Etheridge was born near
Newport, Isle of Wight. He received most of his early education from his father. Though he never attended university, Etheridge ultimately acquired a thorough knowledge of
Greek,
Latin,
Hebrew,
Syriac, French and German. In 1824 he was placed on the
Wesleyan Methodist plan as a local preacher. In 1826 his offer to enter the ministry was accepted, and after the usual probationary trial he was received into full connection at the conference of 1831. For two years after this he remained at
Brighton, and in 1833 he removed to
Cornwall, being stationed successively at the
Truro and
Falmouth circuits. From Falmouth he removed to
Darlaston, where in 1838 his health gave way. For a good many years he was a
supernumerary, and lived for a while at
Caen and Paris, where in the public libraries he found great facilities for prosecuting his favorite Oriental studies. His health having considerably improved, he became, in 1843, pastor of the Methodist church at
Boulogne-sur-Mer. He returned to England in 1847, and was appointed successively to the circuits of
Islington, Bristol,
Leeds,
Penzance,
Penryn, Truro and
St Austell in east Cornwall. Shortly after his return to England he received the degree of PhD from the
University of Heidelberg. He was a patient, modest, hard-working and accurate scholar. He died at Camborne on 24 May 1866. ==Works==