John Wesley was born in Epworth , England 23 miles ( 37 km ) north west of Lincoln . , the son of Samuel Wesley , a graduate of Oxford , and minister of the Church of England . John Wesley was born in 1703 in Epworth , 23 miles ( 37 km ) northwest of Lincoln , England , the fifteenth child of Samuel Wesley and his wife Susannh Annesley . His father was a graduate of the University of Oxford and a Church of England rector .