James Young Simpson (minister)

[7] Simpson's stay in Strathalbyn culminated in the erection of a new chapel and his marriage to the only daughter of Captain R. M. Phillips, of Clapton Park, London.

[10] At the 1881 conference he was given the Norwood church and in 1883 appointed Secretary and Convener of the Probationers' Examination Committee; he returned to the Mount Gambier circuit as a deputy for the British and Foreign Bible Society.

At the 1884 conference he was, by an overwhelming vote, elected Secretary and given charge of the Draper Memorial church in the city.

At the end of his three-year appointment he requested a return to South Australia in the hope it would benefit his wife's deteriorating health.

This was around the time of Methodist Union which entailed rationalizing of redundant assets of the Wesleyan and Bible Christian churches, and many hard decisions had to be made and implemented.

In August 1898 his case became so serious he was unable to perform his usual duties, and despite an apparent rallying, he died suddenly and unexpectedly on the evening of 10 September 1898.