Jonathan Backhouse (19 January 1779 – 7 October 1842) was a third generation banker from

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. He is known for financing the Stockton to Darlington Railway. He was married to the Quaker preacher Hannah Chapman Backhouse.

Biography

Backhouse was the son of Jonathan Backhouse (1747–1826) and his wife Ann (1746–1826) daughter of Edward Pease (1711–1785) of Darlington. After his father died, Backhouse took over what was to become

Backhouse's Bank Backhouse's Bank of Darlington (James & Jonathan Backhouse and Co., from 1798 Jonathan Backhouse and Co.) was founded in 1774 by James Backhouse (1720-1798), a wealthy Quaker flax dresser and linen manufacturer, and his sons Jonathan (1747-1826) an ...

. In 1811 he married Hannah Chapman GurneyW.H.Auden Family Ghosts
, Stanford University, accessed January 2010 who had connection to several important Quaker families. Backhouse was involved with financing the

Stockton and Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...

. He raised £125,000. Twenty thousand pounds were from his own resources and the largest contribution of £80,000 came from his Quaker banker contacts. A story is told that when the

Earl of Darlington Earl of Darlington is a title that has been created twice, each time in the Peerage of Great Britain. Baroness von Kielmansegg, half-sister of King George I, was made countess of Darlington in 1722. This creation was for life only, and so the t ...

's plot to bankrupt the Backhouse bank was discovered, Backhouse went to London to obtain gold to provide additional and urgent collateral. The plot was due to the Earl's anger that the new railway, financed by Backhouses's bank, was causing problems with the Earl's fox hunting. Backhouse was racing back to Darlington when he lost a wheel. It is said that he was able to continue the journey by moving the gold so that the chaise was still balanced and he was able to complete the journey with the wheel still missing. Backhouse gave up banking in 1833 in order that he could concentrate on his Quaker ministry. He went to America with his wife Hannah Chapman Backhouse. She toured and preached, but Backhouse had to return twice to the UK. Hannah travelled with Eliza MacBride (later Gurney) preaching in the southern states. She was shocked to see slave dealers travelling with their wares along the road. Hannah returned in 1835 and she would continue to preach in the UK for another ten years. In 1840, Backhouse is one of the leading people at the

World Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The excl ...

organised by

Joseph Sturge Joseph Sturge (2 August 1793 – 14 May 1859) was an English Quaker, abolitionist and activist. He founded the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (now Anti-Slavery International). He worked throughout his life in Radical political actions ...

and 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

in 1840. Backhouse is one of the larger figures on the left of the painting. He is shown supporting the chair of the star guest and speaker,

Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...

.The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840

Benjamin Robert Haydon Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactle ...

, 1841,

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

, London, NPG599, Given by

in 1880

Family

Backhouse and his wife Hannah Chapman had two daughters and four sons. The sons included Edmund Backhouse who took over the banking firm and was also an MP. Sir Jonathan Edmund Backhouse, 1st Baronet (15 November 1849 – 27 July 1918) was his grandson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backhouse, Jonathan, (1779-1842) 1779 births 1842 deaths Jonathan English abolitionists English bankers English Quakers People from Darlington Quaker abolitionists