Full text of "Early Methodism in the Carolinas"

The Library of 

Reverend Harry M. North 

Graduate of the Class of 1899 
Trustee 1919-1932 




DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
DURHAM, N. C. 





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EARLY METHODIS 



-1 



CAROLINAS. 



BY 



REV. A. M. OHREITZBERG, D.D. 



Prepared at the Request of the South Carolina Conference. 



Nashville, Tenn.: 

Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Chuech, South. 

Bakbee & Smith, Agents. 

1897. 



Knteied, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, 

By a. M. Chreitzbebg, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at "Washington. 






Srh. R. 



TO THE 

/iDembers of tbe Soutb darolina Conference, 

OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH, 

IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR KINDNESS SHOWN HIM IN ALL 

HIS MINISTERIAL LIFE OF FIFTY-FOUR EFFECTIVE YEARS, 

AND NEARLY FIVE OF RETIRED SERVICE, 

THIS RECORD OF THE EARLY STRUGGLES OF OUR 
BELOVED CHURCH 

is affectionately inscribed by 

The x\uthor. 



S47704 



AUTHOEITIES CONSULTED. 

Froude's Worthies. 
Ledener's Narrative (unpublished). 
Knight's Popular History, 8 volumes. 
Ramsey's South Carolina. 
Howe's History of the Presbyterians. 
Summers's Biographical Sketches. 
Strickland's Life of Asbnry. 

General Minutes of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Asbury's Journal. 

South Carolina Conference Journals. 
Old Quarterly Conference Journals. 
Deems's Annals, 3 volumes. 
Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit. 
Bennett's Virginia. 

Shipp's History of Methodism in South Carolina. 
Simms's South Carolina. 
Abel Stevens's History of Methodism. 
Charleston Yearbook. 
■ F. A. Mood's Charleston Methodism. 
Autobiography of Bishop Capers. 
Autobiography of James Jenkins. 
Autobiography of Joseph Travis. 
Stray Leaves. By Lucius Bellinger. 
Southern Christian Advocate. 

Dr. George G. Smith's History of Methodism in Georgia and Florida. 
Annual Minutes of the South Carolina Conference. 
R V. Samuel Beard's MS. Lectures. 
Communications from Dr. Lovick Pierce, etc. 



247704 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. P^Q„, 
America and Protestantism — Romanism and Heretics — Spanish Cruel- 
ties to Indians — Raleigh's Protest — Norse Sea Kings — Banner of En- 
gland — De Allyon — Coligny — Royal Grants — Royal Proprietors — 
Ledener's Narrative — Indian Tradition— Sullivan's Island — Past and 
Present Surroundings 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Asylums in the Wilderness — Settlement on the Ashley — Original Coun- 
ties — Emigration — John Miltonls Lament — Huguenot-Acadian High- 
landers — Flora McDonald — Church Building — The Established Reli- 
gion — City Manners — Country Amu-ements — Long Sermons — Clerical 
Reproof 13 

CHAPTER III. 

Contemporary Events — Church and State — Persecution of Sectaries — 
Patrick Henry's Speech — Clerical Immoralities — State of the Coun- 
try — Need of a Revival — John Newton's Oratory — Character and 
Work of Methodism — Historian Ramsey's Testimony — Its Origin and 
Spirit— Visits of Wesley — His Conversion and Mission — Wesley in 
Savannah — Marriage in England 21 

CHAPTER IV. 

Whitetield — Commissary Garden — Pilmoor — Waccamaw Beach — Hard 
Travel — Charleston — Purisburg — A Drunken Funeral — In the Thea- 
ter — Joins the Protestant Episcopal Church — Extemporaneous Preach- 
ing — Asbury and His Helpers — Precedence of ]\Iethodism — Wight- 
man's Defense of Our Episcopacy 31 

CHAPTER V. 
Pioneers, 1875 — The Point d'appui — Earliest Preachers — Asbury's Itin- 
erary — Entrance into Charleston — Good Generalship — Hogarth's 
"Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism" — Asbury and the Durants 
— Picket Guard — Success — Pioneer Pen Portraits — Lee's Education — 
Encounter with Lawyers — The Test Sermon — Physical Avoirdupois^ 
His Strategic Power — His Happy Death 39 

CHAPTER VI. 
Appointments for 1786 — Aebury's Second Itinerary — Foster — Hum- 
phries — Major — Beverly Allen — Richard Swift — First Conference in 
Charleston, 1787— No Journal Extant — Mead's Synopsis — Appoint- 
ments — Formation of Circuits — Second, Third, and Fourth Sessions — 

Asbury's Intinerary 48 

(iK-) 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIL 

The Fifth Session — Elation and Depression — Religious Swearing — Ham- 
met's Arrival — Sixth Session — Mathews Withdraws — Cherokee Cir- 
cuit — Hard Work, Small Salary — Seventh Session — Eighth Session at 
Finch's — ^IcKendree — Enoch George — Spiritual Declension — Tabu- 
lated Matter in Conference Minutes — Mt. Bethel Academy — Jenkins's 
Disappointment — Simon Carlisle 57 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Ninth Session — Rapid Interchange of Preachers — Broad River Cir- 
cuit — Incidents — Cowles and Darley — Ivy's Boldness— Philip Bruce — 
The Tenth Session — Street Preaching — Bethel Church — Jenkins De- 
nied Orders — Reuben Ellis — Dark Days— Large Decrease in Member- 
ship — Necrological — Lorenzo Dow 64 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Eleventh Session — Money No Obje'^t — Poor William Hammet — 
Mr. Wells's Burial — Twelfth Session — No Bishop — Too Much Fire- 
George Dougherty — Bethel Dedicated — Jenkins's Far-reaching Min- 
istry — His Sleeveless Coat — Weatherley's Calvinism — Conversion of 
the Pierces — Thirteenth and Fourteenth Sessions — Asbury's Itinera- 
ry — Charleston Orphan House — General C 'nference — 111 Effect of 
Addresses — Persecution of Dougherty 71 

CHAPTER X. 

Asbury's Itinerary — Fifteenth Session — First Parsonage Elected — The 
Bishop's Occupancy — Opening Bethel Academy — The Old Huguenots 
— Letter from Dougherty— Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth 
Sessions — Nineteenth and Twentieth Sessions — Church Contest Anent 
a Steeple — Pen Portraits — Hope Hull, Daniel Asbury, William Gas- 
saway, Jonathan Jackson, Benjamin Blanton 79 

CHAPTER XI. 

Twenty-first Session, Sparta, 1806 — Dougherty and Kendriok — Asbury's 
Itinerary — Twenty-second Session, 1807 — The Old Brunswick Circuit 
— The Jerks and Dancing Exercise — Everett's Courage — Answer to 
Prayer — Brunswick's Worthies — Wilmington, N. C. — James Jenkins 
— Mob Violence in Charleston — William Owens Threatened — Outrage 
from the City Guard 90 

CHAPTER XII. 
Old Journals — Sessions of Quarterly Conference — Old Enoree (Union) — 
William Gassaway — John CoUinsworth — Old Bethel Academy — Local 
Preachers — Anthony Senter — Origin of Camp Meetings — Collins- 
worth's Embryo Bishop 98 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Parsonages — Conferences Contrasted — Benjamin Wofford — Preachers 
Sent from Enoree — Coleman Carlisle — Support of Ministers — Quarter- 



CONTENTS. XI 

Page 
age and Family Expenses — Meager Estimates — Improper Appropria- 
tions — Old District Conferences— Centenary of Methodism in 1839. . . 110 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Song of Deborah — Zebulun and Naphtali — Wiley Warwick — Great Re- 
vival — A Moving Witness — Parson's Saddlebags — James H. Mellard 
— The Ascetic Nelson — George Doughertj^ 123 

CHAPTER XY. 

Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Sessions — General Conference of 1808 
— Jenkins at Winnsboro — Asbury's Itinerary — Wateree and William 
Capers — Riot at Carter's — Capers at Lancaster Courthouse — George- 
town — Joseph Travis — Mills and Kennedy in Charleston — Capers on 
Great Pee Dee — The Gully Incident of the Gallowses — Travis in Co- 
lumbia 129 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Twenty-fifth Session — The Bishop's Itinerary — Santee Circuit — Old 
Manchester — William Capers and Charleston — Joseph Travis — Ob- 
jection in Examination of Character^Twenty-sixth Session — Lewis 
Myers versus Matrimony — Travis at Wilmington — Orangeburg Circuit 
-William Capers — Depression and Triumph 138 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The Twenty-seventh Session — Brandy and the Bible — Christmas on 
Bread and Water — James Jenkins Again Locates — Travis in George- 
town — Charleston — Wilmington, N. C. — Wil.iam Capers — A Shanty 
Parsonage — Asbury's IMount Zion — Doctrines Preached — EflPects Pro- 
duced — A Meager Exchequer — Divine Wealth and Economy — Jesse 
Jennett — The Twenty-eighth, Twentj'-ninth, and Thirtieth Sessions. 146 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Hammet Schism — Its Success and Early Decline — Dr. Brazier — 
Rev. Israel Munds — Bennett Kendrick — Sale of the Church — Its Re- 
covery — Holding the Fort — Henry Muckenfuss — The African Schism 
— Great Loss of Members — Sole Memorial — African Disintegration — 
Old Bethel — Crowded Houses — Literal Interpretation of Scriptural 
Figures — Wings of Silver — The Gi-eat Schism of 1834 153 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The Santee Circuit — Old Quarterly Conference Journal from 1816 to 
1831 — Names of Churches — Names of Official Members — Financial 
Returns — Sumter Station, 1851 — Rembert's Church — Manning Station. 161 

CHAPTER XX. 

Santee Circuit Continued — Rev. Samuel Leard's Narrations — Names of 
Celebrities — Rembert's, Deschamp's, Green's — Camp Meeting at Lodi- 
bar in 1850 — Necrological — Memorial Reminiscences of Dr. William 
Capers — The Capers Family 171 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXI. p^^^ 

Chesterfield Circuit — Official Names — Society Hill Finances — Camden 
Station — Early Methodism in Charlotte, N. C— The "Waxhaws— The 
Indians — The Presbyterians — Superstition —Michael Burdge — Ashley 
Hewett 180 

CHAPTER XXII. 
The Great Pee Dee Circuit — Flowers Church, near Marion Courthouse 
— Sliputing Methodists— Britton's Neck, Darlington— The Old Gully 
Camp Meeting — Dougherty's Sermon — Marion Courthouse and Joseph 
Travis — Old Local Preachers — Bishopville Cross Roads — Pee Dee Cir- 
cuit, 1840 192 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
The Congaree Circuit — Broad River Circuit — Edisto Circuit — Jacob 
Barr's Conversion — Saluda Circuit — Bush River Circuit — Cherokee 
Circuit — Catawba Circuit — The Old Keowee (Anderson) Circuit: Its 
Quarterly Conference Journal; Names of Officials; Churches; Fi- 
nances — The Old Bush River (Newberry) Circuit and Station 199 

CHAPTER XXiy. 
Winnsboro Circuit: Preachers in 1835; Rev. Samuel Leard; Full De- 
scription of tlie Circuit Then — Changes of Conference Boundaries- 
Loss of Thousands of ]Members in Ours — Divide, but to Increase — 
Brief Notices of Pioneers: Joseph Moore, George Clark, John Harper, 
and Lewis Myers 210 

CHAPTER XXY. 
Pen Pictures — Bishop Roberts : His Incognito — Amusing Mistakes Engen- 
dered — The Young Preacher^The Class Leader — The Young Lawyer 
— John Gamewell — Reddick Pierce — James Russell — William M. 
Kennedy — Samuel Dunwody — Hilliard Judge— Joseph Travis 219 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Al)beville Circuit — Mount Ariel— Stephen Olin — James E. Glenn — 
Joseph Travis — Mrs. Ann Moore — Cokesbury School — Sketch of 
Preachers — William Capers — Henry Bass — N. Talley — J. L. Belin — 
J. 0. Andrew — H. Spain — C. Betts — James Dannelly — Bond English 
— M. McPherson — William Crook — George W. Moore — Jacky M. Brad- 
ley — David Derrick — William M. Wightman — S. W. Capers — William 
Martin— John R. Coburn — James Stacy = 228 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Old Journals — Older Boundaries — A Quarterly Conference of 1819 — 
Names of Officials — Estimates for Living — Quarterage Collected — Con- 
ference of 1841^Names of Churches — Finances Meager — Confederat-^ 
Money — Declension After the War — Rapid Advance Since — Compara- 
tive Review of Operations — Contrast in Favor of an Itinerant Ministry. 244 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

CHAPTER XXVIII. ^^^^ 
Black Swamp Circuit— Walter boro — Churches Named — Early Metho- 
dist Missions to Slaves — Absurdity of Northern Sentiment — Their 
Self-complacency — Some Old Colored Saints — Dr. F. A. Mood's Testi- 
mony 253 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Necrology from 1830 to 1850: H. A. C. Walker, A. B. McGilvray, White- 
foord Smith, R. I. Boyd, W. A. Gamewell, H. A. Durant, Samuel LearJ, 
J. R. Pickett, W. A. McKibben, William C. Kirkland, William P. Muu- 
zon, William A. McSwain, L. 31. Little, C. H. Pritchard, A. M. Shipp, 
D. I. Simmons, William A. Fleming, R. P. Franks, John W. Kelly, 
William T. Capers, H. C. Parsons, A. H. Harmon, William Hutto — Be- 
nevolent Organizations in Connection with the Conference — Same in 
Charleston, S. C 260 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Methodism in York County — Peculiarities of the Country — Calvinism 
Soothing Methodism, its Opposite — Its First Preachers — Preachers 
and Elders -The Latest Concerning William Gassaway — List of 
Churches, and Church Finance — Donors of Church Lands — The New 
Church at Yorkville; a Full Description of the Same 268 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Early Eijminiscences — Old Cumberland — Ancient Worthies — Mrs. Ma- 
tilda Wigbtman — Preachers of the Period — Worship — Devotional, 
Often Demonstratively Emotional — A Successful Period Followed by 
Declension — Early Religious Impressions — Old-time Love Feasts — 
Names of Early Members — Personal Experience — Examination of 
Character as Seen in the Forty-eighth Session — Fifty-fourth Session 
— Chief Ministers — Some Retired — Protest Against Religious Formal- 
ism 280 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
A Summing Up — First Period — Tlie O'Kellv Schism — Second Period — 
Third Period — Cokesbury, Pee Dee, Orangeburg, and Barnwell Cir- 
cuits — Methodist Journalism — Sunday Schools — Education — William 
Capers — Fourth Period — Fifth and Last Period 293 

APPENDIX. 

I. Preachers Connected with the S^mth Carolina Annual Conference 
from 1776 to 1896 323 

II. South Carolina General Conference Delegations, from the First Del- 
egated General Conference to the Present Time 334 

III. Exhibit of Numbers, Conference Collections for Superannuates, 
Widows and Orphans, Missions, and Average Paid per Member, from 
1831 to 1896, a Period of Sixty-five Years 338 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Page 

IV. Chronological Roll of the Clerical Members of the South Carolina 
Conference, from 1836 to 1896 340 

V. Conference Regit-ter and Directory for 1896 342 

VI. South Carolina Conference Brotherhood — Kut Proceeds of Assess- 
ments - 348 

VII. Sessions of the South Carolina Conference 351 

VIII. Necrological Record: Tlie Dead of the South Carolina Conference, 
1788 to 1896 353 

IX. List of Stationed Preachers in the Charleston Methodist Episcopal 
Churches 356 

Presiding Elders of Charleston District for One Hundred and Ten 
Years 361 

X. Preachers and Presiding Elders Connected with Columbia, S. C, 
from 1805 to 1896 362 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

A. M. Chreitzberg. {Frontispiece.) , . i 

South Carolina Conference, Charleston, S. C, 1870 xvi 

Edwin Welling 7 

St. James Church, Goose Creek, S. C 10 

James Jenkins, William Capers, N. Talley, C. Betts, Henry Bass 23 

David Derrick, James Dannelly, W. A. Gamewell, H. A. C. Walker, A. 

M. Shipp 35 

H. M. Mood, F. Milton Kennedy, J. T. Wightman, John R. Pickett, D. 

J. Simmons 53 

Washington Street Church, Columbia, S. C 83 

James H. Carlisle, LL.D 117 

Wofford College, Spartanburg, S. C; James H. Carlisle, LL.D., President. 121 

Columbia Female College, Columbia, S. C 135 

Henry D. Moore, D.D., Mrs. Jackson, Dr. A. E. Williams, William Bird, 

Rev. James Moore, Mrs. Margaret Just, Mrs. Ann INIoore 143 

Bethel Church, Charleston, S. C 157 

Buncombe Street Church, Greenville, S. C 177 

Littleton Street Methodist Church, Camden, S. C 189 

Abbeville Methodist Church ; Rev. J. A. Clifton, D.D., Pastor 235 

Officers of the South Carolina Conference W. F. M. S 267 

Trinity Church, Yorkville, S. C '. 279 

Rev. Bond English 291 

St. John's Clmrch, Rock Hill, S. C; H. B. Browne, Pastor 297 

Greenwood Methodist Church ; Rev. Marion Dargan, Pastor 307 

Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Marion, S. C 319 

Bishop Galloway and Cabinet 349 

Methodist Church, Anderson, S. C; Rev. G. P. Watson, Pastor 359 



ERRATA. 

Page xiii. In contents of Chapter xxix., 
R. I. Boyd should be R. J. Boyd. 
D. I. Simmons should be D. J. Simmons. 
William A. Fleming should be William H. Fleming. 

Page 260. Same corrections as above. 

Page xvi. In second paragraph of names under engraving, 
Sidi H. Brown should be Sidi H. Browne. 

Page 12. In poem, "The rock dissembles," should hi "The 
rack dissembles." 

Page 13. Eighth line from bottom, Prisleans should be 
Prioleaus. 

Page 18. Sixteenth line from bottom, Gov. Archibald should 
be Gov. Archdale. 

Page 47. Fourth lii* from bottom, "courtly Kentuckian" 
should be "courtly Carolinian," referring to Bishop Capers. 

Page 2-11. Fifteenth line, William Cook should be William 
Crook. 

Page 252. Fifth line from bottom, Anderson should be 
Andrew. 

Page 283. Second line from bottom, Charles Bell should be 
Charles Betts. 

Page 333. T. J. White,* Class 1893. Strike out the D. 



- >1 




EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 



CHAPTER I. 

America and Protestantism — Romanism and Heretics — Spanish Cruelties to 
Indians — Raleigh's Protest — Norse Sea Kings — Banner of England — De 
Allyon — Coligny^Royal Grants — Royal Proprietors — Ledener's Narra- 
tive — Indian Tradition — Sullivan's Island — Past and Present Surround- 
ings. 

IN no decrees of Almighty God is his hand more clearly seen 
than in the reservation of North America for Protestantism. 
Over much of the continent, under France and Spain, Roman- 
ism once held sway; but the great Husbandman, not receiving the 
fruits of his vineyard, let it out to others. The eighth Henry, 
styled " Defender of the Faith," had somewhat to do with mak- 
ing Britain Protestant, but the greater Elizabeth, his daughter, 
did more in holding her country wisely and firmly to its mighty 
principles. Rome, with her pomj) and penances, made many 
automatically religious: simply parasites, with life only in a fal- 
lible Church. So He who is the light and life of the world gave 
the continent to any who could believe and speak in His name. 
And yet to-day Romish priests teach tbat America was given by 
the pope to the Catholics, as if indeed he had any such right. 
The dominion of the world was once offered to Christ by the devil 
and rejected. Antichrist seized upon it with avidity, and long- 
has enjoyed it, and " sitteth in the temple of God, showing him- 
self that he is God, . . . whom the Lord shall consume with 
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness 
of his coming." 

The time has come when feudalism should cease, and the 
people with free thought should rule, and mighty commerce 
should revolutionize the globe. In its colonization Romanism 
was first — the cross, her emblem, fearfully illustrative of her 
power; not, indeed, in the crucifixion of self, but of others. If 
she could be drunk with the blood of the saints, it was no great 
matter for her sons to revel in the blood of savages. The 

(1) 



Z EAELY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

greed for gold brought the Spaniards over the seas, and their 
wrongs to the Indians cried to heaven for vengeance. 

How fearful Raleigh's words in urging the colonization of 
Guiana: "Who will not be persuaded that now at length the 
great Judge of the world hath heard the sighs, groans, and 
lamentations, hath seen the tears and blood of so many in- 
nocent men, millions of innocent women and children, afflicted, 
robbed, reviled, burned with hot irons, roasted, dismembered, 
mangled, stabbed, whipped, racked, scalded with hot oil, put to 
the strapado, ripped alive, beheaded in sport, drowned, dashed 
against the rocks, famished, devoured by mastiffs, burned, and 
by infamous cruelties consumed, and purposeth to scourge and 
plague that cursed nation, and to take the yoke of servitude 
from that distressed people as free by nature as any Christian?" 
Grant that all this was only to favor his own selfish projects, 
yet the grand fact of Spanish cruelties to the Indians is clearly 
in all records. 

But not to savages alone was this cruelty shown. Rome's 
original hate to heretics found exemplification in Coligny's 
colony under Ribault in Florida, where the colonists were slain 
and hanged upon the trees, with the inscription, " Not as French- 
men, but as heretics"; retaliated soon by De Gorges hanging 
the murderers, with the legend, "Not as Spaniards, but as mur- 
derers." 

Cruelty is diabolical; to destroy is demoniacal — is never of 
God, but as punitive, who proclaimed his Son as the Prince of 
Peace; and that the hate of Rome is held in check in this west- 
ern world, is undoubtedly of God. 

This rich inheritance we enjoy to-day was the fruit of toil 
and peril. The old Norse sea kings in the eighth and ninth 
centuries visited these shores. Fierce and cruel, their only 
wealth in ships and force in swords, they swarmed the seas 
and plundered everywhere. Worshipers of Thor and Woden, 
they were like their deities, ruthlessly cruel. They were not 
to inherit this fair land; but later sea kings — Raleigh, Drake, 
Blake, and Hawkins — led the way of discovery and settlement. 
These may have been thought as piratical as the former, but it 
must be remembered that popery and Protestantism were at 
deep, deadly, irreconcilable war; the one trusting in the idola- 
trous mass, the virgin mother, and the saints; the other, in 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROL IX AS. S 

Christ alone. The purer faith gave a ]3urer life, and with the 
failing common to humanity they worshiped God and rever- 
enced his law. History declares that " wherever found, in the 
courts of Japan or China, fighting Spaniards on the seas, or 
prisoners among the Algerines, founding colonies to grow into 
enormous transatlantic republics, or in the fiercer polar seas, 
they are the same indomitable. God-fearing men whose life 
was one great liturgy." It was men of this caste that crossed 
the seas and founded on this beautiful coast the empire we 
inherit. In 1524 De Allyon sought to found a capital for Chi- 
cora, as Carolina was originally called, but owing to his perfidy 
in selling some natives into slavery, failed. Admiral Coligny 
attempted the same in 1562 near the same site, building Fort 
Charles, so called after Charles IX. of France. Both failed; 
if successful, all may have been under the shadowing banners 
of France and Spain, but "the banner of England blew," and 
the country rejoiced under the red cross of St. George, to give 
place eventually and forever to the starry banner of the states. 

History declares that Sir John Yeamans falling into disfavor 
because of his failure at Cape Fear, the command was trans- 
ferred to Sale, who is described as an octogenarian in feeble 
health, and said to be a nonconformist and a bigot, terms easily 
used in accordance with the high prelatical views of the period; 
yet his letter to Lord Ashley, dated Albemarle Point, June 25, 
1670, calls for a minister of religion at that early day; but 
five hundred acres of land and £40 per annum failed to obtain 
one. Sale dying in less than a year, the rule devolved on Sir 
John Yeamans; and Port Royal being too near the Spaniards, 
Charleston became the seat of permanent settlement, a little 
over two hundred and twenty years ago. 

History records that the first royal grant in Carolina to any 
lord proprietor was the Heath Patent, August, 1631, under 
Charles I., some twenty-four years after the settlement at 
Jamestown and eleven years after the Plymouth landing. The 
troublous times after in England made it of little effect. Crom- 
well, some short time after becoming prominent, defeated a 
candidate for parliament by one vote, who bitterly remarked: 
"That single vote has ruined both Church and kingdom." It 
gave to England, however, in the judgment of this latter day, 
the most kingly man that ever ruled in Britain. 



4 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLINAS. 

In 1663 Edward Clarendon and others obtained from Charles 
II. a charter conveying all lands between the thirty-first and 
thirty-sixth degrees of north latitude. It states: "Excited by a 
laudable and pious zeal for the propagation of the gospel, we 
beg a certain country in the parts of Kortli America not yet 
cultivated and planted, and only inhabited by a barbarous peo- 
ple, having no knowledge of God." These men, as set forth in 
history, were: Clarendon, mean and covetous; Albemarle, good 
as a soldier but selfish as a man; Craven, no Christian; Ashley 
Cooper, afterwards Shaftesbury, the Achitophel of Dryden, 
highly endowed but an intriguer without principle; Colleton, 
but little known; the two Berkeley s, wrong-headed and obsti- 
nate; and Carteret, neither wise nor honest. 

In the Charleston Yearbook for 1883 is given an engraving 
of the great seal of these lords proprietors. With interest any 
may view the heavy chirography of the sign manual of each. 
Nearly all were degenerate cavaliers once mourning defeat 
under Cromwell, but under the second Charles rewarded for 
their loyalty with an empire by a dash of the pen. They all 
have enduring monuments in the soil and rivers of Caroli- 
na. Alas! the beautiful Indian Kiahwa and Etiwan changed 
into the less euphonious Cooper and Ashley. These are monu- 
mental. Their memorial before God must be left to the divine 
mercy. 

The grant of territory was enormous, running, as at one time 
thought, to the Pacific Ocean. They were invested with all the 
rights, royalties, and privileges within these boundaries. By the 
" fundamental constitution " a nobility of landgraves, caziques, 
and barons was created, but failed of recognition early. 

One cannot look at the first majos of Carolina "without be- 
ing impressed by the barbaric loneliness as contrasted with its 
high civilization now. True, most of the magnificent forest 
growth is gone, but it is replaced by broad acres of cultivation 
and by a better race than the Indian. One of these maps is 
without date, but is unquestionably early, for, save along the 
coast and on each side of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, there 
are no settlements. It extends some distance above Cape Hat- 
teras and runs down the coast to the gulf. In the northwest is 
the Appalachian range of mountains, and the interior is dotted 
over with pictures of the deer, wild hog, beavers, catamounts, 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. O 

and the like, one representing a bowman shooting at an ostrich : 
a traveler's tale surely, such not being indigenous to the coun- 
try; like the story Ledener (an unpublished authority) tells 
of a sand crab's travels, walking in so straight a line, and be- 
cause of that climbing the tallest pines, and so progressing but a 
few feet a day. This reminds us of the student's description of a 
crab: "A fish, red in color, and walks backward." '' Good," said 
the professor "only a crab is not a fish, not red in color, and 
doesn't walk backward." The narrative of Ledener, although 
printed, is not yet published. By the courtesy of Dr. Hermaii 
Baer, of Charleston, we have been privileged to see it. The 
date is 1669-70. Had the traveler come down to Albemarle 
Point, he would have met the founders of old Charleston there 
and then. 

The dedication of Ledener's travels is to Lord Ashley, and is 
disgustingly fulsome. In it the discovery of the Indian Sea — 
the Pacific — is apprehended, and the mountains are represented 
as stooping to his lordship's dominion, rejoicing more in his 
lordship's deep wisdom and providence than in any advantage 
of soil or climate. 

The map accompanying Ledener's narrative is unintelligible; 
only the streams in Virginia and North Carolina notable, the 
Indian names not indicating present places, and the only guess 
as to localities being the ascent of a mountain to which he 
gives the royal title. Can this be the King's Mountain in 
York county? There is no other royal designation of which 
we are aware. 

Anyway, upper Carolina is the point visited, and tiie manners 
and customs of the Indians as related at the very time when 
Charleston was settled are certainly of interest. Ledener states 
that they were not removed from Virginia by the English, but 
that they were driven from the northwest by their enemies, 
and were invited by an oracle to settle where they were some 
four hundred years before. The then inhabitants were accus- 
tomed to feed on raw fiesh and fish, and were taught by the 
newcomers to plant corn and shown how to use it. Their 
knowledge was conveyed not by letters, but by rude hiero- 
glyphics and tradition; accounts were kept by pebbles and 
straws and rude leather thongs tied in knots of several colors. 
For emblems, a stag denoted swiftness; a serpent, wrath; 



6 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

a dog, fidelity; and by a swau the English were known, be- 
cause of their complexion and flight over the sea. They 
worshiped one God, Creator of all things, believing he had 
but little regard for sublunary affairs, committing them to 
good and evil spirits. From four women — Pash, Sepoy, Aska- 
rin, and Maraskarin — they derive the race of mankind. They 
religiously observe the degrees of marriage, limited to differ- 
ences in tribes ; the matching of two in the same tribe is regard- 
ed as incestuous, and is punished. Places of burial are tribal; to 
mingle their dust is regarded as ominous and wicked. Corpses 
are wrapped in skins, and provision for ase in the other world 
is interred with the dead. Elysium they place beyond the 
mountains and the Indian Ocean. Their councils and debates 
were occasions of much judgment and eloquence. 

This glance at the past sufficeth for the present; a look at 
present surroundings is in order. From our cottage by the sea 
on Sullivan's Island, in which this is written, you look out on 
the broad Atlantic and the harbor and bar of Charleston. The 
jetties seeking deeper water for entrance lie just before you, 
with the white sails of commerce in the distance, and the roar 
of the surf within hearing. How wonderful the changes of two 
centuries, since a feeble band entered this harbor and found- 
ed old Charleston at Albemarle Point! This is Sullivan's Is- 
land, a delightful summer retreat fully appreciated by all who 
like the balmy breezes from the sea. In the early days it was 
covered with the sand dunes, but now cottages abound, and dur- 
ing four months of the year a goodly number reside here. All 
religious sects are here represented. A number of Methodist 
families make it their summer retreat; among them the suc- 
cessful bankers, George W. Williams and William M. Connor, 
Dr. H. Baer, Dr. Cleckly, the Mackenfusses, and Mr. Edwin 
Welling. The last named was foremost in establishing the 
Central Church, where all save the Komanists and Episcopa- 
lians harmoniously worship. 

This is classic ground. The site of the old Revolutionary 
palmetto fort is swallowed up by the sea. But here is the brick 
structure named Fort Moultrie; in its front is the grave of Os- 
ceola, the Florida brave who ended his life within its walls. 
Yonder is Morris Island, noted in the civil war, the light- 
house conspicuous on its sea front. Here the Star of tJie 




EDWIN \VELLIN(i. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLIXAS. 9 

Westf seekiijg- to relieve Fort Sumter, was fired into; and Bat- 
tery Wagner, stormed at with shot and shell, once there, has been 
swallowed up l:)y the sea. Higher up the coast is Long Island, 
where Clinton's forces bivouacked, not daring to cross to aid 
the British fleet driven from Fort Moultrie. Tradition tells of 
buried treasure hidden in its sands by Blackbeard, the pirate: 
mythical, doubtless, as none has ever been found by earnest 
treasure-seekers. James Island and Fort Johnson are in sight, 
as also is Fort Sumter, frowning in its ruins. Outside that, out- 
stretching beyond the bar, extending southwardly down the 
coast, is the harbor royally named Port Boyal. Its entrance 
was recently guarded by Forts Walker and Beauregard, 
knocked to pieces by the Federal navy. Not far away, 
nearer Beaufort, are the ruins of De Allyon's Fort Charles. 
The writer more than fifty years ago, when a missionary to the 
blacks, often from its ruined ramparts looked out upon the 
"beautiful waters of the bay. AVealth then abounded there and 
on the neighboring islands, and religiously did many of the in- 
habitants seek the amelioration of the slave; all is now gone as 
a dream, and over all are the lines of desolation. ITnless fresh 
life enters these islands, the contented negro in his jDotato patch 
will soon equalize them with Hayti and San Domingo. 

Calm, bright, and beautiful as is this day in June, 1893, with 
the overarching blue so typical of peace, and the breezes 
from the sea, the outspreading waters of this beautiful harbor 
have often been tossed with tempests, witnessing the hurricane's 
wild wreck as well as the exercise of man's more baleful pas- 
sions. Just off the bar yonder in the hurricane of 1740 foun- 
dered the good ship Eisiufj Sun-, Gibson, master; all perishing 
save a few who had left the ship a day before on a visit to the 
town. The Bev. Archibald Stobo was among those thus saved, 
and lived long after, proclaiming the gospel of the blessed God. 
On the memorable 28th of June, 1776, Britain's proud navy 
was humbled before the little palmetto structure contemptu- 
ously called a slaughter pen; and in the memory of many 
now living Federal valor for weeks and months and years vain- 
ly strove to break down an endurance equally brave. When 
Greek meets Greek, all know the issue. But not only was so- 
called legal warfare famous in these waters, but in that beau- 
tiful offing cruised piratical craft, and along that coast sailed 



10 EARLY METHODISM IK THE CAROLINAS. 

Blackbeard, Bonnett, and Kidd under the black flag. In the 
eighteenth centuiy some thirty pirates were hanged at Oyster 
Point and buried at high-water mark; the locality said to be 
at the junction of Water with Meeting street in Charleston. 
The beautiful Theodora Alston, daughter of Aaron Burr, sail- 
ing from Georgetown, S. C, was captured by them and com- 
pelled to walk the plank, finding a grave in the broad Atlantic. 
Deeds of violence and blood have been common in all ages; dia- 
bolical misrule will never end until He comes whose right it is 
to reign. Just off the wharves of Charleston in colonial times 




ST. JAMES CHURCH, GOOSE CREEK, S. C. 



a most atrocious massacre of a dozen Indians was perpetrated 
under order of a chief magistrate. The captain of a sloop was 
ordered to take them to Barbadoes to be sold into slavery. De- 
clining so to do, he asked the governor where he should send 
them. The governor with an oath declared, " I ivill send them,'' 
and ordered some Indians to cleave their skulls with hatchets 
and throw them overboard. This was no representative of the 
southern slaveholder, of whom Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe 
makes Le Gree the type, and as northern sentiment to this day 



EAELY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 11 

believes, but one of the same Adamic race that, unless divine 
grace restrains, will make them all as devilish as was this royal 
governor. 

On the surrounding islands are many points of interest. The 
glamour of romance hangs around many of the old baronial es- 
tates. On one of them, and within sound of St. Michael's sil- 
very chimes, is an old mansion with its marble and mahogany 
adornments still intact, having its covered way leading to the 
river as the way of escape from the Indians. Tradition has it 
that in the early days its lordly proprietor, outraged by the 
attempt of his groom to elope with his daughter, pursued the 
couple, and overtaking them, without judge or jury hanged the 
culprit on a tree adjacent. 

Not far away, near Otranto, is the old English church of St. 
James, Goose Creek. This parish was established by an act 
of assembly, November 30, 1706. The first church here was 
built in 1707; the present structure was erected in 1713. Over 
the doorway was in stucco a pelican feeding her young, and the 
royal arms over the pulpit saved the church from destruction 
during the Revolution. The present year, 1896, a memorial 
tablet was erected and unveiled by two young ladies, direct de- 
scendants of the Rev. Francis Le Jau, the very first rector of 
St. James. The tablet is of white marble, and bears the follow- 
ing inscription, in gold letters: 

St. James's Parish, Goose Creek. 
Established by Act of Assembly 
November 30, 1706. 
Organized April 14, 1707. 
First Church built about 1707. 
Present Church built about 1718. 
Church consecrated April 17, 1845. 
Rectors. 
Rev. Francis Le Jau, D.D., 1707-1717. 
Rev. Richard Ludlam, A.M., 1723-1728. 
Rev. Timothy Millechamp, A.M., 1732-1748. 
Rev. Robert Stone, A.M., 1749-1751. 
Rev. James Harrison, A.M., 1752-1774. 
Rev. Edward Ellington, A.M., 1775-1793. 
Rev. Milward Pogson, 1796-1806. 
Rev. John Thompson, 1806-1808. 

The rectory of this church was the scene of the exploit of mad 
Archie Campbell, who with pistol presented compelled Rector 



12 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

Ellington to marry him to a lady he abducted; tradition stat- 
ing that the couple lived happily together ever after. The old 
road, the rectory, the oaks overshadowing, are all intact; the 
actors in that drama long since dust. Above the church are 
the Oaks, a fine entrance to one of the old baronial halls, fig- 
uring so largely in the Revolutionary story by W. Gilmore 
Simms. On toward the west is Summerville, and near by once 
existed Dorchester, named from old Dorchester, Mass. A colony 
led by Dr. Joseph Lord settled it in 1696. A rare thing in 
America are the ruins of the old English church, the shell fort, 
Bethany Church — the lines of desolation over all. Not far away 
is Middleton Place, with the tomb of Arthur Middleton, one of 
the signers of the Declaration of Independence; Drayton Hall, 
headquarters of Cornwallis in 1780, the property having been 
in the hands of the present owners since 1671; together with 
other provincial baronial estates. 

These are some of the surroundings near the good city of 
Charleston, S. C. Cyclone-swept and earthquake-shaken, and 
under a baptism of fire in two w^ars, she still abides as the queen 
city of our balmy southland. As it was here in South Carolina 
that Methodism first built her altars, the city will necessarily 
occupy a large space in these annals. Looking out into cloud- 
land above us, so typical of human life, Ave may say with Shakes- 
peare's Antony: 

Sometimes we fee a cloud that's dragonish, 

A vapor sometimes like a bear or lion, 

A tower's citadel, a pendant rock — 

The rock dissembles, and makes it indistinct 

As water is in water. 

Such always are the mutations in this changing world. The 
things seen are tem^Doral, only the unseen is eternal. 



CHAPTEK II. 

Asylums in the Wilderness — Settlement on the Ashley — Original Counties 
— Emigration — John Milton's Lament — Huguenot-Acadian Highland- 
ers — Flora McDonald — Church Building — The Established Eeligion — 
City Manners — Country Amusements — Long Sermons — Clerical Reproof. 

THE whole Nortli American Continent, then an unbroken 
wilderness, offered an asylum to tiie forlorn, and was em- 
braced by many fleeing from religious persecution. The Puri- 
tan, escaping royal and hierarchical tyranny, found in New En- 
gland, a refuge; the Cavalier, worn out by Koundhead ascend- 
ency, found safety in Maryland and Virginia; and many a Hu- 
guenot found an asylum in Carolina. 

As we have seen the first English settlement failing at Port 
Royal in 1670, the site was changed to the banks of the Ashley 
in 1671. The only trace of it now is a small hollow running 
across the front, once a wide ditch used as a protection from the 
Indians. In 1679 a removal was made to Oyster Point, the site 
of the present city; and that year thirty houses were built. In 
1700 the portions of the province occupied were within the 
limits of the Santee and Edisto rivers. Shortly after its settle- 
ment, the province was divided into four counties: Berkeley^ 
Colleton, Craven, and Carteret or Granville. A rapid increase 
of population was desired, so that every inducement to immigra- 
tion was offered. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 
1685 influenced this largely. 

Soon after the change from proprietary to royal rule in 1729, 
vigorous measures were adopted, bounties offered, lands as- 
signed, and other inducements to allure settlers. Protestants 
of all nations were invited to come, the Huguenots establishing 
themselves on the Santee River and country adjacent; and tliere 
are still found the descendants — Prisleaus, Guerrys, Palmers, 
Hugers, Porchers, Mazycks, and others. In the early days, 
from the difficulty of obtaining ministers of their own faith, 
they became incorporated with the English Church. After 
awhile parish privileges failed, and many of their descendants 
are numbered with the Methodism of to-day, among them the 
Bonneaus, Douxsaints, Bineaus, Du Prees, Du Tarts, Lessenes,, 
Postells, Pemberts, and others. 

(13) 



14 EAULY METHODISM IN THE CANULINAS. 

Many of the poor and uiii'ortunate of Great Britain, Ger- 
many, Switzerland, and Holland accepted these offers between 
1730 and 1750, settling in Orangeburg, Congaree, and Wateree. 
Williamsburg was the rendezvous of the Irish, the Swiss set- 
tling on Savannah Kiver and founding old Purisburg. This mi- 
gratory flight of nationalities was by many in the old countries 
greatly lamented. John Milton represents the genius of Great 
Britain as a mother '' in mourning weeds, with ashes upon her 
head, and tears abundantly flowing from her eyes, to behold so 
many of her children exposed at once and thrust from things 
of dearest necessity because their conscience could not assent 
to things which the bishops thought indifferent. I shall be- 
lieve there cannot be a more ill-boding sign to a nation than 
when the inhabitants, to avoid insufferable grievances at home, 
are enforced by heaps to forsake their native country." And 
yet where would have been this great western civilization 
without it? And where and what would Methodism have been 
to-day had Anglican bishops nourished it? Of old, God's pur- 
pose toward Pharaoh was declared, and his power seen, in the 
history of Israel. The roll of centuries plainly shows that he 
makes the wrath of man to praise him in setting up the na- 
tions. One declares: 

Oh, many a mighty foeman would try a fall with Him — 

Persepolis and Babylon and Rome, 
Assyria and Sardis, they see their fame grow dim, 

As He tumbles in the dust every dome. 

After the rebellion in 1715 and 1745, many of the vanquished 
highlanders sought refuge in North Carolina, Flora McDon- 
ald, the rescuer of Prince Charlie, for awhile among them. 

In South Carolina, up to 1750, the settlements were confined 
to within eighty miles of the coast; but on the extinction of the 
Indian claims, and cession of the territory to the king, the 
upper country began to be settled. Acadia falling into the 
hands of the English led to the removal of some fifteen hun- 
dred French to Charleston, and in 1764 a large number of poor 
Palatines arrived at the same place. Some two hundred and 
twelve settlers came from France under their pastor, the Pev. 
Mr Gibert, settling at Long Cane, in Abbeville county, and 
calling their abodes Bordeaux and New Pochelle. 

The white population in the Eevolution amounted to forty 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLIXAS. 15 

thousand. After the peace in 1783, many from Europe and 
the more northern parts of America poured into the state. In 
1800 Pendleton and Greenville counties contained thirty thou- 
sand souls. The last foreign emigration was in the closing- 
years of the eighteenth century, the occasion the insurrection in 
San Domingo. 

Returning to the earlier date, 1670, it is very certain that no 
Jiouses for religious worship were built previous to 1680; and 
for some years after, divine service was but irregularly held 
anywhere outside of Charleston; and for long years after, as 
shall be seen presently, many sections were destitute of the 
gospel until the Methodist itinerant carried it wherever souls 
breathed in all this broad land. 

In 1672 the redistribution of lots in old Charleston shows the 
names of several pious Huguenots, and in 1679 a petition from 
Bene Petit was before the council at Whitehall for the trans- 
portation of French Protestants to Charleston; but it was not 
until the opening of the eighteenth century that the Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts did much in 
founding parishes and building churches. 

In 1672 a lot was reserved in Oyster Point Tow^n, under 
Governor Yeamans, on which the present St. Michael's stands. 
The first minister of the Church of England was the Pev. A. 
Williamson, in 1680, to whom was executed a deed of gift 
of four acres for a church and rectory. The first church was 
erected in 1682. Mrs. Afra dimming, in 1694, gave some sev- 
enteen acres adjoining the town, then comparatively of small 
value, but now constituting the magnificent glebe of St. Phili^j's 
and St. Michael's, near Gumming and Wentworth streets in 
Charleston. 

The first communion of any Christian Church outside of 
Charleston was at Dorchester, February 2, 1696, in the midst of 
an unbroken forest, surrounded by beasts of prey and savage 
men, twenty miles from the dwelling of any whites, under an 
oak, now fallen, and in 1859 fast decaying. This was a colony 
from old Dorchester, Mass., removing some fifty years after to 
Georgia. One of the pastors, Pev. Mr. Osgood, being highly 
esteemed by John Andrew, had his name bestowed upon the 
infant afterwards Bishop James Osgood Andrew. The lines of 
confusion now rest on Dorchester, the sole monuments of for- 



16 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLIXAS. 

mer habitation being the ruins of an old fort, an ancient church 
tower, and the graves of the departed. 

In the Phie Grove Echo of June, 1892, are two engravings, 
one of the " Old White Church,"' built in 1696, and the ruined 
tower of the more pretentious old English St. George's 
Church, built in 1719. 

In the year 1700 five religious denominations were in the 
province: Episcopalian, French Huguenot, Presbyterian, Bap- 
tist, and Quakers. As early as 1670 the want of religious in- 
struction was felt. A letter from Governor Sayle to Lord Ashley 
dated Albemarle Point, June 25, 1670, shows this. The govern- 
or laments the lack of provisions, but insists that "there is one 
thing which lies very heavy upon us, the want of a godly and 
orthodox minister, which I and many others of us have ever 
lived under, as the greatest of our mercies." He suggests the 
employment of a Mr. Sampson Bond, of Oxford. But though 
the lords proj)rietors offered eight hundred acres of land and £40 
per annum to Mr. Bond, he did not come, the northern colonies 
securing Lis services; the more to be regretted as the governor, 
so solicitous for religious privileges, died March 4, 1671, aged 
about eighty years. 

The "fundamental constitution," by Locke, provided that 
the Church of England should be the established religion of 
the colony; but liberty of conscience in religion being se- 
cured, population flocked in, and, enjoying a common asylum, 
the various sects lived in harmony. But in 1698 the Church- 
of-England adherents obtained the passage of an act settling 
a maintenance on a minister of that Church. Owing to his 
worthiness, but little notice was taken of it at the time; but 
it gave a legal supremacy to the establishment unbroken un- 
til the Eevolution. Religious supremacy led to political, and 
the legislative body being mostly Church-of-England men, this 
soon led to the exclusion of dissenters by a majority of one 
vote. This led to the usual animosity, and although their pe- 
tition to the English Parliament was favorably received, but 
little relief was obtained for nearly seventy years. 

Early in the century a law against profanity was passed, as 
if only in the interests of religion, but evidently leveled at dis- 
senters. Landgrave Smith testified of these legislators "as 
some of the profanest in the colony themselves." And Mr. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLIXAS. 17 

Marshall, I'ector of St. Philip's, affirmed "that many of the 
members of the commons house passing the law were constant 
absentees from divine worship, and eleven of them were never 
known to receive the Lord's Supper at alL" Thus the Church, 
by law. together with the aid given by England's Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, possessed immense 
advantages over all others. Parishes were formed, and govern- 
mental aid was given in the erection of churches. This, with the 
provision made for society to rest on the aristocratic forms of 
Britain, gave a coloring to Highchurch claims not yet abated 
in these later years. But by the advance of knowledge the his- 
toric episcopacij languished, and has been long since outstripped 
in the race for dominion by the once despised sectaries. The 
other colonies to the south of Carolina — Georgia, for instance^ 
were saved from much of this pretentiousness; and we are not 
surprised at their republican simplicity, and that in Georgia 
Methodism ranks all other religionists. Yet Dr. Hewett, in 
his history of these times, speaks of the success of the CJuirrh, 
their mild government, with their able, virtuous, and prudent 
teachers, abating men's prejudices against the hierarchy and 
giving them superiority over all sectaries. The Presbyterians, 
however, were a considerable party in the province, and kept 
up their form of worship in it, erecting churches at Charleston, 
Willtown, the Islands, Jacksonboro, Indian Town, Port Roy- 
al, and Williamsburg. Their ministers, mostly from Europe, 
were educated, orderly, and zealous. The Independents were 
formed into a church in Charleston in 1682; the Baptists, in 
1685; the French Protestants, in 1700; the German Protestants 
about 1750; the Methodists, in 1785; the Roman Catholics, in 
1791. From the first decade in the seventeenth century a let- 
ter dated Charleston, June 1, 1710, gives the following compara- 
tive statement: 

All the whites ) 12 1 

Indian subjects I to the wliole as 66 I in 100. 
Negro slaves ^ 22 \ 

The proportion which the several parties in religion bore to the 
whole and to each other was as follows: 

Presb3'terians "^ 4j '^ 

Episcopalians ] ^4 

Anabaptists ' ^° ^^^^ ^^'^^«^^ ^^ ^^ ^ ^^ *« 10. 
Quakers J J 



18 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLIXAS. 

The increase in population from the first settlement in 1670 
to 1800 is as fellows: 1670, total 150; 1701, 7,000; 1724, 14,000 
whites, 18,000 colored, total 32,000. Forty years after, in 1764, 
38,000 whites, 85,000 colored, total 128,000. In 1800, by United 
States census, 196,255 whites, 3,185 free blacks, 146,151 slaves, 
total 345,591. A glance at the manners and customs of the 
earlier settlers shows how great changes a century makes. Now 
roads and bridges and ferries abound w^here then only the In- 
dian trail existed; and now when railroads speed the traveler, 
he must then use his own powers of locomotion or be aided by 
the rude canoe. Beasts of burden were few, and goods and 
chattels had to be conveyed as best they might. The swamps 
and branches and the blazes on the trees were the only guide to 
the traveler. Dirt houses were not uncommon, and excavations 
in the hillside often gave shelter until a rude cabin could be 
built. 

Outside Charleston in the early days the dwellings were all 
primitive, and even in the city itself there was nothing palatial 
until long years after. Between 1730 and 1740 the town con- 
sisted of from five to six hundred houses mostly of wood, some 
covered with clapboards. An earlier date, 1704, shows by Ed- 
ward Crip's map that but little of the present peninsula was 
built upon, the western and northern boundaries being the 
present Meeting and Queen streets. Governor Archibald is 
profuse in praise of the noble forest growth of the early day, 
extending out of the city — " that no princes in Europe, by all 
their art, can make so pleasant a sight." 

As to the manners and customs then. Landgrave Smith's ac- 
count states that the young girls received their beaux at three 
o'clock P.M., having dined at 12 M., exj^ecting them to withdraw 
about 6 P.M. Their fathers, obeying the curfew's toll in old 
England, retired at seven in the winter, and seldom beyond eight 
in summer. An old history of the Legare family states: "The 
white inhabitants lived frugally, as luxury had not yet crept in 
among them ; and except a little rum and sugar, tea and coffee, 
were content with what their plantations afforded. It was cus- 
tomary for families to dine at 12 m. and take tea at sunset, after 
which the old folks sat around their street doors, or, like good 
old-fashioned neighbors, exchanged kind greetings with each 
other from house to house, while the young people assembled in 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 19 

groups to walk or play about the streets. On moonlight even- 
ings the grown girls and young men amused, themselves in 
playing trays ace, blindman's buff, etc. Early hours were much 
regarded, it being considered a great breach of family discipline 
for a child to stay out after nine at night." 

About 1760 James Duncan, the son of the first settler in New- 
berry, gives the following description of the manners and cus- 
toms in the upper country: "The amusements with the first 
settlers were running foot races, jumping, fiddling, dancing, 
shooting, blindman's buff, snaffle the brogue, selling of pawns, 
rimming the thimble, crib and taylor, grinding the bottle, 
black bear, dropping the glove, swimming and diving, and the 
like. The dress consisted of hunting shirts, leggings, mocca- 
sins with buckles and beads upon them. The men clubbed 
their hair, and tied it up in a little deer-skin or silk bag, or 
cued and tied it with a ribbon, sometimes shaving off their hair 
and wearing white linen caps with rulffes on them. The dress 
of the women: long-eared caps, Virginia bonnets, short and long 
gowns, stays, stomachers, quilted petticoats, and high, wooden- 
heeled shoes." 

Of the matter and manner of religious service of those early 
days only here and there are glimpses of it. Of one thing are 
we assured, namely, the length of the service — or more proper- 
ly, the sermon; the canonical twenty minutes of some contrast- 
ing vividly with the four to six hours of the others. The old 
Puritan seemed to consider that the more gloomy the religion 
the better the type, on the principle, possibly, that bitter medi- 
cine is the most curative; and if Sunday could only be made a 
sorry day, it was all the more acceptable to a sternly juridical 
deity, and he that could not swallow the "horrible decree," and 
endure the niiieteenfhlij, or the ninefif-ninth head of a discourse, 
only gave signs of his gracelessness. True, once Paul preach- 
ing long, "until midnight," Eutychus fell down dead; but to 
one advocating long preaching it might be said that all the 
difference lay in St. Paul being the preacher. A "neir Ihjht'' 
of the present time in our own bounds insists that from six to 
seven hours is a moderate length for a sermon. 

Sir John Dalrymple, in his history of the Darien settlement, 
says: ''The preachers exliausted the spirit of the people by re- 
quiring their attendance at sermons four or five hours long, re- 



20 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 

lieving each other by preaching alternately, but allowing no 
relief to their hearers. One of the days for religious service 
was Wednesday, and was divided into thanksgiving, humilia- 
tion, supplication, in which three ministers followed each other. 
As the service of the Church of Scotland consisted of a lecture 
with a comment, a sermon, two prayers, three psalms, and a 
blessing, the service could not take up less than twelve hours, 
during which time the colony was kept close together in the 
guard room, used as a church. This in a tropical climate and 
at a sickly season. They dampened the courage of the people 
by continually presenting hell to them as the termination of life 
to most men. The doctrine of predestination carried to extremes 
stopped all exertion by showing that consequences depended 
not upon exertion at all, but upon election." 

An old history in the Legare family tells of an incident between 
Solomon Legare and Mr. Stobo, the minister. " Mr. Legare 
was strict in the observance of regular hours, and to his great 
annoyance the Hev. Mr. Stobo preached sermons of such un- 
usual length that they often interfered with the dinner hour. 
Once Mr. Legare got up with his family in the midst of the 
discourse, about to leave the church, whereat the preacher 
called out, 'Aye, aye, a little pitcher is soon filled ' ; upon which 
irreverent address, the Huguenot's French blood becoming ex- 
cited, he retorted, 'And you are an old fool ! ' He went home, 
ate his dinner, and returning, listened to the rest of the dis- 
course as if nothing had occurred." 

A very great and certainly agreeable change has come over 
Christendom in these later times, and the representation of the 
divine Father as only sternly juridical, and from eternity de- 
creeing eternal death to the race, is more happily and scriptu- 
rally set forth as the embodiment of love without the slightest 
abatement of the necessity for righteousness; and with this 
Methodism has had much to do. 



CHAPTEK III. 

Contemporary Events — Church and State — Persecution of Sectaries — Pat- 
rick Henry's Speech — Clerical Immoralities — State of the Country — Need 
of a Eevival — John Newton's Oratory — Character and Work of Methodism 
— Historian Ramsey's Testimony — Its Origin and Spirit — Visits of Wesley 
— His Conversion and Mission — Wesley in Savannah — Marriage in En- 
gland. 

AT the time of the settlement of Carolina, Charles II. — his 
" Sacred Majesty," as batterers called him, but really the 
Sardauapalus of the age — with others like him, was reveling at 
AVhitehall; but soon all was to be in the dust. The great Louis 
XIV. was to sign the edict making France all of one faith, but 
scattering the noblest of the nation. The second James, the 
Romish bigot, was to be driven out of the kingdom, and Wil- 
liam of Orange to rule; Anne, the nurturing mother of the Eng- 
lish Clinrch, was to succeed him, and to deny to Swift the 
American bishopric. Swift, Harley, and Bolingbroke were to 
play their parts in Parliament; and Marlborough, after splen- 
did victories, was to become "a driveler and show." Addison 
and Steele were soon to delight the world with their essays; 
and soon the humble rectory at Epworth was to have in train- 
ing, under an incomparable mother, spirits who, though light- 
ly esteemed on earth, should shine as stars in heaven. The 
Holy Club at Oxford, jeered at by the age, was destined to 
shake the globe. 

The rebound from the strictness of puritanism to the laxity of 
the Restoration was immense. The secret wickedness of the 
one, if existent, seemed preferable to the open profligacy of the 
other. The benefit of the union of Church and State is small 
to the government, and will always be resisted by many of the 
governed. As shown by the historian Macaulay, "the training 
of the High Church under Laud ended in the reign of the Puri- 
tans, and the training under the Puritans in the reign of the har- 
lots." The evil was seen and felt even in America, when in Vir- 
ginia sectaries were whipped, imprisoned, driven from the colony 
under the Established Church — everything but burned; then 
the stipends of the clergy, by law enforced, sixteen thousand 

(21) 



22 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

pounds of tobacco, required the labor of twelve slaves to pro- 
duce it. 

Patrick Heury's defense of Walter, Craig, and Cliilds, secta- 
ries at Fredricksburg, Va., was an overwhelming appeal in be- 
half of religious freedom. He rose sublimely in the greatness of 
his theme. "These men," said he, "are charged with — with — 
what?" Then in low^, measured tones he continued: "Preach- 
ing the gospel of the Son of God." He paused, and waved the 
indictment around his head: the silence was painful. Then, 
lifting his hands and eyes to heaven, he exclaimed, "Great 
God!" The audience responded by a burst of feeling. The 
great orator w^ent on with irresistible eloquence, ever and anon 
weaving the indictment round his head, and piercing the con- 
science of the court with dagger-like questions, till at length he 
exclaimed in tones of thunder, his eagle eye fixed upon the 
court, "AYhat laws have they violated?" The excitement had 
reached the flood. The king's attorney shook with agitation; 
the court was deeply moved; the presiding justice exclaimed, 
"Sheriff, discharge those men!" 

It is always bad when the fleece is regarded more than the flock 
— too common among all Church establishments. The clergy 
of the times rarely sought to reach the hearts of their hear- 
ers. Hogarth's " Sleeping Congregation," published in 1736, 
represents the bewigged preacher droning through his tedious 
hour, wnth no attempt to touch the vicious or to rouse the pro- 
fane. Knight affirms- "From the Eevolution to the Rebellion 
in 1745, the orthodox clergyman had a decided tendency to 
Jacobitism. After that period he gradiially became less ear- 
nest in politics, and resolutely applied himself to uphold gov- 
ernments and oppose innovation. He had his own peculiar 
business in life to perform, which was chiefly to make him- 
self as comfortable as possible. The indecorum, if not the 
profligacy, of a large number of the English clergy, for a 
period of half a century, is exhibited by too many contem- 
porary witnesses." In England, the doors of the Established 
Church being closed against the few adhering to Wesley, the 
sole alternative w^as to preach out of the chui-ch; and in church- 
yards, on commons, in fields and parks, in market places and 
private houses, they smote the very foundation of irreligion and 
vice in the land. Such preaching, from the day of Pentecost 




1. JAilES JENKINS. 2. WILLIAM CAPERS. 3. N. TALLEY. 

4. C. BETTS. .-,. HENKY BASS. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 25 

until now, has never been in vain. Few of the regular clergy 
encouraged or assisted them, yet, unpatronized by power and 
often unprotected in their civil rights by the magistrates, the 
society spread. Assistance in preaching was proffered by one 
and another who, truly converted, felt moved to this work by 
the Holy Ghost and a love for perishing souls. This was cau- 
tiously accepted. Mr. Wesley's testimony concerning these is 
delivered in the following terms: "It has been loudly affirmed 
that most of these persons now in connection with me, who be- 
lieve it their duty to call sinners to repentance, having been 
taken immediately from low trades — tailors, shoemakers, and 
the like — are a set of poor, stupid, illiterate men that scarce 
know their right hand from their left; yet I cannot but say 
that I would sooner cut off my right hand than suffer one of 
them to speak a word in any of our chapels, if I had not rea- 
sonable proof that he had more knowledge in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, more knowledge of himself, more knowledge of God, and 
of the things of God, than nine in ten of the clergymen I have 
conversed with either in the universities or elsewhere." 

In America an early statute of the neighboring colony of 
Yirginia reads: "Ministers shall not give themselves to riot, 
spending their time idelie by day or by night, playing at 
dice, cards, and other unlawful games, but at all times conven- 
ient, they shall hear or read somewhat of the Scriptures, or 
shall occupy themselves with some other honest studies or ex- 
ercise, always doing the things that shall appertayne to hon- 
estee, and endeavor to profit the Church of God, having always 
in mynd that they ought to excell all others in purity of life, 
and should be examples to the people to live well and Chris- 
tianlie." Which nobody can deny. 

The stream, however, cannot rise higher than the fountain, 
and " like priest like people." Intemperance prevailed fearful- 
ly; even burials of the dead contaminated the living, not suffi- 
ciently sober to inter the dead, and ministers were often disci- 
plined for drunkenness. About 1730 began that series of events 
which led to the "great awakening." The time had fully 
come for a genuine revival of religion, which began under Wes- 
ley and Whitefield in Europe, and by the Blairs and Tennents 
in America, and in the closing years of the eighteenth century, 
by the influence of Methodism, was spread over this continent, 



26 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIKAS. 

and is still spreading over the world. One little fact few know, 
that the forests once existing where the city of Charleston now 
stands was the ofatorij of John Newton— Cowper's Newton — the 
Olney hymnist, then an officer on a slave ship lying in Charleston 
harbor. In a letter dated in 1740 he speaks of "pouring out 
strong cries and tears amid that shrubbery." Returning to 
England, it will be remembered, he became famous as a 
preacher of righteousness. Well, what is remarkable? Only 
this: the Spirit, moving then over Europe and America, found 
this poor sinner on a slave ship, as he did Candace's minister 
in the desert, and sent him with i)oor, demented Cowper to sing 
God's praise and power everywhere and in all generations. The 
Spirit's work! Better that than all the mummeries of Home, the 
glitter of the historic episcopacy, or the soothiugs of the decrees; 
and wherever found, either amid the reputed fanaticism of Meth- 
odism or the rodomontade of the Salvation Army, if it turns 
men to God, it is by nothing less than the Holy Ghost. 

Coming near to its advent in Carolina, a glance at the then 
condition of the country is proper. The Revolution had 
wrought great changes in the country, and the long war had 
doubtless interfered seriously even with the form of godliness 
then prevalent. When the Revolution began, all the parish 
churches were closed, and most of the clergy, originally from 
Britain, fled the state. The churches were used as storehouses, 
even stables, and some of them burned by the British. At the 
peace, religion had sadly declined; the churches were again 
opened, but, because of the lax morality of some of the clergy, 
closed again. An idea of the religious destitution, even in the 
lower parishes, may be formed from Mr. Du Bose's statement, 
in his " Reminiscences of St. Stephen's," that after his bap- 
tism in 1786, by a minister accidentally present and living fifty 
miles away, he never saw another until twelve years after; as also 
the fact of his surprise at seeing a Presbyterian minister on his 
travel of forty miles to a communion, not wondering at his zeal 
or fidelity, but "because I thought he must be a fool." 

With many of the parish churches closed, and only here and 
there throughout the state a Presbyterian or Baptist congre- 
gation, and the usual declension following a long and wasteful 
war, the time and place were favorable for the introduction of 
Methodism. Methodism itself met with no favor, even from its 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 27 

coreligionists, but under God had to wiu its triumphs l)y stal- 
wart use of bow and spear. Like Joseph, "the archers shot at 
him and grieved him; but the arms of his hands were made 
strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob." It sent out 
no pioneers seeking goodly places, ran no lines of circumvalla- 
tion around rich spots, built no fortresses on rich, alluvial 
sites, but felt called anywhere and everywhere, and went where 
any soul breathed. It hung not around commercial centers, 
waiting for mammon worship to compromise with the God of 
heaven, but in the city full and wilderness raised the cry, 
''Kepent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." The old cry 
of their "turning the world upside down" never moved them. 
Ill names they heeded not, mountain barriers towered in vain, 
and flowing rivers stopped not their travel. Bishops and 
preachers "wrestled wath the floods" of swamps and rivers, but 
neither the floods of waters nor the "floods of ungodly men" 
made them afraid. They slept by campfires, with saddles for 
pillows and the heavens for covering; explored forests, trav- 
ersed sand hills, dined on the most homely fare at the foot of 
forest pines, and preached Jesus and the resurrection every- 
where. And, thank God, bishops and other clergy — not in lawn 
and crape, it is true, the virtue not in vestments, but in the 
Holy Ghost — do it still. 

True, at first some of the old Church forms affected them. 
Even Asbury for awhile essayed a surplice, gowai, and bands; 
but all this frippery soon fell off — crajDe and lawn, poor symbols 
of saintship anyhow, were rather in the way in the holes and 
corners, dens and caves of the earth they sought oiit. But 
when was Satan ever quiet wdien God's work was being done? 
Slanderous tongues were busy. Reports crossed the Atlantic 
concerning " Csesarism, bishops strutting, soaring," etc. Poor, 
dear Mr. Wesley, dazed by the glare and splendor of mitered 
priests, palaces, and mighty revenues of Home and the English 
Church, had his wrath greatly excited, and he exclaimed: "Men 
may call me a knave, a fool, or a rascal, but never, with my con- 
sent, a bishop ! " Asbury replied that " he did soar, but it was over 
the tops of mountains"; and we know that his episcopal pal- 
ace was often some hut through which the stars shone, his gar- 
dens and pleasant walks the grand old forests, his couch of 
ease often the roots of the oak and pine, and a bit of fat bacon 



28 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

and coarse bread liis dainty fare; his annual revenue, six thou- 
sand cents. As will be seen in these aunals, many dear breth- 
ren of the old South Carolina Conference have often been 
along that same route, happy in the love of God. They did 
soar, but it was in thought to heaven, the palace of the King. 
Asbury says himself in his journal: "Two bishops in a thirty- 
dollar chaise, a few dollars between them in partnership. What 
bishops!" But he adds: "Prospects of doing good are glori- 
ous." Ha! any knowing the joy of that exjaerience know it to be 
more moving than the gold of Ophir. And although we may 
seem a little in advance of our story, there may as well be put 
on record here the testimony of Dr. Kamsey, the historian of 
South Carolina, to the efficiency of their work. He says: " That 
great good has resulted from the labors of the Methodists, is 
evident to all who are acquainted with the state of the country 
before and since they commenced their evangelism in Carolina. 
Drunkards have become sober and orderly; bruisers, bullies, 
and blackguards meek, inoffensive, and peaceable; and profane 
swearers decent iu their conversation." Proof enough that 
their work was from God, and he might have added Christ's own 
seal to its divinity — " The poor hare the <jospeJ preached unto thew.'' 
Great was the transformation throagh the gospel of the Son 
of God, not only in England, but in America and throughout 
the world. To know its origin, we must look to the old Ep- 
wortli rectory in England. It stands intact to-day, ghost room 
and all, as when the Yvesleys inhabited it; the very study where 
Samuel Wesley was busy with his commentary on the book of 
Job is existent. Could the old walls speak, Avliat might they 
not tell of pious ejaculations, and of the patience learned from 
his prototype? But this writing did little for him. His ode 
to Queen Mary obtained the Epwortli living. Doubtless the 
good man thought his writings immortal, with no thought what- 
ever of John and Charles save as they annoyed his studies, yet 
their writings belt the globe, influencing millions. Within 
those old walls matters usually considered trivial were oc- 
curring under an incomparable mother: children were being 
reared and taught letters and the fear of God. Christ Church, 
Oxford, came next, with its methodical Fellow and his associ- 
ates, and their rigid Christian living, so little enlightened then 
hf that "joy of the Lord," the believer's strength. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 29 

The year 1736 found the young rector iii Savannah, sad, 
gloomy, and peculiar; bound in the fetters of ecclesiasticism, 
holding so rigidly to ritual and rubric that nothing less than 
God's love should unloose, and learning that he who had dared 
the seas to convert others was not converted himself. Here, 
when a little over thirty — young, handsome, accomplished, with 
the best worldly prospects — occurred the Hopkey episode. No 
scandal accrued, and only the usual nine-days' gossip. Owing 
to the influence of others, the marriage was not consummated. 
The Grace Murray affair in England came near proving a 
tragedy. Wesley was wounded in the house of his friends, and 
they must have grieved for their fault. The final unhappy 
marriage was doubtless disciplinary. So if Providence shapes 
our ends, why quarrel with the mode? But why dwell on these 
oft-repeated incidents? We note rather the visits of the Wes- 
leys to Charleston as more germane to matters in hand. 

John and Charles Wesley visited Charleston for the first 
time July 31, 1736. Charles was on his way to England. Both 
were attendants on divine service in old St. Philip's Church. 
John was invited to preach, biit declined. The church was an 
imposing structure, founded in 1711, and divine service held in 
it in 1723. It was in the form of a cross, the dim religious light 
of the interior aiding devotion. Within were many monu- 
ments to departed worth. Often has the writer looked rever- 
ently on the tall pulpit from which Wesley preached. He 
witnessed its destruction by fire in 1838. A splendid counter- 
part, at least in exterior, stands upon its site, lacking, of course, 
the wealth of marble and glorious memories of the original 
structure. John's second visit was in April, 1737, and on the 
17th he preached from the text, " Whatsoever is born of God 
overcometh the world" ; apparently the spiritual victory as little 
understood as Christ's teaching to Nicodemus. There were 
about three hundred hearers present, and but fifty at the com- 
munion. Several negroes were present, with one of whom Mr. 
Wesley conversed. Her replies to his questions showed how 
little she knew of the Christian religion, leading to his remark: 
"O God, wdiere are thy tender mercies? Are they not over 
all thy works? W^lien shall the Sun of righteousness arise on 
these outcasts of men with healing in his wings?" It was 
coming, and he was to be one of the agents in the mighty work; 



30 EABLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

and ibougli fifty years were to pass np to 1787, yet at last 
should Methodism come and remain. The third and last visit 
to Charleston was in December, 1737, when, after long and 
wearisome travel, mostly on foot, he took shipping, and after a 
stormy passage arrived at Deal, February, 1738 — never setting 
foot again on tbe American Continent. 

Wesley himself was yet in the shadowy and long and bitter 
was to be the struggle ere he saw the light. " The Holy Club " 
was formed at Oxford in 1729, for the sanctification of its mem- 
bers. Purification was sought by prayers, watchings, fastings, 
alms, and labors among the poor. The ascetic struggle Avas in- 
effectual. Ten years after, in sight of Land's End, he writes in 
his journal: "I went to America to convert Indians, but oh, 
who shall convert me? Who is he that will deliver me from 
this evil heart of unbelief?" Shortly after, he writes: "This, 
then, have I learned in the ends of the earth, that I am 'fallen 
short of the glory of God.' I have no hope but that, if I seek, 
I sliall find Christ. If it be said that I have faith, for many 
things have I heard from many such misei-able comforters, I 
answer, so have the devils a sort of faith, but still they are 
strangers to the covenant of promise. The faith I want is a 
sure trust and confidence in God, that through the merits of 
Christ my sins are forgiven, and I reconciled to the favor of 
God." He was not far from the kingdom. 

In many after conversations with Peter Bohler, the Mora- 
vian, who explained the way of the Lord more perfectly, he was 
led to the hour of the uprising of the Sun of righteousness 
on his soul as never before. " I felt," he writes, " my heart 
strangely warmed; I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salva- 
tion, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my 
sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." 
This personal exjjerience and life from the dead is essen- 
tially Methodism. In answer to the question, " What was the 
rise of Methodism?" in his Conference of 1765, he answered: 
"In 1729 my brother and I read the Bible; saw inward and 
outward Jioltnpss therein; followed after it, and incited others 
so to do. In 1737 we saw this holiness comes by faith. In 
1738 we saw we must hQ justified before we are sanctified. But 
still holiness was our point; inward and outward holiness. 
God then thrust us out to raise a lioJy people.' 



CHAPTER ly. 

Whitelield — Commissary Garden — Pilmoor — Waccamaw Beach— Hard 
Travel— Charleston — Purisburg — A Drunken Funeral — In the Theater — 
Joins the Protestant Episcopal Church — Extemporaneous Preaching — As- 
bnry and His Helpers — Precedence of Methodism — Wightman's Defense 
of Our Episcopacy. 

THE next appearance of germinal Methodism in Carolina 
was in tlie person of George Whitelield, in 1738; the 
vessels bearing Wesley out and Whitelield in passing each 
other in the Downs. On ai-riviug in Charleston his interview 
with Garden, the Bishop of London's commissary, was exceed- 
ingly kind; but subsequently he had Whitelield arrested for 
some canonical irregularities. The commissary was honored 
by Linnaeus in giving his name to the beautiful flower Gar- 
denia, of which an old rrench physician of the city, having a 
pique against Mr. Garden, said: "That was nothing, for he had 
called a flower Lucia, after his cook Lucy." His next visit was 
iu 1740. Coming into the state from North Carolina, he writes 
of the beautiful Waccamaw section, the magnificent sea beach, 
and the porpoises playing in the ocean. The travelers missing 
their way, and seeing negroes dancing, there being much talk of 
insurrection among the slaves, in great fear they made a hur- 
ried journey of sixty miles and crossed the ferry from Mt. 
Pleasant into the cit3\ On Sunday he attended service at St. 
Philip's, and in the afternoon preached at the white meet- 
inghouse, Congregationalist, just opposite St. Philip's. He 
doubted if the court end of London could exceed the worship- 
ers in affected finery, gayety, and ill deportment, especially after 
sach judgments, storms, and conflagrations as had lately befall- 
en. He reminded them of this, but seemed as one that mocked. 
Shortly after he came again, waited on the commissary, meet- 
ing with a cool reception. No preaching in St. Philip's now, 
but to large audiences at the white meetinghouse and in the 
Baptist and old Scotch churches, preaching at the uncanonical 
hour of 8 A.M. ; at eleven he attended St. Philip's and heard him- 
self berated as a Pharisee, Mr. Garden pouring forth many bitter 
words against Methodists in general and himself in particular. 

(31) 



32 ~ EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 

At 5 P.M. lie preached iu the white meetinghouse yard, the 
house not large enough to hold the audience. The effect of his 
preaching could not be otherwise than good, but there was no 
organization o£ any sort, and much of his labor was as seed by 
the wayside. 

The next visit to Carolina by any Methodist was some thirty- 
three years after by one of Wesley's missionaries, Joseph Pil- 
moor. He had been converted in his sixteenth year, educated 
at Kingswood School, and traveled four years before coming 
to America. He was of commanding presence, fine executive 
ability, and ready discourse. Arriving in America in 1769, after 
abundant labors in Philadelphia and New York he itinerated 
extensively, finding his way to Charleston, S. C, in 1773, some 
thirty-three years after Whitefield. He entered the state at 
about the same point Whitefield did, in that beautiful Wacca- 
maw section, traveling that same Atlantic beach road opening 
on the broad ocean through Georgetown, crossing the two San- 
tees, and on to Charleston. There was no other line of travel 
from the north along the coast; it was the same that Asbury 
and his pioneers used. One reason why Methodism in the Pee 
Dee Yalley is so strong is because it was favored with the min- 
istry of these early evangelists. 

Charles Betts, a modern presiding elder, known to many liv- 
ing, used to be delighted with that ocean-beach travel of more 
than twenty miles, as he drew rein over his splendid roadsters 
between his Waccamaw home and Wilmington. And none 
can travel it to-day without high enthusiasm; but then, like 

Melrose, it must be 

Viewed aright 
Under the beams of the sweet moonlight. 

True, Walter Scott on his own testimony declares he never so 
viewed Melrose; no matter, it only proves the power of imagi- 
nation, a mighty faculty in developing anything. But Pilmoor 
did not find his travel one hundred and twenty years ago of the 
exhilarating sort. He writes: "The woods were dreary, and I 
did not see anything but trees for miles together." He got a 
few blades of Indian corn for his horse, and having a lunch 
along, man and beast were provided for. After reaching the 
state boundary he crossed, finding a heavy, sandy road. The 
tide was in and the beach covered, or this may have been. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 66 

avoided. With but little accommodation for man or horse, 
and after breaking a wheel and borrowing another, he reached 
Georgetown. He states: "I have traveled many thousands of 
miles in England and Wales, and now have seen much of North 
America, but this day's journey has been the most distressing 
of all ever met with before; but it is now over, and will never 
afflict me again." Good, easy man; he had no thought of the 
pioneers and others who should wrestle with the swamps and 
swollen rivers, not only once but over and over again, in culti- 
vating Immanuel's lands. He was not accustomed to the cor- 
duroy roads of America, and was fearful of that mile between 
the two Santees, that his horse would break his legs among the 
trees laid aci-oss the mud for a road; he durst not ride at all in 
the chaise, and reached the inn " covered with dirt." Dear, dear! 
what tales the missionaries to the slaves could tell of those 
causeways and rice-lield banks in their daily travel, now in the 
past, but long after Pilmoor's day. 

Sunday, January 17, 1773, he called at a church by the Avay- 
side, and heard a useful sermon on the necessity of prayer. 
Monday, 18th, he had a sight of Charleston, but did not get over 
until late in the evening. An utter stranger, he found his way 
to a Mr. Crosse's, a publican. Being heartily sick among sons 
of Belial, he sought private lodgings with Mr. Swinton, "but 
because family prayer was so uncommon in the cities, and be- 
cause of the mixed multitude, retired without it." He preached 
several times in the Baptist and white meetinghouses, afraid 
of preaching at night because of the mob, but finds his fears, 
as Asbury and others did not, groundless. He goes to Savan- 
nah, and visits Whitefield's Orphan House. On his return he 
visits Purisburg, and attends a funeral : " Some pretty merry with 
grog, and talking as if at a frolic, rather than a funeral." These 
were the times, not much changed yet, of " Rum," " Bomanism " 
not yet blatant, and "Bebellion " not far away. After the funeral 
they went into the church, when Mr. Zubey gave a sermon — 
quite appropriate, undoubtedly — od drunkenness. He was in- 
vited to remain and settle as a parish minister, but states: " How- 
ever valuable as to earthly things, parishes have no weight with 
me, my call is to run to and fro." An opinion much modified, as 
will hereafter be seen. While in the city of Charleston, preach- 
ing in the theater, the sons of Zeruiah were too hard for him, 
3 



34 EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

table, book, and preacher disappearing through a trapdoor — 
used for the ghost in Hamlet ; but they made no ghost of him, 
for springing thence, he adjourned to the yard, exclaiming pleas- 
antly, " Come on, friends, we will by the grace of God defeat 
the devil this time!" and there finished his discourse. His 
ministry was well received, but left no permanent fruit for 
Methodism. He afterwards united with the Protestant Ejais- 
copal Church. Dr. Welch, in "Sprague's Annals," says: "In 
person he was of portly and noble bearing, and he moved with 
an air of uncommon dignity. His countenance was at once 
highly intellectual and highly benignant, and his appearance 
altogether was unusually prepossessing. The chief characteris- 
tics of his ministry were evangelical fervor and simplicity." 
He states further his attemj^ts at reading from a manuscript; 
"but he would gradually wax warm, his eye kindle, the mus- 
cles of his face begin to move, his soul on fire, he would be rush- 
ing on extemporaneously with the fury of a cataract; and the 
only use made of his manuscript was to roll it np in his hand, 
and literally shake it at his audience." The very best use, pos- 
sibly, to make of such an article in the pulpit. Think of the 
early apostles reading from a manuscript with their hearts 
aflame with love of souls! Our staid, historic Church folk 
cannot abide enthusiasm; and this with the difficulty in their 
church service of learning to ^'rise and sot" — as a plain back- 
woodsman phrases it — interfering with their success among 
plain people, notwithstanding their absurd claim of being the 
only Church. Dr. Pilmoor died in 1825, in the ninety-first year 
of his age. 

The fourth visit of Methodism to Carolina, and now with the 
determination to remain, was some twelve years after Pilmoor, 
by Asbury and his coadjutors in 1785. As to the organiza- 
tion of Churches under the American government, if at all of 
any importance, a few dates will fully settle that matter. The 
Methodist Episcopal Church w^as organized December 25, 1784. 
In the same year overtures were made to Franklin, in Paris, by 
the pope's nuncio, on the subject of appointing a vicar apos- 
tolic for the United States; to which congress replied that they 
had nothing to do with a subject purely ecclesiastical. In 
1786 the pope appointed John Carroll, of Maryland, vicar 
apostolic, who was subsequently appointed Bishop of Bal- 




DAVID DERRICK. JAMES DANNEJ.LV. 

H. A. C. WALKER. 



AV. A. GAMEWELL. 
A. M. SHIPP. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 37 

timore. In 1789 a general convention of Episcopalians was 
lieid, at which the constitution o£ the new Protestant Episcopal 
Church, which had been discussed at two previous conventions, 
was ratified and completed; Bishops White and Provost hav- 
ing been previously ordained by the English bishops. In 1788 
the Presbyterians arranged their Church government on a 
national basis, the Synod of New York and Pennsylvania hav- 
ing been divided into four synods, delegates from which an- 
nually met in a General Assembly. So, as far as dates can go, 
Methodism has the precedence. Dr. William M. AVightman, in 
his defense of our episcopacy, states: 

The time was come for the organization of a CHURCH. There were un- 
der Asbury's oversight eighty-three preachers and fifteen thousand mem- 
bers. Methodism began with religion in the heart. Its grand appeal was 
to the individual consrience. It delivered the testimony of the gospel with 
all possible stress: "Eepentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord 
Jesus Christ." It sought to bring men from darkness to light, from sin to 
holiness. This was its first business; and this it did without ordained 
ministers, without ordinances save the " glorious gospel of the blessed God," 
without churches, and starting from a "rigging loft" as its point of de- 
parture. The only aid it received in money was a donation of £50 from 
the English Conference. For the first eighteen years it had not among its 
lay preachers a single man of profound learning or extraordinary mental 
accomplishments. It was encountered at its outset by the commotions of a 
Eevolution; its cradle was rocked by civil storm and tempest. Who can 
fail to see that its strength stood in its religion f This was its differentia, its 
essential characteristic. Beginning with the religion of the heart, it began 
from within and worked outward — as genuine Christianity always does. 
The central functions, the vital forces of the system, being in healthful play, 
it threw itself, not by mechanical force from without, but by spontaneous 
energies from within, into those forms of organized life which were the 
visible extension and manifestation of Church life, in polity, discipline, and 
sacraments. This is the philosophy of IVIethodist orders. 

Asbury's consecration to the episcopal oflice proceeded on the ground 
that episcopacy is not a ministerial order jure divino — l)y divine prescription, 
of immutable obligation, and clothed with powers emanating directly from 
God, the channel of Christ's covenanted grace, and therefore indispensable 
to a Church ; but an order jure ecdesiasiico, originating in the necessities of a 
connectional body of ministers and members, and holding the exclusive 
right of ordaining by commission from the Church. For this jure ecdesias- 
iico claim, the precedent and practice of Christianity may be adduced ; for 
the jure divino right, no solitary passage of Scripture can be pleaded. 

The papal theory alone is consistent on this point: the visible Church is 
a mediator between man and God, the impersonation of Christ, and a deposi- 
tory of grace, sacramental union with which alone gives us access to salva- 



38 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

tion; the ministry is a priestliood, its powers having come down by perpet- 
ual derivation from tlie apostles; the instrument of transmission is the 
" sacrament of orders," which is intrusted exclusively to the hands of a 
bishop. This sacrament of orders impresses an indelible character upon 
the recipient, and confers sacerdotal grace for the performance of sacerdotal 
offices. Apart from the virtue of this "sacrament of orders " there can be no 
true sacraments, nor is there any absolution in the absence of a priest. 
There is no legitimate priest, therefore, without a bishop, and consequently 
no valid Christianity outside of this apostolico-succession. This is a theory 
which one can understand. It is consistent as well as plain. It lacks but 
one thing: it is not true. 

To this theory, premises and conclusion, Methodism gives a distinct, un- 
mistakable, utter refutation. It furnishes the demonstration that the spirit 
and life of Cliristianity, the birthright and blessing of true inward religion, 
are to be found outside of this pseudo-sacerdotal system of men and sacra- 
ments. It has a priest, "the great High Priest," no more to be exclusively 
appropriated by a single class of religionists than the light and warmth of 
the sun. It has a sacrifice — that " once offered " — a sacrifice partaking of 
divine perfection, wanting nothing to supplement its efficacy ; unlimited in 
its power to save, and undiminished in the fullness of its merit through all 
genemtions of the world, and down to the end of time. Any other priest, 
any other sacrifice, is a grand impertinence. What need have we of other 
sacerdotal offices when our High Priest is able to save them to the utter- 
most that come unto God by him, "seeing he ever liveth to make interces- 
sion for them "? But the sacerdotal character eliminated, then it is matter 
of not the slightest consequence whether the minister of Christ can trace 
his genealogy to Linus, Anacletus, or Peter. His call to the ministry is 
made by the Holy Ghost. The office of the existing ministry is merely to 
verify that call and countersign his title. 

This is as fair a statement as human language can give of 
the apology Methodism makes for being in the world: and we 
proceed further to illustrate its toils and triumphs. 



CHAPTER y. 

Pioneers, 1785 — The Point d'appui — Earliest Preachers — Asbury's Itinerary 
— Entrance into Charleston — Good Generalship — Hogarth's "Credulity, 
Superstition, and Fanaticism" — Asbury and the Durants— Picket Guard 
— Success — Pioneer Pen Portraits — Lee's Education — Encounter with 
Lawyers — The Test Sermon — Physical Avoirdupois — His Strategic Power 
— His Happy Death. 

AT the close of the Christmas Conference and the organi- 
zation of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Baltimore, 
Md., in 1784, Bishop Asbury with Jesse Lee and Henry Willis 
turned their faces southward, hastening on to Charleston. At 
a Conference "begun at Ellis's Preaching House, Virginia, 
April 30, 1784, and ended at Baltimore May 28th following," 
Henry Willis had been sent to Holston, Philip Bruce to Yad- 
kin, Jesse Lee and Isaac Smith to Salisbury, Thomas Hum- 
phries to Guilford, and Beverly Allen to Wilmington, N. C. Of 
the Christmas Conference, the following is on record in the Gen- 
eral Minutes: 

At this Conference we formed ourselves into an independent Church; 
and, following the counsel of Mr. John Wesley, who recommended the epis- 
copal mode of Church government, we thought it best to become an Episco- 
pal Church, making the episcopal oflBce elective, and the elected sujierin- 
tendent or bishop amenable to the body of ministers and preachers. 

At this Conference the appointments were, for 1785: Georgia, 
Beverly Allen; Charleston, John Tunnell; Georgetown, Wool- 
man Hickson. 

Charleston was the ^om^ cVappul for the grand work under- 
taken. Bangs and Andrew state that Henry Willis was the 
first laborer in the city, induced, possibly, by his greater prom- 
inence thereafter; but facts show that John Tunnell was the 
first. So say the Minutes, and so say the stewards' books, 
wherein, under date of January, 1786, he received as quarter- 
age £11 lis 9d for the past year's labor. These labors were 
not confined to the city, but the surrounding country shared in 
them; and, as will be seen hereafter, the principal rivers gave 
names to the various circuits formed. While Tunnell was the 
first in Charleston, James Foster was somewhat in advance of 

(39) 



40 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

liim in the state. Locating on account of bodily infirmity, lie 
formed a circuit among some Yirginia JVletiiodist families in 
Carolina. Reentering the itinerancy in 1786, he is placed as 
elder over the Georgia and Carolina work that year, locating in 
1787. For some years he was mentally prostrate, wandering 
among Methodist families and conducting their domestic devo- 
tions. There is no record of the time and place of his death. 

John Tunnell was said to be "truly an apostolic man. His 
heavenly-mindedness seemed to shine on his face, and made him 
appear more like an inhabitant of heaven than of earth." His 
gifts as a preacher were great. He was sent as a pioneer to 
the West. He died in 1790 at Sweet Spring, Tenn. 

Returning to Asbury's, Willis's, and Lee's first visit to Car- 
olina, their entrance into the state was not that pursued by ei- 
ther Whitefield or Pilmoor, but throagh Marlborough to Cheraw. 
Old St. David's, a Protestant Episcopal church, is named as a 
place in which they had prayer. It is still intact, over a cen- 
tury and a half old. They were entertained in Cheraw by a 
merchant who had been a Methodist in Yirginia. One of his 
clerks gave them a statement of the religious condition in New 
England that determined Mr. Lee to seek a further acquaint- 
anceship with that laud of steady habits. 

Their route was via Lynch's Creek, Black Mingo, and Black 
River to Georgetown, where they arrived February 23, 1785. 
Georgetown has always been esteemed one of the best soils for 
Methodism. Two of the happiest years in the life of the writer 
(1849 and 1850) were spent in its pastorate. He recollects 
writing up the loose class books, extending from the very be- 
ginning, into one solid journal. Were access had to it now, 
much concerning the early membership could be written. 

Bishop Asbury preached on the "Natural Man" and "Spir- 
itual Discernment," very likely regarded as foolishness by those 
hearing him. But fruit followed in Mr. Wayne opening his 
house to the preaching, and in his children becoming attached 
to the Church. On their resuming travel he conducted them 
to the river, paid their ferriage, and sent them on their way to 
Charleston with letters to Mr. Wells. Asbury writes of the 
"barren country in all respects" through which they passed. 
It had not improved much in 1850; and now, since emancipa- 
tion, it is more barren than ever. They encountered the two 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 41 

Santees as usual, of which many missionaries to the slaves of 
old have vivid recollections. 

They came on to Scott's. "The people were merry; their 
presence made them mute." Next day they met Willis, who 
had procured a deserted house from the Baptists (probably the 
old Seaman's Bethel), and gave them Mr. Wells's invitation to 
his home. Arriving in the city and sending the two on Sunday 
to preach, Asbury, with good generalship, reconnoitered the 
field. He attended St. Philip's Church, of which service he 
says nothing. In the afternoon he attended the Independent 
meeting, where he "heard a good discourse." 

Willis and Lee preached to few in the morning, but to crowds 
at night. The dearth of religion is mourned over, the Calvin- 
ists alone seeming to have any sense thereof. Theaters, balls, 
and the races absorbed all thought, and the more hidden vices 
abounded. W^hat degree of religious life existed is unknown; 
it is very evident that there was but little stirring, awakening- 
preaching in all the town. Ministers looked with suspicion on 
the newcomers, and even opposed them. Wesley, Whitefield, 
and Pilmoor had been heard with delight by many, but these 
men had come to stay, and the old order of things might be 
disturbed. Many, no doubt, hoped that their wild fanaticism 
would destroy them; and so, for awhile, the mob was quiet. 
The bishop's subjects of discourse were: (1 ) " Now then as am- 
bassadors," 2 Corinthians v. 20; (2) "Rejoice, O young man," 
Ecclesiastes xi. 9; (3) "He shall reprove the world," John xvi. 
8; (4) "The times of this ignorance," Actsxxii. 30; (5) "Ask, and 
it shall be given," Matthew vii. 7; (6) " Be ready always to give," 
1 Peter iii. 15. Here was (1) the commission, (2) retribution, 
(3) reproof, (4) repentance, (5) prayer, (6) assurance; the series 
undoubtedly well selected for opening his great commission, 
and good followed. These meii felt all the dignity and responsi- 
bility of God's ambassadors. The trumpet gave no uncertain 
sound. The truth is never powerless, and it is not surprising 
that opposition was awakened, as at the beginning. But it cannot 
be suppressed. Racks and gibbets, the stocks and whipping- 
post, bitter mockery and cruel scorn have been alike unavailing. 

Knight, in his popular history of England, on Hogarth's 
"Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism, a medley of 1762," 
remarks". 



42 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAEOLINAS. 

A new power has arisen. The chief object is the ridicule of Methodism. 
Whitefield's journal and Wesley's sermons figure by name among the acces- 
sories of the piece, where the ranting preacher is holding forth to the howl- 
ing congregation. Pope had described the "harmonic twang" of the don- 
key's bray: 

Then, Webster, pealed thy voice; and, Whitefleld, thine. 

Bishop Lovington had written "The Enthusiasm of Methodist and Papist 
Compared"; and Hogarth followed the precedent in all ages of despising 
reformers. The followers of Whitefleld and Wesley might be ignorant, su- 
perstitious, fanatical. They themselves may have indirectly encouraged 
the delusions of a few of their disciples ; but they eventually changed the 
face of English society. 

Every word true; and Methodism, through Christ's gospel,, 
is to-day engaged in changing not only the face of English so- 
ciety, but of that of the entire world. 

This first visit was not without visible fruit. Mr. Wells was 
converted. "Now we know," says Asbury, "that God has 
brought us here, and have a hoj)e that there will be a glorious 
work among the people — at least among the Africans." At the 
end of the first year (1785) there were thirty- five whites and 
twenty-three colored in Charleston, and from the stewards' 
books for that year we gather that $425 was paid to the preach- 
ers. 

Asbury, this 10th of March, 1785, feeling much love and pity 
for the people, prepared to leave Charleston, knowing that some 
were under serious impressions. Crossing at Haddret's Point, 
he baptized two children, refusing any fee therefor, and has- 
tened on to Georgetown, where he found Mrs. Wayne under 
deep distress of soul. His objective point was Wilmington, 
and he deflected from the direct route to go to Kingstree. 
" Got to Durant's," a name afterwards famous in Methodist 
annals; "found him a disciple of Mr, Harvey's, but not in the 
enjoyment of religion. After faithful admonition, left him 
doubtless a disciple of Christ's." Why this deflection to Kings- 
tree, does not appear, but it may have been to see,! to the Church 
this fruit; and all who know of the Durants, especially the Rev. 
Henry H. Durant of our day, know the gathering of that har- 
vest was mighty. 

The good bishop sped on his way, while Willis and Lee re- 
mained in the city. Worship was continued for awhile in the 
old Baptist meetinghouse. For a time they used it, but one 
Sunday they found their seats flung out into the streets, and 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 43 

doors and windows barred against them. This they regarded 
as a mild intimation that they were not wanted there any 
longer. But this was but as the summer's breeze compared to 
the wild tornado of persecution following. Turned out into 
the cold, a kind lady, Mrs. Stoll, opened her house for worship. 
This proving too small for the increasing congregations, another 
removal was made to an unfinished house in Wentworth street, 
and in 1787 the church in Cumberland street was erected. 

Pausing for awhile in our narrative, we put on record here the 
pen portaits of these pioneers — Asbury, Willis, and Lee. The 
Eev. Thomas Scott about 1790 gives this picture of 

Feancis Asbury. 

" He was now forty-four years of age, and about five feet eight 
inches in height. His bones were large, but not his muscles. 
His voice was deep-toned, sonorous, and clear. His articula- 
tion and emphasis were very distinct, and his words were al- 
ways appropriate. His features were distinctly marked, and his 
intellectual organs were well balanced and finely developed. 
His hair and complexion, when he was young, were light, and 
his eyelashes uncommonly long. His general appearance was 
that of one born to rule. He was an excellent judge of the 
character, talents, and qualifications of men for particular sta- 
tions. When presiding in Conferences, unless when compelled 
to speak, he sat with his eyes apparently closed; but the eyes 
were not closely shut, but in constant motion, inspecting coun- 
tenances." 

Joshua Marsden calls him "a dignified, eloquent, and im- 
pressive preacher." But his forte was declared by judges to 
be administration. It is said of him that he would sometimes 
playfully tease his companion, Bishoi? Whatcoat. Why not? 
The gravest may sometimes unbend, if only careful to do so 
away from a fool. A companion portrait to the above shows 
how he appeared in old age to the youthful Wightman, 
afterwards bishop. He states: "Among my earliest recollec- 
tions is the tolerably vivid impression of a venerable old 
man, shrunk and wrinkled, wearing knee breeches and shoe 
buckles, dressed in dark drab, whose face to a child's eye 
would have seemed stern but for the gentleness of his voice 
and m-anner toward the little people. It was the custom of 



44 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROL IK AS. 

my honored and sainted motlier, no doubt at the instance 
of the bishop himself, to send her children to pay him a visit 
whenever he came to the city. The last one was made in 
company with my two younger brothers. The bishop had 
some apples on the mantelpiece of the chamber when the little 
group of youngsters, the eldest only some seven years old, 
were introduced. After a little talk suitable to our years and 
capacity, the venerable man put his hands on our heads, one 
after another, with a solemn prayer and blessing, and dis- 
missed us, giving the largest apple to the smallest child, in a 
manner that left upon me a lifelong impression. I remember, 
too, how he was carried into Trinity Church and placed upon a 
high stool, and with trembling voice delivered his last testi- 
mony there. An incident trifling in itself may powerfully 
illustrate character; and the foregoing shows the attention 
which a chief of a Church extending from Canada to Georgia, 
with cares innumerable occupying his thoughts, in age and 
extreme feebleness, was accustomed to pay to children — little 
children." 

