Francis Foster Barham
Encyclopedia
Francis Foster Barham was an English religious writer, known as the 'Alist'.
(1766–1844), by his wife Mary Anne, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Morton, he was born 31 May 1808 at Leskinnick, Penzance
, Cornwall
, where his parents dwelt in independence and retirement. After a preliminary training in the grammar school of Penzance, he studied under one of his brothers near Epping Forest
, and was then articled for five years (1826–31) to a solicitor at Devonport
.
In his twenty-third year he was enrolled as an attorney, and settled in London, but ill-health prevented him from pursuing the practice of the law, and he took to writing for literary periodicals. Together with John Abraham Heraud
he was joint editor and proprietor of the New Monthly Magazine from 1 July 1839 to 26 May 1840, when he retired from the editorship, with permission 'to contribute two sheets of matter to each number of the magazine, retaining exclusive property in his own articles'. During the fourteen years of his home in London, Barham's most extensive literary undertaking was the preparation of a new edition of Jeremy Collier
's Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain. The study of oriental languages kindled in him a great love for philology, and his intense spiritual aspirations led him to attempt to found a new form of religion, which he called "Alism", He describes it as
Barham founded a society of Alists and also a Syncretic Society. He likewise attached himself to an æsthetic society which met at the house of the eminent mystic, James Greaves.
In 1844 he married Gertrude, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Grinfield, of Clifton, rector of Shirland, Derbyshire, and went to live at Clifton
. During his ten years' residence there, his time was principally occupied in preparing a revised version of the Old and New Testaments. He lived at Bath from 1854 until his death, which occurred in that city 9 February 1871.
His brother Charles Foster Barham
was a notable doctor and also president of the Royal Institution of Cornwall
.
Barham left behind him 116 lb. weight of manuscript, much of it in a small handwriting. It consists of treatises on Christianity, missions, church government, temperance, poems in blank verse, rhymed poetry, and a few dramas. From these Isaac Pitman
selected about seven pounds, and printed them in his Memorial of Francis Barham, London 1873, octavo. This volume, which is mostly in the phonetic character, contains reprints of the Memoir of James Greaves, Lokman
's Fables, the Life of Reuchlin, and the Rhymed Harmony of the Gospels.
Life
The fifth son of Thomas Foster BarhamThomas Foster Barham (musician)
-Life:Barham was the third son of Joseph Foster of Jamaica, who in 1750 took the name of Barham by authority of a private act of parliament, and in accordance with the will of Henry Barham. He was born in Bedford, 8 October 1766, and educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where mariculated in...
(1766–1844), by his wife Mary Anne, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Morton, he was born 31 May 1808 at Leskinnick, Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, where his parents dwelt in independence and retirement. After a preliminary training in the grammar school of Penzance, he studied under one of his brothers near Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
, and was then articled for five years (1826–31) to a solicitor at Devonport
Devonport, Devon
Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889...
.
In his twenty-third year he was enrolled as an attorney, and settled in London, but ill-health prevented him from pursuing the practice of the law, and he took to writing for literary periodicals. Together with John Abraham Heraud
John Abraham Heraud
John Abraham Heraud was an English poet.Of Huguenot descent, he contributed to various periodicals, and published two poems, which attracted some attention, The Descent into Hell , and The Judgment of the Flood . He also produced a few plays, miscellaneous poems, books of travel, etc...
he was joint editor and proprietor of the New Monthly Magazine from 1 July 1839 to 26 May 1840, when he retired from the editorship, with permission 'to contribute two sheets of matter to each number of the magazine, retaining exclusive property in his own articles'. During the fourteen years of his home in London, Barham's most extensive literary undertaking was the preparation of a new edition of Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
's Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain. The study of oriental languages kindled in him a great love for philology, and his intense spiritual aspirations led him to attempt to found a new form of religion, which he called "Alism", He describes it as
Barham founded a society of Alists and also a Syncretic Society. He likewise attached himself to an æsthetic society which met at the house of the eminent mystic, James Greaves.
In 1844 he married Gertrude, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Grinfield, of Clifton, rector of Shirland, Derbyshire, and went to live at Clifton
Clifton
Clifton is an English surname, place name or given name. It means "settlement by a cliff" in Old English. It may refer to:-Australia:*Clifton, Queensland, town and Shire south of Toowoomba*Clifton Beach, Queensland...
. During his ten years' residence there, his time was principally occupied in preparing a revised version of the Old and New Testaments. He lived at Bath from 1854 until his death, which occurred in that city 9 February 1871.
His brother Charles Foster Barham
Charles Foster Barham
Charles Foster Barham, M.D. , physician—the second Christian name was rarely used—was the fourth son of Thomas Foster Barham, and was born in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom on 9 March 1804.-Education:...
was a notable doctor and also president of the Royal Institution of Cornwall
Royal Institution of Cornwall
The Royal Institution of Cornwall was founded in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven similar societies established in England and Wales. The RIC moved to its present site in River Street...
