author

Thomas Webster

1809–1901

An Irish-born Methodist minister who made his life in early Canada, he wrote with the conviction of someone who had helped build the institutions he described. His work offers a firsthand window into 19th-century Canadian religious life, publishing, and public debate.

1 Audiobook

Woman: Man's Equal

Woman: Man's Equal

by Thomas Webster

About the author

Born in Glendalough, Ireland, on October 24, 1809, he moved with his family first to New York and then to Upper Canada while still a child. He later became a Methodist Episcopal minister, was ordained in 1840, and served congregations across Canada West.

He was also deeply involved in print culture. Webster helped found the Canada Christian Advocate and served as its editor, combining ministry with journalism and religious debate. He is especially remembered as the author of History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada (1870), a major account of the denomination written by someone who had lived much of its story.

Webster spent the later part of his long life in Ontario and died in Newbury on May 2, 1901. Today he is remembered as a clergyman, editor, and author whose writing preserves an important chapter of Canadian Methodist history.