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HIST  ORY 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


TTNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


By    ABEL    STEVENS,    LL.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "the  HISTORY  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  MOVEMENT  OP  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CESTURT, 
CALLED  METHODISM,"  ETC. 


VOLUME    III. 


Itbs  i^ork: 


PUBLISHED  BY  CARLTON  &  PORTER, 

200     MULBERKY-8TREET. 

1867. 


V 


S'S'I'^^C- 


Ei:t«rcd  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 
CARLTON    &    PORTER, 

in  <he  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


Thomas  L.  Rxtshmore,  Esq. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  submit  to  you  the  third  installment  of  my 
naiTative  of  the  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
The  name  of  your  family  apj^ears  honorably  in  its  pages,  con- 
nected with  one  of  its  most  interesting  eijisodes,  the  introduc- 
tion of  Methodism  into  Canada.  Many  of  its  subjects  have 
been  meditated  under  the  summer  shelter  of  your  trees,  and  its 
labor  has  been  relieved  by  neighborly  attentions  which  will 
ever  associate  the  memory  of  your  family  with  my  task. 

In  the  two  preceding  volumes  I  have  recorded  the  planting 
of  the  Church,  and  sufficiently  defined  its  theological  and  eccle- 
siastical systems ;  in  the  present  the  story  proceeds  directly 
along  its  chronological  line,  suspended  somewhat  abruptly  for 
the  convenient  size  of  the  volume,  but  continued,  with  no  further 
interruption,  in  the  next,  which  is  now  passing  through  the 
jjress.  Some  important  questions  and  toj)ics,  requiring  more 
classified  treatment,  I  have  reserved  for  distinct  chapters  in  the 
fourth  volume,  though  they  receive  passing  notice  at  their  proper 
dates  in  the  narrative. 

Many  difficulties,  some  insuperable  ones,  have  beset  my  labors. 
While  we  have  abundant  and  well-verified  documents  for  jjar- 
ticular  sections  of  the  Church,  for  others,  not  less  important,  we 
have  hardly  any.  Of  some  early  preachei's  we  have  more  or 
less  ample  biographies ;  of  others,  and  of  not  a  few  who  were 
chieftains  of  the  cause,  we  have  but  scattered  notices,  incapable 
of  beiag  wrought  into  satisfactory  sketches.  I  have  done  the 
best  I  could,  jDerhaps  all  that  any  pen  can  now  or  ever  do,  to 
present  these  cases  in  their  proper  historical  positions.  Many 
an  evangelist,  who  labored  as  an  apostle,  or  died  as  a  martyr,  in 
the  early  itinerancy,  but  whose  name  has  been  almost  lost  in 
the  oblivion   of  our  first  traditions,  reappears  in  my  humble 


PREFACE. 


record  in  heroic  but  imexaggcratcd  proportions ;  yet  of  some  of 
the  noblest  characters  we  can  catcli  but  glimpses,  sufficient  to 
show  that  they  were  men  of  genuine  greatness,  but  insufficient 
to  satisfy  our  interest  for  them.  In  the  first  two  volumes  I  have 
given  some  space,  however  small,  to  almost  even,'  preacher  re- 
corded in  the  Conference  Minutes  of  his  day.  Li  this  many  a 
once  eminent  name  can  hardly  be  more  than  mentioned;  some, 
however,  which  may  here  seem  to  be  ignored,  will  appear  at 
more  apposite  points  of  the  narrative  in  the  fourth  volume. 

These  volumes  will  have  at  least  one  peculiaritj' — the  history 
of  American  Methodism  will  appear  in  them  mostly,  if  not  en- 
tirely, new ;  for  our  historical  publications  have  not  heretofore 
attempted  any  such  minute  record.  Precisely  for  this  reason 
will  my  attemjjt  be  liable  to  criticism.  It  is  impossilile  that  a 
first  endeavor  of  the  kind  can  be  entirely  correct.  I  expect, 
and  shall  gratefully  receive,  new  names  and  facts,  perhaps  im- 
portant corrections,  from  many,  and  especially  from  the  remoter 
portions  of  our  Church  territory.  However  serious  may  be  the 
deficiencies  of  these  pages,  I  venture  to  hope  that  intelligent 
readers,  who  can  appreciate  the  difficulties  of  my  task,  will 
acknowledge  that  I  have  not  failed  in  the  research  and  dili- 
gence which  it  merits.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  it  has  ever 
devolved  upon  an  ecclesiastical  historian  to  record  a  more  curi- 
ous, a  more  marvelous  story  than  I  have  attempted  in  these  vol- 
umes ;  more  replete  with  heroic  characters,  romantic  incidents, 
extraordinary  labors  and  successes.  A  high  foreign  authority 
(the  "London  Quarterly  Review")  has  said  that  "American 
Methodism  is  the  most  wonderful  instance  of  Church  develop- 
ment which  the  world's  history  has  yet  shown."  I  have  felt  deeply 
the  importance  of  its  lessons  for  the  future  of  Methodism,  if  not 
indeed  for  the  general  Christian  Church.  It  has  been  my  study, 
therefore,  to  present  it  with  all  truthfulness,  and  especially  to 
give,  as  fully  as  possible,  its  earliest  events  and  characters,  such 
as  reveal  its  real  genius  and  genetic  conditions,  and  thereby 
afford  its  most  valuable  lessons.  If  the  public  will  accord  the 
work  the  generous  forbearance  with  which  I  know  you  will 
accept  it,  I  shall  be  more  than  satisfied. 

Affectionately,  Abel  Stevens. 

Orienta,  Mamaroneck,  N.  T.,  ' 

February,  1867. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  Y. 

FROM  THE  GENP:RAL  CONFERENCE  OF  1792  TO  THE 
GENERAL  CONFERENCE  OF  1804. 


CHAPTER  I. 

QEXEBAL    CONFERENCE    OF    1792 

O'KELLY'S  SCHISM. 

Page 

Necessity   of  a   General   Con- 
ference    12 

Coke  returns  to  America 12 

The  Session  of  1792 14 

Tlie  "  Council "  ignored 15 

Excited  Debates 16 

Religious  Interest 16 

Amendments  of  the  Discipline  17 

The  [^residing  Eldership  estab-  17 

lishcd 17 

General  Conferences  ordained.  17 

Supernumeraries 17 

Preachers'  Wives 19 

Other  Amendments 19 

O'Kelly    and    the   Appointing 

Power ,  21 

Great  Debates  23 

O'Kelly  and  others  Secede  ....  25 

Merits  of  the  Question 27 

Conclusion  of  the  Conference. .  28 

Its  Character 28 

O'Kelly's  Schism 30 

Disastrous  Consequences 32 

War  of  Pamphlets 34 

Asbury 34 

Loss  of  Members 34 

Results 35 

Asbury's  last  Interview  with 

O'Kelly 35 

His  continued  Hostility 36 

Was  there  a  General   Confer- 
ence between  1784  and  1792? 

Note 37 


CHAPTER  IL 

METHODISM  IN  THE  SOUTH,  FROM  THE 
SECOND  TO  THE  TIIIKD  GENERAL 
CONFERENCES,  1792-1796. 

P"Ke 

Coke 41 

HisPropositionto  Bishop  White 
for  the  Union  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  and  Protestant 

Episcopal  Churches 41 

Cokesbury  College 42 

Coke  in  Philadelphia 42 

At  New  York 42 

Perilous  Accident 43 

Asbury  in  the  South 43 

Among  the  O' Kelly ites 44 

His  great  Labors  and  Sufferings  44 

At  Rembert  Hall 45 

Hammett's  Schism  in  Charles- 
ton, S.  C 46 

Asbury  in  Georgia 49 

At  the   Ruins  of  Whitefield's 

Orphan  House 49 

Among  the  Western  Mountains  51 

At  General  Russell's 51 

Death  of  the  General 51 

Asbury  at  Baltimore 54 

Scenes  and  Labors  in  the  South  54 

Death  of  Judge  White 61 

Further  Travels  and  Labors. . .  63 

CHAPTER  III. 

METHODISM     IN     THE      SOUTH,      CON- 
TINUED, 1792-1796. 

Benjamin  Abbott  in  Maryland  65 

His  Singular  Power 65 


6 


CONTENTS. 


Pnec 

Eemarkable  Examples 06 

Scenes  at  Quarterly  Meetings  .  69 

His  liealtli  fails  . ." 71 

llis  Death 71 

His  Character 72 

Whatcoat  in  Maryland 75 

Henry  Smith  and  FrancisM'Cor- 

niick 76 

William     M'Kcndree's     Early 

Itinerant  Lil'e S- 

Anecdotes 84 

His  Character B7 

Enoch  George b» 

John  Easter fO 

Hliistratioiis  of  George's   Life  [ 

and  Character 94 

Hope  Hull's  Labors ICO. 

His  Prayer  in  a  Ball-room l^l 

His  Interest  in  Education 10-j 

His  Character lo;3 

Coleman  and  Simon  Carlisle  . .  lMt> 
JReuiarkable  Charge  and  Deliv- 
erance    1'18 

Stephen  G.  Roszel llo 

Joshua  Wells Ill 

Great  Men  of  Southern  Method- 
ism   112 

Statistical  Results 113 

CHAPTER  IV. 

METHODISM      IN     THE     MIDDLE     AND 
NORTHERN   STATES,   1  "'.••2-1796. 

Ashury  Itinerating  in  the  Mid- 
dle and  Northern  States 114 

His  Excessive  Labors 118 

His  Morbid  Temperament 118 

On  the  Northern  Frontier 12ii 

(iarrettson    121 

Governor  Van  Courtlandt 122 

Further  Travels 123 

Paucity  of  his  Journals 1'24 

CHAPTER  V. 

METHODISM    IN    THE    MIDDLE    STATES, 
CONTINLED,  1792-1796. 

Paucity  of  Documents  in  the 

Midclle  States 120 

George  Pickering 126 

His  Spartan  Character 127 

Ezekiel  Cooper I3u 

His  Labors 131 

His  Character 132 

His  Passion  for  Angling 134 

John    M'Claskey's    Rank    and 

Services 134 

Lawrence    M'Comb's    Charac- 
ter and  Labors 137 


P..ir» 

Dr.  Thomas  F.  Sargent 140 

His  Labors 14(» 

His  Death  in  the  Pulpit \4» 

Thomas  MorrcU 141 

.\  Successful  Faihire  145 

He  Founds  Methodism  in  Chat- 
ham, N.  J 14.'> 

Itinerant  Labors 146 

,\sbury's  Tea 146 

MurreiVs  Triumphant  Death  . .  148 
His  .Appearance  and  Character  148 
Ware    Itinerating    among   the 

Tioga  .Mountains l.'iO 

On  the  Hudson 1.'>1 

Trials  of  the  Itinerancy 151 

A  Sutlering  I'rcacher 151 

Success 151 

Ci'lbert  amonif  the  Wyoming, 
Tioga,  and  Cumberland  Val- 
leys      1.V2 

His  Hanlships 153 

Henry  B.  Bascoin  :   Note 156 

.Vsburj'  among  these  Valleys.  156 
Thomas  and  Christian  Bowman  157 

Thornton  Fleming 158 

.Methodism  in  tiie  Lake  Coun- 
try of  New  York 158 

Valentine  Cook l.')9 

A  Student  at  Cokesbury 160 

Power  of  his  Preaching 160 

His  Sutterings 162 

His  Farewell  Sermon 103 

Results 164 

Extension  of  Metiiodism  in  the 

Middle  States 164 

Its  Singular  Introduction  into 

Sonthold,  L.  1 165 

Statistics 167 

CHAPTER  VI. 

[METHODISM  IN  THE  NORTH  CONTINUED: 
I  CANADA,   1792-1796. 

The   P2mbury8   and   Hecks  in 

[     Canada 168 

Dunham  and  Loscc 169 

Dunham's  Life  and  Character.   169 

Examples  of  his  Sarcasm 170 

First  t^uartcrly  Meeting 172 

Paul  Heck's  Death 173 

Methodism  takes  Precedence 
of  the  English  Church  in  the 

Province 178 

Romantic  close  of  Losee's  Min- 
istry   174 

Final  traces  of  him 175 

James  Coleinan  enters  Canada.   177 


CONTENTS. 


Pace 

Sketch  of  him 178 

Elijah  Woolsey 180 

His  Early  Trials 180 

His   Adventurous   Passage   to 

Canada 181 

Sufferings  and  Successes  there  186 

Sylvauus  Keeler 192 

Tlie    First    Native    Methodist 

Preacher  in  Canada 192 

Eemiuisceuces  of  him 192 

Woolsey's  Labors  and  Death. .   194 

Samuel  Coate 195 

His  Eccentricities  and  Fall. . . .   195 
Hezekiah  C.  Wooster's  Extraor- 
dinary Power 198 

Lorenzo  Dow 20o 

Wooster's  Death 203 

Success  in  Canada 204 

Statistical  Strength  of  Middle 
and  Northern  Methodism. ..  205 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

METHODISM  IN  THE   EASTERN    STATES, 
1792-1796. 

Lee  at  Boston 206 

His  Itinerant  Excursions 207 

Asbury  re-enters  New  England  207 

The  Lynn  Conference 208 

Benjamin  Bemis 209 

Pickering's  Homestead 209 

Conference  at  Tolland 210 

Enoch    Mudge,    First    Native 
Methodist  Preacher  of  New 

England 213 

His  Early  Labors  and  Character  216 

Aaron  Hunt 220 

Joshua  Taylor 223 

Daniel  Ostrander 227 

Zadok  Priest 231 

First    Itinerant   who   Died   in 

New  England 232 

His  Affecting  Death 232 

His  Grave   234 

Joshua  Hall 234 

Lee  Itinerating  in  Maine 238 

First  Circuit  formed 240 

Persecutions 241 

Thomas  Ware 243 

Hope  Hull 244 

His  Eloquence 244 

Eev.    Mr.  Williams   and  Rev. 
Dr.    Huntington   attack   the 

Methodists 245 

Methodism  in  Tolland 247 

Asbury  Returns 249 

Methodism  in  Boston 250 

Results  of  the  Year 250 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

METHODISM   IN   THE    EASTERN   STATES, 

CONTINUED,  1792-1790. 

Piige 

Another  Conference  at  Lynn. .  2.'i2 

Asbury  Itinerating 253 

The  Wilbraham  Conference...  254 

Interesting  Scenes  there 255 

New  Preachers 257 

Wilson  Lee  258 

Scenes  in  his  Ministry 258 

Nicholas  Snethen 259 

Protestant  Methodism 261 

Snethen's  Character 262 

Lee  Itinerating 264 

First    Preacher    Stationed    in 

Maine 265 

Its  First  Class 265 

First  Chapel 266 

First  Methodist  Administration 

of  the  Eucharist 267 

Scenes  in  Lee's  Itinerancy  there  267 

Asbury  again  Returns 270 

Results 270 

Conference  at  New  London 272 

Scenes  there 272 

Location  of  Preachers 274 

Lee  and  Asbury  Itinerating  . .  275 

Statistics 276 

Outspread  of  Methodism 277 

The  Thompson  Conference. . . .  277 

Lorenzo  Dow 279 

Results 279 

CHAPTER  IX. 

METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST,  1792-1796. 

Review 280 

Asbury  again  among  the  Moun- 
tains   281 

His  Hardships 281 

John  Cooper,  the  first  Itinerant 

appointed  to  the  West 286 

His  Colleague,  Samuel  Breeze.  287 

Henry  Willis 287 

His  Sufferings,  Persistent  La- 
bors, and  Character 288 

Moriarty,   Tunnell,    and   Poy- 

thress 289 

The  Frontier  at  this  Period 289 

Smith  and  Boone  in  the  Wilder- 
ness    290 

Extreme  Hardships  of  the  Pio 

neer  Itinerants 291 

Character  and  Condition  of  the 

Settlers 292 

Methodism    saves    them   from 

Barbarism 292 


CO  XT  E  NTS. 


P»ge 


PB(fO 


Address  to  the  British  Confer- 
ence    848 

Asbury  and  Coke  on  the  Session  844 


Barnabas  M'Henry  enters  the 

Field    293 

The   first   Methodist   Itinerant 

raised  up  in  the  West 29! 

His  Labors 2y4 

Anecdotes 290 

J  lis  Death  by  Cholera 2'."7  r  .i     o    •    i  q.« 

His  (  haracter 2'JS  Iniportance  of  the  Period 346 

William  Burke       300  N"i»encal  Declension AM 

Perils  from  Indians 301  Sectional  Growth 346 

Perils  in  the  WUdcrness  with         statistics 34* 


CHAPTER  XI. 

REVIEW  or  TME  I'EIUOl),  17y2-l"96. 


Asl)ury 3<i'J 


Great  Number  of  Locations 


347 


Murtyred  LocarPreaciiers '.'.'.'. '.  3>io  ^'"^^'^^  Fast  and  TlianksgivinK-  347 
Burk.-'s  Trials  and  Services. . .   30r,  '^1  "'>"'■>;.'"",'  l^">"l'y  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •.•   ^48 

Joliii  Kobler      3,7  .Methodist  Preuelierb  and  Poll- 


Judge  Scott 3<>y 

His  Early  Labors 3oy 

He  receives  into  the  Church  Dr. 

Tittiii 310 

Sketch  of  Tiffin 311 

His  tirst  Preaching 

fScott  meets  him  in  the  West 


tics 149 

Washington's  Letter  to   three 

of  tlicin 849 

Ministerial  Recruits 350 

The  Presiding  Elders 3.'>0 

3J1  Obituary  Characterizations 850 

31^  Birchctt 352 


Prophetic  Letter  from  Coke. . .  368 
CHAPTER  XIL 


Tiffin's  Usefulness 313  ''^ene  at  the  Grave  of  Acuff . . .  35'i 

Mary  Tiffin 813 

Tiffin  becomes  the  first  Gover- 
nor of  Ohio 314 

His  Character 314 

Scott's  Success 310 

Francis  M'Cormick,  Founder  of 
Methodism  in  Ohio 317 

Sketch  of  his  Life 31  & 

Henry  Smith's  Western  Adven- 
tures   824 


Major  M'CoUoch 2M 


METHODISM  IN  THE  SOCTH,   1796-1804. 

Asbury  and  Coke  Itinerating  in 

the  South 855 

Losses  by  Locations 856 

Slavery 858 

Asbury's  Interest  for  Africans.  860 
The  Bisiioji  and  Black  "Punch"  8G0 


\-  ,i^.,.;„„  <'«.i.  .,„,,iAslmrv  8  Depression Jh'i 

\  alentine  Look .33o  ,,,,     ,,•  ,        ^   ,,,      ,    ^       o /-.  ..<..• 

Asbury  again  in  the  West 33u  ■V*''  li'-l"M.'«  J"  (- liarleston  S.C.  .362 

Review.!^ 33o^""'|'f ."   /''?  ^f  ""*^  ^?"<=K*'  „„„ 


CHAPTER   X. 

OENEBAL   CONKEKENCE   OF   179C. 


and  Light-Street  Church  ... .  368 

I  Death  of  Edgar  Wells 363 

iHammett's  i^ailure 864 

pl'Farland  364 

I  Asbury  rests 36-"> 

The  Third  General  Conference  338iHis  Sull'eriiigs 365 

Coke's  Return 338  Death  of  Jarratt 867 

Pierre  de  Pontavice,  his  Travel-         Lee  in  tlie  South 363 

ing  Companion 3381  Asbury's  Letter  to  him 369 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Confer-        I  Methodist  Unity 369 

ence 339 ' Coke  and  Asbury 370 

Definitive  Annual  Conferences  339  Lee  in  Charleston 371 

Chapel  Deed S-VJ  His  Biitiiday  Reflections 871 

Censorship  of  the  Press 34o  Presentiments 371 

The  Methodist  Magazine 340  Lue  and  Slavery 372 

The  Chartered  Fund 34o  His  hard  Fare 373 

Local  Preachers 34o  His  Humor 373 

Spirituous  Liquors o4o  E.\aiiiples 373 

Mavery 340  His  Success 874 

Rules  for  Methodist  Seminaries  342  An    E.xtraordinary    Quarterly 
Marriage  with  Unbelievers 343i     Meeting 375 


CONTENTS. 


Great  Prosperity 375 

Camp  Meetings 375 

Coke's  Visits 376 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

METHODISM    IN    THE    SOUTH,    CONTIN- 
UED, 1796-1804. 

Prosperity  of  the  Church 377 

Great  Kcvivals 378 

Singular  Conversion  of  Captain 

Biirton 380 

George  Clark  and  Isaac  Smith 

Pioneering 384 

Strong  Men  of  the  Soutli 385 

George  IJougharty 386 

His  Superior  Talents 386 

An  Example 387 

He  IS  Mobbed  and  "Pumped" 

in  Charleston 388 

His  Death 389 

^Villiam  Watters  re-enters  the 

Itinerancy 390 

The  Watters  Family 3'J2 

William  Gassaway 393 

His  Singular  Conversion 393 

Victory  over  an  Enemy 3iJ6 

He  calls  out  Bishop  Capers 397 

Enoch  George 397 

William  M'Kendree  goes  to  the 

VV  est 398 

Tobias    Gibson    goes    to    the 

Southwest 399 

William  Kyland 400 

His  Eloquence 400 

Chaplain  to  Congress 400 

General  Jackson 400 

James  Smith 401 

Statistical    View    of   Southern 

Methodism 402 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

METHODISM    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AND 
NOKTUEUN   STATES,    1796-1804. 

Great  Religious  Interest 403 

Its  Excesses 403 

It  Extends  over  the  Nation 404 

Senator  Bassett 405 

Asbury 407 

Ware 407 

Dr.  Kusli's  Interest  for  Meth- 
odism    408 

Dr.  Chandler's  Services 40y 

Solomon  Sharp's  Character. . . .  413 

A  Practical  Joke 414 

Thomas  Smith  attempts  Suicide  415 
Becomes  a  Useful  Preacher  . . .  416 


PnCfl 

Curious  Facts  in  his  Ministry . .  416 

A  Solemn  Wager 418 

Persecution 4:^0 

Restoration  of  a  DecayedChurch  421 

Henry  Boehm 422 

Boehm's  Chapel 424 

Boehm  Itinerating  in  Maryland  425 
The  Eunals  and  Airy  Families .  425 
Singular  Introduction  of  Meth- 
odism into  Annamessex 427 

Boehm  among  the  Germans  of 

Pennsylvania 428 

Sketch  of  Jacob  Gruber 430 

Peter  Vannest 433 

Thomas  Burch 433 

The  "Albright"  Methodists  ..  435 
Dr.  Romer's  German  Transla- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Disci- 
pline    436 

CHAPTER   XV. 


sr      TUE      MIDDLE      AND 
STATES,        CONTINUED, 


METHODISM 
NORTHERN 

1796-1804. 

The  New  York  Conference 488 

William  Thacher 438 

Billy  Hibbard 442 

His  Humor 442 

Early  Life 443 

Ministerial  Toils  and  Successes  448 

His  Death 452 

Experience  of  a  Dutch  Meth- 
odist :  Note 453 

Samuel  Merwin  455 

Sylvester  Hutchinson 457 

Ebenezer  Washburn 459 

William  Anson  on  Grand  Isle  .  460 
Methodism  at  the  Head  of  the 

Hudson 461 

Amongthe  PennsylvaniaMoun- 
tains  and  Valleys,  and  New 

York  Lakes 462 

Ware  and  Colbert  in  the  Wy- 
oming Valley 462 

Colbert's  Hardships 462 

Benjamin  Bidlack 465 

Outspread  of  the  Church 467 

Alfred  Griffith's  Hardships 467 

Progress  in  the  Interior  of  New 

York 468 

First  Ciiapel  of  Genesee  Con- 
ference    469 

Lorenzo  Dow 469 

Colbert 4(i9 

Enlargement  of  the  Field 470 

Methodism  in  New  York  City.  473 
Statistics 474 


10 


CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

METHODISM    IN   THE    NORTH,    CONTIN- 
tJED  :    CANADA,  1796-1804. 

Canada  Methodism  pertains  to 

New  York  Conference 476 

Prosperity  475 

Michael  Coate 470 

Joseph  Jewell 476 

Joseph  Sawyer 477 

William  An'son 477 

Other  Laborers 478 

The  Layman  Warner    478 

SamuerDraper 478 

SethCrowell 478 

Great  Success 478  j 

Nathan  Bangs 479 ; 

His  Great  Services 480 1 

His  Canadian  Life 482 

Sawyer  presses   him  into  the         I 

Itinerancy 483 

A  Signiflcniit  Dream 484 ' 

Loses  his  Horse 4*6 1 

Its  Consequences 486 1 

Fallacy  of  "  Impressions" 487 

Frontier  Life 4881 


Pm 

[Providential  Escape 489 

I  Calvin  Wooster 49'2 

I  Bangs's  "  Double  Voice  " 493 

Asbury 493 

Saw->er  begins   Methodism  in 

Montreal     494 

Peter  Vannest's  Hardships 494 

Thomas  Madden 494 

Other  Itinerants 49."< 

Statistical  Results 495 

Death  of  Barbara  Heck 496 

The  Heck  and  Embury  Fami- 
lies :  Note 497 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

METHODISM  I.V  THE    EASTERN    ST.VTES, 

1796-18114. 

New  England  Methodism 498 

Robert  Yellalee 498 

Escape  from  an  Assassin 499 

John  Brodhead's  Services  and 

Character 499 

Timothy    Merritt's    (.Character 

and  Labors 504 

Lee  in  the  East 5o8 


HISTORY 

OF  THE 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


B  O  O  K  Y. 


FROM  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  OP  1793  TO  THE 
GENERAL  CONFERENCE  OP  1804. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    CONFERENCE   OF   1792 — ^O'KELLY'S    SCHISM, 

Necessity  of  a  General  Conference  —  Coke  returns  to  America  —  Tlie 
General  Conference  —  The  "Council"  ignored  —  Excited  Debates  — 
Religious  Interest — Amendments  of  the  Discipline  —  The  Presiding 
Eldership  established  —  General  Conferences  ordained  —  Supernu- 
meraries—  Preachers'  Wives  —  Other  Amendments  —  O'Kellj'  and 
the  Appointing  Power  —  Great  Debates  —  0' Kelly  and  others  Secede 
—  Merits  of  the  Question  —  Conclusion  of  the  Conference  —  Its 
Character  —  O'Kelly's  Schism — Disastrous  Consequences  —  War  ol 
Pamphlets  —  Asbury — Loss  of  Members  —  Results  —  Asbury'  s  Inter 
View  with  O'Kelly  —  His  continued  Hostility  —  Was  there  a  General 
Conference  between  1784  and  1792  ?  Note. 

Another  important  event,  in  the  history  of  American 
Methodism,  was  at  hand:  the  second  General  Confer- 
ence. The  first,  called  the  Christmas  Conference,  (in 
1784,)  had  been  an  extraordinary  convention  of  the 
ministry,  held,  at  the  instance  of  Wesley,  for  the  epis- 
copal organization  of  the  Church.  No  provision  was 
made  for  any  subsequent  similar  assembly.  The  rapid 
multiplication  of  sectional    or    "  annual    conferences " 


12  HISTORY    OF    TII  E 

facilitated  the  local  business  of  the  denomination,  h\  t 
rendered  legislation  on  its  general  interests  difficult,  if 
not  impossible.  If  the  early  custom  of  carrying  general 
measures  from  one  conference  to  another,  till  all  had 
acted  upon  them,  still  continued,  it  had  now  become 
exceedingly  inconvenient ;  it  delayed  the  enactment  of 
such  measures  nearly  a  year;  there  could  be  no  ready 
comparison  of  opinions,  or  answer  of  objections,  be- 
tween conferences  remotely  apart;  and  the  last  in  the 
series  for  the  year  might,  for  want  of  such  consultation, 
defeat  the  votes  of  all  that  had  preceded  it,  thereby 
requiring  the  measure  to  be  repeated  in  a  revised  form 
through  another  year.  Asbury's  favorite  "  Council " 
failed  as  a  substitute;  it  was  defective,  as  has  been 
shown,  by  giving  the  bishops  supreme  control  of  its 
constituency,  and  endangering  the  imiformity,  if  not  the 
unity,  of  the  Church,  for  its  enactments  were  to  have 
effect  only  in  such  Annual  Conferences  as  should  ap- 
prove them.  Some  other  mode  of  general  legislation 
was  therefore  necessary.  The  memorable  assembly  of 
1784  presented  the  expedient  example,  and  accordingly 
a  General  Conference  was  called  for  1792. 

Bishop  Coke  had  left  America,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
May,  1791,  on  receiving  the  news  of  Wesley's  death, 
and  was  absent  about  a  year  and  a  half  This  was  an 
anxious  and  busy  period  with  him.  The  difficulties 
attending  the  settlement  of  the  Wesleyan  Connection, 
after  the  loss  of  its  great  founder,  were  exasperated  by 
jealousy,  if  not  maltreatment  of  the  bishop,  among  the 
English  preachers."  He  bore  patiently,  however,  his 
humiliating  reception,  and  pursued  with  undiminished 
ardor  his  public  labors.  Besides  preparing,  with 
Henry  Moore,  a  Life  of  Wesley,  and  beginning  a  Com- 
»  Drew's  Life  of  Coke,  p.  232. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  13 

mentary  on  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in  six  quarto  volumes, 
(a  labor  of  fifteen  years,'')  he  attempted  to  introduce 
Methodism  into  France.  He  went  to  Paris  with  an 
assistant  preacher,  de  Quetteville,  and  commenced  public 
worship.  The  project,  however,  was  found  to  be  prema- 
ture, and  was  abandoned.  He  returned  to  London,  and 
thence  hastened  over  much  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
preaching  and  collecting  funds  for  his  West  India  Mis- 
sions. Successful  in  this  task,  he  embarked  in  Septem- 
ber, 1 792,  for  the  General  Conference  in  Baltimore, 
accompanied  by  a  missionary  for  the  West  Indies.  His 
voyage  was  long,  sixty  days,  thirteen  of  them  spent  in 
beating  about  the  British  channel.  He  began  to  de- 
spair of  reaching  his  destination  before  the  adjournment 
of  the  conference,  but  relieved  the  tediousness  of  the 
delay  by  constantly  writing  at  his  Commentary. 
"  From  the  time  I  rise  till  bedtime,"  he  says,  "  except 
during  meals,  I  have  the  cabin  table  to  myself,  and 
work  at  it  incessantly.  I  never  was  accustomed  to 
dream  much  till  now ;  but  I  seem  to  be  at  my  pleasing 
work  even  while  I  sleep.  I  have  six  canary  birds  over 
my  head,  which  sing  most  delightfully,  entertaining 
me  while  I  am  laboring  for  my  Lord."  ^  Neither  Wes- 
ley nor  Asbury  exceeded  this  devoted  man  in  minis- 
terial labors  or  travels,  and  scarcely  any  man  of  his  age 
equaled  him  in  pecuniary  sacrifices  for  religion  ;  yet,  on 
observing  his  birthday  on  the  high  seas,  (October  9th,) 
he  writes :  "  I  am  now  forty-five.  Let  me  take  a  view 
of  my  past  life.  What  is  the  sum  of  all  ?  What  have 
I   done  ?     And  what   am  I  ?     I  have    done   nothing ; 

2  His  friend,  Samuel  Drew,  aided  him  in  this  and  most  of  his  other 
literary  lahors ;  but  to  wliat  extent,  Drew  never  would  reveal .  Drew's 
Coke,  p.,  361. 

3  Extracts  of  the  Journals  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coke's  Five  Visits  to 
America,  p.  159.     London :  1793. 


14  HISTORY   OF  THE 

no,   nothing;   and   T   am   a   sinner!    God  be   merciful 
to  me ! " 

On  the  20th  of  October,  following  an  annual  custom 
of  Methodism,  "  I  renewed,"  he  says,  "  my  covenant 
with  God  this  morning  in  as  solemn  and  happy  a  temper 
as  ever  I  experienced,  my  first  espousals  to  God  not 
excepted."  On  the  28th  he  writes:  "A  pilot  is  just 
come  on  board,  and  in  all  probability  I  shall  be  in  Bal- 
timore in  time.  The  Lord  does  all  things  well;  glory 
and  honor  l>e  ascribed  to  him  for  ever !  "  Two  days 
later  he  landed  at  Newcastle,  Del.  He  had  "  seventy 
miles  to  ride  in  the  space  of  a  day  and  a  few  hours,  in 
order  to  be  in  time  for  the  General  Conference ;"  he  flew 
over  the  distance,  wearing  out  one  chaise-horse  and 
breaking  down  another.  "About  nine  o'clock  Wed- 
nesday night,  October  31, 1  arrived,"  he  continues,  "at 
the  house  of  my  friend,  Philip  Rogers,  of  Baltimore,  with 
just  time  enough  to  take  some  refreshment,  and  a  little 
sleep,  before  the  General  Conference  commenced.  Mr. 
Asbury  and  the  preachers  who  were  at  Mr.  Rogers's 
were  surprised  to  see  me  at  that  critical  moment.  They 
had  almost  given  me  up,  but  intended  to  spend  ten  days 
in  debating  matters  of  the  smallest  importance,  in  ]>rayer, 
.and  in  declaring  their  experiences,  before  they  entered 
on  the  weightier  business,  if  I  did  not  sooner  arrive." 

The  General  Conference  began  on  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, 1 792.  We  have  no  "  official "  record  of  its  proceed- 
ings;* but  Jesse  Lee,  who  was  present,  has  preserved  an 

*  The  Journals  of  the  General  Conferences  were  published  by  order 
of  the  session  of  1852,  and  edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  M'Clintock,  who  says 
in  his  preface,  "  The  Minutes  of  the  General  Conference  for  1792  were 
never  publislied,  to  my  knowledge,  nor  can  I  find  the  original  copy. 
Those  of  17%  were  published  in  a  compendium  form,  which  is  now 
reprinted."  Our  official  records  of  these  sessions,  then,  begin  in  the 
latter  year.    Those  of  1784  and  1792  seem  to  be  irrecoverably  lost ;  the 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  15 

outline  of  its  most  important  doings.  He  represents 
the  gathering  of  preachers  as  numerous;  "from  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  where  we  had  any  circuits 
formed.  "^  They  came  with  "  the  expectation  that  some 
thing  of  great  importance  would  take  place,  in  the  con- 
nection," in  consequence  of  the  session ;  they  supposed 
that  "  in  all  probability  there  would  never  be  another 
conference  of  the  kind ; "  but  that,  owing  to  the  rapid 
extension  of  the  ecclesiastical  field,  "the  conference 
would  adopt  some  permanent  regulations  which  would 
prevent  the  preachers  from  coming  together  in  a  General 
Conference,"  If  they  anticipated  any  regular  quadren- 
nial session,  it  is  probable  that  they  supposed  it  would 
thereafter  be  a  delegated  body,  for  Lee  himself  had 
advocated  this  modification,"  and  is  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  being  the  author  of  the  change,  which,  though 
resisted  for  sixteen  years,  was  at  last  forced  upon  the 
body  in  1 808  by  irresistible  necessity. 

The  "Council,"  at  its  last  session,  in  1790,  had  ad- 
journed to  meet  in  Baltimore,  or  at  Cokesbury  College, 
in  December,  1792,  probably  supposing  that  it  would 
be  recognized  and  empowered  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence. But  Lee,  who  had  stoutly  opposed  it  from  the 
beginning,  reports  that  "  the  bishops  and  preachers  in 
general  showed  a  disposition  to  drop  it  and  all  things 
belonging  thereto."  Asbury  even  "  requested  that  its 
name  might  not  again  be  mentioned  in  the  conference." 
"It  was  tacitly  abolished;  it  was  dead,"  says  Lee's 
biographer,  "  and  he  was  present  at  its  burial."    It  had 

substance  of  the  former,  however,  waa  embodied  in  the  Discipline  of 
1785,  and  has  been  given  in  my  preceding  volume.  For  an  account  of 
the  chief  proceedings  of  1792  we  arc  indebted  to  Lee's  "  History  of 
the  Methodists." 

5  Lee's  History,  p.  176. 

"Dr.  Lee's  Life,  etc.,  of  Jesse  Lee,  p.  270. 


16  HISTORY   OF  THE 

threatened  to  disown  him  as  a  preacher,  because  of  h» 
opposition  to  it.  "His  triumph  had  come,  and  it  was 
complete.     He  enjoyed  it  in  silence." 

In  sketching  the  organization  of  the  Church  by  the 
Conference  of  1784,  I  have  anticipated  some  of  the 
amendments  of  the  Discipline,  adopted  at  the  present 
session,  and  need  not  repeat  them. 

On  the  first  day  rules  for  the  government  of  the  body 
were  enacted.  A  committee  was  aj)pointed  to  prepare 
and  report  to  it  all  its  business ;  as,  however,  the  de- 
bates in  the  committee  had  to  be  repeated  in  the  full 
assembly,  it  was  found  not  to  expedite,  but  rather  re- 
tard business;  it  was  enlarged,  but  at  last  dismissed. 
The  chief  restrictive  regulation  adopted  provided  that 
two  thirds  of  all  the  members  voting  could  abolisli  an 
old  law  or  make  a  new  one,  but  that  a  majority  might 
alter  or  amend  any  existing  law. 

The  first  day  was  spent  in  considering  the  rules  of 
the  house.  On  the  second,"  O'Kelly  introduced  a 
motion  affecting  radically  the  power  of  the  episcopate, 
and  indirectly  reflecting  on  the  administration  of 
As])ury ;  it  absorbed  all  attention  for  nearly  a  week,  so 
that  the  revision  of  the  Discipline,  and  the  most  needed 
legislation  of  the  session,  did  not  begin  till  Tuesday  the 
0th.  The  excited  debates  were  reilieved  by  extraordi- 
nary religious  services  on  Sunday,  when  Coke  preached 
"a  delightful  sermon"  on  Rom.  viii,  16 — the  "  Witness 
of  the  Spirit " — which  was  printed  by  order  of  the  con- 
ference. O'Kelly,  who  was  one  of  the  most  command- 
ing men  of  the  itinerancy,  preached  in  the  afternoon 
on  Luke  xvii,  5 :  "  The  apostles  said  unto  the  Lord,  In- 

'  For  the  order  of  the  proceedings  of  about  half  the  session  I  am  in- 
debted to  an  extract  from  "  a  manuscript  of  William  Colbert,"  a  mem- 
ber, given  in  Peck's  "  Early  Methodism,"  etc..  p.  39. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  17 

crease  our  faith."  "  The  power  of  the  Lord  attended 
the  word,"  says  a  hearer.^  At  night  Henry  Willis,  the 
the  most  endeared  to  Asbury  of  all  the  itinerants  of  that 
day,  preached  on  Psalm  xcv,  10,  11,  probably  with 
reference  to  the  strifes  of  the  period  against  the  bishop, 
for  Willis  defended  him  and  opposed  O'Kelly  in  the 
conference  debates.  Meanwhile  there  was  daily  preach 
ing  in  the  city  and  vicinity,  and  a  general  "  revival " 
kindled,  for  there  were  many  of  the  preachers  who  cared 
more  for  the  prosi^erity  of  the  Churches  than  for  the 
controversies  of  the  conference. 

On  Tuesday  of  the  second  week  began  the  revision 
of  the  Discipline.  Regular  General  Conferences  were 
ordained,  and  the  Annual  Conferences  were  distin- 
guished, from  these  quadrennial  assemblies,  by  the  title 
of  "  District  Conferences,"  as  it  was  determined  to 
hold  one  of  them  for  each  presiding  elder's  district,^ 
their  limits  to  be  defined  by  the  bishojjs,  "  yet  so  as  not 
to  include  more  than  twelve,  nor  less  than  three  circuits 
in  each  district."  The  bishops  had  also  jDOwer  to  ap- 
point the  times  of  their  sessions.  The  character  of  a 
"  supernumerary  preacher  "  was  for  the  first  time  stated ; 
he  is  "  one  who  is  so  worn  out  in  the  itinerant  service  as 
to  be  rendered  incapable  of  preaching  constantly,  but 
is  willing  to  do  any  work  in  the  ministry  which  the  con- 
ference may  direct  and  his  strength  enable  him  to  per- 
form." Provision  was  made  for  the  election,  ordination, 
and  trial  of  bishops.  The  oflice  of  Presiding  Elder 
took,  for  the  first  time,  a  definitive  form,  and  the  title 

8 Peck's  "Early  Methodism,"  etc.,  p.  39. 

«The  Annual  Conferences  are  thus  called  throughout  the  Discipline 
of  1792,  but  never  afterward.  From  1820  to  1836  the  title  reappears  in 
the  Discipline  as  the  name  of  certain  Local  Preachers'  Conferences. 
(Emory's  History  of  Discipline,  p.  110.  One  of  our  most  imortant  his- 
torical standards.) 

C— 2 


18  HISTORY   OF  TUh 

appears  for  the  first  time  in  the  Discipline.'"  The  Order 
of  Elders  was  provided  in  the  organization  of  the 
Church  of  1784;  as  Wesley,  however,  had  requested 
that  as  few  candidates  as  were  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  should  be 
appointed,  only  twelve  were  then  ordained."  With 
Wesley's  approval  the  number  was  afterward  increased. 
They  traveled  over  given  sections  of  the  Church,  ad- 
ministering the  sacraments,  and  maintaining  a  general 
supervision  of  the  circuits.  Their  appointment  to  their 
respective  sections  had  hitherto  been  without  limita- 
tion in  respect  to  time.  O'Kelly,  for  example,  had 
traveled  the  same  district  in  southern  Virginia  ever 
since  his  ordinrition  in  1784,  and  had  been  stationed 
there  several  years  before.  It  is  supposed  that  disad- 
vantages, resulting  from  his  case,  led  to  the  present 
modifications  of  the  ottice.  The  new  law  ]>rovided  that 
the  bishops  should  ap|)oint  the  presiding  elders,  not 
allowing  them  a  longer  term  than  four  years  on 
any  one  district ;  tliat  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the 
elder  to  travel  through  his  appointed  district ;  in  the 
absence  of  a  bishop,  to  take  charge  of  all  the  elders, 
deacons,  traveling  and  local  preachers,  and  exhorters 
within  it ;  to  change,  receive,  or  suspend  preachers 
during  the  intervals  of  the  conferences,  and  in  the 
absence  of  the  bishop ;  in  the  absence  of  the  bishop 
to  preside  in  the  conference  of  his  district;  and  to 
call  together,  at  each  quarterly  meeting,  all  the  travel- 
ing and  local  preachers,  exhorters,  stewards,  and  leaders 
of  the  circuit,  to  hear  complaints,  and  to  receive  appeals; 
to  oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the 

»» The  title  docs  not  appear  in  the  Annual  Minutes,  however,  till 
1797,  though  it  had  been  used  in  1789  in  the  sehcmc  of  the  "  Council" 
and  in  the  Minutes. 

>»  The  Bishops'  Notes  to  the  Discipline  of  1796. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURlH.  19 

societies ;  to  take  care  that  every  part  of  the  Discipline 
be  enforced  ;  to  attend  the  bishoj)  when  present  in  his 
district,  and  to  give  him,  when  absent,  all  necessary 
information  of  its  condition,  by  letter.  He  was 
to  be  supported  by  any  surplus  of  the  contributions  for 
the  ministry  on  the  circuits  of  his  charge,  and,  if  there 
should  be  no  surplus,  he  was  to  share  equally  with  his 
corps  of  preachers.  The  office  as  thus  developed  has  been 
of  momentous  importance  in  the  progress  of  the  Church. 
If  the  episcopate  has  been  the  right  ai-m,  the  presiding 
eldership  has  been  the  left  arm  of  its  disciplinary  admin- 
istration ;  a  virtual  though  subordinate  episcopacy,  with- 
out the  right  to  ordain.  By  the  present  conference  the 
presiding  elder  was  virtually  made  a  diocesan  bishop ;  he 
had  charge  of  a  whole  conference,  for  each  district  was 
a  conference.  The  services  of  the  office  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  denomination,  and  its  later  importance  in 
the  new  fields  of  the  ministry,  can  hardly  be  exagger- 
ated. Preachers'  wives  had  been  allowed  pecuniary 
assistance  from  the  Church ;  they  were  now  made 
claimants  upon  its  funds  to  an  amount  equal  to  that  of 
their  husbands',  sixty-four  dollars  per  annum.  Besides 
the  preacher's  salary  or  allowance,  his  "traveling  ex- 
penses" were  to  be  paid  by  the  circuit;  these,  in  the 
language  of  the  contemporary  historian,  were  for  "  fer- 
riage, horse  shoeing,  and  provisions  for  himself  and 
horse  on  the  road  when  he  necessai-ily  rode  a  distance." 
The  interdiction  of  fees  for  marriages  was  taken  off; 
the  preacher  was  now  permitted  to  receive,  but  "  not  to 
charge  "  them.  Should  there,  however,  be  a  deficiency 
in  the  circuit  contributions  for  the  ministry,  all  such 
gifts  were  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  stewards, 
and  be  equally  divided  among  the  circuit  preachers. 
They  were  required  also,  in  order  to  receive  any  aid  from 


20  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  conference  funds,  to  report  "  all  moneys,  clothes,  and 
other  presents  of  any  kind,"  a  rule  characteristic  not  only 
of  the  simplicity  of  the  times,  but  also  of  the  intimate 
brotherhood  of  the  ministry  ;  "  intended,"  says  the  his- 
torian, "  to  keep  all  the  preachers  as  nearly  on  an  equal 
footing  as  possible  in  their  money  matters,  that  there 
miglit  be  no  jealousies  or  cnvyings  among  us;  but  that 
we,  like  brethren  of  the  same  family,  might  all  labor 
together  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ."  They  were 
not  allowed  to  "receive  a  present"  for  baptism  or  the 
burial  of  the  dead.  A  rule  was  adopted  for  the  settle- 
ment of  disputes  between  brethren  "concerning  the 
payment  of  debts;"  it  underwent  various  modifications, 
from  time  to  time,  till  1812,  when  it  received  the  form 
it  still  bears  in  the  Discipline.  The  order  of  j)ublic 
worship  was  prescribed,  withotit  an  allusion  to  Wesley's 
abridged  liturgy ;  and  the  use  of  fugue  tunes  was  dis- 
ap})roved.  Methodists  removing  from  one  Church  to 
another  were  required  to  bear  with  them  a  certificate 
that  "  A.  B.,  the  bearer,  has  been  an  acceptable  mem- 
ber in  C. ;"  still  an  indispensable  requirement  through- 
out the  Church.  Provision  was  made  for  the  trial  of 
preachers  for  immorality,  or  improper  conduct,  and  also 
for  heresy.  "  The  latter,"  says  Lee,  "  was  to  prevent 
the  spread  of  the  erroneous  doctrines  which  had 
been  imbibed  and  propagated  in  public  and  in  pri- 
vate by  O'Kelly,  who,  previous  to  that  time,  had  taken 
much  pains  to  draw  off  some  of  our  preachers  into  his 
way  of  thinking,  and  had  so  far  succeeded  in  his 
endeavors  as  to  get  some  of  them  confused  and  be- 
wildered in  their  minds  about  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity.  At  this  conference  we  made  the  following 
rule,  in  addition  to  the  former  one,  respecting  the  trial 
of  private  members  :  '  If  a  member  of  our  Church  shall 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  21 

be  clearly  convicted  of  endeavoring  to  sow  dissensions 
in  any  of  our  Societies,  by  inveighing  against  either  our 
doctrine  or  discipline,  sucli  person  so  offending  shall  be 
first  reproved  by  the  senior  preacher  of  his  circuit ;  and 
if  he  aftervrard  persist  in  such  pernicious  practices  he 
shall  be  expelled  the  Society.' " 

Such  were  the  principal  amendments  of  the  Disci- 
pline made  at  this  General  Conference.  In  their  pre- 
face to  the  next  edition  the  bishops  say :  "  We  have 
made  some  little  alterations  in  the  present  edition, 
yet  such  as  affect  not  in  any  degree  the  essentials  of 
our  doctrines  and  discipline.  We  think  ourselves 
obliged  frequently  to  view  and  review  the  whole  order 
of  our  Church,  always  aiming  at  perfection,  standing 
on  the  shoulders  of  those  who  have  lived  before  us,  and 
taking  advantage  of  our  former  selves."  '^ 

But  the  chief  subject  of  its  deliberations  was  the 
proposition  of  O'Kelly,  to  so  abridge  the  episcopal 
prerogative  that,  "  after  the  bishop  appoints  the  preach- 
ers, at  conference,  to  their  sevei'al  circuits,  if  any  one 
thinks  himself  injured  by  the  appointment  he  shall 
have  liberty  to  appeal  to  the  conference  and  state  his 
objections;  and  if  the  conference  approve  his  objections, 
the  bishop  shall  appoint  him  to  another  circuit."  O'Kelly 
doubtless  had  prepared  the  way,  among  the  preachers, 
for  the  agitation  of  this  radical  innovation,  and  Asbury 
evidently  anticipated  it ;  for  he  writes,  "  I  felt  awful  at 
the  General  Conference."'^     The  motion  was  obviously 

1^  In  1793  the  Discipline  of  the  Cliurch  was  revised  and  somewhat 
altered.  The  sections  were  distributed  into  three  chapters,  of  which 
the  first,  containing  twenty-six  sections,  related  to  the  ministry ;  the 
second,  containing  eight  sections,  to  the  membership ;  and  the  third, 
containing  ten  sections,  embraced  the  temporal  economy  of  the 
Church,  the  Doctrinal  Tracts,  and  the  Forms. — Emory'' s  History  of  the 
Discipline,  p.  84. 

"  Asbury's  Journals,  1792. 


22  HISTORY    OF    THE 

a  reflection  on  his  administration,  but  he  bore  it  with 
admirable  mafirnanimity.  He  adds:  "At  my  desire 
they  appointed  a  moderator,  and  preparatory  commit- 
tee, to  keep  order  and  bring  forward  the  business  with 
rcirul^rity.  We  had  heavy  debates  on  the  first,  second, 
and  third  sections  of  our  form  of  discipline.  My  power 
to  station  the  preachers  without  an  appeal  was  much 
debated,  but  finally  carried  by  a  very  large  majority. 
Perhaps  a  new  bishop,  new  conference,  and  new  laws 
would  have  better  pleased  some.  I  have  been  much 
grieved  for  others,  and  distressed  with  the  burden  1 
bear,  and  must  hereafter  bear.  O  my  soul,  enter  into 
rest!  Ah,  who  am  I,  that  the  burden  of  the  work 
should  lie  on  my  heart,  hands,  and  head  ?" 

Having  secured  the  organization  of  the  body,  with 
Coke  for  moderator,  he  retired  anxious  and  sick,  but  his 
"  soul  breathing  unto  God,  and  exceedingly  happy  in  his 
love."  lie  addressed  the  following  characteristic  letter 
to  the  conference:  "  Let  my  absence  give  you  no  pain ; 
Dr.  Coke  presides.  I  am  happily  excused  from  assist- 
ing to  make  laws  by  which  myself  am  to  be  governed: 
I  have  only  to  obey  and  execute.  I  am  happy  in  the 
consideration  that  I  never  stationed  a  preacher  through 
enmity,  or  as  a  punishment.  I  have  acted  for  the  glory 
of  God,  the  good  of  the  people,  and  to  promote  the 
usefulness  of  the  preachers.  Are  you  sure  that  if  you 
please  yourselves  the  peoj)le  will  be  as  fully  satisfied? 
They  often  say, '  Let  us  have  such  a  preacher ; '  and  some- 
times,  'We  will  not  have  such  a  preacher,  we  will  sooner 
pay  him  to  stop  at  home.'  Perhaps  I  must  say,  '  His 
appeal  forced  him  upon  you.'  I  am  one,  ye  are  many. 
I  am  as  willing  to  serv^e  you  as  ever.  I  want  not  to  sit 
in  any  man's  way.  I  scorn  to  solicit  votes.  I  am  a 
very  trembling,  poor  creature  to  hear  praise   or   dis- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  23 

praise.  Speak  your  minds  freely ;  but  remember,  you 
are  only  making  laws  for  the  present  time.  It  may  be 
that,  as  in  some  other  things,  so  in  this,  a  future  day 
may  give  you  further  light."  "  I  am  not  fond  of  alter- 
cations," he  writes  in  his  journal  at  the  time  ;  "  we  can- 
not please  everybody,  and  sometimes  not  ourselves.  I 
am  resigned." 

The  discussion,  as  we  have  seen,  occupied  nearly  a 
week ;  it  was  the  first  of  those  great  parliamentary  de- 
bates which  have  given  pre-eminence  to  the  deliberative 
talent  of  the  body.  It  was  led  chiefly  by  O'Kelly, 
Ivey,  Hull,  Garrettson,  and  Swift  for  the  affirmative, 
and  by  Willis,  Lee,  Morrell,  Everett,  and  Reed  for  the 
negative,^*  all  chieftains  of  the  itinerancy  and  eloquent 
preachers.  The  mere  intimations  respecting  it,  found 
in  the  writings  of  contemporary  Methodists,  show  that 
it  was  an  occasion  of  extraordinary  interest.  Lee  says 
"  the  arguments,  for  and  against,  were  weighty,  and 
handled  in  a  masterly  manner.  There  never  had  been 
a  subject  before  us  that  so  fully  called  forth  all  the 
strength  of  the  preachers."  Coke,  however  anxious  for 
the  issue  of  the  controversy,  sat  in  the  chair  rapt  in  ad- 
miration of  the  talent  it  elicited.  Lee  records  a  brief 
outline  of  the  proceedings.  He  says  :  "  A  lai"ge  major- 
ity appeared  at  first  to  be  in  favor  of  the  motion.  But 
at  last  John  Dickins  moved  to  divide  the  question  thus : 

1.  Shall  the  bishop  appoint  the  preachers  to  the  circuits  ? 

2.  Shall  a  preacher  be  allowed  an  appeal  ?  After  some 
debate  the  dividing  of  the  question  was  carried.  The 
first  question  being  put,  it  was  carried  without  a  dis- 
senting voice.  But  when  we  came  to  the  second  ques- 
tion, '  Shall  a  preacher  be  allowed  an  appeal  ? '  there 
was  a  diUculty  started,  whether  this  was  to  be  cou- 

1*  Peck's  Early  Methodism,  p.  39. 


24  HISTORY   OF  THE 

sidered  a  new  rule,  or  only  an  amendment  of  an  old  one. 
If  it  was  a  new  rule,  it  would  take  two  thirds  of  the 
votes  to  carry  it.  After  a  considerable  debate  it  was 
agreed  by  vote  that  it  was  only  an  amendment  of  an 
old  rule.  Of  course  after  all  these  lengthy  debates  we 
were  just  where  we  began,  and  had  to  take  up  the  ques- 
tion as  it  was  proposed  at  first.  One  rule  for  our 
d('l)ntes  was,  'That  each  person  if  he  choose  shall  have 
liberty  to  speak  three  times  on  each  motion.'  By  divid- 
ing the  question,  and  then  coming  back  to  where  we 
were  at  tii"st,  we  were  kept  on  the  subject,  called  the 
Appeal,  for  two  or  three  days.  On  Monday  we  began 
the  debate  afresh,  and  continued  it  through  the  day  ; 
and  at  night  we  went  to  Otterl)ein's  church,  and 
again  continued  it  till  near  bedtime,  when  the  vote  was 
taken,  and  the  motion  was  lost  by  a  large  majority." 

Thomas  Ware  was  a  member  of  the  conference, 
and  has  left  us  a  further  glimpse  of  the  great  dis- 
cussion. He  says:  "It  was  allowed  on  all  hands 
that  no  sacrifice  could  be  too  great  to  acconiidisli 
the  object  we  had  in  view,  namely,  the  salvation 
of  souls ;  but  the  question  was,  whether  the  means 
were  the  most  perfectly  adapted  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  that  object  ;  whether  for  this  purpose  so  large 
a  body  of  men  should  hold  themselves  ready  to  go 
wherever  the  general  superintendent  should  deem  it 
best  in  his  judgment  to  send  them.  The  number  of 
traveling  preachers  was  at  this  time  two  hundred 
and  sixty  six.  Had  O'Kelly's  proposition  been  differ- 
ently managed  it  might  possibly  have  been  carried. 
For  myself,  at  first  I  did  not  see  anything  very  objec- 
tionable in  it.  But  Avhen  it  came  to  be  debated,  I  very 
much  disliked  the  spirit  of  those  who  advocated  it,  and 
wondered  at   the    severity  in  which   the   movers,  and 


METHODIST    EPISCOiA.L     CHURCH.  25 

others  who  spoke  in  favor  of  it,  indulged  in  the  course 
of  their  remarks.  Some  of  them  said  that  it  was  a 
shame  for  a  man  to  accept  of  sucli  a  lordship,  much  more 
to  claim  it ;  and  that  they  who  would  submit  to  this 
absolute  dominion  must  forfeit  all  claims  to  freedom, 
and  ought  to  have  their  ears  bored  through  with  an 
awl,  and  to  be  fastened  to  their  master's  door  and  be- 
come slaves  for  life.  One  said  that  to  be  denied  such  an 
appeal  was  an  insult  to  his  understanding,  and  a  species 
of  tyranny  to  which  others  might  submit  if  they  chose, 
but  for  his  part  he  must  be  excused  for  saying  he  could 
not.  The  advocates  of  the  opposite  side  were  more 
dispassionate  and  argumentative.  They  urged  that 
Wesley,  the  father  of  the  Methodist  family,  had  devised 
the  plan,  and  deemed  it  essential  for  the  preservation 
of  the  itinerancy.  They  said  that,  accoi-ding  to  the 
showing  of  O'Kelly,  Wesley,  if  he  were  alive,  ought 
to  blush,  for  he  claimed  the  right  to  station  the  preach- 
ers to  the  day  of  his  death.  The  appeal,  it  was  argued, 
was  rendered  impracticable  on  account  of  the  many 
serious  difficulties  with  which  it  was  encumbered. 
Should  one  preacher  appeal,  and  the  conference  say 
his  appointment  should  be  altered,  the  bishop  must 
remove  some  other  one  to  make  him  room ;  in  which 
case  the  other  might  complain  and  appeal  in  his  turn ; 
and  then  again  the  first  might  appeal  from  the  new  ap- 
pointment, or  others  whose  appointments  these  success- 
ive alterations  might  interrupt.  Hearing  all  that  was 
said  on  both  sides,  I  was  finally  convinced  that  the 
motion  for  such  an  appeal  ought  not  to  carry." 

The  next  morning,  after  the  decision  of  the  question, 
the  conference  was  startled  by  a  letter  from  O'Kelly 
and  "  a  few  other  preachers,"  declaring  that  they  could 
no  longer  retain  their  seats  in  the  body,  "because  the 


26  HISTORY    OF    THE 

appeal  was  not  allowed."  A  committee  of  preachers 
was  immediately  appointed  to  wait  upon  them  and  per- 
suade them  to  resume  their  seats.  Garrettson,  who  had 
taken  sides  with  them  in  the  controversy,  was  on  this 
committee.  He  says:  "  O'Kelly's  distress  was  so 
great  on  account  of  the  late  decision,  that  he  informed 
us  by  letter  that  he  no  longer  considered  himself  one 
of  us.  This  gave  great  grief  to  the  whole  conference. 
Two  persons  were  appointed  with  me  as  a  committee  to 
treat  with  him.  Many  tears  were  shed,  but  we  were 
not  able  to  reconcile  him  to  the  decision  of  the  confer- 
ence. His  wound  was  deejt,  and  apparently  incurable." 
Before  the  week  closed  O'Kelly  had  an  interview  with 
Coke,  but  availed  himself  of  it  to  criminate  the  doctor 
and  the  conference.  Finally,  says  Lee  in  his  naive 
style:  "He,  and  the  preachers  that  were  particularly 
influenced  by  him,  set  off  for  Virginia,  taking  their  sad- 
dle-bags, great  coats,  and  other  bundles  on  their  shoul- 
ders or  arms,  walking  on  foot  to  the  place  where  they 
left  their  horses,  which  was  about  twelve  miles  from 
town.  I  stood  and  looked  afU'r  them  as  they  went  off, 
ami  observe<l  to  one  of  the  preachers  that  I  was  sorry 
to  sec  the  old  man  go  off  in  that  way,  for  I  was  per- 
suaded he  would  not  be  quiet  long,  but  would  try  to 
be  head  of  some  party.  The  preacher  then  informed 
me  that  O'Kelly  denied  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
and  preached  against  it,  by  saying  that  the  Father 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  were  characters,  and  not  persons; 
and  that  these  chai-acters  all  belonged  to  Jesus  Christ. 
That  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  preacher  further  said,  that  it  was  his 
intention  to  have  had  O'Kelly  tried  at  that  conference 
for  the  false  doctrines  which  he  had  been  preaching  ; 
and  he  believed  that  his  leaving  the  conference  was 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  27 

more  out  of  fear  of  being  brought  to  trial  than  on 
account  of  the  appeal.  But  so  it  was,  James  O'Kelly 
never  more  united  with  the  Methodists." 

Asbury  had  triumphed  by  his  wise  silence ;  his  sup- 
porters in  the  debate  had  prevailed  not  so  much  by  the 
abstract  merits  of  their  side  of  the  question,  as  by  the 
practical  good  sense,  and  loyalty  to  the  Church,  with 
which  they  drew  their  arguments  from  its  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances and  necessities.  Abstractly  considered, 
O'Kelly's  proposition  seemed  not  unreasonable,  for  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  bishop  had  abso- 
lute power  over  the  distribution  of  all  the  preachers, 
from  Boston  to  Savannah,  there  having  been  yet  no 
"  cabinet "  of  presiding  elders  to  assist  in  his  appoint- 
ments. We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  that,  on  the 
first  appearance  of  the  question,  such  men  as  Garrctt- 
son.  Ware,  Hull,  Ivey,  and  Reed  sustained  O'Kelly.  It 
should  not  be  forgotten,  also,  that  at  this  very  time  had 
commenced  those  debates  in  the  British  Conference, 
occasioned  by  the  recent  death  of  Wesley,  which 
resulted  in  the  reorganization  of  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odism, with  precisely  the  "  appeal,"  advocated  by 
O'lvelly,  recognized  as  a  constitutional  right  of  every 
itinerant  preacher;  a  right  still  maintained  by  Wesleyan 
Methodism  throughout  the  world.  But  the  Wesleyan 
ministry  deemed  no  such  right  expedient  while  Wesley 
remained  at  their  head ;  and  Asbury  was  now,  to  Amer- 
ican, what  Wesley  had  been  to  British  Methodism. 
The  ecclesiastical  system  of  the  American  Church  had 
hitherto  been,  by  common  consent,  a  sort  of  military 
regime,'  only  as  such  could  it  meet  the  peculiar  wants 
of  its  vast,  its  new  and  ever-opening  field.  Its  ministry 
was  a  volunteer  corps  ;  no  one  was  constrained  to  remain 
in  the  ranks;   they  wisely  chose  to  have  an  effective 


28  HISTORY   OF  THE 

commandant,  invested  with  decisive  authority,  and  will- 
ing, as  well  as  able,  to  throw  them  to  any  point  of  the 
great  field,  into  any  deadly  breach ;  they  demanded  of 
him  only  that  the  victory  be  won.  If  they  had  an  ab- 
stract right  to  O'Kelly's  '*  appeal,"  they  believed  that 
they  had  also  the  right  to  waive  that  right,  for  the 
general  good.  Their  vote,  therefore,  was  not  an  act  of 
servility;  it  was  heroism.  And  they  knew,moreover,that 
the  legislative  power  of  the  Church  was  in  their  own 
hands  ;  that  they  could  qualify  the  episcopal  prerogative 
whenever  they  should  see  it  expedient  to  do  so;  their 
choice  not  to  do  so  now  was  voluntary  and  commendable. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  O'Kelly  peace  and  the  old 
brotherly  spirit  again  ]»ervaded  the  conference.  Asbury, 
by  request  of  his  brethren,  preached  to  them  on  the  ap- 
propriate text  of  1  Peter  iii,  8 :  "  Finally,  be  ye  all  of 
one  mind,  having  compassion  one  of  another ;  love  as 
brethren,  be  pitiful,  be  courteous."  He  had  preached 
his  text  during  the  session,  by  his  example,  and  could 
now  eftectually  preach  it  from  the  pulj»it.  A  solemn 
ordination  of  James  Thomas  and  William  Colbert,  two 
itinerant  pioneers,  took  place  the  day  after  O'Kelly's 
secession.  On  Thursday,  the  fifteenth  and  last  day,  the 
business  being  ended,  Coke  preached  before  the  con- 
ference on  James  i,  27,  ("  Pure  religion,"  etc.)  It  was 
the  befitting  climax  of  the  occasion  ;  a  profound  feeling 
pervaded  the  assembly,  "a  solemn  awe  rested  uj)on 
them."  "  The  meeting  was  continued  till  aboui  mid- 
night," he  says,  "and  twelve  persons,  we  have  leason 
to  believe,  were  then  added  into  the  family  of  God. 
This  was  a  glorious  conclusion ;  a  gracious  seal  from 
Heaven  to  our  proceedings."  '^ 

He  left  the  city  with  a  higher  estimate  of  the  Amer* 
"Journals,  p.  2G4. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  29 

ican  itinerants  than  he  had  ever  formed  before.  "  We 
continued  our  conference,"  he  says,  "for  fifteen  days. 
I  had  always  entertained  very  high  ideas  of  the  piety 
and  zeal  of  the  American  preachers,  and  of  the  consider- 
able abilities  of  many ;  but  I  had  no  expectation,  I  con- 
fess, that  the  debates  would  be  carried  on  in  so  very 
masterly  a  manner ;  so  that  on  every  question  of  impor- 
tance the  subject  seemed  to  be  considered  in  every  pos- 
sible light.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the  debates  they 
considered  themselves  as  the  servants  of  the  people,  and 
therefore  never  lost  sight  of  them  on  any  question. 
Indeed,  the  single  eye,  and  the  spirit  of  humility,  which 
were  manifested  by  the  preachers  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  conference,  were  extremely  pleasing,  and  afforded 
a  comfortable  prospect  of  the  increase  of  the  work  of 
God  throughout  the  continent." 

