Joseph Barker (11 May 1806 – 15 September 1875) was an English preacher, author, and controversialist. Of changeable views, he spent a period of his life in the United States, where he associated with leading abolitionists.
Early life
Barker was born 11 May 1806, at
Bramley, near
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, where his father was employed in the woollen manufacture. He was the fourth son of a family of eleven, and was engaged as a wool-spinner. His childhood was one of privation, and his education was chiefly at a Sunday school. His parents were
Wesleyan
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
s; he was enrolled a member of the community, in which he became an occasional preacher, and then a home missionary and exhorter. After about three years of probation and trial, he was a local preacher. He was then sent to a Methodist school at Leeds, kept by James Sigston.
Leaving the Wesleyan communion, Barker joined the ministry of the
Methodist New Connexion
The Methodist New Connexion, also known as Kilhamite Methodism, was a Protestant nonconformist church. It was formed in 1797 by secession from the Wesleyan Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church and the United Methodist F ...
. In this body he officiated for a year, 1828–9, as assistant to the superintendent of the
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
circuit, which he left with a recommendation to go out as a travelling preacher, on trial. Barker was appointed successively to the
Hanley
Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.
Hanley is the ''de facto'' city centre, having long been the ...
circuit 1829–30, and to the
Halifax circuit 1830–1. At Halifax, contrary to the rule for preachers of his standing, he married a Miss Salt, of
Betley
Betley is a village and civil parish in the Newcastle district of Staffordshire, England, about halfway between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Nantwich. Betley forms a continual linear settlement with Wrinehill.
SchoolBetley School Transport
Betley l ...
, in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, and was sentenced by the next conference to lose a year of his probation. He went on to
Blyth, in the
Newcastle-on-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...
circuit, 1831–2, a disciplinary migration; and to the
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
circuit for six months, 1832–3, with residence at
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
. Popular if accused of heretical views, he was in 1833 admitted into 'full connexion,' and appointed, by an innovation, the third married preacher at
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, 1833–5. While at Sheffield and afterwards in the
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
circuit, 1835–7, Barker strongly advocated
teetotalism
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 i ...
. From 1837 to 1840 he conducted a weekly periodical called ''The Evangelical Reformer''. At the conference of 1839 he was moved from
Mossley
Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester.
The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire ...
to
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
, a comparatively new circuit, and there denounced socialism.
Barker was expelled from the Methodist New Connexion, at the conference which met at Halifax in 1841, on the grounds that he "had denied the divine appointment of baptism, and refused to administer the ordinance". After his expulsion, which was followed by a loss to the Connexion estimated at "29 societies and 4,348 members", Barker became the pastor of a church in
Newcastle-on-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...
, which had, like himself, left the Methodist New Connexion. Here it was Barker's custom to deliver daily lectures, followed by free discussions. He became a printer, and in addition to other publications began to issue a periodical called ''The Christian''; his adherents were known as Barkerites. At this period he held a ten nights' discussion with the Methodist Rev. William Cooke.
1845–1860
Barker, whose views were constantly changing, for a time inclined to
Quakerism, and afterwards to
Unitarianism
Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...
. In 1845 he preached in Unitarian chapels, in London and elsewhere. The Unitarians enabled him to start a printing establishment on a larger scale at
Wortley, a suburb of Leeds, where, on 6 July 1846, a steam printing-press, which had been provided at a cost of some £600l., was publicly presented to him by Dr.
John Bowring
Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...
. Some months previously Barker had issued a ''Proposal for a new library of three hundred volumes, the cheapest collection of works ever published.'' He now issued week by week a series of cheap books, theological, philosophical, ethical, and otherwise, under the title of the "Barker Library". Here also he published anonymously an autobiographical work, ''The History and Confessions of a Man, as put forth by himself'', Wortley, 1846; which was substantially reproduced in ''Barker's Review'', 1861–3, as ''The Life of a Man'', and in the posthumously published ''Life of Joseph Barker, written by himself'', London, 1880.
In 1846 Barker went into politics, advocating
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
for England, repeal for Ireland, which he had visited in June and July 1845, and the
nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of the land. He started a weekly periodical called ''The People'' to propagate his opinions, which reached a circulation of over 20,000. In 1847, in the course of which year he made a six months' tour in America, he foretold, in his ''Companion to the Almanac'', the French revolution of 1848. Barker threw himself into the
Chartist agitation which followed, as the advocate of "peaceful legal measures". After the summer assizes in 1848, the judge at Liverpool issued bench warrants for the arrest of a number of political agitators, including Barker. He was arrested about six weeks later, and taken to the city gaol at
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 ...
. He was detained until four o'clock on the next day, when the magistrates took bail; and Barker went to
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
, where he had been the same day elected M.P. for the borough by a large majority, though he never sat in parliament.
Whilst still waiting for trial at the Liverpool winter assizes, Barker was elected a member of the town council of Leeds. At the assizes the attorney-general at the last moment entered a ''
'', and Barker was set free. His views were now something like
deism
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning "god") is the Philosophy, philosophical position and Rationalism, rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that Empirical evi ...
