Barton was Britain’s count­er­part to Amer­i­can John Green­leaf Whitt­i­er. Like Whitt­i­er, he was called the “Quak­er Po­et.” Barton at­tend­ed a Quak­er school in Ip­swich. In 1798, he was ap­pren­ticed to a Mr. S. Jes­up, a shop­keep­er at Hal­stead, Es­sex, with whom he stayed un­til 1806. Barton then moved to Wood­bridge, Suf­folk, and en­tered into bus­i­ness with his bro­ther as a coal and corn mer­chant. He mar­ried, but his wife died aft­er on­ly a year. Bar­ton then moved to Li­ver­pool for a short while, but re­turned to Wood­bridge in 1810. A bank clerk by pro­fess­ion, he wrote 10 books of po­ems, ma­ny of which be­came hymns. His works in­clude:

• Devotional Verses, 1826
• Household Verses, 1849

Sources

Hymns

1. Around Bethesda’s Healing Wave
2. Fear Not, Zion’s Sons and Daughters
3. Hath the Invita­tion Ended?
4. Lamp of Our Feet
5. Say Not the Law Divine
6. See We Not Beyond the Portal?
7. There Is a Life More Dear
8. Those Who Live in Love Shall Know
9. Walk in the Light
10. We Journey Through a Vale of Tears
11. Wouldst Thou Share This Benediction?