Edwin Paxton Hood (1820–1885) was an English nonconformist, writer, biographer and author.

Life

Hood was born in Half Moon Street,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, London, on 24 October 1820, and baptised 6 May 1821 at St. George's Church, Hanover Square, the son of Thomas Hood, a servant, and Martha his wife. His father had been a seaman in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

serving under Nelson in

HMS Temeraire Six ships and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been called HMS ''Temeraire''. The name entered the navy with the capture of the first ''Temeraire'' (French for "reckless") from the French in 1759: * was a 74-gun third-rate ship of ...

. Losing both parents before he was seven years old, he was brought up at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

by a heraldic painter named Simpson. Hood began to lecture on

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

and peace about 1840, and in 1852 entered the congregational ministry. His first charge was at

North Nibley North Nibley is a village in Gloucestershire, England about northwest of Wotton-under-Edge. Name The village is commonly known as ''Nibley'', but the official name distinguishes it from the village of Nibley, just outside Yate, about away in ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. In 1857 he moved to Offord Road,

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. From 1862 to 1873 he officiated at Queen Street,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. He then returned to Offord Road, and later moved to Cavendish Street,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, but resigned his charge in 1880 after political differences with his congregation: he was a strong liberal. After a brief visit to America, he became the pastor of Falcon Square Church,

Aldersgate Street Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denot ...

in London. He married firstly 5 Oct 1847 at the Salem Chapel,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, Jane (died 1 Aug 1851 at Fulford, near York, aged 26, and buried 5 Aug at York Cemetery), the daughter of William Wagstaff of the Bleach Works, Heslingdon, near York. He married secondly 3 Feb 1853 at St. Stephen's Church,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, Elizabeth Atkin (died 14 May 1855), daughter of Samuel Bishop Barnby of Hull,

, jeweller.''The York Herald and General Advertiser'' 12 Feb 1853, p. 3 In 1857 he married his third wife, Lavinia, the daughter of the Rev. Samuel Oughton of

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. Hood died suddenly at Paris on 12 June 1885.

Legacy

Hood took much interest in the Royal Hospital for Incurables, for which he raised £2,000 by a pamphlet entitled ''The Palace of Pain'', London, 1885. After his death a further sum of £525 was raised by public subscription, and given by his widow to the hospital, one of the wards of which was named after Hood.

Works

Hood became editor of the ''

Eclectic and Congregational Review ''The Eclectic Review'' was a British periodical published monthly during the first half of the 19th century aimed at highly literate readers of all classes. Published between 1805 and 1868, it reviewed books in many fields, including literature, h ...

'' in 1861 until its final issue in 1868, and later of ''

The Argonaut ''The Argonaut'' was a newspaper based in San Francisco, California from 1878 to 1956. It was founded by Frank Somers, and soon taken over by Frank M. Pixley, who built it into a highly regarded publication. Under Pixley's stewardship it was c ...

''. He was throughout life a prolific writer of popular books, among them biographies of the nonconformists

Thomas Binney Thomas Binney (1798–1874) was an English Congregationalist divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the "Archbishop of Nonconformity". He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Nonconformity, for devotional ...

Christmas Evans Christmas Evans (25 December 1766 – 19 July 1838) was a Welsh Nonconformist (Protestantism), nonconformist minister, described as "the greatest preacher that the Baptists have ever had in Great Britain." Life Evans was born near the village o ...

, and Robert Hall. His main works were: * ‘The Age and its Architects: ten chapters on the English People in relation to the Times,’ London, 1850; 2nd edit. 1852. * ‘Self-Education: twelve chapters for Young Thinkers,’ London, 1851, reissued as ‘Self-Formation,’ 3rd edit. 1858, new ed. 1865. * ‘Old England: Historic Pictures of Life in Old Castles, Forests, Abbeys, and Cities,’ &c., London, 1851. * ‘Dream Land and Ghost Land: Visits and Wanderings there in the Nineteenth Century,’ London, 1852. * ‘John Milton: the Patriot and Poet,’ London, 1852. * ‘The Uses of Biography,’ London, 1852. * ‘Andrew Marvell: the Wit, Statesman, and Poet: his Life and Writings,’ London, 1853. * ‘Swedenborg: a Biography and an Exposition,’ London, 1854. * ‘The Last of the Saxons: Light and Fire from the Writings of William Cobbett,’ London, 1854 (a volume of selections). * ‘William Wordsworth: a Biography,’ London, 1856. * ‘The Peerage of Poverty; or Learners and Workers in Fields, Farms, and Factories,’ 1st ser. 3rd edit. London, 1859,; 2nd ser. 1861, 5th edit. enlarged, 1870. * ‘Thomas Binney: his Mind, Life, and Opinions,’ London, 1874. * ‘Isaac Watts: his Life and Writings, his Homes and Friends,’ London, 1875. * ‘Thomas Carlyle: Philosophic Thinker, Theologian, Historian, and Poet,’ London, 1875. * ‘Vignettes of the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century’ (reprinted from '' Sunday at Home''), London, 1880; 2nd edit. 1887. * ‘Christmas Evans, the Preacher of Wild Wales: his Country, his Times, and his Contemporaries,’ London, 1881; 3rd edit. 1888. * ‘Robert Hall,’ London, 1881. * ‘Oliver Cromwell: his Life, Times, Battlefields, and Contemporaries,’ London, 1882; 2nd edit. 1884. * ‘Scottish Characteristics,’ London, 1883. * ‘The Throne of Eloquence: great Preachers, Ancient and Modern,’ London, 1885. * ‘The Vocation of the Preacher,’ London, 1886.

References

;Attribution

External links

* *
hymntime.com, ''Edwin Paxton Hood''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hood, Edwin Paxton 1820 births 1885 deaths English biographers English Congregationalists English temperance activists