Joshua Symonds (abt. 1739 - 1788)

Born about 6 Feb 1739 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England

Ancestors

Died 23 Nov 1788 at about age 49 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England

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Biography

Joshua Symonds, eldest son of John Symonds a 3rd generation apothecary-surgeon and Mary Wright both from Protestant Nonconformist families, was baptised on 6 February 1738/39 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.^[1]

Joshua Symonds was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England.

Joshua was a student at the Mile End Dissenting Academy

Joshua was a student at the Dissenting Academy at Homerton

Joshua was a nonconformist minister

He trained for the ministry at

• Mile End Academy (1760-1762) and was funded by the King's Head Society on a Full allowance, his father to pay extra charges.
• Mile End Academy (1762-1766) funded by the Congregational Fund Board

He was from Bromsgrove. (source required)

In 1767, Joshua became the Minister at the Old Meeting House in Bedford (1767-88) and the same year Joshua Symonds of Bedford married Elizabeth Kingsley by licence at Saint Dionis, Backchurch, City of London on 3 November.^[2]

They had several children and my affectionate and beloved wife Elizabeth Symonds was made the guardian of all Reverend Symond's children and the Executrix of his will.^[3]

His great nephew, John Addington Symonds (the grandson of his brother John Symonds) , wrote of him in On the English Family of Symonds:^[4]

Joshua was minister at Bedford in the chapel where Bunyan used to preach. It is reported of him that Bunyan's chair had to be cut down in order to suit his shorter stature. This little man was intimately acquainted with Howard the philanthropist, and corresponded with Wilberforce and John Newton of Olney, several of whose letter I destroyed at Clifton in 1880.

The Reverend Joshua Symonds died age 49 years on 23 November 1788 and was buried on 27 November 1788 in the Bunyan Meeting Burial Ground in Bedford, Bedfordshire where he is mentioned on a wall plaque memorial in a group with others sharing the name Symonds.^[5][6]

Joshua was included in the Dissenting Academy at Homerton list, published in 1812, of the Ministers who had been educated there, and was shown as Joshua Symonds, under the patronage of The Society, settled at Bedford.

Research Note

1. This profile was originally created by the History of Nonconformists in London, England and surrounding counties topic team.
2. The Birth Date is written in the N.S. Calendar format.

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936"
   The National Archives (United Kingdom); Kew, Surrey, England; General Register Office: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857; Class Number: RG 4;; Class Number: Rg 4; Piece Number: 3374
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 2972 #2712867 (accessed 1 April 2024)
   Joshua Symonds baptism in 1738, son of John Symonds & Mary Symonds, in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England.
2. ↑ Marriage: "London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938"
   London Metropolitan Archives; London, England, UK; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P69/DIO/A/01/MS 17605/1
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 1623 #356932 (accessed 1 April 2024)
   Joshua Symonds marriage to Elizabeth Kingsley on 3 Nov 1768 in Saint Dionis, Backchurch, City of London, England.
3. ↑ Will: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
   The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1176
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 5111 #346309 (accessed 1 April 2024)
   Will of The Reverend Joshua Symonds, granted probate on 17 Feb 1789. Died about 1789.
4. ↑ Book by John Addington Symonds: John Addington Symonds, On the English Family of Symonds
   United Kingdom: Privately printed [for B.H. Blackwell by H. Hart], 1894, page 11
   Google Books (accessed 1 April 2024)
5. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #157051167 (accessed 1 April 2024)
   Memorial page for Rev Joshua Symonds (unknown-23 Nov 1788), citing Bunyan Meeting Burial Ground, Bedford, Bedford Borough, Bedfordshire, England; Maintained by Mike Clark (contributor 47478488).
6. ↑ Burial: "England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936". The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; General Register Office: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths Surrendered to the Non-Parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857; Class Number: RG 4; Piece Number: 272. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 2972 #1693156 (accessed 7 March 2022). The Revd Joshua Symonds burial (died in 1788) on 27 Nov 1788 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.

See also: Google Books Letters by the Rev John Newton