A Family’s Downfall
Despite affluent appearances, though, Samuel Booth’s fortune was all but gone by the time William was born, throughout William’s early years, the Booths managed to keep up the air of being propertied. But poor business decisions resulted in bankruptcy. Thirteen year old William was pulled out of school and sent to be an apprentice for a pawnbroker named Francis Eames. William’s father passed away a little more than a year later, on September 23, 1843. On his deathbed, he repented for his former lack of faithfulness to God; he made his peace with his Creator in the moments before he met Him face-to-face.
A Life-Changing Experience
Young William was a quick study and soon became an efficient pawnbroker, but watching family after family sell its treasures to make ends meet started to wear on him. He soon began to view pawnbroking as a vulture of a profession and came to hate it. Some people would sell their “Sunday best”, earn enough to buy it back on Saturday, and then sell these garments again on Monday morning. They went to great expense to look good for one day.
A Glimpse into Poverty
It did not take William long to learn that trinkets and fancy clothes went first, family heirlooms and furniture next, and wedding rings last. Poverty in England increased dramatically throughout William’s childhood and early teenage years. Failed crops, rising taxes, and heavy corn levies designed to protect the income of wealthy landowners transformed Nottingham from a farming center into a stocking-weaving mill town.
A Turning Point
After his father died and he assumed headship of the household responsibilities, fifteen-year-old William began to search for new meaning in his life. This search led him frequently to the Broad Street Wesleyan Chapel, where, late one evening, he heard a minister by the name of Isaac Marsden. The minister’s warning, “A soul dies every minute!” haunted William for some time. Marsden had thundered at the stunned congregation, and the words sank deeply into William’s heart. Though he did not give his life to Christ that night, in the following days, he would come under a deep conviction of his need for repentance.
To be continued…
Tale Tuesday 078
Date: 19th March, 2024
Title: : William & Catherine Booth “Through Blood and Fire” (Part 3)
Source: God’s generals- The Revivalists
Author: Roberts Liardon
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