Aberhart, William (1878–1943), politician and evangelist in Canada, was born in Hibbert township, near Seaforth, Perth county, Ontario, on 30 December 1878, the son of William Aberhart (who as a child had been brought from Germany) and his wife, Louisa Pepper, the daughter of an Englishman. He was educated at schools in ...
Article
Aberhart, William (1878–1943), politician and evangelist in Canada
Graham Spry
revised by Alvin Finkel
Article
Aggrey, James Emman Kwegyir (1875–1927), pastor and educationist
Christopher Fyfe
Aggrey, James Emman Kwegyir (1875–1927), pastor and educationist, was born at Anomabu, Gold Coast, on 18 October 1875, the son of Kodwo Kwegyir Aggrey, a gold assayer and official at the court of the Fanti chiefdom of Anomabu, and his wife, Abena Andua...
Article
Anderson, George Wishart (1913–2002), biblical scholar and Methodist minister
J. A. Emerton
Anderson, George Wishart (1913–2002), biblical scholar and Methodist minister, was born on 25 January 1913 at 35 Elliot Street, Arbroath, the elder child of George Anderson (1879–1957), a cabinet-maker, and his wife, Margaret Gordon, née Wishart (1880–1964). His parents were both Scottish. He was educated at ...
Article
Asbury, Francis (1745–1816), a founder of the American Methodist Episcopal church
Alexander Gordon
revised by Troy O. Bickham
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 ...
Image
Asbury, Francis (1745–1816)
Maker: John Paradise
In
Francis Asbury (1745–1816) by John Paradise, 1813 © 2013. National Portrait Gallery Smithsonian / Art Resource / Scala, Florence
Article
Atherton, William (1775–1850), Wesleyan Methodist minister
W. B. Lowther
revised by Tim Macquiban
Atherton, William (1775–1850), Wesleyan Methodist minister, was born at Lamberhead Green, near Wigan, in Lancashire. In 1797 he entered the Wesleyan ministry and was assigned to the Grimsby circuit. His fresh and original style of preaching marked him as one of the more famous preachers of ...
Article
Atmore, Charles (1759–1826), Methodist minister
John A. Vickers
Atmore, Charles (1759–1826), Methodist minister, was born at Heacham, Norfolk, on 17 August 1759, the son of a ship's captain at King's Lynn. His mother died when he was eighteen months and he was brought up by an uncle and aunt and educated at the village school. At the age of fourteen he accompanied his father on a voyage to ...
Article
Averell, Adam (1754–1847), Primitive Wesleyan Methodist minister
Myrtle Hill
Averell, Adam (1754–1847), Primitive Wesleyan Methodist minister, was born on 7 May 1754 at Mullan, co. Tyrone, where his family had settled in the sixteenth century. His parents, Adam Averell, farmer, and Mary Johnston, belonged to the established church and were related to ...
Article
Ball, Hannah (1734–1792), follower of Wesleyan Methodism and diarist
E. Dorothy Graham
Ball, Hannah (1734–1792), follower of Wesleyan Methodism and diarist, was born on 13 March 1734, probably in Buckinghamshire. Nothing is known of her family other than that she was one of a family of twelve children and that her mother died in 1779, aged seventy-nine. At the age of nine she went to live with an uncle in ...
Article
Barber, Samuel (1783–1828), Primitive Methodist lay preacher
Colin Haydon
Barber, Samuel (1783–1828), Primitive Methodist lay preacher, was born on 29 December 1783, in Bolt Court, Fleet Street, London, the son of Francis Barber (c.1745–1801), the black, formerly enslaved servant of Dr Samuel Johnson, and his English wife, Elizabeth, née...
Image
Barker, Joseph (1806–1875)
Maker: John Cochran
Joseph Barker (1806–1875) by John Cochran, pubd 1880 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Barker, Joseph (1806–1875), Methodist minister and politico-religious controversialist
Eileen Groth Lyon
Barker, Joseph (1806–1875), Methodist minister and politico-religious controversialist, was born on 11 May 1806 at Bramley, near Leeds. His ancestors, originally of Keighley, had been settled in this area for several generations as farmers and manufacturers. The identity of his parents has not been discovered, though it is known that his father was employed in woollen manufacture and served for some time in the militia, and that ...
Article
Barrett, (Charles) Kingsley (1917–2011), Methodist minister and New Testament scholar
Morna D. Hooker
Barrett, (Charles) Kingsley (1917–2011), Methodist minister and New Testament scholar, was born on 4 May 1917 at 59 Howard Street, Salford, the son of Fred Barrett (1880–1957), United Methodist minister, and his wife, Clara, née Seed (1879–1941), who had been a Methodist deaconess. He attended ...
Article
Beaumont, Joseph (1794–1855), Wesleyan Methodist minister
W. B. Lowther
revised by Tim Macquiban
Beaumont, Joseph (1794–1855), Wesleyan Methodist minister, was born at Castle Donington, in Leicestershire, on 19 March 1794. His father was John Beaumont, an itinerant preacher among the Wesleyan Methodists, and his mother was a daughter of Colonel Home of Gibraltar. From them he inherited a keen taste for music and the fine arts. He was educated at ...
Article
Bedford, John (1810–1879), Wesleyan Methodist minister
W. B. Lowther
revised by Tim Macquiban
Bedford, John (1810–1879), Wesleyan Methodist minister, son of John and Elizabeth Bedford, was born on 27 July 1810 at Rothwell, near Wakefield. His father died when he was about five years old. John was educated in the town and studied for several years in a solicitor's office, but, resolving to become a Wesleyan minister, he was appointed by the conference in 1831 to the ...
Article
Beecham, John (1787–1856), Wesleyan Methodist minister
W. B. Lowther
revised by Tim Macquiban
Beecham, John (1787–1856), Wesleyan Methodist minister, was born at Barnoldby-le-Beck, near Grimsby. His father died at Waltham while he was a child. He was educated privately under a clergyman, the incumbent of the neighbouring parish of Irby. His friends hoped he would become a clergyman in the ...
Article
Bembridge [née Kirkland; other married name Harrison], Sarah (c. 1793–1880), Primitive Methodist travelling preacher
E. Dorothy Graham
Bembridge [née Kirkland; other married name Harrison], Sarah (1793–1880), Primitive Methodist travelling preacher, was born at Mercaston, Derbyshire, on 12 August 1793, the daughter of Rowland Kirkland (bap. 1746, d. 1813), and his wife Sarah Daykin (bap. 1761, d...
Article
Bennet, John (1715–1759), Methodist preacher and Independent minister
Henry D. Rack
revised
Bennet, John (1715–1759), Methodist preacher and Independent minister, was born on 1 March 1715 in Whitehough, near Chinley, Derbyshire, the younger son of William Bennet (c.1677–1766), farmer, and his wife, Ann (d. 1752). Raised as a presbyterian, he was educated at a school in ...
Article
Bennis [née Patten], Eliza (1725–1802), Methodist leader
Rosemary Raughter
Bennis [née Patten], Eliza (1725–1802), Methodist leader, was born in Limerick. Little is known of her background except that her family were Presbyterian and that her father died when she was eighteen. Two years later she married Mitchell Bennis (d. 1788)...
Article
Benson, Joseph (1749–1821), Wesleyan Methodist minister
Simon Ross Valentine
Benson, Joseph (1749–1821), Wesleyan Methodist minister, was born at Melmerby, Cumberland, on 25 January 1749, the son of John Benson (d. 1769), a landowner, and his wife, Isabella Robinson (d. 1779). His father, intending him to enter the church, placed him in the care of the local Presbyterian minister, from whom he received a classical education....
