Missionary in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), born in Leeds on 29 August 1823 into a WM family which included a line of Methodist local preachers. The sudden death of his grandfather in the pulpit in 1836 was a significant event in his early spiritual life. After training at Richmond College (where his contemporaries included W. Morley Punshon, John D. Geden, Samuel Coley and Benjamin Hellier), he worked among the Tamils in North Ceylon and became Chairman of the District. There followed a period of circuit ministry in England. He was a champion of women missionaries and a keen supporter of the new Ladies' Committee. A series of prestigious appointments culminated in Highbury Circuit in 1871, [Entry:438 Brighton] in 1874 and Chelsea in 1877. When difficulties arose in South Africa, he was sent out in 1878 to resolve the problem and presided over the establishment of a separate Missionary Province. He was President of the South Africa Conference in 1883 and 1884, and on returning home in 1886, was elected President of the British Conference in 1887. In 1888 he was appointed one of the Secretaries of the WMMS. He died at Hampstead on 6 June 1904.

Entry written by: JRP
Category: Person
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