William Seward (3 January 1702 – 22 October 1740) was a successful English investment broker and early supporter of the Methodist Church who aspired to a life of preaching as a result of his close association with George Whitefield, an itinerant preacher, and John Wesley, the principle founder of the Methodist church. As Seward, on numerous occasions, witnessed the dynamic and inspirational manner in which Whitefield delivered his sermons, his faith increased accordingly. Like Whitefield, Seward embraced Calvinistic Methodist theology, which, however, came to be a cause of contention with Wesley and his Biblical views. As Whitefield's traveling companion, he voyaged from England to Savannah, Georgia, in 1739, providing him with substantial financial assistance for the voyage, establishing an orphanage in Savannah, and for his overall missionary efforts. Already familiar with employing the newspapers to promote his brokerage business, Seward often times employed them to promote Whitefield's scheduled sermons prior to his arrival in the various towns he visited, greatly increasing the number of people in attendance. As such, Whitefield owed much of his success in the colonies to Seward's earnest efforts. Upon his return to England from the British–American colonies, greatly inspired by Whitefield's dynamic preaching, which often attracted many thousands of listeners, Seward began to practice his own itinerant preaching in various Welsh towns; a missionary effort which came to an abrupt end when he was martyred by an incited angry mob. Seward's assistance to Whitefield's arduous efforts greatly helped him in spreading the gospel, and the evangelical movement throughout the British Empire and beyond. Moreover, Whitefield owed much of his success in the colonies to Seward's earnest efforts. Because of his relatively short life and brief involvement with the young Methodist movement, Seward never achieved much notoriety until his untimely death when he became the first martyr of the Methodist faith.
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Early life and family
William Seward was born in Badsey, Worcestershire and was the brother of Thomas Seward, the widely noted Anglican clergyman, author and editor. William was the fourth of seven sons of John and Mary Seward, who moved to Badsey in the late 17th century. His wife, Grace, died in 1738, where he subsequently went through a religious transformation shortly thereafter. His brothers included Henry Seward, the eldest brother who inherited the family estate, Rev. Thomas Seward, an Anglican clergyman, author, and father of the poet Anna Seward, and Benjamin Seward, a graduate of Balliol College, Cambridge; a close friend of the Wesleys who converted to Methodism, to which Henry strongly objected. As a young man Seward moved to London where he established himself in business as a stock-broker.and earned himself a position as an official in the Treasury of the South Sea Company and in this capacity acquired considerable wealth. In spite of his wealth, however, he was a philanthropist with a reputation for his generosity for promoting charity schools for years and gave substantially to the Methodist Church as well as to charitable organizations who were sympathetic to the needs of the poor.
Conversion and ministry
In 1738, William met Reverend Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley and George Whitefield, the founder of Calvinistic Methodism; associations which led to his conversion to Christianity in 1739.. After listening to the sermons of the early Methodists preachers like Wesley and Whitefield, both central figures in the First Great Awakening, Seward was deeply inspired and professed his faith in Jesus Christ. In little time he became closely involved with the evangelistic campaigns of the early Methodists and decided to embark on a missionary career as an itinerant preacher, employing the same dynamic oratory methods used by Whitefield.
At that point in time the Methodists were met with much disdain from the clergy and various members of the Anglican Church, whom they referred to as "enthusiastic Methodists". The Anglican Church was opposed to the voluminous religious revival that was occurring during the Great Awakening, especially as it was re-invigorating the various churches that had already dissented from the established Church of England.
Of particular concern to the Church was that the Great Awakening knew no boundaries and had permeated all levels of society, urban and rural, rich and poor; and that a significant portion of the Anglican congregations themselves were not upper-class. One of the group, George Whitefield, wrote of their encounter in his diary in April 1739: I..."went to Badsey and preached in Mr Seward’s brother’s yard". Whitefield had preached at Badsey for three consecutive days, and on the third occasion it is said that he brought much of the congregation to tears. In his late twenties, Seward provided the St James's Church in Badsey with funding for its alter, pews, and provided the church with a beautiful clock, which remained in use until 1903.
While the Anglican clergy initially harbored feelings of indifference and disdain towards the Methodists, who indeed were once members of the Anglican Church themselves, their feelings towards them did not take on hostile proportions until Whitefield and his unconventional and dynamic preaching style came upon the scene. Seward was regarded as someone who was following directly in Whitefield's footsteps, and as such aggravated those ill feelings.
