John Richardson (Quaker)
| John Richardson | |
|---|---|
| Church | Religious Society of Friends |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1667 North Cave, East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingdom of England |
| Died | 1753 (aged 85–86) Hutton-le-Hole, North Riding of Yorkshire, Kingdom of England |
| Denomination | Quaker |
| Parents | William Richardson (father) |
| Spouse | Priscilla Canaby (1695–1700, her death) Anne Robinson (1703–1711, her death) |
| Children | Three |
| Occupation | Religious leader |
John Richardson (1667–1753) was an English Quaker minister and autobiographer.
John Richardson was born in 1667, probably in the village of North Cave, East Riding of Yorkshire, where his father, William Richardson (1614–1679), a shepherd, had been converted to Quakerism by William Dewsberry or Dewsbury in about 1652. He was twelve when his father died, leaving his mother with a livestock farm to run and five children. John had one older sister (who died about 1682) and three younger brothers, of whom the youngest was born about 1676.
Richardson records in his Life an initial "aversion in me to the people called in scorn Quakers, and also to their strict living, and demeanour, plainness of habit, and language, so none of these I learned from them." He became converted at the age of sixteen, which entailed being "weaned from all my companions and lovers." Richardson disapproved of his mother's remarriage in about 1785 to an unnamed Presbyterian, who tried to prevent him from attending Quaker meetings, turned him out of the house, and eventually left him just five shillings in his will." Richardson became a weaver's apprentice, and then took to clock and watch mending from a shop in Bridlington. He began preaching regularly, despite a stammer, and made a preaching tour of the Midlands, during which he met William Dewsberry in Warwick. Four more tours of England and Wales followed in 1687–95. In about 1695, he moved to Quaker Cottage in Hutton Le Hole - a datestone in the house has his initials - and married Priscilla Canaby (c. 1672 – c. 1700), a baker's daughter, who also began preaching about 1698. Further tours of Southern England and of Scotland followed. He was left with three children under the age of five when his wife died, but the youngest also died less than a year later.
Leaving his two surviving children with foster parents, Richardson set out for America as an evangelist, arriving in Maryland in 1701 after a 16-week crossing. He spent more than two years there, ceaselessly touring and disputing with Quakers and non-Quakers, on one occasion accompanying William Penn to treat with some American Indians, who made a favourable impression on him. He also visited Bermuda and Barbados.
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