Henry Willis 

w^as the first preacher ordained by Asbury after his own con- 
secration as bishop, and was ever held by him in the highest 
esteem, and was selected as one of the pioneers to Carolina. 
The General Minutes represent him as manly and intelligent, pos- 
sessing great gifts — natural, spiritual, and acquired. His promi- 
nent feature was an open, pleasant countenance. He was of great 
fortitude; cheerful, without levity; of great sobriety, without 
sullenness or melancholy; of slender habit of body and feeble- 
ness in chest and lungs, but of great energy of address and 
fervor of mind. Carrying on a large business, he received 
but little support from the Church, and accumulated a fortune. 
He continued effective several years, then local, then supernu- 
merary, as the necessities of livelihood demanded, holding on 
to his grand commission that could not be dispensed with but 
by unfaithfulness, debility, or death. After thirty years of 
connection with Methodism, he died iii Maryland in 1808, 
with unshaken trust in God and faith in Christ. Asbury, 
on visiting his grave, is said to have exclaimed: "Henry 
Willis! Ah, when shall I look upon thy like again? Rest, 
man of God." 



early methodisil in the carolinas. 45 

Jesse Lee. 

This other pioneer was one of the giants of the olden time. 
He became the apostle of Methodism in New England, and 
once tied Whatcoat in an election to the episcopacy. At 
this time he was but tv^enty-seven years of age, and some six 
years a preacher. He is represented as very large, almost un- 
wieldy, with a fine, intelligent face, impressing one with the 
idea that he was no common man; of great energy of mind 
and purpose, with deep insight into the springs of human 
action; with a voice well-nigh making the house jar when he 
preached; of excellent humor, often indulged in to the amuse- 
ment of his friends, but withal of fervent devotion to Christ, 
his Master. He died triumphantly in his fifty-ninth year and 
thirty-sixth of his itinerant ministry. His entrance into New 
England and continued ministry was not without difficulty; 
those in power regarded it as an intrusion, and predestination, 
election, reprobation, decrees, and final perseverance met him 
at every point. The generous hospitality of the South was not 
there existent. Invited to a house once, the folks left home to 
avoid him; at another, no one offered him a seat; at another, 
the whole family slept against time, and he had to leave fast- 
ing. Alighting at an inn once and sayiug he was a preacher 
and wished to preach in the village, it was asked: "Have you a 
liberal education, sir?" "Tolerably liberal, madam," said he; 
"enough, I think, to carry me through the country." To the se- 
lectmen he replied that "he did not like to boast of his learn- 
ing, but hoped he had enough to get on with among them." 
On one occasion a plan was laid to expose his ignorance be- 
fore a congregation, when a pedantic lawyer addressed him in 
Latin. Lee, suspecting a stratagem, replied in Dutch. The 
lawyer, concluding it was Hebrew, and fearing he had caught 
a Tartar, retreated. A minister and a lawyer attacking him on 
doctrinal points, Lee poured hot shot into them. In anger the 
lawyer said: "Sir, are you a knave or a fool?" "Neither one 
nor the other," said Lee, "but at present happen to be just he- 
tiveen the tivo.'" This quieted them. 

Two lawyers, referring to his extemporaneous preaching, asked 
if he did not make mistakes, and if he corrected them. " That 
depends," said Lee. "If only a slip of the tongue and near the 
truth, I let it go. For instance, once saying 'the devil was a 



46 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

liar, and the father of lies,' I said 'kiivi/ers.' It was so nearly- 
correct, I passed right on." The test sermon, to see if he could 
preach without premeditation, the text given as soon as prelim- 
inary services were over, on the subject "And Balaam rose up 
in the morning and saddled his ass," resulted in the entire dis- 
comfiture of the officious parson; Lee showing the rider as the 
clergyman, the saddle as the salary, and the poor burdened ass 
as the congregation. 

As to his size, the exact avoirdupois is not given, but tradi- 
tion has it that once in E,ichmond, crossing a miry street, he 
was kindly borne over by a colored brother. " Oh, wretched man 
that I am!" sighed the negro. "You do groan being bur- 
dened," was Lee's reply. Eight of the best years of his life were 
spent in New England, and in that time twenty-five preachers 
and thirteen hundred members had been gathered. 

His stratagem at a camp meeting near Richmond, to put men 
to sleep rather than to keep them awake, may be noted. At 
midnight a number of drunken sailors disturbed the camp. 
Mr. Lee, arising from bed and going into the pulpit, said that 
they would have a sermon. A burst of noisy merriment fol- 
lowed, but in they came. When all was still, Mr. Lee directed 
one of the preachers to preach them a sermon. He took for 
his text, "At midnight Paul and Silas prayed," etc. He had not 
been preaching long before the stupefying effects of their pota- 
tions told on the inward and outward man. Mr. Lee called to 
the preacher, "Stop." Einding none of them stirring, he picked 
up his hat and said: "Softly! let's go to bed." The next morn- 
ing, on awakening chilled and around the fires, the sailors re- 
gretted being fooled into hearing a midnight sermon. 

Whatever may have been the veneration held for Bishop As- 
bury, the preachers in debate were " not afraid with any amaze- 
ment " of him or other bishops, for after all bishops are but men. 
At a General Conference the repugnance of Asbury to a certain 
measure was shown in his turning his back to the speaker. Mr. 
Lee, in replying to a speaker who had said, "No man of com- 
mon sense would use such argument as he had presented," in 

his rejoinder said: "Mr. President, Brother has so said, 

and I am compelled to believe that the brother thinks me a 
man of uncommon sense." "Yes, yes," said the bishop, turn- 
ing half round in his chair; "yes, yes. Brother Lee, you are a 



EARLY METHODISM IK THE CAROLINA^. 47 

man of uncommon sense." " Then, sir," said Lee, very quick- 
ly and pleasantly, "I beg that uncommon attention may be 
paid to what I am about to say." It had its effect. 

Another instance may occur to many anent H. H. Kavanaugh 
in the Kentucky Conference at a later date. " Take your seat, 
brother," said the bishop; "you have talked long enough." 
"Am I in order, bishop?" was the reply. "Certainly," said 
the bishop. " Then I shall speak as long as I think fit." And 
the courtly Kentuckian subsided. 

The close of earthly life with Jesse Lee was triumphant; 
about his last words were: "Glory, glory, glory! Halleluiah! 
Jesus rei":ns ! " 



CHAPTER YI. 

Appointments for 1786— Asbury's Second Itinerary — Foster — Humphries 
—Major— Beverly Allen— Richard Swift— First Conference in Charleston, 
1787 — No Journal Extant — Mead's Synopsis — Appointments — Formation 
of Circuits — Second, Third, and Fourth Sessions — Asbury's Intinerary. 

THE General Minutes give for the next year, 1786, the 
following appointments: James Foster, elder; Georgia, 
Thomas Humphries, John Major; Broad Eiver, Stephen John- 
son; Charleston, Henry Willis, Isaac Smith. Beverly Allen, 
elder; Santee, Bichard (Smith) Swift; Pee Dee, Jeremiah 
Mastin, Hope Hull. These were made at Salisbury, N. C, 
February, 1786. The bishop had reached Charleston in Janu- 
ary, and the incidents of his travel to Salisbury are of interest. 
It is a pity that they are so meager. What are given in his 
journal, however, if they do no more, mark the routes pursued 
by the pioneers. 

They crossed Great Pee Dee and Lynch's Creek, on to Black 
Mingo; lodging at a tavern, they were well used. Preached at 
Georgetown, "a poor place for religion." Here, they were met 
by Willis. Came to Wappetaw, and preached at St. Clair Ca- 
pers's. Thence to Cainhoy by w^ater, and on to Charleston. Sun- 
day, January 15, "had a solemn time in the day and a full house 
in the evening." All encouraged in the hope of building a meet- 
inghouse this year. Friday, 20th, leaves for Wasmasaw; water- 
bound, "take to the wild woods." Then on to the Congaree. 
Lodged where there were a set of gamblers; doubtless re- 
membering the young prophet, betrayed by the elder one, 
who disobeying the divine injunction, perished (1 Kings xiii. 
30): "I neither ate bread nor drank water with them." He 
left early, riding nine miles; came to a fire, stopped, and "broil- 
ing our bacon, had a high breakfast." At Weaver's Ferry they 
crossed the Saluda. Here once lived a poor lunatic who pro- 
claimed himself God, his wife the Virgin Mary, and his son Je- 
sus Christ. He was hanged for murder at Charleston, promis- 
ing to rise the third day. "A judicial murder, undoubtedly." 
At Parrot's log church near Broad Eiver they had some four 
hundred hearers. Sunday, 29th, preached on Sandy Biver. The 
(48) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 49 

floods were out; difficulty in fording streams. Monday on to 
Terry's; but the old trouble, liigii waters, made them "go up 
higher." Coming to Great Sandy Biver, crossed at Walker's 
Mill; in danger of losing their horses. Came to Father Sea- 
ley's; "stayed to refit, and had everything comfortable." And 
thus on to John's River and Salisbury, whence he sent the 
men to the appointments above given. And how gladly would 
their itinerary, with what they thought, said, and did, be given! 
But very little is upon record. 

James Foster, the first named, retired the next year. All rela- 
tive to Thomas Humphries, in Georgia, was his welcome from 
Thomas Haynes, on Uchee Creek, as given by Dr. G. G. Smith. 
These annals shall have more to say of him. John Major, his 
colleague — "the weeping prophet" — was remarkable for his 
pathos and power. Ware says: "He was armed with the irre- 
sistible eloquence of tears; was so beloved by the people that 
they would have risked life to rescue him from insult or in- 
jury." He tells of seeing an audience unmoved under a mas- 
terly discourse, but melted to tears under a five-minutes' exhor- 
tation by Major. Once preaching from the text, "Unto you 
Avho believe, he is precious," his voice was lost in the cries of 
the people. After ten years of itinerant labor, he died in 1788. 

Stephen Johnston was only one year in Carolina, but had 
much success here, doubling the membership. He returned to 
Virginia, and disappears from the Minutes in 1790. Of Henry 
Willis, already named, and of Isaac Smith, more to say. Bev- 
erly Allen was of gentlemanly bearing, really fine-looking, and 
at this time of great popidarity and usefulness. He has the 
unenviable notoriety of being the first apostate presbyter in 
American Methodism. He says in letters to Mr. Wesley at 
this time: "I was appointed to travel at large through South 
Carolina, visiting North Carolina and Georgia. ... At 
one meeting held in Santee Circuit fifteen or twenty professed 
conversion. Many called for prayer. Solemn seasons, both in 
Edisto, Broad Biver, and Pee Dee circuits. The voices of the 
people were like the sound of many waters. Great numbers 
added in the course of this season." 

Bichard (Smith) Swift ("Smith" is a misprint in the 
Minutes, no such name before nor after 1786) labored success- 
fully on Santee Circuit, returning a membership of one hun- 
4 



50 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAtiOLINAS. 

dred and seventy-eig-ht whites and twelve colored. He returned 
to Virginia, locating in 1793. Jeremiah Mastin and Hope Hull 
had a most successful year, 1786; an ingathering of over six 
hundred members and the erection of twenty-two meeting- 
houses. Of Humphries and Hope Hull more hereafter. 

This, it will be remembered, all occurred in 1786, and meas- 
ures were taken for the erection of a church on Cumberland 
street in Charleston, sixty feet long by forty wide. It was 
completed in about eighteen months, costing Xl,300. Of it 
w^e will have more to say hereafter. 

The first session of the South Carolina Conference was held 
in Charleston, S. C, March 22, 1787. Where they met is left 
to conjecture; it may have been in a private house or in Cum- 
berland Church lately built. It was the beginning of a series 
of assemblies of which we now see the one hundred and tenth. 
Its presiding officers were Dr. Thomas Coke and Francis As- 
bury, both introduced into the episcopacy by as genuine a fa- 
ther in God as ever existed since the apostles' days. The one 
in clerical attire, short in stature, of ample rotundity, looking 
every inch a bishop, and though chimed out of his English 
parish, with great rejoicing had become the first Protestant 
bishop in America, and was destined to cross the Atlantic 
eighteen times at his own charges, to expend his entire fortune 
for Christian missions, and when near seventy to rest his mor- 
tal remains amid the coral groves of the Indian Ocean. The 
other, as Stevens says, "not yet fifty years old, in the matu- 
rity of his physical and intellectual strength, his person slight 
but yet vigorous and erect, his eye stern but bright, his brow 
wrinkled through extraordinary care and fatigue, his counte- 
nance expressive of decision, sagacity, and benignity — shaded at 
times by an aspect of deep anxiety, if not dejection; his atti- 
tude dignified, if not graceful; his voice sonorous and com- 
manding." 

Of the members present, number and names, there is no rec- 
ord. By looking at the appointments for 1787 we can only con- 
jecture. There is no journal extant, and none of the Confer- 
ence in our archives until 1799, and that but a sheet of fools- 
cap, blotted and blurred and of most horrible chirography, 
nothing to be compared with the splendid records now existing. 
Indeed, it may be doubted if any journalistic records, save in 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 51 

the bishop's notebook, obtained in any of these early sessions. 
It is not until 1801 that Asbury notes in his journal the appoint- 
ment of " a clerk for the minutes, and another, Jeremiah Nor- 
man, to keep the journal." It may be doubted further if very 
much of parliamentary order prevailed. At a later period 
" rules of order " were adopted, with which Asbury found fault, 
and asking how they came into being, McKendree replied: 
"You are our father, and do not need them; we, your sons, do." 
Fully mollified, the bishop sat down smiling. 

Of course we cannot put on record all the business trans- 
acted. We gather from the General Minutes somewhat as 
to (1) the instruction of the colored people — all are earnest- 
ly entreated to care for them, unite them with the society, 
and to exercise the whole Methodist discipline among them; 
(2) directions as to books of registry; (3) formation of the 
children into proper classes, and the truly awakened taken into 
society; (4) allowance for the married preachers considered 
too large, and £48 provincial currency allowed them. 

Stith Mead, at a later date of 1792, gives the following synop- 
sis of proceedings: 

Members present twelve ; one received into full connection, two elected 
to deacon's orders, one located, two admitted on trial, and two called on to 
relate their Christian experience. Adjournment until next day. 

Second Day. Three preachers examined by the bishop before the Confer- 
ence: first, as to debt; second, faith in Christ; third, their pursuit after ho- 
liness. The bishop preached. Hope Hull preached, and Mead called on to 
relate his experience to the Conference. In the evening the appointments were 
read. 

Third Day. All were examined by the bishop as to their confession of 
faith and orthodoxy of doctrine; two were found to be tending to Unita- 
rianism. All were requested to give as much Scripture as they could recol- 
lect as to the personality of the Trinity, especially of the Holy Ghost. Two 
preachers recanted errors in doctrine and were continued in fellowship. 
Asbury and Hull preached again. Deep feeling prevailed; the sacrament 
administered, the services continuing until near sundown. Many sinners 
were awakened, and ten souls converted. 

Fourth Day. Three were ordained elders and two deacons. Conference 
adjourned about ten o'clock. 

The appointments made at this first session in 1787 were: Rich- 
ard Ivy, elder; Burke, John Major, Matthew Harris; Augusta, 
Thomas Humphries, Moses Park; Broad River, John Mason, 
Thomas Davis. Beverly Allen, elder; Edisto, Edward West; 
Charleston, Lemuel Green. Reuben Ellis, elder; Santee, 



52 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

Isaac Smith; Pee Dee, H. Bingham, L. Andrews, H. Ledbet- 
ter; Yadkin, W. Partridge, B. McHenry, J. Connor; Salisbury, 
Mark Moore. 

A brief reference to each of tlie above preachers, not already 
mentioned, is in place. liichard Ivy was a man of quick and 
solid parts, seeking not himself, his great concern and busi- 
ness to be rich in grace and usefulness; a holy, self-deny- 
ing Christian; he died in 1795. Of Matthew Harris little is 
known; lie disapjjears from the Minutes in 1791. Moses Park 
disappears from the Minutes in 1790. John Mason and Thomas 
Davis retired in 1788. H. Bingham died the nest year, and 
was buried at Cattle Creek Camp Ground; a plain tablet marks 
the spot. Edward West located after 1790. Lemuel Green 
located in 1800. Beuben Ellis was of large body but slender 
constitution, of slow but sure and solid parts, an excellent 
counselor and guide; died in 1796. L. Andrews died in 1790. 
H. Ledbetter, after several years, located, living in upper Caro- 
lina, and died in the faith. W. Partridge traveled several years, 
located some twenty, then reentered the Conference, traveling a 
year or two, and died in 1817, exclaiming, " Eor me to die is 
gain! " B. McHenry became one of the giants of the West, dy- 
ing there in 1833. James Connor died in 1789. Mai'k Moore 
located in 1799. Travis states concerning him: "He was not a 
regular itinerant; too unsettled, except in piety and devotion." 
He lived to a good old age, still a faithful and holy minister. 

In 1786 the Broad Eiver, Sautee, and Pee Dee circuits are for 
the first time named. South Carolina in territory is triangular, 
the Savannah Eiver its base; its apex, the Atlantic. Tliere being 
few towns, villages, hamlets, the broad streams coursing through 
its length properly map the territory, giving metes and bounds, 
and names as W'cll, to the circuits. A glance at the map shows 
the Savannah Eiver its western boundary; next the Edisto, 
running half through the state; then the two Santees, soon 
becoming the Congaree and then branching out into the Sa- 
luda, Broad, and Wateree rivers — the Wateree becoming the 
Catawba, and running up into North Carolina; then next 
Lynch's Eiver and the two Pee Dees, with innumerable lesser 
streams all over the state. It is the purpose of these annals to 
follow as minutely as possible the footprints of the pioneers, 
and in as chronological order as may be. 




n. M. MOOD. F. MILTON KENNEDY. 

JOHN R. PICKETT. 



J. T. WIGHTMAN. 
D. J. SIMMONS. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 55 

All the Conferences from the first to the fourteenth were 
held in Charleston, except the eighth session, held at Finch's, 
which soon after became the site of Bethel Academy. The 
crowded condition of entertainment in the country induced 
ever after the selection of cities as the seats of meeting. All 
these Conferences were presided over by Coke and Asbury 
jointly, oftener by the last^lone, except the twelfth, held by 
Jonathan Jackson at Asbury' s appointment. 

Of course it is impossible to note the sessions of Conferences 
seriatim. In the first place, but little is known of the business 
transacted; and to give the appointments and preachers would 
overrun our limits to little profit, so we notice only a few of 
both. 

The second session was held March 14, 1788. On his way to it 
Asbury preached at Beauty Spot, in Marlborough county. Why 
so called we know not, save that the whole country is lovely. 
Nothing is said of the building in which service was held, but 
we remember the huge, barn-like structure once existent at a 
later day, possibly giving place now to one of more architectural 
beauty in keeping with the wealth and intelligence of that com- 
munity. The bishop preached on " The wilderness and soli- 
tary place," etc., and on "They weighed for me thirty pieces 
of silver." They had a gracious, moving time. Then en route, 
resting at Eembert's, Monday found them in their saddles, con- 
tending with the swamps of Santee, passing ruined Dorchester, 
and so on to the city. 

Of the business done nothing is known. Asbury, in his 
journal, notes the riot at the church, causing even the ladies to 
leap from the windows; Henry Bingham reported dead; and 
two circuits, Saluda and Waxhaws, added to the appointments. 
Of the Saluda Circuit there is no definite information. Allied 
with Bush Eiver in Newberry county, possibly it began in 
Laurens, taking in Greenville and Anderson. As in 1800 it 
was united with Cherokee, its boundary presently to be given, 
this conjecture may not be wrong. The Conference of 1788 
(the second) over, Asbury takes up his restless travel, presses 
on to Cattle Creek, in Edisto C/ircuit, Gassaway with him ; com- 
plains that the people are "insensible," "more in love with 
Christ's messengers than with Christ." Doubtless they had 
been troubling him about some favorite preachers. Then on to 



56 EARLY METHODISM hY THE CAROLINAS. 

Broad River, Isaac Smith with him at Finch's. Travels two 
hiiudred miles, doubling often for some out-of-the-way appoint- 
ment, and up often until twelve o'clock at night meetings. 

The third session began March 16, 1789. Good reports had; 
nine hundred increase in membership recorded. No riotous ex- 
cesses this time, but the city press bitter in its invectives; no 
wonder, considering the indiscreet action auent slavery. Four- 
teen preachers stationed in Carolina, among them John Andrew 
(father of the bishop) on Cherokee Circuit, Humphries, Isaac 
Smith, and Gassaway. Charleston strangely left blank; Pee 
Dee Circuit divided into Great and Little Pee Dee, and Chero- 
kee and Bush Eiver first named. On Bush Eiver was William 
Gassaway. Under that name the record is continuous until 
changed in 1820 to Newberry Circuit. Farther on in these an- 
nals more will be said of that famous charge. 

The fourth session, February 15, 1790, was one "of peace and 
love." Increase, six hundred and thirty members. City Meth- 
odists considered "too mute and fearful"; the outside people, 
"violent and wicked." Asbuiy, resuming his travel, preaches 
at Linder's, has "a dry time"; at Cattle Creek, "better"; then 
on to Chester. lie laments the spiritual death wrought by An- 
tinomian leaven; complains of "the leaning to Calvinism," and 
"the love of strong drink." Whatcoat and himself appoint a 
night meeting; only "two men came, and they were drunk." 
Complains of the roads, and the people who "pass for Chris- 
tians." Thinks a prophet of strong drink might suit them 
well. And there were some of that sort, if history be a faith- 
ful chronicler. In this very year of 1790, Dr. Howe states, 
" ministers were disciplined for drunkenness, and at funerals 
often the living were not sufficiently sober properly to bury the 
dead." Tradition asserts that once hereabout a minister was so 
far gone in the pulpit as to fall asleep during the singing of the 
hymns; being aroused by the precentor telling him " it was out," 
he drowsily replied, "Fill lier up ac/m.'''' At this session nine- 
teen preachers were stationed. 



CHAPTER yil. 

The Fifth Session — Elation and Depression — Religious Swearing — Hani- 
met's Arrival — Sixth Session — Mathews Withdraws — Cherokee Circuit 
— Hard Work, Small Salary— Seventh Session — Eighth Session at Finch's 
— McKendree — Enoch George — Spiritual Declension — Tabulated Matter 
in Conference Minutes — Mt. Bethel Academy — Jenkins's Disappointment 
— Simon Carlisle. 

THE fifth session began February 23, 1791. Concerning it 
but little data exist. On bis way to tlie city Asbury ex- 
ults in the success of tlie gospel, rejoices to find "this desert 
country has gracious souls in it." "How great the change in 
six years! " "Under Gassaway, on Little Pee Dee, an increase 
of over eight hundred; the aggregate increase in the Confer- 
ence, over twelve hundred." And yet he was shortly after 
much cast down. At Georgetown he preached "a plain, search- 
ing sermon; but it's a day of small things." The wicked 
youths were playing without, and there w^as inattention within. 
But gTeat changes require time. 

Travis relates of one at Georgetown swearing religiously at a 
later period. Alas! there are fears that many Church members 
do it irreligiously. " Brother Boquie, are you happy? " inquired 
a good woman of one shouting. "Yes, yes; I is happy." She 
looking him in the face, not incredulously yet without reply, 
he added: "7 sirear I is happy.''' A case for Sterne's recording- 
angel. After all, the good old Frenchman died in the faith, 
conquering what was long a bad habit. 

Bishop Coke attended this Conference, having been ship- 
wrecked off Edisto. He brought Mr. Hammet over from the 
West Indies. Hammet was disappointed in not receiving the 
city appointment. James Parks being sent, Hammet pursued 
the bishop, seeking it for himself. Asbury writes, under date of 
Charleston, 1791: "I went to church under awful distress of 
heart. . . . The people claim the right to choose their own 
preachers, a thing quite new among Methodists. None but 
Mr. Hammet will do for them. We shall see how it will end." 
And it was soon seen, culminating in schism shaking the 
Church in that city to its foundations, resulting in a loss of 

(57) 



58 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

membersbip of 27.27 per cent. Mr. Hammet set np for him- 
self, calling his church Trinity, and his people Primitive 
Methodists. Succeeding for a time, at his death came disin- 
tegration, some returning to the old fold, some to other 
Churches, others to the world. Mr. Brazier, falling heir, sold 
the church to the Protestant Episcopalians. It was recovered 
by the trustees, and eventually, with other property, came into 
our possession. Mr. Hammet died in 1803, and his dust lies in 
the rear of Trinity Church. 

The sixth session began February 14, 1792. It was unusual- 
ly close in the examination of character, doctrine, and experi- 
ence. The bishop explained publicly our Church polity, giving 
reasons for not committing the society in Charleston to Mr. 
Hammet, who was unknown, a foreigner, and not uniting with 
the American Church. Philip Mathews withdrew from the con- 
nection, his character passing in examination, though Asbury 
thought " it had been better to subject it to scrutiny." Seven- 
teen years after, in 1809, Travis reports him as feeling the 
pulses of some converts in Georgetown who wei'e apparently 
lifeless, and his saying: "Mr. Travis, I want you to pray for 
me." " Well," said Travis, " kneel down here." " Oh ! " was the 
reply; "I want you to do it privately." There was no rejoinder 
on the part of Mr. Travis. 

Ki this Conference James Jenkins was admitted. He came 
near rejection; but it being found that Mathews would with- 
draw, Jenkins was sent in his place to the Cherokee Circuit. 
And here for the first time we have accurately stated its bound- 
aries and much relating to the labors of the first preachers. 
This circuit was formed in 1789 by John Andrew (father of 
Bishop Andrew) and Philip Mathews. It began near Camp- 
bellton, near Hamburg, then up the Savannah River to old 
Cherokee Town, thence in a line along the Blue Pidge across to 
Saluda, following the river down, then to the present site of 
Cokesbury and on to Edgefield, embracing that district together 
with Abbeville and Pendleton. The last, it will be remembered,, 
has been since divided into two or more counties. It was a six- 
weeks' circuit, three hundred miles in circumference. Metho- 
dism was little known, and that little unfavorably. Here Allen 
fell; the society he founded, and where he sinned, was entirely bro- 
ken up, biit one man holding fast his integrity. The opposition 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAIIOLINAS. 59 

met with was light compared with otlier matters demanding en- 
durance. Tlie previous winter had been severe; the large grain 
crop had to be fed away to the cattle, depending on the wheat 
crop for sustenance; tiiis failed through the rust; then came 
drought, in which there was no yield of corn. Famine threat- 
ening, the preachers feared they would have to leave — no food 
scarcely for themselves and horses. For the last there were 
but three places where corn could be had, musty wheat and 
grass their only food. The people got through the year by par- 
tial supplies from abroad and the abundance of fruit existing. 
In addition their lives were in danger from the Indians, their 
chief town being but a few miles from one of the appointments. 
Attending service once, they indulged in laughter; the chief 
apologized, saying: "They do not know to whom you were talk- 
ing; but I know: it was to the Great Spirit." In an attack on 
the town this chief was killed, causing all families to flee save 
two, and to these the preachers ministered. There were a few log 
churches, but in private dwellings, for the most part, religious 
services were held. Amid it all, souls were converted. The 
presiding elder, Reuben Ellis, so extensive was his district (the 
entire state), visited the circuit only twice. On settlement by 
the stewards, Mr. Jenkins received twenty-two dollars, iticluding 
presents. Souls, however, were converted. At Gribble's a man 
ran up and requested prayer. All were deeply affected, five join- 
ing the Church. An awful circumstance occurred: a youth under 
awakening hanged himself. Brought up under the teaching of 
Calvinism, he was driven to despair. Did all this toil and labor 
pay? One has but to compare the returns of this sixth session 
with the one hundred and eighth, as set forth in the Minutes, to 
see, notwithstanding thousands safe in heaven, that thousands 
more are on the way ; the 3,665 members in all Carolina and Geor- 
gia, compared with the 72,000 in Carolina alone, giving a good 
percentage of increase in less than a century. 

The seventh session began December 24, 1792. A singular 
anomaly — two Confei'ences in one year. The appointments, it 
will be understood, are for 1793. It was the overlooking the 
fact of two Conferences in one year that led to the differences 
of opinion between members of the body in enumerating the ses- 
sions of the Conference at a later date. This session was longer 
than usual. The preaching was so exciting that "the blacks 



60 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

were hardly restrained from crying aloud." Seventeen preach- 
ers were stationed. It was the first Conference James Jenkins 
attended. He says: " It was a source of joy to meet the preach- 
ers. Peace and harmony reigned, and their spiritual strength 
was greatly renewed." James Douthet was received on triaL 
He had been found by Jenkins the year before, greatly afflicted 
with rheumatism, trying to flee the call. He labored for thir- 
teen years, located in 1806, and was long a local preacher of 
great pulpit force; often mentioned by Asbury as "good Father 
Douthet"; dying in the faith. 

It was determined to unite the Georgia and South Carolina 
Conferences, and the eighth session was accordingly appointed 
for Finch's, in Newberry county. This Conference was greatly 
straitened for room: " twelve feet square in which to confer, sleep, 
and accommodate the sick." The Bethel Academy buildings 
were not completed, and not dedicated until the next year, 1795, 
It was a remarkable Conference, not only on account of the 
union with Georgia, but it was the seat of the first educational 
enterprise undertaken by the Church in Carolina; and here were 
gathered some of the mighty men to be developed in after years. 
McKendree came wdth Asbury. George was already there. 
Beuben Ellis, Philip Bruce — Ellis to go back to Virginia, and 
Brvice to lead the entire sacramental host for the year — Tobias 
Gibson, N. Watters, Isaac Smith, Joseph Moore, Jonathan 
Jackson, and James Jenkins were there. William Gassaway had 
located, but soon after reentered, doing yeoman service to the 
cause. Under a great display of divine power, Beuben Ellis 
preached and Hope Hull exhorted. 

Here Asbury was in much affliction, but attended to all his 
duties. Every attention was paid the Conference, the Presby- 
terians offering their house of worship, James Jenkins was 
ordained deacon, the bishop remarking, " You feel the hands of 
the bishop very heavy, but the devil's hands will be heavier 
still." McKendree was sent for one quarter to Union Circuit, 
and removed to Virginia the next year. He had traveled under 
O'Kelly, and had become prejudiced against Asbury; a closer 
acquaintanceship satisfied him that Asbury had been misrepre- 
sented. He was near six feet in height, robust, weighed a hun- 
dred and sixty pounds, strong and active, fair complexion, black 
hair, blue eyes; his intellect quick, keen, but calm and observant. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 61 

His garb was almost Quakerish in its simplicity ; a man for the 
times, leading in triumph the Church in the wilderness. He died 
in 1835, his last words being, "All is well "; and his dust reposes 
beside Bishop Soule's, in the Vanderbilt grounds, near Nashville. 
Enoch George, like McKendree, was near six feet in height; 
stout, almost corpulent; energetic, and of military bearing. His 
form was imposing, face broad, forehead prominent, nose large, 
eyes blue and deeply set, eyebrows dark and projecting, hair 
black, tinged with gray; his complexion, from the malaria of the 
South, sallow. His whole x^erson was stamped with character; 
his piety profound and tender; one of the most effective preachers 
of his day. In 1794 he was on the Great Pee Dee Circuit, and 
this year was sent to Edisto. He himself says: 

My labors were of a most painful kind; in a desert land, amongst almost 
impassable swamps, and under bilious diseases of almost every class, which 
unfitted me lor duty in Charleston or amongst the hospitable inhabitants of 
the " Pine Barrens." In the midst of all this my mind was stayed on God, 
and kept in perfect peace. Piospects in general were very discouraging. 
At my second year in this region, Bishop Asbury inquired if we knew of the 
conversion of any souls within the bounds of the Conference the past year, 
and to the best of my recollection the whole of us together could not re- 
member one. At this session of the Conference [1795] nearly all the men 
of age, experience, and talent located [among them Humphries, Hope Hull, 
Parks, Ledbetter, McHenrj', Coleman Carlisle, and Lipsey]. I was appoint- 
ed presiding elder and besought the preachers and people to unite as one 
man, and to seek by fasting and prayer a revival of tlie work of the Lord in 
the midst of these j^ears of declension and spiritual death. The Lord heard, 
and the displays of his power were so manifest that near two thousand mem- 
bers WL-re addud to the district in a few months. 

Mr. George anxiously sought a change to a more northerly 
climate, but w^as denied and sent to Georgia; another trial, as 
his own district was in i)eace, but the other full of contention 
and strife. But that year ended his labor in the South. In 
1816 he was elected and ordained bishop, closing his earthly 
existence in holy trium[)h in 1828. 

From Enoch George's record and from the General Minutes, 
notwithstanding the unusual strength of laborers in Carolina 
and Georgia, the returns show a heavy decrease in membership. 
And here, once for all, with reference to increase and decrease 
and statistical details in general, these annals need not be en- 
cumbered. Tabulated statements will be found in the Appendix 
giving all information necessary. A study of these will show 



62 EAELl' METHODISM IX THE CAROLIXaS. 

a siugular tiuctuation in the membership, arising possibly from 
persecution, schisms, or rigid discipline. From that review it 
will be seen that it was not until the eighteenth session in 
1804 the numbers were more than ten thousand whites and three 
thousand colored. After that, the increase was more steady un- 
til 1830, falling off more than oue-half the next year — 10,335 
"whites and 21,551 colored; and in 1831 in Carolina 20,813 whites 
and 19,111 colored. Setting off the Georgia Conference explains 
it. There were no great changes for nearly forty years, when 
the sixty-iif th session shows a decrease of three thousand whites 
and nearly four thousand colored, caused by transfer to the 
North Carolina Conference in 1850; then, some time after, a de- 
pletion of ten thousand members, but still the advance was on- 
ward. The depletion in colored membership in 1861 was 17,160; 
in 1865 it was 26,283, gradually growing less until in 1878, when 
they ceased to be reported. This tabulated statement, with the 
mortuary record, list of members of the Conference, as also dele- 
gates to the General Conference, and other tabulated matter, 
was the work of the author of these annals when editor of the 
Annual Minutes from 1870 to 1880; of which he would have 
said nothing at all if some of them had not been appropriated 
in another volume without any credit given whatever. 

Returning to this eighth session at Fincli's, an article from 
the Soidliern Cliristian Advocate of 1852. and copied into Deems's 
Annals for 1856, states: 

This section of Newberry was peopled by emigrants from A'irginia, among 
them the Finches, the Crensliaws, the Malones. They were Methodists, 
and when the subject of a high school was agitated, they entered heartily, 
and with liberal subscriptions, into the project. Edward Finch gave thirty 
acres of land and a site for the institution. During 1794 the building was 
completed, and formally dedicated by Bishop Asbury March 20, 1795, and 
named Mount Bethel. The Eev. Mark Moore, eminently qualified, was for six 
years rector, aided by Messrs. Smith and Hammond. The latter, the father 
of ex-Governor Hammond, took charge after Mr. Moore's retirement, teach- 
ing with signal ability for many years. It was largely patronized, even from 
Georgia and North Carolina. Leading men from Carolina — among them the 
Caldwells of Newberry, Judge Earle, the first ex-Governor Manning, and 
William and AVesley Harper — were here academically instructed. 

The main building was twenty by forty feet, divided by a partition, with 
chimneys at each end constructed of rough, unhewn stone. The upstairs 
was used as lodgings for the students. Several comfortable cabins were also 
built, as residences for the teachers and as boarding houses. About one 
hundred yards ofT, at the foot of a hill, ran a bold spring of pure water. Of 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINA^. 63 

this monument of Asbury's zeal in the cause of education nothing scarcely 
remains except the three chimneys of Father Finch's house, which still stand 
as solitary sentinels over this classic ground. 

Near by is a large graveyard, in which many of the original settlers and 
some of the students sleep in death. Here, too, in modest seclusion, lie the 
remains of the Rev. John Harper. A rude stone, some six or eight inches 
above the ground, bearing the initials "J. H.,'' marks this grave. 

After years of usefulness the academy began to decline, and ceased to ex- 
ist about 1820, superseded by Mount Ariel and Cokesbury schools. 

Of the Rev. John Harper more hereafter. How strange that 
such entire desohation marks the spot once so noted! In 1851 
the Rev. Colin Murchison attempted to establish and build a 
church, but none now exists. While James Jenkins w-as on his 
way to Finch's from Oconee, Ga., with $40 out of $64 allowed 
him, he fancied that Santee, because Isaac Smith had been there, 
would be an admirable work. And to it he was appointed ; but 
he had great trouble there, as may hereafter be seen. 

This year the second expulsion from the Conference occurred: 
Beverly Allen in 1792, and Simon Carlisle in 1794. This was a 
terrible wrong inflicted on an innocent man. Coleman Carlisle, 
his brother, gives a thrilling relation of the circumstances. 
Simon reproving a wicked young man, incurred his wrath. 
Placing a pistol in the preacher's saddlebags, he accused him 
of theft. Next day, procuring a search warrant, and making 
oath that he believed Parson Carlisle had stolen his pistol, an 
officer started in pursuit. Overtaking Mr. Carlisle and making 
known his business, Mr. C. readily consented to be searched, and, 
conscious of his innocence, was eager for the examination of his 
saddlebags.. But, alas! out comes the pistol. Carlisle, thun- 
derstruck, knew not what to do, but calmly gave himself up to 
the officer. He was found guilty; even the Church expelled 
him. The Minutes ask, " Who have been dismissed for im- 
proper conduct?" and his name appears with three others of 
other Conferences. Now mark the sequel. Two long years he 
suffered the reproach, and then a wretched young man on his 
deathbed frantically cried: "I cannot die until I reveal one 
thing! Parson Carlisle never stole that pistol; I myself put it 
in his saddlebags." Brother Carlisle was restored to the Church 
and ministry, dying in peace, a member of the Tennessee Con- 
ference, in 1838. It is useless to conjecture w^hy this was per- 
mitted concerning an innocent man, while it is written, "All 
things work together for good to them that love God." 



CHAPTER YIII. 

The Ninth Session — Rapid Interchange of Preachers — Broad River Circuit — 
Incidents — Cowles and Darley — Ivy's Boldness — Philip Bruce — The Tenth 
Session — Street Preaching — Bethel Church — Jenkins Denied Orders — 
Reuben Ellis — Dark Days — Large Decrease in Membership — Necrological 
—Lorenzo Dow. 

THE ninth session began January 1, 1795. Little is said of 
it anywhere. It was at that time of general depression 
when Enoch George says that not a preacher could shoM^ one 
soul converted. The Minutes tell of short terms of service by 
the preachers — three and sis months; good generalship in the 
bishop, looking not only to celerity of movement, but to a rapid 
interchange of place and talent as well. With a celibate ministry 
this was easily effected, but not otherwise. Hence such men as 
McKendree, George, and others were quartered without mercy. 
Quarter enters largely into Methodist nomenclature. Asbury, la- 
menting to Jenkins his not getting round his district (the whole 
state) but three times, regrets that "he did not get round quar- 
terlij." "I told him," said Mr. Jenkins, "that if I had been 
qunrfered, and each part made to travel, I might have done it." 
To this session Asbury brought Samuel Cowles and James 
Rogers. Cowles and Jenkins were sent to Broad Kiver Circuit, 
formed in 1785 by Stephen Johnson. It began in the Dutch 
Fork above Columbia, on both sides of Broad River to Pacolet 
Springs, parts of Fairfield, Newberry, Chester, and Union coun- 
ties in it. Within these bounds were Grissom and Partridge, 
local preachers. The first Quarterly Conference was at Finch's, 
where, in March, Asbury dedicated Mount Bethel Academy. 
Preaching with convincing power from " Rejoice evermore," a 
young man was converted, and moving West, became a preacher. 
At Fish Dam they had a gracious revival, "sweeping the neigh- 
borhood." In the interchange of preachers, Enoch George came 
up from Charleston, persuading Cowles to take his place there. 
His reason for leaving was that " the people there have more 
sense tlian he had." Jenkins, by order of the elder, exchanged 
with James Douthet from Saluda, one quarter. Fruit being 
plentiful, much brandv led to much wickedness. This he could 
(64) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 65 

not bear. The wicked called whisky "Jenkius's devil," and in- 
vited their friends to partake of it under that name. His oppo- 
sition to its manufacture and use awakened enmity, and the 
money value of three months' labor was compensated with eight 
dollars, half of which he gave to Douthet, gladly escaping to his 
own circuit again. The last Quarterly Conference was at Sea- 
ley's Meetinghouse, once on the road between Richburg and 
Rock Hill, in Chester county, now no more. Here he heard old 
Brother Walker, often Asbury's kind host, say " he had been 
fifty years serving God, and that even yet he was often severely 
tempted." This greatly encouraged the preacher. This year 
Mr. Jenkins considered one of the best in his ministry, so far as 
money was concerned; he received 5^52 out of §64. No M-onder 
locations were rife; but these men, while working with their own 
hands for bread, still were freely breaking the bread of life to 
thousands. 

Of Samuel Cowles, Dr. G. G. Smith tells of his being a trooper 
in the Washington Light Horse at the Cowpens, when, sweeping- 
down upon a dragoon and about to cut him down, the Masonic 
signal of distress was given and his life was spared. Years after 
he met his old foe in Thomas Darley, a brother preacher in this 
Conference. Cowles and Darley both located in 1806. 

Richard Ivy died this year. He was admitted in 1777, and was 
among the first elders, serving several years, mostly in Georgia. 
In 1793 he was appointed traveling book steward; then his name 
disappears from the Minutes until the record of his death in 1795. 
The obituary record states: "Eighteen years in the work, trav- 
eling extensively; a man of quick and solid parts; a man of af- 
fliction, spending his all, with his life, in the work." In Stevens's 
History the following is seen: 

During the Revolution a file of soldiers surrounded the houfie where he 
was preaching, and the officers entered, drew their swords, and crossed them 
on the table. Ivy was not alarmed, but continued on his subject, " Fear not, 
little flock," remarking: " Some Christians fear when there is no cause for 
fear. So it might be now. These men, engaged in defense of their country's 
rights, meant them no harm." He spoke forcibly on the cause of freedom 
from foreign and domestic tyranny, glancing from the swords to the officers, 
as if he would remind them that this looked too much like domestic ojipres- 
sion. In conclusion, bowing to tlie officers and opening his shirt bosom, lie 
said: "Sirs, I would fain show you my heart; if it beats not high for legitimate 
liberty, may it forever cease to beat." This he said with voice and look thrill- 
ing the whole audience. Many sobbed aloud, some cried "Amen," wliile the 
5 



66 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLIXAS. 

soldiers without swung tlieir hats and shouted, " Huzza for the Methodist 
parson!" The officers shook his hand at parting, and said "thej- would 
share with him their last shilUng." 

Philip Bruce, leading the entire Conference the past year, 
179-4, was this year stationed in Charleston, with the oversight 
of Georgetown and Edisto. He was a Virginian, of Huguenot 
descent, of fine personal appearance, expressive, calm, dignified, 
and determined; a bachelor, as were most of the early preach- 
ers. It is said that he was once near being married, but on 
consultation with Asbury he was prevailed on to remain single. 
The dear old bachelor bishop occasionally feared that "the devil 
and the women would get all his i^reachers." Mr. Bruce was 
but two years in this Conference, returning to Virginia, and 
dying in Tennessee in 1826. 

The locations, as seen, were heavy. Hardy Herbert died. 
He was a youth of genius, pleasing as a speaker, of easy and 
natural elocution. He died in the faith. 

The tenth session began January 1, 1796, and was held in the 
Cumberland Church, undoubtedly. Members present, twenty 
preachers and seven graduates, among them Enoch George, 
Samael Cowles, J. Humphries, James Jenkins, Jonathan Jack- 
sou, Joseph Moore, and Benjamin Blanton. They "began, contin- 
ued, and parted in peace." The bishop remained in the city some 
little time. At noon on Sunday an attempt was made to preach 
in the streets, opposite St. Michael's Church, but it was prevent- 
ed by the city guard. The bishop held a religious service in the 
kitchen, while Blanton held a sacramental love feast in the 
parlor of Brother Wells's house. The city appeared " running 
mad for races, balls, and plays." He laments the superficial 
state of religion among the whites; preaches on Sunday from 
" God is my record," etc., and at night on " Wolves in sheep's 
clothing." "Some laughed, some wept, and some were vexed." 
During this visit he preached eighteen sermons, met fifteen 
classes, wrote about eighty letters, read some hundred pages, 
visited thirty families again and again, and asks, "But who 
are made subjects of grace?" 

Cumberland Church had now been used several years ; the ne- 
cessity for Church extension was fully felt, and so another church 
structure is designed, and a lot for burial purposes sought out. 
Subscriptions were started, but moved slowly. A wealthy gen- 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 67 

tleman, Mr. Bennett, on being approached as to tlie sale of a lot, 
generously gave the trustees the lot on which Bethel Church now 
stands. There was room enough for a parsonage and a grave- 
yard, in which the bodies of many of the saints now sleep. 
Some still live who remember the long, low, dingy building, 
then deemed quite palatial, where the bachelor preachers dwelt, 
and for a long time after occupied by families also. 

At this Conference James Jenkins was entitled to elder's or- 
ders, but failed to get them. His proclivity for reproof, his zeal 
to do right himself and to see that others did so too, did not 
smooth his path to heaven, and hence he magnified his office at 
a heavy per cent of discount on his popularity. We shall have 
much to say of him farther on. 

Reuben Ellis died this year. "A man large in body but of 
slender constitution, of slow but solid parts as counselor and 
guide. The people of South Carolina well knew his excellent 
worth as a Christian and a minister of Christ. It is doubtful 
whether there be one left in all the connection higher, if eqvial, 
in standing, piety, and usefulness," say the Minutes. 

This ends the first decade of Methodism in South Carolina 
as an Annual Conference. The growth seemed slow (see table 
in Appendix). The first Conference numbers were whites, 
2,075; colored, 141; and now only 3,862 whites and 826 colored, 
and yet in 1794 there were as many as 5,192 whites and 1,220 
colored. Thus, in not having increase there was absolute loss. 

This was about the darkest period in our annals. It will be 
remembered that but a year or two before not a preacher could 
call up a solitary soul converted to God during the year. The 
same in Georgia. Dr. Smith accounts for it there in the lack 
of laborers. Many things adverse to religion: emigration, po- 
litical strife, leading men infidels and duelists, the Yazoo fraud, 
a wide domain, now comprising Alabama and Mississippi, sold 
by a bribed legislature for a song; the people too busy to at- 
tend week-day preaching and class meeting; the entire mem- 
bership in Georgia only 1,028, when five years before they were 
double that number. As far as Carolina was concerned, the ^ 
depletion may be traced to the unwise action on slavery, Al- 
len's fall, the Hammet schism, and the usual opposition of all 
evil to Christ's kingdom. But amid it all the cry was " On- 
ward!" and in a few years five instead of four figures (see Ap- 



68 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLIXAS. 

peudix) were used to report the numbers — proving the truth 
of a state jurist's observation that the Methodists were like the 
calves in Ezekiel's vision, ''fJiey never go hackivard.'" 

Closing the first decade of our Conference, there well may be 
a pause in the chronological order of the narrative to briefly no- 
tice the death of laborers not already named. The necrological 
record (see Axjpendix) for the decade is eleven. In addition 
to those already named, are the following: 

Woolman Hickson, the first stationed preacher in George- 
town, S. C. ; in 1785, with John Tunnell in Charleston. He was 
but one year in Carolina. "A man of splendid talents and 
brilliant genius, whose whole public life was oppressed by phys- 
ical weakness and suffering." He died and was buried in New 
York. 

James Connor, an undergraduate, in feeble health, dying 
shortly after in A-'irginia. "A pious, solid, understanding man, 
blessed with confidence in his last moments." 

Wyatt Andrews, serving but two years, dying in 1790. "As 
long as he could ride he traveled, and while he had breath he 
praised God." 

John Tunnell, admitted in 1777, dying in 1790; thirteen years 
in the work — a man of solid piety, great simplicity, and godly 
sincerity. He was selected as one of the pioneers by Asbury, 
and stationed at Charleston in 1785. Soon after, he became one 
of the founders of Methodism in the West. It is said that such 
was his pathos that a sailor, stopping to listen to his preaching, 
said to his comrades on rejoining them: "I have been listening 
to a man who has been dead and in heaven; but he has re- 
turned, and is telling the people all about that world." 

Lemuel Andrews, "four years in the work; died without any 
expressions of the fear of death." 

Benjamin Carter, "six years in the ministry; a pointed, zeal- 
ous preacher, and a strict disciplinarian." He was wounded in 
the war of the Revolution, and died in Georgia in 1792, " blessed 
with frequent consolations in his last hours." 

Hardy Herbert, " a native of North Carolina, but brought 
up in South Carolina on the banks of the Broad Eiver; a 
youth of genius, pleasing as a speaker, of an easy, natural elo- 
cution." He died in the fear, favor, and love of God. 

Ira Ellis was a Virginian; came from Kent Circuit, was sta- 



EAELY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 69 

tioned in Charleston in 1788, and the next year jointly on the 
district with Reuben Ellis. We are not advised as to any blood 
relationship between them. He was said to be much in con- 
trast to Reuben Ellis; of quick and solid parts, undissembled 
sincerity, great modesty, and with uncommon powers of reason- 
ing. Asbury thought that " with the advantages of education 
he would have displayed abilities not inferior to Jelferson or 
Madison." He labored only two years in Carolina, returning to 
Virginia in 1790, and locating in 1795. There is no account of 
his death as a local preacher. 

Another famous local preacher, and long connected with the 
Conference, was Thomas Humphries (1783-1820). Of his par- 
entage, birthplace, and early surroundings nothing is on rec- 
ord, and only here and there brief notice of his labors. He 
was honored in inducting James Jenkins into the Church and 
ministry; was among the first missionaries to Georgia, and for 
twenty years labored at his own charges in building up our 
Zion. In 1783 he was admitted into the connection with Major, 
Bruce, Ira Ellis, and Lee. For three years he was in Virginia 
and North Carolina. In 1786 he was sent to Georgia with Ma- 
jor as junior; in 1787, Augusta; in 1788 and 1789, Pee Dee; 
in 1790, Georgetown. For three or four years his name, though 
among the elders, does not show among the appointments. In 
L795 he is returned as located. In 1796 he was on Great Pee 
Dee, and continued traveling until finally locating in 1799. 
Probably possessing wealth and laboring at his own charges, he 
was not under the usual restrictions of a traveling preacher. 
Travis states: " He was a good preacher, one of the greatest nat- 
ural orators of his day; fine-looking, with an exceedingly bright 
eye, which sparkled and flashed when he was excited. He 
preached with earnestness and power, and was remarkable for na- 
tive wit and fearlessness." It was in Georgetown he more than 
intimated that without repentance the rich and noble would fare 
as badly as the poor. Lovick Pierce, when on Pee Dee, says: 
"He lived palatially, was rich as a rice planter, quite popular 
among the aristocratic, with no discount on his ministry there- 
fore. Faithful in his warnings, a terror to evil-doers, and a 
praise to all doing well." William Capers, later on, writes of 
him as "his venerable friend of Jeffers Creek, Darlington, 
whence having removed to Lodibar, Sumter, he felicitated him- 



70 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

self much upon his compaiiiouship. In an old Quarterly Con- 
ference Journal of the Santee Circuit from 1815, now before 
us, is a record of the local preachers, twenty-nine in number; 
the name of TJiomas Humphries heads the list, and opposite 
it is written: "Ob. in the faith, October 20, 1820." 

Early in the nineteenth century appeared hereabout the 
eccentric Lorenzo Dow, a free lance in gospel warfare; the 
forerunner of latter-day evangelists, with this difference, he 
received but little encouragement from Church authorities, 
accorded now to many free from connectional rule, and so 
promising of disorder and disintegration. Dow could not 
come under itinerant locality, and so was allowed to rove at his 
own will. He had been converted under Ho]3e Hull's preach- 
ing in New England. Yisiting him in Georgia, he found him 
at his corncrib and saluted him with, "How are you, father?" 
The hopeful son did not receive much encouragement all the 
same, being advised to "stick to his work." Although eccen- 
tric, Dow was a great polemic, doing valiant battle for the 
truth. Many anecdotes linger in connection with this singu- 
lar man. His dropping a coal of fire into the boot of an ideal- 
ist, who held that all happening was simply imaginary, con- 
vinced the learned doctor that that at least was beyond the 
force of imagination. The stolen ax recovered by his threat- 
ening to throw a stone at the offender resulted in its restora- 
tion. The thief detected by the expedient of touching the 
pot under which was placed a rooster, sure to crow upon 
the guilty hand touching it: all were comfortably at peace 
when chanticleer made no noise, but guilt was discovered all 
the same when one hand was not soiled. There is but one me- 
morial of Dow existent in Carolina: at White House Church, 
Orange Circuit, is a tree with a board in it, used for the Bible 
when he preached there, now far above a man's head, carried 
up by the growth of the tree. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Eleventh Session — Money No Object — Poor William Hammet — Mr. 
Wells's Burial- — Twelfth Session — No Bishop — Too Much Fire — George 
Dougherty — Bethel Dedicated — Jenkins's Far-reaching Ministry — His 
Sleeveless Coat — Weatherley's Calvinism — Conversion of the Pierces — 
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Sessions — Asbury's Itinerary — Charleston 
Orphan House — General Conference — 111 Effect of Addresses — Persecu- 
tion of Dougherty. 

RESUMING the narrative chronologically, we reach the year 
1797. The eleventh session began January 5, Coke and 
Asbury presiding. On his way to it Dr. Coke passed through 
Camden, lodging with Isaac Smith, "formerly an eminent and 
successful " itinerant preacher. The doctor regrets exceedingly 
the location of so many able married preachers, " for want of 
support for their families." He thinks the people "not near so 
much to blame as the preachers, from a false and most unfor- 
tunate delicacy in not impressing it on the consciences of the 
peoi^le." This witness is true; they gloried in not preaching 
for money, and took the trouble to state it over and over again. 
No wonder the people were agreeable to the arrangement, and 
it has taken years to undo the mischief; the tide did not turn 
until years after, under Capers and Andrew. In the meantime, 
the loss to the Church was irreparable. Some records from 
early Quarterly Conference journals will hereafter show upon 
how low a plane support moved; it will certainly be monumen- 
tal as to the unselfishness and devotion of our earlier ministry. 

The doctor tells of the severe fires in this city and Savannah; 
mentions "poor William Hammet, now come to nothing," his 
congregations dwindled to "about thirty whites"; tells of Mrs. 
Hopeton, "an aged lady of large fortune," who, having been 
honored with John Wesley's acquaintance, and learning of Ham- 
met, sent for him. The interview " so sickened her of the gospel, 
he doubted if she would ever attend another gospel meeting." 
He rejoices in Mr. McFarlain's becoming a pillar of the Church 
in place of his deceased partner, Mr. Wells. He rather doubts if 
religion had gained much on this continent since his last visit. 

Asbitry states that they continued in session six days, sometimes 
six or seven hours a day; has pleasing accounts of tlie growth 

en) 



72 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

of religion; rejoices in the accession of some young men for the 
ministry, namely, Alexander McCain, William West, E. Gaines, 
the rioyds — Laomi Floyd withdrawing soon, and the others, save 
McCain, traveling but a few years. He writes feelingly of the 
death of Mr. Wells and his burial. Often has the writer, when 
a child, looked at his tomb in that contracted graveyard, scarce- 
ly more than four feet wide, running the length of the church. 
Old Cumberland gave place to a large brick structure, burned 
during the civil war. The dust of Wells lies now under the 
foundation of the large warehouse in Cumberland street. 

Measures were taken for the erection of a new church ( Beth- 
el). The bishop writes: 

If materials fall in their price, and we secure £400, shall we begin? "O 
we of little faith ! " It is a doubt if we had fifty in society when we laid the 
foundation in Cumberland street, which cost, including the lot, £1,300. The 
society has been rent in twain, and yet we have worked out of debt and 
paid £100 for two new lots, and we can spare £100 from the stock, make a 
subscription for £150, and the Africans will collect £100. 

The building committee were Francis Sutherland, G. H. 
Myers, William Smith, and Alexander McFarlain. The church 
was dedicated the next year. 

From this Conference Jenkins was sent to Georgia; Enoch 
George, presiding elder. One of his homes was at Bishop An- 
drew's father's. There were powerful displays of saving grace; 
souls were converted around the family altars. Here Blanton 
found a wife in a Miss Huett. Here, at Liberty Chapel, near 
Greensboro, Enoch George preached so moving a sermon that 
none of the preachers would open their mouths after him. 
Jenkins, all in a tremor, exhorted. A man in a uuiform fell at 
his feet, entreating prayer. The mourners often invited them- 
selves to the seekers' bench, the preachers afterwards earnestly 
inviting them to come; and so that custom began. 

Tlie twelfth session began January 1, 1798. A room in the 
house of Mr. Myers held the body. Judging from the thirty 
preachers stationed, they must have been crowded if all were 
present. Among them were Blanton, Gibson, Jackson, Hum- 
phries, Jenkins, McCain. Bishop Asbury, detained by sick- 
ness, appointed Jonathan Jackson to preside and to station the 
preachers. Jackson and Blanton were presiding elders. Mr. 
Jenkins tells: "It was the custom to relate experiences in the 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 73 

Conference room." AVhile Tobias Gibson was speaking the 
whole Conference was greatly moved, so impossible was it to 
resist the spirit with which he spoke. Jenkins pi'eached, and 
did it as he would have done it in the backwoods. Some said 
"it had too much fire in it" — not fox-Jire, or of the sheet light- 
ning sort, you may be assured, but akin to the tongues of fire on 
the day of Pentecost. Five were admitted on trial, among them 
a young man about twenty-six years old, who had been a rafts- 
man on the Edisto, and whose educational advantages were bet- 
ter than most at that time, but far from liberal. He had been 
teaching school at Finch's, hailing from Newberry, and coming 
with George Clark, preacher in charge on Saluda Circuit. He 
was ungainly, had lost an eye, his face pockmarked, shoulders 
stooping, knees bending forward, his walk tottering; his costume 
a straight coat, knee breeches, stockings, shoes, sometimes fair 
topped boots with straps at top buttoned to the knee. He was 
to live but ten years longer, but in that time was to leave an 
undying record of worth; to become "South Carolina's great 
Methodist preacher," and to give the first inspiration of educa- 
tion to the Conference. It was George Dougherty, of whom 
m.uch remains to be written. 

Hanover Donnan, admitted at the same time, 1798, located in 
1808. Of deep piety, preaching abilities "not splendid," his de- 
livery against him, he studied plainness of speech, and was al- 
ways deeply solemn and earnest. The others admitted traveled 
but a short time. 

This year Bethel Church was dedicated. As yet there was no 
pulpit. Blanton, standing on a platform, held the service. The 
walls were unplastered, and not finished until eleven years later. 
What memories cluster around this old building! Could the 
old sounding-board over the pulpit speak, what could it not tell 
of words of wondrous power! Old Bethel was rolled across 
Calhoun street, was purchased from us, and is now the property 
of the Northern Church. 

James King and George N. Jones died this year. The first 
was a victim to the fatal yellow fever. " He gave his life, labors, 
and fortune to the Church of Christ and his brethren." The 
latter died triumphantly, "rapt in the vision of God." Both 
were interred in Bethel graveyard. 

From this Conference James Jenkins was sent to Bladen Cir- 



74 EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

cuit; Jonathan Jackson, presiding elder. It lay partly in South 
Carolina and North Carolina, extending from Long Bay to Cape 
Fear, including Conwayboro, Lumberton, Elizabeth, Smithville, 
and Old Brunswick Courthouse. There had been a small soci- 
ety in Cape Fear during the Bevolution, formed by Philip Bruce 
and O'Kelly ; but the preachers had to leave, and the society was 
broken up, leaving only three women, who, though without 
church privileges, were faithful. The preachers had to battle 
with swollen waters; they raised four new societies. Before 
leaving this circuit, Jenkins visited Wilmington and talked 
with Mr. Meredith, who said, speaking of his own flock, that he 
found these " sheep without a shepherd," and served them. Mr. 
Meredith was persecuted, even to prison; he preached from the 
windows to all who would hear him. They had burned his little 
church. Soon a fearful fire devastated Wilmington. Mr. Mere- 
dith gathered his feeble flock in the market place, and told the 
people that " as they loved fire so well, God had given them 
enough of it." Five fires occurred later, and no leading man. 
in the work of persecution ever prospered afterwards. In 1800, 
Mr. Meredith's church and parsonage fell to the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

Some of the early ministry of Mr. Jenkins was far-reaching in 
its influences on Methodism to-day, as witness the following in- 
cident. At Conwayboro there were many young people, the 
children of Methodist parents, so clannish that a breach seemed 
diflicult. Young Henry Durant, our Henry's father, was a cap- 
tain among them. While Mr. Jenkins preached, the heart of 
the young man was melted. Opportunity was given to join the 
Church, and up came Durant, with streaming eyes; young Wil- 
son followed, and all the young men were gained except two. 
In after years, as is well known, a son of the captain, "our Hen- 
ry," swept through Carolina, instrumental in good to thou- 
sands. Young Gillespie, at old Brunswick Courthouse, also be- 
came a convert. Mr. Jenkins labored to influence him, all with- 
out seeming effect; but one sentence he could not shake off — 
"Remember, you have souls to save"; it entered his heart, and 
kept ringing in his ears. Boarding with a Mr. Balloon, he asked 
permission to pray in his family. Mr. Balloon, "astonished 
above measure," consented; the power of God was manifest, he 
was converted, and a gracious I'evival followed. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. <b 

This year the preacher was taken with fever, and had to stop 
one day to take medicine. His appointment was filled, however, by 
proxy. His homespun coat, given him by his mother, so badly 
worn, had lost one sleeve from the elbow down. He still traveled 
one round, "sleeveless in one arm," until a brother exchanged 
with him, as he says, "giving me the best of the bargain." 

The bishop's itinerary on his way to the next session has 
items of interest; only a few are given on his return journey. 
The thirteenth session began January 1, 1799, Asbury presid- 
ing; Jesse Lee, secretary." This is the first journalistic rec- 
ord in our archives. The Conference held four days; thirty 
preachers present. Eight were admitted, among them Bennett 
Kendrick, Lewis Myers, and Britton Capel. There were six 
locations, among them Thomas Humphries and Mark Moore. 
The bishop says: "We had great harmony and good humor." 
Three elders and seven deacons were ordained. On the 20th he 
preached at Bethel, and in the old church at the last. "A group 
of sinners at the door; when I took the pulpit, they went off with 
a shout. I felt what was coming. In the evening there was a 
proper uproar, like old times." February 3, he preached at 
Georgetown; Friday, the 10th, at William Gause's; paid a visit 
to the seashore; saw the breakers — "awfully tremendous sight 
and sound"; sees the seagulls carrying clams in the air, drop- 
ping and breaking them to eat; then on to Old Brunswick, re- 
joicing in the advancement of the Church there. 

This year James Jenkins was sent to Edisto Circuit. This 
circuit had been enlarged, and extended from Savannah River 
to within thirty miles of Charleston, and from Coosavvhatchie 
Swamp to Santee River. Mr. Jenkins thought it in a worse con- 
dition than any he had ever traveled; "few class papers, and 
scarcely any class meetings at all." He told them he intended 
to have order. Some believed he was going to ruin the Church; 
but he did not. The circuit was formed l)y Willis. He first 
preached in a Lutheran church, on Cattle Creek. Jacob Barr, 
once a Continental officer, heard him. Half atheist as he was, 
he said: " He must be a god himself, or else a servant of God." 
He was converted, became a local preacher, and was known 
more than forty years after as good old Father Barr. His de- 
scendants to the fourth generation are attached to Methodism. 

At one appointment this year the church was burned. There 



76 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

were only twenty-six members, thirteen of whom Mr. Jenkins 
expelled. An incident is worthy of note. Some children near 
Saltketcher met at the house of a local preacher named Chitty, 
and engaged in play. The talk turned on religion; from talk- 
ing they went to praying, and there were several conversions. 
One appointment was at Mr. Weatherley's. "A Calvinistic sin- 
ner," much prejudiced, he barely suffered preaching in his house, 
closely watching the preachers. He was induced to read Fletch- 
er's "Checks." Maddened by the perusal, "he would dash the 
book down in a rage"; but persisting, and finding that he had 
no foundation he could safely trust, he embraced the truth in 
Jesus, and himself and wife joined the Church. This was in 
Barnwell county, near the Three Runs. Mr. Weatherley was the 
uncle of Keddick and Lovick Pierce. They obtained permission 
from their father to hear Mr. Jenkins, and Lovick Pierce re- 
cords it as the first pure sermon he had ever heard. The text 
was, " Happy is that people . . . whose God is the Lord." The 
preaching was in a manner, tone, power, and spirit perfectly 
new to all. Conviction and conversions followed; and as to re- 
sults of that one sermon, count up the good done by the Pierces, 
their children, and their children's children, and on down to the 
judgment trump. This was a prosperous year: revivals at near- 
ly all appointments, five new societies raised, and membership 
nearly doubled. James H. Mellard was a convert this year. 

January 1, 1800, opened the fourteenth session. Asbury's 
journal, as kept while on his way to this Conference, is of inter- 
est, if for no more, as marking the routes of travel and recording 
names of saints at the opening of this nineteenth century. 

The bishop crossed the south fork of the Catawba, near the 
state line, into York county. Wandering in the hickory barrens, 
they got lost, making it thirty miles to Alexander Hill's. No- 
vember 1, held a meeting at Josiah Smith's, on Broad River; 
came to Woods's Ferry, on Broad Biver, near the mouth of Paco- 
let River, at Pinckneyville; then over Tiger, and on to Enoree; 
then on to Colonel B. Herndon's, there meeting Blanton, Black, 
Norman, and Smith ; then, on the 5th, to O'Dell's Chapel, Lau- 
rens county, lodging with Henry Davis; next day, to Zoar Chapel, 
lodging at William Holland's; Thursday, sixteen miles in haste 
to the funeral of Nehemiah Franks; Saturday and Sunday, Quar- 
terly Conference at Bramlett's. " B. Blanton came; had lost his 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLISAS. H 

famous horse; rej^orted. $260, aud bad himself received in four 
years but $250." " If we do not benefit tlie people, we have but 
little of their money. Such is the ecclesiastical revenue of all our 
order." Then on to Tumbling Shoals and King's Chapel, and to 
Golden Grove at Cox's Meetinghouse. " It is agreed that this is 
the best society we have in South Carolina; the land here is rich." 
Lodged at Deacon Tarrent's; then to AYillingham's, on the Indian 
lauds; on to Nash's, Pendleton county, and on to Georgia; and 
then, by way of Augusta, arrived at Charleston, December 28. 

On Wednesday, January 1, 1800, the fourteenth session began; 
twenty-three members present. The business of the Conference 
each evening was simply experience meetings. The bishop says: 
"Slow moved the northern post on the eve of new year's day, 
bringing intelligence of George Washington's death, December 
14, 1799." Think of it! more than two weeks' delay, when now 
in two seconds tlie news would flash around the globe. Edward 
Rutledge, Governor of South Carolina, died January 23. A 
cloud was over Charleston; pulpits were clothed in black; bells 
tolling, a paraded soldiery; an oration was delivered, and a mar- 
ble statue decreed (not erected yet). On the 5th the bishop 
dined with Jesse Vaughn, and visited Mr. Warnock, steward at 
the Orphan House, giving high praise to that institution: "No 
institution in America equal" to it. It is so still, after more 
than a century's existence. 

At this Conference the bishop states: "After encountering 
many difficulties, I was able to settle the plan for the stations, and 
to take in two new circuits." These were Natchez and Orange- 
burg, to which Tobias Gibson and Lewis Myers, respectively, 
were sent. James .Jenkins had been reappointed to Edisto, and 
was much pleased when Asbury told him that, as Floyd had gone 
to the Presbyterians, "you must go to Santee in Floyd's place." 
He obeyed without murmuring. Santee and Catawba had been 
united some years, extending from St. Paul's, near Nelson's 
Ferry on Santee, to Providence, within ten miles of Charlotte, 
N. C. ; the river crossed five times every six weeks. Meeting 
the bishop at Monk's Corner, to conduct him through his work, 
his horse bruised his leg against a stump; and Asbury, seeing 
the wound, said: "I wish you were at home." The bishop 
preached at St. Paul's; then on to Gibson's, Rembert's, Cam- 
den, and Horton's. On leaving, the bishop told him he ought to 



iO EARLY METHODISM 7xV THE CAROLINAS. 

go to the General Conference on the 5th of May, 1800. Mr. Jen- 
kins says: " We talked much and did little — the salary increased 
to §80, I thinking t64 quite enough for a single man." He 
urged the rescinding of the rule about marriage with unawak- 
ened persons; lost, but modified by putting them back on trial. 
They had a long controversy on the use of ardent spirits, " but 
did nothing on the subject." Addresses were sent to the south- 
ern states anent manumission, which, as we shall see, aroused 
dreadful persecution of the Methodists in Charleston. At Man- 
chester, one of his appointments on his return, he had trouble. 
Garrison, his colleague, escaped, " taking to the bushes," but he 
faced the mob. The bread for the sacrament was stolen, and the 
negro worshipers ordered out of the house; but he stood like 
a lion at bay. Poor Manchester! the lines of desolation are over 
it, not a house remaining. He visited Old Neck, in Marion coun- 
ty. Greaves, Ellison, and Richardson, famous members of the 
body, came out of that society. Spending the night at Woodber- 
ry's, his son AYilliam upset the canoe. Often have we heard the 
boy, then an old man, talk of that accident, done on purpose. 
The Gauses, Woodberrys, and many others were prominent in 
later years; the Doziers, Stephenson s, and others survive. 

In Charleston "the address caused trembling." Mr. Harper, 
the station preacher, receiving the papers, full of abolitionism, 
carefully stored them away, and afterwards, being called upon 
by the inteudant of the city, burned them in his presence. He 
left satisfied with the preacher's loyalty. But there was no es- 
cape for Methodist preachers. Mr. Harper was seized by the 
mob, carried down Meeting street, until, confronted by the city 
guard, he escaped. On the next night George Dougherty led 
the prayer meeting, and though in winter and he feeble in 
health, they thrust him under a spout, and pumped until he 
was almost drowned. A Mrs. Kugley, more courageous than 
the miscreants assailing him, tore off her apron and thrust it 
into the spout, while a gentleman, sword in hand, rescued him. 
The spirit of the man is seen in his reply to his housekeep- 
er's terrified inquiry: "Why, Mr. Dougherty, what have they 
been doing to you? " Making no triumph of his martyrdom, he 
simply replied: "Oh, nothing! only pumping me a little." But 
Heaven was not silent, though seemingly so, at this outrage: a 
Nemesis followed these men to the bitter end. 



CHxVPTER X. 

Asbury's Itinerary — Fifteenth Session — First Parsonage Erected — The Bish- 
op's Occupancy — Opening Bethel Academy — The Old Huguenots — Letter 
from Dougherty — Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Sessions — 
Nineteentli and Twentieth Sessions -Church Contest Anent a Steeple — 
Pen Portraits — Hope Hull, Daniel Asbary, William Gassaway, Jonathan 
Jackson, Benjamin Blanton. 

ASBURY, pursuing his tireless travel, reaches the beauti- 
ful French Broad country, en route to Camden, S. C, the 
seat of an aniiual Conference for the first time. He set out from 
Botetourt, Va., on September 16, and on November 14 was " at 
the foot of the grand mountain division of South Carolina." 

Two days' travel brings him to John Douthet's, fifteen miles 
more to Samuel Burdine's in Pendleton Circuit. The bishop 
says: "Sister Burdine professes to have known the Lord twen- 
ty years; in her you see meekness, gentleness, patience, pure 
love, and cleanliness." The 19th of November found him at 
John Wilson's. Here is a sorrowful record from the bache- 
lor bishop: "Benjamin Blanton met me; he is now a married 
man, and talks of locating." The 22d of November finds him 
at James Powell's, on Walnut Creek, in Laurens county; then 
on to King's Chapel, named after the martyr to yellow fever in 
Charleston; then en route to Augusta, Ga. Here "we have a 
foundation and a frame prepared for erecting, in a day or two, 
a house for public worship, two stories high, sixty by forty 
feet. For this we are indebted to the favor of Heaven and the 
agency of Stith Mead; and what is better, here is a small soci- 
ety." AVhat would he say now of Augusta, Ga. ? Crossing the 
Savannah again, he went on to " Silvador's Purchase," to hold a 
meeting at a church in Bush Pviver Circuit, near George Connor's. 
At Abbeville he stopped at John Brunner's, near the court- 
house. He says: "Abbeville is a large county, stretching from 
river to river, and holds better lands than any in the state. 
Although Bush River Circuit extends through it, there are few 
Methodists, the most populous settlements being composed of 
Presbyterians." What would the good man say of Abbeville now 
— indeed, of all that upper Carolina where Methodism is now most 
flourishing? Divine love outdoes the "horrible decree" most 

(79) 



80 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

wonderfully. Then on to Enoree, Tiger, and Broad at Glenn's 
Chapel, near Broad Eiver: " had an open season and many hear- 
ers." "At Glenn's Flat, Chester county, Sealey's Meetinghouse, 
we kept our Christmas." They lodged at Bobert Walker's, eighty 
years of age, awakened under Whitefield in Fogg's Manor, then 
living on Sandy Biver — one of the patriarchs whose name will 
likely appear farther on. Then, December 26, to Alex. Carter's, 
on Fishing Creek, crossing the Catawba at "Wade's Ferry to old 
Camp Creek, stopping at John Grymast's, originally from Ire- 
land; then on to John Horton's, on Hanging Bock Biver. On 
the 30th they reached Camden. 

To go forward a little, this Sealey's Meetinghouse was some- 
where in Chester county. Just think of it — two bishops there, 
and scarcely a ripple on the surface! Now, if only one could 
get there, what a stir! The writer once besought Bishoj) Mc- 
Tyeire to attend his Chester District Conference, in that neigh- 
hood, and trace the footprints of Asbury, Whatcoat, and others. 
His reply was flattering, really unctuous: "You are bishop 
enough." We confess to liking a little oil occasionally, but that 
was too unctuous; it would have ruined some men; there was too 
much of it, like that running down Aaron's beard, "even to the 
skirts of his garment." 

This fifteenth session, and the first held in Camden — January 
1, 1801 — was presided over by Asbury and Whatcoat; Jeremiah 
Norman, secretary. They sat three hours in the morning and 
two in the afternoon. Four were received on trial, James H. 
Mellard and Thomas Darley among them. Of Mellard more 
hereafter. Darley was once one of Tarleton's troopers. Dun- 
wody called him "a powerful awakening preacher." The 
Conference had "great union"; some "talked loud, but no im- 
proper heat." They were well accommodated at Isaac Smith's, 
Carpenter's, and two other houses. Mr. Jenkins says: "We 
dealt closely and faithfully with each other, and the more we 
talked the better we loved." Mr. Jenkins was appointed pre- 
siding elder over the whole state. He was told this would be 
done at the camp meeting at Camp Creek, on their journey to 
this Conference. This year measures were taken, in Charleston, 
to erect a parsonage, of which more hereafter. 

On his way to the next session — the sixteenth — in Camden, 
January 1, 1802, Asbury preached at Cattle Creek. "I lodged 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINA^. 81 

with Sebastian Fauches, and was entertained like a president." 
Dear, dear, the types! this was no less than Flinches. Who in 
all that White House country did not know "Jake," a descend- 
ant of the old patriarch ? The bishop writes of the Four Holes 
and Wasmasaw, "originally peopled by the Dutch Presbyteii- 
ans — they have declined in language and religion, the last reviv- 
ing in the present generation — mauy of whom have joined the 
Methodists." The same county is now full of them. At this 
Conference two districts were formed in the state — Saluda, 
George Dougherty, presiding elder; and Camden, James Jenkins, 
presiding elder. About this time camp meetings began to be held, 
and though now gone into desuetude, will be hereafter noticed. 
On his attending the next session — the seventeenth — again at 
Camden,he writes of coming to Henry Culver Davis's,of Newber- 
ry District, South Carolina, and states: " The first society formed 
at this place declined, and so many removed few were left; this 
year they repaired the meetinghouse, and the Lord poured out 
his Spirit, and nearly one hundred have been added. I found 
that the labors of L. Myers and B. Wheeler had been greatly 
blessed in the Broad River Circuit." December 3, at Finch's, 
measures were taken to operate Mt. Bethel Academy. "I ad- 
vised to finish the house for teaching below and lodging above." 
Then on to Tiger River to Major Bird Buford's; then to Nathan 
Glenn's, on Broad River; then, crossing Broad at Glenn's Flat, 
called on the aged Walkers; then on to Chesnut's Ferry, and 
into Camden. "It is a trifle to ride in this country thirty miles 
without food for man or beast." They held their session — Jan- 
uary 1, 1803— in Isaac Smith's house. James Crowder and 
John McVean were admitted, and John Harper located. Ben- 
nett Kendrick and Thomas Darley were in Charleston this year. 
During this year Mr. Jenkins gives some incidents worthy of 
note. The "amiable Gillespie," of whom he had written, still 
held on to "the one thing needful." At James Guerry's, near 
Murray's Ferry, the Guerrys, Muchats, Remberts, and several 
other Huguenot families had fled from persecution, and found 
a safe retreat on the Santee, called the French settlement. At 
first fervent in religion, they declined, the talk about indigo be- 
ing more common than about religion when they met at church. 
John Guerry's father lamented this, and was satisfied that the 
Methodists had the life and power of godliness. Nearly all the 
6 



82 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAUOLINAS. 

descendants of the above named persons became Methodists. 
Prom Guerry's Mr. Jenkins went to Charleston, but "oh the 
change for the worse!" "the galleries bare," the product of the 
address from the General Conference. Then on to Edisto, 
l^reaching at Weatherley's where Lovick Pierce was awakened; 
then on to Cherokee Circuit; then to Saluda at King's Chapel, 
nearly opposite w^here Cokesbury now is; next to Fish Dam 
on Brown River Circuit; on to Union Circuit, then mostly 
in North Carolina, formed in 1791 by Benjamin Tarrant. 
In June he again visited Charleston, coming with Brother 
Dougherty. In a letter from Dougherty to the bishop, after 
writing of his attention to the negro children, he adds: "The 
epithet of negro schoolmaster added to that of Methodist 
preacher makes a black compound sure enough; yet, wonderful 
to think, the congregations are as large and as serious as they 
have been at anytime since I came to Charleston. The number 
of blacks that attend on the Sabbath is truly pleasing; yet, 
alas! I cannot say there is any revival; but I humbly hope the 
storms in Charleston have taught me some useful lessons. Out- 
w^ard persecution seems to abate, and I am again cheered at the 
sight of some black faces in the galleries at night." 

The eighteenth session was held in Augusta, Ga., January 2, 
1804; Coke and Asbury presiding; X. Snethen, secretary. Beach- 
ing Columbia, John Harper welcomed Asbury to liis house, 
where they had religious services; then on to Charleston, with 
sermons by the bishop, Kendrick, Dougherty, and Darley. "I 
continued a week, lodging in our own house at Bethel, receiv- 
ing visitors, ministers and people — white, black, and yellow. It 
was a paradise to me and some others." The bishop's first oc- 
cupancy of this parsonage is graphically related by Dr. Mood. 
Bishop Asbury, upon paying a brief visit to the city, toward 
the end of the year (1803), was permitted, among the first, to 
occupy the new parsonage. The building had been completed 
some time, but no steps had been taken to supply it with furni- 
ture. Asbury had heard of its erection and completion, and 
reaching the city, he passed by all of his old stopping places, 
and went directly to the parsonage, where he hitched his horse, 
took his saddlebags, and putting them in one of the rooms, sat 
gravely down upon the doorstep, no one knowing of his arri- 
yal. A negro mau passing observed him sitting there, and 




J' 



V, "} V 





WASHINGTON STREET fHUKCH, COLU.^nUA, S. (_'. 

In 1787 the Rev. I^^aac Smith, then on Santee Circuit, on passing near tlie 
site of the city, occasionally preached at the house of Colonel Ihomas Taylor. 
This was while Columbia was scarcelya hamlet. In 1802the Rev. John Dun- 
lap, of the Presbytei'ian Church, and the Eev. John Harper, of the IMethodist 
Episcopal Church, alternately preached in the statehouse. The last named 
was the first to get a foothold in Columbia. He gave the lot on which the 
present structure stands. In 1803 the first Christian house of worshiji was 
erected in Columbia, and a church consisting of six members organized. In 
1807 it was made a station, with G. Daniel Hall pastor. It soon proved too 
small, and an addition of thirty feet was built. This also becoming unequal 
to the demand for room, a brick building was projected, under the minis- 
try of William Capers, and dedicated by Bishop Andrew in 1832. Still the 
cry was for room, and the Eev. "William Martin projected and labored for 
the erection of the Marion Street Charge, which was dedicated by Bishop 
Capers in 1848. In the fatal year of 1865 the Washington Street Church was 
destroyed, with a large portion of the city. At that time the membership 
comprised four hundred white and seven hundred colored people, lat- 
terly impoverished as was the entire South, it became a huge task to re- 
build, but under the persevering efforts of the Rev. William INIartin the 
present noble structure was erected; the foundation being laid in 1871, and 
the edifice dedicated in 1875 by Bishop Wightman. In the shadow of its 
walls rests the dust of the Rev. William M. Kennedy, N. Talley, William 
Martin, and other sainted itinerant preachers. Just under the pulpit Bishop 
Capers, " the founder of missions to the slaves," was interred. The Rev. W. 
W. Daniel is pastor in 1897. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 85 

knowing him, stopped and told liim no one lived there. "I 
know that," said the bishop. "Where do you want to go, sir? 
I will show you the way." "I want to go nowhere," was the 
reply. " I will spend the night here." The negro gave infor- 
mation, and soon a number of his friends waited on him; found 
him still sitting and reading his Bible. "Come, bishop," said 
one and another; "come, go home with us." "I cannot," said 
he; "this is the parsonage, and I desire to stay here." "But 
there is nothing in the house; you cannot stay here," they said. 
"I do not need much," he replied. " Well," said they, " if you 
will stay, we must try to make you comfortable." Soon two 
rooms and the kitchen were comfortably furnished. The idea 
of saying to this worthy prelate just finding a house of his own, 
"Come to ours"! What would Asbury say to the palatial man- 
sions (many of them) now occupied by his preachers? 

The Conference met in Mr. Cantalou's house. The usual busi- 
ness was transacted, but nothing remarkable to note. Metho- 
dism during this year (1804) was introduced into Columbia, S. C. 
J. Harper, a W^esleyan from the West Indies, had been received 
into the Conference and stationed in Charleston three years, 1799 
to 1802. He removed to Columbia, S. C, began a church, and 
Bennett Keudrick was the preacher in 1805. 

The nineteenth session was held in Charleston, January 1, 
1805; Asbury and Whatcoat presiding; John McVean, secreta- 
ry. But little worthy of note was recorded. Benjamin Jones 
and Tobias Gibson died this year. James Jenkins was super- 
annuated at this Conference. 

The twentieth session was held in Camden, December 30, 
1805, the same bishops presiding; James Hill, secretary. The 
two Pierces and James Russell were admitted, and four located. 
The bishop did not find matters as he wished. "One preacher 
has deserted his station, and there are contentions among the 
Africans." He recommended the painting of the new and the 
enlargement of the old church to eighty feet by forty; en- 
larging the parsonage and buying a new burying ground. He 
says: "Religion of a certain kind must be very valuable, since 
we spend so much to support it. There must be a prodigious 
revival in the Independent Society — a building of theirs will 
cost fifty or perhaps one hundred thousand dollars; there is a 
holy strife between its members and the Episcopalians as to who 



86 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

shall have the highest steeple; but I believe there is no conten- 
tion about who shall have the most souls converted to God." 

A half century after this was written that steeple had got no 
higher. When this writer was a child the children used to sing: 

Charleston is a Christian place 

And full of Christian people ; 
They built a church in Meeting street, 

But couldn't raise a steeple. 

It never was finished, and all perished in the burning during the 
civil war. A handsome structure now occupies its site. 

The members reported at this session were 12,665 whites and 
4,389 colored. As this closes the second decade of the Conference, 
dropping for a time the chronological order of the narrative, we 
sketch briefly some of the heroic workers not already noticed. 

Hope Hull, 1785-1818. 
He was born in Maryland, March 13, 1763, and died in 1818, 
being but fifty-five years old. He was admitted into the connec- 
tion with a class of twenty-two, several of whom labored in Car- 
olina. He was sent to Salisbury, N. C, in 1785, and to Pee Dee 
Circuit in 1786. Here doubtless he obtained the sobriquet of 
" The Broadax," for from the first he dealt in stalwart blows, 
hewing always to the line. His success with Mastin on Pee 
Dee challenged Coke's admiration, who feared " the sword was 
too keen for the scabbard." He was a pioneer in Georgia, where 
he finally made his home, in Burke county in 1788 and Savan- 
nah in 1790. The mob was stirred, and he came out of the fire 
declaring, " My soul has been among lions." Verge and room 
were requisite for such a man, and it was like binding Samson 
with cords to confine him to a town; so in 1791 he swept like a 
cyclone through Georgia, and was afterwards sent to New En- 
gland. But his heart was in the South, and back to Georgia 
he came in 1793. In 1794 he traveled wath Asbury, and in 1795 
located. It w-as not until after his marriage that Hull located. 
He had to do it. No man of sensibility could ask a woman to 
share his lot on $64, or even twice as much, per annum. He 
became connected with one of the most numerous and respect- 
able families in the state, and his own hands ministered to his 
necessities. He was not idle in his work for the Church and 
the education of youth. Franklin College was his debtor for 
his love, labor, and supervision. His life as a minister was ir- 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 87 

reproacliable. His zeal for God and Matliodist doctrine and 
usage was unabated. He was ready at repartee. A young 
preacher alluding to liis dress thought it would be of advantage 
to him to be a little more particular. Mr. Hull, with one of his 
significant looks, rej)lied: "You know, sir, that in a team of 
horses it is necessary for one of them to Jiold hack." Inquiring 
once as to the spiritual condition of one in class meeting, he was 
answered: "I am afraid I am like old Paul, when 'I would do 
good, evil is present with me.' " "Yes," replied Hull, "and like 
old Noah, too, you get drunk sometimes." He was of large body 
and medium stature, large head, curling hair, heavy eyebrows, 
keen, small eyes, and fine face. He was a natural orator, a fine 
singer, of strong voice and fine delivery. His descriptive power 
was excellent, but his majestic gift was in prayer. In his last 
illness he sent for his brother-in-law, General Merriweather, and 
said to him in his characteristic style: "God has laid me under 
marching orders, and I am ready to obey." 

Daniel Asbury, 1786-1825. 

Born in Virginia, February 18, 1762, and dying April 15, 
1825, he was a little over sixty-three years old. He was truly one 
of the heroes of early Methodism. He traveled several years 
until 1791, then came the inevitable location, and he settled in 
Lincoln county, N. C, for ten years of farm life. In 1801 he 
was readmitted, and during his itinerant life was sixteen years 
on districts, twelve on circuits, one resting, and ten located, 
thirty-nine years in all. He is represented as of small stature, 
bald, loss of teeth preventing good pronunciation, with a face 
thin and furrowed, but its expression always kindly, and eyes 
indicative of humor. With an intellect above the common 
order, his opportunities for early culture limited — he says he 
never heard of a grammar book — yet he was well informed in 
the Bible, its doctrines, and theology in general; he was by no 
means unacceptable to persons of culture, and preached with so 
much sterling sense, earnestness, and simplicity as to merit 
acceptability. His early training in life was well adapted to en- 
able him to endure the hardships of the itinerancy. Capture 
by the Indians, a prisoner to the British in Canada, hardened 
him to perils, and the rough fare of the mountains gave him en- 
durance. A bit of fried bacon and cornbread were dainties com- 



OO EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

pared with cold bread aud a cucumber among the Indians. Ar- 
rest for preaching and being brought before magistrates never 
intimidated him, for in that hour it was given him to say and 
do the right. 

From absolute necessity he was some time located; but get- 
ting a settled home, by the labor of his wife and children they 
were supported and he left free to travel, and recompensed by 
the meagerest pay he gladly broke the bread of life to thousands. 
As to money, little or much or none, he never slackened his 
labor for God and souls for one hour. At last came superan- 
nuation. He had learned to commit and to submit, surrendering 
all to the divine will. On Sunday morning, April 15, 1825, 
came the last of earth. Apparently more vigorous and cheerful 
than usual, walking through his yard, suddenly he paused and 
looking upward as if hearing "the last clear call," fell dead, or 
rather entered into life. Sudden death in reality is sudden 
glory. 

William Gassaway, 1788-1823. 

The time and place of his birth are unknown, but his connec- 
tion with the Conference forty-five years, he being converted in 
early manhood, would bring him to near seventy at his- death. 
Wild and reckless in youth, like the immortal dreamer his con- 
science was tender as to what many esteemed little sins. Un- 
der conviction of sin he would deny himself a draught of water, 
letting his horse drink, inasmuch "as he was no sinner." His 
soul atliirst for the "living water" found no rest until it sprang 
up in his soul "into eternal life." A Presbyterian elder led 
him to the Saviour, as he did many another during his long 
ministry, William Capers among them; as he said, "that most 
godly man and best of ministers, William Gassaway," bringing 
him to Christ. And who that ever read can easily forget that 
long, dreary sand-hill road from Chesterfield to Sumter, and the 
high debate between them, of more import than any in philo- 
sophic grove or academy, resulting in a lifelong devotion to 
the Christian ministry? Entering the connection in 1788, local 
awhile, then reentering, he finally located in 1813. A gentleman 
owning a large tract of land in York county gave him some 
acres, and here for twenty years toiling for his own living, by 
the gospel of the Son of God he gave spiritual life to many. 
Here is his grave, the last vestige almost removed. This man 



EABLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 89 

an apostle of Methodism, yet bis dust will be pi'esentl}^ under 
the plowshare. "And he died." Nay, he lives forever. More of 
him farther on. 

Jonathan Jackson, 1789-1815. 
No time of his birth or place of his death is on record. He 
was one of the strong men of the Conference, presiding over it in 
1798. He was six years on circuits, two on stations, two as super- 
uumerary, and sixteen on districts. He was a real Boanerges, 
dealing much in the terrors of the law, so that affrighted sinners 
•would sometimes rush away from his preaching. AYhile a i^resid- 
ing elder he was held in high esteem, as one who could bear ac- 
quaintanceship. His preaching ability was not great, but his 
talent for organization was fine. When located he was the same 
untiring, persevering servant of God. It is on record that for- 
getting or not recognizing any, even his wife, he knew his Sav- 
iour to the end. "And this is life eternal, to know God, and 
Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." 

Benjamin Blanton, 1790-1845, 
He was a man of mark, though but eleven years active in the 
itinerant ministry, and located thirty-one; reentering, he was 
superannuated thirteen years, fifty-five in all. In 1796 he was 
stationed in Charleston; in 1797 presiding elder, dedicating 
Bethel Church, and was highly esteemed by Asbury. In him 
were blended the true gentleman and humble Christian. Trav- 
is's estimate was: "Cheerful, but never frothy; magnanimous, 
but not supercilious; fixed, but not bigoted; positive, but not 
dogmatic ; flexible, but not pusillanimous. His house was the itin- 
erant's home, and his library free of access." In love feast he 
once said that " he thought when he had been forty years in the 
wilderness he would have been called to cross the Jordan, but 
now over forty in it, and he was still browsing on the banks of 
the river." But the call came at last, and praying with unusual 
power, the next day he slept in death. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Twenty-first Session, Sparta, 1806 — Dougherty and Kendrick — Asbury's Itin- 
erary — Twenty-second Session, 1807 — The Old Brunswick Circuit— The 
Jerks and Dancing Exercise — Everett's Courage — Answer to Prayer — 
Brunswick's Worthies — Wilmington, N. 0. — James Jenkins— Mob Vio- 
lence in Cliarleston — William Owens Threatened — Outrage from the City 
Guard. 

RESUMING the chronological order of narrative, we reach 
the twenty-first session, at Sparta, Ga., December 29, 1806; 
Asbury presiding; Lewis Myers, secretary. In reaching this 
Sparta Conference, Bishop Asbury traveled via Charleston; 
crossed Murray's Ferry; was detained five hours in the swamp; 
"heat, mosquitoes, gallinippers, plenty"; reaches the city; finds 
all things in good order. "Lewis Myers is an economist." He is 
happy that Bethel is finished, and declares, " Should I live long, 
I shall set a house in the Northern Liberties of Cooper River." 
He did not see it, but new Cumberland is there, nevertheless. 
December 26, he reached Sparta. The subject of a delegated 
General Conference carried; only two dissenting. Peace was 
had respecting the stations; Bishop Whatcoat's funei'al discourse 
delivered; sixteen admitted on trial, Joseph Travis and John 
CoUinsworth among them; six located, among them Samuel 
Cowles, Thomas Nelson, Hugh Porter, and Levi Garrison. The 
last named had left Charleston the year before, on account of 
yellow fever. 

This was an important session, and it is a privilege to give 
Dr. Lovick Pierce's description of affairs. It was sent the writer 
when he edited the Minutes of the Conference, on his request- 
ing the doctor to give some sketches of the early preachers. 
Concerning George Dougherty he writes: 

Of him it is only possible to say too much. If no one will flinch from it, 
I will say he was South Carolina's great Methodist preacher; at that time 
the only member of the Conference that had anything like a classical edu- 
cation, and he only an academic beginning. He was mainly a woods student, 
self-built. The extent of his lingual attainments I know not; I only know 
that in 1805, he being my first presiding elder, he used to get me to read 
from my English Bible for him, while he pored on his Hebrew in the Book 
of Genesis. I know also that as far back as I knew him he was incessantly 
(90) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 91 

engaged to get the Church awake to denouiinational edufatiou, talking on 
it, begging for it, and after two or three yeais got Ins Betliel Academy under 
way. And now, wlien tlie Soutli Carolina Conference is justly proud of her 
schools and colleges, I bear this testimony fearlessly, that to George Dough- 
erty you owe the first inspiration of educational ambition. 

The last Conference he was at [mai'k, this Sparta Conference] was in 
the winter of 1800-7. Here he introduced his resolution [and it is recorded 
on the journals of our Conference] to dismiss forever from the rolls of the 
Conference any member of it that should run off from his charge for fear of 
an epidemic. It produced the only high excitement I ever saw in our old 
Conference. It was debated two days, Dougherty defending it from his seat, 
too far gone in consumption to sl^and up. It prevailed by one vote — yeas, 
fifteen; nays, fourteen. All his glory was in his great mind and heart; he 
had no personal attractions. He made his way from this Sparta Conference 
to Wilmington, N. C, and died in March, 1807. 

At this same Conference Dr. Pierce Veritas concerning Ben- 
nett Kendriclv: 

He was in all respects a prince among Methodist preachers; one beauti- 
fully symmetrical in person, attractive in address, pure in style, liberal in 
thought, easy in delivery; indeed, there seemed to be a harmonious sympa- 
thy between his mind and his nerves in their influence on his muscles. His 
whole body seemed to preach, and every motion was a grace. He was at 
the Sparta Conference, 1806-7, and when his name was called and his char- 
acter passed, and he, in the prime of life and vigorous health, asked for a 
location, it came upon us as a sudden shock. He gave his reasons, and as 
marriage in those days led to location, and as he supposed it would be set 
down to that cause, he assured us he had no such arrangement on hand or 
in view, w'hich confounded us but the more. But as a location cannot be 
denied when the applicant is blameless, he was located. For three morn- 
ings he had his horse and sulky ready to leave, and then put up again. The 
third day, in the morning, he came into the Confierence deeply affected, and 
asked if he might speak. Bishop Asbury, anticipating what was coming, 
eagerly replied: "Yes, Brother Kendrick, we are always glad to hear you." 
He stated: "I ask to return to the Conference my location, and to be put 
back as I was before. I have been ready to leave three mornings, but God 
forbids my departure; I cannot leave as I am." Then it was that tears of 
joy flowed freely. Kendrick was restored, and grand provision made for 
some vacancy. He was appointed presiding elder for Camden District, and 
went joyfully off, fully persuaded that he had humbly accei^ted the will of 
God, concerning himself, at the sacrifice of his own. But in April he died, 
in the midst of great promise, in our eyes, for years to come. But all flesh 
is grass, and such men fall as the flower of the grass. So passed away Ben- 
nett Kendrick, the brightest star then in our Conference constellation. 

