William Seward

William Seward 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.