Dorothy Ripley (1767–1831) was a British evangelist, who went to America in 1801 and died in 1831 in Virginia. She was a Quaker by confession, but had been raised a Methodist. She traveled thousands of miles in the United States and Britain as an effective evangelist on the camp meeting circuit. She ministered to many of the disenfranchised, including the Oneida people, men and women in prison, and African slaves in the American South. She self-published six times; three of her books received a second printing. Ripley crossed the Atlantic at least nine times, mostly traveling alone. At her death a newspaper obituary termed her "perhaps the most extraordinary woman in the world." Early life Ripley was born in Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast of England. Her father, William, was a close associate of John Wesley, who called him "a burning and shining light." William was working with Wesley at a time when Wesley was encouraging women to become preachers. William desired that his child should be a preacher, even before he knew her gender. He encouraged her toward that for as long as he was alive. Ripley's father died in her teen years, leaving the family in financial straits. They suffered a number of other setbacks, including the early deaths of some family members and a landslide that destroyed their home. These incidents had a profound impact on her. Ripley chose to remain single, believing she was called to Christian ministry and unwilling to be tied down by the responsibilities of marriage. Work as an evangelist Ripley traveled, engaging in itinerant preaching in the United States, and spending much time in New York, South Carolina and Georgia. She faced many challenges, including hostility from men and women toward female preachers. She was accused of being a lewd woman for allowing herself to be viewed publicly as a spectacle. A few of Ripley's opponents also accused her of prostituting herself, as she did not have an income as a means of regular support; her first years as a missionary were funded wholly by donations from people who believed in her ministry. This explains the title of her second book, The Bank of Faith and Works United. Ripley persevered, and often won over opponents through the effect of her preaching on large crowds. Ripley felt sympathy from childhood for the slaves in America. On arriving in 1801 for her first trip