John Pye-Smith (25 May 1774 – 5 February 1851) was a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

minister, theologian and tutor, associated with reconciling geological sciences with the Bible, repealing the Corn Laws and

abolishing slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

. He was the author of many learned works.

Biography

The son of a

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

bookseller, Pye-Smith was surrounded by books in his youth and was practically

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodi ...

: he did take Latin lessons from Jehoiada Brewer. He became a Dissenting academic and author, and was the first Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

from a Nonconformist background. He was also elected a Fellow of the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

at a time when there was considerable debate about accepting the idea of geological time, and if so to find ways of reconciling this with the teachings of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. He was an advocate of

gap creationism Gap creationism (also known as ruin-restoration creationism, restoration creationism, or "the Gap Theory") is a form of creationism that posits that the six-'' yom'' creation period, as described in the Book of Genesis, involved six literal 24-h ...

. Throughout his life he worked for the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

. During the politically turbulent 1790s, Pye-Smith took over the editorship of the '' Sheffield Iris'', the leading abolitionist newspaper in the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

, during the imprisonment of its editor, his friend James Montgomery. In 1830 Pye-Smith took the Chair of the Board of Congregational Ministers when it passed an anti-slavery motion to secure support from all Congregational chapels across the country in petitioning parliament: "That we feel it to be a solemn duty to employ our influence with our congregations and the public, to promote petitions to both Houses of Parliament for the abolition of Colonial Slavery, and therefore pledge ourselves, and beg to recommend to our brethren throughout the kingdom to prepare from each congregation such petitions to parliament..." The Congregationalists' 1833 abolition lecture, "The Sinfulness of Colonial Slavery", was delivered at John Pye-Smith's Meeting House in Hackney by his former pupil, Robert Halley.

Work in education and theological training

A committee of Nonconformist merchants and ministers, including Pye-Smith, founded

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

.A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1
british-history.ac.uk for boys on 25 January 1807. Pye-Smith was the theological tutor at the

Dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, Protestants who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of educatio ...

known as

Homerton College Homerton College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of English Dissenters, Protestant dissente ...

near Hackney, London for forty-five years between 1805 and 1850. His pupils included Robert Halley, future Principal of

New College, London New College London (1850–1980) (sometimes known as New College, St John's Wood, or New College, Hampstead) was founded as a Congregationalist college in 1850. Predecessor institutions New College London came into being in 1850 by the amalgama ...

;

Samuel Dyer Samuel Dyer (, 20 February 1804 – 24 October 1843) was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China in the Congregationalist tradition who worked among the Chinese in Malaysia. He arrived in Penang in 1827. Dyer, his wife Maria, and t ...

, the missionary; and

William Johnson Fox William Johnson Fox (1 March 1786 – 3 June 1864) was an English Unitarian minister, politician, and political orator. Early life Fox was born at Uggeshall Farm, Wrentham, near Southwold, Suffolk on 1 March 1786. His parents were strict Calv ...

of the South Place Chapel, later the

South Place Ethical Society The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United King ...

. Pye-Smith was minister of the Old Gravel Pit Chapel in Chatham Place, Hackney for nearly as long, from 1811 to 1850.

Monument

John Pye Smith died in Hackney in 1851 and is buried below a marble chest tomb monument in Dr Watts' Walk, at the Congregationalists' non-denominational garden cemetery in the grounds of

Abney Park Abney Park is in Stoke Newington, London, England. It is a park dating from just before 1700, named after Lady Abney, the wife of Sir Thomas Abney, Lord Mayor of London in 1700 and one of the first directors of the Bank of England and associa ...

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. He was the grandfather of Philip Henry Pye-Smith.

Publications

*John Pye Smith
''The Scripture Testimony to the Messiah: An Inquiry, With a View to a Satisfactory Determination of the Doctrine Taught in the Holy Scriptures Concerning the Person of Christ''
at Google Books (full download), 3rd ed., 3 vols. London: Jackson and Walford, 1837 *John Pye Smith
''On the relation between the Holy Scriptures and some parts of geological science''
at Google Books (full download). London: Jackson and Walford, 1840 *John Pye Smith
''Four discourses on the sacrifice and priesthood of Jesus Christ, and the Atonement and Redemption thence accruing''
at Google Books (full download). London: Jackson and Walford, 1842

References

External links

*National Register of Archive
Smith, John Pye (1774–1851) Congregational Minister
*Probate at PC
Will of Reverend John Pye Smith, Doctor of Divinity of Saint John Hackney , Middlesex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pye-Smith, John 1774 births 1851 deaths British Christian creationists Clergy from Sheffield English Congregationalist ministers Calvinist pacifists Dissenting academy tutors English theologians English abolitionists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London Fellows of Homerton College, Cambridge 19th-century Congregationalist ministers Burials at Abney Park Cemetery People associated with Conway Hall Ethical Society English male non-fiction writers Congregationalist abolitionists