Alexander Gordon

“ WORSLEY, ISRAEL (1768–1836) , unitarian minister, was born at Hertford in 1768. His grandfather, John Worsley (d. 16 Dec. 1767) , was for fifty years a successful schoolmaster at Hertford, and author of grammatical tables (1736, 8vo) and of an able translation of the New Testament, published posthumously by subscription (1770, 8vo) , edited by Matthew Bradshaw and the author's son, Samuel Worsley (d. 7 March 1800) . His father, John Worsley, who died at High Wycombe. ”

“ Worsley established a school at Dunkirk; after the outbreak of the war in 1793 he made his way to England, but returned after the peace of Amiens (1802) , only to be arrested on the resumption of hostilities (1803) , ultimately making his escape with difficulty through Holland. From 1806 to 1813 he ministered at Lincoln, and from 1813 to February 1831 at Plymouth, where he established a fellowship fund and a chapel library. ”

“ Buckinghamshire, in 1807 (Monthly Repository, 1808, p. 515) , had continued the school at Hertford for thirty years, with less success, being too easy a disciplinarian; he published a Latin grammar (1771, 8vo) . Israel Worsley entered at Daventry Academy in 1786, under Thomas Belsham [q. v.] . who made him a Unitarian. In December 1790 a committee of merchants at Dunkirk (where there was no English service) engaged Worsley as their minister, the services to be conducted with a ‘Book of Common Prayer compiled for the use of the English Church at Dunkirk . . . ”