J.C. Ryle – A Primer on His Life (Part 3)

On Easter Sunday, 1844, J.C. Ryle he became the Rector at Helmingham, which was about 85 miles northeast of London where he remained for seventeen years. He was offered 500 pounds per year ($790 back then but like $16,500 today), which is the exact amount he felt was necessary to start a family with.

Ryle married his 1^st wife on October 29, 1845. He had three criteria for a woman to marry: (1) a Christian, (2) a real lady and (3) not a fool. Everything else to him was negotiable. The name of his 1^st wife was Matilda Louisa. She was twenty-two years old when they wed – seven years his junior.

They had their 1^st child one year later on May 1846 and named Georgina. Sadly, due to complications from that birth, his wife died from puerperal mania on June 18, 1847. They had only been married two years.

Three years after the death of his 1^st wife, he was able to marry again on February 21, 1850 (obviously believed in re-marriage). Her name was Jessie Elizabeth. She contracted Bright’s disease (a deadly kidney disease) that would follow her during the entire ten years they were married and then eventually die of it. On five different occasions she spent time in London for two months at a time for treatment(s) and, as a result, Ryle preached in some sixty different churches in the London area during that time, which God used to spread his impact and influence throughout England.

Ryle’s 2^nd wife Jessie died having given Ryle three sons during their marriage: Reginald, Herbert and Arthur and one more daughter – Isabelle. This gave Ryle two daughters and three sons. Sadly enough, none of them either came to know Christ as their Savior. This means only his wives in his family knew God personally.

His 3^rd and final marriage took place on October 24, 1861 to Henrietta Clowes and he described her as “a lady of good birth, highly respected, well educated and a woman with a strong personal faith.” He was fourty-five years old and she was thirty-six and they remained married for 28 years.

After holding a curacy at Hampshire, he became rector of Winchester (1843), rector of Helmingham, Suffolk (1844), a vicar of Stradbroke (1861), honorary canon of Norwich (1872), and dean of Salisbury (1880). He served a total of seven churches before his next ministry and grandest ministry post.

His final ministry position was to become the 1^st Bishop of Liverpool. He served there for twenty years until to months before his death. His priorities as Bishop of Liverpool were to plant as many biblical churches as possible and boost the attendance of genuine believers in existing churches. During his time there, he …

• ordained 553 deacons and 541 priests

• founded the Lay Helpers Association, which was an organization that wrote Sunday School curriculum

• helped plant thirty-six new churches and build ninety new churches

Ryle suffered a serious stroke that led him to have to share his responsibilities as Bishop. He began to scale back his ministerial duties.

Tomorrow’s post will wrap up his death and legacy.

Source unknown.

, pages 53-54.