This is the day that … Torial Joss was born in Scotland, in 1731.
After his father’s death, young Joss ran away to sea and was captured, and imprisoned, by the French.
Back in Scotland – aged 15! – he was press-ganged on to a man-of-war – escaped, and at a place called “Robin Hood’s Bay” (on the north-east coast of England) he read Bunyan – and was converted.
John Wesley met and encouraged him in his preaching.
Again he went to sea and rose to the position of Captain of the “Hartley Trader”. Whitefield contacted him on his arrival in London and Joss was told that he would be preaching at (Whitefield’s) Tabernacle. He was then 34 years of age.
So impressed is the great revivalist that he made Joss one of his assistants “and great crowds waited upon his ministry full of converting power and ripe with chequered and tragic experience” (Whitefield – the Awakener, by Rev. A. Belden, page 195).
The records of the Tabernacle include: One of the several people who ministered to the Church was an evangelical sea-captain named Torial Joss. Captain Joss was not ordained but he administered Communion. The Methodist Synod of 1790 objected to this. However, the Church refused to dismiss Joss. One of its members bought up the mortgage and locked the doors of the building. It was then re-opened as a Congregational Church.
His itinerate ministry saw multitudes converted. He usually spent four or five months of each year itinerating in England and Wales. The Welsh delighted in his simple eloquence. Many came twenty miles on foot to hear him.
And because of his pulpit ministry at Tottenham Chapel he was dubbed “Whitfield’s Archdeacon of Tottenham”. And there he was buried, in 1797.
After preaching the Gospel more than thirty years he was smitten down by sudden disease. “Oh the preciousness of faith!” he exclaimed to the groups around his deathbed. “I have finished my course. My pilgrimage is ended. Oh, thou Friend of sinners take thy poor old friend home.”
As if rapt in visions of the celestial world he at last uttered the word, “Archangels!” and expired.
His biographer describes him as a good man, mighty in the Scriptures and faithful to the end.
This post is based on the work of my late friend Donald Prout whose love for books and Christian history led him to collate a daily Christian calendar. I continue to work with Don’s wife, Barbara, to share his life work with the world. I have updated some of these historical posts and will hopefully draw from Don’s huge files of clippings to continue this series beyond Don’s original work. More of Don’s work can be found at www.donaldprout.com.
Tags: archangels, congregational, congregational church, converts, crowds, eloquence, england, evangelism, preacher, scotland, sea captain, torial joss, tottenham chapel, wales, whitfield
I’m interested to know, after all these years, whether the congregation at Haverfordwest lives with any consciousness of Torial Joss these days.
Rev Gilman, do you have any info on that for us?
The Tabernacle which Captain Joss led to become Congregational was Tabernacle, Haverfordwest; the Church of which I am now minister.