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Josiah Conder (editor and author)
Encyclopedia
Josiah Conder, sometimes spelt Condor, (17 September 1789 - 27 December 1855), correspondent of Robert Southey
and well connected to romantic authors of his day, was editor of the British literary magazine The Eclectic Review
, the Nonconformist and abolitionist newspaper The Patriot, the author of romantic verses, poetry, and many popular hymns that survive to this day. His most ambitious non-fiction work was the thirty-volume worldwide geographical tome The Modern Traveller; and his best-selling compilation book The Congregational Hymn Book. Conder was a prominent London Congregationalist, an abolitionist, and took an active part in seeking to repeal British anti-Jewish laws.
as an engraver and bookseller, Josiah was born on 17 September 1789 at his father's bookshop in Falcon Street. His grandfather was Dr John Conder
, a Dissenting minister and President of Homerton College
and his uncle was James Conder
the coin collector.
In his infancy, Josiah lost the vision in one eye due to smallpox. He was sent a few miles north of the City of London
to the village of Hackney
, for electrical treatment, a technique believed to be able to prevent the disease from spreading to also cause blindness in his other eye. He recovered, and continued to be educated at a dissenting academy in Hackney village, under the tutorship of the Reverend Mr. Palmer.
At the age of ten his first essay were published in 'The Monthly Preceptor', and on reaching fifteen, he began work as an assistant in his family's City bookshop. On reaching the age of 21 (in 1811), he took over the family business. A short time later, Josiah married Joan Elizabeth Thomas ('Eliza Thomas'), one of his circle of friends with whom he had initially formed a literary association in 1810 to jointly contribute to the book, The Associate Minstrels. She continued to write after her marriage, for example contributing two short narratives 'On the Ausonia Butterfly flying over the Summit of Mont Blanc' and 'The Air Orchis' to The Christian Keepsake in 1837.
Although Josiah Conder never travelled abroad himself, he compiled all thirty volumes of The Modern Traveller', his non-fiction publishing epic covering the geography of many of countries of the world. It sold well, but was outsold by his Congregational Hymn Book, some 90,000 copies of which were ordered in its first seven years.
Amongst Josiah Conder's published works were:
The Choir & The Oratory or Praise & Prayer, became noted for one poem, 'The Apocalypse', which earned him a place in English Romantic literature; its popularity prompted him to pen the commentary, The Harmony of History with Prophecy, and Explanation of the Apocalypse' for the more interested of his readers.
Amongst his hymns are the following:
Considered to reflect his evangelical and liberal, nondenominational, outlook, these hymns were widely adopted by churches and chapels throughout the western world. By the early twentieth century, some seventy years after his death, one biographer noted that more of Josiah Conder's hymns were in common use in Britain and the USA, than those of any other Congregational author except for the great Dr Isaac Watts
and his friend Doddridge
. Today, electronic downloads are available for the more popular ones.
. In this role he was an organiser of, and delegate to, the world's first Anti-slavery convention, which was held in London in 1840 - an event depicted in a large painting by Benjamin Haydon
that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, London. His poem 'The Last Night of Slavery' dated 1 August 1834, evoking the horrors of the middle passage, was published in his collection, The Choir and the Oratory, or Praise and Prayer, 1837. It was republished in the anthology, Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation: writings in the British Romantic Period (London: Pickering & Chatto) in 1999. Josiah Conder's Biographical Sketch of the Late Thomas Pringle
, the Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society
, was published in 1835, and widely sold bound together with Thomas Pringle's own Narrative of a Residence in South Africa (1834).
Shortly before his untimely death, Josiah Conder was prominent in the campaign to finance and make arrangements for Samuel Ringgold Ward
, an African-American who escaped slavery in the USA, to travel the length and breadth of Britain speaking to crowds to encourage support for the abolition of slavery in southern states of America, at a time when British foreign policy, as epitomised by Viscount Palmerston
, was supportive of slavery in the USA in marked contrast to its determined attempts to close down the supply and trade from West African chieftains, eventually isolating just the King of Dahomey and the Chief of Lagos. Samuel Ringgold Ward
held a large meeting at Crosby Hall on the 20th of March, 1854, to thank Josiah Conder and others in his close circle, mainly nonconformists such as Dr Thomas Binney
and the Rev James Sherman
who supported him in England in contrast to the double standards of government policy which prioritised cheap cotton from the southern slave states over African-American civil rights.
Joseph Conder's wife also took a role in abolition
in the USA. In December 1852, along with a number of other British women of the period, she was part of the group of ladies who met at Stafford House on Friday, the 26th December to consider the expediency of addressing a memorial from the women of England to the women of the United States, on the subject of slavery, and developed this work through her role on the sub-committee.
, Stoke Newington
with a grey, polished granite, chest tomb as his monument. His literary wife Joan, died aged 91 in 1877 and is buried with him and other family members.
"He left five children, one of whom is a daughter. The four sons are, Mr. Francis R. Conder, a civil engineer and railway contractor; the Rev. Eustace R. Conder, Pastor of the Congregational Church at Poole; Mr. Jonah Conder of the Bank of England
; and Mr Charles Conder, who is associated in professional pursuits with his eldest brother."
