Edward Backhouse (1808–1879) was a Quaker philanthropist and writer on

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

. He was also one of the founding fathers of the ''

Sunderland Echo The ''Sunderland Echo'' is a daily newspaper serving the Sunderland, South Tyneside and East Durham areas of North East England. The newspaper was founded by Samuel Storey, Edward Backhouse, Edward Temperley Gourley, Charles Palmer, Richar ...

'' newspaper. He was recognised as having the gift of vocal

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

in 1854.

Early life

Edward Backhouse was born in Darlington on 8 May 1808, the son of Mary and Edward Backhouse of Darlington. When Edward senior moved to Sunderland in 1816, his family traveled with him. Edward junior remained in Sunderland until just before his death.Sunderland Daily Echo: May 29, 1879

Working life

Backhouse became a partner in the family banking firm of Backhouse & Co, but did not take an active part in the business. Instead, he engaged in many philanthropic activities and the concerns of the

Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

from 1854. He travelled in the ministry to France and Norway. In 1862 and 1863, he served as Clerk to the annual national gathering of Quakers known as

London Yearly Meeting The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, also known as the Britain Yearly Meeting (and, until 1995, the London Yearly Meeting), is a Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in England, Sc ...

. In Sunderland, he was active in establishing the ''Sunderland Indigent Sick Society'', the '' British School'' in Borough Road, Sunderland, and the old Athenaeum and Reformatories.Sunderland Daily Echo: May 28, 1879

Political life

Backhouse, who held

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political views, was a leading supporter of Sunderland Infirmary, and of temperance work. At the time of his death in 1879, he was President of the Sunderland

Temperance Society The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders empha ...

and treasurer of the

Bible Society A Bible society is a non-profit organization, usually nondenominational in makeup, devoted to translating, publishing, and distributing the Bible at affordable prices. In recent years they also are increasingly involved in advocating its credibi ...

. He was also a prominent opponent of the

Contagious Diseases Acts The Contagious Diseases Acts (CD Acts) were originally passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. 85), with alterations and additions made in 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 35) and 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 96). In 1862, a com ...

, serving as President of the Northern Counties Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. The political views of Backhouse were shared by

Samuel Storey Samuel Storey (1841–1925) was a British politician born in County Durham. He became a Member of Parliament for Sunderland and the main founder of the ''Sunderland Echo'' newspaper. Early life Samuel Storey was born in Sherburn, near Du ...

and other leading local politicians of the day. His political opinions eventually led Backhouse to become one of the original seven founders of the Radical-run Sunderland Echo in 1873.

Personal life

Backhouse married Katherine Mounsey in 1856. The couple had no children. He died in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, where he had gone for his health, on 22 May 1879. The work Backhouse carried out on church history was published posthumously.

Publications

*''Early Church History to the Death of Constantine'', edited and enlarged by

Charles Tylor Charles Tylor (2 November 1816 – 14 March 1902) was an English Quaker author. He was the founding editor of Quaker weekly publication, '' The Friend''.Society of Friends (1902). ''Extracts from the minutes and proceedings of the yearly meeting ...

(1884) (Available online ). *''Witnesses for Christ : and memorials of church life from the fourth to the thirteenth century : a sequel to "Early church history'' : in two volumes / by Edward Backhouse and Charles Tylor (1887) (Vol.1 is available online ). *''The Religious Society of Friends : the doctrines and practices in which they agree with their fellow-Christians, and those in which they differ'' / by Edward Backhouse. - London ; Sunderland : Kitto : William Henry Hills, (1870) (Available online ) *''Det religiose Vennernes Samfund : laerdomme og skikke, hvori de ere enige med deres Medkristne, og andre, hvori de ere forskjellige'' / af Edward Backhouse. - Stavanger : Paul T. Dreyer, (1871)

n Norwegian N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

*''Biographical memoirs : being a record of the Christian lives, experiences, and deaths of members of the religious Society of Friends, from its rise, to 1653'' / By Edward and Thomas J. Backhouse, and the late Thomas Mounsey. Vol. I. - London : W. & F. G. Cash, (1854) (available online ). *''Martyr scenes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries'' / designed and drawn by Edward Backhouse and

William Bell Scott William Bell Scott (1811–1890) was a Scottish artist in oils and watercolour and occasionally printmaking. He was also a poet and art teacher, and his posthumously published reminiscences give a chatty and often vivid picture of life in the ...

. - ill.. - (1888) p. 56 p.. - London : Hamilton, Adams & Co.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backhouse, Edward 1808 births 1879 deaths English Quakers Quaker ministers English philanthropists People from Darlington People from Sunderland Writers from Tyne and Wear 19th-century Quakers 19th-century English people 19th-century British philanthropists