hampshire, England,[2] to Tristram Harper and Mary Jellicoe Harper.[3] Tristram Harper (father of Henry John Chitty Harper) was the great-grandson of John Strachey. Harper was baptised on 9 January 1804,[4] educated at The Queen's College, Oxford and ordained in 1832.[5] He was Chaplain of Eton College until December 1840 then Vicar of St Mary's, Stratfield Mortimer. In 1856 he was appointed to the episcopate as Bishop of Christchurch. Harper and his family arrived on 23 December 1856 in Lyttelton on the Egmont.[5] At the 4th General Synod, 14 October 1868, he was elected[6] and upon receiving in July 1869 notice of Selwyn's resignation,[7] he became Primate of New Zealand; he resigned the Primacy on 5 September 1889[8] and his See on 31 March 1890, in ill-health.[9][10] He died on 28 December 1893[11] and is buried at Barbadoes Street Cemetery.[12]

Family

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On 12 December 1829 at St Maurice, Winchester, Harper married Emily Wooldridge. They had 15 children.[5] His eldest daughter, Emily Weddell Harper married the politician John Acland. Two of his other daughters married Charles Blakiston, son of Matthew Blakiston; and Charles George Tripp, a pioneering sheep farmer in New Zealand. A son, Leonard Harper, became a member of parliament, and Arthur Paul Harper was his grandson.[13] Another son, Charles John Harper, owned various large farms[14][15] and unsuccessfully stood for election to the House of Representatives in the Ashburton electorate in 1899.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Project Canterbury
  2. ^ 1841 England Census, census, from Ancestry.com, 1841 England Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1472314:8978.
  3. ^ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975, baptism register, from Ancestry.com, England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/106761254:9841.
  4. ^ thePeerage.com
  5. ^ a b c Brown, Colin. "Harper, Henry John Chitty". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. ^ Proceedings of the Fourth General Synod of the Branch of the United Church of England and Ireland in New Zealand (p. 38, online at the Kinder Library)
  7. ^ Proceedings of the Fifth General Synod of the Branch of the United Church of England and Ireland (p. 12, online at the Kinder Library; see also the relevant statute)
  8. ^ The dictionary of New Zealand biography: volume two, 1870–1900. Claudia Orange (ed.). Wellington, Bridget Williams Books, 1993.
  9. ^ "Proceedings of the General Synod: 13th General Synod, 1895".
  10. ^ The Clergy List” London, Hamilton & Co 1889
  11. ^ The Times, Friday, Dec 29, 1893; pg. 8; Issue 34147; col C Obituary Rt Rev. Henry John Chitty Harper
  12. ^ Greenaway, Richard L. N. (June 2007). "Barbadoes Street Cemetery Tour" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. pp. 36f. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  13. ^ Langton, Graham. "Arthur Paul Harper". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  14. ^ Swarbrick, Nancy (9 July 2013). "The sitting room at Malvern Hills, 1858". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Clayton Homestead". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  16. ^ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
Anglican Communion titles
New diocese Bishop of Christchurch
1856–1890
Succeeded by
Preceded byas Metropolitan Primate of New Zealand
1869–1889
Succeeded by