John Marrant was born free on 15 June 1755 in New York City and moved as a child with his family to Charleston, South Carolina, later living for two years among the Cherokee after a dramatic religious conversion at age thirteen.
During the American Revolutionary War, Marrant was impressed into the Royal Navy as a musician, seeing action at the siege of Charleston in 1780 and being wounded the following year in a North Sea engagement near the Dogger Bank.
After his discharge, Marrant settled in London, working for a cotton merchant while joining the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, an evangelical Christian group; on 15 May 1785 he was ordained a minister at Bath, becoming one of the first Black preachers formally ordained in England.
In 1785 Marrant published A Narrative of the Lord's Wonderful Dealings with John Marrant, a Black, an account of his life dictated to a white minister that became an immediate bestseller, reprinted across Britain, Ireland and Canada.
Later in 1785 Marrant travelled to Nova Scotia as a missionary to Black Loyalist communities, founding a church in Birchtown and ministering to Black, white and Mi'kmaq congregations alike, before returning to London in 1790, where he died the following year at the age of 35.
- Published A Narrative of the Lord's Wonderful Dealings, one of the bestselling Black autobiographies of the 18th century
- One of the first Black ministers formally ordained in England
- Founded a Methodist church for Black Loyalists at Birchtown, Nova Scotia
- Ministered across racial lines to Black, white and Mi'kmaq congregations in Canada
- A dramatic personal story can become a powerful tool for ministry. Marrant's own account of his conversion and captivity with the Cherokee drew wide readership and support for his missionary work.
- Ministry can cross racial and cultural lines simultaneously. Marrant preached to Black Loyalists, white settlers and Mi'kmaq communities alike during his time in Nova Scotia.