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      2 Aug1825
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From Bristol to Thomas Slugg in Wetherby. Slugg’s letter arrived but with the great heat,lassitude of body and anxiety of mind, Atherton has not been in a mood for writing. ‘Myconcern[?] has arisen from my own station notwithstanding my receiving a unanimous vote of June andothers since that of a meeting of about 100 [class] leaders, stewards and trustees, there was apowerful junta determined to remove me. I was first put down for London West & then for LondonSouth. A committee of all the presidents was appointed to sit on the business of Liverpooldisturbances, and a deputation of [Joseph] Entwisle, [Jabez] Bunting, [Adam] Clarke & [George]Marsden & [Robert] Newton appointed to settle on the spot. In that meeting, wch would have givenme any circuit if I would remove, I said, that no appointment would satisfy but Liverpool, andaccordingly, the following morning I was put down for it but [Thomas?] Wood also. I was informedyesterday that the deputation had resolved among themselves not to visit Liverpool unless all thepreachers were removed [Atherton, Wood, George Highfield, Cleland Kirkpatrick and Alexander Bell]. Iexpected a grand fight today, but when the stations were read, not a word was said’. Athertonwill not consider that his station is finally settled until it has been ratified by the President.

Slugg has all along wanted New Mills [near Stockport]; Atherton does not know a great deal aboutbut it is probably better than his present circuit. Atherton has had no opportunity of improvingSlugg’s lot unless he was prepared to move Northwards. He does not know what conference news,[William] Carlton has already sent Slugg so he will start at the beginning.

The assembly opened in the usual manner. [Arthur] Hutchinson, [William] Hicks and [William]Howarth succeed to the Hundred [The hundred senior Wesleyan ministers who constituted the officialConference of the Methodist Church] by seniority, and [Edmund] Grindrod, [Thomas] Stanley and Dr[James] Townley by election. The President and Secretary both won the same number of votes, namelyninety-five -’[Richard] Watson was second to the chair and [Richard] Reece the second’.Many new preachers were recommended to Conference at the advanced age of twenty-eight to thirty-two.Most of the new men proposed had matrimonial engagements which caused a bit of a stir. Recommendedwere two ‘Cyngalees’ [Sinhalese] assistant missionaries, two from Nova Scotia, two fromWales, thirty-nine for the home work and nineteen for the missions, making for sixty-four in all. Asfor deaths, there was Francis Wrigley after travelling for fifty-five years, [Walter] Griffiths whohad travelled for forty-one, George Deverell at the age of thirty-four and John Smith senior afterforty years service. Daniel Jackson died at the age of seventy-four and George Tindale afterthirty-three years service. Three missionaries have died since the last conference - [William] Banks[his surname was actually Maggs ], John Hirst and [Henry T.] Harte of West Africa. The Irishministry have lost [John] Hamilton and [James] McKee . In addition, John Bryant died since theconference began.

As for disciplinery cases; Henry Jackson was accused by his quarterly meeting and superintendentof neglect of duty for reading and study etc. Jackson pleaded that he had been raised as agentleman. A letter was written to him telling him to mend his manners and the next district meetingto make a special report. Robert Jones was expelled for habitual ‘tippling’ and £50 wasgranted to him as an act of [unreadable word]. [George] Marsland of Edinburgh was ‘to have afaithful letter written to him & no more’. [Edward] Ford ‘who ran from the samecircuit’ to be placed on trial again. [Thomas] Moxton [Moxon] of the Aberdeen circuit marrieda person who was not in the society and without consulting his brethren. However, because of thegood character of both parties, he was not severely censured. [John] Richardson who refused to go tohis appointed station, the Shetland Isles, wrote a ‘high toned’ letter in his owndefence and ‘was dropped with contempt’. [William] Walker of New South Wales [inAustralia] was charged with being worldly in his pursuits. He wrote a good letter in his own defenceand was referred to the Missionary Committee.

‘The Jamiaca preachers were noticed but not called to an acct only, the general questionof slavery - the resolutions of the Missionary Committee received the approbation ofconference’. Nothing was more difficult than the case of [Thomas] Hill [the minister ThomasHill was accused at the Assize court in York of writing various letters alleged to be libellous] andthe connexion’s wisest heads sat long in discussion about it. They reported that there was noproof that he had written the anonymous letters, but concerning the other letters which Hillacknowledged having written, it was decided that they were unworthy of a Christian minister.Hill wastherefore severely censured by the chair and barred from holding the office of superintendent forfour years.

