Francis Howgill
Encyclopedia
Francis Howgill was a prominent early member of the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers) in England
. He preached and wrote on the teachings of the Friends and is considered one of the Valiant Sixty
--men and women who were early proponents of Friends beliefs and who suffered for those beliefs.
, Westmorland
in northern England
. He probably made his living as a farmer and a tailor. He studied theology and in 1652 became a minister of the established church in Colton. He explored the teachings of the Anabaptist
s, the Independents
, Seekers
and Baptists: but shortly after, he and John Audland (another minister) encountered George Fox
, an early leader in the Friends movement, preaching on Firbank Fell
and were convinced. Soon after Howgill was imprisoned in Appleby-in-Westmorland
for refusing to remove his hat when appearing in court in defence of James Nayler
.
Afterwards he met Edward Burrough
. The two spread the Quaker message together and became close friends. They established the Religious Society of Friends in London
and also worked in Bristol
and Ireland
. Howgill published A Woe Against the Magistrates, Priests, and People of Kendall, (1654) endorsing the Quaker practice of "going naked as a sign". The Quakers in London came under the influence of Nayler and when Fox parted company with him in 1656, Howgill tried, unsuccessfully, to bring about a reconciliation. In 1657 he was in Scotland, and in 1661 he was in prison in London.
Howgill was married first to a woman named Dorothy. After her death in 1657 he married Mary, who is counted, along with him, as one of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early Quaker preachers and missionaries. After the Restoration he claimed, in his tract One Warning More (1660), that the nation had "chosen madness". In 1663 he refused to swear the oath of allegiance to the crown and was sentenced to life imprisonment at Appleby. During that time people came to support him and to seek advice. but his General Epistle (1665) showed pessimism as to any Quaker triumph over adversity. He became sick in prison and died on 11 February 1669. In 1676 a collection of his writings, The Dawnings of the Gospel-Day, and its Light and Glory Discovered, was published.
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...
(Quakers) in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He preached and wrote on the teachings of the Friends and is considered one of the Valiant Sixty
Valiant Sixty
The Valiant Sixty were a group of early leaders and activists in the Religious Society of Friends . They were itinerant preachers, mostly from northern England who spread the ideas of the Friends during the second half of the Seventeenth Century, and were also called the First Publishers of Truth...
--men and women who were early proponents of Friends beliefs and who suffered for those beliefs.
Life
Howgill was born around 1618, probably of yeoman parents, in Todthorne, near GrayriggGrayrigg
Grayrigg is a small village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies on undulated and partly mountainous land, north east of Kendal, on the north side of the West Coast Main Line, and west side of the M6 motorway....
, Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
in northern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He probably made his living as a farmer and a tailor. He studied theology and in 1652 became a minister of the established church in Colton. He explored the teachings of the Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
s, the Independents
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
, Seekers
Seekers
The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were a Protestant dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Arguably, they are best thought of as forerunners of the Quakers, with whom...
and Baptists: but shortly after, he and John Audland (another minister) encountered 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...
, an early leader in the Friends movement, preaching on Firbank Fell
Firbank Fell
Firbank Fell is a hill in Cumbria between the towns of Kendal and Sedbergh that is renowned as a place where George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends , preached.Fox described what happened there on June 13, 1652 in this way:...
and were convinced. Soon after Howgill was imprisoned in Appleby-in-Westmorland
Appleby-in-Westmorland
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, in North West England. It is situated within a loop of the River Eden and has a population of approximately 2,500. It is in the historic county of Westmorland, of which it was the county town. The town's name was simply Appleby, until...
for refusing to remove his hat when appearing in court in defence of James Nayler
James Nayler
James Nayler was an English Quaker leader. He is among the members of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early Quaker preachers and missionaries. At the peak of his career, he preached against enclosure and the slave trade....
.
Afterwards he met Edward Burrough
Edward Burrough
Edward Burrough was an early English Quaker leader and controversialist. He is regarded as one of the Valiant Sixty, early Quaker preachers and missionaries....
. The two spread the Quaker message together and became close friends. They established the Religious Society of Friends in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and also worked in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Howgill published A Woe Against the Magistrates, Priests, and People of Kendall, (1654) endorsing the Quaker practice of "going naked as a sign". The Quakers in London came under the influence of Nayler and when Fox parted company with him in 1656, Howgill tried, unsuccessfully, to bring about a reconciliation. In 1657 he was in Scotland, and in 1661 he was in prison in London.
Howgill was married first to a woman named Dorothy. After her death in 1657 he married Mary, who is counted, along with him, as one of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early Quaker preachers and missionaries. After the Restoration he claimed, in his tract One Warning More (1660), that the nation had "chosen madness". In 1663 he refused to swear the oath of allegiance to the crown and was sentenced to life imprisonment at Appleby. During that time people came to support him and to seek advice. but his General Epistle (1665) showed pessimism as to any Quaker triumph over adversity. He became sick in prison and died on 11 February 1669. In 1676 a collection of his writings, The Dawnings of the Gospel-Day, and its Light and Glory Discovered, was published.