Winder, Henry

, a learned dissentingdivine, was born May 15, 1693, at Hutton-John, in the parish of Graystock, in Cumberland, where his father was a farmer. He was educated in grammatical learning at Penruddock, and in his fifteenth year began his divinity and philosophy studies at a dissenting academy at Whitehaven, where he had for his contemporaries Dr. Rotheram of Kendal, and Mr. John Taylor of Norwich, author of the Hebrew-English Concordance. From Whitehaven, Mr. Winder removed to Dublin, where for two years he applied very closely to the study of divinity under the rev. Mr. Boyse. After passing the usual examinations, he became a preacher, but returned to England, and in 1714, when only twenty-two years of age, succeeded Mr. Edward Rothwell, as pastor of a congregation at Tunley in Lancashire, and in 1716 was |

ordained. In 1718 he was chosen pastor of the meeting at Castle-hey in Liverpool, where it appears that he had some trouble with his congregation, during certain disputes on liberty, charity, and the rights of conscience, whiqh he endeavoured to compose by referring them to the Bible as the only standard of orthodoxy, not sufficiently adverting to the fact that this is what all sects profess to do, without any approach towards harmony of sentiment. In 1740, when he was on a visit at Glasgow, the degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by that university. He continued to preside over his congregation at Liverpool, with great approbation, until his death, Aug. 9, 1752. As a testimony of his esteem for his people, he bequeathed his wellchosen library for the use of his successors. Dr. Winder is known in the literary world by an ingenious and elaborate work, published a second time in 1756, 2 vols. 4to, entitled “A critical and chronological History of the Rise, Progress, Declension, and Revival of Knowledge, chiefly religious; in two periods, the period of tradition from Adam to Moses, and the period of Letters from Moses to Christ.” To this are prefixed memoirs of his life by the rev. Dr. George Benson. ¹