Although he hasn’t yet firmly established that connection, he went on to talk about Foord’s illegitimate son - yet another Joseph - Joseph Pilmoor. Pilmoor was born out of wedlock in 1739 after Foord had a liaison with a lady called Sarah Pilmoor from Fadmoor near Kirkbymoorside, and as a result, Foord was thrown out of the Quakers. This inauspicious start did not deter the young Pilmoor from following an extremely interesting path. Pilmoor was educated at Kingswood School near Bristol, which was established by the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. Although he returned to England for ten years between 1774 and 1784, Pilmoor returned to the US to continue his mission and appears to have been far more successful in recruiting followers than his more famous founder.

Source: The Times February 11, 2024 05:09 UTC