Tyerman'a book on the Oxford Mthodists begins with Robert Kirkham thus
THE FIRST OF THE OXFORD METHODISTS
Robert Kirkham
WESLEY writes: — "In November, 1729, four young gentlemen of Oxford, — Mr. John Wesley, Fellow of 1735
Lincoln College; Mr. Charles Wesley, Student of Christ
Church; Mr. Morgan, Commoner of Christ Church; and Mr.
Kirkham, of Merton College, — began to spend some evenings
in a week together in reading, chiefly, the Greek Testament."'
These were the first Oxford Methodists; and, though there
is little to be said of Morgan, and still less of Kirkham, they
must not be passed in silence. Methodism may be traced to
their associating with the two Wesleys, to read the Greek
Testament, in 1729.
Robert Kirkham was the son of the Rev. Lionel Kirkham,
a clergyman resident at Stanton, in Gloucestershire. The
family consisted of Robert and at least two sisters, Sarah
and Betty.
Sarah was the intimate friend of Mary Granville, afterwards
Mrs. Delany, a woman of great accomplishments, who moved
in the highest society and, for more than fifty years, was
honoured with the friendship and confidence of King George
III. and his Queen Charlotte. Sarah Kirkham was born in
1699; and, in 1725, was married to the Rev. John Capon, or,
as the name is sometimes spelt, Chapone. She was a woman
of great intellect and of an intensely warm and generous
nature. "Sally," wrote Mary Granville, in 1737, then Mrs. Pendarves, "would shine in an assembly composed of Tullys, Homers, and Miltons: at Gloucester, she is like a diamond set in jet, — their dulness makes her brightness brighter." (Autogiography of Mrs Delany). Mrs. Chapone died in 1764.
Her sister Betsy was probably the first of Wesley's sweet-
hearts. As early as February 2, 1726, Robert Kirkham,
writing, from home, to his "Dear Jacke," at "Lincoln College,
Oxford, by the Worcester carrier," says, —
" Your most deserving, queer character, your personal accomplishments, your noble endowments of mind, your little and handsome person,
and your most obhging and desirable conversation, — have often been the
pleasing subject of our discourse. Often have you been in the thoughts
of M.B." [Miss Betsy ?] " which I have curiously observed, when with her
alone, by her inward smiles and sighs, and by her abrupt expressions
concerning you. Shall this suffice? I caught her this morning in an
humble and devout posture on her knees. I must conclude; and subscribe
myself your most affectionate friend, and brother I wish I miglit write,
"Robert Kirkham."
Twelve months after this, Wesley's sister Martha wrote to
him as follows: —
"When I knew that you were just returned from Worcestershire, where,
I suppose, you saw your Varenese" [the pet name of Betsy Kirkham], "I
then ceased to wonder at your silence; for the sight of such a woman
might well make you forget me. I really have myself a vast respect for
her, as I must necessarily have for one that is so dear to you."
For more than three years subsequent to this, Wesley kept
up a correspondence with Kirkham's sister, and spoke of her
in the tenderest terms. In 1731, their friendship was interrupted. Why?' Did the young lady's father interfere? Or
did she herself prefer another? These are questions which it
is almost impossible to answer; but it is a significant fact that,
though the Kirkham family seems to have consisted of only
one son and two daughters, one of those daughters died about
twelve months afterwards; she, at the time of her death, bearing the name of Mrs. Wilson. Hence the following extract
from a letter, written by Mrs. Pendarves, and dated "Killala,
June 28th, 1732."
"Poor Mrs. Wilson! I am sorry for the shock her death must have given Sally" [Mrs. Chapone] "whose tenderness must sometimes take place of her wisdom; but I hope when she considers the great advantage to
her sister, in all probability will receive by the exchange she has lately made, that she will be reconciled to the loss of a sister that
has given her more woe than happiness. Pray, has Mrs Wilson left any
children?"
Was Mrs. Wilson the quondam Betsy Kirkham? It is
probable she was; for, though Mrs. Pendarves and Mrs.
Chapone continued to be the warmest friends for thirty-two
years after this, there is not, in the voluminous correspondence
of the former, the least allusion to Betsy.
Perhaps these notices of Robert Kirkham's sisters are
hardly relevant; but it must be borne in mind that Kirkham
was one of Wesley's warmest friends, and that he wished to
have Wesley for a brother.
As already intimated, of Robert Kirkham himself next to
nothing has been published. In a letter to his mother, dated
February 28, 1730, three months after the first Methodist
meeting in Oxford, Wesley wrote : —
"I have another piece of news to acquaint you with, which, as it is
more strange, will, I hope, be equally agreeable. A little while ago. Bob
Kirkham took a fancy into his head, that he would lose no more time and
waste no more money; in pursuance of which, he first resolved to breakfast
no longer on tea; next, to drink no more ale in an evening, or, however,
but to quench his thirst; then to read Greek or Latin from prayers in the
morning till noon, and from dinner till five at night. And how much may
one imagine he executed of these resolutions? Why, he has left off tea,
struck off his drinking acquaintances to a man, given the hours above
specified to the Greek Testament and Hugo Grotius, and spent the
evenings either by himself or with my brother and me."
This was a brave act. For a frank, frivolous, jovial young
fellow like Robert Kirkam, who, in a letter to Wesley, four
years before, had told his friend of his revelling over a dish
of calves' head and bacon, and a newly-tapped barrel of
excellent cider, now to resolve to live a life like that which
Wesley mentions, and to have firmness enough to fulfil his
resolution, was no ordinary fact, and indicated a great change
in the light-hearted young collegian. Was not this the very
commencement of the Methodist organization."
In 1731, Kirkham took his leave of the Oxford brotherhood, to become his uncle's curate. Where did he live after this? How did he live? When did he die? These are
questions which we cannot answer. We have tried to obtain
information concerning his subsequent career, but have failed.
