William O'Bryan (6 February 1778 – 8 January 1868) was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher and founder of the

Bible Christian The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O'Bryan (born Bryant), a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall. The first society, consisting of just 22 members, met at Lake Farm ...

movement.

Life

O'Bryan was born William Bryant at Gunwen farm,

Luxulyan Luxulyan (; ), also spelt Luxullian or Luxulian, is a village and civil parish in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village lies four miles (6.5 km) northeast of St Austell and six miles (10 km) south of Bodmin. The population ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. He converted to

Wesleyan Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. In 1815 he changed his surname to O'Bryan, wishing to assert his presumed Irish ancestry. On 18 October 1815 he founded, with 22 members, the Bible Christian sect that was later known as "Bryanites". Following his split from the Wesleyans in 1815 his family moved from

Kilkhampton Kilkhampton () is a village and civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilkhampton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Chilchetone". T ...

to Badash Farm,

Launceston, Cornwall Launceston ( , ; rarely spelled Lanson as a local abbreviation; ) is a town, ancient borough, and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is west of the middle stage of the River Tamar, which constitutes almost the entire borde ...

, where the Bible Christians held their first two conferences. The farm is now a listed building for its unusually well preserved set of 18th-century buildings set amidst open farmland. The first

chapel was built in

Shebbear Shebbear (; ) is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district in Devon, England. History Shebbear was the third-largest settlement recorded in North Devon in the Domesday Book, having 76 households, 20 of which were slaves. It was unusu ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in 1817. His movement spread mainly through North

, including

Padstow Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

Bude Bude (, locally or ; Cornish language, Cornish ) is a seaside town in north Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as ...

and

Launcells Launcells () is a hamlet and civil parish in north-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located east of Bude. Within the civil parish are the hamlets of Launcells Cross, Red Post, Grimscott, and Buttsbear Cross. In 2001, 563 people ...

. O'Bryan left the group in 1832 after a dispute over church administration, and became an itinerant preacher in the US, between 1831 and 1862 crossing the Atlantic 13 times, but failed to establish a church. The Bryanite sect merged into the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

in 1907.

Family

He married Catherine Cowlin on 9 July 1803; they had two sons and six daughters.

References

External links

The Methodist archives biographical index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obryan, William 1778 births 1868 deaths People from Luxulyan British Methodists Cornish Methodists

Life

Family

References

Further reading

External links