Francis Cowley Whitehouse (abt. 1864 - 1946)

Born about 1864 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Florence Philippa (Whittall) Whitehouse — married 11 Dec 1897 in Constantinople, (Istanbul)Turkey

Descendants

Died 24 Mar 1946 at about age 82 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa

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Biography

Canon Francis Cowley Whitehouse: He was born in Pinner, Middlesex, England in 1864 and was the son of Millicent and Alfred Whitehouse.

He entered Cambridge University in 1884 and obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1886. He was ordained a deacon in London in 1887, serving at the Church of St Stephen the Martyr at St Johns Wood in London between 1887 and 1889. He obtained a Master of Arts from Cambridge in 1891 and served at the Church of Hove from 1891 - 1896.

Fr Whitehouse was sent to Turkey by his diocese in 1896 and served in Kadikoy, Constantinople from 1896 - 1905. He was a prominent member of the Anglo Levantine community in Constantinople (Istanbule), where he helped organize pantomimes which were covered in the British society magazine The Sketch in 1903.

He became Clerk in Holy Order, Chaplain to the British Embassy, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey in 1905, serving until 1914/1915. He married Florence Philippa Whittall of the prominent Levantine family, in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1907 and they had 4 children.

Whitehouse wrote a book titled "Allah the Avenger" first published in London in 1910. ^[1] and became Canon of Gibraltar, serving St Paul's Collegiate Church, Valetta, Malta from 1911.

He became a member of the Royal Army Chaplains Division when the First World War broke out in 1914, serving until 1922. He was a TCF (temporary chaplain to the forces) from 1916 - 1918/1919. ^{[2] [3]}.

Canon Whitehouse is reputed to have became tutor to AbdulMejit II shortly after the end of the First World War. Abdul Mejit II would have been about 50 years old at the time and was the last Caliph of Islam, and nominally the 37th Head of the Ottoman Imperial House from 1922 to 1924. He was confined to the palace until the age of 40 and was elected Caliph by the Turkish National Assembly at Ankara in 1922 when he was 54. When Turkey became a Republic 2 years later, the Caliphate was abolished and the Royal Dynasty was expelled from the country. ^[4]

Canon Whitehouse returned to his role as Canon at Kadikoy, Istanbule between 1928 and 1940. He went to South Africa at some time after this and died in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, aged 81 in 1946.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/ALLAH-AVENGER-WHITEHOUSE-Cowley-Canon-Francis/8217667328/bd
2. ↑ https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30837/supplement/9419/data.pdf
3. ↑ http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1162231?descriptiontype=Full&ref=WO+339/108410
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdulmejid_II

• The Genealogy of the Whittall Family of Turkey, by Betty and Paul McKernan, November 1996.
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129031996
• http://www.levantineheritage.com/constantinople-pantomime.html
• England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRF2-RNV : 11 December 2017), Alfred Whitehouse, 1871.
• http://www.levantineheritage.com/note99.htm
• Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 published Ancestry.com 1999.
• http://www.levantineheritage.com/note99.htm