The contentions aired by the Methodists against the established Anglican Church spared no one, including the clergy. While Wesley always maintained a reserved and diplomatic tone, others were not so reserved. Seward, for example, maintained that the “scarlet whore of Babylon” was not more corrupt in practice and principle than the Anglican clergy.
Itinerant preacher
Whitefield's first voyage to the colonies brought him to Savannah in May, 1738 to execute his plan which he had resolved to do in accordance with the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia who had granted him five hundred acres of land some nine miles outside Savannah. In late 1738.Seward had converted through Charles Wesley—an event that Whitefield recorded in his Diary..
Seward first sailed to America on Whitefield's second voyage to help manage Whitefield's ministry, acting as his publicist, business coordinator, and fundraiser. Aboard the ship Elizabeth, they departed Gravesend August 14, 1739, with over a thousand pounds sterling collected for the orphan house, arriving at Lewis Town on October 30. This was Seward's first voyage to America. From there they made their way to Philadelphia some 120 miles north by November 2.
Prior to their voyage to the American colonies Seward and Whitefield had secured the release of Joseph Periam, an inmate committed by his father to Bethlehem Hospital, an insane asylum, on the assumption that he was mad. In negotiating his release Seward acted as the chief speaker, and in doing so astounded the hospital committee when he began quoting fervently from the Bible where they began to assume that it was Seward who was just as mad Periam. However, they acquiesced and allowed his release on the condition that Whitefield and Seward bring him along on their upcoming voyage.
Use of a schooner was offered to them, but instead Seward bought the vessel outright and named it the Savannah, commissioning Captain Gladman to remain as the ship's captain. This allowed them to forego using the tedious roads over an eight-hundred mile journey, allowing them to travel more quickly between the various ports of the colonies on their way to Savannah. Once in Georgia, the young Periam performed well as the schoolmaster at Whitefield's orphan-house.
Arriving in Georgia, Seward donated ₤I00 to the orphanage that Whitefield had established in Savannah. He also provided relief for many of Savannah's poor families. The Seward family were early supporters of the Methodist Church of John Wesley. When Wesley set out for the American colonies, they offered to donate to his missionary effort, but Wesley graciously declined the offer.
Martyrdom
In the fall of 1740 Whitefield directed Seward to return to England to procure badly needed additional funding for the orphanage, to find someone to take charge of it when he was absent, and to update the Trustees of Georgia with the state of the colony. Upon his arrival, Seward met with Howell Harris, at Cowbridge, who was also a former member of the Church of England, and colleague of Whitefield. Together they traveled and preached in the open-air in the Welsh towns of Newport, Caerleon, Usk, and Monmouth. When they arrived at Monmouth they continued to endure the same hostile treatment they had received at Newport and Caerleon. At Newport they were confronted by another mob, incited by parish priests and local magistrate, furious over their Methodist preaching. They tore off one of the sleeves of Seward's coat and pelted them with stones and other handy objects. At Caerleon, Seward encountered the same treatment, this time receiving a serious blow to his right eye, causing the loss of sight in that eye for a time. For a few days his injury partially impaired his other eye, where he had to be led about by the hand.
Having already been seriously injured at the hands of an angry mob, Seward, while fearful that he might again be attacked, remained calm, and uttered to Harris, "Better endure this than hell." Undaunted, Seward was determined to continue in spreading the Gospel, and was again stoned by an angry mob while preaching at Hay-on-Wye in October. This time, however, he received a serious blow to his head by a large stone. Laying unconscious, he was carried off. After a few days of lingering between life and death, Seward, at the age of thirty-eight, died from his injuries on October 22, 1740, thereby making him the first Methodist martyr. When Charles Wesley learned of Seward's death, in spite of their recent confrontation, he revealed a measure of forgiveness when, he entered in his diary, "1740, October 28,. I was exceedingly shocked with the news of Mr.Seward's death; but he is taken from the evil; rescued out of the hands of wicked men."
Whitefield biographer James Gledstone maintained that because of Seward's untimely death, many details of his associations and involvement in Georgia were never recorded by Seward. Whitefield was not aware of Seward's premature demise and as such that he could no longer accommodate Whitefield in the heavy debt he had acquired trying to maintain his orphanage in Savannah. Because of his relatively young age and unexpected death, Seward never thought to make out a last will. Seward had contracted other debts in the name of the orphanage, for which Whitefield was subsequently responsible. However, he eventually resolved the massive debts that hung over his head for most of his life, through appeals for money at the end of his sermons, though the debts were not fully paid until very late in his life.