Asbury's Georgia Visits (Abstracted from his Journal)

Francis Asbury was born in Handsworth parish near Birmingham, England, on 20 August 1745. A reader of the Bible by the age of 7, he became a blacksmith's apprentice as a youth. Shortly afterward, he became converted and attained a local preacher's status in the Methodist movement. For many years, Asbury made his rounds from New England to South Carolina and Georgia, holding meetings and bolstering societies which were without an itinerant preacher. He never owned or lived in a home but spent most of his life on horseback. His journal is a testimony to his lifestyle, which was often hard and primitive.

Much misinformation has circulated about Asbury's first visit to the State from which controversy has resulted. With regard to the first conference held in the State, the reader is cautioned to read carefully Asbury's first entry for 1788 and understand that no person or place was explicitly identified to shed light on the location of that event.

It is hoped that those doing church histories or research on the subject of Methodism in Georgia will utilize the entries here to gain insight into early life and times in the State and to identify areas where Asbury visited and preached.

Harold Lawrence

1988, 5.5" x 8.5", paper, 37 pp.

ISBN: 9780788473746

101C-L7374