Isaac Crewdson
Encyclopedia
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".
but moved in his teens to Manchester
. He successfully entered the cotton trade and became a mill owner. He had been brought up in the Society of Friends but it was not until later that he became empowered by evangelism.
Crewdson married Elizabeth Jowitt of Leeds
in about 27 July 1803 and he was said to be related to many Quakers around the country. He rose to be a traditionalist Quaker minister from 1816 in the Society of Friends although his convictions were later questioned by his studies. In January 1835 he published, at a book fair in Frankfurt
, A Beacon to the Society of Friends which highlighted a dichotomy he saw between the Bible's teachings and the doctrines of his church.
Joseph John Gurney
, a senior figure in his church, saw the book as reviving the works of Elias Hicks
, whose thoughts had been largely abandoned in his native America. The book nominally was an attack on Hicks, but the defence used more quotes from the scriptures than it did from Hicks' work. The commentary meanwhile was provoking. Gurney saw the book as containing "delusions and perversions" which "undermined" the work of the Quakers.
The book focussed the controversy and aroused discussion not only within the Manchester group, but in other societies across both England and America. Crewdson was a force to be recognised: it was recounted that he had managed to persuade a Quaker meeting to build a meeting house not only for them, but large enough to hold ten per cent of all the Quakers in the country at that time. Unusually, Crewdson was baptised by a minister in London. It is thought that this is the first time a Quaker minister was baptised. He stopped being a minister in November 1836 when he wrote a letter of resignation noting his regret but also his belief that the Quakers had moved away from scripture and some of their founders' writings were blasphemous. In 1836 and the following year, nearly fifty people left the Manchester meeting and another 300 left other meetings throughout the country. This argument split families like LLoyds (the bankers) and ended businesses like the Benson and Cropper
partnership.
In 1836-7 meetings were set up of Quaker elders, including Josiah Forster
, who unsuccessfully tried to heal the schism in the Quakers caused by the Beaconite Controversy, but the roots of the differences had started as early as 1831 and proved to be unreconcilable.
Crewdson is shown in the accompanying painting at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery meeting. He had been chosen to be amongst those selected to be in the commemorative painting, but it is Joseph Gurney
, Josiah Forster
and other senior Quakers who dominate the foreground.
. His followers, who called themselves Evangelical Friends and were called Beaconites, drifted away and many became Plymouth Brethren
. His daughter, Mary Crewdson married. The last surviving member of the Quaker committee who demanded Crewdson's resignation believed 35 years later that their decision with respect to Crewdson was mistaken.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
meeting in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
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 KendalKendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
but moved in his teens to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. He successfully entered the cotton trade and became a mill owner. He had been brought up in the Society of Friends but it was not until later that he became empowered by evangelism.
Crewdson married Elizabeth Jowitt of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
in about 27 July 1803 and he was said to be related to many Quakers around the country. He rose to be a traditionalist Quaker minister from 1816 in the Society of Friends although his convictions were later questioned by his studies. In January 1835 he published, at a book fair in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, A Beacon to the Society of Friends which highlighted a dichotomy he saw between the Bible's teachings and the doctrines of his church.
Joseph John Gurney
Joseph John Gurney
Joseph John Gurney was a banker in Norwich, England and an evangelical Minister of the Religious Society of Friends , whose views and actions led, ultimately, to a schism among American Quakers.-Biography:...
, a senior figure in his church, saw the book as reviving the works of Elias Hicks
Elias Hicks
Elias Hicks was an itinerant Quaker preacher from Long Island, New York. He promoted doctrines that embroiled him in controversy that led to the first major schism within the Religious Society of Friends...
, whose thoughts had been largely abandoned in his native America. The book nominally was an attack on Hicks, but the defence used more quotes from the scriptures than it did from Hicks' work. The commentary meanwhile was provoking. Gurney saw the book as containing "delusions and perversions" which "undermined" the work of the Quakers.
The book focussed the controversy and aroused discussion not only within the Manchester group, but in other societies across both England and America. Crewdson was a force to be recognised: it was recounted that he had managed to persuade a Quaker meeting to build a meeting house not only for them, but large enough to hold ten per cent of all the Quakers in the country at that time. Unusually, Crewdson was baptised by a minister in London. It is thought that this is the first time a Quaker minister was baptised. He stopped being a minister in November 1836 when he wrote a letter of resignation noting his regret but also his belief that the Quakers had moved away from scripture and some of their founders' writings were blasphemous. In 1836 and the following year, nearly fifty people left the Manchester meeting and another 300 left other meetings throughout the country. This argument split families like LLoyds (the bankers) and ended businesses like the Benson and Cropper
John Cropper
John Cropper was a British philanthropist and abolitionist. A businessman, he was known as "the most generous man in Liverpool".-Business and philanthropy:...
partnership.
In 1836-7 meetings were set up of Quaker elders, including Josiah Forster
Josiah Forster
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.-Biography:Forster was born in 1782...
, who unsuccessfully tried to heal the schism in the Quakers caused by the Beaconite Controversy, but the roots of the differences had started as early as 1831 and proved to be unreconcilable.
Crewdson is shown in the accompanying painting at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery meeting. He had been chosen to be amongst those selected to be in the commemorative painting, but it is Joseph Gurney
Joseph Gurney
Joseph Gurney, , was a British shorthand writer and biblical scholar, notable for his publications and work with the Religious Tract Society.Gurney was the eldest son of William Brodie Gurney, and was born in London on 15 October 1804....
, Josiah Forster
Josiah Forster
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.-Biography:Forster was born in 1782...
and other senior Quakers who dominate the foreground.
Death and legacy
Crewdson died at Bowness on 8 May 1844, and was buried at Rusholme Road cemetery, Chorlton on Medlock, ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. His followers, who called themselves Evangelical Friends and were called Beaconites, drifted away and many became Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
. His daughter, Mary Crewdson married. The last surviving member of the Quaker committee who demanded Crewdson's resignation believed 35 years later that their decision with respect to Crewdson was mistaken.
Works
- Hints on a Musical Festival at Manchester, (1827)
- Trade to the East Indies (c.1827).
- The Doctrine of the New Testament on Prayer (1831)
- A Beacon to the Society of Friends (1835)
- A Defence of the Beacon (1836)
- Water Baptism an Ordinance of Christ (1837)
- The Trumpet Blown, or an Appeal to the Society of Friends (1838)
- Observations on the New Birth (1844)
- abridgments of Baxter's Saint's Rest
- abridgments of Andrew Fuller's Religious Declension