Metherall, Francis
1791-1875. em 1822

Bible Christian minister, founder of the Bible Christian mission in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Born in rural north Devon in December 1791, Metherall was converted early in 1819 at a meeting addressed by both William O'Bryan and James Thorne. Later that year, when O'Bryan separated from the movement he had formed, Metherall sided with the majority Thorne group, and subsequently ascribed his conversion to Thorne alone.

After one year in his first appointment on Scilly he was sent as the first male Bible Christian minister appointed to Wales; the same appointment was described in 1824 as 'Monmouth Mission'.

When the Bible Christians decided to follow west country migrants to Canada in 1831 Metherall was one of the two appointed. He landed on Prince Edward Island in 1832, and effectively established Bible Christian Methodism on the island. He spent the whole of the rest of his ministry there, and all his Supernumeracy from 1859. He died at Cape Wolfe on 9 June 1875.

Sources
  • Bible Christian Minutes of Conference
  • Bible Christian Magazine 1831-84 : occasional reports from P.E.I.
  • Notes in Tom Shaw's transcript of William O'Bryan's manuscript Journal (in private hands)
  • Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: 1871-1880 (Vol. 10)
  • Neil Semple, The Lord's Dominion: The History of Canadian Methodism (1996) pp.119-20

See also

Entry written by: CCS
Category: Person
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