Edward Burrough (1634–1663) was an early English

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

leader and controversialist. He is regarded as one of the Valiant Sixty, who were early Quaker preachers and missionaries.

Convincement

Burrough was born in Underbarrow,

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, and educated in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, but became a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

before becoming convinced (a Quaker term referring to conversion). During his late teens, he heard

George Fox George Fox (July 1624 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 13 January 1691 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Dissenters, English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Quakers, Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as t ...

preach in 1652 and was convinced of the truth as understood by the Religious Society of Friends. He was consequently rejected by his parents. Burrough began itinerant preaching throughout England, travelling with another Friend,

Francis Howgill Francis Howgill (1618 – 11 February 1669) 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 wh ...

. Among those converted by them was Hester Biddle, probably in 1654.

Debate

During the years 1656–1657 Burrough and

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

were engaged in a pamphlet debate, begun by Bunyan, who published ''Some Gospel Truths Opened'', in which he attacked Quaker beliefs. Burrough responded with ''The True Faith of the Gospel of Peace''. Bunyan countered with ''A Vindication of Some Gospel Truths Opened'', which Burrough answered with ''Truth (the Strongest of All) Witnessed Forth''. Later the Quaker leader

entered the fray by publishing a refutation of Bunyan's essay in ''The Great Mystery of the Great Whore Unfolded''.

Intervention with the king

Upon the Restoration in 1660, Burrough approached King Charles II requesting protection and relief of Quakers in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, who were being persecuted by

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

s there. Charles granted him an audience in 1661, and was persuaded to issue a writ stopping (temporarily) the corporal and capital punishments of the Quakers in Massachusetts. Burrough arranged for the writ to be delivered by Samuel Shattuck, himself a Quaker under a ban from Massachusetts. Charles's writ commanded the Massachusetts authorities to send the imprisoned Quakers to England for trial, but they chose instead to release them. The king's order effectively stopped the hangings, but imprisonments and floggings were resumed the next year.

Imprisonment and death

In 1662, Burrough was arrested for holding a meeting, which was illegal under the terms of the Quaker Act. He was sent to

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. An order for his release signed by Charles II was ignored by the local authorities, and Burrough remained in Newgate until his death on February 14, 1663, aged just 29 ("twelfth month 1662" in the

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries betwe ...

and Quaker terminologies). He was buried in the Quaker Burying Ground, Bunhill Fields. After his death, his collected works were published by E. Hookes in 1671 as ''The Memorable Works of a Son of Thunder and Consolation: Namely, that True Prophet, and Faithful Servant of God, and Sufferer for the Testimony of Jesus, Edward Burroughs, who Dyed a Prisoner for the Word of God, in the City of London, the Fourteenth of the Twelfth Moneth, 1662''.

In popular culture

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

's fourth album, '' Thunder and Consolation'', was named as a reference to his collected works, ''The Memorable Works of a Son of Thunder and Consolation''.

References

External links

Sample of Burrough's writing
* ttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/23/ A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God(1661) online PDF edition
Edward Burrough: A Memoir
By William and Thomas Evans (London: Charles Gilpin, 1851) online edition. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrough, Edward English theologians English Quakers Converts to Quakerism 1634 births 1663 deaths 17th-century Quakers Burials at Bunhill Fields