Josiah Forster
Encyclopedia
Josiah Forster was a teacher and philanthropist. He was an early member of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 and a supporter of the British and Foreign Bible Society
. Both he and his wife were senior figures in the British Quakers.
Forster started another school in 1805 in Southgate
that eventually moved to Tottenham
in 1820. He ran this school until 1826 when he decided to devote more time to his Quaker interests. His wife had already been made a minister in 1810, and shortly afterward he began sitting on Quaker committees; in 1817 he become an elder of the church. He campaigned for anti-slavery and worked for the British and Foreign Bible Society
. He held the senior position of clerk to the Annual meeting of British Quakers from 1820 to 1831.
In 1838, Forster accompanied Elizabeth Fry
on her tour and inspection of prisons in France.
Forster sat on a committee of Quaker elders in 1836-7 who unsuccessfully tried to heal a schism in the Quaker church caused by the Beaconite Controversy. The controversy was named after a book published in January 1835 called A Beacon to the Society of Friends which was written by Isaac Crewdson
, a leader to the Manchester Quaker meeting. The controversy, which related to evangelism in the society, eventually led to the resignation of Crewdson and about 300 similarly minded people across the country.
The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was mainly a Quaker society founded in the eighteenth century by Thomas Clarkson
. Slavery had in theory been made illegal in 1807 in the British Empire. Following the Reform Act
, William Wilberforce
was able to get legislation through parliament. In 1838 legislation freed the slaves who had been relabelled apprentices. As a result in August 1838 800,000 people in the British empire became free.
A picture was commissioned that showed the delegates, including Josiah Forster, of the new British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society which was formed in 1839. The painting captured this important international convention in June, 1840. The small extract shown here includes only Samuel Gurney
a banker and fellow Quaker, Forster, and William Allen
.. Also in this painting are Josiah's brothers, Robert and William Forster
, many significant figures and Isaac Crewdson. This new society's aim was "The universal extinction of slavery and the slave trade and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions and of all persons captured as slaves."
In 1842-3 a schism developed in the Society of Friends in Salum
in Iowa
. The difference developed over the ways that the society should support slavery, which was still an important part of the American economy. A rival meeting house had been created, and a separate burial ground which was separated from the older Quaker burial ground by a mere two feet of space. Four delegates were sent from Britain: Forster, his brother William, George Stacey
and John Allen. The group did not manage to heal the divide immediately but it was resolved by 1848.
In 1849 the yearly meeting of the Quakers requested that representatives be sent to the rulers of the Christian nations. Forster accompanied his brother, William, in 1853 when they and two others visited the American president, Franklin Pierce
, and journeyed to spread the news around the governors of the southern American states. It was during this journey that William died and was buried in the Quaker town of Friendsville
in Tennessee
which was on the Underground Railroad
.
Josiah Forster and his wife, Sarah, established a trust in 1862, where four new cottages were to be given to poor widows aged 55 or over. The managing committee was to be four Quakers including his nephew, W.E. Forster
M.P.
He attended the annual meeting of the British Quakers until his death in 1870.
where it was moved that 2,000 pounds be sent to the American sister society of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
.
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
. Both he and his wife were senior figures in the British Quakers.
Biography
Forster was born in 1782. He became a teacher at the school his grandfather, also Josiah Forster (1693-1763), had founded in Tottenham. The school started in 1752 in the ballroom of their grandfather's house and was called Forster's School. His first wife, Rachel (née Wilson) was over thirty years older than he was, and died in 1801.Forster started another school in 1805 in Southgate
Southgate
-Places:In the United Kingdom:*Southgate, London**Enfield Southgate **Southgate tube station*SouthGate, Bath*Southgate, Ceredigion*Southgate, Cheshire*Southgate, Norfolk*Southgate, Swansea*Southgate, West Sussex...
that eventually moved to Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
in 1820. He ran this school until 1826 when he decided to devote more time to his Quaker interests. His wife had already been made a minister in 1810, and shortly afterward he began sitting on Quaker committees; in 1817 he become an elder of the church. He campaigned for anti-slavery and worked for the British and Foreign Bible Society
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
. He held the senior position of clerk to the Annual meeting of British Quakers from 1820 to 1831.
In 1838, Forster accompanied Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry , née Gurney, was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist...
on her tour and inspection of prisons in France.
Forster sat on a committee of Quaker elders in 1836-7 who unsuccessfully tried to heal a schism in the Quaker church caused by the Beaconite Controversy. The controversy was named after a book published in January 1835 called A Beacon to the Society of Friends which was written by Isaac Crewdson
Isaac Crewdson
Isaac Crewdson was a minister of the Quaker meeting in Manchester who published a book, A Beacon to the Society of Friends, that triggered a split that affected Quakers throughout England. The book was said to have "set off ... a volcanic explosion".-Life:Isaac Crewdson was born in 1780 in...