John Nicholson was dropped for general unsuitability and ‘trifling’ with youngwomen. Five young men were charged with refusing to go ahead after offering themselves for foreignservice - two were acquitted and three were told to go overseas when called for. [William] Edwardswho is married and has travelled for twelve years, was charged with indecent familiarity with Ann[unreadable surname]. Because of his general good character, deep repentence and the provocationwhich he experienced, he was merely put back on trial.

The President [Joseph Entwisle], secretary [Jabez Bunting] and [Jonathan] Barker are to visitIreland. Joshiah Hill and [Richard] Waddy are to write the Irish [address?] and [Richard] Watson and[Robert] Newton, the pastoral address.

[John] Stamp is not allowed to take more than two guineas from the [Preachers’?] fund thisyear. Waddy has been sent to Sheffield by a vote of conference’their being a strongremonstrance against him’ [in his previous circuit of London South].

Conference is expected to end this week. It has been peaceable and orderly.

A Day Later

There have been a few changes in the stations which seem to now complete that item of business.Atherton has put down for Wakefield and [Thomas] Wood for Newcastle.

Note

  • Thomas Slugg (1780-1856) was born in the village of Holt nearBradford in Wiltshire. He was converted at the age of nineteen after reading Anthony Horneck’sGreat Law of Consideration and was received into the Methodist ministry in 1804. He exercised anactive circuit ministry until superannuation in 1843. His retirement was spent in Manchester wherehe acted for eleven years as the chaplain and registrar of Irwell Street Cemetery in Salford.Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1853 andMinutes of Conference 1857
  • George Marsden (1772-1858) was born in Manchester, of Methodistparentage. He entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1793 and served as a circuit minister for nearlyfifty years, mainly in the north-west of England. A close friend of Jabez Bunting, Marsden was oneof the leading ministers of his generation. He served as Missionary secretary (1816-18), secretaryof Conference (1820) and President of the Canadian Conference in 1833. He was also President of theWesleyan Conference in 1821 and 1831. Marsden was superannuated in 1842 and died near Glossop inDerbishire two weeks after preaching his last sermon. Source:Arminian Magazine 1858, p.576 andDictionary of Evangelical Biography, 1739-1860, edited by Donald Lewis (1995)
  • Thomas Wood (1765-1826) was born at Flixton near Manchester and wasconverted at the age of nineteen. He entered the local Methodist society and began to preach locallyin 1786. The following year, he entered the itinerancy. His active circuit lasted until his finalillness and death which occurred on January 8 1826 while he was stationed in the Newcastle circuit.Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1819 andMinutes of Conference 1826
  • William Carlton (1779-1855) was born in Sutton-on-the-Forest inYorkshire. His parents were Anglicans and Carlton was raised to attend his parish church regularly.From the age of fifteen he began to attend Methodist worship in York where he was a member ofRichard Burdall’s class. Carlton entered the ministry in 1808 and exercised an active circuitministry until superannuation in 1842, despite the fact that he was almost totally deaf. Hisretirement was spent in Hull until 1844 and then York. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1853 andMinutes of Conference 1856
  • Arthur Hutchinson (d.1834) entered the itinerancy in 1794 andexercised an active circuit ministry in England and Scotland until superannuation due to ill healthin 1826. His retirement was spent in Lancaster and Penrith. Hutchinson was elected to the LegalHundred in 1825. Source: Minutes of Conference 1834
  • William Hicks (1765-1834) entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1794. Hewas forced by ill health to become a supernumary in 1829. He spent the last few years of his life inDover. Source: Minutes of Conference 1834
  • William Howarth (1764-1842) was employed as a local preacher beforeentering the itinerancy in 1794. He exercised an active circuit ministry in England and Wales untilsuperannuation because of poor health in 1832. He spent his retirement in Bristol. Howarth waselected to the Legal Hundred in 1825. Source: Hill’sArrangement 1841 and Minutes of Conference1842
