Canne, John

Canne, John, a Baptist minister, was born in England about the year 1590 or 1600. In early life he was a minister in the Established Church, but joined the Baptists not far from 1630. He was for some time pastor of the church in Southwark, London, being successor to Mr. Hubbard, its first pastor. He was banished to Holland, where (not considering baptism a prerequisite to communion) he succeeded Ainsworth (q.v.) as pastor of his church in Amsterdam, and was deservedly popular. While in banishment in 1634, he published a work on the Necessity of Separation from the Church of England. In 1640 he returned on a visit to England, and founded the Baptist Church in Broadmead, Bristol. Mr. Canne was equally eminent for learning, piety, knowledge of the Scriptures, and zeal for reformation. Canne's most important labor is his selection of marginal references to the Bible. He was the author of three sets of notes, which accompanied three editions of the Bible. His great ambition was "to make the Bible its own interpreter." — Ivimey, English Baptists; Jamieson, Cyclop. of Biogruphy, 105; Neal, History of the Puritans.