.
Partial bibliography
His numerous printed works include:- The Adamus Exul of Grotius, or the Prototype of Paradise Lost. Now first translated from the Latin, London 1839, octavo. This poem is said to be the prototype of Milton's Paradise LostParadise LostParadise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
. - The Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain. By Jeremy CollierJeremy CollierJeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
. New edition, with a life of the author, the controversial tracts connected with the history, notes, and an enlarged index, 9 volumes, London 1840, octavo. - The Alist or Divine, a message to our times, London (1840) octavo; three parts published at 6 d each.
- The Political Works of Cicero. Translated from the original with dissertations and notes, 2 volumes, London 1841-42, octavo.
- Socrates. A Tragedy in five acts (and in verse), London 1842, octavo.
- The Life and Timesof John Reuchlin or Capnion, the father of the German Reformation, London 1843, duodecimo.
- The Foster Barham Genealogy, London 1844, octavo, privately printed.
- Prospectus. The Alist, a monthly magazine of divinity and universal literature, London (1845), octavo. No portion of the projected magazine was ever published.
- An Odd Medley of Literary Curiosities, original and selected, London (1845) octavo. This volume contains a memoir of James Pierrepont GreavesJames Pierrepont GreavesJames Pierrepont Greaves , was an English mystic, educational reformer, socialist and progressive thinker who founded Alcott House, a short-lived utopian community and free school in Surrey...
. - A Key to Alism and the highest initiations, Sacred and Secular. With Miscellaneous Pieces, original and select, London 1847, octavo.
- The Bible revised. A carefully corrected translation of the Old and ew Testament, London 1848, octavo. In three parts, containing the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Song of SolomonThe Song of Solomon"The Song of Solomon" is a song written by British singer Kate Bush, included as the fifth track on her 1993 album The Red Shoes. Thematically, the song deals with a lovelorn female, appealing to her lover for solace; the title of the song reflects this, coming from the book of the Old Testament...
, and the Book of MicahBook of MicahThe Book of Micah is one of fifteen prophetic books in the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th century prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah...
. - The New Bristol Guide, a poem, Bristol, 1850, octavo.
- The Pleasures of Piety, a poem, London, 1850, octodecimo.
- A Life of Edward ColstonEdward ColstonEdward Colston was a Bristol-born English merchant and Member of Parliament. Much of his wealth, although used often for philanthropic purposes, was acquired through the trade and exploitation of slaves...
of Bristol. - Improved Monotessaron, a complete authentic Gospel Life of Christ, combining the words of the four Gospels in a revised version and an orderly chronological arrangement, London 1862, duodecimo.
- LokmanLuqmanLuqman was a wise man for whom Surat Luqman , the thirty-first sura of the Qur'an, was named. Luqman is believed to be from Africa...
's Arabic Fables, literally translated into English (word for word), Bath, 1869, duodecimo. - A Rhymed Harmony of the Gospels. By F. Barham and Isaac PitmanIsaac PitmanSir Isaac Pitman , knighted in 1894, developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in Stenographic Soundhand in 1837. Pitman was a qualified teacher and taught at a private school he founded in Wotton-under-Edge...
. Printed both in the phonetic and the customary spelling, London 1870, octavo. - The Writings of Solomon, comprising the Book of ProverbsBook of ProverbsThe Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Psalms lxxii. cxxvii. Translated. Printed both in phonetic and in the customary spelling, London 1870, sextodecimo. - A Revised Version of the Prophecies of Hosea and Micah, London 1870, octavo.
- The Book of Job, newly translated from the original. Printed both in the phonetic and the customary spelling, London 1871, octavo.
- An Elucidated Translation of St. John's EpistlesEpistles of JohnThree books in the New Testament, thought to have been written between 90-100, are collectively called the Epistles of John:*First Epistle of John*Second Epistle of John*Third Epistle of JohnThe traditional author of these letters is John the Evangelist....
, from the Greek and Syriac, with a devotional commentary, London 1871, octavo. - The Book of Psalms, translated from the Hebrew and the Syriac. By F. Barham and Edward Hare, London 1871, octavo.
Barham left behind him 116 lb. weight of manuscript, much of it in a small handwriting. It consists of treatises on Christianity, missions, church government, temperance, poems in blank verse, rhymed poetry, and a few dramas. From these Isaac Pitman
Isaac Pitman
Sir Isaac Pitman , knighted in 1894, developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in Stenographic Soundhand in 1837. Pitman was a qualified teacher and taught at a private school he founded in Wotton-under-Edge...
selected about seven pounds, and printed them in his Memorial of Francis Barham, London 1873, octavo. This volume, which is mostly in the phonetic character, contains reprints of the Memoir of James Greaves, Lokman
Luqman
Luqman was a wise man for whom Surat Luqman , the thirty-first sura of the Qur'an, was named. Luqman is believed to be from Africa...
's Fables, the Life of Reuchlin, and the Rhymed Harmony of the Gospels.