Julian Moreton

The Reverend Julian Moreton (1825–1900) was a Church of England (Anglican) clergyman and author who travelled from England to Newfoundland, Canada to be ordained as a missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. He stayed for thirteen years, kept a detailed journal, and wrote a book, entitled "Life and work in Newfoundland : reminiscences of thirteen years spent there".

There is not much information on Julian Moreton's early life except that he was born on August 29, 1825 in Chelsea,London, England.. While there he was a clerk for a barrister ( lawyer), and was attracted to and influenced by the Tractarian Movement, also known as the Oxford Movement and wished to become an Anglican Priest, an ambition difficult to satisfy for one of his low social status. In June 1855, Moreton married Georgine McKenzie.

Moreton could not become an Anglican priest in England, therefore, around the year 1847 he applied to become a missionary . A year later, in 1848, the Bishop of Newfoundland, Edward Feild, accepted Moreton who was recommended by a friend of Feild a prominent High Church clergyman, William Scott of Hoxton.

When Julian Moreton arrived on the Island, he received a year of training at the Theological Institute located in St. John's, Newfoundland, the capital of Newfoundland. In 1849 he was ordained a deacon on Trinity Sunday at St. Thomas's Church in St. John's. A year later on 22 September 1850 he was ordained a Priest at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's.

In 1849 Julian Moreton was stationed at Greenspond, Newfoundland, Bonavista Bay with financial backing from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (S.P.G.). The Greenspond Mission was a very difficult area as it covered seventy miles of coast, 23 distinct settlements which had to be reached by boat, and more than 3,200 members of the Church. Although Moreton wanted to leave the mission in 1855, he decided to stay and just shortly after volunteered to have the S.P.G. stop providing him with payments as he could survive on payments made by the inhabitants. Bishop Feild was very pleased with his work.

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