. In 1851 he moved with his family to
Central Ohio
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, and Union. The population of the MSA is 2,078,72 ...
. In the United States he joined the anti-slavery party, and associated with
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
,
Wendell Phillips Garrison
Wendell Phillips Garrison (June 4, 1840 – February 27, 1907) was an American editor and author.
Early life
Garrison was born on June 4, 1840 at Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. He was the third son of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison ...
,
Henry C. Wright
Henry Clarke Wright (August 29, 1797 – August 16, 1870) was an American abolitionist, pacifist, anarchist and feminist, for over two decades a controversial figure.
Early life
Clarke was born in Sharon, Connecticut, to father Seth Wright, a ...
, and other leading
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
s.
From Wright he accepted the principle of
nonresistance Nonresistance (or non-resistance) is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of pri ...
.
Barker settled in
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
, where he purchased a large tract of land at a low price. In the summer of 1857, he began a long lecture tour. In
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
he fulfilled an engagement of eight months, during which he lectured every Sunday. After spending a few weeks with his family in Nebraska, he returned to Philadelphia in August 1858, to undertake another eight months' course of lectures. Barker sailed from Boston 11 January 1860, for England, and having landed at Liverpool proceeded to
Betley
Betley is a village and civil parish in the Newcastle district of Staffordshire, England, about halfway between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Nantwich. Betley forms a continual linear settlement with Wrinehill.
SchoolBetley School Transport
Betley l ...
, in Staffordshire, the native place of his wife. His wife and children followed in August of the same year, and found him already engaged in
secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
propaganda as one of the editors of the ''
National Reformer
The ''National Reformer'' was a secularist weekly publication in 19th-century Britain (1860-1893), noted for providing a longstanding "strong, radical voice" in its time, advocating atheism. Under the editorship of Charles Bradlaugh for the major ...
'', a position which, however, he then vacated in disgust.
Later life
On a re-examination of the Bible, Barker then began to retrace his steps towards orthodoxy, and to doubt "the beneficent tendency of infidelity". The process of return is documented in ''Barker's Review of Politics, Literature, Religion, and Morals, and Journal of Education, Science, and Co-operation'', a publication he started on Saturday, 7 September 1861, after he had abandoned what he called the "unbounded license party". In 1862 he became lecturer to a congregation of an eclectic kind of 'unbelievers' at
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, where he lived and laboured for more than a year, enforcing precepts of morality, and often taking occasion to speak favourably of the Bible and Christianity. He was formally reconciled to his old religious belief, and afterwards preached, at their invitation, to the Methodist reformers of
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
. After accepting invitations from the
Primitive Methodists
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
of
Bilston
Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...
and
Tunstall, he joined their community as a local preacher, and held the office until 1868.
Barker was in bad health, and the death of his wife at
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
about this time, affected him greatly. He returned to America and stayed for a short time at
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, where his estate had become a valuable property; then went east, and made Philadelphia his headquarters. He printed books and tracts in defence of the Christian religion. After spending the winter of 1874–5 at Boston, he slowly travelled back to Omaha in the following spring, resting with friends at New York and Philadelphia on his way. He died at Omaha on 15 September 1875, and was buried there. A few days before his death he declared that he "died in the full and firm belief of Jesus Christ, and in the faith and love of His religion as revealed in His life and works, as described in the New Testament."
Works
Other writings by Barker were his ''Christianity Triumphant'', Wortley, 1846; ''The Life of William Penn, the celebrated Quaker and Founder of Pennsylvania'', London and Wortley, 1847, the second volume of the Barker Library; ''Lectures on the Church of England Prayer-book'', Wortley, 1847; ''Confessions of Joseph Barker, a Convert from Christianity'', London, 1858, a letter addressed to
George Jacob Holyoake
George Jacob Holyoake (13 April 1817 – 22 January 1906) was an English secularist, co-operator and newspaper editor. He coined the terms secularism in 1851 and "jingoism" in 1878. He edited a secularist paper, the ''Reasoner'', from 1846 to J ...
, from Omaha city, Nebraska, 22 July 1858, and reprinted from ''
The Reasoner
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
''; and the ''Life of Joseph Barker, written by himself'', 1880, the autobiographical portion of which was brought down to the year 1868, with later details, and commentaries, supplied by Joseph Barker, junior, and J. T. Barker, the editor of the volume.
References
*
Notes
External links
*
*
''Mount Zion Chapel Halifax''Peter L. Embley, ''The Origins and Early Development of the Plymouth Brethren'' (PDF) documents Barker and his "Christian Brethren"
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Joseph
1806 births
1875 deaths
19th-century American journalists
19th-century British journalists
American abolitionists
American male journalists
American political journalists
American temperance activists
Chartists
English abolitionists
English emigrants to the United States
English male journalists
English Methodist ministers
English political journalists
English temperance activists
Methodist abolitionists
People from Bramley, Leeds