George Whitefield: A Biography, with special reference to his labors in America

About this book

This volume is a biographical compilation devoted to the life and ministries of George Whitefield, the eighteenth‑century evangelical preacher whose influence spanned Britain and the American colonies. Authored by Joseph Belcher and published in Philadelphia in 1857, the work opens with a sweeping overview of the moral climate of early‑century Great Britain, setting the stage for Whitefield’s emergence. It then proceeds through a detailed, chapter‑by‑chapter chronicle of his itinerant preaching, beginning with his first sermons in New England, moving through his extensive tours of New York, Philadelphia, the southern colonies, and multiple visits to Scotland and England, and concluding with his final American voyages and death. The narrative is built from a wide range of contemporary testimonies, letters, and anecdotes, each aimed at illustrating Whitefield’s character, his evangelical successes, and the social reactions he provoked.

The book’s voice is that of a nineteenth‑century compiler, earnest and reverent, employing a formal, documentary style that mirrors the period’s moral‑didactic literature. Its language is dense with proper names, place‑specific details, and quotations from clergy and lay observers, reflecting the scholarly but devotional tone of mid‑1800s religious biography. Readers who appreciate meticulous historical research, enjoy extensive primary‑source excerpts, or have an interest in the Great Awakening, early American religious history, or the transatlantic evangelical networks of the era will find this work rewarding.