F. F. Bosworth
Fred Francis Bosworth (1877-1958) was a "Faith Healer" and Pentecostal evangelist who toured with William Branham from the beginning of his ministry until his death in 1958. Bosworth was a ranking member of John Alexander Dowie's "Faith Healing" commune in Zion, IL. He served as the leader of the band, as well as an assistant to Dowie during Dowie's tours to increase his reach of control. He was well-respected in Pentecostal circles, claiming to have been one of those in attendance at the Azusa Street Revival.
After Dowie's death, F. F. Bosworth and his brother, B. B. Bosworth, started touring as "faith healers" and Pentecostal evangelists. His ministry was extremely popular, though attendance suffered a minor setback when one "healed" in the meetings perished of the diseases which brought him to the "healer". Dowie played a role in the creation of the Assemblies of God while in Texas, and likely coordinated with Roy E. Davis, who was also touring as a Pentecostal healer/evangelist in Texas at the same time.
While Charles Fox Parham himself was excommunicated, many of his followers, “Parhamites” still remained in Zion City, spreading his doctrine on glossolalia. Eventually, those who remained faithful to Voliva and Dowie started experiencing “speaking in tongues,” and started defecting. Though once disgusted with the claims of flesh mutilation by the Parhamites, they could not deny their new experience. By September 1906, the group of Dowie defectors and Parhamites grew to over a hundred people. This turned into a religious frenzy in which Parhamites began a series of exorcism to “cast out devils and bring health” that resulted in at least two deaths. Among the defectors of Dowiesim to Parhamism was one Fred Francis Bosworth, the band director for Zion City.
Bosworth was one of only a handful of people whose homes became meeting places for the early Pentecostal believers. He and John Lake visited William Seymour’s Azusa Street Revival and came back eager to help spread the new Pentecostal faith. It was during this time that Bosworth himself experienced glossolalia. The meetings quickly became support groups for ex-Dowie cult members, and that support was drastically needed. Not only were the followers of Dowie losing their leader, holy city, and way of life, they were losing their homes and life’s possessions. To join Dowie’s cult, all personal possessions were forfeited to the commune. Now that the commune was facing bankruptcy, the city’s loss also became their own personal loss. The deaths from exorcism forced the Parhamites out of the city of Zion, and the defectors found themselves out on the streets. Bosworth was one of several who were forced into the business of “faith healing” to make ends meet. So he began touring with his wife, holding meetings in a tent and inviting other evangelists to participate.
https://william-branham.org/site/people/f._f._bosworth
After Dowie's death, F. F. Bosworth and his brother, B. B. Bosworth, started touring as "faith healers" and Pentecostal evangelists. His ministry was extremely popular, though attendance suffered a minor setback when one "healed" in the meetings perished of the diseases which brought him to the "healer". Dowie played a role in the creation of the Assemblies of God while in Texas, and likely coordinated with Roy E. Davis, who was also touring as a Pentecostal healer/evangelist in Texas at the same time.
While Charles Fox Parham himself was excommunicated, many of his followers, “Parhamites” still remained in Zion City, spreading his doctrine on glossolalia. Eventually, those who remained faithful to Voliva and Dowie started experiencing “speaking in tongues,” and started defecting. Though once disgusted with the claims of flesh mutilation by the Parhamites, they could not deny their new experience. By September 1906, the group of Dowie defectors and Parhamites grew to over a hundred people. This turned into a religious frenzy in which Parhamites began a series of exorcism to “cast out devils and bring health” that resulted in at least two deaths. Among the defectors of Dowiesim to Parhamism was one Fred Francis Bosworth, the band director for Zion City.
Bosworth was one of only a handful of people whose homes became meeting places for the early Pentecostal believers. He and John Lake visited William Seymour’s Azusa Street Revival and came back eager to help spread the new Pentecostal faith. It was during this time that Bosworth himself experienced glossolalia. The meetings quickly became support groups for ex-Dowie cult members, and that support was drastically needed. Not only were the followers of Dowie losing their leader, holy city, and way of life, they were losing their homes and life’s possessions. To join Dowie’s cult, all personal possessions were forfeited to the commune. Now that the commune was facing bankruptcy, the city’s loss also became their own personal loss. The deaths from exorcism forced the Parhamites out of the city of Zion, and the defectors found themselves out on the streets. Bosworth was one of several who were forced into the business of “faith healing” to make ends meet. So he began touring with his wife, holding meetings in a tent and inviting other evangelists to participate.
https://william-branham.org/site/people/f._f._bosworth