This might all have been easily condensed in statement; but 
what a loss, when so little is on record in onr annals from Dr. 
Pierce's pen! 



92 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

James Jenkins located this year, with a dozen more. William 
M. Kennedy, Hilliard Judge, Samuel Dunwody, and James E. 
Glenn were admitted. 

A short v/hile before, the bishop had written in Charleston: 
"Engaged in closet exercises. I do not find matters as I wish; 
one preacher has deserted his station, and there are contentions 
among the Africans." In 1806 the preachers in Charleston 
were Lewis Myers and Levi Garrison. We may be sure the 
deserter was not Lewis Myers. The yellow fever was enough 
to frighten anyone. Two preachers had recently died with it, 
yet this is about the first instance of desertion, and it led to 
Dougherty's resolution concerning it. The trouble among the 
Africans, as will be hereafter seen, culminated in 1815. The 
bishop had a poor opinion of Charleston Methodism: "Poor, 
fickle souls! death, desertion, backsliding; unstable as water; 
light as air, bodies and minds!" He turns his travel north- 
ward; buries Abijah Rembert; then on to Rockingham, N. C. ; 
be says: "Here the people would have assembled, but there 
was a wedding afoot. This is a matter of moment, as some men 
have but one during life, and some find that one to have been 
one too many." He was evidently incorrigible in his bachelor 
proclivities. The Church undoubtedly was his bride, and in 
her sometimes waywardness he felt that he had as much as he 
could do to manage matters. Undoubtedly he was so for " the 
kingdom of heaven's sake"; and his reward, doubtless, will be 
proportionately great in heaven. 

Returning from his northern travel, he came on to the Wax- 
haws and to Hanging Rock; crossed over Thompson's Creek, 
near Anson county, N. C, to see George Dougherty, slowly dy- 
ing, but " his friends had conveyed him away on a bed." Short- 
ly after, Dougherty died in Wilmington, N. C. 

The twenty-second session was held in Charleston, January 1, 
1807. It sat six hours a day; it was one of great harmony, and 
there was no trouble in stationing the preachers. "At this Con- 
ference," the journal states, "Matthew P. Sturdevant volun- 
teered his services as a missionary to Bigbee [the first of Meth- 
odism, save L. Dow's visit in 1803 in Alabama]; was received and 
elected to the eldership." He was ordained in Bethel Church, 
and the General Minutes show " Tombecbee, Matthew P. Stur- 
devant." This charge was connected with Oconee District; but 



EARLY 2IETH0DISM IN THE CAEOLINJS. 93 

being on the otlier side of a perilous Avilderness, only crossed in 
thirteen days, it is certain the presiding elder's visits were few 
and far between. Dr. Lovick Pierce was the elder in 1809, and 
he states that "he was never there." 

Sturdevant was admitted on trial into the Virginia Conference 
in 1805. In 1807 he was junior preacher on Enoree; for two 
years on Tombecbee; then, in 1810, Fayetteville, N. C. ; locating 
in 1812. Dr. Anson West, in his " History of Methodism in 
Alabama," gives a graphic picture of him and his mission. In 
1812 Tombecbee was put in the Mississippi District; Samuel 
Dunwody, presiding elder — his only year on a district; the next 
year, 1813, he was on St. Mary's, and in the year 1814 he was 
stationed in Charleston, S. C. 

From this Conference Joseph Travis and John Collinsworth 
were sent to Brunswick Circuit; this had been a part of the old 
Bladen Circuit. The two preachers were of the same class, both 
young and inexperienced, the first named mild and loving, the 
second rather ascetic, but both were zealous and faithful. They 
had no presiding elder, Kendrick having died, and Jonathan 
Jackson, appointed in his place, did not reach the circuit until 
the close of the year. This old circuit lay partly in North and 
South Carolina, and in the latter state embraced that Waccamaw 
section so devoted to Methodism. 

At one of his appointments, the very first, Travis for the first 
time met with that strange exhibition called the "jerks" and 
"dancing exercise" — a vagary not confined to the so-called fa- 
natical Methodists, inasmuch as staid Presbyterians indulged 
in it. Lorenzo Dow was told that some stakes shown him at a 
Waxhaw camp meeting were planted for folks taken with the mal- 
ady to hold on by. No matter if Dow was "taken in " on its turn- 
ing out that the stakes were used to hitch horses to. It is evi- 
dent that the sad affliction, or superstition, was known thereabout. 
Mr. Travis states: "To see persons tumbling down, and jerking 
hard enough to dislocate their joints, women's combs flying in 
every direction, and their hair popping almost as loud as wagon 
whips," was surprising. The conclusion he reached was "that 
religious people might have the jerks, but that there was no re- 
ligion in the jerks." He soon had ocular demonstration of their 
power, leading him almost to conclude that if they were from 
above, the Lord designed that he should not XDreach that day; 



94 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAL'OLIXAS. 

a more reasonable conclusion, for liis maltreatment by tlie 
jerks Avonld have been that another power was concerned there- 
in. But to the incident. He was standin,^ on the floor to 
preach. " Brother Christie, a pions and upright man, the class 
leader, was standing close by me; and while we were singing 
the first hymn, Christie looking on the same book, he was sud- 
denly taken with the jerks." The consequence was, the hymn 
book flew out of the preacher's hand, and the preacher's unfor- 
tunate nose was painfully rapped. Mr. Travis was a very pa- 
cific man, and felt no sense of reprisal, and, getting over his 
unjust thoughts of Heaven's design, proceeded with the usual 
exercises. In his narrative, just before this relation, he tells of 
Josiah Everett, of Yirginia, who, though no "fighting parson," 
was a man of pronounced eccentricity. Once, preaching in his 
shirt sleeves, he reproved a son of Belial, who, becoming en- 
raged, made at the preacher in the pulpit; upon which Mr. Ev- 
erett wheeled round to him hastily, rolling up his shirt sleeves, 
and exclaiming at the top of his voice, " Do you think that God 
ever made this arm to be whipped by a sinner? No! no!" at 
the same time stamping heavily with his foot. The enemy fled, 
and the sermon was finished as if nothing had happened. 

At another time at an appointment where the people seemed 
rather hardened, while giving out the hymn a thundercloud 
came up, becoming more and more severe. In time of prayer 
it was alarmingly so. Mr. Everett prayed for it to come nearer. 
It came, and he cried out, " O Lord, send the thunder still nigh- 
er!" The house appeared to be in a blaze of lightning; then 
soon came a cry for mercy ! mercy! and the results were glorious. 
Some one went to a magistrate, saying he believed that if Par- 
son Everett had called the third time they would all have been 
struck dead, and that such a man ought to be legally stopjDed 
from traveling at large. The squire asked "if he really thought 
the parson had power with God," and he answered, " I really do." 
The reply w^as: "lean then have nothing to do wath such a 
man. Tou wall have to let him go." 

James Russell and John Porter — what boy at Cokesbury in the 
early days does not remember Porter, the " weeping prophet " ? — 
these were the preachers on Brunswick in 1806. They were both 
very zealous; of Russell more hereafter. It was a year of reviv- 
al, and Mr. Travis was afraid that if there were no noise and 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 95 

shouting "no good was done"; hence he became vociferous in 
preaching, to his great injury, until the Rev. Julius I. Ganse kind- 
ly whispered that "more faith and less noise" would do equally 
as well as yelling like a Comanche Indian, if not better. The 
circuit bordering on Wilmington, N. C, Mr. Travis visited it, 
and received most excellent counsel from Joshua Wells as to 
books and study. 

There were on Brunswick Circuit in 1807 a number of local 
preachers: Richard Green, a good preacher and much beloved; 
Julius I. Gause, of high standing in Church and State; James 
King, of great pulpit eloquence; Edward Sullivan, an humble, 
fervent Christian; Dennis Han kins, sincere, devout, and hum- 
ble, a good preacher. There were many pious, praiseworthy 
lay members — Brother Gibbs; Peter Gause, a good man, useful 
and honorable; Mrs. Jane Wilkers, his daughter, an accom- 
plished, tlioroughgoing, steadfast jNIethodist; there were the 
Durants — Bethel, John, and Thomas; Thomas Frink, Richard 
Holmes, Robert Howe, and Benjamin Gause, the father, no 
doubt, of the Marion senator who was such in IS-iO when the 
author traveled the Marion Circuit—a man Falstaffian in pro- 
portions, and of as generous a heart as ever beat in human 
bosom. Long since have they all joined the Church above. 

This year, 1807, the bishop passed through Wilmington. He 
writes: "A high day on Mount Zion." Now what was that 
Mount Zion? A poor little church, a tumble-down parsonage, 
and some negro hovels scattered around. It had been willed to 
him by William Meredith, who finding these sheep had folded 
them, and going soon after to heaven had given them to Asbury, 
who had seen the baronial castles and cathedrals and minsters 
of England — how did they compare with his Mount Zion? As 
Hyperion to a satyr, or fertile mountain to a barren moor; and 
yet in his eyes this Mount Zion was superior to all. He felt as 
David did in carrying the ark to its dwelling place upon Zion, 
as he sang, "The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; a high 
hill as the hill of Bashan." Bashan towered in its glory, look- 
ing down upon Zion, in eastern hyperbole, leaping because of 
its advantage. But David asked: " Why leap ye, ye high hills? 
this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord 
will dwell in it forever." 

James Jenkins located in 1806. He would not have done so 



96 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

then but for some remarks from Asbury, implying tliat it was 
not altogether agreeable for him to occupy a seat in the Confer- 
ence while not engaged in the regular work. Sure enough ; but 
he was a superannuated preacher, and fully entitled to his seat. 
There being no provision for supernumeraries yet, and the 
bishop, jealous for moving cohorts, perhaps thought that this 
was best. No bishop would likely make any such ruling now. 
He resided in the lower j^art of Catawba Circuit, the place not 
exactly defined^ but it was on Sawney's Creek, eleven miles from 
Camden. Here he wrought on a farm for bread, freely preaching 
the gospel he loved so well. This year ( 1807) he attended a camp 
meeting near Columbia, S. C. The meeting was excellent, not- 
withstanding great opposition and riot, finally abated by Myers's 
(the presiding elder's) determination publicly to read out names. 
In the fall he visited Charleston and preached at Bethel on " He 
staggered not at the promise." The word was with power, and 
it was the beginning of a gracious revival. Some one not liking 
so much noise had some of the negroes put in the workhouse. 
Some time before (1807) Cumberland Church had been length- 
ened twenty feet, and Bethel painted, the parsonage enlarged, 
another burial ground purchased, and the one on Pitt street 
divided and the southern half appropriated to the blacks. The 
official board were obliged to take measures to abate the riots 
so frequently occurring. By enlisting outsiders in this good 
work, greater peace was secured. A Mr. Cranmer, though no 
member, and thoughtless concerning piety, took great pleasure 
in the religious services. A man of powerful frame and no 
coward, a certain Mr. Brady, a leader in the riots, to his amaze- 
ment found himself collared, led out of doors, and nicely 
drubbed by Cranmer. Thus " the earth helped the woman." 

This year (1807) Jonathan Jackson and William Owens were 
the preachers. At a prayer meeting Monday night at Cumber- 
land Church there was a crowd of worshipers. A couple of 
young men behaved improperly. Owens mildly reproved them, 
and they became highly angered. Cranmer must have been 
absent. They seized Owens in the aisle, with the cry, "Pump 
him!" It seems that the crowd became divided, some saying, 
" Let him apologize." They were at once in conflict, and Owens, 
making his escape, safely reached his home. The rioters were 
lodged in safe quarters by the city guard. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLTNAS. 97 

The preaching seemed to need the upholding of an arm of 
flesh sometimes. Jesse Lee tells the following. " When in New 
England a man threatened to whip him as soon as he was done. 
There was present a large athletic man, a recent convert. On 
dismissal of the congregation he went to the door and cried out, 
' Where is the man who wanted to whip the preacher? ' A man 
stepped forth; with one sure and certain blow the young Meth- 
odist ]3rostrated him. He called again, 'Any more who wish to 
whip the preacher? ' A second individual stepped up, and down 
he went. He cried out the third time, 'Any more ready to whip 
the preacher? ' A bully presented himself. After a little tussle 
he cried, ' Enough! ' He called the fourth time, but no response 
was made." 

Another outrage this xevj year occurred at Bethel Church. 
While Jonathan Jackson was preaching, to the amazement of 
the assembly, a large body of the city guard, in full uniform and 
armed with muskets, surrounded the building. The blacks pre- 
ferred attending this church as more free from the persecution 
endured at Cumberland Church. The galleries were crowded. 
The captain, in full uniform, sword in hand, walked in and com- 
manded the dispersion of the congregation. This was unneces- 
sary, as the clatter of the arms was heard, and the blacks, 
alarmed, went, and stood not on the order of their going, rush- 
ing downstairs, tumbling out of the windoAvs, only to find them- 
selves surrounded by these civic warriors; and they were escort- 
ed to the "sugar house," the last possible synonym of sweetness, 
no explanation ever being given for this extraordinary proced- 
ure. Such an assault would not likely be attempted now. 

Bennett Kendrick had been appointed (1807) to Camden Dis- 
trict, but died early in the year. Jonathan Jackson, then in 
Charleston, was put in his place, but did not reach the district 
until in the fall. 
7 



CHAPTER XII. 

Old Journals — Sessions of Quarterly Conference — Old Enoree (Union) — Wil- 
liam Gassaway — John Collinsworth — Old Bethel Academy — Local Preach- 
ers — Anthony Senter — Origin of Camp Meetings — CoUinsworth's Embryo 
Bishop. 

THEOUGH the kindness of the Kev. A. H. Lester, and his 
official board at Union Station, I have before me a relic of 
the past, in the shape of a Quarterly Conference Journal of the 
old Enoree Circuit, possibly the only one of the kind as old, 
extant. This runs back to March 23, 1805, nearly ninety-three 
years ago. The last record in this book bears date January 7, 
1843. I bespeak the favorable action of the board in present- 
ing it to the Historical Society of our Conference, to be held 
among its archives. The Church of the future may look upon 
it with delight, in discovering how Methodism won its early tri- 
umphs, and how, "not by might nor by power," but by the di- 
vine Spirit, it has achieved such glorious results. I would set 
forth some of its contents, if for no other purpose, to show some 
of the " metes and bounds " of the early circuits of the South 
Carolina Conference. One cause of its exactness and consecu- 
tiveness may lie in the fact that from 1805 to 1818 Coleman 
Carlisle was secretary of the Quarterly Conference; another 
reason is that in 1832 the following resolution carried: 

Resolved, That the Recording Steward be requested to purchase a book for 
the circuit, and that he be requested to record in that book all the minutes 
in the several old books handed over to him as Recording Steward. 

I have tried to trace out the boundaries of these two circuits, 
but cannot be exact; but who can give correctly the boundaries 
of the old Saluda District? The first mention of it in the Gen- 
eral Minutes is in 1802; George Dougherty, presiding elder. 
The following appointments were embraced in it: Broad Hiver, 
Saluda, Bush River and Keowee, Edisto and Orangeburg, and 
Charleston. The only other district m the state was Camden 
— James Jenkins, presiding elder — embracing Union, Santee, 
Catawba, Little Pee Dee, Great Pee Dee, Georgetown, and Bla- 
den; but two presiding elder's districts in all of South Caro- 
(98) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 99 

lina. A line running from Charleston, or more properly from 
the mouths of the Sautees to Columbia, thence upward to Union, 
and between Union and Spartanburg to the state line, may 
have been the line of division. In 1803 there was no change 
save in the increase of appointments. In 1806 Union was left 
out of Camden District — transferred to Swananoah. In 1802, 
1803, and 1804 the eldership was the same. In 1804 the two 
circuits, Enoree and Sandy River, and Bush River and Keow^ee, 
took in all the country above Columbia from the Catawba to the 
Savannah River. This boundary of course embraced the pres- 
ent counties of Oconee, Pickens, Greenville, Spartanburg, 
Union, York, Chester, Fairfield, Newberry, Abbeville, Ander- 
son, and Laurens, with parts, doubtless, of Edgefield, Lex- 
ington, and Richland. These two respectable circuits were 
quite compassed in six weeks each; the first by William Gassa- 
way, Hanover Donnan, and Daniel Asbury; and the second by 
Buddy W. Wheeler, William McKenny, and David Dannelly. 
The membership in Enoree and Sandy River w^as 1,186 whites 
and 131 colored; in Bush River and Keowee, 810 whites and 56 
colored. In 1805 Britton Capel was presiding elder on Saluda 
District, and Enoree Circuit had for its preachers James Hill 
and W. W. Shepard. James Hill traveled but three years. He 
was said to possess superior preaching talents; his person man- 
ly, manner dignified, and address interesting. He remained 
pious to the last; but how much did the Church lose in his 
early location! 

The first session of the Quarterly Conference for 1805 was 
held at Salem Church, March 2 and 3. " Coleman Carlisle 
chosen clerk." Members present: James Hill, and W. W. 
Shepard, traveling preachers; George Clarke, Coleman Carlisle, 
Stephen Shell, David Owen, Nathan Boyd, and William Scott, 
local preachers; John Glymph, B. Smith, William Seymore, 
David Croomer, and Lemon Shell, stewards and leaders. 

The second session was held at "Horrell's Church House," 
June 22 and 23. Present, the presiding elder and eleven preach- 
ers — John Wallace, Jeremiah Lewis, William Horrell, John 
Palmer, Coleman Fowler, James Dillard, William Whitby, Wil- 
liam Scott, Thomas Humphries, John Briggs, and Nathan Boyd. 
The usual business was transacted. " The preacher in charge 
was censured by Brother P., for wearing suspenders." We are 



10 J EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

greatly relieved by finding that " he was cleared of immoral 
coudnct." 

Before noticing further the old Enoree Conference Journal, I 
would note somewhat of the preacher in charge in 1804, William 
Gassaway. He entered the connection in 1788, and located in 
1814. He is represented as being rescued by Methodism from 
vice and obscurity, and made a prince in Israel. " AYild and 
profligate," "a hard drinker," "a famous fiddler," in his youth, 
and afterwards an ardent saint and apostle. Awakened at a 
Methodist meeting, he went forward for prayer. The dancing 
people said, " AVhat shall we do for a fiddler now? " Much was 
said concerning him; some thought he would not hold out long, 
others who knew him better said: "He is gone; the Methodists 
have got him; he will never play the fiddle or drink or fight 
any more." His convictions were pungent; but, ignorant of 
the plan of salvation, he hoped to be saved in the use of pen- 
ance. " Passing a stream once, he allowed his horse to drink, 
saying, 'You may drink, you are no sinner; but I am, I will not 
drink.'" Earnestly seeking deliverance, he knew not to whom 
to go for help but to an elder in the Presbyterian Church, but 
thought from him to receive no favor, inasmuch as he had asked 
the Methodists to pray for him. "Think of my surprise," he 
adds, "when he took me in his open arms, saying to me: 'The 
Spirit of the Lord is with you. See that you grieve not that 
Spirit. Make my house your home. I will give you all the 
help I can.'" This good Presbyterian elder was Joseph Mc- 
Junkin, of Union District, S. C, a man of genuine piety, who 
kept him at his house some weeks under Christian instructicn. 
He gave him Baxter's " Saints' Best." Gassaway took the book, 
and wandering in the woods, weeping over and confessing his 
sins to God, sat down to read. He says he had not read long 
before "the Lord, the King of glory, baptized him with the 
Holy Ghost and fire from heaven," and that he was fully 
satisfied of his conversion. He joined the Methodists; had 
license first to exhort, then to preach, and for more than 
twenty years labored successfully in Georgia and North and 
South Carolina. His large family and poor pay induced loca- 
tion, but he continued to labor energetically and successfully. 
His childlike and absolute faith in prayer led him to commit 
his way to God. In Camden, S. C, which once formed a part 



EAELY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 101 

of liis circuit, a great revival occurred, and many were converted; 
among them, a lady whose husband, then absent, was noted for 
his violent hostility to religion. Eeturuiug, he was furious; or- 
dered the withdrawal of his wife, and swore he would cowhide 
the preacher. But Gassaway was not to be deterred from duty. 
At the time apx^ointed his enemy sat before him exhibiting 
wrathfulness, cowhide in hand, pre])ared to execute his threat. 
Gassaway prayed, then gave out his text. God being with 
him, ere he concluded he saw that his persecutor was yield- 
ing, and at the close the angry man with streaming eyes knelt 
and cried out for the prayers of the people as if his last hour 
were come. 

Travis, in his autobiography, states: " When but a youth I 
was accustomed to hear him preach at my uncle's in Chester 
District, S. C. He was a sound, orthodox preacher, and on 
suitable occasions argumentative and polemical; a great lover 
and skillful defender of Methodist doctrines and usages. He 
was a pleasant and sociable companion, always cheerful I 
never saw him gloomy." One chief honor of this good man lay 
in his inducting William Capers, of precious memory, into the 
itinerant ministry. I never pass the spot where old Marshall's 
Church once stood without recalling the circumstances, and 
thinking on what seemingly trivial events mighty issues hang; 
and along that road "that is desert," from Chesterfield Court- 
house to Sumter, where he urged the argument for his conse- 
cration to the work of the ministry, and prevailed. Little did 
the good man think that he was giving a bishop to the Church, 
and one of the saintliest spirits to Methodism. Travis states 
further: "I frequently heard of him after his location; he was 
the same laborious, zealous, and holy minister of the gospel. 
He lived to mature old age; ' and he died,' no doubt, as he had 
lived, 'full of faith and the Holy Ghost.' But where is the pe- 
riodical, religious or secular, that has recorded his exit?" 

Gassaway was the preacher in charge (then called assistant) 
of the old Enoree Circuit in 1804. The Conference Journal, as 
I have said, begins in 1805. Two sessions have been noticed; 
the others for that year are not particularly marked, save in the 
recommendation of Benjamin Wofford as a traveling preacher 
to the South Carolina Conference. 

The first session for 1806 was held at Lucas's Meetinghouse, 



102 EAIiLi" METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

April 5 and 6; B. Capel, presiding elder; Epps Tucker and 
George Philips, traveling preachers. The following members 
were present: M. Smith, J. Lucas, John Wallace, James Crow- 
der. Bicketson Lipsey, N. Boyd, T. Humphries, AY. Scott, John 
AVood, John Palmer, Coleman Fowler, W. Horrell, E. Whit- 
by, H. Smith, James McCord, and Moses Morgan. A. L. P., 
charged with distilling and selling spirituous liquoi'S, was ex- 
pelled. This Conference is remarkable for giving license to 
exhort to John Collinsworth, and licensing Joseph Travis to 
preach— both becoming men of mark in their day. 

It is to be regretted that so little is known of the earlier preach- 
ers, men who hazarded their lives for the Lord Jesus. Would 
it not be well for all to put on record any items of interest 
concerning them? John Collinsworth was licensed to exhort 
April 5, 1806; January 24, to preach; and in September em- 
ployed on the Enoree Circuit. In 1807 he and Joseph Travis 
were admitted on trial in the South Carolina Conference. In 
1814 he was the presiding elder on Edisto District; in 1830 
transferred to Georgia. Whether he located or died in con- 
nection with that Conference, I am unable to state. He was 
said to be gifted in prayer, and of mighty faith. "F. A. M." 
relates the incident happening in Virginia, w-here a fearful hail- 
storm desolated the crops, seemingly in answer to his prayer. 
An old planter, riding up to him, demanded: "Are you, sir, the 
Methodist preacher who prayed the Lord to destroy my crop of 
tobacco? " He replied: "My name is Collinsworth; I preached 
yesterday, and prayed the Lord to show his displeasure of rais- 
ing tobacco." " Well, sir, you are just the man I am after. I 
am ruined for this season, and I have come to take my revenge 
out of you, sir," at the same time brandishing a frightful-look- 
ing wagon Avhip. Beginning to dismount, Collinsworth replied: 
"Well, if I must be whipped for it, I suppose I must submit; 
but take care before you have done that I do not pray the Lord 
to overtake you with something worse than overtook your crop." 
This he had not thought of, and putting spurs to his horse, 
galloped ofp speedily. 

But returning to the old journal — the General Minutes of 
1807 place Lewis Myers on the Saluda District, and William M. 
Kennedy and M. P. Sturdevant preachers on the Enoree Cir- 
cuit; yet in all journals of the sessions for that year the last is 



EARLY METHODISM IK THE CAROLINAS. 103 

represented as the assistant, or presiding elder. M. P. Sturde- 
vant was senior by one year. 

The first session of tlie Quarterly Conference was held at 
Hindman's Meetinghouse, April 4, 1807. " Through grace no 
charge against any of the members." 

The second session was held at Sealey's Meetinghouse, June 
13, 1807. A local preacher was censured for performing the 
marriage ceremony, he being unordained. 

The third session was held at Rogers's Meetinghouse, Septem- 
ber 20, 1807. As this record contains the full list of official mem- 
bers in the circuit, we give it entire: L. Myers, presiding elder; 
M. P. Sturdevant, William M. Kennedy, circuit preachers; 
George Clarke, George Philips, James Dillard, John Watch, 
John Wallace, W. Young, W. Kowel, Joel Whitteu, John Palmer, 
H. Smith, Thomas Humphries, George Linane, Jerry Lucas, 
Samuel Harris, Peter Tucker, James Danner, Lemon Shell, Cole- 
man Carlisle, James Gassaway, Jonas Briggs, Coleman Fowler, 
Richard Whitby, James Crowder, M. Sherbert, Benjamin Wof- 
ford, James Mullonax, Andrew Shaw, A. Kenuedy, Hugh 
O'Neal, David Owens, Nathan Boyd, Caleb Davis, Thomas 
Stokes, Thomas Cunningham, John Terry, and Moses Morgan. 
" The Conference decrees that the preachers and leaders cate- 
chise the children whenever they can." 

The fourth session was held December 5, 1807; noted for 
the mention of Mount Bethel Academy, Lewis Myers, Thomas 
Dugan, Archy Crenshaw, Dr. Joseph Davis, and Dr. Moore be- 
ing appointed trustees. This was the first high school among 
the Methodists in Carolina. The section of Newberry District 
in which it was situated was settled by emigrants from Virginia. 
It may be, though I cannot assert positively, the very section 
of country in which Methodism was first established by James 
Forster, a local preacher, anterior to its introduction into 
Charleston. It was evidently a strong point in the interior, for 
the Conference in 1794 was here held at " Finch's in Fork Sa- 
luda and Broad rivers." Thirty preachei's were present. They 
were straitened for room, "having only twelve feet square to 
confer, sleep, and for the accommodation of those who wei^e 
sick." Bishop Asbury writes of " resting at dear old Father Yer- 
gin's." The Finches, Crenshaws, Malones, and others had been 
Methodists in Virginia. Edward Finch gave thirty acres of 



104 EABLY METHODISM IK THE CAROLIXAS. 

land as a site for the institution. The work began in 1794, and 
on the visit of Bishop Asbnry, March 17, 1795, he prepared 
subscription papers to be sent abroad, "to raise XlOO to fin- 
ish Bethel School." It ceased to exist in 1820, superseded by 
Mount Ariel Academy, afterwards the Cokesbury School. After 
its decline, the settlement, once the garden spot of Methodism 
in the upcountry, sui'prising as it may seem, remained for nearly 
forty years without any regular Methodist preaching. In 1852 
the Bev. C. Murchison "took it into" the Newberry Circuit, and 
organized a society of ten whites and sixteen colored persons. 

Beturning to the old journal, the first session of the Quar- 
terly Conference for 1808 was held at Fish Dam Meetinghouse, 
March 12; Lewis Myers, presiding elder; Amos Curtis and 
John Conon, stationed preachers. A word as to that last name. 
The secretary's chirography is something "peculiar." Would 
you believe that the Minutes say the name ought to be John 
W. Kennon? Alas for "fame"! One "dies for his country" 
under the cognomen of James Smith, and somebody makes it 
John Smith. At this session there was nothing of special in- 
terest. 

The second session was to have been held at Zion, Sandy 
Eiver, but " the presiding elder being absent, there was no 
Quarterly Conference, and consequently no business done." 
The Church improved upon this in after years. 

The third Quarterly Conference was held at Bogers's Meet- 
inghouse, October 1, 1808. "Characters examined; through 
favors, no charges of any consequence against any." Oh, these 
Methodists! Old Father Jenkins once "shouted aloud" — so 
happy — when charges were preferred against himself. He re- 
garded it as an evidence of "the love of the brethren"; and 
pray how far was he wrong? At this Conference two impor- 
tant resolutions were carried: 

1. No license to be renewed until applicant had been heard and approved 
of by the assistant or some experienced preacher. 

2. No local preacher to liave license renewed unless his gifts are improv- 
able and profitable to the Church. 

Ah, if this had been observed everywhere and sacredly, what 
an arm of strength would our ministry have been, both local 
and traveling! Is it too late to enforce it now? Threescore years 
from to-day might not its profit appear? 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 105 

The fourth session was hekl December 3, 1808, at Salem 
Meetinghouse. "A. Center, proposed to travel, and recom- 
mended by a majority." The orthography of the name attracts 
no attention; but write it Anthony Senter, and lo! the change — 
another name of mark from the old Enoree Circuit: 

Anthony Senter was born in Lincoln county, North CaroUna, January 
28, 1785, and died in Georgetown, S. C, December 23, 1817. Little is known 
of his early convictions or religious feelings until after his establishment 
in life. The pious life of one of his neighbors first led him with restlea-i 
concern to examine the nature of vital religion. In 1806, at a meeting in 
the Enoree Circuit, he was brought under overwhelming conviction of sin. 
He went away weeping and praying. On his way home (so overwhelmed 
was he with the sense of his lost state) he either alighted or fell from his 
horse, and was found late in the evening lying by the roadside in the ut- 
most agony, pleading with God for mercy. He joined the Church, and soon 
after entered on the work of the ministry. 

From 1809 to 1817 he was a traveling preacher. The last two 
years he presided over the Broad River District. "A strong 
mind and a benevolent heart; a single eye and a steady purpose 
to glorify God; an unwavering faith, fervent love, and burning 
zeal — these were the exalted attributes of this good man." 
While able to preach he was indefatigable in the work, and 
even when so impaired by the fatal consumption as to be pre- 
vented from preaching he still traveled from circuit to circuit, 
assembling the official members, instructing and encouraging 
them in their work. At last even this was denied him. As 
the veteran soldier retires from the field faint and exhausted, 
only retiring becaiise he could do no more, so he reluctantly 
gave up the toil to die. Reduced to a living skeleton, feeble as 
a child, and jast falling into the grave, his heart could not be 
separated from the work of God; he still charged himself with 
its interest and felt its cares. Indeed, with death before him, 
and the awful glories of the invisible world just ready to be 
unfolded, like Jacob, gathering up his feet composedly and 
without dismay, he fell asleep. 

Nothing but the usual business of a Quarterly Conference is 
■discoverable in all the records of this old circuit up to March 
21, 1813. Then this item is written: "Camp meetings appoint- 
ed at Salem, at Wofford's, and Fish Dam." A word or two as 
to their origin and usefulness. Methodism owes its power, 
next to the divine Spirit, to its aggressiveness. It never waited 



106 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

for the people to call the preachers, but quite the reverse — for 
the preacher to call the people. Let every candid mind decide 
if this is not most in accordance with the command, "Go ye 
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." 
The usual and ordinary means of grace might satisfy all the 
demands of formalism, but they could not satisfy the spirit re- 
solved to storm the very gates of hell to rescue souls from 
perdition. No wonder that the early Methodists believed in, 
and that their true successors still persist in holding, camp 
meetings. The decent world and the respectable Church are 
fully agreed as to all the proprieties that ought to be observed 
by fashionable people. These might raise an outcry against 
them, but this did not deter the men who had the love of 
souls at heart. It might be uncanonical to save a soul out- 
side the Church; but uncanonical or not, if there was any 
hope of success, or even without it, it was attempted; and they 
did not care a single straw for the opinion of that decent world 
concerning their ignorance or learning. Some timid souls are 
much alarmed for the ark, as was Uzzah when the oxen stum- 
bled; but God is able to take care of his own, ever has done so^ 
and ever will to the end of the world. Suffer me to put on 
record something as to the origin of these meetings. The lirst 
notice concerning them in South Carolina is found in James 
Jenkins's memoirs, about 1802. He says: 

It will be seen that thus far I have said nothing about camp meetings; in- 
deed, until now we had none in this state. They were becoming quite com- 
mon in Kentucky and Tennessee, where they commenced al)Out the year 
1800, under the labors of William and John McGee — the one a Presbyterian 
and the other a Methodist minister. They united on their sacramental oc- 
casions, at which the work of the Lord broke out; and such were the gra- 
cious results of these meetings that in a very short time multitudes came 
from every direction ; some prepared to remain only a day at a time, others 
in wagons to stay all night, and soon others again put up small tents and 
camped during the meeting. It w'as not long before other ministers and 
communities, seeing the good effect of these meetings, were induced to hold 
similar ones for their own benefit; so that in two years their example was 
followed by nearly all our Conferences. 

Here may be introduced a letter from John McGee, the 
Methodist, dated October 27, 1800: 

Last June, at a sacramental meeting of the Presbyterians at Red River 
Meetinghouse, the preachers present were Messrs. McCready, Rankin, 
Hodge, William McGee, and myself; four or five hundred people attended 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 107 

with great seriousness. The Lord's servants preached with much light and 
liberty, and the people felt the truth and power of the word each day; but 
the last, which was Monday, was truly a great day. One sermon was 
preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. The cry of dis- 
tressed sinners for mercy was great, while the Lord's people were filled with 
unspeakable joy. 

And tlius he continues witli details of several other meetings 
of the same kind. A year or two afterwards, Mr. Hodge, a Pres- 
byteriaii minister, wrote as follows: "At the time that our Pres- 
bytery sat, a vote was carried by a majority of the members 
for licensing three unlearned men to preach the gospel. The 
Lord has graciously ow^ned these licentiates, by making them 
instrumental in the conversion of many." 

The ignorant and unlearned men of this day were no less a 
matter of astonishment than in the days of Peter and John. 
Their power is accounted for by the fact "that they had been 
with Jesus." 

But to continue from James Jenkins's memoirs: "The Pres- 
byterians held a fje)ieral meeting, as it was then called, at the 
Waxhaws, on the last of May." He writes to Bishop Asbury 
from Camden, S. C, June 30, 1802: 

Hell is trembling, and Satan's kingdom falling. Through Georgia, South 
and North Carolina, the sacred flame and holy fli-e of God, amidst all the oppo- 
sition, is extending far and wide. The general meeting held at the AVaxhaws 
was on the last of May. Five Methodist, five Baptist, and twelve Presby- 
terian ministers officiated. The Lord was present, and wrought for his own 
glory. Sinners were converted on all sides, and numbers found the Lord. 
One among many remarkable cases I will relate, of a professed atheist who 
fell to the earth, and sent for Brother Gassaway to pray for him. After la- 
boring in the pangs of the new birth for some time, the Lord gave him de- 
liverance. He then confessed before hundreds that for some years he had 
not believed there was a God, but now found him gracious to his soul. The 
Methodists had a general meeting a few days past at the Hanging Rock, 
There were fifteen ministers — Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian — with 
about three thousand people present. 

This is enough, and settles the question as to the first camp 
meeting held in South Carolina. For many years past they 
have been kept Tip at this old Hanging Bock, wliere they first 
began, and all over the South the good resulting wall not be fully 
known until the general judgment. Before resuming the old 
journal, we give this sketch of the Rev. John Collinsworth by 
Dr. G. G. Smith, of the North Georgia Conference: 



108 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

No man was perhaps known more widely among Georgia Metliodists 
thirty years ago. He was in many ways a character. Bisliop Andrew fur- 
nished to Dr. Sprague for liis Annals a graphic portraiture of him; and from 
the old Methodists of Georgia many anecdotes of his peculiar views may be 
gathered. He was a Virginian by birth, was licensed to preach in South Car- 
olina, and joined the South Carolina Conference in 1807. In 1809, when Au- 
gusta, Louisville, and Savannah were in one circuit, he was in charge, with 
Jolm Rye as his junior. During this year John H. Mann united with the 
Church in Augusta. He continued to travel for several years, then located 
from feeble health. His home was in Putnam county, near to that of his life- 
long friend, Josiah Flournoy, When his health was restored, he returned 
to the work, and in it he died on the 4th of September, 1834. 

While he was local he cultivated a small farm, and was remarkable for 
the energy, system, and skill with which he tended it. He was a Meth- 
odist of the old type, was very plain in his apparel, and demanded from all 
the same regard to simplicity. Broadcloth, rings, and ruffles were his abom- 
ination. He was a stern Elijah in the pulpit, and in the most solemn and 
earnest way denounced the terrors of the law upon the guilty sinners who 
sat under his ministry. Under this appearance of severity of spirit Bishop 
Andrew, who knew him well, says he carried a gentle, tender heart. 

Once he acknowledged that he erred. The story of how that was is sub- 
stantially as we tell it. He was stationed at Greensboro in 1830. George 
Foster Pierce, the eldest son of Lovick Pierce, had just graduated, and was in 
the law office of his uncle, Thomas Foster, studying law. A conversation 
with James O. Andrew led the young law student to resolve to let the dead 
bury their dead, while he followed his Master. Application was made by 
Bishop Andrew to Brother Collinsworth to secure from the Church a rec- 
ommendation to the Quarterly Conference for license for George Pierce to 
preach. Uncle Collinsworth did not favor the idea. The young man was 
too " airy," His hair grew too straight from his forehead. He wore as a 
Sunday suit blue broadcloth with brass buttons, and cut fashionably at that. 
He, however, brought the matter before the Church, and was not slow in 
expressing his disapproval of the request. The Church differed from the 
preacher, and recommended the applicant. Uncle Collinsworth met him 
at the door of the church : " Well, George," he said, " these brethren, against 
my will, have consented to recommend you; but now I tell you, this coat 
must come off." " But," said the young man, "Uncle Collinsworth, it is al- 
most new, and it is the only nice one I have." " Can't help it ; it must come 
off; a man can't be licensed to preach with such a coat as this on." " But, 
Uncle Collinsworth, it would not be right to put father to the expense of 
buying me a new suit." The old preacher was unconvinced ; the young ajj- 
plicant was equally decided. " George," said he again, " why don't you brush 
your hair down on your forehead as I do? It stands up in a most worldly 
way." " Why, Uncle Collinsworth, if the Lord had wanted my hair to lie 
down he would not have made it to stand up." 

The stern old man went to the Quarterly Conference, decided that George 
Pierce might do for a worldly lawj^er, but he was too " airish " for a preach- 
er — so he told the Conference. They, too, differed with him, and licensed 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLINAS. 109 

and recommended the future bishoj), despite the bkie broadcloth. At the 
Conference in Macon the old gentleman held his peace, though he was de- 
cided enough in his opinion. 

George went on the Alcovi Circuit, his old pastor to the Sugar Creek Mis- 
sion. The camp meeting at old Hastings Camp Ground came on, and Uncle 
Collinsworth was there. It rained, and rained, and rained ; the creeks were 
up, the river almost impassable. One CA'ening, as he entered Sister Pierce's 
tent, he found George mud-bespattered, just from his circuit, without blue 
broadcloth or brass buttons. " Why, George, you here? " " You see that I 
am. Uncle Collinsworth." " Why, how did you get here? " " Partly by land ; 
mainly by water." " Did you swim any creeks? " " Yes, sir ; I swam three." 
" Well, George," he said, kindly laying his hand on his head, " you'll do yet." 
He lived long enough to be glad that he had been mistaken one time, but 
not long enough to see how badly. No man doubted the sincere piety of 
Father Collinsworth. He made no demand of anyone which he did not 
exact of himself. He lived in a day when stern stuff was needed to keep 
men at the front, and if he erred it was in the right line. He left quite a 
family, and his excellent widow passed away only a few years since. 

In 1834 the preachers in Charleston were William M. 
Kennedy, William Martin, and George F. Pierce. The latter 
supplied the place of William Capers, transferred to the Geor- 
gia Conference and stationed in Savannah, Ga. The name in 
the General Minutes is George W. F. Pierce. He was admitted 
into the Georgia Conference in 1831; ordained elder in the 
South Carolina Conference in 1835, and stationed at Augusta. 
The author, then a youth of fourteen, heard the yoang preacher 
in old Trinity (the Hammet building). The text was the first 
Psalm. The sermon was impressive. There iS^'no telling how 
much of the young life of the city was affected by it. Doubt- 
less several ministers of the South Carolina Conference were 
the fruit of that single effort. All but one are now in heaven, 
and he is looking hopefully to that end. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Parsonages — Conferences Contrasted — Benjamin WofFord — Preachers Sent 
from Enoree — Coleman Carlisle — Support of Ministers — Quarterage and 
Family Expenses — Meager Estimates — Improper Appropriations — Old 
District Conferences — Centenary of Methodism in 1839. 

EETUENING to the old journal: at tlie first session held at 
Mount Taboi-, February 16, 1816 — Thomas Mason, presid- 
ing elder; Eeuben Tucker, assistant; Wiley Warwick, circuit 
preacher — " a plan was proposed to build a glebe or parsonage in 
the circuit for the traveling preachers " ; the glebe, o£ course, to 
be procured. This was an earl}' day for such arrangements, yet 
not early enough by far to prevent the locations so frequent. The 
parsonage question may well be said to underlie the itinerant 
system. How much of strength may have been gained to Meth- 
odism by an earlier enforcement, can scarcely be computed. One 
thing is certain : the local itinerancy, so prevalent in some Confer- 
ences, would not have obtained had each charge had its preach- 
er's home. Subject an itinerant to the necessity of furnishing 
such himself, and, as a consequence, he can only travel the 
length of the tether binding him to his home. Do Methodists 
glory, and justly too, in the itinerant system? Let them uot do 
it at the expense of extra pressure upon men that are homeless, 
or induce the necessity of crippling its force. I have heard 
bishops remark that the South Carolina Conference is more 
free than some others from this evil. May it not be traceable 
to the fact of the prominence given this matter? 

I have before me the Minutes of the Virginia, South Georgia, 
and South Carolina Conferences for 1875. The number of par- 
sonages belonging to each is as follows: Virginia, 51; South 
Georgia, 36 1; South Carolina, 74. The one-third of a parson- 
age has no note of explanation, so it cannot be said certainly 
what that is. South Carolina has twenty-three more than Vir- 
ginia, and thirty-eight more than South Georgia. The deficiency 
in per cent, leaving out the missions in the calculation, is as fol- 
lows: Virginia Conference, 151 charges, 51 parsonages; defi- 
ciency per cent, 66. South Georgia, 95 charges, 36 parsonages; 
deficiency per cent, 62. South Carolina, 117 charges, 74 par- 
(110) 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. Ill 

sonages; deficiency per cent, 36. May the review be stimu- 
lating to all concerned, and tlie day be not far distant when 
every charge shall have its itinerant's home in all our Confer- 
ences! ^ 

Beturning to the old journal, we find that this parsonage mat- 
ter had its opponents. At the third session, held at Bethel, we 
find this record: " G. P. censured per the assistant preacher for 
objecting to the building a parsonage for the married preach- 
er; reproved by the Conference, and admonished." 

" November 8, 1816. Benjamin Wofford recommended to the 
South Carolina Conference as a traveling preacher." 

"March 22, 1817. First session at Zoar: Anthony Senter, P. 
E.; John B. Glenn and Benjamin Wofford, C. P.'s." The sec- 
ond, third, and fourth, no presiding elder, he dying that year. 
At the second, in the examination of character the record is: "All 
blameless, except , who was found guilty of retailing spiritu- 
ous liquors. He promised to put away the evil from the Church 
of God, as directed by the Conference." Mark, this was long- 
before the great temperance reformation. 

At the fourth session, held at WofPord's Chapel, December 20, 
1817, " Benjamin Bhodes was recommended to the Annual Con- 
ference to travel as an itinerant." He continued to travel until 
1826, when, stationed in Georgetown, he died. Through some- 
body's neglect there is no memoir in the General Minutes. 
Isaac Hartley, a young preacher, was transferred from Bock- 
ingham, N. C, to that malarious region at the most unpropi- 
tious season of the year to supply the vacant post. He fell like- 
wise. Both Bhodes and Hartley sleep in the Georgetown grave- 
yard. I have heard the presiding elder lament his connection 
with the transfer, as Hartley was " the only son of his mother, 
and she a widow." The Conference, for her life, included her 
in the distribution of its funds. 

"January 22, 1818. Ordered, the committee appointed to pur- 
chase a parsonage do proceed in collecting money and bring the 
same into effect." Building a parsonage was not so easy a mat- 
ter after all. And what good thing in this crooked world is easy ? 

" February 14, 1818. The following persons were appointed 
trustees for the parsonage: Coleman Carlisle, Benjamin Hern- 

^ Twenty years later there was a noble advance all around. In 1895 the 
South Carolina Conference numbered 15-± parsonages, valued at $218,870. 



112 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAEOLIXAS. 

don, Spilsby Gleuu, John Hill, John Odle Hill, and John jMuI- 
liiiax. 

" Coleman Carlisle was proposed and employed as a mission- 
ary in Laurens District." 

" November 6, 1818. Colemaii Carlisle was recommended for 
readmission into the South Carolina Conference. Nathaniel 
Rhodes and John Mullinax were recommended for admission." 

"May 1-1, 1819. The persons chosen to purchase a parson- 
age were dismissed, and John Hill, James Mayham, Thomas 
Hutchins, Z. McDaniel, and Augustus Shands chosen in their 
place." 

"August 14, 1819. Wiley Warwick accused of profane swear- 
ing. The Conference judge the said accusation to be a mali- 
cious slander." 

" November 26, 1819. Wiley Warwick was recommended to 
the Annual Conference as a preacher of usefulness." 

The names of the preachers recommended to the South Caro- 
lina Conference from Enoree Circuit, from 1805 to 1820, are as 
follows: December 7, 1805, Robert Porter, located 1816; April 
5, 1806, John Collinsworth, transferred to Georgia 1830; Axoril 
5, 1806, Joseph Travis, located 1825; December 4, 1808, Anthony 
Senter, died 1817; November 7, 1809, John B. Glenn, located 
1819; November 30, 1813, Travis Owens, located 1825; Decem- 
ber 4, 1815, Benjamin Pihodes, died 1826; November 80, 1817, 
Benjamin Wofford, located 1820; November 6, 1818, Coleman 
Carlisle, located 1823; November 26, 1819, N. H. Rhodes, trans- 
ferred to Georgia 1830; November 26, 1819, Wiley Warwick, 
transferred to Georgia 1830. Coleman Carlisle and Wiley War- 
wick were recommended for readmission. 

The Rev. Coleman Carlisle passed the greater part of his local 
life within the bounds of this circuit. The old journal gives evi- 
dence of his zeal and usefulness. Three times he entered the 
traveling ministry, and as often was driven from it by the sheer 
necessity of making provision for a helpless family. Local or 
traveling, the word of the Lord was in his bones, and he could 
not but labor for the cause he loved. Returning from his ap- 
pointments, with the same horse (hard on the creature, both 
man and beast) he would plow by moonlight until near mid- 
night, to eke out the scanty disciplinary pittance allowed him, 
which, small as it was, was still subject to a heavy discount in 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 113 

the payment. He entered the Conference in 1792, traveled 
three years, and located; enterhig again in 1801, he traveled 
three years, and located; and the last time, 1819, traveled four 
years, and finally retired. He was popular, being sent for from 
far and near to preach funeral sermons, and receiving for all his 
long rides and sermons nothing. And he was not alone in this, as 
the long list of locations amply testifies. God was in the move- 
ment, or Methodism could never have survived such pressure. 
Its basal fact was "free grace," and that was confounded with 
a "free gospel "; so that the idea of cost to any scarcely entered 
into the calculation. Human nature can endure much, but not 
everything, and hundreds were forced to provide for those dear 
to them by location. The Church was long in waking up to the 
fact that it was God's ordination that they who preach the gos- 
pel should live by it; and alas! to-day thousands of her adher- 
ents are oblivious of the same fact. 

At the time of which I write no provision was made for "fam- 
ily expenses," and at a later day, as those records prove, it was 
meager at best. The whole machinery for ministerial support 
was out of shape, as witness the following item, and all the suc- 
ceeding records. 

"February 26, 1820. At a meeting of the trustees of the 
Methodist parsonage, present Spilsby Glenn, John Hill, John B. 
Glenn, appropriated to Brother R. L. Edwards two hundred 
dollars for table or family expenses." 

" February 10, 1823. The committee, W. Holland, William 
Holland, and Benjamin Wofford, estimate the table expenses of 
Brother Tilman Sneed at one hundred dollars for the present 
year." 

" May 2, 1824. We, the stewards, do agree to give Brother 
Allan Turner eighty dollars for family expenses, and should he 
request more, to give it. Benj. Wofford, Sec." 

From 1825 to 1830 committees were appointed, but no record 
of amounts estimated put on record. 

June 3, 1831, there is this report: "We, the undersigned, to 
whom was referred to ascertain what shall be allowed Brother 
James Stockdale for his family expenses, do report as follows, 
to wit: That James Stockdale be, and is hereby, entitled to re- 
ceive the sum of forty dollars, and that said appropriation shall 
be raised agreeable to Methodist discipline." 



114 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLIXAS. 

There is no other record on this subject until July 26, 1836; 
then this: "The committee report that Brother Crowell be en- 
titled to receive eighty-four dollars, and if his family expenses 
should be more, the same to be paid if it can be raised." 

"July 1, 1838. The committee appointed to estimate Brother 
Watts's family expenses agree that he be allowed two and a 
half dollars a week, or one hundred dollars for the year." 

Now when it is remembered that what was called the quar- 
terage allowance rarely reached three hundred dollars, the ad- 
dition for family expenses, as above, made the entire claim ex- 
ceedingly moderate ; yet, moderate as it was, it was seldom met. 
There are no records of collections and expenditures, as in most 
journals, or this fact could be put beyond dispute. This raising- 
supplies w^as a sore subject all these years, as the following rec- 
ords show. 

"April 8, 1828. This Conference, in concurrence with the 
order of the South Carolina Conference, resolved that Enoree 
Circuit be divided among the stewards thereof; and that they 
attend personally at every society with subscription papers, for 
the purpose of making collections for the support of the gospel 
on the circuit; and that they press upon the congregation, and 
more particularly upon members of the society, the necessity of 
their subscribing; and that the same be peri^etuated from year 
to year, unless those who subscribe make known to the stewards 
their wish to discontinue their subscriptions, or until this reso- 
lution is repealed." 

"December 27, 1828. Moved by B. B. Gaines, seconded by 
J, Jennings, that the money which the parsonage sold for be 
placed in the hands of the stewards, to make up the deficiency 
of quarterage on the circuit. The motion was carried." Com- 
ment is unnecessary. 

" May 1, 1829. On motion, resolved that the plan of collect- 
ing quarterage be by subscription, and that the names of every 
member of each society be placed on a paper, and that said 
paper be presented to each individual; and when this cannot be 
done by the steward, the preacher in charge be authorized to do 
the same. And be it further resolved that all the said papers 
be brought to the third Quarterly Conference." 

In this matter of ministerial support I have made a rough 
estimate of Conference expenditure for the year 1831, the first 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 115 

year after the Georgia Conference was set off. For the support 
of sixty-four preachers it amounts to 117,100. Call it in round 
numbers $20,000, which I am satisfied largely exceeds the actual 
receipts; this would give an average of $312.50. Did ever a re- 
ligious body of the same respectability, numbers, and wealth 
get its ministerial service cheaper? The average, per white 
member, is ninety-seven cents; and including the colored mem- 
bership, only forty-seven cents. 

The first session of the Quarterly Conference for 1820 was 
held at Ebene/er Meetinghouse, March 2; Daniel Asbury, pre- 
siding elder; Griffin Christopher and J. B. Chappel, circuit 
preachers. 

" George Clarke, complained of for putting a school into Eb- 
enezer Meetinghouse," was not censured; but at the second ses- 
sion it was resolved " that no schools, reading or singing, shall 
be kept in our meetinghouses in future." 

"A. S. applied for a dismission as trustee of the parsonage; 
but in consequence of some embarrassment about the establish- 
ment, and as he had taken an active part in getting the house, 
it was thought not best to grant his request." 

I pass over some seven years, nothing unusual appearing. 

The third session for 1827 was held at Antioch. Robert 
Adams, presiding elder; John Mood and William H. Ellison, 
circuit preachers; John Jennings and Benjamin Wofibrd, local 
elders; Wiley F. Holliman, A. Shands, and Benjamin Gaines, 
licentiates; Z. McDaniel, John Comer, J. C. Mahew, B. Casey, 
Oliver Kirby, A. Powers, S. Hardy, C. Bogan, and Thomas 
Humphries, leaders. 

The parsonage all these years was a troublesome matter. On 
motion it was resolved " that the contract between the trustees 
of the parsonage and Brother B. Wofi'ord with regard to its sale 
be confirmed." On the question, " Shall the trustees seek out 
and purchase another parsonage?" it was answered, "They 
shall." 

November 27, 1830, William Whitby was recommended to 
the South Carolina Conference. 

June 80, 1832 — Malcolm McPlierson, presiding elder; M. C. 
Turrentine and James Stacy, circuit preachers — the following 
resolution was adopted: 

Whereas this circuit deems it expedient and right that there sliould be a 



116 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

house isrovided for the presiding elder's family ; and whereas a house is pur- 
chased at Mount Ariel (Cokesbury) for that purpose : 

Resolved, That this circuit's part be paid out of the avails of furniture of 
the old Enoree Circuit parsonage. 

This was the easiest way of doing it, and likely to carry, no- 
body being hurt by the operation, but certainly not the best. 
Such a mixing of interests would not obtain in our day. One's 
readiness "to sacrifice all his wife's relations for the good of 
the country" finds its counterpart in this readiness to pay 
quarterage and buy other proj^erty with other people's money. 
How selfishness will steal into the very sanctuary under reli- 
gious disguises! The wonder is that even good men often lack 
the nerve to rebuke it. 

" The preacher in charge was complained of for not attending 
to class meeting strictly enough at Antioch." 

" AVhereas the Laurens Circuit has passed a resolution to re- 
vive the District Conference for Saluda District, and whereas 
said resolution is offered to this circuit for concurrence, it was 
moved and seconded that this Conference concur. Motion lost." 

What failed to carry then obtains now over all the Southern 
Church. The class meeting, the Church Conference, the Quar- 
terly, the Annual, and the General Conference seemed to meet 
all demands; but the present year in the bounds of the Sumter 
District, in the Santee Circuit — Kev. J. L. Shuford, pastor — a 
new Conference has originated called the Circuit Conference. 
Every fifth Sunday such is held, with its delegates, preachers, 
and stewards, at some point selected. The advantage promised 
seems to be in bringing about greater unity of action in the 
churches composing the circuit. May it not be made to supply 
the place of the " Leaders' Meeting," so hard to be made effect- 
ive in the country, and now gone into desuetude in the cities? 
In union is strength, and Methodism loses much of its force 
just here. The wisdom of Wesley has never been questioned 
in the institution of the class meeting; its virtual abandonment 
has been damaging, both spiritually and temporally, the only 
compensation being in making us like other Churches. When 
I say class meeting, I do not mean the thing into which it de- 
generated — of one's getting up, reading a chapter, commenting 
on it, then prayer and dismissal — but the earnest watch-care 
of a shepherd over the trust committed to him, and the faithful 
review by pastors and leaders of the life of each individual. 




JAjrES H. CAKLISLE, I,T,.D. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 119 

In 1833 the name of the circuit was changed to Union. At 
the second session for this year, "stewards were complained of 
for not making any collections of consequence to defray the ex- 
penses of the circuit." 

April 29, 1833, two members were put back on trial six 
months, and debarred the privilege of taking the sacrament and 
staying in love feast. Curious penalty for offeuses. 

January 16, 1836, for the first and only time, there is a record 
of the churches composing the circuit, namely: Trinity, Chap- 
pel, Tabernacle, Fish Dam, Hebron, Bethel, Antioch, Zion, Flat 
Eock, Wesley Chapel, Sardis, Ebenezer, Mount Tabor, Quaker, 
Dry Pond, Piogers's, Odle's, Shiloh, Unionville, Fairfield, Peho- 
both, and Nob's — twenty-two in all. 

The report for Sunday schools for 1835 is full: Angus Mc- 
Pherson, preacher in charge; 480 scholars, 74 teachers, and 32 
superintendents — these last quite numerous, some schools hav- 
ing no less than five each. The children forty years ago — how 
many were gathered into the Church! 

August 10, 1839, the centenary of Methodism was observed; 
William M. Kennedy and William M. W^ightman to preach the 
preparatory sermons at the Flat Rock and Maybinton camp 
meetings. 

We close our extracts from the old journal with a full list 
of the members of the third session of the Quarterly Confer- 
ence, held at Bogan's Camp Ground, October 21, 1842 — fifty- 
five years ago. How many now survive? N. Talley, presiding 
elder; A. McCorquodale and J. P. Pickett, circuit preachers; 
B. S. Ogletree and J. Jennings, local elders; A. Shands, T. A. 
Glenn, W. F. Holliman, and J. F. Glenn, local deacons; Miles 
Puckett, William May, and C. S. Beard, licentiates; Thomas 
Fowler, exhorter; John W. Kelly and S. L. Malony, examined 
and licensed; William Hunt, exhorter; J. H. Dogan, steward; 
T. A. Carlisle, steward and leader; James Epps, B. Dehay, and 
Caswell Bogan, stewards and leaders; M. Hames, James Gantt, 
E. Gossett, Sr., Oliver Kirby, W. Foster, E. Gossett, Jr., H. 

Murph, Henry Wofford, William Farr, Wiley Yarboro, 

Sexton, W. Farrow, Miles, R. Gillian, Hendricks, 

A. Shell, Hipp, John Sims, Thomas Kumer, W. Clark, P. 

Tucker, G. Tucker, Thomas Ison, Gillian, W. Jennings, 

Thomas, Joshua Bishop, William Mitchell, William Be- 



120 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

vis, James Beckwell, E. Lipsey, C. Hames, Jolm Galmon, Perry 
Stribling, M. Hill, Thomas Young, Lewis Bobo, Wiley Miles, 
class leaders. A strong Quarterly Conference — nearly sixty 
members. 

January 6, 1844, Jolm AY. Kelly and Miles Puckett were 
recommended to the South Carolina Conference. 

This was the old Enoree or Union Circuit, a fruitful nursery 
of Methodism. Broad Piiver divided Union and Spartanburg 
counties from Fairfield, Chester, and York, the strongholds 
of Calvinism; but the care and cidture of the early days held 
this field, and its influence has extended across the river. In 
Spartanburg Bishop Duncan has his home. James H. Carlisle 
holds the presidency of Wofford College. Central Church is a 
gem, and the noble laity exert a gracious influence. Union 
more than holds its own; in fact, manufacturing enterprises 
promise a great advance in all this upper country. AVell may 
we rejoice in the early religious culture. 



CHAPTER Xiy. 

Song of Deborah — Zebulun and Naphtali — Wile}' Warwick — Great Revival 
— A Moving Witness — Parson's Saddlebags — James H. Mellard — The 
Ascetic Nelson — George Dougherty. 

THE religious condition of America, before, during, and 
after the Ee volution, was not far from that of the Israel- 
itish commonwealth in Deborah's day. " The inhabitants of 
the villages ceased," "the highways were unoccupied," and 
"travelers walked through byways." New gods were chosen; 
there "was war in the gates," and "not a shield or spear," of 
heavenly temper keen, "was seen among forty thousand in 
Israel." Keuben clung to his sheepfolds, Gideon dwelt beyond 
Jordan, Asher was on the seashore, and Dan abode in ships; and 
all the while Sisera was at haud. Deborah (see Barbara Heck 
snatching the cards from the hands of a renegade) "arose, a 
mother in Israel " ; she called to Barak, and bade him take ten 
thousand of Zebulun and Naphtali and fight; even then, if help 
came not from heaven, all was lost; but " the stars in their courses 
fought against Sisera. The river Kishon swept them away." 
Then sang Deborah: "O my soul, thou hast trodden down 
strength. Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of 
the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones." No won- 
der the universal cry was: "Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, 
awake, utter a song; arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity cap- 
tive, thou son of Abinoam!" We of this day, who rejoice in 
the victories won by our fathers, should never forget that " Zeb- 
ulun and Naphtali jeoparded their lives unto the death in the 
high places of the field." 

We call attention to these veterans who, though little known 
on earth, have abundant record on high. The very first we no- 
tice is the man, as you read back awhile, who was wrongly and 
maliciously accused of false swearing. From George Bright, in 
the Southern Christian Advocate, we learn that Wiley Warwick 
was born in Virginia in 1771. He was a moral though irreli- 
gious youth, remaining unregenerate until his twenty-sixth year. 
His marriage at twenty-one to a pious girl brought him under 
Methodistic influence. In 1796 he was powerfully converted in 

(123) 



124 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

Ausou county, North Carolina, where he then resided. He was 
licensed to preach in 1799, and labored as a local preacher until 
1804. By persuasion of Bishop Asbury and other preachers 
he was admitted into the connection. While a local preacher he 
attended a camp meeting, the first ever held in that section. It 
was a union meeting, under direction of Dr. Brown, afterwards 
president of Franklin College, Georgia. Mr. Warwick walked 
the entire distance, arriving at the three o'clock service. When 
the sermon was finished, anyone was invited to exhort. Mr. 
Warwick arose, and under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, 
exhorted. The power of God was manifest; people fell in all 
directions, crying aloud for mercy. From then until Monday 
morning the good work went on, and eternity will reveal great 
results. 

January 1, 1804, he was admitted into the Conference, held 
that year in Augusta, Ga. He traveled thirteen years, and fail- 
ing health induced location. His last year on the Enoree Cir- 
cuit was nominal, as supernumerary. He remained local until 
1821, when he was employed by Bishop George to supply the 
Union Circuit. At the thirty-sixth session, held in Augusta, 
Ga., he was readmitted, traveling several years. In 1826 he 
suffered greatly from a pine splinter in one of the muscles of 
the thigh; medical skill declined its removal. Having a pad for 
his saddle, to relieve the pressure, he traveled for years in pain. 
In 1822, having removed to Habersham county, Georgia, during 
the journey he got his little finger mashed, forcing amputation. 
Suffering greatly, he lost two rounds of appointments. At the 
Conference the presiding elder complained that he had neglected 
his work. He simply arose and drew forth his inflamed and 
mutilated hand. It was enough. 

While on the Bladen Circuit, in 1806, he was much annoyed 
by an immersionist named Lindsey. He was very bigoted, and 
a great enemy to Methodist "circuit riders." Once Mr. War- 
wick, passing through a low or swampy place, fished out of the 
mud and water a pair of saddlebags. They were marked with 
Mr. Lindsey's name in full, and a junk bottle well filled with 
liquor was first drawn out. At the next house he call for lodg- 
ings, but was told that circuit riders could not stay there. He 
delivered the saddlebags, asking the landlady to inform the par- 
son that they were safe. She began to excuse her preacher, say- 



EARLY METHODISM IK THE CAROLINAS. 125 

ing lie had happened to pass a store that day, and fasting, had 
taken a little too much liquor, and had thus lost his saddle- 
bags — begging Mr. Warwick not to tell of the little accident. 
The rides on this circuit were long. On one stretch there was 
no house, and necessity compelled him to sleep in the woods, 
supperless, the earth for a bed, his saddle for a pillow, and the 
heavens for a covering. 

During the thirty years of his efficiency he traveled near 
70,000 miles, preached 5,938 sermons, exhorting numberless 
times, and received $6,392 all told — an average of $110 per an- 
num; rearing a family of five children, and giving them a mod- 
erate education. The last years of his life were spent in Dah- 
lonega, Georgia, in a state of sad decrepitude. He was made 
perfect through suffering. His agony was often so excessive 
that even morphine gave no aid. No murmur escaped his lips. 
He died in the eighty-sixth year of his age, the fifty-seventh 
of his ministry, and the fifty-third of his connection Avith the 
itinerancy. 

James H. Mellard (1801-1855) was admitted on trial in the 
South Carolina Conference in 1801, and located in 1810. AVe 
are not advised as to his reentrance into any Conference, but 
are assured that wdiether local or traveling he was ever the 
same zealous, devoted minister of Jesus. Dr. Mood's brief 
notice in his Charleston Methodism is fully confirmed by T. A. 
W. (Wayne), of Marion, S. C, in the Soutliern Christian Advo- 
cate, with additional particulars incorporated here. James H. 
Mellard was sent in 1801 to Union Circuit; 1802, Ogeechee, Ga.; 
1803-4 to Georgetown, S. C; 1805, Charleston, S. C; 1806, 
Sparta, Ga. ; 1807, Cypress; 1808, Savannah; 1809, missionary 
from Santee to Cooper River. In 1810 he became local. He 
was in person slim, pale, yet healthy-looking, with an open, live- 
ly, pleasant countenance; inviting, cheerful, and familiar, and 
of most friendly disposition ; proving him to be without guile, of 
great tenderness of soul, and of a noble courage. 

Georgetown at that time may have been said to be " Satan's 
seat." Asbury complains of the men as carried off by in- 
temperance before they could be got hold of. Goodness was at 
a discount, and depravity at a premium. Few were ever found 
at religious worship, and Mellard determined to go after them. 
Mr. Wayne, when a youth, found him on Crosby's platform. 



126 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

near the market, without a herald drawing the crowd. Some 
in military costume by the aid of drum and bugle were en- 
deavoring to put him down by drowning his voice, but its 
sonorous notes rose above their din; and they threatened to 
drown him in Sampit River, but he quailed not, finishing to an 
orderly dismission. That was enough; the crowds were drawn 
to the church. A great revival followed, and, quite unusual in 
our j3olity then, he was returned the second year. But from the 
lack of the exercise of discipline there came a falling away; to 
prevent this he strove, persuaded, entreated even to tears, his 
tenderness of feeling forbidding the use of the pruning knife. 
Even before the close of the year he was superseded by Thomas 
Nelson, a stern disciplinarian. They both domiciled with Mr. 
Wayne's father. Thomas Nelson, he says, was in stature respect- 
able, with a grave, stable countenance, seldom altered by a smile; 
inflexible, stern, rigid, of unbending integrity. He taught the 
little folks to stand in proper attitude at the table before grace 
was said, and every impropriety of speech or action received 
correction. Like the ancient Hebrew, he eschewed pork; even 
the juicy crispness of roast pig, immortalized by Lamb, he could 
not relish, boiled, roasted, baked, fried, or stewed — he abominat- 
ed the entire animal. But oh, the power of woman! His mar- 
rying a farmer's daughter brought him round, and he even wrote 
afterwards that "good bacon tasted well." If he had only added 
"collards," that were a dish to set before a king. The dear, good, 
ascetic old prophet located in 1803, having been admitted in 1797. 
The loving disciple, Mellard, was the most popular, and whether 
traveling or local magnified his office even to the end. Dying 
triumphantly in 1855, his dust lies near Fort Browder, Alabama, 
awaiting the resurrection of the just. 

George Dougherty (1798-1807), already alluded to, but as one 
of the sons of "Zebulun and Naphtali, who jeoparded their lives 
unto the death in the high places of the field," is deserving 
of more extended notice. He was, by Lovick Pierce's indorse- 
ment, South Carolina's great Methodist preacher and first no- 
ble martyr. No towering monument marks his grave^ and never 
can: his sacred dust, long sheltered under the porch of the 
Front Street Church in Wilmington, N. C, was scattered to the 
winds in the burning of that building years ago. Bishop An- 
drew gives this portraiture: 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 127 

None among the men of that day, whose character looms grandly up from 
the misty past, filled a larger space in the Church. He was born in South 
Carolina, reared in Newberry District, near the Lexington line, and used to 
cut ranging timber on the Edisto. He was ungainly in his person, tall, 
slight, with but one eye; and negligent in dress; but his intellect was of 
lofty tone, his logical power remarkaljle, his eloquence at times absolutely 
irresistible. An example is recorded, when he had to follow without inter- 
mission a preacher of another sect, who dealt out lustily opinions which, 
according to Methodism, were dangerous heresies. Dougherty, on rising, 
struck directly at these errors ; his argumentation became ignited with his 
feelings; his voice rose till it echoed in thunder peals over the throng and 
through the forest; dropping polemics, he applied his reasoning in over- 
whelming exhortation, urging compliance with the conditions of salvation. 
The power of God came down, and one universal cry was heard through all 
that vast crowd. Some fell prostrate on the ground ; others, rising to flee 
from the scene, "fell by the way." Dougherty, turning round on the stand 
to the heretical preacher, dropped on his knees before him, and in the most 
solemn manner, with uplifted hands and streaming eyes, begged him, in 
God's name, never again to preach the doctrines he had advanced that day. 
The scene was overwhelming, and beggars all description. 

From a long and admirable paper in Sprague's Annals, from 
Dr. Lovick Pierce's pen, much could be gathered, but very 
nearly the whole of it is in Shipp"s " Methodism in South Car- 
olina." Dr. Pierce's portraiture of our subject's personality is 
as follows: 

Mr. Dougherty was about six feet in stature, his shoulders a little stoop- 
ing, his knees bending slightly forward, his walk tottering, and in his gen- 
eral appearance a very personification of frailty. He had lost one eye after 
he had reached manhood, by small pox, and the natural beauty of a fair face 
had been dreadfully marred by the ravages of the same malady. His hair was 
very thin_ and he wore it rather long, as was the custom of itinerant preach- 
ers in his day. His costume, like that of his brethren generally, was a 
straight coat, long vest, and knee breeches, with stockings and shoes ; some- 
times long fair topped boots fastened by a modest strap to one of the knee 
buttons, to keep the boots genteelly up. 

The General Minutes give his appointments as follows: Ad- 
mitted in 1798, and sent to Santee; 1799, Oconee; 1800 and 1801, 
Charleston; the next three years, presiding elder on Saluda Dis- 
trict, in 1805 and 1806, on Camden District. In 1807 he was 
superannuated, and essaying to reach the West Indies, was 
stayed at Wilmington, where he died. In the General Minutes 
a witness of his death states: 

When he spoke of Deity, of providence, or of religion, reverence, grati- 
tude, solemnity, joy, etc., were evidently all alive in his soul. He spoke what 



128 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLIXAS. 

he knew, and his knowledge of God, his Redeemer and Saviour, inspired his 
heart -^ith a confidence which was neither shaken by the pressure of his af- 
flictions nor the ravages of death. Of his submission and resignation too 
much could not be easily said. He appeared to be jealous of his own will, 
and to embrace the will of the Lord, not only without murmuring, but with 
pleasure ; yea, with joy. He spoke of death and eternity with an engaging 
feeling and sweet composure, and manifested an indescribable assemblage of 
contidence, love, and hope while he said: " The goodness and love of God to 
me are great and marvelous as I go down the dreadful declivity of death." 
His understanding was unimpaired in death, and so perfect was his tran- 
quillity that his true greatness was probably never seen or known until that 
trying period. He died without a struggle, or scarcely a sigh. He was twen- 
ty-sis years old on entering the Conference, and only thirty-five at the time 
of his death. 



CHAPTER XY. 

Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Sessions — General Conference of 1808 — 
Jenkins at Winnsboro — Asbury's Itinei'ary — Wateree and WiiUam Capers 
— Riot at Carter's — Capers at Lancaster Courthouse — Georgetown — Jo- 
seph Travis — Mills and Kennedy in Charleston — Capers on Great Pee Dee 
— The Gully Incident of the Gallowses — -Travis in Columbia. 

RESUMING the chronological order of narrative brings 
the twenty-third session of the Conference to Liberty 
Chapel, Ga., December 26, 1808. The Conference, abont sixty 
or seventy members present, was held in Mr. Bush's house, and 
religious services were carried on at tke camp ground near. 
Three missionaries were appointed: James H. Mellard, from 
Ashley to Savannah Pdver; James E. Glenn, from San tee to 
Cooper River; and M. P. Sturdevant, returned second year, with 
M. Burge preacher in charge, to Tombecbee. About three hun- 
dred traveling and local preachers were present. Between two 
and three thousand persons attended the meeting, many of them 
coming one hundred and fifty miles. This was the first visit of 
Bisho]3 McKendree to a Carolina Conference, Bishop Asbury 
and himself presiding. 

It was at this Conference, says Dr. West, that Matthew Stur- 
devant made his report of the missionary work at Tombecbee. 
He was not of robust but rather feeble person, and his travel- 
worn attire attested eloquently of the uncleared wilderness. He 
told how he had crossed floods, swum rivers and creeks, slept on 
the ground, endured hunger and thirst, and heard the howl of 
the wolf, the growl of the bear, the scream of the panther, and 
the more dreaded whoop of the Indian; the carousals of savage 
tribes, and of the no less wicked white settlers, to whom he ten- 
dered the gospel message. 

In the rejoicing aixl glory of the noble x\labama Conference 
we also rejoice that in her theu wilderness that message was 
borne by a missionary of the old South Carolina Conference. 
The ^'■Committee on Charity" — Heaven save the mark! — accord- 
ing to the South Carolina Journal, appropriated to Sturdevant 
S74.1-i. Xor was he the only volunteer to Tombigbee from Car- 
olina. Ashley Hewett volunteered, and was appointed to Tom- 
becbee, as will be seen farther on, in the year 1815. 

9 (129) 



130 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 

The preachers iu Charleston during this year were William 
Phoebus, and John McYean. The first named, of handsome 
personal appearance and fine i^ulpit talents, soon afterwards 
transferred to New York, dying there in 1831, aged seventy- 
seven years. The second was regarded as eccentric, later giv- 
ing evidence of mental derangement. They had been favored 
with a gracious revival, reporting a gain of forty-two whites and 
three hundred and ninety-sis colored over the preceding year — 
a goodly number remaining faithful and influential members. 
The bishox3 exults over the great and glorious prospects in 
Charleston and neighborhood. Total increase in the bounds 
of the Conference, 3,088. 

The record iu the Conference Journal for 1808 is as follows: 
"The following brethren purpose to attend the ensuing General 
Conference, namely: Lewis Myers, BrittonCapel, Josias Ilandall, 
AYiley AYarwick, John McYean, Daniel Asbury, James H. Mel- 
lard, William Gassaway, John Gamewell, Samuel Mills, Joseph 
Tarpley, and Moses Mathews." Afterwards, it will be remem- 
bered, delegates were elected. 

Sixteen were received on trial, among them William Capers 
and Urban Cooper. Mr, Jenkins, as local this year (1808), 
X3reached at the Wolf Pit, and formed a society, merged now 
into Smyrna, not far from Pidgeway. He also received an invi- 
tation to Y innsboro, from the wife of Captain Buchanan, who 
had been an officer in the Revolutionary army, and was very 
highly esteemed by all. There was no organized church here; 
the courthouse was used for religious services. A minister of 
another sect using it felt aggrieved that any other should do so, 
remarking, on Mr. Jenkins's occupancy of it, "that it was like 
taking the bread out of his mouth." Mr. Jenkins supposed that 
" if bread was all he was after, it was no matter how soon he 
lost it." Captain Buchanan doubted if a society could be raised, 
not dreaming that he should join himself; but at a camp meet- 
ing near Camden, in 1809, both himself and wife and Captain 
Harris and Major Moore were converted and joined the Church; 
and before the close of 1810 the brick church was erected, giv- 
ing place in later years to the present house of worship. 

The twenty-fourth session was held in Charleston, December 
23, 1809. On his way to it the bishop crossed Bush Piver in 
Newberry, passing the Quaker settlement. The Friends had 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 131 

already left for the rich lauds on the Ohio, and also to be rid of 
slavery. In Judge O'Neal's Annals of Newberry there is an in- 
teresting chapter concerning this sect. Now all is a desolation. 
He crossed Pacolet, Thiekety, and Broad rivers on his way to 
Josias Smith's, coming through York to William Gassaway's 
near Tirzah Church, en route to the Waxhaws. At the Waxhaws 
he preached to about four hundred souls; then on Monday had a 
cold ride to William Heath's, on Fishing Creek. He preached in 
"a log cabin scarcely lit for a stable," some United States offi- 
cers attending from Rocky Mount. Not a vestige of that humble 
temple remains, but a new^ church was about to be erected near 
it in the East Chester Circuit. It may not be generally known 
that Kocky Mount came Avithin one vote of being chosen for a 
large military establishment long ago. The admirable water 
power thereabout may yet be utilized for large factory purposes. 
On this visit the bishop was made acquainted with the venera- 
ble Mr. Buchanan and wife, then Presbyterians and happy in re- 
ligion. As noted above, they afterwards became connected with 
our Winnsboro Church ; indeed, becoming the founders thereof. 
As seen, William Capers was admitted in 1809, and was appoint- 
ed to Wateree Circuit. Objection had been made to his reception 
because he had been but five mouths on trial; but it was over- 
ruled, and he was received. Wateree Circuit then extended from 
Twenty-five-mile Creek on the west side of Wateree River to 
Land's Ford on the Catawba, and on the east side from near 
Camden to within twelve miles of Charlotte, N. C. Twenty-four 
preaching j^laces were compassed in four w^eeks, a distance of 
about three hundred miles; membership, 498 whites and 121 
colored. The present counties of Kershaw, Lancaster, parts of 
Fairfield, Chester, and York, were included in it. Within its 
bounds James Jenkins resided, and met the young preacher 
and gave him a rather poor reception. All who have ever read 
William Capers's autobiography remember well the encounter. 
Then came the gi-anny's quarter episode, in his giving lessons 
on " cleanliness is next to godliness," and the Church trial at 
Carter's Meetinghouse in Chester county. Anyone sharing the 
hospitalities of Brother Reeves at El Bethel, in Richburg Cir- 
cuit, may have the site pointed out where stood the church. 
There is not a vestige of it remaining, and to look at surround- 
ings none would ever suppose that congregations gathered there, 



132 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

or that it was ever the scene of a famous Cburcli trial and the 
first instauce of the exercise of Church discipline by the boy 
preacher, William Capers. It was a crini. con. case, and the 
parties were violent as well as equally divided. A riot ensued, 
of great violence and profanely boisterous. A woman ex- 
claimed anent the preacher, " He had better go home and suck 
his mammy! " and the old prophet had spoken of the " eggshell 
not dropped off," and both aroused all the manhood in the 
youth, who finally proved the declaration of Bishop Asbury true: 
"Our boys are men." Ever aftei*, during the year, his ministry 
was greatly favored at Carter's Meetinghouse. 

The present Camp Creek in Lancaster Circuit was one of the 
appointments that year, and a young lawyer from the courthouse 
came to the church, inviting Mr. Capers to that place. It hap- 
pened to be sale day, and the usual accompaniments of carts 
with cakes and cider, and undoubtedly something stronger, 
didn't promise much for the sobriety of worship at night. The 
attempt to preach was made, but interrupted by one stepping 
forward and bidding the preacher " quit that gibberish and go 
to his text," and declaring he could preach better than that him- 
self. " Now, Mister, just give me them thar books, and you'll 
see." At the second appointment the sheriff of the county had 
a dancing party, and in earnest invited the preacher to attend it. 
It may be readily concluded that Lancaster Circuit in 1809 did 
not promise much religiously. This, however, was over eighty 
years ago, and the beautiful church and handsome parsonage 
and clever people now show a vast advance over that year. The 
Millers, Riddles, Mayers, Carters, Lemons, Heaths, Allisons, 
and Hunters have made it one of the most pleasant charges in 
the Conference. 

In 1809 Joseph Travis was sent to Georgetown, S. C. For 
four years there had been no preacher appointed, it being 
served from the adjoining circuits. Mellard had been the last. 
Mr. Travis was much discouraged; supposing the charge of no 
account and himself of no account, he might have given up. He 
found three males and a few females among the whites, but a 
goodly number of pious colored people. An aged local preach- 
er, AVilliam Wayne, gave him some encouragement. Congrega- 
tions were large but reckless, smoking cigars in church and 
pelting it with brickbats at night. Attempts were made to 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 133 

waylay liim and put him in a pond near by, A gentleman of in- 
fluence, John Shackelford, met him at the dooi, saying, " Sir, take 
my arm, and I will protect you," conducting him safely home. 
He continued preaching to a crowded but thoughtless congre- 
gation until on a certain Sabbath a revival began. Many were 
converted, and a blessed change was wrought in Georgetown. 
An incident seemingly trivial, and by some perhaps deemed fa- 
natical in the dedication to God of a babe, occurred this year in 
Father Wayne's case. He had long lamented the lack of piety 
in his sons. He and his wife, with their youngest child, were 
present at a love feast. The aged father, quite hap^^y, takes the 
little boy in his arms, and holding him as high as he could 
reach, exclaims, with sti-eamingeyes: " Here, Lord, take Gabriel! 
O do take Gabriel! " Well, what of it? Oh, nothing, only that 
Gabriel became a true minister of Jesus, dying in the faith. 
Something like it occurred in the temple at Jerusalem once, 
and was thought worthy of record. The AYaynes were of the first 
fruits of Methodism in Georgetown, it will be remembered. Oh, 
the pity of it, that so many of these are now forgotten! We 
rescue a few from oblivion, such as Mrs. Sarah Johnson, Mrs. 
Francis Shackelford, Mrs. Carr, and at a later date Mrs. Beaty, 
Mrs. AVilson, Mrs. Belin, Mrs. Waterman, as elect women in the 
Church. 

In 1809 Samuel Mills and William M. Kennedy were the 
preachers in Charleston. Mr. Mills was a thin, spare man, of 
consumptive appearance; Mr. Kennedy was stout in body, erect, 
fresh and healthy in appearance. The one was stern, of solemn 
countenance, always serious in bearing and intercourse; the oth- 
er of a lively, cheerful aspect, pleasing to all. Mr. Mills was 
a rigid disciplinarian, almost severe; the other mild, tender, 
and forbearing. He has a large and excellent record in our 
Church history. Both were faithful pastors and highly es- 
teemed. 

This twenty-fourth session, held late in December, 1809, car- 
ries our narrative into the following year, 1810. That year in 
Charleston three preachers labored — William M. Kennedy in 
charge; Thomas Mason and Richmond Nolley. Mr. Mason Avas 
admitted in 1808 and located in 1812, reentering, I think, the 
New York Conference. He was a strong preacher, much be- 
loved, commanding large audiences. Mr. Nolley was tall, thin. 



134 EAELY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

and of delicate health; he was remarkable for preaching with 
his eyes closed, from great timidity. His closing life as a mis- 
sionary is fully set forth by Bishop McTyeire. 

During this year the city churches were greatly revived. 
Samuel Dunwody was sent to Georgetown, Josexoh Travis to 
Columbia, and William Capers to Orangeburg. Of Mr. Dun- 
wody's ministry at that time we have no knowledge, but of the 
others there are records by their own hands. In 1810 Mi*. Ca- 
pers was sent as junior to Great Pee Dee Circuit, from which 
he was shortly removed to Fayetteville, N. C. Great Pee Dee, 
then comprehending the Black Biver and Darlington circuits, 
stretched from the neighborhood of Georgetown, up through 
Williamsburg and a part of Sumter District, near Lynch's 
Creek, opposite to Darlington Courthouse; thence across that 
creek to a short distance above another, called the Gully; and 
then downward, toward Jeffers Creek. Nothing remarkable oc- 
curred here, save the story of the witch and the loss of his sus- 
penders, when an eminently pious but weak brother exclaimed: 
" O, Brother Capers, how I love you! I love to hear you preach; 
I love to hear you meet class; I love you anyhow. But, oh, them 
gallowses! they make j-ou look so worldly, and I know you ain't 
worldly neither. Do pulLthem off." And he did. Of his min- 
istry in Fayetteville, N. C, we say but little, as it more prop- 
erly belongs to North Carolina annals; but we cannot forbear 
giving the colored preacher Henry Evans's farewell to his peo- 
ple. Almost too feeble to stand, but supporting himself by the 
railing of the chancel, he said: "I have come to say my last 
word to you. It is this: None but Christ. Three times I have 
had my life in jeopardy for xDreaching the gospel to you. Three 
times I have broken the ice on the edge of the water and swum 
across the Cape Fear, to preach the gospel to you. And now, if 
in my last hour I could trust to that, or to anything else but 
Christ crucified, for my salvation, all would be lost and my soul 
perish forever." Could an apostle say more? 

Joseph Travis was in Columbia in 1810, and met a kind re- 
ception from the Bev. Claiborn Clifton, a wealthy and influen- 
tial citizen, good lawyer, and excellent local preacher. At the 
bar sometimes he would accidentally style the jury "dear breth- 
ren." Yet, as a lawyer, he stood eminently high, esteemed by 
all. The first Methodists on record here are Dr. Green, David 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINaS. 137 

Paust, Esq., Benjamiu Harrison, Andrew Wallace, Colonel 
Hutchinson, Robert Warren, John and Robert Brice. Long- 
since have tliey been removed to the Church triumphant, and 
their memory is very precious. 

It may not be out of place to state here that Columbia, the 
capital of South Carolina, is cherished in our annals. Many of 
the most saintly of God's people have been gathered hence into 
heaven. It is the seat of our female college, and the Washing- 
ton and Marion Street churches are flourishing. It is fast be- 
coming a center for cotton factory operations, and the promise 
of advance civilly and religiously is most flattering. 

As something more is to be said of Columbia, we close this 
chapter here; the next will open with the twenty-fifth session 
of the Conference, held in Columbia, December 22, 1810. The 
appointments are noted, and other matters occurring in 1811. 



CHAPTER XYI. 

Twenty-fifth Session — The Bishop's Itinerary — Santee Circuit— Old Man- 
chester — William Capers and Charleston — Joseph Travis— Objection in 
Examination of Character— Twenty-sixth Session— Lewis Myers versus 
Matrimony — Travis at Wilmington — Orangeburg Circuit — William Capers 
— Depression and Triumph. 

IN December, 1810, we find tlie bishop, on his rouud of trav- 
el, at AViimsboro. Having left Means's hospitable mansion, 
he remarks: "The generous Carolinians are polite and kind, 
and will not take our money." On Sabbath at Winnsboro he 
preached to a few people. Let it be known now that a bishop 
would preach, and the house would be crowded. On his route 
to Camden he spent a night with James Jenkins; speaks of his 
six years' rest and local usefulness, and of his intention of reen- 
tering the Conference; mentions Saint Clair Capers's trium- 
phant death; was some days at Henry Young's, sick. When able 
to travel he moved on to Columbia, where, in Senator Taylor's 
house, the Conference was held. Eighty preachers were sta- 
tioned. 

James Jenkins was sent to Santee Circuit. The Catawba Cir- 
cuit was now separate, but Chesterfield District being added 
made it quite large. It was a year of great grace among the 
people. A camp meeting held near Chesterfield Courthouse 
was very profitable. At his next quarterly visitation, his old 
friends near Manchester — where the bread for the sacrament 
had been stolen — paid him another visit, brickbatting the 
church and discharging pistols while he preached. Mr. Ed- 
win J. Scott, of Columbia, in his "Kandom Recollections of a 
Long Life," tells us: 

Manchester was on the main road from Camden to Charleston. It was 
settled, for the sake of health and society, by the rich planters on the Wa- 
teree — the Ramseys, Ballards, and others. Besides their residences there 
were a tavern, a shoe shop, a tailor shop, a blacksmith shop, a schoolhouse, 
and two or three stores. The largest store was owned by Duke Goodman, 
who soon after removeil to Charleston. He was a leading Methodist and 
exhorter, oi- local preacher, and as such was much engaged in mercantile mat- 
ters. The wicked would say of him that often in giving out the hymn, in- 
stead of "long meter" he would sav "long staple." But this may be classed 
(138) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 139 

with all jeering common to persecutors. Goodman held on iiis way notwith- 
standing, highly esteemed and useful to the end. The schooliiouse was used 
for worship. The village was at one time the terminus of the Wilmington 
and Manchester Railroad. The lines of desolation are over it now, not a 
building standing. 

We are not surprised at the persecution prevailing in tliose 
early days, as drinking and gambling were the everyday occu- 
pation o£ the inhabitants. 

William Capers was sent from this Conference to Charleston, 
and his eloquence, earnestness, and pious zeal j^roduced pro- 
found impressions, continuiDg through a long life. Methodism, 
on its introduction into the low country of the state, w^as as fa- 
vorably received as anywhere else in the United States. Among 
its first membership in the city were the Stoneys, Westons, Ben- 
netts, and others of the best portions of the community; but 
before the time of Mr. Capers it had been reduced to a condi- 
tion of obscurity. The cause for this was not far to seek. Agita- 
tion on the slavery question induced suspicion, which came near 
imperiling any good that may have been done the negro. Un- 
der all the obloquy cast upon them, the services of the Church 
were well attended; but identifying themselves with Methodism 
was to many out of the question. Numbers who were convert- 
ed to God under our ministry joined other Churches. Had it 
been otherwise, the Methodist Church in Charleston might 
have ranked in worldly respects with the very first in any 
country. 

The nucleus of the Coo^Der Biver Circuit w^as formed this year 
by the preaching of Mr. Capers at demons' s Ferry on the 
Cooper Biver, and Lenud's Ferry on the Santee Biver, and the 
Cooper Biver Circuit was formed the next year by John Capers. 
At this Conference Joseph Travis was appointed to Wilming- 
ton, N. C. AVheu his name was called his presiding elder. Bed- 
dick Pierce, said there was nothing against him. The bishop 
said he had somewhat, and that was, "he had been studying 
Greek the past year." Travis acknowledged his guilt, where- 
upon the bishop remarked upon the danger of preachers neg- 
lecting the more important of their work for the mere attain- 
ment of human science; the axiom of the day being, "Gaining 
knowledge is good, but saving souls is better." It is a pity that 
it had not been found out sooner, as both might very well be car- 
ried on together. The next d^y the good bishop begged Travis 



140 EARLY METHODISM IK THE CAEOLINAS. 

not to think hard of his remarks the day before, as he merely 
designed whipjjing others over his shouklers. 

The twenty-sixth session, its ministrations running into 1812, 
began December 21, 1811, in Camden. On his way to it the bish- 
op writes: "Hilliard Judge is chosen chaplain to the Legislature 
of South Carolina, and Snethen is chaplain to Congress! So 
we begin to joartake of the honor that cometli from man; now 
is our time of danger. O Lord, keep us pure; keep us correct; 
keep us holy." " Monday 25. We had a serious shock of an 
earthquake this morning." We have had a much more serious 
one in our day. Conference held but three days, and was re- 
markable for harmony and love. It was at this Conference that 
Lewis Myers made his famous speech anent the marriage of 
young preachers. Andrew Gramblin had traveled two years 
with Gassaway, and was eligible to admission and election to 
deacon's orders — the lady was in all respects a suitable person 
and of an excellent family — but the speech carried it against 
him. The young j)reacher located in 1813, and we remember 
well his excellent widow long years after, and her house as the 
preachers' home in Orangeburg. 

Joseph Travis was sent to Wilmington, N. C, where upon 
his advent he met with a most uniqiie reception. He arrived 
late on Saturday night, and but few knew he was a lame man. 
On entering the church his lameness induced a bowing mo- 
tion on his part, and the congregation, believing him to be the 
most polite preacher they had ever seen, rose en masse to return 
his greeting. Doubtless a broad smile illumined each face on 
discovering that his politeness was an act of necessity and not 
of choice. 

James Jenkins was appointed to the Wateree Circuit this 
year. Several new societies were formed, out of one of which 
came Noah and Sampson Laney, long connected with the Con- 
ference. 

Francis Ward and Jacob Rumph were stationed in Charles- 
ton. The first was seized with fever, terminating in dropsy, 
from which he never recovered. Jacob Kumph was also taken 
with fever, which proved fatal. The Minutes say: "He was ab- 
stemious, steady, studious, uniform; much in pi'ayer and medi- 
tation. In discipline, strict and persevering." He was abundant 
in the instruction of children, and exceedingly useful. Wrestling 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINA^. 141 

earnestly during his illness for the full witness of sanctifica- 
tion, shortly before his death he exclaimed, "My soul is pure!" 
and his prayers were turned to praises. His dust rests in the 
Bethel Church cemetery. 

This year the presiding elders, leaving out Georgia, were: 
Edisto District, William M. Kennedy; Broad River, Hilliard 
Judge; Camden, Daniel Asbury; Catawba, Jonathan Jackson. 
The first had seven appointments; the second and last, six each; 
and Camden, nine. 

William Capers was sent to Orangeburg. This was the up- 
per part of the old Edisto Circuit, this year divided into Salka- 
hatchie and Orangeburg circuits. It then consisted of thirteen 
appointments, traveled in two weeks. It took in the fork of 
Edisto for twenty miles up, and the societies between the north 
of that river and Beaver Creek; thence downward to the old 
state road, opposite Orangeburg, and thence to that place. 
Mr. Capers was prevented from going at once to his appoint- 
ment, finding it necessary, as assistant secretary of the Con- 
ference, to pursue after a paper needed by the bishop. After 
a rapid journey of several days to and fro, he got partial returns 
and reached the bishop, who, an hour after he had left, found the 
paper in his own possession. Bather provoking, certainly. 

The first quarter of the year on the charge passed exceedingly 
well, but the Quarterly Conference brought an appeal from the 
administration of the previous year, the preacher in charge be- 
ing James E. Glenn. The difficulty involved two strong socie- 
ties, Ziegier's (now Prospect) and Tabernacle, some seven miles 
apart. Much feeling, as is usual, w^as manifested by both par- 
ties, all equally respectable. It seemed that the summing up of 
the appeal at the request of the presiding elder, William M. Ken- 
nedy, by Mr. Capers, had been ungenerously deemed partisan, 
although approved by the presiding elder as impartial; and 
offense was taken by the Tabernacle people, who declared that 
they would no longer hear him preach. The Bev. Osborn 
Bogers, of the Congaree Circuit, with no ecclesiastical right so 
to do, undertook to serve them, Mr. Capers not opposing. He 
met with a prompt rebuke from a pions old sister in class meet- 
ing. Upon his asking her how her soul prospered, he was an- 
swered that it never had been worse with her than it then was, 
and it was likely to be no better as long as he preached there; 



142 EAELY METHODISM IK THE CABOLINAS. 

that in answer to her usual prayer, the Lord had sent her a 
preacher, Brother Capers, "but," said she, "not wishing to of- 
fend you, I don't know, brother, who sent you." There had 
previously been earnest entreaty on the part of the people for 
Mr. Capers's continuance, the malcontents vying with the oth- 
ers to induce a change. He resumed his place. And "for the 
divisions of Reuben there had been great searchings of heart." 

Old Tabernacle was known by the writer when junior preach- 
er in 1841, known again as presiding elder in 1865, and visited 
once again when on St. Matthew's Circuit in 1887, and then 
found a desolation and a ruin. How memory ran back upon the 
past! and many were remembered not now on the earth. Pros- 
pect and St. Paul's, in the town of St. Matthews, have absorbed 
entirely the membership of this dear old church. The descend- 
ants of both — among those at Prospect, the Poosers, Laws, Rasts, 
and others — vigorously uphold the chui-ch of their fathers. 

