| Henry Craik | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 August 1805 Prestonpans, Scotland |
| Died | 22 January 1866 Bristol, England |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Education | University of St Andrews, Scotland |
| Occupation | hebraist, theologian, preacher |
| Spouse | Mary Anderson (d 1 February 1832), Sarah Howland |
| Children | Henry William (b 18 Jan 34), George (b 20 Dec 49) |
| Parents | The Reverend William Craik (d 1830), Miss Paterson Lillie (d 21 Oct 1848) |
Henry Craik (8 August 1805 – 22 January 1866) was a Scottish hebraist, theologian and preacher.
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Craik grew up in Kennoway, where his father was a schoolteacher. From 1820 he was a student at the University of St Andrews and did well at literature, language, philosophy, and religious studies. By his own admission, he was “a religious man without God” but became a Christian in 1826 at the age of 21, after hearing the gospel.
That year he was invited to become the family tutor for Anthony Norris Groves in Exeter where he spent the next two years. He left their employ to return to Edinburgh on 12 May 1828, but a few weeks later he returned to Exeter, to become the tutor to the two sons of John Synge, formerly of Glanmore Castle in Ireland but then living at Buckridge House, near Teignmouth. During his three-year tenure with Synge, Craik made a detailed examination of the original languages of the Bible, publishing a book “Easy introduction to the Hebrew Language” (London: Sealey and Burnside) in 1831, which was funded by Synge.
In 1829 he made the acquaintance of George Müller, a Prussian who had come to Teignmouth to convalesce from an illness. The two became life-long friends. Müller moved down from London in January 1830 to become pastor of the Baptist church in Teignmouth, while Craik took a similar post in Shaldon in April 1831.
On 30 March 1832, Craik accepted an invitation from A Chapman to take over the pastorate of Gideon Chapel in Newfoundland Street, Bristol. Shortly afterwards he wrote to George Müller asking him to join him in this work, and Müller moved to Bristol in the second half of April 1832. As well as the Gideon Chapel, they also led the Bethesda Chapel (neither building remains, having been destroyed during the Second World War), and led many to faith in Jesus Christ.
In 1834 the two men founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, which still operates today, as part of The George Müller Charitable Trust.
Henry Craik was known as a very humble and well-liked man. His ability to capture the attention of a congregation was legendary as he expounded the teachings of the Bible with clarity and exuberance.
In 1831 Craik married Mary Anderson. She died on 1 February 1832 from consumption, and he remarried on 30 October 1832, to Sarah Howland. It is not clear how many children they had. After his first son, Henry William, an unnamed daughter is recorded in his diary as being born in 1836 and dying on 18 February 1837. Another son, George, was born on 29 August 1840 but he died on 28 June 1841. Mary Eliza was born on 30 April 1842 but died on 11 November 1843. On 2 March 1846, his diary talks of walking with his “wife and children”. Another girl was born on 4 August 1847 but his diary intimates that she died in December 1848. No mention of this is made in W Elfe Tayler’s book, however, indeed Tayler writes that, whilst dying from stomach cancer, Craik was cared for by his wife and daughter. Another son, also named George, was born on 20 December 1849 and another unnamed lad on 17 September 1853.
Craik's eldest brother was the writer and literary critic George Lillie Craik.