Jeffery Ekins D.D. was an English churchman, Dean of Carlisle Cathedral

Carlisle Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, otherwise called Carlisle Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Carlisle. It is located in Carlisle, in Cumbria, North West England...

 from 1782.

Life

He was a native of Barton-Seagrave, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, where his father, the Rev. Jeffery Ekins, M.A., was rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

. He received his education at Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

. In 1749 he was elected to King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

, where he obtained a fellowship. He graduated B.A. in 1755 and M.A. in 1758. In early life he was the close companion of Richard Cumberland

Richard Cumberland (dramatist)

Richard Cumberland was a British dramatist and civil servant. In 1771 his hit play The West Indian was first staged. During the American War of Independence he acted as a secret negotiator with Spain in an effort to secure a peace agreement between the two nations. He also edited a short-lived...

.

On leaving university he became one of the assistant masters of Eton school, where he was tutor to Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle

Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle

Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, KG, KT, PC was a British diplomat and the son of Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle and his second wife Isabella Byron....

. Subsequently he was chaplain to the Earl of Carlisle when lord-lieutenant of Ireland. He was inducted to the rectory of Quainton

Quainton

Quainton is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, north west of Aylesbury. The population is 1290, of which 1000 are adults. The village has two churches , a school and two public houses...

, Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, 30 March 1761, on the presentation of his father. In 1775, resigning Quainton, he was instituted to the rectory of Morpeth

Morpeth

Morpeth may mean:*Morpeth, Northumberland, England**Morpeth , a former parliamentary constituency*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia*Morpeth, Ontario, Canada*Morpeth School - a secondary school in the East End of London, England...

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, on the presentation of the Earl of Carlisle; and in February 1777 he was instituted to the rectory of Sedgefield

Sedgefield

Sedgefield is a small town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It has a population of 4,534.Sedgefield has attracted particular attention as the Member of Parliament for the wider Sedgefield constituency was the former Prime Minister Tony Blair; he was the area's MP from 1983 to 2008,...

, Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

. In 1781 he was created D.D. at Cambridge; and in 1782 he was installed dean of Carlisle, on the advancement of Thomas Percy

Thomas Percy

Thomas Percy was Bishop of Dromore. Before being made bishop, he was chaplain to George III. Percy's greatest contribution is considered to be his Reliques of Ancient English Poetry , the first of the great ballad collections, which was the one work most responsible for the ballad revival in...

 to the see of Dromore.

He died at Parson's Green on 20 November 1791, and was buried in Fulham Church.

Works

His works are:

• 'Florio; or the Pursuit of Happiness,' a drama, manuscript.
• A manuscript poem on 'Dreams'.
• 'The Loves of Medea and Jason; a poem in three books translated from the Greek of Apollonius Rhodius
  Apollonius of Rhodes
  Apollonius Rhodius, also known as Apollonius of Rhodes , early 3rd century BCE – after 246 BCE, was a poet, and a librarian at the Library of Alexandria...
  
  's Argonautics,' London, 1771; 2nd edit. 1772.
• 'Poems,' London, 1810, pp. 134, including the preceding work and a number of 'Miscellaneous Pieces.' Only sixty copies were printed of this collection.

Family

He married in 1766 Anne, daughter of Philip Baker of Colston

Colston

Colston is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde. Colston is on the northern edge of Glasgow, surrounded by the areas of Springburn and Milton and the town of Bishopbriggs to the north...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, and sister of the wife of his brother, John Ekins, dean of Salisbury. Admiral Sir Charles Ekins was their son.