George Frederick Playter (31 August 1809 – 24 October 1866) was a British-Canadian minister, historian, and author who wrote The History of Methodism in Canada: With an Account of the Rise and Progress of the Work of God Among the Canadian Indian Tribes; and Occasional Notices of the Civil Affairs of the Province.
Early life and immigration to Canada edit
Playter was born in London, England. His literary skills suggest that he received a good education as a child. He was raised in a Wesleyan Methodist church and converted to the religion in his youth. In 1832, Playter immigrated to Montreal and worked as a printer. In 1834 he began touring eastern Upper Canada as a Methodist itinerant preacher. In 1838 he was ordained as a minister and preached in Ottawa and the surrounding towns.[1]
Printing career edit
In 1840 the British Wesleyans split with the Canadian Wesleyans and Playter aligned himself with the Canadians. He blamed the British faction for the split, stating that they tried to force the Canadian faction to obey their instructions instead of engaging in dialogue.[1] He wrote two letters to The Christian Guardian, an Upper Canadian Weslayan journal, stating that the split was illegal, but the British Wesleyans were causing the split between the two factions.[2]
The letters increased his popularity among the Canadian faction and he was elected as the journal's editor in 1844. As editor, he maintained the journal's political neutrality but continued criticizing the British Wesleyans. He advocated for the merger of Methodist churches in British North America. In 1846 Playter was removed as editor of The Christian Guardian by a faction that wanted to unite the Canadian and British Wesleyan factions. The reunion occurred the following year, and Playter signed a pamphlet criticizing the merger.[1]
Author and death edit
Playter moved to Picton, Upper Canada in 1847 to continue working as a printer. In 1849 he returned to work as an itinerant, which he continued until his retirement in 1858. He wrote The History of Methodism in Canada, which was published in 1862. The book recounts the Methodist church's history in Upper Canada from 1784 to 1828, and includes how the church was established in the colony.[1] It also recounts the Methodist's attempts to preach to Indigenous people and documents Indigenous culture and ceremonies during this time.[3] The book was intended to be the first in a two-volume work, but the manuscript for the second volume disappeared after his death. Playter died on 24 October 1866 in Frankford, Canada West (now part of Quinte West, Ontario).[1]
- ^ a b c d e French, G.S. (1976). "Playter, George Frederick". www.biographi.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
- ^ McLaren, Scott (2019). Pulpit, Press, and Politics: Methodists and the Market for Books in Upper Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 181. ISBN 9781442626638.
- ^ Guillet, Edwin (2019). The Pioneer Farmer and Backwoodsman: Volume One. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 5. ISBN 9781487598044.