Asbury  resumed  his  labors  and  travels,  recording 
that  "the  conference  ended  in  peace;  my  mind  was 
kept  in  peace,  and  my  soul  enjoyed  rest  in  the  Strong- 
hold." Lee  says  that  "  notwithstanding  we  had  some 
close  debates,  and  some  distressing  hours,  and,  withal, 
some  of  our  preachers  were  so  offended  as  to  leave  the 
conference  before  the  business  was  half  finished,  yet  it 
was  a  comfortable  time  to  most  of  us,  and  we  were 
highly  favoi-ed  of  the  Lord  with  his  presence  and  love 
in  the  last  of  our  sitting.  Our  hearts  were  closely 
united  together,  and  we  parted  in  great  union,  love, 
and  fellowship.  Some  of  the  preachers  who  came  to 
conference  were  quite  dissatisfied ;  but  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting  they  were  perfectly  reconciled,  and  returned 
to  their  circuits  fully  determined  to  spend  and  be  spent 
in  the  woi'k  of  the  ministry,  and  in  the  fellowship  of 
the  Church." 

The  generous  heart  of  Garrettson  was  deej^ly  afiected 


30  HISTORY    OF    THE 

by  the  final  spectacle  of  peace  and  brotherly  concord. 
At  the  close  of  the  session  he  wrote :  "  O  what  ft  won- 
der to  see  so  large  a  body  of  preachers  gathered  from 
all  parts  of  the  country,  and  like  little  chiMron  sitting 
at  each  others'  feet,  united  as  the  heart  of  one  man,  and 
all  encrai;ed  in  one  common  cause,  namely,  to  demolish 
the  kingdom  of  Satan,  and  to  build  up  that  of  the 
Redeemer!  I  retired  to  my  room,  not  indeed  alone,  for 
I  trust  my  blessed  Saviour  was  with  me.  O  my  God, 
let  me  rather  die  than  cease  to  love  thee."  '^'  Ware  has 
Icfl  a  favorable  testimony  for  the  session,  though  he 
says,  probably  in  allusion  to  some  personal  treatment 
in  the  debates,  that  "  some  of  the  painful  sensations  I 
felt,  during  it,  have  caused  me  at  times  to  wish  I 
could  forget  there  had  been  such  a  meeting ; "  but  he 
adds,  "  we  went  through  our  business  amicably  ;  and 
there  was  a  gracious  work  of  revival  in  the  congrega- 
tions throughout  the  city.  As  to  the  conference,  I 
was  pleased  with  the  spirit  in  which  its  business  was 
transacted."  '^ 

Some  serious  consequences  were,  however,  to  follow 
these  transactions.  Leu's  prediction  that  O'Kelly  would 
not  remain  quiet,  but  would  become  the  head  of  a  party, 
was  to  be  verified.  He  had  long  lived  on  the  border 
between  Virginia  and  Xorth  Carolina,  as  circuit  preacher 
and  presiding  elder.  His  influence  swayed  the  ministry 
and  people,  on  both  sides,  all  along  that  line.  He  had 
been  a  devout  and  zealous  man ;  an  eloquent  preacher ; 
a  strenuous  Methodist ;  a  tireless  laborer;  an  heroic  op- 
poser  of  slavery,  '^ enforcing  the  antislavery  law  of  the 

>•  Bang:8'8  Garretteon,  p.  207.  >'  Life,  etc.,  p.  222. 

>»  He  not  only  preached  acainst  slavery,  but  published  "  An  Essay 
on  Nesrro  Slavery,"  Philadelphia,  1789,  the  first  American  Methodist 
publication  of  the  kind  that  I  can  recall ;  a  pamphlet  by  Garrcttson 
was  the  secoud. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  81 

Church.  Yet  his  restless  temijer  had  led  him  into  con- 
flict with  Asbury  some  time  before  the  conference  of 
1792. '9 

He  was  now  a  veteran,  broken  with  age,  an   Irish- 
man of  fiery  temperament,  and,  as  usual  with  such  tem- 
peraments,  his    conscience   was   weak,    easily   swayed 
by   his   prejudices;    weak   to    yield  to   them,   though 
strong  to  defend  them.     He  returned  to  Virginia  pre- 
pared to  upturn  the  foundations  he  had  helped  to  lay. 
Asbury  hastened  thither  also,  and  held  a  conference  in 
Manchester.    Already  O'Kelly  had  begun  his  pernicious 
work ;  some  of  the  most  devoted  people  and  preachers 
had  been  disaffected ;  and,  in  this  day,  we  are  startled 
to  read  that  William  M'Kendree,  afterward  one  of  the 
saintliest  bishops  of  the  Church,  and  Rice  Haggard,  sent 
to  Asbury  "their  resignations  in  writing."     The  con- 
ference knew  the  infirmities  of  O'Kelly,  and  was  in- 
clined to  forbearance ;  it   resolved  to  permit  the  disaf- 
fected itinerants  still  to  preach  in  its  pulpits.      It  com- 
passionated the  veteran  leader,  and,  says  Asbury,  "as 
he  is  almost  worn  out,  the  conference  acceded  to  my 
proposal  of  giving  him  forty  pounds  per  annum,    as 
when  he  traveled  in  the  connection,  provided  he  would 
be    peaceable   and   forbear  to    excite    divisions."     He 
accepted  the  offer,  used  the  money  for  some  time,  but 
at  last  relinquished  his  claim,  and  devoted  himself,  with 
his  characteristic  zeal,  to  the  promotion  of  schism.    The 
refusal  of  the  conference  to  qualify  the  episcopal  power 
to  appoint  the  preachers  was  his  ostensible  argument. 
It  was  plausible,  but  not  logical,  in  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  Church.      It  was  quite  irrelevant  to  him- 

>9  Asbury' s  Journals,  ii,  p.  69.  He  had  professed  perfect  recon- 
ciliation, however,  with  the  bishop  a  year  before  the  conference. 
(See  p.  134.) 


32  HISTORY    OF    THE 

self  personally.  "  For  himself,"  writes  Ashury,  "  the 
conference  well  knew  he  could  not  comi)l;iin  of  tlie 
rcf^ulation.  lie  liad  been  located  to  the  south  district 
of  Virginia  for  about  ten  successive  years ;  and  upon 
his  ]»lan  might  have  located  himself,  and  any  ])reacher, 
or  set  of  preachers,  to  the  district,  wiiether  the  people 
wished  to  have  them  or  not." 

It  was  a  period  of  general  excitement  in  Virginia  by 
the  political  contests  of  the  Republicans  and  Federal- 
ists, the  former  being  the  dominant  party.  O'Kelly 
adroitly  availed  himself  of  these  party  agitations,  and 
forme*!  his  associates  into  a  Church  with  the  title  of 
"  Republican  Methodists."  Their  organization  gave 
them  a  temporary  power,  and  disastrous  results  fol- 
lowed. They  held  "conference  after  conference,"  de- 
vising a  sytem  of  Church  government ;  but  insubordina- 
tion reigned  among  them.  In  1793  they  had  a  number 
of  societies,  but,  says  tlie  historian  of  the  times,^"  they 
were  "formed  on  a  leveling  plan."  "All  were  to  be 
on  an  equal  footing.  One  preacher  was  not  to  be 
above  another,  nor  higher  in  office  or  in  power  than 
another.  No  superiority  or  subordination  was  to  be 
known  among  them.  They  promised  to  the  lay  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  greater  liberties  than  they  had  for- 
merly enjoyed  among  us,  and  prevailcfl  with  a  good 
many  of  our  people  to  leave  us  and  join  them.  In 
some  places  they  took  from  us  whole  societies  together, 
and  in  many  places  they  drew  off  a  part.  Others  they 
threw  into  confusion;  and  in  some  places  they  scattered 
the  flock  and  separated  the  people  one  from  the  other, 
without  securing  thorn  to  their  own  ]»arty.  They  took 
a  few  meeting-houses  from  us,  and  preached  in  them 
themselves;  and  some  houses  we  left  and  would  not 
»  Lee,  p.  503. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  33 

preach  in  them,  in  order  to  avoid  contentions.  The 
disaffected  party  then  began  to  pour  out  a  flood  of  abuse 
against  us,  to  ridicule  us,  and  to  say  all  manner  of  evil 
against  us ;  and  withal,  they  took  unjustifiable  steps  in 
order  to  set  our  members  against  the  preachers.  The 
divisive  spirit  prevailed  more  in  the  south  parts  of  Vir- 
ginia than  in  any  other  place.  There  were  some  of  our 
societies  in  the  northeast  part  of  Xorth  Carolina  who 
felt  the  painful  effects  of  the  division,  and  were  consid- 
erably scattered  and  greatly  injured.  Several  of  our 
local  preachers  and  many  of  our  private  members  were 
drawn  off  from  us,  and  turned  against  us.  The  societies 
were  brought  into  such  troubles  and  difficulties  that  they 
knew  not  what  to  do.  Many  that  were  drawn  off  from 
us  would  not  join  with  the  other  party.  Brother  was 
turned  against  brother,  and  one  Christian  friend  against 
another.  The  main  contention  was  about  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  ;  who  should  govern  it,  or  in  what 
manner  it  ought  to  be  governed.  In  this  mist  of  dai'k- 
ness  and  confusion,  many  religious  people,  who  had  been 
warm  advocates  for  the  life  and  power  of  religion,  began 
to  contend  about  Church  government,  and  neglect  the 
duties  of  religion,  till  they  were  turned  back  to  the 
world,  and  gave  up  religion  altogether.  It  was  enough 
to  make  the  saints  of  God  weep  between  the  porch  and 
the  altar,  and  that  both  day  and  night,  to  see  how  '  the 
Lord's  flock  was  carried-  away  captive'  by  that  divi- 
sion. Those  preachers  who  turned  aside  from  the  truth 
did  abundance  of  mischief  among  the  people  that 
were  not  religious,  many  of  whom  became  so  deeply 
prejudiced  against  religion  and  religious  professors, 
that  they  would  hardly  attend  on  preaching  at  all. 
It  might  well  be  said,  'Without  were  fightings,  and 
within  were  fears.' " 
C— 3 


84  HISTORY    OF    THE 

In  1793  ihey  held  a  conference  in  Maiiiiakin  Town, 
Va.,  the  scene  of  a  former  dissentient  Methodist  assem- 
bly, in  the  famous  "  sacramental  controversy."     They 
there  framed  a  constitution,  and  O'Kelly,  as  their  leader, 
ordained  their  ])reachers.     In  1801  they  discarded  their 
laws  and  title  and  assumed  the  name  of  "The  Christian 
Church,"  renouncing  all  rules  of  Church  government 
but  the  New  Testament,  as  interpreted  by  every  man 
for    himself.     O'Kelly    published   a   pamphlet    attack- 
ing Asbury   and    the   Methodist   Episcopal    Church.-' 
Asbury  collected  documents  for  a  reply,  and  presented 
them  to  the   conference,   which    appointed   one  of   its 
ablest  members,  Nicholas  Snethen,  to  prepare  them  for 
])ublication.       lie    issued  "  A    Reply  to   an   Apology," 
etc.,  to  which  O'Kelly  responded  in  "  A  Vindication  of 
an  Apology."      Snethen  rejoined  in  "  An    Answer  to 
James    O'Kclly's    Vindication    of  his    Ajiology."     As- 
bury's   administration    appears  unimpeachable  in   Sne- 
then's  pages.     In  referring  to  his  accusers  the  bishop 
says :  "  I  bid  such  adieu,  and  appeal  to  the  bar  of  God. 
I  have  no  time  to  contend,  having  better  work  to  do. 
If  we  have  lost  some  children,  God  will  give  us  more. 
Ah  !  this  is  the  mercy,  the  justice  of  some,  who.  under 
God,  owe  their  all  to  me  and  my  tt/rants,  so  called.    The 
Lord  judge  between  them  and  me." 

The  war  of  pamphlets  ended,  though  Lee  also  pre- 
pared, in  part,  a  manuscript  reply  to  O'Kelly;"  but 
the  internecine  war  went  on  disastrously  for  some  years. 
It  occasioned  "a  great  falling  away  from  the  Church." 
"In  the  years  of  its  greatest  influence,  179.3-4-5,  there 
was  a  clear  loss  in   the  membership   of  7,352.      But, 

»'  "  The  author's  Apolopy  for  Protesting  against  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  Government," — Lee's  Life  of  Lee,  p.  270.  Dr.  Lee  gives  a 
full  account  of  the  schism.  «  Dr.  Lee  inserts  it  at  p.  278. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,  85 

although  this  loss  was  so  great,  there  is  no  sufficient 
reason  to  believe  '  The  Republican  Methodists,'  as  they 
were  then  called,  had  met  with  corresponding  success. 
It  has  been  the  aim  of  some  writers  to  show  that  there 
were  numerous  accessions  to  Methodism  during  this 
period,  and  that  the  loss  of  the  Church  was  so  much 
greater  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  these  accessions  ; 
and  that  therefore  the  gain  of  O'Kelly  was  proportion- 
ally great.  But  this  argument  is  unsupported  by  any 
facts  we  have  been  able  to  discover."  ^^ 

It  was  imjiossible,  however,  that  a  schism  so  badly 
managed  could  long  succeed.  It  broke  into  parties ; 
several  of  its  preachers  fell  away  from  it,  and  formed  a 
new  "  plan  of  their  own  in  Charlotte  County,  Va.  ; " 
many  individual  members  and  preachers,  tired  of  the 
conflict,  sought  peace  again  in  the  parent  Church ;  and 
Lee,  wiiting  in  1809,  says:  "They  have  been  divided 
and  subdivided,  till  at  present  it  is  hard  to  find  two  of 
them  that  are  of  one  opinion.  There  are  now  but  few 
of  them  in  that  part  of  Virginia  where  they  wei"e  for- 
merly the  most  numerous ;  and  in  most  places  they  are 
declining." 

Ten  years  after  O'Kelly's  revolt  Asbury  met  him 
again  in  Winchester,  Va.  The  bishop  notes  in  his 
Journal,  August  20,  1802,  that  "Mr.  O'Kelly  having 
been  taken  ill  in  town,  I  sent  two  of  our  brethren, 
Reed  and  Walls,  to  see  him,  by  whom  I  signified  to 
him  that  if  he  wished  to  see  me  I  would  wait  on  him : 
he  desired  a  visit,  which  I  made  him  on  Monday, 
August  23.  We  met  in  peace,  asked  of  each  other's 
welfare,  talked  of  persons  and  things  indifferently, 
prayed  and  parted  in  peace.  Xot  a  word  was  said  of 
the  troubles  of  the  former  times.  Perhaps  this  is  the 
23  Lee's  Life  of  Lee. 


36  HISTORY    OF    THE 

last  interview  we  shall  have  upon  earth."  Bangs  ^* 
supposes  this  interview  was  "  near  the  close  of  O'Kel- 
Iv's  life,"  and  expresses  the  hope  that  he  died  recon- 
ciled and  "  forgiven."  Asbury's  Journals,  however, 
show  that  for  many  years  later  the  energetic  seceder 
still  fought  his  hopeless  battle.  In  1805,  the  bishop, 
passing  through  Virginia,  writes:  "Mr.  O'Kelly  has 
come  down  with  great  zeal,  and  ])reachos  three  hours 
at  a  time  ui)on  goveninient,  monarehy,  and  episcopacy; 
occasionally  varying  the  subject  by  abuse  of  the  Meth- 
odists, calling  them  aristocrats  and  Tories;  a  people 
who,  if  they  had  the  power,  would  force  the  govern- 
ment at  the  sword's  point.     Poor  man  !" 

He  survived  till  the  16th  of  October,  1826,  when  he 
died  in  his  ninety-second  year,  retaining  "  to  the  latest 
period  of  his  life  unabated  confidence  in  the  purity  and 
j)0wer  of  his  system.  In  age  and  feebleness  his  hope  in 
the  work  of  his  hands  did  not  desert  him.  He  went 
down  to  the  grave,  according  to  one  of  his  followers, 
satisfied  with  the  past,  and  peaceful  and  trustful  with 
respect  to  the  future."" 

Singularly  devoted,  romantically  chivalric  as  were 
these  jtrimitive  itinerants,  still  they  were  but  men. 
Their  human  infirmities  were  oftener  revealed  in  their 
personal  or  private  relations,  than  in  their  public  con- 
nections with  the  great  cause  for  which  they  labored, 
and  therefore  come  but  seldom  Avithin  the  purview  of 
the  historian.  It  seems  indeed  providential  that,  un- 
educated, enthusiastic,  not  to  say  superstitious,  as  not  a 
few   of  them   were,  their   individual   weaknesses   and 

"  Hist.  M.  E.  Church,  vol.  i,  p.  355. 

ai  Lee's  Life  of  Lee,  p.  287,  and  also  an  obituary  by  Rev.  John  P. 
Lemay,  attached  to  an  edition  of  the  Apology,  published  in  HiUsbo- 
rough,  N.  C,  in  1829. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  87 

eccentricities  so  rarely  touched  their  public  work.  The 
extraordinary  regime  of  their  ministerial  system  doubt- 
less held  them  in  check,  and  exhausted  their  super- 
abundant energy  in  systematized  and  beneficent  labors. 
The  first  and  purest  of  men  fell  in  Paradise ;  David  fell 
at  the  head  of  God's  elect  people ;  Judas  and  Peter  in 
the  apostolic  band.  Some  of  these  good  men  also  fell. 
We  have  had  to  record  examples  of  their  downfall  into 
fanatic  insanity,  schism,  intemperance,  and,  in  one  m- 
stance,  even  into  murder.  Such  cases  were  indeed  sur- 
prisingly few,  and  quite  exceptional  to  their  general 
fidelity  and  sanctity  ;  but  to  omit  them  in  our  pages 
would  be  to  write  romance,  not  history,  and  to  sup 
press  the  important  lesson,  taught  not  only  in  Holy 
Scripture,  but  in  all  ecclesiastical  history,  that  "  all 
these  things  happened  unto  them  for  ensamples;  and 
they  are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the 
ends  of  the  world  have  come.  Wherefore  let  him 
that  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

Note  —It  has  already  been  intimated  (see  vol.  ii,  p.  498,  Note)  that 
the  numbering  of  this  General  Conference  as  "  the  second,"  has  been 
questioned  Was  the  session  of  1792  the  first  held  after  the  Christmas 
Conference  of  17S4?  Was  not  the  Conference  of  1787  (held  in  Balti- 
more) a  General  Conference,  and  the  next  held  there,  in  1788,  an  ad- 
journed session  of  the  same  body  ?  Such  is  the  question  which  many 
readers  may  recall,  as  stoutly  debated  in  the  Christian  Advocate,  New 
York  in  January  and  February,  1859,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Dc  Hass  and  Rev. 
Dr  c'oggeshall,  respectively  affirmative  and  negative  in  the  dispute. 
The  debate  was  without  a  satisfactory  issue.  It  is  singTilar  how  plaus- 
ible the  argument  for  the  afflrraative  appears,  and  yet  how  decisive 
that  of  the  negative  really  is.  I  can  give  here  but  a  summary  of  the 
evidence,  pro  and  con,  not  confining  myself,  however,  to  the  two  able 
disputants  named,  but  presenting  additional  data  on  both  sides. 

1  An  important  fact,  in  favor  of  1787,  is  a  letter  of  Wesley  requesting 
Coke  to  hold  a  General  Conference  at  that  time.  The  letter  is  dated 
September  6th,  1786,  and  says,  "I  desire  that  you  would  appoint  a 
General  Conference  of  all  our  preachers  in  the  United  States,  to  meet 
at  Baltimore  on  May  1st,  1787,  and  that  Mr.  Richard  Whatcoat  may  be 


88  HISTORY    OF    THE 

appointed  superintendent  with  Mr.  Francis  Asbury."  (Sec  Lee's  Life, 
etc.,  of  Jesse  Lee,  p.  lOo,  Note.)  This  is  certainly  a  plausible  initiative 
for  the  allirmative.     Moreover, 

2.  Coke  dill,  by  correspondence,  (from  the  West  Indies,  I  suppose,) 
invite  the  preachers  to  such  a  meet  in;,'. 

.".  The  session  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  which  had  in  178C  been 
appointed  for  Abiu;;don,  Maryland,  on  the  :i-lth  of  July,  1787,  waa 
actually  cbanjred,  and  the  body  did,  in  fact,  meet  in  Baltimore  on  the 
Ist  of  .May,  the  day  propo<ii-d  by  Wesley.     (Lee's  History,  p.  124.) 

4.  There  was  much  important  business  done  at  this  session  which 
l>roperly  bclons^s  to  a  General  Conference,  accordini,'  to  all  our  modem 
ideas  of  the  relations  of  General  and  Annual  Conferences. 

These  are  certainly  strom;  proofs ;  they  would  seem  almost,  if  Uut 
quite,  conclusive  of  tlie  question,  and  they  show  how  liable  we  arc,  in 
the  obscurity  or  ambi(^uity  of  our  early  Church  documents,  to  fall  into 
mistakes  respectini;  some  most  important  events.  But  let  us  look  at 
the  other  side  of  the  question. 

1.  Taking  toi;ether  the  first  three  of  these  ar-niments,  it  may  be  re- 
plied that  the  facts  of  Wesley's  requestinp  a  General  Conference,  and 
of  Coke's  correspondence  callinj;  it,  and  chanjjing  the  date  of  the  Bal- 
timore Annual  Conference  for  the  purpose,  are  undenied  and  undeni- 
able. But  it  must  be  further  replied,  that  though  Coke  did  these 
tliinirs,  presuminff  on  the  authority  of  his  episcopal  olllee,  and  by  the 
sanetitin  of  Wesley,  yet  Asbury  and  the  prcacliei-s  generally  dissented 
from  his  proceedings.  Coke,  on  reaching  the  country  in  .March,  1787, 
to  attend  t!ic  Conference,  eays  (Coke's  "Jonnials,"  179:-!)  that  ho 
was  "very  coolly"  received  by  Asbury;  and  when  tiiey  arrived  at  the 
Conference  he  was  rebuked  severely  by  the  preachers  for  his  change  of 
the  time  of  the  session,  his  correspondence,  etc.  He  had  to  give,  over 
his  sign  manual,  a  pledge  to  do  so  no  more ;  and  Wesley's  name  was 
omitted  from  the  Minutes,  and  the  <dd  recognition  of  his  authority  in 
the  American  Church  was  erased.  F.vidently  the  preachers  dissented 
fri>m  Wesley's  wish  and  Coke's  measures. 

"i.  The  session  of  1787  did  not  do  the  business  for  which  Wesley  had 
proposed  a  General  Conference.  Richard  Whatcoat  was  not  elected  u 
bishop,  nor  was  Freeborn  Garreltson,  though  We.-*ley  requested  both 
appointments.  Bangs  (Life  of  Garrettson)  says,  that  the  suggestion 
of  the  latterby  Wesley  was  "  unanimously  sanctioned  "  by  hi>  brethren, 
but  he  shows  that  there  was  no  election.  Lee's  account  of  Garrettr 
son's  case  is  quite  inaccurate,  ^according  to  Garrettson's  own  state- 
ments;) but  Lee  himself  shows  that  there  was  no  election  nor  ballot 
on  either  case.     (History  of  the  Methodists,  p.  120.) 

:5.  Tliat  many  of  the  mea*ures  of  the  sessions  of  1787-88  were  of  a 
general  character,  apprf>priate  only  to  the  general  action  of  the  minis- 
try, cannot  be  denied,  but  this  fact  can  be  easily  explained.  The  fli-st 
General  Conference  (of  1784)  assembled  for  the  organization  of  the 
Church,  and  having  accomplished  its  business,  adjourned  without  pro- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  39 

viding  for  any  subsequent  session.  General  as  well  as  local  business 
went  on  as  before.  Measures  of  a  general  eharaeter  were  submitted 
to  the  successive  Annual  Conferences,  and,  at  the  final  session  of  the 
year,  were  considered  to  be  determined  by  the  majority  of  votes  in 
all ;  the  Minutes  of  all  appeared  still,  in  print,  as  the  records  of  but 
one  conference  ;  and  their  enactments  were  from  time  to  time  inserted 
in  the  Discipline  without  reference  to  where  or  how  they  were  enacted. 
Now  it  so  happened  that  the  Baltimore  session  for  1787  was  the  last 
session  for  that  year,  (Lee's  Hist.,  p.  124,)  and  therefore  its  reported 
doings  were  given  as  the  results  of  all  the  sessions  of  tlie  year;  tliat 
is  to  say,  not  of  a  General  Conference,  but  of  the  Conferences  gener- 
ally. I  am  also  of  the  opinion,  from  scattered  allusions  in  contempo- 
rary books,  that  not  a  few  important  measures,  applying  to  the  whole 
Church,  were  decided  sometimes  by  one  or  two  of  the  principal  con- 
ferences, (lilve  that  of  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  or  New  York,)  without 
reference  to  the  remoter  sessions.  In  fact  the  Church  was  yet  in  its 
forming  process,  and,  like  an  army  on  the  march  or  in  the  held,  was 
not  very  fastidious  about  questions  of  law.  If  the  Baltimore  ses- 
sions of  1787  and  1788  should  be  considered  General  Conferences,  be- 
cause of  their  important  or  general  enactments,  so  then  should  that 
of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  of  1789  (then  on  the  southern  frontier 
of  the  Church)  for  its  doings  about  the  Book  Concern,  "the  College," 
the  famous  "Council,"  Sunday-schools,  etc.,  and  also  that  of  1785, 
which  suspended  the  antislavery  law  of  the  Church. 

4.  Jesse  Lee,  the  contemporary  historian  of  the  denomination,  was 
at  the  sessions  of  1787  and  1788,  and  was  stationed  in  Baltimore  in  the 
interval  of  these  sessions,  and  yet  he  nowhere  speaks  of  them  as  Gen- 
eral Conferences,  but  numbers  them  and  reports  them  among  the 
other  annual  sessions.  This  was  an  unpardonable  oversight  in  the 
first  historian  of  the  Church,  if  they  were  General,  not  Annual  Con- 
ferences.^ 

5.  But  Lee,  on  the  other  hand,  distinctly  names  the  session  of  1793  as 
"  the  first  regular  General  Conference."  If  it  be  replied,  that  he  meant, 
by  the  "first  regular''^  session,  only  that  it  was  the  first  of  the  series 
which,  from  1792,  met  regularly  every  four  years,  but  that  the  session 
in  question  was  an  irregular  one,  the  rejoinder  might  properly  be  that 
there  was  no  reason  for  any  such  discrimination,  for  the  session  in 
question  (especially  as  adjourned  to  1788)  was  held  at  the  same  distance 
of  time  before  1792  as  the  session  of  1790  was  after  it.  Other  contem- 
porary writers  uniformly  speak  of  the  session  of  1792  as  "  the  first 
General  Conference." ' 

2  The  phrase  "  General  Conference  "  was,  nevertheless,  sometimes  vaguely  applied 
to  Annual  Conferences,  in  the  early  days  of  the  Church,  to  distinguish  them  from 
Quarterly  Conferences. 

;i  William  liurke,  a  leader  of  Western  Methodism  at  this  time,  says:  "The  first 
General  Conference  in  the  United  States  met  early  in  the  fall  of  this  year."  Auto- 
biography in  Finley's  "Sketches  of  Western  Methodism,"  p,  33.  The  session  of  1784 
was  usually  called  the  "  Christmas  Conference,"  and  as  it  was  a  convention  for  a 


40  HISTORY    OF    THE 

6.  "Straws  show  which  way  the  wind  blows,"  says  the  familiar 
maxim ;  and  sometimes,  wlien  tlie  air  is  too  still  for  any  more  con- 
spicuous indicator  to  show  its  course,  a  feather,  by  its  very  lightness, 
can  decide  the  question.  Tliere  is  a  brief  clause  in  Asbury's  Journals 
which  I  thiulv  has  a  similar  siu^iificance  in  tlie  present  case.  We  Imve 
seen  that  when  Colie  arrived  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1TS7, 
from  the  West  Indies,  on  his  way  to  the  supposed  General  Confer- 
ence, he  was  "very  coolly"  received  by  Asbury.  Now  it  so  hap- 
pened that  wlien  James  0' Kelly  withdrew  from  the  Church,  five  years 
later,  in  his  pamphlet  ajpiinst  .\sbury  he  accused  the  bisliopof  all  sorts 
of  maladministration,  etc.,  and  among  other  charges  said  that  he 
treated  Coke  at  his  arrival  in  Ciiurleston  with  excessive  "  sharpness." 
About  fourteen  years  after  tlie  alleged  General  Conference,  Asbury,  In 
noticing  this  pamphlet,  sajs,  "  There  was  no  sharpness  at  oil  upon 
my  side  with  Dr.  Coke,  at  Charleston,  respecting  {In:  proposed  General 
Conference,  (which  wa*  afterward  held  in  1792.)  I  was  fully  convinced 
that  notiiing  the  would  finish  the  unhappy  business  with  O'Kelly,  and 
that  did  tinish  it"* 

Evidently,  then.  Coke's  "proposed  General  Conference"  was  not 
held  in  1787  or  1788,  but  "afterward,  in  17S»2."  The  session  of  1792 
was  therefore  not  only  "  the  first  regular,"  but  also  the  second  Gen- 
eral Conference ;  there  having  been  none  before  it  since  the  first  or 
Christmas  session  of  1784. 

n>erlal  purpose,  It  was  not  commonly  called  a  General  Conference,  thoush  It  really 
was  such,  and  Is  go  named  by  early  writers.     See  I/ce's  account  of  It  In  his  "  nistory." 
4  Journals,  111.  8.    The  italics  are  my  own,  except  the  word  "  else." 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  41 


CHAPTER  II.  , 

METHODISM    IN    THE    SOUTH,    FROM    THE    SECOND    TO 
THE   THIRD   GENERAL  CONFERENCES,  1793  — 1796. 

Coke  —  His  Proposition  to  Bishop  White  for  the  Union  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  and  Protestant  Episcopal  Churches  —  Cokesbury 
College  —  Coke  in  Philadelphia  —  At  New  York  —  Perilous  Acci- 
dent—  Asbury  in  the  Soutli  —  Among  the  O'Kellyites — His  great 
Labors  and  Sufferings  —  At  Rembert  Hall  — Hammett's  Schism  in 
Cliarleston,  S.  C. — Asbury  in  Georgia  —  At  the  Ruins  of  White- 
field's  Orphan  House  —  Among  the  Western  Mountains  —  At 
General  Russell's — Death  of  the  General — Asbury  at  Baltimore  — 
Scenes  and  Labors  in  the  South  —  Death  of  Judge  White  —  Further 
Travels  and  Labors. 

Coke  and  Asbury  parted  after  the  General  Conference 
of  1792  ;  the  former  to  the  north,  the  latter  to  the  south. 
The  character  and  results  of  the  session  had  evidently- 
relieved  Coke's  mind  of  much  anxiety  respecting  the 
stability  of  the  Church.  Its  treatment  of  himself  and 
Wesley,  in  1787,  and,  especially,  its  repudiation  of  Wes- 
ley's authority  and  name,  had  alarmed  both  of  them 
with  apprehension  of  further  disturbances.  Wesley, 
as  we  have  seen,  wished  Asbury  to  renounce  his  office, 
and  the  Church  itself,  rather  than  seem  to  sanction 
this  procedure.  As  early  as  April,  1791,  a  year  and  a 
half  before  the  General  Conference,  and  but  five  days 
before  the  news  of  the  death  of  Wesley  reached  Coke, 
the  latter  had  opened  a  correspondence  with  -Bishop 
White,  of  Philadelphia,  proposing  a  union  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  and  Protestant  Episcopal  Churches,  but 
on  terms  which  in  nowise  compromised  the  honor  or 
i-ights  of  the  former.     He  was  with  Asbury  at  the  time, 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  Virginia,  yet  seems  not  to  have  consulted  him  on 
the  subject,  nor  any  other  Methoilist  authority  in  Europe 
or  America ;  but  Asbury  had  discerned  his  discontent 
with  the  condition  of  American  Methodism.'  His  prop- 
osition was  rash  and  imprudent,  characteristic  of  the 
man,  who,  ever  catholic,  contident,  and  full  of  hasty 
energy,  was,  nevertheless,  one  of  the  most  admirable 
ecclesiastical  personages  of  his  day.  It  resulted  in  no 
harm ;  it  was  unknown  to  the  public  till  disclosed 
by  the  Protestant  E))iscopaI  party  in  1804  ;  and,  in  1808, 
came  under  the  consideration  of  the  (irncral  Confer- 
ence of  the  ^lethodist  Episcojial  Church,  when  Coke 
made  to  his  brethren  an  explanation,  equally  character- 
istic by  its  candor  and  good  temper.  We  shall  liav  } 
occasion  to  review  the  facts  of  the  case  hereafter. 

He  now  left  the  conference,  confident  and  joyful  in 
the  prospects  of  the  denomination. ^  He  paused  at 
Abingdon,  Md.,  where  he  spent  three  days  in  examining 
the  students  of  Cokesbury  College.  "  We  have  more 
than  seventy,"  he  writes.  "Dr.  Hall,  the  president,  and 
the  three  tutors,  do  honor  to  the  institution;  many 
from  the  southern  states  are  sending  their  young  men 
here  to  finish  their  education.  The  fear  of  God  seems 
to  pervade  the  college."  He  spent  eight  days  with 
"  the  loving  people  "  of  Philadelphia,  where  there  were 
three  hundred  Methodists,  "  in  general  solid  and  estab- 
lished in  the  grace  of  God."  He  prepared  there  a  new 
edition  of  the  Discipline,  comprising  all  the  regulations 
ma<le  at  the  late  General  Conference.  On  the  30th  of 
November   he    reached    Xew    York,    where    he    spent 

» Asburj's  Journals,  April  2.'5,  1791. 

*  Etheritlge  (Life  of  Coke,  p.  242)  appears  to  suppose  that  the  con- 
troversy at  the  conference  of  17(^2,  and  the  conduct  of  O'Kelly,  alarmed 
Coke,  and  led  to  his  correspondence  with  Wliite;  but,  as  the  dates  in 
the  text  show,  the  latter  began  betbre  the  former. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  43 

twelve  days,  preparing  for  the  press  his  general  confer- 
ence sermon  on  "The  Witness  of  the  Spirit,"  and  preach- 
ing some  twenty  sermons  to  thronged  assemblies. 
There  were  now  six  hundred  Methodists  in  the  city ; 
most  of  those  who  had  struggled  down  to  the  war  had 
been  dispersed  through  the  country ;  but  though 
nearly  new,  the  society  had  "  incomj^arably  more  of 
genuine  religion"  than  at  any  former  period.  By 
the  middle  of  December  he  was  afloat  again  for  the 
West  India  Missions,  but  with  "a  deliverance,"  he 
writes,  "  never  to  be  forgotten.  I  went  to  the  wharves 
to  look  out  for  a  convenient  vessel  to  carry  me  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  in  ascending  the  side  of  the  brig  my 
foot  slipped.  I  alighted  on  something  at  the  edge  of 
the  water,  which  supported  me ;  and  with  the  assistance 
of  those  who  were  near,  was  raised  on  board.  But  when 
I  looked  back  on  the  situation  in  which  I  had  been  a  few 
moments  before,  it  was  most  awful.  A  pole  had  been 
tied  to  the  side  of  the  brig  to  preserve  it  from  being 
damaged  by  striking  against  the  wharf  This  pole  re- 
ceived me  in  my  fall,  or  otherwise  in  a  second  or  two 
I  must  unavoidably  have  been  crushed  between  the  brig 
and  the  wharf  Six  times  I  have  been  in  the  very  jaws 
of  death,  ujion  or  near  the  water,  and  yet  am  still  pre- 
served a  monument  of  mercy  in  every  respect ! " 

Asbury,  as  we  have  seen,  struck  forthwith  to  the 
south,  to  anticipate  any  schismatic  measures  of  O'Kelly 
and  his  associates.  We  have  already  followed  him  in 
some  of  his  movements  among  them ;  he  held  confer- 
ences, love-feasts,  class  and  band  meetings,  preaching 
once  or  twice  and  riding  forty  or  fifty  miles  almost 
daily.  He  excelled  his  humblest  preachers  in  the  hum- 
blest pastoral  labors,  and  this  was  not  his  policy  for  a  tem- 
porary exigency,  like  the  present,  but  the  habit  of  his  long 


44  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ministerial  life.  "Traveling,''  he  says,  "in  such  haste 
I  could  not  be  as  nnuh  in  mental  prayer  as  I  desired, 
although  I  enjoyed  many  moments  of  sweet  converse 
■with  God."  At  Alexaiulria  he  met  the  preachers  in 
conference,  and  preadied  in  "our  small,  neatly  finished 
house."  "The  mischief  has  begun,"  he  says,  on  arriving 
in  Caroline  county.  He  met  the  preachers,  in  band,  at 
Manchester,  where  they  had  assembled  for  a  confer- 
ence, lie  "found  their  fears  were  greatly  removed, 
and  all  things  went  on  well "  among  the  little  loyal 
group,  though  the  resignations  of  .Arivendree  and  Ilag- 
gardy  were  sent  in.  "  After  all  Satan's  spite,"  he  adds, 
"I  think  our  sifling  and  shaking  will  be  for  good." 
Jesse  Lee  was  with  him,  aiding  in  the  iiacitication  of 
the  Churches.  Asbury  flew  to  all  disturbed  j)arts  of 
the  field  in  Virginia,  and  was  successful  in  many,  though 
in  some  he  found  incorrigible  seceders.  Not  a  few 
societies  were  rent  to  pieces,  and  the  enemies  of  religion 
and  hostile  sectarists  exulted  in  the  hope  of  the  imme- 
diate and  final  downfall  of  the  denomination  throughout 
the  state.  .Vsbury  labored  chiefly  to  promote  among  the 
distracted  societies  a  deeper  religious  feeling,  spiritual 
unity,  as  the  best  means  of  ecclesiastical  harmony.  lie 
not  only  traveled  and  preached,  but  wrote  many  letters. 
His  usual  correspondence  averaged  about  a  thousand 
a  year,  an<l  was  a  heavy  burden  added  to  his  many 
other  cares.  Meanwhile  he  forgot  no  great  interest  of 
the  Church.  He  took  shelter  at  Dromgoole's,  now  in 
retirement  on  Brunswick  Circuit,  near  North  Carolina  ; 
"here,"  he  writes,  "I  found  a  few  friends,  and  formed 
a  constitution  for  a  district  school,  which,  with  a  little 
alteration,  will  form  a  general  rule  for  any  part  of  the 
continent."  By  a  "  district  school,"  he  means  a  "  con- 
ferencj  "  school,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Annual  Con- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,  45 

ferences  were  now  called  "  District  Conferences."  He 
had  actually  devised  a  system  of  general  education  for 
the  Church,  proposing  a  boarding  academy  for  each 
conference,  a  scheme  which  the  denomination  has 
made  effective  in  our  day.  He  held  another  conference 
near  Lewisburgh,  whither  about  forty  preachers  had 
come  from  the  two  districts  in  North  Carolina.  When 
again  on  his  route  he  writes :  "  The  great  love  and 
union  which  prevailed  at  the  late  conference  makes  me 
hope  many  souls  will  be  converted  in  the  ensuing  year : 
an  account  was  brought  in  of  the  conversion  of  about 
three  hundred  last  week  within  its  limits,  chiefly  in  the 
Lowland  circuits.  Glory  be  to  God  !  I  feel  that  he  is 
with  us ;  and  I  have  good  evidence  that  fifteen  or 
eighteen  hundred  souls  have  professed  to  have  been 
converted  in  the  United  States  within  the  last  twelve 
months." 

He  hastened  through  North  and  entered  South  Car- 
olina, riding  thirty,  forty,  fifty  miles  a  day,  "hungry"  and 
"  cold,"  for  it  was  now  December,  but  preaching  at  the 
close  of  nearly  every  day's  journey  in  barns,  private 
houses,  and,  occasionally,  new  chapels  of  "  logs  or  poles," 
with  "  light  and  ventilation  plenty."  He  was  often 
drenched  by  storms;  "the  unfinished  state  of  the 
houses,  lying  on  the  floor,  thin  clothing,  and  inclement 
weather,  keep  me,"  he  writes,  "  in  a  state  of  indispo- 
sition." 

In  Sumter  District,  S.  C,  he  found,  by  Christmas  day, 
shelter  in  one  of  those  wealthy  and  hospitable  houses 
which,  like  Perry  Hall,  were  always  open  to  welcome 
him  as  a  prophet  of  God,  at  distant  intervals  of  his 
great  field.  "  Although  the  weather,"  he  writes,  "  was 
cold  and  damp  and  unhealthy,  with  signs  of  snow,  we 
rode  forty-five  miles  to  dear  Brother  Rembert's — kind 


46  HISTORY   OF  TUE 

and  good,  rich  aii<l  libeial,  who  has  done  more  for  the 
poor  Methodists  than  any  man  in  South  Carolina.  The 
Lord  grant  that  he,  with  his  wlu>le  househohl,  may  find 
mercy  in  that  (hiy  I  " 

A  bishop  of  Southern  Methodism,  speaking  of  "  Kem- 
bert  Hall,"  bo  oi\en  and  so  gratefully  mentioned  in  As- 
Vjury's  Journals,  says :  "  The  j»roj»rietor  of  this  estate, 
James  Rembert,  Esq.,  was  a  Methodist  gentleman  of 
large  property,  who  was  strongly  attached  to  Asbury. 
There  was  a  room  in  his  mansion  that  was  appropriated 
to  the  bishop's  use.  Here  he  commonly  spent  a  week 
during  his  annual  visitation  to  South  Carolina.  It  was 
a  sweet  haven,  wliere  the  weather-beaten  sailor  found 
(juiet  waters,  and  bright  skies,  and  a  season  of  repose. 
Here  he  brought  up  his  journal,  wrote  his  letters,  and 
lectured  of  an  evening  to  the  family  and  visitors  and 
crowds  of  servants.  Mrs.  Rfin))ert  was  a  lady  of  the 
kindest  heart :  she  not  only  had  the  bishop's  apartments 
always  ready  and  commodiously  furnished,  but  every 
year  her  seamstress  made  uj>  for  him  a  full  sujiply  of 
linen,  which,  neatly  ironed,  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
bishojt.  Kembert  Hall,  in  my  time  on  the  Sumter  Cir- 
cuit, was  occupied  Ity  Caleb  Hfmbi'rt,  Esq.,  his  honored 
father  and  mother  having  long  before  gone  to  heaven."^ 

Reaching  Charleston,  he  found  "tlie  little  flock  in 
peace  and  a  small  revival  among  them,"  though  here 
also  the  Church  had  been  scathed  by  division. 
William  Hammett,  one  of  Coke's  missionaries  to  the 
West  Indies,  liad  come  to  the  United  States,  and  had 
taken  charge  of  the  society  in  Charleston,  where  his 
remarkable  natural  powers  of  eloquence  soon  rendered 
him  generally  poj»ular.  He  was  unrivaled  in  the  pul- 
pits of  the  city,  and  l)ecame  restless  under  the  disci])lin- 

•  B'sliop  Wigbtman,  "  Biog.  Sketches,"  p.  2-1,  Nafibvillc,  1858. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  47 

ary  administration  of  Methodism.  He  accused  Coke 
and  Asbuiy  of  tyranny.  "  We  are  considered  by 
liim,"  wrote  Asbury,  "  as  seceders  from  Methodism,  be- 
cause we  do  not  wear  gowns  and  powder,  and  because 
we  did  not  pay  sufficient  respect  to  Mr.  Wesley."  He 
headed  a  secession  from  the  young  Church  of  the 
city  in  1791,  briefly  antici^iating  and  severely  exasjjer- 
ating  the  revolt  of  O'Kelly  and  his  followers  in  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina.  Thus  agitation  prevailed 
through  much  of  nearly  one  half  of  the  territory  of 
the  Church,  for  the  schismatic  spirit  spread  infectious- 
ly, pamphlets  were  published,  letters  written,  personal 
visitations  made  by  disaffected  preachers ;  even  the 
new  and  feeble  Churches  beyond  the  Alleghanies  felt 
the  evil.  Asbury  accuses  them  of  "  striving  to  scatter 
firebrands  and  arrows  through  the  whole  continent." 
He  accuses  himself  for  his  excessive  anxiety  about  the 
result.  "  I  am  not  enough  in  prayer,"  ke  says.  ''  1  have 
said  more  than  was  for  the  glory  of  God  concerning 
those  who  have  left  the  American  connection,  and  who 
have  reviled  Mr.  Wesley,  Mr.  Fletcher,  Doctor  Coke, 
and  jDoor  me.  O  that  I  could  trust  the  Lord  more  than 
I  do,  and  leave  his  cause  wholly  in  his  own  hands ! " 

Hammett's  secession  threatened  for  a  time  almost  the 
ruin  of  Methodism  in  Charleston.  His  commandino: 
influence  enabled  him  to  erect  a  spacious  chapel  on 
Hasell-street,  with  an  adjacent  parsonage  and  lot  of 
land.  He  called  it  Trinity  Church,  and  his  people 
called  themselves  "Primitive  Methodists."  A  local 
authority  records  that  "  this  body  continued  a  distinct 
connection  till  after  the  death  of  their  leader.  But, 
alas !  man  is  born  to  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  upward. 
And  these  good  people  found  that  ecclesiastical  difficul- 
ties followed  them  even  into  their  '  primitive '  asylum.   It 


48  HISTORY   OF  THE 

is  believed  that  their  highly  talented  leader  found  that 
he  had  undertaken  a  task  to  which  he  was  not  adequate 
— tlie  task  of  arranging  and  binding  together  the  dis- 
cordant materials  which  he  had  gathered  from  the 
Church  and  from  the  world.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  be- 
iore  he  went  hence  he  had  liis  troubles  among  his  Hock. 
Many  of  them  returned  to  the  fold  where  they  had 
been  formerly  fed,  some  went  to  other  Churches,  and 
not  a  few  went  back  to  the  world.  After  the  death  of 
Mr.  Ilammett  the  congregation  was  served  by  a  Mr. 
Brazier,  who  had  formerly  been  a  missionary  in  the 
West  Indies.  This  gentleman,  al\er  ministering  to 
them  a  short  time,  concluded  that  his  temporal  interest 
might  be  better  served  by  selling  the  church.  He 
accordingly  bargained  it  away  to  a  Protestant  Epis- 
pal  clergyman.  The  Protestant  Episcopalians  took 
possession  of  it,  built  j)ews  in  it,  and  had  it  dedicated 
according  to  th«r  forms.  But  the  original  trustees 
were  not  disposed  to  submit  tamely  to  these  proceed- 
ings. A  lawsuit  was  the  consequence,  which  resulted 
favorably  to  the  trustees ;  the  Church  was  restored 
to  them,  and  the  congregation  was  served  sometimes 
by  one,  an<l  sometimes  by  another,  until  at  length 
they  remembered  the  days  of  old,  and  invited  the 
Methodist  preachers  to  occupy  the  imli)it,  which  at 
first  they  did  only  a  part  of  the  time.  But  linally  an 
amicable  arrangement  was  made  by  which  they  became 
identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  the 
union  so  happily  formed  has  been  most  graciously 
cemented  by  God's  blessing  ;  and  we  may  only  say 
further  on  this  point,  that  all  the  Churches  and  parson- 
ages built  by  the  'Pnmitive  ^Methodists,'  have  passed 
to  our  use."  ^ 

» Bbhop  Andrew,  In  Metb.  Mag.,  1830,  p.  20. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  49 

Hamraett  built  a  second  church  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  city.  Several  local  preachers  joined  him,  and  he 
evidently  contemplated  a  somewhat  general  organiza- 
tion. His  party  erected  a  church  in  Georgetown,  one 
also  in  Savannah,  another  in  Wilmington,  N.  C,  where 
they  gathered  a  large  congregation  of  blacks.  William 
Meredith  had  charge  of  the  latter  society;  he  subse- 
quently withdrew  from  Hammett,  and  dying  in  1799, 
left  his  chapel,  parsonage,  and  society  to  the  care  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Most  of  the  other 
societies  returned  to  the  parent  Church.  Bishop  Coke 
and  Thomas  Morrell  published  pamphlets  in  reply  to 
Hammett.  He  died  in  1803,  about  eleven  years  after 
his  secession,  and  the  schism  became  extinct.'' 

Asbury  spent  about  a  week  in  the  city,  holding  a 
conference  and  preaching  incessantly ;  he  then  passed 
into  Georgia,  and  rested  at  Washington,  where  he 
Avrites:  "  We  met  our  dear  brethren  in  conference.  We 
had  great  peace  and  union ;  the  Carolina  preachers  came 
up  to  change  with  those  in  Georgia ;  all  things  happened 
well.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  We  now  agreed 
to  unite  the  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  conferences 
— to  meet  in  the  fork  of  Seleuda  and  Broad  Rivers,  on 
the  first  of  January,  1794.  Our  sitting  ended  in  exceed- 
ing great  love.  We  had  sacrament,  love-feast,  and 
ordination.  I  felt  very  serious,  aijd  was  very  pointed 
on  Acts  XX,  26,  27.  I  have  now  had  an  opportunity  of 
speaking  in  Washington:  most  of  the  people  attended 
to  hear  this  man  that  rambles  through  the  United 
States.''"' 

He   turned  toward   Savannah,  to  "  see    the    former 

walks  of  dear  Wesley  and  Whitefield,"  whom  "he  hojjed 

to  meet  in  the  New  Jerusalem."      On  the  last  day  of 

«  Lee's  Hist,  of  Meth.,  p.  205. 
C— 4 


50  HISTORY    OF    THE 

February,  1793,  lie  reached  the  city,  and  the  next  day 
went  twelve  miles  to  view  the  ruins  of  Whitefield's 
Orphan  House.  He  gazed  on  the  blackened  walls  with 
sadness, deepening  into  "awe."  "The  wings"  were  "yet 
standing,  though  much  injured,  and  the  school-house 
still  more."  A  mass  of  ruins,  the  only  memorial  of  a 
great  and  benevolent  scheme,  it  was  also  the  memento 
of  a  great  Methodistic  evangelist,  whom  he  revered 
as  his  own  precursor  in  the  new  world,  the  man  who  had 
heralded  the  still  advaiuing  host  of  itinerants.  If  the 
ostensible  design  of  the  institution  had  failed,  it  had 
accomplished  a  greater  result  which  was  destined  never 
to  fail:  it  had  been  the  center  of  American  attraction  to 
its  founder,  had  prompted  his  thirteen  passages  across 
the  Atlantic,  and  had  thus  led  to  those  extraordinary 
evangelical  travels  and  labors,  from  Georgia  to  Maine, 
which  quickened  with  spiritual  life  the  Protestantism 
of  the  continent,  and  opened  the  career  ot  Methodism 
in  the  western  hemisphere.  Asbury  returned  with 
pensive  yet  hopeful  reflections  to  Savannah  and  re- 
sumed his  work,  preaching  the  same  night.  "  I  re- 
flected," he  says,  "  upon  the  present  ruins  of  the 
Orphan  House,  and  taking  a  view  of  the  money  ex- 
pended, the  persons  employed,  the  preachers  sent  over, 
I  was  led  to  inquire,  Where  are  they  ?  and  how  has  it 
sped?"  They  were  all  "swallowed  up;"  the  whole 
country  looked  "  wretched  "  to  him ;  "  but,"  he  adds, 
"  here  are  souls,  precious  souls,  worth  worlds." 

He  was  soon  returning  through  South  Carolina, 
"  traveling  through  heavy  rains  and  deep  swamps,  in 
dark  nights,  improving"  himself,  as  his  "horseback 
study,  in  the  Hebrew  tones  and  points."  He  paused 
again  at  Charleston,  where  he  promoted  a  subscription 
for  the  erection  of  a  new  church,  preached,  held  class 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  51 

meetings,  assembled  the  leaders  and  stewards,  and 
visited  from  house  to  house.  His  congregations  in- 
cluded about  five  hundred  hearers,  three  fifths  of  them 
blacks.  He  had  now  summed  up  the  Minutes  for  the 
ecclesiastical  year.  "  We  have,"  he  writes,  "  two  hund- 
red and  seventeen  traveling  preachers,  and  about  fifty 
thousand  members,  in  the  United  States.  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest!"  He  spent  about  two  weeks  in 
Charleston  fortifying  the  society  against  its  schismatic 
troubles.  We  afterward  trace  him  among  the  western 
mountains  of  North  Carolina,  "  wrestling  with  floods," 
his  food  "Indian  bread  and  fried  bacon,"  and  his 
''  bed  set  upon  forks,  and  clapboards  laid  across,  in  an 
earthen  floor  cabin,"  He  crossed  the  Alleghanies 
through  perilous  difliculties,  and  was  again  in  the 
Great  West,  where  he  spent  about  six  weeks  among  the 
emigrant  settlements  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  con- 
voyed sometimes  by  armed  guards,  and  enduring  the 
severest  privations  and  fatigues.  By  the  middle  of  May 
he  was  again  among  the  heights  of  the  Virginia  mount- 
ains, sheltered  in  the  comfortable  home  of  the  widow  of 
General  Russell,  the  sister  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  one  of 
the  "  elect  ladies  "  of  Methodism.  The  most  romantic 
passages  of  his  journals  are  his  brief  records  of  his  adven- 
tui-es  among  the  Alleghanies,  and  often  at  the  close  of 
weary  days  does  he  write,  in  log  cabins,  that  so  many  miles 
yet  remain  before  he  can  reach  "  General  Russell's,"  his 
longed-for  resting-place.  He  now  writes  :  "  I  am  very 
solemn.  I  feel  the  want  of  the  dear  man  who,  I  trust, 
is  now  in  Abraham's  bosom,  and  hope  ere  long  to  see 
him  there.  He  was  a  general  oflicer  in  the  continental 
army,  where  he  underwent  great  fatigue :  he  was  pow- 
erfully brought  to  God,  and  for  a  few  years  past  was  a 
living  flame,  and  a  blessing  to  his  neighborhood.     He 


52  HISTORY     OF    THE 

went  in  the  dead  of  winter  on  a  visit  to  liis  friends,  was 
seized  with  an  influenza,  and  ended  his  life  from  home. 
O  that  the  Gospel  may  continue  in  this  house!  I 
]>reached  on  Ileb.  xii,  1-4,  ajid  there  followed  several 
exhortations.  We  then  administered  the  sacrament, 
and  there  was  weepinc:  and  shoutincf  among  the  peo])le  ; 
our  exercises  lasted  ahout  five  hours."  Such  scenes 
often  occurred  there,  for  Mrs.  Russell  kept  her  mansion 
always  o]>en,  not  only  for  the  shelter  of  the  wayworn 
itinerants,  hut  as  a  sanctuary  for  the  mountaineer  set- 
tlers, who  flocked  thither  from  miles  around  to  hear  the 
Gospel.  *'  She  was,"  says  an  itinerant  who  enjoyed  her 
hospitalities,  "  eloquent  like  her  brother,  a  woman  of 
exemplary  piety,"'  Like  most  of  the  Methodist 
women  of  her  day,  she  exhorted  and  prayed  in  public. 
Her  home  was  a  light-house  shining  afar  among  the 
Alleghanies.* 

But  even  here,  in  one  of  the  most  comfortable  shelters 
then  to  be  found  on  the  frontier,  Asbury  could  find  lit- 
tle repose  ;  the  "  care  of  all  the  Churches"  was  upon  him, 
and  he  had  again  entered  the  state  where  the  schismatic 
distractions  of  O'Kelly's  party  were  rending  the  infant 


•Rev.  Jacob  Young's  "  .Vutoblopraphy  of  a  Pioneer,"  p.  128. 

•  No  doubt  the  reader  would  like  to  know  tlie  sequel  of  the  Russell 
family.  Rev.  William  Burke  Informs  us  that,  "  in  the  fall  of  1792,  Gen- 
eral Russfll  and  family  made  a  visit  to  the  caatcm  part  of  Virginia, 
among  their  old  friends  and  relations.  The  general  was  taken  sick, 
and  died.  His  daughter,  Chloe  Russell,  had  just  married  a  traveling 
preacher  by  the  name  of  Iluhbard  Saunders.  During  their  visit,  Miss 
Sarah  Campbell,  Mrs.  Russell's  daughter,  daughter  of  General  Camp- 
bell, who  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  was 
married  to  Francis  Preston,  Esq.,  of  Virginia.  Sarah  was  among  the 
flrstfruits  of  Methodism  in  the  West.  She  became  the  mother  of  one 
of  South  Carolina's  most  gifted  sons,  whose  eloquence  has  often  been 
heard  in  the  Senate  chamber  at  Washington,  namely,  lion.  William 
C.  ?rcHon."—\V>jMet/'s  ''Heroes,''  p.  204.  See  also  vol.  ii,  p.  r;.JO; 
and    "  Women  of  Methodism,"   p.  356.     New  York,  1866. 


METHODIST    ESPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  53 

societies.  "  I  have  little  rest  by  night  or  hy  day,"  he 
writes  under  this  hospitable  roof,  "  Lord,  help  thy  poor 
dust !  I  feel  unexpected  storms — from  various  quar- 
ters ;  perhaps  they  are  designed  for  my  humiliation.  It 
is  a  sin  in  thought  that  I  am  afraid  of:  none  but  Jesus 
can  support  us,  by  his  merit,  by  his  Spirit,  his  right- 
eousness, his  intercession ;  that  is,  Christ  in  all,  for  all, 
through  all,  and  in  every  means,  and  word,  and  work," 
In  two  days  he  was  in  the  saddle  and  away  again, 
among  the  mountain  passes,  and  over  the  cliffs,  forty 
live  miles  a  day,  "  steeped  in  rain,"  and  "  hunger 
within."  On  the  third  day  he  was  at  Rehoboth,  on  the 
Green  Briar,  where  he  met  the  mountaineer  itinerants 
in  conference,  "  I  was  greatly  comforted,"  he  says,  "at 
the  sight  of  Brothers  B,  J,  and  Ellis  Cox;  we  had 
peace  in  our  conference,  and  were  happy  in  our  cabin." 
But  the  wayworn  evangelists  bring  aiSicting  intelli- 
gence of  the  "  mischief  begun  by  O'Kelly  "  and  "  some 
of  the  local  preachers  in  the  lower  parts  of  Virginia ; " 
he  "  wrote  many  letters  to  the  south  district  to  con- 
firm the  souls  of  the  people,  and  guard  them  against 
the  division."  Rains  for  more  than  a  week  had  de- 
ranged the  roads  ;  but  he  pressed  forward,  troubled  by 
nothing  so  much  as  by  the  "  discord  sown  by  Satan  " 
among  the  societies.  All  along  these  routes,  however, 
the  people  beheld  his  apostolic  devotion  and  energy 
with  wonder  and  veneration,  and  many  were  ready, 
"  if  it  had  been  possible,  to  pluck  out  their  own  eyes  " 
and  give  them  to  him.  On  his  way  "  an  old  German," 
he  says,  "met  me,  shook  me  by  the  hand,  and  said  he 
wished  he  might  be  worthy  to  wash  my  feet.  Ah, 
thought  I,  if  you  knew  what  a  poor  sinful  creature  I  am, 
you  would  hardly  look  at  one  so  unworthy  ;  but  Jesus 
lives,     O  precious  Christ,  thou  art  mine  and  I  am  thine  !" 


54  IIISTOIIY    OF    THE 

By  the  middle  of  June  he  was  .ifjain  in  Maryland, 
hoMinc:  a  conference  at  Old  Town;  wh(M-e,  he  says,  "  we 
had  much  consolation  in  meeting  the  brethren  of  these 
districts,  whose  names  only  were  known  to  each  other." 
He  preached  to  them  on  the  troubles  of  the  day  from 
the  text,  "  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  ;  they  shall 
prosper  that  love  thee."  In  three  days  he  was  again 
away.  "Our  roads  are  rough,"  he  says;  "I  am  sick; 
our  fare  is  coarse;  but  it  is  enough — I  am  to  die." 
Such  was  his  Christian  philosophy.  He  penetrates  to 
the  obscure  societies,  already  reported,  among  the  hid- 
den valleys  of  the  Juniata,  to  Northumberland  and 
Wyoming,  and  soon  we  retrace  him  through  Maryland. 
Such  are  mere  glimpses  (all  that  we  can  get)  of 
Asbury's  first  southern  labors  al'ter  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1792.  But  by  the  middle  of  September,  1793, 
he  re-entered  the  same  field.  On  his  way  he  confronted 
the  yellow  fever,  raging  in  Philadelphia,  with  no  other 
inconvenience  from  his  courage  than  the  alanns  of  the 
towns  through  which  he  hastened,  in  Delaware  and 
Maryland,  and  the  opposition  of  the  sanitary  cordons. 
In  Virginia,  light  began  to  dawn  upon  the  disturbed 
j>rospects  of  the  Church,  and  he  "  felt  his  mind  greatly 
eased  relative  to  those  who  had  lately  separated,  and 
set  out  as  n-formers,"  At  Petersburg  he  held  a  confer- 
ence. "The  preachers,"  he  writes,  "  were  united,  and 
the  Lord  was  with  us  of  a  truth.  ITiere  were  fifty-five 
]»resent.  I  had  some  ditticulties  respecting  the  stations; 
but  there  was  a  willingness  among  the  brethren  to  go 
where  they  were  appointed,  and  all  was  well.  Our  dis- 
aflected  brethren  have  had  a  meeting  at  the  Pinoy 
Grove,  in  Amelia  circuit,  and  appointed  three  men  to 
attend  this  conference.  One  of  these  delegates  appears 
to  be  satisfied,  and  has  received  ordination  among  us 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  OO 

since  he  was  delegated  by  them;  the  other  two  ap- 
peared, and  we  gave  them  a  long  talk.  My  mind  has 
been  closely  employed  in  the  business  of  the  conference, 
so  that  I  have  slept  only  about  sixteen  hours  in  four 
nights." 

