William Booth died on August 20, 1912. The funeral of William Booth was a grand affair. Queen Mary herself was in attendance, along with over 40,000 people. About 150,000 filed by his coffin.
Born on April 10, 1829, William lived a poor life. His father was an illiterate builder described as “a Grab, a Get.”
Fourteen when his father died, William worked as a pawnbroker’s apprentice to help feed the family. A Wesleyan family invited William to chapel with them, and when he was 15, he got converted. Soon after, James Caughey led “a remarkable religious awaking” at Nottingham’s Chapel. When William saw this, he realized that soul-saving can be exciting if the proper methods are used. At this point, he dedicated his life to revivalism using the methods of Charles Finney.
William and a group of friends began evangelizing in Meadow Platts. It was here he learned many of the methods that would be written into the Salvation Army’s Orders and Regulations thirty years later.
William Booth married Cathrine Mumford on June 16, 1855. They had 8 children, one of whom was retarded, the other 7 holding high positions in the Salvation Army. When the children were small, they were expected to refer to their father as the “General.”
William and Catherine Booth with children in 1862
William Booth’s main goal in his life was fighting to save souls. His very last speech ended: “While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; where there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, where there remains one dark soul without the light of God—I’ll fight! I’ll fight to the very end.”
His life Motto was: “Work as if everything depended upon your work, and pray as if everything depended upon your prayer.”
The Salvation Army did not begin as an “army.” It started in 1865 as the East London Revival Society, shortly being renamed the Christian Mission. By 1870, the Christian Mission resembled a Methodist Mission, and was practically dead. At the time, many British civilian men enjoyed soldiering in their spare time through the British Volunteer Movement. When William noticed this, he energized the Mission by changing its name to the Salvation Army.
It was a great struggle to win any converts in London’s East End, because Irish mobs resented intrusion into their neighborhoods. William was convinced by Women Salvationists that reforming the neighborhoods would be beneficial.
William Booth's Funeral Procession
By 1912, the year of William’s death, the Salvation Army was family run, “occupying” 58 countries, and having 15,945 officers.
References
Photos and information from Norman H. Murdoch, “All articles,” Kevin A. Miller, Christian History: William and Catherine Booth. 1990; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996 (electronic edition). Carol Stream IL: Christianity Today.
Water, M. The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations. (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd. c. 2000) p. 587
Lagass, P., & Columbia University. “Salvation Army.” The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th edition). (New York; Detroit: Columbia University Press) Sold and distributed by Gale Group.
