James Backhouse

James Backhouse

James Backhouse (8 July 179420 January 1869) was a botanist and missionary for the Quaker church in Australia.

Backhouse was the fourth child of James and Mary Backhouse a quaker business family of Darlington, Yorkshire, England. His father died when he was a child and his mother brought him up in a religious atmosphere. He was educated in Leeds and began work in a grocery, drug and chemical business, but he developed tuberculosis and he decided to adopt an outdoor life. An uncle helped him in the study of botany, and in 1815, with his brother Thomas, he purchased the nursery business of J. and G. Telford at York. In 1822 he married Deborah Lowe, and in 1824 he was admitted as a minister in the Society of Friends. In December 1827 his wife died leaving him with a son and a daughter. In September 1831, with George Washington Walker, he sailed for Australia on a mission to the convicts and settlers. They arrived at Hobart in February 1832, and the next six years were spent in missionary journeys all over the then settled districts of Tasmania, New South Wales, and as far north as the site of Brisbane. Port Phillip was visited in 1837, and South and Western Australia just before they left.

A "Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies" (1843) by James Backhouse, tells the story of their travels and has much of interest relating to the aborigines, the convicts, the social conditions of the time, and the botany of Australia. Both missioners then went to Mauritius and South Africa and continued their work, preaching whenever a few people could be gathered together to hear them. Backhouse even succeeded in learning enough Dutch to be able to preach in that language. He returned to England and arrived at London on 15 February 1841. An account of his African experiences will be found in "A Narrative of a Visit to the Mauritius and South Africa" (1844).

Backhouse took up the nursery again, and when his brother died in 1845, brought his own son James into the business. He kept up his religious work for the whole of his life, travelling and preaching much in England, Scotland and Ireland. In addition to the works already mentioned Backhouse wrote or edited "A Memoir of Deborah Backhouse" (1828), "Memoirs of Francis Howgill" (1828), "Extracts from the Letters of James Backhouse" (1838-41), "The Life and Correspondence of William and Alice Ellis" (1849), "A Short Record of the Life and Experiences of Thomas Bulman" (1851), and numerous sermons, addresses and tracts. With Charles Tylor he wrote "The Life and Labours of George Washington Walker" (1862). His son, James Backhouse, was the author of "A Handbook of European Birds" (1890) and other publications. Another son, Robert Backhouse competed in the archery events of the 1900 Summer Olympics and was also notable as the breeder of the first "pink" daffodil.

References

*Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=James|Last=Backhouse|Link=http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogBa.html#backhouse1
*Mary Bartram Trott, ' [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010042b.htm Backhouse, James (1794 - 1869)] ', "Australian Dictionary of Biography", Volume 1, MUP, 1966, pp 45-46.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • James Backhouse — Para James Backhouse (1825 1890) James Backhouse James Backhouse Nacimiento 8 de julio de 1794 …   Wikipedia Español

  • James Backhouse — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Backhouse. James Backhouse est un botaniste britannique, né le 8 juillet 1794 à Darlington, Durham et mort le 20 janvier 1869 à York. En 1813, il rejoint la société de Wagstaffe à Norwich où il étudie… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • James Backhouse (1825-1890) — 240px James Backhouse Nacimiento 1825 Fallecimiento 1890 Residencia Inglaterra …   Wikipedia Español

  • James Backhouse (botanist, 1825-1890) — James Backhouse (1825 1890), botanist, archaeologist, and geologist. He worked in Norway, Ireland, and Scotland, and was particularly known for his work on the flora of Teesdale. He was a correspondent of Charles Darwin. He is also a member of… …   Wikipedia

  • Backhouse's Bank — of Darlington (James Jonathan Backhouse and Co., from 1798 Jonathan Backhouse and Co.) was founded in 1774 by James Backhouse (1720 1798), a Quaker flax dresser and linen manufacturer, and his sons Jonathan (1747 1826) and James (1757… …   Wikipedia

  • Backhouse (surname) — Backhouse is a surname, and may refer to:*Edmund Backhouse (1824–1906), English banker, J.P., and MP for Darlington *Sir Edmund Backhouse, 2nd Baronet (1873–1944), British would be oriental scholar and literary forger *James Backhouse (1794–1869) …   Wikipedia

  • BACKHOUSE, James (1794-1869) — missionary the fourth child of James and Mary Backhouse of Darlington, Yorkshire, England, was born on 8 July 1794. His father died when he was a child and his mother brought him up in a religious atmosphere. He began work in a grocery, drug and… …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • Backhouse — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Le nom de Backhouse est porté par plusieurs personnalités (par ordre alphabétique) : James Backhouse (1794 1869), botaniste britannique. James… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • James Alford — (b. Cardiff, Wales) was a Welsh track Athlete. In 1938 Alford won the mileEmpire Games gold medal in Sydney, becoming the first athlete in a Welsh vest to strike gold in the Empire Games. He won 11 Welsh titles in disciplines ranging from the… …   Wikipedia

  • James Lee Peters — (* 13. August 1889 in Boston, Massachusetts; † 19. April 1952 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) war ein US amerikanischer Ornithologe, Kurator des Museum of Comparative Zoology und Autor zahlreicher Fachpublikationen. Er war der Initiator des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”