John Smith

CAMPAIGNER, MISSIONARY,
& SLAVERY ABOLISHONIST

John Smith was heavily involved with the church in his early life in Rothwell,  born an orphan on 27 June 1790. Smith received his early education only at Sunday school, and subsequently trained as a baker in London. Whilst there he applied to be a missionary, joining the London Missionary Society, and was posted to Georgetown, Guiana (Guyana) to continue the work of John Wray. Smith died in prison after being found guilty and sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1823 Demerara Slave Rebellion. 

JOHN SMITH

1790-1824

Born 27 June 1790 and raised by the teachers of the Rothwell Sunday School. He trained as  a baker but subsequently applied to be a missionary. Aged 26 on 12th Dec 1816 he was ordained at Tonbridge Chapel. Smith left for Georgetown, Guiana with the London Missionary Society, arriving on 23 February 1817 with his wife, Jane. He lived at the 'Le Resouvenir' plantation, where he preached at Bethel Chapel, primarily attended by African slaves.

On the morning of 18 Aug 1823, around 10-12 thousand slaves drawn from plantations on the East Coast of the Demerara colony rebelled, under the false belief that their masters were concealing news of the slaves' emancipation. Smith was subsequently charged with promoting discontent and dissatisfaction in the minds of the African slaves, exciting the slaves to rebel, and failing to notify the authorities that the slaves intended to rebel.
Smith was found guilty of the principle charges and sentenced to death. He died in prison awaiting the arrival of the Royal Reprieve Commission on 6 Feb 1824.

Smith became known as the "Demerara Martyr". His case, and news of the uprising and the brutal loss of life strengthened the abolitionist cause in England which eventually succeeded in British territories worldwide in 1838.

Savages to be saved 

The rebellion started on the plantation "Success" owned by John Gladstone (father of future British Prime Minister, William Gladstone). It quickly spread to around sixty plantations in the East Coast area across a 25 mile area of land stretching along the sea to the Demerara river. The largely peaceful rebellion was, however, quickly and brutally put down, killing approx 200 slaves in the process. The following trials of slaves resulted in large numbers being hanged.
John and fellow missionary John Wray, were sent to Demerara to "convert the heathens". This abstract idea though did not prepare the men for what awaited them. Expecting to find an savages waiting to be "saved", the missionaries, convinced of their European cultural and religious superiority, were torn between  the "otherness" of the slaves, and the universality of the faithful of the brethren of Christ.
This painting, by an unknown artist, shows the plantation "Le Ressouvenir". From left to right, it depicts the masters house, the mill, Bethel Chapel and Smith's house. It was painted on a Sunday, when the slaves had a day off, and shows a relatively peaceful and tranquil scene as the slaves walk to the chapel.

1823 Demerara Slave Rebellion

On the night of August 17, 1823, the distinctly African sounds of blaring shell-horns and beating drums signalled the start of the uprising in the British colony of Demerara, which was to become one of the largest slave rebellions in the history of the Western hemisphere, That evening, 8-12 thousand slaves surrounded the main houses of about sixty plantations in the East Coast area, armed with cutlasses, knives fastened on poles, and guns. They broke down doors, smashed windows, commandeered arms and ammunition, and put their masters and overseers in the stocks. Over three days of fighting, colonial forces took the lives of more than 255 slaves (compared to only 2 or 3 white men). The rebels spoke of "rights", and planned to present their grievances to the governor. For a few days, the slaves succeeded in turning the world upside down, treating masters the way masters had always treated slaves. However, retaliation from colonial officials would be swift, bloody, and brutal.
Rev. Smith, already despised by large numbers of plantation owners, was charged with aiding and abetting the uprising. He was found guilty of the primary offences, and sentenced to death. He died from consumption in prison awaiting the Royal Review Commission.

Early Life

The only form of education Smith acquired was by way of the Sunday school at Rothwell. John had been born an orphan in 1790, and aged 14, he went to work for a biscuit maker in London.
A sermon based upon Isaiah Iv. 6, 7, preached at Tonbridge Chapel by Mr. Leifchild, led him to became a member of Tonbridge Chapel, and an active worker in the Sunday school and other Christian work. One of the annual missionary sermons preached in the Tabernacle by a Mr. Jefferson of Basingstoke, aroused in him the desire to become a missionary, and after corresponding with Rev. Burder and two years of preparation, he applied to the London Missionary Society (pictured) and was accepted. He continued his preparatory studies under Mr. Newton at Witham, and in 1816 was appointed to succeed John Wray who had begun the mission in Georgetown, Guiana. He married Jane Godden, a member of Tonbridge Chapel, and was ordained there December 12, 1816, 

London Missionary Society

Posted to British Guiana

Posted to British Guiana, Smith and his wife sailed from Liverpool, arriving in Demerara on 23 Feb 1817 to a frosty reception from Governor Murray. In a letter to his tutor, dated 2 Apr 1817, he says:
"Two days after our arrival, I waited upon the Governor, being introduced by Mr. Elliott. His excellency frowned upon me. He asked me what I had come to do, and how I purposed to instruct the negroes. I answered, by teaching them to read ; by teaching them Dr. Watts' Catechisms  and by preaching the Gospel in a plain manner. To which he replied, ' If ever you teach a negro to read, and I hear of it, I will banish you from the colony immediately.' "
Despite that warning, Smith revived the mission station, Bethel Chapel, at Plantation Le Ressouvenir where he lived in the property vacated by his predecessor, Rev. John Wray (pictured with Smith), who had been transferred three years earlier to Berbice to continue the work he had started among the slaves.

Sketches of John Wray (left) and John Smith

Le Ressouvenir

Wray was part of the first successful mission to the slaves in British Guiana, helping to form the London Missionary Society in 1795 for “the purpose of evangelical work among the heathen”.
Hermanus H. Post, proprietor of Plantation Le Ressouvenir (see map), approximately 8 miles from Georgetown, concerned for the spiritual welfare of the slaves and others under his care, had written to the London Mission Society urging them to send out a minister, and promising his own protection and assistance. Wray was a great success and this continued when Smith’s arrived 3 years after the departure of Wray. He preached to large congregations, often spilling out of the chapel. That response encouraged him to start a class preparing slaves converted to Christianity for catechism and baptism.
Of course, he incurred the wrath of the Governor and many planters. So, at the time of the insurrection in 1823, it was not difficult for Smith to fall foul of the law of the land. Martial law was imposed, hundreds of slaves were butchered, many hung and displayed in public for months, and John Smith arrested.

Map of the Demerara plantations

The Trial

John Smith was arraigned in court-martial before Lt. Col. Goodman on 13 October and charged with four offences: "Promoting discontent and dissatisfaction in the minds of the Negro Slaves towards their Lawful Masters, Overseers and Managers, inciting rebellion; advising, consulting and corresponding with Quamina (a rebel leader), and further aiding and abetting Quamina in the revolt; failure to make known the planned rebellion to the proper authorities; did not use his best endeavours to suppress, detain and restrain Quamina once the rebellion was under way."
He was defended by William Arrindell who went on to become Chief Justice of British Guiana in 1854. The officers on the court martial judging Smith included a young Captain Colin Campbell, later to become Field Marshal Lord Clyde.
Smith's trial concluded one month later, on 24 November. He was found guilty of the principal charges, and was given a death sentence. Pending an appeal, Smith was transferred from Colony House (pictured) to prison, where he died of consumption in the early hours of 6 February 1824.
To minimise the risk of stirring up slave sentiment, the colonists interred him at 4 am in an unmarked grave to avoid it becoming a rallying point for slaves. 

Colony House, Georgetown, Guiana

Death, Burial & Memorial

The furore caused by the case of John Smith eventually led to global emancipation. Fearful of stirring up the slaves again, Smith was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Phillips churchyard. But the freedom he wrought with his work and death immortalised him as ‘Martyr Smith’.
The Royal reprieve arrived on 30 March. News of these events was published in British newspapers, provoking enormous outrage and garnering 200 petitions to Parliament.
Smith's death and the uprising by more than 9,000 enslaved men and women in Demerara provided major impetus to the campaign to abolish slavery in Britain.
The iconic wooden memorial church (right) was erected on 23 Nov 1843 in memory of Reverend John Smith. It was exactly 20 years after Reverend Smith was sentenced to death by hanging for his role in the notorious Demerara Slave Rebellion.

Smith Memorial Church

© Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved

Useful Links

Rothwell Congregational Library

Rothwell Heritage Centre