Benson, Manly

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: . Goldwin S. French, “BENSON, MANLY,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. See full biography at: https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/benson_manly_14E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Methodist minister; b. 27 April 1842 in Newburgh, Upper Canada, son of Mathew (Matthew) Benson and Nancy Ruttan; m. 9 July 1867, in Chatham, Ont., Julia McCrea, daughter of Walter McCrea, a judge and a member of the Senate from 1867 to 1871, and they had six daughters and three sons; d. 20 July 1919 in Toronto.
    • A descendant of loyalists, Manly Benson was educated at the Newburgh Academy and at the age of ten was converted to Methodism through the powerful preaching of Joseph Reynolds. In 1863, after teaching for a few years, Benson became a candidate for the ministry of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada; in 1867 he was received in full connection and ordained.
    • In addition to holding a succession of circuits in Ontario, Benson, a handsome and eloquent man, quickly acquired fame as a public lecturer. In 1871 he accompanied William Morley Punshon, president of the Canadian conference, on a tour of the western United States and British Columbia. A popular lecturer on uplifting themes and an inspiring preacher, Punshon doubtless became Benson’s model. Trips to Europe, the first in 1879, and experience as a pastor provided Benson with material for his lectures.
    • Like his mentor, Benson spoke on public issues, the landscape, and matters of concern to his church. One of his popular lectures in 1881 was entitled “Men wanted,” an exhaustive examination of “the kind of men wanted and not wanted” in Canada, a land with “unequalled advantages and room for the rise and distinction of her young men.” The lecture was characterized by “burning eloquence and earnestness” and by “scathing denunciations” of those not wanted. Readers of the Christian Guardian were advised to attend his next lecture, on “The wonders of the Yosemite,” a theme which doubtless lent itself to romantic hyperbole. In his sermons and talks to religious groups, Benson dealt frequently with the duties of Methodists. 
    • Benson’s reputation led to his appointment as director of religious services at Grimsby Park on Lake Ontario. Originally the site of well-attended camp-meetings, it became in 1875 a permanent Methodist summer resort, modelled on that at Chautauqua Lake, N.Y., and other institutions sponsored by the Methodists in the United States. With the appeal of traditional camp-meetings declining, Grimsby Park and Chautauqua provided recreational and educational facilities to earnest Methodists in a religious setting. Benson, an orator who once attracted in Montreal an audience of 1,000 with an admission charge of one dollar per person, was involved with Grimsby Park for several years. The institution survived well into the 20th century. 
  • Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=533
  • Find A Grave : https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177880703/manly-benson