During the year Mr. Capers as a young man, and as well 
when bent with age, found no truce in the immortal conflict all 
are called to endure. It is only at the end of the warfare that the 
lo triomplie is heard : "Thanks be unto God who giveth us the vic- 
tory!" The great question pressing on his conscience then was, 
"Am I not every moment pleasing or displeasing to God?" 
Upon earnest self-introspection he was dissatisfied as to his re- 
ligious attainments, and hoped to solve the trouble at a camj) 
meeting — the old Indian fields, where the mighty athletes of tlie 
earlier day had struggled and triumphed. He proposed not to be 
active in it, but to give himself to retirement and prayer after 
hearing the sermons from time to time. Thus passed several 
days uncomfortably enough; instead of more light, his mind was 
more perplexed than ever. Seeing his error, he corrected it by 
going to work more earnestly for others, and was much relieved, 
although still unsatisfied. The meeting closed, and he returned 
to his circuit lacking in faith, in love, and in the assurance of 
the Holy Spirit — by no means strong and exulting as he had 
hoped. Riding pensively along the road, musing upon all that 
had i)assed at the meeting, and how little it had been improved, 
his soul was still unrefreshed— like Gideon's fleece, dry in the 
midst of the dew of heaven. Why was it so? Had he made 
an idol of the ineans? Had he overlooked the might of the Sav- 
iour? Anyway, he resolved to turn aside into the thick wood. 




^ X.- 



EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 145 

"There is none here but God; I will even go to him, who has all 
power in heaven and in earth, with the cry, 'Jesus, Master, heal 
my blindness; give me faith and love! ' " Hitching his horse, he 
felt pity for the long fast the poor creature should endure be- 
fore again being unloosed. But it was not so; he had scarcely 
fallen on his knees, with his face to the ground, before the words 
of Hebrews xii. 18-24 were applied with power to his mind: " For 
ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and 
that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, 
and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of 
words; . . . but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto 
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an 
innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and 
church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to 
God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made per- 
fect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the 
blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of 
Abel." "In that moment how spiritual seemed religion, how 
intimate the connection between earth and heaven, grace and 
glory, the Church militant and the Church triumphant! and it 
seemed to challenge my consent to leave the one for the other." 
Could lie do it? "Instinct said no; and all the loved ones on 
earth seemed to say no; but the words sounded to my heart 
above the voice of earth and instinct, 'Ye are come!' and my 
spirit caught the transport and echoed back to heaven, 'Ye are 
come! ' In that moment I felt, as can only be felt, the exceed- 
ing riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ 
Jesus." He returned to his circuit full of faith and comfort, 
never losing sight of the fact that it is "not by works of 
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy 
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of 
the Holy Ghost." Because of his father's death he was not 
permitted to remain on this pleasant circuit to the end of the 
year; and another sore trial was his engagement of marriage, with 
the intention of locating at the ensuing Conference, the time 
fixed for the following January 13. But his father's death re- 
moving the reasons for his locating, he could not do so with a 
clear conscience; yet all difficulty was removed by the sweet 
smile of approval from his betrothed, in willingly accepting the 
trials then attendant on a traveling preacher's life. 
10 



CHAPTER XYII. 

The Twenty-seventh Session— Brandy and the Bible— Christmas on Bread 
and Water— James Jenkins Again Locates— Travis in Georgetown — 
Charleston— Wilmington, N. C— William Capers— A Shanty Parsonage— 
Asbury's Mount Zion — Doctrines Preached — Eflects Produced — A Meager 
Exchequer — Divine Wealth and Economy — Jesse Jennett — The Twenty- 
eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Sessions. 

THE twenty-seventh session was held in Charleston, Decem- 
ber 19, 1812; Bishops Asbury and McKendree presiding. 
On his way to it Bishop Asbury records his crossing Broad 
Ptiver at Smith's Ford, his faithful horse, Fox, breasting the 
swollen waters safely. Dining in the woods, they came after- 
wards to Squire Leech's, not far from the present Mount Yer- 
non Church, iu Hickory Grove Circuit. The bishop says: 
"Brandy and the Bible were both handed to me; one was 
enough; I took but one." On to Winnsboro, at Father 
Buchanan's. He remarks that "the people here give little 
encouragement to Methodism ; but the walls of opposition will 
fall, and an abundant entrance will yet be ministered unto us; 
the craft of learning and the craft of interested religion will be 
driven away " — a prophecy long since fulfilled. At Columbia 
lie preached in the hall of the legislature, members attend- 
ing; then on to Charleston. The Conference was a good one; 
eighty preachers were stationed, with no complaint from any. 
Christmas day was held as a fast, and one hundred dined on 
bread and water, with a little tea or coffee in the evening. He 
declares that funds are low, but rejoices that preachers and 
people are inured to poverty. 

James Jenkins located again this year. The reason was on 
account of a long move, seemingly very inconsistent with the 
spirit of an itinerant, and especially such a one as he had 
been. But circumstances alter cases. He could have traveled 
a charge nearer his home conveniently, but such could not be 
had, and it was made known to him that a more distant charge 
was to be given him. This, as he never missed an appointment, 
would subject him to long absences from home. His wife was in 
feeble health, and as he had to cut all the wood used, and to put 
(146) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLIKAS. 147 

his little son on a horse and walk before him to mill, he was 
forced to take that action. He blamed his presiding elder, 
Hilliard Judge, but it is not at all unlikely that the presid- 
ing elder had his reasons. Bond English once remarked to a 
preacher: "Never ask Avhy you are changed in appointments; 
be assured the presiding elder knows more than you do, vr/i//." 
The good man had as much land as he could cultivate on 
Lynch' s Creek, with an outhouse to live in, given him by James 
C. Postell, and lived by the labor of his owu hands, still preach- 
ing, without fee, for long, long years. How much Methodism 
owes to her local preachers is not known on earth, but will be 
in heaven. 

Joseph Travis was sent this year again to Georgetown, where 
he met with a kind reception, and occupied the parsonage then 
behind the church in the midst of the graveyard, which served 
the stationed preachers some thirty-seven years, when, in 1849 
and 1850, the writer was the first occupant, as a preacher, of 
the more commodious house still used as a parsonage. In the 
five years' absence of Mr. Travis few of the membership had 
died or backslidden, but he did uot find some as earnest in reli- 
gion as he had anticipated. He laments that the world and 
its fashions had quenched the ardor and zeal of some of the 
younger members; but for more than eighty years good old 
Georgetown has held on its way heavenward, meeting with de- 
clensions and revivals as has been the case elsewhere. N. Pow- 
ers, A. Talley, and James E. Glenn were stationed in Charleston 
this year. In many records the last name has a B. instead of an 
E., calculated to mislead. James B. Glenn was another preach- 
er among us, and singularly, if we are not misinformed, the E. in 
the first name stood for Elizabeth. Of Brother Glenn more will 
be said. N. Powers was admitted into the connection in 1809, 
and located in 1818. Alexander Talley was admitted in 1810, 
locating in 1820. Camden was made a station in 1811, and 
Henry D. Green Avas the preacher this year. 

William Capers was this year (1813) in Wilmington, N. C, and 
has left a graphic picture of the church and parsonage. The first 
was the house erected by Mr. Meredith, and having been paid 
for chiefly by the weekly collections from the negroes, could not 
boast of any architectural beauty. Mr. Capers had been or- 
dained elder by Bishop McKendree, December 26, 1812, married 



148 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

on the 13tli of January, and by the 21st was in Wilmington, 
N. C. The parsonage to which he carried his bride was not 
palatial. It was rather on the shanty order, but of course in- 
finitely better than none. It was of two rooms eighteen by 
twelve, one above the other, with a sort of stepladder on the 
outside to get to the upper story, and a shed room attached to 
serve for a bedroom if necessary — the necessity in a celibate 
ministry not very pressing. It Avas quite a good arrangement 
for a bachelor priesthood, but lacking conveniences for a woman 
and children. The church was a coarse wooden structure some 
sixty by forty feet; and yet Bishop Asbury speaks of it as 
"Mount Zion," and having "high days" therein. 

Methodism at this time was regarded as low enough; its 
followers weak enthusiasts; deemed good enough for the lower 
orders — negroes especially, who needed to be held in check by 
the terrors of hell fire. There was but one other church in the 
place, of the historic episcopacy order, and even that had but 
one doubtful male communicant, the men being generally 
much tinctured with the French deistical philosophy; and yet 
gentlemen and ladies of high position in society were found 
frequenting the preaching in that humble sanctuary. That 
good was accomplished is beyond all question. Now what were 
the doctrines heard there? A master theologian had warned the 
ages, " Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine." Was there 
anything of foolish questioning and genealogies, contentions 
and "strivings about the law," so vain and unprofitable? Any- 
thing of vain babbling and opposition of science so called? 
Anything of priestly functions (save of the one great High 
Priest); baptismal water, genuflections to east or west; can- 
dles lighted or unlit; aught of upholstering haberdashery? 
Not a whit! But justification by faith and its cognates, origi- 
nal depravity, regeneration, and the witnessing Spirit — these 
rang throughout this plain sanctuary, moving the white patri- 
cian and the negro plebeian to repentance. 

Instances are given two years before this time. Mr. Travis 
states that the Hon. Benjamin Smith, Governor of North Caro- 
lina, desired him to call and see his wife, supposed to be unbal- 
anced in her mind. Her head had been shaved and blistered, 
and after all her treatment by physicians she grew worse. The 
preacher diagnosed the case at once; instructed and prayed 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 149 

with her. In a few days a carriage drove np to that humble 
parsonage, and Mrs. Smith, with weeping eyes, entered it, ex- 
claiming: "O sir, you have done me more good than all the 
doctors put together! You directed me to Jesus. I went to 
him by faith and humble confidence and prayer. He has healed 
me, soul and body. I feel quite well and happy." Is there 
anything of hyperbole or eastern romance in that? Is it not 
entirely in accordance with the doctrine? 

Mr, Capers gives another instance. Mrs. C, of the first class of 
the upper sort, deeply interested by what she had heard in that 
humble house of God from the Methodist ministry, under cover 
of calling upon the preacher's wife, came to consult the preach- 
er. The doubt on her mind was as to the possibility since the 
apostles' day of common people knowing their sins forgiven. 
The preacher gave the scriptural proofs freely — received, how- 
ever, with the old "How can these things be?" Mrs. C. was 
accompanied by her sister, Mrs. W., who may have supposed 
herself more level-headed, or at least better established in the 
old creed, than her sister. And Mrs. W., as a last resort, turn- 
ing to Mrs. Capers, said: " Well, Mrs. Capers, it must be a very 
high state of grace, this which your husband talks about, and I 
dare say some very saintly persons may have experienced it, but 
as for us it must be quite above our reach. I am sure you do 
not profess it, do you?" Mrs. Capers blushed deeply, and re- 
plied in a soft tone of voice: "Yes, ma'am; I experienced it at 
Rembert's camp meeting year before last, and by the grace of 
God I still have the witness of it." 

As to the preacher's exchequer. To see him " poor, yet mak- 
ing many rich"; "as having nothing, and yet possessing all 
things"; to see his seraphic smile, and hear his melting speech 
uncovering the glory, any earthworm witling might have 
thought him a "bondholder." Such indeed he was, engaged ever 
in suing the Almighty Father on his own bond. So do all the 
faithful until they come into possession of their vast estates in 
heaven. At this time his finances were at the lowest ebb; his 
presiding elder was on the way with supplies. A thrip could only 
buy a fish, and that was all the provision for his guest. How 
marked the economy and wealth of God! See the prophet at 
the brook Cherith and at the poor widow's home. And so God 
deals with his own unto the present hour. He could pour into 



150 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

their lap the treasury consumed in the flame and sunk in the sea; 
but no, even though they fear bankruptcy, it is still the " drop 
of oil" and "handful of meal," that they may not have the 
shadow of independence beyond himself. As the little child 
remarked, " God hears when you scrape the bottom of the bar- 
rel." 

The revenue from all sources this year was a few dollars 
a week, an average of seven. The figures were enormous, 
364,000 — mills. And much the greater part of this was the 
cent-a-week collection from the negroes. Long years after, the 
writer has seen the green-baize-covered table in the preacher's 
ofiice here, and elsewhere, literally covered with greasy coppers. 
Fielding once remarked on his income as a magistrate, that his 
fees were in the dirtiest money of the British kingdoms. Not 
so here, if you please; every copper had on it heaven's impress 
and the benediction of Him who blessed the widow's mite and 
the box of ointment. It was the outcome of pure love to God 
and man; and mites show this, and sometimes more so, as 
well as millions. 

The E.ev. Jesse Jennett, a loving, zealous local preacher, lived 
in Wilmington then, and for some time before and for long years 
after, in all over fifty years— known to everyone as the St. John 
of Wilmington. To his life and labors the Church is greatly 
indebted. Such was his fine reputation that he was often so- 
licited to become the pastor of another church with a liberal 
salary, but always declined. Somewhere about 1850 he died in 
the faith. 

At this Conference (the twenty-ninth) Richmond Nolley and 
John Shrock were transferred to Mississippi and appointed to 
Tombigbee. Dr. West, in his "History of Methodism in Ala- 
bama," gives a vivid description of the Indian troubles en- 
countered by these faithful men, as well as all relating to Nol- 
ley's death, as fully recorded by Bishop McTyeire. 

After this Conference Bishop Asbury made his way to George- 
town. January 3, 1813, he says: " I preached morning and even- 
ing. It was a small time — cold, or burning the dead ( ?). We 
have here one thousand blacks and about one hundred white 
members, most of them women. The men kill themselves with 
strong drink before we can get at them." On to Wilmington. 
"There is little trade here and fewer people; of course there 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 151. 

is less sin. I was carried into the church, preached and met 
the society. Lord, be mercifvil to me in temporals and spir- 
ituals! William Capers is married; he is twenty- three, his 
wife eighteen." It would almost seem as if the good bishop 
thought no one ought to marry until near seventy. 

Mr. Travis gives an item or two concerning the General Con- 
ference of 1812, the very first delegated General Conference in 
our Church. The delegates from the South Carolina Confer- 
ence were Lewis Myers, Daniel Asbury, Lovick Pierce, Joseph 
Tarpley, William M. Kennedy, James Eussell, James E. Glenn, 
Joseph Travis, Hilliard Judge, and Samuel Dunwody. (For 
all after delegations see Appendix.) The election of local 
preachers to orders was before the Conference. Those in favor 
took the ground both of expediency and necessity. Jesse Lee 
was adverse, arguing that " the bishop could not, in good con- 
science, ordain to elder's orders unless the form of ordination 
was changed, it requiring each to devote himself to the minis- 
try. How could this be done when engaged in the usual avo- 
cations of life?" When he sat down, seemingly carrying the 
house with him, one Mr. Asa Shen arose in reply, declaring that 
"the same form required of one to be ordained that he should 
rule well his oivti family. Mr. Lee had made this promise twenty 
years ago, and has not fulfilled it to this day." Mr. Lee shook 
his sides with laughter, and tlie vote was against his measure. 
Upon what curious matters do large privileges rest after all! 

The presiding elder question was up also — as to making the 
office elective — but Avas not carried, and likely never will be. 
This year nineteen were admitted on trial, among them James 
O. Andrew, afterwards bishop. 

The twenty-eighth session was held at Fayetteville, N. C, 
January 14, 1814; Bishops Asbury and McKendree presiding. 
"A spiritual, heavenly, and united Conference." Twenty dea- 
cons were ordained, eighty-five preachers stationed, fifteen ad- 
mitted, twenty located, and one, Levris Hobbs, died. In 1811 
he went to Mississippi as a missionary, in 1813 was stationed 
at New Orleans, and in 1814 returned to Georgia, dying tri- 
umphantly. 

The twenty-ninth session was held at Milledgeville, Ga., De- 
cember 21, 1814; Bishops Asbury and McKendree presiding. 
This was the last South Carolina Conference attended by i\.s- 



152 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAliOLINAS. 

bury. He presided at all the rest except the twelfth session, 
which was presided over by Jonathan Jackson. At this session 
one hundred characters were examined; six admitted, twelve lo- 
cated, and ten elders and twenty-two deacons ordained. Bishop 
Asbury served under great feebleness. He remarked on the 
great peace, love, and union prevalent. On his northward 
journey he mentions the death of Dr. Ivy Finch, only thirty 
years of age, who was killed by his horse running away near 
Columbia, S. C. He was the son of one of the early Metho- 
dists, Edward Finch, the bishop's dear friend. 

The thirtieth session w^as held in Charleston, December 23, 
1815; Bishop McKendree alone presiding. At this session Ash- 
ley Hewett responded to a call for volunteers for Mississippi, 
and made his perilous journey through the Indian territory. 
Farther on we record the singularity attending his death. 

From this onward we shall not attempt a minute record of 
the Conference sessions. The reader is referred to the Appen- 
dix, where ail information as to time, place, officers, and num- 
bers is given. A complete record of every individual member 
as to admission and removal will there be found also. 



CHAPTER Xyill. 

The Hammet Schism — Its Success and Early Decline — Dr. Brazier — Rev. 
Israel Munds — Bennett Kendrick — Sale of the Church — Its Recovery — 
Holding the Fort — Henry Muckenfuss — The African Schism — Great Loss 
of Members — Sole Memorial — African Disintegration — Old Bethel — 
Crowded Houses — Literal Interpretation of Scriptural Figures — Wings of 
Silver— The Great Schism of 1834. 

C CHARLESTON has been the only place in the bounds of the 
^ Conference affected by schism. These, while embittering 
for awhile all Christian feeling, are now happily ended. The 
Hammet schism, seriously affecting the spread of Methodism 
for more than two decades, began early. It originated in an at- 
tachment of some to a preacher of i]o ordinary ability, the Rev. 
William Hammet, affecting and bringing under a severe strain 
one of the first principles of Methodist itinerancy — the surren- 
der on the part of preachers and people of the right of choice 
as to men or places. There was but one way to meet this — in 
steadily holding to our principles, even though there should be 
the loss of valuable members. The fifth session of the Confer- 
ence held over one day in compliment to Dr. Coke, shipwrecked 
off Edisto. On his arrival with Mr. Hammet, who preached to 
the great delight of all, an effort was made to retain him in the 
city. The appointments had all been arranged by Bishop As- 
bury, and the Rev. James Parks, who was afterwards made 
rector of Cokesbury School in Maryland, designated as the 
preacher. The clamor Avas great to have Mr. Hammet sup- 
plant him. On the bishop's departure he was pursued in order 
to get a change. Mr. Asbury was uilyielding, and the trouble 
began. Mr. Hammet encouraged the disaffection, anathema- 
tized i\sbury, complained of insult by the American preach- 
ers, and attempted to make out the whole of American Meth- 
odism a schism from Mr. Wesley. He began preaching in 
the market place for awhile to large numbers, setting up, as he 
called it, the Primitive Methodist Church, and eventually suc- 
ceeded in erecting the first Trinity Church, with parsonage and 
outbuildings on Hasell street, all deeded in fee simple to himself. 
In 1792 there was a loss reported in the membership of eighteen 

(153) 



154 EAULY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

whites and thirty-seven colored; and there was no large increase 
among the whites until 1807, some sixteen years afterwards, 
when eighty were reported. 

Matters ran on in the nsnal course, but little is left upon 
record. Mr. Hammet served his congregation until early in 
1803, and his health failing he died on May 15. For a year 
or two his people had no minister. The deed by which he had 
held the property of Trinity Church provided that in case of 
his death Mr. Brazier should succeed him, he having a life in- 
terest therein, and afterwards to be at the disposal of the con- 
gregation. Mr. Brazier was written to and came, preaching a 
short time, but by no means with general acceptation. A rup- 
ture in the congregation of St. Philip's (Episcopal) Church led 
Mr. Frost to seek to secure Trinity for his adherents, and joro- 
posals were made for its purchase. In the meanwhile a num- 
ber of the congregation of Trinity were making arrangements 
to secure the services of Bennett Kendrick, then (in 1804) sta- 
tioned in the city, and who has left upon record some incidents 
connected therewith. It seems that while some were in favor 
of a transfer to the Conference others were opposed to it. Some 
desired him to leave Cumberland and to confine himself to Trin- 
ity; if he would do this, they would abandon the idea of employing 
another preacher. Dr. Brazier stated that " if he had any idea 
of renouncing the Methodist Episcopal Church, and would join 
them, all difficulty would be removed immediately." This Mr. 
Kendrick regarded as "a grand insult," and was about to reply 
warmly, when Mr. Pilsbuiy said " they would not require me 
to join them immediately, but they thought if I continued with 
them throughout the year, I should become so attached to them 
as never to leave them." This was no better than the first pro- 
posal, and Mr. Kendrick remarks: "I strove not to let a passion 
stir, and replied, ' I do not see why I may not be as useful 
to you by being a member of the old church ns if I were to 
join yours.' Pilsbury answered that 'I might'; and there stands 
the business to-day." 

It is quite evident that Dr. Brazier was moving cautiously, 
making one proposal after another, only to change, keeping in 
view his ultimate sale of the property. Arrangements were 
sought to be made for Mr. Kendrick to confine his labors to 
Trinity. This he could not do, and he determined to get Dr. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 155 

Brazier to say whether he would stand to his first agreement or 
not. In the interview he was informed by the doctor that he 
should make over the church to Mr. Munds and Mr. Mathews, 
and that he expected all the pious part of the society would leave 
Trinity and go to Cumberland, and he advised Mr, Kendrick to 
receive them. In the meanwhile Mr. Pilsbury was active in try- 
ing to secure a large part of the membership for Mr. Kendrick, 
and finally, as he says, "he (Mr. Mathews) takes the fold by 
paying its worth, and I the flock without money or price." Mr. 
Kendrick finally states that " if Brother Dougherty would have 
agreed to stay in town and attend to the Cumberland people, 
I would have kept the Trinity people together in the new 
church, even at the risk of my reputation and what evils I 
might have suffered. Some of our ofiicial members pressed me 
hard to do so, and promised me their assistance." This was the 
end of the matter, so far as Mr. Kendrick was concerned, it be- 
ing impossible for Mr. Dougherty, who was the presiding elder, 
to remain in the city. 

The jpi'operty was finally sold for $2,000, pews erected, and 
the church formally dedicated according to the forms of the 
Episcopal Church. This aroused the membership, and they 
instituted proceedings at law for its recovery. While the suit 
was pending, their counsel informed them that if peaceable pos- 
session of the property could be obtained it would aid in its re- 
covery. So when, service was held by Mr. Frost one of the 
Trinity members slipped the keys of the church into her gown 
pocket, and there was no small ado over their loss. Messengers 
were dispatched for reenforcements, and they entered, barring up 
the doors and windows, and there remained for several months, 
until the suit was decided. It is on record that one Charles- 
tonian was born within those sacred walls. Upon the decision 
of the court in their favor arrangements were made for the 
transfer of the property and membership to the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. Unfortunately no dates are accessible; but 
the Minutes show that it was not until 1810 that three ministers 
were stationed in Charleston, four stationed in 1811, two in 
1812, and three in 1813, with this record in Bishop Asbury's 
journal: "Sunday, December 12, 1813. I preached in Trinity 
Church. We have it now in quiet possession." 

Of Dr. Brazier there are no records extant, and no person liv- 



156 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLIKAS. 

ing who can give any information concerning Inm. Of the Mr. 
Munds mentioned, a few survive who knew him. He never con- 
nected himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church, although 
he was a steady worshiper therein, and held in high esteem by 
all. One of the first members of Trinity Church, whose birth 
antedated the Revolution, and who as a boy witnessed the de- 
feat of the British oif Sullivan's Island, was Mr. Henry Muck- 
enfuss, born in 1766 and died in 1857, in his ninety-first year. 
He was the brother-in-law of William Hammet, and was con- 
nected with Trinity Church from its very beginning. An Eng- 
lish queen declared that if her heart was examined after death 
Calais would be found inscribed upon it. So great was his love 
for Trinity, the same may have been said of Mr. Muckenfuss. 
According to Dr. J. T. AYightman, Mr. Muckenfuss had but 
three thoughts — the artillery, Trinity Church, and heaven. 
For near seventy years he was an official member of Trinity, 
and has left a number of descendants strongly devoted to Meth- 
odism, in Charleston, S. C. 

One examining the return of members in the General Min- 
utes cannot but be surprised at the rapid increase, and as 
sudden decrease, in so short a period in the colored member- 
ship. In 1812 there were 3,128 reported, and in 1817 the number 
was 5,699, giving an increase of 2,571 members in five years; 
and then in 1818 the entire colored membership was 1,323, 
showing the unprecedented decrease of 4,376 members in one 
year. Something uncommon must have occurred to produce 
such a change; and the more so, as there was, with but little 
fluctuation, an increase among the whites of seventy-two mem- 
bers. There could be no lack of care and zeal in the ministry, 
consisting of such men as Dunwody, Capers, Ward, Powers, 
Senter, Hodges, Andrew, Myers, and Bass. 

In 1815 Anthony Senter, a strict disciplinarian, being in 
charge, caused a careful revisal of the colored society. On a 
close examination of their financial matters much corruption 
was found to exist. Hitherto they had held their Quarterly 
Conferences separately, and their collections were disbursed by 
themselves.- Restraints were placed on these, and offense was 
taken. Then began secret agitation, and much disaffection ex- 
isted, to so great an extent that two of their number had ob- 
tained ordination from the African Church in Philadelphia. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAEOLINAS. 



157 



Attempts were made to secure Bethel Church for themselves, 
on the ground that the colored people had contributed largely 
to its erection. These movements of course were secret until 
their plans were fully matured. Then the erection of a hearse 
house by the trustees on their portion of the burial lot adjoin- 
ing Bethel Church being the pretext, and no attention being 
paid to their protest, at one fell swoop nearly every leader 
gave up his class paper, and four thousand three hundred and 
seventy-six members withdrew, only one thousand three hun- 
dred and twenty-three remaining. After great exertion they 




BETHEL CHURCH, CHARLESTON, S. C. 

succeeded in erecting a neat church structure at the corner of 
Hudson and Calhoun streets, calling themselves the African 
Church. Such a large withdrawal affected greatly the congre- 
gations, and the loss of their responses and hearty songs of 
praise was largely felt. 

It was ail unfortunate time for the movement. Rumors of 
insurrection were in the air, and the attempted revolt in 1822, 
when a large number of leaders of that movement were hanged, 
put an end for the time being to their separate existence. Not 
a vestige of their church structure remains, and all that is mon- 



158 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

uniental of this sad schism is the lone burial lot aforesaid. 
Numbers returned to the Methodist Episcopal Church, some to 
the Scotch Presbyterian, the rest nowhere. 

The African disintegration came at the end of the great 
civil war, and by it the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church 
was despoiled of the fruits of near a century's labor. In 1864 
the return of colored members was 47,461, and in 1865 this 
was diminished to 26,283; a loss in one year of 21,178. There 
was a large declension yearly, and twelve years afterwards the 
colored members ceased to be reported at all. While the es- 
tablishment of the Colored Methodist Church in America saved 
a few to the influence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South, far the larger niimber went into other Church establish- 
ments; the northern army chaplains aiding largely the disin- 
tegration. 

The author vividly recalls his pastoi'ate at Bethel Church in 
1862. There were near fourteen hundred colored communi- 
cants. Morning and afternoon of the Sabbath were devoted to 
the whites, with the usual monthly communion service to the 
colored in the afternoon, while every Sabbath night was given to 
them separately in old Bethel. This service was always thronged 
— galleries, lower floor, chancel, pulpit, steps and all, almost from 
floor to ceiling. The preacher could not complain of any deadly 
space between himself and congregation. He was positively 
breast up to his peoj^le, with no possible loss of the en 7'apport. 
Though ignorant of it at the time, he remembers now the cause 
of the enthusiasm under his deliverances anent the " law of lib- 
erty," and "freedom from Egyptian bondage." What was fig- 
urative they interpreted literally. He thought of but one end- 
ing of the war; they quite another. He remembers the sixty- 
eighth Psalm as affording numerous texts for their delectation, 
e. cj., "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered " ; His "march 
through the wilderness"; "The chariots of God are twen- 
ty thousand"; "The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan"; 
and especially, " Though ye have lain among the x3ots, yet shall 
ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feath- 
ers with yellow gold." It is mortifying now to think that his 
comprehension was not equal to the African intellect. All he 
thought about was relief from the servitude of sin, and freedom 
from the bondage of the devil ; and as to the wings of silver and 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 159 

feathers of yellow gold, that was only strong hyperbole for spir- 
itual good. But they interpreted it literally in the good time 
coming, which of course could not but make their ebony complex- 
ion attractive, very. He doubts if they realize it now any more 
than the "forty acres and a mule" promised them. But really 
these meetings were richly enjoyable, the more so as there was 
very little of a temporal nature to enjoy under the dreadful re- 
strictions of war. They showed their appreciation of their jjas- 
tor by the presentation of a purse of value on his leaving them. 
But the war ended at last, and then came the army chaplains 
and disintegration. Their chief rulers hoped to absorb all, 
white and colored, folds and flocks, but they were hugely dis- 
appointed. Rich and powerful as they were, they were not able 
to purchase the humblest white member. They began parcel- 
ing out the chief stations and offering rich inducements to pre- 
sumed renegades. The Southern ministry, leaders and neo- 
phytes, sprang to the encounter as never before, and under God 
rescued the Church from ruin. The Southern Church, mauger 
the affected doubt of the Northern Church, had done its full 
duty to the slave. The record is with God, and the reward on 
high. 

The great loss in the colored membership in 1817 was after 
seventeen years, in 1834, largely recovered, to such an extent 
that the churches were straitened for room to accommodate them. 
An arrangement long in use, as under Bishop's Asbury's direc- 
tion, was to seat the aged and infirm negroes on the lower floors 
of the churches; and to some extent half of the seats along the 
walls had been appropriated to free persons of color. This be- 
came a source of annoyance, not only on account of racial pre- 
judices, but also because of the lack of room for the whites on 
crowded occasions. Favors to a few soon began to be supposed 
accorded to all, and the seating of the whites became so in- 
terfered with that complaints were common, and after awhile 
they clamored for a change. This culminated presently in the 
forcible ejection of some of the colored people. It was con- 
cluded that the slaves should all go into the galleries, and the 
boxes be so arranged as to seat the free colored people. But alas ! 
when has Satan ever been absent from church quarrels? Dis- 
agreement was engendered; a contest between the young and the 
old white members ensued. There were criminations and recrim- 



160 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

illations, rejoinders and surrejoinders, witli not much admix- 
ture of Christian ciiarity, resulting at last in the expulsion of 
nine and the instant withdrawal of one hundred and sixty-five 
others. This M'as the heaviest blow Methodism ever received 
in Charleston, resulting in the formation of the Protestant 
Methodist Church, which was finally absorbed in the Wentworth 
Street Lutheran Church, in that city. 

It might be well to say that the Bethel Church of the engrav- 
ing on page 157 must not be confounded with old Bethel, which 
was the first structure erected on that site. That building was 
placed in the rear, and used for the Sunday school; afterwards 
it was moved across the street, and sold to the Northern Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. The present handsome lecture room was 
the gift of one of our merchant princes, Francis J. Pelzer, a 
leading member of Methodism in Charleston. The present 
church structure has been lately remodeled in its interior. The 
heavy, unsightly galleries, made necessary once for the accom- 
modation of the colored people, have been removed, and the 
auditorium is one of the handsomest in the city. The Academy 
of Arts on west Broad street, once used as a church, was sold 
long ago. The old St. James Chapel on King street has long 
been merged in the handsome Spring Street Church of to-day. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Santee Circuit — Old Quarterly Conference Journal from 1816 to 1831 — 
Names of Churches — Names of Official Members — Financial Returns — 
Sumter Station, 1851 — Rembert's Church— Manning Station. 

AS already seen, the circuits took the names of the rivers 
flowing through the state. The more methodical plan for 
these annals is to take the original circuits, with their changes, 
and c.r'j far as may be give all now known concerning Methodism. 
and this chronologically if possible. 

The old Santee Circuit is the first named, as early as 1786, in 
the General Minutes; and as it embraced the most frequented 
route of the pioneers, it must be first in order. It was formed 
one year previous to the first Conference held in South Carolina. 
The appointment of Beverly Allen, elder, and Richard Smith (sic) 
— evidently a misprint for Swift, there being no Eichard Smith 
then in the Conference — was made at Salisbury, N. C, February 
1, 1786. Messrs. Tunnell and Willis had been one or two years 
before in Charleston, and may have traversed its territory; but 
James Jenkins, who traveled it in 1794, says it was formed by 
Richard Swift. 

The river Santee divides the counties of Georgetown and 
Williamsburg from Berkeley, then skirting the lower part of 
Clarendon separates it from Orangeburg up to where the Con- 
garee enters it, known after that as the AVateree; dividing Rich- 
land from Clarendon and Sumter, and changing its name above 
Camden to Catawba; dividing Fairfield from Kershaw, Chester 
and York from Lancaster, and running through the famed Wax- 
haws beyond Charlotte into North Carolina. Thus it will be 
seen that it takes in very nearly the heart of the state. This was 
the origiiial Santee Circuit of 1786. Six years later, in 1790, Ca- 
tawba Circuit was set off. In 1794 its boundaries were in the 
counties of Sumter, Kershaw, and a part of Richland. In 1795 
it was called Santee and Catawba; in 1797, Santee, Catawba, 
and Camden, so remaining until 1803; it was then called Santee, 
AVateree, and Catawba until 1805; then Santee alone, and so re- 
mained until 1808, when William Capers "rode with Gassaway "; 
11 (161) 



162 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

Chesterfield county in part was then added, its extent being from 
Gainey's Meetinghouse, four miles above the courthouse, its 
upper appointment, to Taw Caw, now St. Paul's, its lowest. In 
1809 Wateree was set off, with AVilliam Capers preacher in 
charge. From an old Quarterly Conference Journal in our pos- 
session it seems that these boundaries w^ere unchanged np to 
1831. Churches known to be in Chesterfield county are men- 
tioned in the journal. It will be seen that within these bound- 
aries, where in 1797 there were but four hundred and fifty-three 
white and one hundred and thirteen colored members, there are 
now thousands of members, with a w^ealth of Sunday schools, 
churches, and parsonages having no existence then. 

In 1811 Camden was made a station, with Samuel Mills 
preacher in charge. It was in this circuit, in 1787, that Isaac 
Smith, on the banks of the Santee, consecrated himself afresh 
to God. The spot is unknown, but no matter; "neither in this 
mountain nor at Jerusalem," but everywhere may men worship 
the Father. Only here and there do we catch glimpses of the 
pioneers and their work; they were too busy making history to 
record it. In 1794 James Jenkins was the preacher in charge. 
On his way to the Conference at Finch's he tells how of all 
places most desirable was this Santee Circuit, and only because 
of Isaac Smith's having been there it " must be in a good condi- 
tion." But at Marshall's, some miles below Columbia (Camden 
more likely), his troubles began. An old, disorderly member, 
of influence, had not been expelled. Isaac Smith told him he 
must do it, and he, who like Knox feared not the face of man, 
"did it at once." The year was an exceedingly sickly one, 
many dying. 

In 1800 Santee and Catawba were reunited, and James Jen- 
kins w'as reappointed to it. It reached then from Nelson's 
Ferry on the Santee to within ten miles of Charlotte, N. C. The 
preachers crossed the Santee River five times on every round of 
six weeks. 

In 1808 Catawba was cut off and Chesterfield added. The 
preachers were Jonathan Jackson, William Gassaw-ay, and Wil- 
liam M. Kennedy. William Capers was with Mr. Gassaway, 
and came to Smith's (afterwards Marshall's); here he was 
drawn on to exhort. Then they went across to Chesterfield, to 
Knight's (Fork Creek). Here William Capers first received 



EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 163 

the Spirit of adoption. Thence they rode along that dreary 
sand-hill road in Chesterfield leading to Sumter Courthouse. 
The high debate between them was more important in results 
than any in academic groves, fixing for all time, and eternity 
too, Capers's relation to God and the Church. Then came the 
Taw Caw camp meeting and the conversion of Joseph Galluchat 
under his ministry ; then his licensure and launching out on his 
career of usefulness. 

In 1811 the Catawba Circuit was taken off and Chesterfield 
added, making the circuit still larger. James Jenkins was 
again the preacher in charge. Here he met with much perse- 
cution; was publicly posted at Sumterville and Owens's Meet- 
inghouse, but God was "within the shadow" and watched over 
him. At Clark's, near Lodibar, there was a gracious revival. 
One jDoor sinner undertook to make sport of the whole, and was 
told by James C. Postell that if not careful God woidd kill 
him yet. Shortly after, his horse running away with him, he 
was instantly killed. Mr. Jenkins was called to a camp meet- 
ing, Samuel Mills, from Camden, supplying his place on the 
circuit. In the lower part of the circuit, from malaria he took 
the fever and died. Before his death he endeavored to tell of 
his work to Mr. Jenkins, and about some disorderly members. 
All that could be made out was, "There is dirt below"; ex- 
plained afterwards by a local preacher's arrest for drunkenness, 
who was expelled, lost his property and character, dying sud- 
denly. Mr. Mills was greatly lamented. The night before his 
death he was much engaged in prayer and preaching, rising to 
his feet and dismissing congregations. His last words were 
Luke xxii. 28, 29. His body rests in the old Quaker burying 
ground at Camden, with other preachers of the Conference. 

In 1814 William Capers was preacher in charge on Santee, a 
most convenient appointment, as he himself declares. "All 
went on so uniformly as to furnish nothing for recollection"; 
yet it was the most eventful year in his life. The outlook for a 
living by his ministry was so dreary as to enforce location. 
Then came the loss of his beloved wife, and his after entrance 
on an itinerant life, never to locate again. The author knows 
of his declaration to a young wife whom he had just married to 
a preacher: " If you would not sip sorrow all your life, never do 
yoa let that man locate." And she never did. His experience 



164 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 

was dearly purchased; the desire of his eyes was removed at a 
stroke, and though feeling exquisitely the blow, he never called 
in question the divine goodness. Pleasant as were the sur- 
roundings at Lodibar, and Hembert's not far distant, he tore 
himself away to fulfill the great work assigned him. 

The Quarterly Conference Journal for Santee Circuit is in 
hand. It contains the rules governing local preachers and ex- 
horters, adopted in 1814. The journal is a record from Decem- 
ber, 1816, to November 26, 1831, a period of fifteen years. It is 
valuable as one of the few official records surviving, and as giv- 
ing the names of the official members of the past. AVe put on 
record here as not likely to be recorded elsewhere a list of twen- 
ty-seven local preachers, namely: Elders — Thomas Humphries, 
James Jenkins, Aaron Knight, Thomas D. Glenn, Henry D. 
Green, John S. Capers, James Parsons, John Russell; Deacons — 
Thompson S. Glenn, John Bowman, Thomas Anderson, Henry 
Young, James C. Postell, Edward Skinner, Gabriel Capers, 
James Mangum, Nathan Grantham, John Marshall, Sherrod 
Owens, James Newberry, James Hudson, Richard Knight, Wil- 
liam Hudson, William Brockinton, Isaac Richburg, Henry H. 
Schrock, John Humphries. A number of these will be recog- 
nized as once members of the Conference, and as having done 
most excellent work for the Church either as itinerant or local 
preachers. 

The first Quarterly Conference recorded was held at Bradford's 
Meetinghouse, December 7, 1816; Anthony Senter, presiding eld- 
er; Nicholas Talley and William Harris, circuit preachers; lo- 
cal preachers present, Thomas D. Glenn, Alexius M. Forster, 
John S. Capers, John Bowman, Gabriel Capers; steward, 
Charles AVilliams; class leaders, William Brunson, Robert A. 
Sullivan, John Smith. Nothing but the usual business was 
transacted. The first record of the churches is in 1821, name- 
ly: Clark's, Green Swamp, Branch Meetinghouse, Taw Caw, Re- 
hoboth. Oak Grove, Owens's, Marshall's, Bethel, Knight's, Zion, 
Stephens's, Bethany, Bethlehem, Russell's, Rembert's, Provi- 
dence — seventeen in all. In 1823 four more are added, namely : 
Mulberry, New Prospect, Robertson's, and Zoar. In 1830 Sum- 
terville takes the place of Green Swamp. From the record it 
would seem that hearing appeals, references, and licensures was 
the only business transacted. It was not until 1823 that the 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 165 

numbers received and expelled were reported. In 1827 — under 
the ministry of Bobert Adams, presiding elder, George W. 
Moore and Sherrod Owens — at one Quarterly Conference 464 
whites and 293 colored were received on trial. 

Santee Circuit has ever been regarded as a first-class appoint- 
ment, financially as well as otherwise, yet how moderate the ex- 
penditure! The following are the full returns from each church 
for 1821: Eembert's, S70.25; Clark's Meetinghouse, J^48.18; 
Green Swamp, 131.95; Knight's, $35.22; Bethel, $18.75; Bethle- 
hem, $14.06; Bethany, $4.36; Branch Meetinghouse, $2; Taw Caw 
(now St. Paul's), $9,121; Kehoboth, $6.87^; Oak Grove, $1.25; 
Owens's, $8.93|; Marshall's, $7.30; Zion,' $3.12^; Stephens's, 
$5.68|; Providence, $15.25; Eussell's, $24.50; Judith, $3.50; to- 
tal, $310.31, for the payment of Daniel Asbury, presiding elder, 
and Anderson Ray and Nathan Grantham, circuit preachers. 
In 1826 the amount collected for B. Adams and S. Dunwody 
was $343.06^. In 1827, tlie year of the great revival under 
George W. Moore, there is only one financial exhibit, amount- 
ing to $56.18;2, with this note: "Deduct bad money, five cents, 
which the secretary has added and not deducted, making the 
return $56.23|." Rather bad bookkeeping, undoubtedly. If a 
trial balance sheet had been called for, there would have been 
difficulty. But there was improvement, as in 1828 the dignity 
of a surplus carried to the Annual Conference plainly shows. 
Here is the record in full. The stewards settled with the trav- 
eling preachers as follows: 

Whole amount collected $350 181 

Robert Adams, j^residing elder, quarterage $ 36 00 

Traveling expenses 5 00 

Family expenses 30 00 71 00 

Jo P. Powell, quarterage 100 00 

Traveling expenses 11 (38 111 68 

William Ellison, quarterage 100 00 

Traveling expenses 11 00 111 00 

293 68| 
Surplus sent by Brother Powell to Conference 56 50 

1350 18| 

There are no quarterly exhibits, or we would give the amounts 
from each church, that each mi^ht share the honor of the sur- 



166 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

plus. But the uoble Sautee Circuit did better than that the next 
year, 1829, mauger the surplus. Here are the returns under 
the secretary's signature: 

Whole amount collected $419 00 

Disbursed as follows : 

Robert Adams, presiding elder $ 34 00 

Samuel Dnnwody, quarterage $240 00 

Family expenses 45 00 ^285 00 

William Young, junior preacher 100 00=$419 00 

But in 1831 there was still greater improvement in the finances, 
as the returns show: 

Collected $483 24 

Disbursements: 

William M. Kennedy, presiding elder $129 62 

William M. Wightman 134 04 

J. J. Allison 219 58=$483 24 

Surplus carried to Conference $ 31 47^ 

It is very evident that these men could never be made rich in 
this world's goods at this rate of expenditure, and the supreme 
wonder is how men of any intelligence could suppose that such 
a rate of expenditure would give a man a living. Within these 
boundaries, from 1786 to 1831, for nearly half a century, it was 
difficult to raise a support, or what was considered such, of $500 
for three preachers. Now, within the same boundaries, in 1893 
!>8,163.51 was collected, giving an average support of about JB630 
to each of thirteen preachers; but it took two generations to 
advance the Church thus far. Truly the labor of travel now is 
not near such as the fathers endured. Evidently these venera- 
ble men had everything of labor, with the poorest earthly rec- 
ompense, on a much larger scale than we have hearts for. We 
here put on record some other names of official members. 

1817: James C. Postell, Thompson S. Glenn, James Jenkins, 
James Hudson, local preachers; James Ilembert,Sherrod Owens, 
F. L. Kennedy, Jesse Woodard, Sinclair Limebacker, Samuel W. 
Capers, John Marshall, George Laws, Samuel Bennett, Thomas 
Watson, class leaders. 

1818: Nathan Grantham, James Mangum, Ed Skinner, Lewis 
Gainey, John Stephens, Charles Pigg, local preachers. 

1820: John Houze, Matthew Meek, class leaders. 

1823: Richard Spann, William L. Brunson, Isaac Eichburg, 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 167 

Samuel Bennett, William Murpliy, George Turner, Henry 
Slirock, Henry Stokes, class leaders; Hartwell Macon, steward. 

1828: James E. Eembert, Thomas Jenkins, Willis Spann, 
class leaders. 

1829: Caleb Hembert, steward; Thomas Commander, Henry 
Stokes, Richard Benbow, A. Alexander, William Fullerton, Wil- 
liam Bell, class leaders. 

1831: Adam Benbow, James Tennant, class leaders; John H. 
Ragen, M. J. Blackman, AV. L. Brunson, stewards; Elias Du- 
rant, Robert McLeod, class leaders. 

From Dr. Burgess's "Chronicles of St. Mark's^' we learn of 
some later local preachers. William Lewis, for many years or- 
dinary of Sumter District, often ijreached at Oak Grove. James 
Parsons was clerk of the court for many years, and often preached 
at Oak Grove. The "cities of refuge" was his favorite subject 
of discourse, and his choice hymn " Blow ye the trumj^et, blow." 
He removed to Mississippi in 1859. The Rev. H. C. Parsons of 
precious memory was his son. John S. Richardson, a son of 
Judge Richardson, often preached at Oak Grove. Sherrod 
Owens, long a local preacher, lived on Taw Caw. He was for a 
short while connected with the Conference, and long used as a 
supply in mission work. He was indebted to his wife for a 
knowledge of the alphabet. He was quite earnest in pulpit la- 
bor and exceedingly popular with all. Preaching once on " Let 
brotherly love continue," pausing, he said with gi-eat force, 
" But it must exist first." J. Rufus Felder lived near Wright's 
Bluff. Dr. Burgess joined the Church under his ministry, at 
Oak Grove, in 1818. Blacksmith Billy, a colored preacher, is 
kindly remembered by Dr. Burgess. 

In 1833 Dr. Burgess notes the formation of the Sumterville 
Methodist Female Benevolent Working Society. It was one of 
the first women's aid societies in the Santee Circuit, and these 
names are worthy of record: Sarah Glenn, nee Capers, sister of 
William Capers (first Mrs. Guerry, afterwards Mrs. Glenn), 
Jane D. Moses, Martha A. Walsh, Elizabeth D. Glenn, Lucy K. 
Macon, Martha A. Du Bose, Elizabeth Ballard, Margaret A. 
Bostick, Maria M. Fluitt, Sarah W. Durant, Mary N. Durant, 
Sarah Mellett, Louisa AVilliams, Mary A. Bowen, Eliza A. Wil- 
liams, Theresa C AVilder, Caroline M. Brnnson, Sarah Daniels, 
Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Williams, Eugenia P. Poole. An elect 



168 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

lady, Mrs. Mary Ann Eliza Canty, deserves a memorial. For 
more than forty years her house was the preachers' home. Her 
departure from the Church militant was made with the declara- 
tion, "All bright, all bright." 

The financial report of the Santee Circuit for 1893, as given 
in the Annual Conference Minutes of that year, is as follows, 
the four charges named then constituting the circuit: 

Saiiimerton, 94 members, paid for salaries $ 301 87 

St. Paul's (old Taw Caw), 172 members, paid for salaries. . 256 45 

Andrew Chapel, 144 members, paid for salaries 273 12 

St. James, 83 members, paid for salaries 158 12 

Total $ 989 56 

And in 1895 a total of. $1,021 23 

Sumter Station, 1823-1893. These dates are here placed, not 
that the Sumter Station was then first set off, nor that a church 
was then erected, for that was not done until 1827, and it was not 
made a station until 1851; but from an early day — 1785, perhaps 
— ^there had been Methodist preaching in or near it. It is on 
record that at a house of Mr. Maple's there had been preaching. 
Green Swamp was within two miles of Sumter, built probably 
about 1790. Richard Singleton and Richard Bradford were 
connected therewith. It is stated of the latter that previous to 
his conversion he entertained Hope Hull, and, so suspicious 
were the times concerning Methodist preachers, he watched 
him closely to see if he loved liquor. Bradford died in the 
faith in 1826. In 1823 James Jenkins began preaching in 
Sumterville. Green Swamp being inconveniently far away, 
and many without conveyances, the people gladly attended his 
ministry in the village. At length, at a Quarterly Conference 
held at Fork Creek, November, 1823, the following persons were 
appointed trustees of the intended church structure: Richard 
Bradford, Hartwell Macon, James Parsons, Wiley F. Holliman, 
William Lewis, William L. Brunson, Mason Reams, Henry 
Young, and Francis L. Kennedy. But the church was not ded- 
icated until July, 1827, by the preacher in charge, George W. 
Moore. The Green Swamp membership at once transferred, 
and that church no longer appeared on the journal. 

In 1831 a revival was held in Sumter Church by the Revs. 
William M. Wightman and Allison, assisted by the Rev. H. A. C. 
Walker. In 1844, thirteen years after, this structure was found 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLIXAS. 169 

too small. It liad never been ceiled or plastered, and had become 
quite dilapidated. Two acres of land were obtained near tlie 
old site, and a building seating four or five hundred persons 
was erected, the galleries accommodating some two or three 
hundred more. The Ilevs. Samuel Townsend and J. H. Chand- 
ler were the preachers on the Sumterville Circuit. The new 
church was dedicated in 1847 by the Rev. H. Spain; text, Gen- 
esis xxviii. 17, "This is none other but the house of God." 

In 1851 a petition representing the male members, signed by 
W. L. Brunson, J. Hervey Dingle, and W. Lewis, was sent to 
the South Carolina Conference at Georgetown, and Sumter was 
made a statioii. The Rev. W. W. Mood writes that on May 18, 
1885, under the pastorate of the Rev. H. F. Chreitzberg, ground 
was broken for the present brick structure, little Genevieve 
Hyatt moving the first soil. The church was dedicated by 
Bishop Duncan, May 27, 1888; text, Acts i. 8. William L. 
Brunson and James Hervey Dingle were for many years pillars 
of the church in Sumter, and are deservedly held in grateful re- 
membrance. 

Rembert Church was one of the oldest in Santee Circuit — in- 
deed, in the state; it w^as some twelve miles from Sumter, on 
the road to Camden and Statesburg. Bishop Asbury frequent- 
ly preached there; and in this neighborhood was his favorite 
resting place from the severe, labors of travel, the little rest he 
allowed liimself to take in his tireless round of a continent. 
" Rembert Hall " and " Perry Hall " are often mentioned in his 
journal. Caleb Rembert and Abijah Rembert were tlie sons of 
Captain Caleb Rembert, of "Rembert Hall." Abijah was the 
father of Colonel James E, Rembert, a gentleman of the old 
school, and so favorably known in later years. His father, 
Abijah, died in 1805 at the age of sixty-two years. In Colonel 
Rembert's house the author has seen the portraitui^e of five 
generations. The original chapel has long since vanished. A 
camp ground at one time surrounded the site, and here the fa- 
thers ministered often. Parley AV. Clenny, who was sent to fill 
the vacancy caused by McNab's flight, died on the ground. Dr. 
Whitefoord Smith preaching his funeral sermon. The present 
church makes a goodly appearance from the road; repaired and 
repainted, and the undergrowth cut away, it makes a pretty 
sight. It is now in the Oswego Circuit. Bless the foreign 



170 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

uomeuclature creeping into ouv country! Denmark, for in- 
stance. 

Manning Station is an offshoot from the Santee Circuit, and 
the circuit was formed in 1860. Oak Grove, not far from the 
village, was an axDpointment, St. Mark's Church was attached- 
to it in 1861. This neighborhood was formerly connected with 
the parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church. A singularity 
in connection with the original St. Mark's Church was that it 
was built on the dividing line between Prince Frederick and 
St. Mark's parishes, now Williamsburg and Clarendon counties, 
on the north side of the Santee public road. A new church 
was built for the Methodists. The Pev. John P. Pickett was 
about the first of the preachers serving this section. In 1889 
Manning was made a station, and it was served for three years 
by the Pev. Henry M. Mood, who in 1895 finished his second- 
term of very acceptable service there. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Santee Circuit Continued — Rev. Samuel Leard's Narrations — Names of Ce- 
lebrities — Rembert's, Deschamp's, Green's — Camp Meeting at Lodibar in 
1850 — Necrological — Memorial Reminiscences of Dr. William Capers — 
The Capers Family. 

IN addition to what has been said of Eembert's and Lodibar, 
the two prominent places in the old Santee Circuit, there 
is much more to be said of their earlier history; and through 
the kindness of the Rev. Samuel Leard, who, from his long resi- 
dence in that old, historic circuit, is well prepared to narrate 
events, we place on record much of interest. Rembert's he 
calls classic, because it was the residence of men and women 
who in point of descent, intelligence, and respectability were 
the peers of the most aristocratic in the land. He calls it 
Methodistic, in that it furnished some of the finest illustra- 
tions of a pure life, conjoined with the most fervent piety and 
devotion to God and to his cause. The "high hills of San- 
tee," situated just below, and on the borders of Wateree and 
Santee rivers, had been famous before and during the Revolu- 
tion for the wealth, intelligence, and refinement of its inhab- 
itants, and exercised great influence over the social and intel- 
lectual charactei-istics of the earlier settlers. Mr. Leard's 
acquaintance with the section began in the second quarter of 
the present century, while the history of Methodism runs back 
into the last quarter of the eighteenth centur3\ Asbury states, 
"January 6, 1802. I rode twenty miles to James Rembert's" 
(Rembert Hall). This was about a mile from the present 
church. "December 20. I came here to enjoy a little rest; 
preached at Rembert's Chapel. Great change in this settle- 
ment; many attend preaching with seriousness and tears." And 
thus at various seasons in his long ministry. In 1812 he men- 
tions the death of the elder Capers, father of the first Bishop 
Capers. He was a patriot of the Revolution; born in the parish 
of St. Thomas, October 13, 1758; died in this neighborhood, and 
was buried in the graveyard on Dr. Dick's place, now owned by 
Dr. Henry Abbott. He was buried October 12, 1812, and on 
the tombstone is this legend: "My father, my father, the chariot 

an) 



172 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLIXAS. 

of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" Another stone bears 
the following: "In memory of Mrs. Anna Capers, wife of Rev. 
William Capers, and the only daughter of Mr. John White, of 
Georgetown District, born February 20, 1795; born again Sep- 
tember 14, 1811; died December 30, 1815. Admired by all who 
knew her, and beloved as admired, and amiable as beloved, and 
pious as amiable"; concluding, as characteristic of her, with St. 
Paul's inimitable description of Christian charitj'. Another 
memorial stone is inscribed to the first wife of Samuel Wragg 
Capers: "Mrs. Elizabeth W. Capers, died March 29, 1818; aged 
19 years, 2 months, and 9 days. Esfo fidelis ad mortem, et daho 
coronam ritce f/'bi." 

Another distinguished family was the Eemberts. James 
Rembert was of Huguenotic extraction. In addition there were 
the Messrs. Caleb, Samuel, James, Jr., and Abijah Rembert, all 
living in the first quarter of the present century, and contrib- 
uting by their energy and piety to the building up of Methodism. 
There was a Mr. John Rembert and his son. Captain James 
Rembert, near Bishopville; the widow of the elder becoming 
the wife of the Rev. Allan McCorquodale. James E. Rembert, 
son of Abijah Rembert, for many years a steward and liberal 
supporter of the Church, was born in 1800, and died March 20, 
1888. He and his wife were received into the Church by Thom- 
as Mabry in 1822. The Young family was one of the oldest 
and most useful in the Rembert settlement. The Rev. Henry 
Young was for many years a Methodist, and for twenty years a 
local preacher. He died at the age of seventy years in 1835. 
The Rev. William M. Kennedy and his brother, Erancis L., 
found excellent wives in this household. The last named spent 
the greater part of his life in this neighborhood, and exerted a 
noble influence. He was a man of property and of fine moral 
character. He died November 12, 1837, having been a member 
of the Church for twenty-seven years. Brother Erancis Henry, 
his son, joined the Church under the Rev. A. McCorquodale's 
ministry. He died March, 1875. Nicholas Punch was an old 
and faithful member here. Among the local preachers remem- 
bered were the brothers John B. and James E. Glenn. Years 
afterwards they became citizens of Abbeville. The Rev. John B. 
Glenn, once an itinerant, was a Virginian by birth, and a black- 
smith by trade. He was a tall, bony, wiry man, of great bold- 



EABLT METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 173 

ness and determination of character; a fine, simple, earnest man 
of God. He married the widow of Le Grand Guerry, a sister 
of William Capers. James Elizabeth Glenn was, in physical 
development, entirely different from his brother— gigantic in 
person, with a full-rounded face, ample dimensions, florid com- 
plexion, a voice like a trumpet, and faculties naturally of the 
highest order. He was greatly polemic, set for the defense of 
the gospel, the chamDion of Methodism in Abbeville and sur- 
rounding counties. He was the founder of Tabernacle Acade- 
my, afterwards Cokesbury School; the instrument in securing 
S. Olin for his school, and also in his conversion. He wrought 
at the handicraft of a carpenter, building churches literally as 
well as spiritually. He had the capabilities of a bishop, and 
the humility of a child; was a favorite with the young, hunting 
with the boys on Mulberry and Coronica creeks, and was their 
defender from all oppression. He emigrated to Alabama, 
founding the Glenville village and school. Our loss was the 
gain of that noble state. More is to be said of him in the se- 
quel. The Eev. Noah Laney, for a long time an itinerant, 
found a wife in this excellent community. The Eev. Elias 
Frasher, another local preacher, a descendant of Lord Lovat, 
the Jacobite, was a man of fine personal appearance, well ed- 
ucated, and a perfect gentleman in and out of the pulpit. He 
was possessed of considerable wealth, and exerted a good influ- 
ence during his life. 

The Rev. William Guerry, a nephew of Bishop Capers, lived 
between Rembert's and Lodibar. He resembled the bishop in 
style and manners, and became a member and minister in the 
Protestant Episcoioal Church. Alexius M. Forster was long as- 
sociated with Lodibar as teacher and minister, and afterwards 
connected with the South Carolina Conference. Willis J. 
Spann was long identified with Rembert's. He was of slender 
form, of an active, nervous temperament, of fine conversational 
powers, and deeply religious. He was a strong pillar at Rem- 
bert's. 

Colonel Sinclair Deschamps, the founder of Mechanicsville, 
and long a resident at Sumter, Avas once a member at Rembert's. 
Of Huguenotic origin, he was tall and slender in person, of ar- 
dent temperament, and quick in mind and action; a gentleman 
in manners, a Methodist from principle, and a zealous support- 



174 EAELY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

er of the Churcli. Brother Thomas Boone was also a member. 
He has a son who is an esteemed minister of the North Carolina 
Conference. The McLeods were numerous, and noted for their 
fine Christian character. Daniel McLeod, near Lodibar, Moses, 
Oliver, Eobert L., N. B., and Boger D. McLeod were all devot- 
ed Methodists and firm supporters of the Church. The Rev. 
Henry D. Green is worthy of special notice. He was a native 
of Georgetown District, born in 1791. He entered the South 
Carolina Conference in 1810, and traveled five years. He mar- 
ried a Miss Mathews, of Camden, S. C, and settled not far from 
Bembert's Church, of which Jie was among the earliest organ- 
izers. From small beginnings he became wealthy, and his home 
was elegant and well furnished. He was a good planter, a kind 
master, and a devoted husband. His second marriage was to 
a Miss Abbott, of Camden. Their house was the preachers' 
home. He was a student with a fine library, and his profiting 
as a theologian was conspicuous. As a preacher he had the 
eloquence of thought, but his voice was not strong, and a cer- 
tain hesitancy of speech hindered fluency. He could preach a 
thoughtful sermon, full of good sense and instruction and of 
unbounded sympathy, and he has left behind him a reputation 
of exalted Christian worth. Mr. Leard describes the last visit 
paid him. He was alone, his wife not long, dead, his children 
all married and gone. His servants had followed the prevail- 
ing example, and nearly all of them had left. He could not but 
speak of his great loss in the death of his wife, and the broken 
up condition of the country, and the ruined state of his neigh- 
bors and himself. He was asked his age, and replied that he 
was seventy-six, and added if it were possible to go back and 
live his life over, there were but five years he desired to repeat 
— when he was a poor traveling Methodist preacher. 

The last camp meeting at Lodibar attended by Mr. Leard was 
in 1850. It was then a splendid camping ground, with fine tents 
and preaching stand, and the elite of the country in attendance; 
the surroundings forming a great contrast with the simplicity, 
ease, and freedom of former days. What had been gained in 
elegance and refinement was overbalanced by loss in simplicity 
and power. Bishop Capers, with the Bev. Samuel W. Capers, 
the presiding elder, and some twenty preachers were present. 
A severe reproof had been given for some improper conduct. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 175 

and the effect was electric and disastrous. An apology had 
been withheld until there was a ferment of passion. With 
great difficulty peace and harmony were restored to the demoral- 
ized congregation. 

The Hev. James Jenkins lived for several years in this com- 
munity. By eminence he was one of the most heroic founders 
of Methodism in the Santee country — indeed, in the entire state. 
He was then aged, and his tall, erect form, independent bearing, 
and cast-iron expression of features made an indelible impres- 
sion on all seeing him. He was at that time a superannuated 
preacher, almost blind, yet he moved about with an energy 
most surprising. Entering the Conference in 1792 and dying 
in 1847, he had for fifty-five years served in the ministry. Some 
called him " Thundering Jimmie," and others the " Conference 
Currycomb." He was always ready for the correction of any 
wrong in manners or morals, and yet all apprehension of re- 
buke was mingled with unqualified reverence and respect. His 
style of preaching was very plain and simple; he seemed ut- 
terly oblivious to all surroundings, and had b\it one purpose, 
and that was to rebuke sin unsparingly and to urge the neces- 
sity of vital godliness. He would often give utterance to an 
animated shout, sometimes displeasing to a modern congrega- 
tion. He was an Elijah or a John the Baptist of the early 
Church. His whole bearing in the pulpit was most impressive. 
His almost sightless eyes, his thin, long, white locks, and his 
fearlessness in proclaiming the truth, made you feel deeply. 

Bishop Capers in early life being identified with this Lodibar 
section, his residence here for a year may be recalled with pro- 
priety. The farm upon which he settled was here, he having lo- 
cated to provide for the comfort of his almost adored young wife. 
Her early death subverted all his plans, and as soon as he could 
he reentered the traveling connection, never to locate but in the 
grave. There were but few parsonages at that time for the ac- 
commodation of any. Of the one occupied in Columbia, 8. C, 
soon after, he has left a graphic picture in his autobiography. 
He would in familiar intercourse give other items not therein 
published. One of these occurred with the Rev. Samuel Leard, 
to whom he related the manner of the stewards in the settle- 
ment of church dues. The meetings were once a week, when 
all collections were reported and weekly expenditures settled up. 



176 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

And it was in no mean city, and one also witli several wealthy 
members, that this occurred. On one occasion, among other 
things, one-half bushel of corn was reported as bought. "Broth- 
er Capers," said a steward, "I see here a half bushel of corn; 
how is that? You do not keep a horse; what use did you have 
for corn?" Dr. Capers replied: "Well, brother, the presiding 
elder came, and he had a horse. I always make it a rule for him 
to stay at the parsonage, and hence I was obliged to have the 
corn." You sse he "acknowledged the corn." What else was 
to be done under the circumstances? "But, Brother Capers," 
continued the steward, " why did you not send the presiding 
elder and his hoi'se over to my house, and thus save the expense 
to the church?" "No, brother," replied the doctor, "I always 
claim the presiding elder, and must provide for his horse as 
well as for himself; but if not allowed, scratch if out.'" 

Again, in reviewing the account, a steward said: "Look here, 
Brother Capers, I see a half pound of tea is charged; would 
not coffee be cheaper?" "Perhaps so," said the doctor; "but 
my wife likes a cup of tea occasionally, and I cannot refuse to 
afford her that little luxury; but if you think it too expensive, 
scratch it out." 

All this may be thought only a burlesque on economy. But 
it is on record from another source that at least one of that 
board of stewards, and a wealthy man at that, was so econom- 
ical, according to his own son's testimony, that he " saved shoe 
leather by always seeking a soft place to put down his foot." 

Mr. Leard, on the bishop's relation of the above, becoming 
quite indignant, could stand it no longer, and springing to his 
feet, exclaimed, "How could you stand it, bishop?" "Softly, 
my brother, softly," said the bishop. "Ever since God took 
away my Anna, I could endure anything for the privilege of 
preaching the gospel of Christ." And the dust of that lovely 
woman, whose premature death changed the elegant, gifted, and 
eloquent William Capers into the self-denying, laboring martyr, 
rests in that lonely graveyard near Lodibar. 

The Capers family have long been distinguished for piety, 
fine personal presence, intelligence, and most of them as elo- 
quent preachers of the gospel. They were descendants of Major 
William Capers, of Revolutionary fame, who married Mary Sin- 
gletary, daughter of John Singletary, of St. Thomas's Parish, 





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BUNCOMB-i STKEET CHURCH, GREENVILLK, S. C. 



IMethodism was established in Greenville between 1833 and the end of 
1835, by the Kev. Thomas Hutchins, who preached in the courthouse. In 
1836 a church, was built, which was served by the circuit preachers until 
1841, when Greenville was made a station, with the Rev. W. P. Mouzon as 
preacher in charge. In February, 1873, the congregation moved from the 
old church, corner of Church and Coffee streets, into the handsome build- 
ing now used, fronting on Buncoml)e street, from which the church takes its 
name. It was dedicated by Bishop Doggett, the Rev. E. J. Meynardie being 
the preacher in charge. It has at present a membership of four hundred 
and thirty-five. St. Paul's Church, Greenville, and the Mission Church were 
both formed from the congregation of the Buncombe Street Church. The 
Rev. William A. Rogers is the pastor for 1897. 
12 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 179 

S. C; another daughter, Anna, marrying Beverly Allen. The 
family make up a remarkable ministerial record: Kev, William 
Capers, D.D., one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South; Eev. Gabriel Capers, Rev. John S. Capers, 
Eev. Samuel W. Capers, Eev. Benjamin H. Capers, Rev. Thomas 
Humphries Capers, Rev. James Capers, Rev. William Tertius 
Capers, Rev. John S. Capers, Rev. Richard Thornton Capers, 
and Rev. Ellison Capers, now bishop in the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church. 

The Chesterfield Circuit, as we have seen, was a part of the 
Santee Circuit, and its history may be noted in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Chesterfield Circuit — Official Names — Society Hill Finances — Camden Sta- 
tion — Early Methodism in Charlotte, N. C. — The Waxhaws— The Indians 
— The Presbyterians — Superstition — Michael Burdge — Ashley Hewett. 

TTTE may offend in noticing minutely some matters; the op- 

^ ' probrinm engendered would not be risked for that alone. 
As to the motive, the writer is willing to leave it to the develop- 
ments of the judgment day, hoping that others, if much con- 
cerned about it, may afford to do likewise. Offending the sen- 
sitiveness of any would be avoided if possible; but must the 
truth be sujopressed because painful? Besides, is there no 
sensitiveness on the part of others, often charged with base 
self-seeking, who, though giving the best of denial by a life- 
long endurance, ai-e silent from necessity? 

One object has been to show that at several points in our 
Conference territory during the same decade, from 1830 to 
1840, however meager the support, the work has gone on. 
True this is no new thing in Methodism existing to-day. But 
the novelty lies in the fact that but few comparatively know it. 
Year after year the preachers are furnished churches, and 
whether supported or not the supxily does not fail. This is so 
contrary to all human action, and so like offering a premium 
for default, that many are ready to conclude the lack of support 
is mythical. What better can these old records do than to give 
up their testimony? The covering-up process does not aid ad- 
vancement; hiding facts in the minds of officials and covering 
over delinquent charges may minister to a pseudo-charity, but 
militates ever against the truth and progression. 

If any portion of the country may have urged poverty as the 
cause of failure in sustaining Church operations, this wire-grass, 
sand-hill section had reason to do so. Save along the borders of 
the streams, all was land of the poorest description; yet it will be 
seen that it was not far behind some of the richer territory of the 
Conference. Indeed, I am clearly of the opinion that poverty, 
though always urged, is the very least cause of failure in this 
direction. This may appear in the sequel. 

The Chesterfield Circuit, although Methodism existed within 
(180) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 181 

its boundaries from the very beginning, was incorporated with 
other circuits until 1832. Bordering on North Carolina, it was 
one of the first sections of the state visited by the apostolic As- 
bury. Under date of February 17, 1785, he writes of the Clieraw 
Hills, and his spending some time in prayer in the church at 
that place — none other than the present Episcopal Church, 
which antedates the Kevolution. Others of the fathers soon 
followed. The Rev. Hugh Craig, long a local preacher in this 
circuit, remembers the gift of a little catechism to himself, 
when a child, by the famed George Dougherty. Within its 
boundaries, at Old Fork Creek (Knight's Meetinghouse), AYil- 
liam Capers was converted, and along "that dreary sand-hill 
road leading from Chesterfield Courthouse to Sumterville" 
struggled concerning his call to preach, and conquered. With- 
in its territory those elect ladies, Mrs. Blakeny and Mrs. Blair, 
domiciled and cheered the itinerant in his rounds with all their 
abounding wealth afforded. Of a later day are the Williamses, 
Craigs, Chapmans, Lucases, and others, whose praise, if not in 
this, will be in another and more enduring book. 

The first session of the Quarterly Conference for 1832 was 
held March 17, at Chesterfield Courthouse. William Kennedy, 
presiding elder; John M. Kelly, preacher in charge; Allen Rush- 
ing, local preacher; L. Ogburn, exhorter; John Burnett, M. K. 
McCaskill, James C. Brown, and John D. Price, leaders. Oth- 
er members present were : Hugh Craig and John Stephens, lo- 
cal preachers; James Wright, William Hudson, William Morse, 
J. W. Hudson, C. Therell, Haywood Chapman, A. Mclnnis, 
Alexander Cassidy, J. McLean, K. Bennett, Edwin Odum, 
Henry Wallace, and AVilliam Moss. In 1838, B. Dozier, Alex- 
ander McNair, W. H. Wadsworth, William Hall, Thomas Sweat, 
Clement Cogdell, Elias Eraser, William L. Morse, Tyre Mc- 
Haffy, and Isaac Hall were added. In 1834 Charles Pigg, O. 
Gatledge, Andrew Miller, and Peter Stewart appear. In 1839 
O. Jordan, Dr. Charles Williams, J. B. Nettles, Hugh Blakeny, 
Jesse Gibson, and William Ingram are recorded. In 1841 M. 
J. McDonald, Donald McDonald, J. Stephens, A. Miles, J. Mc- 
Crary, E. Ellis, M. Talbert, and S. P. Murchison are added. 

In 1832 there were admitted on trial 206 whites and 128 col- 
ored. The churches, with payments for the entire year, were: 
Society Hill, $28.20; Mt. Zion, $5; Sardis (Stephens's), $2.91; 



182 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

Fork Creek, $34.28; Smyrna (McHaffy's), 81 cents; Taxahaw, 
$11.81; Zion, $5; Pleasant Hill, $5; Courtliouse, $34.70; Sliiloh, 
$2.57; Bear Creek, $7.98; Mt. Olivet, $9; New Prospect, 72 cents; 
Public collections, $25.18. Total collected, $173.16. 

Traveling expenses $ 6 50 

Paid presiding elder 50 00 

Paid preacher in charge 11 (i 66 

Total $173 16 

Membership, 474 whites; average per member, 38 cents. 

In 1833, same presiding elder; A. B. McGilvary, preacher in 
charge. First quarter, 43| cents; second quarter, $65.75; third 
quarter, $36.43; fourth quarter, $73.18|; stewards' meeting, 
$48.01. Total collected, $223.81. 

Traveling expenses $ 8 50 

Paid presiding elder 50 00 

Paid preacher in charge 165 31 

Total $223 81 

Average per inember, 42 cents. 

The yearly collections for the support of presiding elders and 
preachers for the next years are as follows: 

1832. John M. Kelly, preacher in charge $173 16 

1833. A. B. McGilvary 223 81 

1834. William Brockington 213 99 

1835 to 1840 imperfect. 

1841. George R. Talley 228 82 

1842. J. M. Bradley 329 15 

1843. Abel Hoyle 253 89 

1844. A. M. Clireitzberg 358 52 

1845. John Watts 196 04 

1846. M. A. McKibben 212 31 

1847. W. L. Pegues 130 35 

1848. M. A. McKibben 212 31 

1849. W. L. Pegues 273 53 

1850. A. Nettles 239 35 

1851 and 1852 imperfect. 

1853. D. W. Seal 235 65 

1854. D. W. Seal 433 49 

1855. Daniel McDonald 141 26 

1856. S. Jones 246 15 

1857. S. Jones 212 53 

1858. E. J. Pennington 199 66 

1859. E. J. Pennington 367 60 

1860. Jesse S. Nelson 320 07 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 



183 



1861 to 1867 imperfect. 

1868. Oliver Eady .$330 00 

1869. J. C. Hartsell 380 00 

1870. J. Sandford 577 72 

1871. J. B. Piatt 635 00 

1872. J. B. Piatt 797 00 

1873. A. Ervine 680 00 

1874. A. Ervine 623 30 

1875. J. C. Russell 680 00 

1876. J. \V. Murray 756 44 

1877. J. AV. Murray 813 19 

1878. J. W. Murray 646 97 

1879. J. W. Murray 788 54 

1880. C. D. Rowell 855' 00 

1881. C. D. Rowell 844 61 

1882. C. D. Eowell 814 78 

1883. C. D. Rowell 819 59 

1884. J. AV. McRoy 721 80 

1885. J. AV. McRoy 601 21 

1886. AV. H. AVliitaker 682 79 

1887. AV. H. Whitaker 818 44 

This shows a very creditable increase in ministerial support. 
How it will be in the future remains to be seen. This once large 
circuit is now cut in half. 

A tabular statement for five years will show the amounts con- 
tributed by each church, and an aggregate for five years' minis- 
terial labor as low as could l)e reasonably expected: 



ClirRCHKS. 


]si4. 


\Xio. 


1S4U. 


1S47. 


184S. 


Total. 


Society Hill 


$ 33 18 

55 02 

85 50 

6 00 

4 00 
40 17 
10 00 

8 50 
13 75 
66 53 

10 00 

5 00 

9 87 

11 00 


% 40 00 
37 02 
40 00 


% 30 00 
36 90 
65 00 






$ 93 18 


Fork Creek 


$ 49 60 
38 00 


$ 33 25 
13 00 


211 69 


Damascus 


241 50 


Mt. Zion 


6 00 


Zion 


6 50 

20 02 

5 00 

2 61 

"25'56 

1 50 

1 42 

10 

23 60 


7 00 
1 00 
4 25 
7 50 

7 50 
28 87 

8 60 


6 25 
1 50 
3 00 
1 00 

50 
22 00 

50 


9 75 

"'•I'bh 

1 50 

27 00 

1 00 


33 50 


Bethel 


02 69 


Friendship 


09 05 


Prospect 


20 61 


Mt. Olivet 


23 25 


Courthouse 

Shiloh 

Pleasant Hill 


169 96 

21 60 

6 42 


Sardis 


i 25 
14 43 


1 50 
7 50 


2 87 
40 67 


15 59 


Public collections 


97 20 








$358 52 


$203 33 


$212 30 


$130 35 


$131 04 


$1,025 44 



This record from the Quarterly Conference Journal here 
closes. We would like to have the figures covering the war pe- 



184 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CASOLIXAS. 

riod, but they are not at hand. From 1868 to 1875 tliere are 
returus showing a healthy increase iu the finances, and giving 
promise of improvement still greater in the coming years: 



Preacher in Charge. 



Amount 


Collected. 


§330 00 


380 00 


577 82 


635 00 


797 00 


680 00 


623 30 


680 00 



1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 



0. Eadv §330 00 75 

J. C. Hartsell 380 00 81 

J. Sandford 577 82 87 

J.B.Piatt 635 00 79 

J. B. Piatt 797 00 $1 02 

A. Ervine 680 00 97 

A. Ervine 623 30 85 

J. C. Russell 680 00 89 



But let US run back into the past and in the light of contrast 
view the improvements hereabout. The names of York, Ches- 
ter, Lancaster, and Chesterfield proclaim our connection with 
English history from an early period in the seventeenth century. 
With the reigns of the pedant James and the untrust\\'orthy 
Charles, the profligate son, and the monkish brother who for 
love of Rome threw away his kingdom and crown, this upper 
country of Carolina had but little to do. It was not until near 
the close of the eighteenth ceutury that any settlement of impor- 
tance was made therein. About the middle of the said century 
hereabout tribes of Indians, the Catawbas and Waterees, were 
masters of the whole. Bands of traders supplied the necessi- 
ties of the Indians and their own in the way of barter, reaping 
a rich harvest from the unsuspecting natives. What a blessing 
to think nobody now wants to cheat his neighbor! Oh, no; not 
one, nowhere! 

But it is religious and not civil matters in hand just now. It 
will be remembered how nearly Dean Swift came to being made 
bishop of America. What the record would have been had the 
queen's disinclination to bim been overcome, who can conjec- 
ture ? 

All know John Wesley's plea to the bisho^D of London to or- 
dain preachers for America, rejected with disdain — the people 
so few, the country so far. Alas for human foresight! What 
might not the Church of England have gained by his compli- 
ance, yet what might not the country have lost by the complex 
machinery not fitted for the wilderness? 



EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROIJNAS. 185 

Chesterfield was doubtless named from tlie courtly earl 
whom the great English lexicographer so snubbed in his dedi- 
cation of his great dictionary. His body long since dust, here 
he has an imperishable monument to his memory. This Ches- 
terfield Circuit is monumental in another sense; at least its 
name has been associated with Methodism many years, and 
some old documents in my possession will show that amid all 
discouragements of the past there has been a steady increase, 
promising still more of success in coming years. The circuit 
itself, though Methodism existed in its boundaries from the 
very beginning, was incorporated with other charges until 1832, 
sixty-five years ago. Bordering on North Carolina, it was one 
of the first sections of the state visited by the apostolic Asbury 
as early as 1785. And though ignorant and unlearned men, just 
like Peter and John, they built Tip a great Church nevertheless; 
and their sons are laying the foundation broad and deep for 
mightier conquests in the twentieth century, now near at hand. 

At Society Hill we had but little success. There was some dif- 
ficulty as to the site of the church in 1834. The road to it was 
fenced up, entailing a lawsuit; a resident minister using his in- 
fluence against us, and finally falling sadly. There were strong 
friends there, however — Dr. Hoges, James and William Houze, 
and Mrs. Snipes. In 1844 Dr. Charles Williams resided there, 
and was very infiuential. 

The old Fork Creek Church, while in Santee Circuit and for 
years after, was ever noted as fruitful. It is still to the front 
in Jefferson Circuit. 

Camden Station has ever been a place of importance in 
Methodist annals. It was the seat of ten Conferences, and was 
once in connection with Santee Circuit, but in 1811 was set off 
as a station, so remaining until now. The Quarterly Confer- 
ence Journal from 1839 to 1854 is before us. But little save 
the usual inquiries is on record. The members of the first 
Quarterly Conference, held February 9, 1839, were H. Spain, 
presiding elder; B. Thomas Mason, preacher in charge; S. AV. 
Capers, Thomas Berry, and A. Purifoy, local preachers; John 
B. Joy, class leader and exhorter; J. S. Depass, James Dunlap, 
James C. West, W. C. Workman, stewards. At other sessions 
Phineas Thornton, T. S. Mood, F. B. Bush, A. Y. Pritchard, J. 
N. Gamewell. 



186 EARLY METHODISM IIST THE CAROLINAS. 

In 1852 a resolution was offered by J. N. Gamewell, requiring 
financial reports yearly from the board of stewards; but no at- 
tention was paid to the same thereafter. 

Camden has been favored with remarkable men and women. 
To those noted above may be added the names of two elect la- 
dies, Mrs. Amelia Haile and Mrs. Sarah Ciples, who gave the 
present parsonage, and made provision for servants and every- 
thing needed for the comfort of the pastors. Thurlow Caston, 
an able lawyer, was exceedingly useful to the church; he died 
in early life. Dr. Zemp was for years a steward, and had 
much to do with the erection of the present handsome church 
structure. It was enterprised during the ministry of the Bev. 
H. F. Chreitzberg in 1875, and set apart for worship some two 
or three years after. The elect ladies noted above surely de- 
serve some memorial for their liberal gift of a parsonage, bank 
stock, servants, and the like to the Camden Church. 

The Wateree Circuit was set off, as seen, in 1809; so re- 
maining until 1833, when Wateree was confined to the mission 
work, and in 1834 Lancaster Circuit in its place, sweeping up 
into the Waxhaws. In 1870 Lancaster Courthouse was made a 
station and the Lancaster Circuit changed into Hanging Rock. 
In 1809 it will be remembered how faultless was the ministry 
of William Capers, and it was not until 1833 or 1834 that any 
attempt was made to build a church at the courthouse. James 
Jenkins with J. J. Allison held a two days' meeting at that 
time, preaching in the courthouse. They were kindly enter- 
tained by Colonel Witherspoon. He states that Frederick Rush 
was the preacher in charge, but the Minutes say differently. 
They were R. Adams and S. Armstrong. Rush was on the Wa- 
teree Mission. Ten whites and thirteen blacks were enrolled, 
and a Brother Brummet appointed leader. In a year or two 
afterwards a church was built. In 1835, with James C. Postell, 
another meeting was held by James Jenkins. There was then 
a comfortable house of worship and a number of members. 
Among the first members were the Beckhems, Mayers, Brum- 
mets. Millers, Riddles, and others. As we have seen, the original 
Santee Circuit ran up to near Charlotte, N. C. The introduc- 
tion of Methodism there is worthy of note, and may be seen 
at length in James Jenkins's autobiography. Dr. Dunlap, 
with Mrs. Martin, mother of the Rev. William Martin, were 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 187 

among the first to join. Dr. Dunlap was the son of the lady 
subjected to the fearful ordeal in the graveyard of the Waxhaws 
Presbyterian Church in the last century. In 1788 Saluda Cir- 
cuit and the Waxhaws were added to the appointments. Mi- 
chael Burdge was the preacher in charge. 

The Waxhaws were long famous in Methodist annals, aud are 
often mentioned in Bishop Asbury's journaL It was attractive to 
him because of the Catawba Indians near by, and Burdge was 
sent to labor specially with them. Coke and Asbury visited the 
tribe and preached to them through an interpreter. A rude 
structure Avas improvised and the tribe attended, but they were 
more concerned about the present than a future life. All ef- 
forts since to Christianize them have been abortive. At a late 
date a few women may have been seen in attendance on worship 
at Friendship Church in the present Leslie Circuit. Some were 
members there who seemingly were not full-blooded Indians. 
The Waxhaws are known to fame as the birthplace of Andrew 
Jackson. At the old church he attended school. In that grave- 
yard his father is buried, and thither the wounded were carried 
from the Buf ord massacre during the Revolution. That old grave- 
yard witnessed a scene in the latter part of the eighteenth century 
most disgraceful to civilization: the disinterment of a corpse, after 
months of burial, to prove the guilt or innocence of one accused 
of murder. The widow of the dead man was compelled to touch 
the corpse to see if, according to the superstition of the time, it 
would bleed. The lady, afterwards Mrs. Dunlap, by the general 
sentiment of the community was held entirely innocent. 

Some distance from the Waxhaws Presbyterian Church, on 
the road to Charlotte, once stood the Methodist Waxhaws 
Church. Near it, and not far from the road, stands a conglom- 
erate formation neatly poised on a narrow shelf of rocks, and 
named by the writer, "The Sachem's Pipe." The folklore of 
the country states that the little children would look with open- 
eyed astonishment to see it move, which it would inevitably do 
on hearing a cock crow; not readily seeing that their disap- 
pointment lay in the rock being so hard of hearing. 

Bishops Asbury and McKendree in their travel in this neigh- 
borhood once sought shelter with a good old Associate Re- 
formed Presbyterian. To their request to stay all night the 
answer was: " That is as ye behave yourselves." 



188 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

" Well, Mr. Mc , we are Methodist preachers — " 

"Hoot mou," was the sudden reply, "of all people in the 
warld I hate them the most! " 

"But why?" w^as the rejoinder. 

" Why, they get drunk and tell lees." 

" Who says so? " was the inquiry of the bishop. 

" Why, our good mon the meinester." 

"Does he get drunk?" was next asked. 

" Weel, not often," was replied. 

After being admitted, they asked liberty to pray, and were 
told, "Pray, mon, as much as ye like." 

Their request to sing a hymn was indignantly refused with a 
"No, that ye sha'n't! " 

The Waxhaws Presbyterian Church for a long time was the 
center of religious influence in this section. Camp meetings 
w^ere once held there. At one time a well-to-do population lay 
along the Catawba River. Emigration and the emancipation of 
the slaves have much reduced its prosperity. The old graveyard 
contains the dust of several generations. Methodism at the 
AVaxhaws has always had a good representation. Lying di- 
rectly in the route of travel of the pioneers, it Avas favored with 
their early ministry; and it has long retained a deep spirituality 
of character. The present church structure is small, but it is 
expected that a more commodious one wall soon be erected. 

From the Waxhaws came James Russell, an uncultured back- 
woodsman, but who, like Burns the plowman, had natal gifts, 
and the matchless sweep of wdiose oratory charmed the erudite 
Olin. Of him more is to be said hereafter. 

Michael Burdge had peculiar honor as the first missionary — 
indeed, the only one ever sent to the Catawba Indians at the 
Waxhaws in 1788. He traveled four years; located in 1807; 
sought readmission into the Conference, and after a year or two 
obtained it; was honored, with Sturdivant, as a missionary to 
Mississippi; labored under difficulties subjecting him to com- 
plaint and trial, and was finally set down in the General Minutes 
as expelled from the Oneida Conference in 1819. Dr. Anson 
West, in his " History of Methodism in Alabama," has pretty 
thoroughly traced his history, and has shown from the journals 
of the Oneida Conference that he was not expelled for crimi- 
nality, but imprudence. He was afterwards connected with the 




LITTLKTOX STKEET JIETHODIST CHUnClI, CAMDEN, S. C. 



]\Ietbodism was introduced into Camden about 1787. Isaac Smith has 
the honor of being its founder. For thirteen years it had no " set place " of 
worship. During the pastorate of the Rev. James Jenkins a church was 
erected. The building was very j^lain and inexpensive. Once or twice it 
was enlarged to accommodate the increased audiences. It stood near the 
present jail. 

In 1825, under the leadership of the Rev. Malcolm McPherson, a new 



190 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

church enterprise was started. This resdlted in the plain edifice on De Kalb 
street. It was occupied February 6, 1828, the first service being the forty-sec- 
ond session of the Annual Conference over which Bishop Soule presided. The 
negroes now own and use this house for a church. In 1860 a lot was bought 
on Monumental Square, and the corner stone of a new church was laid with 
grand and imposing ceremonies. The civil war caused this to be abandoned. 
After the sale of the De Kalb street property a small house was purchased 
on Hampton Square and used as a church. This was only a temporary ex- 
pedient. 

In 1875, under the leadership of the Eev. H. F. Chreitzberg, D.D., the 
handsome Littleton Street Church was begun. A few years later it was 
completed, while the Rev. J. O. Willson, D.D., was pastor. The dedicatory 
sermon was preached by the pastor under whose leadership it was begun. 
On that occasion Dr. Chreitzberg preached a magnificent sermon. This 
building is a perfect gem. Dr. F. L. Zemp, chairman of the building com- 
mittee, deserves much credit for making this enterprise such a success. 

During the pastorate of the Rev. J. Thomas Pate, D.D., in 1896, the build- 
ing was found to be too small, and was enlarged twenty feet. A splendid 
pipe organ was also placed in the church. It is now one of the very best 
churches in the state. J. T. P. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 191 

Methodist Protestant Church, and represented it in their Gen- 
eral Conference in 1838. 

We have a much better record of another of the honored 
missionaries sent from the South Carolina Conference to Mis- 
sissippi. In response to a call for volunteers at the thirtieth 
session held in Charleston, S. C, December, 23, 1815 — William 
McKendree, bishop — A. Hewitt was sent to Tombigbee. His 
long travel through the Indian country tested his courage, his 
life often being in jeopardy. 

Ashley Hewitt was recommended by a Quarterly Conference 
held in Enoree Circuit in 1810. He served faithfully in his 
Conference until transferred. Dr. Anson West's portraiture 
seems to be of no flattering kind, and yet has an offset in his 
end as related by Joseph Travis. " In stature he was tall and 
lean, blue eyes and hair of light color, a fair complexion, a 
mouth large enough to indicate a fluent speaker, and a pleasant 
countenance. He was a quiet, sedate, matter-of-fact man, pos- 
sessing a sound judgment, medium attainments, and moderate 
abilities. He had neither genius nor fancy. As a preacher he 
had but little or no variety, and was almost entirely destitute of 
emotion and of action. In 1830 he located." 

The Rev. Joseph Travis writes of an intimate acquaintanceship 
with Hewitt, and of his being highly esteemed in his mission- 
ary fields, both in Mississippi and Louisiana. He gives a sin- 
gular relation concerning his death scene. His daughter, Eliz- 
abeth, was taken sick with himself the same day. Intelligence 
was brought him that she was dead. He asked, " Did she pro- 
fess religion before she died ? " The answer was, " No." " Then 
she is not dead. God will not permit her to die until she is 
converted. I have trusted my heavenly Father too long to doubt 
it, and he has heard my prayer too frequently now to turn a 
deaf ear to my dying request in behalf of my beloved child." 
But she was laid out, when to tlie astonishment of all, after ly- 
ing thus about an hour, she opened her eyes, and said, distinct- 
ly: "Glory to God, my sins are forgiven, and I am going safe 
to heaven." Her father died the same day. 



CHAPTEK XXII. 

The Great Pee Dee Circuit — Flowers Church, near Marion Courthouse — 
Shouting Methodists — Britton's Neck, Darlington — The Old Gully Camp 
Meeting — Dougherty's Sermon — Marion Courthouse and Joseph Travis — 
Old Local Preachers — Bishopville Cross Poads — Pee Dee Circuit, 1840. 

HAYING traced the first named circuit (Santee), the next 
established the same year (1786) was the Great Pee Dee, 
divided two years after, in 1788, and called the Great and Little 
Pee Dee; Little Pee Dee, as far as the number of members 
goes, being the greater. The first named, in 1788, reported 885 
whites and 50 colored, and in 1789 only 369 whites and 39 col- 
ored; while Little Pee Dee reported 598 whites and 20 colored 
members. 

In 1796 James Jenkins traveled the Great Pee Dee Circuit, 
and states that it embraced portions of Williamsburg, Sumter, 
Darlington, and Marion counties; the larger part of Marlboro 
county being in the Little Pee Dee Circuit. The whole of the 
Pee Dee Valley, one of the fairest portions of the state, has al- 
ways been favorable to Methodism. The country was early pre- 
empted by the pioneers, and is held firmly to the faith up to 
this hour. By putting on record all now known of that early 
day, and taking the Santee, Congaree, and Broad rivers as the 
line, very nearly one-half of the state will have been brought un- 
der review. It is sad that so little is on record concerning the 
early work and workers. Only here and there are incidents 
noted, and unless put on record permanently very little will be 
rescued from oblivion. 

The Great Pee Dee Circuit, as we have seen, was formed by 
Jeremiah Mastin and Hope Hull in 1786. They did yeoman 
service, calling forth the high approval of Coke. Where it be- 
gan we are not informed, but it must have been in Britton's 
Neck, on its lower end, the river proving, from the difficulty of 
crossing it, an exceedingly great barrier. In more modern times 
to reach Georgetown often required seven miles of ferriage. 

The old Neck Church for a long time served the necessities 
of the people, the old Ark, lower dow^n in the fork of the rivers, 
being more recently established. A glance at the map shows 
(192) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 193 

the Great Pee Dee River running down from North Carolina, 
and with Georgetown, Florence, Darlington, and Chesterfield 
counties on the western side, dividing those counties from Hor- 
ry, Marion, and Marlboro. 

The Pee Dee Valley, it will be remembered, was entered 
by Bishop Asbury, and early mention made of Bennetts ville, 
Beauty Spot, etc. The next notice in the journal is on Febru- 
ary 2, 1790, concerning Flowers Meetinghouse, on the north 
side of Marion Courthouse. It stood near a large oak in the 
yard of General William Evans. James Jenkins, then a youth, 
had gone to conduct the bishop on his way to the fourth session 
of the South Carolina Conference in Charleston. The journal 
states: "On February 2, 1790, we came to Flowers Meeting- 
house. We had a lively stir; one soul found peace, and I had 
freedom in preaching." Mr. Jenkins states: "Glory! glory! 
glory be to God! I was that soul." It seems that soon after- 
wards he was accustomed to hearty shouting, a matter quite 
common then, but now largely gone into desuetude. Some did 
not like it even then. One said that "it was a new religion, and 
the old members must get it," but added, " If this be religion, 
I pray the Lord to keep me from it." Mr. Jenkins naively 
adds: "I fear his prayer was answered." He says further: 
" Ever after this, in public and private, I have praised the Lord 
aloud whenever I have felt like it; for if I can help it, I don't 
choose to help it." And why should any man's liberty be re- 
strained by another man's conscience? True, by it he earned 
the sohriquet of " Bawling Jenkins," but what of that? Some 
of the wicked said that even the apostles at Pentecost were 
drunken. 

The years pass on, and with them the tide of life. Sugg, 
Herbert, Lilly, Bonner, Tolleson, Lipsey, Enoch George, and 
others were the preachers traveling this charge. In 1796 Jen- 
kins and Thomas Humphries were on Great Pee Dee. It was 
a year of trial, the junior preacher helping only at Quarterly 
Conferences; yet a year of revival, the Jeffrey's Creek Church 
sharing largely. 

The old Neck Church must have been organized in 1786. It 

was here that James Jenkins joined in 1789. The society seems 

to have declined, for in 1800 he writes of "a second society 

raised here." Out of it in after years came John L. Greaves, 

13 



194: EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

who died in 1826, William H. Ellison and Richardson (James 
J.), who died in 1833. 

In 1802 Mr. Jenkins, being presiding elder, held a Quarterly 
Conference at Harleeville. Jonathan Jackson preached on " the 
little stone cut out of the mountain," and Mr. Jenkins on being 
"weighed in the balances." Daniel Asbury used to tell humor- 
ously of a Dutchman's account of that sermon. He said: "I 
wents to de camp meetin', and one Schenkins breached. His 
tex' vas, ' You's veighed in de palance and found vantin'.' He 
vent on veighin' many beeples, an' at las' throwed ole Fisher 
into de palance, an' ole Fisher did come out jes' noting at all." 
But he weighed something afterwards — adorned the gospel, and 
died in the faith. 

About this time Mr. Jenkins preached the funeral sermon of 
Moses Wilson. He was admitted in 1795, died in 1803, and was 
buried at James Skinner's, on Little Lynch's Creek. A more 
pious or upright man has rarely been seen. He left his prop- 
erty to the Conference; but upon Bishop Asbury saying, "The 
kings of Israel are merciful men," the Conference sent it to 
some of his friends who were needy. This same year (1803) 
Mr. Jenkins visited Fayette ville, N. C. There was a small so- 
ciety under the care of a colored man named Evans. He had 
leased a lot for seven years, and commenced building a church 
twenty by thirty feet out of rough-edge materials. This was the 
first Methodist church in the place. In a short time an addi- 
tion of ten feet was made to it. 