By  the  9th  of  December  he  is  in  Lewisburg,  North 
Carolina ;  and  holds  a  conference,  about  a  mile  from 
the  town,  at  Green  Hill's.  "  Great  peace  and  unity,"  he 
says,  "  prevailed  among  us.  The  preachers  cheerfully 
signed  an  instrument,  expressing  their  determination 
to  submit  to,  and  abide  by,  what  the  General  Confer- 
ence has  done." 

Through  all  sorts  of  hardships  he  again  penetrates 
South  Carolina,  to  face  the  trials  of  Charleston.  Hasten- 
ing from  Camden  about  the  end  of  December,  he  writes : 
"  We  set  out  early,  and  came  through  pine  and  oak  bar- 
rens, twenty-five  miles :  about  one  o'clock  I  was  willing 
to  sit  down  and  rest.  I  have  lately  felt  all  the  grace  I 
had  put  to  trial;  through  mercy  I  am  kept  from  sin, 
and  long  to  be  perfect  in  faith  and  patience,  love  and 
suffering:  I  am  sometimes  tempted  to  wish  to  die  ;  but 
I  fear  it  is  wrong:  I  rather  choose  to  wait  the  Lord's 
time." 

On  the  last  day  of  the  year  his  brief  record  introduces  us 
to  a  characteristic  scene  of  the  country  and  the  times — a 
conference  in  the  wilderness — no  town  or  village  is  named 
as  its  locality,  only  the  humble  huts  of  the  brethren.  "  We 
rode,"  he  says,  "  forty-five  miles  to  Brother  Cook's,  on 
Broad  River;  and  the  next  day  to  brother  Finch's: 
here  we  are  to  have  about  thirty  preachers  from  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia.  We  were  straitened  for  room, 
having  only  twelve  feet  square  to  confer,  sleep,  and  for 
the  accommodation  of  those  who  were  sick.  Brother 
B.  was  attacked  with  the  dysentery.      On  Wednesday, 


56  HISTORY    OF    THE 

January  1,  1794,  wc  removed  Brother  B.  into  a  room 
■without  tire.  We  hastened  the  business  of  our  con- 
lerence  as  fast  as  we  could.  After  sitting  in  a  close 
room  with  a  very  large  fire,  I  retired  into  the  woods 
nearly  an  hour,  and  was  seized  with  a  severe  chill,  an 
inveterate  cough  and  fever,  and  a  sick  stomach :  with 
difficulty  I  sat  in  conference  the  following  day;  and 
I  could  get  hut  little  rest ;  Brother  li.'s  moving  so 
frequently,  and  the  brethren's  talking,  disturbed  me. 
Sick  as  I  was,  I  had  to  ordain  four  ciders  and  six 
deacons;  never  did  I  perform  with  such  a  burden.  I 
took  a  powerful  emetic.  I  was  attended  by  Doctor 
D.  I  found  I  must  go  somewhere  to  get  rest. 
The  day  was  cloudy,  and  threatened  snow;  however, 
Brother  B.  E.  and  myself  made  out  to  get  seven 
miles  to  dear  old  Brother  A.  Yeargin's  house.  The 
next  day  came  on  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  which  con- 
tinue d  two  days,  and  was  from  six  to  ten  inches  deej». 
I  had  to  let  some  blood.  I  must  be  humbled  before  the 
Lord,  and  have  great  searching  of  heart." 

His  next  record  is  that  of  a  thirty  miles'  ride,  though 
he  was  so  weak  **  that  his  e-xercise  and  clothing  almost 
overcame''  him.  On  the  20th  of  January,  1704,  he 
Avas  again  in  Charleston,  where  he  spent  nearly  a  month 
preaching,  visiting  from  house  to  house,  and  con- 
firming the  Church.  Meanwhile  he  writes,  "  I  feel 
restless  to  move  on,  and  my  wish  is  to  die  in  the  field. 
I  have  had  a  time  of  deep  dejection  of  spirits,  affliction 
of  body,  loss  of  sleep,  and  trouble  of  soul.  I  find  this 
to  be  a  barren  place;  I  long  to  go  to  my  work.  NVhen 
gloomy  melancholy  comes  on,  I  find  it  best  to  think  as 
little  as  may  be  about  distressing  subjects.  It  seems  as 
if  a  stran^'c  providence  holds  me  here :  I  am  sometimes 
afraid  to  eat,  drink,  or  even  to  talk  unless  it  be  of  God 


MKTHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,  57 

and  religion.  I  am  now  preparing  to  leave  the  city, 
where  I  have  experienced  consolation,  afflictions,  tribula- 
tions, and  labor." 

On  the  first  of  March  he  set  out,  and  again  we  can 
trace  him  through  difficulties  such  as,  in  modern  times, 
seem  incredible  to  the  traveler  in  the  same  regions. 
"Isaac  Smith,  in  all  these  difficulties  and  trials  of 
swamps,  colds,  rains,  and  starvation,  was  my  faithful 
companion.  After  riding  twenty-seven  miles  without 
eating,  how  good  were  the  potatoes  and  fried  gammon  ! 
I  confess  my  soul  and  body  have  been  sorely  tried. 
What  blanks  are  in  this  country — and  how  much  worse 
are  rice  plantations  !  If  a  man-of-war  is  '  a  floating 
hell,'  these  are  standing  ones :  wicked  masters,  over- 
seers, and  negroes — cursing,  drinking — no  Sabbaths;  no 
sermons.  But  hush  !  perhaps  my  journal  will  never  see 
the  light;  and  if  it  does,  matters  may  mend  before  that 
time;  and  it  is  probable  I  shall  be  beyond  their  envy 
or  good  will." 

By  the  time  he  reached  the  Catawba  River  he  had 
ridden  nearly  a  thousand  miles  in  three  months,  "  stop- 
ping three  weeks  of  the  time  with  great  reluctance  " 
at  conferences,  and  on  other  important  occasions.  He 
completed  the  thousand  miles  at  the  hazard  of  his  life 
in  fording  the  river,  wandering  till  after  midnight,  lost 
in  the  woods,  under  a  storm  of  rain,  thunder,  and  light- 
ning, and  finding  unexpected  shelter,  at  last,  at  a  plan- 
tation, "  with  feet  and  legs  wet  for  six  or  seven 
hours,"  He  thus  records  the  scene :  "  I  directed  my 
course,  in  company  with  my  faithful  fellow-laborer,  To- 
bias Gibson,  up  the  Catabaw,  settled  mostly  by  the 
Dutch.  A  barren  S2:)ot  for  religion.  Having  ridden  in 
pain  twenty-four  miles  we  came,  weary  and  hungry,  to 
O.'s  tavern,  and  were  glad  to  take  what  came  to  hand. 


58  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Four  miles  forward  we  came  to  Howe's  Ford,  upon 
Catawba  River,  where  we  could  get  neither  a  canoe  nor 
guide.  We  entered  the  water  in  an  inii)roi)er  place,  and 
were  soon  among  the  rocks  and  in  the  whirlpools ;  my 
hervd  swam,  and  my  horse  was  aflriirhted ;  the  water 
was  to  my  knees,  and  it  was  with  ditliculty  we  retreated 
ti>  the  same  shore.  We  then  called  to  a  man  <»n  the 
other  side,  who  came  and  piloted  us  across,  tor  which  I 
j)aid  him  well.  My  horse  being  afraid  to  take  the 
water  a  second  time,  Brother  Gibson  crossed,  and  sent 
mc  his,  and  our  guide  took  mine  across.  We  went  on, 
])Ut  our  troubles  were  not  at  an  end  ;  night  came  on, 
and  it  was  very  dark.  It  rained  heavily,  with  power- 
ful lightning  and  thunder.  We  could  not  find  the  path 
that  turnctl  o\it  to  C'onncirs.  In  this  situation  we  i-on- 
tinued  until  midnight  or  past ;  at  last  we  found  a  path 
which  we  followed  till  we  came  toilear  old  Father  Har- 
per's plantation;  we  made  for  the  house,  antl  called  ;  he 
answered,  but  wondered  who  it  could  be;  he  inquired 
M'hence  we  came  ;  I  told  him  we  would  tell  that  when 
we  came  in,  for  it  was  raining  so  powerfully  we  ha<l 
not  much  time  to  talk.  When  I  came  dripping  into  the 
house,  he  cried,  'God  bless  your  soul,  is  it  Hrother 
Asbury  ?  wife,  get  up.'  " 

"  My  soul,"  he  exclaims,  "  enjoys  peace :  but  O  I  for 
more  of  God  !  This  campaign  has  made  me  'groan,  be- 
ing Inirdenetl.'  Uad  news  on  my  coming  to  the  mount- 
ains ;  neither  preachers  nor  elders  have  visited  Swanino 
since  last  October;  poor  ]»eople— poor  preachers  that  are 
not  more  stable:  but  all  flesh  is  grass,  and  I  am  grass. 
I  desire  the  dear  preachers  to  be  as  I  am  in  the  work : 
I  have  no  interest,  no  passions,  in  their  appointments ; 
mv  only  aim  is  to  care  and  provide  for  the  Hock  of 
Christ.     I  feel  that  my  sufferings  have  been  good  preach- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  59 

iiio-  to  me,  especially  in  crossing  the  waters.  I  feel 
resolved  to  be  wholly  the  Lord's,  weak  as  I  am ;  I 
have  done  nothing,  I  am  nothing ;  only  for  Christ !  or  I 
had  long  since  been  cut  off  as  an  unfaithful  servant ; 
Christ  is  all,  and  in  all  I  do,  or  it  had  not  been  done  ; 
or  when  done,  had  by  no  means  been  acceptable.  I 
have  written  several  letters  to  the  westward  to  supply 
my  lack  of  service.  I  am  mightily  wrought  upon  for 
New  Hampshire,  Province  of  Maine,  Vermont,  and 
Lower  Canada." 

Such  was  this  greatest  apostle  of  modern  Christen- 
dom. Scarcely  recognized  by  the  civil  or  ecclesiastical 
historians  of  the  country,  he  was  nevertheless  uncon- 
sciously placing  his  name  foremost  on  the  ecclesiastical 
annals  of  the  new  world;  nor  can  we  wonder,  after 
such  labors,  that  in  our  day  the  followers  of  the  evan- 
gelic banner  which  he  thus  bore  forward,  over  mount- 
ains, wildernesses,  and  floods,  constitute  one  half  the 
Protestant  communicants  of  the  New  World. 

On  reaching  Charlotte  county,  Va.,  in  the  latter  part 
of  April,  he  learns  that  "  there  is  sad  work  with  those 
who  had  left"  the  denomination;  yet  matters  were  not 
desperate.  "  If  the  real  cause  of  this  division  were 
known,  I  thmk  it  would  appear,  that  one  wanted  to  be 
immovably  fixed  in  a  district ;  another  wanted  money  ; 
a  third  wanted  ordination ;  a  fourth  wanted  liberty  to 
do  as  he  pleased  about  slaves,  and  not  to  be  called  to  an 
account,"  etc. 

He  found  it  necessary  to  recite  in  his  congregations 
the  history  of  these  disputes,  to  vindicate  his  episcopal 
administration,  to  encounter  personal  rebuffs  from  for- 
mer Methodists.  "O  that  I  had  in  the  wilderness  a 
lodging-place!"  he  writes;  "a  dreadful  rumor  followed 
me  from  last  Sabbath.     I  felt  humble  and  thankful  that 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE 

I  could  suffer ;  I  think  more  of  religion  now  than  ever. 

0  my  God,  I  am  thine;  (flory  to  Christ  forever!  "  He 
rejoiced,  however,  to  find  in  Bedford  county  "thirteen 
societies  of  Methodists,  three  or  four  of  them  large,  and 
about  ten  local  jireachers,  who  labor  for  Christ  and 
souls."  Keachiiig  the  western  mountains,  he  held  a  con- 
ference and  greeted  some  of  the  Kentucky  preachers, 
who  had  come  across  the  AUeghanies  to  counsel  with  him. 
Ilr  fouiiil  ''a  valuabU' chajtel  at  Newton,  and  three  local 
preachers;"  at  Charleston,  "a  good  house  and  one 
local  jireacher;"  at  Winchester,  "a  good  meeting- 
house.'' "Sick,  wet,  and  weary,"  he  journeyed  on, 
still  preaching,  though  hardly  able  to  make  the  people 
hear.  "My  mind,"  he  says,  "is  in  peace,  but  I  feel 
the  spiritual  deatli  of  the  people.  I  am  now  on  the 
head  branches  of  Opecken.  I  stopped  a  while  at  J.  II.'s, 
and  then  came  on  to  Shephcrdstown.  It  was  a  very  in- 
structing time  to  me;  I  cannot  pretend  to  j)reach,  yet  I 
talk  a  little  to  the  dear  people,  who  flock  to  see  and 
hear  me  by  hundreds.  I  hope  to  be  as  much  resigned 
to  a  life  of  aftliction  as  a  life  of  health;  and  thus  may 

1  be  perfect  in  love  and  wholly  crucified  with  Christ ! 
I  concluded,  after  my  high  fever,  and  my  being  forced 
to  bed,  that  it  was  out  of  the  question  for  me  to  at- 
tempt to  speak  ;  but  when  I  saw  the  peoi)le  coming  on 
every  side,  and  thought  '  this  may  be  the  last  time,'  and 
considered  I  had  not  been  there  for  nearly  five  years,  I 
took  my  staff,  faintly  ascended  the  hill,  and  held  forth 
on  1  John  i,  G,  7,  and  felt  strengthened,  having  a  clear 
view  of  the  word  of  God.  Afler  meeting  we  adminis- 
tered the  sacrament,  and  I  then  returned  to  my  bed.  I 
preached  at  Fredericktown.  Rode  to  Liberty:  when  I 
came  there  I  was  so  faint,  and  my  strength  so  spent, 
that  I  felt  as  if  I  could  by  no  means  attempt  to  preach ; 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  61 

but  after  Bi-otlier  R.  had  sung  a  hymn   and   prayed,  I 
made  a  feeble  attempt  on  Gal,  i,  11,  12." 

On  the  18th  of  June  he  once  more  found  genial  shel- 
ter in  Baltimore,  then  the  headquarters  of  all  his  epis- 
copal campaigns.  He  paused,  however,  but  four  or  five 
days,  and  hastened  on  to  the  north  and  the  east,  as  far 
as  Boston  and  Lynn.  By  the  middle  of  October  he 
was  back  again  ;  a  day  of  hospitable  shelter  at  Perry 
Hall,  a  week  of  labor  in  Baltimore,  at  the  conference, 
and  the  southern  campaign  is  reopened.  Its  events  are 
stirring,  but  too  similar  to  those  already  recorded  to 
need  recital ;  it  was  followed  by  another  passage  over 
the  Alleghanies  into  Tennessee.  On  the  21st  of  May  he 
was  again  in  Baltimore,  but  saddened  by  the  news  of 
the  death  of  one  of  his  "  best  friends  in  America,"  Judge 
White,  of  Kent  county,  Md.,  whose  important  services 
to  early  Methodism  have  already  made  an  interesting 
episode  in  our  narrative.^  "This  news,"  writes  the 
bishop,"  -{vas  attended  with  an  awful  shock  to  me.  1 
have  met  with  nothing  like  it  in  the  death  of  any  friend 
on  the  continent.  Lord,  help  us  all  to  live  out  our 
short  day  to  thy  glory !  I  have  lived  days,  weeks,  and 
months  in  his  house.  O  that  his  removal  may  be  sanc- 
tified to  my  good  and  the  good  of  the  family  !  He  was 
about  sixty-five  years  of  age.  He  was  a  friend  to  the 
poor  and  oppressed;  he  had  been  a  professed  Church- 
man, and  was  united  to  the  Methodist  connection  about 
seventeen  or  eighteen  years.  His  house  and  heart  were 
always  open ;  and  he  was  a  faithful  friend  to  liberty,  in 
spirit  and  practice ;  he  was  a  most  indulgent  husband,  a 
tender  father,  and  a  most  aifectionate  friend.  He  pro- 
fessed perfect  love,  and  great  peace,  living  and  dying. 
I  preached  twice  in  town,  and  was  delivered  from  my 
» See  vol.  ii,  p.  307. 


62  HISTORY    OFTHE 

gloomy  state  of  mind.  I  spent  jiart  ofthe  week  visit- 
ing from  house  to  lioiise.  I  feel  happy  in  speaking  to 
all  I  find,  whether  parents,  children,  or  servants  ;  I  see 
no  other  way;  the  common  means  will  not  do;  Baxter, 
Weslev,  and  our  Form  of  Discipline,  say,  'Go  into 
every  house:'  I  would  go  further,  and  say.  Go  into 
every  kitchen  and  shop ;  address  all,  aged  and  young, 
on  the  salvation  of  their  souls." 

Excessive  work  relieved  him,  but  only  temporarily; 
the  ravages  of  death  among  his  old  companions  in  the 
struggles  and  success  of  ^lethodism,  deeply  affecteil 
him  ;  he  sought  refuge  and  consolation  with  IJassett,  at 
Bohemia  Manor,  a  scene  thronged  with  old  memories. 
"I  have  great  inward  distress,'"  lie  writes,  for  here  he 
was  again  reminded  that  all  things  pass  away.  "Dear 
Brother  B.,  who  attended  me  with  his  carriage  to 
North  East  the  last  time  T  was  here,  is  now  gone  to  rest. 
()  how  short  is  the  liie  of  man!  ()  my  Lord,  help  me 
through  all  my  afflictions!  Ali  I  what  a  comfortable 
thiiiir  it  is  to  be  among  the  ancient  Methodists  !  But 
this  is  not  always  my  place;  indeed,  it  cannot  be.  Still 
under  a.vful  depression.  I  am  not  conscious  of  any  sin, 
even  in  thought.  I  feel  ft  degree  of  willingness  to  de- 
cline, ilie,  and  enter  into  rest."  Yet  he  took  courage. 
"  I  have  a  hope  that  God  is  preparing  me  for  greater  use- 
fulness in  my  latter  days.  ()  how  happy  should  I  be, 
if  alter  laboring  thirty  years  to  very  little  profit,  as  I 
sometimes  fear,  it  should  hereafter  appear  tlint  Imndreds 
have  been  converted  by  my  ministry  !  I  came  to  the 
dwelling  house  of  my  dear  friend  Judge  White  ;  it  was 
like  his  funeral  to  me." 

Again  to  the  north  and  east,  to  Boston,  Mass.,  and 
round  about  to  Bennington,  Vt.,  and  back  to  Bal- 
timore by  the  middle  of  October,  for  another  southern 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  63 

campaign— journeying,  preaching,  holding  conferences, 
meeting  classes,  and  still  visiting  from  house  to  house  in 
the  places  where  he  had  occasion  to  delay  a  few  days — • 
such  are  the  events  which  crowd  his  journals,  that  ex- 
traordinary record  which  hastens  us  along  with  eager 
interest,  while  almost  vexing  us  with  the  slightness, 
the  brevity  of  its  notes — so  meager  in  details,  yet  so 
burdened  with  romantic  significance.  In  his  next 
southern  tour  he  found  that  "the  connection  had  re- 
gained its  proper  tone  in  Virginia,  after  having  been 
kept  out  of  tune  for  five  years  by  the  unhappy  division." 
And  at  Charleston,  S.C.,  also,  he  was  cheered  with  im- 
proved prospects.  "  My  soul,"  he  says,  "  felt  joyful 
and  solemn  at  the  thoughts  of  a  revival  of  religion 
in  Charleston.  I  find  several  young  persons  brought 
into  the  fold  of  Christ.  Several  of  the  preachers 
came  into  the  city  to  conference.  We  had  a  melting 
time  at  the  love-feast  at  Brother  Wells's.  On  Friday, 
January  1,  1796,  I  gave  them  a  sermon  suited  to  the 
beginning  of  the  year,  and  the  sacred  fire  was  felt. 
Saturday,  2,  we  began  our  conference.  Lord's  day, 
3,  was  a  day  of  extraordinary  divine  power,  particularly 
at  the  sacrament ;  white  and  black  cried  out  and  shouted 
the  praises  of  God.  Monday,  4,  we  again  entered  on 
the  business  of  the  conference ;  present,  about  twenty 
members  and  seven  graduates.  Tuesday,  5,  continued 
our  business ;  we  have  great  peace  and  love — see  eye  to 
eye,  and  heart  to  heart.  Thursday,  7,  we  observed  as  a 
day  of  fasting  and  humiliation,  to  seek  the  blessing  of 
God  on  the  conference.  We  began,  continued,  and 
parted  in  the  greatest  peace  and  union.  Friday,  8, 
most  of  our  brethren  took  their  leave  of  the  city,  and 
I  had  time  for  recollection." 

He  continued  there  till  the  beginning  of  March,  an 


64  HISTORV    OF    THE 

unusual  delay,  but  tlie  weliare  of  the  local  Church 
reciuired  it.  lie  had  large  congregations — from  ten 
luunlr«Ml  to  twelve  hundred  persons.  He  met  severally 
all  the  classes,  black  and  white,  fifteen  in  number,  and 
visited  many  families,  and  wrote  more  than  tliree  hund- 
red pages  on  subjects  interesting  to  the  society  and 
connection.  He  received  here  the  sad  news  of  the 
destruction  of  Cokesbury  College  by  fire — the  defeat  of 
the  first  experiment  of  the  Church  in  education,  with  a 
loss  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  On  the  3d  of  March  he  de- 
parted for  Georgia,  and  after  itinerating  there  over  more 
than  two  hundred  miles,  set  liis  face  toward  the  north- 
west again,  passed  into  the  Alleghany  mountains  and 
ranged  abobt  among  tlicm,  sometimes  in  Tennessee, 
sometimes  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  till  he 
emerged  on  their  west  in  Pennsylvania  about  the  end 
of  May.  The  diflliculties  of  his  way  were  incredible. 
Having  no  mercy  on  himself,  he  yet  scrupled  to  impose 
such  hardships  on  any  one  else.  "I  doubt,"  he  says, 
as  he  escaped  from  them,  "  whether  I  shall  ever  request 
any  person  to  come  and  meet  me  again  at  the  levels  of 
Green  Briar,  or  to  accompany  me  across  these  mount- 
ains again,  as  Daniel  Hitt  has  now  done.  O  how 
checkered  is  life  !  How  thankful  ought  I  to  be  that  I 
am  here  safe,  with  life  and  limb.s,  in  peace  and  plenty." 
By  the  22d  of  June  he  had  re-entered  Baltimore  ;  he 
had  traveled  on  horseback,  and  over  the  worst  of  roads, 
twenty-three  hundred  miles  since  he  last  left  it.  The 
remainder  of  the  time  before  the  next  General  Confer- 
ence was  spent  in  another  northern  tour,  whither,  as 
over  his  journeys  through  the  middle  and  western  states 
during  the  four  years,  we  shall  hereafter  have  occasion 
to  follow^  him.  Meanwhile  other  laborers  and  events 
recall  our  attention  to  the  south. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  66 


CHAPTER  III. 

METHODISM   IN   THE   SOUTH   CONTINUED — 1792-1796. 

Benjamin  Abbott  in  Maryland — His  Singular  Power  —  Remarkable 
Examples  —  Scenes  at  Quarterly  Meetin<^s — ^His  Healtli  fails  —  His 
Death—  His  Character  —  Wiiatcoat  in  Maryland  —  Henry  Smith  and 
Francis  M'Cormick  —  William  M'Kendree's  early  Itinerant  Life  — 
Anecdotes  —  His  Character  —  Enoch  George  —  John  Easter  —  Illus- 
trations of  George's  Life  and  Cliaracter  —  Hope  Hull's  Labors  —  His 
Prayer  in  a  Ball-room  —  Interest  in  Education  —  Character  —  Cole- 
man and  Simon  Carlisle  —  Remarkable  Charge  and  Deliverance  — 
Stephen  G.  Roszel  —  Joshua  Wells  —  Great  Men  of  Southern  Meth- 
odism —  Deaths  of  Preachers  —  Statistical  Results. 

Many  mighty  men  were  Asbury's  colaborers  in  the 
southern  states  in  the  quadrennial  period  from  1792  to 
1796  ;  and  many,  destined  to  be  pre-eminent  at  a  later 
day,  were  rising  up  in  the  yet  feeble  and  obscure  con- 
ferences of  that  part  of  the  continent. 

Benjamin  Abbott's  appointments  for  the  brief  re- 
mainder of  his  life  '  were  in  Maryland.  His  journals 
become  more  scanty  than  in  the  years  through  which  we 
have  already  followed  him,  but  they  record  the  same  ex- 
traordinary effects  of  his  preaching,  hearers  falling  under 
the  word  "  like  men  slain  in  battle/'  the  "  opening  of  the 
windows  of  heaven,  and  the  skies  pouring  down  right- 
eousness, so  that  the  peoj)le  fell  before  the  Lord."  We 
have  had  occasion  to  discuss  the  astonishing  physical  and 
psychological  phenomena  which  attended  his  ministra- 
tions, and  to  state  the  cautious  interpretation  of  such 
anomalies  given  by  the  best  Methodist  authorities. 
Though  not  peculiar  to  his  preaching,  they  were  pecu- 

»  Minutes,  vol.  i;  Ffirth's  Life  of  Abbott. 
C— 5 


66  HISTORY    OF    THE 

liorly  pdwcrful  with  liiiii.  Tliey  wore  indeed  luiMtuul, 
almost  invariable  etiects  of  his  singular  eloquence,  for  he 
was  eloquent  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  Uneducated, 
rough,  rude  even,  in  speech  and  manner,  his  fervid  piety 
and  his  genial  human  sympathy  made  his  weather-worn 
features  glow  as  with  a  divine  light,  and  intoned  his 
voice  with  a  strange,  a  magnetic,  an  irresistible  pathos 
and  power.  There  may  have  been  a  psychological,  per- 
liaps  a  physiological,  as  well  as  a  moral  element  in  this 
marvelous  power,  a  mystery  which  future  science  may 
render  more  intelligible  ;  be  this  as  it  may,  Henjamin  Ab- 
bott led  a  divine  life  on  earth,  walking  with  God,  like 
Enoch,  from  day  to  day,  and  the  hardiest,  the  most  ruf- 
fian men  who  came  within  his  i)resence,  the  clamor- 
ous rabble  that  frequently  thronged  his  congregations, 
fell  back,  or  sank  prostrate  before  him,  seeing  "  his  face 
as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel ;"  and  if  they  at- 
tempted, as  they  otlen  did,  to  escape  by  the  doors  or 
the  windows,  his  voice  would  sometimes  smite  them 
down  like  lightning.  Ilis  casual  conversation,  always 
religious,  his  social  or  domestic  prayers,  had  the  same 
effect.  We  continually  read  not  merely  of  "God  at- 
tending the  word,  with  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
in  such  manner  that  numbers  fell  to  the  tloor,"  that 
"the  wicked  flew  to  the  doors,"  that  "there  was  a  shak- 
ing among  the  dry  bones,''  but  that  at  his  temjtorary 
lodging-jtlaces,  "  in  family  prayer,  tlie  Lord  was  with 
him  of  a  truth,"  and  similar  wonders  attended  him. 
If  he  went  into  a  house  to  bajitize  a  child,  we  hear  of 
like  eftects — the  ''  mother  trembling  in  every  joint,  four 
persons  falling  to  the  floor,  one  professing  that  God  has 
sanctified  her  soul."  In  some  cases,  as  we  have  seen, 
most,  or  even  all  his  congregation,  save  himself,  were 
thus   prostrated.      And,    however   morally    dangerous 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  67 

such  scenes  might  seem  to  be,  (physically  they  never 
were  injurious,)  they  appear  to  have  been  uniformly 
followed  with  salutary  results.  Few  preachers,  perhaps 
no  other  one  of  his  day,  reclaimed  more  men  from  gross 
vice.     His  mission  seemed  especially  to  such. 

He  now  kept  the  whole  Eastern  Shore  of  Mary- 
land astir  with  religious  interest.  Even  those  whose  re- 
ligious education  had  taught  them  to  associate  quietude 
with  piety,  were  infected  with  the  excitement.  "  In  the 
morning,"  he  writes,  "  we  had  a  melting  time  ;  many 
wept.  In  the  afternoon  the  Lord  poured  out  his  Spirit 
and  the  slain  fell  before  him  like  dead  men ;  others  lay 
as  in  the  agonies  of  death,  entreating  God  to  have  mercy 
on  their  souls ;  some  found  peace.  Glory  to  God,  many 
in  this  town  seemed  alarmed  of  their  danger ;  may  the 
Lord  increase  their  number.  A  girl  who  lived  with  a 
Quaker  was  cut  to  the  heart  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
did  not  know  how  to  get  her  home ;  I  went  to  see  her, 
and  found  many  round  her,  both  white  and  black.  She 
lay  as  one  near  her  last  gasp  ;  I  kneeled  down  and  be- 
sought God  for  her  deliverance,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
she  broke  out  in  raptui-es  of  joy,  crying  out,  '  Let  me  go 
to  Jesus ! '  repeating  it  several  times ;  then  she  arose 
and  went  home.  Glory  to  God !  for  what  my  eyes  saw 
my  ears  heard,  and  soul  felt  that  day,  of  the  blessed 
Spirit.  The  meeting  continued  from  three  o'clock  until 
evening." 

Family  groups,  bearing  him  in  their  carriages  to  their 
homes,  from  his  meetings,  were  "  awakened,  "  con- 
verted," "  sanctified,"  "  shouted  the  praises  of  God," 
"  lost  their  strength"  or  consciousness,  as  he  conversed 
with  thera  on  the  route.  In  love-feasts,  sometimes,  not 
one  could  give  the  usual  narration  of  Christian  experi- 
ence, but,  under  the  introductory  devotions,  "  the  Lord 


68  HISTORY    OF    THE 

80  laid  his  hand  upon  them,  that  sinners  trembled  and  fell 
to  the  floor,"  and  the  customary  exercises  had  to  give 
way  to  prayer  and  praise.  Asrain  we  read :  "  I  hi-ld 
prayer  meeting,  and  the  Lord  manifested  his  love 
among  us.  There  was  a  shaking  among  the  dry  bones. 
One  lay  as  if  she  were  dead  for  nearly  two  hours,  and 
then  came  to  with  i)raise8  to  God  for  her  deliverance, 
with  great  raptures  of  joy.  The  children  of  God  were 
filled  with  joy  unspeakable.  How  inexpressible  are  the 
pleasures  of  those  who  arc  filled  with  the  raptures  of  a 
Saviour's  love!  Ecstatic  pause!  'Silence  heightens 
heaven ! '  I  held  prayer  meeting  and  the  power  of  tlie 
Lord  fell  upon  the  people  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
slain  lay  all  over  the  floor.  Several  were  converted  to 
God ;  one  or  two  professed  sanctification :  glory  to 
God,  he  carried  on  his  own  work."  Again,  "  the  Lord 
attended  the  word  with  power,  and  divers  fell  belore 
him  like  Dagon  before  the  ark.  I  was  obliged  to  leave 
the  slain  on  the  floor  in  order  to  attend  my  next  ai> 
point!nent,  where  I  found  a  large  congregation  to  wlioni 
I  preached.  It  was  a  day  of  his  power;  he  worked  and 
none  could  hinder  him."  Again,  "  I  preached  with  lii'e 
and  power,  and  tlie  Lord  manifesteil  his  presence  among 
us;  some  cried  for  mercy,  and  a  solemn  awe  sat  on 
many  faces.  I  went  to  my  next  appointment,  an<l 
preached  to  n  large  congregation.  Tlie  Lord  laiil  to 
his  heljiing  hand,  and  there  was  a  mighty  sh.iking 
among  the  dry  bones ;  divers  persons  lay  through 
the  house,  as  dead  men  slain  by  the  mighty  ])ower 
of  God.  The  same  Jesus  who  raised  Lazarus  Irora 
the  dead,  raised  up  nine  persons,  that  we  could  as- 
certain, to  praise  him  as  a  sin-pardoning  God  ;  and  how 
many  more  that  we  could  not  ascertain,  God  only 
knows;   for  many   wept,   and    some    shouted    praises. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  69 

Glory  to  God,  this  Avas  a  day  that  will  be  long  remem- 
bered by  many  i»recious  souls.  I  was  as  happy  as  I 
could  live  in  the  body." 

As  the  people  returned  to  their  homes  they  were  heard 
praising  God  along  the  highways.  And  such  scenes 
were  not  occasional  or  exceptional;  nearly  every  day's 
record  I'eports  them,  for  there  was  hardly  a  day  in 
which  he  did  not  hold  a  meeting,  and  hardly  a  meet- 
ing without  immediate  results.  As  facts  of  the  times, 
not  uncommon  in  any  part  of  the  Church,  they  are 
essential  to  a  faithful  record  of  its  history,  however  our 
modern  criticism,  or  more  decorous  ideas  of  religious 
life,  may  judge  them. 

On  the  more  important  or  festival  occasions  of  the 
Church,  especially  at  the  great  quarterly  meetings 
of  the  time,  this  spiritual  enthusiasm  kindled  still 
higher,  and  spread  out  like  a  flame  over  whole  circuits. 
They  were  jubilees  to  Abbott.  On  one  of  them  he 
says :  "  Our  meeting  began  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  when  we  had  sung  and  prayed,  the  power  of 
God  came  down  in  such  a  manner  that  the  slain  lay  all 
through  the  house.  Some  seemed  lost  in  the  ocean  of 
God's  love,  some  professed  justification,  and  others,  that 
God  had  sanctified  their  souls.  This  meeting  was  so 
powerful  that  but  one  attempted  to  speak  her  experience 
in  love  feast ;  while  she  was  speaking,  she  sunk  down, 
crying  out,  God  has  made  me  all  love !  Immediately 
the  house  was  filled  with  cries  and  praises  to  God ; 
some  trembled  and  were  astonished.  We  had  to  carry 
the  slain  out  of  the  house,  in  order  to  make  room  that 
the  people  might  come  in  for  the  public  preaching ;  and 
when  we  had  sung  and  prayed  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
came  down  as  in  the  days  of  old,  and  the  house  was  filled 
with  his  glory ;  the  people  fell  before  him  like  men  slain 


70  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  battle.  It  was  a  great  day  of  God's  power  to  many- 
souls;  some  professed  sanctification,  some  justification. 
This  was  a  day  of  days  to  my  soul.  The  windows  be- 
insj  open,  there  were  hundreds  outside  gazing  at  those 
in  the  house  who  were  slain  before  the  Lord ;  but  they 
lay  both  in  the  house  and  out  of  it.  Prayers  were 
put  up  to  God,  both  within  and  without,  in  behalf  of 
the  penitents  and  mourners.  I  trust  that  many  date 
their  conviction,  and  others  their  conversion  from  that 
quarterly  meeting." 

If  he  deviated  for  such  special  occasions  to  other  cir- 
cuits, the  same  extraordinary  scenes  attended  him.  "I 
went,"  he  writes,  "  to  quarterly  meeting  on  Dover  cir- 
cuit ;  we  had  a  happy  day.  On  Sunday,  in  love-feast, 
the  Lord  God  of  Elijah,  who  answereth  by  fire,  poured 
out  his  Spirit.  '  Elijah  the  prophet  came  near,  and  said, 
Lord  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  of  Israel,  let  it  be 
known  this  day  that  thou  art  God  in  Israel,  and  that  I 
am  thy  servant,  etc.  Hear  me,  O  Lord,  hear  me,  that 
this  j»enpk'  may  know  that  thou  art  the  Lord  God,  etc. 
Then  the  fire  of  the  Lord  fell,  and  consumed  the  burnt 
sacrifices,  etc.  And  when  the  people  saw  it,  they  fell 
on  their  faces :  and  they  said,  the  Lord,  he  is  the  God  ; 
the  Lord,  he  is  the  God,'  1  Kings  xviii,  36-39.  So  on 
this  day,  when  the  fiie  of  the  Lord  came  down,  the 
people  fell  and  acknowledged  the  power  of  God  ;  and 
the  slain  lay  all  about  the  house;  some  were  carried 
out  as  dead  men  and  women.  The  house  was  filled 
with  the  glory  of  Israel's  God,  wlio  spoke  peace  to 
mourners,  while  sinners  were  cut  to  the  heart.  Glory 
to  God,  it  was  a  high  day  to  my  own  soul.  It  was 
thought  there  were  about  fifteen  hundred  looking  on, 
with  wonder  and  amazement  at  the  mighty  power  of 
God,  which  caused  the  powers  of  hell  to  shake  and  give 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  71 

way ;  many  of  the  spectators  trembled  and  were  aston- 
ished ;  numbers  professed  faith  in  Christ,  and  others  sanc- 
tifying grace ;  God's  dear  children,  generally,  were  re- 
freshed. This  was  one  of  the  days  of  the  Son  of  man. 
On  Tuesday,  in  family  prayer,  the  power  of  God  came 
down  wonderfully  upon  us  ;  four  fell  to  the  floor,  and 
they  found  '  Him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and  the 
prophets  did  write,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,'  to  the  joy  of 
their  souls." 

Of  course  there  could  be  no  stagnation  in  the  region 
through  which  such  a  man  traveled  sounding  his  trumpet 
daily  ;  we  read  that  "  the  flame  spread  around  the  cir- 
cuit, and  many  were  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God." 
He  continued  these  labors  till  May,  1795,  when,  failing 
in  health,  he  returned  to  his  home  in  New  Jersey,  and 
was  never  able  to  resume  his  travels  on  a  circuit.  He 
had  been  suffering,  in  Maryland,  for  three  months  from 
fever  and  ague.  On  returning  to  New  Jersey  he  fre- 
quently exerted  his  little  remaining  strength  in  religious 
meetings,  until  June,  1796,  when  he  rapidly  failed  ;  but 
his  soul  remained  unclouded  to  the  last.  He  testified 
that  "  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear,  and  he  that  feareth 
is  not  made  perfect  in  love : "  and  that  he  believed  a 
state  attainable  in  this  life,  through  grace,  that  "  would 
enable  us  to  shout  victory  to  God  and  the  Lamb,  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death."  Also,  that  he  had 
seen  many  leave  this  world  in  "  the  greatest  transport 
of  joy  imaginable.  And  for  my  part,"  he  added,  "  I 
can  call  God  to  witness,  that  death  is  no  terror  to  me  ! 
I  am  ready  to  meet  my  God  if  it  were  now  !  " 

On  the  13th  of  August  he  was  in  "  excruciating  pain," 
"which  he  bore  with  Christian  patience  and  resigna- 
tion. He  was  happy  in  God,  and  rejoiced  at  his  ap- 
proaching dissolution.      He   appeared   to    possess  his 


72  HISTORY    OF    THE 

rational  faculties  to  his  last  moments ;  and  lor  some 
time  previous  was  delivered  from  pain,  to  the  joy  of  his 
friends;  his  countenance  continued  joyful,  heavenly,  and 
serene.  '  Glory  to  God  ! '  he  exclaimed,  '  I  see  heaven 
sweetly  opened  before  me  ! ' " 

The  next  day  he  was  no  more.  He  died  as  he 
had  lived,  "  shouting  ! ''  "  Glory  !  glory  !  glory  !  "  are 
his  last  utterances  recorded  by  his  biographer,  who  at- 
tended him  in  death.  He  uttered  them  "  cla])ping  his 
hands,  in  the  greatest  ecstacies  of  joy  imaginable." 
The  ruling  passion  was  strong  in  death. 

Thus  passes  from  the  scene  of  our  story  one  of  its 
most  remarkable  characters.  He  had  led  hosts  of  souls 
from  the  lowest  abysses  of  vice  into  a  good  life  and  into 
the  Church,  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Chesapeake.  He 
has  been  a  problem  to  students  of  our  history.  I  have 
already  endeavored  to  give  the  solution  of  that  ]»rob- 
lem  ;  but  his  singular  yet  most  etfective  life  will  ever 
remain  a  marvel,  if  not  a  mystery.  An  extraordinary 
individuality  of  character,  sanctified  l)y  extraordinary 
endowments  of  divine  grace,  must  be  its  chief  explana- 
tion. They  fitted  him  for  a  peculiar  work,  and  he  did  it 
thoroughly,  with  all  his  might  and  to  the  end.  All 
his  characteristics  were  extreme;  we  have  seen  the 
vices  of  his  youth,  the  extrenie  struggles  of  his  early 
Christian  experience,  and  how,  like  the  godly  "dreamer 
of  Bedford  jail.'''  he  rose  from  the  struggle  into  a  saintly, 
a  genial,  and  a  powerful  life.  His  sinterity,  purity, 
tenderness,  and  humility,  vin<licated  his  character  even 
to  the  severest  accusers  of  the  wonders  of  his  ministry. 
A  Methodist  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  who  knew  him  well 
for  twenty  years,  and  in  whose  house  he  spent  some 
time  in  his  last  sickness,  says  "  he  used  frequently  to 
tell  me  of  his  life,  and  manner  of  living,  during  his  un- 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH,  73 

regenerate  state.  While  he  was  an  apprentice  in  Phil- 
adelphia he  was  a  wicked  lad,  associated  with  bad 
company.  He  used  to  quarrel  and  fight  frequently. 
At  times,  by  fighting,  he  has  had  his  clothes  so  bloody, 
that  he  has  stripped  them  off  and  washed  them  in  the 
night  at  the  pumps  in  the  streets  ;  and  frequently,  in- 
stead of  going  home,  he  used  to  sleep  in  the  Quaker 
burying  ground,  between  the  graves;  feeling,  at  that 
time,  no  terror  from  the  living  or  the  dead,  by  night  or 
by  day ;  for  he  feared  not  God  nor  regarded  man. 
When  he  became  a  man  he  was  particularly  noted  as  a 
great  fighter ;  and  but  few  excelled  him  in  divers  kinds 
of  vice.  He  has  been  known  to  leave  his  business,  and 
his  dinner,  and  to  walk  several  miles  to  meet  a  noted 
fighter,  in  order  to  show  his  manhood  and  bravery  in 
that  line.  He  frequently  had  to  appear  before  the 
courts  of  justice  on  account  of  these  wicked  courses ; 
and  he  generally  pleaded  gnilty.  At  one  of  those  courts 
a  certain  gentleman,  to  whose  care  public  peace  and 
justice  were  committed,  took  a  private  opportunity  to 
prevail  on  him  to  turn  out  and  fight  a  man  who 
was  there,  for  which  he  treated  him  with  a  bowl  of 
punch.  Surely  his  conversion  was  a  remarkable  instance 
of  sovereign  grace  and  divine  mercy.  The  lion  became 
the  lamb !  The  hero  in  the  service  of  the  devil  became 
a  bold  veteran  in  the  service  of  God.  After  his  conver- 
sion, numbers  had  old  grudges  against  him,  and  sought 
to  ensnare  hina  in  divers  ways ;  but,  by  grace,  he  stood 
firm,  and  immovably  attached  to  the  cause  of  religion, 
maintaining  a  bold,  uniform,  and  circumspect  life.  On  a 
certain  occasion,  after  his  reformation,  he  had  to  appear 
before  the  grand  jury,  and  before  they  entered  on  the 
business  for  which  he  was  called,  he  said  to  the  jury, 
'  Let  us  first  go  to  prayer ! '     He   prayed,  they  had  a 


L 


74  HISTORY    OF    THE 

solemn  time,  and  one  of  the  jury  was  struck  under  con- 
viction. He  was  much  j)ersccutod  by  the  ungodly  ;  but 
although  his  oppositions  were  many,  lie  was  neverthe- 
less remarkably  useful  in  his  ministry,  and  in  visiting 
the  sick  and  <listressed." 

His  later  character  is  thus  drawn  by  the  same  familiar 
friend:  "  He  was,  in  my  opinion,  a  man  of  the  greatest 
faith  I  ever  was  ac(juainted  witli.  He  was  an  agreeable 
neighbor  and  social  friend  ;  jilain  in  his  manners  and 
deportment;  pleasant  in  his  conversation;  meek  and 
humble  in  his  sj»irit.  I  do  not  recollect  that  I  ever  saw 
him  even  appear  to  be  out  of  temper,  so  great  was  the 
work  grace  had  done  for  him.  He  appeared,  as  far  as 
I  could  judge,  to  travail  in  spirit  continually  for  pre- 
cious souls.  With  great  zeal  and  I'aith  he  used  to  urge 
conviction,  repentance,  and  conversion  on  the  ungodly ; 
and  among  j)rofessor8,  he,  with  equal  warmth  of  zeal 
and  love,  would  insist  on  sanctitication,  and  the  Lord 
remarkably  blessed  his  labors.  The  divine  power  of 
sovereign  grace  attended  his  ministry  more  wonderfully 
and  constantly  than  any  one  I  ever  was  acquainted  with, 
to  the  conviction  and  conversion  of  sinners,  and  to  the 
sanctitication  of  believers.  Through  his  instrumentality 
there  was  a  great  reformation  among  the  people." 

No  man  was  more  loved  by  good  men  who  intimately 
knew  him  ;  they  deemed  his  presence  under  their  roul's  a 
sanctifying  blessing.  The  one  from  whom  I  have  cited 
savs:  "He  had  remarkable  j>atience  and  resignation, 
which  was  visible  and  wonderful  to  the  iamily  ;  he  ap- 
peared all  love,  and  was  heavenly  in  liis  conversation. 
I  felt  a  strong  desire  that,  if  it  were  the  will  of  God,  he 
might  tlie  at  my  house.  I  should  have  esteemed  it  an 
honor  conferred  on  me  by  Providence,  had  so  eminent  a 
saint  and  servant  of  God  ended  his  days  under  my  roof 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  75 

But  he  removed  in  the  spring  of  1796  to  the  Jerseys, 
where  he  lingered  out  a  few  months  in  weakness  and 
pain  of  body,  but  in  peace  and  happiness  of  soul ;  then 
'  closed  his  eyes  to  see  his  God.' " 

He  died  aged  about  sixty-four  years,  had  been  a  Meth- 
odist nearly  twenty-four  years,  a  local  preacher  more 
than  sixteen,  a  traveling  preacher  more  than  seven. 
His  ministerial  brethren  characterized  him  in  their  Con- 
ference Minutes  "  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  America,  no 
man's  copy ;  an  uncommon  zealot  for  the  blessed  work 
of  sanctification,  he  preaching  it  on  all  occasions  and 
in  all  congregations,  and  what  was  best  of  all,  living 
it.  He  was  an  innocent,  holy  man;  he  was  seldom  heard 
to  speak  anything  but  about  God  and  religion ;  his  whole 
soul  was  often  overwhelmed  with  the  power  of  God. 
He  was  known  to  hundreds  as  a  truly  primitive  Meth- 
odist preacher,  and  a  man  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy 
Ghost." ' 

Whatcoat  has  left  us  but  a  page  or  two  respecting  his 
labors  in  this  period.  He  was  Abbott's  presiding  elder, 
most  of  the  time,  on  the  Maryland  peninsula.  Grave, 
but  fervidly  pious,  he  wondered  while  he  rejoiced  at  the 
results  of  Abbott's  preaching.  An  extraordinary  revival 
spread  over  his  extended  district.  "  We  had  large  con- 
gregations, and  many  blessed  revivals  in  diiferent  parts 
of  the  district,"  he  says  :  "  Our  quarterly  meetings  were 
generally  comfortable,  lively,  and  profitable.  Some  ap- 
peared extraordinary ;  souls  were  suddenly  struck  with 
convictions,  and  fell  to  the  ground,  roaring  out  for  the 
disquietness  of  their  souls,  as  though  almost  dead,  and 
after  a  while  starting  up  and  praising  God,  as  though 
heaven  wei-e  come  into  their  souls ;  others  were  as  much 
concerned  for  a  cleaner  heart,  and  as  fully  delivered.  I 
"Minutes,  1796. 


76  HISTORY    OF    THE 

had  to  attend    forty-eight  quarterly  meetings   in   tlio 
ppace  of  twelve  months  while  on  this  district." 

Henry  Smith  entered  the  field  of  the  itinerancy  in  the 
present  period — a  man  venerahle  throughout  the  Church, 
in  our  own  day,  familiar  to  most  of  its  people  by  his 
long  and  widely-extended  services,  and  his  frequent 
published  letters,  dated  from  "Pilgrim's  Rest,"  Balti- 
more county,  on  the  early  events  of  our  history.^  When 
ninety-four  years  old  he  could  say,  "  I  am  now,  I  be- 
lieve, the  only  link  in  the  old  Baltimore  Conference  con- 
necting our  early  preachers  with  the  present  race. 
When  but  a  boy  I  heard  Kev.  Mr.  Xaisy  preach  in  an 
old  Episcopal  church  near  Charlestown,  Virginia.  lie 
had  then  taken  the  ground.  I  was  intimately  aecjuaint- 
ed  with  William  Watters,  and  also  knew  and  heard 
Garrettson,  and  many  others  of  our  early  preachers.  I 
saw  and  heard  Dr.  Coke.  I  was  quite  intimate  with 
Asbury,  and  knew  the  sainted  Whatcoat.  The  first 
Methodist  preacher  I  heard  was  William  Jessoj) ;  the 
second  was  the  lovely  Thornton  Flemming.  The  first 
Methodist  preacher  that  preached  in  my  father's  house 
was  Lewis  Chasteen.  Under  the  second  sermon, 
])reached  there  by  Thomas  Scott,  (afterward  Judge 
Scott,  of  Ohif>,)  I  ma<le  up  my  mind  to  be  a  Christian 
in  earnest,  and  joined  the  Methodists.  In  1793  I  was 
licensed  to  preach  at  a  quarterly  meeting.  The  late 
Joshua  Wells  signed  my  license.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  summer  I  entered  the  itinerant  work  on  Berkeley 
circuit.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1704,  I  attended  the  first 
conference  at  Harrisonburgh,  Kockingham  county.  I 
was  appointed  to  Clarksburgh  circuit,  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains;  in  the  following  spring  to  the  Red- 

'  Published   in  a  volume,    "  Recollections   of  an  Old  Itinerant." 
New  York.    1854. 


Engraved  by  Welch  *  Wilier  ■  P)ul»d»l  feom  a  Punttt^g  ty  T  C  Ruckle 


m  V 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  77 

Stone  circuit.  In  October,  1793,  I  attended  my  first 
conference  in  Baltimore.  From  there  I  was  sent  to 
Kentucky ;  then  to  the  far  West.  There  was  but  one 
conference  then  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  called 
the  Western  Conference,  and  that  was  small,  though 
spread  over  a  vast  territory,  namely,  Western  Virginia, 
New  River,  and  Holston,  and  East  Tennessee,  Cumber- 
land, and  Kentucky.  In  October,  1 799, 1  crossed  the  Ohio 
into  the  northwestei-n  territory,  and  organized  the  Scioto 
circuit.  In  the  spring  of  1800  I  came  to  the  General 
Conference  in  Baltimore ;  and  by  my  own  request  was 
returned  to  Scioto,  my  newly-formed  circuit.  Thence  I 
was  returned  to  Kentucky,  and  ended  my  western  labors 
on  Nolechucky  circuit,  Tennessee,  March,  1 803,  having 
suffered  much  from  bilious  fever,  ague  and  fever,  dys- 
pepsia, and  rheumatism,  being  then  quite  a  cripple. 
But  being  requested  by  the  bishop  I  set  out  on  horse- 
back, and  rode  about  four  or  five  hundred  miles  in  much 
pain,  and  came  again  to  my  mother  conference.  I 
traveled  seven  years  under  the  rule  that  allowed  a 
preacher  sixty-four  dollars  a  year,  including  all  mar- 
riage fees  and  presents,  from  a  cravat  down  to  a  pair  of 
stockings.  I  think  our  bishops  were  under  the  same 
rule.  The  last  time  I  saw  this  rule  imposed  was  at  the 
Baltimore  Conference,  held  at  the  Stone  Chapel  in 
May,  1800.  In  my  mind  I  yet  sec  the  sainted  Wilson 
Lee  hand  over  his  fees  and  presents.  True,  our  travel- 
ing expenses  were  allowed  if  we  could  get  them.  The 
world  never  saw  a  more  disinterested,  cross-bearing,  and 
self-sacrificing  set  of  ministers  than  the  early  Methodist 
preachers.  Nothing  but  a  deep  and  abiding  convic- 
tion of  duty  could  induce  them  to  volunteer  in  such 
a  work.  In  those  days  the  Methodists  believed  in  a 
special  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.     The  notion, 


78  HISTORY    OF    THE 

shall  I  teach  or  preach,  choose  the  study  of  hiw  or  Gos- 
pel, mcflicine  or  diviniry,  did  not  then  prevail;  but 
rather,  shall  I  abandon  my  calling,  whatever  it  may  he, 
and  enter  the  ministry,  when  persecutions,  hardships, 
excessive  la1)ors,  and  poverty,  and  ])erhaps  a  premature 
death  in  some  obscure  cabin,  stared  them  in  the  face. 
It  was  necessary  to  be  constrained  by  the  love  of 
Christ  and  a  tender  concern  for  perishiui;  sinners  to 
enter  tliis  important  work.  Yes,  some  might  say,  'A 
woe  is  hanging  over  my  head,  and  I  dare  not  disobey 
without  periling  my  present  future  hajtpiness.'  But 
the  Church  also  lost  the  itinerant  labors  of  many 
able  and  worthy  ministers  for  the  want  of  provision 
for  families.  I  served  it  (with  the  exception  of  a 
few  months)  forty-two  years;  thirty-two  years  in  a 
single  life,  for  I  had  not  the  heart  to  subject  a  wife 
to  the  privations,  poverty,  and  hardships  of  those  days. 
For  the  last  twenty-six  years  I  have  been  on  the 
superannuated  list.  My  claim  on  the  conference  funds 
was  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  The  deficiency 
has  been  mar  three  thousand  dollars.  But,  thank  God, 
although  my  means  are  limited,  I  have  not  been  in 
real  want  of  any  necessary  or  good  thing.  I  am  often 
sorrowful,  yet  can  always  rejoice.  I  am  striving  by 
grace  to  be  a  contented  and  happj'  old  man,  waiting 
patiently  in  my  pilgrim's  rest  till  I  shall  hear  the  call, 
'  Come  up  to  that  higher  rest  prepared  for  all  God's 
weary  pilgrims.'  " 

lie  was  born  in  Frederick  city,  Md.,  A]>ril  23,  1769, 
and  joined  the  Methodists  about  his  twentieth  year. 
He  met  soon  after  Francis  M'Cormick,  another  memor- 
able name,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see.  "  I  did  not  hes- 
itate," says  Smith,  "to  tell  him  seriously  ray  whole 
and  sole  object  in  joining  the  Church,  as  he  called  it. 


MpyniODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  79 

He  professed  to  be  a  XJiiiversalist,  and  pleaded  for  tl  e 
doctrine.     I  told  him  I  had  tried  to  believe  it,  but  I 
found  it  would  not  do.     I  did  not  believe  it  was  true. 
'  Well,'  said  he,  '  how  do  you  feel,  anyhow  ?'     I  said, 
'  Bad  enough,'  and  tried  to  tell  hira  my  state  as  well 
as  I  could.     He  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  said,  'Fare- 
Avell,  I  expect  I  shall  join  too  after  a  while,'  and  went 
back   into    the   house.      He   felt    and  looked   serious, 
which  was  noticed  by  a  playful  and  mischievous  fellow, 
who  played  a  trick  on  him.     This  so  enraged  M'Cor- 
mick  that  he  would  have  thrown  the  man  headforemost 
into  a  large  fire  (for  he  was  a  powerful  man)   if  he  had 
not  been  "prevented.     Strange  to  tell,  both  these  men 
got  converted  shortly  after  this.     I  think  it  was  that 
day  two  weeks  M'Cormick  went  to  the  meeting,  was 
powerfully    awakened,  joined    the    society,    and   that 
night  began  to  pray  in  his  family.     The  other  was  con- 
verted at  my  father's.     M'Cormick  became  a  leader  of 
a  class,  an  exhorter,  and  finally  a  local  preacher,  and 
was  a  pioneer  in  the  West.    In  the  fall  of  1779  I  found 
him  on  the  banks  of  the  Little  Miami,  opening  the  way 
for  the  traveling  preachers.     He  became  my  constant 
companion  and  true  yoke-fellow  while  I  remained,  at 

home." 

Smith  had  not  yet  attained  peace  of  mind,  though  a 
Methodist ;  he  was  waiting,  in  much  mental  distress, 
for  some  of  those  demonstrative  experiences  which 
prevailed  around  him,  but  of  which  his  calm  tempera- 
ment was  not  susceptible.  "  My  dear  father,"  he  says, 
"  took  notice  of  my  distress,  and  took  an  opportunity 
of  saying  to  me,  one  day  when  we  were  alone,  '  My 
son,  what  is  the  cause  of  your  trouble  of  mind  ? '  for 
he  saw  the  change  in  my  conduct,  and  had  reason  to 
believe  that  I  had  experienced  a  change  of  heart.      I 


80  HISTORY    OF    THE 

told  him  I  wanted  the  Lord  to  convert  my  soul.  He 
asked  me  if  I  knew  what  conversion  was,  and  how  it 
was  obtained  ;  and  exjilained  to  me,  that  a  sinner  is 
justified  by  grace  through  faith,  and  through  faith 
alone.  .While  he  was  preaching  faith  to  me  the  glori- 
ous plan  of  salvation  was  opened  to  my  mind  ;  a  plan 
BO  well  suited  to  my  condition.  I  believed  with  the 
heart  unto  righteousness,  and  stepped  into  the  liberty 
of  the  children  of  God.  My  distress  gave  way,  and 
love  and  joy  flowed  into  my  soul.  I  believed  God  was 
reconciled  to  me  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

Following  the  custom  of  the  Methodists  of  that  day, 
be  forthwith  began  to  visit  the  families  of  his  neighbor- 
hood, "mostly  the  poor."  "After  my  day's  labor,"  he 
writes,  "  was  done,  I  mounted  my  horse,  and  rode  three 
or  four  miles  on  such  visits.  Bei'ore  my  conversion  I 
could  not  sing  a  single  tune  of  any  kind ;  but  I  had 
now  learned  by  ear  a  few  liyinn  tunes.  Sometimes 
serions  persons  wouM  be  invited  when  they  knew  I  was 
coming.  One  evening  when  I  was  on  one  of  these 
visits,  I  found  the  house  nearly  full  of  peo|)le.  I  was 
much  alarmed,  and  knew  not  what  to  do.  However,  as 
they  all  seunu'd  serious,  I  talked  to  them,  surig  and 
prayed  with  tlain,  antl  talked  again,  and  wept  over 
them  ;  ami  we  had  a  weeping  time,  and  I  believe  seri- 
ous imj>ressions  were  made  on  the  minds  of  the  most 
of  them.  Thus,  with  almost  no  intention  on  my  part,  I 
was  led  to  exliort,  and  some  time  after  this  a  jjermit 
was  given  me  to  do  so." 

An  exhorter  in  those  days  soon  became  a  preacher. 
Smith's  friend,  M'Cormick,  had  now  become  an  ardent 
31i  thodist,  and  went  forth  with  him  to  hold  their  first 
public  meeting.  It  was  at  "  Davenport's  meeting-house," 
in  the  wilderness  of  Western  Maryland,  and  was  a  char- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  81 

acteristic  scene.  "We  found,"  writes  Smith,  "the lower 
pai-t  of  the  house  full  of  people,  and  some  in  the 
gallery.  There  was  no  light  but  on  the  pulpit,  and 
that  was  high ;  so  we  had  to  ascend  the  pulpit  to  see 
how  to  read  a  hymn.  It  was  a  trembling  time  with 
me,  and  no  better  with  my  companion.  I  opened  the 
meeting.  One  poor  sinner  cried  out  for  mercy  under 
the  prayer.  I  tried  to  exhort,  but  was,  as  I  thought, 
amazingly  embarrassed,  and  sat  down  in  great  confu- 
sion and  distress  of  mind;  for  I  felt  as  if  I  had  done 
more  harm  than  I  should  ever  do  good,  and  prayed  to 
the  Lord  to  forgive  my  presumption,  and  I  never  would 
do  the  like  again.  The  poor  woman  was  still  orying 
for  mercy.  .Brother  M'Cormick  gave  a  lively  exhorta- 
tion, tind  seemed  to  have  great  liberty,  and  concluded 
with  singing  and  prayer.  I  was  still  so  mortified  that 
I  wished  to  get  out  of  the  meeting-house  and  hide  my- 
self. But  the  people  all  seemed  to  be  serious,  and  sat 
down,  and  some  looked  at  the  woman  in  distress. 
Presently  Brother  M'Cormick  began  to  sing,  '  Come 
on,  my  partners  in  distress,'  in  great  spirit,  for  he  was  a 
fine  singer,  and  the  soul-melting  power  of  the  Lord 
came  dbwn  upon  us,  and  it  was  felt  through  all  the 
house.  My  mind  was  relieved  in  a  moment,  and  I 
soon  found  myself  on  a  bench  exhorting  the  people, 
and  we  had  a  most  glorious  time.  This  was  a  log 
meeting-house,  and  I  had  hauled  the  first  log  to  it ; 
and  this  was  the  first  pulpit  I  ever  opened  my  mouth 
in." 

In  I'ZG.S  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  began  his 
itinerant  career  on  Berkeley  circuit,  Virginia.  In  the 
next  year  he  was  received  on  trial  in  the  conference, 
and  sent  beyond  the  Alleghanies ;  he  thus  took  his  place 
among  the  founders  of  Methodism  in  the  valley  of  the 
C— 0 


82  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Mississippi,  where  we  shall  hereafter  meet  him  with  his 
friend  M'Cormick,  both  doing  heroic  service. 

The  name  of  M'Kendree  has  already  appoarcfl  in 
our  narrative — compromised  with  that  of  O'Kelly,  hut 
speedily  redeemed.  William  ^rivendree  was  destined 
to  be  the  fourth  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  a  chief  founder  of  the  denomination  in  the  West, 
a  preacher  of  transcendent  power,  an  ecclesiastical  ad 
ministrator  of  scarcely  rivaled  ability,  and  a  man  of 
the  saintliest  character. 

