101:(at which time he spelled his name Bleakly), where he graduated. On 19 September 1809 he was ordained by Bangor presbytery as minister of Moneyrea, county Down, in succession to Samuel Patton. Fletcher had trained him in Calvinism, but he did not long retain this form of theology. He became by degrees a Unitarian of what was then a very advanced type in Ireland, being the first avowed humanitarian preacher in Ulster (after 1813; see Mon. Rep. 1813. p. 515). Under his influence Moneyrea was so marked a home of heterodox opinion that it passed into a proverb, 'Moneyrea, where there is one God and no Devil.' When, in 1821, the English unitarians sent John Smethurst (1792–1859) on a mission to Ulster, the Moneyrea meeting-house was the first that was opened to him; the Arian pulpits were (with five exceptions) refused to him. In 1829 Blakely, with his whole congregation, joined the remonstrant secession from the synod of Ulster; he had throughout the previous synodical debates been one of the most powerful coadjutors of
112:'The Battle of the Two Dialogues, being a conversation between a Rev. Covenanter and a Rev. Presbyterian on the impropriety of adhering to any standard of faith except the Bible,’ Belf. 1818, 8vo (also anon.; in reply to it John Paul, then covenanting minister of Loughmourne, afterwards of Carrickfergus and D.D. (died 17 March 1848, aged 71), published his first work, ‘Creeds and Confessions defended,’ &c., Belf. 1819, 8vo, which is one of the most caustic pieces of satire ever contributed on the orthodox side of the religious controversies in Ulster).
105:, the leader of the New Light party, and assisted him in forming the remonstrant synod. On 27 April 1836 a public testimonial bore witness to his successful advocacy of the rights of conscience and human freedom.' In his own neighbourhood he did much for popular education, for the cause of tenant right, and for the promotion of the flax industry. He was a joint-editor (1830–3) of the 'Bible Christian,' and published two or three tracts and sermons, especially:
172:
123:
Moneyrea. He married
Margaret Lindsay (1783–1825), and had four children: Jane, as above; Sarah (1814–1844); David Lindsay, inspector of Irish National Schools (1816–1854); and William Joseph (born 17 April 1818), unitarian minister at Billingshurst, Sussex, in 1839, ordained on 15 December 1840 by Bangor remonstrant presbytery as minister of York Street, Belfast, and died on 19 March 1842.
122:
He resigned his charge on 22 September 1857, but continued to preach till the installation of his successor, John Jellie, on 27 September 1859. He died on 25 February 1862 at
Cradley, Worcestershire, the residence of the Rev. William Cochrane, who had married his eldest child. He was buried at
97:. He was the youngest son of Joseph Bleakly, a farmer, and was named after the Rev. William Fletcher, presbyterian minister of Ballyroney (d. 1824), who gave him his early training; both his parents died when he was very young. In 1799 he entered
185:
118:‘An Explicit Avowal of Truth the best mode of teaching it’ (Romans i. 16), Belfast, 1853, 8vo (preached as president of the Association of Irish Nonsubscribing Presbyterians).
221:
109:'A Dialogue,' Belf. 1817, 8vo (anon.), on the bible and other standards of faith (not seen; it was answered by a covenanting minister, not Paul).
231:
115:‘The Doctrine of the Trinity not comprised in the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints’ (Jude 1–3), London, 1846, 8vo.
226:
194:
181:
102:
216:
211:
8:
146:
85:(13 May 1783 – 25 February 1862) was an Irish non-subscribing Presbyterian minister.
98:
189:
57:
205:
176:
94:
38:
175: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
203:
93:Blakely was born on 13 May 1783 at Ballyroney,
198:. Vol. 7. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
144:
222:19th-century Irish Presbyterian ministers
204:
180:
232:Alumni of the University of Glasgow
13:
14:
243:
195:Dictionary of National Biography
170:
138:
1:
126:
88:
7:
16:Irish Presbyterian minister
10:
248:
72:
64:
45:
30:
23:
227:People from County Down
76:Presbyterian minister
147:"Blakely, Fletcher"
186:Blakely, Fletcher
182:Gordon, Alexander
80:
79:
239:
199:
174:
173:
159:
158:
156:
154:
145:Nelson, John W.
142:
103:Henry Montgomery
83:Fletcher Blakely
52:
49:25 February 1862
25:Fletcher Blakely
21:
20:
247:
246:
242:
241:
240:
238:
237:
236:
202:
201:
190:Stephen, Leslie
171:
163:
162:
152:
150:
143:
139:
129:
99:Glasgow College
91:
60:
54:
50:
41:
35:
26:
17:
12:
11:
5:
245:
235:
234:
229:
224:
219:
214:
168:
167:
161:
160:
136:
135:
134:
133:
128:
125:
120:
119:
116:
113:
110:
90:
87:
78:
77:
74:
70:
69:
66:
62:
61:
58:Worcestershire
55:
53:(aged 78)
47:
43:
42:
36:
32:
28:
27:
24:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
244:
233:
230:
228:
225:
223:
220:
218:
215:
213:
210:
209:
207:
200:
197:
196:
191:
187:
183:
178:
177:public domain
165:
164:
148:
141:
137:
131:
130:
124:
117:
114:
111:
108:
107:
106:
104:
100:
96:
86:
84:
75:
71:
67:
63:
59:
48:
44:
40:
33:
29:
22:
19:
193:
169:
151:. Retrieved
140:
121:
92:
82:
81:
51:(1862-02-25)
37:Ballyroney,
18:
217:1862 deaths
212:1783 births
95:County Down
65:Nationality
39:County Down
34:13 May 1783
206:Categories
127:References
73:Occupation
184:(1886). "
89:Biography
56:Cradley,
149:. dib.ie
132:Specific
192:(ed.).
179::
166:General
153:4 April
188:". In
68:Irish
155:2024
46:Died
31:Born
208::
157:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.