Dr. Benjamin Rush
Painting by
Charles Wilson Peale
1783
In 18th-century, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the friendship of America’s Founding Father, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and British preacher, Francis Asbury was present almost from the very first day that Francis Asbury landed at the Philadelphia port in 1771. This friendship between Dr. Rush and Francis Asbury lasted for the entire 45 years that the British itinerant ministered in the American Colonies.
When did Dr. Benjamin Rush first meet Francis Asbury? Most accounts place the beginning of this friendship when Francis Asbury arrived in Philadelphia in America. His October 27, 1771, arrival immediately found Francis Asbury preaching at St. George’s Church in Philadelphia. Did Francis Asbury first meet Dr. Benjamin Rush at St. George’s in Philadelphia? Most likely this was not the first meeting of the pair. One source places the initial meeting of Francis Asbury and Dr. Benjamin Rush much earlier. In fact, the book, Black Country, indicates that the initial meeting of Dr. Benjamin Rush and Francis Asbury occurred in London, England, three years before Asbury’s arrival.
