Revd Tullie Cornthwaite (RIP) - Perpetual Curate 1844-1852
Extracts from Vestry House Museum Archives (courtesy of Dabid Boote).
Rev Tullie Cornthwaite
- anonymous undated handwritten pages in a ‘biographies’ folder VHM
From ‘William Cotton Oswell’ 1900 vol.II 152
Cousin to WCO’s wife – who was a Miss Agnes Rwaz[?]. In a letter dated Dec. 10, 1878 WCO writes
“Cousin Tullie is, I fear, dying ... Perchance I may be allowed to see the dear old man once more ... I should be very sorry ... if the dear old gentleman were to die before I could get to him.”
Two days later WCO writes :-
“Tullie is dead – the very best educated man I ever met in my life, & one of the most generous, hospitable, & modest”.
“Tullie Cornthwaite was a naturalist, theologian, artist, geologist, archaeologist, philologist, a learned collector of books, shells, butterflies, minerals, coins, a master of six languages besides his own, & with all this as eager to receive information as he was to give it. Living in a delightful rambling old house – The Forest, Walthamstow – for the benefit, apparently, of the countless friends who flocked round him, he [illegible word] himself of his wealth to do good all[?] any with both hands – here a loan, there a gift, here a church built, there a young man sent travelling or to college, a sick person to the seaside or abroad. Throughout the summer he give a series of lavish entertainments to nurses, hospital patients, poor children. Always a student, never a man of action, it is not to be wondered at that his views on certain subjects were diametrically opposed to those of William Oswell. This was notably the case on that of the education of boys, he holding strongly that private & home tuition was the better plan, Oswell as strongly advocating the boarding-school system, though fully recognising & admitting its defects. Neither succeeded in moving the other from his position, but when Oswell was about to send his eldest boy to school, W Cornthwaite, who was his godfather, with graceful touching generosity, begged to be allowed to make himself responsible for his education on the lines laid down by his father. Needless to add, the offer was declined.” END
From ‘William Cotton Oswell’ 1900 vol.II 152
Cousin to WCO’s wife – who was a Miss Agnes Rwaz[?]. In a letter dated Dec. 10, 1878 WCO writes
“Cousin Tullie is, I fear, dying ... Perchance I may be allowed to see the dear old man once more ... I should be very sorry ... if the dear old gentleman were to die before I could get to him.”
Two days later WCO writes :-
“Tullie is dead – the very best educated man I ever met in my life, & one of the most generous, hospitable, & modest”.
“Tullie Cornthwaite was a naturalist, theologian, artist, geologist, archaeologist, philologist, a learned collector of books, shells, butterflies, minerals, coins, a master of six languages besides his own, & with all this as eager to receive information as he was to give it. Living in a delightful rambling old house – The Forest, Walthamstow – for the benefit, apparently, of the countless friends who flocked round him, he [illegible word] himself of his wealth to do good all[?] any with both hands – here a loan, there a gift, here a church built, there a young man sent travelling or to college, a sick person to the seaside or abroad. Throughout the summer he give a series of lavish entertainments to nurses, hospital patients, poor children. Always a student, never a man of action, it is not to be wondered at that his views on certain subjects were diametrically opposed to those of William Oswell. This was notably the case on that of the education of boys, he holding strongly that private & home tuition was the better plan, Oswell as strongly advocating the boarding-school system, though fully recognising & admitting its defects. Neither succeeded in moving the other from his position, but when Oswell was about to send his eldest boy to school, W Cornthwaite, who was his godfather, with graceful touching generosity, begged to be allowed to make himself responsible for his education on the lines laid down by his father. Needless to add, the offer was declined.” END
1 comment:
What footsteps you follow....!
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