Whatcoat was born in Quinton Gloucestershire, England. His mother and father were Charles and Mary Whatcoat. He considered himself fortunate to be in Church of England parish where the Minister, the Reverend Samuel Taylor, was "a converted man". He believed his mother to be converted. His father died when he was young leaving his wife with two sons and three daughters. When he was thirteen Whatcoat was apprenticed to Mr Joseph Jones who lived in Birmingham, shortly after moving to Darlaston in Staffordshire.Phœbus,William, Ed, Memoirs of the Rev. Richard Whatcoat, Late Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, New York, 1828 p 9
