A biographical dictionary of 18th century Methodism /

Rogal (Illinois Valley Community College) has published voluminously on Wesley, hymnody, and the history of agriculture in Britain and the US, among other subjects. In this first of six volumes, entries are brief (most consist of a few lines or a paragraph) and are arranged alphabetically by surname. It is readily apparent that this is not a collective biography in the traditional sense. Rogal does not describe the scope of the work except to say in the preface, "one can view the labor and influence of the Wesleys through those with whom they came into contact." The entries provide slim details about the life of each person; they concentrate on the connection between the person featured in the entry and the Wesleys. Rachel Davis's entry reads, "(fl. 1780-1785) A Dublin widow residing in Cuffe Street and a member of the Methodist Society there. JW wrote to Arthur Keene on 3 March 1785, recommending that [she] be admitted to the widows' alms house. . .' when there is a vacancy.'" Most entries are followed by references (in Rachel's case to John Wesley's Letters and Rogal's own book on Wesley), and the book includes a list of some 140 sources consulted. When Rogal's file on an individual is voluminous, the entry may run a page or more, but these instances are rare. This set brings to light a great deal of information on obscure Methodist persons and includes both men and women, but it is exceedingly specialized, of potential use to libraries and scholars specializing in 18th-century England, the Wesleys, and 18th-century Methodism. The typeface is very difficult to read. A. H. Widder; Michigan State University