DEATH OF THE REV. C. S. OGG.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1696, 31 August 1904, Page 82 (Supplement)

DEATH OF THE REV. C. S. OGG.

The Scots of Wellington v and many of the older residents of the city, win learn with regret of the death of the Rev Charles Simmers Ogg, M.A. (late pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Wellington), whioh occurred at his residence, Kelbume, at 6.15 a.m. on the 23rd inst. The reverend gentleman had been failing in health for the past two years, and since he retired from the pastorate of St. Andrew’s, some twelve months ago, had aged rapidly. Deceased was born at Bancliory-Ter-nan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1833. His father was schoolmaster there, but subsequently entered the church, and was appointed pastor at Inverallochy, near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. In his juvenile years the deceased was educated privately, but at the age of thirteen years he entered the King’s College at Aberdeen, where he distinguished himself in the study of languages and mathematics. He was the second bursar of his year, and subsequently took his M.A. degree. After that be entered the Theological Hall, and was subsequently licensed to preach by the PresbjTery of Kirkwall, Shetland Islands, where he remained for two years. He then left for Canada, and was pastor of St. Andrew’s Church, Chatham, New Brunswick, for seven years. Returning to Scotland, he received a call from the Colonial Committee of the Established Church of Scotland to proceed to Wellington, as successor to the late Rev John Muir in the pastorate of St. Andrew’s, on the Terrace. He arrived here in 1872, and officiated at St. Andrew’s up till last year, when he was relieved of his duties by the appointment of the Rev J. Gibson Smith, then of Invercargill. Mr Ogg, when at the Aberdeen University, was a fellow-student and close companion of Archbishop Machray, afterwards Archbishop of Rupertsland and Primate of Canada. The latter subsequently went to Cambridge, where he was the senior wrangler of his year. Both he and Mr Ogg were brilliant mathematicians, but the Archbishop was known to have admitted Mr Ogg his superior in that subject. The Archbishop, who died some three months ago, was visited by the Rev James Paterson at Winnipeg recently, the visitor receiving a hearty welcome from the ailing cleric, as a friend of his old college associate. Mr Ogg was a man of extensive and particular scholastic attainments, but, being of a somewhat reclusive nature, did not take much part in public affairs. He was a fine French scholar, and read extensively in that language up to the beginning of the end. He was also fluent in Greek and Latin languages, and made a considerable study of astronomy, on which he wrote some most interesting papers. Commercially he was shrewd to a degree, and was seldom known to have made a bad investment. He was a director of the Wellington Gas Company, a considerable shareholder in the Wellington Trust and Loan Company, the Bank of New Zealand, Messrs S-harland and Co., and other prosperous joint stock institutions. Mr Ogg was unmarried. His only revla tives in the colony were his sister, Mrs M. Lawrence, of Thorndon quay, who was at the bedside when death intervened, and his nephew, Air A. C. Lawrence, of the Public Works Architects’ Department. His only other living relatives are his sisters—Miss Ogg and Mrs Ritchie.—both resident in Aberdeen. Tho deceased gentleman was very considerate in aiding deserving people in difficulties, and was open-handed in giving isueh assistance, but keenly .sensitive lest his kindness should be known. Many will miss him in this respect, and a few intimate friends will feel the loss of the intercourse with a well cultivated man which his demise entails.