When we were there earlier this week it was cold and raining so we took a tour, which we hadn't done in a while. This particular tour was all about the 22 squares in the old city.
If you've read the book or seen the film "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," Monterrey Square is where the Mercer/Williams house is located.
Reynolds Square is where the statue of the Father of Methodism, John Wesley is located. I was anxious to hear what the tour guide would say about Wesley in Savannah. They rarely get the story right. Our guide said that John Wesley was a failure in Savannah because he was mean to his parishioners. She was "sort of" right.
John, along with his brother, Charles Wesley were sent to Savannah in the 1700s by General Oglethorpe. John Wesley was an overly pious and methodical, Oxford educated Anglican priest. Savannah was a wild town full of wild immigrants. He did not fit in from the get-go.
Charles Wesley was made secretary of Indian Affairs. He lasted four months, then (essentially) said, "I'm outta here!" Back to England he went.
John, a missionary, had met and fallen in love with a young woman named Sophia on the ship on the way over from England. Her mother had hired John to give Sophia French lessons.
After they arrived in Savannah things didn't go well. In Sophia's defense let me say that, although decades later John Wesley would be recognized as one of the greatest reformers in England and was seen by many as single-handedly keeping England from experiencing a bloody civil war, in my opinion, he never really learned how to interact with women.
Sophia finally got fed up with John's inattention and married a guy who worked in her father's store in Savannah. John retaliated by refusing to serve Sophia and her new husband the sacrament of Holy Communion. Sophia's husband then sued for damages. John was hauled into court but a mistrial was declared. A new trial was set but in the meantime John (essentially) said "I'm outta here." He left Savannah a defeated man and never returned to the United States.
After returning to England John Wesley got himself turned around and the rest, as they say, is history.
***