He  was  bom  in  King  William  comity,  Va.,  July, 
1757,  of  upright  parents,  who  trained  him  carefully  in 
the  faith  of  the  English  Church,  then  the  established 
religion  of  the  colony.  The  morals  of  hi;*  youth  were 
nearly  perfect ;  he  could  remember  to  have  sworn  but 
one  profane  oath  in  his  life,  though  the  vice  was  fash- 
ionable all  around  him  ;  but  he  later  discovered,  he  says, 
by  reading  tlu-  Holy  Scriptures,  that  his  "heart  was 
deceitful  and  dcsjicrately  wicked."  lie  was  a  youth  of 
great  sensibility,  vivacity,  and  energy;  vigor<)Us  in 
inin<l  and  Itody.  He  took  up  arms  for  the  Revolution, 
served  in  the  army  several  years,  attained  the  rank  of 
adjutant,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  <^f  Corn- 
wallis.  The  year  1787  was  signalized,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  extraordinary  religious  interest  in  Virginia,  especial- 
ly on  the  noted  Hrunswick  circuit;  M'Ki'iidree,  then 
thirty  years  of  age,  lived  on  that  circuit.  Under  the  min- 
istry of  John  Easter,  famous  for  his  eloquence  and  use- 
fulness, his  conscience  was  cflectually  awakened.  '•  My 
convictions,"  he  says,  "  were  renewed.  They  were 
deep  and  pungent.  The  great  deep  of  the  heart  was 
broken  up.  Its  deceit  and  desperately  wicked  nature 
was  disclosed;  and  the  awful, the  eternally  ruinous  con- 
eequences,  clearly  ajipeared.      My  repentance  was  sin- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCH.  83 

cere.  I  became  willing,  and  was  desirous  to  be  saved 
on  any  terms.  After  a  sore  and  sorrowful  travail  of 
three  days,  which  were  employed  in  hearing  Mr.  Easter, 
and  in  fasting  and  pi-ayer,  while  the  man  of  God  was 
sliowing  a  large  congregation  the  way  of  salvation  by 
faith,  with  a  clearness  which  at  once  astonished  and 
encouraged  me,  I  ventured  my  all  upon  Chi'ist.  In  a 
moment  my  soul  was  relieved  of  a  burden  too  heavy  to 
be  borne,  and  joy  instantly  succeeded  sorrow.  For  a 
short  space  of  time  I  was  fixed  in  silent  adoration,  giv- 
ing glory  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  goodness  to  such 
an  unworthy  creature." 

Still  later  he  studied  with  grateful  interest  the 
Methodist  doctrine  of  sanctification,  and  sought  to 
realize  it  in  his  own  spiritual  life.  "  Eventually,"  he 
writes,  "  I  obtained  deliverance  from  unholy  passions, 
and  found  myself  possessed  of  ability  to  resist  tempta- 
tion, to  take  up  and  bear  the  cross,  and  to  exercise  taith 
and  patience,  and  all  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  in  a  man- 
ner before  unknown  to  me.'' 

His  superior  character  and  abilities  soon  led  his  breth- 
ren to  believe  that  he  should  devote  himself  to  the 
ministry,  but  his  self-distrust  shrunk  at  the  suggestion. 
Easter  induced  him  to  accompany  him  on  his  circuit ; 
but,  after  some  attempts  to  preach,  he  returned  home, 
fearful  that  he  had  run  before  he  was  called.  Philip 
Cox  was  appointed  to  the  Mecklenburg  circuit,  by  the 
next  conference,  and,  at  the  same  session,  Easter,  who 
knew  M'Kendree's  capacities  better  than  his  modesty 
allowed  him  to  estimate  them  himself,  had  him  received 
on  probation  and  placed  under  the  care  of  Cox,  though 
he  had  not  yet  been  licensed  as  a  local  preacher.  Cox 
vvas  a  man  of  flaming  zeal  and  indomitable  energy,  and 
bore  along  his  diffident  colleague,  but  the  latter  pro- 


84  HISTORY     OF    THE 

ceeded  deliberately.  "  I  wtnt,"  he  says,  " immedialely 
to  the  circuit  to  which  I  was  appointed,  relyinc:  more 
on  the  judgment  of  experienced  ministers,  in  whom  I 
confided,  than  on  any  clear  conviction  of  ray  call  to  the 
work ;  and  when  I  yielded  to  their  judorment  I  firmly 
resolved  not  to  deceive  them,  and  to  retire  as  soon  as  I 
should  be  convinced  that  I  was  not  called  of  God,  and 
to  conduct  myself  in  such  a  manner  that,  if  I  failed,  my 
friends  miirht  be  satisfied  it  was  not  for  want  of  ctlort  on 
my  part,  but  that  their  judgment  was  not  well  founded. 
This  resolution  supported  me  under  many  doul)ts  and 
fears — foretiterinj;  into  the  work  of  a  travelintr  j)reacher 
neither  removed  my  doubts  nor  the  difficulties  that  at- 
tended my  labors.  Sustained  by  a  determination  to 
make  a  full  trial,  I  resorted  to  fastinc:  and  jirayer,  and 
waited  for  those  kind  friends  who  had  charge  and  gov- 
ernment over  me  to  dismiss  me  from  the  work.  But  I 
waited  in  vain.  In  this  state  of  suspense  my  reasoning 
might  have  temiinated  in  discouraging  and  ruinous  con- 
clusions, had  I  not  been  comforted  and  supported  by  the 
kind  and  encouraging  manner  in  which  I  was  received 
by  aged  and  experienced  brethren,  and  by  the  man- 
ifest ]>resence  of  God  in  our  meetings,  which  were  fre- 
quently lively  and  ]»rofitable.  Sometimes  souls  were 
convicted  and  converted,  which  aflforded  me  consider- 
able encouragement,  as  well  as  the  union  and  commu- 
nion with  my  Saviour  in  private  devotion,  which  he 
graciously  aftbrdcd  me  in  the  intervals  of  my  very  im- 
perfect attempts  to  preach  his  gospel.  In  this  way  I 
became  satisfied  of  my  call  to  the  ministry,  and  that  I 
was  moving  in  the  line  of  my  duty." 

He  hardly  escaped  total  discomfiture  in  this  first 
trial.  At  one  of  his  appointments,  after  singing  and 
prayer,  he  took  his  text,  and  attempted  to  look  at  his 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  85 

audience  ;  but  such  was  his  embarrassment  that  he  could 
not  lift  his  eyes  from  the  Bible  till  he  finished  his  ser- 
mon. After  the  sermon  his  host,  at  the  appointment, 
left  the  house,  supposing  the  preacher  would  follow 
him  ;  but  not  seeing  him,  he  returned  to  the  church, 
and  there  found  him  seated  on  the  lowest  step 
of  the  pulpit  stairs,  his  face  covered  with  his  hands, 
looking  forlorn  and  dejected,  as  if  he  had  not  a  friend 
on  earth.  He  invited  him  to  go  home  wuth  him. 
M'Kendree  said,  in  a  mournful  tone,  "I  am  not  fit  to 
go  home  with  anybody."  He  accompanied  Easter  to 
the  conference,  still  agitated  with  doubts  and  anxiety. 
While  alone  and  profoundly  sad  in  the  parlor  where  he 
lodged,  an  aged  minister  came  in,  walked  up,  and  took 
him  in  his  arms.  "  Brother,"  he  said,  "  my  mind  is 
powerfully  impressed  that  God  has  a  great  work  for 
you  to'  do,  and  I  believe  the  impression  is  from  the 
Lord.  Don't  start  from  the  cross — take  it  up — go  to 
the  work,  and  be  faithful !  "  While  pronouncing  these 
words  the  tears  ran  down  the  old  man's  cheeks,  and  he 
left  young  M'Kendree  with  his  mind  greatly  moved."  * 
The  history  of  the  Church  through  many  years  has 
recorded  the  result. 

He  made  full  proof  of  his  ministry,  and  was  suc- 
cessively appointed  to  Cumberland,  Portsmouth,  Amelia, 
and  Greensville  circuits  ;  to  the  latter  as  preacher  in 
charge. 

He  was  long  under  the  powerful  influence  of 
O'Kelly,  who  was  his  yjresiding  elder.  M'Kendree 
did  not  know  Asbury  intimately  enough  to  qualify, 
in  his  own  mind,  the  charges  made  against  him  by 
O'Kelly ;  he  yielded  to  the  influence  of  his  popular  and 
ardent  presiding  elder,  and,  with  Rice  Haggardy,  sent 
<Rev.  D.  Devinne,  in  Wakeley's  "Heroes,"  p.  101. 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  his  resignation  to  Asbury.  The  indiscretion  was 
liriof,  however;  it  does  not  appear  in  the  Conference 
^Minutes,  tliere  being  no  interrujjtion  in  his  ai)point- 
ments,  for  at  the  next  conference  lie  was  designated  to 
Norfolk  and  Portsmonth.  Regretting  his  sudden  error, 
he  resolveil  to  ascertain,  from  personal  acNjuaintance, 
the  rt:d  character  of  Asbury,  and  for  this  purpose  ac- 
conipanieil  the  bishop  in  his  travels.  He  became 
satisfied  tliat  O'Kelly  had  misre]»resented  him,  and  re- 
sumed his  work  with  a  devotion  which  never  again 
wavered.  Before  the  year  had  passed  Asbury  removed 
liim  to  Petersburg.  On  his  southern  tour  of  1794  the 
bishop  took  him  to  South  Carolina,  and  ajipointed  him 
to  the  Union  Circuit ;  the  next  year  he  was  back  again  in 
Virginia,  on  Bedford  Circuit  ;  but  before  the  year  closed 
he  was  sent  to  the  Greenlirier  Circuit,  among  the  Alle 
ghany  Mountains,  and  thence  to  the  Little  Levels,  on 
Kanawha  Kiver,  the  remotest  point  of  the  Virginia 
Conference.  "  Surely,"  remarks  his  biographer,  "  this 
was  itinerancy  in  such  a  manner  as  would  frighten 
many  of  his  followers  in  this  day  ;  but  such  was  the 
zeal  of  the  jireachers  then,  that  they  delighted  in  the 
most  self-denying  labors."* 

In  1795  his  appointment  was  on  Botetourt  Circuit,  still 
on  the  frontier,  west  of  the  lilue  Kidge,  for  Asbury  had 
discovered  in  him  the  qualifications  of  a  pioneer  and 
founder.  He  had  four  circuits  under  his  care,  traveling 
on  each  of  them  a  quarter  of  a  year.  During  the  re- 
mainder of  the  century  he  traveled  large  districts  as 
presiding  elder,  one  of  them  extending  along  the  Poto- 
mac, in  ^laryland  and  Virginia,  and  reaching  from  the 
Chesapeake  to  the  Alleglianies.  He  had  now  become 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Churcli.  lie  was  nearly 
<Llfe  of  M'Kcndree,  by  Rev.  B.  St.  J.  Fry.     New  York  :  1&5L 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  87 

six  feet  high,  with  a  robust  frame,  weighing  about  cue 
hundred  and  sixty  pounds,  of  extraordinary  strength 
and  activity,  fair  complexion,  black  hair  and  blue  eyes. 
"  When  calm  and  silent,  there  was  the  expression  of  deep 
thought  upon  his  countenance,  sometimes  approaching 
even  to  that  of  care ;  but  whenever  he  spoke,  his  eyes 
would  kindle  up,  and  a  smile,  like  that  of  pleasant  re- 
cognition, would  cover  his  face,  which  was  the  outcrop- 
ping of  a  kind  and  benevolent  heart."  ^ 

His  intellect  was  quick  and  keen,  but  calm  and  singu- 
larly observant,  so  that  nothing  "  that  came  in  sight  es- 
caped his  notice."  As  a  man  of  order  he  was  almost  fas- 
tidious ;  "  everything  must  be  in  its  place,  and  all  things 
done  at  the  proper  time."  This  precision  marked  even 
his  apparel ;  he  dressed  in  the  simple  Quaker-like  garb 
of  his  brethren  of  the  ministry,  and  though  made  of 
the  homespun  stuff  of  the  frontier,  it  was  a  model  of 
neatness.  An  authority  who  knew  hiiu  through  most  of 
his  public  life  says :  "  His  intellect,  as  a  whole,  was 
bright,  and  his  thoughts  diamond-pointed.  He  never 
said  foolish  things — never  weak,  never  even  common 
things.  There  was  thought  in  all  his  words,  and  wis- 
dom in  all  his  thoughts.  He  was  the  man  for  the  times 
and  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  leading  in  triumph  the 
Church  in  the  wilderness,  like  Abraham  leading  his  son 
to  the  mount  of  vision.  I  shall  never  see  his  like  again. 
He  was  communicative,  companionable,  and  sympathiz- 
ing. There  was  no  coldness,  coarseness,  or  selfishness 
about  him.  Without  efibrt,  be  found  his  way  to  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  every  one,  old  and  young, 
black  and  white,  rich  and  poor.  His  heart  was  always 
in  the  lead,  so  that  a  stranger  was  first  impressed  with 
the  goodness  of  the  man  and  the  purity  of  his  pui-pose — 
5  Biog.  Sketches,  etc.,  p.  45.     Nashville,  Tenn. :  1858. 


88  HISTORY    OF    THE 

a  natural  draft  upon  his  confidence  which  he  was  sure 
to  honor.  This  point  once  gained,  his  great  wisdom 
never  failed  to  command  respect.  As  a  puljtit  orator, 
his  excellency  consisted  mainly  in  his  power  of  analysis. 
In  this  respect,  I  doubt  if  I  ever  heard  his  superior.  lie 
was  not  wanting  in  description  and  pathos.  In  de- 
clamation he  did  not  often  indulge,  though  he  had  con- 
siderable power  in  that  direction  ;  but  in  argument  he 
was  overwhrlming.  He  was  perfectly  natural  and  easy, 
with  not  much  action,  unless  when  greatly  excited  ; 
and  then  every  gesture  spoke.  His  enunciation  was 
good,  his  voice  fine  and  full — the  lowest  tones  of  it 
could  be  heard  throughout  the  congregation;  still  there 
was  a  slight  natural  defect  in  his  utterance,  whirh  con- 
8iste<l  in  his  occasionally  hesitating  or  dwelling  upon  a 
word.  Yet  he  managed  this  defect  so  handsomely  that 
it  became  an  ornament,  from  the  fact  that  he  rested  or 
made  his  swell  on  the  most  important  word  in  the 
sentence,  so  that  it  had  the  elfect  of  a  well-directed  em- 
phasis. His  sermons  were  generally  short,  particularly 
in  the  last  years  of  his  ministry,  and  gave  evidence  of 
being  greatly  condensed.  His  public  prayers  were 
simple,  comprehensive,  and  brief,  while  they  seemed  to 
be  the  very  essence  of  humility  and  breath  of  devotif>n,'''' 

Asbury  judged  him  fit  to  be  the  leader  of  the  western 
itinerancy.  He  passed  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
where  a  grand  career  awaited  him.  He  here  had  charge 
of  the  Western  Conference,  comprehending  Ohio,  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  Virginia,  (west  of  New  Kiver,)  and  a 
circuit  in  Illinois.  We  shall  meet  him  often  hereafter, 
and  fifid  him  at  last  worthily  at  the  head  of  the  Amer- 
ican Methodist  hosts. 

Enoch  George  had  also  now  become  an  effective 
•Rev.  Dr.  Green,  in  "Biographical  Slictches,"  etc. 


METUODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  89 

evangelist,  destined,  like  M'Kendree,  to  lead  his  breth- 
ren as  a  bishoj).  He  was  born  in  176V  or  1768,  in  Lan- 
caster County,  Va.'  He  was  trained  in  the  English 
Church  of  the  province,  but  was  addicted  to  the  preva- 
lent irreligion  and  dissipation  of  his  neighborhood. 
Moving  into  Dinwiddle  and  Brunswick '  counties,  he 
came  under  the  ministry  of  Jarratt,  who,  he  says, 
"would  thunder  at  sinners  of  any  and  every  description, 
many  of  whom  would  fly  Irom  his  wai*ning  voice  as 
from  a  house  in  flames ;  and  even  in  their  flight  he  would 
'  cry  aloud  and  spare  not.'  He  was  made  the  instru- 
ment of  tui'uing  many  to  righteousness,  who  experienced 
the  humility,  faith,  hope,  and  charity  of  the  Gospel,  wit- 
nessing a  good  confession  in  life  and  death.  He  united 
'  them  that  believed,'  and  were  of  one  heart,  into  classes, 
as  our  Wesley  had  done  in  England,  and  met  them  reg- 
ularly ;  and  such  as  he  could  not  attend  to,  he  gave  up  to 
the  Methodist  preachers,  that  they  might  be  guided  by 
thei]"  counsel,  and  afterward  received  into  glory.  He 
looked  upon  the  world  as  his  parish  ;  and  though  his  ap- 
13ointed  sphere  of  labor  was  the  parish  of  Bath,  Dinwiddle 
County,  yet  duty  prompted  him  to  labor  in  the  adjoining 
parishes,  in  '  the  highway  and  hedges,  calling  sinners  to 
repentance.'  Under  the  ministry  of  this  '  servant  of  the 
most  high  God,'  I  received  my  first  religious  impressions. 
Until  this  time,  I  and  many  of  his  parishioners  were  as 
ignorant  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
as  though  we  had  never  heard  the  gospel."  Bemoviug 
to  another  locality,  he  says :  "  We  had  no  religious  ser- 
vices, either  in  my  father's  family,  or  in  any  that  I  visited. 
Our  time  was  whiled  away  in  fiddling  and  dancing.    But, 

'  Minutes  1839.  He  remarks,  himself,  that  though  Lancaster  countj- 
is  the  first  locality  he  can  recollect,  he  is  not  certain  of  the  time  or 
place  of  his  birth,  owing  to  the  epidemic  spirit  of  emigration  which 
kept  his  fatlier  unsettled  during  his  childhood.  Meth.  Quart.  Key.  1S30. 


90  HISTORYOFTHE 

independently  of  any  convictions  received  in  the  church 
or  elsewhere,  I  rememltor  the  visits  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
enlightening,  nii-ltiiifr,  and  alarming  nie.  I  continued  in 
this  situation  for  many  months  and  only  wanted  suit- 
able direction  and  encouragemeni.  With  these  I  should 
soon  have  foimd  the  pearl  of  great  price.  None  of  my 
acquaintance  appeared  to  have  any  serious  impressions, 
or  if  they  had  they  were  concealed,  as  my  own  were. 
At  this  time  we  heard  that  a  certain  Methoilist  preacher 
was  traveling  through  a  part  of  our  parish  and  county, 
under  whose  labors  hundreds  were  '  falling  down,'  and 
crying,  '  Sir,  what  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? '  They 
'repented,  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  were 
converted.'  By  these  reports  my  '  foolish  heart '  was 
hardened  and  '  darkened.'  It  was  my  delight  to  invent 
satirical  epithets  for  these  men,  by  which  I  and  my  com- 
panions were  amused.  In  this  way  I  continued  to  resist 
God,  having  founded  my  opinion  on  common  report, 
until  my  father  and  stepmother  were  among  the  hearers 
of  that  venerable,  holy,  and  useful  minister,  known 
to  thousands  in  the  south  of  Virgiuia,  John  Easter." 
Piaster  was  one  of  the  "  sons  of  thunder ''  in  the  early 
itinerancy.  A  contemporary  preacher  says:  "John 
Easter,  traveling  Brunswick  circuit,  held  a  meeting 
at  ^labey's  Chapel,  near  a  village  called  llicksibrd, 
at  which  there  was  a  great  concourse  of  people,  and 
while  he  was  preaching  several  hundred  persons  fell  flat 
upon  the  ground,  struck  down  by  the  mighty  power  of 
(iod,  and  many  of  them  were  powerfully  converted. 
The  effects  of  that  revival  were  exceedingly  great,  so 
much  so,  that  the  wretched  sellers  of  alcohol  lost  nearly 
all  their  customers  in  the  village.  John  Easter  was 
an  extraordinary  man  with  regard  to  his  faith  and  power 
in  preaching  the  gospel  of  salvation.     Like  Jacob,  he 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  91 

had  power  with  God,  and  with  men.  When  he  preached 
or  exhorted,  great  power  fell  upon  the  people,  and 
many  sinners  were  slain  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit."  ^ 
Such  was  the  man  whom  George  met.  "  When  Mr. 
Easter  spoke,"  he  continues,  "his  word  was  clothed  with 
power,  and  the  astonished  multitude  trembled,  and  many 
fell  down  and  cried  aloud.  Some  fell  near  me,  and  one 
almost  on  me  ;  and  when  I  attempted  to  fly,  I  found 
myself  unable.  When  my  consternation  subsided,  I 
collected  all  my  strength  and  resolution,  and  left  my 
friends  and  the  family,  determining  never  to  be  seen  at 
a  Methodist  meeting  again.  In  this  I  was  defeated. 
My  father  and  his  family,  with  many  of  my  friends,  re- 
mained in  the  assembly,  while  I  '  fled  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord ; '  and  they  determined  to  seek  and  taste 
the  heavenly  gift,  and  be  made  partakers  of  the  '  Holy 
Ghost.'  On  the  next  day  there  was  to  be  another 
meeting  in  our  vicinity,  and  as  the  people  passed  our 
house,  one  and  another  said  to  me,  '  Come,  and  let  us 
go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,'  and  hear  this  awful 
messenger  of  truth.  I  replied  to  their  entreaties  and 
inquiries  by  surly  negatives ;  but  my  father  interposed 
his  authority,  and  commanded  my  attendance.  I  went, 
intending  to  steel  my  heart  against  conviction.  How- 
ever, it  pleased  God  on  this  day  '  to  open  my  eyes,  and 
turn  me  from  darkness  to  light,'  by  the  ministry  of  the 
word ;  and  I  was  willing  to  become  a  Christian  in  '  the 
way  of  the  Lord.'  Day  and  night  I  cried  for  mercy. 
In  this  disconsolate  state  I  wandered  from  meeting  to 
meeting,  and  from  valley  to  valley,  'seeking  rest,  find- 
ing none,'  and  almost  ready  to  yield  to  despair,  yet  re- 
solved never  to  renounce  my  hoj^e  of  mercy,  while  it 
was  written,  'The  Lord  will  provide,'  and  'His  mercy 
8  Eev.  J.  Patterson,  in  North  Carolina  Chr.  Adv.,  June,  1857. 


92  HISTORY    OF    THE 

endureth  forever.'  On  one  Sabbath,  while  thus  'tossed 
with  tempests,  and  not  comforted,'  after  meeting  I  re- 
tired to  tlie  woods,  'and  there  I  received  forgiveness  of 
sins,  by  faith  tliat  is  in  Jesus  Christ,'  and  the  witness 
of  his  Sjnrit  with  mine.  Then  I  tasted  that  the  Lord 
is  gracious;  felt  grace  in  my  heart — God  in  man — 
heaven  upon  earth.  I  was  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  all  around  me,  each  shrub,  each  flower,  each 
leaf,  spoke  the  praises  of  the  Father,  who  '  made  them 
all.'  From  that  day  until  now  I  have  never  doubted 
my  conversion  to  Christ,  and  adoption  into  his  family. 
Shortly  atler  my  conversion  I  joined  the  Methodist  so- 
ciety, '  chonsing  rather  to  sutlVr  affliction  with  the  people 
of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin,'  and  resolved, 
through  the  grace  of  God,  to  be  '  faithful  unto  death.' 
1  had  everything  to  learn  in  the  science  of  salvation.  My 
leader  '  was  a  liiithful  man,  and  feared  God  above  many.' 
He  was  well  qualified  to  take  heed  unto  the  flock  of 
Christ.  One  instance  ol'  my  header's  faithfuhiess  to  me 
I  will  mention.  My  father  having  some  business  of 
importance  for  me  to  transact,  under  his  direction,  soon 
after  I  j(tined  the  st)ciety,  I  was  detaincil  from  class 
meeting;  and  when  I  had  accomplished  the  work  given 
me  to  do,  my  mind  had  become  so  careless  that  I  would 
stav  away  whenever  an  opportunity  oflx'red.  The 
leader,  who  had  noticc(l  my  remissness,  said  nothing  to 
me  on  the  subject  in  the  class-room;  l>ut  when  the 
meeting  had  concluded,  he  took  me  out,  and  told  me  of 
my  fault  V>ctween  him  an  1  me  alone,  dealing  with  me 
tenderly,  but  faithfully  and  cflectually ;  for,  from  that 
time,  as  long  as  I  wa>5  a  member  of  a  class,  I  never 
A-oluntarily  neglected  this  means  of  grace.  I  pray  God 
to  trive  UJ  universally  such  leaders.  Immediately  after 
my    conversion,  with    the   consent   of  my    father   and 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  93 

mother,  I  erected  a  family  altar,  and  '  called  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord '  in  our  house.  Though  I  wept  aud 
trembled  under  it,  1  endured  the  cross,  being  satisfied 
with  the  constant  conviction  that  it  was  my  duty. 
After  this,  for  some  time,  I  prayed  in  families  that  de- 
sired it,  and  assisted  my  teacher  in  prayer  meetings 
at  the  school.  Soon  my  burden  was  increased,  for  my 
assistance  was  demanded  in  the  public  prayer  meetings, 
and  I  thought  it  better  for  me  to  stay  away,  than  in- 
jure so  good  a  cause  by  my  feeble  performances." 

His  brethren  encouraged  him,  however,  and  warned 
him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  "  exhort "  the  people. 
"  The  circiut  preacher,"  he  continues,  "  having  ap- 
pointed a  watch-night,  they  induced  him  to  call  on  me 
for  a  '  word  of  exhortation.'  Of  this  I  was  aware  before 
the  meeting  began,  and  by  going  late,  and  hiding  my- 
self, I  hoped  to  escape.  In  this  fancied  concealment  I 
sat  and  listened  to  the  sermon,  which  was  no  sooner 
concluded  than  the  preacher  called  for  me  by  name. 
This  so  affrighted  me  that  I  sat  down  upon  the  floor; 
but  he  continued  calling,  until  an  acquaintance  answered 
that  I  was  there,  and  a  friend  led  me  to  the  table,  where, 
with  trembling  and  weeping,  I  exhorted.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  my  ministry." 

Philip  Cox  called  him  out  upon  a  circuit.  We  have 
already  witnessed  his  introduction  to  Asbury  by  Cox ; 
the  bishop  sent  him  with  a  letter  to  a  preacher  who 
was  breaking  up  the  fallow  ground  and  forming  a 
circuit,  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Catawba  and  Broad 
Rivers,  in  North  Carolina,  three  hundred  miles  distant. 
"  I  was  astonished  and  staggered,"  says  George,  "  at  the 
prospect  of  this  work,  but  resorted  to  my  tried  friend, 
Cox,  who  animated  me  with  his  advice  and  directions ; 
and  I  set  off  with  his  benedictions,  and  the  blessing  of 


9-t  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  Loril.'''  "Tims,'''  lie  says,  "I  began  my  itinerancy," 
and  thus,  the  Church  shouhl  he  continimlly  reminded,  its 
greatest  historic  men  in  America,  if  not  in  Europe,  began 
their  ministerial  careers.  It  was  a  necessity  of  their 
times;  circumstances  and  their  Bibles  educated  them, 
and  made  them  "masters  in  Israel."  As])ury  knew 
that,  if  anything  could  be  made  of  the  "  beardless  boy" 
presented  to  him  by  Cox,  the  heroic  work  of  the  frontiei 
would  make  him.  He  was  thus  made  an  evangelic 
giant,  and  a  worthy  successor  of  the  bishop. 

He  was  severely  tested  in  his  remote  field — a  "vast 
tract  of  country, among  the  most  stupendous  mountains  of 
North  America."  He  was  diffident,  and  easily  discour- 
aged. He  thought  of  escaping  home,  but  had  not  money 
enough  for  the  expenses  of  the  jouiney  ;  he  engaged  in 
a  school  as  teacher,  to  earn  the  necessary  funds,  but 
was  defeated.  "In  addition,"  he  writes,  "my  clothes 
were  almost  worn  out,  and  my  money  was  expended, 
so  that  I  could  not  go  home  with  any  credit.  These 
things  urged  me  on.  I  saw  the  snare  into  which  I  had 
well  nii^di  fallen,  and  abhorrecl  the  idea  of  relin(piishing 
my  post  dishonorably.  In  this  state  of  things  I  con- 
tinued my  course,  wondering  how  the  people  could  bear 
with  my  weakness,  and  atloring  the  Lord,  who  'com- 
forted me  with  the  exceeding  comfort  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,'  and  poured  otit  his  Spirit  upon  those  to  whom  I 
ministered,  causing  his  work  to  ])rosper  in  my  liandr.. 
Methodism  in  the  circuit  had  to  press  through  crowds 
of  opposers,  but  God  made  his  word  '  like  mighty 
winds  or  torrents  fierce.'  Finding  that  my  gifts  and 
acquirements,  as  I  thought,  were  not  adapted  to  the  class 
of  people  among  whom  I  labored,  I  wrote  to  Bishop 
Asbury,  desiring  him  to  remove  me.  To  this  he  replied 
in  a  pleasant  and  affectionate  manner,  saying,  '  It  was 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  95 

good  for  me,  and  all  others,  to  bear  the  yoke  in  youth  ; 
that  itinei-ant  labors  must  be  ^ard  if  properly  per- 
formed;  and  that  it  was  better  to  become  inured  to 
poverty  and  pain,  hunger  and  cold,  in  the  days  of  my 
youth ;  that  when  I  was  old  and  gray-headed  the  task 
would  be  easy.'  This  reasoning  satisfied  me,  and  since 
then  I  have  submitted  to  my  appointments  cheerfully," 

It  was  in  1789  that  Cox  called  him  out;  in  1790  he 
was  admitted  to  the  Conference  on  trial  and  sent  to 
Pamlico  Circuit,  North  Carolina;  in  1791  to  Caswell, 
where  he  had  great  success;  but,  in  accordance  with 
the  "  itinerancy  "  of  the  times,  he  was  soon  dispatched 
again  to  Pamlico  circuit,  "  embracing  as  sickly  a  region 
as  any  in  North  Carolina."  "  This  sudden  transition," 
he  says,  "from  the  foot  of  the  Black  Mountait  to  the 
margin  of  the  sea,  tried  my  faith.  Thus  I  was  made 
partaker  in  the  afflictions  of  my  brethren." 

We  trace  him  further  to  Koanoke  and  back  again  to 
Caswell,  where  he  was  associated  with  "the  good 
and  great  Henry  Hill,  who  had  been  intended  for 
the  bar,  and  had  nearly  completed  his  professional  edu- 
cation, when  God  laid  in  his  claim,  and  sent  him  to  call 
sinners  to  repentance,  and  perfect  his  saints.  He  was  a 
star  in  God's  right  hand,  to  illuminate  the  Churches.  In 
season,  out  of  season,  to  all  men,  of  all  ranks,  he  diffused 
the  light  and  influence  of  evangelical  truth.  It  was  my 
privilege  to  spend  one  year  with  him,  and  it  proved  the 
happiest  I  ever  enjoyed.  The  zeal  of  the  Lord's  house 
animated  his  heart,  and  in  every  society  a  flame  was 
kindled  which  'many  waters  could  not  quench.'" 

In  1792  he  traveled  Gifford  County,  North  Carolina, 
whore  "  it  pleased  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to 
revive  his  work  gloriously."  He  attended  the  General 
Conference  of  1792,  and  witnessed  afterward  the  schism 


96  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  O'Kelly,  ns  it  desolated  tlie  neighborhood  of  his  "  rel- 
atives in  \'iiginia,  many  of  whom  joined  him."  "  I  had 
sorrow  upon  sorrow,"  he  writes.  The  secession  spread 
into  his  Xortli  Carolina  tield,  and  required  liis  utmost 
wisdom.  In  1793  Asbury  called,  in  a  North  Carolina 
Conference,  for  preachers  for  the  further  south,  but  they 
lusitated.  "  I  was  grieved,"  writes  George,  "  to  think 
the  jireachers  so  limited  in  their  views  that  none  would 
otfer  to  go  from  Xortb  to  South  Carolina,  I  consulted 
my  special  friends  on  the  i)r(»priety  of  my  ofleririg  to  go 
if  others  would  not ;  they  labored  to  dissuaile  me  from 
it,  yet  my  purpose  was  fixed  to  go,  if  no  senior  preacher 
volunteered.  When  the  conference  was  about  clos- 
ing, Asbury  complained  of  the  local  views  of  the 
preachers,  and  I  tremblingly  said,  'Here  am  I;  send  me.' 
We  set  oflf,  and  when  the  exj)enses  were  j»aid,  nothing 
was  left.  I  ha<l  only  time  to  travel  from  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina,  the  scenes  of  O'Kelly's  division,  to 
South  Carolina,  to  meet  with  aintther  schism  of  the  same 
itpirit,  carried  on  with  the  same  epithets;  but  llammet 
and  his  party  disappeared  in  a  few  years." 

lie  was  rapidly  tossed  about  the  vast  field:  in  1794  to 
the  (ireat  Pee  Dee  Circuit;  in  1795  to  Edisto,  and  the 
same  year  he  was  three  months  in  Charleston.  Of  these 
years  he  says :  "  ^ly  labors  were  of  the  most  jtainful  kind  ; 
in  a  desert  land,  among  almost  impassable  swamps,  and 
under  bilious  diseases  of  every  class,  whiih  unfitted  me 
for  duty  in  Charleston,  or  among  the  hospitable  iidiabit- 
arjts  of  the  '  Pine  Barrens.'  In  the  midst  of  all  this  my 
mind  was  stayed  upon  God,  ami  kcpl  in  jjerlect  peace. 
Prospects  in  general  were  discouraging.  .\t  the  second 
conierence  of  my  laboring  in  this  region,  Bishoj)  Asbury 
inquired  whether  we  knew  <tf  the  conversion  of  any 
souls  within  the  bounds   of  the  conierence  duiing  the 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  97 

year ;  and  to  the  best  of  my  recollectiou  the  whole  of 
us  together  could  not  remember  one !  At  this  Confer- 
erence  [1794]  nearly  all  the  men  of  age,  experience,  and 
talents  located.  I  was  appointed  a  presiding  elder, 
and  besought  the  preachers  and  people  to  unite  '  as  one 
man,'  and  seek  by  fasting  and  prayer  a  revival  of  the 
work  of  the  Lord  in  the  midst  of  the  years  of  declen- 
sion and  spiritual  death.  The  Lord  heard,  and  the  '  dis- 
plays of  his  power  and  glory'  were  so  manifest  that 
nearly  two  thousand  members  were  added  to  the  dis- 
trict in  a  few  months.  I  will  here  mention  a  circum- 
stance which  explains  in  some  measure  the  nature  of  it- 
inerant operations.  At  the  conference  just  spoken  of,  Mr. 
Asbury  was  much  concerned  for  the  Church,  and  inquired 
how  many  preachers  were  going  to  the  ensuing  General 
Conference.  In  those  days  all  who  wished  could  attend. 
He  ascertained  that  nearly  all  expected  to  go.  He  then 
said  to  me,  with  apparent  anguish  and  great  emphasis, 
'You  must  stay  on  the  district,  and  keep  house.'  This 
was  a  painful  injunction,  as  I  had  been  from  home  several 
years;  but  I  intended  to  submit.  When  the  revival 
commenced,  all  the  preachers  except  one  declined  going, 
and  he  said  he  would  stay  unless  I  went.  We  two  set 
oiF  to  represent  South  Carolina.  When  I  met  the  bishop 
and  offered  an  apology,  he  smiled  and  retired.  From 
this  I  hoped  he  would  not  object  to  my  continuing  in 
the  northern  states,  as  it  was  evident  a  southern  climate 
would  ruin  my  constitution.  But  when  I  made  known 
my  wishes,  he  refused  to  grant  them.  I  made  a  second 
application  through  his  traveling  companion,  Henry 
Hill,  but  with  no  better  success.  Finding  I  must  re- 
turn, I  submitted,  and  started  with  appointments  for 
Dr.  Coke,  from  Richmond,  Va.,  to  Charleston,  S.  C. 
Having  accomplished  this,  I  returned  and  met  the  doc- 


98  HISTORY     OF    THE 

tor,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  from  Charleston,  and 
traveled  with  him  into  the  city.  In  him  I  iound  excel- 
lences not  common  to  man.  His  true  Christian  cour- 
tesy taught  him  to  treat  the  poor  with  respect,  and  to 
show  the  same  care  for  the  souls  of  the  poor  slaves  as 
for  those  of  their  rich  masters.  In  Charleston  we  held 
our  conference.  I  understood  from  Bishop  Asbury  that 
I  was  api)ointt'd  for  Geortjia.  This  was  another  trial, 
as  my  late  district  was  in  peace  and  prosperity,  while 
Georgia  was  full  of  contention  and  strife.  In  this  case 
remonstrance  would  have  been  as  fruitless  as  in  the 
other.  I  prayed  for  grace  to  bear  the  cross,  and  en- 
tered upon  my  duties.  After  all  my  'fear  and  trem- 
bling,' niy  religious  enjoyments  in  that  year  have  not 
been  surpassed  in  any  year  of  my  itinerancy.  Religion 
revived  in  almost  every  part  of  the  district.  The  pros- 
]»erity  of  the  work  and  my  appointment  were  the  '  Lord's 
doings,  and  marvelous  in  our  eyes.'  But  this  ended  my 
labors  in  the  South  Carolina  Conference.  My  exertions 
were  so  great  in  this  day  of  visitation  that  I  injured  a 
blood  vessel,  which,  with  my  old  conjjtanion,  the  l)iliuus 
fever,  brought  me  near  to  the  gates  of  death.  I  wrote 
to  the  bishop,  who  directed  rae  to  come  on  to  the  north. 
I  did  so  as  expeditiously  as  my  disease  would  allow, 
and  meeting  the  Virginia  Conference,  was  appointed 
for  Brunswick  Circuit.  When  I  ascertained  the  labor 
required  I  declined  entering  it,  and  after  a  few  months' 
rest,  accompanied  ^Ir.  Asbury  to  New  York ;  but  he, 
finding  my  health  still  inadequate  to  the  labor,  gave  me 
a  further  resj)ite,  and  advised  me  to  visit  the  Warm 
Springs  in  Berkeley  County,  Va.  I  did  so ;  but  finding 
no  relief,  I  went  to  the  Sulphur  Springs  near  Newtown, 
Frederick  County.  Here  I  obtained  relief  from  the 
spasms  in  my  side,  and  lest  I  should  be  burdensome  to 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  99 

my  friends,  I  opened  a  school,  the  profits  of  which  paid 
my  board,  and  secured  a  little  money  to  help  ine  on  to 
the  Virginia  Conference,  Finding  my  strength  still 
insufficient  I'or  the  duties  of  the  itinerancy,  I  asked  for 
and  obtained  a  location,  being  determined  never  to 
burden  the  cause  I  could  not  assist." 

He  resumed  his  itinerant  labors  in  1799  with  restored 
health  and  increased  zeal,  and  thenceforward,  with  a 
single  intennission,  we  shall  see  him  passing  through 
the  denomination  like  "a  flame  of  fire  "  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  when  he  fell  triumphantly  in  death  in  the  highest 
office  of  the  ministry. 

Like  M'Kendree,  he  was  large  in  stature,  nearly 
six  feet  high,  stout,  with  a  tendency  to  corpulence, 
and  full  of  energy ;  with  a  military  erectness  while 
standing,  inclining  forward  when  moving,  with  his 
hands  usually  thrown  behind  him,  and  habitually  quick 
in  his  motions.  His  form  was  imposing  by  its  expres- 
sion of  strength,  his  face  broad,  forehead  prominent  and 
expanded,  nose  large,  eyes  blue  and  deeply  set,  eyebrows 
dark  and  projecting,  hair  black,  tinged  with  gray,  and 
carelessly  but  gracefully  hanging  about  his  neck;  his 
complexion  sallow,  the  eftect  of  his  sufferings  from  the 
miasma  of  the  South.  His  whole  person,  in  fine,  was 
stamped  with  character.  His  intellect  was  clear  and 
sure,  if  not  brilliant ;  calm,  though  always  energetic ; 
quiet  energy  pervaded  all  his  acts  and  words.  "He 
thought  rapidly,  spoke  fluently,  decided  promptly,  and 
permitted  nothing  in  which  he  was  engaged  to  hang 
heavily  upon  his  hands.  He  detested  tardiness,  as  the 
murderer  of  time,  and  never  failed  to  signify  his  disap- 
probation of  a  dull  and  languid  course  of  proceeding  in 
the  transaction  of  business,  or  of  unimportant  discus- 
sions calculated  to  retard  its  progress.     Wherever  he 


100  HISTORY    OF    THE 

was,  everything  with  which  he  had  any  connection  Avas 
dcstinerl  to  feel  tlie  inijiulse  of  his  ]iro])elling  oncrgics." 
But  it  was  in  his  religious  life  that  his  characteristics 
shone  most  conspicuously.  1 1  is  iiicty  was  ))r()foun(l 
and  tender,  and  glowed  till  lie  seemed  at  times  incan- 
descent Avith  divine  light.  He  was  among  the  most 
eflfective  preachers  of  his  day.  An  extraordinary  pathos 
melted  his  audiences  and  himself,  and  he  often  had  to 
pause  in  his  sennons  and  ask  his  hearers  to  join  him  in 
utterances  of  thanksgiving,  while,  with  tears  streaming 
down  his  weather-worn  face,  he  would  raise  his  specta- 
cles, and,  with  upliltcd  eyes  and  hands,  offvv  praise  to 
God,  bearing  aloft  his  thronged  congregations,  thrilled, 
weeping,  and  adoring.  The  elder  ]\Iethodists  through- 
out the  country  still  recall  him  with  veneration  as  the 
"  weeping  prophet "  of  their  episcopacy. 

Few  if  any  names  of  Methodist  evangelists  were  more 
venerated  in  the  South  toward  the  end  of  the  last  and 
the  hcginning  of  the  present  centuries  than  that  of 
Hope  Hull.  A  man  of  sterling  abilities  and  character, 
bis  influence  became  general.  A  singularly  persuasive 
eloquence,  of  which  tradition  in  both  New  England  and 
the  extreme  South  still  sjieaks  with  wonder,  made  him 
one  of  the  chief  among  the  many  eloquent  itinerants  of 
those  days;  and  great  purity  and  firmness  of  character, 
and  soundness  and  largeness  of  mind,  combined  with 
dignity  and  simplicity  of  manners,  secured  him  more 
than  jiopularity,  universal  respect  and  confidence.  He 
was  born  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  in  1763, 
joined  the  Methodists  in  Baltimore  in  his  youth,  and 
was  received  into  the  Baltimore  Conference  in  1785, 
and  sent  to  Salisbury  Circuit,  X.  C.  His  rare  talents 
gave  him  immediate  success,  and  for  two  years  he  was 
one  of  the  principal  founders  of  the  Church  in  North 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  101 

and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  The  unfortunate 
Beverly  Allen  had  been  sent  to  Georgia  as  early  as 
1785,  but  he  formed  few  if  any  societies  in  his  first 
labors  there.  John  Major  and  Thomas  Humphries 
reached  the  colony  the  next  year  and  effectively  founded 
Churches  in  Burke  County,  and  penetrated  as  far  west 
as  Washington,  in  Wilkes  County.  Hull  was  sent  to 
Washington  in  1788,  the  first  time  that  the  name  of  the 
circuit  appears  in  the  Minutes.  He  is  therefore  sup- 
posed to  be  the  founder  of  Methodism  in  that  region. 
"  He  was  in  many  j^laces  the  first  Methodist  preacher 
the  people  ever  saw,  and  to  many  individuals  the  first 
preacher  of  any  denomination.  It  was  chiefly  through 
his  exertions  that  the  first  respectable  brick  building 
was  erected  in  Washington,  designed  to  be  used  as  an 
academy."^ 

He  was  later  appointed  to  introduce  Methodism 
into  Savannah,  where  he  labored  energetically,  but 
found  insuperable  prejudices  against  the  memory  of 
Wesley,  whose  residence  there  had  not  been  forgotten. 
The  proceedings  of  the  American  Conferences  on  slavery 
were  also  known  in  the  city,  and  cited  against  the  de- 
nomination with  fierce  hostility.  Hull  was  violently 
persecuted,  and  menaced  by  mobs.  He  took  refuge  on 
Burke  Circuit,  where  he  labored  with  better  success. 
He  was  singularly  effective  in  prayer,  and  anecdotes 
are  told  of  the  sick  and  the  apparently  dying  being 
suddenly  restored  under  his  supplications.  He  some- 
times used  this  power  very  boldly.  On  his  way  to  one 
of  his  appointments  he  was  invited,  as  a  traveler,  into  a 
house  where  a  ball  was  being  held.  "  He  entered,  and 
when,  soon  after,  he  was  requested  to  dance,  he  took  the 
floor,  and  remarked  aloud,  '  I  never  engage  in  any  kind 
»MS.  of  bis  son,  Dr.  Hull,  cited  in  Sprague's  Annals,  p.  113. 


102  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  business  without  first  asking  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
it,  so  let  us  pray.'  Quick  as  thought  the  j)reafher  was 
on  his  knees  praying  in  the  most  earjiest  manner  for  the 
souls  of  the  people,  that  God  would  open  their  eyes  to 
see  their  sin  and  danger,  and  convert  them  from  the 
error  of  their  ways.  All  present  were  amazed  and 
overwhelmed ;  many  fled  in  terror  from  the  house ; 
while'  others,  feeling  the  power  of  God  in  their  midst, 
began  to  plead  for  mercy  and  forgiveness.  After  the 
prayer  he  said,  'On  to-day  four  weeks  I  expect  to 
preach  at  this  house,'  and  quietly  retired.  On  the  ap- 
pointed day  the  inhabitants  for  miles  around  were  as- 
sembled, and  heard  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  power- 
ful sermons  that  ever  fell  on  human  ears.  From  the 
work  begun  in  the  ball-room  a  most  powerful  revival  of 
religion  extended  in  every  direction,  an<l  many  were 
achled  to  the  Church." 

Asl)ury  sent  him  to  Xew  England,  where  he  effect- 
ively co-operated  for  a  year  with  Lee  and  his  little 
band.  In  1793  he  was  back  again,  laying  siege  to  Sa- 
vannah, and  traveling  the  Savannah  Circuit.  In  1704 
he  was  Asbury's  traveling  companion,  sharing  the 
adventurons  toils  of  the  bishop  in  many  a  hard  field. 
Toward  the  close  of  our  present  period  his  health  and 
domestic  circumstances  comj)elK'd  him  to  locate;  but 
the  location  of  Methodist  preachers  in  that  day  was 
more  a  limitation  than  a  cessation  of  their  itinerancy  ; 
thev  preached  usually  more,  every  week,  than  regular 
Methodist  jjreachers  in  modern  times,  and  their  labors 
extended  through  all  the  region  round  about  their  homes, 
twentv,  thirtv,  or  more  miles.  Hope  Hull,  though 
bnnight  up  a  mechanic,  had  too  large  and  thoughtful  a 
mind  not  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  education. 
He  had  educated  himself  on  his  circuits,  studying  not 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        103 

only  his  own,  but  the  Latin  language  and  literature. 
His  observation  of  the  opening  country  convinced  him 
that,  next  to  Christianity,  education  was  the  great 
requisite  of  the  times ;  that  the  evident  future  of  the 
young  nation  rendered  this  want  imperative.  He  saw 
that  Methodism  was  laying  the  moi-al  foundations  of 
much  of  the  republic,  but  he  saw  also  that  the  Church 
should  rear  on  these  foundations  structures,  fortifica- 
tions of  education.  He  threw  himself  therefore  back 
upon  one  of  his  remote  early  circuits  in  Wilkes  County, 
Ga.,  and  with  the  advice  of  Asbury,  opened  an  academy. 
He  only  changed  his  field  and  plan  of  labor.  "  At  a 
time  when  scarcely  any  one  who  was  qualified  would 
submit  to  the  drudgery  of  teaching,  he  commenced  a 
school  composed  of  pupils  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all  ages 
from  infancy  to  manhood,  and  thus  he  divided  his  time 
between  teaching  and  preaching." 

The  children  of  many  Methodist  families,  and  some 
Methodist  preachers,  were  trained  under  his  roof  Still 
later  he  moved  to  Athens,  Ga.,  and  helped  to  found  the 
state  university  there,  the  first  building  of  which  had 
not  yet  been  completed.  He  became  the  most  active 
member  of  its  Board  of  Trustees,  and  continued  such 
till  his  death.  Perhaps  no  man  did  more  for  the  pi-os- 
pei'ity  of  that  institution.  A  part  of  the  time  he  was 
its  acting  president.  Meanwhile  he  was  a  powei'ful  and 
renowned  preacher,  a  standard-bearer  of  his  denomina- 
tion in  Georgia.  His  "  whole  life  was  emphatically 
spent  in  doing  good.  He  was  a  man  of  great  muscular 
strength  and  physical  courage,  and  was  restless  if  not 
occupied.  His  health  was  not  robust,  and  for  several 
years  before  his  death  it  was  often  interrupted  by  dis- 
orders of  the  digestive  organs.  He  totally  abstained 
from  the  use  of  wine  and  spirituous  liquors  Avhen  the 


104  HISTORY    OF    THE 

whole  current   of  fashion  and  example  moved  in  the 
opposite  direction." 

A  veteran  southern  Methodist  preacher/"  who  inti- 
mately knew  him,  says:  ''To  help  rescue  the  name 
of  Hope  Hull  from  oblivion  I  feel  to  be  a  reasonable 
and  holy  duty.  Indeed  I  have  long  felt  that  there 
is  an  undischariTrd  ol)lirjati<>n  ro«Jtinix  upon  our  Church 
in  regard  to  the  ministerial  character  of  this  eminent 
man.  lb-  was  amont;  the  )>i<meers  of  Methodism  in 
Geor<;ia,  and  in  the  viiror  of  his  manhood,  both  as  to 
his  physii-al  and  mental  prowess,  his  fame  was  almost 
world-wide.  I  wi-ll  rcini'mbcr  that,  in  the  days  of  niy 
youth,  he  used  to  be  known  under  the  coarse  but 
graphic  appellation  of  the  '  I>roa<lax,' an  honorary  dis- 
tinction conferred  on  him  because  of  the  mighty  jiower 
that  attended  his  ministry.  My  eyes  first  fell  on  him 
as  he  sat  near  the  puljnt  of  a  small  log  chaj)el  called 
*  Hull's  Meeting-house,'  in  Clarke  County,  near  Athens. 
It  was  a  memorable  day  in  my  own  history.  I  had 
hinged  to  see,  and  now  I  feared  to  meet  him.  It  was 
my  second  year  in  the  ministry,  and,  above  all,  my  fear 
of  criticism  made  his  jtresence  dreadfid  to  me.  The 
wonderful  reports  which  had  reached  me  made  me  look 
upon  him  rather  as  an  august  than  a  fatherly  being, 
and,  when  I  saw  him,  there  was  nothing  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  nnl  to  relieve  my  miml  of  the  dread  of  the 
vhul  man.  His  head  was  rather  above  the  medium 
size,  his  hair  curling,  just  sprinkled  with  gray,  and  each 
lock  looking  as  if  living  under  a  self-willed  government. 
His  face  was  an  exceedingly  tine  one;  he  had  a  well 
developed  forehead,  a  small,  keen  blue  eye,  with  a 
heavy  brow,  indicative  of  intense  thought.  His  shoul- 
ders were  unusually  broad  and  square,  his  chest  wide, 
"  Rev.  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce. 


METHODIST    ESPISCOPAL     CHURCH,       105 

affording  ample  room  for  his  lungs,  a  circumstance  of 
e-reat  value  to  a  speaker,  who  drew  so  freely  on  his 
deep,  strong  voice;  his  body  was  unusually  long  and 
large  in  proportion  to  his  lower  limbs,  his  hair  originally 
black,  and  his  voice  full,  flexible,  and  capable  of  every 
variety  of  intonation,  from  the  softest  sounds  of  sym- 
pathy and  persuasion  to  the  thunder  tones  of  wrath. 
Many  ignorant  sinners  charged  him  with  having  learned 
their  secrets,  and  of  using  the  pulpit  to  gratify  himself  in 
their  exposure ;  and  when  convinced  of  their  mistake, 
have  doubted  whether  he  were  not  a  prophet.  His 
oratory  was  natural,  his  action  being  the  unaffected 
expression  of  his  inmost  mind.  Not  only  was  there  an 
entire  freedom  from  everything  like  mannerism,  but 
there  was  great  harmony  between  his  gesticulation  and 
the  expression  of  his  countenance.  He  seemed,  in  some 
of  his  finest  moods  of  thought,  to  look  his  words  into 
you.  He  was  one  of  nature's  orators.  In  many  of  his 
masterly  efforts  his  words  rushed  upon  his  audience  like 
an  avalanche,  and  multitudes  seemed  to  be  carried  be- 
fore him  like  the  yielding  captives  of  a  stormed  castle. 
I  was  very  intimate  with  him  for  about  ten  years; 
stayed  in  his  house,  and  talked  and  prayed  and  praised 
with  him.  At  that  time  he  was  a  local,  I  an  itinerant, 
preacher;  but  often  did  he  leave  home  and  business  and 
travel  with  me  for  days.  Together  we  preached;  nor 
did  Jonathan  and  David  love  each  other  more.  All  my 
intimacy  with  him  only  served  to  multiply  evidences  of 
his  exalted  worth.  Grave  and  guarded  as  he  was,  there 
were  moments  when  he  entertained  his  friends  with  the 
recital  of  thrilling  incidents  in  his  history  connected 
with  the  more  rustic  forms  of  society  with  which  he  had 
been  conversant.  There  was  in  many  of  his  impromptu 
remarks  the  appearance  of  almost  prophetic  apposite- 


106  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ness.  "When  he  was  a  circuit  missionary,  sixty 
years  a^o,  after  preaching  one  day,  he  proceeilcd  to 
meet  the  little  class,  ami  having  gone  through  the 
names  of  the  class  paper,  he  approached  an  elderly  man 
sitting  afar  off,  and  inquired  after  his  soul's  welfare. 
The  old  gentleman,  afU'r  taking  sufhcient  time  to  digest 
his  answer,  said,  'I  am  like  old  Paul,  when  I  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  me.'  To  which  Mr.  Hull  re- 
j>lied,  'I  am  afraid  you  are  like  oM  Noah  too,  get  <lrunk 
sometimes.'  It  was  a  center  shot,  for  the  poor  old  man 
was  a  drunkard.  !Many  such  cutting  remarks,  made  in 
utter  ignorance  of  the  persons  to  whom  they  were  ad- 
dressed, went  to  ])rove  that  he  possessed  a  power  of 
disccmmg  spirits  above  most  other  men."  He  survived 
till  181H,  when  he  died,  saying,  "God  has  laid  me  under 
marching  orders,  and  I  am  ready  to  obey." 

The  two  brothers,  Coleman  and  Simon  Carlisle,  were 
successful  evangelists  of  the  South.  The  former  joined 
the  itinerancy  in  1792,  and  was  sent  to  Broad  Kiver 
Circuit;  in  1793,  to  Tar  River;  1794,  Broad  liiver. 
At  the  end  of  this  year  he  located;  but  in  1801  he 
rejoined  the  Conference,  and  was  sent  to  Broad  Kiver; 
in  1802,  to  Saluda;  in  1803,  to  Sandy  Uiver.  This  year, 
compelled  by  domestic  necessities,  he  again  located ; 
but  he  loved  the  itinerancy,  and  whenever  he  could 
leave  his  helpless  family  to  travel  he  did  so.  In  1819  he 
again  joined  the  Conference,  and  was  appointed  to  Bush 
Kiver  Circuit,  In  the  latter  ].:irt  of  1823  he  "finally 
located,  not  from  choice,  but  from  al)Solute  necessity." 
"  He  was,"  says  one  of  his  ministerial  contemporaries, 
"  a  poor  man,  with  a  sickly,  though  truly  good  and  ex- 
cellent wife,  and  quite  a  nutnber  of  little  boys  and  girls. 
I  have  known  him,  after  returning  home  from  preaching 
several  miles  distant,  after  supper,  take  the  same  horse 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHUECH.         107 

(having  but  one)  and  plow  with  him  by  moonlight 
until  nearly  midnight,  and  then  go  off  next  morning  to 
his  appointments.  He  neither  owned  nor  hired  serv- 
ants. O  tell  me  not  of  the  hardships  of  our  itinerant 
brethren  in  the  present  day  !  In  Carlisle's  time  there 
was  no  provision  made  for  'family  expenses.'  Every 
married  preacher  had  to  buy  his  corn  and  meat  out  of 
the  small  pittance  of  his  disciplinary  allowance,  which, 
small  as  it  was,  was  very  frequently  not  received.  In 
such  cases  the  poor  itinerant  had  to  raise  his  bread  and 
meat,  and  make  a  little,  to  school  his  children,  by  hard 
and  incessant  labors,  with  anxious  watching  thereunto. 
He  was  a  very  popular  preacher,  and  when  local,  he 
would  be  sent  for  far  and  near  to  preach  funeral  ser- 
mons ;  and  what  is  strange,  passing  strange,  if  for  his 
long  rides  and  good  sermons  he  ever  received  a  present 
to  the  amount  of  a  picayune  I  know  not.  He  was  a 
man  of  strong  passions,  by  nature  quite  irritable,  and 
his  peculiar  temperament  was  a  matter  of  deep  regret 
to  him.  Hence  he  used  to  say  to  me,  that  he  believed 
an  ounce  of  grace  would  go  further  with  some  than  a 
pound  would  with  others.  But  he  was  deeply  pious, 
conscientious  in  his  attention  to  closet  and  family  wor- 
shij:),  and  by  grace  was  enabled  to  subdue  his  natural 
passions,  and  to  keep  them  in  proper  bounds.  I  never 
knew  him  thrown  off  his  hinges  in  the  pulpit  but  once. 
"While  preaching  a  woman  sat  right  before  him  with  a 
child,  which  kept  up  a  constant  squalling ;  about  mid- 
way of  his  sermon  he  said,  'Do,  sister,  take  that  child 
out,'  and  down  he  sat,  not  rising  again  to  finish  his  ser- 
mon. He  was  in  general  quite  social  and  agreeable 
with  all  around  him.  He  was-  in  particular  a  great 
favoi'ite  with  the  young.  To  myself  he  was  a  father, 
brother,   and   sincere  friend.     I  hope   never  to  forget 


108  HISTORV    OF    THE 

him.  Carlisle  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  'and  he  died,' 
when,  where,  or  how,  some  of  his  children  and  near 
neighljors  may  know ;  but,  alas !  the  Church  at  large  in 
South  Carolina  knows  it  not.  Yet  he  was  among  the 
pioneers  of  Southern  Methodism.  He  endured  hard- 
ships as  a  good  soldier  of  Christ.  lie  often  hungered 
and  thirsted.  He  labored,  working  with  his  own  hands: 
being  reviled,  he  reviled  not  again ;  being  persecuted, 
he  suftercd  it ;  being  defamed,  he  entreated.  He  en- 
deavored, as  far  as  in  him  lay,  to  preach  Christ  crucit'.ed 
to  rich  and  poor,  to  white  and  colored,  to  young  and 
old.  Tlie  day  of  judgment  will  tell  of  many  who  were 
brought  home  to  God  and  to  glory  through  his  in- 
strunientality.  Peace  to  his  remains  wherever  they 
may  lie  ! "  " 

It  is  a  grateful  privilege  to  rescue  from  oblivion  the 
names  of  such  laborers  and  sufterers  for  the  Church, 
however  sad  may  be  our  sense  of  the  inadequacy  of 
their  record. 

His  brother,  Simon  Carlisle,  preceded  him  in  the 
ministry  by  two  years,  endured  also  the  severest  hard- 
ships of  the  itinerancy,  and  an  additional  and  extraor- 
dinary trial,  from  whidi,  however,  he  had  at  last  one  of 
those  providential  vindications  which  so  often  occur  in 
the  annals  of  Engli>h  and  American  Metlio(listn,  anil 
which  may  well  inspire  with  hope  all  innocent  sufterers. 
After  having  labored  with  humble  but  intrepid  devotion 
on  sf»me  of  the  hardest  fields  of  the  South,  he  was  ar- 
I'ested  before  the  Church,  ami  expelled  in  1704,  and  his 
name  appears  in  the  Minutes  of  that  year  branded  with 
reproach  as  a  fallen  an<l  outcast  man.  No  affliction, 
no  martyrdom  could  have  been  more  appalling  to  a 
faithful  Methodist  j (readier  of  those  days  of  ministerial 
«'  Autoblo|rraphy  of  Rev.  J.  Travis,  p.  200.    Nashville:  1856. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         109 

chiralry.  The  chai-ge  alleged  against  him  was  such 
as,  if  possible,  to  enhance  the  bitterness  of  his  grief,  by 
combining  meanness  with  guilt,  for  it  was  theft !  For 
two  years  the  guiltless  man  bore,  with  bowed  bead, 
this  great,  and  to  him  mysterious,  sorrow ;  but  his  faith 
failed  not.  He  had  given  offense  by  reproving  a  dis- 
turbance in  one  of  his  rude  frontier  congregations ; 
under  the  provocation  a  young  man  went  to  his 
stopping  place,  placed  a  pistol  in  his  saddle-bags, 
and  the  next  day  got  out  a  search-warrant  for  him, 
making  oath  that  he  believed  Carlisle  had  stolen  his 
Aveapon.  An  officer  hastened  after  him  on  his  circuit, 
overtook  him,  and  charged  him  with  the  crime.  The 
astonished  preacher,  conscious  of  innocence,  readily 
consented  to  have  his  saddle-bags  searched.  The  pistol 
was  found  in  them;  he  was  thunderstruck;  he  knew 
not  what  to  do,  but  calmly  gave  himself  up  to  the 
officer.  He  was  found  guilty,  and  had  no  way  to  clear 
himself  Even  the  Church  threw  him  off;  but  the 
criminal  young  man  was  cast  on  his  death-bed.  About 
an  hour  before  he  expired  he  frantically  cried  out,  "I 
cannot  die,  I  cannot  die  until  I  reveal  one  thing.  Mr. 
Carlisle  never  stole  that  pistol ;  I  myself  put  it  in  his 
saddle-bags."  He  then  became  calm,  and  so  passed  into 
eternity.  Carlisle  was  restored  to  the  rainistrj',  and 
died  in  it  with  peace  in  1838. 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  "  giants  of  those  days  "  in  the 
more  southern  field  of  Methodism.  There  were  many 
similar  men  associated  with  them,  whom  we  have  here- 
tofore noticed,  of  some  of  whom  we  have  no  adequate 
records,  and  others  who  will  more  appropriately  come 
before  us  in  other  sections  of  the  ecclesiastical  field  to 
which  the  later  and  larger  portion  of  their  lives  was 
devoted. 


110  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Stephen  G.  Roszel  was  now  a  young  itinerant  in 
Virginia,  but  rising  continually  in  public  influence  by 
his  tlaniing  zeal  antl  strong  talents.  For  mure  than 
fitly  years  he  was  to  be  a  chietlain  of  the  Church  in 
Virginia  and  ^Maryland,  conspicuous  as  a  presiding 
elder,  an  able  del»ater  in  the  General  Conference,  a 
leader  in  annual  conferences,  a  revivalist  in  the  pulpit, 
preaching  ol\en  with  great  power  through  an  hour 
and  a  half  or  two  hours;  "a  man  of  mark,  exerting 
a  wide  and  j)owerful  influence  in  his  denomina- 
tion."" "He  liad,"  says  one  of  his  friends,  "a  ready 
command  of  thought  and  language,  and  as  a  debater 
had  very  t'cw  superiors.  He  never  (piailed  before  an 
ojjponent,  and  was  never  prevented  by  considerations 
of  delicacy  from  saying  anything  that  would  tend  to 
his  discomfiture.  He  possessed  the  most  indomitable 
perseverance;  whatever  object  he  might  have  in  view 
he  pursued  it  with  untiring  zeal,  and  subordinated 
every  agency  within  his  reach  to  its  accomplishment. 
His  commanding  qualities  as  a  debater  gave  him  great 
influence  on  the  floor  of  the  General  Conference,  and 
there  were  few  men  of  his  day  who  had  an  eye  and  a 
hand  more  constantly  or  more  efl'ectively  on  the  great 
interests  of  the  Church  than  he.  He  was  a  large,  portly 
man,  and  had  a  fare  imlicative  of  the  character  which  I 
have  attribute<l  to  him."  " 

He  was  a  member  of  every  delegated  General  Con- 
ference from  the  first  session  till  his  death.  His  Confer- 
ence commemorates  him  in  its  Miinites  ''  as  a  man 
possessing  singular  courage,  fortitude,  constancy,  and 
benevolence.  As  a  preacher  he  was  bold  and  uncom- 
jtromising    in    declaring    the    whole    counsel    of    God. 

