Author: Fellows, John
Biography:
FELLOWS, John (d 1785: ESTC), pseudonym Philanthropos
According to contemporary sources, he was "a poor shoemaker," uneducated, who produced a remarkable amount of verse and prose and died at Birmingham in 1785 (some sources give Jul. 30 as the death date, others Nov. 2). He was not a native of Birmingham but settled there in the 1770s after moving from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. A Calvinistic Methodist for most of his life, he was baptised in Birmingham in 1780 and joined the First Baptist Church. His birthdate and the names of his parents are not known. (There are a few possible candidates from the purlieus of Birmingham, among them the John Fellows born in 1749 whose parents were Presbyterians, John and Rachel Fellows of Dudley, Worcs.). Nor is it known whether or not he married. His prose works include two anti-Catholic tracts, The Protestant Alarm (1778?) and A Fair and Impartial Enquiry (1779). (findmypast.com 16 Jul. 2012; Edwin Francis Hatfield, The Poets of the Church [1884] 246-7; "John Fellows" hymnary.org 16 Jul. 2021)
Other Names:
- J. Fellows