Mitchell, Thomas
1726-1785; e.m. 1751

Early itinerant from Bingley (Yorks). Having served in the army, he joined the Methodists and was helped to faith by the preaching of John Nelson. After exhorting for some time in various parts of Yorkshire, he was made a travelling preacher in 1751. Serving in Wiltshire he 'discovered' the young Thomas Olivers and recommended him to John Wesley. In the 1750s he did pioneering work on the Kent-Sussex border, He experienced his share of mob violence, including being half-drowned when thrown into a pond at Wrangle (Lincs). A man of modest abilities, he was nevertheless described an effective preacher and the 1785 Conference saluted him as 'an old soldier of Jesus Christ'.

Sources
  • Lives of the Early Methodist Preachers1 pp.240-59
  • Charles Atmore, Methodist Memorial (1801) pp.274-76

See also

Entry written by: HMG
Category: Person
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