Abraham John Bishop
Abraham John Bishop
This brief biography is based on an entry in Volume 2 of the Biographical Dictionary of Jersey
Youngest of nine
Abraham John Bishop (1767-1793) was the youngest of nine children of Joseph Bishop and Esther, nee Machon. He was baptised in St Helier's Parish Church in 1767. His father died in 1784, leaving a prosperous business in Hill Street to his family.
In 1789, when Methodism was fast gaining ground in the island, permission was refused for the purchase of a place of worship in the name of the society. So, in December 1790, by which time the Bishop family company was also associated with Chevalier and De La Taste in banking, Abraham John stepped in to buy a house in King Street in his own name and contributed to by members of his family and others for the society's use.
He offered himself for the Methodist ministry and, before setting out for Nova Scotia, made a will consigning his considerable resources to 'continuing to the inhabitants of the said island of Jersey, and adjoining islands or in France, the benefit of publishing and preaching the Gospel', and further sums for preaching in other places, for the support of preachers who could no longer travel, or their widows, and for the education of poor preachers' children.
He suffered a rough voyage before arriving on 30 July 1791 and setting out to preach to French settlers in the interior, travelling from Halifax to Saint John, New Brunswick, where he was welcomed by a core of Methodist emigrants and soon made over 200 converts, some of whom were of African descent.
Using experience gained in Jersey he helped the society acquire a church and, overwhelmed by pleas from all over the country for visits, he urgently requested Dr Thomas Coke, of London headquarters, to send two more preachers to help him, warning that 'my body is very weak and the work is great'.
To Grenada
Dr Coke, knowing Abraham's bilingual fluency and needing a minister to work in Grenada, called him to that station and, in spite of medical advice that his health would not stand that climate, he met Dr Coke at Saint Vincent and together they arrived in Grenada on 8 January 1793.
By April 1794 Abraham had made a number of converts, including black soldiers, one of whom remained faithful even after a whipping by an officer. Again he set about purchasing a preaching house, which he adapted to accommodate congregations of up to 400.
His mission was a great success and he enjoyed the support of the Rev Mr Dent, Rector of Saint George's, and the Rev Mr Carew, Rector of Gouyave, who gave him permission to instruct the black slaves on his estate.
Again he requested assistants from Dr Coke, telling him: 'There is a great door opened in this island, especially among the English'. This request led eventually to the dispatch of Francis and Marie-Louise Jeune.
In spite of poor health, Abraham laboured continually, preaching and teaching, and on 16 June 1793, after a brief fever and at the age of only 26. he died.
