James Everett (1784–1872) was an English Methodist and miscellaneous writer. He was a prominent figure behind the formation of the

United Methodist Free Churches United Methodist Free Churches, sometimes called Free Methodists, was an English nonconformist community in the last half of the 19th century. It was formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association (which had in 1836 largely absorbed ...

Life

Everett was born in 1784 at Alnwick in Northumberland. He was the second son of John Everett and his wife, Margaret Bowmaker. Everett's father died when he was young, and the boy soon learned to help his mother. After a short time at a private school in Alnwick, he was apprenticed to a general dealer, where he was given to fun and practical jokes. In 1803 he underwent a great change, joined the

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

society, and began to preach. He refused an offer made in 1804 to send him to Hoxton Academy to prepare for the ministry among the independents. At the end of his apprenticeship in 1804 he went to Sunderland, and there showed such preaching power that in December 1806 he was recommended for the regular ministry among the Wesleyan Methodists, and was duly accepted by the conference of the following year. His first circuits were Sunderland, Shields, and Belper in Derbyshire. He obtained a good knowledge of practical theology, and a wide acquaintance with general literature. In August 1810 he married Elizabeth Hutchinson of Sunderland.

Recollections

At an early period he formed the habit of taking careful notes of the celebrated characters whom he met, and thus preserved recollections of

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

, poet laureate, James Montgomery, William Dawson, and many others. In 1815 he was appointed to the Manchester circuit. On account of a serious throat infection in 1821, Everett gave up the regular ministry and became a bookseller, first in Sheffield, afterwards in Manchester. He had been collecting materials for the history of Methodism in those towns, part of which he published. He was the intimate friend and became the biographer of Dr.

Adam Clarke Adam Clarke (176226 August 1832) was a British Methodist theologian who served three times as President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference (1806–07, 1814–15 and 1822–23). A biblical scholar, he published an influential Bible commentar ...

. Everett preached occasional and special sermons while in business, and extended his popularity. In 1834 he resumed full ministerial work at

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, and thence moved to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 1839. Through failure of health he was again made a supernumerary minister in 1842, but remained in York, and employed his pen more actively than ever.

Expulsion

The foremost event in Everett's life was his expulsion from the Wesleyan Methodist Conference in August 1849. For many years he had been opposed to its policy and working and published anonymously several volumes of free criticism, such as ''The Disputants'' in 1835, arguing against the scheme to start a theological college for the training of ministers. He wrote much of ''Wesleyan Takings'', two volumes of disparaging sketches of the preachers. In 1845 and following years certain clandestine pamphlets called "Fly Sheets" were circulated widely, bearing neither printer's nor publisher's names. These contained serious charges against the leading men of the conference, reflecting on their public actions and their personal characters. A general suspicion attributed these pamphlets to Everett. He was brought before the conference and questioned about them, but declined to give any answer. After further inquiry and discussion he was formally expelled.See ''Minutes of the Methodist Conferences'', xi. pp. 276–282.

Free Church

Everett then took the lead in agitation against the conference, which shook the entire Wesleyan community and resulted in the loss of over 200,000 members and adherents. Some of the seceders, the Methodist Reformers, joined others who had previously left the "old body" and formed a new body, the

. This was in 1857, and Everett was elected its first president when it met at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in July of that year. To the end of his life Everett remained a minister of this community, filling their pulpits as health and opportunity permitted. He lived for some years in Newcastle and finally in Sunderland. He wrote many articles for magazines and printed a few poems. In July 1865 his wife died, leaving no children. Everett had formed a large collection of Methodist literature, both printed and in manuscript. These he disposed of to the Rev. Luke Tyerman, biographer of Wesley. His library was bought after his death for the theological institute of the United Methodist Free Churches. He died at Sunderland on 10 May 1872.

Works

*''History of Methodism in Sheffield and its vicinity'', vol. 1, 1823 *''History of Methodism in Manchester and its vicinity'', pt. 1, 1827 *''The Village Blacksmith: Memoirs of S. Hick'', 1831 *''Edwin, or Northumbria's Royal Fugitive Restored'', a metrical tale of Saxon times, 1831 *''The Polemic Divine: Memoirs of Rev. D. Isaac'', 1839 *''Memoirs of William Dawson'', 1842 *''Correspondence of William Dawson'', 1842 *''Adam Clarke Portrayed'', 3 vols, 1843–1849 *''The Wallsend Miner: Life of W. Crister'', 2nd ed., 1851 *''The Camp and the Sanctuary'', 1859 *''Gatherings from the Pit Heaps, or the Allens of Shiney Row'', 1861 *''The Midshipman and the Minister: Sketch of the Rev. A. A. Rees, circa 1861''. Everett was co-editor with John Holland of ''Memoirs of the Life and Writings of James Montgomery'', 7 vols. 1854–6.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, James 1784 births 1872 deaths 19th-century English writers People from Alnwick English Methodist ministers 19th-century Methodist ministers 19th-century English male writers