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
and well connected to romantic authors of his day, was editor of the British literary magazine The Eclectic Review
The Eclectic Review
The Eclectic Review was a British periodical published monthly during the first half of the 19th century aimed at highly literate readers of all classes. Published between 1805 and 1868, it reviewed books in many fields, including literature, history, theology, politics, science, art, and philosophy...
, the Nonconformist and abolitionist newspaper The Patriot, the author of romantic verses, poetry, and many popular hymns that survive to this day. His most ambitious non-fiction work was the thirty-volume worldwide geographical tome The Modern Traveller; and his best-selling compilation book The Congregational Hymn Book. Conder was a prominent London Congregationalist, an abolitionist, and took an active part in seeking to repeal British anti-Jewish laws.
Early life
The fourth son of Thomas Conder, an active Nonconformist who worked in the City of LondonCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
as an engraver and bookseller, Josiah was born on 17 September 1789 at his father's bookshop in Falcon Street. His grandfather was Dr John Conder
John Conder
John Conder D.D. was an Independent minister at Cambridge who later became President of the Independent College, Homerton in the parish of Hackney near London.-Life:...
, a Dissenting minister and President of Homerton College
Independent College, Homerton
Independent College, Homerton, later Homerton Academy, was a dissenting academy just outside London, England, in the 18th and early 19th centuries.-Background:...
and his uncle was James Conder
James Conder
James Conder was an English businessman and numismatist. He is known for giving his name to Conder Tokens and because of the coincidence of an ancient hoard of coins found ten feet under his doorstep when his house was demolished.-Life:...
the coin collector.
In his infancy, Josiah lost the vision in one eye due to smallpox. He was sent a few miles north of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
to the village of Hackney
Hackney (parish)
Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1789, replacing the nearby former 16th century parish church dedicated to St Augustine . The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be...
, for electrical treatment, a technique believed to be able to prevent the disease from spreading to also cause blindness in his other eye. He recovered, and continued to be educated at a dissenting academy in Hackney village, under the tutorship of the Reverend Mr. Palmer.
At the age of ten his first essay were published in 'The Monthly Preceptor', and on reaching fifteen, he began work as an assistant in his family's City bookshop. On reaching the age of 21 (in 1811), he took over the family business. A short time later, Josiah married Joan Elizabeth Thomas ('Eliza Thomas'), one of his circle of friends with whom he had initially formed a literary association in 1810 to jointly contribute to the book, The Associate Minstrels. She continued to write after her marriage, for example contributing two short narratives 'On the Ausonia Butterfly flying over the Summit of Mont Blanc' and 'The Air Orchis' to The Christian Keepsake in 1837.
Literary & Religious Works
Josiah Conder's work at the bookshop soon came to an end (c.1819), after wider recognition of his literary talents had led to him being offered the editorship of The Eclectic Review, a prestigious literary journal that he continued to edit for twenty years (1814-37). With strong Congregational links, he was also invited to edit The Patriot, a newspaper that espoused nonconformist and evangelical causes, and for which he was editor for twenty-three years (1832-55).Although Josiah Conder never travelled abroad himself, he compiled all thirty volumes of The Modern Traveller', his non-fiction publishing epic covering the geography of many of countries of the world. It sold well, but was outsold by his Congregational Hymn Book, some 90,000 copies of which were ordered in its first seven years.
Amongst Josiah Conder's published works were:
- The Congregational Hymn Book, 1834
- The Modern Traveller, 1825-29
- The Withered Oak, 1805
- The Reverie, 1811
- The Star in the East, with Other Poems Chiefly Religious and Domestic, 1824
- Sacred Poems, Domestic Poems, and Miscellaneous Poems, 1824
- The Choir and the Oratory, 1836/7
- Analytical and Comparative View of All Religions Now Extant among Mankind, 1838
- This was a remarkable work in itself-- Conder was the first European writer to distinguish between different traditions of non-European religion.
- The Harmony of History with Prophecy, an explanation of the Apocalypse, 1849
- Hymns of Praise, Prayer, and Devout Meditation, 1856
- The Poet of the Sanctuary, I. Watts, 1851
- Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, with a Life of the Author by Josiah Conder, 1838
- Narrative of a Residence in South Africa by Thomas Pringle, with a Life of the Author by Josiah Conder, 1835
The Choir & The Oratory or Praise & Prayer, became noted for one poem, 'The Apocalypse', which earned him a place in English Romantic literature; its popularity prompted him to pen the commentary, The Harmony of History with Prophecy, and Explanation of the Apocalypse' for the more interested of his readers.
