William John Townsend (20 January 1835 – 7 March 1915) was a British minister of the

Methodist New Connexion The Methodist New Connexion, also known as Kilhamite Methodism, was a Protestant nonconformist church. It was formed in 1797 by secession from the Wesleyan Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church and the United Methodist F ...

.''Who Was Who 1897-1916'', 1920 He wrote on theology and the history of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

, writing biographies of Robert Morrison and

Alexander Kilham Alexander Kilham (20 July 176220 December 1798) was an English Methodist minister. Early life He was born to parents Simon and Elizabeth Kilham at Epworth, Lincolnshire, possibly at a former farm, now known as Prospect House, otherwise 79 High S ...

. He also wrote a book on

scholastic philosophy Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...

Life

William John Townsend was born in

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 als ...

, the son of Joseph and Mary Townsend. He was educated at Percy Street Academy in Newcastle. He worked in business for several years, before studying at

Ranmoor College Ranmoor () is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, England. It is an affluent suburb in the Fulwood ward of the city. It mostly developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it features a number of large houses that were built for th ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and becoming a minister of the Methodist New Connexion in 1860. He was President of the Methodist New Connexion Conference in 1886, and edited the ''Methodist New Connexion'' from 1893 to 1897.''The Methodist Who's Who'', 1915. ''The Great Schoolmen of the Middle Ages'' (1881) tried to provide "a fairer and higher estimate of the great Schoolmen" than as "solemn triflers ..or as mere metaphysical gymnasts", and sketch a "rationale of Scholasticism":

Works

* ''Madagascar: its missionaries and martyrs'', 1880. * ''The great schoolmen of the middle ages. An account of their lives, and the services they rendered to the church and the world'', 1881. * ''Robert Morrison: the pioneer of Chinese missions'', 1888. * ''Alexander Kilham: the first Methodist reformer'', 1889. * ''James Stacey, D.D.: reminiscences and memorials'', 1891. * ''A handbook of Christian doctrine'', 1897. * ''A handbook for the Methodist New Connexion containing information of its doctrines, ministers, churches, institutions, legal relations, &c'', 1899. * ''Life of Oliver Cromwell: Tercentenary celebration'', 1900. * ''The great symbols'', 1901. * 'Sketch of the history of popular education in England and Wales', in ''The Free churchman's guide to the Education Act'' by Edmund C. Rawlings, 1902. * ''As a king ready to the battle'', 1904. * ''The story of Methodist Union'', 1905. * (with

H. B. Workman Herbert Brook Workman (1862–1951) was a leading Methodist and secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Secondary Schools Trust when they took over Elmfield College in 1928. Workman was born in London and educated at Kingswood School and Owens Co ...

and G. Eayrs) ''A new history of Methodism'', 1909.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, William John 1835 births 1915 deaths English Methodist ministers English religious writers Scholastic philosophers 19th-century Methodists