ABSTRACT
John Heyl Vincent was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on February 23, 1832, the son of John Himrod Vincent and Mary Raser. In 1837 the Vincents returned to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Yet John did not forget his Southern heritage. In 1850 he entered the Methodist ministry and after serving a number of churches in New Jersey he was assigned to churches in Illinois where, in 1856, he married Elizabeth Dusenbury of Joliet. In 1861 he experienced one of those significant events that sometimes strongly influence a person’s life: he was selected as a delegate to the General Sunday School Convention in London. Between Vincent’s European tour and the creation of the Chautauqua he also served as editor of the Sunday School Journal. The Chautauqua really had its beginning with the fortunate meeting of John Vincent and Lewis Miller.
