William Caton
Encyclopedia
William Caton was an early English Quaker itinerant preacher and writer.
. At the age of fourteen he was taken by his father to Swarthmoor
, near Ulverston
, to be educated by a kinsman who was then tutor to the Fell family; the boy was then sent to a school at Hawkshead. In 1652 George Fox
paid his first visit to Swarthmoor Hall
, and Caton embraced quakerism. He now refused to study on the ground of its being a worldly occupation, and Margaret Fell employed him at Swarthmore to teach her younger children and act as her secretary.
When he was about eighteen, Caton was chosen one of the quaker preachers for the district, and in his Journal he relates that he was often met with violence by the people of the places in which he attempted to preach. In 1654 he left Swarthmore in order to become an itinerant preacher. Towards the end of the year he was joined by John Stubbs, with whom he proceeded to Maidstone
. Here they were both sent to the house of correction and harshly treated, but the only charge against them was preaching, and the magistrates released them. About the middle of 1655 Caton went to Calais
, preaching through an interpreter, and returned to England. After a preaching tour, which lasted some months, he went to Holland, hoping to convert the Dutch. At Flushing
and Middelburg
he found English congregations, and was roughly handled at both places for interrupting their services. At the end of 1655 he was again in England. He next made an attempt to promulgate quakerism in Scotland, and was the messenger from the Friends in England to General George Monck. Early in 1656 Caton was imprisoned for a short time at Congleton
. Towards the end of this year he returned to Holland, and decided to settle in Amsterdam
, where there was a small Quaker community. He spent some time between England and Holland.
At the end of 1660 he had an interview with Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
at Heidelberg
, to plead for liberty of conscience. About 1662 he married Annekin Derrix or Derricks, a Dutch quakeress. On a later journey to Holland he was forced to take shelter in Yarmouth Roads, where he landed, and was imprisoned for nearly five months for refusing the oath of allegiance. He returned to Holland. His last known letter is dated 8th month 1665 (O.S.), and Barclay, in his reprint of Caton's ‘Journal,’ states that there is reason to believe that he died towards the end of 1665.
His principal works were:
Besides the above Caton wrote a large number of small books and tracts in High and Low Dutch, including ‘Eine Beschirmung d'un schuldigen,’ 1664.
Life
He was probably a near relation of Margaret FellMargaret Fell
Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends. Known popularly as the "mother of Quakerism", she is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and missionaries.-Life:...
. At the age of fourteen he was taken by his father to Swarthmoor
Swarthmoor
Swarthmoor is a village near Ulverston, in Cumbria, England. Like the nearby peninsula of Furness, it is historically part of Lancashire.-Etymology:...
, near Ulverston
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is located in the Furness area, close to the Lake District, and just north of Morecambe Bay....
, to be educated by a kinsman who was then tutor to the Fell family; the boy was then sent to a school at Hawkshead. In 1652 George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
paid his first visit to Swarthmoor Hall
Swarthmoor Hall
Swarthmoor Hall is a mansion in Swarthmoor, in the Furness area of Cumbria in North West England. It was the home of Thomas and Margaret Fell, the latter an important player in the founding of the Religious Society of Friends movement in the 17th century. It remains in use today as a Quaker...
, and Caton embraced quakerism. He now refused to study on the ground of its being a worldly occupation, and Margaret Fell employed him at Swarthmore to teach her younger children and act as her secretary.
When he was about eighteen, Caton was chosen one of the quaker preachers for the district, and in his Journal he relates that he was often met with violence by the people of the places in which he attempted to preach. In 1654 he left Swarthmore in order to become an itinerant preacher. Towards the end of the year he was joined by John Stubbs, with whom he proceeded to Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
. Here they were both sent to the house of correction and harshly treated, but the only charge against them was preaching, and the magistrates released them. About the middle of 1655 Caton went to Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, preaching through an interpreter, and returned to England. After a preaching tour, which lasted some months, he went to Holland, hoping to convert the Dutch. At Flushing
Flushing, Netherlands
Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century...
and Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
he found English congregations, and was roughly handled at both places for interrupting their services. At the end of 1655 he was again in England. He next made an attempt to promulgate quakerism in Scotland, and was the messenger from the Friends in England to General George Monck. Early in 1656 Caton was imprisoned for a short time at Congleton
Congleton
Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, to the west of the Macclesfield Canal and 21 miles south of Manchester. It has a population of 25,750.-History:The first settlements in...
. Towards the end of this year he returned to Holland, and decided to settle in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, where there was a small Quaker community. He spent some time between England and Holland.
At the end of 1660 he had an interview with Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
at Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, to plead for liberty of conscience. About 1662 he married Annekin Derrix or Derricks, a Dutch quakeress. On a later journey to Holland he was forced to take shelter in Yarmouth Roads, where he landed, and was imprisoned for nearly five months for refusing the oath of allegiance. He returned to Holland. His last known letter is dated 8th month 1665 (O.S.), and Barclay, in his reprint of Caton's ‘Journal,’ states that there is reason to believe that he died towards the end of 1665.
Works
He wrote both in English and Dutch, and his style was more simple and pointed than that of most of the seventeenth-century Friends. In England, Holland, and Germany his works were for more than a century highly esteemed.His principal works were:
- ‘A True Declaration of the Bloody Proceedings of the Men of Maidstone,’ 1655.
- ‘The Moderate Enquirer resolved … by way of Conference concerning the condemned People commonly called Quakers,’ &c., 1659 (translated into Dutch as ‘Den matelijcken Ondersoeker voldaen’ in 1669).
- ‘Truth's Character of Professors …’ 1660.
- ‘An Epistle to King Charles II sent from Amsterdam in Holland, the 28 of the 10 month, 1660.’
- ‘William Caton's Salutation and Advice unto God's Elect,’ 1660.
- ‘An Abridgement; or a Compendious Commemoration of the Remarkable Chronologies which are contained in that famous Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus,’ 1661 (reprinted as ‘An Abridgement of Eusebius Pamphilius's Ecclesiastical History’).
- ‘The Testimony of a Cloud of Witnesses,’ &c., 1662.
- ‘Two General Epistles given forth in Yarmouth Common Gaol,’ 1663.
- ‘A Journal of the Life of … Will. Caton, written by his own hand’ (edited by George Fox), 1689.
Besides the above Caton wrote a large number of small books and tracts in High and Low Dutch, including ‘Eine Beschirmung d'un schuldigen,’ 1664.