author
W. W. (William Willcocks) Sleigh
b. 1796
A 19th-century physician and religious writer, he published medical works, biblical apologetics, and political polemics. Today he is most often remembered for Abolitionism Exposed! (1838), a pro-slavery tract that reflects some of the harshest arguments of its era.
1 Audiobook
About the author
William Willcocks Sleigh, born in 1796, was identified in library and catalog records as a physician and surgeon, and some records also describe him as a Bible scholar. His published work ranged widely, from medical writing such as A Syllabus of the Physiological, Anatomical, and Surgical Lectures (1823) and The Science of Surgery (1825) to religious apologetics including The Christian's Defensive Dictionary (1837).
He also wrote on controversial public issues. The best-known example is Abolitionism Exposed! (Philadelphia, 1838), a defense of slavery and an attack on the abolitionist movement. That book survives in major public collections, and it is the work most likely to bring modern readers to his name.
Some later biographical references note that he was the father of Burrows Willcocks Arthur Sleigh, the writer, and of William Campbell Sleigh, the lawyer and politician. Reliable sources available here give only a partial picture of his life, so this overview focuses on the parts that can be clearly confirmed from catalog and reference records.