| Order number: |
MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Indies/FBN 2 (fiche 48-52)
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| Summary: |
Manuscript autobiography by J T Hartwell. Concentrates on his 35 years as a Wesleyan Methodist missionary in the West Indies Districts. With a few inserts including a newspaper obituary for him dated 10th July 1902.
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| Main author: |
Hartwell; James T (1817-1902); ordained missionary |
| Extent: |
309 pages
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| Admin history: |
James Hartwell was born on 28th November 1817 at Ashbourne, Derbyshire. He became a Methodist in 1836 and was accepted as a candidate for the ministry in 1839, having been a local preacher in the Banbury circuit. The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society had planned to send him to India (Hartwell had even begun to learn Tamil) but as no position was available it was decided that his knowledge of French should be put to good use in Haiti. He and his newly wed bride left for Haiti in October 1840. He remained in Haiti for twelve years witnessing the devastating earthquake of 1842 and the revolution in 1843 that founded Santo Domingo [Dominican Republic]. During his tenure the mission expanded with new chapels being built in Port-au-Prince (1842) and at Cap Haitien. In 1853 he transferred to the Bahamas District remaining there until 1862 when he relocated to the Antigua District where he was involved in founding the High School. For part of his service in the Antigua District he served as Chairman; an office he also held in his last posting in the British Guiana District from 1873. Whilst resident in the Caribbean he was also involved in a number of public positions relating to health, education and libraries.
Hartwell returned to England in 1875 and served initially in Gloucester at the time that Northgate chapel was built. Later he served in Rawtenstall [Lancashire], Wath-on-Dearne [Yorkshire] and Merthyr Tydfil Glamorgan]. In 1887 he returned to Gloucester as a supernumerary, dying there on 24th June 1902.
Hartwell married twice. Firstly, to Anne Lewis at Bramham Church, Yorkshire, on 30th September 1840. She died, after complications caused by the birth of her daughter, on 18th November 1841. His second marriage in 1847 was to the sister of the Rev Joseph A Heureaux, his missionary colleague in Haiti.
Further Reading:
Findlay & Holdsworth, The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, (vol 2, 1921) |
James Hartwell was born on 28th November 1817 at Ashbourne, Derbyshire. He became a Methodist in 1836 and was accepted as a candidate for the ministry in 1839, having been a local preacher in the Banbury circuit. The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society had planned to send him to India (Hartwell had even begun to learn Tamil) but as no position was available it was decided that his knowledge of French should be put to good use in Haiti. He and his newly wed bride left for Haiti in October 1840. He remained in Haiti for twelve years witnessing ... View more |
| Custodial history: |
Given to the Methodist Missionary Society by Hartwell's grand-daughter Edith Heureaux Hartwell of Exmouth |
| Access status: |
Open
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| Access conditions: |
Only to be viewed on microfiche
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| Copyright: |
Copyright held by Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes |
| User restrictions: |
For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance |
| Language: |
English
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| Related material: |
Also within the records of the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society is the official correspondence (with journal extracts) for James Hartwell (MMS/West Indies/Correspondence/Haiti/FBN 41; MMS/West Indies/Correspondence/Bahamas/FBN 28; MMS/West Indies/Correspondence/Antigua/FBN 23-25; MMS/West Indies/Correspondence/British Guiana/FBN 38-39). Furthermore, the synod minutes will detail his work, and that of his colleagues, in the West Indies districts (MMS/West Indies/Synod Minutes/FBN 2-7). |
| Format: |
Archive
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