  • Edmund Grindrod (1786-1842) was born near Rochdale in Lancashire. Hewas converted as a teenager and became a local preacher in 1805, a year before entering the Wesleyanministry. As superintendent of the Leeds circuit, Grindrod was actively involved in defence of theConnexion during the Leeds Organ dispute of 1827-28. Grindrod served as President of Conference in1837 and just before his death, published a compendium of the regulations governing WesleyanMethodism. Source:Encyclopedia of World Methodism(1974) andDictionary of Evangelical Biography,1739-1860, edited by Donald Lewis (1995)
  • Thomas Stanley (1772-1832) entered the Wesleyan itinerancy in 1795.He exercised an active circuit ministry until his death, which occurred suddenly while he wasSuperintendent of the 6th London Circuit after paying a visit to the home of the musician CharlesWesley. Source: Methodist Magazine 1832, p.842
  • Richard Watson (1781-1833) was born at Barton-on-Humber inLincolnshire. He entered the Wesleyan itinerancy in 1796 but withdrew on doctrinal grounds in 1801and joined the Methodist New Connexion in 1803. He returned to the Wesleyan Church in 1812 servingas President of Conference in 1826 and as secretary to the Wesleyan Missionary Society from 1821 to1825. He was a leading opponent of slavery. Watson was a gifted writer and theologian. In 1818 hewrote a reply to Dr Adam Clarke's doctrine of the Eternal Sonship which caused some dispute withinthe Church. In 1823 he began to publish his Theological Institutes which remained a standard formany years and in 1831 wrote a well-regarded life of John Wesley. Source: Encyclopedia of World Methodism (1974)
  • Richard Reece (1765-1850) was converted at the age of eighteen andentered the itinerancy in 1787. He served as President of the British Conference in 1816 and 1835and of the Irish Conference in 1817. In 1823 he represented the British Church at the AmericanGeneral Conference in Baltimore. Reece remained in the active ministry until the age of eighty-onewhen he retired as a supernumary minister to London where he died after a short illness. Source: C.F Crookshank, History of Methodism in Ireland,Vol.2 (1885), p.420, Arrangement 1847 andMethodist Magazine 1850, pp.652,983-984
  • Francis Wrigley (1746-1824) was born in Manchester. He entered theWesleyan itinerancy in 1769 and exercised an active circuit ministry for fifty-five years inEngland, Ireland and Scotland. His conference obituary describes him as a rigid enforcer ofMethodist discipline. In his personality there was 'a degree of harshness; and he retainedthroughout his life an abruptness of manner, which not infrequently produced...an opinionunfavourable to his courtesy: but those who knew him best, discovered in him great tenderness ofaffection...'. At the time of his death he was the oldest Methodist minister. Wrigley was buried atCity Road chapel in London. Source: Arrangement1819 and Minutes of Conference 1825
  • Walter Griffiths (1762-1825) was born in Clogheen, County Tipperary.He was converted by the preaching of Joseph Pilmore in 1780 while living in Dublin. Griffith enteredthe itinerancy in 1784. He served circuits in Ireland with great success until 1794 after which hewas stationed in England. He was President of Conference in 1813. Source: Methodist Magazine 1825, p.644,Hill's Arrangement 1862 and C. F Crookshank, History of Methodism in Ireland, Vol.1
  • George Deverell (1763-1825) was born in Somerset and was convertedby Methodist preaching in a small village near Bristol at the age of twenty-one. He entered theitinerancy in 1791 and exercised an active circuit ministry until superannuation in 1823 throughpoor health. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825and An Alphabetical Arrangement of Wesleyan MethodistPreachers...1739-1818, compiled by Kenneth Garlick (1975)
  • John Smith senior (1760-1825) entered the itinerancy in 1785 andexercised an active circuit ministry in England and the Isle of Man until shortly before his finalillness. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825 andAn Alphabetical Arrangement of Wesleyan MethodistPreachers...1739-1818, compiled by Kenneth Garlick (1975)
  • Daniel Jackson (1750-1824) was converted in 1773 and entered theitinerancy five years later.He travelled in England, Ireland and the Isle of Man until 1810 when hewas compelled to superannuate because of ill health. Jackson settled in Stockport where he died onDecember 9 1824. Source: Minutes of Conference1825 and Hill’s Arrangement 1819
  • George Tindale (1792-1825) of the Leeds circuit was recommended forthe itinerancy in 1814. At the time of his candidature, he had taken some steps toward marriage butpromised to remain single until after his probation. He exercised an active circuit ministry untilhis death following an attack of paralysis while speaking at a missionary meeting in Derby. Tindalehad been unwell for some time. Source:Minutes ofConference 1825 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • William Maggs (1801-25) of the Bath circuit, was recommended for theitinerancy at the conference of 1822. He volunteered for the overseas missions and was appointed toSt Christopher’s in the West Indies. He developed consumption after less than two years in thework and returned to England where he died in his native town on November 24 1824. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • John Hirst (1796-1825) of the Dewsbury circuit in Yorkshire, wasrecommended for the itinerancy at the Conference of 1817. He volunteered for overseas missions andwas
  • John Hamilton (1762-1824) entered the Irish itinerancy in 1794 andserved throughout the country until his death because of a stroke shortly after arriving home afterleaving the Irish Conference. Source: Minutes ofConference 1825
  • James McKee (1767-1825) entered the Irish itinerancy in 1793 aftercommencing preaching in Portaferry and the surrounding area. His ministry lasted for twenty-nineyears, despite poor health in the final few years. He died of an ‘inflammatorydisorder’. Source: Minutes of Conference1825.
  • John Bryant (d.1825) was born in St Agnes in Cornwall. He joined theMethodist society in 1799 and became a local preacher soon after. He joined the itinerancy in 1809and exercised an active and successful circuit ministry until his death which occurred suddenly atExeter while he was on his way to the Conference. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825.
  • Henry Jackson (b.1802) was recommended for the Methodist ministry in1822 by John Gaulter of the Deptford circuit. He was described as having been ‘educated forthe military service of his country’. His ministry lasted until the Conference of 1829 when he‘honourably’ retired from the ministry. He had previously been censured and told‘to mend his manners’by the 1825 Conference for ‘deficiency in zeal, spiritualityand diligence’. His excuse for lack of energy had been the circumstances of his genteelupbringing. After Jackson left the ministry, nothing more is known. Source: MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journals 1825 and 1826, and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31.
  • Robert Jones {fl.1820) entered the Wesleyan itinerancy in 1807 andserved his entire circuit ministry in Wales. He was expelled by the Conference of 1825 for‘habitual tippling’ although a grant of £50 was made to his wife and children ‘asan act of mercy’. Nothing further is known after he left the itinerancy. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1819 and MARC PLP Athertoncollection
  • George Marsland (1798-1849) was born in Birstal, Yorkshire.Converted at the age of fifteen under the ministry of William Bramwell, he became a local preacherin Leeds and Birstal. Marsland entered the ministry in 1819 and served in England and Scotland untilhis death which occurred suddenly shortly after feeling unwell in the pulpit of Fletcher StreetChapel in Bolton, Lancashire. Marsland was censured by the 1825 Conference, while stationed inPaisley, for making an engagement ‘to enter into trade’. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1847, MARC PLP Atherton collection, ConferenceJournal 1825 andMinutes of Conference 1849
  • Edward Ford (d.1839) was converted at the age of twenty and enteredthe itineracy in 1824. A well-educated man, his public ministry was effective. Ford exercised anactive circuit ministry in Scotland, England and Wales, until he was involved in an accident inwhich his wife was killed. Ford suffered a fractured leg and he died as a result on October 16th1839. Ford was placed back on trial by the Conference of 1825 for entering into trade. Source:Hill’s Arrangement 1838, MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journal 1825 andMinutes ofConference 1840
  • Thomas Moxon (1792-1859) was converted in early life and entered theWesleyan itinerancy in 1812. His active circuit ministry in England and Scotland lasted untilsuperannuation in 1846. His retirement was spent in Pontefract, Yorkshire. ‘His sudden removalby death, under mysterious circumstances, occasioned general gloom and sorrow in theneighbourhood’. Moxon was admonished by the Conference of 1825 for marrying a woman who wasnot a Methodist. Source: Hill’s Arrangement1858, MARC PLP Atherton collection, Conference Journal 1825 andMinutes of Conference 1860
  • John Richardson (b.1803) of the Wisbeach circuit in Linconshire, wasaccepted for the itinerancy by the Conference of 1824. He was described as single, free of debt andin good health. He was expelled by the Conference of the following year for having ‘trifledwith a young woman and in other respects manifested instability of conduct’, which includedrefusing to go to his appointed station in the Shetland Islands. He was however permitted to be alocal preacher at the descretion of the Superintendent minister. Source: MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journal 1825 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • William Walker (b.1800) of the Chester circuit was recommended toConference in 1819 to join the itinerancy. He had no marital engagements and volunteered foroverseas missions. Sent to New South Wales, Walker was censured by his District meeting in 1825 for‘accepting a situation in the orphan asylum...incompatible with his engagements as amissionary’. He was expelled by the following year’s Conference for ‘havingimproperly entangled himself with the affairs of this life’. Source: MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journals 1825 and 1826 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • Thomas Hill (1775-1857) was born near Stourbridge in Gloucestershireand was converted in early life. He entered the itinerancy in 1808 and exercised an active circuitministry until superannuation in 1844. His retirement was spent in Holmfirth, Yorkshire. Hill wasreprimanded by the Conference of 1825 for being involved in a legal case involving his allegedauthorship of certain libelous letters. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1853, Conference Journal 1825 andMinutes of Conference 1857
  • Jabez Bunting (1779-1858) was born in Manchester, the son of ataylor. His family were devout Methodists and despite their poor circumstances managed to give theirson a good education. While studying for a career in medicine, Bunting felt the call to offerhimself for the Wesleyan ministry. He was accepted in 1799 and within a few years revealed himselfto be a minister of exceptional ability. Bunting served four terms as President of Conference, heldoffice as the secretary of the Conference from 1814 to 1819 and again from 1824 to 1827. He was alsoConnexional Editor from 1821 to 1824 and played a leading role in the establishment of the WesleyanMissionary Society. He was also the main advocate for the setting up of the Theological Institutionin 1834 for the training of ministers. Bunting was without doubt the dominant figure in theMethodist Church of his day. His oustanding talent for leadership and organisational ability placedthe Church on a more efficient footing, and provided the framework for continued expansion. Hisauthoritarian style was however very controversial and resulted in several divisions and expulsions,most notably the Wesleyan Reform Movement of the 1840s. Source: Encyclopedia of World Methodism(1974)
  • Jonathan Barker (1763-1839) was born in Manchester. He joined thelocal Methodist society and after labouring for some time as a local preacher, entered theitinerancy in 1793. His active circuit ministry lasted until superannuation in 1832. His retirementwas spent in his native town. Source:Hill’sArrangement 1838 andMinutes of Conference1839
  • Josiah Hill (1773-1844) was born at Sall near Reepham in Norfolk. Hewas converted at the age of eighteen and entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1795. Hill exercised anactive circuit ministry until 1803 when he retired. He re-entered the ministry in 1811 and served ina number of English and Welsh circuits until his death which occurred after a short illness atHaverford West. Source: Arminian Magazine 1844,p.770 and Hill's Arrangement 1842

