The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Garrettson, Freeborn
1752–1827, American Methodist preacher, b. Maryland. At the time of his conversion to Methodism (1775), he freed his slaves and began his journeys as a preacher. In 1784 he traveled through the South, summoning preachers to the conference at which the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States was organized (see Methodism) and at which he was ordained. He organized congregations in Nova Scotia, New York, and New England. At the request of John Wesley, he wrote The Experience and Travels of Mr. Freeborn Garrettson (1791). His zeal and travels helped greatly in the spread of Methodism in the United States.
