Reverend Benjamin Godwin (10 October 1785 – 20 February 1871) was a Baptist clergyman, abolitionist and activist. He was a pastor at Dartmouth, Great Missenden, Bradford, and Oxford as well as a teacher of classics. He became involved in debates on the ethics of slavery and a schism in the Baptist missionary community. Godwin's writing's are an interesting source as he wrote 58 letters to his son to record his autobiography. Godwin's son and his grandson were Mayors of Bradford.
Life
Godwin was born on 10 October in Bath in 1785. His mother was about forty, but he was given the biblical name Benjamin because his father was 70 and a keen Baptist. His father had been married before and Benjamin had two adult siblings. His family were poor but he was sent to a Dame school until his education and upkeep was undertaken by the charity that ran the Bluecoat School in Bath This school was free and included the supply of uniforms. When Godwin finished school he was apprenticed to a shoemaker.
Sailor
Godwin was unhappy during his apprenticeship and this resulted in the fifteen-year-old running away with a friend on a ship bound for the Mediterranean. During the journey Godwin reported that he gained a close relationship with his god. Godwin jumped ship in Palermo and he was able to find work as a cabin boy bound for London. However, in Menorca the whole crew of his ship was press-ganged to crew HMS Le Généreux on Godwin's 16th birthday. Godwin became a Royal Navy sailor during the Napoleonic Wars until peace was declared. Godwin and the rest of crew were dismissed at Spithead on 27 July 1802.
Cobbler and evangelist
Godwin renewed his religious interests attending his family's Baptist Church with his, much older, half-sister. He also lodged with his half sister and her husband. He initially tried his hand at building with his brother-in-law before realising that his poor skills as a cobbler were superior to his ability to be a builder. In line with the Baptist faith, Godwin confirmed his faith when he was baptised with five other adults. Through the church he met Elizabeth Hall, but she refused to marry him until he could support her. "Betsy" Hall was unimpressed by Godwin delivering a sermon, until he had given three successful sermons in Bath. Others were also impressed and Godwin was offered a part-time position as an evangelist at Aylburton in Gloucestershire. Betsy was satisfied and they were married on 14 August 1806 and they were given the use of a cottage in Aylburton. Here they set up a home and they established church meetings. Godwin was inspired by his wife who he regarded as "the name of a powerful spell". However, despite Godwin's efforts they were reduced to eating potatoes and drinking water and their evangelical mission came under active opposition. They had to contend with merciless persecution including eggs being thrown. Hearing that he had been mischievously drafted into the militia, Godwin left Aylburton in 1807.
Godwin was sure now that he wanted to be a minister and he was given a probationary year looking after a Cornish congregation at Chacewater. Here he was mentored by the nearby minister at Redruth. Betsy had to remain in Bath as the money was poor, but Godwin's was helping at the local school and completing his own education. It was Godwin who decided to leave when the year was completed to join his wife; and to become a minister.
Minister
Godwin and Betsy spent a year at Chipping Sodbury, but he modestly refused an offer of becoming their pastor and took up another offer in Dartmouth where he could not only preach but also learn and teach. His ordination as a minister for Dartmouth was in 1812. Within his new congregation were Calvinistic Baptists who debated with Godwin and his Particular Baptist views. Godwin was a Baptist but gave his support to the evangelical ideas of Andrew Fuller and his Baptist Missionary Society. In Dartmouth, the Godwin's daughter, Mary, died of whooping cough, but they also had a son on 23 December 1814 who they named John Venimore Godwin. Godwin was ready to move.
Godwin became a minister at Great Missenden where he wrote the memoirs of the pastor he had replaced. He worked well with his Anglican counterpart raising money for missionary work, but he was disappointed to find that he was gaining some of his diminishing congregation. Godwin was paid well but the money failed to arrive on time.