Author: Montgomery, Robert
Biography:
MONTGOMERY, Robert, formerly BOYCE or GOMERY (1807-55: ODNB)
Somerset birth records show that he was baptised Robert Montgomery Boyce at Weston, Bath, on 8 Nov. 1807. His mother was Elizabeth Meadows Boyce (b Bath 1781), and his father, Robert Gomery (1778-1853), was the resident clown in the Bath theatre. Though he was illegitimate, his father took charge of his education in Bath, registering him at school as Robert Gomery. Early on, he demonstrated literary ambition: he started a weekly paper at 16 and published his first collection of verses by subscription at 18. At this time, too, he began to identify himself as Robert Montgomery. He made his name with long pious poems that attracted a large popular audience but also won him the praise of respected writers such as Crabbe and Southey. He graduated from Oxford in 1833 (MA 1838) and proceeded to take orders. He proved a charismatic preacher, based for four years in Glasgow and then from 1843 in London. On 7 Oct. 1843 he married Rachel Catherine Andrews McKenzie (or Mackenzie) at St. George's, Hanover Square; they had one child. Though he continued to write poetry, his efforts were increasingly directed to religious prose, including sermons and practical manuals. He died in Brighton on 3 Dec. 1855 after a short illness. (ODNB 11 Apr. 2020; ancestry.com 5 July 2026; findmypast.com 5 July 2026) HJ
Other Names:
- R. M.