William Harris Rule notes

Notes, attributed to W H Rule, on some of the islands of the West Indies comprising: Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St Christopher, St Eustatius, St Bartholomew, St Martin, Anguilla, Tortola, St Vincent and Grenada.

Archive & Special Collections MMS/17/02/02/02 Open

Order number: MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Indies/FBN 2 (fiche 34-35)
Date(s) of creation: ?1830s
Level: Sub-series
Format: Archive           
Main author: Rule; William Harris (1802-1890); ordained missionary

collection SOAS Archive
id MMS.17.02.02.02
recordtype archive
scb_item_location Archive & Special Collections
item_location Archive & Special Collections
scb_loan_type Reference only
scb_order_with MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Indies/FBN 2 (fiche 34-35)
callnumber MMS/17/02/02/02
callnumber_txt MMS/17/02/02/02
callnumber-sort MMS/17/02/02/02
prefix_number 02
title William Harris Rule notes
scb_date_creation ?1830s
scb_level Sub-series
level_sort 7/Collection/Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Sub-Collection/Series/Sub-Series/Sub-Sub-Series/File
scb_extent 21 sheets
author Rule; William Harris (1802-1890); ordained missionary
author_facet Rule; William Harris (1802-1890); ordained missionary
authorStr Rule; William Harris (1802-1890); ordained missionary
author_letter Rule; William Harris (1802-1890); ordained missionary
format Archive
scb_admin_history William Harris Rule was born on 15th November 1802 in Penryn, Cornwall. After a difficult childhood he was forced to leave home by his father, a naval doctor, and eventually entered the ministry in 1825. Upon ordination he was posted to Malta although after a year he re-located to the St Vincent's district in the West Indies. Through his preaching to enslaved people he became a vocal and ardent opponent to slavery. He returned to England in 1831 but after a short stay in Sevenoaks, Kent, he was posted overseas again but this time to Gibraltar. Here he remained for nine years making a significant contribution to the preaching of Methodism. He was responsible for erecting the first Methodist chapel for the garrison as well as a charity school. He attempted, in the face of strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, to preach in Spain and thereby visited Cadiz, Seville, Madrid and St Roque. All his attempts to establish Methodist missions in Spain were frustrated. Returning back to England in 1842 he worked in a number of circuits including Louth, Plymouth and Aldershot camp. During this period he worked notably on two endeavours. Firstly, he was a Connexional Editor from 1851 to 1857 during which period (as well as for many years afterwards) he devoted himself to translating biblical texts into Spanish and writing books, mainly on Roman Catholicism. Secondly, he continued preaching to soldiers and campaigned for their right to be able to worship through the Protestant denomination of their choice. He also developed the concept of Methodist Chaplaincy and argued, successfully, for the establishment of a Soldiers' Home in Aldershot, Hampshire, in 1857. Rule became a supernumerary in 1868 residing at Croydon, Surrey. He died in the parish of Addiscombe on 25th September 1890. He married twice: firstly, Mary Ann Dunhill on 24th February 1826 and, secondly, Harriete Ehmed on 10th March 1874. Further Reading (selective): Rule, W H, Memoir of a mission to Gibraltar and Spain : with collateral notices of events favouring religious liberty, and of the decline of Romish power in that country, from the beginning of this century to the year 1842 (1844); Rule, W H, The religious aspect of the civil war in China (1853); Rule, W H, A Jesuit saint : St. Francis Xavier, first Romish missionary to India (1861); Rule, W H, History of the Inquisition from its establishment in the twelfth century to its extinction in the nineteenth (1874); Rule, W H, An account of the establishment of Wesleyan Methodism in the British Army (1878); Rule, W H, Recollections of my life and work at home and abroad in connection with the Wesleyan Methodist Conference (1886).
description Notes, attributed to W H Rule, on some of the islands of the West Indies comprising: Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St Christopher, St Eustatius, St Bartholomew, St Martin, Anguilla, Tortola, St Vincent and Grenada.
scb_related_name_code GB/SOASNAF/P880
scb_related_name_relationship Subject of
scb_place_code 7729891
3513538
3578263
scb_access_status Open
scb_conditions_gov_access Only to be viewed on microfiche
scb_copyright Copyright probably held by Methodist Missionary Society
scb_use_restrictions For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance
language English
language_search English
scb_related_material Official correspondence written during his time in St Vincent's survives (MMS/West Indies/Correspondence/General/FBN 6-9). Furthermore, the synod minutes will detail his work, and that of his colleagues, in the St Vincent's district (MMS/West Indies/Synod Minutes/FBN 1). For his papers relating to Gibraltar and Spain please see his entry within the Europe section of the biographical series. The odd letter written by William Harris can be found within the Steele Collection (MMS/Special Series/Various Papers/FBN 46). His oath taken under an Act of 52 George III governing religious worship can be found within MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Africa/FBN 8 (fiche 324)
hierarchy_top_id_raw MMS
hierarchy_sequence MMS.0017.0002.0002.0002

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