Organist and composer, born in Bristol, SW England, UK, the son of Charles Wesley. One of the most famous organists of his day, he was an ardent enthusiast of J S Bach. Though a Roman Catholic (to the displeasure of his father and uncle), he wrote also for the Anglican Liturgy, leaving a number of fine motets and anthems, including In exitu Israel.
Samuel Wesley (24 February 1766 – 11 October 1837) was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period.
Personal life
Born in Bristol, England, he was the son of noted Methodist and hymn-writer Charles Wesley, the grandson of Samuel Wesley (a poet of the late Stuart period) and the nephew of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church.
Samuel informed his mother of his philosphical conviction that his marriage had been constituted by sexual intercourse, precluding any civil or religious ceremony, but after a scandalous delay he married Charlotte Louise Martin in 1793, and they had 3 children. A book published in 2001 provides a fascinating account of how Samuel Wesley's marriage to Charlotte finally broke up with her discovery of Samuel's affair with the 15 or 16 year old domestic servant/housekeeper Sarah Suter. Samuel and Sarah never married but had 7 children together, among them Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876) who was a cathedral organist and composer of the Victorian period.
Samuel died in 1837 and was buried in Saint Marylebone Old Parish Church, London.
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