John Colby was an evangelist and itinerant preacher in the early Free Will Baptist

Free Will Baptist Church

Free Will Baptist is a denomination of churches that share a common history, name, and an acceptance of the Arminian theology of free grace, free salvation, and free will. Free Will Baptists share similar soteriological views with General Baptists, Separate Baptists and some United Baptists...

 movement in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and various other American states.

Born to Thomas and Elizabeth Colby in Sandwich, New Hampshire

Sandwich, New Hampshire

Sandwich is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,326 at the 2010 census. Sandwich includes the villages of Center Sandwich and North Sandwich...

, he became popular as a gifted preacher in his youth. Colby's preaching was instrumental in the conversions of hundreds of new believers and the formation of many new Free Will Baptist churches in Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 and New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

. He was known as a self-sacrificing, humble man who travelled tirelessly from town to town throughout the United States in search of "lost souls". Colby developed consumption

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 and died at the house of William M. Fauquier, Deacon of the Baptist church in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

at the age of 29.