Robert Collyer

Collyer was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, England, on December 8, 1823; the family moved to Blubberhouses within a month of his birth.

His earnest, rugged, simple style of oratory made him extremely popular, and at once secured for him a wide reputation.

His advocacy of anti-slavery principles, then frowned upon by the Methodist authorities, aroused opposition, and eventually resulted in his trial for heresy and the revocation of his licence.

Under his guidance the church grew to be one of the strongest of that denomination in the West, and Collyer himself came to be looked upon as one of the foremost pulpit orators in the country.

In 1883, when he visited Birmingham in England, he engaged Marie Bethell Beauclerc to report and edit his sermons and prayers which were published during the same year.

Collyer was invited to be a featured speaker at the 14th Annual Convention of the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA).