{{Short description|English writer and preacher}} {{about||the British politician|Joseph Gascoigne Nightingale}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} '''Joseph Nightingale''' (26 October 1775 – 9 August 1824) was a prolific English writer and preacher. He was particularly noted for his [[topography|topographic]] writing and his interest in [[shorthand]].
==Life== He was born at Chowbent in [[Atherton, Greater Manchester|Atherton]], Lancashire and became a [[Wesleyanism|Wesleyan]] [[Methodist]] in 1796. He acted occasionally as a local preacher, but never entered the Methodist ministry, and ceased to be a member in 1804. For some time he was master of a school at [[Macclesfield]], Cheshire, but moved to London in 1805, at the suggestion of [[William Smyth]]. By this time he was a [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]]. He became a Unitarian minister, preaching his first [[sermon]] on 8 June 1806 at Parliament Street Chapel, [[Bishopsgate]], but he never held any pastoral charge, and supported himself chiefly by writing. He contributed frequently to early volumes of the ''[[Monthly Repository]]''. After the publication of his ''Portraiture of Methodism'' (1807) he was exposed to much criticism.<ref name="DNB">{{harvnb|Sutton|1895|p=71}}</ref> An article in the ''[[New Annual Register]]'' for 1807 characterised him as "a knave" and he brought an action for [[libel]] against [[John Stockdale]], the publisher, recovering £200 in [[damages]] on 11 March 1809.<ref>{{harvnb|Nightingale|1809|loc={{page needed|date=September 2010}} }}</ref> In 1824 he was again received into membership by the Methodist body.<ref name="DNB"/>
==Private life== He married Margaret Goostry on 17 November 1799 and they had four children. His son, Joseph Sargent Nightingale, became an independent minister. In private life "he was of a kind disposition, lively imagination, and possessed a cheerfulness that never deserted him." He died in London and was buried at [[Bunhill Fields]].<ref name="DNB"/>
==Works== Charles Sutton, the author of the [[Dictionary of National Biography]] article on Nightingale, states that "His works extend to about fifty volumes; those on topography have much merit."{{sfn|Sutton|1895|pp=71,72}} Among them are: *Elagnitin, J. [J. Nightingale] (1822) ''Mock Heroics on Snuff, Tobacco, and Gin''; *Nightingale, J. (1797) ''Elegiac Thoughts on the Death of Rev. David Simpson'', Manchester; *— (1804) ''The Election, a Satirical Drama'', Stockport; *— (1807) ''A Portraiture of Methodism''; *— (1809) ''Nightingale versus Stockdale''; *— (1811a) ''A Guide to the Watering Places''; *— (1811b) ''A Letter to a Friend, containing a Comparative View of the Two Systems of Shorthand, respectively invented by Mr. Byrom and Dr. Mavor''; *— (1812) ''A Portraiture of the Roman Catholic Religion''; *— (1813) ''Accounts of the Counties of Stafford, Somerset, and Salop'', 3 vols., forming a continuation of ''[[The Beauties of England and Wales]]'' by [[Edward Wedlake Brayley]]; *— (1814–1815) ''Surveys of the City of London and the City of Westminster'', 4 vols ** {{cite book |title=London and Middlesex: v.3, part 2 ... History and Description of the City and Liberty of Westminster |author=Joseph Nightingale |location=London |year=1815 |publisher=J. Harris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZBCAAAAYAAJ |series=Beauties of England and Wales, v.10 }} *— (1816a) ''English Topography, consisting of Accounts of the several Counties of England and Wales''; *— (1816b) ''The Bazaar, its Origin, Nature, &c., considered as a Branch of Political Economy''; *— (1818) ''History and Antiquities of the Parochial Church of Saviour, Southwark''; *— (1820–1822) ''Memoirs of Caroline, Queen of England'', 3 vols; *— (1821a) ''An Historical Account of Kenilworth Castle''; *— (1821b) ''The Religions and Religious Ceremonies of all Nations faithfully and impartially described''; *— (1822a) ''Trial of Queen Caroline'', 3 vols; *— (1822b) ''An Impartial View of the Life and Administration of the late Marquis of Londonderry''; *— (1822c) ''The Ladies' Grammar''; *— (1822c) ''Rational Stenography, or Shorthand made Easy ... founded on ... Byrom,''; *— ''Historical Details and Tracts concerning the Storekeeper-General's Office''; *— ''The Portable Cyclopædia''; *— ''Report of the Trial of Thistlewood''; *— ''The Political Repository and Magazine''; *— ''A Natural History of British Singing Birds''; *— ''The Juvenile Muse, original Stories in Verse''; *— ''A Grammar of Christian Theology''.
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *{{cite book|first=Joseph |last=Nightingale |year=1809 |title=Nightingale versus Stockdale|oclc=506031932}} *{{cite encyclopedia|first=R. K. |last=Webb |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20194 |title=Nightingale, Joseph (1775–1824) |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]|publisher= Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/20194 |access-date=16 February 2008|url-access=subscription }} (''{{ODNBsub}}'')
;Attribution *{{DNB|first=Charles William |last=Sutton |wstitle=Nightingale, Joseph |volume=41 |pages=71,72}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nightingale, Joseph}} [[Category:1775 births]] [[Category:1824 deaths]] [[Category:Burials at Bunhill Fields]] [[Category:English writers]] [[Category:People from Atherton, Greater Manchester]] [[Category:English male writers]]