Wesley, Samuel (1766–1837)

Born in Bristol on Feb. 24, 1766, as the seventh child of Charles Wesley and Sarah (Gwynne) Wesley, Samuel ('Sammy') was the third that survived infancy. He was even more talented as a composer and performer on the organ than his brother Charles. But the greater difference between the two boys (and the cause of much concern for the rest of the family) was Samuel's personal life. Not only did he convert for a period to Roman Catholicism, but he first lived with—and eventually married—one woman, then deserted her for another, siring families with both. Much of the correspondence between CW's family, and between Samuel and his uncle JW, deal with one or the other of these concerns. Samuel died on Oct. 11, 1837, and was buried in St. Marylebone churchyard with his parents. See ODNB; and Philip Olleson, Samuel Wesley: The Man and his Music (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2003).