John Newton

In 1750, he married his long-time love and childhood sweetheart, Mary Catlett. The wedding ceremony was organised at the St. Margaret's Church, Rochester.

He adopted two of his orphaned nieces. They were, Elizabeth and Eliza Catlett.

He authored an anonymous autobiography titled, 'An Authentic Narrative of Some Remarkable And Interesting Particulars in the Life of ------ Communicated, in a Series of Letters, to the Reverend T. Haweiss'.

John Newton was born in Wapping, London to John Newton Sr, a shipmaster and Elizabeth, an instrument maker. He lost his mother to tuberculosis at the age of six.

He later relocated to Aveley, where he lived with his father and his new wife. He was then sent to a boarding school. By the time he turned eleven, he went to the sea with his father.

Before his father retired in 1742, he had already been on six voyages with him. Even though his father wanted him to work in sugar plantation, he opted to sail with a merchant ship.

In 1743, he was captured, while he was visiting a set of his friends, and was forced to become a part of the naval services by the Royal Navy. He was appointed as a midshipman aboard ‘HMS Harwich’.

During his service with the Royal Navy, he unsuccessfully tried to escape and was punished in front of a crew of 350 members for the same. He was stripped to waist and was demoted as a seaman.

Humiliated by the punishment, he wished to kill the captain for the disgrace he faced. He even had suicidal thoughts and longed to jump into the sea and end his life. However, before either of the extremes was acted upon, he recovered from the humiliation.

When ‘HMS Harwich’ was en-routed to India, he was shifted to the slave ship, ‘Pegasus’, which was going to South Africa. The ship carried goods and slaves to be sold in England and other countries.

Since he created a lot of problems for the crew aboard ‘Pegasus’, he was left in South Africa with a slave dealer named, Amos Clowe, who gave him to his wife, Princess Peye, an African duchess.

In 1792, he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, conferred by the College of New Jersey.