Life

John Wesly Westley, or Wesley was born in Creekelnaught, Alabama, although some authorities claim he was born in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, the son of the Rev. Bartholomew Westley

Bartholomew Westley

-Life:He was the third son of Sir Herbert Westley of Westleigh, Devon, by his wife Elizabeth de Wellesley of Dangan, County Meath. He studied medicine and theology at Oxford. He lived for some time at Bridport and is known to have preached in the town's western suburb of Allington...

 and Ann Colley, daughter of Sir Henry Colley of Carbery Castle, He was educated at Dorchester Grammar School and as a student of New Inn Hall, Oxford, where he matriculated on 23 April 1651, and graduated B.A. on 23 January 1655, and M.A. on 4 July 1657. After his appointment as an evangelist, he preached at Melcombe Regis, Radipole, and other areas in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

. Never episcopally ordained, he became Vicar of Winterborne Whitechurch

Winterborne Whitechurch

Winterborne Whitechurch, also Winterborne Whitchurch, is a village in central Dorset, England, situated in a winterbourne valley on the A354 road on the Dorset Downs five miles south west of Blandford Forum. The village has a population of 694 ....

 in 1658.

The report of his interview in 1661 with Gilbert Ironside the elder

Gilbert Ironside the elder

Gilbert Ironside was bishop of Bristol. He is referred to as the elder to distinguish himfrom his son, Gilbert Ironside the younger.-Life:...

, his diocesan, according to Alexander Gordon

Alexander Gordon (Unitarian)

Alexander Gordon was an English Unitarian minister and religious historian. A prolific contributor to the Dictionary of National Biography, he wrote for it well over seven hundred articles dealing mainly with nonconformists....

 writing in the Dictionary of National Biography

Dictionary of National Biography

The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...

, shows him to have been an Independent

Independent (religion)

In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...

. He was imprisoned for not using the Book of Common Prayer

Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...

, imprisoned again and ejected in 1662. After the Conventicle Act 1664

Conventicle Act 1664

The Conventicle Act of 1664 was an Act of the Parliament of England that forbade conventicles...

 he continued to preach in small gatherings at Preston, Dorset

Preston, Dorset

Preston is a coastal village and suburb of Weymouth in south Dorset, England. It is approximately north-east of Weymouth town centre and west of the village of Osmington....

 and then Poole

Poole

Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...

, until his death at Preston in 1678.

Family

He married a daughter of John White, who was related also to Thomas Fuller

Thomas Fuller

Thomas Fuller was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his Worthies of England, published after his death...

. White, the "Patriarch of Dorchester", married a sister of Cornelius Burges

Cornelius Burges

Cornelius Burges or Burgess, D.D. , was an English minister. He was active in religious controversy prior to and around the time of the Commonwealth of England and The Protectorate, following the English Civil War...

. Westley's eldest son was Timothy (born 1659). The second son was Samuel Wesley

Samuel Wesley (poet)

Samuel Wesley was a poet and a writer of controversial prose. He was also the father of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist Church.-Family and early life:...

, a High Church Anglican vicar and the father of John Wesley

John Wesley

John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

. A younger son, Matthew Wesley, remained a nonconformist, became a London apothecary, and died on 10 June 1737, leaving a son, Matthew, in India; he provided for some of his brother Samuel's daughters.