Scandlin, William George, 1828-1871

William George Scandlin (1828-1871) was born in Southsea (near Portsmouth) England on 16 February 1828. The youngest of fifteen, he left home at an early age and followed the sea for fourteen years. Around 1847, he became drawn to religion and by 1849 had decided to devote himself to a religious life. After escaping from the British Navy, he arrived in Boston in May of 1850 and was befriended by Rev. Edward Thompson Taylor (1793-1871), also known as Father Taylor, of the Bethel Church. Scandlin joined the Methodist Church under the sponsorship of the Seamen's Mission of Boston and with their support, financial and otherwise, attended Meadville Theological School (Meadville, Pa.) from 1850 to 1854.

While attending Meadville, he met his first wife, Christianna S. Adrain ( -1854), a sickly woman, whom he married on 13 December 1853. She died on 28 April 1854. Scandlin graduated on 29 June 1854 and returned to Boston to preach for Father Taylor during the summer vacation. However, four years at Meadville (an Unitarian institution) had undermined his orthodox theology and on 17 December 1854, he became a minister-at-large for the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches of Boston (an Unitarian organization). He was ordained under Unitarian auspices in the Hollis Street Church on 14 January 1855.

He married his second wife, Mrs. Eliza M. (Foster) Sprague ( - ), a young widow with a small son, daughter of Captain Ira Foster of Eastport, Me., on 14 April 1855, by whom he had six children. They remained in Boston until 1858, when he accepted the call to the First Congregational (Unitarian) Church in Grafton, Mass., where he was installed on 23 June 1858. He remained in Grafton, except for a period during the Civil War, serving as minister, and became one of the influential men of the town, sometimes representing it in the General Court.

He served as chaplin in the 15th Massachusetts Regiment and as a member of the United States Sanitary Commission for the first two years of the Civil War. He was captured at Gettysburg, taken prisoner, and confined to three months in Libby Prison in Richmond, Va. He returned to Grafton and remained there until his death on 17 March 1871.

From the description of Papers, 1849-1936. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 207169375