James Montgomery

Edward Hardiman (University of Keele)

Ed. by Daniel Cook, University of Dundee
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of York), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 4 Nov 1771
Died 30 Apr 1854

Places

Active in Scotland

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Montgomery's Works

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James Montgomery (1771-1854) was a poet, hymn writer, and newspaper proprietor. Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, to Irish Moravian parents, Montgomery was caught between a myriad of different cultures. He identified as a “Scotchman”, but, as he put it, “I ought to have been an Irishman, because both my parents were such; and I pass for an Englishman, because I was caught young and imported hither before I was six years old” (Knight,

Life of Montgomery

, p. 331). His Irish parents were John and Mary, two Moravian missionaries with his father serving as minister for the congregation of Irvine a few years before he was born. In 1777 James attended Fulneck school – its name deriving from a town of Moravia – situated in the parish of Calberley in Leeds (Holland & Everett,

Memoirs

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2097 words

Citation: Hardiman, Edward. "James Montgomery". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 July 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14526, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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