In the fall of 1805 Mr. Jenkins attended a camp meeting 
at the noted old Gully Camp Ground, in Darlington county. 
Here, amicl much opposition, they had a gracious time. George 
Dougherty, the presiding elder, reproved from the stand certain 
outlaws, and called on the congregation to notice if the judg- 
ments of Heaven did not overtake them. This was the time 
when Dougherty gave that discourse on "the swine choked in 
the sea," so graphically described by Dr. Lovick Pierce in 
"Sprague's Annals": "His remarkable skill as an impromptu 
preacher was strikingly displayed at a camp meeting in Dar- 
lington Circuit in 1805. At this meeting the assembled row- 
dies hallooed, cursed, drank, and fought. Preaching they would 
not hear, but if at any time there was a shout raised this tu- 
multuous crowd would come rushing to the altar of prayer 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 1£5 

like cattle to a salt-lick, laughing and profanely ridiculing the 
work o£ God. On Sunday, under the preaching of James Jen- 
kins — famous through all that country for having a stir and a 
shout — a lady began praising God aloud. The rowdies broke 
from every point of the compass and came thundering into the 
camp like a herd of buffaloes. Mr. Dougherty prepared to launch 
a thunderbolt at them. He announced his text: 'And the herd 
ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.' 
Pie commented upon the generous policy of Satan, showing that 
he cared nothing as to the means used for the accomplishment 
of an object, success only being aimed at. If dislodged from a 
man, he was well satisfied to enter swine, so as to i3rejudice men 
against Christ. Then he noticed, first, the herd into which the 
devil entered; secondly, the drivers employed; and, thirdly, the 
market to which they were going. And then he began an expose 
of the infernal entrances into men — the agencies employed, un- 
der the figure of drivers, in the establishment of brothels, saloons, 
gambling hells, and other auxiliaries of ruin." It was pertinent, 
awful, loving, scathing, and unique. He swept along his pathway 
like a blazing comet, drawing such pictures of vice and diaboli- 
cal intrigue that the miserable creatures before him seemed 
spellbound. Tliough they were all standing, scarcely a man 
among them broke ranks. When he reached his imaginary 
market with them — the end of an abandoned life — the picture 
took on such an appalling hue that an involuntary shudder 
seized the audience. The most stoiit-hearted sinners present 
seemed to be overwhelmed with amazement. As the preacher 
began to draw in his lines upon them they left in wild confu- 
sion, and were soon en route for home." 

A year after, and it may have been at this very Gully camp 
meeting, as we learn from Travis, " he was too far spent to at- 
tempt preaching; but on the Sabbath, after another had 
preached, he arose, and propping himself against the book- 
stand, said: 'Brethren, this is the last time you will ever recog- 
nize my presence among you; but next year, when you have a 
camp meeting here, I will ask my heavenly Father to permit my 
mingling with you around that altar; and although in person 
you will not see me, I expect to be with you in spirit, rejoicing 
and praising God.' For a time a deathlike silence of weeping- 
prevailed, broken by a loud burst of ' Glory to God! ' From 



196 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

this meeting lie went to Wilmington, N. C, and in a few weeks 
died." 

The next record concerning the Great Pee Dee Circuit was 
in 1814 Joseph Travis had located, and for that and the two 
following years had opened an academy at Marion Courthouse. 
There being no church in the village, the courthouse was used 
for religious services. Mr. Travis preached here every Wed- 
nesday night. Regular apix)intments were kept up in the coun- 
try, and two or three days' meetings were frequently held; two 
excellent local preachers, the Eev. Jesse Le Gett and the Eev. 
Jesse Wood, living near. Ebenezer Le Gett — afterwards of the 
South Carolina Conference, admitted in 1827 and located in 1838 
— was the son of Jesse Le Gett. Le Gett and Woods were good 
preachers, and great lovers of primitive Methodism. The first 
named was somewhat of a censor, reproving Travis for a rather 
metaphysical sermon he had preached that not ten persons out 
of hundreds attending understood. The reproof was well re- 
ceived by Mr. Travis, and he greatly profited by it. 

Immediately after the war of 1812 land and cotton rose in 
value. A gentleman sold land at twenty dollars an acre which 
shortly before would not have brought five dollars. Fearing 
that he had sold too hastily, he wished the purchaser to rue the 
bargain; and failing in this, he went out and hanged himself. 

In 1816 Bishop Asbury passed through Marion for the last 
time, stopping several days and nights with Mr. Travis. He 
was on his way to the General Conference in Baltimore, but he 
never reached it. Patience and entire resignation to the will of 
God were manifested by him from day to day. On recovering 
often from paroxysms of pain he would shout, "Halleluiah! 
halleluiah ! " On his long and arduous life being referred to, 
he declared: "My only hope of heaven is in the merits and right- 
eousness of the Lord Jesus Christ." 

James Jenkins having located in 1813, although compelled to 
labor from day to day for bread, would often take his horse out 
of the plow to serve the Church. Much of his time was devoted 
to two days' meetings in Sumter and Darlington counties, por- 
tions of which were embraced in the old Great Pee Dee Circuit. 
About this time he preached the funeral sermon of a woman 
whose husband, a Mr. Meeks, kept a tippling shop at Cooters- 
boro (?). He became awakened, converted, and was long after 



EARLY METHODISM IK THE CAROLINAS. 197 

a class leader in the circuit. The next year Mr. Jenkins settled 
near Bishopville. The country at that time, with a few worthy 
exceptions, was close akin to heathendom. BishoiDville was then 
called the Cross Roads, and was owned by an old woman named 
Singleton. Sodom was not much worse. Whisky and whisky 
shops abounded. Here men woiild get drunk, quarrel, fight, 
dance, and murder. Several jjersons killed themselves drinking 
at this place; and the old woman's two sons murdered a man 
and had to flee for their lives. Bishopville is quite another sort 
of place to-day. 

In 1820 District Conferences for local preachers principally 
were instituted, and in the fall of 1821 one was held at Catfish, in 
the Pee Dee Circuit ; Joseph Travis, presiding elder, presiding. 

During 1830 the first Methodist church in Darlington was 
completed, and was dedicated by the Bevs. Joseph Moore, Tur- 
rentine, and Jenkins. At this place there were several conver- 
sions, among them Horatio McClenagan, who for many years 
was an esteemed local x^reacher, dying in the faith. There had 
been preaching there before, but no society had been formed 
until this time. In 1831 Noah Laney and A. Hamby were on 
the Darlington Circuit, and there was a second revival in the 
village. William M. Wightman, who was on the Sautee Circuit 
that year, attended this meeting. Two of the principal men of 
this neighborhood, Gibson and Saunders, had been at variance 
for years. They were awakened, and meeting at the chancel 
faced each other and electrified the audience by their recon- 
ciliation. At this meeting many came weeping to the chancel 
for prayers without any invitation. All of the churches in Dar- 
lington shared in the fruits of this revival. 

The forty-sixth session of the Conference — Bishop Hedding, 
presiding; William M. Wightman, secretary — was held in Dar- 
lington, January 26, 1832. It was very harmonious and well 
entertained. There was not another session held here until 
sixty years afterwards, the one hundred and sixth — Bishop 
Granbery, presiding; H. F. Chreitzberg, secretary. This Con- 
ference was also handsomely entertained. 

In 1832 J. J. Allison and A. McCorquodale, the preachers, 
aided by James Jenkins, held a meeting continuing for near 
three weeks. Over fifty joined the different churches. It was a 
deep, genuine, glorious work. 



198 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

In 1825 the church in Cheraw was organized by the Rev. 
Charles Betts. Colonel David Harlee was for many years one 
of its chief supporters. 

In 1840 the preachers on the Pee Dee Circuit were Bond 
English, presiding elder; John B. Pickett and A. M. Chreitz- 
berg. The circuit extended from Parnassus in Marlboro coun- 
ty to the Ark in Britton's Neck, and from the Warhees on the 
Big to Little Pee Dee River. The church structures, save at 
Marion Courthouse, were quite ordinary, some twenty-four be- 
ing served every two weeks. There M^ere no parsonages, the 
wives traveling around with their husbands. The amount col- 
lected for the support of the two preachers and presiding elder 
was seven hundred dollars. 

Of the Little Pee Dee Circuit there is but little on record. 
To merely enumerate the names of the preachers would be of 
no profit. So, closing up the record of the eastern half of the 
state, attention is called to the third circuit formed, namely, 
Edisto, bringing the western section into view. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Congaree Circuit — Broad River Circuit — Edisto Circuit — Jacob Barr's 
Conversion — Saluda Circuit — Bush Kiver Circuit — Cherokee Circuit — Ca- 
tawba Circuit — The Old Keowee (Anderson) Circuit: Its Quarterly Con- 
ference Journal; Names of Officials; Churches; Finances — The Old Bush 
River (Newberry) Circuit and Station. 

THE old Congaree Circuit was first named in the General 
Minutes in 1809. AVilliam Scott was tlie preacher in 
charge, and reported four hundred and forty-six white and one 
hundred and one colored members in 1810. Lexington and a 
part of Kichland county was the field of operation; the Con- 
garee River running between gave the name. In 1834 it was 
changed into Columbia Circuit; in 1850 divided into Lexington 
and Columbia circuits; in 1868 the Lexington Mission was 
formed, and is now incorporated with Lexington Circuit; and in 
1872 the Leesville Circuit was set off. At the time of which I 
write the Saluda Eiver was the northern boundary, but how far 
above and to the east of Columbia the circuit extended I have 
no certain knowledge. 

The names of the preaching places in 1830 were as follows: 
Laurel Chapel (in Orangeburg county), Crim's, Sandy Run, 
Niece's, Boiling Springs, Poindexter's, Ealls's, Halfway House, 
Granby, Mill Creek, Livingston's, Justice's, Dry Creek, Brown's 
Chapel, Mt. Zion, Donnovan's, Smyrna, Sharp's, Longtown, 
Ebenezer, Eabb's, Eollinson's, English's, Eock Spring, Piatt's 
Springs, Logue's, Lexington Courthouse, and New Hope, twen- 
ty-eight in all — one for each day in the four weeks' round; 
enough, one would think, to occupy the time of any slow 
preacher, or indeed any fast one as well. In 1831 Long's 
SchoolhoiTse was added, and possibly some other dropped. In 
1832 Bethel and Cureton's, Hopkins's, and Heal All Springs 
appear; in 1833, Chestnut Grove; in 1834 Davis's is set down, 
Methodist preachers, especially the early ones, were rarely 
known to refuse appointments — " at it, and all at it, and always 
at it," seemed to be the rule. So accommodating were they that 
they seemed inclined to give every man a church at his own 
door. With some this is just as it should be, but may it not 

(199) 



200 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

militate against the sociality of our natures, whicli religion is 
intended to foster? and may it not make the service so cheap 
as to become almost worthless? In the round of near sixty 
years' ministry, the writer has been thrown into connection 
with some of the above preaching places, and the memory 
thereof is not altogether refreshing. Good people, and I don't 
know but that the bad alike, desire to see things couleurde rose; 
bnt this is not a rose-colored world, alas! Who that ever 
preached at Lexington Courthouse, in the old battered hull 
of a house, doorless and shutterless, can forget it? It may be 
better now, but I do not know that it is. And Dry Creek, was 
it not appropriately named, for was it not exceedingly dry? 
Laurel Chapel and Sandy Bun have more pleasant memories. 
Who that ever knew them does not recall the Colclasures and 
Louis Pou? And there was old Uncle Peter Buyck, whose 
laugh was so like a cry that when he prayed it puzzled you to 
tell which he was doing; and when either was up, you wished 
it vice versa, and was glad when both were ended. Good old 
man, he wanted ordination when a licentiate, and his brethren 
w^ould not recommend him, and so he left us. But who know- 
ing him w^ould have supposed that his grandfather was once a 
wealthy merchant, and that the last named Peter was the owner 
of and resided on wdiat was once a fine estate? And who, in- 
deed, that traveled that old state road (remembering that long, 
lonely reach of sand), and turned ofp to Laurel Chapel, would 
have supposed himself near Commodore Gillon's fine estate, the 
Betreat? He w^as the commodore of Bevolutionary fame. In 
fitting out privateers in the war he obtained loans from Peter 
Buyck, a wealthy merchant of Amsterdam, but he, not receiving 
the prizes captured, became a bankrupt. After the Bevolution 
he went to Charleston to prosecute his claims, and was reduced 
to penury, and supported himself by dealing in empty bottles. 
Commodore Gillon left the city and settled on the Congaree 
Biver, three or four miles above Totness, embellishing his resi- 
dence with taste and elegance. Johnson, in his traditions of 
the Bevolution, states: "A son of Peter Buyck came forward 
about 1794 with claims against the estate, and produced a mort- 
gage of the elegant place, the Betreat. He certainly became 
the owner of it, and a grandson of Peter Buyck is still the pro- 
prietor and resident at Gillon's Betreat." 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 201 

Louis Pou worshiped at Sandy Piun, and not far away was 
his home; the liome of the itinerant preacher likewise, where 
his devoted wife and daugiiters cheered him with their kind at- 
tentions. Brother Pou was a faithful official of the church, al- 
ways in his place as recording steward. Clarence A. Graeser 
was another who, as long as he represented Granby, made it 
the foremost charge in the circuit. 

Piatt Springs was the seat of an academy of high order in 
the past. Here Lucius Bellinger was inducted into the myste- 
ries of Csesar, and learned something, doubtless, of the pons as- 
sinontm. I wish the old veteran had given us some of his 
knowledge of men and things hereabout at that time. This is 
as far as my own personal knowledge of the same concern- 
ing the old Congaree Circuit goes. Anything further must be 
wrought out of the old records before me. 

The Quarterly Conference for 1830 was of the following or- 
der: William M. Kennedy, presiding elder; Frederick Rush 
and P. N. Kelly (a supply), circuit preachers; John D. Sharp 
and Samuel Smoke, local preachers; A. S. Edge worth and 
William C. Bell, exhorters and stewards; Louis Pou, steward; 
Pressly Garner, Jacob C. Slappy, C. Murph, J. D. Brown, A. 
Elkins, D. Stivender, T. Parrot, J. Livingston, Martin Baker, 
class leaders. 

In after years, up to 1836, as far as the present records run, 
the following are set down as members: John N. Kennedy, 
Benjamin Tradewell, N. D.C. Colclasure, and Christian Mood, 
local preachers; C. A. Graesar and Thomas Starke, stewards; 
G. Godbold, William F. Snead, John Sewell, AVilliam Watson, 
John Donnovan, Moses Duke, Henry Niece, William Miles, 
James Loreman, William Purse, John Rowan, J. Graham, and 
David Davis, class leaders; and Joab Cotton, steward. 

The last name recalls an incident. The Rev. J. R. Pickett 
meeting one on the road within these boundaries, inquired his 
name. " Cotton" was the reply. "And mine," said the preach- 
er, blandly, " is Pickett." The other became very much excit- 
ed, and, beginning to pull off his coat, demanded if he meant 
to insult him. The preacher had much trouble to show that he 
did not intend to pick him. 

The Edisto Circuit is said to have been formed by Isaac 
Smith. It is not named in the General Minutes for 1786, and 



202 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

that year Henry Willis and Smith were in Charleston, Smith 
extending his labors in the country; but in 1787 it is named, with 
Edward West as preacher in charge. It is said to have extended 
from the Savannah River to within thirty miles of Charleston, 
and from Coosa whatchie Swamp to Santee River. The Edisto 
Kiver empties into the Atlantic about midway between Charles- 
ton and Beaufort, running up into Lexington county. Thus 
this early circuit took in all the lower part of the state. In. 
1788 Henry Bingham and William Gassaway, and in 1789 Isaac 
Smith and Lemuel Andrews, were the preachers. Thus was 
Isaac Smith on his old mission ground. It was a year of trial, 
dissensions abounding, and some of his own particular friends 
becoming opposed to him, but before the close of the year all 
was healed. 

It must have been in 1786 that Henry Willis visited the Cattle 
Creek section of Edisto Circuit, for the next year he was in New 
York, and never again in Carolina, dying triumphantly in 1808. 
So it was in 1786 that Willis preached in a Lutheran church on 
Cattle Creek. Jacob Barr was an old Continental officer, and 
at the investment of Charleston was on duty at Sullivan's Isl- 
and. After the war he married and settled in Orangeburg coun- 
ty. On Willis's visit he, with others, attended, strongly preju- 
diced against Methodist preachers. As money was said to be 
their object, Mr. Barr took care to leave his purse at home. He 
was deeply affected by the service, concluding that the man must 
be a god, or else the servant of God. He united himself with 
Methodism. A storm of persecution arose, and the infant so- 
ciety was compelled to leave the Lutheran meetinghouse; but 
they soon built a neat house of worship. Its site is now within 
the lines of the old Cattle Creek Camp Ground. Mr. Barr be- 
came a local preacher, and on the 15th of June, 1823, died in 
his seventieth year. His last words were, "I am going to glo- 
ry." His son, grandson, and great-grandson were all Methodist 
preachers. 

The metes and bounds of Broad River Circuit are now inde- 
finable. It extended — that is, the river — northwestwardly above 
Columbia into North Carolina, having the counties of New- 
berry, Union, and Spartanburg on the west, and Fairfield, Ches- 
ter, and York on the east; Bush River emptying into Saluda 
and Saluda into Broad River, Enoree and Tiger rivers empty- 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 203 

ing into Broad just above. In 1786 Stepheu Johnson was on 
the Broad Biver Circuit; in 1787, John Mason and Thomas 
Davis; in 1788, William Partridge. This year Saluda Circuit 
appears — Lemuel Andrews, preacher; in 1789 Cherokee Circuit, 
already noticed — John Andrews and Philip Mathews, preachers; 
also Bush Biver (Newberry) — William Gassaway, preacher. In 
1790 Catawba first appears — Jonathan Jackson, preacher in 
charge; and in 1791 Union, afterwards Enoree, already noted. 
In 1794 Black Swamp appears — Jonathan Jackson, preacher in 
charge. In 1801 the entire state was in one district; James 
Jenkins, presiding elder, with ten charges. In 1802 there were 
two districts: Saluda, seven charges, under George Doughler, 
presiding elder; and Camden, eight charges, under James Jen- 
kins, presiding elder. In 1803 Sandy Biver was set off; Coleman 
Carlisle, preacher in charge. In 1804 Union was changed to 
Enoree and Sandy Biver, and Bush Biver and Keowee united. 
In 1805 Columbia was first named, with Bennett Kendrick, 
preacher in charge. 

It is absolutely impossible to be minute and correct in noting 
all changes of the charges ; only a general outline can be given, 
and our object is to set down all now known of the prominent 
charges in our Conference. 

The old Keowee Circuit lies within the boundaries of Ander- 
son county. In the General Minutes it is first mentioned as 
separate from other charges in 1802. Its name was changed 
to Pendleton in 1833, then to Anderson Circuit in 1835; and 
nearly within the same boundaries are now the Anderson and 
Williamston stations, Walhalla and Pendleton, Anderson and 
Sandy Springs circuits. 

Division and subdivision, and division again, have long been 
the order of Conference action, sought to be retarded often by 
some croaking cry of ruin. Yet the ruin is hard to be discov- 
ered, unless the multiplication of churches, members, preach- 
ers, and charges betokens it. A short-sighted policy would have 
held on to the old four and six weeks' circuits, if for no other 
reason, that large families might be supported; but results 
prove that better work gives better pay, and greater stability 
and force to all religious action. This old circuit is a proof 
in point, as may likely be seen before this jDresent reading is 
ended. 



204 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

The old journal in my possession extends from 1833 to 1844. 
There is little of interest in it^ save in the exhibit of finances 
in completeness rarely equaled. So exact was the recording 
steward (I knew him well) that an error of half a cent in a bal- 
ance-sheet would have caused him trouble until rectified. Most 
Conference journals lack in this important feature. It is rare- 
ly the case that the proceedings of the " fifth quarter " — a tech- 
nicality well understood by Methodist preachers — are put on 
record, and the charge thereby often loses its credit. By the 
way, ought not this to be incorporated in the order of business 
of a Quarterly Conference? And will not those having charge 
of the matter insert another question, to this effect: What was 
collected, and how expended, in closing the business of the past 
year ? * It would hurt nobody, and in case there had been a heavy 
deficiency, it would be a gentle reminder to all to do better. Loss 
lies often in a slovenly way of doing business. 

But to take up the old Keowee records. The Quarterly Con- 
ference for 1833, sixty-three years ago, had Malcolm McPherson 
for presiding elder, and John W. McCall as preacher in charge. 
Local preachers: Levi Garrison, Robert Gaines, E. Shockley, 
William G. Mullinax, Philip Elrod, Willis Dickerson. Ex- 
horters: William Bhodes, Samuel Hamby, James Shockley, 
Basil Smith. Class leaders: Lawson Mullinax, John Golden, 
Thomas Gassaway, Anderson Smith, Thomas Evatt, William 
Fleming, Robert Pickins, Joel Ledbetter, John Ledbetter, Wes- 
ley Earp, John Morris, Hugh H. Whittecur, Sidney Smith, Al- 
len Harbin, John Adams, James Holland, Thomas Carpenter, 
Dugal McKellar, James B. Clark, Washington Clark; and Gar- 
rison Linn, steward. 

The churches forming the circuit were Anderson Court- 
house, Ebenezer, Mount Zion, Sharon, Sword's, Wesley Chap- 
el, Shiloh, Snow Hill, Lynn's, Bethel, Sandy Springs, Bethesda, 
Cooper's Chapel, Rhuhama, Siler's, Providence, Asbury, Smith's 
Chapel, Pendleton; nineteen in all. 

The sums collected at these churches for the year 1833 
ranged from $19.95, the highest, to 50 cents, the lowest amount 
contributed, making an aggregate of S105.39. The traveling- 
expenses paid amounted to $11.68|, leaving 193. 70|, of which 
the presiding elder received $21, leaving to the preacher in 

*This was done at the Atlanta General Conference. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 205 

charge $72.70|:. White members in the circuit, 754; an aver- 
age per member of 12^ cents — not an excessive amount, one 
would think, allowing that the laborer was at all worthy of 
his hire. 

In 1834 James Stacy was the preacher in charge. Finances 
were better, $156.87^ cents being collected. After deducting 
$13.86 for traveling expenses, $148.01^- was left, of which the 
presiding elder received ^43, leaving to the preacher more than 
his full claim, $100.01-|. Membership, 792; an average of 18 
cents per member — an improvement certainly. One still great- 
er is seen in 1835, but then there were three preachers to pay 
instead of two. The presiding elder received $55.75, the 
preacher in charge $100, and the junior preacher $49.50, ag- 
gregating $205.25. Membership, 783; an average per member 
of 26 cents. 

This improvement doubtless led to the appointment of a man 
of family in 1836, and $100 was allowed for his family expenses. 
But alas for the vanity of human hopes! only $165.61 was 
raised, paying the presiding elder $28, the balance, all told, 
to the preacher in charge. Membership, 615; an average per 
member of 25 cents. 

The returns for 1837, 1838, and 1839 are imperfect, some 
vandal having defaced them. The record for 1840, however, is 
complete. The Eev. William M. Wightman was the presiding 
elder, and John H. Zimmerman the preacher in charge. This 
year there was a surplus sent to Conference. The following are 
the collections in detail: 

Anderson Courthouse $27 75 

Smith's Chapel 16 00 

Bethel 6 62J 

Bethesda 9 00 

Rhuhama 13 25 

Asbury Chapel 10 25 

Sandy Springs 14 94 

Sword's 1 25 

Pendleton 13 25 

Mount Ziou 10 50 

Sharon 7 00 

Wesley Chapel 6 25 

Lynn's 1 00 

Siler's 8 25 

Providence 21 25 =$ 166 56J- 



206 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

A PPROPEIATIONS. 

Presiding elder §35 50 

Traveling expenses 3 50^$ 39 00 

Preacher in charge, quarterage 100 00 

Traveling expenses IG 00= 116 00 

Shoeing horse 1 31|- 

Sent to Conference ] 25 

Total §166 56^ 

The reader will find that the account does not balance by 
one quarter of a cent; but put the Sandy Springs collection 
at ?5l4.93| (doubtless the correct amount, which an exuberant 
liberality made $14.94), and the discrepancy at once disappears. 
In 1841 the whole amount collected was $204.75; in 1842, to 
pay three preachers, $253.92; and in 1843, $303.69. 

This closes the record, and is sufficient to show that the min- 
istry, at this time at least, was not burdensome; and most of 
all, that these servants of the Church w^ere certainly not lovers 
of filthy lucre. St. Peter says: " Feed the flock of God which is 
among you, taking the oversight thereof not by constraint, but 
willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." So did these 
men, undoubtedly. If not, there is no such virtue on the earth. 
Just consider that for an entire decade, from 1833 to 1843, the 
total amount contributed (from twenty churches) for their sup- 
port was $1,685.62, giving an average for each year of $168.56; 
averaging to the twenty-five preachers, fifteen of whom were 
men of family, $67.42, an average per member for ten years' 
service of $2.60. Is it possible for economy of expenditure 
to go farther? If love of filthy lucre moved them, it is very 
clear that the aj^petite grew not on what it fed upon. I am 
well aware that an average is not a standard of Christian liber- 
ality, yet it cannot be denied that it forcibly brings out the lack 
o£ that quality and the ridiculously low value put by many on 
the gospel. The poverty of the Church is the usual excuse for 
failure in supporting the gospel, so that it might readily be 
concluded that the half, or nearly the whole, of one's income 
was necessary to that end; but if it can be shown that there 
is no such requisition, but that in fact the gospel has been 
preached for a long series of years at a little cost — we will not 
say at what to the preachers themselves, but most certainly 
at a very ridiculously low cost to the aggregate membership — 
then assuredly the averages are useful. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 207 

At no time within the period named did tlie collections reach 
three hundred dollars, two hundred and fifty-three dollars be- 
ing the highest amount any one year, and ninety-four dollars 
and twenty-five cents the lowest. For the next decade there 
was not much improvement; the writer knows whereof he af- 
firms, the figures only lacking to confirm the fact. But what 
good comes of this raking up the past, and the portrayal of the 
poverty of the Church, and the poor pay of its preachers? Just 
this, if no more, that men may understand that the ministry are 
not so mercenary as many suppose. The world is fully agreed 
that the laborer is worthy of his hire, and sees no difiiculty in 
the abandonment of the work, if the hire be withheld; but here 
are instances of the one not forthcoming and the other still go- 
ing on. Nor is this a solitary case. All over a widespread con- 
nection this has been going on, and is still going on to this hour. 

Methodism has never yet recognized the ministerial life as 
professional merely; it requires a divine call; it is a vocation 
emphatically. All that is proffered is a support; but tJiat this 
ought to be given, no sane mind doubts. Many have prayed 
fervently, and often, " Give him souls for his hire," but all 
know that he cannot eat, drink, or wear them; and how- 
ever excellent they are in the currency of heaven, payable at 
the great judgment day, what in the name of common sense 
is the man to do until i^ay-day comes round? There must be 
an inconceivable littlsness of soul about one who insists on this 
as the only mode of payment; and we are not surprised at a 
preacher's rejoinder to one urging it: "Souls! A thousand 
such as yours would make a very poor meal." 

Deficiency in payments of salary was not unfrequeut in the 
annals of Methodism in Carolina. But matters were not so to 
remain in this old Keowee Circuit. The large four weeks' 
circuit of twenty-four appointments, mostly served on week 
days, was to give place to smaller fields and better culture. 
And in the year 1875, when this calculation was first made — 
where twenty years before scarcely three hundred dollars per 
annum could be raised for ministerial support, and where 
thirty years before, for ten consecutive years, only $1,600 
was raised — within the same boundaries Sl,880.94 was contrib- 
uted for the support of five families, besides $381.10 for the 
general collections of the Church; and the singularity is that 



208 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

two weak stations paid double the amount of the two strong cir- 
cuits. The statement is as follows: 

Average per Member. 
For Salary. Gen. Col. 

Anderson Station $5 12 SI 01 

Williamston Station 4 35 1 IS 

Anderson Circuit 75 16 

Pendleton Circuit 72 09 

Anyone desiring to see the advance over 1875 in this year 1896 
has but to refer to our Conference Minutes for the facts. At a 
rough calculation over S4,000 was collected for salaries alone. 

Newberry county is celebrated as containing a population 
noted for industry and good morals. It lies between the Eno- 
ree and Saluda rivers, with a corner of Lexington and the whole 
of Laurens, and parts of Fairfield and Union counties forming 
the other boundaries, with an average extent of country of about 
twenty-four square miles; within it was Bush River, which 
gave name to the original circuit. The Bush River (New- 
berry) Circuit is first named in the General Minutes in 1789, 
with William Gassaway, preacher in charge. In 1801 it was 
called Bush River and Cherokee, a mistake likely, as the num- 
bers are given for Bush River and Keowee, and so called until 
1805; Keowee being separate in 1806, and so remaining until 
1820, when it was changed to Newberry, with Coleman Carlisle 
and J. L. Jerry, preachers. 

The Bush River Baptist Church, near the river and twelve 
miles southwest from Newberry Courthouse, was constituted 
in 1771 by elders Philip Mulkey and Samuel Newman. In 
1773 Elder Thomas Norries, a Primitive, practicing feet wash- 
ing, and who died in 1780, was the pastor. The Dunkards were 
there anterior to the Revolution, and the Universalists, under 
Giles Chapman, highly esteemed according to O'Neal's Annals, 
began to preach in 1782. Their faith had but limited influence, 
and there is no church organization to-day. In 1802 there was 
a great revival of religion in the Baptist Church; the "jerks" 
troubling them as it troubled all religious bodies of that time. 

The first Methodist church is supposed to be at Ebenezer, 
but Bethel (Pinch's) may have been before it. If George Clark, 
formerly an itinerant, was admitted in 1792 and located in 1802, 
this is hardly likely; for Finch's is mentioned in 1794, and Lem- 
uel Andrews was on Saluda Circuit in 1788. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 209 

The very last record of the Newberry Circuit, within a late 
period, is from the Bev. J. B. Tray wick's account in the "New- 
berry Annals," to which we are indebted for the following: 

"' The first Methodist church in Newberry county may have 
been at Mt. Bethel Academy, a Quarterly Conference being 
held at Mr. Finch's house in 1788. Mt. Pleasant was built 
about 1822. The first structure was plain; the present one was 
erected about 1862. A gift of about one thousand dollars was 
left by Micajali Suber toward its erection. It is now in the 
Prosperity Circuit. Among the first members were the Good- 
wins, Oxnears, Lyleses, Gilliams, and Hattons. The Grahams, 
Eptings, Adamses, Cromers, and Willinghams were among the 
officials. It is about five or six miles from the site of old Mt. 
Bethel. New Hope, organized in 1795, had Salem added in 
1835. The church was built in 1831. New Chapel, an old log 
house, stood one mile from the present building, and gave way 
in 1830 to a neat frame building, when in 1879 the present 
structure was erected, Isaac Herbert being foremost in that 
good work. Zion was organized and the first church built in 
1818; Tranquil in 1799, Tabernacle in 1842, Mt. Tabor in 1820, 
and Ebenezer in 1814. The Kilgoi'es have been associated with 
it for sixty years, and the Slighs for more than forty." 

Newberry Station was organized in 1833. Newberry rejoiced 
in a great revival in 1831, which resulted in the building up of 
both the Baptist and Methodist churches. It remained in the 
circuit until 1854, when it was set off as a station; John R. 
Pickett, preacher in charge. The present church structure has 
been in use over sixty years, but is expected soon to give place 
to a more modern building, in keeping with the wealth and re- 
spectability of the congregation. 
14 



CHAPTER XXiy. 

"VVinnsboro Circuit: Preachers in 1835 ; Eev. Samuel Leard ; Full Description 
of the Circuit Then — Clianges of Conference Boundaries— Loss of Thou- 
sands of Members in Ours — Divide, but to Increase — Brief Notices of Pi- 
oneers: Joseph Moore, George Clark, John Harper, and Lewis Myers. 

IT is exceedingly difficult to get tlie exact metes and bounds 
of the earlier circuits, the names as well as territory con- 
stantly changing. The first mention in the General Minutes of 
the territory covered by the old AYinnsboro Circuit is in 1803, 
then called Sandy River, with Coleman Carlisle the preacher. 
In 1804 it was called Enoree and Sandy River. In 1805 Sandy 
River was dropped and the circuit continued as Enoree until 
1812, when it was again called Sandy River — William Gassaway 
and John Bunch the preachers — so continuing for twenty-two 
years, to 1833. In 1834 it was changed to Winusboro Circuit, 
with Josei)h Holmes and J. H. Wheeler the preachers, and in 
1835 Joel W. Townsend and Samuel Leard. In 1853 Winns- 
boro and Chester Station, Chester Circuit, and Fairfield Circuit 
were formed, so remaining until 1858, when Rocky Mount was 
set off. In 1859 Sandy River Mission was added, and it so 
remained during the civil war. Now there are nine separate 
charges — Chester Station, Chester Circuit, Winnsboro Sta- 
tion, East Chester Circuit, Richburg, Blackstock's, Ridgeway, 
Fairfield, Monticello, and Cedar Creek circuits — within the old 
boundary. We can go no farther back than to 1803, unless Sa- 
luda Circuit or Bush River held a portion of this territory. 
From 1804 to 1833 it was served by such men as Daniel As- 
bury, William M. Kennedy, Griffin Christopher, John Howard, 
Samuel Dunwody, and Charles Betts, closing in 1833 with 
Whitefoord Smith as junior preacher, in 1834 with Holmes and 
Wheeler, and in 1835 with Joel W. Townsend and Samuel Leard. 
To Brother Leard we are under obligations for his memorial 
address in Chester in 1886, from which we gather matters of 
interest as here presented. 

The circuit in 1835 embraced the counties of Fairfield, Ches- 
ter, a small part of Richland, and a corner of York — twenty- 
four appointments, filled in twenty-eight days, leaving two days 
(210) 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 211 

to ride between distant points, and two for rest. With preach- 
ing, meeting classes, and other pastoral duties, to say nothing 
of the travel the preacher's time was f idly employed. His hours 
for study were on horseback and occasionally in afternoons or 
evenings. The churches were Monticello, Shiloh, Bethel, Ce- 
dar Creek, Mount Pleasant, Pine Grove, Winnsboro, Gladden's 
Grove, Bethesda, Ebenezer, Mount Moriah, Union, Liberty, 
Chesterville, Smith's Chapel, Armenia, New Hope, Flat Ptock, 
Zion, Cove, Branch, Bethlehem or Stockdale's, and some other 
points, names forgotten or ceasing as places of worship. 

Monticello held the parsonage — a small building, needing re- 
pairs badly, and but half furnished. Much of the aristoci'atic 
element in Fairfield county, both as to wealth and position, was 
here. Dr. Pierson and his cultured and fashionable wife lived 
here. He was a gentleman of the old school, and to the end of 
his life maintained an elegant hospitality. The Eev. Joseph 
Holmes, once an acceptable member of the Conference, who 
located, exerted a fine influence. He was of solid intellect, well 
informed; a devout man, fully exemplifying the doctrine of ho- 
liness. His brother William, a local preacher, lived near Shi- 
loh; he was rather superior in intellect to Joseph, and a man 
of wealth and good business qualifications; also an excellent 
preacher, with a very worthy family. They were the sons of a 
pious Associate Reformed elder, whose habit was often to seek 
out retirement in the field for prayer with his boys. 

Near Shiloh lived the Cooks, the Robinsons, the Ruffs, and 
many others deserving record. 

Cedar Creek was a point where Methodism made some of her 
finest triumphs. The church structure itself was of the very 
humblest appearance — a long, low building of wood, and, when 
seen by the writer, was in the very last stages of decay. But 
the "living stones" were "elect and precious." The Rev. J. P. 
Cook, a local preacher from the North, of rare intellect and 
eloquent speech, exerted a fine influence; Nathan Center, an 
old patriarch of much intelligence and devotion to the Church; 
Dr. Thomas R. Center, his son, a graduate of the South Caro- 
lina College, an excellent physician and kind neighbor, dy- 
ing some time after the civil war at the advanced age of 
seventy-five years; Colonel D. D. Finley, still older, who 
after great affliction passed to his reward. Adam Du Bard, at 



212 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLIXAS. 

Mt. Pleasant, an efficient steward and devotedly pious, was 
murdered while on his way to Columbia. Daniel liuff was for 
many years a steward at Pine Gro\e, and dying, left many to- 
kens of piety and devotion to Christ. 

In Winnsboro were many fine representatives of olden time 
Methodism, among them John R. Bnchanan and his excellent 
wife. Mr. Buchanan was a county officer and a steward, and 
of great influence civilly and religiously. He and his wife were 
converted under the ministry of James Jenkins in 1808, and for 
years were interested in all the movements of the Church. One 
of Mr. Buchanan's sisters married the Eev. Mr. Carlisle, and be- 
came the mother of James H. Carlisle, of Wofford College. Mrs. 
Carlisle was a true Buchanan, possessing the mental and moral 
characteristics of the old Scotch-Irish, a noble basis for the up- 
building of religious character. Mrs. Means, mother of Gov- 
ernor Means, of South Carolina, with her daughter, once the 
widow of Hilliard Judge, were all their lives fine exponents of 
earnest Christian experience. Thomas Jordan, at that time a 
mere youth, but lately deceased at a good old age, was a lead- 
ing spirit in our Church at Winnsboro. Near Bethesda was a 
Brother Lewis. Bishop Asbury says of him in 1809, "but late 
emerging into light." He was the grandfather of John B. and 
Philip Pickett, both famous in the Methodist ministry. Philip 
Pickett's body rests in Bethesda; John's in the Winnsboro cem- 
etery, as also does the dust of Hilliard Judge. 

Methodism was introduced into Winnsboro in 1808 by the 
Rev. James Jenkins. After many changes we hold our own, and 
though as far as wealth and numbers go the charge may not be 
considered eminently strong, yet if the past could be minutely 
recorded it would be seen that Methodism has largely influ- 
enced religious life and thought. 

Near the church is the house where President Carlisle, of- 
Wofford College, was born, and the graveyard adjoining con- 
tains the dust of many of his ancestry. Certainly upon their 
minds and his the Methodism of the early day wrought its in- 
fluences. Around W^innsboro and old Bethesda, some dozen 
miles away, cluster memories of Robert Jones Boyd and Hugh 
Andrew Crawford Walker. Estimating all wrought through 
their agency — not written mayhap on earth, but certainly not 
unknown in heaven — the profit must exceed all computation. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 213 

A few years ago Brother Carlisle invited Brother Walker to 
a review of the past at old Bethesda Church (ouce Mount Mo- 
riah, now in the East Chester Circuit). Alas! this cannot be; 
and it is not to be regretted, for while the old house is gone, it 
has given place to a modern brick structure far in advance of 
the old. While they may call up the strong sermons, the shouts 
of praise, and the "still small voice" resounding through the 
humbler temple, they cannot but be thankful that a larger and 
better one occupies its site. 

The writer was talking not long since with the Bev. L. A. John- 
son — not a fast man, it is true; rather slow, but exceedingly sure, 
in building churches especially. " Brother Johnson," said I, 
"do you remember the old Bethesda church?" "Yes, sir, I do. 
When on the Sandford Mission, I remember that in preaching 
one could have slung a buzzard through the roof." "A buzzard 
through the roof! Why, how could you think of such a thing?" 
"Very easily," was the reply. "While preaching, I could see 
them flying overhead." "Ah! yes, I see; time enough, indeed, 
to think of getting a new church." "But that was not all, sir," 
he continued. "During service I saw the carriages [this Avas 
before the war, and the country surrounding was exceedingly 
rich] rolling by to another church beyond, and I thought it 
time to stop that going by." And so, as in many other things 
comj)etitive, the new brick church was the result of that thought. 
Constituted as men are, there must be competition, civilly and 
religiously as well; and the energizing influences of Methodism 
are much indebted to the aphorism, "As much as in me is." In 
all matters relating to the extension of Christ's kingdom it can 
never be a matter of mere living. That is very good in its 
place, but " man shall not live by bread alone " supersedes all 
other considerations; so that when James Jenkins began preach- 
ing at Winnsboro and a brother minister took it as an act of 
unkindness, as "taking the bread out of his mouth," all know- 
ing the old veteran and the animus inspiring him are not sur- 
prised at his answer: "If bread was all he was after, it made 
no matter how soon he lost it." A living, and how to obtain it, 
was the very last consideration of that old prophet. His one 
business was to preach, whether they would hear or forbear. 

The first members at Winnsboro were Captain Buchanan and 
wife, Captain Harris and wife, and Major Moore. After read- 



214 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CaROLINAS. 

ing the "rules" in the courthouse, Mr. Jenkins invited at- 
tendance at a class meeting. Some twenty-five were pres- 
ent, and they had a "solemn and profitable time." Soon 
after a church was built, and dedicated in 1800 by Keddick 
Pierce, the presiding elder. This venerable structure we saw 
just before its removal. It was square in form, high-roofed, and 
resounded often with prayer and praise conducted by the fa- 
thers. Under date of December 26, 1809, Bishop Asbury writes: 
" I made an acquaintance with a venerable pair, Mr. Buchanan 
and wife, Presbyterians, and happy in the experience of reli- 
gion. A brick chapel is building at Winnsboro for the Metho- 
dists." Second Sabbath in December, 1810: "At Winnsboro I 
preached to a few people." December 9, 1812: "I came to 
Winnsboro late at night." November 13, 1814: "I preached 
at AYinnsboro a long discourse on 1 Peter iv. 17, ' For the time 
is come that judgment must begin at the house of God,' etc. 
Monday at the widow Means's." 

A bell (now cracked and long laid aside) adorned this struc- 
ture. Bishop Asbury, under date of Augusta, November 16, 
1786, writes: "And behold, here is a bell over the gallery — and 
cracked, too; may it break! It is the first I ever saw in a house 
of ours in America; I hope it may be the last." Good old man! 
Doubtless he thought, with many of the early Methodists, that 
it was best to have the bell in the pulpit. 

A neat wooden church, the outcome of the energetic action of 
Brother Thomas Jordan and a few others, is now our place of 
worship. A parsonage alone is wanting to render complete a 
monument to zeal and liberality that shall be enduring. The 
ladies of the church are looking and laboring to this end, and 
I would by no means be surprised if Brother Jordan, after 
awhile, impatient at the delay, should come to their help in 
pi'etty much the same way as the church was built. "So mote 
it be." 

Near where the old church stood Hilliard Judge is buried. 
His tomb has the following inscription: "Sacred to the mem- 
ory of Kev. Hilliard Judge, who was born in Halifax county, 
N. C, on the 6tli of March, 1787; and ended his labors, life, and 
afflictions in triumph, March, 1817, aged near thirty. He was 
early converted to God, and labored an ambassador of his 
for more than fourteen years, with fidelity, zeal, approbation, 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 215 

and success; of which many in Virginia, tiie two Carolinas, and 
Georgia are witnesses. Tliis stone is erected at tlie request of his 
surviving bosom friend, left to mourn her loss with their child." 
Near by is another monument to the memory of "Bev. John 
iiaidford Pickett, born April 2d, 1814. He was baptized by the 
Rev Hilliard Judge in 1817, assuming this consecration per- 
sonally in the year 1831. He was immediately sent into the 
itinerancy by his presiding elder, liev. Bond English, and con- 
tinued to his death, which was March 15, 1870." 

From Winnsboro the travel, after a day's riding, took the 
preachers to the old Union Church, between Fisher's Creek 
and Catawba Ptiver. This was among the first Methodist church- 
es organized in the country Two other churches were colonized 
from it, namely, Mount Prospect and El Bethel. Farther away 
are the remains of one of the earliest structures, where in 1809 
Bishop Asbury preached, saying it was "a log cabin scarcely 
fit for a stable." In this country and attendant on these church- 
es were the Hardins, Hicksons, Howzes, Heaths, McCullys, and 
others well worthy of mention. Gladden's Grove and Mount 
Moriah, although noted in their day, have now disappeared. 
Pleasant Grove, erected mainly through the efforts of W. T. D. 
Cousar, where the Keys worship, and Pichburg later still, are 
choice exponents of Methodism to-day. 

Chester, once called Chester Hill and Chesterville, ably rep- 
resents Methodism now. In the early days all denominations 
worshiped in the courthouse. Judges, lawyers, lecturers, show- 
men, ministers, all occupied it. Then there was no house of 
worship in the town. The Baptists were the first to build. 
The Presbyterians worshiped at Purity, two miles away. The 
Methodists had a chui'ch at Smith's Chapel, five miles from 
Chester. Mrs. Terry was the first and only member in Chester. 
Her house was the preachers' home. James Graham subsequent- 
ly became a leading and influential member. Until 1837 there 
was no organization, when T. P. Lipsey, James Graham, Pobert 
Walker Thomas Terry, Mrs. Terry, and Adelaide Stokes, togeth- 
er with Isaac McDonald, colored, were organized into a church, 
and a site was selected for building. Smith's Chapel (now 
Capers Chapel, near its site) was a small building of hewed 
pine timber, on Sandy River. It is now extinct, but was then 
or much importance, the Smiths and Hardins worshiping there. 



216 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

Armenia was at tliis time small and feeble, but lias much in- 
creased iu strength. The Presslys and Davises were noted mem- 
bers. Near by was the Bonnet Rock Oamx3 Ground, so called from 
a conglomerate formation in the shape of a country bonnet, still 
extant. The site of the camp ground is now planted in cot- 
ton. New Hope was not far away, where worshiped the Cassels, 
Hardius, and Atkinsons. Baton Rouge and Flat Rock were ap- 
pointments at which there are now no Methodist Church struc- 
tures. 

In 1830, in Columbia, S. C, under Joshua Soule, president, 
at the forty-fourth session, the Georgia Conference was set off. 
There were reported that year 40,335 white and 24,544 colored 
members. At the forty-fifth session but 20,513 white and 
19,144 colored members remained in the South Carolina Con- 
ference. There wei-e but five districts: Charleston, W. Capers, 
presiding elder; Saluda, Robert Adams, jjresiding elder; Co- 
lumbia, William M. Kennedy, i^residing elder; Fayetteville, 
Charles Betts, presiding elder; Lincoluton, H. Spain, presid- 
ing elder. The whole number of effective men was sixty-eight. 
A decade after, in 1839, the numbers reported were whites, 
24,756; colored, 24,822; preachers, 106. 

At this time a large part of North Carolina was in the South 
Carolina Conference, but at the sixty-fourth session, at Cam- 
den, in December, 1849, a goodly part was taken off. At that 
Conference the numbers were whites, 34,477; colored, 41,617. 
At the sixty-fifth session there were whites, 31,143; colored, 
37,840. At the eighty-fourth session, at Cheraw, in December, 
1869, the numbers were 42,926 whites; colored not estimated — 
such was the disintegration by the war. In 1870 there were re- 
ported whites, 32,371 — a loss of over 10,000 members, transferred 
to the North Carolina Conference; so that from 1870 dates all the 
numbers in the South Carolina Conference now. In twenty- 
five years, in 1895, were reported 72,651, showing a goodly in- 
crease of members. In 1839 there were five districts; in 1849, 
six; in 1859, eight; in 1869, nine; in 1879, nine; and in 1889 ten 
districts, so remaining until 1895. Owing to the scarcity of 
material in relation to the territory of the Conference — for 
very few records remain — we turn our annals to the men who 
wrought the field, and, in addition to those already named, re- 
fer to others more in detail. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAKOLIXAS. 217 

Joseph Moore (admitted 1791, died 1851) was a Virginian, 
born in 1767, and died at tlie age of eighty-five. For sixty-seven 
years he Avas a member of the Church, and a preacher for sixty- 
five years. His labors in the early years were mostly in the 
North Carolina and Virginia Conferences, locating in the latter 
Conference in 1806. In 1826 he entered the South Carolina Con- 
ference, laboring eight years; the next year he was made a super- 
numerary; in 1835 he was without appointment, at his own re- 
quest, and in 1836 was superannuated, and so continued to the 
end. His preaching was largely controversial, ever combating 
doctrinal error. He lived respected, and died beloved in the 
community around Edgefield. Of large body and of great 
strength of mind, both failed at the last under protracted years 
of toil and of disease. His portrait (would there were more 
portraits of the fathers!) adorns the parsonage at Edgefield. 

In 1792, among others admitted were James Jenkins, Tobias 
Oibson, Coleman Carlisle, and George Clark. Of the first three 
our annals are full; of the last it may be said that he had quite 
respectable preaching talents, was always highly esteemed, and 
very social and pleasant in his manners. Although a man of 
much wealth, he was very plain in his apparel. On his location 
in 1801 he resided on Enoree River, Union county. He lived 
to an advanced age, and the Church in that section Avas much 
aided by his influence and talents. 

John Harper was from England, and held his authority to 
preach from Mr. Wesley himself. In 1795 his name appears as 
stationed in Boston, Mass. ; in 1799 in Charleston, S. C, remain- 
ing there in 1800 and 1801. In 1803 he located, and settled in 
Columbia, S. C, when he was eminently useful in building up 
the Church in that city. Mr. Travis speaks of him in the high- 
est terms — of his *' superior intellect," " universal popularity," 
his affectionate manner toward himself, correcting instead of 
upbraiding him for any errors. He speaks of his " lucid and 
well-balanced mind," even in age extreme. He was tlie first 
Methodist preacher that ever got any foothold in Columbia, S. 
C. He was indeed one of the fathers, and in connection with 
Bishop Asbury, George Dougherty, and Mark Moore, estab- 
lished the Mount Bethel Academy, afterwards transferred to 
Columbia as the nucleus of what expanded into the South Car- 
olina College. Professor Hammond, from Mount Bethel, was 



218 EAliLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

afterwards elected to a chair in the college, Mr. Harper's son 
William was the first graduate from the college, and afterwards 
chancellor of the state. John flarper died in the faith. His 
dust rests in the cemetery at Mount Bethel, and stones marked 
"J. H." are his only monument. 

Lewis Myers was admitted on trial in 1799, and, although in 
1830 he transferred to the Georgia Conference, was long a lead- 
ing and influential member of the South Carolina Conference. 
For many years he served the Church in the most responsible 
positions. Of German descent, and not entirely free in the pro- 
nunciation of English, it served somewhat in rendering his 
speech peculiar. In personal appearance he was not attractive; 
not tall, but rather rotund. He was an earnest, holy, devoted 
minister of Christ. His mind, plain in order, was by diligence 
and fervor able to make up what he lacked in genius and cul- 
ture. He traveled and worked for twenty-eight years, one of 
the hardest workers in the Church. Often on the Conference 
floor he was opposed to marriage, and many a speech called the 
young preacher to reflection before entering on matrimony. 
His speech was often sententious, one word thrice repeated — 
"punctuality" — being its entire burden. Tradition states that 
he went farther even than that, with no word at all — a motion of 
his forefinger under his chin indicating the propriety of a preach- 
er's shaving clean. What would he say now to see nearly all 
of them "bearded like the pard?" He, like many others then, 
was opposed to the needless (?) suspenders. But marrying 
himself at last, he would turn away the raillery of the younger 
men by raising his vest a little, saying: "Look here, boys; I 
have been married but six months, and you see my wife has 
brought me to the ' gallows ' already. " His life was marked 
by close economy, and his will revealed the fact that the wid- 
ows and orphans were his beneficiaries. He died in the faith 
on the 16th of November, 1851. 



CHAPTER XXY. 

Pen Pictures — Bishop Roberts: His Incognito — Amusing Mistakes Engen- 
dered — Tire Young Preacher — The Class Leader — The Young Lawyer — 
John Gamewell — Eeddick Pierce — James Russell — William M. Kennedy 
— Samuel Dunwody — Hilliard Judge — Joseph Travis. 

BEFORE coutinuing in chronological order the portraiture 
of our preachers, as nearly a dozen pages in Dr. Shipp's 
"Methodism" have been given to a sketch of Bishop George, 
it may be well to note in these annals another of our early 
bishops, Robert R. Roberts. He presided at three Confer- 
ences in Carolina, namely: the thirty-third, at Camden in 1818; 
the thirty-seventh, at Savannah, Ga., in 1823; and the thirty- 
ninth, at AVilmington, N. C, in 1825. Bishop Morris, in 
Sprague's Annals, gives a full portraiture, from which, as also 
from otlier sources, we condense as follows: 

Robert Richeford Roberts was born in Maryland, August 2, 
1778. His father was a plain farmer, in moderate worldly cir- 
cumstances. He had no early literary advantages beyond those 
furnished by the common school. He was pious from early 
childhood, but not decidedly religious until his fourteenth year. 
He possessed by nature the elements of an orator — an impos- 
ing person, a clear and logical mind, a ready utterance, a full- 
toned, melodious voice — and to all added an ardent love for souls 
and an unction from above. He of course became a powerful 
preacher. He was elected to the episcopacy in 1816. In person 
he was not above the ordinary height, but broad set and of cor- 
pulent habit; so that in full vigor of life his weight was not far 
from two hundred and fifty pounds. His features were large 
and manly rather than elegant, and the general expression of 
his countenance was frank and agreeable. His commanding 
person and forcible utterance were of service to him as a pre- 
siding officer, but he possessed other qualifications — a Avell- 
developed common sense, tempered by mildness of disposition. 
His usual manner in the chair indicated more of the patriarch 
than of the prelate, more of the friend than of the officer; and 
yet if on the Conference iloor any excited floods of passion were 
exhibited, he has been known to assume as much authority 

(219) 



220 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

as would suffice to commaDd any warship engaged in battle, 
until order was restored — calming all agitation by a few gentle 
remarks, or by some amusing incident giving a pleasant direc- 
tion to their thoughts. His most prominently developed trait 
of character was meekness. He never thought more highly of 
himself than he should have done; on the contrary, all his move- 
ments indicated that he placed too low an estimate upon his 
own character. He seemed to prefer everyone to himself. He 
studied the accommodation of others, even at the expense of his 
own. In 1836, when he had exercised his office twenty years, 
and was then senior bishop, he tendered his resignation, simply 
because in his own estimate of himself his powers would be so 
diminished by the infirmities of age that he could not be safely 
intrusted with the duties of the position. No one entertained 
the same opinion, and he was greatly disappointed when no one 
moved to accept his resignation; and he bore his official honors 
as a cross to the end of his life. His death was calm and peaceful. 
His body was deposited in a lonely cornfield on his own farm, 
but in the year 1844 it was removed to the seat of the Asbury 
University, by order of the Indiana Conference, and reinterred 
with appropriate ceremonies. , The Bev. Joseph Travis, who was 
intimately associated with him, gives several relations concerning 
him, indicative of the correctness of Bishop Morris's estimate of 
his meekness and humility. Mr. Travis states: "Bishop Boberts 
was very reluctant to make himself known as a bishop, or even 
as a minister. He was modest to a fault. He gave me an ex- 
ample of the fact, wherein he was at a certain time truly morti- 
fied by keeping incognito. It was at a tavern, when he neither 
asked a blessing at the table nor proposed prayer in the family. 
Next morning, when he went to pay his bill, the tavern-keeper 
very mildly replied: 'I never charge Methodist preachers.' 
On another occasion, calling at a land office to hand in some 
papers for a friend — the day being cold and disagreeable — the 
clerk in a polite way asked him " if he would not take a dram." 
"No, sir, not any," was the reply. The cold winds had consid- 
erably reddened the bishop's nose. The clerk looked at him 
curiously, and then remarked: " Sir, from your looks, I should 
judge that you were fond of the creature." 

Another incident erroneously attributed to Bishop George 
actually occurred with Bishop Boberts. Traveling through 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 221 

South Carolina on his way to Augusta, Ga., he sought lodging 
at Dr. Moore's, a local preacher, in Newberry county, A young 
traveling preacher was there. The night advanced; supper 
and prayers were over. The host, having no idea of the char- 
acter of his guest, did not even ask if he desired supper- expect- 
iijg that if he did he would call for it. The young preacher and 
the bishop were to occupy the same bed. They both knelt for 
prayer at the bedside. Arising, the preacher said: "Sir, if you 
have no objection I will take the front side of the bed." "None 
at all," replied the stranger. After getting in bed, the preacher 
asked the stranger: "Sir, are you a professor of religion?" 
" I am." "To what Church do you belong?" " To the Meth- 
odist." "Do you ever exercise in public?" "I try to do so 
occasionally." "Where are you going, sir?" "To Augusta." 
"To the Conference, sir?" "Yes." "What might be your 
name, sir?" "Roberts." "Ah! we are looking for a bishop of 
that name to be at our Conference. Are you a relative of his?" 
" My name is Robert R. Roberts." W^ith that the young preach- 
er gave a leap forward and out of the bed, and for awhile re- 
mained silent. At length he replied: " Why, bishop, did you 
serve us thus? I must rouse the family and let you have sup- 
per." "No, no," was the reply, "by no means. I am not hun- 
gry." " Well, then, bishop, do take the fore side of the bed." 
"By no means; I am comfortably situated. Now, my dear 
brother, let us go to sleep." I rather opine the preacher did 
not suffer loss: the good bishop put him in charge, in his second 
year, over a very good circuit, Oakmulgee, Ga. 

On another occasion, as related hy Mr. Travis, the bishop, 
traveling in Alabama, stopped at the house of a Methodist. At 
the table the host asked a blessing, and one of the boarders 
returned thanks. After rising from the table, he said to the 
sti-anger: "Sir, that is your room; you will excuse us, as we 
are going to meeting to-night." "AVhat meeting?" queried the 
stranger. " It is what we Methodists call a class meeting." 
" Well," said the stranger, " if you have no objection, I will 
walk with you." "None at all; come along." A young man led 
the class, and after getting through he asked the stranger "if he 
had a desire to serve God and get to heaven." The reply was, 
" Yes." " But do you, my strange fi'iend, try to put these good 
desires into practice ? " "I do," was the emphatic answer. " Do 



222 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

you think," my dear sir, "that you enjoy religion?" "I do," 
was the unhesitating reply. " How long, sir, since you pro- 
fessed religion?" " Upward of thirty years," was the prompt 
answer. The leader exhorted him to fidelity, watchfulness, and 
perseverance. Returning home, he was asked to join in family 
worship. His prayer was so full of heavenly influence that they 
were surprised. On rising, he bade them good-night and re- 
tired. After a little wondering silence, his host said, " I must 
find out who that stranger is"; and entering the room without 
any ceremony, he said, " Sir, who are you? " He answered, " My 
name is Roberts." "Not our Bishop Roberts? " said the man. 
"I pass for him." "Well, sir," said the brother, "you don't go 
to bed yet. Come out, come out of this room." And immediate- 
ly he sent for the leader and introduced the bishop. The young 
man soon began to apologize for so plain a talk, but was inter- 
rupted by the bishop's saying that " he had given him most ex- 
cellent advice, and that he was determined to practice upon it." 
At another time, when he was on a steamboat, a respectable 
young lawyer, judging that he was some old Methodist preacher, 
concluded to have some chat with him. He stated that " he had 
heard Bishops Soule and Emory preach, but was informed that 
there was another bishop by the name of Roberts, and, although 
he had never seen or heard him, understood that he was a man 
of only moderate talents, yet of undoubted goodness, and that 
he would like to see and hear him." Bishop Roberts permitted 
the young lawyer to go ahead with all his remarks about the 
bishop, the Church, etc. On retiring to where his Avife was he 
told her of a long conversation with an old Methodist preacher 
on deck, pointing him out to her; whereupon she said: "My 
dear, that is Bishop Roberts, and he baptized me." " Oh, hush ! " 
said the young man; "then I am ruined! I must hasten to apol- 
ogize to him." But the bishop quickly calmed his feelings, and 
by his good sense and profound humility raised the young man's 
esteem to love for him as a man of God truly worthy of his high 
calling. 

Mr. Travis remarks on one special trait in the bishop's char- 
acter — his entire freedom from partiality in his episcoj)al ad- 
ministration. He " knew no man after the flesh." Neither tal- 
ent, influence, nor wealth could warp his mind; justice and 
equity to all, he ever aimed at. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CARULINAS. 223 

John Gamewell was born in North Carolina, and was received 
on trial in 1800. For several years he traveled within that state, 
and the remainder of his itinerant life in South Carolina. In 
1820 he was superannuated, retaining that relation until his 
death in 1828. During- its continuance he traveled and preached 
as far as he was able. The Eev. Joseph Travis, who was pre- 
siding elder on the Pee Dee District, writes of him as traveling 
with him from point to point — "good company, a good man, 
and a very acceptable preacher; much given to prayer in pri- 
vate, in the family, and in public' His family was admirably 
reared in the 'nurture and admonition of the Lord." He ever 
advocated whatsoever was excellent, lovely, and of good report. 
He especially regarded " cleanliness as next to godliness," and 
doubtless as he moved among the people had occasion to rec- 
ommend that virtue. He is said to have once startled his host- 
ess, when he heard her calling to the maid for a " dirty towel 
to wipe Brother Gamewell's feet," by asking " if a clean one 
would not do as well." After a laborious and successful minis- 
try and eight years of superannuation, filled up with such labor 
as he could give the Church he loved, he ceased at once to work 
and live, dying in peace, October 7, 1828. His dust rests near 
Conwayboro, S. C. 

Reddick Pierce was born in Halifax county, S. C, Septem- 
ber 26, 1782, and died in Barnwell county, S. C, July 24, 1860, 
at the age of seventy-eight years. In 1799 he began a life of 
prayer on the Three Runs, under the ministry of the Rev. 
James Jenkins. In 1801 he and his brother, Lovick Pierce, 
joined the Church. In 1802 he began exhorting sinners to 
repentance. " A purer Christian never lived. His whole reli- 
gious life was a rich development of the most guileless devotion 
to God, his cause and kingdom." It is related of him that at- 
tending a Baptist meeting where, after the pastor had preached, 
the way was opened for religious experiences, Mr. Pierce arose 
and began one of his soul-stirring exhortations, and in half an 
hour the floor was nearly covered with the fallen. Many ob- 
tained peace. He began his itinerant ministry in 1805. In 1810 
he was presiding elder on Saluda District. This year, his 
health failing, he was superannuated; in 1811 and in 1812 he 
located, settling in Fairfield county, where he did much in 
building up the Church. His next removal was to Mount Ariel 



224 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

to educate liis children. His deafness increasing, he became 
unable to perform the regular duties of the pastorate, and was 
used only as a helper, or as a supply. For many years he never 
heard anything that was said in preaching, but always attended. 
When asked why he did so, under such circumstances, he re- 
plied: "I go to fill my place, as every good man ought." The 
judgment of all who ever heard him was that by nature he was 
great, and in his own way a powerful preacher. All that was 
needed for an intellectual treat was to give him a subject, and 
he would discourse on it for hours, with infinitely more of light 
and heat and devotion than ever did Coleridge in his celebrated 
monologues. The writer, when on the Barnwell Circuit in 1845, 
was often privileged to hear him thus discourse at the hos- 
pitable home of Mr. Jacob Stroman. Here he spent the last 
twelve years of his godly life, and in the ample mansion and 
ampler heart of his friend found all that life needed, and all 
that kindness could bestow. After the stormy passage over 
life's ocean, he entered safely the final port. His dust is at rest 
in the Eocky Swamp graveyard. 

James Bussell entered the Conference with the two Pierces 
and nine others in 1805. Born in North Carolina in 1786, he 
was about nineteen years of age when he began to preach. At 
the time he was scarcely able to spell or read, tradition stating 
that at the Waxhaws he was indebted to the children at school 
for teaching him his letters. His after circumstances were not 
favorable to intellectual culture, but it is very certain that he 
lost no opportimity for attaining it. It is said of him " that he 
copied no man, was perfectly original, and was preeminently a 
Holy Ghost preacher." It is also said of him that not only 
the uneducated, but persons of the highest culture, were car- 
ried away by his matchless proclamations of the gospel. Thou- 
sands were converted under his ministry. Dr. Olin said, "It 
was only eighteen months before his dissolution that I became 
acquainted with him, and occasionally had the happiness to 
hear him preach," and expresses the highest admiration of 
"his original genius and irresistibly powerful preaching." In 
1815 he located on account of impaired health, and engaged in 
merchandising, and became involved in financial embarrass- 
ments, from which he was extricated only by death. In person 
he was said to be of ordinary stature, perfectly symmetrical in 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 225 

form, with a well-developed head, keen blue eyes, dark hair, 
prominent cheek bones, a nose slightly aquiline, and a rather 
large and handsome mouth. A most admirable analysis of his 
character, from Dr. Olin's pen, is given in Sprague's "Annals 
of the American Pulpit," and copied freely, with full acknowl- 
edgment from whence derived, by the Eev. William M. Wight- 
man, who closes his record as follows: "During his last illness 
it was thought by his friends that he was better, and the hope 
was expressed that he might be able to preach on the next 
Sunday. ' Before next Sabbath,' said Russell, ' I shall be in 
paradise.' His words were prophetic." He died at Dr. Mere- 
dith Moon's, in Newberry county, on the 16th of January, 1825. 
Having located, his name, however worthy, does not appear in 
the necrological record of the South Carolina Conference. 

William M. Kennedy was born in North Carolina January 
13, 1783. He was converted to God in 1803; admitted on trial 
in 1805. On circuits he spent three years, on stations fifteen 
years, on districts fifteen years, and as agent two years — thirty- 
five years in all. For fourteen years he served the Conference 
as secretary, and all the while may have been said to be the 
business agent of the Conference. He was distinguished for 
soundness of judgment, fine taste, and great tenderness of feel- 
ing. He was a manager of men as well as of affairs, preemi- 
nent as a peacemaker, and of great personal influence both 
with preachers and people. In stature he was rather below 
the medium height, but well proportioned, inclined to corpu- 
lence. With an active, nervous temperament, he was always in 
movement. His face was the very index of kindness and 
brotherly love. He possessed a voice of remarkable compass 
and sweetness, which made him the Asaph of the Conference. 
His preaching was hortatory, full of zeal and love for souls. 
He was known preeminently as a peacemaker, showing forth his 
love to God in his love for his fellow-men, and, like Ben Ad- 
hem, "his name led all the rest." In 1840 he was reluctantly 
compelled to take a superannuated relation, and while on a 
journey, stopping at Dr. Moon's in Newberry county, he died 
from a stroke of apoplexy. 

Samuel Dunwody was born in Pennsylvania, August 3, 1780; 
was converted in his twenty-second year; admitted to Confer- 
ence in 1806, and served effectively forty years. He was on 
15 



226 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIKAS. 

circuits twenty-two years, on stations sixteen years, on districts 
one year, and non-effective nine years, making forty-eight 
years in all. As a preacher he was original, both as to matter 
and manner, and his sermons were scriptural and great. He 
combined the intellectual greatness of the theologian with the 
simplicity of the child. His manner in the pulpit was unique, 
scarcely describable. In many respects he was one of the most 
remarkable men ever connected with our Conference. Ill 
shaped in body, careless in his attire, with little refinement in 
manner or attractiveness of style; with a rough voice, monoto- 
nous and rapid utterance, awkward gesticulation; with an ab- 
stracted, almost idiotic, expression of countenance — he was cer- 
tainly the most logical and most scriptural preacher in the 
body. It has often been affirmed that if the Bible were lost 
he could reproduce it from memory. To the young and old 
alike possibly, his reading of a hymn was unique, if not amus- 
ing, apparently with the endeavor to repeat the entire stanza at a 
single breath. He seemed to live mentally and religiously in a 
world of God's special creation. The basis of his philosophy 
and theology was the Bible, which he seemed to have commit- 
ted to memory. In the Calvinistic controversy of years past 
he was the champion of Arminianism, and one sermon was of 
great force, on the text, "Every plant that my Father hath not 
planted shall be rooted up." His arguments were scripturally 
unanswerable, and remain so. At a General Conference, on 
the great slavery debate the cry was made, " Can't hear you." 
"You'll hear me presently," he responded; and certainly they 
did. Mrs. Young, the excellent wife of an Episcopal rector in 
one of the parishes, writes in Sprague's Annals an admirable 
sketch. In preaching at a schoolhouse one night, candles had 
to be provided, and out of the usual order these were used. 
On seeing them Mr. Dunwody ejaculated: "Spermacity! sper- 
macity! I do believe you want to make an Episcopalian of 
me." Simplicity and innocence were marked features in his 
character, and however many might have been amused by his 
idiosyncrasies, none doubted his sincerity or his ability as a 
minister of God. The end came as usual to all over threescore 
and ten — the inevitable retirement and surcease of active la- 
bor. It was exceeding pitiful to witness his struggle against 
it: the worn-out laborer pleading for work, and the stern behest 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 227 

of his brethren refusing it. The thouglit of locatiou, superan- 
nuation, or cessation from a loved employ never entered liis 
mind. He was amazed and confounded when it was realized, 
and he was told by his loving brethren that he was actually an 
old^ worn-out incni. The free spirit refused to succumb, but the 
flesh was weak. Blessed change awaiting us all when the cum- 
brous flesh shall drop, and we be clothed with the immur- 
tality that God giveth! His dust was interred at old Taber- 
nacle, near Cokesbury. 

Hilliard Judge was admitted on trial in Virginia in 1806. 
For eight years he was connected with the South Carolina 
Conference. His active itinerant life covered eleven years. 
He located at the close of 1816. From Joseph Travis we learn 
that he was a preacher of no ordinary talents, and of good re- 
port everj^where. He was very pleasant in his manners, never 
sour or morose. He was equally at home in the palace or the 
hut. No company, however grand, discomposed him. He was 
invited to preach before the legislature in Columbia, S. C, and 
discoursed from, " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise per- 
ish." His discourse was just as plain and emphatic it was as on 
all occasions elsewhere. He married a lady of Fairfield coun- 
ty, of great personal worth, and of a family distinguished for 
wealth and intelligence. Mr. Judge died in the faith, and his 
body rests in the AVinnsboro cemetery. 

Joseph Travis was born in 1786, in Maryland. When an in- 
fant he narrowly escaped death in the burning of his father's 
house, and by an accident, when three years old, was lamed for 
life. On the removal of his parents to South Carolina, he was 
happily converted to God. Hearing the eccentric Lorenzo 
Dow preach, he resolved to devote himself to the ministry. He 
was admitted into the Conference in 1807, locating in 1825, but 
was readmitted into other Conferences. His life extended be- 
yond 1855, but the date of his death is unknown to the writer. 
He filled important stations and districts, and represented the 
South Carolina Conference more than once in the General Con- 
ference. He located to take charge of the Mount Ariel Acad- 
emy, and after awhile went West. He has left an autobiogra- 
phy, full of interest concerning the early Church in Carolina, 
and to which the writer is much indebted in compiling these 
annals. He died in peace. 



CHAPTER XXyi. 

The Abbeville Circuit — Mount Ariel— Stephen Olin — James E. Glenn — Jo- 
seph Travis — Mrs. Ann Moore — Cokesbury School — Sketch of Preachers — 
William Capers — Henry Bass — N. Talley — J. L. Belin — J. O. Andrew — 
H. Spain — C. Betts — James Dannelly — Bond English — M. McPherson — 
William Crook — George W. ^loore — Jacky M. Bradley — David Derrick — 
William M. Wightman— S. W. Capers— William Martin— John E. Co- 
burn — James Stacy. 

LExVYING for awhile the portraiture of our older preach- 
ers, we would turn attention to some old circuits, and first 
among them Abbeville. To find their metes and bounds in the 
early days, we go by conjecture only. There are no records, 
and all capable of giving them correctly are now dead. AYe are 
inclined to think that the old Saluda, Bush E.iver, and Keewee 
circuits to some extent covered the territory. In the General 
Minutes Bush River is first mentioned in 1789, with William 
Gassaway as preacher in charge. In 1790 Saluda is first 
named, and in 1803 it is Bush Eiver and Keewee. In 1806 
they were separated, and so remained until 1820, when Bush 
River disappears. In 1821 the record is Saluda, Abbeville, and 
Keevvee, all separate, with Robert L. Edwards on Abbeville 
Circuit. In 1822 Barnett Smith and Abner P. Many, and in 
1823 James Dannelly and Elislia Askew, were the preachers in 
charge. It remained a separate circuit until, in 1857, it was 
divided into Abbeville and Cokesbury circiiits. In 1839 Wil- 
liam M. Wightman was the presiding elder, and Samuel Dun- 
wody and A. M. Chreitzberg the preachers in charge; and at 
the time of division, sixteen years after, Colin Murchison was 
on Abbeville and A. M. Chreitzberg on Cokesbury Circuit. 
The later divisions are in the memory of all, so we need not 
particularize. 

Its earlier history, so far as the meager records exist, is that 
Cokesbury, formerly called Mount Ariel, was known as connect- 
ed with the second enterprise of the Church anent education, 
being the successor of the Mount Bethel Academy, which was 
founded in 1792 or 1791, and ran successfully until 1800, 1803, 
or 1806, about which time the South Carolina College was es- 
(228) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 229 

tablished. Elijah Hammond, teaching at Mount Bethel, was 
transferred to the college as a professor. Alas! that so many 
years — some twenty or thirty — should elapse before any steps 
were taken by the Methodists to secure high schools or colleges. 
What has been lost to the Church can hardly be estimated. 
About 1820 — the date is not exact — some effort was made for a 
high school at Tabernacle, near the present Cokesbury, In 
1822 the Ogeechee District, extending across the Savannah 
River, took in Abbeville, Edgefield, and old Pendleton circuits. 
Joseph Travis was the presiding elder. A school was under 
way at Tabernacle, under the mastership of Stephen Olin. In 
1825 Joseph Travis was induced to locate, in order to take 
charge of it, and removed to Mount Ariel, afterwards Cokes- 
bury. 

It was on this district that a great camp meeting was held in 
1822 at Tabernacle. There were over one hundred and fifty 
conversions. It was here that Stephen Olin began his re- 
ligious career. From a late article in the New York Cliristian 
Advocate we gather, as given in his own words, incidents con- 
nected therewith. He met a trustee of the institution of which 
he had come to take charge, and inquiring where it was, he 
was pointed " to a log cabin, the door hung on a couple of 
sticks, and the windows miserable." Mr. Olin boarded in the 
family of a local preacher, James E. Glenn. One day he over- 
heard the mother of the family ask if the teacher opened his 
school with prayer. This induced him to begin, and it result- 
ed in his conversion. Among his manuscripts was found the 

following: 

Abbeville, S. C, September 21, 1821. 
Yesterda\% after a long season of darkness and sorrow, it pleased God to 
manifest his pardoning mercy to my soul. Lord, the riches of thy good- 
ness are unsearchable! Accept me as one of thy hired servants. Lead me 
in the way everlasting, and keep my feet from falling. Oh, bring me to see 
thy face in peace ! Stephen Olin. 

Applying for license to preach some little time after, the pre- 
siding elder, Mr. Travis, was not favorably affected toward him, 
and stated his doubts to Mr. Glenn, who replied: "Brother 
Travis, you don't know the man." Mr. Travis, trusting in Mr. 
Glenn's good judgment, thereupon ceased opposing him. He 
was put up to preach, and his sermon was so excellent that 
Mr. Travis judged it a plagiarism. He was again put up and 



230 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

preached, and that sermon surpassed the first. A third time 
he was tried, and his effort excelled both of the others. Final- 
ly, on Sunday, before an immense congregation, he preached 
on the daughter of Herodias dancing before Herod. Then he 
swept the field; and the presiding elder had to conclude that if 
ever St. Paul was called to the ministry so was Stephen Oliu, 
in which judgment many thousands have since agreed. 

Near here James E. Glenn, afterwards the founder of Glenn- 
ville, Alabama, lived; indeed, it was he who first employed Dr. 
Olin to teach. Mr. Glenn was a man of no ordinary ability. His 
polemic gifts were unequaled; his zeal, purity, and knowledge 
made him a very acceptable minister. As a trustee of Mount 
Ariel Academy, he had much to do in securing the services of 
Mr. Travis to teach. Both of them frequently preached in all 
the surrounding country. In it there was a neighborhood of 
Hardshells, " great advocates for water, but liking it still better 
if well mixed with whisky." They were much opposed to the 
Methodists, and especially to Mr. Glenn. They believed in 
folklore and witches. Mr. Glenn put up a notice that on a cer- 
tain day he intended to kill witches. The news spread from 
Dan to Beersheba. The day came, and the crowd was great. 
The text was, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." He said: 
" There are witches in this neighborhood; yea, and I believe it. 
There are at least three: one is called Calvinism; the second, 
Universalism ; and the third. Infidelity." He understood that 
the best way to kill witches was to draw their pictures and then 
shoot at them. He drew the picture of Geneva Calvinism, des- 
canting on the horrible decrees, etc., for some time. "Now," 
said he, " just look at her! What a haggard, frightful old wretch 
she is! " It was thought s/Zr^^r bullets were best to shoot at them 
with, but he would shoot gohlen balls. You will find the first 
load in such a book, such a chapter, such a verse. " Now, make 
ready! Take aim! Fire! " He would then roll out the text 
loudly and distinctly. And thus on for hours. After this, when 
he preached the house M^as always crowded. 

Mr. Travis frequently visited Abbeville, the county seat. 
Having no church, the courthouse was used for divine service. 
There were but two members there, James Moore and his ex- 
cellent wife, Ann, of whom too much cannot be said as founders 
of Methodism in Abbeville. She had been brought up a Roman 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 231 

Catholic, but, under conviction from tlie ministry of the Meth- 
odists, was in doubt about joining them. Once, after earnest 
prayer, her eyes fell on these lines: 

I the chief of sinners am, 

But Jesus died for me. 

Immediately she exclaimed, " If that is Mr. Wesley's language, 
I shall be a Methodist!" She joined at once, and was one of 
the most zealous members. She was foremost in procuring 
a church. Her perseverance in this good work soon resulted 
in a very respectable church structure for those days. Well 
does the writer reinember that house, and his attempts at preach- 
ing in it fourteen years after its erection, in 1839; well does he 
remember, also, kind Sister Moore, and her motherly care of his 
youth. Her house was ever the young preacher's home. Dr. 
Henry D. Moore, now at Louisville, is her son. He was admitted 
into the South Carolina Conference in 1857. He has been a 
member of the Florida, South Georgia, and Alabama Confer- 
ences, and now belongs to the Kentucky Conference — having fully 
experienced the power of transfer, through no fault of his own. 
He is a worthy son of most excellent parentage. 

The portraits of these venerable pioneers in Abbeville are here- 
with given, together with their son, Dr. Moore, of Louisville, 
Ky. ; and also of William Bird, of Bethel Church, Charleston, 
S. C, and A. E. Williams, of Bound O, S. C, with two elect 
ladies of Charleston — Mrs. Margaret Just and Mrs. Jackson, 
long known as zealous workers for God in that city. 

Lewis H. Davis, the blind preacher, resided in Abbeville, 
loved by all. By an accident in his youth he became blind, but 
that did not hinder his usefulness as a preacher. He joined 
the Methodists soon after the erection of the church. 

The Rev. George Moore and his excellent family resided for a 
time in Abbeville. His house was likewise the young preacher's 
home. 

The brothers John and Franklin Branch were firm support- 
ers of Methodism in 1839. Two sons of Franklin Branch are 
esteemed ministers in the Georgia Conference. 

The Bev. James Dannelly was often appointed to this circuit, 
and in 1839, then superannuated, resided at Smyrna, but made 
frequent preaching tours into Georgia and preached often at 
Abbeville. The appointments were some twenty or twenty-four, 



232 EARLY METHODISM m THE CAROLIKAS. 

covering the entire county. Tiie houses of worship were ordi- 
nary structures, Cokesbury having the only painted house of 
any architectural shape. The contrast after nearly sixty years 
is of course exceedingly great. 

Cokesbury, as the seat of the Conference school, was the head- 
quarters. Here the presiding elder of the district and the 
preacher in charge of the circuit resided. Thomas Williams, 
famed as one of the best stewards of the time, with his devoted 
household, were strong supporters of the Church. So were 
James Shackelford, Dr. Francis Connor, Dr. Thomas Gottrell, 
and Brother Marion devoted Christian men in their day. With 
the exception of Dr. Gottrell, all w^ere there in 1839. A more 
lovely or well-regulated community existed nowhere. Many 
members of the South Carolina Conference received their aca- 
demical training at this school, and the only regret can be that 
our Church did not sooner begin the great work of the education 
of her youth. 

In 1839 the Conference had upon its roll 106 effective preachers 
and superannuates, 111 in all. In 1895 there were but three 
surviving — William Patterson, Simpson Jones, and the writer. 

We resume the pen portraiture of the preachers. It will be 
seen that priority of record is owing to the date of admission on 
trial, and but one or two of each class can be given; and while 
we aim at chronological order, some years will necessarily be 
omitted. Of fifteen admissions into the Conference in 1809, but 
one or two will here be named. 

The name of William Capers appears frequently in these an- 
nals, and his fame is known so w^ell that mention here must 
necessarily be brief. He was born in St. Thomas Parish, S. C, 
January 26, 1790. He was admitted into the Conference in 1809, 
and for forty-six years (except one or two local) served the 
Church on circuits, stations, districts, and as an editor; and 
closed up his earthly career in the episcopacy in 1855, at the 
age of sixty-five. Tradition states that at his birth, like Philip 
Doddridge, he was seemingly dead, and the doctor said that he 
would soon die; but the attendants, thinking differently, labored 
for his resuscitation, the nurse declaring that "he would yet 
be a bishop." As to person, he was shaped most faultlessly 
in form and feature; of medium height, with a voice of won- 
derful sweetness and power; a keen black eye, and, as his por- 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 233 

traits show, all in all most beautiful. His influence on Metho- 
dism was world-wide, and in the Carolinas and Georgia will be 
enduring. We are not surprised that so large a space is given 
in Dr. Shipp's "Methodism in South Carolina" to his life and 
labors, with such large extracts from his excellent autobiography. 
To that we would refer all readers who appreciate beauty of style, 
with true simplicity and godly sincerity. The end came, as we 
poor mortals judge, all too soon. He died as he had lived, an 
earnest man and minister, and a most decided Methodist. In 
his last illness, after a paroxysm of pain, he asked the hour, and 
when the answer was given, he said: " What! only three hours 
since I have been suffering such torture! Only three hours! 
What then must be the voice of the bird that cries, ' Eternity ! 
eternity!' Three hours have taken away all but my religion." 
Not long after, he sank back upon his bed aiid breathed his last. 
His sacred dust is interred in the Washington street cemetery, 
Columbia, S. C. 

One other name connected with this class of fifteen who were 
admitted on trial in 1809 was the very antipodes of William Ca- 
pers, and only serves to show the propriety of the year's trial 
before one can become a member of the Conference; and like- 
wise the further propriety that when one is found wanting he 
is speedily dismissed. The contrary course of action, to our cer- 
tain knowledge, has burdened the Conference with men who 
could not teach, and who were too dull to learn. In this case 
the Conference promptly discontinued the applicant after one 
year's trial. Dr. G. G. Smith, in his "Methodism in Georgia," 
thus discourses concerning William Kedwine: " Dr. Pierce says 
he once called onKedwine to exhort after him. He took a text: 
* Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish.' The first of the 
despisers was the deist. 'He stands,' said the preacher, 'with 
his legs as wide apart as if he was the empire of France, and he 
won't hear any man preach who can't speak romatically and 
explay oratory.' " Clearly, it is not every good man that is called 
to preach. 

Henry Bass was born in Connecticut, December 9, 1786. He 
removed to Fayetteville, N. C, and was converted and joined 
the Church in 1807. He was admitted into the Conference in 
1812, and was on circuits and stations nineteen years, on dis- 
tricts eighteen years, and superannuated eleven years — forty- 



234 EAELl" METH0DIS2I IX THE CAROLINAS. 

eight years in all. He was not over tall iu person, but of me- 
dium size, with an apparent sternness of meiii. His gravity, 
good common sense, and conscientiousness obtained for him 
position and influence for many years. Such was his gravity 
that he never relished any lightness of spirit. No one could 
think for a moment of taking liberties with him, and yet all 
were ready to go to him for counsel or sympathy. He had 
much of the New England puritan, combined with the true joy 
of the Christian. He was without blame and reproach — the good 
pastor, safe counselor, and steadfast friend. In the close of his 
life he was a great sufferer from cancer, and from which he died 
May 13, 1860, at Cokesbury. His mortal remains were buried 
at Tabernacle Church. In his protracted sufferings he was stead- 
fast in the faith, giving glory to God, and frequently exclaim- 
ing, " How good the Lord is! I trust in him above all." 

Nicholas Talley was born in Virginia, May 2, 1791; convert- 
ed to God in 1810; admitted into the Conference in 1812. He 
effectively served the Church on circuits, stations, and districts 
for fifty-three years, and was superannuated a little over seven 
years — thus being for more than sixty years a member of the body. 
This is the longest record of effective service in the Conference 
with the exception of one other, who received fifty-four appoint- 
ments and has been a superannuate for five years. Mr. Talley 
was above the common height, and of great physical endurance; 
his face was expressive of intelligence and benevolence; his voice 
was not musical, but rather nasal, and his delivery somewhat 
monotonous; yet, in all his ministry, he was self-possessed, 
dignified, and refined. His preaching was hortatory in charac- 
ter and often powerful in effect, his ministry popular and suc- 
cessful. He lived to the age of eighty-two years, and his death 
was peaceful. His last uttered words were: "Calm, calm." 
His dust rests in the Washington street cemetery, Columbia, 
S. C. 

James L. Belin was born in All Saints' Parish, S. C, in 1788; 
admitted into the Conference in 1812; and, after forty-seven 
years' connection with the Conference, died May 19, 1859, 
and was buried on the mission premises, on Waccamaw Neck. 
He was staid in manner, and would not impress one as being 
very genial in temperament, and yet he was always most benev- 
olent and kind. He was slow of speech, deliberate in all his 




ABBEVILLE METHODIST CHURCH; REV. J. A. CLII'TON, D.l)., PASTOR. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 237 

movements, and as steady as the needle to the pole in all that 
was pure and of good report. During all his life he was mucli 
concerned for the cause of missions to the slaves, and was 
among the very first to serve them as early as 1819, and in 1836 
formed the Waccamaw Mission, to which he bequeathed his 
entire estate. His death was caused by a fall from his buggy, 
and the testimony of a holy life shows that his end was peace. 
James O. Andrew ( Bishop Andrew ) , although transferred to 
Georgia in 1830, when the South Carolina Conference was di- 
vided, passed a large part of his life in Carolina. Some memo- 
rial of him should be placed in these annals. He entered on 
trial in the South Carolina Conference in 1813, was trans- 
ferred to Georgia in 1830, and in 1832 was elected to the epis- 
copacy. Seventeen years of his earlier ministry were in con- 
nection with the South Carolina Conference. In personal ap- 
pearance he, in his early days, was leonine, to the writer seem- 
ing to resemble that prince of men, Oliver Cromwell. He was not 
tall, but stout, with a wealth of curly hair, and features express- 
ive of great self-reliance and determination of will; his man- 
ner simple and entirely natural. His under lip protruded, giv- 
ing expression to his various moods, with no approach to self- 
conceit. In speech he was quick, somewhat brusque, but not 
crabbed. He seemingly would have grappled with a giant, but 
never harming a pigmy. His style in the pulpit was discursive, 
never apparently following any well-arranged plan; but his 
grasp of thought was gigantic, his sermons clear, forcible, and 
convincing, and full of unction, amply attesting his spiritual 
power. In a word, he was the Boanerges of the Conference in 
that early day. Under complete control himself, he always 
had his audience entirely at his command. The chair of any 
Conference was to him a throne of power, his decisions being 
quickly made, kindly expressed, and rarely called in question. 
Like many great men, he was careless as to dress, but by no 
means slovenly. It was inquired in parliament of Cromwell 
once, "Who is that sloven?" "That sloven," said Hampden, 
" if we ever come to an issue with the king, will be the greatest 
man in England." James O. Andrew, though never called to 
kingly rule, stood in his lot heroically to the end of his days. 

Hartwell Spain was born in Wake county, N. C, February 
10, 1795; converted to God in 1810; admitted into the Conference 



238 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

ill 1817. His connection with the Conference in the active 
ministry, with the exception of six years' local work, embraced 
twenty-five years. Owing to feeble health he was, from time to 
time, superannuated about twenty-six years. In person he was 
tall, slender, and graceful; his face expressive of intelligence 
and amiability. In preaching he was at first very deliberate 
— indeed, slow. A stranger would predict failure, but as he 
warmed with his subject great would be the change, his tones 
louder, utterances quickened, and his face very expressive. 
After awhile his whole nature seemed aglow, a transformation 
such as Patrick Henry's had occurred; his face shone with an 
unearthly radiance, an entire cessation of self was apparent, and 
he seemed afiame with God. His audience caught the influence, 
and, borne along on the stream of his eloquence, felt that truly 
God was with him, and high religious enthusiasm was always 
aroused. His efficient ministry was sadly hindered by ineffi- 
cient health. His old age was protracted beyond the usual 
length of time. He died at Summerton, S. C, fully attesting 
his joy in the Lord. 

Charles Betts was born in North Carolina in 1800; converted 
in his sixteenth year, and for fifty-two years itinerated in our 
Conference. One year he was local, and one superannuated, but 
for all the rest was entirely zealous in the work of the ministry. 
His consistent piety, vigorous intellect, and untiring energy 
gave him a leading position in the Conference. In personal ap- 
pearance he was compact, rotund, strong, almost fierce at times. 
In the pulpit he was something like Richard Watson, intermi- 
nable in the construction of his sentences, but as a platform 
preacher he swe^ot the field. He was a man of affairs, and large- 
ly useful in all the business of the Church. His brethren hon- 
ored him with eight returns to the General Conference. His 
end was peace. Dying in Marion county, his body was buried at 
the county seat. Taken all in all, he was a remarkable man and 
minister. Ardent and firm in his attachments, and courageous 
ill the advocacy of the right, he made many friends, being pop- 
ular both with preachers and people. He had a powerful phys- 
ical frame, and his severe labors taxed it to the uttermost. 
After fifty-two years of toil, he rests from his labors. 

James Dannelly was born in Columbus county, Ga., Februa- 
ry 4, 1786; converted in 1816, in his thirtieth year; admitted in- 



EAELY METHODISM IN THE CAHQIJNAS. 239 

to tlie Conference in 1819. Being a man of great affliction, lie 
traveled but fourteen years; during the remainder of the time 
he was superannuated. He was one of the most eccentric, and 
yet ranked among the ablest, preachers of his day. By a scrof- 
ulous taint from birth, and on that account in boyhood, he lost 
a limb, and never knew a well day during his life. He was a 
heavy man, and moved about with difficulty. His eyes were ex- 
pressive, and shone at times fearfully. His manner in the pul- 
pit was peculiar: he used to stand balancing himself, looking 
deliberately on his congregation, panting for breath, snapping 
his gray, twinkling eyes; and then in a fine, almost squeaking- 
voice he would announce his text, giving utterance to some 
simple truth or illustrative anecdote, and gained the attention 
of his audience, then in his simple, monosyllabic style held his 
hearers spellbound to the end. On some occasions he was grand 
in thought beyond description; at other times he was cynical, 
sharp, even snappish. He lashed the popular vices unspar- 
ingly. He was fearless, bold, and direct to an amazing degree. 
One who knew him well would often say of him: " If he did not 
edify, he would be sure to scarify." Sinners gnashed upon him 
with their teeth, cursed him, and swore that they would never 
hear him again, and yet be the first at his next appointment. On 
the authority of Bishop Wightman it is stated: "Mr. McDuffie, 
then a senator in congress, heard his withering denunciations 
of vice in high and low places, his graphic delineations of the 
modes in which the vulgar undertake to imitate the fashionable 
follies of high life. The statesman, himself an orator of celebri- 
ty, and famous for the vigor of his onslaughts, was so struck 
Avith the pungency of the discourse that, on retiring, he said to 
a friend: 'This is certainly one of the ablest sermons I have 
ever heard; it told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
but the truth, though in the roughest possible manner.' So 
strong was the impression made upon Mr. McDufl&e that he so- 
licited Mr. Dannelly to visit Washington City, and preach the 
same sermon before congress, offering to pay his expenses." 
With all this, it must not be supposed that Mr. Dannelly was 
destitute of the finer feelings of our nature. He had a heart as 
tender as a woman's, and was often affected to tears. As a hus- 
band and father he was most indulgent. In 1839 the writer, as 
junior preacher on the circuit where he lived, without knowing 



240 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

liim, dreaded liis acquaintance; but this fear proved groundless 
when the okl preacher took him to his home and heart. His 
soul was purified by suffering and pain. He loved Methodism 
as the very best expression of the truth of God, and he fairly 
wore himself out in the service of the Church. His record is 
with God, and his reward on high. He died at his residence, at 
Lowndesville, Abbeville county, and was buried at old Smyrna 
Church. 

Bond English was born in Kershaw county, S. C, January 31, 
1797. He was converted in 1817, admitted in 1821, and died 
March 4, 1868, in the seventy-first year of his age. For nearly 
forty-seven years he was an honored minister in the South 
Carolina Conference — modest, retiring, self-depreciating, clear- 
headed, warm-hearted, and eloquent. In person he was small 
of stature, inclined to be corpulent, lame from an accident, and 
blind in one of his eyes. He was quick and impulsive in all 
his movements, and diffident almost to a fault. He read men 
intuitively, and was rarely mistaken in judging character, but 
was not born to control by inflexible will. He was well fitted 
for any kind of ministerial work, but, yielding to discourage- 
ments, located in the prime of life. Readmitted, increasing in- 
firmities placed him among the superannuated. His manner 
in the pulpit was ardent, and not unfrequently caused stirring- 
emotion. His sermons were deeply spiritual, simple, natural, 
and, best of all, full of the divine Spirit. He was greatly be- 
loved wherever he labored, and was successful in his ministry. 
He died in peace near Sumter, S. C, and his dust rests in the 
cemetery there. 

Malcolm McPherson, a native of North Carolina, was con- 
nected with the South Carolina Conference eighteen years, for ten 
of which he was presiding elder. The Rev. Samuel Leard pro- 
nounces him a master in Israel. Before his conversion he was 
a terror to the bullies of his native county. His was the true 
Scotch type of manliness, shrewdness, and soundness of judg- 
ment. Stern in manner, slow of speech, exacting in duty, he was 
always solemn and decorous in all things relating to the wor- 
ship of God. His sermons were clear and simple in arrange- 
ment, with an earnestness and unction at times overwhelming. 
As a preacher he was not always equal to himself; if he failed, 
he failed; but when he succeeded, he passed beyond the limit of 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAliOLlNAS. 241 

ordinary men. To those knowing him well he was as open and 
gentle as a child; but woe to the sinner who provoked his rebuke 
in the congregation! What he said in public he was ready to 
maintain in private, and the sight of his broad shoulders, heavy 
hands, and determined face has made more than one pause be- 
fore seeking a personal encounter. The impress of his clear in- 
tellect, sound judgment, deep-toned piety, and his unwavering 
faith in God, is well remembered even to this day. Much to the 
regret of the Conference, he emigrated to the West. In 1840 he 
served, with great acceptability, the Holly Springs District, and 
was appointed the next year to the same work, but died before 
the year closed. Joseph Travis, whom he claimed as his spir- 
itual father, preached his funeral sermon at the Memphis Con- 
ference in 1842. 

William Cook was born in Chester county, S. C, in 1805. 
He was converted in early life, and admitted in 1825. He trav- 
eled extensively in North Carolina and South Carolina; was fre- 
quently on stations, and served eight years as presiding elder. 
He was noted as an excellent singer, and was greatly beloved 
as a pastor and Christian. After traveling thirty-six years, and 
being superannuated six years, he died in the triumphs of faith, 
in York county, November 25, 1867. 

George W. Moore was born in Charleston, S. G, September 
27, 1799. He was converted in 1819, admitted on trial in 1825, 
filled various appointments until 1837, located in 1838, and was 
readmitted in 1839. He was one of the first missionaries to the 
slaves. He ceased at once to work and live, at a camp ground 
in Anderson county, S. C, August 16, 1863. He was well known 
as a zealous and faithful minister of Christ. His ashes lie in 
Bethel cemetery, Charleston, S. C. 