"  Rev.  John  Colcmaa,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Cliurcb.  Spraguc's 
Annals,  p.  ISO.  '» Dr.  Bangs,  ibid.,  180. 


?6.i,^ledi*-  tfiss  S.tVaIe. 


Zr.^?b>'T.B>eV,v 


:f 'Ii\f  ?  g'lHMMniSr  ©.  Mi^S^IHL 


OF  'jnuiB'-, 


Pablislied  &t  the  Methodist  BookBoom.  200  Miilberi>- Strtet.ITX 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  Ill 

Blessed  with  a  strong  mind,  a  ready  elocution,  and 
great  physical  power,  he  was  well  qualified  to  do  the 
work  of  a  JNIethodist  traveling  preacher."  "  He  lived 
till  1841,  when  "he  passed  calmly  and  confidently,  with 
the  high  and  holy  bearing  of  a  Christian  hero,  to  the 
final  conflict,  and  when  the  hour  had  arrived  for  his 
departure,  (speech  having  failed,  but  reason  still  re- 
maining,) on  being  interrogated  by  one  of  his  sons  as 
to  his  prospect  of  entering  into  rest,  he  raised  his  hand, 
gave  the  sign,  and  passed  to  the  bosom  of  his  God." 

Joshua  Wells  was  also  abroad  in  the  southern  field  at 
this  period,  in  the  full  vigor  of  his  young  manhood. 
An  able  and  successful  laborer,  and  regarded  by  the 
Church  with  peculiar  reverence  through  a  singularly 
long  life,  he  was  nevertheless  so  modest,  if  not  morbidly 
self-diffident,  as  scarcely  ever  to  have  spoken  or  written 
anything  respecting  himself.  He  was  born  in  Balti- 
more County  in  1764,  joined  the  itinerancy  when 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  died  more  than  ninety- 
seven  years  old.  He  had  traveled  and  preached  in 
Virginia,  Maryland,  Delaware,  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Massachusetts  as  far  as  Boston.  He  became  at 
last  the  oldest  living  preacher  whose  name  was  on  the 
roll  of  the  itinerancy.  He  was  dignified  and  robust  in 
person,  his  features  strongly  marked,  and  yet  benignant. 
His  sermons  were  noted  for  their  perspicuity  and  brevity, 
their  masculine  sense,  clear  and  vigorous  argumenta- 
tion, and  efiect.  He  was  distinguished  as  a  disciplina- 
rian. The  only  alhision  to  his  life  from  his  own  pen 
which  I  have  discovered  is  in  the  following  sentences : 
"On  the  ninth  of  September,  1781,  I  believe  God  in 
mercy  pardoned  my  sins,  and  converted  my  soul. 
From  that  time  I  have  been  striving  to  serve  the  Lord, 
"  Minutes,  1841. 


112  HISTORY     OF    THE 

to  bo  useful  to  my  fellow-men,  and  to  stand  prepared  to 
meet  death  triuinpliantly.  In  June,  1780,1  ennimenced 
my  itinerant  labors,  in  which  I  traveled  and  sullered 
nuu'h ;  but  have  been  encouraged  by  these  and  similar 
wttnls:  'As  thy  day  is,  so  shall  thy  strenjrth  be.'"  " 

Philij)  Bruce  was  energetically  sprea<ling  out  the 
denomination  during  these  years  on  vast  districts,  as 
presiding  elder,  from  Xorthern  Virginia  to  Charlestown, 
N.  C,  and  to  Western  Georgia ;  Xelson  Heed  was 
traversing  large  districts  in  jMaryland  and  Virginia ; 
Tobias  Gibson  in  the  Carolinas,  and  Valentine  Gouk 
and  John  Cole  in  the  wilds  of  Virginia,  were  pre]jaring, 
by  till'  discipline  of  severest  labor  and  hardship,  for 
their  great  achievements  in  tlie  new  n-gions  beyond  the 
mountains,  whither  John  Kobler,  Barnabas  ^rilciuy, 
Daniel  Hitt,  and  other  mighty  men,  had  lately  advanced 
from  the  same  southern  ]>reparatory  field.  Thomas  Scott, 
a  memorable  name  in  the  ^Vest,  was  also  there  preparing 
for  the  same  pioneer  service,  meanwhile  leading  into 
the  Church,  in  Virginia,  Edward  Tiffin,  afterward  first 
govcnior  of  Ohio,  a  zealous  preacher,  and  a  founder, 
with  Scott,  of  Methodism  in  the  Northwestern  territory. 
Pickering,  Bostwick,  and  other  worthies  were  jire- 
paring  for  similar  expeditions  to  Xew  Kngland,  the 
latter  also  destined  to  bear  part  in  the  trans-Alleghany 
triumphs  of  the  Church.  In  short,  southern  3Iethodism, 
at  this  early  period,  presented  a  surprising  array  of 
strong  men,  men  who  have  impressed  their  names  on 
the  history  of  both  the  South  and  West,  and  who  deserve 
to  live  forever  in  the  grateful  memory  of  the  .American 
j)eople,  as  the  standard-bearers  of  Christian  civilization 
along  most  of  the  southern  and  western  frontier. 

The  Church  had  greatly  extended  in  the  South  since 
>♦  Letter  of  D.  Creamer,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  to  the  author. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  113 

the  General  Conference ;  no  less  than  fourteen  new  cir- 
cuits had  been  formed,  reaching  to  the  heart  of  Georgia, 
and  into  the  Western  mountains,  across  which  not  a  few 
preachers  were  penetrating  into  the  wilds  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee.  By  the  end  of  this  period  there  were 
in  Maryland  12,416  Methodists;  in  Virginia,  13,779;  in 
North  Carolina,  8,713;  South  Carolina,  3,659;  Georgia, 
1,174;  aggregating  nearly  40,000  south  of  Delaware, 
exclusive  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.'^  They  amounted 
to  considerably  more  than  twice  as  many  as  were  re- 
ported from  all  the  rest  of  the  denomination. 

"  Inclusive,  however,  of  members  west  of  the  mountains,  but  within 
states  lying  chiefly  east  of  them. 
C— 8 


114  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHArTER  IV. 

METHODISM    IN   THE   MIDDLE   AND  NORTHERN  STATES, 
1792-1796. 

Asburj-  Ilincnitinp  in  tlie  Midille  und  NorllKni  Slates  — His  Excessive 
Ijibors—  His  Moil)id  Teiiiperamcnt — On  tlie  Nortliern  Frontier  — 
Giirrettson  —  Governor  Van  Cortlandt  —  Further  Travels — Paucity 
of  his  Journals. 

Ox  his  return  fn>in  tlir  Soiitli  :in<l  West  in  179.3  Asbury 
entered  New  Jersey  early  in  July,  pressed  forward  in 
liaste,  and  was  holdintr  a  conrerence  at  Albany  in  the 
tliird  Week  of  the  month.  "  We  had,"  lie  writes,  "  a 
melting  season  among  the  preachers.  Great  changes 
will  be  made  among  them  from  this  conference : 
some  will  be  sent  to  Xew  Jersey,  others  to  Rhode 
Island  and  Massachusetts.  The  people  of  Albany  roll 
in  wealth.  They  have  no  heart  to  invite  any  of  the 
servants  of  God  to  their  houses  ;  unless  a  great  change 
should  take  place  we  sh:dl  have  no  more  conferences 
here.  I  am  tired  down  with  fatigtie,  and  labor  under 
great  weakness  of  body ;  yet  I  must  haste  to  Lynn,  it 
may  be,  to  meet  trouble.  But  my  days  will  be  short. 
We  hope  two  hundred  souls  have  been  awakened,  and 
as  many  converted,  in  Albany  District  the  past  year. 
Our  friends  are  happy  here,  not  being  distressed  with 
divisions  in  the  Church,  nor  by  war  with  the  Indians, 
as  the)'  are  to  the  southward." 

By  the  22d  he  was  in  Xew  England,  where  he  spent 
a  month.  On  the  22d  of  August  he  was  in  New  York 
city,  remarking  that  "  Great  afflictions  prevail  here.  It 
is  very  sickly  also  in  Philadelphia.     I  have  found,  by 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         115 

Becret  search,  that  I  have  not  preached  sanctification  as 
I  should  have  done.  If  I  am  restored  this  shall  be  my 
theme  more  pointedly  than  ever,  God  being  my  helper. 
I  have  been  sick  upward  of  four  months,  during  which 
time  I  have  attended  to  my  business,  and  ridden,  I  sup- 
pose, not  less  than  three  thousand  miles.  The  effects 
of  this  weather  were  sensibly  felt  by  every  member  of 
Conference,  some  of  whom  were  so  indisposed  that  they 
could  not  attend.  We  made  a  collection  of  forty 
pounds  for  the  relief  of  the  preachers  on  the  frontiers  of 
New  York  and  Connecticut.  We  have  awful  accounts 
from  Philadelphia,  which  made  me  feel  too  much  like  a 
man,  and  too  little  like  a  Christian ;  we  nevertheless 
went  forward  to  confront  the  pestilence.  Friday,  Sep- 
tember 6,  we  rode  to  that  city.  Ah,  how  the  ways 
mourn  !  how  low-spirited  are  the  people  while  making 
their  escape  !  I  found  it  awful  indeed.  I  jvidge  the 
people  die  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  in  a  day.  Some 
of  our  friends  are  dying,  others  flying.  Sunday,  8,  I 
preached  on  Isa.  Iviii,  1 :  '  Cry  aloud,  spare  not,  lift  up 
thy  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and  show  my  people  their 
transgressions,  and  the  house  of  Jacob  their  sins.'  The 
people  of  this  city  are  alarmed,  and  well  they  may  be. 
I  went  down  to  Ebenezer,  (a  church  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  city,)  but  my  strength  was  gone ;  however  I  en- 
deavored to  open  and  apply  Micah  vi,  9.  The  streets 
are  now  depopulated,  and  the  city  wears  a  gloomy 
aspect.  All  night  long  my  ears  and.  heart  were 
wounded  with  the  cry  of  fire  !  O  how  awful !  And 
what  made  it  still  more  serious,  two  young  men  were 
killed  by  the  fall  of  a  wall ;  one  of  them  was  a  valuable 
member  of  our  society.  Poor  Philadelphia  !  the  lofty 
city.  He  layeth  it  low  !  I  am  very  unwell ;  my  system 
is  quite  weak;   I  feel  the  want  of  pure  air.     We  ap- 


116  HISTORY    OF    THE 

pointed  Tuesday  9  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  liiiinili:!- 
tion.  I  jtrcachcd  on  1  Kings  viii,  37-40,  and  liad  a 
lart^e  and  weeping  congregation.  The  preachers  left 
the  city  on  Monday ;  I  continued  in  order  to  have  the 
Minutes  of  Conference  printed.  Wednesday,  11,  we 
left  the  city  solemn  as  death.  The  people  of  Derby 
and  Chester  are  sickly,  and  they  are  greatly  alarmed 
at  Wilmington.  I  found  a  quiet  retreat  at  frii-nd 
Bond's,  near  New  Castle."  It  was  thus  that  he  braved 
the  memorable  attack  of  the  yellow  fever. 

Again  he  flew  over  his  southern  route,  whither  we 
have  followed  him,  and  by  the  last  week  of  June,  1794, 
re-entered  Philadelphia  "  weak  and  heavy  in  body  and 
mind,"  after  a  day's  ride  of  forty  miles,  preaching  the 
same  evening.  He  passed  rapidly  to  New  England, 
whence  he  returned  to  New  York  by  the  middle  of 
September,  and  opened  the  Conference  on  the  twenty- 
second.  "  Several  of  our  preachers,"  he  writes,  "  want 
to  know  what  they  shall  do  when  they  grow  old. 
I  might  also  ask.  What  shall  I  do  ?  Perhaps  many 
of  them  will  not  live  to  grow  old.  Tuesday,  23,  I 
preached  with  liberty  ;  but  on  Thursday  night  I  had 
a  powerful  temptation  before  I  went  into  the  church, 
which  sat  so  heavily  on  me  that  I  could  not  preach ; 
yet  I  trust  I  was  kept  fntm  sin.  My  sleep  is  so  little 
that  my  head  becomes  dizzy,  and  distresses  me  much. 
Four  hours'  sleep  in  the  night  is  as  much  as  I  can 
obtain.  We  concluded  our  work,  and  observed  Friday 
as  a  day  of  abstinence  and  prayer,  and  had  a  good  time 
at  our  love-feast.  Sunday,  28,  preached  at  ten  o'clock 
at  Brooklyn ;  in  the  afternoi>n  at  the  new  church, 
[Forsyth-street,  New  York,]  on  '  Woe  to  them  that  are 
at  ease  in  Zion  ! '  I  ordained  seven  deacons  and  five 
elders,  and  in  the  evening,  at  the  old  church,  [John- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  117 

Street,]  I  preached  ascain.  We  had  the  best  time  at  the 
last,"  at  least  it  was  so  to  me.  All  day  I  was  straitened 
in  my  throat,  and  in  my  heart.  We  collected  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  relief  of  the  preachers. 
This  has  been  a  serious  week  to  me ;  money  could  not 
purchase  the  labor  I  have  gone  through." 

On  Sunday,  October  5,  he  was  preaching  three  times 
in  Philadelphia,  and  holding  a  Conference  the  next  day ; 
but  before  the  week  closed  he  was  away  again  south- 
ward and  westward,  to  the  Carolinas  and  Tennessee. 
In  June,  1795,  we  find  him  again  in  Philadelphia,  and 
on  "Sunday,  21st,"  he  says,  "I  preached  in  the  city 
three  times,  not  with  the  success  I  would  wish.  I  was 
exceedingly  assisted  in  meeting  the  classes,  in  v/hich  I 
spent  three  days,  and  am  now  of  opinion  that  there  is 
more  religion  among  the  society  than  I  expected.  I 
trust  both  they  and  myself  will  remember  this  visit  for 
days  to  come.  I  was  also  much  quickened  in  meeting 
the  local  preachers  and  leaders,  who  spoke  feelingly  of 
the  state  of  their  souls  and  the  work  of  God.  I  now  go 
hence  to  meet  new  troubles,  and  to  labor  while  feeble 
life  shall  last.  Monday,  29,  I  came  to  New  York.  I 
began  meeting  the  women's  classes,  and  felt  happy.  I 
met  the  official  members  of  the  society,  and  had  some 
close  talk  on  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church, 
Sunday,  5,  I  preached  in  Brooklyn,  and  returned  to  as- 
sist in  the  sacrament  in  the  afternoon  at  the  new  church. 
I  then  met  the  black  classes,  and  preached  at  half  past 
six.  I  closed  my  day's  work  by  meeting  two  men's 
classes.  Monday,  6,  I  met  nine  classes,  so  that  I  have 
now  spoken  to  most  of  the  members  here  one  by  one. 
I  left  the  city  in  peace,  and  received  of  their  bounty 
towai'd  bearing  my  expenses." 

Thus  we  get  but  mere  glimpses  of  his  episcopal  pas- 


118  HISTORY    OF    THE 

torate  from  these  meager  journals  ;  their  citation  would 
seem  a  waste  of  j)aper  were  it  not  that  they  reveal  so 
much,  though  so  indirectly,  the  tireless  man  and  the 
apostolic  bishop.  Wherever  he  delayed  long  enough, 
he  ])erformed  fiiithfuUy  this  minute  pastoral  labor. 

Again  he  departs  to  the  Eastern  states,  ranging 
through  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  I^Iassachusetts, 
Vermont.  He  re-entered  the  state  of  New  York  in  the 
latter  part  of  August,  near  the  northern  frontier,  and 
passed  rapidly  along,  holding  rustic  meetings  among 
the  scattered  population;  for  .Metlioilism,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  for  some  time  been  breaking  into  these  remote 
wildernesses,  chiefly  under  the  leadership  of  Garrettson ; 
and  Asbury,  ever  regardful  of  its  interests  where  they 
were  most  critical,  penetrated  to  the  farthest  tracks  of 
his  pioneer  itinerants;  hence  his  incessant  return  to  the 
extreme  South,  to  the  ultra-.Mleghany  frontiers,  to  New 
England,  an<l,  before  long,  to  the  wilds  of  I'jtjter  Can- 
ada. In  these  journeys  he  must  necessarily  cross  and 
recross  the  more  settled  central  fields  of  the  Church, 
and  these  he  inspects,  as  we  have  noticed,  with  the 
minutest  care,  laboring  as  hard  among  them  as  their 
local  pastors;  but  his  records  lose  here  much  of  their 
interest;  they  present  little  more  than  the  briefest  allu- 
sions, mere  memoranda.  He  longed  for  the  woods,  the 
mountains,  the  excitements  and  hardships  of  the  fron- 
tier. It  is  the  fate  of  energetic  men  to  be  restless,  to  be 
unhappy  without  movement  and  achievement :  the  cause 
perhaps,  and,  in  part,  the  eflx>ct  of  their  activity.  As- 
bury was  constitutionally  melancholy ;  unconscious,  he 
often  writes,  "of  any  sin  even  in  thought,"  yet  in  griev- 
ous dejection.  No  medical  scholar  can  fail  to  observe 
in  his  journals,  from  beginning  to  end,  and  especially 
about    this    time,   a   profoundly    morbid    temjierament. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         119 

There  is  now  scarcely  a  page  in  which  we  do  not  wit- 
ness the  heroic  struggle  of  his  invincible  will  with  this 
ibrmidable  physical  drawback.  And  the  evil  grows  as 
he  advances  in  life.  He  mentions,  oftener  than  ever,  lais 
inward  conflicts,  alternations  of  joy  and  sadness,  of 
mental  freedom  and  oppression  in  the  pulpit.  He  at 
last  perceives  the  fact  that  his  melancholy  is  "  constitu- 
tional," and  will  end  only  with  his  life.  This  bra^-e 
sti'uggle  with  an  unconquerable  physical  evil  enhances 
inexpressibly  the  greatness  of  his  character  and  of  his 
unparalleled  life.  He  had  not,  however,  the  sagacity 
or  scientific  knowledge  to  perceive  that  his  excessive 
occupation  caused  much  of  his  sufferings.  It  may  be 
soberly  affirmed  that  through  all  his  ministerial  career 
he  was  doing  the  work  of  ten  if  not  twenty  ordinary 
men.  No  human  strength  is  adequate  to  such  labors  as 
his — -journeys  on  horseback  over  the  worst  roads,  thirty, 
forty,  fifty  miles  a  day,  with  almost  daily  preaching, 
class-leading,  visits  from  house  to  house,  frequent  and 
laborious  sessions  of  conferences,  a  correspondence  of  a 
thousand  letters  yearly,  for  most  of  the  year  the  poorest 
fare  of  log-cabins,  with  no  other  luxury  than  tea,  which 
he  always  carried  with  him  and  often  prepared  himself 
beneath  a  tree,  and  almost  continual  sickness,  chills, 
fevers,  and  rheumatism.  Aristotle  taught  that  the  vices 
a'.e  the  excesses  of  the  virtues.  Asbury  erred  in  this 
respect.  His  life,  effective  as  it  was,  might  have  been 
more  effective  if  more  healthful,  physically  and  men- 
tally. Johnson  remarked  to  Bos  well,  that  to  interpret 
the  Scripture  command,  "be  instant  in  prayer,"  literally 
were  to  abuse  it,  that  no  one  could  thus  obey  it  without 
becoming  a  maniac.  Asbury,  besides  his  other  extreme 
habits,  was  almost  a  literalist  in  this  respect.  He  usually 
prayed  with  families  at  the  close  of  each  meal,  at  tav- 


120  HISTORY    OF    THE 

crns,  or  wherever  else  he  stopped.  He  prayed  in  all  his 
pastoral  visits.  For  years  he  prayed  for  each  of  his 
jtroachors  hy  name  daily;  at  every  conference  he  prayed 
privately  over  each  name  on  the  list  of  ajipointments ;  on 
his  rides  he  i)rayed  ten  minutes  each  hour,  and  he  records 
that  there  were  few  minutes  in  the  day  in  which  his 
thoughts  were  not  absorbed  in  prayer.  He  fasted  every 
Friday,  besides  gointj  without  food  from  early  morning 
till  late  evening  several  days  in  almost  every  week. 
We  cannot  wonder  then  that  his  life  became  abnormal, 
and  we  cannot  but  wonder  that  it  was  so  mighty  in 
spite  of  that  fact.  Nor  can  we  bo  surjtrised  that  a 
tinge  of  severity,  if  not  moroseness,  overspread  at  times 
his  really  generous  nature,  and  somewhat  repelled  his 
more  diffident  associates. 

He  ranged  over  the  northern  regions  of  New  York 
with  much  of  the  zest  of  his  western  frontier  adventures, 
jtreaching  in  log-cabins  to  multitudes  gathered  from 
great  distances.  "I  tind,"  he  writes,  "some  similarity 
between  the  northern  and  western  frontiers."  On  Sun- 
day, the  .30th  of  (October,  in  Hampton  Townshijt,  (Wash- 
ingt<»n  County,  where  Philip  Embury  and  Barbara 
Iieck  had  been  founding  the  Church,)  he  discovered 
some  hearty  pioneer  Methodists.  "  We  had,"  he  says, 
"  sacrament  and  love-feast,  and  many  oj)ened  their 
mouths  boldly  to  testify  of  the  goodness  and  love  of 
the  Lord  Jesus.  The  porch,  entry,  kitchen,  and  the 
lodging-rooms  were  filled.  One  soul  professed  conver- 
si<»n.  I  find  that  two  hours'  close  meeting  flags  the 
minds  of  God's  children."  He  penetrated  to  Ashgrove, 
the  seat  of  Embury's  society,  and  refreshed  tlie  little 
band  in  a  "solemn  meeting."  We  trace  him  southward 
rai>idly  to  "  Coeyman's  Patent,"  "  weary,  sick,  and  faint, 
after  riding  thirty-si.\  miles.     We  were  crowded,"  he 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  121 

writes,  "  with  people.  I  suppose  we  had  perhaps  a 
thousand  at  the  stone  church  at  Coeyman's  Patent,  and 
I  felt  some  life  and  warmth  among  them.  On  Sunday, 
6,  in  the  morning  we  had  baptism,  ordination,  sacra- 
ment, and  love-feast ;  some  spoke  with  life  of  the  good- 
ness of  God.  I  gave  them  a  discourse  at  eleven  o'clock, 
and  then  went  to  bed  with  a  high  fever." 

Dr.  Roberts,  however,  was  with  him  from  New  En 
gland,  and  kept  up  the  labors  of  the  day.  On  the  12th 
of  September  they  reached  the  neighborhood  of  Rhine- 
beck,  and  were  comforted  with  the  society  of  Garrett- 
son.  "  God,"  he  says,  "  once  put  into  Brother  Garrett- 
son's  hands  great  riches  of  a  spiritual  nature,  and  he 
labored  much;  if  he  now  does  good  according  to  his  tem- 
poral ability,  he  will  be  blessed  by  the  Lord  and  men." 

Garrettson,  faithful  in  his  jarosperity,  was  "blessed 
by  the  Lord  and  men."  His  beautiful  home  at  Rhine- 
beck  often  sheltered,  in  later  years,  Asbury  and  his 
fellow-laborers.  The  bishop  delighted  to  call  it  "  Trav- 
elers' Rest,"  and  could  write,  "  I  do  believe  God  dwells 
in  this  house."  Through  Garrettson  he  became  in- 
timate with,  and  exerted  a  salutary  influence  over, 
many  distinguished  families  of  the  region — the  Living- 
stons, Montgomerys,  Sands,  Rutsens,  Van  Cortlandts, 
and  others,  among  whom  were  raised  up  memorable 
examples  of  the  elder  Methodism.  Catharine  Garrett- 
son, a  daughter  of  the  Livingston  family,  was  one  of 
those  elect  "  women  of  Methodism  "  who  ministered  to 
the  bishop,  like  Mary  and  Martha  to  his  divine  Master, 
from  Rhinebeck's  "  Travelers'  Rest "  to  Perry  Hall  in 
Maryland,  Rembert  Hall  in  South  Carolina,  and  Rus- 
sell's mansion  among  the  Holston  Heights.  He  pi*eached 
at  Rhinebeck,  but  hastened  on  with  Roberts.  "  We 
stopped,"  he  says,  "  at  Governor  Van  Cortlandt's,  who 


122  HISTORY    OF    THE 

reminds  me  of  General  Russell.  We  had  all  we  needed, 
and  aljundantly  more  than  we  desired.  Rest,  rest,  liow 
sweet!  yet  how  often  in  labor  I  rest,  and  in  rest  labor! 
Sunday,  20, 1  had  a  comfortable  time  at  Croton  Chapel, 
on  RoMi.  i,  16.  I  returned  to  General  Van  Cortlandt's, 
and  dined  with  my  <lear  aged  friends.  Shall  we  ever 
meet  again  ?  " 

The  name  of  the  good  governor  occurs  often  in  tlie 
bishop's  journals.  lie  was  a  hearty  Methodist,  very 
rich,  inheriting  niuch  of  the  old  Cortlandt  manor,  and 
livi'd  in  a  spacious  mansion  near  the  mouth  of  the  Cro- 
ton river.  It  was  the  home  of  many  oi'  the  primitive 
itinerants,  and  had  entertained  Washington,  La  Fayette, 
Franklin,  and  Whitetield;  the  latter  had  ])reached  from 
its  portico  to  vast  throngs.  The  governor's  influence 
was  an  important  aid  to  Methodism.  He  was  the  first 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  state,  was  eighteen  times 
elected  to  the  otlice,  an<l  was  president  of  the  conven- 
tion which  formed  the  state  constitution.  He  gave  land 
for  a  Methodist  church  and  cemetery,  and  died,  as  his 
epitaph  says,  "a  bright  witness  of  that  perfect  love 
which  casteth  out  the  fear  of  death."  ' 

"  We  came,"  continues  the  bishop,  "to  Fisher's,  near 
the  White  Plains  chapel,  to  hold  Conference.  My  soul 
is  kept  solemn,  and  I  feel  as  if  earth  were  nothing  to 
me ;  I  am  happy  in  God,  and  not  perplexed  Avith  the 
things  of  this  world.     Tuesday,  22,  a  few  of  us  met  in 

'  Boebm  Bays  :  "  He  married  Joanna  Livingston.  They  were  both 
pure  spirita.  Their  dauglitcr,  Mrs.  Van  Wiclt,  was  a  gifted  woman,  a 
fiiouting  Methodist,  who  would  exhort  witli  great  effect.  His  daugli- 
tcr,  Mrs.  Gerard  Beul<man,  was  also  a  Methodist,  and  her  son,  Dr. 
Stephen  Beeliman,  at  whose  liousc  the  Rev.  John  Sunmierfk-ld  died  in 
New  Yorlc  on  June  SO,  182.5.  Bishop  Asbury  greatly  admired  the  old 
governor,  and  said  he  resembled  General  Russell  of  Kentucky,  wlic 
married  the  sister  of  Patrick  Henry.  The  governor,  full  of  yeai-s  and 
of  honors,  died  oh  May  1,  1814,  in  the  nincty-fotirtb  year  of  his  age." 


GPJvVED  BY  W.WELUTuOD 


OF  NEW  YORK 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  123 

Conference,  the  2nain  body  of  the  preachers  not  coming 
in  until  about  twelve  o'clock.  We  went  through  the 
business  of  the  session  in  three  days,  forty-three  preach- 
ers being  present.  I  was  greatly  disappointed  in  not 
hearing  the  preachers  give  a  full  and  free  account  of 
themselves  and  circuits.  Although  we  sat  ten  hours 
in  each  day,  we  did  not  close  our  business  until 
Thursday  evening,  after  sitting  each  night  till  twelve 
o'clock." 

In  the  first  week  of  October  he  was  again  holding  a 
Conference  in  Philadelphia.  "  We  went  on,"  he  writes, 
"  with  great  peace,  love,  and  deliberation,  but  were  rather 
irregular,  owing  to  some  preachers  not  coming  in  until  the 
third  or  fourth  day.  We  made  better  stations  than  could 
be  expected,  extending  from  Northampton,  in  Virginia, 
to  the  Seneca  Lake.  Friday,  9,  we  observed  as  a  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer.  I  preached  at  eleve-n  o'clock 
on  Joel  ii,  15-17.  Saturday,  10,  our  Conference  rose. 
Sunday,  11,  I  preaclied  in  the  morning  at  the  African 
church,  in  the  afternoon  at  Ebenezer,  and  in  the  even- 
ing at  St.  George's,  where,  to  my  surprise,  the  galleries 
were  filled.  I  applied,  'Knowing  therefore  the  terror 
of  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men.'  I  had  work  enough, 
being  often  compelled  to  digress  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  wild  people." 

After  another  tour  over  the  South  and  West  he 
entered  Pennsylvania,  west  of  the  mountains,  in  the 
first  week  in  June,  1796,  and  held  a  Conference  at 
Uniontown,  where  the  pioneer  evangelists  of  the  Mo- 
nongahela,  the  Alleghany,  and  the  Yohogany  greeted 
him,  and  by  the  last  week  in  July  we  find  him  again 
preaching  and  "  meeting  classes  in  the  city  "  of  Phila- 
delphia. He  prepared  a  subsci-ij^tion  paper  for  the 
relief  of  suffering  preachers  and  their  families,  and  theu 


124  HISTOR  Y     OF    Til  E 

"hasted  with  it  from  house  to  house."  On  the  loth  of 
August  he  rode  into  New  York  to  repeat  the  thorough 
work  we  have  seen  him  perforniing  there  before — in 
"  meeting  classes,  and  visiting  from  liouse  to  house  a 
good  deal  of  the  time  in  the  day,  and  frequently  preach- 
ing at  night."  He  spent  more  than  two  weeks  there  at 
this  hottest  part  of  the  year,  "generally  walking  three 
or  four  miles  a  day,  ])raying  ten  or  twelve  times  in  the 
congregation,  families,  and  classes,"  and  closing  the  day 
with  a  sermon  or  a  social  religious  meeting.  On  one 
Sunday  we  find  him  j)reaching  three  times  and  lead- 
ing six  classes.  He  ended  the  visit  with  a  meeting 
of  all  the  city  class-leaders  "in  close  conference,"  an- 
other meeting  of  the  trustees  on  the  same  day,  and 
then,  "  after  going  hither  and  thither,"  preached  in  the 
evening.  We  cannot  be  surprised  that,  with  such  a 
lea<ler,  the  ministry  and  jieople  of  early  ^fpfhodism 
were  kept  continually  astir.  Asbury's  own  character 
and  example,  maintained  with  unwavering  fidelity  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  episcopal  career,  afford 
an  nbvious  solution  to  the  problem  of  the  energy  and 
success  of  American  Methodism,  Our  chief  regret,  in 
following  him  on  his  rapid  flights  over  the  land,  is 
that  the  jaucity  of  det:Mls  in  his  journals  do  not 
admit  of  more  fullness  and  consistence  in  the  narration 
of  his  wondrous  life.  Such  as  they  are,  however,  they, 
or  nothing,  must  be  given.  They  suffice  to  suggest,  at 
least,  his  general  character,  and  the  continuous  extension 
of  the  Church. 

He  passed  again  into  Xew  England,  returned  to  Bal- 
timore, holding  Conferences  at  New  York  and  Philadel- 
)»hia,  and  jtrepared,  at  Perry  Hall,  for  the  next  General 
Conference. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  125 


CHAPTER  V. 

METHODISM  IN   THE   MIDDLE  AND   NORTHERN   STATES, 
1793-1796. 

Paucity  of  Documents  in  the  Middle  States  — George  Pickering  — His 
Spartan  CharackT  —  Ezekiel  Cooper  —  His  Labors  — His  Character 

—  His  Passion  for  Angling  —  Jolin  M'Claskey's  Rank  and  Services 

—  Lawrence  M'Comb's  Character  and  Labors  —  Dr.  Thomas  F.  Sar- 
gent —  His  Labors  —  His  Death  in  the  Pulpit  —  Thomas  Morrell  — 
A  Successful  Failure  —  He  Founds  Methodism  in  Chatham,  N.  J.  — 
Itinerant  Labors  —  Asbury's  Tea  —  Morrell's  Triumphant  Deatli^ 
His  Appearance  and  Character  —  Ware  lUnerating  among  the  Tioga 
Mountains  —  On  the  Hudson  —  Trials  of  the  Itinerancy  —  A  Suffer- 
ing Preacher  —  Success  —  Colbert  among  the  Wyoming,  Tioga,  and 
Cumberland  Vallej-s  —  His  Hardships  —  Henry  B.  Bascom  —  Asbury 
among  these  Valleys  —  Thomas  and  Christian  Bowman  —  Thornton 
Fleming — Methodism  in  the  Lake  Country  of  New  York  —  Valen- 
tine Cook  —  A  Student  at  Cokesbury  —  Power  of  his  Preaching  — 
His  Sufferings  —  His  Farewell  Sermon  —  Results  —  Extension  of 
Methodism  in  the  Middle  States  —  Its  Singular  Introduction  into 
Southold,  L.  I.  —  Statistics. 

Methodism,  in  its  denser  communities  of  the  Middle 
and  Northern  States,  though  prosperous  during  this 
j^eriod,  presents  feAV  of  those  salient  events  which  mark 
its  history  in  its  remoter  fields.  It  was  here  established 
in  a  well  defined  and  somewhat  cultivated  territory, 
and  was  comparatively  tranquil.  The  journals  of  As- 
bury record,  as  we  have  seen,  but  passing  allusions  to 
it,  and,  though  its  ministry  embodied  a  majority  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  itinerancy,  yet  were  they  singularly 
inditferent  to  any  record  of  their  great  work.  Of  no 
section  of  the  Church  have  we  fewer  published  accounts 
than  of  the  vigorous  societies  and  powerful  men  of  the 
middle  states,  and  the  historian,  in  gathering  together 


126  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  scattered  fragments  of  his  materials,  must  feel  pain- 
AiUv  that  he  can  construct  of  them  no  narrative  coni- 
nii'iisurate  with  the  inijtortance  and  traditional  estinia- 
tiiin  of  this  portion  of  the  denomination. 

At  the  heginninij  of  the  period  Geort^e  Pickerinoj 
apj)cars  on  the  Dover  Circuit,  Del.;  and  though  ho  had, 
as  already  intimated,  a  hrief  previous  training  in  the 
itiiu'rancy  of  the  South,  yet  lie  legitimately  helongs  at 
this  time  to  the  Methodism  of  the  middle  states,  being 
not  oidy  a  laborer  in  its  field,  but  having  entered  the 
Cluirch  and  1>egun  to  preach  in  Philadelphia.  He  was 
born  in  Talbot  County,  Md.,  in  1  7G0,  converted  in  St. 
George^s  Church,  Philadelphia,  when  eighteen  years 
old,  and  almost  immediately  began  his  jtublic  labors. 
In  17J>0  he  was  received  on  ]»robation  by  the  Conference. 
lie  lived  to  be  the  oldest  active  preacher  in  the  itiner- 
ancy, and  in  his  semi-oentenary  sermon  remarked : 
"  When  I  joined  there  were  but  about  five  conferences, 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  traveling  preachers, 
fort V  six  thousand  white,  and  eleven  or  twelve  thou- 
sand colored  members.  Five  or  six  only  of  those  min- 
isters are  now  living,  and  I  only  continue  in  the  itiner- 
ancy. I  am  now  an  old  man,  and  shall  not  labor  much 
longer  with  you;  but  go  on,  my  brethren,  preach  Jesus, 
]>reach  with  the  Holy  (ihost.  Preach  to  the  people  the 
blessed  doctrine  of  holiness,  it  is  the  only  thing  that 
will  bind  the  Methodist  Church  together.  Pray  for 
me,  my  brethren,  and  the  blessing  of  an  old  man  be 
upon  you.''  He  said  this  in  1840,  in  the  far  East,  where 
he  then  stood  a  pillar  of  New  England  Methodism,  and 
a  jiatriarch  of  the  denomination,  venerated  through  all 
its  borders. 

George  Pickering  was  a  rare  man  in  all  respects. 
Any  just  delineation  of  him  must  comprehend  the  whole 


E'^=(Q[E(D)l(ai     [PO©KE[^OW©, 


NEW    ENGLASTD    COKFERENCE 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         127 

man,  for  it  was  not  his  distinction  to  be  marked  by  a 
few  extraordinary  traits,  but  by  general  excellence.  In 
person  he  was  tall,  slight,  and  perfectly  erect.  His 
countenance  was  expressive  of  energy,  shrewdness,  self- 
command,  and  benignity;  and  in  advanced  life  his  sil- 
vered locks,  combed  precisely  behind  his  ears,  gave 
him  a  strikingly  venerable  appearance.  The  exacti- 
tude of  his  mind  extended  to  all  his  physical  habits. 
In  pastoral  labors,  exercise,  diet,  sleep,  and  dress, 
he  followed  a  fixed  course,  which  scarcely  admitted 
of  deviation.  In  the  last  respect  he  was  peculiarly 
neat,  holding,  with  an  old  divine,  that  "cleanliness 
comes  next  to  holiness."  He  continued  to  the  last  to 
wear  the  plain  Quakerlike  dress  of  the  first  Methodist 
ministry,  and  none  could  be  more  congruous  with  the 
bearing  of  his  person  and  his  venerable  aspect.  His 
voice  was  clear  and  powerful,  and  his  step  firm  to  the 
end. 

His  intellectual  traits  were  not  of  the  highest,  but  of 
the  most  useful  order.  Method  was  perhaps  his  strong- 
est mental  habit,  and  it  comprehended  nearly  every 
detail  of  his  daily  life.  His  sermons  were  thoroughly 
"  skeletonized."  His  personal  habits  had  the  mechani- 
cal regularity  of  clock-work.  During  his  itinerant  life 
he  devoted  to  his  family,  residing  permanently  at  one 
place,  a  definite  portion  of  his  time;  but  even  these 
domestic  visits  were  subjected  to  the  most  stringent 
regularity.  During  fifty  years  of  married  life  he 
spent,  upon  an  average,  but  about  one  fifth  of  his 
time  at  home,  an  aggregate  of  ten  years  out  of  fifty. 
This  rigor  may  indeed  have  been  too  severe.  It 
reminds  us  of  the  noble  but  defective  virtue  of  the 
old  Roman  character.  If  business  called  him  to  the 
town  of  his  family  residence  at  other  times  than  those 


128  II  IS  TORY    OF    THE 

appropriated  to  his  domestic  visits,  he  returned  to  his 
post  of  hilior  withoiit  crossing  the  threshold  of  his  home. 
In  that  terrible  calamity  which  spread  gloom  over  the 
land — the  burning  of  the  steamer  Lexington  by  night 
on  Long  Island  Soun<l  —  he  lost  a  beloved  dauglitcr. 
The  intensity  of  the  affliction  was  not  capable  of  en- 
hancement, yet  he  stood  firmly  on  his  ministerial  watch- 
tower,  though  with  a  bh'cding  heart,  while  his  family, 
Init  a  few  miles  distant,  were  Irautic  with  anguish. 
Not  till  the  due  time  did  he  return  to  them.  When  it 
arrived  he  entered  the  house  with  a  sorrow-smitten 
spirit,  pressed  in  silence  the  hand  of  his  wife,  and, 
without  uttering  a  word,  retired  tu  an  adjacent  room, 
where  he  spent  some  hours  in  solitude  and  uniitti-rable 
griff.  Such  a  man  reminds  us  of  Hrutus,  and,  in  the 
heroic  times,  would  have  been  commemorated  as  super- 
human. 

Ill'  pretended  to  no  subtlety,  and  was  seldom,  if  ever, 
known  to  preach  a  metaphysical  discourse.  The  literal 
import  of  thf  Scriptures,  and  its  obvious  ap{ilications  to 
experimental  and  j>ractical  religion,  formed  the  sub- 
stance of  his  sermons.  Persj)icuity  of  style  resulted 
from  this  perspicacity  of  thought.  The  most  unlettered 
listener  could  have  no  ditliculty  in  comprehending  his 
meaning,  and  the  children  of  his  audience  generally 
shared  the  interest  of  his  adult  hearers.  Hombast  and 
metaphysical  elaborateness  in  the  puljiit  he  silently 
but  profoundly  contenmed  as  indicating  a  lack  both 
of  good  sense  and  disinterested  purpose  in  the  preacher. 
It  has  been  said  that  a  man  of  few  words  is  either  a 
sage  or  a  fool.  George  Pickering  was  seldom,  if  ever, 
known  to  occupy  three  minutes  at  a  time  in  the 
discussions  (usually  so  diffuse)  of  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences,   and    the    directness    of  his   sentences    and   the 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUECH.  129 

pertinence  of  his  counsels  always  indicated  the  prac- 
tical sage. 

Almost  unerring  prudence  marked  his  life.  If  not 
sagacious  at  seizing  new  opportunities,  he  w^as  almost 
infallibly  perfect  in  that  negative  prudence  which 
attains  safety  and  confidence.  No  man  who  knew  him 
would  have  apprehended  surprise  or  defeat  in  any 
measure  undertaken  by  him  after  his  usual  deliberation. 
His  character  was  full  of  energy,  but  it  was  the  energy 
of  the  highest  order  of  minds,  never  wavering,  never 
impulsive.  He  would  have  excelled  in  any  department 
of  public  life  which  requires  chiefly  wisdom  and  virtue. 
As  a  statesman,  he  would  always  have  been  secure,  if 
not  successful ;  as  a  military  commander,  his  whole 
character  would  have  guarantied  that  confidence,  en- 
ergy, discipline,  and  foresight  which  win  victory  more 
effectually  than  hosts. 

In  combination  with  these  characteristics,  and  form- 
ing no  unfavorable  contrast  with  them,  was  his  well- 
known  humor.  I  have  already  attempted  to  account 
for  the  prevalence  of  this  trait  among  the  early  JMeth- 
odist  itinerants.  It  seemed  natural  to  the  constitution 
of  Pickering's  mind.  In  him,  however,  it  was  always 
benevolent.  It  seldom  or  never  took  the  form  of 
satire.  It  was  that  "sanctified  wit,"  as  it  has  been 
called,  which  pervades  the  writings  of  Henry,  Fuller, 
and  other  old  religious  authors  in  our  literature,  and 
the  smile  excited  by  it  in  the  hearer  was  caused  more 
by  an  odd  and  surprising  appositeness  in  his  remarks 
or  illustrations,  than  by  any  play  of  words  or  pungency 
of  sentiment. 

The  moral  features  of  his  character  were  pre-eminent, 
yet  they  blended  too  much  into  a  whole  to  admit  of 
individual  prominence.  No  one  virtue  stood  out  in 
C— 9 


130  HISTORY    OF    THE 

relief  amid  a  multitude  of  contrasting  defects,  xi.tu  ne 
lived  in  the  days  of  the  Roman  Commonwealth  he 
mifrht  have  competed  with  Cato  for  the  Censorshi]); 
not  so  much,  however,  from  his  rigorous  construction 
of  the  morals  of  others,  as  hy  the  rigorous  perfection  of 
his  own.  He  had  an  unwavering  faith  in  tlic  evangeli- 
cal doctrines.  "  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  was  the 
joy  of  his  heart,  the  ground  of  his  hope,  and  the  theme 
of  his  preaching.  His  zeal  was  ardent,  but  steady, 
never  tlickering  through  fifty-seven  years  of  ministerial 
labors  and  travels.  It  gave  peculiar  energy  to  his  dis- 
courses. For  more  than  half  a  century  his  armor  was 
never  off;  but  he  was  always  ready  for  every  good 
word  and  work.  He  was  incessant  in  prayer,  and  who 
ever  heard  from  him  a  languid  su]iplieation  ?  He  con- 
tinued to  the  last  the  goodly  habit,  common  among  his 
early  associates  in  the  ministry,  of  praying  afler  meals 
in  any  company,  however  casual  or  vivacious  the  circle. 
He  was  a  man  of  one  work,  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion ;  and  of  one  purpose,  the  glory  of  God.  We  shall 
soon  meet  him  again  in  his  Eastern  field. 

Ezekiel  Cooper  was,  down  to  our  own  day,  one  of  the 
representative  men  of  Methodism,  and  was  particularlv 
])rominent  during  most  of  the  j)rcsent  period  by  his 
superior  abilities  in  the  pulpits  of  Xew  York  and  Pliila- 
dcljthia.  Like  Wells  and  Pickering,  he  became  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Church  in  New  England,  lived  long 
enough  to  attain  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest 
mi'mber  of  any  Methodist  conference  in  the  western 
hemis))here,  and  only  one  survived  in  the  old  world 
who  had  preceded  him.  He  was  born  in  Caroline 
County,  ]Md.,  February  22,  1763.  His  father  was  an 
f)tticer  in  the  lievolutionarj-  army.  Freeborn  Garrett- 
8on  came  into  the  neighborhood,  as  we  have  seen,  and 


ramtjd  by  T 


,^ //^y&^''/T/^yy.  "(^^^-'^'«'< ' 


Pudlwhed  M  t^^  V^'M^Ai 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         131 

proposed  to  pi'each.  The  soldiers  were  at  that  time 
upon  duty ;  they  were  dra^\'n  up  in  front  of  the  house,  and 
formed  into  a  hollow  square,  while  Garrettson  stood  in 
the  center  and  addressed  them.  During  his  sermon  his 
attention  was  attracted  by  the  thoughtful  asjject  of  a 
boy  leaning  upon  a  gate,  and  apparently  absorbed  in 
the  discourse.  That  boy  became  the  distinguished 
evangelist,  Ezekiel  Cooper. 

He  commenced  his  itinei*ant  ministry  in  1785,  on 
Long  Island  Circuit.  In  1786  he  traveled  East  Jersey 
Circuit.  There  were  then  but  ten  Methodist  preachers  in 
the  entire  state,  and  only  about  twelve  hundred  mem- 
bers ;  but  when  he  died  New  Jersey  had  become  an 
annual  conference,  with  one  hundred  and  forty  preach- 
ers, and  more  than  thirty  thousand  members.  After 
1785  he  traveled  successively  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Baltimore, 
Annapolis,  Md.,  (two  years,)  and  Alexandria,  D.  C, 
Circuits.  We  miss  him  in  the  Minutes  of  1792,  but 
in  1793  he  reappears  in  them  as  presiding  elder  of 
Boston  District,  which  comprehended  the  whole  Meth- 
odist field  in  the  eastern  portion  of  New  England,  talc- 
ing in  the  province  of  Maine,  and  extending  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Providence  River.  Ilis  word  was  in 
great  power,  and  often  characterized  by  profound  theo- 
logical exposition,  such  as  interested  New  England 
taste  by  its  logical  acumen,  while  it  smote  the  con- 
science by  its  hortative  force.  He  left  the  East  in  one 
year,  and  labored  at  Brooklyn  and  New  York.  He 
spent  four  years  in  Philadelphia  and  Wilmington,  two 
at  ea(ih  respectively,  and  in  1799  took  charge  of  the 
book  business  of  the  Church  as  "  editor  and  general 
agent."  His  abilities  for  this  office  were  soon  shown  to 
be  of  the  highest  order.  He  gave  to  the  "  Book  Con- 
cern" that  impulse  and  organization  which  has  rendered 


132  HISTORY    OF    THE 

it  the  lari;e<<t  ])ublisliing  cstal)lishinent  in  the  new 
world.  After  managing  its  interests  with  a(liniral)le 
success  for  six  years,  during  which  its  capital  stock  had 
risen  from  almost  nothing  to  forty-five  thousand  dollars, 
he  resumed  his  itinerant  labors,  and  continued  them  in 
Brooklyn,  New  York  city,  Wilmington,  Del.,  Baltimore, 
etc  ,  for  eight  years,  when  he  located.  He  remained  in 
the  latter  relation  during  eight  years,  when  he  re  entered 
the  effective  ranks,  but  was  soon  afterward  placed  on 
the  sujtiTiiumerary  list  in  the  Philadelphia  Conlerence. 
He  continued,  however,  for  many  years  to  perform  ex- 
tensive service,  traversing  many  circuits,  visiting  the 
Churches,  and  i>art  of  the  time  suj^erintending  a  dis- 
trict. During  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  resided  iu 
Philadelphia. 

His  jtersovial  aji|iiarance  embodied  the  finest  ideal 
of  age,  ii^telligence,  and  trampiil  jiiety.  His  frame 
was  tall  and  slight,  his  locks  white  with  years, 
his  forehead  high  and  ])rominent,  and  his  features  ex- 
pressive of  reflection  and  serenity.  A  wen  had  been 
enlarging  on  his  neck  from  his  childhood,  but  without 
detracting  from  the  peculiarly  elevated  and  character- 
istic expression  of  his  face.  He  was  considered  by  his 
ministerial  associates  a  "living  encyclopaedia"  in  re- 
spect not  only  to  theology,  but  most  other  departments 
of  knowledge,  and  his  large  and  accurate  information 
was  only  surpassed  by  the  range  and  soundness  of  his 
judgment.  He  sustained  a  pre-eminent  position  in  the 
Church  during  most  of  its  history. 

One  of  his  brethren,  who  followed  him  to  the  grave, 
wrote :  "  After  becoming  superannuated  he  labored  ex- 
tensively in  the  work,  preaching  at  camp-meetings, 
quarterly-meetings,  and  other  occasions,  with  great 
p  )wer  and  success.     He  continued  to  preach  occasion- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         133 

ally,  till  near  the  close  of  life,  with  general  acceptability 
and  profit  to  the  peojile.  His  sickness  was  rather  short, 
nor  could  I  learn  that  his  sufferings  were  very  severe. 
When  asked  respecting  his  state  of  mind,  he  invariably 
answered,  '  Calm  and  peaceful.'  On  one  occasion,  after 
having  been  engaged  in  prayer  some  time,  he  broke  out 
in  praise,  and  shouted,  'Halleluiah!  halleluiah!'  for 
about  a  dozen  times.  On  a  subsequent  occasion  his  joy 
was  greatly  ecstatic,  and  he  praised  God  aloud.  For  a 
few  days  before  he  died  he  said  little,  but  was  calm  and 
peaceful,  till  on  Sunday,  the  21st  of  February,  1847,  the 
weary  wheels  of  life  stood  still  at  last,  and  he  sweetly 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  He  was  a  man  of  respectable  con- 
nections, with  a  mind  disciplined  in  early  life,  of  great 
logical  and  argumentative  powers,  fully  stored  by  read- 
ing and  observation,  and  a  most  powerful  antagonist  to 
those  who  would  encounter  him.  In  the  defense  and 
publication  of  truth  he  never  shrank  or  filtered,  and  as 
he  was  a  companion  and  fellow-laborer  with  Jesse  Lee 
in  New  England,  he  was  often  called  upon  to  contend 
against  the  errors  of  the  times  both  in  public  and 
private.  He  fell  in  his  Master's  service,  and  entered 
upon  his  reward,  aged  eighty-four  years,  and  in  the 
sixty-second  of  his  ministry." '  "  He  became  one  of  the 
most  able  pulpit  orators  of  his  day.  At  times  an 
ii'resistible  pathos  accompanied  his  preaching,  and,  in 
the  forest  worship,  audiences  of  ten  thousand  would 
be  so  enchanted  by  his  discourses  that  the  most  pro- 
found attention,  interest,  and  solemnity  prevailed. 
In  public  debate  he  possessed  powers  almost  une- 
qualed,  and  he  seldom  advocated  a  measure  that  did 
not  prevail.  He  always  treated  his  opponents  with 
great  respect,  and  the  preachers  called  him  Lycurgus, 
8  Letter  of  Rev.  Wm.  Livcsev  to  tlie  uutbor. 


134  HISTORY    OF    THE 

from  his  great  knowledge  and  wisdom.  He  became 
very  frugal  and  saving,  which  was  probably  caused  by 
his  long  life  of  celibacy ;  but  this  frugality  did  not  seem 
to  ai-ise  from  an  avaricious  t(|)irit,  for  ho  was  liberal  to 
the  poor,  especially  poor  widows.  His  estate  was 
valued  at  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  part  left  to 
benevolent  objects,  it  is  said,  failed  of  its  good  mis- 
sion in  consequence  of  an  imperfect  codicil.  He  was 
known  as  a  great  angler ;  like  Isaak  Walton,  he  car- 
ried his  fishing-tackle  with  him,  and  was  ever  ready 
to  give  a  reason  for  his  recreation.  liishop  Scott  says 
that  his  walking-cane  was  arranged  for  a  fishing-rod, 
and  he  always  had  on  hand  scriptural  argument  to 
j»rove  that  fishing  was  an  ajtostolical  practice.  On  one 
occaf«ion,  when  he  returned  from  an  <'Xcnrsion  without 
catching  anything,  a  preacher  was  much  disposed  to 
laugh  at  his  j)Oor  success.  '  Xever  mind,'  sai<l  the  rev- 
erend ohl  ani'ler,  'althouirh  I  have  caught  not hin<r,  while 
watching  my  line  I  have  finished  the  outlines  of  one  or 
two  sermons.'  So  his  time  had  not  been  idly  spent. 
He  j)ublished  but  little,  except  his  long  sermons  on  the 
death  of  Bishop  Asbury  and  .lolm  Dickins.  They  are 
biograiiliically  valuable,  but  his  talent  as  a  preacher 
very  evidently  exceeded  his  ability  as  an  author,  lie 
lived  to  see  the  population  of  our  country  nudtiply 
from  three  to  twenty  millions,  and  the  membership  of 
his  Church  increase  from  fifteen  thousand  to  more  than 
a  million.  When  he  entered  the  ministry  (1784)  theie 
were  (»iily  eighty-three  ministers  in  all  the  conferences; 
at  his  death  they  had  increased  to  five  thousand."' 

Jt)hn  M'Claskey's  name  has  repeatedly  appeared  in 
our  narrative.     During  these  times  he   was  leader,  as 
presiding   elder,   of  a   host    of  powerful    men   on    the 
»  "The  Methodist,"  New  York,  June  10,  1866. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         135 

Philadelphia  and  New  Jersey  districts,  the  latter  in- 
eluding  all  the  state  and  a  part  of  that  of  New  York. 
He  also  occupied  the  stations  of  Baltimore  and  Phila- 
delphia at  intervals  of  this  period.  He  was  one  of  the 
Methodistic  apostles  of  his  day.  He  was  born  in  Ire- 
land in  1756,  came  to  America  when  about  sixteen  years 
old,  and  settled  in  Salem,  N.  J.,  was  converted  in  1782, 
and  shortly  after  began  to  exhort,  and,  later,  to  preach 
"  with  uncommon  success."  ^  Full  of  zeal  and  Irish 
ardor,  he  joined  the  itinerant  band  in  1785,  and  the 
next  year  Avas  admitted  to  the  Philadelphia  Conference. 
Down  to  1790  he  labored  in  New  Jersey,  and,  with 
Abbott  and  others,  extended  the  Church  over  most 
of  the  state.  He  continued  to  be  one  of  the  most 
prominent  evangelists  of  the  middle  states  till  1814, 
when  his  health  failed,  and  he  fell,  with  a  triumphant 
death,  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake  District.  His  last 
sermon,  preached  at  Church  Hill,  Queen  Anne  Circuit, 
was  fi-om  Isaiah  Ixi,  1-3,  and  was  peculiarly  solemn 
and  powerful.  After  suifering  severely  he  died  at 
Chestertown,  Md.,  on  the  second  of  September,  1814. 
In  his  last  suiferings  he  was  heard  often  to  sing 

"  Surely  Thou  wilt  not  long  delay; 

I  hear  his  Spirit  cry, 
'  Arise,  my  love,  make  haste  away,  • 

Go,  get  thee  up,  and  die.'  " 

He  held  a  high  rank  among  the  many  gifted  preachers 
which  Ireland  has  given  to  American  Methodism,  and 
was  a  natural  orator,  with  a  fervid  imagination,  a  warm 
heart,  and  a  singular  readiness  of  speech.  "  He  had 
but  to  open  his  mouth,"  says  one  of  his  contempo- 
raries, "and  right  words  and  right  thoughts  flowed 
3  Minutes  of  1815. 


13fi  HISTORY    OF    THE 

forth  unbidden."*  His  enthusiasm  in  the  pulpit  fre- 
quently rose  into  sublime  and  irresistible  power.  His 
voice  had  uncommon  sweetness,  and  he  could  command 
it  as  a  flute  or  a  trumpet.  His  aspect  and  mien  were 
noble.  "  John  M'Claskey,"  says  the  same  authority, 
*'  was  stationed  in  New  York  when  I  joined  the  Con- 
ference, and  it  devolved  upon  him  to  deliver  an  ad- 
dress to  the  young  men  after  they  had  been  examined. 
That  address,  I  well  remember,  aj>peared  to  me  ex- 
ceedinixly  appropriate  and  impressive.  He  dwelt  with 
much  earnestness  on  the  importance  of  adhering  rigidly, 
in  otir  preaching,  to  the  great  truths  of  the  Gosjiel. 
'  You  may  be  temi>ted,'  said  he, '  to  think  that  you  must 
go  on  and  leave  first  principles ;'  and  he  then  related  an 
anecdote  of  one  preacher  having  said  of  another  that  he 
'told  old  Ailam's  story  too  much;'  'but,'  he  added, 
'you  must  not  fail  to  tell  old  Adam's  story;  you  must 
bring  out  the  great  fundamental  doctrine  of  man's  de- 
pravity, or  you  cannot  hope  that  souls  will  be  saved  by 
your  preaching.'  I  was  exceedingly  impressed  on  that 
occasicui  by  his  ])ersfinal  appearance.  He  was  a  very 
large,  portly  man,  of  full  face,  ruddy  complexion,  fine 
countenance,  and  his  raven  black  hair  parted,  and  hung 
down  loosely  upon  his  shoulders.  John  Urodhead, 
Peter  Moriarty,  and  several  other  fine-looking  men 
were  sitting  with  him,  and,  as  I  looked  at  them  with 
no  small  degree  of  admiration,  I  could  not  forbear  to 
say  within  myself  '  With  such  men  we  can  take  the 
world.'  He  was  undoubtedly  regarded  as  among  the 
most  forcible  and  able  preachers  we  had  among  us  in  his 
day.  He  exerted  great  influence  upon  the  general  af- 
fairs of  the  Church.  His  sound  judgment  and  great 
wisdom  rendered  him  an  excellent  counselor,  and  his 
*  Rev.  Dr.  Laban  Clark,  \n  Sprague,  p.  126. 


J 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  137 

uncommon  energy  rarely  failed  to  accomplish  any  pur- 
pose to  which  his  efforts  were  directed."  Like  not  a 
tew  of  the  itinerants  of  that  age,  and  especially  the  Ii-ish 
ones,  he  was  hahitually  genial,  and  addicted  to  humor 
in  spite  of  his  ministerial  toils  and  sufferings,  and  also 
a  constitutional  tendency  to  occasional  depression. 
"  He  knew  how  to  give  and  take  a  joke  as  well  as  any 
other  man," 

Lawrence  M'Combs  began  his  travels  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  period,  a  youth  of  twenty-three  years,  full 
of  strength  and  ardor.  He  was  born  in  Kent  County, 
Del.,  in  1769,  joined  the  Philadelphia  Conference  in 
1792,  and  traveled  Newburgh  Circuit,  which  extended 
from  the  southern  boundary  of  New  York  to  beyond 
Albany,  and,  including  the  whole  range  of  the  Catskill 
Mountains,  stretched  away  into  the  valley  of  the  Wy- 
oming. "His  power  of  physical  endurance,"  remarks 
one  of  his  friends,  "  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that, 
while  traveling  this  immense  field,  he  preached  twice 
nearly  every  day  of  the  week,  and  on  each  Sabbath  either 
three  or  four  times.  To  reach  the  villages  and  little 
settlements  dotting  the  country  his  traveling  was  all 
on  horseback,  and  through  a  region  whose  extensive 
wildernesses  Avere,  for  the  most  part,  the  undisturbed 
abode  of  the  wolf  and  the  panther.  Here  this  intrepid 
young  man  urged  his  way  over  mountains,  and  through 
valleys,  stirring  the  community  wherever  he  came  with 
hymn  and  sermon,  until  the  wilderness  and  solitary 
place  were  made  glad.  His  popularity  became  almost 
unbounded,  and,  from  the  very  commencement  of  his 
ministry,  crowds  attended  his  appointments.  There 
were  few  church  edifices,  and  his  preaching  during  the 
milder  season  was  chiefly  in  the  fields."^  His  subse- 
5  Rev.  Dr.  Kennaday,  in  Sprague,  211. 


138  HISTORY    OF    THE 

qucnt  labors,  for  more  than  forty  years,  were  in  New- 
England  (for  five  years)  and  tlie  middle  states  as  far  as 
Baltimore.  He  became  one  of  "  the  giants  of  those 
days."  "Xo  hostility  conld  intimidate  him  in  the 
course  of  duty,  nor  could  any  provocation  betray  him 
info  petulance  or  resentment.  His  perceptions  were 
quick  and  clear,  and  his  judgment  sober  and  inijiartial. 
He  had  a  fine  imagination,  which,  being  restrained  and 
regulated  by  his  ailmirable  taste,  gave  beauty  and 
warmth  to  all  his  pictures.  His  personal  appearance 
was  very  imposing.  In  stature  he  was  full  six  feet  in 
height,  with  a  finely  developed  fonn,  though  not  corpu- 
lent ;  the  breadth  of  his  chest  indicated  the  juodigious 
strength  which  enabled  him  to  perform  his  almost 
gigantic  labors.  The  general  exj)ression  of  his  counte- 
nance betokened  intelligence,  gentleness,  and  energy, 
while  his  full,  frank  face  was  illumined  by  his  ever- 
kintUing  eye.  His  voice  was  full,  clear,  and  of  great 
flexibility,  sweeping  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest 
tone,  ami  modulated  in  the  most  delicate  manner,  in 
beautiful  harmony  with  his  subject.  In  preaching  in 
the  field,  which  was  his  favorite  arena,  I  used  to  think 
he  was  quite  an  approach  to  Whitefield.  Such  was  his 
known  power  at  camjvmeetings  that  the  announcement 
that  he  was  to  be  present  on  such  an  occasion  would 
draw  a  multitude  of  people  from  great  distances.  I 
have  never  witnessed  such  an  immense  throng  on  any 
other  occasion  as  I  have  known  him  at  such  times  to 
address;  but  those  who  stood  at  the  greatest  distance 
from  him  could  hear  every  word  with  perfect  distinct- 
ness, and  the  most  profound  attention  and  solemnity 
us\ially  pervaded  liis  audience.  M'Combs  was  always 
an  active  an<l  influential  member  of  the  Conference. 
With    the    founders    of   the    Church    he    had    been    in 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  139 

intimate  personal  relations,  having  been  admitted  by 
them  to  the  work  within  eight  years  after  the  Church 
was  organized  ujion  an  episcopal  basis.  Enjoying 
the  fullest  confidence  of  these  men,  and  of  the  first 
bishops,  who  afterward  manifested  their  confidence  in 
him  by  soliciting  his  counsel,  it  was  not  strange  that 
his  opinions  were  regarded  by  his  Conference  with  the 
profoundest  respect.  Many  of  his  most  intimate  friends 
in  the  ministry,  including  Ware  and  Morrell,  had  been 
active  soldiers  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  brought 
a  spirit  of  lieroism  with  them  into  the  ministry,  which 
accorded  well  with  the  spirit  of  his  other  colleagues — 
Garrettson,  Cooper,  and  many  more — who  were  no  less 
intrepid  as  standard-bearers  in  'the  sacred  host  of  God's 
elect.'  Outliving  these  in  effective  service,  M'Combs 
was,  in  some  respects,  the  link  by  which  the  first  and 
third  generations  of  preachers  were  held  together.  He 
therefore  the  more  readily  secured  that  confidence  to 
which  he  was  so  well  entitled  by  his  high  ability,  his 
sterling  integrity,  and  his  manifold  sacrifices  in  aid  of 
the  cause."  ^ 

He  had  his  faults,  however.  A  high  authority  re- 
marks that  "he  was  a  man  of  genial  and  cheerful  spirit, 
and  greatly  enjoyed  society ;  though  there  was  a  tend- 
ency, in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  to  melancholy  and 
impatience.  Nor  was  it  easy  for  him  to  learn  that  les- 
son, which  all  must  learn  who  live  to  old  age, '  He  must 
increase,  but  I  must  decrease.'  As  a  preacher,  he  had 
great  power  over  the  masses.  He  dealt  much  in  con- 
troversy, but  was  not  a  close  thinker,  and  his  style  was 
dififuse,  and  even  wordy.''     As  he  warmed  in  speaking 

» Kennaday. 

'Clark  says,  "A  Frencbnian,  after  bearing  him  preach,  exclaimed 
with  great  enthusiasm,  '  Dat  man's  tongue  is  hung  in  the  middle,  and 


140  HISTORY    OF    THE 

he  had  a  singular  lial>it  of  elevating,  I  think,  his  right 
shoulder  by  sudden  jerks.  He  wore  his  hair  combed 
smoothly  back,  and,  being  long,  it  fell  somewhat  upon 
his  shoulders.  His  countenance  Avas  of  an  open  and 
benevolent  expression.  His  whole  appearance  was  at- 
tractive and  impressive,  suggesting  repose  of  mind, 
sympathy,  self-possession,  and  authority,"^ 

Dr.  Thomas  F.  Sargent  was  also  one  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  ministry  of  these  times.  One  of  his  most  intimate 
itinerant  associates  says:  "His  stature  was  about  six 
feet,  his  figure  portly  and  imposing,  his  features  were 
hanilsome,  and  the  whole  contour  of  his  countenance 
indicated  a  natural  nobility  and  generosity.  He  ap- 
]>eared  like  one  born  to  command.  When  I  was  sta- 
tioned in  Philadelphia,  and  by  circumstances  thrown  a 
good  deal  into  his  company,  I  had  the  means  of 
forming  a  full  apj>reciation  of  his  character,  and  I  have 
seldom  known  a  nobler  or  truer  man,  or  one  more  firm 
in  principle,  frank  in  manners,  or  honorable  in  conduct. 
He  had  a  lofty  sense  of  honor,  and  an  absolute  loathing 
for  everything  mean  or  despicable.  Like  many  men 
combining  such  traits,  with  the  elements  that  con- 
trihute  strength  of  character,  he  sometimes  expressed 
himself  strongly  and  warmly  in  regard  to  anything 
reprehensible.  It  is  not  therefore  to  be  wondered  at 
that  he  sometimes  made  enemies;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  secured  warm  and  enduring  friendships,  for 
his  affections  were  as  strong  as  his  sentiments  were 
noble,  and  his  manners  frank  and  cordial.''^ 

His  sudden  death   in  the  pulpit  startled  the  whole 

goes  at  both  ends.'  The  foreigner  wiis  converted,  and  became  a  Meth- 
odist preacher." 

» Bishop  Scott,  in  Sprague,  p.  214. 

•  Rev.  Dr.  Iloldich  in  Sprague,  p.  261. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  141 

Methodist  public,  for  he  was  generally  known.  "For 
some  weeks  before  the  awful  event,"  writes  his  wife,  "  the 
Lord  was  drawing  him  very  near  to  himself,  and  preparing 
him  for  his  great  change.  He  was  always  kind ;  but  there 
was  now  an  unusual  kindness  and  tenderness  to  the  chil- 
dren and  myself,  and  uncommon  fervor  and  unction  at- 
tended his  prayers  both  in  the  family  and  in  public.  His 
preaching  is  much  talked  of,  especially  his  Chi-istmas 
morning  sermon.  His  prayer  in  the  family  that  morn- 
ing will  never  be  forgotten.  O,  my  dear  children,  let 
us  take  comfort,  and  follow  him,  as  he  followed  Christ ! 
On  Sabbath  morning  he  rose  as  usual,  and  then  break- 
fasted. Just  before  going  to  church  he  observed  that 
his  breakfast  did  not  set  well.  We  went,  however,  and 
Brother  Elliott  preached,  and  your  father  made  the 
concluding  prayer,  which  was  most  comprehensive  and 
delightful.  He  ate  a  very  light  dinner,  and  observed 
that,  as  he  had  to  preach  at  night,  he  would  not  go  out 
in  the  afternoon.  I  went,  and  took  the  four  youngest 
children  with  me.  When  we  returned  he  was  lying  on 
the  sofa.  I  said  to  him,  'Why,  dear,  I  find  you  where 
I  left  you.'  He  replied,  'Yes;  but  I  have  not  been 
here  all  the  time.  I  have  been  prepai-ing  to  preach.  I 
wish  you  would  hurry  coffee;  I  think  it  will  help  my 
head,  which  aches.'  We  soon  had  coffee.  He  drank 
two  cups,  ate  but  little,  and  said,  on  rising  from  the 
table,  '  Don't  hurry  youi'selves ;  I'll  go  on  to  the  meet- 
ing.' " '"  Soon  the  melancholy  tidings  were  brought  to 
the  door  that  he  was  taken  sick  in  the  church.  The 
family  hastened  thither,  but  found  him  stretched  on  a 
pallet,  below  the  pulpit,  dead. 

Thomas  Morrell  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  names  m 
our  early  records,  as  an  able  preacher,  an  itinerant  of 
i»  Letter  to  lier  Son,  Rev.  T.  B.  Sargent. 


142  HISTORY    OF    THE 

long  and  very  general  service,  and  a  traveling  compan- 
ion of  Asburv.  lie  was  bom  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
November  22,  1'747."  Ilis  mother  was  a  member  of 
Embury's  first  class ;  but  the  family  removed  early  to 
Elizabethtown,  X.  J,,  where  there  were  no  Methodists, 
and  joined  the  Presbyterian  Church.  At  the  very  out- 
break of  the  Revolution  young  Morrell  harangued  his 
fellow-youth  of  the  town  on  the  news  from  Lexington 
and  Concord,  formed  a  company  of  volunteers,  and  led 
them  to  the  army.  He  was  honored  by  Congress  with 
commissions  as  captain  and  major.  He  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  V)attle  of  Long  Ishiiid,  and  shared  in 
otlier  liard  service  of  the  war.  Dr.  ^Murray,  a  distin- 
guished Presbyterian  pastor  at  Klizabethtown,  who 
jireaehed  his  Ameral  sermon,  and  learned  liis  history  by 
frequent  conversations  with  him  in  his  hitter  years,  says 
that  "on  flie  fatal  27th  of  August,  177G,  he  and  his 
company  were  in  advance  of  the  main  army  on  the 
Heights  of  Fhitbush,  and  received  the  first  attack  of 
the  British.  As  the  result  of  the  battle,  three  thousand 
freemen  were  either  kiUed,  wounde<l,  or  made  prisoners. 
MorrelPs  company  was  nearly  cut  to  pieces,  but  few  of 
tliein  remaining.  He  himself  lay  wounded  on  the  field, 
having  rt-ceived  a  ball  in  his  right  breast,  which  passed 
through  his  body  about  an  inch  above  his  lungs,  frac- 
turing his  shoulder-blade,  and  a  lighter  wound  in  his 
hand.  As  the  enemy  came  up  in  pursuit  of  the  flying 
Americans,  he  called  to  the  commander  of  the  advanced 
body  to  send  a  man  to  take  him  off,  as  he  was  severely 
wounded  ;  when,  instead  of  assistance,  several  muskets 
were  leveled  and  fired  at  him  in  a  moment.  He  fell, 
feigning  Hmself  dead,  and  they  passed  on.  Shortly 
afterward  he  was  taken  from  the  ground  by  a  young 
"Spraguc,  p.  147. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         148 

volunteer,  and  was  carried  on  a  hurdle  to  New  York, 
and  thence  to  his  father's  house  in  Elizabethtown  by 
six  soldiers,  permitted  by  Washington  himself  to  per- 
ibrm  this  kind  service.  On  the  approach  of  Lord  Corn 
wallis  to  Elizabethtown  he  was  removed  to  New  Provi- 
dence, to  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Elmer,  where, 
by  the  blessing  of  God  accompanying  medical  skill  and 
attention,  he  finally  recovered.  Before  the  wounds 
received  at  Flatbush  were  entirely  healed  there  was 
sent  to  him  a  commission  as  major  of  the  Fourth 
Jersey  Regiment  of  the  Continental  Army,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Ephraim  Martin  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Brearly.  He  accepted  the  appointment,  and  was  out 
through  nearly  the  whole  campaign  of  1777.  On  the 
11th  of  September  of  that  year  he  was  at  the  battle  of 
Brandywine,  one  of  the  hottest  engagements  of  the 
whole  Revolution.  He  belonged  to  the  division  which 
guarded  the  passage  of  Chadsford  with  great  gallantry, 
but  which  eventually  gave  way  under  the  furious  as- 
sault of  Knyphausen.  In  this  engagement  the  regiment 
of  Major  Morrell  suiFered  most  severely.  It  was  on  this 
bloody  day  that  Lafayette  received  the  wound  in  his 
leg  that  sent  him  halting  to  his  grave.  At  this  time 
Major  Morrell's  health  seemed  to  be  rapidly  declining ; 
but  such  was  his  ardor  in  his  country's  cause  that  he 
could  not  bring  himself  to  retire  from  active  duty. 
And,  notwithstanding  his  great  feebleness,  we  find  him, 
on  the  night  of  the  third  of  October,  1777,  marching  to 
the  attack  of  Germantown.  The  attack  commenced  on 
the  morning  of  the  fourth,  at  the  dawn  of  the  day,  and 
the  battle  raged  with  great  violence  nearly  to  its  close. 
Major  Morrell  was  in  the  hottest  of  it.  And,  though 
not  entirely  successful,  this  engagement  gained  for  the 
army  of  Washington  unfading  laurels.     Here  closes  tlie 


L, 


144  HISTORY    OF    THE 

major's  military  career.  His  health  being  now  so  much 
reduced  as  to  disqualify  him  altogether  lor  active  sei-v 
ice,  Washington  reluctantly  gave  his  assent  to  liis 
retirement,  regretting  to  part  with  so  skillful  and  brave 
an  officer.  After  thus  serving  his  country,  amid  perils 
])y  sea  and  by  land,  by  night  and  by  day,  for  nearly 
two  years,  he  retired  to  his  father's  house  in  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  again  engaged  with  him  in  mercantile 
])ursuits."'* 

He  always  retained  the  friendship  of  Washington, 
and  personally  conducted,  as  we  have  noticed,  the  ofhcial 
interview  of  the  Methodist  bishops  with  the  great  first 
president  in  1789,  in  which  the  denomination  was  the 
first  of  American  CJiurches  to  recognize  publicly  the 
new  government. 

Notwithstanding  the  piety  of  his  Methodist  mother, 
Morrell  continued  unconverted  till  about  his  thirty- 
eighth  year,  when  John  Haggcrty,  one  of  the  noted 
itinerants  of  the  time,  entered  Elizabethtown,  and,  in- 
(|uiring  for  a  loclging  place,  was  diiceted  to  the  home  of 
the  Morrells  as  the  only  one  in  which  a  Methodist 
might  find  a  welcome,  for  no  society  had  yet  been 
formed  in  the  town  by  the  denominrition.  Young  Mor- 
rell had  heard  his  muther  relate  wonders  of  the  early 
struggles  and  successes  of  her  people  in  New  York,  and 
the  youth  listened  with  eager  interest  to  the  sermon  of 
Haggerty  under  his  own  father's  roof  "It  was  from 
the  text,  'God  so  loved  the  worhl,'  etc.  He  was 
awakened  under  it,  and  after  a  few  months  was  con- 
verted. The  foundation  of  Methodism  in  Elizabeth 
was  laid  at  that  time,  and  it  continues  still  to  prosper 
there  notwithstanding  formidable  obstacles.  Hag- 
gerty was  the  first  Methodist  ])reacher  Morrell  ever 
"Sprague,  p.  147. 


MKTHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        145 

Iieard.  At  liis  earnest  solicitation,  about  three  months 
after  his  conversion,  the  latter  abandoned  a  lucrative 
business,  '  and  commenced  preaching  in  different  places, 
his  appointments  being  made  by  Haggerty  as  he 
passed  round  the  circuit.'  One  of  his  first  efforts  as  a 
preacher  was  made  '  at  the  house  of  his  uncle,  at  Chat- 
ham, Morris  County,  N.  J.  Having  been  its  officer  in 
the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  for  several  years  sub- 
sequently a  merchant  in  Elizabeth,  he  was  widely 
known,  and  a  very  large  assembly  convened  to  hear 
the  'major'  preach,  especially  as  he  had  joined  the 
sect  everywhere  spoken  against.  This  was  his  third 
or  fourth  effort,  and  was,  by  himself,  deemed  an  utter 
failure.  He  then  concluded  that  he  was  not  called 
of  God  to  preach,  and  would  not  make  the  attempt 
again.  Early  the  ensuing  morning,  while  at  breakfast 
at  his  uncle's,  there  was  a  knock  at  the  door.  A  lady 
entered,  desiring  to  see  the  preacher  of  the  previous 
evening.  In  a  few  moments  another  came,  and  then  an 
old  man  upon  the  same  errand,  all  of  whom  had  been 
awakened  under  the  sermon  deemed  by  him  a  failure. 
They  had  come  to  learn  the  way  of  salvation  more  per- 
fectly. The  doctrine  to  them  was  new,  as  they  had 
been  })rought  up  under  Calvinistic  influences.  He  of 
course  recalled  his  purpose  to  preach  no  more,  and  was 
encouraged  to  go  forward.'^ 

There  were  probably  no  Methodists  in  Chatham  at 
tins  time.  This  successful  "failure"  of  Morrell's  sermon 
founded  its  Church.  The  local  historian  says  that 
very  soon  afterward  there  was  a  society  of  Methodists 
there,  and  some  time  previous  to  1790,  probably  about 
1786  or  1787,  they  projected  a  chapel;  but  their  number 
being  small,  and  their  means  limited,  they  were  led  to 

13  Atkinson's  "  Metliodism  in  New  Jersey,"  p.  318. 
C— 10 


146  HISTORY    OF    TIIK 

accept  a  proposal  made  by  persons  not  members  of  the 
society,  but  who  appeared  friendly,  and  who  ofterod 
to  assist  them  in  building  the  structure,  provided  it 
pliould  be  free  to  all  denominations.  To  this  the 
]Mothodists  consented,  one  person  giving  timber,  an- 
other boards,  etc.,  and  the  house  was  accordingly 
erected.  The  society  held  their  public  services  in  it 
for  a  considerable  time ;  but  in  the  course  of  years 
the  free  enterprise  resulted  in  disputes,  and  at  length 
the  house  was  pulled  down,  lirainerd  Dickinson  was 
the  leader  of  the  first  class,  and  the  chief  man  in  the 
society  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  a  Kevolutionary 
soldier,  and  served  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth.  He 
died  about   1810. 

Haggerty  kept  ^Moircll  hard  at  work  on  the  circuit, 
moving  rapidly  himself,  and  announcing  appointments 
for  the  young  itinerant,  who  folhtwed  fast  after  him. 
He  was  received  by  the  Conference  in  1787,  and  ap- 
])ointed  to  Staten  Island  Circuit,  which  included  his 
native  town.  He  suhserpiently  labored  in  the  cities  of 
New  York,  Philadeli)liia,  Haltimore,  and  Charleston. 
It  was  near  the  end  of  1791  that  he  left  his  station  at 
New  York  to  accompany  Asbury  to  the  South.  His 
experience  as  a  soldier  gave  zest  to  the  a«lventures 
which  he  had  to  share  with  the  bishop  on  this  tour. 
"He  used,"  says  one  of  the  Church  chroniclers,  "to 
relate  an  amusing  anecdote  that  occurred  during  his 
travels  with  the  bishop.  Tea  was  not  as  plenty  then 
as  now,  and  many  families  did  not  use  it,  and  some  who 
were  in  retired  places  had  never  seen  any.  Even  the 
great  Valentine  Cook,  when  he  went  to  Cokesbury 
College,  had  never  seen  any  tea,  and  as  he  looked  a 
little  pale,  some  one  inquired  what  was  the  matter. 
He  said  he  did  not  think  the  hroth   (the  tea)  agreed 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  147 

with  him.  Bishop  Asbury  used  to  carry  it  with  liim  in 
a  paper  in  his  sadclle-bags.  Morrell  and  he  put  up  in  a 
retired  place  as  they  were  on  theii-  journey,  and  as  the 
bishop  was  fatigued,  he  felt  that  a  little  tea  would 
refresh  him,  and,  as  the  family  had  none,  he  took  the 
paper  from  his  saddlebags  and  reached  it  to  the 
woman  of  the  house,  requesting  her  to  make  some  tea. 
When  they  sat  down  to  the  table  she  brought  it  on. 
She  had  boiled  the  whole  of  it,  thrown  away  the  juice, 
and  spread  the  leaves  all  out  on  a  plate,  and  said,  'Help 
yourselves  to  tea.' "  ''' 

Morrell  had  worked  excessively  hard  befoi'e  leaving 
New  York  with  the  bishop ;  when  he  went  there  he 
found  but  three  hundred  members,  and  left  more  than 
six  hundred ;  but  he  had  overtasked  his  strength,  and 
was  now  taken  by  Asbury  to  the  South  to  save  his  life. 
He  was  left  by  the  bishop  at  Charleston,  and  made 
an  effective  stand  against  the  hostility  of  Hammett, 
publishing  an  able  pamphlet  in  reply  to  his  attacks 
on  Asbury  and  Coke.  Coke,  Asbury,  and  Wesley 
became  his  correspondents,  and  he  stood  forth  noAV 
among  the  foremost  men  of  American  Methodism,  occu- 
pying the  most  important  stations  of  the  Church  till 
1804,  when,  his  health  again  failing,  he  was  compelled 
to  retire  to  Elizabethtown,  where,  however,  he  con- 
tinued to  labor  as  a  supernumerary,  "  preaching  as 
often  as  when  he  traveled,"  for  sixteen  years,  and 
building  up  the  denomination  in  all  that  region. 

He  lived  to  an  extreme  age,  Avith  the  veneration  of 
his  fellow-citizens  and  his  Church,  as  a  veteran  both 
of  the  Revolution  and  of  Methodism.  On  the  1st  of 
January,  1838,  he  wrote  in  his  journal  the  grateful 
testimony  of  a  happy  old  man  and  a  trustful  saint. 
"  "Wakeley's  Lost  Chapters,  p.  377. 


14S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"  Throu'^li  the  teinler  mercy  of  God,  I  have  lived  to  see 
the  befrinning  of  another  year,  being  now  ninety  years, 
one  month,  and  nine  days  old — a  longer  i)eri(Kl  than 
any  of  our  family  have  lived.  I  have  many  things  to 
be  thankful  for — ray  life  being  prolonged  to  so  ad- 
vanced an  age,  having  the  faculties  of  my  mind  in  per- 
fect exercise,  my  health  tolerahly  good,  sleep  sound, 
appetite  good,  my  wife  in  health,  my  children  all  relig- 
ious and  in  health,  my  sou  successful  as  a  ]»n'acher,  my 
soul  devoted  to  (iod,  ami  plenty  of  temporal  things. 
WiiiiM  to  (incl  I  was  iiinrc  thankful,  more  holy,  more 
heaver.ly-minded.  This  morning  I  have  devoted  my 
soul  and  body  to  God:  an<l  though  I  am  unal)le  to 
preach  as  formerly,  yet  I  am  endeavoring  by  grace  to 
walk  with  God.  The  Church  here  is  in  a  low  state. 
Lord,  revive  thy  work  in  my  soul,  and  in  our  and  the 
other  Churches,  for  Christ's  sake.     Amen  and  Amen." 

On  the  0th  of  the  following  August  he  died  with  the 
"full  assurance  of  hope."  Shortly  before  expiring  he 
exclaimed,  "Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  and 
shadow  of  death  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  the  Lord  is  with 
me."  "Why  do  you  wee|»?"  he  said  to  his  sobbing 
wife,  "  I  am  going  to  glory ! "  "I  have  gotten  the 
victory,"  he  later  exclaimed,  and  died  faintly  uttering 
"  All  is  well !  " 

Like  most  of  the  early  ^lethodist  preachers,  formed 
on  the  model  of  Wesley  and  Asbury,  he  was  a  man  of 
thoroughly  defined  habits  and  character.  He  was  an 
early  riser,  scruimlously  temperate  and  fnigal,  and 
punctual  to  ])reciseness.  *'  He  never  put  off  the  work 
of  one  day  to  another,  or  of  one  hour  to  another. 
Hence  every  thing  around  him  and  belonging  to  him 
was  in  order.  It  was  also  one  of  his  standing  rules,  to 
owe  no  man  any  thing  but  love ;  and,  at  the  hour  of  his 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCn.         149 

dei^arture,  there  was  not  probably  a  man  living  to 
whom  he  owed  a  penny.  In  his  person  he  was  very 
neat.  He  suffered  nothing  to  come  under  his  eye 
which  he  did  not  scrutinize,  and  from  which  he  did  not 
draw  some  useful  lesson.  He  possessed  great  energy 
and  activity.  He  never  desired  rest  on  this  side  the 
grave.  As  long  as  he  could  ascend  the  pulpit,  he 
preached  the  Gospel.  He  was  always  occupied  Avith 
something;  and  hence,  to  the  very  last,  he  was  cheer- 
ful. He  carried  with  him,  down  to  extreme  old  age, 
the  freshness,  buoyancy,  and  energy  of  youthful  feeling, 
and  the  entire  capability  of  attending  to  all  his  busi- 
ness with  the  utmost  punctuality  and  accuracy.  He 
was  a  pungent,  practical,  and  at  times  a  powerful 
preacher.  And  when  he  denounced  the  wrath  of 
God  against  the  impenitent,  he  did  it  with  an  au- 
thority and  power  which  spread  awe  and  solemnity 
over  the  whole  assembly.  In  feeling,  and  doctrine, 
and  Church  polity,  he  was  a  decided  Methodist ;  but 
toward  other  evangelical  denominations  he  was  as 
liberal  as  the  Gospel  which  he  preached.  He  was,  in 
fine,  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of 
faith.  His  apijearance  was  unique  and  striking.  He 
was  rather  short  in  stature,  but  strongly  built.  His 
neck  was  short,  his  head  not  large,  his  eye  bright  and 
blue,  his  lips  thin,  and  his  whole  appearance  indicative 
of  much  more  than  ordinary  firmness.  He  always 
wore  a  covering  on  his  head,  like  a  smoking  cap,  from 
beneath  which  his  hair  fell  gracefully  on  his  neck.  For 
his  age  his  step  was  quick,  and  his  conversation  viva- 
cious. He  always  appeared  as  if  dressed  for  company. 
He  wore  a  long  frock-coat  buttoned  to  his  chin,  and, 
without  the  least  ostentation,  was  a  man  of  the  old 
school.     His  memory  was  retentive  to  the  last,  and  his 


150  HISTORY    OF    THE 

senses  scerucd  unimpaired  by  years,  so  tlmt,  when  in 
the  humor  of  talking,  he  would  give  the  most  truthful 
and  thrilling  narratives  of  the  various  scenes,  military 
and  missionary,  through  which  he  had  passed.  Up  to 
a  short  time  before  his  death  he  was  not  only  an  inter- 
esting, but  an  amusing  companion,"''" 

Thomas  Ware  was  active  in  the  itinerancy  during 
our  present  period.  After  spending  a  part  of  1792  on 
Staten  Island  Circuit,  then  reaching  far  into  New 
Jersey,  he  was  a])pi>inted  presiding  elder  on  the  Susijue- 
hanna  District,  a  vast  and  rugged  field,  comprising  six 
large  circuits.  Between  two  of  these  circuits,  Flanders 
and  Wyoming,  he  says  "the  way  on  the  Susciuehanna 
was  dreary  enough ;  and  from  thence  to  Tioga  all 
but  impassable,  especially  in  winter.  The  first  time  I 
attempted  this  tour  in  the  winter,  when  I  came  to  the 
mountain  through  which  the  river  passes,  the  road  be- 
ing full  of  ice,  it  was  imi)08sible  to  keep  it;  so  I  had  no 
alternative  but  to  turn  back  and  take  the  ice  in  the 
river.  I  was  afterward  toM  that  it  was  believed  no 
j>erson  had  ever  passed  the  dangerous  defile  in  this  way 
before.  In  several  places  there  were  chasms  in  the  ice 
of  several  feet  in  width  running  nearly  across  the  river, 
occasioned  by  the  water's  falling  until  the  ice,  resting 
upon  the  ridges  of  rocks  underneath,  was  broken. 
Over  these  my  horse  had  to  lea[).  But  a  greater  dan- 
ger arose  from  the  wearing  of  the  ice  l)y  the  current 
below,  so  that  in  some  places  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen. 
Protected  by  a  kind  Providence,  however,  I  passed 
safely  through.  .\t  this  time  none  seemed  to  care  for 
these  poor  people  in  the  wilderness  except  the  Meth- 
odists." 

And  yet  the  self-sacrificing  evangelists  who  Avere 
e  "  Murray,  in  Sprague,  p.  140. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         151 

bringing  to  them  the  Gospel,  had  to  bear  not  only  the 
hardships  of  the  wilderness,  but  no  little  hostility  and 
persecution.  They  broke  their  way  effectively,  how- 
ever, into  all  those  mountainous  regions,  and  have  left 
their  shining  trails  almost  everywhere  among  them. 

In  1793  Ware  took  charge  of  Garrettson's  great  field, 
or,  at  least,  the  northern  part  of  it,  then  called  the 
Albany  District.  It  was,  he  writes,  immensely  large, 
and  the  country  principally  new.  Accommodations  for 
the  preachers  were,  for  the  most  part,  poor,  and  the 
means  of  their  support  extremely  limited.  While  pass- 
ing through  one  of  the  circuits,  soon  after  he  came  on 
the  district,  he  called  at  the  preacher's  house,  who 
happened  at  that  time  to  be  at  home.  It  was  near  noon, 
and  he,  of  course,  must  dine  there.  The  poor  itin- 
erant had  a  wife  and  seven  children;  and  their  bill  of 
fare  was  one  blackberry  pie,  with  rye  crust,  without 
either  butter  or  lard  to  shorten  it.  After  they  had 
dined,  and  Ware  was  about  to  depart,  he  put  a  few 
dollars  into  the  hands  of  his  suffering  brother,  who,  on 
receiving  them,  sat  down  and  wept  so  heartily  that 
Ware  could  not  avoid  weeping  with  him.  "The  Lord 
was  with  us,"  he  adds,  "in  a  very  glorious  manner, 
at  some  of  our  quarterly  meetings,  during  the  first 
quarter ;  and  there  appeared  to  be  a  general  expectation 
that  he  would  do  still  greater  things  for  us  throughout 
the  vast  field  we  had  to  cultivate.  Here,  as  in  Ten- 
nessee, there  were  multitudes  of  people  wholly  destitute 
of  the  Gospel,  until  it  was  brought  to  them  by  the 
Methodists." 

There  were  many  small  settlements  without  any 
religious  provisions  whatever  till  the  itinerants  reached 
them.  They  flew  from  one  to  another,  preaching  con- 
tinually, and  in  our  day  we    see   the  results  of  their  _ 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE 

labors  and  sufferings  in  prosperous  Churches,  studding 
all  the  ''parts  of  four  states"  which,  says  Ware,  were 
"  embraced  in  my  district."  He  had  a  corps  of  indom- 
itable men  under  his  command,  such  as  Hezckiah  C. 
NV coster,  Elijah  Woolsey,  Aaron  Hunt,  James  Cole- 
man, Shadrach  Bostwick,  John  Finnegan,  and  many 
others — men  wlio  couhl  not  fail  to  awaken  a  sensation 
of  public  interest,  favorable  or  hostile,  wherever  they 
appeared.  Through  incredible  labors  and  sufferings 
they  were  now  laying  the  Ijro^d  foundations  of  Mctlio<l- 
ism  along  most  of  the  extent  of  the  Hudson.  "  Here," 
writes  Ware,  "  I  experienced,  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life,  what  Milton  means  by  'joint-racking  rheums.'" 
"  Although  most  of  the  preachers  on  the  district  were 
young  in  years,  or  the  ministry,  or  both,  and  a  heavy 
tide  of  opposition  bore  down  upon  us,  yet  under  the 
direction  of  our  divine  (iuide  we  were  enabled  to  stem 
the  torrent;  and  at  the  end  of  each  year  we  found  that 
we  had  gained  a  little,  and  had  acquired  some  more 
strength  and  skill  to  use  the  weapons  of  our  spiritual 
warfare.  At  some  of  our  quarterly  meetings  the  sacred 
inrtuence  was  so  evidently  present  that  it  neutralized 
all  opj)osition,  and  we  seemed,  as  the  boatman  descend- 
ing the  Mohawk  in  time  of  flood,  to  have  nothing  to  do 
but  to  guide  the  helm." 

We  havealrcady  noticed  the  extraordinary  riseof  Meth- 
odism in  the  Wyoming,  Cumberland,  and  Tioga  regions, 
and  the  outspread  of  the  Hudson  River  District,  by 
(iarrettson  and  Ware's  itinerants,  to  those  then  remote 
iields — the  labors  of  Anning  Owen,  Nathaniel  B.  Mills, 
and  William  Colbert.'^  Ware's  trials  among  the  Tioga 
wilds  were  fully  shared  by  his  associates.  Colbert  set 
out  from  the  General  Conlerence  of  1792  for  this  wil- 
>•  Vol.  ii,  p.  S3?>. 


METIIO])IST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  153 

derness,  confronting  wintry  hardships  most  of  the  way, 
and  arriving  at  Nanticoke,  in  Wyoming  Valley,  hy  the 
second  of  December.  The  next  day  he  writes :  "  This 
morning  set  ofl"  for  Tioga ;  got  to  Lackawanna  in  the 
afternoon,  where  I  fed  my  horse  at  Baldwin's  tavern, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Susquehanna.  I  traveled  on,  think- 
ing that  when  I  got  to  Dalytown  I  would  get  some 
refreshment  for  myself;  but  I  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  wander  into  an  uninhabited  wilderness,  till  the 
gloomy  wings  of  starless  and  moonless  night  began  to 
cover  me.  I  was  miles  from  the  habitation  of  any  human 
being,  in  the  cold  month  of  December,  surrounded  by 
howling,  ravening  wolves  and  greedy  bears.  Inferring 
from  several  chunks  [extinguished  firebrands]  lying  by 
a  brook  that  some  solitary  traveler  must  have  taken  up 
his  lodging  here,  and  that  there  could  be  no  house  near, 
I  turned  my  horse  about  and  measured  back  my  weary 
steps  the  rough  and  solitary  way  I  came.  And  through 
the  merciful  providence  of  God  I  returned  to  the  settle- 
ment and  got  a  night's  quarters  at  one  Scott's,  where 
I  thought  myself  well  off  in  getting  a  little  Indian  bread 
and  butter  for  my  supper.  After  some  religious  con- 
versation, and  prayer  with  the  family,  I  lay  down  in  a 
filthy  cabin  to  take  a  little  rest,  after  a  day  of  hard  toil. 
May  the  Lord  enable  me,  with  true  Christian  patience 
and  magnanimity  of  soul,  to  endure  all  the  hardships 
incident  to  traveling  life  among  the  hideous  mountains 
before  me!"  The  next  day,  being  impatient,  he  says, 
"  to  see  Dalytown,  I  set  out  without  my  breakfast.     But, 

0  perplexing  !  I  missed  my  way  again ;  and  after  travel- 
ing up  a  lofty  mountain  found  the  road  wound  around 
down  the  river,  and  it  brought  me  in  sight  of  the  house 

1  left.  I  then  attempted  to  keep  the  river  side,  but  this 
was  impracticable,  so  I  had  to  turn  back  again,  glad 


154  IIISTORV    OF    THE 

enough  to  get  out  of  the  narrows.  This  morning  break- 
fasted on  a  frozen  turnip,  I  called  at  a  house,  wanting 
something  for  me  and  my  horse ;  hut  the  uncomfortable 
reply,  '  Xo  bread,'  again  was  heard.  However,  here 
I  got  something  for  my  horse,  and  at  a  house  a  little 
distance  off  I  got  something  for  my  almost  half  starved 
self  at  the  moderate  price  of  a  fivepenny  bit.  So 
strengthened  and  refreshed,  I  crossed  a  towering  niount- 
aiii  to  Dalytown,  that  long  desired  place.  But  how  am 
I  mistaken  !  Instead  of  tin<ling  a  tavern  here,  where 
man  ami  horse  might  be  refreshed,  the  ideal  Dalytown 
vanished,  and  the  real  one — a  smoky  log-cal)in  or  two — 
heaved  in  view.  1  lodged  at  old  Mr.  Jones's.  The  old 
Tiian  I  met  by  the  way;  the  old  woman  and  a  girl  were 
at  home.  I  sjtent  the  evening  very  agreeably  with 
them,  reading  the  Life  of  .John  Ilaime.  May  I  never 
murmur  at  a  few  hardships  in  such  a  work  !"" 

The  next  day  he  traveled  on,  sleejting  at  night  in  a 
wretched  cabin,  with  his  head  "in  the  chimney-corner." 
On  the  following  day  he  "set  off,"  e.xclaiming,  "It  is 
really  hard  times  with  me.  I  had  to  sell  one  of  Wes- 
ley's funeral  sermons  for  sixpence  that  I  should  have 
had  elevenpence  for,  to  help  pay  my  reckoning.  I  rode 
six  miles  before  I  got  anything  for  my  poor  horse.  At 
Wij^don's,  at  Meshoppen,  I  called  for  something  for  my 
horse,  and  some  smoky,  dirty  com  was  brought.  But 
as  for  myself,  I  thought  I  would  wait  a  little  longer 
before  I  would  eat  in  such  a  filtliy  place.  I  talked  to  the 
filthy  woman,  who  was  sitting  over  the  ashes  with  three 
or  four  dirty  children  in  the  chimney-comer,  about  the 
salvation  of  her  soul.  She  was  kind ;  she  took  nothing 
for  what  I  had;  so  I  proceeded  on  my  journey,  and 
arrived  at  Gideon  Baldwin's,  the  lowest  [furthest  south] 
•'  Peck's  Methodism,  p.  41. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         155 

house  on  my  Tioga  Circuit.  They  received  me  kindly, 
and  got  me  something  to  eat.  I  have  traveled  over 
hills  and  mountains  without  breakfast  or  dinner." 

He  had  thus  broken  his  way  through  about  twenty- 
five  miles,  over  mountain  barriers,  almost  without 
food,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wyalusing.  He  had  now 
got  fairly  on  his  circuit,  and  bravely  went  through  its 
labors  and  jjrivations,  fording  streams,  living  on  the 
poorest  fare,  preaching  in  cabins,  sometimes  with  "  part 
of  the  congregation  drunk,"  at  others  "  with  children 
about  him  bawling  louder  than  he  could  speak,"  and 
receiving,  for  the  four  months  of  his  toil,  "  three  dollars 
and  fourteen  cents."  Ware  reaches  him  ready  to  share 
his  trials.  "  We  rose  early,"  writes  Colbert,  "  and  got 
into  a  boat  at  New  Sheshequin,  going  down  the  river, 
which  ran  through  the  mountains  at  all  points  of  the 
compass,  till  dark,  when  we  stopped  at  a  cabin  by  the 
river  side.  Here  we  could  get  no  straw  to  sleep  on ; 
however,  Brother  Ware  fixed  himself  on  a  chest,  with  a 
bunch  of  tow  for  his  pillow,  and  I  suppose  thought  him- 
self well  oiF.  For  my  part,  I  had  to  get  the  hay  out  of 
the  boat  for  my  bed,  part  of  which  a  passenger  begged." 
"  Though  the  life  of  a  Methodist  preacher  is  very  labori- 
ous and  fatiguing,"  he  adds,  "  it  is  what  I  glory  in ! " 
Such  are  mere  examples  of  the  primitive  itinerancy  of 
Methodism  in  the  wiVlerness;  but  through  such  strug- 
gles has  come  the  prosperity  of  later  years.  The  Church 
is  now  ineradicably  planted  throughout  most  of  these 
valleys.  Churches,  schools,  comfortable  houses,  all  the 
blessings  of  advanced  Christian  civilization,  enrich  their 
romantic  scenery ;  and  from  them  have  gone  forth  some 
of  the  ablest  preachers  of  the  denomination.  Its  most 
celebrated  American  puljiit  orator,  long  a  laborer  in  its 
institutions  of  learning,  and  a  bishop  in  its  Southern  sec- 


156  HISTORY    OF    THE 

tion,  received  his  first  effective  religious  impressions  at 
one  of  the  humblest  appointments  of  Colbert's  Tioga 
Circuit.'^ 

Colbert  passed  to  the  Wyoming  Circuit,  and  had 
similar,  if  not  as  severe  trials  there.  From  Wyoming 
he  went  to  Northumberland  Circuit.  The  local  Church 
historian  says:  "For  several  months  he  continued  to 
pass  regularly  around  '  Northumberland  and  Wyoming.' 
The  Northumberland  Circuit  at  this  time  seems  to  have 
('nil>ra<e<l  the  whole  cuur.try  from  the  Susquehanna  to 
the  AllcLrhatiy  Mountains,  including  the  Bald  Eagle  and 
Juniata  countries,  Penn's  Valley,  Buffalo  Valley,  and 
the  settlements  on  the  West  Branch,  penetrating  in  the 
wilderness  as  far  north  as  Loyalsocks.  This  was  an 
ample  field,  but  it  was  thoroughly  exj>lored  by  the  hardy 
itinerant,  who  for  his  labor  received  little  or  nothing 
more  of  pecuniary  compensation  than  simple  sustenance. 
And  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  this  toilsome  and 
self-denying  work  literally  'had  no  certain  dwelling- 
place.'  Tliey  no  sooner  had  ibrmed  a  few  acquaintances 
than  they  were  ordere<l  to  another  field — a  few  '  rounds' 
only,  and  they  were  off,  hun<lretls  of  miles,  to  some  new 
and  strange  country."" 

Asbury  ajjpreciated  such  men.  From  not  only  a  sym- 
pathy with  their  sufierings,  but  a  real  relish  for  their 
heroic  kind  of  life,  he  seemed  ever  anxious  to  get  among 
them,  and  in  179:?,  as  we  have  seen,  he  plunged  into 
these  Pennsylvania  valleys  on  his  northward  tour,  ac- 
companied by  some  of  the  nearest  preachers  on  his 
route.  Colbert  exulted  in  the  visit,  "very  much  re- 
joiced to  see  four  ju'eachers  in  this  part  of  the  world." 

»  Biebop  Buscom.    The  place  was  called  "  Captxiin  Clark's,"  and 
was  at  "Old  Slieshequin." 
"  Peck's  Mctbodism,  p.  56. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         157 

Only  about  live  years  had  passed  since  Anning  Owen, 
"  the  blacksmith  "  and  itinerant  preacher,  had  formed 
the  first  Methodist  society  of  that  region  at  Ross  Hill, 
Wyoming.  Methodism  had  fought  its  way  steadily 
from  valley  to  valley.  One  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
members  had  been  reported,  and  two  circuits  organ- 
ized and  supplied  with  itinerants,  who  kept  the  trumpet 
of  the  Gospel  sounding  through  all  the  mountains, 
though,  as  Asbury  wrote  to  Morrell,  from  Wyoming, 
at  this  visit,  "  our  poor  preachers  keep  Lent  a  great 
part  of  the  year  here.  Our  towns  and  cities,  at  least 
our  Conferences,  ought  not  to  let  them  starve."  They 
saved  much  of  the  rude  population  of  that  early  day, 
and  prepared  the  way  for  the  reception  of  new  settlers, 
some  of  whom  came  from  the  older  fields  of  Methodism, 
and  were  fitted  to  fortify  the  incipient  Church.  Thomas 
and  Christian  Bowman  were  examples.  Both  were  local 
preachers ;  the  first  appeared  in  these  regions  in  1*792,  the 
second  in  1793;  and  both  kept  a  "prophet's  chamber" 
for  the  itinerants,  and  opened  their  homes  for  preaching 
till  they  could  build  a  chapel  on  their  own  land.  They 
resided  at  "  River  Creek,"  on  the  Northumberland  Cir- 
cuit, a  place  "  quite  famous  for  Methodism,"  and  whither 
Colbert  always  wended  his  way  with  delight.  The 
itinerant,  on  his  first  visit,  says  he  "  preached  in  the 
woods  to  a  few  people  who  came  out."  A  descendant 
of  the  Bowman  family  writes,  "  that  Christian  Bowman 
had  moved  into  the  neighborhood  from  Northampton 
County,  Pa.,  four  miles  below  the  Water  Gap  on  the 
Delaware,  and,  with  his  family,  located  at  the  place 
here  mentioned.  He  arrived  in  April  previous.  It  was 
almost  an  unbroken  wilderness;  he  was  one  of  the  first 
pioneers.  Here  he  erected  a  tent  as  a  temporary  shelter 
while  preparing  and  gathering  materials  for  the  new 


158  HISTORY    OF    THE 

log-house.  Tliere  was  then  no  house  or  other  building 
in  which  to  preach,  and  Colbert's  sermon,  ])reached 
under  the  tent,  was  the  first  ever  delivered  in  the  neigli- 
burhood."'  Colbert  was  "a  born  pioneer;"  he  could  not 
long  remain  in  any  one  place.  Thornton  Fleming,  a 
similar  evangelist,  came  along  through  these  yet  ob- 
scure wildernesses  as  "ehler,"  and  bound  ou  an  evan- 
gelical exploration  of  the  interior  and  western  parts  of 
New  York,  "the  Lake  country."  C(»lbert  hailed  him 
with  gladness,  and  they  went  onward  rejoicing  and 
preaching  together.  Colbert  thus  becomes  transferred 
temporarily  to  a  new  scene,  and  we  can  trace  him  for 
pome  time  founding  societies  in  that  Vx'.iutiful  and  flour- 
ishing region,  now  the  garden  of  both  the  state  and  the 
Church,  but  then  dottcil  with  a  few  settlements  "scat- 
tered through  the  wilderness,  the  hardy  settlers  sharing 
the  country  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants."  He  gives 
us  glimpses  of  the  country,  which  are  now  surprising. 
"  By  the  time  I  rode  from  Geneva  to  the  ferry  on 
Cayuga  Lake  I  was  very  hungry.  I  stopped  at  the 
house  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake  and  asked  for  some- 
thing to  eat,  but  they  told  me  they  ha<l  no  bread.  A 
pot  of  potatoes  being  on  the  fire,  I  was  glad  to  get  some 
of  them.  But,  to  my  great  satisfaction,  while  I  was 
sitting  by  the  potato  pot  a  man  came  in  with  a  bag  of 
wheat  flour  on  his  back.  I  now  procured  some  bread 
to  eat,  and  some  to  take  with  me,  and  it  was  well  I  did, 
for  when  I  crossed  the  lake  to  Ca|>tain  Harris's,  where 
I  lodged,  and  took  supper,  they  had  no  bread."  "  So  it 
was  then,"  adds  the  chronicler,  "  in  a  country  where  the 
)>eople  now  live  on  the  finest  of  the  wheat,  and  all  have 
an  abundance.  In  1793  bread  was  scarce,  and  in  some 
cases  not  to  be  obtained."  Colbert  returned  ;  but  in 
the  year  1794  we  find  Fleming  commanding  a  district 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH,         159 

with  two  long  circuits,  called  Seneca  and  Tioga. 
Nova  Scotia,  with  its  coi'ps  of  eight  preachers,  is 
also  named  as  pertaining  to  his  district ;  but  the 
relation  of  that  distant  province  to  it  could  have  been 
only  nominal. 

Another  notable  itinerant  appears  in  this  field  in  1794 
and  1 795,  Valentine  Cook,  whom  we  shall  soon  hail  again 
in  the  far  West.  While  Asbury  was  passing  through 
those  valleys  he  wrote  to  Morrell  that  he  "  had  found  a 
vast  body  of  Dutch  there,"  and  wished  him  to  dispatch 
Cook  to  them,  because  he  could  preach  in  their  lan- 
guage. Cook  appeared  upon  the  scene,  in  Wyoming, 
in  the  stormy  month  of  December,  1793,  while  Colbert 
retreated  to  his  former  field  on  the  Western  Shore  of 
Maryland,  but  to  return  again  in  due  time.  Colbert 
had  spent  about  a  year  in  sounding  the  alarm  through 
most  of  the  vast  territory  comprised  within  Tioga, 
Wyoming,  Northumberland,  and  the  lakes,  "  with  the 
greatest  zeal  and  diligence."  His  success  was  not  satis- 
factory to  him ;  but  the  Methodists  of  our  day,  in  all 
these  prosperous  valleys,  should  gratefully  commemo- 
rate him  as  their  chief  founder.  "His  seemed  to  be 
the  work  of  preparing  the  way,  others  entered  into  his 
labors."  ^o 

Valentine  Cook  now  went  over  the  country  rousing 
all  its  settlements.  He  was  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  primitive  Methodist  ministry.  He  was  born  among 
the  western  mountains  of  Virginia,  in  the  "  Greenbriar 
Country,"  now  Monroe  County,  about  1765,  became  a 
famous  hunter,  but,  having  a  mind  of  unusual  vigor, 
devoted  himself  to  study,  as  far  as  his  local  means 
would  admit,  and  acquired  the  Greek  and  Latin  lan- 
guages, and  such  a  knowledge  of  the  German  as  to 
2»  Peck,  p.  73. 


L. 


160  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Speak  and  preach  in  it  with  great  fluency.  A  Metliod- 
ist  itinerant  readied  the  mountains,  and  young  Cook 
was  converted.  Ilis  father  violently  opposed  him,  but 
he  at  last  prevailed,  and  introduced  laniily  worship  into 
the  cabin.  Cokesbury  College  had  been  opened,  and, 
l)y  the  aid  of  his  reconciled  father,  he  made  his  way 
thither  in  178C,  and  studied  <liligently  between  one  and 
two  years.  "  Tlie  habits,"  says  his  biograj^her,  "  which 
ho  there  formed  were  never  abandoned.  He  continued 
to  prosecute  his  literary,  scientific,  and  theological 
studies,  amid  all  the  changes  and  vicissitudes  to  which 
he  was  subjected  throughout  the  whole  period  of  his 
8ubse(iuent  life."  " 

In  1788  he  joined  the  itinerant  ministry,  and  traveled 
expensive  circuits  in  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, until  1703.  In  1794  and  1705  he  had  charge  of 
the  Philadelphia  District.  In  179G  and  1797  he  was 
appointed  to  the  Pittsburgh  District.  In  1798  he  was 
sent  as  a  missionary  to  Kintucky.  Few  men  of  his  day 
had  more  power  in  the  pulpit.  A  godless  hearer  re- 
marked, "that   he  could   listen  to  the  Kcv.  !Mr. 

all  day,  and  sleep  s«uindly  all  the  following  night;"  but 
added,  "I  never  get  a  comfortable  night's  rest  for  at 
least  a  month  after  liearing  Valentine  Cook  j)reach  one 
sermon.  He  always  says  something  that  I  can't  for- 
get." lie  was  once  preaching  on  the  words,  "  liecause 
there  is  wrath,  beware  lest  he  take  thee  away  with  a 
stroke;  then  a  great  ransom  cannot  deliver  thee,"  when 
a  hearer  arose  in  the  congregation,  and  exclaimed, 
under  great  excitement,  "  Stop !  stop  till  I  can  get  out 
of  this  place ! "  Cook  immediately  paused,  and  said, 
"  Let  us  pray  ibr  that  man."     The  man  started  from 

"  Bii>),'raphical  Sketch  of  Rev.  Valentine  Cook,  A.  M.,  liy  licv  Dr, 
SUveiiHou,  i>.  20.     Nushvillc,  18.">8. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         161 

his  place,  but  "just  as  be  reached  the  outskirts  of 
the  assembly  he  sank  to  the  eai*th,  and  began  to  cry- 
aloud  for  .mercy."  Valentine  Cook  literally  preached 
the  Gospel  "  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from 
heaven."  The  historian  of  Methodism  in  these  wilder- 
nesses of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  says,  "  he  had 
the  reputation  of  a  man  of  learning,  and  no  one  doubted 
that  he  was  a  man  of  decided  talents.  His  sermons  took 
the  citadel  of  the  heart  by  storm.  The  people  in  multi- 
tudes flocked  to  hear  him,  and  the  power  of  God  at- 
tended his  preaching  in  a  wonderful  manner.  When 
the  writer  tirst  came  to  Wyoming,  in  1818,  there  were 
many  people  scattered  through  the  circuit  who  were 
converted  by  his  instrumentality,  and  who  regarded 
him  as  almost  an  angel.  There  are  still  lingering  a 
number  who  remember  him  well,  although  most  of 
them  wei'e  mere  children  when  his  powei-ful  voice 
echoed  among  the  valleys  and  mountains  of  Northern 
Pennsylvania  and  Southern  New  York.  Among  the 
anecdotes  which  we  recollect  to  have  heard  of  the 
effects  of  his  powerful  sermons,  was  one  concerning  a 
certain  Presbyterian  deacon.  The  deacon  went  out 
with  the  multitude  to  hear  the  great  Methodist 
preacher.  He  preached  in  a  grove,  and  the  mass  of 
people  waved  and  fell  before  his  tremendous  oratory 
like  the  trees  of  the  forest  before  a  terrible  temj^est. 
The  good  deacon  began  to  feel  nervous ;  he  thought  he 
would  fly,  but  found  his  limbs  not  strong  enough  to 
carry  him  away.  He  held  up  by  a  tree  until  the  ex- 
citement had  in  a  manner  subsided,  and  then  returned 
home,  resolved  fully  never  to  put  himself  in  the  way 
of  such  strange  influences  again.  '  Why,'  said  he  to 
his    good   wife,    'if  I   had    undertaken    to    get    away 

I  should  certainly  have  fallen  my  whole  length  on  the 

C— 11 


162  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ground.'  Under  tlie  impression,  or  pretending  to  be, 
that  a  sort  of  cliann  or  -witchery  attended  Cook's 
preaching,  he  could  never  be  prevailed  upon  to  hear  liini 
again."" 

Methodism  extended  rapidly,  under  the  labors  of  such 
men,  among  the  new  settlements  east  of  the  Cayuga, 
and  between  the  Cayuga  and  Seneca  Lakes.  A  circuit 
was  this  year  formed,  called  aller  the  latter.  In  the 
present  day,  with  the  hardly  surpassed  improvements 
and  intercommunications  of  this  ])art  of  New  York,  we 
can  hardly  credit  the  Methodistic  traditions  of  those 
early  times:  the  poor  fare  of  the  preachers,  the  hard 
struggles  of  the  infant  societies,  the  long  journeys 
through  forests  and  over  streams  and  mountains  (some- 
times on  foot  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles)  to  hear 
Colbert,  Cook,  Fleming,  Brodhead,  Turck,  Smith,  and 
other  itinerants  at  quarterly  meetings,  and  the  vast 
sensation  which  spread  out  from  these  occasions  over 
the  new  country,  stirring  up  the  scattered  population 
to  favor  or  hostility.  A  letter  from  Cook  to  James 
Smith,  one  of  his  preachers,  remains,  in  which  he  says: 
"I  have  now  walked  near  sixty  or  seventy  miles,  and 
am  within  ten  miles  of  the  head  of  the  lakes,  at  Mr. 
Wciburn's,  who,  I  somewhat  expect,  will  lend  me  a 
beast,  as  I  am  obliged  to  leave  my  horse  with  but  small 
hopes  of  his  recovery.  Yesterday  I  walked  upward  of 
thirty  miles  in  mud  and  water,  being  wet  all  day  with- 
out ;  yet  heaven  was  within.  Glory  to  God  !  I  had 
three  tempters  to  encounter,  the  devil,  the  mosquitoes, 
and  my  horse ;  and  the  rain  and  my  wet  clothes  were 
my  element,  and  God  my  comforter,  and  victory  my 
white  horse.  Hitherto,  O  Lord,  hast  thou  been  my 
helper,  and  I  trust  thou  wilt  save  to  the  end.  Brother 
"  Peck,  p.  72. 


...J 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  163 

Fleming  is  to  take  my  appointments  through  Tioga.  I 
mean  to  overtake  him  if  possible,  and  get  him  to  attend 
the  quarterly  meetings  downward  in  my  stead,  and  so 
return  to  the  Lakes  Circuit  in  a  few  weeks,  all  which  I 
shall  have  to  do  afoot  if  I  can't  get  a  horse.  You  can 
fix  your  circuit  as  you  think  best,  but  only  appoint  for 
yourself  till  I  come  myself,  or  send  one.  If  Brother 
Fleming's  horse  should  not  be  recovered  I  shall  have  to 
go  on.  My  trials  are  fuiious,  but  I  am  not  discouraged." 
Our  local  authority  says  that  "his  feiwent  prayers, 
his  powerful  sermons,  his  great  meekness  and  charity, 
and  his  pi'ofound  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  carried 
a  mighty  influence,  and  made  deep  and  abiding  impres- 
sions. All  felt  that  a  great  man  had  made  his  appear- 
ance in  the  humble  garb  of  a  Methodist  preacher.  His 
work  was  to  save  souls.  He  took  no  reward  for  his 
services ;  his  friends  at  the  South  replenished  his  ward- 
robe as  occasion  required.  Having  completed  his  three 
years  of  hard  work  among  the  mountains  and  valleys 
of  the  wild  Susquehanna  and  the  northern  lakes,  he 
recrossed  the  Alleghanies."  ^' 

In  1796  he  took  his  leave  of  the  country  in  a  farewell 
sermon,  at  a  quarterly  meeting  in  Wyoming  Valley. 
It  was  one  of  his  great  occasions.  His  text  was  Acts 
XX,  from  the  iVth  verse  to  the  close  of  the  chapter. 
One  of  his  hearers  pronounced, the  discourse  "the  most 
wonderful  sermon  he  had  ever  heard."  "All  Avere 
melted  down,  and  sighs,  groans,  and  sobs  filled  the 
house.  The  people  wept,  the  i^reacher  wept ;  and  after 
the  sermon  a  hearty  squeeze  of  the  hand  of  the  man  of 
God,  with  a  convulsive  utterance  of  '  Farewell,'  was 
responded  to  in  a  most  dignified,  affectionate  manner 
by  the  preacher.  'Farewell,  brother,  farewell,  sister; 
"  Peck,  p.  89. 


104  HISTORY     OF     THR 

God  bless  you ;  be  fuithful ;  we  shall  meet  in  heaven.' 
The  text  was  applicable.  He  left,  and  they  of  the  val- 
ley saw  his  face  no  more." 

The  ^linutes  of  1796  reported  three  circuits  in  this 
westernmost  region  of  the  Northern  Methodist  field : 
Wyomini;  with  two  liunilrcd  and  twenty-one  members, 
Tioira  with  one  hundred  and  thirty  eight,  Seneca  with 
two  hundred  and  fifteen.  It  was  yet ''  the  day  of  small 
things;"  the  Church  was  feeble  but  the  country  was 
new.  Methodism  was  securing  and  breaking  up  the 
fallow  ground,  and  today  we  witness  the  growth 
of  Ixith  tlrt'  Church  ami  the  country,  "shaking  like 
Lebanon." 

The  denomination  extended  into  many  new  parts  of 
tlnse  Middle  States  iluring  the  present  period.  The  mi- 
gration of  Methndist  families,  especially  (»f  local  preacli- 
ers,  founded  it  in  many  communities  which  it  had  not 
before  reached.  The  itinerants  were  incessantly  rami- 
fying their  circuits  to  new  appointments.  In  the  prin- 
cipal cities  it  was  full  of  vigor.  Philadelphia  ha<l 
reported,  in  1  792,  but  three  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
members;  in  1790  it  reported  five  hun<lred  and  forty- 
four.  New  York  had  advanced  from  six  hundred  and 
forty-one  to  seven  hundred  and  eighty-six.  Its  second 
or  Forsyth-street  Church  was  thronged,  and  it  was 
already  projecting  a  third,  on  Duane-street,  which  was 
begun  in  1797.  Little  impression  had  been  made  on 
Albany,  l)Ut  it  was  surrounded  by  Methodist  labors, 
and  was  the  head  of  a  circuit  which  reported  three 
humlred  and  thirty-seven  members.  Garrettson  had 
dedicated,  in  1791,  a  small  church,  about  thirty-two  by 
forty-four  feet,  in  the  city,  on  the  corner  of  Orange  and 
I'earl  streets,  but  it  did  not  become  a  station  till  179H. 
Meanwhile  ministerial  explorations  were  going  on  in  all 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  165 

the  more  northern  regions.  One  of  the  explorers, 
Richard  Jacobs,  sacrificed  his  life,  in  his  mission,  in 
1796.  He  belonged  to  a  wealthy  congregational  family, 
of  Berkshire  County,  Massachusetts,  which  had  cast 
him  out  and  disinhei'ited  him  at  his  conversion  to  Meth- 
odism. "With  his  young  wife  he  was  thrown  penniless 
upon  the  world."  He  joined  Garrettson's  famous  young 
band  of  northern  pioneers,  and,  in  1796,  left  his  family 
i'-  Clifton  Park,  to  make  an  expedition  as  far  as  Essex 
and  Clinton  Counties,  proclaiming  the  Gospel  among 
the  scattered  settlers  of  that  remote  region.  Many 
were  awakened  and  converted  at  Elizabethtown,  and, 
promising  them  a  pastor,  he  pushed  along  the  western 
shore  of  Lake  Champlain,  preaching  as  he  went,  till, 
joined  by  a  lay  companion,  he  proposed  to  make  his 
way  back  to  his  family,  through  the  Schroon  woods  to 
the  head  of  Lake  George.  For  about  seven  days  the 
two  travelers  were  engulfed  in  the  forests,  suffering 
fearful  privations,  and  struggling  against  almost  insur- 
mountable obstructions.  "  Their  provisions  failed ;  they 
were  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  hunger ;  and,  at  last, 
in  trying  to  ford  the  Schroon  River,  Jacobs  sunk  be- 
neath the  water  and  was  drowned.  All  his  family," 
adds  the  narrator  of  the  sad  event,  "  were  converted, 
three  of  his  sons  became  ministers,  and  two  of  his 
daughters  married  Methodist  preachers."  ^^ 

There  were  about  forty  Methodists  in  the  village 
of  Brooklyn,  the  germ  of  a  rich  harvest;  and  there 
were  now  about  350  on  Long  Island.  Methodism  was 
extending  from  town  to  town  on  this  beautiful  island. 
It  was  introduced,  in  1795,  into  Southhold  in  a  manner 
go  singular  that  tradition  still  commemorates  the  event 
a*^  a  "  si)ecial  providence."  A  devoted  Methodist  woman, 
2*  Parks's  "Troy  Conference  Miscellany,"  p.  35. 


186  HISTORY    OF    THE 

hv  the  name  of  Moore,  had  removed  thither  from  Xew 
York  city,  and,  having  no  f^atisfactory  means  of  grace, 
united  with  two  other  ladies  to  meet  on  Monday  even- 
ings and  pray,  esjH'cially  that  a  faithi'ul  minister  might 
ho  sent  to  them.  On  her  knees,  with  this  supjilication, 
far  into  the  niglit,  the  solitary  Methodist  felt  that 
she  received  an  answer,  which  sermed  to  say,  "I  have 
lieard  their  crj'  and  have  come  down  to  deliver  them." 
She  arose  with  the  assurance  that  He  who  had 
taiujht  her  to  pray  for  daily  bread,  had  heard  this 
infinitely  more  imjwrtant  call.  At  this  very  time  Wil- 
son Let-,  whom  we  have  seen  heralding  the  truth  in  the 
middle,  southern,  and  westeni  states,  had  conveyed  his 
trunks  on  board  a  vessel  at  Xew  London,  Conn.,  for 
Xew  York.  He  had  completed  a  successful  preaching 
tour  in  Xew  England,  but  contrary  winds  detained  him. 
It  is  recorded  that  on  the  night  of  Mrs.  Moore's  prayer 
he  felt  an  unusual  agitation  of  mind,  and  a  strong  im- 
pression that  he  should  hasten  to  Long  Island  and  pro- 
claim his  message  there.  He  could  not  banish  this 
suiTirestion.  He  found  the  next  morning  a  vessel  at  the 
wharf  about  to  leave  for  Southhold,  and  immediately 
departed  in  it.  He  knew  no  one  in  the  place,  but  on 
arrivinix  ami  making  iu'jniry  he  was  directed  to  Mrs. 
Moore's  house.  She  had  never  seen  him,  but  readily 
reeoirnized  him,  by  his  a]>pearance,  as  a  Methodist 
preacher,  and  invited  him  with  the  welcome,  "Thou 
blessed  of  the  Lord,  come  in."  "They  mutually  ox- 
jdained  the  circumstances  which  have  been  briefly 
related,  and  rejoiced  with  exceeding  great  joy.  A  con- 
gregation was  gathered,  and  Lee  preached  to  them 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven.  A  class 
was  soon  formed,  and  Methodism  was  planted  there, 
and  has  continued  until  this  day.     There  was  something 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  167 

very  singular  in  all  this,"  "  From  the  labors  of  good 
Captain  Webb  to  the  present  time,  Methodism  has 
found  a  fertile  soil  on  Long  Island,  yielding  in  our  day 
a  harvest  of  15,000  members,  with  60  pastors. 

At  the  close  of  the  present  period  thei'e  were  in  the 
Middle  States  more  than  11,600  Methodists.  Delaware 
reported  2,228;  Pennsylvania,  3,011;  New  Jersey,  2,351 ; 
New  York,  4,044. 

2'  Wakeley's  Lost  Chapters,  p.  406.    Bangs  also  relates  the  incident 
in  his  History  of  the  Church. 


168  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  yi. 

METHODISM     IN    THE    NORTH,    CONTINUED:     CANADA, 
1792-1796. 

The  Emburys  and  Hecks  In  Canada —  Dunham  and  Losee  —  Dunham's 
Life  and  Character  —  Examples  of  his  Sarcasm  —  First  Quarterly 
Meetinc —  Paul  Heck's  Death  —  Methodism  takes  precedence  of  the 
English  Church  in  the  Province  —  Romantic  Close  of  Losec's  Minis- 
try —  Final  Traces  of  him  —  James  <.'oleman  enters  Canada  --  Sketch 
of  him  —  Elijah  Woolst  y  —  His  early  Trials  —  His  Adventurous  Pas- 
BOge  to  Canada  —  Suirerinirs  and  Successes  there — Sylvaiuis  Keeler 
—  The  First  Native  Methodist  Preacher  in  Canada  —  Reniiniscencos 
of  him  —  Woolsey's  Labors  and  Death  —  Samuel  Coate  —  His  Eeeen- 
Iricitlcs  and  Fall  —  Hezekiah  C.  Wooster's  Extraordinary  Power  — 
Lorenzo  Dow  —  Wooster's  Death  —  Success  in  Canada  —  Statistical 
Strength  of  Middle  and  Northern  Methodism. 