, a leader to the Manchester Quaker meeting. The controversy, which related to evangelism in the society, eventually led to the resignation of Crewdson and about 300 similarly minded people across the country.
The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was mainly a Quaker society founded in the eighteenth century by Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , 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 and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
. Slavery had in theory been made illegal in 1807 in the British Empire. Following the Reform Act
Reform Act
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is a generic term used for legislation concerning electoral matters. It is most commonly used for laws passed to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the British House of Commons...
, William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
was able to get legislation through parliament. In 1838 legislation freed the slaves who had been relabelled apprentices. As a result in August 1838 800,000 people in the British empire became free.
A picture was commissioned that showed the delegates, including Josiah Forster, of the new British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society which was formed in 1839. The painting captured this important international convention in June, 1840. The small extract shown here includes only Samuel Gurney
Samuel Gurney
Samuel Gurney was an English banker and philanthropist.He should not be confused with his second son, Samuel , also described as banker and philanthropist, and a Member of Parliament.-Early years and marriage:...
a banker and fellow Quaker, Forster, and William Allen
William Allen (Quaker)
William Allen FRS, FLS was an English scientist and philanthropist who opposed slavery and engaged in schemes of social and penal improvement in early nineteenth century England.-Early life:...
.. Also in this painting are Josiah's brothers, Robert and William Forster
William Forster
William Forster was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales from 27 October 1859 to 9 March 1860 and poet.Forster was described in his youth as a "sallow, thin, saturnine young gentleman"...
, many significant figures and Isaac Crewdson. This new society's aim was "The universal extinction of slavery and the slave trade and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions and of all persons captured as slaves."
In 1842-3 a schism developed in the Society of Friends in Salum
Salum
Salum may be:*As Sallum, harbour city in Egypt, near the border to Libya, significant during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II, it is now the main land port between Egypt & Libya.*Saloum, a city in Senegal....
in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. The difference developed over the ways that the society should support slavery, which was still an important part of the American economy. A rival meeting house had been created, and a separate burial ground which was separated from the older Quaker burial ground by a mere two feet of space. Four delegates were sent from Britain: Forster, his brother William, George Stacey
George Stacey (abolitionist)
George Stacey was a leading English Quaker and abolitionist.-Biography:Stacey was born in Kendal.Stacey married a fellow Quaker and cousin, Deborah Lloyd, of the Llloyds banking family. Stacey was then living in Tottenham. He was a business partner in a Chemists business called Corbyn,Beaumont,...
and John Allen. The group did not manage to heal the divide immediately but it was resolved by 1848.
In 1849 the yearly meeting of the Quakers requested that representatives be sent to the rulers of the Christian nations. Forster accompanied his brother, William, in 1853 when they and two others visited the American president, Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
, and journeyed to spread the news around the governors of the southern American states. It was during this journey that William died and was buried in the Quaker town of Friendsville
Friendsville, Tennessee
Friendsville is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 890 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
which was on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.
Josiah Forster and his wife, Sarah, established a trust in 1862, where four new cottages were to be given to poor widows aged 55 or over. The managing committee was to be four Quakers including his nephew, W.E. Forster
William Edward Forster
William Edward Forster PC, FRS was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman.-Early life:...
M.P.
He attended the annual meeting of the British Quakers until his death in 1870.
Bible societies
Forster was a long and valued supporter of evangelical work of publishing and distributing bibles. In 1862 he was chairing a meeting at BlackfriarsBlackfriars
Blackfriars is an area of central London, which lies in the south-west corner of the City of London.The name Blackfriars was first used in 1317 and derives from the black cappa worn by the Dominican Friars who moved their priory from Holborn to the area between the River Thames and Ludgate Hill in...
where it was moved that 2,000 pounds be sent to the American sister society of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Education
Besides working at his grandfather's school, Forster helped to found the Grove House School in 1828 and he served on the management committee of the Lancasterian Boys' School in Tottenham. Forster and his brother Robert were lifelong members of the London committee for Ackworth SchoolAckworth School
Ackworth School is an independent school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of eight Quaker Schools in England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and SHMIS . The Head is Kathryn Bell, who succeeded...
.
Works
- Some Reflections on the Importance of a Religious Life: offered to younger members of the Society of Friends, 1834, 37pp, Society of Friends, accessed 14 July 2008
- Piety Promoted in Brief Biographical Memorials of Some of the Religious Society of Friends, Commonly Called Quakers