George Whitfield In 1714, George Whitfield was born to a poor family of innkeepers in England. There he lived doing odd jobs around town and receiving what education was possible for him until managing to get accpeted into Oxford. Here he began his long and influential career as a preacher, starting out as the head of the Holy Club at Oxford. After several journeys back and forth, George returned to England and became a hugely influential leader in the Great Awakening and preached for the rest of his life. He died in 1770 in Newburyport, Massachusetts (?George Whitfield?).