Meanwhile  the  strugtilini;  catise  was  advanoincr  in  still 
more  northern  fields.  We  liave  seen  its  providential 
introduction  into  Canada.  John  Lawrence,  a  devoted 
Methodist,  who  accompanied  Emlmry  from  Ireland,  and 
was  one  of  the  five  persons  in  his  first  congregation  in 
New  York,  married  his  widow,  and  with  the  Ilceks, 
and  others  of  the  society  at  Ashgrove,  left  the  United 
States,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
for  Lower  Canada,  where  they  remained  (mostly  in 
Montreal)  about  eleven  years.  In  1785  they  again  jour- 
neyed into  the  wilderness  and  settled  on  "  Lot  number 
four,  third  Concession,"  of  what  is  now  the  town  of 
Augusta,  in  LTpper  Canada.  Here  their  peculiar  work, 
their  providential  mission,  as  I  have  ventured  to  call 
it,  was  resumed.  They  Merc  still  pioneers  and  founders 
of  Methodism  ;  and  in  the  house  of  John  and  Catharine 
Lawrence  (the  widow  of  Embury)  was  organized  the 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         169 

first  "class"  of  Augusta,  and  Samuel  Embury,  the  son 
of  Philip,  was  its  first  leader.  Paul  and  Barbara  Heck 
were  among  its  first  members,  and  their  three  sons  were 
also  recorded  on  its  roll.  They  were  thus  to  anticipate 
and,  in  part,  prepare  the  way  for  the  Methodist  itiner- 
ancy in  Canada,  as  they  had  at  New  York  city  and  in 
Northern  New  York ;  for  William  Losee,  the  first  regu- 
lar Methodist  pi-eacher  in  the  province,  did  not  enter 
it,  as  has  been  shown,  till  1790.  The  germ  of  Canadian 
Methodism  was  planted  by  these  memorable  families 
five  or  six  years  before  Losee's  arrival.' 

We  have  traced  the  subsequent  progress  of  the 
denomination,  in  Canada,  through  the  labors  of 
Tuppey,  Neal,  M'Cai-ty,  Lyons,  and  Losee,  down  to 
1792.  Losee,  not  being  an  elder,  was  accompanied  to 
the  province  in  the  latter  year  by  Darius  Dunham, 
who  was  competent  to  administer  the  sacraments. 
Dunham  had  been  educated  as  a  physician,  but  had 
abandoned  his  professional  hopes  for  the  life  of  an 
apostle.  He  joined  the  itinerancy  in  1788,  and  was 
enrolled  among  Garrettson's  little  corps  on  the  Upper 
Hudson.  He  was  appointed  to  Shoreham,  on  the  Ver- 
mont side  of  Lake  Champlain.  There  was  no  such 
circuit  at  the  time ;  but  the  youthful  itinerant  was  sent 
out  to  form  one,  a  not  unfrequent  fact  in  those  days. 
In  1 789  he  was  on  Cambridge  Circuit,  which  brought  him 
into  communication  with  Losee,  who  was  traveling  the 
adjacent  circuit,  and  probably  led  him,  at  last,  to  ac- 
company his  fellow-laborer  to  Canada.  He  remained 
in   the  same  appointment  in  1790,  and  was  ordained 

'  "  It  may  be  certainly  reckoned  the  first  Methodisi  class  in  Canada." — 
Platter.  See  "Women  of  Methodism,"  wliei-e  I  correct  some  tj-po- 
graphical  and  other  errors  which  escaped  in  the  account  of  Canada  in 
my  second  volume. 


170  HISTORY    OF    THE 

deacon.  In  these  two  years  he  gathered  into  the 
Church  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  members.  In  1791 
he  was  still  retained  in  the  North,  traveling  Columbia 
Circuit.  In  1792  he  was  ordained  cMer,  and  set  out 
with  Loses  to  the  northwestern  wilds.  He  was  energetic 
in  ])ody,  resolute  in  will,  tenacious  of  his  opinions,  en- 
thusiastic in  zeal,  and  had  "  the  greatest  bass  voice  the 
people  had  ever  heard,"  no  unimportant  qualification 
for  that  borean  region.  He  was  quite  indifferent  to 
the  censures  of  opposers,  rebuked  stei'nly  the  vices  of 
the  gettlei"8,  and  was  soon  in  ''high  repute"  among 
them.'  He  worked  mightily  in  this  hard  field,  the  dif- 
ficulties of  which  he  continued  to  brave,  most  of  the 
time  as  presiding  elder,  down  to  1800,  when  he  located, 
through  domestic  necessities,  and  settled  on  the  Hay  of 
Quinte  as  a  jdiysician,  but  continued  to  preach  till  the 
end  of  his  life.  He  "  was  a  character :  a  man  of  small 
stature,  but  full  of  vigor,  compact,  formidable,  with 
coarse,  bushy  eyebrows,"  and  a  tremendous  voice,  which 
often  sent  trembling  through  his  rude  congregations. 
He  was  ready  in  discourse,  but  singularly  blunt  and 
direct,  sometimes  scathingly  sarcastic,  especially  to 
self-conceited  critics  or  opj)onents.  He  preached  much 
upon  cleanliness,  endeavoring  to  reform  the  negligent 
habits  of  the  frontier  settlers.  "It  was  in  the  Bay 
of  Quinte  country,"  says  our  local  authority,  ''where 
he  lived  so  long  as  a  located  as  well  as  traveling 
preacher,  that  the  greatest  number  of  characteristic 
anecdotes  are  related  of  Dunham.  His  reply  to  a 
magistrate  is  well  known.  A  new-made  'squire' 
bantered  him  before  some  company  about  riding  so 
fine  a  horse,  and  told  him  he  was  very  unlike  his 
humble  Master,  who  was  content  to  ride  on  an  ass 
sPlayter,  p.  41. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         171 

Dunham  responded  with  his  usual  imperturbable  grav- 
ity, and  in  his  usual  heavy  and  measured  tones,  that 
he  agreed  with  him  perfectly,  and  that  he  would  most 
assuredly  imitate  his  Master  in  the  particular  men- 
tioned only  for  the  diiSculty  of  finding  the  animal  re- 
quired, the  government  having  '  made  up  all  the  asses 
into  magistrates  ! '  A  person  of  my  acquaintance  in- 
formed me  that  he  saw  an  infidel,  who  was  a  fallen 
Lutheran  clergyman,  endeavoring  one  night,  while 
Dunham  was  preaching,  to  destroy  the  effect  of  the 
sermon  on  those  around  him  by  turning  the  whole  into 
ridicule.  The  preacher  affected  not  to  notice  him  for  a 
length  of  time,  but  went  on  extolling  the  excellency  of 
Christianity,  and  showing  the  formidable  opposition  it 
had  overcome,  when  all  at  once  he  turned  to  the  spot 
where  the  scoffer  sat,  and,  fixing  his  eyes  upon  him,  the 
old  man  continued, '  Shall  Christianity  and  her  votaries, 
after  having  passed  through  fire  and  water,  after  van- 
quishing the  opposition  of  philosophers  and  priests  and 
kings,  after  all  this,  I  say,  shall  the  servants  of  God,  at 
this  time  of  day,  allow  themselves  to  be  frightened  by 
the  braying  of  an  ass  ? '  The  infidel,  who  had  begun 
to  show  signs  of  uneasiness  from  the  time  the  fearless 
servant  of  God  fixed  his  terribly  searching  eye  upon 
him,  when  he  came  to  the  climax  of  the  interrogation 
was  completely  broken  down,  and  dropped  his  head  in 
evident  confusion." 

He  had  once  a  providential  escape  from  death. 
He  had  aroused  the  anger  of  an  ungodly  man,  whose 
wife  had  been  converted  under  his  ministry.  "  The 
husband  came  to  the  house  where  he  lodged  before 
he  was  up  in  the  morning  and  inquired  for  him.  The 
preacher  made  his  appearance,  pailly  dressed,  when  the 
infuriated  man  made  toward  him,  and  would  have  killed 


172  III  STORY    OF    THE 

him  with  an  ax  with  wliicli  he  had  armed  liimsclf,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  prompt  intervention  of  his  host  and 
hostess,  who  succeeded  in  disannins:  tlie  assailant, 
Dunham's  calm  and  Christian  fidelity,  with  the  hlessir.;^ 
of  God,  moreover,  brought  the  man  to  reason,  to  ])eni- 
tonce,  and  to  prayer  at  once,  and  issued  in  his  conver- 
sion. Ilis  wife  was  no  longer  persecuted,  and  his  house 
became  '  a  lodging  place  for  wayfaring  men.' " ' 

Methodism  thus  sent  hardy  and  brave  men  to  its 
frontier  contiiets,  men  whose  characteristics  had  much 
in  common  with  those  of  the  rude  pojjulation.  Both 
Losee  and  Dunham  were  naturally  fitted  for  this  pioneer 
work. 

Tlie  two  evangelists  arrived  together,  and,  before 
parting,  held  the  first  (juarterly  meeting  of  the  prov- 
ince. Notice  of  the  occasion  was  spread  through  the 
six  townships  of  Losee's  new  circuit,  and  "  on  Saturday, 
September  15,  1792,  might  have  been  seen,  in  Mr.  Par- 
rot's bani,  first  Concession  of  Erncstown,  the  first  Sat- 
urday congregation,  the  first  Church  business  meeting, 
and  the  first  circuit  prayer-meeting.  Darius  Dunham, 
j)reaclier  in  charge  of  the  circuit,  acted  in  the  place  of 
the  presiding  elder."  On  Sunday  the  ])eople,  gathered 
from  afar,  witnessed  the  first  provincial  love-feast,  in 
which  they  welcomed  their  two  missionaries,  breaking 
bread  together  with  joyful  hearts.  "  After  the  love- 
feast  the  Methodists  see  the  broken  bread  and  the  cup, 
ibr  the  first  time,  in  the  hands  of  a  Methodist  preacher, 
who  earnestly  invites  them  to  draw  near  and  ])artake  of 
the  holy  sacrament  to  their  comfort.  A  new  and  solemn 
ordinance  to  them ;  and  then  after  the  members  have 
retired  for  a  few  minutes,  behold  a  crowd  of  people 
pressing  into  the  barn,  tilling  it,  and  a  great  number 
» Carroll's  "  Post  and  Present,"  pp.  172,  175. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  173 

around  the  doors."  The  itinerants  aA^ail  themselves  of 
the  popular  interest,  and  close  the  meeting  with  re- 
jjeated  proclamations  of  the  Gospel,  making  "  a  mem- 
orable day  to  the  people  of  the  Bay  of  Quinte,  tlie  first 
Methodist  quarterly  meeting  held  in  Canada." 

Losee's  circuit  included  Augusta,  the  scene  of  the 
first  class  of  the  pi-ovince,  formed  by  the  Emburys  and 
Hecks.  Barbara  Heck  still  survived  to  receive  him, 
pondering  her  old  German  Bible  in  these  forests,  and 
waiting  for  the  salvation  of  the  peo))le.  Her  husband, 
Paul  Heck,  died  there  this  year,  a  "  faithful  servant  of 
the  Lord,"  an  "  upright,  honest  man,  whose  word  was 
as  good  as  his  bond."  ■* 

Methodism  was  now  completely  organized  in  the 
province,  with  three  circuits,  "  classes,"  "  societies,"  the 
sacraments,  and  all  other  essential  provisions  of  a 
Church.  It  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General 
Conference,  and  the  episcopal  administration  of  Asbury. 
The  denomination  thus  took  actual  precedence  of  the 
English  Church  there,  as  it  had  of  the  organization  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 
It  was  not  till  1793  that  the  British  government,  reserv- 
ing one  seventh  of  the  lands  of  Canada  for  an  ecclesias- 
tical endowment,  sent  out  Dr.  Mountain  as  bishop  of 
Quebec,  with  spiritual  jurisdiction  over  the  province. 
He  found  but  three  or  four  clergymen  of  his  Church  ^ 
dispersed  through  the  immense  territory.  One  of  his 
episcopal  successors  says  that  "  the  western  j^art  of  the 
diocese  presented  a  dreary  waste.  The  people  were 
scattered  over  a  vast  surface,  and  had  the  means  been 
furnished  of  building  churches  and  schools,  there  was 
little  or  no  chance  of  their  being  supported.     In  new 

*  Plaj'ter,  p.  34,  and  letter  of  Rev.  Jobn  Carroll,  Canada,  to  the 
author.  ^  Playter,  p.  40. 


174  HISTORY    OF    THE 

settlements  families  live  of  necessity  far  aj^art ;  they  are 
for  some  years  so  wretchedly  poor  that  they  cannot  dis- 
pense with  the  services  of  their  children  who  are  ahle 
to  work,  and  if  a  church  is  erected,  the  families  are  for 
a  long  time  too  remote,  and  the  roads  too  bad  to  attend. 
Settlers  in  a  wilderness  are  often  found  fjreatly  chanixed 
in  a  few  years.  Living  without  restraint,  and  without 
the  eye  of  those  whom  they  respect,  a  sense  of  decency 
and  roliijinn  frequently  <lisappears.  Here  the  disinclina- 
tion to  holy  things  j)resents  itself  in  all  its  deformity, 
a  distaste  for  divine  worship,  and  neglect  of  everything 
sacred,  and  a  total  estrangement  from  God;  and  al- 
though, from  their  situation,  crimes  against  society  are 
few,  the  heart  becomes  entirely  dead  to  true  piety  and 
virtue,"®  It  devolved  upon  Methodism,  as  ]»recedent 
in  the  field,  in  an  organize<l  form,  to  meet  most  effect u- 
ally  this  exigent  condition  of  the  country.  Its  )»eculiar 
ecclesiastical  api)aratus  fitted  it  to  do  so,  and  it  has 
ever  since  been  out  speeding  the  establishment  in  the 
reformation  and  moral  nurture  of  the  people. 

The  two  itinerants  had  hard  work,  and  many  perils, 
csj)ecially  from  the  sev«rity  of  the  climate;  but  they 
preached  and  traveled  sturdily.  They  could  not  neglect 
their  urgent  work  to  attend  the  distant  Annual  Confer- 
ence, but  they  sent  returns  of  three  hundrcil  and  forty- 
nine  members.  Dunham  had  gained  ninety-four,  Losee 
ninety  where  none  had  before  Ijcen  reported;  extraor- 
dinary success  for  so  dispersed  and  demoralized  a  popu- 
lation. 

No  appointments  appear  in  the  Minutes  for  1703; 
doubtless  a  clerical  omission,  as  the  returns  of  members 
are  given.  Durham  remained  and  took  charge  of  both 
circuits.     Losee  disappeared  forever  from  the  Minutes. 

•  Rev.  Dr.  Strachan's  Funeral  Sermon  on  Bishop  Mountain,  1825. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         175 

It  has  been  supposed  that,  broken  down  by  labor  and 
ill  health,  he  located. "^  We  have  intimations,  however, 
of  a  sadder,  though  more  romantic  cause  of  his  sudden 
retirement.  The  powerful  man,  hardly  yet  thirty  years 
old,  whom  no  labor  or  hostility  could  daunt,  had  an  ex- 
tremely sensitive  soul.  "In  the  family  of  one  of  his 
hearers,  near  the  Napan-ee  River,  where  he  formed  his 
third  society,  was  a  maid  of  no  little  moral  and  personal 
attraction."  He  chose  her  for  his  wife,  but  before  he 
could  obtain  her  hand  another  suitor  stepped  in  and 
bore  her  away,  and  with  her  the  fondest  earthly  hope 
of  liis  life.  The  strong  man  bowed  under  the  burden 
of  his  grief,  and  was  broken  in  both  heart  and  intellect. 
He  remained  in  the  province  till  the  summer  of  1794, 
and  then  returned  to  the  states  hopelessly  disqualified 
for  his  work,  and  his  brethren  quietly  dropped  his  name 
from  the  list  of  appointments.  It  was  an  anomalous  case 
among  them  ;  they  had  no  technical  designation,  no  pre- 
cedent for  it.^  It  is  not  certain  that  his  shaken  intellect 
ever  recovered  its  balance,  but  we  meet  occasional  allu- 
sions to  him  in  our  early  books,  as  an  eccentric  but  faith- 
ful Methodist,  on  Long  Island.  In  1816  he  suddenly  re- 
appeared among  his  old  friends  in  Canada  "  for  the  last 
time.  He  came,"  says  its  Methodist  historian,  "to  dis- 
pose of  his  property  in  Kingston.  He  was  now  a  feeble 
old  man,  with  spare  features  and  his  withered  arm,  but 
still  walking  in  the  way  of  the  Lord.  He  preached  in 
the  chapel,  and  also  in  some  places  on  the  Bay  of 
Quinte.  His  under  jaw  in  speaking  would  fall  a  little. 
60  that  it  was  tied  up  while  preaching.     He  would  yet 

'  Bangs  (Alphabetic  Catalogue,  vol.  4,  App.)  records  him  as  located 
in  1793 ;  hut  he  does  not  so  appear  in  the  Minutes,  nor  do  we  ever  again 
find  him  on  their  record. 

'Plaj'ter's  History  of  Methodism  in  Canada,  p.  43. 


176  IIISTOHY     OF    THE 

ride  on  horseback,  resting  his  weight  on  the  stirrups, 
aud  as  he  rode,  he  balanced  himself  with  his  one  arm, 
liis  body  violently  shaking." 

More  than  a  (quarter  ol'  a  century  after  his  affliction 
in  Canada,  a  preacher  traveling  over  Long  Island 
writes:  "On  Christmas  eve  I  ])reached  at  Carman  llush- 
more's,  from  tlie  words  of  Moses,  Deut.  xviii,  16.  At 
this  place  I  met  with  Father  Losee,  an  old-fashioned 
3Ieth(»dist  preacher.  He  was  confined  to  his.  bed  with 
a  broken  leg,  and  I  preached  in  the  room  where  he  lay. 
After  semion  the  old  gentleman  raised  himself  up  in 
the  bed,  ami  gave  a  word  of  exhortation.  He  was  ex- 
ceedingly deaf,  and  perhaps  could  not  hear  himself, 
unless  he  raised  his  voice  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  as 
I  had  not  raised  mine  much  in  )>reaching,  he  seemed, 
as  I  then  thought,  disposed  to  show  me  how  it  ought 
to  be  done.  With  a  lion-like  voice  he  declaimed 
against  the  vices  and  follies  of  mankind,  and  de- 
uttunced  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  in  no  very  soothing 
terras,  I  had  never  heard  an  old-fashioned  Methodist 
preacher  exhort,  and  I  really  almost  trembled  under  the 
sound  of  his  voice.  Had  St,  Paul  spoken  as  loud  when 
he  addressed  the  people  at  Miletus,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  Eutychus  would  not  have  fallen  into  so 
deep  a  sleep  as  he  did."^  The  primitive  fire  evidently 
glowed  still  in  the  shattered  old  man.  ^lany  a  tradition 
lingers  yet  in  Canada  of  the  power  of  his  exhortations, 
especially  of  his  rebukes  to  gross  sinners.  A  hardened 
opponent  endeavored  to  interrupt  the  worship  of  one  of 
his  congregations,  when  he  singled  him  out  from  the 
throng  and  poured  upon  him  the  blast  of  his  clarion  like 
voice.  "On  which  the  power  of  God  struck  him  to  the 
floor,  where  he  lay  several  hours  struggling  In  con- 
•  Rev.  Geo.  Coles's  "Seven  Years  in  America,"  p.  33. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         177 

vulsive  agony  ;  and  did  not  rise  till  he  rejoiced  in  the 
God  of  his  salvation.  And  although  he  was  a  young 
man  of  no  education,  he  continued  steadfast  till  the  end 
of  a  long  life ;  was  always  characterized  by  unusual  zeal 
in  the  service  of  his  Master,  and  became  mighty  in 
prayer  and  exhortation."  The  reclaimed  young  man 
was  long  afterward  known  "  to  hundreds  in  Matilda  and 
the  neighboring  townships,"  as  Joseph  Brouse,  a  faithful 
representative  of  primitive  Methodism.'" 

If  he  did  not  fully  recover  his  mind,  he  at  least  so 
far  recovered  his  heart  as  to  marry  into  the  family  of 
the  Rushmores,  (a  name  honorable  in  Methodism,)  and 
enjoying  a  comfortable,  though  infirm  old  age,  died  in 
peace,  and  sleeps  in  the  burial  ground  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  at  Hempstead,  Long  Island.  Such 
are  our  few  last  traces  of  this  first  itinerant  and  chief 
founder  of  Methodism  in  Canada.  When  we  remind 
ourselves-of  the  subsequent  growth  of  the  denomination 
through  all  that  important  country,  its  actual  predom- 
inance, and  prospective  history,  as  the  leading  religious 
community  among  a  people  evidently  destined  to  be 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  powerful  of  the  conti- 
nent, it  may  not  be  a  mere  fancy  if  we  venture  to  pre- 
dict a  time  when  this  heroic  but  afflicted  veteran  will 
be  commemorated  there  with  that  veneration  with 
which  some  of  the  lowliest  men  have  been  honored  in 
ecclesiastical  history,  by  whole  peoples  or  great  states, 
i!S  their  apostles  or  religious  founders. 

In  1794  Dunham  was  appointed  the  first  presiding 
older  of  Canada,  and  two  young  itinerant  recruits, 
James  Coleman  and  Elijah  Woolsey,  hastened  to  his 
Bolitary  standard. 

James  Coleman  was  born  in  Black  River  township, 

1"  Rev.  John  Carroll's  "Past  and  Present,"  p.  171. 

C— 12 


178  HISTORY    OF    THE 

N.  J.,  October  30,  1T6G.  In  17 77  he  removed  with  his 
parents  across  the  Alleixhanies,  and  settled  on  the 
Mononijahela  River.  This  was  then  a  remote  region, 
quite  beyond  the  religious  provisions  of  the  times.  He 
grew  up,  therefore,  in  ignorance  and  vice.  According 
to  his  own  statements,  his  religious  knowledge  was  ex- 
ceedingly deficient,  consisting  in  little  more  than  some 
general  ideas  of  the  ])rovidence  of  God  and  the  doctrine 
of  Predestination,  derived  from  his  parents,  who  had 
been  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Young  Cole- 
man heard  the  itinerant  evangelists  who  first  reached 
that  frontier;  he  was  awakened  and  converted,  but 
through  persecutions  and  the  lack  of  more  regular  means 
of  grace,  he  lost  his  religious  peace.  Anxious  for  some- 
thing to  appease  his  conscience  he  returned  to  his  former 
habits,  and  comforted  himself  with  the  persuasion  that 
he  was  one  of  God's  elect,  and  therefore  secure,  whatever 
might  be  the  moral  character  of  his  life ;  the  result  was, 
increased  carelessness,  and,  at  last,  habits  of  dissipation. 
God  hail,  however,  an  important  work  for  him,  and  did 
not  alcindon  him  utterly ;  he  was  afflicted  with  danger- 
ous illness,  reclaimed  from  his  vices,  and  soon  afterward 
join('<l  the  Methodists.  He  was  licensed  as  an  exhorter, 
and  felt  that  a  dispensation  of  the  gosj)el  was  committed 
to  him.  About  this  time  he  was  drafted  to  serve  in  a 
war  with  the  In<lians,  but  believing  that  he  was  called 
to  a  higher  warfare,  he  refused  to  comply,  and  mean- 
time was  licensed  to  preach.  On  informing  his  captain 
of  his  determination,  he  was  told  that  "he  might  go 
and  preach  in  the  army ;"  subsequently,  an  officer  and 
several  men  were  sent  to  seize  him.  They  found  him 
preaching,  and  were  so  affected  by  his  word  that  they 
left  him  without  further  molestation.  In  17fll  he  joined 
the  itinerant   ranks,   and    was    app  »inted    colleague  of 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  1.79 

Daniel  Fidler,  on  Redstone  Circuit."  The  next  year 
he  was  sent  to  New  England,  and  traveled  Litchfield 
Circuit;  and  in  1793  that  of  Fairfield.  The  following 
year  he  passes,  with  one  of  those  transitions  which  were 
characterictic  of  the  itinerancy  at  that  date,  to  Upper 
Canada.  His  labors,  privations,  and  perils  there  were 
such  as  fell  to  the  lot  of  but  few,  even  of  the  itineiants 
of  that  day.-''  He  continued  in  the  new  and  laborious 
field  till  1800,  when  he  returned  to  New  England, 
and  laboi-ed  on  Middletown  Circuit,  Conn.  He  sub- 
sequently traveled  Fletcher,  Vt. ;  Redding,  Conn.  ; 
Duchess,  N.  Y. ;  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y. ;  Long  Island  ; 
Croton,  N.  Y. ;  Newburgh,  N.  Y. ;  and  New  Windsor, 
N.  Y.,  Circuits  till  1810,  when  he  was  returned  super- 
numerary. But  tlie  next  year  he  re-entered  the  elFective 
service,  and  was  appointed  to  Litchfield  Circuit,  Conn., 
which  he  traveled  during  two  years,  and  then  passed  to 
Stratford,  Conn.  In  1814  his  name  was  entered  on  the 
"superannuated"  list  of  the  New  York  Conference, 
where  it  continued  till  1821,  when  he  again  traveled 
Stratford  Circuit.  The  next  year  he  was  among  the  "  su- 
pernumeraries," but  had  charge  of  Ridgefield  Circuit, 
Conn.  In  the  following  year  he  entered  the  lists  of  the 
"  superanniiated,  or  worn-out "  preachers,  and  continued 
there  the  remainder  of  his  life,  whicli  terminated  at 
Ridgefield,  Fairfield  County,  Conn.,  on  the  5th  day  of 
February,  1842,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age. 
His  labors  were  energetic  and  successful.  On  his  route 
to,  and  in  his  travels  in  Canada,  he  surmounted  the 
severest  hardships.  Once,  while  passing  up  the  Mo- 
hawk River  in  company  with  two  others,  he  was  obliged 
to  go  on  shore  fifteen  nights  in  succession,  and  kindle  a 

»  Not  "  Ohio,"  as  the  obituary  in  the  Minutes  of  1841-42  states. 
"See  "Woolsey's  Supernumerary,"  etc. 


180  HISTOKY    OF    THE 

firo  to  keip  oft'  the  wild  beasts;  and  his  food  failing,  he 
-was  rcdnced  to  a  single  cracker  per  day.  Yet  such  was 
his  zeal  that  nti  privations  or  difticulties  could  arrest  him 
or  even  damp  his  ardor.  ''  Though  his  abilities  were  not 
great,"  say  his  brethren,  "yet  such  was  the  peculiar  im- 
pression that  attended  his  prayers,  so  entirely  was  he  a 
man  of  one  business,  that  no  inconsiderable  success 
attended  his  efforts,  and  his  crown  in  heaven  is  set  with 
many  stars,  and  some  of  the  first  magnitude."  '^ 

Elijah  Woolsey,  Coleman's  companion,  was  born  in 
1772.'*  The  Methodist  itinerants  came  to  the  locality 
where  he  spent  his  youth,  and  stopped  at  his  father's 
house;  on  leaving  they  "used  to  take  us,"  he  says, 
"  by  the  hand,  and  exhort  us  to  seek  the  Lord  ;  this 
affected  me  much."  A  beloved  sister  was  converted 
and  became  a  Methodist.  "  Her  exemplary  life,"  he 
writes,  "frequently  awakened  me  to  a  sense  of  my 
dutv.  Sometimes  I  used  to  fin<l  her  in  the  woods 
(»n  her  knees  at  the  break  of  day.  I  used  to  say  to 
ravselt",  'She  is  now  conversing  with  her  God;  but, 
alas  for  me,  I  am  a  poor  sinner!'  I  never  attended  the 
preachinir  of  the  Methodists,  except  the  first  time,  with- 
out feeling  conviction,  and  I  must  say  that  no  jtrcaching 
seemed  to  me  like  theirs."  lie  was  soon  himself  a  con- 
verted man  and  an  ardent  Methodist,  holding  meetings 
and  exhorting  zealously  among  his  neighbors.  In  1702 
he  and  his  brother  began  to  itinerate  under  Garrettson. 
He  was  immediately  initiated  into  the  stem  work  of 
the  ministry.  "In  my  new  circuit,"  he  says,  "I  met 
with  hanl  fare  and  many  trials.  The  country  was 
thinly  inhabited.  In  some  places  there  were  no  regular 
roads.     We  followed  marked   trees  for  eight  or  nine 

"Minutes  of  1841-i2. 

««  "The  Supernumerary,"  p.  5;  he  does  not  say  where. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  181 

miles  together.  Provisions  were  scarce,  and  of  tiie 
homeliest  kind.  In  some  instances  our  greatest  luxuries 
were  roasted  potatoes.  But,  thank  God !  w^e  did  not  stay 
long  at  each  place.  Our  a})pointments  for  preaching 
Avere  numerous,  and  the  distances  between  them  very 
considerable.  Sometimes  I  had  no  bed  to  lie  on,  nor 
blanket  to  cover  me  in  the  coldest  weather.  My  sad- 
dle-bags were  my  pillow,  and  my  greatcoat  my  '  com- 
fortable.' The  consequence  was  repeated  and  violent 
colds,  which  laid  the  foundation  for  those  infirmities 
which  have  for  the  last  two  years  made  me  '  a  suj^er- 
numerary.'  Notwithstanding,  however,  the  hard  toils 
and  the  hard  fare  of  my  first  winter's  appointment, 
I  saw  good  times  in  another  respect,  and  formed  some 
new  classes  within  the  bounds  of  the  circuit,  and  added 
to  the  Church  eighty-eight  hopeful  members."  In 
1793  he  was  received  on  probation  by  the  conference, 
and  at  its  next  session  joined  Dunham  and  Coleman  for 
Canada.  "We  are  indebted  to  him  for  our  only  record 
of  the  adventurous  expedition,  presenting  a  curious  con- 
trast with  modern  travel  through  the  same  region,  now 
hardly  rivaled  on  the  face  of  the  earth  in  the  conven- 
ience of  its  internal  communications.  They  set  out  im- 
mediately after  the  Conference  by  the  way  of  Albany  and 
Schenectady.  At  Albany  they  laid  in  their  provisions 
for  the  journey.  When  they  came  to  Schenectady  they 
found  that  the  company  with  whom  they  had  intended 
to  go  had  already  departed ;  so  they  tarried  a  week, 
and  provided  themselves  with  a  boat.  They  had  to  work 
their  own  passage.  "  When  we  came  to  the  first  rapids," 
says  Woolsey,  "  which  by  the  Dutch  people  are  called 
'  knock  'em  stiff,'  we  had  our  difficulties.  I  had  never 
used  the  setting  pole  in  my  life,  and  my  colleague,  Cole- 
man, was  not  a  very  good  waterman.     When  we  had 


182  HISTOUV    OF    THE 

almost  ascended  tlie  rapids  the  Ijoat  turned  round,  and 
down  the  stream  she  went,  much  more  rapidly  than  she 
went  up.  We  tried  again,  and  when  we  had  almost 
(•un(iuered  the  difticulty  the  boat  turned  again.  I  imme- 
diately jumped  overboard,  thinking  to  save  it  from  going 
down  stream ;  but  the  water  was  over  my  head.  So 
away  went  the  boat,  with  my  comj)anions  in  it,  and 
I  swam  to  shore.  The  next  time  we  '  doubled  the  cape,' 
and  that  day  made  a  voyage  often  miles.  At  night  we 
brought  up  the  bout,  aud  made  her  fast  to  a  tree.  We 
then  kindled  a  fire,  put  on  the  tea-kettle  and  the  cook- 
ing-pot, boiled  our  potatoes,  made  our  tea,  and  ate  our 
supper  with  a  good  appetite  and  a  clear  conscience; 
anil  after  smoking  our  pipes  and  chatting  a  while  we 
sung  and  prayed,  and  then  laid  ourselves  down  among 
the  sand  and  pebbles  on  the  bank  ol"  the  river  to  rest; 
but  I  was  so  wearied  with  tlie  toils  of  the  day  that 
I  could  not  sleep  much  that  night."  The  next  day,  by 
(lawn,  they  were  again  on  the  way,  Dunham  at  the 
helm,  Coleman  and  Woolsey  at  the  oars;  they  made 
forty  miles  by  sunset.  "  We  put  ashore,"  continues 
Woolsey,  '*as  on  the  preceding  night,  collected  leaves 
liigelher,  and  made  our  couch  as  comfortable  as 
we  could,  for  we  had  no  other  place  for  that  time 
whereon  to  lay  our  heads,  being  in  some  sense  like  the 
patriarch  of  old,  when  he  was  on  his  way  to  Padan- 
aram.  Our  toil  by  day  made  repose  welcome  at  night, 
so  that  when  the  morning  light  appeared  we  were  rather 
loath  to  leave  our  humble  beds.  The  weather,  how- 
ever, warned  us  to  depart.  It  became  stonny  by  day, 
and  much  more  so  by  night.  We  had  rain  and  snow 
titU-en  days  out  of  nineteen  during  that  journey.  When 
we  were  going  down  the  Oswego  Hiver  two  men  hailed 
us  from  the  shore,  and  desired  to  work  their  passage 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  183 

about  twenty  miles.  It  was  very  stormy ;  I  was  very 
weary,  and  glad  to  rest  a  little;  so  we  took  them  in, 
and  I  took  the  helm ;  but  being  warm  with  work,  and 
then  sitting  still  in  the  boat,  I  took  a  violent  cold.  To- 
ward evening  we  saw  a  small  log-house,  and  went  to  it. 
We  found  the  woman  sick  in  bed,  and  the  man  in  poor 
health.  They  had  three  children,  and  but  very  little  to 
eat.  Here  we  lodged  all  night.  I  laid  me  down  on  the 
stones  of  the  floor,  which  were  very  hard  and  uneven, 
but  we  kept  a  good  fire  all  night,  and  I  got  into  a  per- 
spiration, which  relieved  me  of  my  cold  a  little,  so  that 
in  the  morning  I  felt  much  better  than  on  the  preceding 
night.  Brother  Dunham  being  a  physician,  administered 
some  medicine  to  the  woman,  which  greatly  relieved 
her.  She  appeared  to  be  pious,  and  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  but  said  she  had  never  seen  a 
Methodist  before.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  and  edify- 
ing interview  with  the  family,  that  evening,  in  religious 
conversation,  singing,  and  prayer.  When  we  dis- 
covered that  they  were  so  destitute  of  provisions,  we 
divided  our  little  stock,  and  shared  with  them  of  all  that 
we  had.  They  appeared  equally  surprised  and  thanful. 
They  wished  that  we  would  tell  any  of  our  Methodist 
friends,  who  might  have  to  travel  that  way,  to  be  sure 
and  call  on  them.  They  desired  us  also,  if  we  ever  came 
within  forty  miles  of  them,  to  be  sure  and  go  that  dis- 
tance at  least  out  of  our  way  to  see  them,  telling  us  that 
we  should  be  welcome  to  anything  that  the  house  or  farm 
afforded.  The  house,  however,  was  not  likely  to  afford 
much,  and  there  was  scarcely  anything  ou  the  farm  but 
forest  trees.  This  was  the  only  time,  during  our  journey 
of  nineteen  days,  that  we  found  a  house  to  shelter  us  ; 
and  it  was  good  for  that  family  that  they  entertained 
the  strangers.    They  must  have  suffered  greatly  had  we 


184  HISTORY    OF    THE 

not  called  on  them."  This  laniily  became  serviceable 
to  the  piljjrim  evangelists  ami  their  associates  in  later 
times.  "At  night,"  continues  the  traveler,  "T  have 
often  hunted  for  a  stone  or  a  stick  for  a  ])illow,  and  in 
the  morning  when  I  took  hold  of  the  oar  or  setting-pole 
I  had  to  do  it  as  gently  as  I  couM,  by  reason  of  the 
soreness  of  my  han<ls,  which  were  much  blistered  and 
bruised  in  rowing  the  boat.  We  attended  to  family 
worship  both  niirlit  and  morning,  although  we  slept  in 
the  woods,  and  the  presence  of  the  Lord  was  with  us  of 
a  truth." 

They  reached  the  port  of  Oswego,  on  Lake  Ontario, 
and  prepared  to  launch  out  tii)on  the  great  water. 
After  workimx  tlifir  way  for  twenty  miles  a  furious 
Btonn  arose,  and  they  had  to  steer  for  "the  Black  IJiver 
countrv."  The  "  waves  dashe<l  terribly,"  and  before  they 
reached  the  shore  they  struck  a  rock,  which  split  the 
boat.  They  were  in  peril,  but  escajted  with  the  wetting 
of  their  Itooks,  their  most  precious  treasure.  When 
they  went  ashore  they  made  a  fire,  dried  their  baggage, 
and  mended  the  boat  as  well  as  they  could.  The  next 
day  thev  embarked  again  on  the  lake,  but  the  wind  was 
directly  ahead,  and  c(»mi>elleil  them  to  turn  their  course. 
They  made  for  Salmon  Kiver,  where  they  put  in  for  that 
dav ;  and  early  next  morning  started  again,  and  jmlled 
at  the  oars  till  daylight  di8api)eared  in  the  west.  They 
went  round  Stony  Point  into  Hungary  Bay,  and  landed 
on  Grenadier  Island.  When  they  struck  the  shore  Wool- 
sev  sprang  out  of  the  boat  and  fell  exhausted  on  the  beach. 
"  I  never,"  he  says,  "  knew  rest  to  be  so  sweet  before. 
But  it  would  not  do  to  sit  still ;  therefore  we  kindled  a 
fire,  hung  on  the  tea-kettle,  cooked  some  victuals,  ate 
our  supper,  attended  family  worship,  and  retired  to  rest. 
Our  weariness  invited  repose,  nor  did  the  murmur  of 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  185 

the  waves  disturb  our  slumbers ;  and  besides,  we  had 
that  very  necessary  requisite  to  sound  sleep  recom- 
mended by  Dr,  Franklin,  namely,  a  good  conscience.^^ 
This  island  is  in  the  mouth  of  Hungary  Bay,  and  is 
subject  to  high  winds.  They  were  detained  there  until 
they  were  reduced  to  an  allowance  of  bread,  having 
only  one  biscuit  a  day.  He  would  have  given  con- 
siderable, he  says,  for  a  piece  of  bread  as  big  as  his 
hand  if  he  could  have  obtained  it ;  but  they  were  afraid 
of  making  too  free  with  their  little  stock,  lest  it  should 
not  last  until  they  could  get  from  the  island.  They  ate 
their  last  biscuit  about  the  middle  of  the  day  they  left 
the  island,  and  got  into  harbor  on  the  main  land  about 
eleven  o'clock  at  night,  where  they  put  up  at  the  house 
of  their  friend.  Captain  Parrott.  He  and  his  wife 
were  members  of  the  Church,  and  received  them  very 
kindly.  She  hastened  to  make  supper  ready,  "but  it 
was  as  much  as  I  could  do,"  adds  Woolsey,  "to  keep 
my  hands  from  the  bread  until  all  was  ready.  We 
took  care  not  to  eat  too  much  that  night,  fearing  it 
might  not  be  so  well  for  us.  We  retired  to  rest  on 
feather  beds,  but  it  was  a  restless  night  to  us  all. 
Brother  Coleman  had  a  mind  to  leave  the  bed  and  take 
to  the  floor,  but  I  told  him  we  must  get  used  to  it ;  so 
he  submitted.  But  our  slumbers  were  not  half  so  sweet 
as  on  the  sandy  beach  and  pebbled  shore,  when  we  were 
rocked  by  the  wind,  and  lulled  by  the  rippling  wave." 
Methodists  of  Canada  may  well  rehearse  the  story 
of  the  self-sacrificing  pioneers  of  the  Gospel,  who 
thus  brought  to  their  land  those  blessings  of  Chris- 
tianity which  have  since  rendered  their  country  a 
garden  of  the  Lord.  The  itinerants  hastened  to  sepa- 
rate aad  proclaim  their  message  through  the  scattered 
settlements — Dunham  to  Niagara  Circuit,  Coleman  to 


186  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  Bay  of  Quinte,  Woolsey  to  Oswegotbe.  They  were 
too  far  apart  to  meet  often ;  but  they  longed  for  such 
rare  interviews  and  mutual  support,  and  when  they  did 
occur  they  were  high  festivals.  "The  distance,"  says 
Woolsey,  "  was  sixty  or  seventy  miles,  and  a  great  part 
of  the  way  I  had  to  travel  hy  the  help  of  marked  trees 
instead  of  roads.  One  day  I  was  lost  in  the  woods,  and 
wandered  about  for  some  time,  and  being  on  foot  I  tore 
my  clothes  very  much  with  the  brushwood.  But  I  got 
safely  through  at  last,  and  our  meeting  was  more  joyful 
than  if  either  of  us  had  found  a  purse  of  gold." 

The  itinerants  were  received  as  angels  from  God  by 
the  jieople,  so  long  dt-stitute  of  the  ordinances  of  re- 
ligion. Woolsey,  full  of  geniality  and  fervor,  was 
especially  "popular."  Crowds  gathered  from  great  dis- 
tances to  his  appointments,  in  houses  and  cabins,  but 
he  became  alarmed  under  their  plaudits,  for  no  imme- 
diate fruit  appeared.  "  My  soul,"  he  says,  "  was  in  great 
distress,  for  I  feared  lest  it  shouM  be  found  that  1  had 
'daubed  with  untempered  mortar.'  I  wanted  to  have 
the  people  blessed,  and  wished  that  Brother  Dunham 
wouM  come  and  preach  there,  for  the  peojde  flocked 
to  hear,  and  I  thought  ho  might  do  them  good.  The 
more  the  people  applauded  the  worse  I  felt."  He 
studied  and  prayed  to  know  the  will  of  God  respecting 
them,  and  at  length  concluded  that  he  would  preach  in 
a  more  admonitory  manner.  He  did  so,  an«l  "  when 
I  closed  my  meeting,"  he  writes,  "  my  soul  was  full  of 
peace,  and  I  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour.  I  now  felt 
happy  that  I  had  done  my  duty,  and  that  if  one  half  of 
the  congregation  were  to  oppose  me,  it  would  not  dis- 
turb my  peace."  The  next  day  he  heard  that  the  people 
were  dissatisfied.  One  said,  "  He  is  not  the  man  he 
used  to  be."     Another  said,  "  He  now  shows  his  cIovcb 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         187 

foot ;"  and  others  that  they  would  not  hear  him  again. 
"  But  these  things  did  not  move  me,"  he  adds.  "  When 
I  came  there  again,  instead  of  my  large  and  smiling 
congregation,  I  had  about  thirty  hearers ;  but  neither 
did  this  move  me.  Before  preaching  I  went  into  a 
room  by  myself  to  pray.  While  thinking  on  what 
text  I  should  preach,  a  passage  of  Scripture  came  to 
my  mind,  and  such  a  field  opened  before  me  that  I  was 
almost  lost  to  all  things  here  below.  When  I  be- 
gan the  meeting  a  young  woman  fell  to  the  floor  and 
soon  after  another  cried  out  for  mercy.  I  thought 
I  must  finish  my  sermon,  but  I  might  as  well  have 
preached  to  the  walls,  the  cries  of  the  mourners  were 
so  great ;  so  I  left  my  pulpit^  which  was  nothing  more 
than  a  chair,  and  went  to  the  mourners,  and  prayed  for 
them,  and  encouraged  them  to  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus."  And  thus  did  his  faithfulness  result  in  an  ex- 
tensive "  revival."  "  We  were  favored,"  he  says,  "  with 
good  times  on  the  circuit  that  year.  In  the  second 
toAvn  I  formed  a  class  of  seventeen  members,  mostly 
seekers ;  but  when  I  came  round  again  they  had  found 
peace  to  their  souls.  I  also  formed  a  class  in  the  north- 
east part  of  the  fourth  town,  of  ten  members,  all 
mourners ;  and  it  was  with  them  as  Mr.  Wesley  once 
said,  '  They  were  ripe  for  the  gospel.'  They  thought 
that  they  must  do  everything  the  preacher  said.  So 
I  told  them  they  must  pray,  and  on  the  Lord's  day  they 
must  meet  together  and  worship  God  as  well  as  they 
could.  They  must  repent,  and  believe,  and  God  would 
bless  them.  They  accordingly  met  together,  read  the 
Scriptures,  and  sung  hymns  with  one  another,  but  for 
some  time  no  one  dared  to  pray.  At  length  one  woman 
said  she  had  as  much  reason  to  pray  as  any  one  there, 
*nd   then   added,  '  Let  us   pray.'      AVhen    she    began, 


188  HlSTUliV    OF    THE 

they  all  began,  and  all  found  peace,  excep'J  herself. 
Her  husband  said  she  was  on  her  knees  ten  times  on 
their  way  home,  and  when  in  sight  of  home  she  cried 
out,  'Lord,  must  I  be  the  only  one  that  goes  home 
without  a  blessing?  Bless  me,  even  me,  O  ray  God!' 
She  did  not  pray  in  vain ;  but  though  for  a  time  she 
was  seemingly  refused  an  answer,  tlie  Lord  at  length 
spoke  peace  to  her  soul.  She  and  her  husband  then 
went  on  their  way  rejoicing,  an<l  the  little  flock  pros- 
pered greatly  from  this  time  forward  as  long  as  1  con- 
tinued with  them." 

It  is  by  such  incidents  that  we  get  a  real,  an  interior 
view  of  the  religious  and  frontier  life  of  the  country 
in  these  primitive  times.  The  simple  and  grateful  peo- 
ple jirized  tlieir  devoted  pastors.  Woolsey  records 
touching  instances  of  their  att'ectiouate  gratitude. 
*'  \\  hen,"  he  says,  "the  time  came  for  rae  to  leave  the 
circuit,  they  were  so  afraid  that  they  should  be  left 
without  ])reaching,  (inasmuch  as  the  preachers  that 
went  to  Canada  volunteered,)  that  they  offered  their 
lands.  One  and  another  offered  fifty  acres,  and  so  on, 
according  to  their  abilities.  I  told  them  I  did  not  come 
after  their  lands,  but  that  they  might  depend  on  having 
preaching  notwithstanding  my  removal.  One  man 
followed  me  down  to  the  water  side,  and  there  we  sat 
for  some  time,  and  talked  and  wept  together;  and 
when  I  got  into  the  boat,  he  threw  his  arms  around 
me,  and  waded  knee-deep  into  the  water,  and  said,  *  If 
you  will  but  come  back  again,  as  long  as  I  have  two 
mouthfuls  of  bread  you  shall  have  one.'"  In  his  old 
age,  recalling  these  scenes,  he  writes :  "  It  was  to  me  a 
source  of  inexpressible  satisfaction  that  I  had  been 
made  useful  to  a  few  of  my  fi-llow-creatures,  though  of 
another  nation;  and  th<'  thought  of  meeting  them  on 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  189 

Canaan's  happy  shore,  after  the  trials  of  life  are  over, 
and  of  greeting  them  as  my  spiritual  children,  often 
gilds  the  shadows  of  my  supernumerary  hours,  and 
gives  brilliancy  to  the  rays  of  my  descending  sun." 

At  the  close  of  the  year  the  evangelists  reported  four 
hundred  and  eighty-three  ^^  members,  omitting  those  of 
Woolsey's  circuit,  which  are  not  recorded.  They  had 
now  three  circuits,  and  their  communicants  had  in- 
creased more  than  one  third  since  the  returns  of  1794. 
Sixty-five  of  the  increase  Avere  in  the  Niagara  region, 
probably  the  fruits  of  good  Major  Neal's  labors,  the 
first  Methodist  (local)  preacher  of  Upper  Canada,  who, 
as  v/e  have  seen,  began  to  labor  there  as  early  as  1786. 
Dunham,  though  ostensibly  a  presiding  elder  of  the 
whole  field,  in  1794,  had  really  formed  a  circuit,  on  his 
return  from  the  Conference  with  Coleman  and  Woolsey, 
and  made  it  the  chief  scene  of  his  labors. 

The  itinerants  went  rejoicing  to  the  Conference  of 
1795,  appointed  to  be  held  at  New  York  city,  but 
transferred  to  White  Plains  on  account  of  the  yellow 
fever.  If  their  difficulties  on  the  route  were  less  than 
in  the  previous  year,  yet  Woolsey  sufiered  more,  for  his 
health  had  been  broken.  They  started  from  the  Bay  of 
Quinte  in  a  batteau.  Woolsey  had  escaped  for  some 
days  a  severe  attack  of  fever  and  ague,  but  the  labor 
of  rowing,  and  the  night  air,  brought  it  back.  They 
found  shelter  again,  on  the  banks  of  the  Oswego,  at  the 
cabin  of  the  poor  settler  whose  sick  and  nearly  starv- 
ing family  they  had  relieved.  The  story  of  their  enter- 
tainment there  is  a  lesson  to  the  prosperous  husband- 
men of  that  region  in  our  day.  "The  woman  said 
she  was  as  glad  to  see  us  as  she  would  have  been  to  see 
her  own  father.  They  seemed  to  be  doing  well  as  to 
»5  Playter  errs  in  giving  the  number,  p.  45. 


190  II I  STORY    OF    THE 

the  tilings  of  this  world.  The  man  hail  cleared  some  of 
his  land,  and  planted  com  and  potatoes.  They  had  also 
two  or  three  cows,  Tliey  kindly  invited  us  to  tarry 
a  while,  which  we  readily  consented  to  do.  We  told 
them  we  had  plenty  of  dry  provisions,  and  asked  the 
woman  if  she  had  any  milk,  and  said  we  would  he  glad 
of  a  little.  They  had  plenty  of  good  milk,  but  that  was 
not  considered  good  enough  by  our  generous  hostess 
for  the  men  wh<>  had  visited  tliem  in  their  affliction, 
and  had  relieved  them  in  their  distresses,  so  she  offered 
us  cream;  hut  we  relused  at  first  to  eat  of  it,  until  her 
generosity  overcame  our  scruples.  Such  w.is  the  grati- 
tufle  of  this  family  for  the  kindnes  we  had  shown  them 
on  our  way  to  Canada  that  it  seemed  as  if  thej'  could 
never  do  enough  to  make  us  welcome.  Had  they  been 
as  ricli  as  .Abraham  of  old,  I  have  no  doubt  they  would 
have  'killed  the  fatted  calf  for  us,  and  'baked  cakes' 
for  our  entertainment,  for  they  boiled  of  their  potatoes  and 
green  corn  for  us,  and  laid  heavy  contributions  upon 
the  cucumbers  and  watermelons  for  our  sakes,  account- 
ing nothing  too  good  for  us  that  was  in  their  power  to 
bestow.  The  good  man  went  three  or  four  miles  up 
the  river  with  us  in  order  to  help  us  up  the  rapids,  and, 
when  we  parted,  wished  us  every  blessing. 

They  got  through  their  journey  in  thirteen  days, 
whereas  in  going  to  Canada  they  were  nineteen  ;  but 
before  they  had  ascended  the  Oswego  River  Woolsey 
had  the  ague  and  fever  every  day,  and  when  they  came 
to  Oneida  Lake  he  was  exhausted.  His  companions  at 
length  concluded  to  take  him  to  the  shore,  where  he 
could  be  in  the  shade.  He  fainted  as  they  landed.  On 
recovering  his  consciousness,  "  it  seemed  to  me,"  he 
savs,  "as  if  I  had  just  waked  out  of  sleep.  At  one  time 
I  lay  all  night  by  the  side  of  a  fence,  with  a  buniing 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    ClIURCPT.         191 

fever  raging  in  every  vein,  without  any  covei'ing  but 
my  clothes,  or  canopy  but  the  heavens,  with  not  so 
much  as  Jonah's  gourd  to  shelter  me  from  the  chilling 
dews,  or  pillow  on  which  to  recline  my  weary  head. 
These  were  some  of  the  '  shadows  of  itinerancy ;'  but 
they  also  have  '  fled  away.' " 

They  were  refreshed  at  the  Conference;  the  annual 
session  was  a  jubilee  in  those  days,  and  many  a  worn 
out  itinerant,  arriving  at  it  impoverished  and  discour- 
aged, received  there  a  pittance  of  pecuniary  help, 
was  inspii'ited  by  the  communion  and  chivalry  of  his 
fellow-sufferers,  and  went  forth  with  renewed  vows 
and  courage.  "We  loved  one  another,"  says  Woolsey, 
"  and,  while  we  were  together,  the  Spirit  of  glory  and 
of  God  rested  ujjon  us.  We  felt  willing  to  live,  to 
sufter,  and  to  die  together.  If  one  had  received  a  little 
more  than  his  brother,  he  was  willing  to  divide  with 
him.  We  hoped  to  share  the  spoil  together  in  a  better 
world,  when  all  our  toils  are  over,  and  all  our  griefs  are 
spent,  and  this  hope  was  as  an  anchor  to  the  soul  amid 
all  the  tempests  and  billows  with  which  we  had  to 
contend.  When  the  appointments  were  read  out  the 
preachers  appeared  to  receive  them  gladly.  My  ap- 
pointment was  to  the  Bay  of  Quinte  Circuit.  On  our 
way  to  Canada  we  were  met  at  Schenectady  by  some  of 
our  Canadian  friends,  who  helped  us  on  our  way.  We 
ascended  the  Mohawk  in  company  with  Captain  Par- 
rott,  and  got  along  without  any  difficulty  until  we 
came  to  the  Oneida  Lake."  There  they  were  driven  by 
a  terrible  night  storm,  "  the  waves  breaking  over  them 
with  fury."  "  We  are  all  dead  men  ! "  exclaimed  their 
captain.  "  The  Lord  will  provide,"  responded  Woolsey, 
and  the  "good  providence  of  God  brought  them  safely 
throuo;h." 


102  HISTOKY    OF    THE 

The  little  corps  of  evangelists  had  raised  up  a  singlo 
reci-uit,  Sylvanus  Keeler,  who  appears  with  them  in  the 
^linutes  this  year  (1795)  as  the  colleague  of  Woolsey, 
on  the  Bay  of  Quinte  Circuit.  "  lie  proved,"  says  the 
Canadian  chronicler  of  the  Church,  "a  good  and  faithful 
minister  of  Christ."  We  trace  him  through  about 
twelve  years  of  hard  itinerant  labor  on  various  circuits 
in  the  province,  at  the  close  of  which  he  retires  into  the 
"  local  ranks,"  the  fate  of  most  of  his  ministerial  breth- 
ren in  those  days  of  the  poverty  of  the  Church,  when 
the  necessities  of  their  growing  families  coin])elled  them 
to  resort  to  other  means  of  support,  Vmt  seldom  or  never 
to  abandon  their  Sabbath  labors.  Sylvanus  Keeler  re- 
treated to  a  farm  in  Elizal»etht<>wn,  near  Biockville, 
where,  and  in  the  surrounding  country,  he  continued  to 
preach  "all  his  days."  He  became  a  patriarch  among 
the  societies,  his  hair  "wool-white,  long,  flowing  down 
upon  his  shoulders  ;"  his  "  voice  deep,  yet  solt  as  the 
roll  of  thunder  in  the  distance."  lie  died  in  the  faith. 
Another  Canadian  authority,  familiar  with  the  local 
Church  antiquities,  gives  us  a  few  further  intimations 
about  this  veteran,  whom  our  ecclesiastical  literature 
has  almost  entirely  ignored.  The  name,  he  says,  of 
Sylvanus  Keeler  is  worthy  of  being  rescued  from 
oblivion.  lie  had  no  advantages  of  early  education, 
and,  when  he  first  began  speaking  in  public,  it  is  said, 
could  scarcely  read  a  hymn;  but,  by  assiduous  eftbrts, 
he  so  far  surmounted  this  defect  as  to  become  possessed 
of  tolerable  attainments  in  English.  He  had,  moreover, 
endowments,  natural,  and  of  divine  bestowment,  which 
went  far  to  counterbalance  his  deficiencies.  His  per- 
son was  commanding,  and  even  handsome.  His  voice, 
for  speaking  at  least,  if  not  for  singing  also,  was  ex- 
cellent.     It   was  clear,   melodious,  and   strong.      The 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         193 

distance  at  which  the  old  people  say  he  could  be  heard 
was  marvelous.  His  spirit  and  manners,  too,  were  the 
most  bland  and  engaging,  and  his  zeal  and  fervor  knew 
no  bounds,  and  suffered  no  abatement.  He  traveled  for 
several  years  while  Canada  was  yet  new  and  poor,  and 
the  preachers  were  little  provided  foi-.  He  was  often 
three  months  at  a  time  from  his  wife  and  family  of  small 
children.  The  story  of  their  destitution,  and  the  em- 
barrassments they  endured  in  those  times  of  destitution, 
might  bring  tears  from  eyes  '  the  most  unused  to  weep.' 
No  wonder  that  his  return  to  them  was  always  con- 
sidered a  jubilee.  When  the  season  of  his  periodical 
visit  drew  near,  his  little  ones  would  mount  the  fence 
and  sti'ain  their  eyes  to  get  the  first  glimpse  of  their 
returning  father,  often  for  hours,  and  even  days, 
before  his  appearance.  In  view  of  such  privations, 
could  any  one  blame  him  for  'locating,'  and  making 
provision  for  those  for  whom  he  was  the  natural  pro- 
vider ?  But  he  did  not  cease  to  be  useful  when  he 
ceased  to  itinerate.  He  was  greatly  beloved  and  re- 
spected by  the  people  in  the  surrounding  neighbor- 
hoods, and  made  very  instrumental  of  good  to  them. 
And  after  his  family  grew  up,  and  were  able  to  pro- 
vide for  themselves,  "Father  Keeler,"  as  he  was  now 
called,  extended  his  labors  to  greater  distances  from 
home,  carrying  the  Gospel  into  the  destitute  settle- 
ments of  immigrants  beyond  the  Rideau.  His  last 
public  labor  was  in  a  quarterly  meeting  in  the  '  Boyd 
Settlement,'  beyond  the  3fississi2)pi.  "His  name  is 
still  like  '  ointment  poured  forth '  in  all  the  region  from 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  settlements  beyond  the  last 
mentioned  river.  And  his  piety  lives  in  the  persons 
of  his  descendants,  who  have  been  the  faithful  ad- 
herents of  the  Wcsleyan  cause  through  every  vicissl- 
C— 13 


194  HISTOliV     01     THE 

tude.  Thus  it  is  lliat  'he  being  dead,  yet  speaks'  for 
that  Master  whose  truth  he  so  zealously  proclaimed 
while  living.'"^ 

Let  good  "Father  Keeler"  "live  forever,"  then,  in 
the  veneration  of  Canadian  Methodists,  though  his 
record  in  the  history  of  the  Church  must  he  so  brief. 
To  him  belongs,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  the  enviable 
distinction  of  having  been  the  first  native  Methodist 
itinerant  of  the  jtrovince,  ami  he  gave  his  whole  minis- 
terial lite  to  its  people. 

Woolsey  and  Keeler  labored  successfully  on  their 
hard  circuit  this  year,  though  the  former  was  still  a  suf- 
ferer from  severe  disease.  He  had  to  go  over  it  on  foot, 
being  unable  to  get  his  horse  across  the  bays  and  rivers, 
lie  traveled  many  miles  a  day,  preaching  sometimes 
twice,  and  seldom  sitting  down  from  morning  till  night. 
"  My  knees  and  ankles,"  he  says,  "  pained  me  very 
much ;  and  when  I  was  preaching  1  used  to  stand  some- 
times on  one  foot,  and  then  on  the  other,  to  get  rest. 
But  rest  was  not  easily  obtained,  even  in  bed,  my  knees 
and  ankles  were  so  swelled  and  full  of  pain.  My  soul, 
however,  was,  hai)py  in  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  rejoiced 
in  God  my  Saviour." 

On  his  return  to  the  next  Conference,  his  brethren 
withdrew  him  from  the  inclement  climate  of  the  pro- 
vince and  sent  him  to  Connecticut.  His  Can:i<liaii 
campaigning  was  thus  ended,  but  his  services  in  heli>- 
ing  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  Church  in  that  distant 
country  are  gratefully  appreciated  by  its  jicople.  lie 
continiied  to  travel  in  the  states  down  to  the  year  1838, 
when  he  was  recorded  among  the  "superannuates." 
He  went  into  a  (piiet  and  beautiful  retreat  at  Rye,  on 
Long  Island  Sound,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  years, 
>«  Carroll's  "Pafii  and  Present,"  p.  178. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  195 

venerated  and  beloved  among  his  neighbors,  a  dear 
and  happy  old  man — a  St.  John  among  the  Churches, 
laboring  occasionally,  as  his  strength  would  admit, 
writing  the  unpretentious  but  most  entertaining  notes 
of  his  early  evangelical  adventures,  and  dying  at  last 
in  great  peace  and  comfort,  in  1850 — "a  holy  man," 
say  his  brethren,  in  their  Conference  Minutes,  "  a  good 
preacher,  and  he  sliall  be  held  in  universal  remem- 
brance." '"  He  ranks  as  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
denomination  in  New  England  as  well  as  in  Canada. 

In  1796  Dunham  and  Coleman  returned  to  the  pro- 
vince, accompanied  by  two  new  laborers,  men  of  note, 
Samuel  Coate  and  Hezekiah  C.  Wooster. 

Coate  had  been  received  into  the  New  York  Confer- 
ence of  1794,  and  had  traveled  Flanders  Circuit,  N.  J., 
and  Albany  Circuit,  New  York.  He  went  to  the  prov- 
ince, therefore,  a  deacon.  He  was  a  unique  character, 
and  has  left  many  an  agreeable  and  some  sad  reminis- 
cences in  the  Canadian  Church.  He  would  have  passed 
for  an  exquisite,  had  it  not  been  for  the  evident  piety 
and  laborious  zeal  of  his  early  ministry.  He  was  a  won- 
der among  the  simple  people  of  the  wilderness,  but  they 
admired  more  than  they  revered  him.  He  had  a  fas- 
cinating eloquence,  and  "  excelled,"  it  is  said,  "  all  who 
went  before  him,"  and,  some  judges  think,  "  all  who 
have  come  after  him." '^  He  was  fastidious  about  his 
dress;  most  of  the  itinerants  of  that  day  had  the  neat- 
ness and  mien  of  gentlemen,  but  Coate  ranked  above 
most  of  them  in  this  respect.  He  was  among  the  last 
who  retained  the  clerical  gown  introduced  at  the  or- 
ganization of  the  denomination  in  1784.  His  long  hair 
received  special  attention,  and  it  flowed  down  upon  his 
shoulders  in  graceful  curls.  "Every  night,  with  his 
"  Minutes,  1850.  "  piayter,  p.  55. 