Jacky M. Bradley was admitted in 1826, and traveled regularly 
until 1860, when he removed to the West, and died during the 
civil war. He was a remarkable man, physicall}^ spiritually, 
and mentally — tall and loosely built, with large head and long, 
l)ony arms and hands. Of his personal courage none doubted 
who glanced at his stalwart body. He cared little for dress, and 
was always unclerical in appearance. His mind M^as seemingly 
in imison with the leading traits of his body. He was always 
fearless and independent; was never governed by any of the 
laws of elocution. He copied no man either in subject-matter 
16- 



242 EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 

or in manner of delivery. With a mind of great native strength, 
he was sound in doctrine, clear in his own religious experience, 
and utterly fearless; he was indeed a giant in the pulj)it. His 
independence in feeling often gave oifense, but he never cher- 
ished malice against any. His voice was harsh and his utterance 
rapid, often elevated almost to a scream, accompanied by a habit 
of expectoration by no means graceful; aod yet, withal, he was 
most powerful in debate and in the pulpit. His was evidently 
a hard lot in life. He was a diligent worker, and but poorly 
recompensed as to this world's goods. His record is with God, 
and his reward is on high. 

David Derrick was born July 28, 1800. He was admitted on 
trial in 1827. After long years of superannuation, he died in 
1883. Reared as a Lutheran, under Methodist preaching he 
was awakened and converted, and faithfully served the Church 
until failing vigor caused his retirement; but all those years of 
feebleness only made his godly life more conspicuous. Having 
a voice of power and sweetness, he excelled in song, and was gift- 
ed in x^vayer. Faithful and true as a pastor, he was eminently 
useful in the Church. His body rests in Columbia cemetery. 

William M. Wiglitman was born in Charleston, January 29, 
1808. He was admitted on trial iu 1828, and died in Charleston, 
February 15, 1882. His name stands last in a class of twenty 
admitted at the forty-second session of the South Carolina Con- 
ference, held at Camden in 1828 — Joshua Soule, presiding; but 
from the beginning he was always first on the roll of the Con- 
ference until his election to the episcopacy in 186C. In 1828 he 
traveled the Pee Dee Circuit with Philip Groover aud William 
Culverhouse; in 1829, Orangeburg Circuit, with Elisha Callaway; 
in 1830, stationed in Charleston ; in 1831 , preacher in charge on 
San tee Circuit; in 1832, Camden; in 1833, Abbeville Circuit; 
1834-38, agent for Pandolph-Macon College; in 1839-40, pre- 
siding elder of Cokesbury District; in 1841, editor of the South- 
ern ChrisficDi Advocate, so remaining until lSc4; in 1855, pres- 
ident of Wofford College, and was connected with colleges and 
universities until elected to the episcopacy in 1866. For many 
years he was the Magnus Apollo of our Conference, and it is 
marvelous that one who wrought so long for the Church, and 
so well, should lack a proper biography. An article in the 
Beview for 1896 indicates clearly that a proper biographer can 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 243 

easily be found. His memory is honored by a tablet on the 
walls of Trinity Church, Charleston, and his body rests in Mag- 
nolia cemetery. 

Samuel Wragg Capers was born in Georgetown, S. C, March 
5, 1797. He was admitted into the Conference in 1828. He 
was a half-brother of Bishop Capers. He was a large man, 
above medium size, with full, round face, short neck, fine head 
firmly set on ample shoulders, and a face expressive of much 
intelligence and good humor. His voice was like a trumpet, 
clear, loud, and commanding. He filled well the ofiices of pre- 
siding elder, college agent, and circuit preacher. He was su- 
perannuated in 1855, and died the same year. His dust rests 
in the Camden cemetery. 

William Martin was born in North Carolina, March 9, 1870. 
He was admitted on trial in 1828. He died in Columbia, S. C, 
January 10, 1889. For sixty-one years he was a member of 
the South Carolina Conference, serving on circuits, stations, 
and districts, in agencies, and as president of the Columbia Fe- 
male College. During the civil war he was superintendent of 
the bureau of relief for the soldiers. His preaching was expos- 
itory, his style simple and fervent, and his illustrations plain 
and pointed. His death was eminently calm and peaceful His 
body sleeps in Washington street cemetery, Columbia, S. C. 

John R. Coburn Avas born in Charleston county, September 
18, 1799. He died in Florence, S. C, September 29, 1880, in 
the eighty-second year of his age. He was long a laborious 
and successful missionary to the slaves, having the full confi- 
dence of the planters and the ardent afi'ection of those to whom 
he ministered. His end was peace. 

James Stacy was a native of Burke county, N. C, and was 
born November 18, 1807. He was admitted into the Confer- 
ence in 1830, and served the Church thirty-eight years, dying 
at Sumter in 1868. "Called, chosen, and faithful" may well 
be said of him. To a sound religious experience he added 
abilities of a high order. He was a student all his life, and 
showed his profiting by constant study in his ministrations in 
the pulpit. Of an extremely nervous temperament, he was 
often a great sufferer mentally as well as bodily; but he never 
failed to meet the full demands of his ministry. About his last 
words were, " Harvest home." 



CHAPTER XXYII. 

Old Journals — Older Boundaries — A Quarterly Conference of 1819 — Names 
of Officials — Estimates for Living — Quarterage Collected — Conference of 
1841 — Names of Churches — Finances Meager — Confederate Money — De- 
clension After the AVar — Rapid Advance Since — Comparative Review of 
Operations — Contrast in Favor of an Itinerant Ministry. 

TO the antiquarian old journals are valuable. I have been 
favored with a sight of the journal of the old Orangeburg* 
Circuit. The first record is dated Cattle Creek, August 7, 1819 
— seventy-eight years ago — closing April 2, 1870. There is 
very little of historical interest in these old journals save 
the routine business of a Quarterly Conference; yet the names 
recorded call up the fathers of many now foremost in the good 
work of the Church, the records also showing great advance- 
ment in temporal interests at least, while we sincerely hope that 
the spiritual interests are not one jot abated. 

It is hard to make out the boundaries of our ever-changing 
circuits, widening as to religious influence, and yet contracting 
as to territorial limits. The writer well remembers the great 
opposition to the cutting-up process by which circuits of from 
twenty-four to thirty-five appointments were brought down to 
eight and four, giving better service to the people and far bet- 
ter support to the preachers concerned. In the beginning many 
presaged ruin, but results show the reverse. 

The old Edisto Circuit, which embraced Orangeburg, was 
formed in 1787. The record in the General Minutes for 1787 is, 
Beverly Allen, presiding elder; Edisto, Edward West; Charles- 
ton, Lemuel Green. The returns of membership for Edisto Avere 
340 whites and 25 colored. The next year, 1788, for Edisto, 
Henry Bingham and William Gassaway were the preachers. 
The circuit so remained as to territory until 1800, when Orange- 
burg is mentioned, with Lewis Myers preacher in charge. In 
1801 the record is Orangeburg and Edisto; the next year the 
names were reversed to Edisto and Orangeburg; in 1804 they 
were reversed again; in 1806 the name was changed to Edisto 
(244) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAUOLINAS. 245 

and Cypress; iu 1807 the two were separate, and so remained up 
to 1812, when Edisto disappears, leaving Cypress, Saltketclier 
(Salkehatcliie), Black Swamp, and Orangeburg, with William 
Capers preacher iu charge. Its boundaries as already given by 
Bishop Capers are on record. These boundaries must have been 
afterwards enlarged, inasmuch as Green Pond Camp Ground is 
often a place of Quarterly Conference meetings, and there is 
record in 1832 of a building committee for a church to be built 
at Walterboro. But here we would place on record the names 
of members of this third Quarterly Conference held at Cattle 
Creek, August 7, 1819. They were James Norton, presiding 
elder; John Schreble, Matthew Piaiford, and George Hill, circuit 
preachers; James Koger, Henry Seagrist, Joseph Howell, and 
Joseph Winningham, local deacons; Andrew Inabinet, John 
McCormick, and John Jeff coat, licentiates; Martin Gramling, 
Christian Gramling, and David Riley, exhorters; Thomas 
Simpson, George Pooser, Lewis Bryant, George A. Campbell, 
Thomas Cliffts, John Staley, and Andrew H. Jones, class leaders. 
Other names appearing at other early Quarterly Conferences are 
Jacob Barr, Gideon Hutto, Pichard Bryant, Peter Hj^att, James 
Crosby, Benjamin Tarrant, Jacob Whetstone, Robert Robinson, 
Thomas Mc Adams, and William Dickenson, local preachers; 
Stephen Ackerman, David Felder, Daniel Herlong, Benjamin 
Jeffcoat, John Chreitzberg (an uncle of the writer, and who died 
in Alabama a local preacher), and Jacob Jeffcoat, class leaders. 
In addition to the foregoing, from a full list under date of Oc- 
tober 7, 1826, we gather the names of Daniel F. AYade, John 
Murrow, and AVilson Langley ; and Samuel Inabinet, Jacob Do- 
remus, John Wannamaker, Calvin Hyden, Benjamin Culler, 
Jacob Wannamaker, and Samuel Smoak, exhorters; John Gol- 
son, Edward Bolen, Christian Riley, John Staley, John Rhode, 
Gotleib Zeigler, James A. Williams, and Jacob Hook, class lead- 
ers; Thomas Raysor and Jacob Inabinet, stewards. Other 
stewards named in 1829 are Andrew Inabinet, David Dannelly, 
William Pou, Charles Y. Stewart, and Isham Lowery; as ex- 
horters, Jacob S. Binder and Robert J. Boyd; as class leaders, 
William Yarn, Henry Ulmer, Thomas O'Bryan, John L. Golson, 
and Joseph McAlhany. 

This is a large array of names, but useful to call u^^ some mem- 
ories of the past Farther on we reach the names of the Dantz- 



246 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

lers, Keitts, Klecklys, and others; but for the present let us 
glance at financial matters. These were the old days of travel- 
ing expenses, quarterage, and family expenses. The quarter- 
age rarely reached 5^300, and the family expenses from $200 to 
$300. In 1829 the committee reports that they " find the sum 
of $175 needful for that purpose." This was not likely paid, as 
it is provided that the trustees of the parsonage, from its sale, 
pay over to the stewards enough to pay the rent of the house 
occupied by the preacher; a measure, we fancy, not likely to 
obtain now. In 1834 Benjamin H. Capers, preacher in charge, 
was allowed: 

For corn 8125 00 

For fodder 25 00 

For bacon •. 50 00 

For sugar 20 00 

For coffee 14 00 

For tea 2 50 

For beef. 10 00 

For flour.. 18 00 

For lard 12 50 

For soap 5 00 

For candles 5 00 

For butter 10 00 

For salt 3 00 

For freight, extras, and servant hire 100 00 

Total :?400 00 

Those dear old brethren closely scanned the dietary ability 

of their preacher. 

After Matthias Pooser was elected secretary the records are 

fine, especially the financial statements, two of Avhich we give. 

The recapitulation is as follows: 

For 1840. 

Receipts. Deficit. 

For presiding elder § 152 50 $100 15 $ 52 35 

For preacher in charge 500 00 327 08 172 92 

For junior preacher 548 00 358 26 187 74 

Total $1,200 50 $785 49 $413 01 

For 1841. 

Receipts. Deficit. 

For presiding elder $ 154 00 $ 89 94 $ 64 06 

For preacher in charge 525 00 343 50 18150 

For junior preacher 525 00 343 50 181 50 

Total $1,204 00 $776 94 $427 06 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 247 

For 1852 there is the most complete record of all amounts 
collected and paid out. The entire collection was: 

Paid the presiding elder $1 15 00 

Paid the preacher iu charge 609 37 

Paid the junior preacher 1 00 00 

Traveling expenses s;*) 38 

Total $907 45 

This was collected from the following churches: Wesley 
Chapel, $120; Asbury Chapel, $100; Tabernacle, $100.50; Shady 
Grove, $100; New Hope, $52; Orangeburg, $45; Cattle Creek, 
$40; Prospect, $43; Laurel Cliapel, $50; Bethel, $23; Calvary, 
$23; Andrew Chapel, $39.75; Bethlehem, $30.50; Zion, $34.50; 
Sardis, $28.75; Ebenezer, $15; Trinity, $26; Kedron, $20; Geth- 
semane, $10; Humility, $8. In a little over forty years there 
has been much of an advance. There are now eight or nine 
preachers within the same boundary at a cost of some $5,000, 
to say nothing of amounts raised for benevolent purposes. 

In 1841 the Orangeburg preachers were Henry Bass, presid- 
ing elder; Allen McCorquodale, preacher in charge; and A. M. 
Chreitzberg, junior preacher. Fifty-five years of time's annals 
seem prodigious. Many with whom we were then associated 
have crossed the flood. The appointments were eighteen, to 
wit: Asbury Chapel, Shady Grove, Tabernacle, Orangeburg, 
New Hope, Cattle Creek, Sardis, Humility, Bethlehem, Zion, 
Limestone, Getliseraane, Jeffcoat's, Trinity, Calvary, Pizgah, 
Wesley Chapel, and Prospect. No one church gave much over 
$100. Salaries were settled in 1841 at a discount of 41.59 per 
cent for presiding elder; and for the preachers, each of whom was 
allowed $525, at 34.57 per cent. Meager as were these returns 
they were a tremendous advance over earlier years, and many a 
preacher in that age rejoiced when read out for Orangeburg 
Circuit. There were received into the Church during the year 
145; expelled, 31; Sunday schools, 4; teachers, 16; scholars, 88. 
The local preachers were John Wannamaker, Samuel Smoak, 
John S. Gray, L. J. Crum, and John Law; exhorters, John 
Hooker, Samuel Inabinet, Calvin Hoger, and Francis Baxter; 
stewards and leaders, George H. Pooser, D. R. Barton, Jacob 
H. Pooser, Lewis Zeigler, John L. Golson, M. H. Pooser, James 
Berry, John Fairy, Daniel Punches, James Cox, E. T. Pooser, 
Peter Oliver, A. Pooser, A. Whetstone, A. Inabinet, W. Jeff- 



248 EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

coat, John J. Salley, Thomas Tatum, Henry Moorer, Adam 
Holman, and Lewis B,ast, The foui' principal churches were 
Asbury Chapel, Tabernacle, Wesley Chapel, and Shady Grove. 
Of Orangeburg, more in the sequel. Contrasted with others 
tliey may have been regarded as being on the cathedral order. 
They were usually assessed §100 each, which large sum for the 
times was usually paid without discount. Asbury Chapel had 
been built for an academy, and afterwards used as a chapel. 
The Keitts, Dantzlers, and Wannamakers worshiped there. Tab- 
ernacle was more in churchly shape. It is now abandoned, and 
fast going to ruin. Thomas Zimmerman and the Dantzlers are 
kindly remembered. Shady Grove was but ordinary, yet well 
represented by Adam Holman and Morgan Keller. But what 
shall we say of Wesley Chapel? The long, low, time-worn 
structure was in use close up to the nineties, and has since, we 
hope, given place to a better building. That good man John 
Riley was a power there. Asbury Chapel has vanished, and is 
superseded by St. Paul's at St. Matthew's City, an improvement 
in every way over the Asbury of the olden times. To Dr. Pou, 
the Wannamakers, and others this is certainly due, and St. 
Paul's stands out upon the record in St. Matthew's Circuit. 
With mournful interest we visited old Tabernacle in 1888. The 
lines of desolation were there — the old graveyard overgrown 
with weeds. Here reposes the dust of the noble rivals, Dantzler 
and Keitt. Memory ran back to half u, century and more, when 
many came here to worship. The gospel of the blessed God has 
been sounded out from that old pulpit for many years by men not 
taught in the schools, it is true, but who were full of faith and 
the Holy Ghost, and of whom the world was not worthy. Glance 
at the record, will you? Isaac Smith, Enoch George, Tobias 
Gibson, James Jenkins, Lewis Myers, George Dougherty, Wil- 
liam Gassaway, Richmond Nolley, Samuel Dunwody, William 
Capers, William M. Kennedy, Samuel K. Hodges, and James 
O. Andrew. The lesser lights are not here set down, but are 
not forgotten in heavenly archives All these were on this 
work previous to 1830. After that time there were William M. 
Wightman, Bond English, William H. Ellison, J. C. Postell, 
R. J. Boyd, and others. 

A portion of the circuit abont Trinity, Calvary, etc., was un- 
der culture with indigo. Well do we remember the vats of 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 249 

X/ewis Zeigler, the Whetstones, the Cullers, and others. The 
other sections were devoted to the culture of cotton. Many of 
the people of that section were well ofp, but their contributions 
to religious purposes, as the assessments on the entire number 
of churches show, must have been exceedingly meager. There 
were no other collections, except at long intervals, and yet only 
a few hundred dollars were raised from twenty churches, from 
year to year, for the support of three preachers. The extent of 
the work and a lack of knowledge on the part of the people, 
together with a delicacy on the part of the preachers in insist- 
ing on a better support, account for it. Besides, with the great 
mass of the people, money was rarely seen. To have one or 
two hundred dollars for division on a Quarterly Conference ta- 
ble was a sight indeed. Some used to wonder what a preacher 
could do with a hundred dollars. They saw him once a month, 
hale and hearty, always cheerful, with store clothes on, and al- 
ways driving a fat horse, with the very best things most cheer- 
fully given him when entertained by them. What was the use 
of money to men of his class? Is it any w^onder that with 
them the technical "quarterage" meant anything more than 
twenty-five cents a quarter? The preachers in 1829 were Wil- 
liam Capers, presiding elder; Elisha Callaway, preacher in 
charge; and William M. AVightman, junior preacher. For the 
support of the three but a little over six hundred dollars was 
assessed, and yet the final settlement was made at a heavy dis- 
count. We are glad to say that the junior preacher got his 
hundred dollars in full, he having but a little while before re- 
fused a thousand-dollar salary in another employment. Was 
it money that moved these men? The idea is preposterous. 

In 1863 the circuit contained twelve appointments, namely: 
Orangeburg, Bethel, Cattle Creek, Humility, Sardis, Prospect, 
Asbury Chapel, Tabernacle, Shady Grove, New Hope, Bethle- 
hem, Zion, with the Eev. John W. Kelly as preacher in charge. 
The collections were better, the four Quarterly Conferences 
showing a total of J§1,321.45, the stewards' meeting (not record- 
ed) rendering possibly about as much. But you will remem- 
ber that those were the flush times of Confederate money. 

Suffer a word or two as to the Orangeburg church. The con- 
trast between then and now is striking. In 1871 Orangeburg was 
set ofp as a station, F. Auld being the preacher in charge. Tlie 



250 KARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

years from 1865 to 1870, the earliest after the war, were the 
most trying. The writer was the presiding elder, and William 
G. Connor the preacher in charge. The churches were Orange- 
burg, Zion, and Prospect. They were evidently languishing 
and ready to die. The preachers' rejDorts as to the state of the 
church were, " Ko religious influence " ; " A general coldness. ' ' lu 
1868 it was asked, " What is the state of the church?" and the 
answer was, "No rejport"; in 1869, "Rather encouraging"; in 

1870 F. Auld was the preacher in charge. And here the old 
record book ends. In 1868 the presiding elder was paid $25, the 
preacher in charge $211; in 1869 the presiding elder received 
$49.65, the preacher in charge $508; in 1870 $497.70 was shared 
between the presiding elder and the preacher in charge. In 

1871 Orangeburg was set off as a station, and paid $600; in 

1872 it paid $700, and the rise has been gradual, with increas- 
ing prosperity up to date. They had had for years a very 
creditable church structure, but the papers say that just the 
other day it had been rolled back with the intention of erecting- 
a still better one on the site. 

A rapid review of the increase of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church is not out of place. In 1787, two years after their en- 
trance into the state, there were 595 white and 43 colored mem- 
bers; in 1800, thirteen years later, the whites numbered 3,399, 
and the colored members 1,283. In 1825, thirty-eight years aft- 
erwards, Mr. Mills, the statistician of the state, makes the Meth- 
odists within it " the most numerous of all the religious denom- 
inations." In the light of contrast, as to the early triumphs of 
Methodism, and because we have documentary evidence of the 
period, 1793, and of this very section of country, there will be 
seen the difference of operation in church organization, and be 
shown clearly the worth of an itinerant ministry. The scope of 
country extends somewhat above Orangeburg City, embracing 
the territory between the Edisto and Santee rivers, and extend- 
ing within twenty miles of the city of Charleston, a scope of 
country some fifty or sixty miles in length by about twenty or 
thirty in breadth. The documentary evidence consists of the 
report of the Rev. Robert Wilson, the missionary of a sister 
communion, and is published at length in Dr. Howe's " History 
of the Presbyterian Church." Being ordered by the synod to 
spend three months in the lower part of South Carolina, on the 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 251 

6tli of December, 1793, he started from Long Cane, Abbeville 
county, to Columbia, his field of operation lying below that 
place. On reaching it, he tells of the country as thickly set- 
tled; but the opinions of the inhabitants concerning religion 
were so unsettled and various that no one denomination could 
obtain a settled pastor. He laments the great and marked 
profanation of the Sabbath, hunting and all kinds of diversions 
being indulged in. Baptists and Methodists abounded, the for- 
mer the most numerous. He states: "The most of the preach- 
ers of that denomination who have frequented this section are 
men of infamous character, such as are an indignity to human 
nature — much more, a disgrace to the Christian name. No 
man of the smallest discernment can possibly become one of 
their party." This is certainly very severe, but something must 
be allowed for his great desire for the people to have a settled 
ministry. His route led to Turkey Hill (Prospect), Orangeburg, 
Cattle Creek, Indian Fields, Four Holes, Wasmasaw, and Beech 
Hill; and he writes of the peoj^le as having encouraged since 
the war " almost every man who came unto them calling him- 
self a preacher, and therefoi'e have been supplied by a great 
number in succession who have been invariably addicted to 
vice, most commonly drunkenness. Hence, with the idea of a 
minister here is always associated the idea of a mercenary crea- 
ture, unworthy of the attention of gentlemen; and truly it has 
been too much the case." After a detail of travel throughout 
these boundaries, in which the object of his mission received but 
little encouragement, he concludes as follows: 

The i^eople among whom I have spent three months as a missionary have 
indeed been needy, and their situation must be acknowledged one of the 
most solemn lessons to ministers that can possibly be given. Thousands of 
poor, ignorant creatures have, by the unholy lives of ministers, been made 
to believe there is no reality in religion, and therefore the most affectionate 
efforts appear to be in a great measure lost. They are like the deaf adder 
who stoppeth her ear, and will not hearken to the voice of charmers, 
charming never so wisely. The lower parts of South Carolina, in general, 
appear to be in some measure sensible of the necessity of religion, even for 
the good of civil society; but in order to general usefulness, a minister 
would be under the necessity of tarrying so long in one phiee that the people 
would be convinced of his sincerity by his Christian walk and conversation. 
The practice of traveling from place to place in quick succession is in many 
places unpopular, and, as has been hinted, probal)ly not the most profltable. 

Now be it remembered that within these boundaries in 1793 



252 EAHLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLIKAS. 

Isaac Smith, whose record is beyond reproach, was a presiding 
elder, and tiiat anterior to that time, and after, such men as 
Francis Asbury, Reuben Ellis, Henry Biugham ( buried at Cat- 
tle Creek Camp Ground), William Gassaway, Enoch George, 
Jonathan Jackson, James Jenkins, Benjamin Blanton, Lewis 
Myers, men who " jeoparded their lives unto the death," and 
whose records are unstained, served in that section. It follows 
clearly that the ill-living ministers referred to in the above re- 
port were not of the Methodist order or persuasion, and we are 
in doubt if there were many of any other "religious persuasion." 
The practice of ministers " traveling from place to place in 
quick succession," and regarded as " so unpopular and unprofit- 
able," finds its answer in the contrasted statistics of both the 
religious denominations concerned. There was reported at the 
Conference of 1794 but one preacher, with 452 church members; 
while in 1876, at the time the compilation was made, there were 
12 separate charges, served by 13 traveling and 12 local preach- 
ers, 11 parsonages, 63 churches, 52 Sunday schools, 307 officers 
and teachers, 1,689 pupils, 4,036 church members, and $47,770 
worth of church property — with some 20,000 or 30,000 people 
under Methodist influence. And within the twenty years since, 
up to 1896, all this has been largely increased. Now, to say 
nothing of the garnered sheaves in heaven, this "traveling from 
place to place in quick succession " looks reasonably profitable; 
and the more so, v/hen it is remembered that this is but a small 
portion of the territory of the entire state, as well as the fact 
that the " settled pastors " of the Church chiefly concerned in 
the above report are few and far between. Assuredly, Metho- 
dism was a most important factor in the great revival in the 
eastern and western continents; and what a reversal of men's 
ju.dgments, when he who was its chief instrument was cast out of 
the Establishment, and it would have been deemed an indignity 
to enshrine his dust in Westminster, has to-day his appropriate 
niche in Britain's noblest Pantheon! And more: what though 
in aristocratic old Charleston, when thousands hung entranced 
on the ministry of Capers, Anderson, Olin, the Pierces, Wight- 
man, Smith, and others, but few of "the rulers" believed in 
it, and only "the common people " received it gladly? Heaven 
knows where to bestow the plaudit, and the conventionalities of 
this world pale before the coronations of that other. 



CHAPTER XXYIIT. 

Black Swamp Circuit— Walterboro — Churches Nametl — Early Methodist 
Missions to Slaves — Absurdity of Northern Sentiment — Their Self-uom- 
placency— Some Old Colored Saints — Dr. F, A. Mood's Testimony. 

THE old Black Swamp Circuit and the Walterboro Circuit that 
adjoined it greatly deserve notice. This, with the Barnwell 
Circuit noticed farther on, will complete the survey o£ the state 
as far as these annals can do so. Black Swamp is first noted in 
1811, and was then in Ogeechee District. Lewis Meyers was 
presiding elder, and John S. Capers preacher in charge. The 
membership reported in 1812 was 96 whites and 55 colored. 
In 1813 it was transferred to Edisto District, and numbered 213 
whites and 112 colored; and that year Thomas Mason was the 
preacher in charge. Up to 1830 it was served by such men as 
J. C. Belin, Freeman, Hill, McDaniel, Callaway, Laney, Watts, 
and Crook. From that time to 1850 it was served by Bond 
English, King, T. Huggins, M. C. Turrentine, William Martin, 
H. A. C. Walker, E. J. Boyd, Bass, Durant, and McSwain. Its 
early boundaries are not now definable. In 1851 and 1852 the 
parsonage was at Brighton's Cross Roads. The circuit swept on 
down to Robertsville and Purisburg, then on to Ebenezer and 
Kadesli, and up to Cave's and Gillette's, then turning to Swal- 
low Savannah, then down toward the Bluff and on down to 
Union and Brighton. There w^ere some twenty appointments. 
It was always regarded as a choice charge in the Conference. 
Here were the Manors, Martins, Lawtons, Bosticks, Solomons, 
and Davises, most of them men of wealth and deeply pious; with 
many who, if not so well ofp in this world's goods, held to the 
true riches. The people were universally kind, and unexcelled 
in attention to their preachers. Union Church at that time was ' 
at the head of all. Manor Lawton, one of the chief stewards, 
used to say to the preachers: " We keep no books; get all you 
can from the others, and Union will make up deficiencies." 
And on this being reported, in less than half an hour a deficit 
often amounting to hundreds of dollars was made up. Swallow 
Savannah came next in liberality. The younger Bosticks and 
Martins were there, and their training at Union was not for- 

(253) 



254: EABLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

gotten. One member now at Black Swamp Cliurch, well known 
as " Old Bill," still survives, and may be long do so. We would 
like to put on record all who helped to make this so pleasant a 
charge, but this cannot be done. The civil war spread desola- 
tion over this fine country, swept away its wealth by emancipa- 
tion, and many a palatial mansion was given to the flames. 
Several charges have been made out of this grand old circuit, 
and since railroads have invaded its quiet, towns and villages 
have sprung up, and Methodism is still on the advance. 

The AValterboro Circuit was another of those famous old 
charges of the past. Long incorporated with Edisto and Or- 
angeburg, it was not known as Walterboro until 1834. T. E. 
Ledbetter and George Wright were the preachers. The chui-ches 
at that time aud afterwards were Pine Grove, Green Pond, Eb- 
enezer, Carmel, St. John's, Little Swamp, Mizpah, Eehoboth, 
Sheridan's Chapel, Island Creek, Buckhead, Cross Swamp, Slii- 
loh. Bethel, Antioch, Salem, Peniel, Sandy Dam, Walterboro, 
and Tabernacle. Among the chief stewards was Thomas Eay- 
sor, famous in his day for liberality rather beyond what was 
common then. He was always attendant on Quarterly Confer- 
ence, ever exerting a most healthful influence in supporting re- 
ligion. Within its boundaries lived the Bev. Lucius Bellen- 
ger, remarkable for his zeal and long travel, far and wide. He 
was noted for eccentricity, not by any means harmful, but al- 
ways attracting attention. This good man, without fee or re- 
ward of earthly nature, long preached the gospel of Jesus, and 
now rests from his labors. Aaron Smith was noted as a class 
leader at Pine Grove. Brother Steadly was another, as also 
was Allen Williams. At Ebenezer were Alfred Eaysor, B. Rish- 
er, Stevens, and Martin Jacques. At Eehoboth were Philip 
Jncques, Ackerman, and Dandridge. At Sheridan Chapel were 
the Johnsons, Willises, and, though not a member. Dr. Shendon, 
who has left an admirable son, Hugo, who is doing good serv- 
ice educationally for the Church. At Island Creek Louis O'Brien 
can never be forgotten. This was one of the first charges, as to 
time, in the old Edisto Circuit. At Mount Carmel were the Bob- 
insons, Bloxes, and Blockers; and the good man Linden must 
not be forgotten. The Rishers, Stewarts, Stevenses, Yarns, 
Sniders, Ulmers, Campbells, Pages, Hendersons, Lowrys, Lar- 
asys, Fulkses, Kirklands, Muses, Brabhams, and many more, 



EABLY METHODISM LV THE CAROLINAS. 255 

Taave left descendants who are an honor to our Church. Benjamin 
Stokes, at old Sandy Dam, still survives; as also Col. William 
Stokes, often representing his circuit at Conference. Dr. A. E. 
Williams still lives, and has done yeoman service for the cause. 
The old Green Pond Camp Ground was long a rallying point for 
the hosts of Methodism, with old Binnaker's in Barnwell Circuit, 
both gone into desuetude. At the latter place iu the early days 
may have been seen a man not especially remarkable then, but 
developing finally into H. N. McTyeire, one of our bishops. 
Joseph Moore and Beddick Pierce were often at Binnaker's, 
preaching with power to delighted thousands. 

W'e have said little, and only incidentally, concerning our 
missions to the slaves. This lower part of the state was cov- 
ered over by them. They were once our chief joy; but since 
the civil war has swept them out of existence, and since the 
whole body of colored people have gone into other commun- 
ions, we can look alone to heaven for the reward due for the la- 
bor expended on them. From the very beginning attention was 
given to these poor beings; and not only sermons, prayers, and 
tears were freely bestowed upon them, but the record from 1830, 
when $201.33, an average of 1-| cents per member, up to 1864, 
when i$63,813.70, an average of $1.77, was given, together with 
the full yearly exhibit as seen in the Appendix, will prove clearly 
that much had been done for them. The Methodist Church was 
the first to care for the slaves, beginning with the very advent 
of Asbury, and for years trained the best instructed of the Afri- 
can race. And it is well known that when emancipation came — 
to say nothing of their behavior during the war — because of 
this they quietly adjusted themselves to their new relations. 
And yet how absurd is the northern sentiment on the religious 
condition of the negro in slavery! To show this convincingly 
we quote from an address delivered by the Bev. Charles Cuth- 
bert Hall, D.D., at Norlan, Mass., June 28, 1893, and published 
in the Outlook for September 16: 

Character is invisible thought translated into visibilitj', and fixed before 
the eye, cut on life. And the nature of character is affected — yes, is deter- 
mined — by that whereon the mind principally dwells, by the tools princi- 
pally used. To an astonishing extent this can be verified by the observa- 
tion of human life. Even upon so broad a Fcale as a comparison of nations 
it is possible to make this verification. Take the African race, while still 
in slavery, in our southern states, and contrast it witli the New England 



256 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CaBOLIXAS. 

communities of the same period. As a comiiarative study of racial charac- 
ter tlie contrast is appalhng. On the one hand, servile dejection, laziness, 
impurity, and an intellectual life not many removes from imbecility ; on 
the other hand, proud consciousness of liberty, intellectual vigor, industry, 
social cleanness. What determined this contrast? The respective range of 
thought. I thank God that thirty years of free thought under the direction 
of schools like Hampton and of saints like Armstrong have made that Afri- 
can race almost as wondrous a contrast to its former self as New England 
to the slaves. 

AVitb. this address on " The Mystery of Worship, and Its Ef- 
fect upon Character," we have no quarrel, aud have none espe- 
cially with the statement copied above, save in one particular, 
which is this: the attributing all advancement in religious cul- 
ture of the negro "to scliools like Hatiiptoyi, and saints like Arm- 
strong," and that icHliin the last thirty years. One would think 
fi'om these last words, emphasized by ns, that the negro reli- 
giously Avas utterly nncared for in all the South under slavery; 
that with the interdict on letters, no man cared for his soul; 
when the fact is that all Christian denominations gave special 
care to the negro, while the Methodist missions to slaves on the 
plantations for more than thirty years gave the benefit to thou- 
sands. The self-complacency is enormous that attributes the 
advancement of the negro religiously to the efforts of northern 
saints within the space of thirty years just past. 

In the year 1865, in the rear of the Federal army, came chap- 
lains whose sole aim was to disintegrate and absorb. They 
found thousands under religious culture, and many of them 
saintly, and after a short space worthy of the highest positions 
in Church and State, the North being the judge. Some of 
these chaplaius, well known to the writer, like St. Paul, "very 
crafty, caught them with guile." Of course not the guile St. 
Paul gloried in, for under cover of the truth they lied most 
egregiously, and sought to appropriate southern church prop- 
erty, and did, until compelled to restore it by Federal law. 
Were these men saints, too? In contrast with "the servility, 
laziness, and impurity " of the African, was this good Christian 
conduct typical of the racial instinct of New England character? 

As to the " proud consciousness of liberty," is pride of any 
sort consistent with the humility taught by Jesus? And as to 
" intellectual " culture, can the knowledge of letters alone puri- 
fy the heart? As to "industry," did not, or does not, much of 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 257 

it find place in getting the most money for the least value, even 
^' to the manufacture of wooden hams and uutmegs? And for 
''social cleanness," my! what about divorce, unknown in South 
Carolina until attempted to be introduced by northern senti- 
ment? Is it any better, is it as good as the polygamy of M(jr- 
monism? Say what you will of the hardness of men's hearts, 
there is the law divine, as unchangeable as God himself. Then 
how about prenatal infanticide, limitation of offspring by hu- 
man will, antenatal murder against God's and nature's laws, so 
common even in godly New England? I would as soon not be- 
lieve at all as to believe Jesus false, and imbecile in issuine- 
commands that cannot be obeyed. Then what say yon to the 
rampant lust, awakening most fearful retribution and contempt 
of law throughout the South, utte)-Jij iinhiou-n under slavery, 
when the tender innocence of childhood is not safe from the 
bestial proclivities of blacl^brutes? Is this the product of a 
" i^roud consciousness of liberty, intellectual vigor, industry, 
social cleanness," of which, in the judgment of the lecturer, the 
unfortunate South knows nothing? 

Many instances of the very highest religious character, all 
trained under slavery, might be given. Some yet live who re- 
member Castile Selby, known to the writer and the children 
then as old " Daddy Castile." He was one of the very best 
specimens of honesty and Christian gentleness. He was, Avitli 
his black face and patched clothing, much more a true gentle- 
man than many a bedizened rascal — white or black — covered 
with broadcloth and decked with jewels, who looted the treas- 
ury of South Carolina in the sad days of reconstruction. Then 
old Maum Clarinda, true type of many a colored " mammy," 
the trusted nurse and foster mother in many a southern house- 
hold. Then John Boquet, who when dying, and William Ca- 
pers told his wife that he must want for nothing, exclaimed: 
"Want! want! I'm done with want forever! I want nothing 
but heaven, and I'm almost there by the blood of Jesus!'* 
Could " saints like Armstrong " say more? Were such as these, 
and thousands more in our happy Southland, made so by the 
prevalence of "free thought, schools like Hampton, and saints 
like Armstrong" ? By no means. They had learned in the school 
of Christ, fully equal to the Hampton school or any other. 

It is fully time this northern conceit should be rebuked; and 
17 



25S EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAHOLIXAS. 

though it is hard to get into the uortheru miud that "'auy good 
can come out of Nazareth," it may, iu the language of Burns, 
From many a blunder free them, 
And foolish notion. 

"NYe close this chapter by giving the Eev. F. A. Mood's testi- 
mony to the character of the Christianized negro. He says: 

It would hardly be in keeping with the plan hitliertu followed iu these 
articles to pass over iu utter silence the names of the many worthy and ex- 
cellent people who, among the colored Methodists in the city, have vindi- 
cated the truth and power of godliness. Much might be written about 
them that would be appropriate and profitable as well as interesting. A 
mention of a few of the names conspicuous in former days must suffice. 
Among the early coloied members remarkable for their intelligence antl 
business traits were Harry Bull, Quaminy Jones, Peter Simpson, Abraham 
Jacobs, Ben McXeil, Smart Simpson, Aleck Harleston, Amos Baxter, Mor- 
ris Brown, Richard HoUoway, Castile Selby, and John Boquet. Harry Bull 
and JMorris Brown went off" in the African schism ; the latter moved to Penn- 
sylvania, where he afterwai'ds was known as Bishop Brown, of the African 
Church in that state. Castile Selby w^as eminent for his humility, holiness, 
and unbending integrity. Though a black man. an humble carter, moving 
in the humblest position in life, he was eminently a good and, no cioubt 
in the sight of God, a great man. But I will give his character as summed 
up by Bishop Capers, in a private letter to a friend, the use of which has 
been granted me. The bishop says: "The weight and force of his charac- 
ter were made ui^ of humility, sincerity, simplicity, integrity, and consisten- 
cy, for all of which he w;is remarkable, not only among his fellows of the 
colored society of Charleston, but I might say among all whom I have ever 
known. He was one of those honest men who need no proof of it. Xo one 
who ever saw him would suspect him. Disguise or equivocation lm*ked no- 
where about him. Just what he seemed to be, that he invariably was, nei- 
ther less nor more. Add to this a thorough piety — which was the root and 
stock of his virtues — and you find elements enough for the character of no 
common man ; and such was Castile Selby." As early as ISOl he is on record 
as a leader, and he held the office untarnished for over half a century. 

John Boquet, a slave, was very intelligent and deeply pious, and in con- 
sideration of his virtue anci good services was set free by his owner. The 
following aftecting occurrence was related of him by Bishop Capers in the 
letter referred to: '" Visiting him on his deathbed, I found him unspeakably 
happy in the love of God, but not a^ well provided as I thought he ought 
to be with little comforts and refreshments which his wasted body might 
require. I noticed it, and told his wife of several things which he might 
take for nourishment, and which she must procure. * He wants them,' said' 
I, ' and he must have them. The expense is nothing, and he must want for 
nothing.' 'Want! want!' exclaimed the dying man. ' Glory be to God I I 
am done with want forever! Want! want! T know no want but heaven, 
and I am almost there bv the blood of Jesus ! ' " 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 259 

Richard HoUoway was also conspicuous for his intelligence and zeal. His 
zeal, however, was sometimes intemperate and ill-judged, Imt he died much 
beloved and respected. 

There are two or three names among the females which must not pass un- 
noticed. Mary Ann Berry will be long remembered as the tender, careful^ 
ladylike nurse and humble saint. Bishop Capers says of her: "I never 
knew a female in any circumstances in life who better deserved the appel- 
lation of 'deaconess' than Mary Ann Berry; one who seemed to live only to 
be useful, and who, to the utmost of her ability, and beyond her ability 
served the Church and the poor; and I might say, too, that what she did was 
always exceedingly well done, directed by an intelligent mind as well as a 
sanctified spirit; so that, humble as was her position in common society, she 
was really a mother in Israel. Her meekness, her humility, and a peculiar 
gentleness and softness of spirit which distinguished her at all times, might 
have done honor to a Christian lady of any rank." Eachel Wells, too, was 
remarkable for her humility and piety, and in most respects was the coun- 
terpart of Mary Ann, except in personal appearance. Of her the bishop in 
his letter also speaks in high terms. He states that not long before her 
death he called to see her after she had received a severe contusion which 
prevented her going to church, at which a protracted meeting was then in 
progress. When sympathized with upon the unfortunate accident which 
prevented her getting to church, she replied: "Ah, Mr. Capers, since this 
occurred to me, which you call an unfortunate accident, (jod has found a 
much nearer way to my heart than by Trinity Church." Nanny Coates also 
was a colored woman of marked piety and generosity. And here again let 
Bishop Capers speak: "Did I mention Maum Nanny Coates? Bless old 
Maum Nanny ! If I had been a painter going to represent meekness per- 
sonified, I should have gotten her to sit for the picture. It was shortly after 
I had been appointed secretary for the missions, tliat being in Charleston 
at the house of my brother, as we were sitting together in the parlor one 
evening, Maum Nanny entered. I wish I could show her to you just as she 
presented herself, in iier long-eared white cap, kerchief, and ai)ron of the 
olden time, witli her eyes on the floor, her arms slightly folded before her, 
stepping softly toward me. She held between her finger and thumb a dol- 
lar bill, and courtes3dng as she approached, she extended her hand with the 
money. 'Will you jalease, sir,' said she, in subdue<l accents, and a happy 
countenance, ' take this little mite for the blessed missionaries? ' I took it, 
pronounced that it was a dollar, and said: ' Maum Nanny, can you afford to 
give as much as this?' 'Oh! yes, sir,' she replied, lifting her eyes which till 
then had been on the floor. ' It is only a trifle, sir. I could afford to give a / 
great deal more — if — I — had — it.'" 

The three last mentioned were all freed by their owners for their faithful- 
ness and virtue. But these are but a few of the many souls and many in- 
teresting facts identified with the colored membership of the Charleston 
churches. They are not enrolled among the great and mighty of the earth, 
but what is far better, their names and deeds have honorable mention in the 
Lamb's book of life. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Necroloiry from 1830 to 1850: H. A. C. Walker, A. B. McGilvray, Whitefoord 
Smith, E. I. Boyd, W. A. Gamewell, H. A. Durant, Samuel Leard, J. R. 
Pickett, W. A. McKibben, William C. Kirkland, William P. Mouzon, Wil- 
liam A. McSwain, L. IM. Little, C. H. Pritchard, A. M. Shipp, D. I. Sim- 
mons, AVilliam A. Fleming, R. P. Frank?, John W. Kelly, Wdliam T. Ca- 
pers, H. C. Parsons, A. H. Harmon, William Hutto — Benevolent Organi- 
zations in Connection with the Conference — Same in Charleston, S. C. 

T^P to 1830 we gave in chronological order short memoirs of 
v_J prominent members of the Conference from the beginning. 
The space remaining will only allow brief mention of one or two 
in each class from 1830 to 1850, and of those only who have 
closed np life and labor on earth. With regard to all the rest 
the reader will consult the record in the Appendix, where every 
name is set down. 

Hugh A. C Walker was admitted in 1831, and died in 1886. 
He was born in Antrim county, Ireland, coming in early life to 
America, and remaining here until, at the age of seventy-seven, 
he was removed by death, in the tifty-sixth year of his ministry. 
He was meek, gentle, patient, persevering, sincere, honest, and 
accurate; calm, dignified, prompt, and punctual; a clear, sound, 
logical, instructive preacher, and a fine administrator in all 
Church affairs. His end, as might well be expected, was emi- 
nently peaceful. 

Archibald B. McGilvray was admitted in 1832, and died in 
1863. He was boru in the Isle of Skye, coast of Scotland, and 
arrived in America in 1806. He was a modest, cheerful man, 
and a devoted friend. As a minister he was faithful, holy, la- 
borious, and useful. In view of death he praised God aloud, 
and so passed away. 

AVhitefoord Smith (1833) was born in Charleston, S. C, No- 
vember 7, 1812, and died at Spartanburg, April 27, 1893. Long 
connected with the educational interests of the Church, and a 
most eloquent preacher, he well merited the title of " the golden- 
mouthed." His oratory was unique, his voice clear and sweet, 
his taste faultless, and his style pure. He was sound in theolo- 
gy, and devoted in seeking the salvation of souls. He was loy- 
(260) 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 261 

al to bis Church, refusing offers that weaker men might have 
accepted. Fully conscious of the approach of death, he met it 
calmly, trustfully, and triumphantly. 

Henry H. Duraut (1834) was born in Horry county, S. C, 
April 3, 1814, and died at Spartanburg, S. C, December 3, 1861. 
Noted as a revivalist, he was no doubt instrumental in the con- 
version of thousands. The charm of oratory was added to his 
pulpit efforts. His sermons were strong, cogent, and spiritual; 
in exhortation he was powerful and prevailing; in prayer, re- 
markably gifted. His sickness was borne with Christian confi- 
dence and resignation, and of course his end was peace. 

Robert J. Boyd (1834) was born in Chester county, S. C, 
November 24, 1805, and died at Marion, S. C, September 3, 
1869, being nearly sixty-four years of age. He was one of the 
best, wisest, and most trusted men in our Conference. How- 
ever elevated in position, his humility was prominent. In every 
position he evinced dignity and simplicity of character, and was 
seemingly unconscious of his real ability and worth. His end 
was peaceful. 

Whatcoat Asbury Gamewell (1834) was the son of a pioneer 
preacher; born in Darlington county, jNIay 6, 1814, and died at 
Spartanburg, S. C, October 13, 1869. He was a man very 
much beloved. He was tall and commanding in appearance; 
always serious, and yet never tinctured with a sour godliness, 
never given to railing, and so free himself from the faults com- 
mon to liumanity as to bear patiently the failings of others. 
His voice was deep and sonorous; and being of an easy elocution 
both in the pulpit and at the fireside, he effectively preached 
and practiced. He was much distinguished as a pastor, and his 
pulpit efforts were persuasive and sincere. His character was 
of iTuusual beauty, symmetry, and completeness. His last days 
were iu perfect harmony Avith his precious life, and his victory 
over death and the grave was signally triumphant. 

John R. Pickett (1835) was born in Fairfield county, S. C, 
April 2, 1814, and died at Chester March 15, 1870. His dust 
rests in the Winnsboro graveyard. With all the simplicity of a 
child, he was fearless in his pulpit utterances, and was self- 
possessed and deliberate. He had unusual facility in acquir- 
ing languages; was an earnest student, and frequently excelled 
oratorically. He was instrumental in the conversion of hun- 



262 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CaEOLIXAS. 

dreds, i£ not thousands. He devoted liis entire estate to Wof- 
ford College. In the hour of death, his submission to God's will 
was clearly evident. 

Samuel Leard (1835) was born in Abbeville county, S. C, and 
died at Baleigh, N. C, March 9, 1896, in his eighty-second year. 
Of unusual amiability of character, he won the approval of all 
associated with him. In the pulpit he was strong, convincing, 
and useful; unexcelled as a pastor, and a good writer. In his 
last illness he gave evidence that all was well, and but a little 
while before his departiire he was aroused by the repetition 
of the Lord's Prayer so as faintly to follow its petitions to the 
close, and then whispered, " Let us pray." But faith was rapidly 
giving way to sight, and prayer to endless praise. 

Marcus A. McKibben ( 1836 ) is the most fitting of his class for 
record here. He was born in Mecklenburg county, N. C, in 
1804, and died at Barnwell Courthouse, S, C, January 23, 1887, in 
the eighty-third year of his age. He was quite original, his 
mind logical, and he reasoned well. For forty-one years he was 
effective, and the last eight years superannuated. His end was 
peaceful. 

William C. Kirkland (1837) was born in Barnwell county, S. 
C, January 6, 1814, and died in Greenville county, S. C, March 
29, 1864. He was remarkable for his sweetness of spirit, and 
in all graces of character resembled the beloved disciple. He 
was a good man and u successful laborer in the gospel. In the 
end he found the Good Shepherd in the valley of th« shadow of 
death. 

William P. Mouzon (1838) was born in Charleston, S. C, Jan- 
uary 16, 1819, and died at Bamberg on the 28th of January, 1885. 
He was an able minister of the New Testament, and as a j)reacher 
earnest, instructive, and impressive. He served on missions, 
circuits, stations, and districts, and was acceptable and useful 
in all. He died in great peace. 

William A. McSwain (1839) was born in Stanly county, N. C, 
and died January 1, 1866. A self-made man, gifted with a vigor- 
ous mind, by diligence in study he rapidly rose in the Conference. 
He was deservedly popular both with preachers and people. His 
comparatively early death ended too soon a career promising 
so much more than even that which he had attained. In his 
removal from the earth he triumphed in the grace of Jesus. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 263 

Lewis M. Little (1840), of a class of six admitted, is noticed 
here, because of the early retirement of the others. He was born 
in Lincoln county, N. C, July 12, 1815, and died at Sumter, De- 
cember 5, 1888, in the seventy -fourth year of Ins age. While 
not eminently great as a preacher, he was certainly useful as a 
pastor, diligent and sympathetic. His was an active ministry 
of forty-eight years. He was " called, chosen, and faithful." 

The class of 1841 was an unusually strong one, and four of 
them are eminently worthy of mention here. 

Albert M. Sliipp was born in Stokes county, N. C, June 15, 
1819, and died on tlie 27tli of June, 1887. As a preacher he 
occupied the first rank both as to matter and manner in the pul- 
pit. He was esteemed highly as an educator of youth, and for 
years was the leader in his Conference. Asserting to the end 
his faith in Jesus, his last utterance was, " It is all right." 

Dennis J. Simmons was born near Charleston, March 22, 1818, 
and died January 5, 1887, aged nearly sixty-nine years. Of 
very staid demeanor, some would have thought him morose, but 
this was only outward; within, he was genial and kind. Of 
Spartan bravery, he would have defended a Thermopylae. He 
was modest in life, and well beloved. His trust was in Him 
who had redeemed him from sin and death. 

William H. Fleming was born in Charleston, S. C, January 
1, 1821, and died April 16, 1877. He was buried in Bethel cem- 
etery, of which church he was then pastor. In disposition he 
was genial and kind; in judgment, clear, judicious, and safe; in 
all intercourse with men, frank and honorable. He was one of 
the leading men of his Conference, and his death was consid- 
ered all too early for his promised usefulness. He died in the 
faith. 

Claudius H. Pritchard was born in Charleston, S. C, and died 
at Abbeville, S. C, March 5, 1896. He was preeminently saintly. 
Early in his religious experience he was given full consecration, 
and was long a witness of the power of holiness. He was scrip- 
tural in his i^reaching, unwearying as a pastor, visiting from 
house to house, and eminently useful for over fifty-five years' 
connection with his Conference. None doubted the integrity 
of his character or the depth of his piety. Such a life could not 
be otherwise than triumphant in its ending. 

Of the class of nine in 1842, one was transferred, tiiree dis- 



264 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLIXAS. 

coutinued, and three located. There are but two surviving in 
connection with the Conference, and may it be long before any 
necrological record is made of them. 

The class of 1843 is nearly like the one of 1842. It numbered 
seven members. Two were transferred, three located, and three 
discontinued. 

John W. Kelly ( 1845 ) was born in Union connty, S. C, January 
29, 1825, and died February 18, 1885. He was a large man phys- 
ically, and of great mental strength, quick of apprehension, and 
never at any loss in expressing his ideas. His preaching was 
often in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. His man- 
ner was simple and natural, often carrying away his hearers by 
a tide of unaffected eloquence. He was always inclined to take 
the weaker side, and none doubted his profPer of friendship. 
Suddenly he was called, and his dust rests in hope at Provi- 
dence Church in Berkley county. 

Robert P. Franks (1844) was born in Laurens county, S. C, 
September 19, 1818, and died at Lowndesville, S. C, January 25, 
1895. He was remarkably clear in his judgment as to men and 
measures, firm in his decisions, and well calculated to guide or 
govern in all affairs. As a preacher, he was spiritual and always 
interesting in the pulpit. Genial and kind, he was highly re- 
garded by his brethren. He had no long illness, but passed 
suddenly away to his rest. 

William T. Capers (1845) was born in Milledgeville, Ga., Jan- 
uary 20, 1825, and died at Greenville, S. C, September 10, 1894. 
He was the second son of the venerated Bishop Capers. Perhaps 
no family anywhere had such a number of the same name and 
lineage devoted to the ministry. " In the pulpit the love of the 
Father, the sympathy of Jesus, and the comfort of the Spirit 
were the themes he delighted to dwell on. These he preached 
with a naturalness so perfect that to some it seemed affected, 
with the graces of oratory as unstudied as if he knew nothing 
of elocution, and with an enthusiasm and pathos that frequently 
carried him to the height of eloquence." His end was peace. 

Hilliard C. Parsons (1846) was born in Sumter countj^ S. C, 
February 28,1824, and died at Wadesboro, N. C, January 29, 1866. 
The son of a preacher formerly connected with the Conference, 
he had all the advantages of religions training. He was a man 
of remarkable talent, and early took a commanding position in 



EARLY METHODISM IK THE CAROLINAS. 265 

the Conference. He was amiable in spirit, possessed of fine 
conversational powers, while liis intelligent and exalted Chris- 
tian virtues made him influential everywhere. His counsel 
to his family, when dying, was all a Christian father's should 
be, and he left as his testimony that he had trusted in Christ 
and had not trusted him in vain. 

The class for 1847 numbers eight: four discontinued, two lo- 
cated, and two living' — may they long survive! 

The class for 1848 numbers seven: two transferred, two lo- 
cated, one dead, and two still living — we would keep them so. 

Allison H. Harmon (1849) was born in Cleveland county, N. 
C, and died August 29, 1861, in his thirty-ninth year, and was 
buried near one of the churches in Lancaster Circuit. Although 
not the most noted in this class, he deserves a record, if for no 
more than his dying message to his brethren. He was fully 
consecrated to the ministry, laborious and useful. "Tell my 
brethren," he said, " that my work is done, and that I shall rest 
now!" He could truly say, "For me to Jive is Christ, to die is 
gain." 

William Hutto (1850) was born in Orangeburg county, Janu- 
ary 24, 1828, and died at Williamston, S. C., January 19, 1892. 
He was a most devoted and uncomplaining minister of the 
cross; during forty-two years of service he was truly accepta- 
ble as such, showing himself an earnest, humble, and devoted 
Christian. As a preacher he was sound, instructive, and edify- 
ing; as a pastor, kind, attentive, and sympathetic. In his last 
sickness he was patient, gentle, and of unswerving faith and 
hope in Jesus. He died in great peace. 

As we had determined not to go beyond 1850, this finishes the 
necrological record so far as these annals are concerned. In 
the summing up of the last chapter matters may be brought 
down to the present date, but others must write of events occur- 
ring after the fearful civil war ended. We close this chapter 
with a brief review of the benevolent organizations connected 
with the Conference. 

First and chief is the Missionary Society of the Conference, 
auxiliary to the Society of the Church, South. Strange to say, 
its constitution does not appear in the published Minutes of the 
Conference until 1835. The fii'st collection for missions, pub- 
lished in 1831, amounted to $261.33, at an average cost per mem- 



26G EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 

ber of one and one-quarter cents. The amounts collected each 
year, up to 1896, may be seen in the Appendix, under the ex- 
hibit there set forth, and also full amounts, with deficits, per 
cent discounts, and averages per member for the Conference col- 
lection; in which it will be seen that the averages were often as 
low as three cents, rarely exceeding fourteen cents, per membei\ 

Next in order is the Woman's Missionary Society of the 
Methodist Ei^iscopal Church, South, South Carolina Confer- 
ence, organized at Newberry, S. C, in December, 1878; Bishop 
William M. Wightman, presiding. The officers elected were: 
Mrs. W. M. Wightman, President; Mrs. G. W. Williams, Mrs. 
William Martin, Mrs. W. K. Blake, Mrs. J. L. Breeden, Vice 
Presidents; Mrs. J. W. Humbert, Corresponding Secretary; 
Mrs. A. M. Chreitzberg, Becording Secretary; Mrs. F. J. 
Pelzer, Treasurer. In the first annual report, in 1879, there 
were 44 auxiliary societies, 1,069 members, and §223.30 col- 
lected. At the seventeenth annual meeting, held at Abbe- 
ville, S. C, there were reported 265 auxiliary societies, 5,286 
members, and §5,922.49 collected during the year; grand total 
collected, from December, 1878, to March, 1896, §76,758.48. The 
following are the present officers : Mrs. M. D. Wightman, Pres- 
ident; Mrs. E. S. Herbert, Vice President; Mrs. J. W. Hum- 
bert, Corresponding Secretary; Miss I. D. Martin, Recording 
Secretary; Miss Josie B. Chapman, Juvenile Secretary, with ten 
district secretaries; Mr. J. T. Medlock, Auditor. Three mis- 
sionaries have gone out from this South Carolina Conference 
Society, namely: to Brazil, Miss Susan Littlejohn; to China^ 
Miss Sallie B. Reynolds and Miss Johnnie Sanders. 

In the Minutes of 1835 appears the constitution of each of 
the following four trusts of the Conference. The full history 
of each cannot now be written. It may be in the coming years, 
but now the names alone are set down : 

1. Trust for the relief of superannuated or worn-out preachers 
and the widows and orphans of preachers. 

2. The society of the South Carolina Conference for the re- 
lief of the children of its members. 

3. The Fund of Special Belief. 

4. The Eutledge Trust Fund. 

These are all under the administration of the legal Confer- 
ence, and the interest accruing is distributed annually. 




\ 



/lllS./iABCLD-PlARr/n 



\\) —TIT W~ 



OFFICERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE W. F. M. S. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLINAS. 269 

The South Carolina Brotherhood was organized in 1885, and 
up to 1895 has paid to its beneficiaries, numbering thirty-five, 
$21,662.85. 

All these are connected with the Conference. In the city of 
Charleston, S. C, the following charitable trusts are connected 
with the Church: 

1. The Methodist Charitable Society was organized in 1808, 
and incorporated three years afterwards. Members and their 
families are regular pensioners. Xo one is a beneficiary under 
seven years, or until he has paid dues equal to seven years' mem- 
bership. The aged and indigent members are entitled to ben- 
efits. Entrance fee, -SIO; annual dues, >?2. 

2. The Methodist Female Friendly xlssociation was founded 
in 1810, and incorporated in 1819. Invested fund, $6,000; an- 
nual charity, 8400. There are five regular pensioners. One- 
third the interest and donations is reserved to increase the 
capital. 

3. The Cumbei'land Benevolent Society was fo\inded in 1845, 
and incorporated in 1847. Fund invested, S2,500, of which 
$1,000 was fi'om a legacy of Mrs. Sarah Hewie. The society 
has sixty-five members. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Methodism in York Count}' — Peculiarities of the Country — Calvinism Sooth- 
ing Methodism, its Opposite — ^Its First Pi'eachers — Preachers and Presiding 
Elders — The Latest Concerning William Gassaway — List of Churches, and 
Church Finance — Donors of Church Lands — The New Church at York- 
ville; a Full Description of the Same. 

A LLEGOEICALLY, two men once became neighbors. The 
-'-J- first settler — none near liim for a long time — conceived 
that he had the right to the whole demesne, though owning really 
no more than his title covered, that covering, however, the rich- 
est allnvial spots. The second, coming after, had to be content 
with barrens and waste places. It seemed as if he really pre- 
ferred these, though preference had little to do with it, his in- 
domitable pluck determining him to make the bad good, and 
the good the best that could be. The first settler, from some 
cause or other, did not like the newcomer; whether from per- 
sonal habits or fear of encroachment, or what not, he evidently 
wished to make him travel — heyond. And travel he did, into 
every nook and corner of what the first settler deemed his own 
domain. This certainly ought not to have worried him; for, 
according to his cherished theory, all happening being decreed, 
this actually happened; then why find fault? 

Another peculiarity was that the opinions held by the one, 
while especially soothing to himself and his immediate family, 
were terribly repulsive to all outside; as a consequence, his 
hand w^as against every man not of his own way of thinking, 
and every man's hand against him. It is not at all surjDrising 
that, holding such opinions, he should be so inclined to melan- 
choly, and always stern and unbending in demeanor. His very 
religion was of a gloomy cast; considered, like medicine, the 
more bitter the better. Song he could not abide; and no won- 
der, for one believing as he did, so far from singing, would find 
it a heavy task even to smile. Though rich, he was exceedingly 
plain in his attire, abominating flowing robes and flowers, seem- 
ingly thinking sackcloth and ashes the best array for this poor, 
forsaken world; yet, because of something happening before 
(270) 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAROLIXAS. 271 

the foundation of the world, in which he was favorably con- 
cerned — whatever might become of the outside crowd — he 
conceived that his safety was secured both for this world and 
the next. Having gotten a goodly number of sheep, well pas- 
tured and walled in, neither to l)e added to nor diminished, he 
became careless as to the employment of shepherds, and Id 
many places the sheep were left to take care of themselves, 
which they might very well do, seeing that their safety was per- 
fectly secured long before they were born. 

Now all this had a tendency to produce somnolency; and it is 
not surprising, on the newcomer's entrance, to find all like the 
Ephesian sleepers. This other was by no means a rollicking 
blade; far from being wickedly hilarious, he Avas yet so hajjpy 
and so sunshiny in heart and soul that he couldn't help making 
a noise, even shouting aloud sometimes. This worried the other 
exceedingly, keeping him awake o' nights, and it must be stopped 
if remonstrance could do it. But, that failing, the conclusion 
was to let him desperately alone. And so matters have moved 
on: every time one seems falling asleep the other nudges him, 
until at this present writing he is fully awake; and may the Lord 
keep him so! 

The moral is: If Methodism has done no more than to wake 
up Calvinism, and to keep it awake, that much at least will be 
set down to its credit by the recording angel in heaven's high 
chancery. 

The date of the entrance of Methodism into York county can 
only be approximated. Mr. Robert Love, near King's Mountain, 
remembers, when a boy, the entertainment of the early preach- 
ers at his father's house; and I think they were so entertained 
before he was born. He is now nearly eighty years of age. The 
earliest mention of York in the Minutes is 182S, namely: "Lin- 
colnton District, Malcolm McPherson, presiding elder; Joseph 
Holmes, preacher in charge." But, inasmuch as the two states 
Avere ecclesiastically connected, the circuits in North Carolina, 
no doubt, reached down to York county, giving a much earlier 
entrance than the Minutes state. 

I doubt if the statement that William Gassaway and Joseph 
Holmes organized the first Methodist church in the county at 
Yorkville is entered correctly. Gassaway may have had, in 
1824, something to do with the organization of the church in 



272 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 

Yorkville, but Joseph Holmes was not stationed in York until 
1828. In 1824 and 1825 he was on Newberry Cii'cuit, and in 1826 
and 1827 stationed in Columbia. Old Zion, or a church near that, 
existed before the church in Yorkville. Brother Patterson, the 
son-in-law, states that Brother John Chambers, then living below 
Yorkville, near Philadelphia Church, under deep conviction, had 
gone away up to Zion seeking peace. On his ari'ival he entered 
the humble structure, and saw the young preacher come in with 
his saddlebags on his arm. He saw him reverently kneel on 
entrance, and thought that good; heard him preach, and thought 
that good; and was so impressed that he, with a daughter, re- 
turned four weeks after, and they were converted and joined the 
Church. This daughter afterwards married the Bev. Hartwell 
Spain. This places it beyond conjecture that Methodism entered 
York county previous to the organization at Yorkville in 1824. 
In 1828 the Minutes placed Joseph Holmes in York, and he re- 
turned one hundred and fifty white members in 1829. The 
record thereafter for preachers in charge is as follows, giving 
the return of members by each: 

No. Members. 

1828. Joseph Holmes 150 

1829. Whitman C. Hill 185 

1830. Benjamin Bell 220 

1831. Stephen Winiams 221 

1833. James J. Richardson , 296 

1834. Josiah Freeman 208 

1835. D. G. McDaniel 238 

1836. John Watts 259 

1837. A. M. Forster 297 

1838-39. James W. Wellborn 304 

1840. J. G. Postell 391 

1841. S. Townsend 341 

1842. C. S. Walker 341 

1843. P. G. Bowman 372 

1844-45. il. A. McKibben 416 

1846. John A. Porter. 355 

1847. William C. Clark 408 

1848. Abraham Nettles 382 

1849. P. E. Hoyle 387 

1850. (Not on Minutes) 398 

1851. L. M. Little 377 

1852. E. J. ]\Ieynardie (Station) 89 

1853. William E. Boone " 95 

1854. J. W. North " 75 



EAULY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 273 

1855. G. W. M. Creighton (Station) , . 87 

1856-57. A. H. Lester " 123 

1858. 0. A. Darby " 110 

1859-60. L. A. Johnson 136 

1861. L. C. Weaver 137 

1862. William S. Black 

1863. J. W. Humbert 

1864. E. G. Gage 

1865. L. A. Johnson 

1866. W. T. Capers 87 

1867-68. J. S. Nelson, M. E. Hoyle (Circuit) 

1869. J. A. Wood (Station. No report) 

1870. R. L. Harper " 94 

1871. G.M.Boyd " 

1872-73. A. W. Walker 185 

1874. D. D. Dantzler 167 

1875. J. AV. Dickson 185 

1876. J.E.Carlisle 171 

1877. W.S.Martin 177 

1878-80. T. E. Gilbert 116 

1881. M. Dargan 120 

1882-83. R. P. Franks 103 

1884. John A. Mood (Circuit) 96 

1885. J. T. Pate 1C9 

1886-89. W. W. Daniel 129 

1890. G. H. Waddell 

Thus it will be seen that Yorkville was connected with the 
circuit for a long time, the figures of membership indicating 
this clearly. It 1852 it was set apart as a station, so continuing 
— occasionally united with Philadelphia or King's Mountain 
Chapel — until 1886 ; since then it has stood alone. The handsome 
structure now erected shows very clearly the status of Metho- 
dists in Yorkville. But the numbers as given above indicate 
not very clearly its progression in the county. In 1828 the 
number of Methodists in York county was but one hundred and 
fifty. In 1889 the Minutes, after taking off two churches in 
Lancaster county connected with the Fort Mill Circuit, gave over 
2,200 — 2,473 being the grand total ; a very good percentage of 
increase. And wdiere there were in the beginning but two or 
three churches, the number now is eighteen, valued at over $21,- 
000, with parsonages valued at over $7,000. We need say but 
little concerning the beautiful structure in Yorkville; the pic- 
ture speaks for itself. It is in contemplation to place a memo- 
rial window in the Sunday-school department of the building to 
18 



274 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 



the memory of Mr. James Jeffries, one of the first Sunday- 
school workers in the state ; a memorial most assuredly well de- 
served. 

The presiding elders having supervision over York county 
from 1828 are as follows: 



1828-29 Malcolm McPherson. 

1830-31 William M. Kennedy. 

1832-33 Hartwell Spain. 

1834 Charles Betts. 

1835 Benjamin Bell. 

1836-37 Henry Bass. 

1838-40 William M. Wightman. 

1841-43 William Crook. 

1844-46 W. A. Gamewell. 

1847 A. M. Shipp. 

1848-50 A.M. Forster. 

1851-53 H. H. Durant. 

1854-57 John W. Kelly. 

1858-59 H. C. Parsons. 



1860 F. A. Mood. 

1861 John T. Wightman. 

1862-64 R. P. Franks. 

1865-68 J. W. North. 

1869-70 E. J. Meynardie. 

1871 T. G. Herbert. 

1872 0. A. Darby. 

1873 AVilliam Martin. 

1874-75 William H. Fleming. 

1876-79 E. J. Meynardie. 

1880-83 A. M. Chreitzberg. 

1884-87 A.J. Cauthen. 

1888-90 A. M. Chreitzberg. 



Not long since the author received information concerning 
William Gassaway, to wit: A certain Mr. Fulton, owning a large 
body of land near Tirza Church, York county, S. C, wishing, 
like Micah, to have a priest of his own, did not, like Micah, stip- 
ulate with the priest to give him " ten shekels of silver by the 
year, a suit of apparel, and his victuals," but did better. Find- 
ing Gassaway in the low country, about starved out in the itin- 
erant ministry, he gave him one hundred and fifty acres, on 
which he built and settled, and where his dust now reposes. 
That Gassaway was fully worthy of the gift no one doubts — 
Heaven foreseeing the necessity of some provision for the 
apostle of Upper Carolina, not obtainable otherwise just then, 
as the present financial records fully show. To give an idea of 
the same, glance over this record. The first Quarterly Confer- 
ence was held in Yorkville, April 30, 1831. Members present: 
"William M. Kennedy, presiding elder; Stephen Williams, 
preacher in charge; William Gassaway, local elder; James B. 
Fulton, exhorter; Alexander Hill, Sr., exhorter; John Cham- 
bers, class leader; William Eowell, exhorter; James Jeffries, 
law secretary. To these, added at other Conferences were 
Charles Willson, Sr., Thomas Williams, Jr., James Farley, Wil- 
liam Nance, J. Dawson, and Payton B. Darwin. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 



275 



Tlie following churches and preaching places composed the 
circuit, with the payments each c^uarter: 

1831. 



Churches. 


jj S 


s2 

^5 


c 


? 3 
^1 


Total. 




$ 6 75 
1 87i 


$ 4 62J 
2 50 

1 12.', 

2 75 


% 3 12i 
4 50 

1 00 

2 00 


$12 43| 
1 25 

1 37A 

2 00 
1 00 


$ 26 93| 
10 \2h 




Bethel • • • 


3 50 


Walnut Grove 


3 00 


9 75 


Sclioolhouse 


1 00 


Unity 


3 75 


3 50 

00 


3 50 
"266' 


10 75 


Siloani 


12 00 


Sai'dis 




2 00 


Prospect 


2 00 




2 00 


Mrs. Howell's 










Captain Jameson's 












Ed Feanister's 












Cove Spring 








3 00 


3 00 


Mount Hel^ron 










Cross Roads 












Public Collection 


3 93 


10 18 


10 ()2 




24 73 








$21 30 


^30 68 


§26 74 


$27 0(! 


$105 78 



Disbursed thus : Traveling expenses.. ... $ 10 12 

Presiding elder 38 00 

Preacher in charge 57 66 



$105 78 
In 1832, $244.78; 1833, $73.80; 1834, $299.75; 1835, $258.92; 1836, $208.21; 
1837, $63.18; 1838, $61.11; 1839, $197.05; 1840, $264.12; 1841, $393.91; 1842, 
$230.99. 

Thus it will be seen that the expenditiire for religion was not 
burdensome in those days, proving clearly that it was not the 
fleece but the flock cared for by these men. Other men have 
labored, and we have entered into their labor. The Lord make 
us as faithful! 

At this time a preacher's stipend was not known as salary, but 
divided into traveling expenses, faiitihj expenses, and quarterage; 
the first seen at once, the second far off, and the third only in 
rarest instances seen at all. It is not surprising, therefore, to 
find in this journal but few payments on the last account. That 
word quarterage has had a most withering effect on Methodist 
finance (church). Some minds even now cannot rid themselves 
of the idea that it means quarter of a dollar a quarter. And so for 
years and years we dragged on in this Upper Carolina, not stimu- 



276 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLIXAS. 

lated or rebuked by our Presbyterian brethren, who always pro- 
vide well for their ministry. Bat within late years great im- 
provement has been made, and some generous men have led the 
way in bringing the Church up to a proper standard of sui^port. 
May their tribe increase! In 1832 — Joseph Holmes, preacher in, 
charge — Chesterville, now Chester, was added to the circuit, con- 
tributing S27, and disappearing in 1833. James J. Richardson 
was the preacher in charge, and died that year. His obituary in 
the Minutes states: " He was a very amiable man, a highly gifted 
preacher, and a faithful and successful laborer. In him genius 
was blended with sweetness of spirit, and uncommon ability with 
an humble mind. He seemed to die almost literally in sight of 
heaven." They paid the widow $10.62. Ptichardson was aged 
twenty-eight years. 

An extract from a report on Church property states: "For 
the church in York J. M. Harris gave half an acre of land, and 
the house built since 1825 or 1826. The land was sold by the 
sheriff of York district, but the half acre was excepted. Zion. 
Church has five acres reserved, the title in Samuel Burns, Sr. 
The camp ground called Siloam and the land on which Hebron 
Church now stands have title vested in Thomas Williams, Jr. 
Walnut Grove is held jointly by William Eowell and P. Sad- 
ler, Esq." 

In 1831 Charles Betts was the presiding elder, and Josiah 
Freeman the preacher in charge. At the third Quarterly Con- 
ference two hundred and sixteen dollars were paid for boarding 
the preacher's family, and the significant " No funds to pay 
quarterage " closes the report of stewards for that year. It 
seems that Freeman did not serve the fourth quarter, Jacob B. 
Anthony appearing as preacher in charge, and Freeman retiring 
to die. He kept on his appointment until August, and left his 
circuit for Columbia, S. C, where he died November 27, 1834. 
The affliction was painful, but he was patient, resigned, and 
happy; he often said, "All is well." His dust lies in Washing- 
ton street graveyard. Thus two preachers of the South Caro- 
lina Conference ceased their labors on the York Circuit. 

As an evidence of improvement within the decade, we give 
the financial return of the fourth Quarterly Conference, held 
at Unity Church (Where was Unity? Is it the present Mount 
Yernon?), October 30, 1841: Yorkville, $54.61; Feamster's, 



EABLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLINAS. 'Ill 

$10; Postell's, $9; Prospect, vSlT.ST; "Unity, §16; Philadelphia, 
$1493; Concord, $30; AValnut Grove, $33.50; Canaan, $6; Zion, 
$21.56; Sitgreave's, $35.25; society not known, $8.50; public 
collection, $28.62. Total, $288.36. Where was Teamster's? 
(Is this Shady Grove?) Where was Unity, Hebron, Postell's, 
Prospect, Walnut Grove, Sitgreave's? Where was Siloam 
Camp Ground? Can anyone tell? 

We now call attention to the new church lately erected at 
Yorkville. This splendid structure is a decided ornament to 
the town, and none the less a shining testimonial to the earnest 
zeal of the denomination by which it was erected; and repre- 
senting the present condition of Methodism in Yorkville, after 
seventy years of existence, it stands forth as a prominent exam- 
ple of renewed growth and prosperity. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church (now the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, South) was organized in this place in the year 1821, 
by two ministers, the Rev. AVilliam Gassaway and the Pev. Joseph 
Holmes, and was the first denominational organization to occu- 
py this field, as well as the first Methodist church in the county. 
The little band originally commenced its labors with only nine 
members, as follows: James Jeffries, Mrs. Elizabeth H. Jef- 
fries, Colonel Thomas W. Williams, Dr. John E. Jennings, John 
Chambers, Mrs. Margaret Chambers, Mrs. Sarah Beaty, and 
Mrs. Tabitha Wilkerson. Of the original members, one — Mrs. 
Elizabeth Jeffries — has been permitted to watch the progress of 
the work until the present. All were earnest workers, and as 
the result of their efforts the church rapidly grew in numbers 
and strength. Two years afterwards, in 1826, the congregation 
built the first house of worship erected in Yorkville. It was a 
plain wooden structure, and stood in College street, nearly op- 
posite the graded school building, until some fifteen years ago, 
when it was torn down, the congregation having purchased the 
building it is now leaving. Until 1852 this and two other con- 
gregations constituted the only Methodist churches in the 
county, and, as York Circuit, were served by the same pastor. 
In 1852, however, the progress of the Yorkville Church had 
been so rapid as to justify its becoming a separate station, 
which, with eighty members, it was accordingly made. From 
this time on the church continued to prosper until interrupted 
by the war, when the membership became scattered and re- 



278 EABLY METHODISM 7.V THE CAROLINAS. 

cluced. The close of the war found the congregation too weak 
to continue as a separate charge, and uniting witli King's 
Mountain Chapel, then very weak, but now numbering five hun- 
dred members, and Philadelphia Church, it once more became 
a part of Yorkville Circuit. Continuing thus until 1885, the 
church again felt strong enough to stand alone, and, resolutely 
making the effort, has continued to progress raj)idly until it 
now has a membership of one hundred and thirty — some fifty 
more than at the breaking out of the war — while the denomina- 
tion in the county has grown to be nearly two thousand five 
hundred strong. 

The idea of building a new church in Yorkville originated 
about nine years ago, the first meeting having been held on 
the 6th of April, 1887. Over two thousand five hundred dollars 
were raised among the members by subscription before the meet- 
ing adjourned, and the project never once lost the impetus thus 
given, the amount continuing to swell until sufficiently large to 
justify the commencement of the work of erection. This was 
placed in charge of a building committee consisting of T. S. 
Jeflries, chairman; F. Happerfield, H. C. Strauss, Dr. John May, 
Jr., and J. W. Dobson, who let out the contract on the 15th of 
September, 1890. Under the faithful superintendence of this 
committee every detail of the work has been looked after with 
the most scrupulous care, and although the building, fixtures, 
and furniture have cost only about six thousand dollars, it looks 
as though a much greater sum had been expended. 

The church is constructed of brick, with granite trimmings, 
and in the Gothic style of architecture. The main auditorium 
is to the left of the tower, and the Sunday-school room to the 
right, and entrance is made by means of two sets of stone steps, 
which are approached from East Liberty street, and lead into 
the building through a nicely arranged vestibule. This vesti- 
bule occupies the base of the tower. It is twelve feet square, 
and the fioor is laid with alternate squares of black and white 
marble. Including the spire, the tower is seventy-eight feet 
high. The auditorium is thirty by fifty-eight, not including a 
recess four feet deep which contains the pulpit. Overhead the 
woodwork is left open between the girders, and, alike with the 
walls, is ceiled with cherry and yellow pine panel work, finished in 
oil, and giving the whole interior a decidedly pleasing and artis- 



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TRINITY CHURCH, YORKVILLE, S. C. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 281 

tic appearance. The door and rostrum are to be covered with a 
rich crimson carpet, and the pews, which are most comfortably 
arranged, are made of yellow pine, cherry, ash, and walnut, also 
finished in oil, and are capable of accommodating four hundred 
people. The windows, of which there are ten to the auditorium 
and three to the Sunday-school room, are highly ornamental — 
ground glass center panes, surrounded by a four-inch border of 
cathedral glass — and present a very pretty appearance, thor- 
oughly in keeping with the general handsome finish. The i3ul- 
pit is made of walnut and ash in the highest perfection of the 
cabinet-maker's art, and has inlaid in the center a dainty little 
cross made from a piece of oak which the architect, Mr. Bonne- 
well, sawed from the timbers of Independence Hall, Philadel- 
phia. 

The building is lighted by two French bronze chandeliers, 
each holding twelve lamps, and all having duplex burners. In 
addition to these, there are two lamps for the pulpit and another 
suspended in the vestibule. A powerful furnace has been placed 
in the cellar underneath, and so arranged as to heat comfortably 
the entire building. 

A handsome and costly church clock is a present from Mr. 
Joseph W. Neil, of Yorkville; and among the other presents is a 
large marble tablet, containing the Decalogue, from the Sheldon 
Marble Company. Two other tablets, containing the Creed and 
the Lord's Prayer, Avill be placed on either side of it. 

The grounds of the church, which are very level, have been 
sown with grass. Shade trees have been planted, and the whole 
surroundings are already beginning to present a pretty and re- 
freshing appearance. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Early Reminiscences — Old Cumberland — Ancient Worthies — Mrs. Matilda 
AVightmiin — Preachers of the Period — Worship Devotional, Often Dem- 
onstratively Emotional — A Successful Period Followed by Declension — 
Early Religious Impressions — Old-time Love Feasts — Names of Early 
Members — Personal Experience — Examination of Character as Seen in 
the Forty-eighth Session — Fifty-fourth Session — Chief ]Ministers — Some 
Retired — Protest Against Religious Formalism. 

MY first recollections are associated with Methodism in 
Charleston, from 1825. Born and reared in a city of no 
mean reputation, my religious advantages were many. Metho- 
dism flourished amid revilings and scorn; and though not many 
wise or noble were among its adherents, the power of the Holy 
Ghost was clearly manifest. The first church I ever entered 
was old Cumberland, erected by Asbury. It was a long, low, 
wooden structure, with its straight-backed benches and well- 
sanded floor. Part of the lower floor was reserved for the free 
colored people, and the galleries, entirely for the slave popula- 
tion, were always filled. The " service of song," both by white 
and colored, was far beyond the usual orchestral service; not 
so artistic, maybe, but full of devotion, lifting the soul right 
up to God. Anything less in worship ought to be driven out 
of Christendom. 

In this humble place of worship in his youth year by year 
sat the writer, with his back to the wall and his feet dangling 
from the hard bench; or while all were in prayer, kneeling de- 
voutly, he — shame on him — was engaged in tracing figures on 
that well-sanded floor. When again seated, with all the deep 
thought of youth his eyes wandered over an always large and se- 
riously attenti^'e congregation. Memory brings up some of these 
worthies of more than seventy years ago. To my left sat Abel 
McKee, the very synonym of fidelity, unalterably firm in duty; 
next to him, George Just, a kind-hearted German, godly and 
zealous; next, Samuel J. Wagner, steward, class leader, trustee, 
and chorister; next, William White, a dapper little man, always 
happy, and true-hearted to the end. The Eev. John Mood, for 
a while an itinerant preacher, a pattern of faith and patience, 
(282) 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 283 

the worthy sire of a iioble family — four sous, preachers — was 
ofteu there. Heury Muckeufuss, a glorious old veterau, theu 
aud for loug the staudard-bearer of the Charleston artillery, 
sometimes worshiped there wlieu he could be induced to leave 
Trinity. William Bird, a fixture in Bethel, was rarely at old 
Cumberland; for how could the former exist without him? To 
our right sat George Chreitzberg, steward and leader, " called, 
chosen, and faithful." Next, good old Brother Prince, familiarly 
known as the lamplighter, because of his contract with the city. 
Few live who remember the men with torches and ladders, and 
oil-begrimed, who kept the lamps alight in the godly city then. 
Old Parson Munds, one of Hammet's followers, must not be for- 
gotten. His attentive, smiling face and rapidly-turning head, to 
see how others enjoyed the sermon, are fully impressed on my 
memory. He wore the clerical garb of the olden time — knee 
breeches, buckles, and all. Dear, kindly old man, a constant vis- 
itor at my father's house, how I often wished to hear him preach, 
but never did; that function of his ministry had ceased, only 
prayer and a holy life remaining. A thin, spare, and exceedingly 
quiet worshiper was the aged Brother Wightman, father of the 
bishop; and seated near the center of the church was a lady of 
calm exterior and plain apparel, nearly Quakerish, always with 
her children around her. As a child she had been caressed by 
John Wesley in England, often sitting upon his knee, and w^ell be- 
loved by Adam Clarke. Little did that good woman think then 
that an embryo bishop formed one of the group of children, and 
that all of them by her example and counsel would be a credit 
to Methodism. Her sacred dust rests in the old Limestone cem- 
etery, Orangeburg county, and her sj^irit has been long with 
God. 

Each of the devout Avorshipers on entrance knelt in silent 
prayer, with countenances settled to a rapt devotion. There was 
no simply bending the head, or the face hidden behind a fan, 
and no after "nods and becks and wreathed smiles" so much 
more becoming a theater than the house of God. Oh no; these 
simple people came for communion with a King. 

The preachers of the period were Lewis Myers, N. Talley, 
William M. Kennedy, S. Dunwody, Henry Bass, Daniel Hall, 
John Howard, Charles Bell, Bond English, and, hardly yet in the 
meridian of their fame, William Capers, James O. Andrew, and S. 



284 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAIWLINAS. 

Oliu. Among the lesser light s, yet somewhat brilliant, were James 
Norton, Thomas L. Wynu, Elijah Sinclair, J. Murrow, R. Flour- 
noy, James W. Wellborn, Robert Adams, Noah Laney, B. L. Hos- 
kins, and others. Under their ministrations, especially during 
prayer, many "amens" were uttered and deep groaniugs audi- 
ble. Wrong, you say? Of course it was wrong. AVhere now, in 
any refined, intellectual, respectable congregation, do you find 
anything like it? So in the strength of our wisdom we pro- 
nounced it, resolving that if ever we became religious it should 
be after a different fashion. Why groan at all? We knew not 
the reason, but the fact, to our supreme disgust, was patent. We 
know now that persons getting a glimpse of their own hearts 
and a sense of the divine purity, and any longing for that, will 
groan too, and will be glad of the intercession of the divine 
Spirit, with " groanings that cannot be uttered." If any are right 
in thus toning down the emotional, St. Paul was certainly wrong 
in patronizing the "amen" of the unlearned; and worse, the 
falling down of the worshiper, and reporting "that God is in 
yon of a truth." 

A religion of tinsel and drapery, of forms and frippery, 
whether Romanist or Protestant, may demand a staidness that 
never utters a cry or lets fall a tear, but such was not the Meth- 
odism of that early day; and may she never abandon her rich 
experimental knowledge of God! "God in you of a truth" 
comes down from the early Church, and if this be evidenced 
by an "amen," or even falling down on one's face, what matter 
even though vanity's sons and daughters be grieved thereat? 

The preachers of the period were earnest meii, evidenced by 
the ahando)i and iincf/on of their ministry. Clearly they had but 
little thought concerning literary reputation. Precision in ut- 
terance and well-rounded periods were lost sight of in the higher 
enterprise of saving souls. Intellectuality and refinement did 
not round off the rough edges of transgression; both were in 
danger of ruin, and they were plainly told so. They spoke as 
the Holy Ghost gave them utterance, and many asked, "What 
shall M^e do to be saved?" 

Amid all the opposition that Methodism encountered from the 
beginning, it was during the period from 1818 to 1833 that statis- 
tics show the membership nearly doubled in the half cycle of a 
generation. The same ratio of increase for the next sixty-three 



EAELY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 285 

years ought to have run over two thousand, when the fact is, 
uotwithstaudiag the large increase of population, the numbers 
are but a fraction over the returns of 1833. There were GoO 
white members then, and but 680 now. At other points in the 
state there has been unmistakable increase, with districts and 
circuits multiplied, divided and subdivided. At this point we 
barely hold our own. 

The old opprobrium, as set forth by Dr. Capers, in the inter- 
meddling with slavery had much to do in keeping Methodism 
under the ban in Charleston. This, together with the attach- 
ment to aristocratic Church-of-England forms, has influenced 
many who, while charmed with the ministry of Capers, Olin, 
Andrew, Wightman, and Whitefoord Smith, gave in their adher- 
ence to other Churches. And more, a truly religious life de- 
mands " the putting off the old man and his deeds, and the put- 
ting on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness 
and true holiness." No putting ou the new man over the old is 
in any degree tolerated. The true religion ever demands the sep- 
aration of the sinner from his sins. Sinner he might feel himself 
to be — yea, the very chief — but not now lying with his sin and 
dreaming of heaven, but by grace divine freed from its domin- 
ion and seeking its extirpation. Its ministry had but little to 
do with oppositions of science falsely so called, but very much 
to do with "Christ in you the hope of glory." Now if the ad- 
vocacy of the like impedes numerical strength, we are willing 
that it should be ever impeded. 

The preaching of that early day was in demonstration of the 
Spirit and with power. A childish reminiscence records : Long 
ago in old Cumberland our first remembrance of any preacher 
is connected Avith John Howard, a man of no mean fame and 
power. We remember his warm, earnest, animated manner, 
tempered with a divine love, melting all hearts; his coming 
down out of the pulpit with streaming eyes and impassioned 
utterance, and the burst of feeling filling the entire church. 
The thought uppermost in our mind was that the preacher had 
said "bad words" — "devil" and the like, and even worse. 
"How silly!" you say, and "What ignorance!" Very true, 
maybe; but better that than hardened iniquity. St. Paul says, 
" I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple con- 
cerning evil." There have been great changes since then; many 



286 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROL IN AS. 

young gentlemen now o£ the sober age of five and six are not 
squeamisli as to using bad words themselves. We were not par- 
ticularly good as a child, but we are astonished at our ignorance 
of evil as contrasted with the knowledge of evil in the young to- 
day. But the pictured sheets of sin so attractive to youth now 
were not then in vogue. There was the same devil, but he had 
not got so far along in the education of the young. At the early 
age of five, suffering the pain of a burned finger, we connected 
with it thoughts of eternal burning. Where was learned any- 
thing like that but in that old house of God? Will any dare 
say how soon the divine Spirit moves the soul ? Thoughts con- 
cerning j^rgf/es^ma^/o^i were troublesome; a wise mother cut the 
Gordian knot by assuring us that that matter "had puzzled 
wiser brains than ours was or ever would be." How often did 
the writer hang entranced on Dr. Capers's ministry! George F. 
Pierce thrilled his audiences with his sunny eloquence. One 
day how he did preach ! Our hair fairly stood on end under that 
sei-mon. And so with many others already named. 

The great fire of 1861 that swept diagonally across the city 
removed the solid brick structure occupying the site of the old 
wooden Cumberland church. We looked upon the debris then 
covering the ground to find any remains of the tablet to Mr. 
Joshua Wells, one of the first Methodists of Charleston, but the 
last vestige was gone. The sweet chimes of old St. Michael's bells 
still ring out upon the air, and they are yet as sweet as when 
falling upon childhood's ear; yet sweeter still were the high 
hymns of praise filling that humble church, from voices now 
still in death, or — why not? — now swelling the nobler anthems 
of the skies. 

Would that there could be given an exact transcript of the old- 
time love feast! Alas! this cannot be. There rises up remi- 
niscently the well-filled church, the gathering of the elect from 
all the churches in the city, the warm, devotional tone, the 
spirited singing, the tears and joy beyond counterfeiting. The 
fathers are all gone; their streaming tears and burning words 
are forgotten, or remembered only by Him who hearkened and 
heard, and declared they should be his in the day when he should 
make up his jewels. All are gone. Long lingered old " Brother 
I-too-for-one," a sobriquet earned by his invariably beginning 
his talks as a witness for our Lord with " I, too, for one, dear 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 287 

hretliren." This man was perfectly consistent in liis loyalty to 
Christ, surrendering cheerfully his means of livelihood rather 
than to offend his conscience. An indelible picture in that 
old church was a plain little man, known by a peculiar, rusty 
hat. He was as simple and as loving as a child, found at one or 
other of the churches three times on Sunday, and at every other 
meeting during the week. Possibly but few, except the angels, 
missed him out of that " amen corner." It was plain Tommy 
C . If they watched closely, the profane would think he al- 
ways had a refreshing time — asleep. Don't you believe it; his 
devotions were aided by his closed eyelids, that's all. Talk with 
him and he would tell you of his rich enjoyment of the manna 
of the word. He would tell you that he joined the Church 
only because his wife was a membei', thinkiug the whole of re- 
ligion consisted only in going to church, but soon found out his 
error. In great darkness, he held to one simple promise: "A 
bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not 
quench." " That was me! " he exclaimed; "and it brought me 
to the Saviour." Could ye have said more, ye doctors of the 
law? Could ye have said as much? Alas! how often little es- 
teemed are these rich in faith, giving glory to God! Beware, 
ye pastors of the Lord's heritage, how ye slight these poor; 
"they are the children of a King, and the coming day shall so 
declare it." 

Some of the names of the earlier Methodists are on record. 
Alex. McFarlain (who took the place of Edgar Wells), A. Sevier, 
J. McDowell, AV. Adams, J. Milnor, G. Milnor, W. Smith, J. 
Hughes, M. Moore, B. Lukeson, J. Cox, and J. Gordon are all 
of the earlier days; George Airs, Philip Reader, Eliab King- 
man, Amos Pilsbury, John Kugiey, and Bobert Riley are later; 
and still later are Abel McKee, Jacob Miller, Henry Mucken- 
fuss, George Just, George Chreitzberg, John Mood, John Honor, 
Duke Goodman, Joseph Galluchat, and Urban Cooper (the last 
five were preachers), William Wightman, Samuel J. Wagner, 
William Bird, and many others. A few names among the godly 
women are still remembered: Mrs. Catharine McFarlain, the 
hostess of Bishop Asbury; Mrs, Kngley, the rescuer of Dough- 
erty from a mob; Mrs. Selena Smith, the kind housekeeper 
of the bachelor preachers; Mrs. Agnes Ledbetter, Mrs. Ann 
Vaughan, Mrs. Matilda Wightman, Mrs. Margaret Just, Mrs. 



288 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLIXAS. 

Susannah Sayle, Mrs. Catharine Mood, Mrs. Susannah Bird, 
Mrs. Charlotte Will, Mrs. Magdalene Brown, and Mrs. Mary 
Chreitzberg. Among the early colored members remarkable for 
intelligence and piety were Harry Bull, Quamby Jones, Peter 
Simpson, Abraham Jacobs, Ben McNeil, Smart Simpson, Aleck 
Harleston, Amos Baxter, Morris Brown, Bichard Holloway, 
Castile Selby, John Boquet, Mary Ann Berry, Rachel Wells, 
and Nanny Coates. 

" These all died in the faith, not having received the promises, 
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, em- 
braced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pil- 
grims on the earth." They were diligent in business, fervent in 
spirit, serving the Lord. Many were toiling in humble occu- 
pations, as their Master did before them. As aforetime, so now 
many a disciple is found among the lowly; but if not ennobled 
now, then there is no truth upon the earth, and never has been. 

In the year 1836 the preachers in Charleston, S. C, were N. 
Talley, presiding elder; William Capers, preacher in charge; 
James Sewell, J. W. McCall, and W. A. Gamewell. That year 
a meeting was held at Goose Creek Camp Ground, at which the 
writer was converted. In the ministry of these men, an exper- 
imental knowledge of God was always insisted upon. Said Dr. 
Capers on receiving us into the Church in 1836: " Do you know 
God as a sin-pardoning God? " We did not, and shall never 
forget his earnest advice never to rest satisfied wdthout it. If 
any were disposed to forget the question, its constant recur- 
rence in the class meeting would have prevented. The only al- 
ternative was to get this knowledge or to retire from the Church. 
The fidelity of the leaders and constant oversight of the preachers 
gave no rest to any disposed to rest in their sins. Alas! these 
old class meetings have gone into desuetude, and vital godli- 
ness has been sadly injured. 

This close examination into personal experience and build- 
ing iTp a Christian character was pursued in the Conferences 
as well as in the societies. An old letter from Dr. Wynn, in 
the Advocate, gives a graphic picture of tliis examination of 
character at the forty-third session of the Conference held in 
Charleston, S. C, January 28, 1829. Dr. W^ynn says: "There 
were in 1827 twenty-seven inexperienced, uneducated, and un- 
married young men entered as probationers in the South 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 289 

Carolina Conference.* Out of that number I reckon but three 
are left: Dr. Murrah, of Mississippi; Dr. Boring, of Georgia; 
and myself," All have since gone. He continues: " Dr. Emory, 
book agent, two years thereafter at Charleston, asked and was 
granted the privilege of addressing that class of young men, 
which he said was the largest that he had ever known to be ad- 
mitted at one time into any Conference. That speech was made 
in connection with the trial of one of the members of the Con- 
ference for immoral conduct. Tlie charge was, having broken 
a marriage engagement with one young lady and married another. 
That day I matriculated in the school of common sense, by lis- 
tening to the speeches and witnessing the voting. Never before 
did I know the sacredness and sanctity of woman's person and 
character. Of the fathers present in the ministry that day, I 
remember Lewis Myers, Dr. Pierce, S. Dunwody, J. Dannelly, 
William Arnold, S. K. Hodges, William M. Kennedy, J. Howard, 
Bond English, C. Betts, J. O. Andrew, N. Tally, J. L. Wynn, and 
William Capers, besides others not now remembered. These 
holy men unitedly portrayed the enormity of this offense in such 
glowing terms as to preclude all hope of keeping him from be- 
ing thrown overboard; and but for J. O. Andrew, who pleaded 
that the Conference hold him by at least a slack-twisted cord 
lest he sink never more to rise, he would have been cast into 
the open sea, across the bar, where he had been driven by the 
speeches made against him. Do not we of this day need more 
admonitions from such holy men as these were? " 

This young man had been admitted on trial in 1828, in a class 
of twenty, among whom were Samuel W. Capers, William M. 
Wightman, and William Martin, and in that year and in 1829 
he traveled with the Rev. John Mood on Cypress Circuit. He 
was discontinued in 1830, and his course afterwards abounded 
in shallows to the very end of his life. 

