u/foxed_den

I’ve been reconstructing the life of this clergyman and have most of it mapped — but there’s one year I can’t crack, and it’s the one I care about most.
What I’ve pieced together:

John Benson Sidgwick, b. 1835 at Stone Gappe, Lothersdale; d. 1927 (day-exact dates so far come from a family tree, so I’m treating them as unconfirmed until I reach the parish and GRO records)
Son of John Benson Sidgwick (1800–1873) of Skipton — presumably the “J.B.S.” in the inscription

An M.A. and university man (I haven’t yet confirmed Cambridge or Oxford); married a Dulcinella Twining in 1862 (also from a tree, unverified)

Ordained sometime in the late 1850s, I believe, and eventually instituted Rector of Ashby Parva, Leicestershire, in 1892, where he saw out his career

The reason I’m chasing him: I have a Bible carrying a copperplate inscription, “John B. Sidgwick Jun., May 10th 1867. From J.B.S.” — and I’m trying to confirm it’s this man, and understand the occasion.

Here’s my wall. I can place him near ordination and at Ashby Parva in 1892, but the thirty years between are a blank — and 1867 sits right in the middle of it. So, throwing it open:

Where would he have been in 1867 — a curacy, an earlier living, somewhere I should be looking? Anything that might explain a Bible gifted from father to son that year (a new post, a marriage milestone, a child)?

Can anyone confirm whether he’s Cambridge or Oxford, and fill in his livings between ordination and 1892?

I gather Venn and Crockford can be thin on minor curacies.

Has anyone ever traced the Twining marriage? The name’s unusual enough that I suspect someone has.
And a long shot — anyone with access to the Leicester diocesan institution records or his probate (d. 1927) who fancies a dig?

Any thread to pull would be hugely appreciated. Happy to send a photo of the inscription to anyone digging into this.

(Note for searchers: there are three John Benson Sidgwicks — the 1800–1873 father, this 1835–1927 son, and a 1916–1958 astronomer. I’m only after the middle one.)

Around 1990, my father bought four antique Bibles from a shop in Ipswich, Suffolk for about £70 total. They sat in storage for 30 years. I recently started investigating what he’d actually found.

The oldest is a 1610 Geneva Bible — printed by Robert Barker, one year before the King James replaced it. Inside, in Victorian copperplate:

“John B. Sidgwick Jun., May 10th 1867. From J.B.S.”

John Benson Sidgwick Jr. was the son of the Sidgwick family of Stone Gappe, Lothersdale — who employed Charlotte Brontë as governess in 1839. A family memoir records that young John threw a Bible at her during her time there. Scholars have long connected this to the opening scene of Jane Eyre.

I confirmed his identity through the 1871 England census. To be clear: this isn’t the literal thrown book — that was 1839, this Bible was gifted in 1867. What I have is the personal Bible of the man who threw one at Charlotte Brontë.

Full documentation and evidence tiers at theknowlescollection.org.

What would something like this realistically be worth to a collector or institution?

Placing a Victorian clergyman in 1867 — John Benson Sidgwick (1835–1927), later Rector of Ashby Parva

My father paid £70 for this 1610 Geneva Bible in 1990. The inscription inside links it to the family who employed Charlotte Brontë as governess in 1839.