Catherine+Booth

==== She was born as Catherine Mumford in  [|Ashbourne, Derbyshire] , England, in 1829 to Methodist parents, John Mumford and Sarah Milward. Her father was an occasional lay preacher and carriage maker; [|coach]  builder. Her family later moved to [|Boston, Lincolnshire] , and later lived in  [|Brixton]  ,  [|London]. From an early age, Catherine was a serious and sensitive girl. She had a strong [|Christian]  upbringing and was said to have read the  [|Bible]  through eight times before the age of 12. [|[1]]==== ==== During Catherine’s adolescence a spinal curvature led to years of enforced idleness. [|[2]] She kept herself busy, however, and was especially concerned about the problems of  [|alcoholism]. Even as a young girl she had served as secretary of a Juvenile Temperance Society writing articles for a temperance [|magazine]. Catherine was a member of the local [|Band of Hope]  and a supporter of the national  [|Temperance Society]. ==== ==== When Catherine refused to condemn Methodist Reformers in 1850, the Wesleyans expelled her. For the Reformers she led a girls’ Sunday school class in Clapham. At the home of Edward Rabbits, in 1851, she met William Booth, who also had been expelled by the Wesleyans for reform sympathies. William was reciting a temperance poem, “The Grog-seller’s Dream,” which appealed to Catherine, who had embraced the new Methodist passion for abstinence. [|[3]]==== ==== They soon fell in love and became engaged. During their three-year engagement, Catherine constantly wrote letters of encouragement to William as he performed the tiring work of a preacher. They were married on 16 June 1855 at [|Stockwell]  Green  [|Congregational]  Church in London. Their wedding was very simple, as they wanted to use their time and money for his ministry. Even on their honeymoon, William was asked to speak at meetings. ==== ==== The Booths had eight children:  [|Bramwell Booth] ,  [|Ballington Booth]  ,  [|Kate Booth]  ,  [|Emma Booth]  ,  [|Herbert Booth]  ,  [|Marie Booth]  ,  [|Evangeline Booth]  and  [|Lucy Booth]  , and were dedicated to giving them a firm Christian knowledge. Two of their offspring, Bramwell and Evangeline, later became [|Generals of The Salvation Army]. ====