Note

Note

  • Thomas Slugg (1780-1856) was born in the village of Holt nearBradford in Wiltshire. He was converted at the age of nineteen after reading Anthony Horneck’sGreat Law of Consideration and was received into the Methodist ministry in 1804. He exercised anactive circuit ministry until superannuation in 1843. His retirement was spent in Manchester wherehe acted for eleven years as the chaplain and registrar of Irwell Street Cemetery in Salford.Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1853 andMinutes of Conference 1857
  • George Marsden (1772-1858) was born in Manchester, of Methodistparentage. He entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1793 and served as a circuit minister for nearlyfifty years, mainly in the north-west of England. A close friend of Jabez Bunting, Marsden was oneof the leading ministers of his generation. He served as Missionary secretary (1816-18), secretaryof Conference (1820) and President of the Canadian Conference in 1833. He was also President of theWesleyan Conference in 1821 and 1831. Marsden was superannuated in 1842 and died near Glossop inDerbishire two weeks after preaching his last sermon. Source:Arminian Magazine 1858, p.576 andDictionary of Evangelical Biography, 1739-1860, edited by Donald Lewis (1995)
  • Thomas Wood (1765-1826) was born at Flixton near Manchester and wasconverted at the age of nineteen. He entered the local Methodist society and began to preach locallyin 1786. The following year, he entered the itinerancy. His active circuit lasted until his finalillness and death which occurred on January 8 1826 while he was stationed in the Newcastle circuit.Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1819 andMinutes of Conference 1826
  • William Carlton (1779-1855) was born in Sutton-on-the-Forest inYorkshire. His parents were Anglicans and Carlton was raised to attend his parish church regularly.From the age of fifteen he began to attend Methodist worship in York where he was a member ofRichard Burdall’s class. Carlton entered the ministry in 1808 and exercised an active circuitministry until superannuation in 1842, despite the fact that he was almost totally deaf. Hisretirement was spent in Hull until 1844 and then York. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1853 andMinutes of Conference 1856
  • Arthur Hutchinson (d.1834) entered the itinerancy in 1794 andexercised an active circuit ministry in England and Scotland until superannuation due to ill healthin 1826. His retirement was spent in Lancaster and Penrith. Hutchinson was elected to the LegalHundred in 1825. Source: Minutes of Conference 1834
  • William Hicks (1765-1834) entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1794. Hewas forced by ill health to become a supernumary in 1829. He spent the last few years of his life inDover. Source: Minutes of Conference 1834
  • William Howarth (1764-1842) was employed as a local preacher beforeentering the itinerancy in 1794. He exercised an active circuit ministry in England and Wales untilsuperannuation because of poor health in 1832. He spent his retirement in Bristol. Howarth waselected to the Legal Hundred in 1825. Source: Hill’sArrangement 1841 and Minutes of Conference1842
  • Edmund Grindrod (1786-1842) was born near Rochdale in Lancashire. Hewas converted as a teenager and became a local preacher in 1805, a year before entering the Wesleyanministry. As superintendent of the Leeds circuit, Grindrod was actively involved in defence of theConnexion during the Leeds Organ dispute of 1827-28. Grindrod served as President of Conference in1837 and just before his death, published a compendium of the regulations governing WesleyanMethodism. Source:Encyclopedia of World Methodism(1974) andDictionary of Evangelical Biography,1739-1860, edited by Donald Lewis (1995)
  • Thomas Stanley (1772-1832) entered the Wesleyan itinerancy in 1795.He exercised an active circuit ministry until his death, which occurred suddenly while he wasSuperintendent of the 6th London Circuit after paying a visit to the home of the musician CharlesWesley. Source: Methodist Magazine 1832, p.842
  • Richard Watson (1781-1833) was born at Barton-on-Humber inLincolnshire. He entered the Wesleyan itinerancy in 1796 but withdrew on doctrinal grounds in 1801and joined the Methodist New Connexion in 1803. He returned to the Wesleyan Church in 1812 servingas President of Conference in 1826 and as secretary to the Wesleyan Missionary Society from 1821 to1825. He was a leading opponent of slavery. Watson was a gifted writer and theologian. In 1818 hewrote a reply to Dr Adam Clarke's doctrine of the Eternal Sonship which caused some dispute withinthe Church. In 1823 he began to publish his Theological Institutes which remained a standard formany years and in 1831 wrote a well-regarded life of John Wesley. Source: Encyclopedia of World Methodism (1974)
  • Richard Reece (1765-1850) was converted at the age of eighteen andentered the itinerancy in 1787. He served as President of the British Conference in 1816 and 1835and of the Irish Conference in 1817. In 1823 he represented the British Church at the AmericanGeneral Conference in Baltimore. Reece remained in the active ministry until the age of eighty-onewhen he retired as a supernumary minister to London where he died after a short illness. Source: C.F Crookshank, History of Methodism in Ireland,Vol.2 (1885), p.420, Arrangement 1847 andMethodist Magazine 1850, pp.652,983-984
