Henry Alline
(1748-1784):

Henry's father, William Alline, from Newport, came with his family together with a larger group of 113 persons to Nova Scotia. This group come up from Rhode Island and Connecticut to settle on the banks of the Piziquid (Avon) River. The Alline family established their farm in the Falmouth area. Henry was the second son in the family, and, though apparently on the sickly side, undoubtedly did his share of farm work. Young Henry had a higher level intellect then most; and, his life might have been different if he had received a formal education. However, as it was, "the isolation and poverty characteristic of rural Nova Scotia meant that there were no local religious, cultural, or educational institutions which might have offered the young man some opportunities for cultivating his natural intellectual gifts."1

Henry turned to religion. And, as a young man, envisioning himself to be the John the Baptist to frontier Nova Scotians, and though never very far from his aging parents, Alline set out with his message, one that would have little appeal to the average Nova Scotian -- there should be no "frolicking, drinking or horse racing." Nonetheless, Alline "traveled for six to nine months of the year by horseback, boat, snowshoe, or on foot" to the established frontier communities of Nova Scotia. In 1783, Alline determined to broaden his base and traveled down into New England. His evangelistic career, however, was cut short when he died in 1784 at North Hampton, New Hampshire.

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