James Elishama Smith, often called Shepherd Smith (1801, Glasgow – 1857, Glasgow) was a British journalist and religious writer. Smith studied at Glasgow University. Hearing

Edward Irving Edward Irving (4 August 17927 December 1834) was a Scottish clergyman, generally regarded as the main figure behind the foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church. Early life Edward Irving was born at Annan, Annandale the second son of Ga ...

preach in 1828, he became a millenarian and associated with followers of

Joanna Southcott Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a self-described religious prophetess from Devon, England. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death; its eighth prophet, Mabel Barltrop, died in ...

. For a couple of years he became a

Christian Israelite The Christian Israelite Church was founded in 1822 by John Wroe. History From 1822 to 1831, the church had its headquarters in the town of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, United Kingdom, which the church wanted to turn into a "new Jerusalem". W ...

under

John Wroe John Wroe (19 September 1782 – 5 February 1863) was a British evangelist who founded the Christian Israelite Church in the 1820s after having what he believed were a series of visions. Biography Wroe was born, on 19 September 1782, in the ...

. He moved to London in 1832, and his millenarianism turned socialist. He translated Saint-Simon, edited Robert Owen's journal ''Crisis'', and wrote for James Morrison's ''Pioneer''. Smith edited ''The Shepherd'' 1834–5 and 1837–8, and wrote leaders for the ''

Penny Satirist A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

''. In 1843 he founded a penny weekly, the ''

Family Herald ''The Family Herald: A Domestic Magazine of Useful Information & Amusement'' (1843–1940) was a weekly story paper launched by George Biggs in 1842, and re-established in May 1843 with James Elishama Smith and mechanised printing. By 1855 it had ...

'', which at one point approached a circulation of half a million.

Works

*''The Anti-Christ, or, Christianity Reformed'', 1833 *''The Divine Drama of History and Civilization'', 1854 *''The Coming Man'', 1873

External links

*Timothy C. F. Stunt
‘Smith, James Elishama (Shepherd Smith) (1801–1857)
��, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Elishama 1801 births 1857 deaths British male journalists Christian writers British socialists 19th-century British journalists Male journalists 19th-century British male writers