Stephen Addington

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

(9 June 1729, in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

– 6 February 1796, in

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in central London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. Both are ...

) was a scholarly English dissenting clergyman and teacher.

Life

He was born at

, June 9, 1729, and was educated under Dr. Philip Doddridge, whose manner in the pulpit he closely followed for many years. After being admitted to preach, he removed in 1750, to

Spaldwick Spaldwick is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Spaldwick lies approximately west of Huntingdon, near Catworth. Spaldwick is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as ...

in Huntingdonshire; where, in 1752, he married Miss Reymes of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, a lady who died in 1811, at an advanced age. A few weeks after his marriage, he was called to be minister of a congregation of dissenters at Market Harborough,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. His receiving this appointment was owing to a singular occurrence in the history of popular elections. Two candidates had appeared who divided the congregation so equally that a compromise was impossible, unless by each party giving up their favourite, and electing a third candidate, if one could be found agreeable to all. At this crisis Mr. Addington was recommended, and unanimously chosen. In this place he remained about thirty years, and became highly popular to his increasing congregation by the pious discharge of his pastoral duties, and by his conciliatory manners. In 1758 he opened his house for the reception of pupils to fill up a vacancy in the neighbourhood of Harborough, occasioned by

John Aikin John Aikin (15 January 1747 – 7 December 1822) was an English medical doctor and surgeon. Later in life he devoted himself wholly to biography and writing in periodicals. Life He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son o ...

's move to Warrington Academy. This scheme succeeded; and for many years he devoted nine hours each day to the instruction of his pupils, and compiled books for their improvement. At length, in 1781 he received an invitation to become pastor of the congregation in Miles's-lane, Cannon Street; and soon after his removal there was chosen tutor of a new dissenting academy at Mile End, where he resided until his growing infirmities, occasioned by several paralytic strokes, obliged him to relinquish the charge. He continued, however, in the care of his congregation till within a few months of his decease, when, from the same cause, he was compelled to discontinue his public services. He died Feb. 6, 1796, at his house in the

. In London he was neither so successful or popular as in the country; and his quitting Harborough after so long a residence appears to have displeased his friends, without adding to his usefulness among his new connections.

Works

His textbooks and other writings include the following. *''A system of Arithmetic'', 2 vols. 8vo. *''The Rudiments of the Greek tongue'', 1761, 12mo. *''Eusebes to Philetus; or Letters from a Father to his Son, on a devout temper and life'', 1761, 12mo. *''Maxims religious and prudential, with a Sermon to young People'', 12mo. *''The Youth's Geographical Grammar'', 1770, 8vo. *''Dissertation on the religious knowledge of the ancient Jews and Patriarchs; to which is annexed a specimen of a Greek and English Concordance'', 1757, 4to; which he had a design of completing, if his health and time had permitted. He published also, partly in the country, and partly in London, some occasional funeral and other sermons; two tracts on infant

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

; a collection of psalm tunes, and another of anthems; and his most popular work, ''The Life of St. Paul the Apostle'', 1784, 8vo.

Sources

#Chalmers, Alexander. ''The General Biographical Dictionary: Containing an Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the most Eminent Persons in Every Nation; Particularly the British and Irish; from the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time''. new ed. rev. and enl. London: Nichols t al. 1812-1817. 32 vols.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Addington, Stephen 1729 births 1796 deaths Clergy from Northampton English Christian religious leaders Dissenting academy tutors English non-fiction writers Schoolteachers from Northamptonshire 18th-century Christian clergy Burials at Bunhill Fields English male non-fiction writers