William Forster (23 March 1784 – 27 January 1854) was a preacher, Quaker elder and a fervent

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 ...

. He was an early member of the

British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1839. It was William and

Stephen Grellet Stephen Grellet (28 October 1772 – 16 November 1855) was a prominent French-American Quaker missionary. Life Grellet was born Étienne de Grellet du Mabillier in Limoges, France, the son of Antoine Gabriel Grellet, a counsellor of King Loui ...

who introduced

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

to her life's work with prisons, but it was William's brother,

Josiah Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...

, who accompanied Fry on her tour and inspection of prisons in France.

Biography

Forster was born in 1784. He initially trained as a land agent with his mother's brother in

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 ...

, but he then started to tour England and Scotland as a minister. He visited the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...

in 1812 and Ireland in 1813–14. When visiting

Newgate prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

with

, Forster was amazed at its state. He contacted

and she gathered together a group of women to help with improving prison conditions. Forster thereby alerted

to what was to be her life's work. In 1816, Forster married Anna Buxton and they moved to

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. When his brother-in-law, Sir

Thomas Fowell Buxton Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet (1 April 1786Olwyn Mary Blouet, "Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, first baronet (1786–1845)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online ed., May 201accessed 25 April 20 ...

, entered parliament in 1818, he wrote to him to encourage him to take up the cause of slavery. He noted that the slavery trade had been abolished (in 1807 in the British Empire) but there was still the issue of those who were already slaves.Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Baronet With Selections from His Correspondence
By Thomas Fowell Buxton, Charles Buxton, accessed 15 July 2008 Doctrinal differences within the Quakers were created by the views of

Elias Hicks Elias Hicks (March 19, 1748 – February 27, 1830) was a traveling Quaker minister from Long Island, New York. In his ministry he promoted unorthodox doctrines that led to controversy, which caused the second major schism within the Religious Soc ...

of New York. Forster highlighted the issue in 1820. Prominent English evangelical Quakers which included Elizabeth Robson, Forster and

Anna Braithwaite Anna Braithwaite (born Anna Lloyd; 27 December 1788 – 18 December 1859) was a prominent English Quaker minister. She visited the United States three times in an effort to avoid the schism created by the views of Elias Hicks. Life Anna Lloyd was ...

, decided to travel to the United States to denounce Hicks' views between 1821 and 1827. Meanwhile, following the

Reform Act In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

was able to get anti-slavery legislation through parliament. In 1838 legislation replaced slavery with apprenticeship. As a result, in August 1838 800,000 people in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

became nominally free.Slavery and Abolition

ODNB The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, accessed 10 July 2008 A picture was commissioned showing William Forster as a member of the new

which was formed in 1839 at an important international convention in June 1840. The small extract shown here includes only Samuel Gurney—a banker and fellow Quaker—Forster, and

William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...

. Also in this painting are William's brothers,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and

Josiah Forster Josiah Forster (1782 – 27 June 1870) was an English teacher and philanthropist. He was an early member of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. The difference developed over the ways that the society should support the abolition of slavery, which was still an important part of the American economy. A rival meeting house had been created and a new burial ground purchased which was separated from the older Quaker burial ground by a mere two feet of ground. Four delegates were sent from Britain: Forster, his brother Josiah, George Stacey (pictured above) and John Allen. The difference between the two groups was the level to which they should publicly oppose slavery. It was the group who most supported abolition that had created a minority group called the ''Abolition Friends''. The group did not manage to heal the divide immediately but it was resolved by 1848.The Anti-Slavery Friends in Salem, Iowa
Lewis D. Savage, accessed 16 July 2008 Forster and his wife visited France in July 1845 at the invitation of the French to try to establish links with the French abolitionists. They found activity in Paris, but were disappointed to find that there was little activity in the country in general.

Final journey

In 1849 the yearly meeting of the Quakers requested that Forster visit the rulers of the Christian nations. Forster visited many of the European rulers to forward the abolitionists' cause, but it was in 1853 that he and three others visited the American president,

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

, and journeyed to spread the message to the governors of the southern American states, eventually meeting thirteen of them. It was during this journey that Forster died and was buried in the Quaker town of Friendsville in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

(which was on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

). The Fireside poet,

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

, wrote a poem in William's memory; on Forster's first visit to America he had visited the home of Whittier's parents. William Forster, a poem by

accessed 14 July 2008 Forster's son

William Edward Forster William Edward Forster, PC, FRS (11 July 18185 April 1886) was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman. His supposed advocacy of the Irish Constabulary's use of lethal force against the National Land League earne ...

was an MP who campaigned for universal education.

Works

Memoirs of William Forster: In Two Volumes
William Forster, Benjamin Seebohn, 1865

References

Sources

Memoirs of the Life and Gospel Labours of Stephen Grellet
Stephen Grellet, 1862 {{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, William People from Tottenham 1784 births 1854 deaths English Quakers Philanthropists from London English abolitionists 19th-century English clergy 19th-century British philanthropists Quaker abolitionists