'General Booth' was the founder of the Salvation Army, a title he chose in 1878. From 1858-61, Booth preached at the Bethesda Chapel in Melbourne Street, Gateshead, demolished during the building of the Metro station. It was in Gateshead in 1860 that his wife Catherine (1829-90), the 'Army Mother' preached her first sermon. A plaque from the chapel, commemorating Booth's ministry for the Methodist New Connection, is at present held in the Gateshead Local Studies Library. The Booths lived for some time at 15 Woodbine Terrace, where their eldest daughter, Catherine, was born. Catherine became known as 'La Marechale' and founded the Salvation Army in continental Europe. The Booths subsequently resided at 1 Normanby Terrace, now included in Bewick Road, where another daughter, Emma, was born.
William Booth's In Darkest England and the Way Out (1890) was actually ghost-written by W.T. Stead, a great supporter of the Salvation Army.