Margaret Leddy's Uncle John Charleson

We have long heard of Uncle John Charleson, my grandmother's father's brother, and how he converted the Eddie daughters to Catholicism.  He had an estate in Kirkconnel. I thnk I found him here.

Fasti ecclesiæ scoticanæ; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation (1915)

Author: Scott, Hew, 1791-1872; Macdonald, D. F. (Donald Farquhar), 1906-
Keywords: Church of Scotland; Church of Scotland; Scotland -- Biography
Publisher: Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd
Year: 1915

JOHN CHARLESON, born Inverness,189Q 7th Sept. 1862, son of Kenneth C. 
and Margaret Forbes, and brother of Charles Forbes C., min. of Kirkconnel ; 
educated at Univ. of Edinburgh ; M.A. (1884), B.D. (1888); licen. by Presb. of 
Paisley ; ord. 5th Sept. 1890 ; adm. first min. of the parish 8th March 1892. 
Joined the Church of Rome, when the Presb. declared him to hold "no longer 
the office of the holy ministry, and that he is disqualified and discharged from 
exercising the functions of the same or any part thereof," 30th Oct. 1901. He 
was ord. priest at Kirkintilloch in 1904 ; afterwards at Croy and Rome. Publica-
tion Why I left the Church of Scotland (1901.) 

This book is pretty rare, although one could possibly find it in the British Museum.  However he also wrote an article "Why I Left the Church of Scotland" published in the Glasgow Herald on Nov. 5, 1901, and that is available, at least currently, here.

This article is said to be the opening of his book (or, rather, pamphlet}

There were a couple replies to the book. 

Google lists  one by a Jacob Primmer,"Citizen" Office, 1901  47 pages.

Mr Charleson's "Why I left the Church of Scotland", or, The secret Romanising "Scottish Church Society" exposed

Another was 

Peter and the keys : an examination of the Rev. John M.M. Charleson's book "Why I left the Church of Scotland" by Charles Hall (Paisley : Alexander Gardner, 1901).

 See also here

 

See also 

Liturgical Space (Liturgy, Worship & Society in Western Europe 1500-2000) by Nigel Yates (Ashgate, 2008)  "complaints were made against the ministry from 1890, John Charleson, that he had introduced a service book with congregational responses, encaustic tiles and stained glass in the chancel and the erection of a communion table with a tabernacle." 129

Chronology

Born 7 Sep 1862  Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland.

Edinburgh University; Master of Arts, 1884; Bachelor of Divinity, 1888.
 Licensed by Presbytery of Paisley.
  Licensed by Presbytery of Linlithgow, 1889.
Minister of Thornliebank, 1890; ordained, 1890.
  Admitted first minister of the parish, 1892. 

"Why I Left the Church of Scotland" published in the Glasgow Herald on Nov. 5, 1901, 

  Presbytery declared him to no longer hold the office of the holy ministry, and was disqualified and discharged from his office, 1901.
  Joined the Church of Rome.
  Ordained a priest of Kirkintilloch, 1904.
  Afterwards at Croy and Rome.

 

The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Rōrahi XXXV, Putanga 38, 19 Mahuru 1907, Page 31

See article Scotland: The Shadow and The Substance here for more details about his life as a Catholic.

 

 Died 30 Jun 1942  Dunranion Billericay, Essex, England