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Samuel Chadwick

Samuel Chadwick (September 13, 1860–October 16, 1932) was an English Methodist preacher, evangelist, and educator, celebrated for his fervent ministry and leadership in the Wesleyan holiness movement. Born in Burnley, Lancashire, to a poor cotton-weaving family, Chadwick began working half-days in a mill at age eight and full-time by ten after his father’s death. A revival at his Primitive Methodist chapel in 1872 led to his conversion at 11, sparking a lifelong passion for preaching. Self-educated due to limited formal schooling, he became a lay preacher at 16 and, after serving as a colporteur and lay evangelist, entered Didsbury Theological College in 1883, despite initial rejection for his rough background. Ordained in 1886, Chadwick pastored churches across England, including Stacksteads, Leeds, and Oxford Place in Leeds, where he led a significant revival in 1906 with 1,500 conversions. His most notable role came in 1914 as principal of Cliff College in Derbyshire, a Methodist training school he transformed into a hub for evangelists, emphasizing prayer and the Holy Spirit’s power. A prolific writer, he authored works like The Way to Pentecost (1917) and The Call to Christian Perfection, advocating a deeper spiritual life rooted in Wesleyan theology. Married to Alice Saynor in 1886, with whom he had two daughters, Chadwick died of pneumonia in 1932 in Sheffield, leaving a legacy as a “prophet of prayer” whose influence endures in Methodist and holiness circles.