John Foster (essayist)
John Foster (1770–1843) was an English
The son of a
Life
He was the eldest son of John Foster, a small farmer, weaver and Baptist, living at Wadsworth Lane in the parish of Halifax, Yorkshire, born 17 September 1770. From a young age he assisted his parents in spinning and weaving wool. At age 17 he became a member of the Baptist congregation at Hebden Bridge; and soon after was "set apart" as minister by a special religious service, and went to reside at Brearley Hall with John Fawcett, who was directing the studies of some Baptist students. After three years here he entered the Baptist College, Bristol, in September 1791, remaining there till May 1792, and then entering on the regular work of a preacher.[1]
Foster first took charge of a small Baptist society at
In February 1796, Foster returned once more to Wadsworth Lane, and remained there until early in 1797 he became minister of a
In summer 1806, Foster resigned the charge of the Sheppard's Barton congregation, troubled with a
Foster became involved in a controversy between the
Publications
- Life and Correspondence, edited by Ryland (London, 1846; republished in Bohn's Library, 1852)
Foster's Essays were published in 1805. They originated in conversations with Maria Snooke, whom he had first met at Battersea, and who later became his wife, and were addressed to her. An introductory letter, dated "Near Bristol, 30 Aug. 1804", mentions reasons for writing them. The book contained four essays: "On a Man's Writing Memoirs of Himself", "On Decision of Character", "On the Application of the Epithet Romantic", and "On Some of the Causes by which Evangelical Religion has been rendered less acceptable to Persons of Cultivated Taste". In about four months a second edition was called for, and a third was published in 1806.[1]
Foster became a regular contributor to the Eclectic Review, his first article, a review of
In 1818, while at Downend, Foster published his Discourse on Missions. Two volumes of his Broadmead Chapel lectures were published. In 1820, he published his essay On the Evils of Popular Ignorance, based on a sermon preached on behalf of the British and Foreign School Society in 1818. It speedily went into a second edition, heavily revised. In 1825 he completed an introductory essay to Philip Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion for the series of Select Christian Authors published by William Collins of Glasgow. The period of the missionary controversy brought Introductory Observations to Dr. Marshman's Statement (London, 1828).[1]
Family
Foster married Maria Snooke in 1808. His only son died, after a lingering illness, in 1826. His wife fell into consumption, and after years of declining health died in 1832.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 20. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1899). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 59. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). "Foster, John (1770-1843)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 20. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Further reading
- ISBN 1-152-41551-4.
External links
- Works by John Foster at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about John Foster at Internet Archive
- GoogleMap Location of his birthplace in Hebden Bridge.
- His birthplace in Hebden Bridge, near Halifax, West Yorkshire is a listed building.[1]