He entered the WM ministry in 1827 and served in several English circuits before spending a year in Shetland (1832-33). During his ministry in Perth (1833-35) and Dundee (1835-36) the Warrenite controversy erupted. He sided with Samuel Warren against the Conference and in March 1836 divided the Dundee society over the issue, taking with him two thirds of the membership and most of the leaders. He and his following (known locally as 'Shoebothamites' or 'Shuffelbottamites') joined the WMA, but his name disappears from their Minutes in 1838. In that year he opened a chapel seating 1,000, and both he and his Dundee congregation had become Independents by 1840. He was opposed to the Factory Acts of 1833 and 1844 on the grounds that they violated parental rights.

He was a Congregational minister in Scotland between 1845 and 1868 and died at Old Swinford near Birmingham in 1885.

Add to sources McNaughten Scottish Congregational Ministers 145(5)

Entry written by: MB
Category: Person
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