John Ashworth (8 July 1813 – 26 January 1875) was an English

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

, and

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Early life

Ashworth was born on 8 July 1813 at the hamlet of Cutgate near

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, the eighth child of his parents, who were poor woollen weavers. He has himself told the story of his mother manufacturing a 'bishop' (

pinafore A pinafore (colloquially a pinny in British English) is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron. Pinafores may be worn as a decorative garment and as a protective apron. A related term is ''pinafore dress'' (known as a ''jumper'' in Ameri ...

) for him out of a pack-sheet, from which all her exertions could not wash away the indelible word 'Wool,' which therefore formed his breastplate. The poverty of the family was further embittered by the intemperance of the father, who, however, reformed later in life. The only education which John obtained was at a

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

Career

He married before he was twenty. The union was a happy one, but Ashworth and his first wife had years of struggle with poverty and care. His position somewhat improved, and in 1851, when visiting the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

, he formed the resolution of founding a chapel for the destitute in Rochdale, but the proposal was so much discouraged by his friends that he abandoned it for a time, and did not put it into execution until 1858, at which point he would found the non-conformist Chapel for the Destitute. As minister of this chapel Ashworth was brought into close contact with the poorest people of a great

factory town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World H ...

. He was a vigorous preacher of the orthodox type, and understanding the people's way of life, and speaking a language which they understood, he gathered a great congregation. He was a liberal in politics, a staunch

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

ler, and an uncompromising advocate for the

Maine Law The Maine Law (or "Maine Liquor Law"), passed on June 2, 1851 in Maine, was the first statutory implementation of the developing temperance movement in the United States. History Temperance activist Neal Dow helped craft the Maine liquor law whil ...

and the observance of the Sunday after a rigid puritanical fashion. He visited the

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and the

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, and for many years had a busy life as preacher, manufacturer,

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

, and author. Ashworth wrote ''Walks in Canaan'' and ''Back from Canaan'', and had begun an account of his ''Rambles in the New World'' he died; his chief work was ''Strange Tales'', followed after a time by another anthology, ''Simple Records''. These were printed as separate tracts, and have had a circulation in the millions. Some have been translated into Welsh, French, Dutch, Russian, and Spanish. Yet the publisher to whom the first one was offered only undertook to print it on being guaranteed from any risk. These narratives are interesting for the glimpses they give of the life of the poor of the manufacturing districts. They mostly relate incidents that had come to his knowledge during his work amongst the poor. The accuracy of one was challenged, but for most of them sufficient vouchers could be adduced. Ashworth's intimate knowledge of the class he describes makes his ''Strange Tales'' particularly valuable.

Death

Ashworth died on 26 January 1875, and was followed to his grave in the Rochdale cemetery by a procession of those amongst whom he had laboured.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, John 1813 births 1875 deaths People from Rochdale 19th-century English writers 19th-century English male writers