John Wesley

: For entries on other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation).

Youth

The Wesleys were of ancient Anglo-Saxon lineage, the family history being traced backward to the time of Athelstan, when Guy Wesley, or Wellesley, was created a thane. John Wesley was the son of Samuel Wesley, a graduate of Oxford, and a minister of the Church of England, who had married in 1689 Susannah, twenty-fifth child of Dr. Samuel Annesley, and herself became a mother of nineteen; in 1696 he was appointed rector of Epworth, where John, the fifteenth child, was born. He was christened John Benjamin, but never used the second name.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Saxon - Athelstan - Thane - Samuel Wesley - Oxford - Church of England - Benjamin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the age of six, John was rescued from the burning rectory. This escape made a deep impression on his mind; and he spoke of himself as a "brand plucked from the burning," and as a child of Providence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The children's early education was given by their mother. In 1713 John was admitted to the Charterhouse School, London, where he lived the studious, methodical, and (for a while) religious life in which he had been trained at home. In 1720, he entered Christ Church College, Oxford, and received his Master of Arts in 1727. He was ordained deacon in 1725 and elected fellow of Lincoln College in the following year. He was his father's curate for two years, and then returned to Oxford to fulfil his functions as fellow.

Related Topics:
Charterhouse School - 1720 - Christ Church College, Oxford - Master of Arts - 1727 - Lincoln College

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~