William Dewsbury

William Dewsbury (ca. 1621–1688) was Quaker minister in the early period of the movement. He was born in Allerthorpe, Yorkshire, around 1621. Little is known about his parents and education, apart from the fact that his father died when he was eight years old. Deswbury studied both scripture and other religious texts from an early age. Until around the age of 13 he worked as a shepherd in Allerthorpe - after which he became an apprentice to a weaver in Holbeck. In 1642, his brief experience in the Parliamentary Army led him to reject fighting with ‘carnall’ weapons on religious grounds. Dewsbury travelled to Edinburgh, having become interested in Presbyterianism, but was disappointed by the formality of the Scottish faith. It is unknown when Dewsbury married, but a date of around 1649 has been proposed. It is known that his wife, whose first name was Ann, came from York, and that they were married in an Anabaptist ceremony. The couple unsuccessfully attempted to regain some former property of Ann Dewsbury, which had been taken by her brother, in court. In 1651 he met the prominent English Dissenter and early Quaker George Fox in the house of a Lieutenant Roper, near Balsby. Also present were Thomas Goodaire, James Nayler and Richard Farnsworth. In 1652 he became a Quaker minister, and travelled through Westmoreland, Cumberland and Lancashire preaching. During this journey, both Dewsbury and Robert Widders, an associate, were attacked by a group of Baptists while speaking in Carlisle, and Widders was later imprisoned. He spoke in Sedbergh in 1653, and was imprisoned in York after being accused of blasphemy by a local priest in 1654. However, he was set free by proclamation soon afterwards when the authorities realised that the evidence against him was spurious. Dewsbury died in Warwick on 17 June 1688.