John Macgowan (26 October 1726 – 25 November 1780) was a Scottish Baptist minister and author.

John Macgowan

Life

Macgowan was born in Edinburgh, received an education, and was apprenticed to a weaver. He subsequently settled in Bridge Street, Warrington, as a baker. He had early become a Wesleyan; he now joined the Methodist movement as a preacher. At a later period he was attracted by the Independents, but finally joined the Particular Baptists. He ministered at the old baptist chapel at Hill Cliff, near Warrington, and then at Bridgnorth.[1]

In September 1766 Macgowan became pastor of the old Baptist meeting-house in Devonshire Square, Bishopsgate, London, opened by William Kiffin in 1687. Here he remained until his death. His preaching, despite its Calvinistic tone, became popular.[1] Macgowan's congregation were typically artisans. On its behalf he signed the petition of the Protestant Association of London, in the prelude to the Gordon Riots.[2]

In failing health, Macgowan administered the sacrament for the last time on 12 November 1780, and died 25 November. He was buried in Bunhill Fields. He left a widow and children.[1]

Works

Macgowan was a caustic controversial writer, who used allegory in devotional works. His books went through many editions in London, the North of England, and America. Several were published under pseudonyms such as "The Shaver" and "Pasquin Shaveblock". His major work, Infernal Conferences, or Dialogues of Devils, by the Listener, London, 1772, 2 vols. may have been suggested by The Dialogues of the Dead (London, 1760) of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton.[1]

Macgowan's other works included:[1]

A collected edition, consisting of Infernal Conferences and four other of Macgowan's works, with portrait and illustrations, was published soon after his death, London, no date. Another, containing nine of the above, was published in 2 vols. London, 1825. Church and King, a thanksgiving sermon for 29 May, by Pasquin Shaveblock, London, 1795, although attributed to Macgowan, seems unlikely to be his.[1]

Macgowan also edited, with notes, Night, a Satire upon the Manners of the Rich and Great, by Charles Churchill, probably about 1768.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Sidney, ed. (1893). "Macgowan, John" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 35. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  2. ^ Ian Haywood; John Seed (1 March 2012). The Gordon Riots: Politics, Culture and Insurrection in Late Eighteenth-Century Britain. Cambridge University Press. pp. 84–5. ISBN 978-0-521-19542-3.
  3. ^ Jonathan Andrews; Andrew T. Scull (2001). Undertaker of the Mind: John Monro and Mad-doctoring in Eighteenth-century England. University of California Press. p. 299 note 43. ISBN 978-0-520-23151-1.
  4. ^ Jonathan Andrews; Andrew T. Scull (2001). Undertaker of the Mind: John Monro and Mad-doctoring in Eighteenth-century England. University of California Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-520-23151-1.
  5. ^ Richard Green, Anti-Methodist Publications Issued During the Eighteenth Century (1902) p. 137; archive.org.
Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1893). "Macgowan, John". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 35. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

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