Selina Hastings letters

Selina Hastings letters

Collection of letters written by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, dating from 1774 to 1791.

This collection contains nine letters written by Selina Hastings, written between 1774 and 1791. Five of the letters do not have dates. The letters are mostly religious in nature and she corresponds with notable methodists, including the Wesleys, as well as Philip Doddridge an popular Nonconformist minister and theologian. One letter was written to inquire about a report of John Wesley's death, written the day that he died (March 2, 1791).

Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, was born on August 24, 1707, in Northamptonshire. Her father was Washington Shirley, 2nd Earl Ferrers, and her mother was Mary Levinge. At the age of 17, she married Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon. Her husband died in 1746. Throughout her life, Hasting was involved in philanthropic endeavors. She became an early supporter of John Wesley and George Whitefield, proponents of the burgeoning Methodist Movement. She made George Whitefield her personal chaplain and financed religious buildings and missions. She died at the age of 83 on June 17, 1791, just a few short months after John Wesley's death (March 2, 1791).

0.2 cubic feet (1 box)

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