Wesley, Rev. Samuel Sr. (1662–1735)

Samuel Wesley was baptized on Dec. 17, 1662 in Winterbourne Whitechurch, Dorsetshire, by his father, Rev. John Westley. This was also the year of the Restoration of the Act of Uniformity in the Church of England, and Samuel's father (a staunch Puritan) was soon forced out of his parish and the Church. Rev. Westley continued to preach undercover, as a Dissenter, and endured the resulting imprisonments, which contributed to his death in 1671. After losing his father, Samuel was educated in dissenting academies (through support of family friends) in preparation for the possibility of ministry himself. But Samuel proved of independent mind, deciding to align with the Church of England, and entering Exeter College in Oxford in 1684 (at which time he dropped the 't' from the spelling of his name). In 1688 Samuel received his BA in May, was ordained deacon in Aug., and married Susanna Annesley on Nov. 12. He was ordained priest the following year. Samuel initially tried to support the family through literary ventures with his brother-in-law John Dunton, and a stint as a chaplain in the Navy. In June 1691 he opted to become rector of a small parish in South Ormsby, Lincolnshire, to which another small charge was added the following year in nearby South Thoresby. In April 1695 he moved to become rector of Epworth, where he would remain until his death (adding Wroot to his care in 1722). By all accounts, Samuel was a faithful pastor, though his strict discipline and strong political views made him unpopular with many of his parishioners. Likewise, while Samuel achieved a measure of recognition through his writings and involvement in Church convocations, his place in history is secured through his children—particularly JW and CW. See Alumni Oxonienses; CCEd; Clarke, Memoirs (1823, 60–233; 1836, 89–361); and ODNB.