Author: Maffit, John Newland
Biography:
MAFFIT, John Newland (1794-1850: WBIS)
Maffit was born in Dublin to a Church of Ireland family. The names of his parents are not known and when he was twelve, his father died. Maffit might have had some training as a tailor; he occasionally worked at the trade later. At 18 or 19, he was converted to Methodism. At 20 he married Ann Carnic, with whom he had seven children. Unable to establish himself as a preacher in Ireland, he emigrated to America with his wife and children in 1819. He soon became an extraordinarily popular speaker, licensed by the New England Methodist Conference in 1822. But a newspaperman whom he sued for slander in 1822--Maffit was said to have plagiarized a sermon and to have seduced young women--successfully defended himself on the unusual grounds of truth. Rumours and complaints about Maffit's behaviour accompanied his rise to celebrity. He and his wife separated and then were divorced; he toured the country as a charismatic and effective evangelist; he was appointed chaplain to Congress for a term from 1841 to 1843. He had published an autobiography, Tears of Contrition, in 1821. Many of his sermons and addresses appeared in the 1830s and 40s, and in 1839 there were two more volumes of verse. In March 1847 Maffit lost his preaching license, but in the same month he married a woman of 17, Frances Pierce, who left him a few months later. Though he resumed preaching under license in the South, his reputation was damaged. He died of heart trouble in Mobile AL. (ANBO 3 Jan. 2020) SR
Other Names:
- John N. Maffit