Asbury, Francis (1745–1816), a founder of the American Methodist Episcopal church, was born on 20 August 1745 at Hamstead Bridge, in the parish of Handsworth, Staffordshire. He was the only son of Joseph Asbury and Eliza Rogers, both farmers and devout followers of Methodism. He was educated at a local school until the age of twelve; he began to preach, as a local preacher, at the age of eighteen, and having been admitted as an itinerant preacher at the age of twenty-one, travelled throughout ...
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Asbury, Francis (1745–1816), a founder of the American Methodist Episcopal church
Alexander Gordon
revised by Troy O. Bickham
Article
Campbell [née Maxwell], Willielma, Viscountess Glenorchy (1741–1786), evangelical activist and benefactor
Edwin Welch
Campbell [née Maxwell], Willielma, Viscountess Glenorchy (1741–1786), evangelical activist and benefactor, was the younger daughter of prosperous parents, William Maxwell (d. 1741), medical practitioner of Kirkcudbright, and his wife, Elizabeth Hairstanes (d. c.1806) of Craig. Willielma was born on 2 September 1741 after her father's death. The only other child of the marriage was her sister, ...
Article
Cayley, Cornelius (1727–1779), Methodist preacher and writer
J. H. Thorpe
revised by Adam Jacob Levin
Cayley, Cornelius (1727–1779), Methodist preacher and writer, was born in Brompton, Yorkshire, on 23 April 1727, the son of Simeon and Elizabeth Cayley. He was educated at a public school for about four years and, when nineteen, he became a clerk in the ...
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Cennick, John (1718–1755), lay preacher and Moravian minister
Peter J. Lineham
Cennick, John (1718–1755), lay preacher and Moravian minister, was born in Reading on 12 December 1718, the son of a clothier who was of Quaker descent. Brought up in the established church, he experienced an evangelical conversion on 6 September 1737 in his parish church in ...
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Coke, Thomas (1747–1814), Church of England clergyman and founder of Methodist missions
John A. Vickers
Coke, Thomas (1747–1814), Church of England clergyman and founder of Methodist missions, was born at Brecon on 28 September 1747, the third but only surviving son of Bartholomew Coke (1701/2–1773) and Ann(e) Phillips (1712/13–1783), and was baptized on 5 October at St Mary's Church, Brecon...
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Fletcher [née Bosanquet], Mary (1739–1815), Methodist preacher
John A. Hargreaves
Fletcher [née Bosanquet], Mary (1739–1815), Methodist preacher, was born on 12 September 1739 at Forest House, Leytonstone, Essex, the second of the four children of Samuel Bosanquet (1700–1765), merchant and lord of the manor of Leytonstone, and his wife, Mary (d....
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Flew, (Robert) Newton (1886–1962), Methodist minister and theologian
Elaine Kaye
Flew, (Robert) Newton (1886–1962), Methodist minister and theologian, was born on 25 May 1886 in Holsworthy, Devon, the elder son of the Revd Josiah Flew (1859–1925), Wesleyan Methodist minister, and his wife, Florence Jones (1863–1964). The family's home was originally in Portland, Dorset...
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Hastings [née Shirley], Selina, countess of Huntingdon (1707–1791), founder of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
Boyd Stanley Schlenther
Hastings [née Shirley], Selina, countess of Huntingdon (1707–1791), founder of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, was born on 13 August 1707, probably at Astwell House, Northamptonshire, the second of three daughters of Washington Shirley, second Earl Ferrers (1677–1729), and Mary (d...
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Kilham, Alexander (1762–1798), a founder of the Methodist New Connexion
Oliver A. Beckerlegge
Kilham, Alexander (1762–1798), a founder of the Methodist New Connexion, was born at Epworth, Lincolnshire, on 10 July 1762, the third son of Simon Kilham (d. 1801/2) and his wife, Elizabeth (d. 1785). His father was a linen weaver who later extended his business to include the making of sacking. His parents were zealous Methodists, but the young ...
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Lidgett, John Scott (1854–1953), Methodist minister and local politician
Martin Wellings
Lidgett, John Scott (1854–1953), Methodist minister and local politician, was born on 10 August 1854 at Kelso Cottage, Lewisham, the son of John Jacob Lidgett (1828–1869), shipowner and businessman, and Maria Elizabeth (1824–1911), daughter of the Revd John Scott and his wife, Maria...
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Maxfield, Thomas (d. 1784), Methodist preacher
John A. Newton
Maxfield, Thomas (d. 1784), Methodist preacher, hailed from Bristol, but nothing is known of his parents or his early life. He was converted by John Wesley's preaching at Bristol on 21 May 1739, and, despite his youth, was soon appointed leader of a Methodist band—a small group for fellowship and mutual confession. In 1740 ...
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Ouseley, Gideon (1762–1839), Methodist preacher
David Huddleston
Ouseley, Gideon (1762–1839), Methodist preacher, was the eldest son of John Ouseley (b. c.1735) of Kilticoghly, co. Galway, and his wife, Anne, daughter of Francis Surridge, of Fairyhill, co. Galway. He was born at Dunmore, co. Galway, the residence of his great-uncle ...
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Rowland, Daniel (1711?–1790), Church of England clergyman and Methodist preacher
Eryn M. White
Rowland, Daniel (1711
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Sangster, William Edwin Robert (1900–1960), Methodist minister and writer
Simon Ross Valentine
Sangster, William Edwin Robert (1900–1960), Methodist minister and writer, was born on 5 June 1900 at 3 Edmund's Place, near City Road, in London, one of the five children of Henry George Sangster (1872–1931), foreman at a collar-box factory, and his wife, Martha Deal (1871–1954)...
Article
Soper, Donald Oliver, Baron Soper (1903–1998), Methodist minister
Alan Wilkinson
Soper, Donald Oliver, Baron Soper (1903–1998), Methodist minister, was born on 31 January 1903 at 36 Knoll Road, Wandsworth, London, the first son and first child of the three children of Ernest Frankham Soper (1871–1962), an average adjuster in marine insurance, the son of a tailor, and his wife, ...
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Wakefield, Gordon Stevens (1921–2000), Methodist minister and scholar
John D. Haigh
Wakefield, Gordon Stevens (1921–2000), Methodist minister and scholar, was born on 15 January 1921 at 42 Gainsborough Road, Crewe, the only child of Ernest Wakefield (b. c.1877), a metal machinist in the railway works there, and his wife, Lucy Spooner (...
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Wesley, Charles (1707–1788), Church of England clergyman and a founder of Methodism
Henry D. Rack
Wesley, Charles (1707–1788), Church of England clergyman and a founder of Methodism, was born on 18 December 1707 at Epworth rectory, Lincolnshire, the sixteenth or seventeenth child and third surviving son of Samuel Wesley (bap. 1662, d. 1735), rector of Epworth, and his wife, ...
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Wesley [Westley], John (1703–1791), Church of England clergyman and a founder of Methodism
Henry D. Rack
Wesley [Westley], John (1703–1791), Church of England clergyman and a founder of Methodism, was born on 17 June 1703 at Epworth rectory, Lincolnshire, the thirteenth or fourteenth child and the second of three sons to reach maturity of Samuel Wesley (bap. 1662, d. 1735)...
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Woodsworth, James Shaver (1874–1942), Methodist minister and politician in Canada
R. Douglas Francis
Woodsworth, James Shaver (1874–1942), Methodist minister and politician in Canada, was born on 29 July 1874 at Applewood, the farmstead of his mother's family, the Shavers, in Etobicoke township, near Toronto, Ontario, the eldest son of six children of the Revd James Woodsworth (1843–1918)...
