VENN
Adm. sizar at ST JOHN'S, Mar. 2, 1787. Of Norfolk. School, King's Lynn. ' Matric. Michs. 1787; Platt Scholar, 1790; B.A. 1791. Ord. deacon (Norwich) Sept. 25, 1791; priest, Dec. 23, 1792; C. of Morningthorpe, Norfolk, 1791-4. V. of Wiggenhall St German, 1794-1814. The income derived from the living was only £30 a year, in addition to which he received £40 a year from the neighbouring curacy of Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen. ‘With this scanty pittance and the products of his vicarage garden, he maintained a wife and a family of seven children, without involving himself in debt and without having ever been heard by his most intimate friends to utter a word of complaint’ (Cambridge Chronicle, Mar. 25, 1814). Declined an offer of money made to him by the Trustees of a public fund for the relief of the clergy, with the observation that there might be other clergymen more in need of it. ‘But, though poor, he was an instrument of “making many rich”; and numbers were seen to weep over his grave with the deep-felt conviction that they had lost a faithful pastor and a truly valuable friend.’ Died Feb. 10, 1814, aged 45, at Gillingham. A subscription was raised for the benefit of his family left entirely destitute. (St John's Coll. Adm., IV. 336; G. Mag., 1814.)
| Year | Type | Name as Recorded | Location | Office/Status | Full Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1791 | Ordi(ordination) | Johnson, William | / | deacon | View |
| 1791 | Ordi(ordination) | Johnson, William | / | deacon | View |
| 1792 | Ordi(ordination) | Johnson, William | / | priest | View |
| 1792 | Ordi(ordination) | Johnson, William | / | priest | View |
| 1794 | Appt(Institution) | Johnson, William | Wiggenhall St German / | Vicar | View |
| 1814 | Vac(Death) | Johnson, William | Wiggenhall St German / | Vicar | View |
| 1814 | Appt(Licensing) | Johnson, William | Wiggenhall Saint Mary Magdalen / | Stipendiary Curate | View |