Joseph Ivimey (1773–1834) was an English

Particular Baptist Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith w ...

minister and historian.

Life

He was the eldest of eight children of Charles Ivimey (died 24 October 1820), a tailor, by his wife Sarah Tilly (died 1830), and was born at Ringwood, Hampshire, on 22 May 1773. He was brought up under Arian influences, but became convinced by the

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

of the Particular Baptists. On 16 September 1790 he received

adult baptism Believer's baptism or adult baptism (occasionally called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of baptizing ...

from John Saffery at

Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

, Dorset. Ivimey became a tailor at

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

, Hampshire, where he moved on 4 June 1791. In April 1793 he sought employment in London; he finally left Lymington in 1794 for

Portsea, Hampshire Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...

. Here he became an itinerant preacher. Early in 1803 he was recognised as a minister, and settled as assistant to Robert Lovegrove at

Wallingford, Berkshire Wallingford () is a historic market town and civil parish located between Oxford and Reading on the River Thames in England. Although belonging to the historic county of Berkshire, it is within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire for admi ...

. He was chosen pastor of the Particular Baptist church, Eagle Street,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

in London, on 21 October 1804, and was ordained on 16 January 1805. From 1812 Ivimey acted on the committee of the Baptist Missionary Society. On 19 April 1814 the Baptist Society for Promoting the Gospel in Ireland was formed, and Ivimey was the first secretary (an honorary office); he visited Ireland in May 1814, and retained the secretaryship till 3 October 1833. In 1817, and again in 1819, he made missionary journeys to the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. At Portsea, on 18 August 1820, his father and mother received adult baptism at his hands. His strictness caused in 1827 a secession of fifty or sixty members from his church. Ivimey opposed

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

and the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, and at length separated himself from the "three denominations" after their meeting at Dr. Williams's Library on 20 January 1829, to promote emancipation. He advocated the abolition of colonial slavery; and, to commemorate the abolition, saw foundation-stones of Sunday-school premises and almshouses connected with Eagle Street Church laid on 12 November 1833. Ivimey died on 8 February 1834, and was buried on 15 February at Bunhill Fields. A tablet to his memory was placed in the boys' schoolroom at Eagle Street.

Works

Ivimey was a prolific writer. His ''History of the English Baptists'' was projected in 1809, primarily with a biographical aim. The work swelled to four volumes (1811–30). George Gould criticised its accuracy, except where Ivimey followed Thomas Crosby. Other publications were: * ''The History of Hannah'', 1808. * ''A Brief Sketch of the History of Dissenters'', 1810. * ''A Plea for the Protestant Canon of Scripture'', 1825. * ''The Life of Mr. John Bunyan'', 1825. * ''Communion at the Lord's Table'', 1826 (against

open communion Open communion is the practice of some Protestant Churches of allowing members and non-members to receive the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper). Many but not all churches that practice open communion require that the ...

, in reply to Robert Hall). * ''Pilgrims of the Nineteenth Century'', 1827, intended as a continuation of Bunyan's ''

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christianity, Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a prog ...

''. * ''Letters on the Serampore Controversy'', 1831. * ''The Triumph of the Bible in Ireland'', 1832. * ''The utter Extinction of Slavery'', 1832. His ''John Milton; his Life and Times'', 1833 was announced as a corrective to previous opinions. It was republished in America, and formed part of an influential trend. From the 1820s onwards biographers of Milton took him as an advocate of the views of the English Dissenters, and so as a Whig. Other related biographies were those by William Carpenter, Cyrus Edmonds and

Edwin Paxton Hood Edwin Paxton Hood (1820–1885) was an English nonconformist, writer, biographer and author. Life Hood was born in Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, Westminster, London, on 24 October 1820, and baptised 6 May 1821 at St. George's Church, Hanover ...

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

's view of Milton matched quite closely what he read in Ivimey, as well as American patriotic comment of the time. In writing a lecture of 1835 on Milton, Emerson drew closely on Ivimey and the biography by

Charles Symmons Charles Symmons (1749 – 27 April 1826) was a Welsh poet and priest. Life Symmons was the younger son of John Symmons, the MP for Cardigan. He was born in Cardigan in 1749 and educated at Westminster School, joining the school in 1765; he w ...

. Ivimey's Appendix of ''Animadversions'' on Samuel Johnson's view of Milton ended by calling him "the contracted Tory pensioner, dictionary compiler, high-church bigot, and semi-popish reviler".Joseph Ivimey, ''John Milton: his life and times, religious and political opinions. With an appendix, containing animadversions upon Dr. Johnson's Life of Milton, etc., etc.'' (1833) p. 382
archive.org.
/ref> Ivimey wrote also many single sermons and tracts, including funeral sermons for William Button and Daniel Humphrey (both 1821); memoirs of Caleb Vernon (1811), William Fox of the Sunday School Society (1831), and

William Kiffin William Kiffin (1616–1701), sometimes spelled William Kiffen, was a seventeenth-century English Baptist minister. He was also a successful merchant in the woollen trade. Life He was born in London early in 1616. His family appears to have bee ...

(1833); and anti-papal pamphlets (1819, 1828, 1829). He contributed to the ''Baptist Magazine'' from 1809, generally as "Iota"; from 1812 he was one of the editors. He edited, among other works, the 4th edition, 1827, of ''Persecution for Religion'', by

Thomas Helwys Thomas Helwys (c. 1575 – c. 1616), an English minister, was one of the joint founders, with John Smyth, of the General Baptist denomination. In the early seventeenth century, Helwys was principal formulator of demand that the church and t ...

, originally published 1615; Bunyan's ''Pilgrim's Progress'' with notes, 1821, and the 1692 ''Life'' of

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

, 1832.

Family

Ivimey married, first, on 7 July 1795, Sarah Bramble (died 1806), by whom he had two sons and four daughters: a son and daughter survived him; secondly, on 7 January 1808, Anne Price (died 2 January 1820), a widow (whose maiden name was Spence) with three children; by her he had no issue. His nephew Joseph Ivimey (1845–1897) was the father of

John Ivimey John William Ivimey (12 September 1868 – 16 April 1961) was an English organist and composer who specialized in comic operas. He also worked as director of music in schools and churches. Ivimey was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music by the ...

(1868–1961) an organist and composer.

Notes

External links

Online Books page
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivimey, Joseph 1773 births 1834 deaths English Baptists English biographers Burials at Bunhill Fields English male non-fiction writers