American Medical Biographies/Benneville, George de

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2275061American Medical Biographies — Benneville, George de1920

Benneville, George de (1703–1793)

George de Benneville, preacher-doctor and the apostle of the Universalist faith, was born in London July 25, 1703. His father, George de Benneville, a French refugee to London on invitation of King William III, and his mother, Marie Granville, had nine children in five years after their marriage, having twins four years successively; when George, the youngest, was born the mother died. Queen Anne provided the child with a nurse. He was very wild, and at twelve years was sent to sea to learn navigation.

As he grew older he was exercised over sin and his relation to God as his judge; he had through life visions and revelations, especially connected with the Holy Trinity. He was called to preach in France where he endured much persecution and was condemned to death with a young man from Genoa by the name of Durant; the latter was hanged and De Benneville was about to be guillotined when reprieved by Louis XV, imprisoned in Paris, and finally liberated at the request of the Queen. He then went to Germany where he studied medicine, but does not appear to have received a degree. He gave much time to traveling, and preached in German, French and Dutch.

He was ill and thought he was dying when he had a vision of heaven and a revelation touching "all the human species without exception" of "an eternal and everlasting deliverance, an eternal and everlasting restoration, universal and everlasting restitution of all things!" proclaimed by the heavenly host.

Emigrating to America in 1741, the first person to meet him was Christopher Sauer, the printer of Germantown, the first in America to publish a quarto Bible in German. Sauer had a vision directing him to go to meet De Benneville, who was sick on the ship, and take him to his own house.

Dr. de Benneville practised medicine in Oley, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and at the same time preached the doctrines of universal restoration. In 1745 he married Esther Bertolette of a family of Protestant refugees and French Huguenots. Her parents, Jean and Susanna Bertolette, had fled to Germany where the daughter was born, in 1720; they went to America in 1724.

After a few hours' illness, De Benneville died in Philadelphia, March 19, 1793, in the ninetieth year of his age. He was laid in the burying-ground at the corner of Green Lane and old York Road, Philadelphia.

Life of Dr. George de Benneville, Converse Cleaves, Germantown, Pa., 1890.