Joseph Gurney Bevan (1753–1814) was a British

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

, known as a writer of

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

Life

The son of Timothy and Hannah Bevan, he was born in London on 18 February 1753. His father hired the English educator, historian, and Quaker Robert Proud to tutor him and his brother. His father gave him a share in his business of a chemist and druggist in Plough Court, Lombard Street. In 1784 his mother died. He retired from trade in 1794 with a loss of capital, having refused, from conscientious reasons, to supply armed vessels with drugs. He filled for many years the station of a Quaker elder. In 1796 he moved to

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington ...

. On a visit to friends in Scotland, in 1808, Bevan began to suffer from

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble wi ...

in his left eye, and two years later he was attacked by paralysis in his left side. His wife became unable to recognise her own husband. She died in 1813. Bevan at the end of his life had read to him selections from John Kendall's ''Collection of Letters'',

Thomas Ellwood Thomas Ellwood (October 1639 – 1 March 1714) was an English religious writer. He is remembered for his relationship with poet John Milton, and some of his writing has proved durable as well. Life Ellwood was born in the village of Crowell, Ox ...

's ''Journal'', and Mary Waring's ''Diary''; and spent most of his time in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Walthams ...

with family connections. On 12 September 1814 Bevan died, and was buried at the Quaker Burying Ground, Bunhill Fields.

Reputation

William Thomas Lowndes said that Bevan was the ablest of the Quaker apologists. William Orme found the ''Life of Paul'' insightful by the way of explanation of Quaker theology; and

Thomas Hartwell Horne Thomas Hartwell Horne (20 October 1780 – 27 January 1862) was an English theologian and librarian. Life He was born in London and educated at Christ's Hospital until he was 15 when his father died and he had to work. He then became a clerk ...

admired the geographical notes.

Works

It was in 1794 that Bevan began writing verse for an

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

published by James Phillips. He wrote biographical material on the Quaker figures

Robert Barclay Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...

James Nayler James Nayler (or Naylor; 1618–1660) was an English Quaker leader. He was among the members of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early Quaker preachers and missionaries. In 1656, Nayler achieved national notoriety when he re-enacted Christ's Palm ...

, Isaac Penington, and Sarah Stephenson. His major works are: * ''A Refutation of some of the more modern Misrepresentations of the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, with a life of James Nayler; also a Summary of the History, Doctrine, and Discipline of Friends'', 1800. This work addressed the writings of Mosheim, Formey,

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...

, and the editors of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'', who quoted from Charles Leslie and

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching ...

. * ''An Examination of the First Part of a Pamphlet, called An Appeal to the Society of Friends'', 1802. A reply to Thomas Foster, its intention was to show that early Quakers were not Unitarians. * ''A Short Account of the Life and Writings of Robert Barclay'', 1802. * ''Thoughts on Reason and Revelation, particularly the Revelation of the Scriptures'', 1805, 1828, 1853. This is a short work divided into sections on: reason, revelation in general, infidelity, scripture, faith, and experience. * ''Memoirs of the Life of Isaac Penington, to which is added a Review of his Writings'', 1807. * ''Memoirs of the Life and Travels in the service of the Gospel of Sarah Stephenson, chiefly from her own papers'', 1807. * ''The Life of the Apostle Paul as related in Scripture, but in which his epistles are inserted in that part of the history to which they are supposed respectively to belong; with select notes, critical, explanatory, and relating to persons and places'', 1807, and corrected and enlarged 1811 . * ''A Reply to so much of a Sermon published in the course of last year by Philip Dodd as relates to the well-known scruple of the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, against all Swearing'', 1808. Against Philip Stanhope Dodd. * ''Piety promoted in brief memorials and dying expressions of some of the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers; the tenth part, to which is prefixed an historical account of the precedmg parts of volumes, and of their several compilers and editors'', 2nd edition, 1811.

Family

In 1776 Bevan married Mary Plumstead, who also became a Quaker minister. They had no children.

References

Notes