Life of Joseph Rayner Stephens, preacher and political orator

George Jacob Holyoake was born in 1822 at the time of the Napoleonic wars when Britain claimed all of North America. He was educated in England, Germany, and France. After emigrating to Australia in 1857, he was ordained as a minister in New Zealand but continued to preach throughout his life. The author of the book, Joseph Rayner Stephens waa born in 1813 in what is now called the State of Maine. He was a minister and political orator. He spoke frequently on public issues, most notably the need for free religious instruction for all youth in colonial America. His outspokenness earned him extended imprisonment in New York Jail for two years, but he was eventually acquitted.