Ibbotson, John (1872-1950)

Obituary from Minutes of the Methodist Conference

Born at Sheffield in 1872. He entered the Ministry of the United Methodist Church in 1900 and was trained at Victoria Park College, Manchester, and Manchester University.

With the exception of one term of four years in London (Brixton), most of his circuits were situated in the North of England.

Everywhere he served with faithfulness and distinction. He was a Sheffield man, and was never tired of reminding his friends in the south of this proud fact.

In 1942 he retired from the active Ministry and settled in Bognor Regis; but during the war he took charge of the work at Littlehampton. In 1946 he resumed his retirement but the preaching of the Gospel was his delight to the end.

Increasing age seemed to make little difference to his power in the pulpit.

Suddenly his call to the Homeland came on 25th January 1950, in the seventy-eighth year of his life and the fiftieth of his ministry.

©Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes 1950

Family

John was born on 25th January 1872 in Ecclesfield, to Robert and Mary Ibbotson. Robert was a labourer in an ironworks.

John was apprenticed as a engine fitter (1891) before entering the ministry.

He married Margaret Ditchfield (1893- ) during the third quarter of 1904 in the Ashton under Lyne Registration District. They had two children.

• Horace Ivor (1908-1974)
• Kathleen Marguerite (1911-1992)

John died on 25th January 1950 in Bognor, Sussex.

Circuits

• 1896  Victoria Park College
• 1899  Bristol
• 1900  Overton
• 1901   Barry Dock
• 1903  Bury
• 1904  Bradford Bridge Street (received into Full Connexion)
• 1905  Rochdale Castlemere
• 1908  London Brixton
• 1912   Lincoln Silver Street
• 1915  Barnsley Blucher Street
• 1920  Goole
• 1924  Burnley
• 1927  South Shields
• 1930  Connah’s Quay and Prestatyn
• 1933  Preston Orchard
• 1938  Salford
• 1942  Chichester and Bognor (Supernumerary)

References

Oliver A Beckerlegge, United Methodist ministers and their circuits: Being an arrangement in alphabetical order of the stations of ministers of the Methodist New … and the United Methodist Church, 1797-1932

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers

Minutes of the Methodist Conference 1950 p138