  • Francis Wrigley (1746-1824) was born in Manchester. He entered theWesleyan itinerancy in 1769 and exercised an active circuit ministry for fifty-five years inEngland, Ireland and Scotland. His conference obituary describes him as a rigid enforcer ofMethodist discipline. In his personality there was 'a degree of harshness; and he retainedthroughout his life an abruptness of manner, which not infrequently produced...an opinionunfavourable to his courtesy: but those who knew him best, discovered in him great tenderness ofaffection...'. At the time of his death he was the oldest Methodist minister. Wrigley was buried atCity Road chapel in London. Source: Arrangement1819 and Minutes of Conference 1825
  • Walter Griffiths (1762-1825) was born in Clogheen, County Tipperary.He was converted by the preaching of Joseph Pilmore in 1780 while living in Dublin. Griffith enteredthe itinerancy in 1784. He served circuits in Ireland with great success until 1794 after which hewas stationed in England. He was President of Conference in 1813. Source: Methodist Magazine 1825, p.644,Hill's Arrangement 1862 and C. F Crookshank, History of Methodism in Ireland, Vol.1
  • George Deverell (1763-1825) was born in Somerset and was convertedby Methodist preaching in a small village near Bristol at the age of twenty-one. He entered theitinerancy in 1791 and exercised an active circuit ministry until superannuation in 1823 throughpoor health. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825and An Alphabetical Arrangement of Wesleyan MethodistPreachers...1739-1818, compiled by Kenneth Garlick (1975)
  • John Smith senior (1760-1825) entered the itinerancy in 1785 andexercised an active circuit ministry in England and the Isle of Man until shortly before his finalillness. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825 andAn Alphabetical Arrangement of Wesleyan MethodistPreachers...1739-1818, compiled by Kenneth Garlick (1975)
  • Daniel Jackson (1750-1824) was converted in 1773 and entered theitinerancy five years later.He travelled in England, Ireland and the Isle of Man until 1810 when hewas compelled to superannuate because of ill health. Jackson settled in Stockport where he died onDecember 9 1824. Source: Minutes of Conference1825 and Hill’s Arrangement 1819
  • George Tindale (1792-1825) of the Leeds circuit was recommended forthe itinerancy in 1814. At the time of his candidature, he had taken some steps toward marriage butpromised to remain single until after his probation. He exercised an active circuit ministry untilhis death following an attack of paralysis while speaking at a missionary meeting in Derby. Tindalehad been unwell for some time. Source:Minutes ofConference 1825 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • William Maggs (1801-25) of the Bath circuit, was recommended for theitinerancy at the conference of 1822. He volunteered for the overseas missions and was appointed toSt Christopher’s in the West Indies. He developed consumption after less than two years in thework and returned to England where he died in his native town on November 24 1824. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • John Hirst (1796-1825) of the Dewsbury circuit in Yorkshire, wasrecommended for the itinerancy at the Conference of 1817. He volunteered for overseas missions andwas
  • John Hamilton (1762-1824) entered the Irish itinerancy in 1794 andserved throughout the country until his death because of a stroke shortly after arriving home afterleaving the Irish Conference. Source: Minutes ofConference 1825
  • James McKee (1767-1825) entered the Irish itinerancy in 1793 aftercommencing preaching in Portaferry and the surrounding area. His ministry lasted for twenty-nineyears, despite poor health in the final few years. He died of an ‘inflammatorydisorder’. Source: Minutes of Conference1825.
  • John Bryant (d.1825) was born in St Agnes in Cornwall. He joined theMethodist society in 1799 and became a local preacher soon after. He joined the itinerancy in 1809and exercised an active and successful circuit ministry until his death which occurred suddenly atExeter while he was on his way to the Conference. Source: Minutes of Conference 1825.
  • Henry Jackson (b.1802) was recommended for the Methodist ministry in1822 by John Gaulter of the Deptford circuit. He was described as having been ‘educated forthe military service of his country’. His ministry lasted until the Conference of 1829 when he‘honourably’ retired from the ministry. He had previously been censured and told‘to mend his manners’by the 1825 Conference for ‘deficiency in zeal, spiritualityand diligence’. His excuse for lack of energy had been the circumstances of his genteelupbringing. After Jackson left the ministry, nothing more is known. Source: MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journals 1825 and 1826, and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31.
  • Robert Jones {fl.1820) entered the Wesleyan itinerancy in 1807 andserved his entire circuit ministry in Wales. He was expelled by the Conference of 1825 for‘habitual tippling’ although a grant of £50 was made to his wife and children ‘asan act of mercy’. Nothing further is known after he left the itinerancy. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1819 and MARC PLP Athertoncollection