Amongst his hymns are the following:
- Baptized into Our Savior’s Death
- Be Merciful, O God of Grace
- Beyond, Beyond That Boundless Sea
- Blessed Be God, He Is Not Strict
- Bread of Heaven, on Thee We Feed
- Comrades of the Heavenly Calling
- Day by Day the Manna Fell
- Followers of Christ of Every Name
- Forever Will I Bless the Lord
- Grant Me, Heavenly Lord, to Feel
- Thou art the Everlasting Word
- 'Tis not that I did choose Thee
Considered to reflect his evangelical and liberal, nondenominational, outlook, these hymns were widely adopted by churches and chapels throughout the western world. By the early twentieth century, some seventy years after his death, one biographer noted that more of Josiah Conder's hymns were in common use in Britain and the USA, than those of any other Congregational author except for the great Dr Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
and his friend Doddridge
Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge DD was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.-Early life:...
. Today, electronic downloads are available for the more popular ones.
Political Work for Abolition
Josiah Conder's political work included a tract on the superior value of free labour over slave labour. In 1839 he became a founding Committee Member of the British and Foreign Anti-slavery Society for the Abolition of Slavery and the Slave-trade Throughout the World, which is today known as Anti-Slavery InternationalAnti-Slavery International
Anti-Slavery International is an international nongovernmental organization, charity and a lobby group, based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1839, it is the world's oldest international human rights organization, and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery and...
. In this role he was an organiser of, and delegate to, the world's first Anti-slavery convention, which was held in London in 1840 - an event depicted in a large painting by Benjamin Haydon
Benjamin Haydon
Benjamin Robert Haydon was an English historical painter and writer.-Biography:Haydon was born in Plymouth. His mother was the daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Cobley, rector of Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. Her brother, General Sir Thomas Cobley, was renowned for his part in the siege of Ismail...
that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, London. His poem 'The Last Night of Slavery' dated 1 August 1834, evoking the horrors of the middle passage, was published in his collection, The Choir and the Oratory, or Praise and Prayer, 1837. It was republished in the anthology, Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation: writings in the British Romantic Period (London: Pickering & Chatto) in 1999. Josiah Conder's Biographical Sketch of the Late Thomas Pringle
Thomas Pringle
Thomas Pringle was a Scottish writer, poet and abolitionist, known as the father of South African Poetry, the first successful English language poet and author to describe South Africa's scenery, native peoples, and living conditions.Born at Blaiklaw , four miles south of Kelso in Roxburghshire he...
, the Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society
Anti-Slavery Society
The Anti-Slavery Society or A.S.S. was the everyday name of two different British organizations.The first was founded in 1823 and was committed to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Its official name was the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the...
, was published in 1835, and widely sold bound together with Thomas Pringle's own Narrative of a Residence in South Africa (1834).
Shortly before his untimely death, Josiah Conder was prominent in the campaign to finance and make arrangements for Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward was an African American who escaped enslavement to become an abolitionist, newspaper editor and Congregational minister....
, an African-American who escaped slavery in the USA, to travel the length and breadth of Britain speaking to crowds to encourage support for the abolition of slavery in southern states of America, at a time when British foreign policy, as epitomised by Viscount Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, was supportive of slavery in the USA in marked contrast to its determined attempts to close down the supply and trade from West African chieftains, eventually isolating just the King of Dahomey and the Chief of Lagos. Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward was an African American who escaped enslavement to become an abolitionist, newspaper editor and Congregational minister....
held a large meeting at Crosby Hall on the 20th of March, 1854, to thank Josiah Conder and others in his close circle, mainly nonconformists such as Dr Thomas Binney
Thomas Binney
The Rev. Dr. Thomas Binney was an English Congregationalist divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the 'Archbishop of Nonconformity'...
and the Rev James Sherman
James Sherman (minister)
The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
who supported him in England in contrast to the double standards of government policy which prioritised cheap cotton from the southern slave states over African-American civil rights.
Joseph Conder's wife also took a role in abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
in the USA. In December 1852, along with a number of other British women of the period, she was part of the group of ladies who met at Stafford House on Friday, the 26th December to consider the expediency of addressing a memorial from the women of England to the women of the United States, on the subject of slavery, and developed this work through her role on the sub-committee.
Death & Memorial
Josiah Conder died on 27 December 1855, at St John's Wood, Hampstead, following an attack of jaundice, and was buried at the Congregationalists' nondenominational garden cemetery, Abney Park CemeteryAbney Park Cemetery
Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
with a grey, polished granite, chest tomb as his monument. His literary wife Joan, died aged 91 in 1877 and is buried with him and other family members.
"He left five children, one of whom is a daughter. The four sons are, Mr. Francis R. Conder, a civil engineer and railway contractor; the Rev. Eustace R. Conder, Pastor of the Congregational Church at Poole; Mr. Jonah Conder of the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
; and Mr Charles Conder, who is associated in professional pursuits with his eldest brother."
External links
- Hymns
- The first World Anti-Slavery Convention, 1840
- Sonnets - The Seasons
- 410-417-BreadOfHeaven.html download site for hymns
- Hymns
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- The Apocalypse in English Romantic Literature
- Josiah Conder: A Memoir, by Eustace Rogers Conder (1857) http://books.google.com/books?lr=&num=100&as_brr=3&q=author%3Aconder+author%3Aeustace&btnG=Search+Books