Religious Figure. He received notoriety as a unconventional and eccentric Methodist preacher during the 19th century in the copper and tin mi ning communities of Cornwall, England. He became known as “God's man with a shout.” He was known to shout “Glory” and dance with excitement during his sermons, and his way of worshiping was criticized as it was not easily accepted by many other men of the Christian faith. Born William Trewartha Bray, h is family knew firsthand the hardship of living in a mining community. After his father died, he and his two younger siblings lived with his grandfather. His grandfather had joined the Methodist faith when John Wesley was in Cornwall, hence this was the faith he knew as a boy. He received little formal education but there is evidence that he could read and write even though some biographers referred to him as “illiterate.” Relocating to Devon when he was seventeen, he lived a wild life of drunkenness, fighting, thieving, and barely escaping jail and at times death. At the age of 24, he returned to Cornwall and began to work in the mines. In 1821 he married Johanna or “Joey,” became the father of seven children, and later adopted two more children. In the early years of his marriage, he was not a good provider for his family as he spent his earnings for alcohol at the local pub. His wife often had to help him home from the pub as he was too dr unk to walk. One day in 1823 in the mine, the roof collapsed with nearly 40 tons of stones nearly burying him alive. It was at that point, he had a spiritual awakening and at three o'clock in the morning decided to change his way of life by seriously repenting, praying and reading the Bible and John Bunyan's book “Visions of Heaven and Hell.” He experienced a dramatic conversion and alcohol was never part of his life. After he came home sober for several days, within weeks his wife converted too. A group of Methodists were known as Bible Christians as they carried the Bibles under their arms. He and his wife joined this group. Wanting to share what he had found, he soon was called to preach, first on the streets, then his own church, and becoming a great evangelist preacher for 43 years to the poor miners of Cornwall. His method was simple and people from all walks of life came to hear what he had to say. He and his son built several churches including Bethel Chapel, Kerley Downs Chapel or the “Three Eyes” church, and Great Deliverance Chapel. In 1984 Kerley Downs Chapel was the only one of his churches still standing and was dedicated to him. In error, some sources state he was buried there. Besides being a preacher, he was a caring pastor to his congregation providing for the poor and sick. In 1871, Fredrick William Bourne wrote Bray's biography, “A King's Son,” which has been reprinted at least fifty times and now digitized online. The 1974 Pulitzer Prize recipient, Annie Dillard, an American author, made reference to Bray in the very last sentence of her award-winning book “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.” Rev. Bray's unpublished journal was published in 2004 as “Billy Bray in His Own Words” by Chris Wright. Bray's life is celebrated in the lyrics of a song “Preacher's Ghost” in Seth Lakeman's 2010 album “Hearts and Minds.” His wife died in 1864 and was buried in the cemetery at Baldhu parish church. Four years later, he died and is assumed to have found his final resting place next to his wife's. For several years, neither of their graves were marked and church documents have been lost. After the 15 th edition of Bourne's successful book was released, a Christian society erected a large granite obelisk in 1880 for Rev. Bray but his wife's name was not included on the marker.