Francis Asbury
| Francis Asbury | |
|---|---|
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| Born | August 20 or 21, 1745 Hamstead Bridge, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | March 31, 1816 (aged 70) Spotsylvania County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Minister, theologian |
Francis Asbury (/ˈæzbəri/; August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. As a young man in October 1771, the Englishman traveled to America and, during his 45 years there, he devoted his life to ministry, traveling on horseback and by carriage thousands of miles to those living on the frontier.
Asbury spread Methodism in America, as part of the Second Great Awakening. He also founded several schools during his lifetime, although his own formal education was limited. His journal is valuable to scholars for its account of frontier society.
Francis Asbury was born at Hamstead Bridge, Staffordshire, England on August 20 or 21, 1745, to Elizabeth and Joseph Asbury. The family moved to a cottage at Great Barr, Sandwell, the next year. His boyhood home still stands and is open as Bishop Asbury Cottage museum. Wanting him to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, his mother read the Bible to him, sang him hymns, and prayed over him. Asbury worshipped as a Methodist at nearby Wednesbury. He had an apprenticeship as a blacksmith.
Asbury became a local lay preacher for Methodist meetings at age 18. At age 22, John Wesley appointed him as a traveling preacher. In 1771 he volunteered to travel to America. Within the first 17 days of being in the colonies, Asbury had preached in Philadelphia and New York. During the first year he was Wesley’s assistant and preached in 25 different settlements. When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1776, he and James Dempster were the only Methodist ministers to remain in America.
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