  • George Marsland (1798-1849) was born in Birstal, Yorkshire.Converted at the age of fifteen under the ministry of William Bramwell, he became a local preacherin Leeds and Birstal. Marsland entered the ministry in 1819 and served in England and Scotland untilhis death which occurred suddenly shortly after feeling unwell in the pulpit of Fletcher StreetChapel in Bolton, Lancashire. Marsland was censured by the 1825 Conference, while stationed inPaisley, for making an engagement ‘to enter into trade’. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1847, MARC PLP Atherton collection, ConferenceJournal 1825 andMinutes of Conference 1849
  • Edward Ford (d.1839) was converted at the age of twenty and enteredthe itineracy in 1824. A well-educated man, his public ministry was effective. Ford exercised anactive circuit ministry in Scotland, England and Wales, until he was involved in an accident inwhich his wife was killed. Ford suffered a fractured leg and he died as a result on October 16th1839. Ford was placed back on trial by the Conference of 1825 for entering into trade. Source:Hill’s Arrangement 1838, MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journal 1825 andMinutes ofConference 1840
  • Thomas Moxon (1792-1859) was converted in early life and entered theWesleyan itinerancy in 1812. His active circuit ministry in England and Scotland lasted untilsuperannuation in 1846. His retirement was spent in Pontefract, Yorkshire. ‘His sudden removalby death, under mysterious circumstances, occasioned general gloom and sorrow in theneighbourhood’. Moxon was admonished by the Conference of 1825 for marrying a woman who wasnot a Methodist. Source: Hill’s Arrangement1858, MARC PLP Atherton collection, Conference Journal 1825 andMinutes of Conference 1860
  • John Richardson (b.1803) of the Wisbeach circuit in Linconshire, wasaccepted for the itinerancy by the Conference of 1824. He was described as single, free of debt andin good health. He was expelled by the Conference of the following year for having ‘trifledwith a young woman and in other respects manifested instability of conduct’, which includedrefusing to go to his appointed station in the Shetland Islands. He was however permitted to be alocal preacher at the descretion of the Superintendent minister. Source: MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journal 1825 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • William Walker (b.1800) of the Chester circuit was recommended toConference in 1819 to join the itinerancy. He had no marital engagements and volunteered foroverseas missions. Sent to New South Wales, Walker was censured by his District meeting in 1825 for‘accepting a situation in the orphan asylum...incompatible with his engagements as amissionary’. He was expelled by the following year’s Conference for ‘havingimproperly entangled himself with the affairs of this life’. Source: MARC PLP Athertoncollection, Conference Journals 1825 and 1826 and List of itinerants accepted on trial 1803-31
  • Thomas Hill (1775-1857) was born near Stourbridge in Gloucestershireand was converted in early life. He entered the itinerancy in 1808 and exercised an active circuitministry until superannuation in 1844. His retirement was spent in Holmfirth, Yorkshire. Hill wasreprimanded by the Conference of 1825 for being involved in a legal case involving his allegedauthorship of certain libelous letters. Source: Hill’s Arrangement 1853, Conference Journal 1825 andMinutes of Conference 1857
  • Jabez Bunting (1779-1858) was born in Manchester, the son of ataylor. His family were devout Methodists and despite their poor circumstances managed to give theirson a good education. While studying for a career in medicine, Bunting felt the call to offerhimself for the Wesleyan ministry. He was accepted in 1799 and within a few years revealed himselfto be a minister of exceptional ability. Bunting served four terms as President of Conference, heldoffice as the secretary of the Conference from 1814 to 1819 and again from 1824 to 1827. He was alsoConnexional Editor from 1821 to 1824 and played a leading role in the establishment of the WesleyanMissionary Society. He was also the main advocate for the setting up of the Theological Institutionin 1834 for the training of ministers. Bunting was without doubt the dominant figure in theMethodist Church of his day. His oustanding talent for leadership and organisational ability placedthe Church on a more efficient footing, and provided the framework for continued expansion. Hisauthoritarian style was however very controversial and resulted in several divisions and expulsions,most notably the Wesleyan Reform Movement of the 1840s. Source: Encyclopedia of World Methodism(1974)
  • Jonathan Barker (1763-1839) was born in Manchester. He joined thelocal Methodist society and after labouring for some time as a local preacher, entered theitinerancy in 1793. His active circuit ministry lasted until superannuation in 1832. His retirementwas spent in his native town. Source:Hill’sArrangement 1838 andMinutes of Conference1839
  • Josiah Hill (1773-1844) was born at Sall near Reepham in Norfolk. Hewas converted at the age of eighteen and entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1795. Hill exercised anactive circuit ministry until 1803 when he retired. He re-entered the ministry in 1811 and served ina number of English and Welsh circuits until his death which occurred after a short illness atHaverford West. Source: Arminian Magazine 1844,p.770 and Hill's Arrangement 1842