John Disney

John Disney (26 December 1677 - 3 February 1729/30) was an English clergyman. He was Vicar of Croft and Kirkby-on-Bain, Lincolnshire from 1719 to 1722, and Vicar of St. Mary's Church, Nottingham from 2 October 1722 to 1729/30. He was the first of four John Disneys; father of John Disney of Lincoln, grandfather of John Disney (Unitarian) (1746–1816), and great-grandfather of John Disney (1779–1857) the barrister and antiquarian. Life He was born in Lincoln, the son of Daniel Disney of Swinderby. He began his education at Lincoln Grammar School, but his parents were dissenters and he moved school to a private college, also in Lincoln. Despite his upbringing, he was confirmed in the Church of England, sometime before 1698. In May of that year, he married Mary Woodhouse. He entered the Middle Temple in order to study law, but with no intention of practising at the bar. He gained sufficient knowledge to act as a competent magistrate and more than once was publicly complimented by the judges of the circuit for being efficient and impartial. As a supporter of the Societies for the Reformation of Manners, he was working on a publication Corpus Legum de Moribus Reformandis shortly before his death.