Okeley, Francis (1719–1794)

Son of the mayor of Bedford, Okeley (or Okely) was educated at Charterhouse. He was converted in 1736 and met the Wesley brothers as part the Fetter Lane society. When Fetter Lane split, Okeley sided with the Moravians and considered attending their seminary. Instead, he entered St. John's, Cambridge in 1736, becoming part of the 'Cambridge Methodists'. On his return to Bedford, after receiving a BA in 1740, Okeley took the pastorate of a Baptist church, but soon returned to the Moravians. But here too he proved restless. See Alumni Catabrigienses; DEB, 842; ODNB; and Works, 21:136, n. 45.