We wish that those speeches could have been fully reported. 
What admirable lectures on ministerial character and conduct! 
We several times heard the like in our earlier Conferences. 
Alas! they have gone into desuetude since Conference doors 
have been thrown open in the examination of character. It is 
very doubtful if w^e have been gainers thereby. 

The portraiture of another Conference, the first the writer 

]^9 * See class in Appendix. 



290 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

ever attended, may here be given. It was the fifty-fourth ses- 
sion of tlie South Carolina Conference, held January 8, 1840. 
Thomas A. Morris was the presiding bishop, and William M. 
Wightman the secretary. The membership in the Conference 
was 24,016 whites and 27,630 colored. It was held in the somber 
basement of Trinity Church, still intact, only divided and sub- 
divided into different rooms, and more dark than then, seem- 
ingly waiting until some of our millionaires give us a modern 
structure more in keeping with their wealth and the demands of 
our improving city, and of His glory who of old said by his proph- 
ets, " Ye dwell in your ceiled houses, while the house of the 
Lord lieth waste." That this will come eventually, is true; but 
the pity of it is that some of us will not live to see it, and will 
lose the prestige of making it monumental, and, alas! miss the 
"well done " of the final day. 

The author was then a youth of nineteen, fresh from Cokes- 
bury, his first circuit, having been under the colleagueship of 
the Rev. Samuel Dunwody. Of the bishop very little is re- 
membered save the admirable sermon he preached in old Cum- 
berland Church from the text, "Ye must through much tribula- 
tion enter into the kingdom of God." The number of preachers 
in connection with this Conference receiving appointments was 
just one hundred. Of supernumeraries there were none, and 
of superannuates thirteen. Of this total, to-day there are but 
four survivors, namely: J. W. Wellborn, of Mississippi, now in 
his eighty-eighth year; Simpson Jones, William C. Patterson, 
and the writer. There were five districts: Charleston, Henry 
Bass, presiding elder; Cokesbury, William M. Wightman, pre- 
siding elder; Columbia, Hartwell Spain, presiding elder; Wil- 
mington, Bond English, presiding elder; Lincolnton, William 
Crook, presiding elder. 

A jDassing glance at some of the leaders, as well as of the 
rank and file, is in order; and if of no other use it may show 
how youthful opinion has been confirmed by the experience of 
age. If the roll were called to-day the response in nearly every 
case might not be in the grandiloquent style of Napoleon's vet- 
erans, " Dead upon the field of honor," but, which is far better, 
" Died in the faith." By all odds the Magnus AjwUo of the body 
was William Capers, then editor of the Southern Christ ian Advo- 
cate. He long held this position, and for six quadrenniums, from 




REV. BOND ENGLISH. 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAEOLINAS. 293 

1828 to 1846, led the Conference delegation until elected to the 
episcopacy. His influence on the Church at home and abroad 
is well known, and need not be enlarged upon here. It was quite 
apparent even then who would be his successor, and upon whom 
his mantle would fall. 

William M. Wiglitman was coming largely into prominence, 
closing up a well-ordered life in 1882, We regret that his is 
the only name not on the list of the dead of the South Carolina 
Conference, for, though in the episcopacy, he is still " ours." 
This list was originally prepared by the writer, but the prepara- 
tion of the Conference Minutes passing out of his hands, he is not 
responsible for the omission. "N^'e trust that it will be remedied. 

Whitefoord Smith, "the golden-mouthed," as he was called, 
was following after. These two were the young men of prom- 
ise in the body. If such were permissible, they might have 
been considered rivals. Each has filled his allotted space and 
work, and gone to his reward. 

Among the elder men of influence was Charles Betts. In per- 
son he was compact, rotund, strong, almost fierce at times. In 
the pulpit his sentences were so involved as not to show to ad- 
vantage, but he was argumentative and strong in debate. He was 
the very personification of energy on a district, and in business 
matters of the Conference an adept. His popularity M^tli the 
brethren placed him near the head of the delegation to the 
General Conference for years. 

William M. Kennedy, as one of the pioneers, was much be- 
loved in the Conference, and was soon to close up his earthly 
career; while Samuel Dunwody, his classmate (both entering 
in 1806), was to linger until 1854, dying at the age of seventy- 
three years. 

Bond English, in 1840, was fifth in the election to the Gen- 
eral Conference, tlie others being Capers, Betts, Wightman, 
and Kennedy. Mr. English was modest, retiring, self-depre- 
ciating to a fault, but clear-headed, warm-hearted, and eloquent. 
He was small of stature, inclined to corpulence; lame from an 
accident; with the loss of an eye, his somewhat oval face was 
marred; quick, impulsive in his movements; an excellent judge 
of character, but so diffident in nature that he was not born to 
control. His sermons wei'e deeply spiritual, ardent, simple, nat- 
ural, and best of all, full of the divine Spirit. We did not know 



294 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

it then, but be was destined to be our presiding elder in 1840; 
and such was our estimate of the man that we named our first- 
born for him. 

The sober, staid, wise H. A. C. Walker was coming up among 
the younger men. In 1844 he was fifth on the list for the Gen- 
eral Conference, and for a long series of years was foremost in 
every good word and work. 

It was not until 1850 that W. A. Gamewell became prominent. 
He was admitted into the Conference in 1834, and held on in 
his quiet way. Tall and commanding in appearance, he was 
always serious, and preached effectively. 

James Stacy had been connected with the Conference for 
ten years. His personal appearance was neat, his face pale, his 
eyes bright, his speech intense. Being of an extremely nervous 
temperament, of course he was a sufferer, but always to the full 
measure of his strength he labored until called to his reward. 

Albert M. Shipp was admitted into the Conference in 1841. 
It was not until 1862 that he led the General Conference dele- 
gation. But we are approaching too nearly the time of living 
men, and must restrain our pen. 

A glance at the subalterns of this mighty host may be in- 
dulged in. A class of twelve had been admitted at the previous 
Conference, the writer being one of them, and came up for re- 
view at this session. Would you believe it? decidedly the fore- 
most man of the class was discontinued, a very small jealousy 
inducing it, and only continued by a reconsideration of the vote. 
W. A, McSwain was the man. He died all too soon, both for his 
fame and the good work he might have done. Examinations of 
character were then held with closed doors, and were minute 
and severe. "They order this matter better now." We beg 
leave to differ; for if a good university be a bench with a prop- 
er teacher at one end and a pupil at the other, we cannot despise 
the training these good men put their pupils through. " Too se- 
vere! " you say. Was it? Yet it put some sense into skulls that 
"could not teach and would not learn." For example, one of 
this very class was excoriated — well, just awfully. He wanted 
to marry, and didn't, but got it — the excoriation — all the same. 
Mercy! thought the writer, if that comes of only wanting to 
marry, what will become of one who has actually done so? He 
found out afterwards that in this case all proprieties had been 



EAELY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 295 

observed; in the other they had not, one objection being that the 
brother seemingly wanted more wives than one. That cannot 
be thought of in our country, however much some find that 
one wife is too many for them. The truth may be that in that 
early day a man had to marry to get an increase of salary, in 
that event it always being doubled; the Discipline saying $100 
for himself, the same for his wife, and $16 to $24 for each child 
under sixteen years of age. Now this was undoubtedly "poor 
pay," and yet in one case we know it was decidedly " poor- 
preach." 

At this Conference, the fifty-fourth session, there were sta- 
tioned one hundred preachers. At the one hundred and tenth 
session two hundred and sixteen received appointments — 
very evident signs of growth. At this fifty-fourth session 
there were but five preachers on the retired list, among them 
James Jenkins, Joseph Moore, and James Dannelly. These 
three men were the connecting links between that generation 
of preachers and the pioneers of old. They had been in labors 
abundant, with the very poorest of earthly recompense, and 
were now in receipt of the very smallest stipends allotted by 
the Church; but however small, it was fully in keeping with the 
allowances of the active ministry. For fifteen years of active 
service James Jenkins received $1,623, a little over $100 per an- 
num. During his superannuation he received from $110, the 
highest, to $8, the lowest, per annum. His obituary, evidently 
by Bishop Wightraan, states: " When the time of his departure 
came, he hailed the approach of death not only with composure 
but with the gusto of indescribable joy. The conqueror's shout, 
so familiar to his lips when in health, lingered upon those lips 
now fast losing the power of utterance. Along with this tri- 
umphant mood he maintained and manifested to the last a re- 
markable degree of that profound self-abasement so often ob- 
served in the dying moments of the most eminently useful men. 
His language was: *I have never done anything; don't mention 
these things to me; I am nothing, nothing but a poor, unworthy 
sinner, saved by grace. Christ is all; to him be all the praise.' 
Without a struggle or a groan, he fell asleep in Jesus. His wit- 
ness is with God, and his record on high." He was the first of 
the three to die, closing his life on earth June "24, 1847, aged 
eighty-three years. Joseph Moore followed, February 14, 1850, 



296 EABLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

aged eighty-four years; and James Daiinelly, April 28, 1855, 
aged sixty-niue years. 

From the fifty-fourth Conference, held in 1840, to the one 
hundred and tenth session, held at Abbeville in 1896, is a long 
interval, more than half a century. We are glad to testify that 
whatever may have been time's changes, improvements, and 
what not, Methodism still maintains its integrity in doctrine 
and its great business to spread scriptural holiness over the 
earth. Fashionable formalism is seen in Jenny June's whilom 
fashion letter. She says: 

Easter should be a pleasant month this year, for it gives us, with its first 
incoming, Easter flowers, Easter festivity, and Easter fashions. Not that 
Lent has been dull by any means, for, since religion is fashionable, even a 
Lenten season has its bright side, and we have had K ilsson to give it addi- 
tional attraction. But fashion does not take naturally to penitence, though 
softened by manifold indulgences ; and therefore the advent of Easter, with 
its gayety and fresh toilets, is heartily welcomed, and one can be as fashion- 
able and as pious as one pleases. In fact, you cannot be fashionable without 
being pious. 

The whole letter might be considered dreadfully satirical, but 
alas! the depth of its satire is in its awful truthfulness. The 
celebration of Easter, as set forth in Acts ii. 32, is strikingly in 
contrast — "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all 
witnesses" — magnified especially in the conversion of the three 
thousand souls. 

Methodism in the olden time ever entered its protest against 
mere formalism in religion, and labored with a self-sacrificing- 
energy to promote the soul's peace with God. God's predic- 
tion concerning his Church is that " his righteousness shall go 
forth as brightness, and his salvation as a lamp that burnetii." 
"Among wdiom ye shine as lights in the world," says St. Paul. 
If there be any darkness, lack, or failure now, the only safety 
is in a return to the old paths. 




ST. JOHN S CIIUKCJI, KiJCK JIILL, ,S. C. ; 11. D. lUtOU'XE, PASTOI!. 



CHAPTER XXXir. 

A Summing Up — First Period — The O'Kelly Schism — Second Period — Third 
Period — Cokesbury, Pee Dee, Orangeburg, and Barnwell CircuHs — Meth- 
odist Journalism — Sunday Schools — Education — William Capers — Fourth 
Period — Fifth and Last Period. 

NOW to sum up the whole, we present in a more condensed 
form the results of Methodism in South Carolina. What 
if there be somewhat of repetition? If needful to a proper in- 
sight into the work, surely it can be condoned. 

A Romanist once asked a Protestant, " Where was your re- 
ligion before Luther? " The answer, scathingly satirical, was, 
" Where was your face before it was washed?" The rejoinder 
would have been equally forcible if it had been, " Where was 
your Church before Luther? " True, there was the papacy, the 
holy Koman empire, much of royal rule, Latin Christianity, and 
crime; but certainly not the Catholic Church as it is to-day. Or- 
thodoxy was at a discount; bulls were contradictory; doctrine 
unsettled. A reformation like that in Germany was needed, 
and history records that, " from the halls of the Vatican to the 
most secluded hermitage of the Apennines, the great revival 
was everywhere felt and seen." 

So with the Church of England. What was she before Wes- 
ley? More pure than Rome, it is true, yet an offshoot; and with 
all her grand cathedrals, orders, royal patronage and power, how 
little of the divine Spirit ! Rigidly holding to the divine right of 
kings, like Festus she lightly esteemed '* one Jesus, who was dead, 
whom Paul affirmed to be alive," and who truly is " God over 
all, blessed for evermore." In her blinded rage she cast forth 
her sons, who, actuated by that faith, would have made her in- 
corporate with life, and they went forth triumphing everywhere; 
" so mightily grew the woixl of God and prevailed." 

The people called Methodists were never troubled by the ar- 
rogant claims of the Anglican or Roman Church, but, build- 
ing upon the prophets, apostles, and martyrs, "Jesus Christ 
himself being the chief corner stone," have wrought mightily 
through God unto this hour. Not caring an iota for the dogma 
of apostolical succession, they held firmly to the succession of 

(299) 



300 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

tlie truth as taught by Him, first bearing witness to it, and run- 
ning down through Paul, the martyrs, Wyclif, Huss, Luther, and 
Wesley, as the only anchor for eternal hope; and persecution, 
rack and gibbet, faggot and flame cannot harm it. Down to the 
judgment trump shall this succession of the truth run on. ^or 

Truth forever on the scaffold, 

Wrong forever on the throne, 
Yet that scaffold sways the future, 

And, behind the dim unknown, 
Standeth God within the shadow. 

Keeping watch above his own. 

I shall divide the century of our existence as a Conference 
into Jive iinequal periods of fifteen, thirty, then again thirty, 
then five, and lastly twenty years, each forming an epoch in 
our history. 

Our first period begins at the close of the war of the Kevolu- 
tion. The English Cliujch existed with the first settlement of 
Carolina; the Presbyterians had an early existence; the Con- 
gregationalists in 1682, the Baptists in 1685, the French Prot- 
estants in 1700, the Lutherans in 1750, and the Methodists in 
1785. 

The war had wrought great changes in the country; the par- 
ish churches were closed, for the clergy of the Church of En- 
gland had fled from the state. At the peace, religion had sadly 
declined. Churches had been reopened, but, because of the lax 
morality of the clergy, were closed again. Great religious des- 
titution prevailed everywhere. In many populous sections of 
the country months and even years elapsed, and a minister of 
religion Avas never seen. Only here and there tliroughout the 
state was found a Presbyterian or Baptist congregation. 

As late as 1790 ministers were disciplined for drunkenness, 
and at funerals often the living were not sufiiciently sober to 
bury the dead. Tradition asserts that in one of the upper coun- 
ties of the state a minister was so far gone as to fall asleep in 
the pulpit during the singing of the hymn, and when aroused 
by the precentors telling him " it was out,'" he drowsily told them 
to '\fill her up agin.'''' Such being the morality of the shepherd, 
to what sort of pastures must the flock have been led? 

In the General Minutes of our connection for 1795 the Church 
is called to a fast with sabbatical strictness, to bewail such sins 



EARLY METHODISM IX THE CAEOLINAS. 301 

as covetousuess, superstition (in trusting to ceremonial and 
legal righteousness), profanity, Sabbatii-breaking, making con- 
tracts without the intention of honest heathen to fulfill tbem, 
various debaucheries, drunkenness, and such like. What need 
just then for a cry like John's in the wilderness, "Repent, for 
the kingdom of heaven is at hand"; and faithfully did Asbury 
and his coadjutors sound it forth. 

At first Georgia and South Carolina were united. Two years 
after, Georgia was separate, until 1794; then included again in 
the South Carolina Conference, so remaining until 1830. The 
historic circuits took the names of the broad streams flowing 
through the state. Wherever the people were, there Avere the 
preachers found. TJiese had not entered on lives of ease or 
fruition; they were in labors most abundant, wrestling with 
floods of great waters; and floods of ungodly men made them 
not afraid. They met with no favor from coreligionists, were 
rather considered weak and unlettered men, poor enthusiasts, 
disturbers of the quiet order of things, wandering stars emitting 
a baleful light, and dealing in magic even to effect base ends. 
They were put down in church reports as men of " infamous 
character," an "indignity to human nature," "a disgrace to the 
Christian name." Their rapid movements, " traveling from place 
to place in quick succession," were highly censurable: how 
could men be "convinced of their sincerity" when they had 
"no settled abiding place"? And it is gravely written down 
in Church history, " Tltis is not most profitable." Profitable, 
forsooth! Nay, verily; profit in that sense these preachers 
never thought of. They sought no chapels of ease, nor thrones 
of power; never thought solely of wealthy neighborhoods, or 
ran lines of circumvallation around rich alluvial sites, but 
went anywhere and everywhere on their grand mission. The 
fact is, such objection grew out of the apprehension that the 
objectors' craft was in danger; but the cry, " Great is Diana 
of the Ephesians! " had no more effect upon these men than 
on the first apostles: they kept on turning the world down- 
side up, it having been in their judgment "upside down " long 
enough. And so " they went forth and preached everywhere, 
the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs 
following." 

In the " Dialogues of Devils," in the council held in Pande- 



302 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

monium, when the question is up, " How to stop the revival un- 
der John Wesley?" a sleek, knowing little devil, with a piping 
voice, ventures the advice: "Make John a bishop." We wish 
it had been done; then the grand old Church of England might 
have been most gloriously leavened at a much earlier date. 

The line of travel marked by Asbury and his coadjutors, from 
Cheraw down the Pee Dees, and down the coast to Georgetown, 
thence to Charleston, then throughout the lower part of the state, 
then up on both sides of the Santee, and only occasionally up to 
King's Mountain as the place of exit, gave the section, favored 
yearly with the bishop's visits, a very great advantage, even the 
greater preponderance of Methodism. It is in the memory of 
living men that much of the territory above Columbia has only 
within the last half century been fruitful for Methodism. In- 
deed, it is but of recent date that in Chester, Yorkville, and 
Lancaster our Church is becoming formidable. True, the up- 
per country at this early day was more sparsely settled, and an- 
cient Calvinism had been long intrenched; but who can tell if 
these giants of the olden time, whose forte was strong assaults 
along the line of doctrine, might not have earlier achieved 
greater results? These preachers were of a sui generis race. 

Said ex-Governor W , a strong Universalist, to a friend in 

Charleston once: " I went into a barroom lately, and who should 
I see there but our own dear little parson. We took a drink to- 
gether; if was a very great comfort! " These gave no such com- 
fort to parishioners; it was ever "woe to the wicked," whether 
men would bear or whether they would forbear. The author- 
itative tone and dogmatic utterance were there because God put 
them there; they spake with authority, and not as the scribes. 
The lower counties of our Conference hardly realize how much 
they are indebted for the line of travel adopted by our early 
bishops, leading on the fiery cohorts of Methodism to the battle; 
their pathway one of consuming flame, for cloven tongues as of 
fire sat upon each as of old at Pentecost, and they spake as the 
Spirit gave them utterance. Thanks be unto God, the gift of 
the Holy Ghost is still with the Church! 

The first convert to God, in Charleston, at least (who can 
make the record of the many, many thousands since?), was Mr. 
Edgar Wells, who became the Gaius of the apostles of Metho- 
dism. He died in 1797, and two bishops officiated at his funeral. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 303 

His remains lie under the foundation of the once Cumberland 
Church. Often when a child has the writer looked upon the 
marble covering his dust. Many other converts rapidly suc- 
ceeded, the statistics showing great progression in five years. 
In Carolina proper in 1786 the membership reported w^as 595 
whites and 43 colored; in 1790, five years after, they numbered 
2,768 whites and 488 colored. Ratio of increase for whites, 
365.21; for colored, 1,034.88 per cent. 

The preachers of eminence during these fifteen years were 
James Foster (probably the first Methodist in Carolina, ante- 
dating even Asbury's arrival), Henry Willis, Reuben Ellis, Isaac 
Smith, Hope Hull, Jonathan Jackson, Thomas Humphries, To- 
bias Gibson, Enoch George, James Jenkins, William McKen- 
dree, Benjamin Blanton, Alexander McCain, Nicholas Sne- 
then (both of the latter afterwards in the Methodist Protestant 
Church), and John Harper — historic worthies, of whom much 
might be written. 

As regards the rapid growth marking the first five years of 
our history, the same was not borne out in the decade closing in 
the year 1800. All over the connection there was a decrease 
during that period. In our Conference, even with Georgia add- 
ed, the numbers in 1791 were 5,731 whites, 848 colored. Then 
began an unusual but steady decrease, the returns being, in 1792> 
5,619 whites, 964 colored; 1793, 5,265 white, 882 colored; 1794, 
5,172 whites, 1,221 colored; 1795, 4,428 whites, 1,126 colored; 
1796, 3,862 whites, 971 colored; 1797, 3,715 whites, 1,038 colored. 
A decrease in six years of whites 35.17 per cent, the colored 
having a small inci-ease. This is worth considering, and the 
causes ought to be inquired into. 

Great as were the self-sacrifice and zeal of these preachers, it 
was not always the joyful song of "harvest home "that greeted 
their ears. They must often have been sad; "for the divisions 
of Reuben there were great searchings of heart." "All they in 
Asia have turned away from me," once wrote Paul; and these 
had need of a like lamentation. The reasons for this are not 
hard to seek. The O'Kelly schism was one, and, though not to the 
same degree afl^ecting the work here as elsewhere, doubtless had its 
influence. But good came out of the evil, settling for once and all 
the great question of appeal from the appointing power; such 
appeal involving endless difficulty, often provoking vain jangling 



304: EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

for change. If any fear, in the many and wondrous changes in 
our day, that episcopal prerogative is too great, it might be met 
by more fully defining the jprerogatives of the bishop's counsel- 
ors; the impartial decree of ten men being as worthy of confi- 
dence as that of one hundred. 

Another and chief disturbing cause at this period, as well as 
for the disruption of the Church in after years, was the vexed 
question of slavery. The early journals of the Conference are 
full of it, and as early as 1789 Dr. Coke, with all his prestige 
for piety and zeal, greatly erred in his ill-judged and persist- 
ent interference with matters under Caesar's jurisdiction. It 
is hardly possible to estimate the loss to Methodism by such 
action. For long years the struggle went on, and all might 
have been avoided if good men could but have risen to the alti- 
tude of Pauline precept and example. 

Another disturbing cause appeared in the right assumed by 
some of choosing their pastors, induced by the appearance of 
an exceedingly popular preacher in Charleston, culminating 
finally in the Hammet schism, shaking the Church in that city 
to its very foundations and threatening its entire overthrow, re- 
sulting in a short time in a loss of membership of 27.27 per 
cent. Bishop Asbury writes in 1791: "Charleston. — I went to 

church under awful distress of heart The people 

claim a right to choose their own preachers — a thing quite new 
among Methodists. None but Mr. Hammet will do for them. 
We shall see how it will end." So he did, and we all see it. 
Doubtless he loved the people, loved his own peace, but he 
stood firmly because he loved the cause of God more. 

These were all causes enough for the declension in numbers 
alluded to, but there was yet another — the apostasy of Beverly 
Allen, a man of great popularity, brilliant jDarts, and widespread 
reputation as a preacher; but he fell, and foully, and much in- 
jury was done the Church by his fall. 

Thus outward persecution, intestine disputes, and apostasy at 
this early period threatened ruin to the cause. Assuredly, if it 
were not of God it must have come to naught, instead of reach- 
ing the grand j)i*opoi'tions over which we rejoice to-day. 
Notwithstanding these hindrances, however, in the first fif- 
teen years of our history the increase was great. Numbers in 
Carolina and Georgia in 1786, 673 whites and 43 colored; in 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 305 

1800 there were 4,802 whites, 1,535 colored; in 1785, preach- 
ers 3; in 1800, 33 — ratio of increase, 1,000 per cent; ratio of in- 
crease in white members, 628.38, and in colored members over 
3,000 per cent. 

Our second period extends from 1800 to 1830, an epoch mark- 
ing the more regular development of Conference boundaries, 
districts, circuits, and stations, and showing a more steady in- 
crease in membership. Paradoxical as it may seem, divisions 
but increased our strength. We divided but to conquer, and 
this has been characteristic of Methodism throughout its his- 
tory. 

In 1800 the South Carolina Conference was composed of 
Georgia, South Carolina, and a small part of North Carolina, 
forming but one ecclesiastical district, presided over by Benja- 
min Blanton, in which boundaries there are now several Annual 
Conferences. It had 16 charges, 32 preachers; white member- 
ship, 4,802; colored, 1,535. In 1801 it was divided into two 
districts: Georgia — Stith Mead, presiding elder; and South Car- 
olina— James Jenkins, presiding elder. In 1802 Saluda District 
was formed. In 1805 five districts made up the Conference, so 
remaining until 1810, when there were six, and continuing thus 
until 1818, when there were seven. In 1825 there were eight 
districts, and in 1830 ten, when Georgia was made a separate 
Conference. 

An iucreasing membership, while not the best test of spirit- 
uality, evidently marks material progression; and while we would 
not, in King David's spirit, "number Israel," may we not, at- 
tributing all to the Divine favor, say with exultant Jacob: "I 
am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the 
truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my 
staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two 
bands." 

This increase from 1800 to 1818 was regular, and from one tO' 
three thousand yearly; but in 1818 there was a loss of nearly 
1,500 whites, and the heavier decrease of over 5,000 colored. 
For the decrease of the whites we cannot account, but the loss 
of the latter was because of the dreadful schism occurring that 
year in Charleston. From 1810, when the colored members 
nunibered 8,202, to 1817, their numbers increased to 16,789, 
thus in seven years more than doubling their numbers — a ratio 
20 



306 KAELY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 

of increase of 104.95 per cent. But in 1818 they fell to 11,587, 
30.99 per cent of loss. This schism originated in a stricter ex- 
ercise of Church discipline among them, giving great offense to 
their leaders. The agitation was secret for a time, but culmi- 
nated in the withdrawal at one fell swoop of 4,367 members 
in Charleston alone. The loss was seen and felt, the empty 
galleries of the city churches proclaimed it, and the volume of 
song of thousands of the most musical voices of the earth was 
sadly missed in the praise of God. They set up for themselves, 
even building a church, but soon came to naught, the discovery 
of the intended insurrection in 1822 destroying their hopes of 
separate existence as a Church. 

But the Conference, like some gallant ship, weathered the 
storm, and with the freshening gales of grace, and steady hands 
at the helm, kept on in the open sea until, in 1830, only twelve 
years after, she had nearly more than doubled her numbers, 
both of whites and blacks. In 1818 there were 20,965 whites 
and 11,714 blacks; in 1830, 40,335 whites and 24,538 colored; a 
ratio of increase among the whites of 92.39, and colored 109.47 
per cent. 

The ratio of increase for this first period of thirty years, not- 
withstanding all the losses, was certainly great: 

Year. Districts. Preacliers. Cliarges. Wliite. Colored. 

In 1800. 1 33 16 4,802 1,535 

In 1830. 10 158 97 40,335 24,538 

Increase — Districts, 900; preachers, 393.75; charges, 818.75; whites, 739.96; 
colored, near 1 ,500 per cent. 

On this review, well may we exclaim, "What hath God 
wrought!" And how were these glorious results achieved? 
By agents, the counterpart of him " that goeth forth and weep- 
eth, bearing precious seed"; and undoubtedly they I'eturned with 
rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. How they were 
sustained is fully known only to Him who "feedeth the young 
ravens when they cry." The sending forth was much on the 
same plan as by the Lord himself: "Save a staff only, no scrip, 
no bread, no money in their purse." The yearly stipend for 
yeai'S on years reached but from one to two hundred dollars, 
and that rarely paid in full, as the Conference records abundant- 
ly testify. How like Elijah the prophet, at the brook Cherith! 
Ahab's princes and Ahab himself may have rejoiced in being the 




CREEXWOOD METHODIST CHURCH; REV. MARION DARGAN, PASTOR. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 309 

prophet's benefactors; but God gave the honor to the ravens, 
and relieving them of the burden, sent him to Sarepta, saying: 
"I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." 
" Hear now, O princes, and be instructed, ye judges in the earth." 
If divine Almightiness goes with the handful of meal, it oat- 
weighs all your power and wealth; and to be helpers with God, 
men may well struggle for preeminence in any held. No won- 
der these men, with all their self-sacrifice and toil, were so 
deeply in love with their work; and if they had been asked by 
the Master, as of old, "Lacked ye anything?" with the rich 
recompense of present joy would they not have answered, 
"Nothing, Lord"? 

Our third period runs from 1830 (when Georgia was set ofp) 
to 1860, and comes more nearly within the memory of living 
men, who are too near the events recorded to see them in the 
heroic lights of the past; but time will mellow and sanctify them 
in the eyes of coming generations. 

The South Carolina Conference, in 1831, consisted of the 
state, with the lower part of North Carolina attached. It was 
composed of five ecclesiastical districts: Charleston, Salu- 
da, Columbia, Fayetteville, and Lincolnton. The presiding 
elders were Henry Bass, Malcolm McPherson, William M. Ken- 
nedy, Nicholas Talley, and Hartwell Sj^ain. The districts, with 
some changes of territory and name, continued five in num- 
ber until 1841, when six were formed ; so remaining until 1850, 
when they were reduced to five, because of the transfer of terri- 
tory to the North Carolina Conference; and in 1853 six were 
formed, so remaining until 1859, when eight districts composed 
the Conference. 

The crowning glory of this period, and one peculiarly marked 
in the history of our Conference, was its care for, and religious 
culture of, the slave. One attestation of the divine mission of 
our Lord was, "The poor have the gospel preached unto them." 
rrom 1812 the General Minutes bear witness to the precedence 
of the Conference in this matter; from that time till 1840 (the 
latest date of connectional Minutes consulted) our returns of 
colored members numbered five units, and all the other Con- 
ferences but four. As early as 1809 this good work was be- 
gun. For that year among the appointments stand: "From 
Ashley to Savannah River, James H. Mellard, missionary; i 



310 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 

from Santee to Cooper River, James E. Glenn, missionary." 
But there were hindrances for next year, and long afterwards 
the record disappears. It was not until 1829, twenty years after, 
that negro missions proper were formed. The first missionaries 
appointed that year were the Kev. John Honor and John H. 
Massey. The former died the following year, a martyr to his 
work. The writer remembers well, when a boy, the solemn bur- 
ial in Trinity churchyard, Charleston, where a cenotaph marks 
the grave of the first missionary to the slaves in Carolina. 

Our grand old Conference was the first to enter this field,. 
No sickly sentiment moved her, but only the love of souls; and 
money and human life were freely expended in behalf of the 
spiritual interests of the slave. She may well have borne the 
cognomen of the Missionary Conference. The contributions 
for missions in 1831 were but $261.33, at the rate of but 1^ cents 
per member, increasing in amount yearly, until in 1858 they 
reached $28,138.03, or at the rate of 75 cents per member. In 
1860, thirty years from the beginning, §3,853,596.06 had been 
expended for missions. Will any ask, "Why was this waste of 
the ointment made?" The answer is, The light of eternity will 
reveal that a good work was wrought by the expenditure. 

Prosperity attended the work until 1862, when the significant 
words in the Minutes, "Broken up by the abolitionists," and 
later on, "In the enemy's line," told the tale of disaster. The 
numbers returned in 1830 were 657 members, served exclusive- 
ly by the missionaries. In 1861, at the beginning of the war, 
there were 32 missions, served by 37 missionaries; over 200 
plantations; over 12,000 members, including probationers; and 
over 4,000 catechumens. When the war closed, or shortly after- 
wards, there was not one remaining. 

In 1830 the membership returned was 19,750 whites and 
18,422 colored — gloi'ious old Georgia carrying ofi^ more than 
half. Biit steadily the preachers wrought, increasing the number 
year by year until 1835, when a decrease of 1,347 whites appears, 
caused greatly by the schism in Charleston. Would that that 
could have been prevented. No great principle was involved 
requiring the sacrifice, but it was a little spark that kindled the 
flame, causing the severest disaster that has ever happened to 
Methodism in Charleston; not only sweeping ofP many of the 
younger members of the Church, but seriously injuring its 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLIXAS. 311 

spirituality for a time. It resulted in tlie formation of the Meth- 
odist Protestant Church, not long since merged into the Lu- 
theran. Notwithstanding this severe loss, however, the increase 
for the decade was good, the ratio of increase being for the 
whites 26.51, and for the colored 35.28 per cent. From 1840 to 
1859 it was still better — 36.35 for whites, and 67.66 per cent for 
the colored; but from 1850 to 1859 the ratio of increase was 
much reduced, being 10.11 for whites, and 11.93 per cent for the 
colored. This was caused by the transfer of 3,926 whites and 
3,757 colored members to the North Carolina Conference. But 
for the entire period of thirty years, from 1830 to 1860, progres- 
sion Avas well marked, the ratio of increase being for the whites 
103.36 and 170.18 per cent for the colored. An increase of over 
100 per cent in a generation is certainly no bad showing. 

The financial matters of the period, from the lack of system- 
atic fullness now obtaining, must be left entirely to conjecture. 
Except the Conference collections and money for missions, there 
are no records in the Minutes, and even these were not on record 
until 1831. In the matter of salaries, however, it is very certain 
that, as from the beginning, they were on the most economical 
basis. The quarterage of a man of family rarely exceeded 5B300i 
and family expenses, in favored cases, as miTch, but more fre- 
quently much less. The writer feelingly knows of a case in the 
decade from 1810 to 1850 where the average of a preacher's sal- 
ary for ten years, Avitli a family to support, was but little over 
$300 per annum. Buckle and tongue were made to meet, but it 
required a very heavy strain. The average payment for min- 
isterial support in 1884, in the South Carolina Conference, was 
JS595. It is very certain that the average payments of the period 
under review did not reach the half of that sum. 

The circuits of that day were large, with tw^o preachers, having 
from twenty to twenty-four appointments. Those of the pres- 
ent time know but little of territorial extent. They are like 
Canon Farrar, who, accustomed to the narrow confines of old 
England, was amazed at the vast distances of our Western 
world, and was obliged to cancel engagements on that account. 
We can speak feelingly of some of those vast areas. 

The Cokesbury Circuit in 1839 covered neai'ly the whole of 
Abbeville county, and the lower part of Anderson, with some 
twenty appointments, served every fortnight by two preachers. 



312 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

The junior preacher received §100, every dollar of it; for Thom- 
as Williams, of precious memory, was one of the stewards, and 
he never permitted anything like discount in settling with the 
pastors. Will any say, "That was certainly mkjlily poor pay'''? 
The preacher can very truthfully assert that "it was certainly 
mighty ijoor p)reach.'" The wonder to this day is how the people 
could have put up with it. The numbers returned for that year 
were 888 whites and 631 colored, 3 Sunday schools, 30 teachers, 
and 216 children. In 1884 there were in the same boundaries 
six separate charges, 1,634 members, 28 Sunday schools, 141 
teachers, 1,060 pupils, with near $4,000 raised for salaries, and 
$26,550 value of Church property. 

The Pee Dee Circuit in 1840 began at Parnassus, in Marlboro 
county, thence to Brownsville, across to Harleeville and Little 
Pock, then on to Marion Courthouse, taking in nearly all the 
country between the two Pee Dees, down through Britton's 
Neck at the confluence of the two rivers to a church appropri- 
ately called the Ark, for the flood would come often and take 
them all away. There were some twenty-four appointments, 
occasionally twenty-seven for good measure, filled every two 
weeks. The aggregate of salaries for two preachers and presid- 
ing elder was §700, not fully paid. For that year were returned 
1,034 white and 876 colored members, and $43 collected for 
missions. No parsonage nor Sunday schools were reported. 
Within the same territory there are now 6 charges, 5 parson- 
ages, 33 Sunday schools, 1,758 pupils, over $5,000 for ministerial 
support, more than $700 contributed for missions alone, near 
3,500 members, and $43,000 worth of Church property. 

The Orangeburg Circuit in 1841 extended from Jeffcoat's over 
to St. Matthews', down to the courthouse, and then some six 
miles below Branchville. There were twenty-four appoint- 
ments. The salary for three preachers was $700, not all paid 
that year. Now there are seven separate charges, all doing well. 

The Barnwell Circuit, the last we shall mention, was said, in 
terms of hyperbole, to contain as much territory as the kingdom 
of Great Britain. Starting from Blackville, it ran across the 
Edisto, taking in all the country around Boiling Springs Camp 
Ground; on to Pocky Swamp, Pine Grove; on to Jordan's Mills; 
then some forty miles above to Nazareth; then across to Yau- 
cluse, Aiken, Beech Island; down to six miles below Barnwell 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CABOLINAS. 313 

Oourthonse; thence to Graham's, Union, and back to Blackville 
again. There were over thirty appointments, filled in five weeks 
by two preachers — on one Sunday preaching four times in order 
to get a little rest. To the preacher appointed in 1844, good Dr. 
Capers said: "Get married to your circuit, my young brother; 
take it for better or worse." "The banns are forbidden, Doc- 
tor," said the preacher; "for they say it is the fag end of crea- 
tion." "Who says so?" indignantly exclaimed the Doctor. It 
was not so, certainly; many of the best men that ever adorned 
the earth were there, and are now denizens of the city of God 
in heaven. The membership returned was 1,026 whites, with 9 
Sunday schools, 33 teachers, 202 pupils. The salary for two 
preachers was $600, all paid. In the same boundaries now 
there are eight separate charges, 2,312 members, 25 Sunday 
schools, 154 teachers, 876 children, near $5,000 for salaries and 
$40,000 worth of Church property. Pretty good, one would 
think, for what some considered the frazzle end of creation only 
forty years ago. 

METHODIST JOURNALISM. 

Methodist journalism is worthy of notice, and the South Car- 
olina Conference was one of the first to invoke the power of the 
press. As early as 1825 James O. Andrew, Samuel Dunwody, 
and Lewis Myei's were appointed a committee "to inquire into 
the expediency of establishing within the bounds of this Con- 
ference a religious newspaper," resulting in the publication, the 
same year, of the Wesleijan Journal, afterwards incorporated 
with the Advocate in New York, becoming thus the Advocate and 
Journal of Northern Methodism. In 1837 was begun the pub- 
lication of the Southern Christian Advocate, removed to Georgia 
in 1862, brought back to South Carolina in 1878, and now pub- 
lished in Greenville, S. C 

SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

Our Church in this good old Conference was foremost in the 
<5are of its children. As early as 1779 Methodist preachers 
were required to meet the children once a fortnight, and to ex- 
amine the parents in reference to their conduct toward them. 
This was some time before the movement of Robert Raikes in 
l)ehalf of " neglected street children " in England. It was at 
ihe South Carolina Conference, held in Charleston, February, 



314 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

1790, that the term Sanday schools first appears iu the official 
records of Metliodism. The Journal for that year contains the 
following: 

Quesiiun. What can be done in order to instruct poor children, white and 
black, to read ? 

Answer. Let us labor, as the heart and soul of one man, to establish Sun- 
day schools in or near the place of public worship. Let persons be appoiiited 
by the bishops, elders, deacons, or preachers to teach, gratis, all that will at- 
tend, and have a capacity to learn, from six o'clock in the morning until 
ten, and from two o'clock in the afternoon till six, when it does not inter- 
fere with public worship. 

Although thus early at this important work, singularly it 
was not until 1828 that it was made the duty of the preachers 
to form Sunday schools within their respective charges; and it 
was not until 1835 that the schools were reported in Conference 
Minutes, the returns for that year being 185 schools, 3,885 of- 
ficers and teachers, 6,028 scholars, and §1,01478 collected for 
their support. In 1884, fifty years after, tlie returns were 591 
schools, 3,885 officers and teachers, 29,362 scholars, $5,370.15 
collected. Eatio of increase: schools, 220; officers and teach- 
ers, 250; children, 400; money collected, 430 per cent. 

EDUCATION. 

Our other educational institutions demand mention. The 
stigma of being unlettered and ignorant men long attached to 
Methodist preachers. Whether well or ill deserved, it is cer- 
tainly singular that they have left such records behind them 
attesting their zeal for literature, far exceeding others making 
larger pretensions. As early as 1793 Bishop Asbury projected 
the Mount Bethel Academy, in Newberry county. He was well 
sustained by his able lieutenant, Dougherty, who was incessant- 
ly engaged in getting the Church awake to denominational ed- 
ucation. To him the Church owes its first inspiration of edu- 
cational ambition. To Mount Bethel succeeded Tabernacle 
Academy, so gloriously connected with Dr. Olin's conversion; 
then Mount Ariel, then Cokesbury, and finally Wofford College. 
Methodism in Carolina has the honor of one of her adherents 
bestowing one of the largest individual gifts — one hundred 
thousand dollars — for educational purposes ever bestowed in the 
state since its foundation. AVould that others might imitate the 
example, and let this cherished institution go free on its high. 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAEOLINAS. 315 

mission. It should uot be forgotten that our grand old Con- 
ference was once copartner in Randolph-Macon with Virginia. 

WILLIAM CAPEES. 

The necrology of the jieriod numbers some fifty-one, among 
them men of mark. One, William Capers, for long years con- 
sidered the Magnus Apollo of the Conference, is thus sketched 
by our venerable brother, Samuel Leard: 

An ancient lady of Georgetown told me that she was present at his birth, 
when the physician directed all his attention to the mother, whose case was 
critical, and told the attendants to lay aside the newborn infant, as it was 
dead or would soon die. They thought differently, and soon succeeded in 
restoring the child to life, and then said to the doctor: " He will be a Meth- 
odist bishop some day." He laughed at their prediction, but all know that 
it was fulfilled. As to his person he was shaped in nature's most exquisite 
mold. In youth he must have been eminently beautiful for a man. In 
middle life he was faultless as to form and feature, of medium height, grace- 
ful in person, with a voice of wonderful sweetness and power, keen, pene- 
trating black eyes, seemingly searching your thoughts, and yet glowing with 
the warmth of the most intense feeling. He was the orator ^)ar f.rceZ/ence 
of our Conference, and did more than any other man to give his beloved 
Methodism caste and power among the wealthy and refined classes of South 
Carolina. He sat mentally at the feet of Asbury and Lee and others of less- 
er note, and drank in the very spirit of the martyrs until he was prepared 
to sacrifice all he held dear in life for the cause of spiritual religion. The 
chaste monument in Washington street churchyard marks his grave. 

Our fourth period is memorably epochal, taking in the dreadful 
civil war, from the close of 1860 to the end in 1865. Amid its 
fearful ravages, while there was much foreboding, our territory 
was saved from the tread of hostile armies until near its close. 
Many of our bravest were at the front, many of our preachers 
served as chaplains, yet the exercises of religion were sacredly 
kept up throughout. Conferences met, appointments were made, 
and preachers traveled as usual; but from the pressure upon the 
country, religious progression was much stayed. 

Starvation threatened, but did not come; articles of food 
became very scarce; poor substitutes for coffee and sugar 
abounded; eveiy expedient was adopted to "make old clo' look 
maist as well as new"; and yet salaries were enormous as to 
amount— $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000 were apportioned, 
but being in depreciated currency, when scaled down the 
amounts were not larger than usual. " Tax in kind " was far 



316 EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAROLINAS. 

more preferable. A juicy ham or fat middling was considered 
far greater riches than all the treasures of our Confederate cur- 
rency. Yet, notwithstanding, the Angel of the covenant was near 
and delivered us. 

The year 1860 closed with an enumeration of 40,165 white 
members, including probationers, and 49,774 colored. At the 
close of 1865 there were 40,296 white and 26,884 colored mem- 
bers, a gain of 131 whites and a loss of 22,890 colored. Yankee 
chaplains of the Union army hovered about camp grounds 
and everywhere else, showing great sympathy for the colored 
race and inviting them into the Northern Church. Disinte- 
gration and absorption was the cry. Churches and parson- 
ages were seized, and strange bishops were parceling our cir- 
cuits and stations. It was pitiable that human nature should 
sink so low, but erelong it all ceased. Our chief pastors were soon 
in labors most abundant, and rank and file hastened to the res- 
cue. The war cloud passing, South Carolina Methodism was 
again on rising ground. Our white membership did not disin- 
tegrate, and were not absorbed in the least. 

Our fifth and last period dates from the close of 1865, and 
ends with 1896. As there are men living who were witnesses 
as well as workers in these last twenty years of our centennial 
existence, we need not go into details. A few statistical no- 
tations, and we close. The white membership enrolled at the 
close of 1866 was 39,601, with 648 probationers; these last were 
soon eliminated from the record. The colored membership was 
reduced to 15,718, and in a year or two ceased to be reported at 
all, for the very good reason that there were none to rejDort. In 
1869 the members enrolled were 42,926, but in 1870 the number 
Avas reduced to 32,240, a decrease of 10,686, caused by the transfer 
of over 10,000 to the North Carolina Conference; so that when 
the decade ended in 1875 tliere were reported but 40,568 — the 
ratio of increase, because of the transfer, being only 2.47 per 
cent, when, if not for that, it would have been 8.49 per cent. 
For the decade there was collected for superannuated preachers 
ii33,040.18, and for missions 5^30,516.84. The number of church 
structures in 1875 was 550; nnmber of parsonages, 68; value of 
Church property, i^706,791. The ratio of increase for these ten 
years cannot be given, as there are no data upon which to base 
calculations; but from the end of 1875 to the close of the dec- 



EARLY METHODISM IN THE CAHOLINAS. 317 

ade in 1884, there was unexampled prosperity, both spiritual- 
ly and temporally, as the percentage of increase clearly shows. 
From 1875 to the close of 1884 there was paid on Confer- 
ence collections, $47,434.02; for missions, §87,637.53; for edu- 
cation, $22,556.22. For all purposes, save ministerial support, 
there was collected these last ten years, §170,206.60. In 1884 
the membership was 52,443; Sunday schools, 591; officers and 
teachers, 3,885; pupils, 29,362; church structures, 611; parson- 
ages, 114; value of Church property, §801,850. The ratio of 
increased numbers was 29.29; Sunday schools, 26.76; officers 
and teachers, 41.05; pupils, 63.29; churches, 11.09; parsonages, 
67.64; and Church property, 3,000 per cent. 

The next decade, from 1885 to 1894, shows a still greater in- 
crease: For ministerial support, §1,137,033.26; for Conference 
collections, §76,902.49; for missions, §182,974.94; for education, 
§24,075.66; for Church extension, §23,646.35; for building and 
repairing, §508,416.06; for Sunday school literature, §7,343.26; 
for other benevolent purposes, §16,677.73. To recapitulate: 

For salaries §;i, 137,033 26 

For Conference collections 76,902 49 

For missions 182,974 94 

For education 24,075 66 

For Church extension 23,646 35 

For Sunday schools and other objects 532,437 05 

Total $1,977,069 75 

From 1884 to 1895. 

Sunday Officers and Parson - 

Tear. Menioers. ScIkioI's. Teachers. Pupils. Churches. ages. Value. 

1895 72,711 702 4,912 40,197 717 164 $1,084,519 50 

1884 52,443 591 3,885 29,362 611 114 801,850 00 



Increase. 20,268 111 1,027 10,385 106 50 $282,669 50 

Increase from 1831 to 1896. 

Year. Districts. Charges. Preacliers. Xumbera, 

1896 10 204 250 72,651 

1831 5 41 62 20,513 

Increase 5 163 188 52,138 

And now, in closing, let us briefly note the causes of the suc- 
cess of Methodism, in so far as the ministry was concerned. 



318 EARLY METHODISM IX THE CABOLINAS. 

I. FIDELITY. 

In that little word how much is bound up — faithfulness, a 
careful and exact observance of duty, or performance of obli- 
gation, especially expected by all in a minister of religion; strict 
honesty, uncompromising veracity. 

Fidelitij to God. " Called, chosen, and faithful." 

Fidelity to each other. The early journals of the Church are 
covered all over with evidences of this virtue. 

Fidelity to the world. No softening truth for advantage. 

II. THEIR AGGEESSIVENESS. 

They did not wait for attack; they were always the assailants 
of hell's strongholds — never satisfied until success crowned their 
efforts. Enduring hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, 
campaigns were planned, battles fought, and victories achieved 
by full obedience to the command of our risen and ascended 
Lord: " Go." 

III. PRAYEEFULNESS. 

Praying fervently, praying in faith, brought down the Holy 
Spirit to give the word success. Let us emulate them, and gen- 
erations yet unborn " shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a 
tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes 
thereof shall ever be removed; neither shall any of the cords be 
broken." 




METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH, JIARIOX, S. C. 



APPENDIX. 



All of this tabulated matter was with much labor prepared and published 
from time to time in our Annual Minutes, during the decade from 1870 to 
1880, by the author while editor of the same. The tables may be useful for 
ready reference in this volume. 

21 (321) 



I. 

PREACHERS CONNECTED WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA 
ANNUAL CONFERENCE FROM 1776 TO 1896. 



ABBREVIATIONS, ETC. 

Numerals intlicate the years tliej- entered and left the connection. D., deceased. L., 
located. Disap., disappeared from the minutes. Uisct., discontinued. W., with- 
drawn. T., transferred. Ex., expelled. Epis., made bisho]). Some transfers do 
not appear. An asterisk (*) denotes living members. 



1776. 






Michael Burge, 


TGa 


1830 


Nicholas Watters, 


D 


1804 


William Gassaway, 


L 


1814 


James Forster, 


L 


1787 


Bennett Maxey, 


L 


1797 


1777. 






James Parks, 


L 


1795 


Henry Willis, 


L 


1790 


Aquilla Sugg, 


L 


1797 


John Tunnell, 


D 


1790 


John Ellis, 


L 


1794 


Reuben Ellis, 


D 


1796 


Jesse Richardson, 


TGa 


1830 


Richard Ivy, 


D 


1795 


Josiah Askew, 


L 


1798 


1781. 






William McKendree, 


T West 


William Partridge, 


D 


1817 




Epis 


1808 


1782. 






1789. 






Woolman Hickson, 


D 


1787 


Wyatt Andrews, 


D 


1790 


Beverly Allen, 


Ex 


1792 


C. S. Mooring, 


TYa 


1795 


1783. 






Jonathan Jackson, 


L 


181;>-— 


John Major, 


D 


1788 


Wheeler Grissom, 


L 


1792 


Richard Swift, 


T Va 


1790 


John Andrew, 


L 


1792 


Thomas Humphries, 


L 


1799 


Philip Mathews, 


Disap 


1792 


-Philip Bruce, 


T Ya 


1796 


John Crawfoid, 


L 


1794 


William Phoebus, 


TN Y 


1809 


William McDowell, 


L 


1705 


Lemuel Green, 


T Ya 


1800 


John Russell, 


L 


1799 


Ira Ellis, 


T Ya 


1797 


Lemuel Moore, 


L 


1791 


Jesse Lee, 


TVa 


1800 


Daniel Smith, 


L 


1794 


1784. 






Joshua Cannon, 


Disct 


1790 


'Isaac Smith, 


D 


1834 


1790. 






John Smith, 


Disap 


1789 


Hubbard Saunders, 


L 


1793 


1785. 






William A. Lilly, 


L 


1797 


Jeremiah Mastin, 


L 


1790 


John Bonner, 


Disap 


1802 


Hope Hull, 


L 


1795 


James Powell, 


Disct 


1791 


George Norsworthy, 


Disct 


1786 


Arthur Lipsey, 


L 


1795 


Henry Bingham, 


D 


1788 


Francis Parker, 


Disap 


1796 


Stephen Johnson, 


Disap 


1788 


John Halliday, 


L 


1793 


Mark Whittaker, 


L 


1793 


Hezekiah Arnold, 


L 


1797 


• 1786. 






Enoch George, 


TVa 




Daniel Asbury, 


D 


1825 




Epi 


5 1816 — 


Robert J. Miller, 


Disct 


1787 


Samuel Cowles, 


L 


1806 


Michael Gilbert, 


Disct 


1787 


Benjamin Blanton, 


L 


1800 


John Simmons, 


Disap 


1789 


John N. Jones, 


D 


1798 


John Mason, 


Disct 


1787 


Rufus Wiley, 


L 


1801 


Mark Moore, 


L 


1799 


1791. 






Thomas Williamson, 


T West 1791 


Samuel Ansley, 


L 


1810 


1787. 






James Tolleson, 


D 


1800 


Lemuel Andrews, 


D 


1790 


John Wood, 


Disct 


1793 


Henry Ledbetter, 


L 


1806 


Josias Randall, 


L 


1809- 


Barnabas McHenry, 


L 


1795 


R. Lipsey, 


Disct 


1793 


Benjamin Carter, 


D 


1792 


John Clark, 


Disap 


1796 — 


James Connor, 


D 


1789 


James Holly, 


Disct 


1792 


1788. 






A. Henley, 


L 


1796 


Hardy Herbert, 


D 


1794 


Joseph Moore, 


D 


1851 — 



(323) 



324 



APPENDIX. 



James Rogers, 
Henry Hill, 
Jeremiah Norman, 
William Ormand, 

1792. 
Benjamin Tarrant, 
Tobias Gibson, 
William Fullwood, 
Stith Mead, 
James Jenkins, 
Coleman Carlisle, 
"George Clarke, 



T Va 1798 

L 1797 

L 1821 

T Ya 1801 



1793. 



J. Johnson, 
'^ S. Risher, 
-=5£jameri Douthet, 
Anthony Sale, 

1794. 
— Richard Posey, 
James King, 
David Thompson, 
John King, 
Charles Ledbetter, 
N. Snethen, 

1795. 
James Patterson, 
"~ William Guiry, 
= — N. Norwood, 
Moses Wilson, 
Charles Tankerly, 
Nathan Williamson, 
Josiah Cole, 
Henry M. Gaines, 
John Harper, 

1796. 
Moses Black, 

1797. 
Alexander McCain, 
William We>t, 
Robert Gaines, 
James Floyd, 
Laomi Floyd, 
Thomas Nelson, 
Samuel Douthet, 
Lewellen Evans, 
John Watson, 

1798. 
Hanover Donnan, 
Samuel Hooser, 
Thomas Shaw, 
T. ]\Iilli<ran, 
George Dougherty, 

1799. 
Moses Mathews, 
William Avant, 
J. Dillard, 
Z. Maddox, 
B. Kendrick, 
John Garvin, 



L 

D 

L 

TA^a 

D 

L 

L 



1796 
1804 
1796 
1805 
1847 
1823 
1801 



Disct 1794 

T A'a 179(3 

L 1806 

L 1799 



L 


1799 


D 


1797 


L 


1797 


L 


1803 


L 


1799 


TN Y 


1804 


L 


1804 


Disct 


1797 


Disct 


1797 


Disap 


1802 


Disct 


1796 


Disct 


1797 


L 


1801 


L 


1806 


L 


1803 


T West 1805 


T Va 


1803 


L 


1805 


L 


1801 


L 


1800 


W 


1800 


L 


1803 


L 


1805 


L 


1804 


Disap 


1808 


L 


1808 


L 


1801 


L 


1806 


T West 1803 


D 


1807 



L 1809 

L 1805 

Disct 1801 
T Mi?s 1821 
D 1807 

L 1804 



Britton Capel, 
Lewis Myers, 

1800. 
John Gamewell, 
Moses Floyd, 
Buddy W. Wheeler, 
Jeremiah Russell, 
Levi Garrison, 
Ezekiel Burdine, 
John Campbell, 

1801. 
Isaac Cook, 
Benjamin Jones, 
William Jones, 
James H. Mellard, 
Thomas Darlev, 

1802 
Meshac Boyce, 
James Hill, 
Hugh Poiter, 
Samuel Mills, 

1803. 
John McVean, 
James Crowder, 
James Taylor, 

1804. 
Benjamin Watts, 
Eppes Tucker, 
J. Lumsden, 
William McKenny, 
David Dannelly, 
Gabriel Christian, 
Wiley Warwick, 
Joseph Tarply, 

1805. 
Roddick Pierce, 
Lovick Pierce, 
John Porter, 
William Hardwick, 
Benjamin Treadwell, 
John Hill, 
James Boykin, 
James Russell, 
Francis Bird, 
Amos Curtis, 
W. W. Shepard, 
M. P. Sturdivant, 

1806. 
William M. Kennedy, 
Robert Porter, 
Samuel Dunwody, 
Abda Christian, 
Benjamin Gordon, 
Jesse Stancel, 
George Fletcher, 
Thomas Paine, 
George Philips, 
Hilliard Judge, 
Stephen Thompson, 
John Brockington, 



L 1810 

T Ga 1830 



1828 
1805 
1806 
1806 
1807 
1804 
1809 



L 1806 

D 1804 
Disap 1805 

L 1810 

L 1806 

L 1807 

L 1806 

L 1807 

D 1811 



Disap 

L 

Disct 

Disct 

L 

L 

Disct 

Disct 

Disct 

TGa 

L 

D 

TGa 

L 

Disci 

L 

L 

Disct 

L 

L 

L 

Disct 

L 

D 

L 

D 

L 

L 

L 

Disct 

Disct 

Disct 

L 

L 

L 



1811 
1806 
1805 

1805 
1819 
1809 
1807 
1807 
1807 
1830 
1821 

1860 
1830 
1813 
1806 
1808 
1815 
1806 
1815 
1809 
1809 
1806 
1812 

1840 
1816 
1854 
1811 
1810 
1814 
1808 
1807 
1807 
1816 
1808 
1808 



PEEACHERS OF THE CONFERENCE. 



325 



Thomas Heartlicock, 


L 


1811 


James Capers, 


L 


1814 


James E. Glenn, 


L 


1814 


Henry D. Green, 


L 


1815 


1807. 






Duncan King, 


Disct 


1811 


Osborn Rogers, 


L 


1814 


Drury Powell, 


L 


1815 


John W. Kennon, 


Disap 


1813 


Whitman C. Hill, 


TGa 


1830 


John Hunter, 


L 


1811 


181L 






Solomon Bryan, 


L 


1819 


John J. E. Bird, 


Disct 


1813 


Charles Fisher, 


Disap 


1812 


John Postell, 


Disct 


1813 


Joseph Harley, 


Disct 


1809 


Lewis Hatten, 


Disct 


1813 


William Scott, 


L 


1813 


John Boswell, 


L 


1817 


Ellas Stone, 


Disct 


1808 


Daniel Brown, 


D 


1816 


Joseph Travis, 


L 


1825 


Samuel Jenkins, 


Disct 


1813 


John Collinsworth, 


TGa 


1830 


John Sewell, 


L 


1818 


Bobert L. Edwards, 


TGa 


1830 


Reuben Tucker, 


L 


1825 


Angus McDonald, 


Disct 


1809 


Aaron Maddux, 


Disct 


1812 


Leven Sellers, 


Disct 


1809 


James Hutto, 


L 


1821 


James Norton, 


D 


1825 


Samuel L. Meek, 


L 


1814 


William Arnold, 


Disct 


1808 


Thomas Dickenson, 


Dis 


1812 


John Pinner, 


L 


1809 


A. Pickins, 


L 


1816 


1808. 






Elias Stone, 


Disct 


1812 


Eichmond Nolley, 


D 


1815 


John Mullinax, 


L 


1823 


Charles L. Kennon, 


L 


1812 


Ashley Hewett, 


T Miss 1817 


Eli Wheat, 


Disct 


1809 


James Hays, 


Disct 


1813 


Coleman Harwell, 


L 


1812 


John Shrock, 


Disct 


1813 


Samuel Harrison, 


L 


1811 


1812. 






Benjamin Dulany, 


L 


1815 


Griffin Christopher, 


L 


1821 


Christian Rumph, 


Disap 


1811 


T. W. Stanley, 


L 


1818 


Thomas Heme, 


Disct 


1809 


Benjamin C. Scott, 


L 


1818 


Thomas D. Glenn, 


L 


1813 


Allen Turner, 


TGa 


1830 


Thomas Mason, 


L 


1812 


N. Talley, 


D 


1873 


1809. 






James C. Sharp, 


L 


1816 


Moses Andrew, 


L 


1813 


Benjamin S. Ogletree, 


L 


1816 


Robert L. Kennon, 


L 


1813 


John Freeman, 


Disct 


1813 


William S. Talley, 


L 


1814 


Henry Bass, 


D 


1860 


M. Kimball, 


Disct 


1811 


Nicholas Punch, 


L 


1815 


Lewis Hobbs, 


TTennl813 


L. Q. C. De Yampert, 


L 


1816 


William Redwine, 


Disct 


1810 


James C. Koger, 


L 


1815 


Anthony Senter, 


D 


1817 


Britton Bunch, 


Disct 


1813 


Nicholas Power, 


L 


1818 


John Bunch, 


D 


1838 


Jacob Rumph, 


D 


1812 


Jacob Hill, 


D 


1855 


Lewis Picking, 


Disct 


1810 


H. McPhail, 


TTennl817 


John Henning, 


Disct 


1811 


A. Brown, 


L 


1817 


Joseph Saltonstall, 


L 


1813 


James L. Belin, 


D 


1859 


William Capers, Epis 1846 D 


1855 


Alexander H. Saunders, 


L 


1816 


John Rye, 


Disct 


1811 


B. R. Brown, 


L 


1815 


Urban Cooper, 


L 


1812 


Charles Dickenson, 


D 


1820 


1810. 






1813. 






E. D. Wimberly, 


L 


1814 


Anderson Ray, 


L 


1817 


Alexander Talley, 


L 


1820 


Allen Bass, 


Disct 


1814 


Alexander McEwen, 


L 


1813 


Samuel K. Hodges, 


TGa 


1830 


Thomas Griffin, 


L 


1812 


Daniel McPhail, 


L 


1817 


John Jennings, 


Disct 


1812 


James Parsons, 


Disap 


1818 


A. Jones, 


Disct 


1812 


William Harris, 


L 


1817 


John B. Glenn, 


L 


1819 


AVest Harris, 


L 


1817 


Andrew Gramling, 


L 


1813 


Dabney P. Jones, 


L 


1817 


John Tarrant, 


D 


1849 


William Collinsworth, 


L 


1818 


M. Durr, 


L 


1813 


John Wright, 


L 


1817 


John S. Ford, 


Disct 


1812 


James 0. Andrew, 


TGa 


1830 


John Webb, 


Disct 


1812 


Epis 1832 


D 


1871 


John S. Capers, 


L 


1814 


William B. Barnett, 


L 


1821 



326 




APPENDIX. 






D. S. McBride, 


L 


1819 


John L. Greaves, 


Disap 


1826 


Samuel Johnson, 


L 


1819 


Thomas A. Smith, 


L 


1822 


James B. Turner, 


L 


1819 


A. Simmons, 


Disct 


1819 


P. Ogletree, 


L 


1820 


John L. Jerry, 


L 


1830 


Elijah Bird, 


L 


1822 


John Dix, 


D 


1823 


Samuel T. Elder, 


Disct 


1814 


AViliiam Connell, 


Disct 


1820 


James M. Sharp, 


Disct 


1814 


H. T. Fitzgerald, 


D 


1819 


1814. 






Charles Betts, 


D 


1872 


David Hilliard, 


L 


1823 


1819. 






John Lane, 


Disct 


1810 


James Dannelly, 


D 


1855 


John Scott, 


L 


1819 


B. Pipkin, 


T Miss 


1822 


Ransom Adkins, 


Disct 


1816 


AI. Raifoid, 


TGa 


1830 


W. F. Easter, 


Disct 


1816 


Levi Stancel, 


Disct 


1820 


D. Monagon, 


L 


1819 


John Schroble, 


Disct 


1820 


N. Mclntire, 


T Miss 1820 


John B. Chappel, 


TGa 


1830 


John Murrow, 


L 


1825 


Peter Duff, 


Disct 


1820 


AVest Williams, 


L 


1818 


C. G. Hill, 


D 


1840 


John McClendon, 


Disap 


1819 


John Howard, 


TGa 


1830 


W. L. Winningham, 


L 


1818 


Thomas Gardner, 


Disct 


1823 


Travis Owen, 


L 


1825 


1820. 






A. Leatherwood, 


L 


1818 


Thomas Sanford, 


TGa 


1830 


1815. 






B. Gordon, 


Disct 


1821 


John W. Norton, 


L 


1819 


Jesse AA^all, 


Disct 


1821 


William Palmer, 


Disct 


1816 


Thomas Clinton, 


T Miss 1821 


John Simmons, 


L 


1820 


Barnett Smith, 


L 


1831 


William Kennedy, 


L 


1836 


Robert Adams, 


L 


1836 


John Mote, 


L 


1821 


N. H. Rhodes, 


TGa 


1830 


Bryan Gause, 


L 


1819 


Aquila Norman, 


Disct 


1823 


1816. 






Stephen Bass, 


Disct 


1821 


Zaccheus Bowling, 


TGa 


1830 


B. L. Hoskins, 


L 


1830 


Z. Williams, 


T Miss 1822 


A. T. Simmons, 


Disct 


1821 


Daniel Gartman, 


Disct 


1817 


John H. Tread well, 


L 


1824 


James Bella, 


TGa 


1830 


Thomas Mabry, 


L 


1830 


Samuel Harrison, 


Disct 


1817 


Robert AVilkinson, 


Disct 


1821 


Jesse Sinclair, 


TGa 


1830 


1821. 






D. F. Christenberry, 


Ex 


1829 


David Riley, 


Disct 


1823 


Andrew Hamill, 


TGa 


1830 


Henry Seagrist, 


Disct 


1823 


Tilman Snead, 


TGa 


1830 


A. Purifoy, 


L 


1827 


David Garrison, 


TGa 


1830 


Thomas Thweat, 


Disct 


1822 


1817. 






J. N. Glenn, 


TGa 


1830 


Josiah Evans, 


TGa 


1830 


John H. Robinson, 


L 


1858 


John Taylor, 


T. 


1827 


Daniel G. McDaniel, 


D 


1833 


T. A. Rosamond, 


L 


1823 


Elias Sinclair, 


L 


1828 


Benjamin Woftbrd, 


L 


1820 


R. T. AVard, 


Disct 


1822 


AViliiam Hankins, 


L 


1824 


Elijah Sinclair, 


TGa 


1830 


Benjamin Green, 


Disct 


1818 


John J. Triggs, 


L 


1828 


Hartwell Spain, 


D 


1868 


Noah Laney," 


T Ala 


1833 


1818. 






Bond Endish, 


D 


1868 


James Dunwody, 


TGa 


1830 


M. McPherson, 


L 


1839 


Eli-;ha Calloway, 


T Ala 


1835 


John Reynolds, 


L 


1826 


Raleigh Gr^en, 


L 


1821 


1822. 






Robert Flournoy, 


L 


1827 


M. AVestmoreland, 


L 


1826 


J. Freeman, 


L 


1825 


A. P. Manley, 


L 


1827 


Thomas L. Wynn, 


D 


1830 


P. L. AA^ade, 


Disct 


1824 


Hugh Hamill, 


L 


1822 


Josiah Freeman, 


D 


1834 


J. Moser, 


Disct 


1819 


AViliiam J. Parks, 


TGa 


1830 


N. Ware, 


L 


1826 


Gideon Mason, 


Disct 


1823 


A. Morgan, 


D 


1828 


M. C. Turrentine, 


T Ala 


1851 


Benjamin Rhodes, 


D 


1826 


John Bigby, 


L 


1826 


A. W. Philips, 


Disct 


1819 


George AVhite, 


Disct 


1823 



PREACHERS OF THE CONFERENCE. 



327 



John Covington, 


L 


1825 


Ed J. Fitzgerald, 


Disct 


1824 


William Knight, 


Disct 


1824 


H. W. Ledbetter, 


L 


1828 


Peyton Graves, 


Disct 


1823 


1823. 






Alexander F. Edward, 


Ex 


1826 


Benjamin Crane, 


Disct 


1824 


James Tabor, 


L 


1828 


Philip Groover, 


L 


18-9 


Isaac Sewell, 


L 


1826 


Samuel Sewell, 


L 


1827 


McC. Purifoy, 


L 


1828 


John Slade, 


L 


1830 


Elisha Askew, 


L 


1827 


Charles Hardy, 


TGa 


1830 


D. N. Bm-k halter, 


L 


1826 


Benjamin Gaine?, 


Disct 


1826 


Ewell Petty, 


L 


1827 


P. N. Maddux, 


L 


1830 


N. P. Cook, 


L 


1826 


S. B. Abbott, 


Disct 


1825 


Adam Wyrick, 


TGa 


1830 


G. W. Huckabee, 


L 


1830 


Joel AV. Townsend, 


D 


1880 


1824. 






John C. Wright, 


L 


1829 


Isaac Oslin, 


Disct 


1826 


John H. Massey, 


L 


1833 


Stephen Olin, 


L 


1828 


John Mood, 


L 


1830 


Joseph Galuchat, 


Disct 


1825 


Daniel F. Wade, 


L 


1830 


AVashington INIason, 


Disct 


1825 


Reuben Mason, 


L 


1828 


Joseph Holmes, 


L 


1829 


James Stockdale, 


L 


1832 


James Hitchner, 


L 


1830 


182o. 






Isaac Boring, 


TGa 


1830 


John Hunter, 


TGa 


1830 


W. W. King, 


L 


1836 


George W. Moore, 


D 


1863 


Isaac Hartley, 


D 


1826 


Jeremiah Norman, Jr., 


TGa 


1830 


William Crook, 


D 


1867 


John Watts, 


D 


1886 


182(1 






F. P. Norsworthy, 


TGa 


1830 


Benjamin H. Capers, 


L 


1836 


Angus McPhersoii, 


D 


1836 


Jacob Ozler, 


L 


1837 


William Gassawav, 


TGa 


1830 


Thomas D. Howell, 


D 


1828 


John M. Tatum, 


Disct 


1827 


David Lowe, 


Disct 


1828 


Benjamin Bell, 


D 


1838 


Jackv M. Bradlev, 


L 


1860 


William H. Mabfy, 


TGa 


1830 



1827. 
Robert Rogers, 
William Williams, 
George W. Parnell, 
John L. Oliver, 
Joseph B. Andrew, 
John Simmonds, 
Joab M. Mershon, 
AVesley P. Arnold, 
John Honor, 
John Coleman, 

E. Le Gett, 
K. Murchison, 
David Ballew, 
Robert Williams, 
Jesse Boring, 

R. J. Wynn, 
J. S. P. Powell, 
William Steagall, 
John M. Dorris, 
Lewis Millei', 

F. C. Spraggins, 
Vardy Wooley, 
D. F. Wade, 
William T. Smith, 
William J. Jackson, 
Malon Bedell, 
David Derrick, 

1828. 
Benjamin Pope, 
Tilman Douglas, 
J. T. AVeatherly, 
S. L. Stephens, 
John W^imbush, 
George W^. Davis, 
Ignatius A. Few, 
John W. Tally, 
William B. Smith, 
William Culverhonse, 
Daniel McDonald, 
Samuel W. Capers, 
M. Bythewood, 
William H. Ellison, 
John M. Kelly, 
Absalom Brown, 
Ed McNair, 
Thomas C. Smith, 
William M. Wightman, 

William Martin, 

1829. 
Vernal Mahaflfy, 
William Young, 
George A. Chappel, 
Appleton Haygood, 
Thomas H. Capers, 
W. R. H. Moseley, 
John C. Carter, 
William N. Sears, 
John Sale, 



Disct 


1830 


Disct 


1829 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


Di-^ct 


1828 


Disct 


1828 


TGa 


1830 


D 


1830 


Disct 


1828 


L 


1838 


L 


1843 


L 


1833 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


L 


1831 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


L 


1830 


L 


1834 


TGa 


1830 


L 


1830 


L 


1836 


D 


1859 


TGa 


1830 


D 


1883 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa- 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


D 


1855 


Disct 


1830 


TAla 


1833 


L 


1833 


D 


1833 


L 


1831 


D 


1838 


Epis 


1866 


D 


1882 


D 


1889 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 


TGa 


1830 



'6'AH 




APPENDIX. 






John D. Bowen, 


Disct 


1830 


Alexander W. Walker, 


D 


1870 


Thomas D. Turpin, 


D 


1838 


C. S. Walker, 


D 


1857 


John G. Humbert, 


Disct 


1830 


Samuel Armstrong, 


T West 1842 


William Murrah, 


T Ala 


1835 


S. D. Laney, 


L 


1853 


F. Rush, 


D 


1858 


Harris Starnes, 


Disct 


1835 


David J. Allen, 


L 


1836 


Joseph H. Wheeler, 


TNC 


1850 


William Howie, 


Disct 


1830 


William Brockington, 


Disct 


1835 


C. A. Crowell, 


TGa 


1850 


P. G. Bowman, 


Ex 


1870 


James J. Richardson, 


D 


1833 


W. A. Gamewell, 


D 


1869 


J. J. Allison, 


L 


1837 


Campbell Smith, 


D 


1854 


William Lackey, 


Disct 


1830 


J. C. Coggeshell, 


Disap 


1837 


John R. Coburn, 


D 


1880 


H. H. Durant, 


D 


1861 


1830. 






Hope H. Parnell, 


Disct 


1835 


Henry W. Hilliard, 


Disct 


1831 


William C. Ferrill, 


L 


1843 


C. A. Brown, 


TGa 


1830 


Willis Halton, 


TNC 


1870 


A. H. Palmer, 


TGa 


1830 


J. W. Wellborn, 


T West 1842 


T. D. Purifoy, 


TGa 


1830 


John N. Davis, 


D 


1844 


T. P. C. Shelman, 


TGa 


1830 


1835. 






George W. Carter, 


TGa 


1830 


Ira L. Potter, 


TFla 


1847 


George Collier, 


TGa 


1830 


T. L. Young, 


Disap 


1841 


R. H. Jones, 


TGa 


1830 


Samuel Leard, 


D 


1896 


Joseph L. Moultry, 


TGa 


1830 


T. S. Daniels, 


D 


1877 


J. D. Chappel, 


TGa 


1830 


A. Nettles, 


D 


1889 


Z. Brown, 


TGa 


1830 


P. H. Pickett, 


TMiss 


1837 


R. J. Richaidson, 


TGa 


1830 


J. R. Pickett, 


D 


1870 


Henry Heath, 


Disct 


1832 


David Seal, 


D 


1895 


Samuel Boseman, 


L 


1834 


James C. Postell, 


L 


1841 


John W. McCall, 


L 


1842 


W. T. Harrison, 


L 


1845 


T. R. Walsh, 


D 


1867 


1836. 






Allen Hamby, 


L 


1840 


R. J. Limehouse, 


L 


1847 


T. Stackhouse, 


D 


1831 


William Holliday, 


L 


1842 


Thomas Heme, 


Disct 


1832 


John A. Minnick, 


D 


1858 


James Stacy, 


D 


1868 


Samuel Townsend, 


D 


1865 


Allen McCorquodale 


D 


1875 


Joseph P. Kirton, 


L 


1844 


1831. 






Jehu G. Postell, 


D 


1840 


Charles Wilson, 


D 


1873 


Archibald Kelly, 


Disct 


1837 


S. Williams, 


Disct 


1832 


Neil Monroe, 


Disct 


1838 


L. Rush, 


L 


1840 


William Patterson.* 






Thomas Neil, 


D 


1833 


M. A. McKibben, 


D 


1887 


William Whitby, 


L 


1840 


1837. 






H. A. C. Walker, 


D 


1886 


Andrew J. Green, 


L 


1847 


1832. 






P. A. M. Williams, 


D 


1863 


William M. D. Moore, 


L 


1843 


Alexius M. Foster, 


D 


1868 


John K. Morse, 


L 


1838 


William C. Kirkland, 


D 


1864 


J. B. Anthony, 


W 


1845 


C. Murchison, 


Tin 


1869 


A. B. McGilviray, 


D 


1863 


James H. Chandler, 


L 


1850 


Mark Russell, 


L 


1842 


D. Le Getr, 


Disct 


1838 


P. W. Clenny, 


D 


1838 


James Collins, 


Disct 


1838 


W. C. McNabb, 


Disct 


1834 


C. McLeod, 


D 


1866 


1833. 






George R. Talley, 


L 


1845 


B. Thomason, 


D 


1841 


William M. Kerr, 


L 


1847 


H. McLenaghan, 


Disct 


1834 


William C. Clark, 


L 


1855 


William R. Smith, 


L 


1838 


John McMakin, 


D 


1846 


George W. Huggins 


D 


1835 


Abel Hoyle, 


D 


1844 


T. Huggins, 


L 


1849 


Lewis Scarboro, 


D 


1884 


John L. Smith, 


L 


1837 


1838. 






Whitefoord Smith, 


D 


1893 


Lewis J. Crura, 


Disct 


1840 


1834. 






John M. Deas, 


L 


1842 


George AVright, 


Disct 


1836 


H. E. Ogburn, 


D 


1860 


R. J. Boyd, 


D 


1869 


Sherrod Owens, 


Disct 


1840 



PREACHERS OF THE CONFERENCE. 



329 



A. B. Kelly, 


Disct 


1840 


P. R. Hoyle, 


L 


1850 


B. Hamilton, 


L 


1844 


Stephen Miller, 


L 


1847 


M. P. Myers, 


L 


1841 


John W. Kelly, 


D 


1885 


W. E. Collier, 


L 


1842 


R. P. Franks, 


D 


1895 


William P. Moiizon, 


D 


1885 


1845. 






John H. Zimmerman, 


D 


1889 


William T. Capers, 


D 


1894 


Simpson Jones* 






John INI. Carlisle.* 






1839. 






Cliarles Tavlor, 


TKy 


1866 


Lark O'Neal, 


L 


1848 


Peter W. McDaniel, 


L 


1850 


Z. W. Barnes, 


L 


1853 


WiUiam M. Lee, 


L 


1852 


A. M. Chrietzberg* 






T. M. Farrow, 


L 


1850 


John S. Thomason, 


L 


1843 


A. P. Avant, 


D 


1889 


E. L. King, 


D 


1875 


Joseph Warnock, 


L 


1851 


Jacob Nipper, 


D 


1844 


William Barringer, 


TNC 


1850 


Wesley L. Pegues, 


D 


1894 


Daniel McDonald, 


T Miss 


1855 


Martin Eaddy, 


Ex 


1862 


R. S. Ledbetter, 


Disct 


1847 


Alfred Eichardson, 


L 


1846 


T. W. Postell, 


Disct 


1847 


William A. McSwain, 


D 


1866 


Jacob L. Shuford, 


D 


1892 


Samuel Smoke, 


Disct 


1840 


1846. 






1840. 






John S. Capers, 


Disct 


1847 


John R. Locke, 


T Ala 


1843 


John A. Mood, 


D 


1896 


Michel Robljins, 


L 


1849 


William A. Robinson, 


Disct 


1847 


Allen Huckabee, 


L 


1845 


A. P. Martin, 


D 


1862 


Williamson Smith, 


L 


1855 


0. A. Chrietzberg, 


Ex 


1861 


Sherod Kennerly, 


Disct 


1842 


H. C. Parsons, 


D 


1866 


Lewis M. Little, 


D 


1888 


Abner Ervine, 


D 


1886 


18-41. 






A. L. Smith, 


D 


1872 


C. H. Pritchard. 






A. G. Stacv, 


TMo 


1869 


D. D. Cox, 


L 


1851 


F. X. Forster, 


Disct 


1848 


Samuel M. Green, 


L 


1852 


1847. 






Nathan Byrd, 


L 


1844 


IT. S. Bird, 


Disct 


1848 


S. P. Taylor, 


Ex 


1851 




Re 


1873 


Solomon W. Daves, 


T Cal 


1851 


J. 0. A. Conner, 


L 


1850 


Wade H. Bettis, 


Disct 


1842 


Joseph Galluchat, 


Disct 


1848 


Thomas Hutch ins. 


Disct 


1842 


Hugh F. Porter, 


L 


1849 


A. M. Shipp, 


D 


1887 


Robert Tayloi-, 


Disct 


1848 


D. J. Simmons, 


D 


1887 


J M. Richardson, 


Disct 


1848 


William H. Fleming, 


D 


1887 


Sidi H. Browne.* 






John A. Porter.* 






Paul F. Kistler.* 






1842. 






1848. 






AYilliam Carson.* 






John T. Wightman, 


T Bait 


1885 


Henry M. Mood, 


D 


1897 


Lewis A. Johnson* 






James W. Wightman, 


TKy 


1866 


M. L. Banks.* 






John C. McDaniel, 


L 


1848 


Benjamin Jenkins, 


D 


1870 


Henry Cloy, 


Disct 


1843 


James T. Munds, 


L 


1859 


M. Michan, 


L 


1847 


S. H. Dunwody, 


L 


1851 


William H. Branson, 


Disct 


1844 


J. W. J. Harris, 


D 


1855 


James F. Smith, 


L 


1848 


1849. 






William H. Smith. 


Disct 


1844 


E. J. Meynardie, 


D 


1890 


1843. 






John Finger, 


D 


1884 


James E. Davis, 


Disct 


1844 


A.J. Cauthen.* 






William G. Conner, 


TTex 


1868 


Thomas INIitchell, 


L 


1881 


Henry A. Bass, 


L 


1854 


J. P. Hughes, 


L 


1866 


Joseph Parker, 


TTex 


1869 


A. H. Harmon, 


D 


1861 


N. Gondelock, 


D 


1848 


1850. 






.John W. Yandiver, 


Disct 


1845 


Reddick Bunch, 


D 


1851 


Daniel Boyd, 


Disct 


1844 


W. W. Jones.* 






1844. 






William Hutto, 


D 


1892 


H. Judge Glenn, 


L 


1847 


J. J. Fleming, 


Ex 


1852 


Miles Puckett, 


L 


1864 


E. J. Pennington, 


D 


1877 



66^J 




APPENDIX. 






James N. Bouchell, 


Disct 


1852 


1857 






John W. Xorth, 


TNC 


1870 


AV. J. E. Fripp, 


L 


1855 


William B. Currie, 


L 


1860 


E. G. Gage, 


D 


1870 


A. M. Ruph, 


Disct 


1852 


J. E. Gleason, 


Disct 


1858 


R. Washburn, 


Disct 


1852 


E. A. Lemmond, 


D 


1870 


D. D. Byar^^, 


D 


1887 


F M. Morgan, 


L 


1881 


1851. 






J. L. McGregor, 


D 


1862 


F. A. Mood, 


TTex 


1869 


1858. 






J. Wesley Miller, 


D 


1866 


A. R. Bennick, 


THol 


1868 


C. 0. Lamotte, 


AV 


1854 


AV. AA^ Graham, 


L 


1855 


W. E. Boone, 


D 


1858 


H. D. Moore, 


TFla 


1864 


George W. Ivy, 


TNC 


1870 


0. A. Sharp, 


TNC 


1870 


J. W. Faulkner 


L 


1853 


Abram N. AVells, 


L 


1869 


Daniel JNIay, 


TNC 


1870 


Manning Brown, 


D 


1892 


W. W. Mood, 


D 


1897 


William C. Power.* 






T. Ravsor, 


D 


1896 


Augustine AV. Walker.* 




W. a; Clarke* 






R. R. Dagnall.* 






James T. Kilgo, 


D 


1888 


1859. 






1852. 






George H. AVells, 


D 


1886 


0. A. Darby.* 






James C. Stoll.* 






William M. Easterling, 


D 


1855 


J. B. Massebean, 


D 


1884 


A. H. Lester, 


D 


1897 


T. G. Herbert.* 






R. L. Abernathy, 


L 


1855 


F. Auld.* 






James L. Palmer, 


Disct 


1854 


AVilliam Bowman, 


L 


1875 


J. D. W. Crook, 


D 


1866 


0. Eaddv, 


TFla 


1870 


1853. 






C. E. Land, 


TNC 


1870 


George W. Stokes, 


L 


1860 


R. B. Aliston, 


TLR 


1871 


James S. Ervine, 


TNC 


1870 


1860. 






E. A. Price, 


L 


1865 


E. T. R. Fripp, 


TBalt 


1871 


G. W. M. Creighton, 


L 


1873 


T. F. Barton, 


Disct 


1861 


William H. Lawton, 


D 


1893 


C. F. Campbell, 


D 


1860 


1854. 






John Lee Dixon, 


D 


1873 


E. D. Boyden, 


D 


1856 


T. H. Edwards, 


L 


1869 


J. S. Conner, 


L 


1873 


James AV. Coward, 


L 


1868 


Joseph T. Du Bose, 


D 


1859 


John Hutchinson, 


L 


1863 


R. W. Burgess, 


L 


18.59 


P. L. Herman, 


TNC 


1870 


R. Thornton Capers, 


Disct 


1856 


A. S. Link, 


D 


1864 


Daniel A. Ogburn, 


D 


1865 


T. AV. Munnerlyn.* 






Lewis M. Hamer.* 






James B. Campbell.* 






Basil G. Jones, 


D 


1891 


J. AV. McRoy, 


D 


1893 


1855. 






T. J. Clvde.* 






George K. Andrews, 


L 


1858 


J. AV. Humbert.* 






C. E. Wiggins.* 






A. J. Stokes.* 






A. B. Stephens, 


Ex 


1873 


L. C. AA'eaver, 


D 


1863 


E. AV. Thompson, 


TNC 


1870 


G. W. Du Free, 


D 


1861 


John W. Crider, 


TA'a 




1861. 






AV. A. Hemingway, 


D 


1867 


John L. Sifley.* 






Jesse S. Nelson, 


TNC 


1870 


D. J. McMillan, 


D 


1881 


Landy AA'ood, 


D 


1892 


James H. Tart, 


L 


1870 


S. B. Jones, 


D 


1894 


James J. Woikman.* 






F. Milton Kennedy, 


D 


1880 


J. P. De Pass, 


TFla 


1866 


M.A.Connolly, 


D 


1894 


R. B. Tarrant, 


L 


1875 


1856. 






AA'illiam M. AVilson, 


D 


1864 


John AV. Murray, 


D 


1891 


J. E. Penny, 


L 


1872 


R. R. Pegues, 


D 


1877 


H. J. Moigan, 


L 


1884 


A. J. Evans, 


L 


1860 


AVilliam A. Hodges, 


L 




James M. Cline, 


L 


1869 


J. L. Stondemyer, 


L 


1869 


Samuel J.Hill, 


D 


1884 


J. F. AVilson, 


D 


1864 


W. J. Black, 


TNC 


1870 


J. AV. Raby, 


Disct 


1862 


John AV. Puett, 


TNC 


1870 


J. Hoover, 


Disct 


1862 



PBEACHERS OF THE CONFEEENCE. 



331 



S. A. Roper, 


Disct 


1862 


1871. 






J. D. Caipenter, 


L 


1871 


J. Claudius Miller, 


D 


1875 


N. K. Melton.* 






J. S. Beaslev.* 






John A. Wood.* 






G. M. Boyd".* 






J. H. C. McKinney, 


Ex 


1873 


E. T. Hodges.* 






1862. 






R. N. Wells, 


D 


1895 


None. 






W. D. Kirkland, 


D 


1896 


1863. 






G. W. Gatlin.* 






J. J. Snow, 


L 


1869 


R D. Smart, 


T Men 


1892 


J. C. Hartsell, 


TNC 


1870 


1872. 






R. C. Oliver, 


D 


1897 


A. R. Danner, 


D 


1878 


S. A. Weber * 






D. D. Dantzler.* 






1864. 






Dove Tiller.* 






G. W. Bird, 


L 


1867 


T. W. Smith, 


L 


1873 


T. A. Boone, 


TNC 


1870 


J. K. McCain.* 






J. R. Little, 


L 




H. W. AVliitaker.* 






George F. Round, 


TNC 


1877 


C. C. Fishburn, 


D 


1885 


A. J. Stafford .* 






0. L. Durant. 






C. Thomason, 


D 


1872 


J. B. Wilson. 






J. E. Watson, 


D 


1889 


1873. 






1865. 






H. Bass Green, 


D 


1874 


J. C. Crisp, 


TNC 


1873 


W. A. Rogers.* 






J. K. Tucker, 


Disct 


1867 


John C. Russell, 


L 


1880 


M. C. Davis, 


Disct 


1867 


A. Coke Smith, 


TVa 


1891 


James H. Sturtevant, 


Disct 


1867 


C. D. Mann. 






John C. Randal, 


T Tex 


1866 


J. Walter Dickson.* 






John Attaway.* 






M. V. Wood, 


D 


1874 


Samuel Lander.* 






George H. Pooser.* 






1866. 






R. W. Barber * 






J. B. Traywick.* 






James C. Davis.* 






J. B. Piatt, 


D 


1893 


1874. 






1867. 






W. S. F. Wightman, 


W 


1893 


J. B. Griffith, 


TNC 


1870 


M. H. Pooser.* 






R. L. Duffie.* 






H. F. Chrietzberg, 


TWNC1893 


R. Lee Harper, 


D 


1884 


J. W. Whitman, 


Ex 


1882 


R. M. Harrison, 


L 


1871 


C. H. Pritchard, Jr., 


D 


1874 


J. P. Morris, 


D 


1868 


E. L. Archer.* 






1868. 
S. P. H. Elwell* 
J. J. Prather, 
S. M. Davis, 
M. H. Hoyle, 






William H. Kirton.* 






TNC 
TNC 

TNC 


1870 
1870 
1870 


C. D. Rovvell, 
Le Rov F. Beaty.* 
J. 0. Willson.* 
James C. Bissell.* 
John E. Carlisle.* 


D 


1887 


1869. 






John Q. Stockman, 


Ex 


1876 


T. E. Wannamaker.* 






George W. Walker.* 






L. C. Loyal.* 






1875. 






William Thomas, 


D 


1890 


John L. Stokes.* 






M. G. Tuttle, 


D 


1869 


Felix Hartin, 


T Ark 


1879 


1870. 






W. A^^ Williams.* 






J. A. Clifton.* 






M. M. Ferguson.* 






George T. Harmon.* 






A. W. Jackson.* 






C. V. Barnes, 


L 




James W. Wolling, 


T Brazi 


!. 


J. Marion Boyd, 


D 


1894 


0. N. Rountree.* 






William D. Lee, 


TNC 


1870 


J. C. Counts.* 






T. P. England, 


TNC 


1870 


E. M. Merritt, 


TNC 


1894 


W. T. McClelion, 


TNC 


1870 


J. J. Neville.* 






B. F. Dixon, 


TNC 


1870 


William H. Ariail.* 






James T. McElhenv, 


TNC 


1870 


S. D. Vaughn.* 






J. F. England, 


TNC 


1880 


W. W. Duncan, 


TVa 




A. G. Gantt, 


TNC 


1880 




Epis 


1887 



332 



APPENDIX. 



1876. 
B. M. Boozer, 

D. Z. Dantzler * 
A. C. Walker* 
W. S. Martin * 
James W. Ariail* 
T. P. Phillips * 

1877. 
A. C. Le Gett, 
Joseph F. Mozingo, 
Thomas E. Gilbert, 
Le Giand G. Walker, 
R. H. Jones.* 

E. G. Price.* 
A. B. Lee, 

H. B. Browne.* 
William P. Meadors.* 

1878. 
J. S. ileynardie, 
J. W. Tarlwurx, 
J. S. Porter.* 

1879. 
J. T. Pate.* 
W. R. Richardson.* 
J. W. Koger, 
J. Ware Brown, 

1880. 
J. Walter Daniel.* 
J. M. Fridv.* 
T. E. Morns.* 
P. A. Murray.* 
W. H. Wroton.* 

1881. 
Thomas B. Boyd, 
N. B. Clarkson.* 

A. A. Gilbert, 
W. M. Hardin.* 
J. W. Neeley.* 

1882 
M. M. Bra])ham.* 
J. E. Rushton.* 
J. E. Beard.* 
J. C. Chandler.* 
William A. Betts.* 
P. B. Jackson, 

1888. 
T. H. Wannamaker, 
William H. Hodges, 

B. J. Guess, 

J. W. Elkins.* 

C. B. Smith.* 
J. D. Frierson.* 
J. C. Kilgo, 
David R. Brown, 



1882 



T Fla. 
Disct 1878 
L 1881 



1884. 



James E. Grier.* 
B. M. Grier.* 
S. J. Betliea.* 
H. C. Bethea, 



Disct 


1878 


D 


1886 


Disct 1880 
T Brazil. 


D 
TGa 


1886 
1891 


D 


1884 


D 


1891 


T West 




Di-ct 
Disct 
TTex. 


1884 
1884 


TNC 
W 


1894 
1895 


L 


1892 



D. P. Boyd.* 
G. P. Watson.* 

J. A. Harmon * T Tex. 

W. W. Daniel.* 
G. R. AVhitaker.* 

1885. 
J. S. Mattison, T Brazil. 

J. C. Young.* 
W. C. Gleaton.* 
M. Dargan.* 
G. H. Waddell.* 
W. M. Duncan.* 
W. B. Baker.* 

1886. 

E. B. Loyless.* 

L. S. Belienger. D 1897 

A. F. Berry.* 

E. O. AVatson.* 

J. M. Steadman.* 

T. C. O'DelL* 

J. F. Anderson.* 

A. M. Attaway.* 

M. H. Major.* 

T. C. Ligon.* 

W. I. Herbert.* 

John Owen.* 

D. A. Calhoun.* 

1887. 
A. W. Attaway.* 
P. L. Kirton.* 
J. A. Rice.* 
C. ^^\ Creighton.* 
M. W. Hook.* 
M. L. Carlisle.* 

1888. 
J. P. Attawav.* 

S. S. Blanchard, W 1895 

S. T. Blackman.* 
W. E. Barr.* 
W. B. Duncan.* 

A. B. Earle.* 
J. L. Harley.* 
R. L. Holroyd.* 
J. W. Kilgo.* 

J. E. Mahaffey.* 

H. G. Scuddav, D 1889 

W. L. Waite.* 
R. A. Yongue.* 
W. Mc. Zimmerman.* 
1889. 
N. G. Ballenger.* 

B. O. Berry, Ex 1895 
T. M. Dent.* 

W. B. Ford, D 1895 

P. F. Kilgo.* 

B. T. Lucas. T China. 

A. Macfarlain.* 

H. C. Mouzon.* 

G. R. Shaffer.* 

R. E. Stackhouse.* 



PREACHERS OF THE CONFERENCE. 



333 



E. P. Taylor* 
E. A. Wilkes* 
W. A. Wright * 

1890. 
J. F. Abercrombie.* 
A. H. Best* 
R. A. Child * 
J. R.. Copeland.* 
G. W. Davis.* 
W. H. Hodges.* 
M. B. Kelly.* 
J. Manning.* 
E. D. Mouzon.* 
J. M. Rogers.* 
J. W. Shell.* 
W. S. Stokes.* 
A. B. Watson.* 
J. A. White.* 

1891 
David Hucks.* 
E. W. Mil son.* 
D. A. Phillips.* 
J. H. Nuland.* 
S. H. Zimmerman.* 

1S92. 
A. J. Cauthen, Jr.* 
J. C. Spann, 

C. H. Clvde.* 

D. H. Thacker.* 
J. D. Grout.* 
W. C. Wynn.* 
A. N. Biunson.* 

1893. 

E. H. Beckham.* 
G. F. Clarkson.* 
J. L. Daniel.* 

R. M. Du Bose.* 
O. L. Durant.* 
S. W. Henry.* 
J. B. Ingram.* 
J. N. Isom.* 
AV. B. Justus.* 
A. S. Leslie.* 
W. H. Miller.* 
R. C. McRoy.* 



1895 



D. M. McLeod.* 
A. B. Pliillips.* 
A. Q. Rice.* 

J. J. Stevenson.* 
R. W. Spigner.* 
T. J. White, 
W. B. Wharton.* 
W. E. Wiggers.* 
J. D. Major, 

E. K. Moore.* 

1894. 
L. L. Bedenbaugh.* 
James A. Campbell.* 
R. A. Few.* 
T. G. Herbert, Jr.* 
J. B. Hollv, 
J. B. Harris.* 
R. E. Mood.* 
W. A. ■Vlassebeau.* 
Peter Stokes.* 
G. Edwin Stokes.* 

1895. 
M. L. Banks, Jr.* 
R. C. Boulware.* 
C. B. Burns.* 
H. J. Cauthen.* 
W. T. Duncan.* 
W. S. Goodwin.* 
E. S. Jones.* 
W. A. Kellv, Jr.* 
S. A. Nettles.* 
W. A. Pitts.* 
J. R. Sojourner.* 
W. J. Snyder.* 
J. B. Wells.* 

1896. 
J. G. Beckwith.* 

A. V. Harbin.* 
E. C. Heibert* 
L. L. Inabinet.* 
G. C. Leonard.* 

B. M. Robertson. 
H. V. Stokes.* 
W. B. Verdin.* 
J. F. Way.* 



1894 
1894 



W 



1895 



II. 

SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL CONFERENCE DELEGATIONS, 
FROM THE FIRST DELEGATED GENERAL CONFERENCE TO 
THE PRESENT TIME. 

The record of the South Carolina Conference Journal for the year 1808 is 
as follows: "The following brethren purpose to attend the ensuing Gen- 
eral Conference: Lewis Myers, Britton Capel, Josias Randall, Wiley War- 
wick, John McVean, Daniel Asbury, James H. Mellard, William Gassaway, 
John Gamewell, Samuel Mills, Josepli Tarpley, and Moses Matthews." After 
that time they were elected, as follows : 



Lewis Myers, 
Daniel Asbury, 
Lovick Pierce, 
Joseph Tarpley, 



Lewis Myers, 
Daniel Asbury, 
Joseph Tarpley, 
William M. Kennedy, 
Thomas Mason, 



Joseph Tarpley, 
Joseph Travis, 
William Capers, 



James 0. Andrew, 
Lewis Myers, 
William M. Kennedy, 
S. K. Hodges, 



J. 0. Andrew, 
William Capers, 
William M. Kennedy, 
Lovick Pierce, 
Henry Bass, 



William Capers, 
Malcolm McPherson, 
William M. Kennedy, 

Robert Adams, 
(334) 



1812. 
William M. Kennedy, 
James Russell, 
James E. Glenn, 
Joseph Travis, 

1816. 
Hilliard Judge. 
Samuel Dunwody, 
Anthony Senter, 
John B. Glenn, 
Solomon Bryan, 

1820. 
James Norton, 
Lewis Myers, 
Daniel Asbury, 
Reserve — J. O. Andrew. 

1824. 
James Norton, 
Henry Ba^-s, 
William Capers, 
Samuel Dunwody, 
/if seriv— Andrew Hamill. 

1828. 
Samuel Dunwody, 
S. K, Hodges, 
George Hill, 
William Arnold, 
Andrew Hamill, 

1832. 
Henry Bass, 
Samuel Dunwody, 
Nicholas Talley, 

Reserves. 
Daniel G. McDaniel, 



Hilliard Judge, 
Samuel Dunwody. 
No reserves. 



James Norton, 
Henry Bass, 
Reuben Tucker, 
Alexander Talley. 
No reserves. 



S. K. Hodges, 
Samuel Dunwody, 
William M. Kennedy. 



Lovick Pierce, 
Nicholas Talley, 
Joseph Travis. 



M. McPherson, 
Robert Adams, 
Elijah Sinclair. 
No reserves. 



Hartwell Spain, 
Charles Betts, 
Bond English. 

Joseph Holmes. 



GENERAL CONFERENCE DELEGATIONS. 



335 



William Capers, 
Samuel Diinwody, 

Henry Bass, 



William Capers, 
Charles Betts, 



Malcolm McPherson, 
Charles Betts. 



1836. 
William INI. Kennedy 
Nicholas Talley, 
Reserves. 
William M. Wightman, Hartwell Spain 

1840. 
William M. Wightman, Bond English. 
William M. Kennedy, 
Reserves. 



Hartwell Spain, H. A. C. Walker, Nicholas Talley. 

1844. 
William Capers, Charles Betts, H. A. C. Walker. 

William M. Wightman, Samuel Dunwody, 

Reserves. 
Whitefoord Smith, Bond English. 

Delegates to Convention, 1845. 



William Capers, H. A. C. Walker, 

William M. Wightman, Samuel Dunwody, 
Charles Betts, Bond English, 

1846. 
William Capers, H. A. C. Walker, 

William M. Wightman, Charles Betts, 

Reserves. 
Whitefoord Smith, Samuel Dunwody, 

1850. 
William M. Wightman, Charles Betts, 
Whitefoord Smith, A. M. Shipp, 

H. A. C. Walker, James Stacy, 

Reserves. 
Robert J. Boyd, Hartwell Spain. 

1854. 
William M. Wightman, Whitefoord Smith, 
A. M. Shipp, H. A. C. Walker, 

W. A. Gamewell, William A. McSwain, 

Reserves. 
T. R. Walsh, H. H. Durant. 

1858. 
William M. Wightman, Robert J. Boyd, 



W. A. Gamewell, 
A. M. Shipp, 
H. A. C. Walker, 

William P. Mouzon, 



A. M. Shipp, 
W. A. Gamewell, 
H. A. C. Walker, 

Charles Betts, 
J. T. Wightman. 



W. A. McSwain, 
Nicholas Talley, 

Reserves. 
H. C. Parsons. 
1862. 
Robert J. Boyd, 
W. A. McSwain, 
S. H. Browne, 

Reserves. 
C. H. Pritchard. 



Whitefoord Smith, 
Samuel W. Capers, 
Robert J. Boyd. 

Nicholas Talley, 
Bond English. 

Samuel W. Capers. 

W. A. Gamewell, 
Nicholas Talley, 
Samuel W. Capers. 



Robert J. Boyd, 

James Stacy. 



J. W. Kelly, 
James Stacy, 
Charles Betts. 



William P. Mouzon, 
James Stacy, 
H. C. Parsons. 



H. M. Mood. 



336 



APPENDIX. 



Whitefoord Smith, 
A. M. Shipp, 
W. A. Game well, 

J. W, Kelly, 



A. M. Shipp, 
H. A.C.Walker, 



S. H. Browne, 



W. J. Montgomery, 
G. W. Williams, 



J. V. Moore, 
B. Stokes, 



A. M. Shipp, 
F. M. Kennedy, 



A. M. Chrietzberg, 
S. B. Jones, 

S. Bobo, 

J. H. Kinsler, 



L Bellenger, 
W. C. McMillan, 



A. M. Shipp, 
W. W. Duncan, 
F. M. Kennedy, 

Sidi H. Browne, 
J. W. Kelly, 

J. H. Carlisle, 
T. S. Moorman, 
W. C. McMillan. 

W. K. Blake, 
John A. Elkin, 



A. M. Shipp, 
S. B. Jones, 

Sidi H. Browne, 



1866. 
H. A. C. Walker, 
S. H. Browne, 
Robert J. Boyd, 

Reserres. 
J. R. Pickett, 

1870. 
W. Smith, 
W. P. Mouzon, 

Reserves. 
A. M. Chrietzberg, 

Lay Delegates. 
A. A. Gilbert, 
H. J. Wright, 

Lay Reserves. 

E. T. Rembert, 
R. F. Simpson, 

1874. 
H. A. C. Walker, 
William H. Fleming, 

Resi'rres. 
H. M. Mood, 

Lay Delegates. 
A. A. Gilbert, 

F. A. Connor, 

Lay Reserves. 
S. M. Rice, 
W. W. Pemberton, 

1878. 
H. A. C. Walker, 
A. M. Chrietzberg, 

Reserves. 
J. T. Wightman, 

Lay Delegates. 
William Stokes, 
F. A. Connor, 

Lay Reserves. 
J. R. Mood, 

1882. 
Clerical. 
W. W. Duncan. 
O. A. Darby, 

Alternates. 
S. A. Weber, 



James Stacy. 
William H. Fleming, 
Charles Betts. 



William P. Mouzon. 



William H. Fleming, 
F. M. Kennedy. 



J. W. Kelly. 



J. H. Carlisle, 
S. Bobo. 



T. S. Moorman, 
D. R. Barton. 



J. W. Kelly, 
S. H. Browne. 



J. T. Wightman. 



A. E. Williams, 
S. A. Nelson. 



S. C. Clyde, 
R. H. Yeargin. 



S. B. Jones, 
O. A. Darby. 



W. C. Power. 



Dr. H. Baer, 
G. J. Patterson. 



W. H. Smith (L. P.). 



W. P. Mouzon. 



J. M. Carlisle. 



GENERAL CONFERENCE DELEGATIONS. 



337 



J. H. Carlisle, 
F. A. Connor, 



W. K. Blake, 
R. Y. McLeod, 



W. W. Duncan, 
S. B. Jones, 



J. M. Boyd, 



James H. Carlisle, 
Dr. H. Baer, 



George E. Prince, 



A. Coke Smith, 
W. D. Kirkland, 

J. M. Boyd, 

J. H. Carlisle, 
William JM. Connor, 

W. B. Stnckev, 



W. D. Kirkland, 
R. X. Wells, 
S. B. Jones, 

S. A. Weber, 
J. W. Dickson, 

J. H. Carlisle, 
Dr. H . Baer, 
D. R. Duncan, 

R. W. Major, 
J. F. Lyon, 

99 



Lay Delegates. 
W. T. D. Cousar, 
William Stokes, 

Alternates. 
T. W. Stanland, 
W. S. Morrison, 

1886. 
Clerical. 
S. A. Weber, 
A. M. Chrietzberg, 

Alternates. 
A. Coke Smith. 

Lay Delegates. 
J. F. Lyon, 
W. T. D. Cousar, 

Alternates. 
Vs\ L. Gray. 

1890. 
Clerical. 
S. B. Jones, 
J. O. Willson, 

Alternates. 
W. C. Power. 

Lay Delegates. 
J. W. Quillian, 
A. C. Dibl)le, 

A Iternates. 
J. Y, Westendorp. 
1894. 
Clerical. 
J. O. AVillson, 
J. C. Kilgo, 

Alternates. 
T. G. Herljert, 

Lay Delegates. 
L. B. Havnes, 
H. H. Newton, 

Alternates. 
H. J. Jndv, 
J. D. Eidson, 



H. H. Xewton. 



J. F. Carraway. 



W. P. Kirkland, 
A. M. Sliipp. 



R. H. Jennings, 
L G. Clinksrales. 



R. D. Smart, 
S. Lander. 



L. D. Childs, 
W. L. Gray. 



S. Lander, 
J. A. Clifton. 



T. J. Clyde. 



R. O. Purdy, 
E. B. Craighead. 



William M. Connor. 



338 



APPENDIX. 



III. 

EXHIBIT OF NUMBERS, CONFERENCE COLLECTIONS FOR SUPER- 
ANNUATES, WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, MISSIONS, AND AVERAGE 
PAID PER MEMBER, FROM 1831 TO 1896, A PERIOD OF SIXTY- 
FIVE YEARS. 



1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
18^6 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 



'A 



20.513 
21,731 
24,773 
25,186 
23,789 
24,110 
23,615 
24,016 
24,986 
27,338 
27,188 
27,491 
29,887 
32,306 
33,38 



32,371 
33,313 



30,906 
32,390 
32,828 
33,214 
,34,621 
35,028 
35,297 
35,733 
37,095 
38.294 
39,935 
37,986 
38,161 
39,288 
41,272 
40,296 
40,059 
38,467 
40,395 
42,752 
32,240 
34,737 
36,041 
36,432 
28,954 



= 2 



= -;3^ 



% 2,362 41 



2,799 12 
2,859 63 
2,333 71 
2,037 50 
2,774 55 
3,841 .32 
4,659 72 
3,780 1 
3,935 09 
3,747 45 



oj-s^-r 



$ 1,548 91 



4,032 69 
4,937 00 



5,410 60 
5,799 00 
4,995 00 
4,369 00 
4,052 00 
7,859 50 
7,764 16 
7,715 00 
8,711 00 
8,000 00 
8.830 00 
6,979 00 
6,935 00 
8,420 00 
7,900 00 



7,344 10 
8,540 00 
5,875 00 
6,450 00 
7,125 00 
7,000 00 
7.000 00 
7,175 00 
6,944 45 



2,427 68 
1,990 82 
1,783 92 
2,074 60 
1,755 75 
1,621 40 
1,934 85 
1,455 94 
1,853 21 
1,708 19 



.2 •- 



34 



1,397 84 
1,624 87 



2,462 99 
2,644 89 
3,413 14 
3,993 46 
3,873 21 
4,092 74 
4,205 44 
4,313 05 
4,732 75 
5,299 93 
5,381 73 
2,700 31 
5,020 00 
10,772 00 
18,068 92 



1,401 65 
1,369 40 
3,290 00 
4,357 00 
3,791 85 
3,951 88 
4,717 20 
4,745 50 
5,415 30 



13 
30 
23 

"36 

57 
54 
61 
52 
54 



^5 



.06 



.04 
.04 



.07 

.08 
.10 
.10 

.11 
.11 
.11 

.12 
.12 
.13 
.13 
.07 
.13 
.27 
.43 



.03 
.03 
.08 
.10 
.11 
.11 
.13 
.13 
.131 



5 261 33 

727 66 

1,519 45 

1,119 34 

2,621 42 

3,789 79 

3,551 23 

7,780 55 

6,649 08 

7,163 58 

7,420 25 

9,943 23 

10,155 77 

14,097 36 

14,362 58 



17,805 39 
14,118 53 



17,713 76 

18,398 00 

22,361 50 

25,049 12 

22,766 12 

26,070 61 

27,321 17 

24,035 28 

28,138 03 

27,192 59 

24,463 34 

14,538 93 

15,438 22 

*40,500 29 

*63,813 70 

302 80 

2,636 39 

1,892 10 

2,996 11 

2,828 91 

2,909 68 

2,670 70 

4,480 29 

4,632 38 

5,167 48 



Oli 

03 

06 

04 

11 

11 

15 

28 

26 

26 

27 

36 

33 

43 

43 



54 
42 



57 
56 
68 
76 
65 
74 
77 
67 
75 
71 
61 
38 
40 
03 
54 

3. 

4 

06 
04 
07 
06 
09 
07 
12 
12 
13+ 



' Confederate currency. 



NUMBERS AND COLLECTIONS. 



339 



1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 



40,568 

41,770 

43,701 

44,513 

44,701 

46,619 

48,191 

49,280 

50,831 

52,483 

54,469 

62,142 

63,122 

65,415 

67,906 

67,091 

69,315 

69,861 

71,79] 

71,535 

72,651 

72,665 



1,202 

1,931 

812 

218 

1,918 

1,572 

1,084 

1,551 

1,612 

2,026 

7,673 

980 

3,293 

2,491 



2 224 
"'546 
1,930 



■^^ 



815 



256 
1,116 



14' 



$ 7,791 00 

8,000 00 

5,655 25 

5,000 00 

6,013 37 

5,993 50 

6,000 00 

6,000 00 

6,000 00 

6,000 00 

0,500 00 

7,000 00 

11,000 00 

11,050 00 

11,000 00 

11,000 00 

11,000 00 

11,000 00 

14,631 38 

14,578 70 

15,000 00 

15,000 00 



^<i. 



% 5,424 16 
4,948 00 
4,950 15 
3,775 36 
4,868 50 
5,144 31 
4,679 24 
5,654 35 
5,207 90 
5,217 08 
4,922 12 
5,190 05 

7.985 00 
8,343 22 
8,436 56 
9,409 06 
8,833 86 
7,549 38 
8,593 85 

7.986 86 
8,729 87 

10,086 86 



■r F 
a; 

e 



30 
38 
12 
34 
19 
14 
22 
5 
11 
13 
24 
25 
27 
24 
23 
23 
19 
31 
47 
45 
41 



.13 

.04 

.11 

.08 

.10 

.11 

.09 

.11 

.10 

.09 

.09 

.08 

.12 

.12 

.12 

.14 

.12 

.10 

.11 

.11 

.12 

.13i 



$ 7,003 45 

6,052 21 

6,841 21 

7,640 49 

7,919 14 

8,529 27 

10,277 00 

13,939 76 

13,126 94 

13.126 94 

14,905 06 

16,469 56 

15,693 93 

19,167 33 

19,252 66 

22,147 29 

22,917 77 

20,449 23 

16,365 13 

16,759 12 

19,234 02 

20,197 17 






I 17 
14 
15 
17 
18 
18 
21 
28 
25 
25 
27 
26 
24 
29 
28 
33 
33 
29 
22 
23 
26 
27 



340 APPENDIX. 

IV. 

CHRONOLOGICAL ROLL OF THE CLERICAL MEMBERS OF THE 
SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE, FROM 183(3 TO 1896. 

Februar3% . 1836. William C. Patterson. 

January, 1838. S. Jones. 

January, 1839. A. M. Chreitzberg. 

February, 1841. John A. Porter. 

January, 1842. William Carson, H. M. Mood, and James F. Smith. 

December, 1844. John M. Carlisle. 

December, 1845. Sidi H. Browne and P. F. Kistler. 

January, 1848. ^I. L. Banks and L. A. Johnson. 

December, 1848. A. J. Cauthen. 

December, 1849. W. W. Jones. 

December, 1850. W. A. Clarke, W. W. Mood, and Thomas Raysor. 

Decembei', 1851. O. A. Darby and A. H. Lester. 

November, 1853. L. M. Hamer. 

November, 1854. C. E. Wiggins. 

November, 1857. R. R. Dagnall, William C, Power, and A. W. Walker. 

December, 1858. F. Auld, T. G. Herbert, and James C. Stoll. 

November, 1859. J. B. Campbell, T. J. Clyde, J. W. Humbert, Thomas W.. 

Munnerlyn, and A. J. Stokes. 
December, 1860. N. K. Melton, J. L. Sifiy, J. A. Wood, and J. J. Workman. 
December, 1862. S. A. Weber. 
December, 1863. A. J. Stafford. 
Noveml)er, 1864. John Attaway and S. Lander. 
November, 1865. J. B. Tray wick. 
December, 1866. Reuben L. Duflie. 
December, 1867. Silas P. H. El well. 
December, 1868. L. C. Loyal and T. E. Wannamaker. 
December, 1869. J. A. Clifton and G. T. Haimon. 
December, 1870. J S. Beasley, George M. Boyd, G. W. Gatlin, and E. Toland 

Hodges. 
December, 1871. D. D. Dantzler, J. K. McCain, D. Tiller, and J. B. Wilson, 

W. D. Kirkland. 
December, 1872. R. W. Barber, J. C. Davis, J. Walter Dickson, C. D. Mann, 

G. H. Pooser, and William A. Rogers. 
Deceml^er, 1873. L. F. Beaty, James C. Bissell, J. E. Carlisle, William H. 

Kirton, I. J. Newl)erry, M. H. Pooser, John O. AVillson, 

and George W. Walker. 
December, 1S74. William H. Ariail, J. C. Counts, M. M. Ferguson, A. W. 

Jackson, J. J. Neville, J. L, Stokes, S. D. Vaughn, W. 

W. Williams, and O. N. Rountree. 
December, 1875. J. W. Ariail, D. Z. Dantzler, W. S. Martin, T. P. Phillips, 

and A. C. Walker. 
December, 1876. H. B. Browne, R. H. Jones, W. P. Meadors, and E. G. Price. 
December, 1877. J. Thomas Pate and James S. Porter. 
December, 1878. AVilliam R. Richardson. 



BOLL QF CLERICAL MEMBERS. 341 

December, 1879. J. Walter Daniel, J. M. Fridy, T. E. Morris, P. A. Murray, 

and William H. Wroton. 
December, 1880. N. B. Clarkson, William H. Harden, and J. W. Neeley. 
December, 1881. M. M. Brabham, J. E. Paishton, J. E. Beard, J. C. Chandler, 

and William A. Betts. 
December, 1882. J. W. Elkins, C. B. Smith, and J. D. Frierson. 
December, 1883. James E. Grier, B. M. Grier, S. J. Bethea, D. P. Boyd, G. P. 

Watson, W. W. Daniel, and G. R. Whitaker. 
December, 1884. J. C. Yongue, W. C. Gleaton, M. Dargan, G. H. Waddell, 

W. M. Duncan, and William B. Baker. 
December, 1885. E. B. Loyless, L. S. Bellenger, A. F. Berry, E. O. Watson, 

J. M. Steadman, T. C. O'Dell, J. F. Anderson, A. M. At- 

taway, T. C. Ligon, W. I. Herbert, John Owen, and D. 

A. Calhoun. 

December, 1886. A. W. Attaway, J. A. Rice, C. W. Creighton, M. L. Carlisle, 

M. W. Hook, and P. L. Kirton. 
December, 1887. R. L. Holroyd, A. B. Earle, W. E. Barre, James W. Kilgo, W. 

B. Duncan, John L. Harley, R. A. Yongue, S. T. Black- 
man, J. P. Attaway, W. L. Wait, James E. Mahafiey. 

November, 1888. Nicholas G. Ballenger, Thomas M. Dent, Pierce F. Kilgo, 
Henry C. Mouzon, John L. Ray, George R. Shafl'er, Rob- 
ert E. Stackhouse, Ellie P. Taylor, E. Alston Wilkes, and 
W. Asbury Wright. 

November, 1889. Jefferson S. Abercrombie, Albert H. Best. Rufus A. Child, 
J. R. Copeland, George W. Davis, Melvin B. Kelly, J. 
Marion Rogers, John AVilliam Shell, Whitefoord S. Stokes, 
Artemus B. Watson, W. H. Hodges, J. Manning, and J. 
A. White. 

December, 1890. David Hucks, Edward W. Mason, J. Hubert Noland, David 
A. Phillips, and Samuel H. Zimmerman. 

December, 1891. Alexander N. Brunson, A. J. Cauthen, Jr., C. Hovey Clyde, 
John D. Crout, James H.Thacker, William C. Wynn ; and 
Eli M. McKissick, from Protestant Metliodist Church. 

November, 1892. E. Palmer Hutson, from Presljyterian Church; H. W. 
Bays, from Western North Carolina Conference; J. A. 
White, from Florida Conference. Admitted on trial: 
E. H. Beckham, G. F. Clarkson, J. L. Daniel, R. M. Du 
Bose, O. L. Durant, S. W. Henry, P. B. Ingraham, J. N. 
Isom, W. B. Justus, A. S. Lesley, W. H. Miller, E. K. 
Moore, R. C. McRoy, D. M. McLeod, J. J. Stevenson, R. 
W. Spigner, T. J. White, AV. B. Wharton, and W. E. 
Wiggins. 

December, 1893. L. L. Bedenbaugh, J. A. Campbell, R. A. Few, T. G. Her- 
bert, Jr., Barr Harris, R. E. Mood, W. A. Massebeau, 
Peter Stokes, and G. Edwin Stokes. 

November, 1894. Martin L. Banks, Jr., Waddy T. Duncan, William S. Good- 
win, E. S. Jones, W. A. Kelly, Jr., S. A. Nettles, W. A. 
Pitts, W. I. Snyder, and P. B. Wells. 



342 



APPENDIX. 



V. 

CONFERENCE REGISTER AND DIRECTORY FOR 1896. 
E.Elder; D. Deacon; S'y, Supenininerary; S'fl, Superannuated; P. E. Presiding Elder. 



Names. 



Post Office 
Address. 



Abercrombie, J. S . 
Anderson, J. F. . . . 

Archer, E. L 

Ariail, W. H 

Ariail, J. W 

Attaway, John 

Attaway', A. McS. . 

Attaway, A. W 

Attaway, J. P 

Auld, F 

Baker, W. B 

Ballenger, N. G . . . 

Banks, M. L 

Barber, R. W 

Barre, R. W 

Bavs, H. W 

Beard, I. E 

Beaslev, J. S 

Beaty,'L. F 

Beckham, E. H . . . 
Bedenbaugh, L. L. 
Bellinger, L. 8 . . . . 

Berry, A. F 

Best, A.H 

Bethea, S.J 

Betts, W. A 

Bissell, J. C 

Blackman, S. T.... 

Bovd, G. M 

Boyd, D. P 

Brabham, M. M... 

Browne, H. B 

Browne, Sidi H. . . 
Brunson, A.^N . . . . 
Calhoun, D. A. . . 

Campbell, J. A 

Campbell, J. B.... 
Carlisle, John E . . 
Carlisle, John M.. 

Carlisle, M. L 

Carson, William . . 

Cauthen, A. J 

Cauthen, A. J., Jr . 
Chandler, J. C . . . . 
Child, R. A 



Salter's 

Easley 

Spartanburg . . . . 

Abbeville 

Mullins 

Williamston 

Williamston 

Williamston 

Tiller's Ferry . . . 
Williamston . . . . 

Columbia 

Leesville 

St. Matthew's. .. 

Branchville 

Kinard's 

Charleston 

Graniteville 

McColl 

Nashville, Tenn. 

Foreston 

Trade^ville 

Woodford 

Livingston 

Sumter 

Lake City 

Rich burg 

Cherokee 

Whitmire 

Trough Shoals.. . 

Gray Court 

Edgefield 

Rock Hill 

Columbia 

Yorkville 

Laurel 

Waterloo 

Rock Hill 

Union 

Spartanburg . . . . 

Chester 

Foreston 

Spartanburg . . . . 

Little Rock 

Cokesbury 

Darlington 



c 9 
K S 



Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Jan., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 



1889 
1895 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1864 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1858 
1884 
1888 
1847 
1874 
1887 
1892 
1881 
1870 
1873 
1892 
1893 
1885 
1885 
1889 
1883 
1881 
1873 
1887 
1870 
1882 
1882 
1876 
1845 
1891 
1885 
1893 
1859 
1873 
1844 
1886 
1842 
1848 
1891 
1881 
1889 



16 



12 



— c 



11 



E 
E 

S'y 
E 
E 
E 

S'd 

S'y 

E 

S'd 
E 
E 

S'd 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
D 
D 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 

S'd 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 

S'd 
E 
E 
D 
P.E 
E 

S'd 
E 

S'd 

P.E 

E 

E 

E 



REGISTER AND DIRECTORY 



343 



CONFEEENCE REGISTER AND DIRECTORY FOR imQ.— Continued. 



Name. 



Chreitzberg, A. M. 

Clarke, W. A 

Clarkson, G. F 

Clarkson, N. B 

Clifton, J. A 

Clyde, C.Hovey... 

Clyde, T.J 

Copelaiul, J. R 

Counts, J. C 

Creighton, C. W... 

Crout, J. D 

Dagnall, R. R 

Daniel, J. L 

Daniel, J. W 

Daniel, W.W 

Dantzler, D. D . . . . 

Danztler, D. Z 

Darby, O. A....... 

Dargan, Marion . . . 
Davis, George W. . 

Davis, J. C 

Dent, Thomas M.. 
Dickson, J. Walter. 

DuBose,R. M 

Duffie, R. L 

Duncan, W. B 

Duncan, W. M 

Dowell, W. J 

Dunlop, A. T.... .. 

Dui'ant, O. L 

Earle, A.B 

Elkins, J. W 

Elwell, S. P. H.... 
Ferguson, M. M. . . 

Few, R. A 

Fridy, J. M 

Frierson, J. D 

Gatlin, G. W 

Gleaton, W. C 

Grier, B. M 

Grier, J. E 

Hamer, L. M 

Harden, W. M .... 

Harley, J. L 

Harmon, G. T 

Harris, J. Barr. . . . 

Henry, S. W 

Herbert.Thomas G. 



Post Office 
Address. 



Moultrieville . . , 

Laurens 

Nashville, Tenn. 

Clinton 

Abbeville 

Williston 

Anderson 

Loris 

Clyde 

Newberry 

Gaffney 

Gibson 

Walhalla 

Sumter 

Columbia 

St. Matthew's . . . 

Reidville 

Kingstree 

Greenwood 

Rome 

Lake City 

Winnsboro 

Columbia 

Lexington 

Westminster 

Allendale. 

Summerville. . . . 

Wedgefleld 

Piedmont 

Reedy Creek . . . . 
Williamston . . . . 

Bishopvilie 

Bamberg 

Sally 

Swansea 

Cherokee 

Jefferson 

Kollock 

Kelton 

Gibson Sta., N. C. 

Greenville 

Bennettsville. . . . 

Pickens 

Clifton 

Cokesburv 

Rock Hill 

Heath Scaring. . . 
Batesburg 



c 9 



Jan., 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec.; 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 



1839 
1850 
1892 
1880 
1869 
1891 
1859 
1889 
1874 
1886 
1891 
1857 
1892 
1879 
1883 
1874 
1875 
1851 
1884 
1889 
1872 
1888 
1872 
1892 
1866 
1887 
1884 
1893 
1893 
1892 
1887 
1882 
1867 
1874 
1893 
1879 
1882 
1870 
1884 
1883 
1883 
1853 
1880 
1887 
1869 
1893 
1892 
1858 



23 



16 



10 



10 



►^ or:- a: 



11 



S'd 
S'd 
D 
E 
E 
E 

P. E 
D 
E 
E 
E 
E 
D 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 

P.E 

D 

S'd 

E 



11 


E 


2 


E 


2 


E 


3 


E 


8 


E 


13 


E 


2S 


E 


21 


S'v 


2 


D 


16 


E 


13 


E 


25 


E 


11 


E 


12 


E 


12 


E 


42 


S'd 


15 


E 


8 


E 


26 


P.E 


9 


D 


3 


D 


37 


E 



344 APPENDIX. 

CONFERENCE REGISTER AND DIRECTORY FOR 1%%^.— Continued. 



Names. 



Herbert,T. Grigsby. 

Herbert, AV. I 

Hodges, E.T 

Hodges, W. H 

Holroyd, R. L 

Hook, M. \V 

Hucks, David 

Humbert, J. W 

Hutson, E. Palmer. 
Ingraham, P. B. . . . 

Isom, J. N 

Jackson, A. W . . . . 

Johnson, L. A 

Jones, R. H 

Jones, Simpson.. . . 
Jones, W. W ..... . 

Justus, W. B 

Kelly, M. B 

Kilgo, James W. . . 
Kilgo, Pierce F. . . . 

Kirton, P. L 

Kirton, W. H 

Ki.stler, Paul F . . . . 
Lander, Samuel . . . 

Leard, Samuel 

Lesley, A. S 

Lester, A. H 

Ligon, T. C 

Loyal, L. C 

Loyless, E. B 

Macfarlan, Allan . . 
Mahaffey, J. E.... 

Mann, Coke D 

Manning, John.. . . 

Martin, W. S 

Massebeau, "\V. A.. 

Mason, E. W 

McCain, J. K 

McKissick, E. M.. 
McLeod, D. M . . . . 

McRoy, R. C 

Meadors, W. P 

Melton, N. K 

Miller, W. H 

Moore, E. K 

Mood, H. M 

Mood, J. A 

Mood, W. W 



Post Office 
Address. 



Sumter 

Florence 

Florence 

Manning 

Scotia 

Horeb 

Hendersonville 

Fort Mill 

Holly Hill.... 
ilt. Carmel. . . . 
Chesterfield . . . 

Rome 

Yorkville 

Walterboro . . . 
Darlington ... 

Butler 

Phi enix 

Denmark 

Greenville 

Lydia 

Columbia 

Hartsville 

Denmark . 

Williamston . . 
Raleigh, N. C . 
Gross Keys. ... 
Spartanl)urg . . 

Rock Hill 

Luray 

Spartanburg . . 

Santuc 

Lovvrysville . . 
Timmonsville. 

Columbia 

Marion 

Ridgeville .... 

Lowndesville . 
Fork ......... 

Summerville. . 

Aiken 

Donald's. . . . , , 
Charleston . . . 
Sampit ...... 

Enoree 

^lacbeth 

Sumter 

Spartanburg.. . 
Sumter 



Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Jan., 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Xov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Jan., 
Nov., 
Feb., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 



Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Jan., 
Dec, 



1893 
1885 
1870 
1889 
1887 
1886 
1890 
1859 
1892 
1892 
1892 
1874 
1847 
1876 
1838 
1849 
1892' 
1889 
1887 
1888 
1886 
1873 
1846 
1864 
1835 
1892 
1851 
1885 
1868 
1885 
1894 
1887 
1872 
1889 
1875 
1893 
1891) 
1871 
1891 
1892 
1892 
1876 
1860 
1892 
1892 
1842 
1847 
1850 



16 



10 



13 



CO ^ 



10 



D 
E 
P.E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
D 
D 

S'd 
E 
E 

S'd 
E 
D 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 

S'd 
E 

S'd 
D 

S'd 
E 

S'd 
E 
E 
E 
E 
D 
E 
D 
E 
E 
E 
D 
D 
P.E 
E 
D 
D 

S'd 

S'd 

S'd 



BEGISTER AXD DI NEC TOBY. 345 

CONFERENCE REGISTER AND DIRECTORY FUR 1896— Coniinved. 



Name.-. 



Mood, R. E 

Morris T.E 

Mouzon, H. C 

Munnerlyn, T. W. 

Murray, P. A 

Neeley, J. W 

Neville, J. J 

Newberry, I. J 

Noland, J. H 

Odell, T. C 

Owen, John 

Pate, J. Thomas. . . 
Patterson, W. C . . . 

Phillips, A. R 

Phillips, D. Arthur. 

Phillips, T.P 

Pooser, George H.. 

Pooser, M. H 

Porter, James S. . . 
Porter, John A. . . . 

Power, W. C 

Price, E. G 

Pritchard, C. H . . . 

Ray, J. L 

Raysor, Thomas. . . 

Rice, John A 

Richardson, W. R. 
Rogers, J. I\Ia,rion. 

Rogers W. A 

Rountree, O. N. . . . 

Rush ton, J. E 

Shafl'er, G. R 

Shell, John W . . . . 

Sifly,J. L 

Smith, Charles B.. 
Smith, James F. . . 
Stack house, R. E. . 

Staftbrd, A. J 

Steadman, J. M . . . 
Stevenson, J. J ... . 

Spigner, R. \V 

Stokes, A. J 

Stokes, G. Edwin.. 

Stokes, J. L 

Stokes, Peter 

Stokes, W. S 

Stoll, J. C 

Taylor, E. P 



Post Office 
Address. 



Indiantown 

Charleston 

Ridgeland 

Smithville 

Beaufort 

Columbia 

Anderson 

Galihey 

Gourdin 

Georgetown . . . . 

Orangeburg 

Camden . . . . 

Cureton's Store.. 

Lewiedale 

Landrum's 

Greer's 

Branc'ivil'.e 

Westminster. . . . 

Lynchbuig 

Marion 

Sumter 

Prosperity 

Abbeville 

Pacolet . . . 

Lyons 

Columbia 

Charleston 

iMuUins 

Spartanburg 

Parksville 

Oswego 

Princeton 

Fountain Inn. . . 

Irmo 

Sjiartanburg 

Spartanburg 

Johnston 

Cheraw 

Charleston 

Blackstock .... 

Jonesville 

Laurens 

Springfield 

Bennettsville . . . 

Rembert 

Conway 

Ninety-six 

McCormick 



5 i 

- 3 
-^ 5 



Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dt^c, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Feb., 

Nov., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Feb., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Feb., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

N<,v., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Jan., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Nov., 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Dec, 

Nov., 

Dec, 

Nov., 



1893 

1879 
1888 
1859 
1878 
1880 
1874 
1873 
1890 
1885 
1885 
1877 
1836 
1892 
1890 
1874 
1872 
1873 
1877 
1841 
1857 
1876 
1841 
1888 
1850 
1886 
1878 
1889 
1872 
1874 
1881 
1888 
1889 
1860 
1882 
1842 
1S88 
1863 
1885 
1892 
1892 
1859 
1893 
1874 
1893 
1889 
1858 
1888 



10 



11 






12 



12 



11 



39 



D 
E 
E 

S'd 
E 

s'y 

S'd 

S'd 

E 

E 

P. E 

E 

S'd 
D 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 

S'd 

P. E 

E 

S'd 
E 
E 
E 
E 
D 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 

S'd 
E 
E 
E 
D 
D 
E 
D 
E 
D 
E 
E 
E 



34G 



APPENDIX. 



CONFERENCE REGISTER AND DIRECTORY FOR ISQQ.— Continued. 



Names. 



Thacker, J. H 

Tiller, Dove 

Tray wick, J. B.... 

Vaughn, S. D 

Waddell, G. H.... 

Wait, W. L 

Walker, Arthur C. 

AValker, A. W 

Walker, George W. 
Wannamaker, T. E. 
Watson, Artemas B. 

AVatson, E. O 

AVatson, G. Pierce. 

AVeber, S. A 

AA^harton, AV. B . . . 
AA'hittaker, G. R... 

AVhite, J. A 

AVhite, T. J 

AViggins, C. E 

AA'iggins, AA''. E . . 
AVilkes, E. Alston. 
AVilliams, AA\ \\... 
AVillson, John . . 

AVilson, J. B 

AVinn, W. C 

AVood, John A . . . . 
AA^orkman, J. J. . . 

Wright, AV. A 

AA^roton, AA^ H.... 

Yongne, J. C 

Yongue, R. A 

Zimmerman, S. H . 



Post Office 
Address. 



Hickory Grove . . 

Newberry 

Clio 

Denny'sX Roads 

Columbia 

Barnwell 

St. George's 

Pickens 

Augusta, Ga . . . . 

< Jrangeljurg 

Summerton 

Orangel^urg 

Anderson 

Lancaster 

Greenwood. . . . 

Centenary 

Savage 

Columbia ,. . 

Ehrhardt 

Orangeburg. . . . 

Lamar 

Latta 

Greenville 

Marion 

Ridgeway 

Fairview 

Lancaster 

New Zion 

Hampton 

Bowman 

Rocky Mount .. . 
Pendleton 



as 

go 

0)0 



Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Dec, 
Dec, 
Nov., 
Nov., 



1891 
1871 
1865 

1874 
1884 
1887 
1875 
1857 
1873 
1868 
1889 
1885 
1883 
1862 
1892 
1883 
1892 
1892 
1854 
1892 
1888 
1874 
1873 
1871 
1891 
1860 
1860 
1888 
1879 
1884 
1887 
1890 



4 
21 

30 
16 

7 

7 

18 
15 

2 

11 

4 

5 

5 

5 

3 
12 

3 

3 
12 

3 

7 
20 

ig 

4 

11 

28 

7 
16 

7 

8 
1 4 . 



If 



11 



10 



26 



16 



4 


E 


24 


E 


30 


E 


21 


E 


11 


E 


8 


E 


20 


E 


38 


S'd 


09 


E 


27 


s'y 


6 


E 


10 


E 


12 


E 


33 


E 


3 


D 


12 


E 


3 


D 


3 


D 


41 


E 


3 


D 


1 


E 


21 


E 


22 


E 


24 


P.E 


4 


E 


35 


S'd 


35 


S'd 


7 


E 



PREACHERS ON TRIAL. 

First Fmr.— Sidi B. Harper, L. Inabinet, D. AV. Keller, AV. C. Kirkland,. 
John C. Roper, F. H. Shuler, Foster Speer, AV. H. Thrower. 

Second Year. — J. G. Beck with, R. C. Boulware, C. B. Burns, H. J. Cauthen, 
C. C. Herbert, G. C. Leonard, B. M. Robertson, J. R. Sojourner, Henry Stokes,. 
W. B. Verdin, J. F. AVay. 

SUPPLIES. 

J. C. Abney, S. D. Bailey, T. L. Belvin, AV. R. Buchanan, W. A. Faerey, J. 
T. McFarlane, J. R. F. Monts, J. L. Mullinix, J. M. Shell, I. E. Smith, J. C. 
AVelch, J. N. AVright. 



REGISTER AND DIRECTORY. 347 

LAY MEIMBERS. 

Charleston District.— WlWium Stokes, B. Greig, M. H. Carter, J. S. Wimberly. 

Col-esburi/ District. — Thomas W. Keitt, J. B. Humbert, J. G. Jenkins, R. W. 
Major. 

Columbia District. — R. H. Jennings, J. C. Abney, L. B. Haynes, A. M. 
Boozer. 

Florence District.— G. H. Hoffmeyer, G. A. Perritt, J. G. McCall, J. A. Kelly. 

Greenville DistriH. — G. E. Prince, J. G. Clinkscales, B. F. Few, R. Aber- 
crombie. 

Marion District. — L. H. Little, C. N. Rogers, J. Smith, W. J. Adams. 

Orangehurg District. — H. I. Judy, A. C. Dibble, J. B. Guess, J. E. Smook. 

Rock Hill District.— I. M. Yoder, F. M. Hicklin, J. M. Riddle, W. S. Hall, Jr. 



348 



APPENDIX. 



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SESSIONS OF THE CONFERENCE. 



351 



VII. 

SESSIONS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE. 



Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Finch's, in fork of 
Salndaand Broad 
rivers 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Camden, S. C 

Camden, S. C 

Camden, S. C 

Angusta, Ga 

Charleston, S. C 

Camden, S. C 

Sparta, Ga 

Charleston, S. C 

Liberty Cliapel, Ga.. 

Charleston, S. C 

Columbia, S. C 

Camden, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Fayetteville, N. C ... 

Milledseville, Ga 

Charleston, S. C 

Columbia, S. C 

*Auousta, Ga 

Camden, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Columbia, S.C 

Augusta, Ga 

Savannah, Ga 

Charleston, S. C 

^Wilmington, N. C. 

Milledgeville, Ga 

Augusta, Ga 



Mch. 
Mch. 
Mch. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Dec. 



22, irs7 
12, 1788 
17, 1789 
15, 1790 
22, 1791 
U, 1792 
24, 1792 



Coke and Asbnrj' Xot known 



Francis Asbury. 
Coke and Asbury., 

Francis Asbury 

Coke and Asbury , 

Francis Asbury 

Francis Asbury 



Camden, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

^Columbia, S. C 

Fayetteville, N. C«k 

Darlington, S. C 

Lincolnton, N. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Columbia, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Wilmington, N. C ... 

Columbia, S. C 

Cheraw, S. C 

Charleston, S. C 

Camden, S. C 

Charlotte, N. C 

Cokesbury, S. C 

Georgetown, S. C....^ 

Columbia, S. C 

Fayetteville, N. C ... 



Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jiin. 
Jan. 
Ian. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Jan. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Jan. 
Dec. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Jan. 

Feb. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Dec. 
Dec. 



1794 

1793 

1796 

179 

1798 

1799 

1800 

1801 

1802 

1803 

1804 

1805 

1805 

1806 

180' 

1808 

1809 

1810 

1811 

1812 

1814 

1814 

1815 

1816 

1818 

1818 

1820 

1821 

1822 

1823 

1824 

182." 

1826 

1827 

1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1833 
1836 
1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1844 
1S43 



Francis Asbury 

Fi'ancis Asbury , 

Francis Asbury 

Coke and Asbury , 

Jonathan Jackson 

Francis Asbury 

Francis Asbury 

Asbury and Whatcoat 

Francis Asbury 

Francis Asbury 

Coke and Asbur}' 

Asburj' and Whalcoat.... 
Asbury and Whatcoat 

Francis Asbury 

Francis Asbury 

Asbury and McKendree.. 
Asbury and McKendree 
Asbury and Mi'Kendiee 
Asbury and JlcKi'udree 
Asbury and ]\l<-Kendreo 
Asbury and McKendree 
Asbury and McKendree 

William JMcKendree 

JIcKendice and George.. 
William McKendree..". .. 

R. R. Roberts 

Enoch George 

Enoch George 

McKendree and George. 

R. R. Roberts , 

Enoch Geoi'ge 

R. R. Roberts , 

Joshua Soule 

McKendree, Roburts, and 

Soule 

Joshua Soule 

Willi.'im McKendree.. 

Joshua Soule 

W. M. Kennedy , 

Elijah Hedding 

J. O. Andrew.. 

Emory and Andiew..., 

J. O. Andrew 

1. O. Andrew 

Malcolm McPherson..., 

Thomas A. Morris , 

J O. Andi-ew 

Thomas A. Morris , 

J. O. Andrew , 

B. AVaugb 

J. O. Andrew 

Joshua Soule 

Joshua Soule 

J. O. Andrew 



Not known. 
Not known. 
Not known. 
Not known. 
Xot known., 
Not known., 



Not known 

Not known 

Not known 

Not known 

Not known 

Jesse liCe 

Jesse Lee 

Jeremiah Norman 

N. Snetlien 

N. Suethen 

N. Snethen 

John McV^ean 

James Hill 

Lewis Myei's 

Lewis Myers ■, 

W. M. Kennedy... 
W. M. Kennedy... 
W. M. Kennedy... 
W. M. Kennedy... 
W. M. Kennedy... 
W. M. Kennedy... 

.\. Tallev 

A.Tallev 

A. Tallev 

S. K. Hodges 

S. K. Hodges 

W. M. Kennedy.... 
W. M. Kennedy 
W. M. Kenned v.... 
W. M. Kennedy.... 
W. M. Kennedy.... 
W. M. Kennedy.... 
W. M. Kennedy.... 



S. K. Hodges 

S. K Hodges 

W. M. Kennedy.... 

John Howard 

■5. W. Capers 

W. U. Wightman. 
W. M. Wightman. 
W. M. Wightman. 
W. M. Wightman. 
W. M. Wightman. 
W. M. Wightman. 
William Capers.... 
W. M. Wicrbtman. 
W. M. Wightman. 

J. H. Wheeler 

J. H. Wheeler 

J. H. Wheeler 

.1. H. Wheeler.. 
J. H. Wheel 
P. A.M 



neeier....«rT 

heeler....*^ 
Williams.' 



2,0 

2,246 

3,08 

2,962 

3,830 

3,653 

3,371 



5,192 

4,428 

3,862 

- 3,715 

4,45' 

4,808 

4,802 

4,745 

5,663 

9,256 

11,064 

12,258 

12,665 

12,484 

■14.417 

16,344 

17,788 

19,404 

20,863 

23,966 

23,711 

23,240 

25,065 

22,383 

20,965 

21,059 

21,221 

22,105 

21,290 

23,121 

24,909 

27,756 

28,405 

29,419 
35,173 
38,708 
40,335 
20,513 
21,731 
24,773 
25,186 
23,789 
24,110 
23,615 
24,016 
24,756 
26,974 
26,945 
57,475 
30,540 
31,568 
32,306 
33,387 



141 
224 
290 
496 
699 
742 
826 



1,220 

1,116 

971 

1,038 

1,381 

1,385 

1,535 

1,562 

1,780 

2,815 

3,456 

3,831 

4,387 

4,432 

5,111 

6,284 

8,202 

9,129 

11,063 

13,771 

14,348 

14,527 

16,429 

16,789 

11,714 

11,587 

11,748 

•12,485 

12,906 

13,895 

14,766 

15,293 

15,708 

16,552 
18,475 
21,300 
24,554 
19,144 
20,197 
22,336 
22.788 
22,737 
23,648 
23,166 
23,498 
24,822 
27,630 
30,481 
30,860 
33.375 
37,952 
39,495 
41.074 



' Removed from LonlsviUe, Ga. t Removed from Fayetteville, N. C. J Georgia Conference set off. 



352 APPENDIX. 

SESSIONS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONFEREXCE.~Co?i<mmrf. 



Charles I on, S. C 

^^'illning•tou, N. C... 

Spartanburg, S. C .. 

Canulen, S. C 

Wadesboro, N. C 

, Georgetown, S. C... 

Sumter S. (J 

Newberry, S. C 

Columbia, S. C 

Marion, S. C 

Yorkville, S. C 

Charlotte, N. C 

Chai-leston, S. C 

Greenville, S. C 

Columbia, S. C 

Chester, S. C 

Spartanburg, S. C ... 

Sumter, S. C 

Newberry, S. C 

Charlotte, N. C 

Marion, S. C 

Mornanton, N. C 

S:; Abbeville. S.C 

.S4pClieraw. S. C 

s." Cliai-l(-ton, S. C 

N;; spartanljura", S. C... 

;-;7[Aii(lcr.Min,S.C 

,SN|Sumter. S C 

8(1 (irecnville, S. C. 



9(1 
9J 
92 
93 
94 
9, 
98 
9 

98 
99 
100 
101 
102 
103 
104 
105 
106 
107 
108 
109 
110 
111 



Orangeburg. S. C 

Chester, S. C 

Columbia, S. C 

Newberry, S. C 

Cliarleston, S. C 

JIarion, S. C 

Union, S. C 

Greenville, S. C 

Sumter, S. C .. 

Charleston. S. C 

Columbia, S. C 

Orangeburg, S. C 

Spartanburg, s. c ... 

Winnsboro, S. C 

Camden, S. C 

Anderson. S. C 

Darlington, S. C 

Charleston, S. C , 

Sumter. S. C 

Laurens. S. C 

Ropk Hill, S. C 

A bl)eYil]e, S. C 

* .\ large aectio 



Jan. 

Jan. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Jan. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Uec. 

Uec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

De;.'. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dee. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov 

Dec. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Dec. 



1847 

1848 

1848 

1849 

1850 

1851 

1853 

1853 

1854 

1855 

185Q 

1857 

1858 

18.59 

1860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

18o6 

186: 

1868 

J 869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1837 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 



\^"illiam Capers 

J. O. Andrew 

William Capers 

J. O. Andrew 

R. Paine 

J. O. Andrew 

William Capers 

R. Paine 

G. F. Pierce 

John Early 

J. O. Andrew 

R. Paine 

J. O. Andrew 

John Early 

R. Paine 

J. O. Andrew 

John Early 

G. r. Pierce 

G. F. Pierce 

G. F. Pierce 

\Villiam M. Wightman... 

D. S. Doggett 

William M. Wightman... 

H. H. Kavanaugh 

G. F. Pierce 

R. Paine 

R. Paine 

H. N. McTyeire 

E. M. Marvin 

J. C. K.eener 

H. H. Kavanauglr 

D. 3. Doggett 

W. M. Wightman 

W, M. Wightman 

A. M. Shipp 

G. F. Pierce 

H. N. McTveire 

A. W. Wilson 

H. N. McTyeire 

J. C. Keener 

J. C. Granberv 

H. N. McTyeire 

John C. Keener 

John C. Keener 

W. W. Duncan 

J. C. Granberv 

E. R. Hendrix 

E. R. Hendrix 

J. C. Keener 

C. B. Galloway 

J. C. Granberv 



M. Williams 
M. Williams 
M. William 
M. WilHams 
M. William 
M. Wdiiam 
M. Williams 
M. Williams 
M. Williams 
M. Williams 
M. Williams 
M. Williams 

Mood 

Mood 

Mood 

Mood 

Mood 

Mood 

Mood 

Mood f 

Mood 

Mood 

Kennedy 

Kennedy 

Kennedy 

Kennedy 

Power 

, Power 

Power 

, Power 

Power 

, Power 

Power 

Power 

Power 

Power 

Power 

Power 

Power 

, Power 

Power 

Chreitzberg. 

Chreitzberg. 

Chreitzberg, 

Chreitzberg. 

Chreitzberg. 

Chreitzberg. 

Watson 

Watson 

Watson 

Watson 



32.699 

33.0: 

33.0S9 

34,4 

31,143 

32,629 

33,054 

.33,213 

34,621 

34,938 

3.5.277 

35.733 

37,095 

38,294 

39.935 

38,018 

37,686 

39.304 

40,920 

40,593 

40,249 

38,647 

40,577 

42,926 

32,371 

34,872 

36,163 

36,550 

39.083 

40.829 

41.886 

43.341 

44.435 

44,904 

46,618 

47,989 

49.280 

50.831 

52,624 

54.661 

62.142 

63.317 

6.5,618 

67.306 

67,299 

69,514 

70,062 

71.791 

71,535 

72,651 

72,66.- 



40,975 

40,988 

41,888 

41.617 

37.S40 

37.481 

40,350 

42,280 

45,261 

43,688 

43,356 

4.5.190 

46.740 

48.583 

49.774 

48.759 

45.767 

42,400 

47.461 

29.283 

16,390 

8,270 

2.417 

1,536 

1.334 

660 

648 

424 

435 

384 

360 

224 



. S*ate of North Carolina transferred to the North Carolina Conference. 



NECRULOGICAL RECORD. 



353 



VIII. 

NECROLOGICAL RECORD: THE DEAD OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA 
CONFERENCE, 1788 TO 189G. 



Woohiian Hick,soii 

John Major 

Henry Bingham 

James (Jonnor 

Wyatt Andrews 

John Tunnell 

Lemuel Andi-ews 

Benjamin Carter 

Hardy Herbert 

Richard Ivy 

Reuben EUis 

James King- 

Jolin N. Jones 

James Tolleson 

Moses Wilson 

Benjamin Jones 

Tobias Gibson 

Nicholas Walters 

George Doiiglierty 

Bennett Keiidrick 

Thomas Dickinson 

Samuel Mills 

Jacob Rumph 

Lewis Hobbes 

Richinond Nolley 

William Partridge .... 

Anthony Senter 

Henry Fitzgerald 

Charles Dickinson 

John Dix 

Benjamin Crane 

Daniel Asbnry 

Isaac Oslin 

James Norton 

Benjamin Rhodes 

Isaac Hartley 

John L. Greaves 

John Gamewell 

Asbury Morgan 

John Coleman 

George Hill 

John Honour 

Tliomas L. Wynn 

Trist. Stackhouse 

Absalom Brown 

James J. Richardson 

Thomas Neill 

Isaac Smith , 

Josiah Freeman 

Parlej' W. Clenny 

George W. Huggins. 

Samtiel Boseman 

Angus McPherson.... 

Thomas C. Smith 

Benjamin Bell 

John Bunch 

Thomas D. Turpin.... 
William M. Kennedy 

Christian G. Hill ". 

Jehu G. Postell 

Bartlett Thomason... 

John N. Davies 

Jacob Nipper 

Abel Hoyle 

Newton Gouldelock ... 

23 



Place of Birth. 



Virginia 

Buckingham Co., Va- 



in the West 

North Carolina. 



North Carolina. 
Gloucester, Va.. 

Virginia 

South Carolina. 



Geoigetown Co 

Marion Co 

Inne Arundel Co.,Va. 

dewberry 

Virginia 

North Carolina 

Northampton, N. C 

Orangeburg Co 

Burke Co., Ga 

Virginia 

Sussex Co., Va 

Lincolnton, N. C 

North Carolina 

Moore Co., N. C 

Robinson Co., N. C 



Fairfax Co., Va.. 



Greenville 

South Carolina. 
South Carolina. 



Mecklenburg Co., N.C. 



Charleston 

Charleston 

Abbeville Co 

South Carolina 

Fairfield Co 

Marion Co 

Burke Co., N.C 

Virginia 

Oglethorpe Co., Va 

Union Co., N. C 

Marion Co 

North Carolina 

Cumberland Co., N. C, 
Richmond Co., N. C ... 
Montgomery Co., N.C, 

Charleston 

Maryland 

North Carolina 

Chaileston 

York Co 

Laurens Co 

iNtccklenburg Co., N.C, 

Richland Co , 

Lincoln Co., N. C , 

Union Co 



17S2 

1783 

1785 

1787 

1789 

1777 

1787 

1787 

1788 

1781 

1777 

1791 

1790 

1791 

1795 

1801 

1792 

1776 

1798 

1799 

1811 

1802 

1808 

1808 

1808 

1780 

1809 

1818 

1811 

1818 

1823 

1786 

1821 

1806 

1818 

1825 

1818 

1800 

1818 

18; 

1819 

1821 

1817 

1830 

1828 

1829 

1820 

1781 

1822 

1832 

1833 

1833 

1826 

1828 

1826 

1812 

1829 

1805 

1818 

1836 

1833 

1834 

1839 



June 8, 
Sept. 11, 



1837 
1812 



Nov. 



F^eb., 
Sept. 18, 
Julv 16, 

Aug., 



April 5, 
Vug. 10, 
March 23, 
April 5, 



Nov. 21. 

May 17, 

Dec. 23, 

Sept. 19, 

Sept. 1, 

June 14. 



Aug. 26, 



Oct. 
Sept. 



Sept. 19. 
Oct. 9, 



July 9, 

July 21. 

Julv 20. 

Nov. 27. 

Oct. 5. 
Oct., 



Nov. 4, 

Nov. 27, 

Jan. 27. 

Sept. 7, 

July 26, 

Feb. 22, 

Aug. 11. 
April, 



June, 

Sept!' "k 



1788 
1788 
17X8 
1789 
1790 
1790 
1790 
1792 
1794 
1790 
1796 
1797 
1798 
1800 
1803 
1804 
1804 
1804 
1807 
1807 
1811 
1811 
1812 
1S14 
1815 
1817 
1817 
1819 
1820 
1823 
1824 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1826 
1826 
1826 
1828 
1828 
1828 
1829 
1830 
1830 
1831 
1833 
1833 
183: 
1834 
1834 
1835 
1835 
1835 
1836 
183' 
18S8 
1838 
1,'<3S 
1,^40 
1,S4() 
1841 
1841 
1844 
1844 
1844 
1845 



New York, N. Y. 
Lincoln Co., Ga. 
Cattle Creek Camp G. 
Augusta, Ga. 
Cherokee. 

Sweet Springs, Tenn. 
Santee. 

Washington, Ga. 
Norfolk. Va. 
Sussex Co., Va. 
Baltimore, Mil. 
Bethel, Charleston. 
Bethel, Charleston. 
Portsmouth, Va. 
Kershaw Co. 
Bladen Co., N. C. 
Natchez, Miss. 
I'.cthel, Cliarleston. 
Wihuington, N. C. 
Mailiioro Co. 
Cypress Ct. 
Camden. 

Bethel, Charleston. 
Georgia. 

CataVioula Parish, La. 
Sparta, Ga. 
Georgetown. 
Bethel, Charleston. 
Washington Co., Ga. 
North Carolina. 

Catawba Co., N. C. 

Columbia. 

Geoigetown. 

Georgetown. 

Near Conwayboio. 
Bethel, Charleston. 

Milledgeville. Ga. 
Trinity, Charleston. 
Camden. 
Cypress Ct. 
.Montgomery Co.,N. C. 
Lincolnton, N. C. 
Newberry. 
Ge(u-gia. 
Columbia. 

Rembert's, Sumter Ct. 
Florry Co. 

Richmond Co., N. C. 
Ebenezer, Newberry. 
Montgomery, N. C. 
Anson Co., S". C. 
Rehoboth,BerkeleyCt. 
Cowndesville. 
( (iliimbia. 
Ik'i 111], Charleston. 
Ch;irleston. 
Orangeburg Co. 
Columbia. 
Darlington, C. H. 
Union Co., N. C. 
Union Co. 



354 



APPENDIX. 
NECROLOGICAL RECORD.— ConZmwd 



John McMakiii 

John S. Capers 

James Jenkins 

John Tari'cant 

Joseph Moore 

Reddick Bnnch 

Daniel G. McDaniel... 

Samuel Dunwody 

Campbell Smith 

William Capers 

James Dannelly 

Jacob Hill 

Samuel W. Capers 

John W.J. Harris 

William M.Easterliug 
JEdward D. Boyilen. . 

Charles S. Wafker 

John A. jMinnick 

Frederick Rush 

William E. Boone 

James L. Belin 

J.T. DuBose 

William J. Jackson.... 

HughE. Ogburn 

Henry Bass 

Reddick Pierce 

Charles F. Campbell... 

A. H. Harmon 

G. G. W. DuPree 

Henry H. Dnrant 

Addison P. Martin 

J. L. McGregoi' 

P. A. M. Williams 

Lindaey C. Weaver 

A. B. McGilvra.v 

George W. Moore 

James F. Wilson 

William C. Kirkland.. 

William M. Wilson 

Algernon S. Link 

Samuel Townsend 

Daniel N. Ogburn 

William A.'McSwain.. 

Hilliard C. Parsons 

Cornelius McLeod 

John D. W. Crook 

J. Wesley Miller 

W. A. Hemingway 

Tracy R. Walsh 

Will fain Crook 

.John P. Morris 

Bond English 

Hartwell Spain 

James .Stacy 

Alexius M.'Forster 

Robert J. Boyd 

W. A. Gamewell 

M. G. Tuttle 

Evan A. Lemmond 

John R. Pickett 

Edward G. Gage 

Alexander W. Walker 

Charles Betts 

A. L, Smith 

C Thomason 

N.Talley 

Charles Wilson 

J. Lee Dixon 

C. H. Pritchard, Jr 



Place of Birth. 



North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Marion Co , 

Virginia 

Virginia 

South Carolina 

Georgetown, D. C ... 

Chester Co., Pa , 

Marlboro Co 

St. Thomas Parish., 
Columbia Co., Ga.... 

.Vuson Co., N. C 

Georgetown 

Union Co 

Colleton Co , 

Charleston 

Charleston 

Edgefield 

Orangeburg Co , 

Hamlin, N. C 

All Saints' Parish ... 

Darlington Co 

Jackson Co., Ga 

South Carolina 

Berlin, Conn 

Halifax Co., N. C 

Marion Co 

Cleveland, N. C 

Greenville 

Horry Co 

Laurens Co 

Anson Co., N. C 

Colleton Co 

Spartanburg Co 

Isle Skyo, Scotland.. 

Charleston 

Marlboro Co 

Barnw^ell Co 



Catawba Co., N. C. 

Marlboro Co 

Chesterfield 

Stanley Co., N. C... 

Sumter Co 

Montgomery, N. C 

Orangeburg Co 

Charfeston 

Black Mingo 

South Carolina 

Chester Co 

Devon, England 

Kershaw Co 

Wake Co., N. C 

Catawba Co.. N. C. 

Brunswick, N. C 

Chester Co 

Darlington Co 

Caldwell Co., N. C... 

Union Co., N. C 

Fairfield Co 

nion Co 

Charleston 

North Carolina 

Marlboro Co 

Greenville Co 

Richmond, Va 

Barnwell Co 

Kershaw Co 

Fayetteville, N. C... 



183' 

1846 

1792 

1809 

1791 

1850 

1811 

1806 

1834 

1808 

1818 

1811 

1828 

1848 

1851 

1854 

1834 

183 

1829 

1850 

1811 

1853 

1827 

1838 

1811 

1805 

1859 

1848 

1859 

1834 

184' 

185' 

183' 

1859 

1832 

1825 

1860 

1837 

1860 

1859 

1836 

1853 

1839 

184; 

1837 

1851 

1850 

1854 

1830 

1825 

1866 

1821 

1816 

1830 

1837 

1834 

1834 

1S67 

1856 

1835 

1856 

1834 

1818 

1847 

1863 

1811 

1831 

1872 

1873 i 



Time of Death. 



Feb. 
Aug. 
Oct. 
May 
July 
Aug. 
Jan. 
May 
July 



Aug. 
Aug. 
Dec. 
Aug. 



1846 

1846 

June 24, 1847 
.Vpril 1, 1849 
Feb. 14, 1851 
Feb. 14, 1851 

1853 

July 8, 1854 
Dec. 27, 1854 
Jan. 29, 1855 
April 28, 1855 
June 16, 1855 
June 22, 1855 
Sept. 10, 1855 
Sept. 29, 1855 

18.56 

Jan. 18, 1857 

26, 1858 

8, 1858 
29, 1858 
19, 1859 
25, 1859 
11, 1859 

19, 1860 
13, 1860 

24, 1860 
1860 

20, 1861 

27, 1861 
3, 1861 

13, 1862 

1862 

1863 

28, 1863 

9, 1863 
16, 1863 

18, 1864 
March29, 1864 
Sept. 11, 1864 
Nov. 14, 1864 
July 31, 1865 

1865 

Jan. 1, 1866 

Jan. 20, 1866 

9, 1866 

1, 1866 

20, 1866 

19, 1867 

20, 1867 

25, 1867 
24, 1868 

March 4, 1868 

March 9, 1868 

May 1, 1868 

28, 1868 

3, 1869 

30, 1869 

1869 

Feb. 17, 1870 
March 15, 1870 
March27, 1870 
1870 
Sept. 30, 1872 
Aug. 25, 1872 
Nov. 23, 1872 
May 10, 1873 
April 14, 1873 
Dec. 19, 1873 
Jan. 20, 1874 



Jan., 
Feb. 
Jnne 
Aug. 
J an. 



:\pril 

May 

Jan. 

May 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Jan. 



Oct. 

Sept. 
Oct. 



Place ot Burial. 



35 North Carolin.i. 
... Union, Black Sw'ij Ct. 

83 Camden. 

64 Anson Co., N. C. 

84 Edgefield. 
... Hardecville. 

62 Camden. 

73 Tab'cle. Abbeville Ct. 
46 Rutherford Co., N. C. 

65 Columbia. 
69 Lowndesville. 
65 Catawba Ct., N. C. 

58 Camden. 

31 Columbia. 
39 Monroe, N. C. 

29 Charleston. 
41 S|3artanburg. 

46 Waccamaw Neck. 
56 Hebron, Lexington Co. 
28 Aiken. 

71 Waccamaw Neck. 
37 Darlington Co. 

54 Marlboro Co. 

43 Williamsburg Co. 
73 Tabernacle, Abbeville. 
77 Rocky Swamp. 

25 Marion Co. 

39 Mt.Carmel, Lancaster. 
23 Anson Co., N. C. 

47 Spartanburg. 

37 Lauiens Co. 

40 North Carolina. 
47 Colleton Co. 

26 Glendale. 
64 Gi'eenville Co. 

63 Bethel, Charleston. 

26 Marlboro Co. 
50 Spartanburg. 
25 Charleston. 

27 Catawba Co., N. C. 

50 Columbia. 

32 Orangeburg. 

51 Laurens Co. 

41 Wadesboro, N. C. 
53 Richland Co. 
45 Orangeburg Co. 

36 Darlington C. H. 

30 Manning C. H. 

59 Bennettsville. 

62 York Co. 
21 Darlington C. 
71 Sumter C. H. j 
73 Snmmerton. 

60 Sumter C. H. 
80 Cokesbury. 

63 Marion C H. 

55 Spartanburg. 
23 McDowell, N. C. 

55 Anson Co., N. C. 

56 Winnsboro. 

38 Columbia. 
55 Spartanburg. ■ 

Marion C. H. 
49 Spartanburg. 

31 Unionville. 
Columbia. 

71 Orangeburg. 

44 Columbia. 
23lGreenville. 



H. 



NECROLOGICAL RECORD. 
NECROLOGIOAL UECORT).— Continued. 



355 



H. Bass Green 

Malcolm V. Wood.... 
J. Claudius Miller.... 
A. McCorquudale.... 

Edward L. King 

William II. Fleming. 

T. S. Daniel 

E. R. Pegues 

E. J. Pennington 

A. R. Danner 

r. M. Kennedy 

J. W. Townseiid 

John R. Coburn 

Duncan J. McMillan 

Benjamin Boozer 

Wm. M. Wightman.... 

David Derrick 

John Finger 

L. Scarborough 

Samuel J. Hill 

John B. Massebeau 

Thomas B. Boyd , 

Robert L. Harper 

William P. Monzon...., 

John W. Kelly 

Allison B. Lee 

John Watts 

Hugh A. C. Walker.... 

Abner Irvine 

George H. Wells 

Charles C. Fishburn... 

James W. Koger 

Dennis J. Simmons 

Marcus A. McKibben. 

O. D. Rowell 

Albert M. Shipis 

David D. Byars 

James T. Kilgo 

Abram P. Avant 

Lewis M. Little 

William Martin 

Abraham Nettles 

J. Emory Watson 

John H. Ziuinierman.. 
Elias J. Meynardie 

William Thomas 

Robert C. Oliver 

Allen A. Gilbert 

John W Murray 

Basil G. Jones 

Manning Brown 

William Hutto 

J. L. Shnford 

Landv W^ood 

J. B. l>latt 

Whitefoord Smith.. 

J. W. McRoy 

W. H. Lawton 

M. A. Connolly 

J. M. Boyd 

W. L. Pegues 

Samuel B. Jones 

W. T. Capers 

R. N.Wells 

R. P. Franks 

D. W. Scale 

C. H. Pritchavd 

Samuel Leard 

J. A. Mood 

W. D. Kirkland...... 

Thomas Raysor 



Place of Birtb. 



Colleton 

Greenville 

Charleston 

Argylshire, Scotland 

Fairfield Co 

Charleston 

Edgefield 

Marlboro Co 

Charleston 

Walterboro 



Marlboro Co 

Charleston Co 

Marion Co 

Newberry Co , 

Charleston 

Lexington Co , 

Lincoln Co., N. C 

Montgomery Co., N. C 



Camden 

Charlotte, N. C 

Exeter, England 

Charleston 

Union Co 

Chester Co 

Chesterfield ('o 

Antrim Co., Ireland .. 

Lenoir Co., N. C 

Green Co., Tenn 

Barnwell Co 

Colleton Co 

Charleston Co 

Mecklenburg Co., N.C 

Marion Co 

Stokes Co., N. C 

Spartanburg Co 

Chester Co , 

jMarion Co 

Lincoln Co., N. C 

Mecklenburg Co., N.C 

Summerville 

Laurens Co 

Abbeville Co 

Charleston 

Lien Regis, England.. 

Edgefield Co , 

Walterboro 

Charleston Co 

Davie Co., N. C 

Columbia 

Orangeburg Co 

Cleveland Co., N. C... 



Marion Co 

Charleston 

Kinston, N. C 

Hampton Co 

Caldwell Co., N. C. 

NewbeiTy Co 

Marlboro Co 

Charleston 

Milledgeville, Ga... 

Clarendon Co 

Laurens Co 



Charleston. 
Abbeville.... 



Charleston .. 
Colleton Co., 



1872 

1872 

1870 

1830 

1839 

1841 

1839 

185, 

1849 

1871 

1854 

1823 

1829 

1861 

18 

1828 

182' 

1848 

183' 

1855 

1858 

1880 

1886 

1838 

1841 

1876 

1825 

1831 

184 

1858 

1872 

1878 

1841 

1836 

1873 

1841 

1849 

1850 

1844 

1840 

1828 

1836 

1863 

1839 

1848 

1868 

1858 

1880 

1856 

1883 



1849 
1844 



1865 
1833 
1859 
1853 
1854 
1869 
1839 
1854 
1844 
1847 
1818 



1835 
1847 
1871 
1850 



Time of Death. 



Aug. 27, 

April 3, 

Nov. 14, 

Nov. 19, 

April 16, 

Aug. 27, 



Oct. 
Dec. 
Oct. 

Feb. 



May 14, 
Sept. 29, 
Oct. 6, 



May 

Feb. 15, 

Jan. 12, 

Jan. 13, 

May 22. 

June 14, 

Aug. 25, 

April 4, 

Aug. 17, 

Jan. 28, 
Feb., 

April 15, 

June 6, 

May 22, 

Aug. 26, 

Feb. 14, 
Dec, 

Jan. 28, 

Jan. 5, 

Jan. 23, 

May 1, 

June 27, 

Sept. 11, 

Jan. 4, 

July 12, 

Dec. 5, 

Jan. 10, 

Nov. 6, 

June 11, 
March 24, 

July 1, 

Dec. 1, 

Aug. 2, 

Aug. 25, 

Dec. 2, 

Fel). 9, 

July 29, 

Jan. 19, 
March 19, 



1874 

1874 

1875 

18 

1875 

187 

187 

187 

187 

1878 

1880 

1880 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1884 

1884 

1884 

1884 

1884 

1885 

1885 

1885 

1886 

1886 

1886 

1886 

1885 

1886 

1887 

188 

1887 

1887 

1887 

1888 

1888 

1888 

1889 

1889 



1890 
1890 
1891 
1891 
1891 
1891 
1892 
1892 
1892 



Jan 17, 
A)iril 27, 
Aug. 16, 
Nov. 3, 
Jan. 28, 
Feb. 25, 
July 16, 
Sept. 8, 
Sept. 10, 
Dec. 11, 
Jan. 25, 
April 6, 
March 5, 
March 8, 
April 18, 
May 31, 
Nov. 23, 



1893 
1893 
1893 
1893 
1894 
1894 
1894 
1894 
1894 
1895 
1895 
1895 
1896 
1896 
1896 
1896 
1896 



Place of Burial. 



Colleton. 

Conwayboro. 

Charleston. 

Bisliopsville. 

Columbia. 

Charleston. 

Edgefield Co. 

Marlboro. 

Charleston. 

CypressCampGround. 

Macon, Ga. 

Cokesbury. 

Florence. 

Graham'sCrossRoads. 

Newberry Co. 

Charleston. 

Columbia. 

Williamston. 

Marion Co. 

Sumter Co. 

Spartanburg. 

Orangeburg Co. 

luka. Miss. 

Bamberg. 

Orangeburg Co. 

Orangebui'g Co. 

Greenville Co. 

Marion Co. 

Union Co. 

Timmonsville. " 

Bamberg. 

Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

St. George's. 

Barnwell. 

Jonesville. 

INlarlboro Co. 

Central. 

Mailboio Co. 

Spartanburg. 

Sumter. 

Columbia. 

Manning. 

Chester. 

Westminster. 

Camden. 

Clarendon Co. 

Siiartanburg. 

Sumter. 

Lamar. 

Aiken Co. 

Columbia. 

Williamston. 



Sandy Run. 

Siiartanburg. 

Rock Hill. 

Ninety-Six. 

Kershaw. 

^partanburg. 

Marlboro Co. 

Siiartanburg. 

Gieenville. 

Greenville. 

Lowndesville. 

Lake City. 

Abbeville. 

Raleigh, N. C. 

Spartanburg. 

Spartanburg. 

Orangeburg. 



356 APPENDIX. 



IX. 

LIST OF STATIONED PREACHERS IN THE CHARLESTON METH- 
ODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES. 

1785. Jolin Tunnell. 

1786. Henry Willis and Isaac Green. 

1787. Lemuel Green. 

1788. Ira Ellis. 

1789. No preacher named in the Minutes. 

1790. Isaac Smith. 

1791. James Parks. 

1792. Daniel Smith. 

1793. Daniel Smith and Jonathan Jackson. 

1794. Joshua Cannon and Isaac Smith. 

1795. Philip Bruce. 

1796. Benjamin Blanton. 

1797. Benjamin Blanton, John N. Jones, and J. King. 

1798. John N. Jones and Tol)ias Gibson. 

1799. John Harper and Nicholas Snethen. 

1800. George Dougherty and J. Harper. 

1801. George Dougherty and J. Harper. 

1802. John Garvin and Benjamin Jones. 

1803. Bennett Kendrick and Thomas Darley. 

1804. Bennett Kendrick and Nicholas Waters. 

1805. Buddy W. Wheeler and J. H. Mellard. 

1806. L. Myers and Levi Garrison. 

1807. Jonathan Jackson and William Owen. 

1808. William Phoeljus and J. McVean. 

1809. Samuel Mills and Wilham M. Kennedy. 

1810. William M. Kennedy, T. Mason, and R. Nolley. 

1811. Samuel Dunwody, F^ Ward, William Capeis, and AVilliam S. Talley, 

1812. F. AVard and J. Rumph. 

1813. N. Powers, J. Ca]iers, and S. M. Meek. 

1814. S. Dunwody, A. Talley, and J. B. Glenn. 

1815. A. Senter, A. Talley, and S. K. Hodges. 

1816. J. AV. Stanley, E. Christopher, and James O. Andrew. 

1817. Solomon Brvan, W. B. Barnett, AV. Kennedy, and AV. AVilliams. 

1818. L. Myers, A. Talley, and H. Bass. 

1819. L. IMyers, Z. Dowling, and Henry T. Fitzgerald. 

1820. AVilliam M. Kennedy, Henry Bass, and J. Murrow. 

1821. AA'illiam M. Kennedy, D. Hall, W. Kennedy, and Asbury Morgan. 

1822. James Norton, D. Hall, J. Evans, and R, Flournoy. 

1823. John Howard, AVilliam Hawkins, Thomas L. Wynn, and Elijah Sin- 

clair. 

1824. S. Dunwody, J. Howard, J. Galluchat, Sr., and S. Ohn. 

1825. AVilliam Capers, A. P. Manlev, sup., Benjamin L. Hoskins, and S. Olin. 

1826. AVilliam Capers, H. Bass, and P. N. Maddux. 

1827. J. O. Andrew, H. Ba=s, and N. Laney. 

1828. J. 0. Andrew, A. Morgan, and Benjamin L. Hoskins. 

1829. N. Talley, J. Freeman, and AVilliam H. Ellison. 

1830. N. Tallev, Thomas L. Wynn, and William M. AVightman. 

1831. C. Betts; Bond English, and AV. Murrah. 

1832. AVilliam Capers, William Cook, Thomas E. Ledbetter, and William 

Murrah. 

1833. AVilliam Capers, J. Holmes, H. A. C. Walker, Reddick Pierce to change 

after three months with J. K. Morse. 

1834. William M. Kennedy, William Martin, and G. F. Pierce. 



STATIONED PREACHEBS IN CHARLESTON. 357 

1835. "William M. Kennedy, William Martin, J. J. Allison, and W. A. Game- 

well. 

1836. William Capers, J. Sewell, J. AV. McColl, and W. A. Gamewell. 

1837. Bond English, J. Sewell, J. N. Davis, and James W. Welborn. 

1838. Bond English, J. E. Evans, and Samuel Armstrong. 

1839. N. Talley, J. E. Evans, W. Capers, and P. A. M. Williame. 

1840. N. Talley, H. A. C. Walker, and Whitefoord Smith. 

1841. Bond English, J. Sewell, J. Stacy, T. Hutchings, city missionary. 

1842. Bond English, H. Spain, and A. M. Shipp. 

1843. Cumberland, W. C. Kirkland ; Trinity, .lames Stacy; Bethel, B. Bass; 

St. James's, J. Nipper. 

1844. Cumberland, S. W. Capers ; Trinity, James Stacy ; Bethel, William C. 

Kirkland; St. James's, J. A. Porter. 

1845. Cumberland, S. W. Capers; Trinity, T. Hoggins; Bethel, C. H. Pritch- 

ard ; St. James's, D. Derrick. 

1846. Cumberland, S. Leard; Trinity, W. Smith; Bethel, C. H. Pritchard; 

St. James's, J. W. Kelly. 

1847. Cumberland, A. M. Forster; Trinity, Whitefoord Smith; Bethel, W. 

P. Monzon; St. James's, M. Eaddy. 

1848. Cumberland, W. Smith; Trinity, supplied b}' Alexander Speer, local 

preacher of Georgia; Bethel, W. P. Mouzon; St. James's, AVilliam 
T. Capers. 

1849. Cumberland, W. Smith; Trinity, C. H. Pritchard; Bethel, J. A. Por- 

ter; St. James's, A. G. Stacy. 

1850. Cumberland, AVilliam G. Connor; Trinity, James Stacy; Bethel, 

Henry M. Mood; St. James's, A. G. Stacy. 

1851. Cumberland, W. A. Gamewell; Trinity, AV. A. McSwain; Bethel, 0, 

H. Pritchard; St. James's, J. P. Pickett. 

1852. Cumberland, AA". Smith; Trinity, W. A. McSwain; Bethel, C. H. 

Pritchard ; St. James's, John R. Pickett. 

1853. Cumberland, AV. Smith, sup., John T. AVightman; Trinity, C. H. 

Pritchard; Bethel, Joseph Cross; St. James's, Allen McCorquodale. 

1854. Cumberland, J. T. Wightman, AV. Smith, sup.; Trinity, H. C. Parsons; 

Bethel, Joseph Cross; St. James's, Allen McCorquodale. 

1855. Cumberland, S. Leard; Trinity, J. Cross; Bethel, J. T. AVightman; St. 

James's, William E. Boone. 

1856. Cumberland, AVilliam P. Monzon; Tiinity, Joseph Cross; Bethel, J. T, 

AVightman ; St. James's, William E. Boone. 

1857. Cumberland, AVilliam P. Monzon; Trinity, John T. AVightman; Beth- 

el, William H. Fleming; Spring Street, AV. E. Boone; St. James's, 
William A. Hemingway. 

1858. Cumberland, James Stacy; Trinity, John T. AVightman; City Mission, 

John W. Kelly; Trinity, AVilliam H. Fleming; St. James's, AV. A. 
Hemingway. 

1859. Cumberland, James Stacy; City Mission, John W. Kelly; Trinity, 

AVilliam H. Feming; Bethel, William G. Connor; Spring Street, 
F. M. Kennedy. 

1860. Cumberland, John A. Porter; Trinity, AVilliam H. Fleming; City 

Mission, Aaron Wells; Bethel, D. J. "Simmons; Spring Street, F. M. 
Kennedy. 

1861. Cumberland, John A. Porter; Trinity, L. R. AValsh ; Bethel, W. H. 

Fleming; Spring Street and Citv Mission, J. AV. Miller. 

1862. Cumberland, C. McLeod; Trinity, J. T. Wightman; Bethel, A. M, 

Chreitzberg; Spring Street, J. AV. Humbert. 

1863. Trinity and Cumberland, John T. AVightman; Bethel and Spring 

Street, E. J. Meynardie. 

1864. Charleston, E. J. Meynardie, F. Auld. 

1865. Charleston, E. J. Meynardie; City Colored Mission, F. A. Mood, W. A. 

Hodges. 

1866. Cumberland, to be supplied; Trinity, E. J. Meynardie; Sprmg Street, 

W. A. Hemingway ; Bethel, J. T. AVightman. 



358 APPENDIX. 

1867. Camberland, to be supplied; Trinity, E. J. Meynardie; Bethel, J. T. 

Wightman ; Spring Street, to be supplied. 

1868. Trinity and Cumberland, F. A. Mood; Bethel, J. T. Wightman; Spring 

Street, to be supplied. 

1869. Trinity and Cumberland, William P. Mouzon; Bethel, J. T. AVight- 

man; Spring Street, J. R. Pickett. 

1870. Trinity and Cumberland, William P. Mouzon ; Bethel, T. E. Wanna- 

maker; Spring Street, J. T. Wightman. 

1871. Trinity and Cumberland, J. M. Carlisle; Bethel, T. E. Wannamaker; 

Spring Street, J. T. Wightman. 

1872. Trinity and Cumberland, Whitefoord Smith; City Mission, R. D. 

Smart; Bethel, A. M. Chreitzberg; Spring Street, J. T. Wightman. 

1873. Trinity and Cumberland, George H. Wells; Bethel, J. T. Wightman; 

Spring Street, R. D. Smart. 

1874. Trinity and Cumberland, George PI. Wells; Bethel, J. T. Wightman; 

Spring Street, R. D. Smart. 

1875. Trinity and Cumberland, George H. Wells; Bethel, J. T. Wightman; 

Spring Street, W. T. Capers. 

1876. Trinity and Cumberland, George H. Wells; Bethel, J. T. Wightman; 

Spring Street, W. T. Capers. 

1877. Trinity, John H. Porter; Bethel, W. H. Fleming; Spring Street, R. L. 

Harper. 

1878. Trinity, R. N. Wells; Bethel, W. C. Power; Spring Street, G. W. 

Whitman. 

1879. Trinity, R. N. Wells; Bethel, W. C. Power; Spring Street, H. F. 

Chreitzberg. 

1880. Trinity, R. N. Wells; Bethel, E. J. Meynardie; Spring Street, H. F. 

Chreitzberg. 

1881. Trinity, A. C. Smith; Bethel, E. J. Meynardie; Spring Street. H. F. 

Chreitzberg. 

1882. Trinity, A. C. Smith; Bethel, E. J. Meynardie; Spring Street, D. J. 

Simmons. 

1883. Trinity, A. C. Smith; Bethel, E. J. Meynardie; Spring Street, J. A. 

Clifton. 

1884. Trinity, J. O. Willson; Bethel, R. N.Wells; Spring Street, William P. 

Mouzon; Citv Mission, J. E. Beard. 

1885. Trinity, J. O. Willson; Bethel, R. N. Wells; Spring Street, R. H. 

Jones ; Cumberland, J. E. Beard. 

1886. Trinity, J. O. Willson; Bethel, R. N. AVells; Spring Street, J. W. 

Dickson; Cumberland, H. B. Browne. 

1887. Trinity, J. O. Willson ; Betliel, R. N. Wells; Spring Street, L. F. Beaty ; 

Cumberland, H. B. JBrowne. 

1888. Trinity, R. N. Wells; Bethel, R.D. Smart; Spring Street, J. E. Carlisle, 

Camberland, H. B. Browne. 

1889. Trinity, R. N. Wells ; Bethel, R. D. Smart; Spring Street, J. E. Carlisle, 

Cumberland, H. B. Browne. 

1890. Trinity, R. N. Wells; Bethel, R. D. Smart; Spring Street, J. T. Pate; 

Cumberland, W. A. Betts. 

1891. Trinity, W. A. Rogers; Bethel, R. D. Smart; Spring Street, J. T. Pate; 

Cumberland, W. A. Betts. 

1892. Trinity, W. A. Rogers ; Bethel, J. A. Clifton ; Spring Street, J. L. Stokes; 

Cumberland, A. M. Chreitzberg. 

1893. Trinity, W. A. Richardson; Bethel, J. A. Clifton; Spring Street, J. L. 

Stokes; Cumberland, J. C. Yonnge. 

1894. Trinity, W. A. Richardson; Bethel, J. A. Clifton; Spring Street, J. L. 

Stokes ; Cumberland, J. C. Younge. 

1895. Trinity, W. A. Richardson : Bethel, J. A. Clifton ; Spring Street, J. L. 

Stokes; Cumberland, J. C. Younge. 

1896. Trinity, W. A. Richardson; Bethel, H. W. Bays; Cumberland, J. E, 

Steadman. 




METHOJJISr CHURCH, ANDERSON, S. C. ; REV. G. P. WATSON', PASTOR. 



PRESIDING ELDERS, CHARLESTON DISTRICT. 



361 



Peesiding Elders on Charleston District foe One Hundred and Ten 

Years. 



1786, James Foster. 

1787, Beverly Allen. 

1788 to 1793, Reuben Ellis. 

1794, Philip Bruce. 

1795, Isaac Smith. 

1796, Enoch George. 

1797, Jonathan Jackson. 
1798 to 1800, B. Blanton. 
1801, James Jenkins. 

1802 to 1804, George Dougherty. 
1805, 1806, Britton Capel. 
1807 to 1809, Lewis Myers. 
1810, Reddick Pierce. 
1811 to 1813, William M. Kennedy. 
1814, 1815, John Collingsworth. 
1816, 1817, Alexander Talley. 
1818, 1819, James Norton. 
1820 to 1823, Lewis Myers. 
1824 to 1827, James O. Andrew. 
1828 to 1830, William Capers. 



1831 to 1834, Henry Bass. 

1835 to 1838, Nicholas Talley. 

1839 to 1842, Henry Bass. 

1843 to 1846, R. J. Boyd. 

1847, 1849, S. W. Capera. 

1850 to 1853, C. Betts. 

1854 to 1857, H. A. C. Walker. 

1858 to 1861, William P. Mouzon. 

1862, 1863, F. A. Mood. 

1864, 1865, T. Raysor. 

1866, 1867, F. A. Mood. 

1868 to 1871, A. M. Chreitzberg. 

1872 to 1875, William P. Mouzon. 

1876 to 1879, T. E. Wannamaker. 

1880 to 1883, WiUiam P. Mouzon. 

1884 to 1886, E. J. Meynardie. 

1887 to 1890, J. U. Boyd. 

1891 to 1894, R. N. Wells. 

1895, 1896, W. A. Meadors. 



362 



APPENDIX. 



X. 

PREACHERS AND PRESIDING ELDERS CONNECTED WITH 
COLUMBIA, S. C, FROM 1805 TO 1896. 



Year. Preacher in Charge. 

1805. Bennett Kendrick. 

1806. Samuel Mills. 

1807. Daniel Hall. 

1808. Lovick Pierce. 

1809. Reddick Pierce. 

1810. Joseph Travis. 

1811. Jacola Rumph. 

1812. John Collingsworth, to change six 

months with 0. Rogers. 

1813. William S. Talley. 
181-4. Henry D. Green. 

1815. Samuel Dunwody. 

1816. Samuel Dunwody. 

1817. Thomas W. Stanley. 

1818. William Capers. 

1819. James O. Andrew. 

1820. Isaac Smith. 

1821. Henry Bass. 

1822. Tillman Snead. 

1823. Nicholas Talley. 

1824. Nicholas Talley. 

1825. James Norton. 

1826. Joseph Holmes. 

1827. Joseph Holmes. 

1828. William M. Kennedy. 

1829. William M. Kennedy. 

1830. Joseph Freeman. 

1831. William Capers. 

1832. Josiah Freeman. 

1833. Bond English. 
1S;34. H. Spain. 

1835. Malcolm McPherson. 

1836. William M. Kennedy. 

1837. William M. Kennedy. 

1838. Malcolm McPherson. 

1839. C. Betts, William P. Mouzon. 

1840. C. Betts. 

1841. Whitefoord Smith. 

1842. Whitefoord Smith. 

1843. Samuel W. Capers. 

1844. Joseph H. Wheeler. 

1845. Joseph H. Wheeler. 

1846. William Capers. 

1847. Samuel Leard. 

1848. Samuel Leard. 

1849. J. Stacv, J. T. Wightman. 

1850. W. Smith, F. A. Mood. 

1851. Washington Street, W. Smith; 

Marion Street, T. Mitchell. 

1852. Washington Street, H. A. C. Walker; 

Marion Street, John T. Wightman. 

1853. Washmgton Street, C. Murchison ; 

Marion Street, W. E. Boone. 



Presiding Eldei'. 
George Dougherty. 
George Dougherty. 
Bennett Kendrick. 
Lewis Myers. 
Lewis Myers. 
Reddick Pierce. 
William M. Kennedy. 

Hilliard Judge. 
Hilliard Judge. 
Hilliard Judge. 
Hilliard Judge. 
Anthony Senter. 
Anthony Senter. 
Daniel Asbury. 
Daniel Asbury. 
Daniel Asbury. 
Daniel Asbury. 
Henry Bass. 
Henry Bass. 
Henry Bass. 
Henry Bass. 
Robert Adams. 
Robert Adams. 
Robert Adams. 
Robert Adams. 
William M. Kennedy, 
William M. Kennedy. 
William M. Kennedy. 
William M. Kennedy. 
Bond English. 
Bond English. 
Malcolm McPherson. 
Malcolm McPherson. 
H. Spain. 
H. Spain. 
H. Spain. 
H. Spain. 
C. Betts. 
C. Betts. 
C. Betts. 
C. Betts. 
Nicholas Talley. 
Nicholas Talley. 
Nicholas Talley. 
Nicholas Talley. 
Samuel W. Capers. 

Samuel W. Capers. 

Samuel W. Capers. 

William Crook. 



COLUMBIA STATION AND DISTRICT 



363 



Year. Preacher in Charge. Presiding- Elder. 

1854. Washington Street, W. A. Gamewell ; 

Marion Street, F. A. Mood. AVilliam Crook. 

1855. Washington Street, W. A. Gamewell ; 

Marion Street, F. A. Mood. William Crook. 

1856. Washington Street, C. H. Pritchard ; 

Marion Street, O. A. Darby. William Crook. 

1857. Washington Street, C. H. Pritchard ; 

Marion Street, A. H. Lester. W. A. Gamewell. 

1858. Washington Street, John T. WMghtman. 

Marion Street, William C. Power. W. A. Gamewell. 

1859. Washington Street, John T. Wightman. 

Marion Street, R. B. Allston. AV. A. Gamewell. 

1860. Washington Street, W. A. Gamewell; 

Marion Street, J. W. Humbert. W. A. Gamewell. 

1861. Washington Street, W. A. Gamewell; 

Marion Street, John W. North. R. J. Boyd. 

1862. Washington Street, William P. Mouzon ; 

Marion Street, W. T. Capers. R. J. Boyd. 

1863. Washington Street, William P. Mouzon ; 

Marion Street, W. T. Capers. R. J. Boyd. 

1864. Washington Street, William P. Mouzon; 

Marion Street, W. T. Capers. R. J. Boyd. 

1865. Washington Street, W. G. Connor; 

Marion Street, F. Auld. C. H. Pritchard. 

1866. Washington Street, W. T. Capers; 

Marion Street, E. G. Gage. C. H. Pritchard. 

1867. D. J. Simmons, William Martin. C. H. Pritchard. 

1868. Washington Street, William Martin ; 

Marion Street, S. H. Browne. C. H. Pritchard. 

1869. Washington Street, William Martin ; 

Marion Street, W. W. Mood. S. H. Browne. 

1870. Washington Street, William Martin ; 

Marion Street, W. W. Mood. S. H. Browne. 

1871. Washington Street, M. Browne; 

Marion Street, W. W. Mood. S. H. Browne. 

1872. Washington Street, M. Browne ; 

Marion Street, W. D. Kirkland. S. H. Browne. 

1873. Washington Street, O. A. Darby ; 

Marion Street, W. D. Kirkland. William Martin. 

1874. Washington Street, O. A. Darby, A. Coke 

Smith ; Marion Street, W. D. Kirkland. W. H. Fleming. 

1875. Washington Street, A. Coke Smith; 

Marion Street, W. D. Kirkland. W. H. Fleming. 

1876. Washington Street, A. Coke Smith; 

Marion Street, J. Walter Dickson. E. J. Meynardie. 

1877. Washington Street, John T. Wightman ; 

Marion Street, J. Walter Dickson. E. J. Meynardie. 

1878. Washington Street, John T. Wightman ; 

Marion Street, W. S. Wightman. E. J. Meynardie. 

1879. Washington Street, A. M. Chreitzberg; 

Marion Street, G. W. Whitman. E. J. Meynardie. 

1880. Washington Street, W. T. Capers; 

Marion Street, J. L. Stokes. A. M. Chreitzberg. 

1881. Washington Street, R. N. Wells; 

Marion Street, J. L. Stokes; 

Mission, L. M. Little. A. M. Chreitzberg. 



364 



APPENDIX. 



Year. Preacher in Charge. 

1882. Washington Street, R. N". Wells; 

Marion Street, J. L. Stokes; 
Mission, L, M. Little. 

1883. Washington Street, William C. Power ; 

Marion Street, J. L. Stokes; 
Mission, L. M. Little. 

1884. Washington Street, William C. Power; 

Marion Street, R. P. Franks , 
Mission, C. H. Pritchard. 

1885. Washington Street, William C. Power; 

Marion Street, R. P. Franks ; 
Mission, L. M. Little. 

1886. Washington Street, W. R. Richardson ; 

Marion Street, C. B. Smith ; 
Mission, L. M. Little. 

1887. Washington Street, W. R. Richardson; 

Marion Street, T. E. Morris ; 
Mission, L. M. Little. 

1888. Washington Street, W. R. Richardson; 

Marion Street, M. Dargan ; 
Mission, S. D. Vaughn. 

1889. Washington Street, W. R. Richardson ; 

Marion Street, M. Dargan ; 
Mission, S. D. Vaughn. 

1890. Washington Street, H. F. Chreitzberg; 

Marion Street, M. Dargan ; 
Mission, S. D. Vaughn. 

1891. Washington Street, H. F. Clireitzberg; 

Marion Street, S. P. H. El well. 
Mission, S, D. Vaughn. 

1892. Washington Street, H. F. Chreitzberg; 

Marion Street, S. P. H. Elw^ell ; 
Mission, S. D. Vaughn. 

1893. Washington Street, J. A. Rice , 

Marion Street, S. P. H. Elwell ; 
Mission, AV. H. Kirton. 

1894. Washington Street, J. A. Rice; 

Marion Street, S. P. H. Elwell; 
Mission, W. H. Kirton, 

1895. Wa-^hington Street, W. W. Darr ; 

Marion Street, P. L. Kirton, 
Mission, W. H. Kirton. 

1896. Washington Street, W. W. Daniel ; 

Marion Street, P. L. Kirton; 
Mission, W. B. Baker. 



Presiding Elder. 
A. M. Chreitzberg. 
A. M. Chreitzberg. 
A. Coke Smith. 
A. Coke Smith. 
A. Coke Smith. 
S. B. Jones. 
S. B. Jones. 
S. B. Jones. 
William C. Power. 
William C. Power. 
William C. Power. 
William C. Power. 
E. T. Hodges. 
J. W. Dickson. 
J. W. Dickson, 



DATE DUE 



MAY 12] 








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