John Carey (1800–1891): Presbyterian Minister, Businessman, and Eccentric Philanthropist

John Carey was born on 15 June 1800 in Duneane, near Toome in County Antrim, likely in the townland of Cloghogue. His parents, John and Margaret Carey, were not especially wealthy, though John would later claim distinguished lineage. He inherited property from his father in 1842, the same year two of his brothers died of fever.

Carey was educated locally and entered Belfast Academical Institution around the age of 20. In 1834, he was licensed as a Presbyterian minister by the Ballymena Presbytery and ordained on 2 April 1839 in Albany, County Tyrone. A year later, he moved to Brookvale, County Down. However, his ministerial career was short-lived: within two years, he was suspended for “prevarication” and alleged forgery. The suspension was upheld by the General Assembly, and Carey’s troubles deepened when he was accused of involvement in the attempted murder of Joseph Dickey, a minister and personal rival who was shot while praying in his pulpit in 1843. Though Carey’s alibi was unconvincing, no conviction followed.

Following this scandal, Carey left the ministry and turned to business. Settling at what he named 'Rarity Cottage' in Toome in 1850, he appeared to have considerable means and went on to increase his wealth significantly. He traded in flax, sold Lough Neagh sand, participated in the eel fisheries, and most lucratively, lent money at extremely high interest—charging a penny per shilling per day. While he claimed to be teaching moral lessons about the perils of usury, Carey amassed substantial property, owning around 400 acres in County Antrim by the 1870s.

Despite his reputation for miserliness, Carey was also a notable benefactor—especially to the Presbyterian Church. He supported missionary work in India, funded a church in Gujarat, and established both a studentship for aspiring missionaries and the Carey Lectureship, a respected annual series of theological talks.

Carey was also active in civic affairs. He advocated for drainage improvements in the Bann Valley and supported tenant rights. In 1869, after a liberal meeting was blocked by the local landlord, Lord O’Neill, Carey responded by constructing a vast public hall on the Londonderry side of Toome. He named it The Temple of Liberty, Learning, and Select Amusement—a lavish building with seating for 1,500, a 5,000-book library, a £600 pipe organ, and decorative busts.

His philanthropy extended to local needs as well: he built a school and water pump, and funded a clothing and blanket charity for the poor. Though often described as “peculiar and solitary”—particularly after Lord O’Neill successfully sued him for libel—Carey remained a well-known figure across Ulster.

He died unmarried on 23 August 1891, leaving no close relatives. His will and earlier trust deeds intended to pass his £10,000 estate to Presbyterian causes and charities, but legal disputes dragged on for years, diminishing the estate’s value. One flamboyant claimant, a Belfast carter named Frederick William Carey, asserted in 1898 that he was not only John Carey’s heir but also entitled to English peerages—sparking further contested claims and lawsuits.

Perhaps the most enduring symbol of Carey’s eccentric legacy is the grave monument he built for himself in 1860, over 30 years before his death. Located in Duneane graveyard, it features wrought-iron railings shaped like human arms and an inscription glorifying his ancestry and virtues, complete with a citation from Burke’s Landed Gentry.

In 1911, the Temple of Liberty was burned down—possibly by locals resentful of its new owner. Nevertheless, Carey’s influence lingered. In 1955, fulfilling a condition of his bequest, theologian J. M. Barkley gave a lecture amid the temple’s ruins to an unlikely audience: one man and a goat.