Rev. George Whitefield

Front: On Jan. 1, 1740 George Whitefield (1714-1770), Anglican evangelist, stopped at a tavern nearby on his way to Savannah. Whitefield, the most famous revivalist of the Great Awakening in colonial America, wrote in his diary that since it was New Year’s Day and the crowd at the tavern was “dancing country dances,” he believed they “wished I had not come to be their guest.” Reverse: Whitefield, who believed dancing was a sin, tried to convince a woman dancing a jig “how well-pleased the devil was with every step she took.” Although she kept dancing and the fiddler kept fiddling, they soon stopped and allowed Whitefield to preach and baptize a child. Once he retired for the night, however, the New Year’s spirit prevailed, and the music and dancing resumed.