196  '  IIISTOIIV    OF    THE 

garters,  would  he  tie  up  bis  Ijeautil'ul  locks,  and  every 
raoming  would  he  comb  them  out,  allowing  them  to 
repose  on  his  shoulders  and  hack.  Indeed,  he  was  the 
Absalom  of  the  people,  attracting  the  eyes  and  winning 
the  admiration  of  all.  His  wife,  too,  was  like  Abigail, 
'of  good  understanding,  and  of  a  beautiful  counte- 
nance.' When  the  husband  and  wife  were  together, 
they  were  called  the  handsomest  pair  in  Canada."  An- 
other authority  says,  "  He  was  evidently  a  very  extra- 
ordinary i»ersou  for  such  a  day  and  country.  He 
swept  like  a  meteor  over  the  land,  and  spellbound  the 
astonished  gaze  of  the  wondering  new  settlers.  Xor 
was  it  astonishment  alone  he  excited.  He  was  the 
heaven-anointed  and  successful  instrument  of  the  con- 
vei*sion  of  hundreds.  His  success,  in  the  early  part  of 
his  career,  was  like  that  of  Whitfield."'^ 

His  manners  wc^e  in  the  highest  degree  courteous 
and  attable.  He  had,  however,  some  eccentricities, 
but  they  were  of  a  favorable  kind.  "  His  manner  of 
entering  the  houses  of  his  people  was  singular  and 
very  striking.  On  coming  to  the  home  of  a  Iriend 
in  Adolphustown,  he  reined  uj)  his  horse  without  the 
gate,  alighted,  took  off  his  saddle-bags,  and  came  to 
the  door.  The  door  was  opened  for  him,  and  he 
came  in.  But  instead  of  speaking  to  the  family  and 
shaking  hands,  he  knelt  down  by  a  chair,  and,  after 
praying  a  short  time,  he  arose  and  then  very  aftection- 
ately  greeted  every  member  of  the  family.  Although 
no  preacher  probably  follows  such  a  jiractice  of  scrrtt 
prayer,  yet  no  one  can  condemn,  but  rather  admire,  this 
fruit  of  inward  recollectedness  and  godly  simplicity. 
Samuel  Coate's  wife  was  not  a  hinderance  but  a  help- 
mate to  her  husband.  Having  no  family,  she  used  to 
«  »•  Carroll. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  197 

hold  meetings  in  her  house  with  females,  and  would 
often  mount  a  horse  and  accompany  her  husband  to  his 
appointments." 

He  labored  about  fourteen  years  in  Canada,  from  the 
Bay  of  Quinte  to  Montreal ;  six  years  he  was  presiding 
elder,  and  few  Methodist  preachers  swayed  a  larger  in- 
fluence or  had  better  prospects,  when,  borne  away  by 
his  popularity,  as  is  supposed,  he  entered  upon  a  devi- 
ous course  which  terminated  apparently  in  his  ruin. 
In  ISIO  he  was  located  by  the  New  York  Conference. 
He  had  erected  a  costly  church  and  parsonage  for  the 
Methodists  in  Montreal,  and  traveled  largely  in  the 
states  and  in  England  to  collect  funds  for  its  debt, 
studying  meanwhile  the  French  language  that  he  might 
preach  to  the  Canadian  French.  But  on  his  return  he 
accepted  an  offer  of  ordination  in  the  English  Church. 
He  was  settled  over  a  congregation,  but  soon  retired. 
He  then  became  a  merchant  in  Montreal,  was  unsuc- 
cessful, and  lost  all  his  property.  Being  an  unrivaled 
penman,  he  attempted  to  support  his  family  by  that 
accomplishment.  He  could  write  the  Lord's  prayer 
with  microscopic  fineness  on  an  English  sixpence,  or  on 
the  nail  of  his  thumb.  Pie  achieved  a  masterpiece  of 
penmanship,  took  it  to  England,  had  it  engraved  at  an 
expense  of  £1,600,  traveled  all  over  England  selling  it, 
at  £2  a  copy,  obtained  access,  by  his  ingratiating  man- 
ners, to  all  kinds  of  society,  and  at  last  fell  into  habits 
of  vice.  His  excellent  wife  and  daughter,  whom  he 
had  left  in  Canada,  never  saw  him  again.  "  He  never," 
says  the  local  historian,  "  returned  to  the  land  in  which 
he  had  spent  useful  and  happy  years,  nor  to  the  people 
who  loved  and  admired  him,  and  who,  notwithstanding 
his  fall,  Avould  have  received  him  again,  even  as  the 
Saviour  received  repenting  Peter."    But  "  the  old  Meth- 


198  HISTOllY    OF    THE 

odists"  of  the  province  clung,  it  is  said,  to  tlie  hope 
that  he  died  penitent,  for  he  had  sent  a  letter  home 
deeply  mourning  over  his  downfall. 

Wooster  was  a  very  different  character.  He  left,  at 
his  death,  on  a  fragment  of  paper,  the  following  dates 
of  his  history:  "  IJoni,  May  JO,  1771  ;  convinced  of  sin, 
October  9,  1791;  born  again,  December  1,  1791;  sanc- 
tified, February  (5,  1792."  Religion  with  hijii  "was 
in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power."  No 
vagueness  attended  the  facts  of  his  Christian  experi- 
ence, nor  the  presentation  of  experimental  truth  in  his 
ministrations.  He  might  pre-eminently  be  called  "a 
Haming  herald"  of  the  word,  for  it  was  "in  his  heart  as 
a  burning  lire."  He  commenced  his  ministry  in  1793, 
on  the  Granville  Circuit,  in  Massachusetts.  As  this 
circuit  was  within  the  limits  of  the  Albany  District, 
then  superintended  by  the  devoted  Thomas  Ware,  I 
suppose  he  joined  the  Albany  Conference  of  that  year. 
The  two  following  years  he  spent  in  arduous  labors  on 
circuits  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York.  In  1796,  ready 
to  suffer  the  loss  of  all  things  for  Christ,  he  volunteered, 
with  Samuel  Coate,  to  join  the  pioneers  beyond  the 
Canadian  line.  His  history,  during  that  expedition, 
would  form  a  romantic  and  almost  incredible  narrative. 
Three  weeks  were  spent  on  their  route,  during  which 
they  lodged  every  night  under  the  trees  of  the  forest. 
He  traveled  about  three  years  in  Canada,  preaching 
almost  daily,  and  with  a  i>ower  seldom  equaled  in  the 
history  of  the  Christian  ministry.  There  was,  indeed, 
in  his  word,  an  energy  quite  irresistible.  The  dwell- 
ers in  the  wilderness,  long  destitute  of  the  means  of 
religion,  heard  with  amazement  his  overwhelming  elo- 
quence, and  often  fell  before  him,  in  their  forest  con- 
gregations, like  dead  men.     One  of  his  successors  there 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  199 

says :  "  Such  was  the  holy  fervor  of  his  soul,  his  deep 
devotion  to  God,  his  burning  love  for  the  souls  of  his 
fellow-men,  that  he  was  the  happy  instrument  of  kind- 
ling up  such  a  fire  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  where\  er 
he  went,  particularly  in  Upper  Canada,  that  all  the 
waters  of  strife  and  opposition  have  not  been  able  to 
quench  it.  ...  The  grace  of  God  wrought  mightily  in 
him.  O  what  awful  sensations  ran  through  the  assem- 
blies while  Calvin  Wooster,  and  others  of  like  spirit, 
were  denouncing  the  just  judgments  of  God  against 
impenitent  sinners,  in  such  pointed  language  as  made 
the  '  ear  to  tingle,'  and  the  heart  to  palpitate  ! "  °' 

He  was  a  man  of  Abrahamic  faith,  and  his  prayers 
seemed  directly  to  enter  heaven,  and  prevail  with  God. 
He  carried  with  him  an  unceasing  spirit  of  prayer. 
Often  at  midnight  would  he  rise  and  call  upon  his  God, 
while  the  inmates  of  the  house  where  he  made  his  tem- 
porary abode  were  awed  by  the  solemn  voice  of  his 
supplications  ascending  amid  the  silence. 

Such  was  the  unction  of  his  spirit,  and  the  bold  power 
of  his  appeals  to  the  wicked,  that  few  of  them  could 
stand  before  him ;  they  would  either  rush  out  of  the 
house,  or  fall  to  the  floor  under  his  word.  An  anecdote 
is  related  in  illustration  of  the  power  of  his  faith.  A 
revival  occurred  under  his  labors,  which  was  attended 
with  overpowering  efiects  among  the  people.  His  pre- 
siding elder,  Dunham,  entering  the  assembly  at  a  time 
when  the  people  were  falling  to  the  earth  under  the 
power  of  the  truth,  condemned  the  excitement,  and 
knelt  down  to  pray  that  God  would  allay  it.  Wooster 
knelt  by  his  side,  and  in  a  whispering  tone  prayed, 
"  Lord,  bless  Brother  Dunham !  Lord,  bless  Brother 
Dunham  ! "  He  had  not  prayed  thus  for  many  minutes, 
21  Bangs,  anno  1799. 


200  HISTORY     OF    THE 

before  the  presiding  elder  was  smitten  down  upon  the 
floor ;  his  complaints  were  turned  into  grateful  praise, 
and  he  Wi'ut  forth  spreudiiit;  the  divine  flame  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  his  district,  "to  the  joy  and 
salvation  of  hundreds  of  immortal  souls." -'-^ 

The  rigors,  of  the  climate,  and  the  excess  of  his 
labors,  injured  his  healili,  and  in  1798  he  was  seized 
with  pulmonary  consumption.  Yet  he  did  not  im- 
nu-fliately  give  up  his  ministrations,  and  his  marvel- 
ous power  over  his  hearers  continued  even  when  he 
could  no  longer  speak  loud  enough  to  be  heard  except 
by  those  who  stood  immediately  around  him.  It  is 
autiientically  recorded,  that  when  so  far  reduced  as 
to  be  unable  to  speak  above  a  whisper,  his  broken 
utterance,  conveyed  by  another  to  the  assembly,  would 
thrill  them  like  a  trumpet,  and  fall  with  such  power 
on  the  attention  of  the  hearers  that  stout-hearted  meu 
were  smitten  down  to  the  floor;  and  his  very  aspect 
is  said  to  have  so  shone  with  "the  divine  glory  that 
it  struck  conviction  into  the  hearts  of  many  who  be- 
hehl  it." 

At  last,  hopeless  of  any  further  health,  he  returned 
to  his  parental  home,  to  die  amid  his  kindred,  I  have 
discovered  a  single  glimj)Se  of  him,  on  his  route  home- 
ward, in  the  journal  of  the  quaint  but  earnest-minded 
Lorenzo  Dow.  That  eccentric  man  had  ijeen  laboring 
sturdily  on  extensive  circuits  in  New  England.  Through 
all  his  wandering  course,  he  carried  with  him  a  pro- 
found religious  solicitude,  not  unmixed,  perhaj)s,  with 
the  intirmities  of  partial  insanity;  an<l  amid  apparent 
ebullitions  of  humor,  his  spirit  hungered  and  thirsted 
after  God.  He  writr'S,  in  his  own  unpolished  but  ex- 
jilicit  Style  and  with  deej>  suggcstiveness,  that  when 
"  MemoriuLi  of  Methodism,  etc.,  p.  213. 


METHODIST    EI'ISGOPAL     CHURCH,  201 

he  was  on  the  Orange  Circuit  he  "  felt  something  within 
that  wanted  to  be  done  away.  I  spoke  to  one  and  an- 
other concerning  the  pain  which  I  felt  in  my  happiest 
moments,  but  no  guilt.  Some  said  one  thing  and  some 
another;  yet  none  spoke  to  my  case,  but  seemed  to  be 
like  physicians  that  did  not  understand  the  nature  of 
my  disorder.  Thus  the  burden  continued,  and  some- 
times seemed  greater  than  the  burden  of  guilt  for 
justification,  until  I  fell  in  with  Thomas  Dewey,  on 
Cambridge  Circuit.  He  told  me  about  Calvin  Wooster, 
in  Upper  Canada — that  he  enjoyed  the  blessing  of  sanc- 
tification.  I  felt  a  great  desire  arise  in  my  heart  to  see 
the  man,  if  it  might  be  consistent  with  the  divine  will ; 
and  not  long  after,  I  heard  he  was  passing  through  the 
circuit,  and  going  home  to  die.  I  immediately  rode 
five  miles  to  the  house,  but  found  he  was  gone  another 
five  miles  further.  I  went  into  the  room  where  he  was 
asleep ;  he  appeared  to  me  more  like  one  from  the  eter- 
nal world  than  like  one  of  ray  fellow-mortals.  I  told 
him,  when  he  avroke,  who  I  was,  and  what  I  had  come 
for.  Said  he,  God  has  convicted  you  for  the  blessing 
of  sanctitication,  and  the  blessing  is  to  be  obtained  by 
the  simple  act  of  faith,  the  same  as  the  blessing  of 
justification.  I  persuaded  him  to  tarry  in  the  neigh- 
borhood a  few  days ;  and  a  couple  of  evenings  after 
the  above,  when  I  had  done  preaching,  he  spoke,  or 
rather  whispered  out  an  exhortation,  as  his  voice  was 
so  broken,  in  consequence  of  praying,  in  the  stir  in 
Upper  Canada,  whei-e  from  twenty  to  thirty  were  fre- 
quently blessed  at  a  meeting.  He  told  me  that  if  he 
could  get  sinners  under  conviction,  crying  for  mercy, 
they  would  kneel  down,  a  dozen  of  them,  and  not  rise 
till  they  found  peace ;  for,  said  he,  we  did  believe  God 
would  bless  them,  and  it  was  according  to  our  faith. 


202  HISTORY     OF    THE 

At  this  time  he  was  in  a  consumption,  and,  a  few  weeks 
after,  expired.  While  whispering  out  the  above  exhort- 
ation, the  power  which  attended  the  same  reached  the 
liearts  of  the  people,  and  some  who  were  standing  and 
sitting  fell  like  men  shot  in  the  field  of  battle;  and  I 
I'elt  it  like  a  tremor  run  through  my  soul  and  every 
vein,  so  that  it  took  away  my  limb  power,  and  I  fell  to 
the  floor,  and  by  faith  saw  a  greater  blessing  than  I 
had  hitherto  experienced,  or,  in  other  words,  felt  a 
conviction  of  the  need  of  a  deeper  work  of  grace  in  my 
soul — feeling  some  of  the  remains  of  the  evil  nature,  the 
eflect  of  Adam's  fall,  still  remaining,  and  it  my  privi- 
lege to  have  it  eradicated  or  done  away.  My  soul  was 
in  an  agony — I  could  but  groan  out  my  desires  to  God. 
lie  came  to  me,  and  said.  Believe  the  blessing  is  now. 
No  sooner  had  the  words  dropped  from  his  lips  than  I 
strove  to  believe  the  blessing  mine  now,  with  all  the 
powers  of  my  soul ;  then  the  burden  dropped  or  fell 
from  my  breast,  and  a  solid  joy  and  a  gentle  running 
peace  filled  my  soul.  From  that  time  to  this  I  have 
not  had  the  ecstasy  of  joy  or  a  downcast  spirit  as  for- 
merly ;  but  more  of  an  inward,  simple,  sweet  running 
peace,  from  day  to  day,  so  that  pr()si)erity  or  adversity 
doth  not  produce  the  ups  and  downs  as  formerly ;  but 
my  soul  is  more  like  the  ocean,  while  its  surface  is  un- 
evefi  by  reason  of  the  boisterous  wind,  the  bottom  is 
still  calm;  so  that  a  man  may  be  in  the  midst  of  out- 
ward difficulties,  and  yet  the  center  of  the  soul  may  be 
calmly  stayed  on  God."  I  make  no  apology  lor  this 
citation.  It  is  a  gem  from  a  rutle  casket,  but  worthy 
to  be  Strang  among  the  many  unpolished  yet  precious 
jewels  which  glitter  on  the  thread  of  our  history. 

Such  was  the  inHueiue  of  Woostcr  on  this  wayward 
but    energetic   man  —  such   was  the   power  of  his   eh)- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         203 

quence,  whispered  from  lips  blanched  with  mortal  dis- 
ease, on  the  rude  congregations  of  the  Northwest. 

He  passed  on  to  his  home  and  lay  down  to  die ;  but 
before  his  spirit  left  the  body,  it  seemed  already  in 
heaven.  He  was  asked,  when  his  power  of  speech  was 
almost  gone,  if  his  confidence  in  God  was  still  strong. 
"  Strong !  strong  ! "  was  his  whispered  but  exulting  re- 
ply. When  he  was  fast  sinking,  and  death  was  almost 
in  view,  he  exclaimed  that  "  the  nearer  he  drew  to  eter- 
nity, the  brighter  heaven  shined  upon  him."  On  the  6th 
of  November,  1798,  he  passed  into  the  heavens. 

With  such  men,  of  course,  the  whole  region  of  their 
travels  was  soon  astir.  Bangs  says  that  a  great  revival 
ensued,  which  extended  far  into  the  states.  Hundreds 
were  awakened  and  converted,  and  no  little  opposition 
followed.  Bangs  records  examples  reported  to  him  on 
the  spot.  "  A  stout  opposer  of  the  Methodists,"  he  says, 
"  hearing  that  his  wife  was  in  a  prayer  meeting,  rushed 
violently  into  the  room,  seized  his  wife,  and  dragged 
her  to  the  door,  when,  attempting  to  open  it,  he  was 
himself  seized  with  trembling,  his  knees  failed  him, 
he  fell  helpless  upon  the  floor,  and  was  fain  to  beg  an 
interest  in  the  prayers  of  the  very  j^eople  whom  he 
had  so  much  despised  and  persecuted.  He  rose  not  till 
the  Lord  released  him  from  his  sins  and  made  him  a 
partaker  of  his  pardoning  mercy.  This  very  man  after- 
ward became  an  itinerant  minister,  with  whom  I  was 
personally  acquainted,  and  had  the  relation  of  these 
facts  from  his  own  lips.  All,  however,  were  not  so  for- 
tunate. Coleman,  calling  to  visit  a  woman  under  con- 
viction for  sin,  while  talking  with  her,  was  assailed  by 
her  husband,  who  struck  him  on  the  forehead  so  violent- 
ly that  he  carried  the  mark  for  a  considerable  time." 

Opposition,  however,   could   not    stand    long   before 


204  HlSTUltV    OF    THE 

Wooster,  Ilis  strange  \)o\\  cr  was  a  terror  to  evil  doers. 
The  Church  antiquarian  ^^  to  whom  wc  are  indebted  for 
so  many  interesting  facts  of  our  early  Canadian  his- 
tory says :  "  He  was  a  rare  example  of  the  lioliness  he 
preached.  Of  his  piety  and  devotion  the  old  people 
were  never  weary  of  speaking  in  terms  of  the  most 
glowing  admiration.  His  very  lireath  was  prayer.  An 
old  lady  who  entertained  him.  iiit'nrnii'(l  me  that  on  his 
arrival  he  would  ask  the  priviU\<i:e  ol"  going  up  to  the 
loft  of  their  one-storied  hig  Imilding,  which  was  tlie  only 
place  of  retiremiiit  they  h:i<l,  and  to  wliich  hi'  had  to 
mount  uj)  hy  means  of  a  ladder.  There  he  wouhl  re- 
main in  j»rayer  till  the  settlers  assembled  lor  preaching, 
when  he  wouM  descend  like  Moses  from  the  mount 
with  a  face  radiant  with  holy  comfort.  .\nd  truly  his 
jireaching  was  '  with  the  Holy  (ihost  sent  down  from 
heaven.'  It  was  not  boisterous,  but  solemn,  spiritual, 
])Owerful.  He  was  the  instrument  of  a  revival  charac- 
terized by  depth  and  comprehensiveness,  a  revival  ol' 
the  work  of  sanctification.  Under  his  word  the  people 
fell  like  men  slain  in  battle.  This  was  even  the  case 
when  he  became  so  exhausted  that  he  could  jireach  no 
longer,  or  his  voice  was  drowned  in  the  cries  of  the 
jH'ople.  He  would  stand  with  angelic  countenance  and 
upturned  eye,  bringing  his  hands  together,  and  saying 
in  a  loud  whisper,  'Smite  them,  my  Lord!  my  Lord, 
smite  them!'  And  'smite  them'  He  did;  for  'the  slain 
of  the  Lord  were  many.'" 

The  societies  were  now  rapidly  nmltiplied,  the  cir- 
cuits extended  in  every  direction,  and  at  the  next 
Conference  nearly  eight  hundred  (795)  members  were 
reported — a  gain  of  321  for  the  year,  averaging  more 
than  eighty  for  the  labors  of  each  preacher. 
«» CarrolL 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         205 

Methodism  was  thus  spreading  effectively  through 
all  these  middle  and  northern  sections  of  its  vast  field. 
It  already  arrayed  within  them  an  army  of  more  than 
a  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  (124,029)  mem- 
bers. Its  ministry  had  become  a  mighty  force,  in 
numbers  and  character.  Humble  edifices  were  rising 
rapidly,  temporary  sanctuaries,  destined  to  give  way  in 
our  day  to  commodious  and  beautiful  temples.  Its 
people  were  generally  poor  and  illiterate,  but  there 
wei*e  not  a  few  families  of  wealth  and  high  social  posi- 
tion interspersed  among  them.  That  its  foundations 
now  laid  were  substantial  and  broad,  its  subsequent 
history  has  attested. 


206  IIISTOKY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  VII. 

METHODISM   IN   THE   EASTERN  STATES — 1792-1796. 

Lee  at  Boston  —  His  Itinerant  Excursions  —  Asbury  re-enters  New 
England  —  Tbc  Lynn  Conference  —  Benjamin  Heniis  —  Piciiering's 
Homestead  —  Conference  at  Tolland  —  Enoeli  Mu(l>;e,  fli-st  Native 
Methodist  Freaclnrof  New  En;;lund— Hi;*  Eiirly  i^ibors  and  Cliaraeter 

—  Aaron  Hunt —  Joshua Taylor—  Danitl  OstruniUr  — Zadoik  Priebl, 
first   Itincmnt   who  died   in    New   En>;hind— His   AUVctin;,'   Death 

—  His  Grave  —  Joshua  Hall  —  Lee  itineniting  in  Maine  —  First  Cir- 
cuit formed  —  Pursecutions — Thomas  Ware  —  Hojjc  Hull — His 
Elo<iuenee  —  Rev.  Mr.  Williams  and  Rev.  Dr.  HuiUiiijjt»)n  attack 
the  Methodists  — Methodism  in  Tolland  —  Asbury  ReUinis  —  Meth- 
odism in  Boston  —  Results  of  the  Year. 

I  HAVE  recorded  the  pnt^ress  of  Methodism  in  the 
Eastern  States  from  its  orii^in  in  1789  down  to  the  first 
New  Enghmd  Conferenee  in  1792.  Lee  went  from  this 
session  to  the  General  Conference  at  Baltimore,  and 
afterward  to  his  j>aternal  home  in  Virginia,  where  he 
sj)ent  about  five  montlis  preaching  continually,  and 
making  excursions,  to  counteract  the  schism  of  O'Kelly. 
On  the  20th  of  FeViruary,  1793,  he  re-entered  Boston 
with  horse  and  saddK-l>ags,  in  the  fashion  of  the 
primitive  Methodist  itinerancy.  lie  arrived  afler  dark, 
much  fatigued,  "and  with  wet  feet,"  from  the  wintry 
slush  of  the  roads.  His  recollections  of  Boston  could 
not  be  the  most  cheering,  but  he  now  found  there  a 
warm  welcome,  and  "  was  comforted,"  he  says,  "  with 
the  Boston  class,  which  met  soon  after  I  got  at  Mr. 
Burrill's."  The  next  day  he  hastened  with  a  glad  heart 
to  his  "old  friends"  at  Lynn,  feeling  "thankful  to  God 
for  bringing  him  back  again,"  and  still  more  thankful 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  2U7 

to  find  "  that  religion  had  revived  among  the  people " 
in  his  absence. 

On  the  next  Sabbath  (24th)  he  preached  to  them  in 
their  yet  unfinished  house  from  2  Sam.  xx,  9  :  "Art  thou 
in  health,  my  brother  ?  "  "  It  was  a  good  time,"  he  says, 
"to  the  people,  and  profitable  to  myself.  We  then 
administered  the  sacrament,  and  three  grown  persons 
were  baptized,  and  several  added  to  the  Church." 

He  continued  about  three  weeks  in  Lynn  and  its 
vicinity,  but  as  it  was  supplied  by  the  services  of 
Rainor,  he  departed  on  the  18th  of  March  on  another 
excursion.  He  says :  "  I  set  ofi"  on  my  tour  to  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut.  I  rode  to  Boston,  and  at 
night  preached  on  Gal.  iii,  11.  I  found  satisfaction  in 
preaching,  and  the  people  were  quite  attentive.  Then 
Brother  Ezekiel  Cooper  exhorted,  and  his  words  seemed 
to  have  much  weight  with  the  heai*ers." 

During  this  tour  he  visited  Easton,  Pawtuxet,  War- 
wick, Greenwich,  Weckford,  Charlestown,  New  Lon- 
don ;  thence  he  journeyed  to  Genei-al  Lippett's,  in 
Cranston,  to  Providence,  Needham,  and  on  to  Boston ; 
after  which  he  returned  to  Lynn.  He  continued  to 
travel  and  preach  almost  daily  until  the  Conference  of 
the  first  of  August  ensuing,  confining  himself,  however, 
(if  indeed  it  can  be  called  confinement,)  mostly  to  Bos- 
ton, Lynn,  Marblehead,  and  Salem.  Lynn  was  his 
favorite  resort,  "  being,"  says  his  biographer,  "  more 
attached  to  it  than  to  any  other  place  within  the 
bounds  of  his  district." 

On  the  21st  of  July  Asbury  again  entered  New  En- 
gland on  his  way  to  the  second  Lynn  Conference.  He 
was  weary,  and  had  been  sick  nearly  four  months,  but 
pressed  onward,  attending  to  his  responsible  business, 
and  travelincT  during  these  four  months  of  illness  about 


208  IIISTOUY    OF    THE 

three  thousand  miles.  On  "  Monday  28,"  he  says,  "  we 
rode  upward  of  thirty  miles,  through  great  heat,  to 
Lvnn.  On  our  way  we  fed  our  horses,  and  bought  a 
cake  and  some  cheese  for  ourselves  ;  surely  we  are  a 
spectacle  to  men  and  angels.  The  last  nine  days  we 
have  rode  upward  of  two  hundred  miles,  and,  all 
things  taken  together,  I  think  it  worse  than  the  wil- 
derness. The  country  ahounds  with  rocks,  hills,  and 
stones,  and  the  heat  is  intense,  such  as  is  seldom 
known  in  these  parts." 

Though  wearied  and  feeble,  he  thought  not  of  repose. 
Tl)e  next  day  he  ascended  the  pulpit  and  |)roclaimed, 
"Hear  ye  me  Asa,  and  all  .Tudah,  and  Benjamin;  the 
Lord  is  with  you,  while  ye  be  with  him,  and  if  ye  seek 
him,  he  will  be  found  of  you  ;  but  if  ye  forsake  him  he 
will  forsake  you."  2  Chron.  xv,  2. 

On  the  first  day  of  August,  179.3,  the  Conference 
convened  at  Lynn.  The  preachers  of  the  circuits  in 
"Western  New  England  were  not  present,  as  a  separate 
session  had  been  appointed  for  their  convenience  at 
Tolland,  Conn.,  to  be  held  in  about  a  week  after  the 
one  at  Lynn.  We  have  but  little  information  respecting 
the  Lynn  session.  Eight  preachers  were  in  attendance. 
Asbury  remarks,  "  We  have  only  about  three  hundred 
members  in  the  district;  yet  we  liave  a  call  for  seven 
or  eight  preachers:  although  our  members  are  few,  our 
hearers  are  many."  The  business  of  the  session  closed 
on  Saturday.  The  next  day  four  sermons  were  deliv- 
ered in  the  new  chapel,  beginning  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  little  band  of  itinerants  partook  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  with  the  disciples  at  Lynn,  and  on  Mon- 
day morning  dispersed  to  their  various  fields  to  sutler, 
lalK>r,  an<l  triumph  another  year.  They  had  refreshed 
themselves  by  the  hospitality  of  the  young  and  prosper- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,  209 

ous  Church  by  the  interchange  of  their  ministerial 
sympathies,  and  by  united  invocations  of  the  bless- 
ing of  God  on  their  common  work ;  but  a  cloud 
had  hung  over  their  small  assembly,  and  their  hearts 
had  been  touched,  though  not  unproiitably,  by  deep 
sorrow.  The  news  of  the  O'Kelly  schism  in  the  South 
reached  them.  Nearly  twenty-five  preachers,  in  various 
parts  of  the  connection,  had  ceased  to  travel ;  four  of 
them  had  withdrawn,  and  among  these  was  their  own 
"  Boanerges."  John  Allen  had  laid  down  his  Sinai 
trumpet  to  take  it  up  no  more.  He  was  esteemed  one 
of  the  most  powerful  preachers  in  the  connection,  but 
was  infected  with  O'Kelly's  errors.  Lee  attributed  his 
alienation  to  this  fact.'  He  became  a  Congregational- 
ist,  then  a  Universalist,  and  at  last  retired  to  Maine  as 
a  physician.  Other  causes  of  grief  added  to  the  bitter- 
ness of  these,  and  the  sick  and  wayworn  Asbury  resumed 
his  travels,  remarking,  that"  circumstances  had  occurred 
which  made  this  Conference  more  painful  than  any  one 
Conference  besides." 

But  "no  man  havhig  put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  and 
looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God ;"  these  men 
so  believed,  and  they  believed  also  that  "  there  reraain- 
eth  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God."  They  addressed 
themselves  therefore  with  renewed  zeal  to  their  toils 
and  sufferings,  and  none  more  so  than  Asbury,  who 
now  mounted  his  horse,  and  set  his  face  toward  the 
West.  He  passed  a  short  time  at  Waltham,  in  the 
homestead  of  Benjamin  Bemis,  who  was  one  of  the 
first  Methodists  in  that  town,  and  whose  mansion, 
sequestered  among  hills,  and  surrounded  with  fragrant 
orchards,  became  not  only  a  sanctuary  for  the  worship 
of  his  rustic  neighbors,  but  the  favorite  home  of  the 

1  Lee's  History,  p.  196. 
C^U 


210  HISTORY    OF    THE 

itinerants  of  ^fethodism.  Tie  was  a  man  of  wealth, 
and  his  hospitalities  seemed  only  to  enhance  his  pros- 
perity. Xearly  all  the  great  men  of  the  early  Church 
were  entertained  beneath  his  roof,  and  proclaimed  the 
"glorious  Gospel"  in  the  shade  of  his  trees  to  the 
assembled  yeomanry  of  the  town.  The  conversion 
of  many  souls  has  consecrated  the  spot,  and  its  old 
historical  reminiscences  still  endear  it  to  the  Meth- 
odists of  the  Eastern  States.  Its  devoted  proprietor 
lived  to  enjoy  a  happy  and  sanctified  old  age,  and 
died  in  full  hojie  of  meeting  his  itinerant  brethren  in 
heaven.  It  became  the  family  residence  of  Pickering, 
who  married  the  daughter  of  Bemis,  and  passed  to 
heaven  amid  its  venerable  associations.'  Here  Asbury 
now  preached  to  a  large  assembly,  and  was  cheered  to 
find  a  deep  interest  among  the  people.  "Several  souls," 
he  writes,  "are  under  awakenings,  and  there  is  hope  the 
Lord  will  work.  The  harvest  is  great ;  the  living  faith- 
ful laborers  arc  few." 

His  j)hysical  sufferings  increased,  but  be  pressed  for- 
ward. On  Monday,  11,  the  Conference  met  in  Tolland, 
Conn.*  This  town  was  about  the  center  of  the  region 
included  in  what  was  then  the  Tolland  Circuit.*  It 
was  previously  connected  with  the  Hartford  Circuit, 
and  the  great  reformation,  which  had  extended  like  fire 
in  stubble  throush  the  latter,  under  the  labors  of  Hope 
Hull,  George  Roberts,  Lemuel  Smith,  and    their  col- 

»  The  first  Methodist  Church  of  Waltham  (now  the  Weston  Society) 
was  formed  in  tlic  house  of  Bemis,  and  his  own  name  was  first  on 
it«  cla«8  paper.  The  first  class  consisted  of  eijufht  members,  six  of 
whom  bore  the  name  of  Bemis.  One  of  them  waa  Mary  Bemis,  who 
joined  the  society  in  her  seventeenth  year,  and  married  Pickering  two 
years  afierward. 

•  Asburj's  Journals.  The  Minutes  say  the  twelfth,  but  the  time  waa 
often  anticipated  or  delayed  in  tho^e  early  days. 

♦  Letter  of  Joseph  Howard,  of  Tulland,  to  the  writer. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         211 

leagues,  the  preceding  two  years,  had  left  distinct 
traces  in  Tolland.  A  small  society  had  been  formed, 
and  a  chapel  erected  on  the  estate  of  an  excellent 
townsman,  Mr.  Howard,  who  befriended  the  infant 
Church,  and  most  of  whose  family  were  made  partakers 
of  the  grace  of  life  through  its  instrumentality.^  It 
was  in  this  chapel,  then  but  partially  finished,  that  the 
Conference  assembled.  Most  of  the  preachers,  ten 
or  twelve  in  number,  were  entertained  at  Howard's 
hospitable  house,  where,  as  with  Bemis,  Lippett, 
Barratt,  Bassett,  Gough,  Rembert,  and  Russell,  the 
itinerants  of  these  early  times  found  sumptuous  fare 
among  the  few  "noble"  who  believed.  Asbury  ad- 
dressed them  from  2  Tim.  ii,  24-26 :  "  The  servant  of 
the  Lord  must  not  strive ;  but  be  gentle  unto  all  men, 
apt  to  teach,  patient ;  in  meekness  instructing  those 
that  oppose  themselves ;  if  God  peradventure  will  give 
them  repentance  to  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth," 
etc.  "  Lame  as  I  was,"  he  writes,  "  I  went  through  the 
business;  I  was  tired  out  with  labor,  heat,  -psau,  and 
company."  Yet  he  departed  the  same  day.  "  Being 
unable  to  ride  on  horseback,  I  drove  on  in  a  carriage 
through  the  rain,  over  the  rocks,  in  the  dark,  and  came 
to  Dr.  Steel's,  at  Ellington.  I  am  now  not  able  to  move 
from  my  horse  to  a  house."  LTnable  to  ride  his  horse, 
he  still  journeyed  onward.  "I  came  in  Brother  S.'s 
carriage  to  Hartford.  From  what  we  can  gather,  we 
are  encouraged  to  hope  that  upward  of  three  hundred 
souls  have  been  awakened,  and  more  than  two  hundred 

6  My  correspondent,  last  cited,  was  one  of  bis  sons ;  two  other 
sons  had  to  endure  rather  severely  the  force  of  the  "principles"  of 
those  times  for  their  attachment  to  Methodism.  They  were  carried, 
together  with  Abel  Bliss,  Esq.,  of  Wilbraham,  to  Northampton  jail  for 
resisting  oppressive  taxations  for  the  support  of  the  Congregational 
Church. 


212  IIISTOIJV    OF     THE 

converted  to  God  the  last  year.  If  this  work  goes  on, 
Satan  will  be  hiboring  by  all  means,  and  by  every 
instrument.'" 

From  Middletown  he  passed  to  New  Haven,  thence 
to  Derby,  "with  a  retupi  of  inflammation  in  the  throat," 
thence  to  West  Haven,  "very  unwell,"  thence  he  "had 
heavy  work  to  get  to  KeiMing,  being  lame  in  both 
feet."  On  his  way  to  the  latter  place  he  was  compelled 
to  "lay  down  on  the  roadside."  "I  felt,"  he  says,  "like 
Jonah  or  Elijah.  1  took  to  my  bed  at  Redding."  The 
bed,  however,  was  no  place  for  such  a  man.  On  the 
eighteenth  we  find  him  riding  "ten  miles  on  horseback, 
an<l  thirteen  in  a  carriage,"  to  Bedford,  where  he 
"rested  a  day  at  dear  Widow  Banks's,  and  was  at 
home,"  exclaiming,  "  O  how  sweet  is  one  day's  rest ! " 
On  the  twi-ntieth  he  left  New  England,  "riding  thirty- 
three  miles"  on  horseback.  "On  the  route  my  horse 
started,"  he  says,  "  and  threw  me  into  a  mill-race,  knee 
deep  in  water,  my  hands  and  side  in  the  dirt ;  my 
shotiMer  was  hurt  by  the  fall.  I  stopped  at  a  house, 
shitled  my  clothes,  and  prayed  with  the  ))eoj)le.  If  any 
of  these  people  are  awakened  by  my  8to])ping  there,  all 
will  be  well."  Such  was  Asbury,  and  such  his  early 
toils  and  sufterings  in  Xew  England.  He  belongs  to 
her  history  as  well  as  to  that  of  every  other  portion  of 
the  Church,  and  the  personal  incidents  of  his  official 
visitations  to  the  East,  however  scanty,  are  no  insignifi- 
cant illustrations  of  the  times  and  the  man. 

The  Lynn  and  Tolland  Conferences  formed  the  fol- 
lowing jtlans  of  laVtor  for  the  ensuing  year: 

Ezekiel  Cooper,  Elder ;  Boston,  Amos  G.  Thompson ; 
Needham,  John  Hill;  Lynn,  Jordan  Hex  ford  ;  Green- 
wich, David  Kendall,  Enoch  kludge  ;  Warren,  Philip 
Wager ;  Province  of  Maine  and  Lynn,  Jesse  Lee. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        213 

George  Roberts,  Elder ;  Hartford,  George  Pickering, 
Joshua  Hall ;  New  London,  G.  Roberts,  R.  SAvain,  F. 
Aldridge  ;  Middletown,  Joshua  Taylor,  Benjamin  Fid- 
ler  ;  Litchfield,  Lemuel  Smith,  Daniel  Ostrander  ;  Tol- 
land, Joseph  Lovell.  Besides  these,  there  were  three 
New  England  Circuits  within  the  Albany  District, 
under  the  Presiding  Eldership  of  Thomas  Ware: 
namely,  Granville,  Hezekiah  Woosler  and  Jason  Per- 
kins ;  Pittsfield,  James  Covel  and  Zadok  Priest ;  and 
Fairfield,  Aaron  Hunt  and  James  Coleman.  The  itin- 
erant field  in  New  England  comprehended,  then,  tAvo 
districts,  and  part  of  a  third,  fourteen  circuits  and  sta- 
tions, and  twenty-five  laborers. 

This  bare  catalogue  of  names  is  strikingly  suggest- 
ive. We  find  in  it  itinerants  whom  we  have  already 
met  in  other  and  remote  fields ;  the  records  of  no  other 
body  of  men,  except  perhaps  in  military  history,  can 
show  such  movement  and  energy.  We  have  sketched 
elsewhere  several  of  these  militant  evangelists:  Cooper, 
Pickering,  Roberts,  Wooster,  Ware,  Coleman,  but 
some  of  the  remainder  equally  merit  our  attention. 

Enoch  Mudge  bore  the  distinguished  honor  of  being 
the  first  native  Methodist  preacher  of  New  England. 
He  was  born  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  on  the  21st  of  June,  1776. 
"  O  what  a  mercy,"  he  exclaims  in  a  manuscript  record 
before  me,  "  that  I  was  born  of  25arents  that  feared  the 
Lord,  and  consecrated  me  early  to  him !  If  they  did 
not  fully  know  the  way  of  the  Lord  when  I  was  born, 
their  hearts  were  imbued  with  his  fear.  I  distinctly 
recollect  that  among  my  first  impressions  were  those 
made  by  their  pious  eiforts  to  give  me  just  views  of  the 
goodness  of  my  heavenly  Father,  and  the  great  benevo- 
lence of  my  kind  and  gracious  Redeemer.  While  truth 
and  grace  were  thus  struggling  for  an  early  existence, 


214  HISTORY    OF    THE 

all  that  is  natural  to  an  unrenewed  heart  was  working 
in  their  usual  courses,  checked  indeed,  but  not  subdued. 
"When,  in  my  fifteenth  year,  Jesse  Lee  came  to  Lynn, 
my  jiarcnts  were  ainong  the  first  to  hear  and  welcome 
the  joyful  tidings  of  a  Gospel  which  they  never  before 
had  known  in  such  richness.  Tlicy  were  both  brought 
into  tht*  liliiTty  of  the  truth.  The  fruits  ol"  piety  in 
them  were  clearly  discerned  by  me.  Lee's  preaching 
was  afliecting,  searching,  humbling,  soothing,  and  in- 
structing. I  longed  to  have  him  talk  with  me,  but 
dared  not  put  myself  in  his  way.  I  resolved  and  re- 
resolved  to  open  my  mind  to  him  ;  but  when  the  time 
came  my  heart  failed.  About  four  months  passed 
away  in  this  manner.  I  heard  j (reaching,  went  to 
class-meeting,  and  sought  the  company  of  serious  per- 
sons. When  fear,  gloom,  and  despair  began  to  hover 
over  me,  at  a  class-meeting,  John  Lee,  who  was  truly  a 
son  of  consolation,  seeing  my  case,  was  enabled  to  pour 
in  the  balm  of  divine  truth,  and  lead  my  thirsty  soul  to 
the  fountain  of  grace,  opened  in  the  atonement  for  poor, 
weary,  and  heavy-laden  sinners.  I  left,  the  meeting 
with  a  ray  of  hope,  retired,  and  poured  out  my  soul 
before  God.  Access  was  granted,  and  encouragement 
dawned  amid  the  darkness.  I  feared  to  go  to  sleep  lest 
I  should  lose  the  tender  and  encouraging  views  and 
feelincrs  I  liad.  I  li:i<l  little  sleep,  arose  early,  and  went 
forth  for  i)rayer.  My  mind  became  calm,  tranquil,  and 
joyful.  I  was  insensibly  led  forth  in  praise  and  grati- 
tude to  God.  I  drew  a  book  from  my  pocket  and 
opened  on  the  hymn  that  commences  with 

*  0  joyful  sound  of  Gospel  grace  ! 

Clirist  eball  in  me  appear; 
I,  even  I,  shall  see  his  face ; 

I  shall  be  holy  here.' 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  215 

"  The  whole  hymn  seemed  more  like  an  inspiration 
from  heaven  than  anything  of  which  I  had  a  conception, 
except  the  word  of  God.  I  could  only  read  a  verse  at 
a  time,  and  then  give  vent  to  the  gushing  forth  of  joy 
and  gi-ateful  praise.  In  this  way  I  went  through  it. 
But  I  said  to  myself,  What  is  this  ?  Is  it  pardon  ?  Is 
it  acceptance  with  God  ?  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  am  un- 
speakably happy.  I  dared  not  to  say  this  is  conversion. 
It  is  what  I  have  sought  and  longed  for ;  but  O  that  I 
could  always  be  thus  grateful  to  God,  and  have  my  heart 
flow  forth  in  such  a  tide  of  love  to  my  Saviour.  During 
the  day,  which  was  the  16th  of  September,  1'791, 1  often 
sought  to  be  alone  to  give  vent  to  my  feelings.  At 
evening  I  sought  to  unbosom  myself  to  a  young  man 
with  whom  I  was  familiar,  on  these  subjects.  As  soon  as 
I  had  told  him  he  burst  into  tears,  and  said,  '  O,  Enoch, 
God  has  blessed  your  soul !  do  pray  for  me,  that  I  may 
partake  of  the  love  and  joy  God  has  given  you.'  And 
now,  for  the  first  time,  my  voice  was  heard  in  praying 
with  another.  My  faith  became  confirmed,  and  I  went 
on  with  increasing  consolation  and  strength.  In  this 
state  of  mind  I  could  not  be  content  to  enjoy  such  a 
heavenly  feast  alone.  I  took  opportunity  to  speak  to 
my  young  friends ;  a  goodly  number  embraced  the 
Saviour,  and  devoted  their  lives  to  his  service.  I  heard 
Lee  preach  from  this  text:  2  Tim,  ii,  19,  'Let  every  one 
that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ,  dejjart  from  iniquity.' 
I  felt  the  privilege  and  obligation  of  having  been  con- 
secrated to  God  by  parents,  and  of  making  a  surrender 
of  myself  to  him.  It  was  with  fear  and  trembling  I 
went  forward  to  the  holy  communion ;  but  the  Lord 
blessed  his  word  and  ordinance  to  me,  and  I  found 
wisdom's  ways  pleasant,  and  all  her  paths  peace.  I  felt 
the  need  of  mental  and  moral  cultivation,  and  applied 


216  HISTORY    OF    THE 

my  mind  to  it ;  hut  have  reason  to  lament  the  want  of 
a  judicious  instructor." 

The  economy  of  Methodism  is  peculiarly  ada])tcd  to 
call  out  talent  and  direct  it  to  its  appropriate  sphere. 
Its  numerous  minute  services,  in  which  every  mcinhcr 
is  expected  to  share  as  he  is  able,  render  manifest 
generally  the  whole  ability  of  its  people.  From 
prayintj  in  the  ])rayor-mcetin<x,  they  rise  to  be  class- 
leaders,  exhorters,  and,  if  God  <;rants  them  gifts,  and 
the  call  of  his  Spirit,  local,  and,  finally,  traveling  preach- 
ers. Enoch  Mudtre  passed  throuixh  these  gradations. 
Marbli'lK'a<l,  Maiden,  Hoston,  and  other  places,  were 
often  visited  by  him  at  the  request  of  Lee.  He  began 
by  "exhorting"  at  their  social  meetings,  and,  in  time, 
expounded  the  Scriptures  in  their  pulpits,  applying 
himself  meanwhile  to  appropriate  studies. 

At  the  New  England  Conference  held  in  Lynn,  Au- 
gust 1,  179;^,  he  was  received  on  trial,  and  appointed  to 
Greenwich  Circuit,  K.  I.  Warren  and  Greenwich  Cir- 
cuits were  united,  ami  included  all  the  State  of  Khode 
Island,  an«l  all  the  towns  in  ^lassachusetts  as  far  east 
as  Bridgewater,  Middleborough,  etc.  "This,"  he  writes, 
"  was  a  most  important  crisis  in  my  life.  I  was  a  youth 
in  my  eighteenth  year,  leaving  my  father's  house,  from 
which  I  had  not  been  absent  a  week  at  a  time  in  the 
course  of  my  life.  The  Methodists  were  a  denomina- 
tion little  known,  generally  oj)posed  and  disputed  in 
every  place  they  approached.  Never  had  a  preacher  of 
this  order  been  raised  in  New  England  before.  All 
eyes  were  openeil  for  good  or  for  evil.  Hopes,  fears, 
and  reproaches  were  alive  on  the  subject.  My  friends 
felt  and  prayed  much  for  me ;  but  my  own  mind  was 
keenly  sensible  of  the  importance  of  the  undertaking. 
Anxiety  and  incessant  application  to  duty  brought  on  a 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  217 

distressing  pain  in  my  head,  and  finally  threw  me  into 
a  fever  within  two  weeks  after  leaving  home.  The 
Lord  was  gracious,  and  kept  my  mind  in  a  state  of 
resignation  and  peace.  I  felt  that  it  was  a  chastening 
for  reluctance  to  duty,  and  strove  to  be  more  entirely 
devoted  to  the  work.  I  was  very  sick  for  a  short  time, 
but  got  out  as  soon  as  possible.  It  had  been  reported 
that  I  was  dead,  and  one  man,  who  felt  an  interest  in 
my  case,  came  to  the  house  to  make  arrangements  for 
my  funeral.  When  I  set  out  on  my  circuit  again  I  was 
hardly  able  to  sit  on  my  horse,  and  suffered  much 
through  weakness  and  distress  occasioned  by  riding. 
I  met  with  much  better  acceptance  than  I  feared. 
With  feelings  of  unutterable  gratitude,  I  returned  at 
the  close  of  the  year  to  my  father's  house  in  peace, 
health,  and  gladness  of  heart,  to  see  my  friends  and 
attend  Conference.  Never  did  my  parents  appear  so 
dear.  Never  did  the  quiet  and  retired  scenes  of  home 
appear  so  precious.  But  I  had  no  home  now.  I  felt  I 
was  but  a  visitor.  It  would  be  as  useless  as  impossible 
to  try  to  describe  my  emotions.  With  a  heart  ready  to 
burst  with  yearning  for  home,  and  the  early  attachments 
of  my  first  Christian  friendship,  I  left  for  ray  new  ap- 
pointment on  New  London  Circuit,  which  required 
about  three  hundred  miles  travel  to  compass  it.  I 
attended  Conference  at  Wilbraham,  September  8,  1794, 
and  went  thence,  in  company  with  Jesse  Lee,  to  New 
London,  and  commenced  my  labors.  Here  was  a  very 
laborious  field  for  three  preachers.  The  senior  preacher, 
Wilson  Lee,  was  taken  sick,  and  called  off  from  his 
labors."  We  have  seen  his  mission  thence  to  Southold, 
L.  I.  "  I  had,"  continues  Mudge,  "  daily  renewed  cause 
of  gratitude  for  the  abundant  goodness  of  God  to  such 
a  feeble,  utterly  unworthy  instrument  as  he  graciously 


218  HISTORY    OF    THE 

deigned  to  use  for  the  good  of  precious  souls.  Riding, 
visiting,  preaching,  class  and  prayer-meetings,  took  up 
the  time  every  day  in  the  week.  After  the  second 
quarter  was  past,  which  1  felt  was  profitable  to  me,  and 
I  hope  to  many  others,  I  went  to  supply  the  place  of  a 
preacher  who  had  left  Litchfield  Circuit,  Mass.,  and 
after  going  once  around,  I  passed  to  Granville,  Conn. 
This  was  an  extensive  field,  and  required  much  labor. 
Here  I  had  the  happiness  of  having  Joshua  Taylor 
as  a  fellow-laborer.  I  derived  instruction  and  profit 
by  a  brotherly  intercourse  with  him.  On  this  circuit, 
also,  I  first  became  acquainted  with  Timothy  Merritt, 
before  he  was  a  preacher.  Ilis  piety  and  devotedness 
to  God  and  the  cause  of  religion  gave  an  earnest  of  his 
future  uselulness.  He  began  to  preach  the  next  year. 
Our  next  Conference  was  held  at  New  London.  Here 
I  received  deacon's  orders,  and  was  appointed  to  Read- 
field  Circuit,  in  the  then  Province  of  Maine.  Long  rides 
and  bad  roads,  crossing  rivers  without  ferry-boats,  buf- 
feting storms,  breaking  jiaths,  sJecjting  in  open  cabins 
and  log  huts,  coarse  and  scanty  fare,  all  served  to  call 
out  the  energies  of  the  mind  and  body.  I  assure  you 
this  was  a  pleasant  task,  and  a  soul-sat ifyitig  scene  of 
labor,  because  the  people  were  hungry  for  the  worci 
O  my  blessed  Master,  may  I  hope  to  meet  many  in  thy 
kingdom  who  then  first  heard  and  embraced  the  word 
of  truth  !  Preaching  jilaces  multiplied,  our  borders 
were  enlarged,  the  Church  increased,  God  prospered 
his  cause. 

"  Readfield  was  the  first  place  in  the  State  of  Maine 
where  a  Methodist  meeting-house  was  erected.  A  glo- 
rious work  was  commenced,  that  has,  in  its  advance- 
ment, filled  the  land.  It  was  on  this  circuit  I  formed 
an  acquaintance  with  young  Joshua  Soule,  now  Bishop 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         219 

Soule.  I  had  received  his  wife  into  society  on  my  first 
circuit,  when  she  was  only  about  twelve  years  old,  and 
he  was  but  about  sixteen.  He  had  a  precocious  mind, 
a  strong  memory,  a  manly  and  dignified  turn,  although 
his  appearance  was  exceedingly  rustic.  In  mentioning 
Mrs.  Soule,  I  am  reminded  of  several  pious  young 
women  who  embraced  religion  on  my  first  circuit,  and 
who  afterward  became  the  wives  of  several  distin- 
guished preachers.  Among  these  were  Mrs.  Kent,  Mrs. 
Soule,  Mrs.  Hill,  Mrs.  Ostrander,  and  Mrs.  S.  Hull.  It 
is  cheering  to  look  over  the  scene  and  recognize  the 
children  and  children's  children  of  those  who  then  were 
brought  into  the  Church  in  its  infancy. 

"In  1796  our  Conference  was  held  at  Thompson,  in 
the  State  of  Connecticut.  Here  I  received  elder's  orders, 
although  bat  just  entering  my  twentieth  year.  I  was 
stationed  at  Bath,  in  Maine.  Jesse  Lee,  our  presiding 
elder,  went  to  the  South,  and  was  absent  six  months. 
I  attended  the  quarterly  meetings,  and  went  around  the 
circuits  to  administer  the  ordinances.  This  was  a  year 
of  incessant  labor,  great  exposure,  and  toil,  so  that 
toward  its  close  my  health  failed.  Although  stationed 
at  Bath,  I  preached  there  but  one  or  two  Sabbaths. 
The  work  in  Maine  being  under  my  charge,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Lee,  I  went  to  Penobscot,  whither  the  appointed 
preacher  declined  going.  He  supplied  Bath  for  me,  and 
I  went  on  to  Penobscot,  picked  up  some  scattered  ap- 
pointments, and  opened  others ;  organized  Churches, 
sent  for  help,  enlarged  the  field  of  labor,  and  had  a 
prosperous  year  there."  ^ 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  long  ministerial  career 

« I  have  sketched  this  interesting  character,  as  also  most  of  the  early- 
New  England  itinerants,  more  fully  in  the  "  Memorials  of  Methodism 
in  the  Eastern  Stales."     2  vols.    1848  and  1852. 


220  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  Enoch  Mudge,  one  of  the  chief  and  most  admirable 
characters  of  Xew  Enghmd  Methodist  history.  In 
stature  he  was  below  the  ordinary  height,  stoutly 
framed,  with  a  full  round  face  healthfully  colored,  and 
expressive  of  the  ])erfect  benignity  and  amiability  of  his 
spirit.  In  advanced  life  his  undiminished  but  silvered 
hair  crowned  him  with  a  highly  venerable  aspect.  In 
manners,  he  would  have  been  a  befitting  comjtanion  for 
St.  John.  The  spirit  of  C'hristian  charity  iujbued  him; 
hojH'fulness,  cheerfulness,  entire  reliance  on  God,  confi- 
dence in  his  friends,  extreme  care  to  give  no  offence, 
and  a  fV-licitous  relish  of  the  reliefs  and  comforts  of 
green  old  age,  were  among  his  marked  characteristics. 
He  was  distinguislu'd  by  excellent  pulpit  (pialifications, 
fertility  of  thought,  warmth  of  feeling  without  extrava- 
gance, peculiar  richness  of  illustration,  and  a  manner 
alwavs  self-possessed  and  marked  by  the  constitutional 
amenity  of  his  tem)»er.  None  were  ever  wearied  under 
his  discourses.  He  published  a  volume  of  excellent  ser- 
mons for  mariners,  and  many  poetical  pieces  of  more 
than  ordinary  merit.  We  shall  meet  him  again  in  the 
course  of  our  narrative. 

Aaron  ITunt  survived  to  the  present  generation,  one 
of  the  most  venerated  men  of  the  denomination.  He 
was  born  in  East  Chester,  Westchester  County,  New 
York,  ^larch  2H,  1768,  When  near  seventeen  years  of 
age,  he  went  to  New  York  city,  and  was  <'inj)]oyed  as 
clerk  in  a  store  by  a  distant  relative.  "  There  I  prided 
myself,"  he  says,  "in  just  dealing  and  good  morals,  and 
generally  attended  divine  worship  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  where  the  doctrine  taught  confirmed 
rae  in  the  belief  that  all  religion  consisted  in  morah  and 
ordinances.''''''  When  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  he 
»  Letter  to  the  author. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        221 

attended  a  meeting  in  the  old  John-street  Church,  and 
heard,  for  the  first  time,  a  Methodist  preacher.  "He  so 
explained  and  enforced  the  word  of  God,"  he  says,  "  as 
to  convince  me  that  I  had  no  religion."  He  sought  it 
earnestly-j  and  when  about  twenty-one  years  old,  he 
"  found  redemption  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  even  the  for- 
giveness of  sins."  He  now  felt  an  ardent  desire  for  the 
salvation  of  others,  and  began  to'  speak  and  pray  in 
social  meetings.  He  rode  thirty  miles  to  hear  Benjamin 
Abbott,  and  Avhile  the  old  man  sung  the  hymn,  "  Refin- 
ing fire  go  through  my  soul,"  etc.,  "  an  awful  tremb- 
ling," says  Hunt,  "  came  upon  me  and  all  in  the  house ; 
my  bodily  strength  failed,  and  I  felt  agony  for  a  clean 
heart."  ^  He  afterward  attained  this  blessing.  In  the 
winter  of  1790-1,  "encouraged  by  that  dear  old  man, 
Jacob  Brush,  presiding  elder  of  the  New  York  District," 
he  went  to  Long  Island  Circuit,  with  "William  Phoebus. 
In  May,  1791,  he  was  admitted  on  trial  in  the  New 
York  Conference,  and  appointed  to  Fairfield  Circuit, 
Connecticut,  in  company  with  Mills,  "  a  man  small  in 
stature,  intelligent,  sound,  an  able  preacher,  and  rather 
inclined  to  dejection."  Fairfield  Circuit  included  the 
whole  of  the  county  of  that  name,  and  some  places  in 
its  vicinity.  In  1792,  he  was  appointed  to  Middletown 
Circuit.  It  included  Middlesex  and  a  great  part  of 
New  Haven  Counties.  This  year  his  presiding  elder 
directed  him  to  cross  the  Connecticut  River,  to  "  break 
up  new  ground."  From  East  Hartford  he  passed  to 
Enfield,  Springfield,  Wilbraham,  etc.,  and  thence  into 
Windham  County,  preaching  in  Pomfret,  Mansfield, 
and  several  of  the  adjacent  towns,  "generally,"  he  re- 
marks, "  to  good  congregations ;  though  at  one  appoint- 
ment, whither  I  had  been  directed  by  Jesse  Lee,  I  had 
8  MS.  autobiographj'. 


222  HI  STORY    OF    THE 

no  congregation,  nor  would  the  gentleman  on  whom  I 
called  suffer  me  to  stay  in  his  house.  I  had  to  ride 
several  miles  in  the  darkness  of  the  night  to  a  public 
house.  A  kind  Providence  Avitnessed  my  prayers  and 
tears,  and  overruled  this  for  good.  The  innkeeper  in- 
vited me  to  stay  and  ])reach  in  his  ball-room  the  next 
day.  I  did  so;  the  congregation  was  so  large  that  we 
adjourned  to  the  meetinghouse,  where  I  preached  with 
great  liberty.  In  this  tour  I  labored  in  many  places 
not  before  visite<l  by  any  Methodist.  We  did  not  wait 
to  be  invited,  in  thuse  days,  but  sowed  the  seed  of  the 
kingdom  wherever  we  could.  As  by  our  excellent 
economy  my  brethren  soon  succeeded  me,  good  soci- 
eties were  formed  in  many  places."  At  the  Tolland 
Conference,  Aug.  12,  170.3,  Bishop  Asbury  gave  him 
deacon's  orders,  and  ai)pointed  him  again  to  Fairfield 
Circuit.  There  he  found  several  of  his  spiritual  chil- 
dren, and  met  with  a  cordial  reception.  At  the  Confer- 
ence of  1794  he  located  on  account  of  his  prostrate 
health.  On  the  iHth  of  January,  1800,  he  resumed  the 
duties  of  an  itinerant  preacher.  In  June  following,  he 
received  elder's  orders,  at  the  Conference  in  New  York, 
and  was  appointed  to  Litchfield  Circuit,  then  about  two 
hundred  miles  in  circumference.  Al)out  this  period  he 
located  his  family  on  a  small  farm  in  Kedding,  Connect- 
icut, and  gave  himself  fully  to  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
though  with  great  sacrifice  of  domestic  comfort.  At 
the  Conference  of  1801,  he  received  a  dispensation  from 
regular  work,  for  domestic  considerations;  hence,  his 
name  was  retained  on  the  Minutes  without  an  appoint- 
ment ;  still  he  labored  extensively  in  different  places 
during  that  year.  In  ls02  he  was  appointed  to  New 
London  Circuit,  which  then  extended  from  the  Thames 
to  the  Connecticut  River.     "  Here  we  had,"  he  says, 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  223 

"some  excellent,  though  small  societies,  especially  in 
New  London  and  Norwich,  with  whom  and  my  highly 
esteemed  colleague,  Michael  Coate,  I  enjoyed  great 
satisfaction  and  many  happy  seasons."  The  next  two 
years  he  labored  on  New  Rochelle  Circuit,  New  York, 
and  during  the  following  two  in  New  York  city.  A 
remarkable  revival  of  religion,  such  as  had  never  been 
known  before  in  that  community,  prevailed  through 
these  two  years.  In  1807  he  returned  to  New  England, 
and  traveled  Litchfield  Circuit.  He  continued  to  itin- 
erate some  fifteen  years  longer,  much  of  the  time  in  New 
England,  when  he  was  returned  as  supernumerary,  but 
still  moved  to  and  fro,  preaching  as  he  was  able. 

A  singularly  faultless  character  made  his  quiet  old 
age  a  living  ministry  in  the  Church.  When  tottering 
with  years  he  wrote,  "  I  am  approximating  the  comple- 
tion of  my  fourscore  years,  and  my  interest  in  the  pros- 
perity of  our  Zion  is  not  abated,  nor  do  I  regret  the 
toils  and  privations  of  those  early  days.  I  only  grieve 
that  I  have  not  done  more  and  better  for  the  interests 
of  Christ's  kingdom.  The  great  atonement  made  for 
sin,  and  the  consequent  sanctifying  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  are  my  only  hope  of  future  and  eternal 
rest."  9 

At  last,  aged  more  than  ninety  years,  the  veteran  lay 
down  to  die.  "  During  his  sickness,"  say  the  Minutes, 
"he  frequently  quoted  the  hymn,  'Jesus,  lover  of  my 
soul,'  and  was  often  favored  with  seasons  of  gi-eat  ten- 
derness and  rapture.  He  sweetly  fell  asleej)  in  Jesus, 
April  25,  1858,"  in  Sharon,  Connecticut. 

Joshua  Taylor,  who  lingered,  in  Maine,  till  our  own 
day,  was  born  in  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  Feb.  5,  1768. 
A  strictly  moral  education  in  his  childhood,  especially 
»  Letter  to  the  author. 


22-4  HISTORY     OF     THE 

the  example  and  instructions  of  a  devoted  mother,  im- 
parted to  his  mind  an  early  bias  toward  religion.  "  I 
sometimes  wished,"  he  writes,  "that  my  conscience 
would  k't  me  alone  until  I  became  ohler,  and  then  I 
would  turn  aii<l  do  bi-tter;  at  other  times  I  feared  I 
should  go  one  step  too  far  in  the  ways  of  sin,  and  lose 
my  soul  for  ever,  the  thought  of  which  was  terrible. 
When  I  was  between  twenty  and  twenty-one  years  of 
age  it  pleased  God  to  take  from  me  my  mother  by 
death.  The  death  of  my  father,  which  took  place  about 
three  years  before  this,  made  no  lasting  impression  on 
my  mind;  but  now  I  wept  and  mourned,  but  so  igno- 
rant was  I  of  the  nature  of  religion,  that,  at  first,  I  had 
no  thought  that  any  thing  more  was  necessary  than  to 
reform  my  outward  life — and  accordingly  I  renounced 
whatever  I  thought  to  be  sinful,  and  paid  strict  atten- 
tion to  religious  meetings,  reading  the  sacred  Scrijj- 
tures,  and  also  attempted  to  pray  in  secret.  In  so  doing 
I  was  brought,  after  a  few  weeks,  to  feel  the  need  of 
an  inward,  as  well  as  an  outward,  renovation.  Now 
trouble  and  distress  rolled  in  upon  me.  I  strove  to 
pray  for  mercy,  and  at  times  hoped  that  I  should  <tbtain 
it,  but  at  other  times  was  almost  in  despair.  In  this 
situation  I  continued  about  four  months,  during  which 
time  the  devil  took  every  advantage  of  me,  and  poured 
in  his  fiery  darts  like  a  Hood;  he  assailed  m6  with 
strong  temptations  to  atheism,  deism,  and  fatalism,  and 
with  these  ideas  almost  overpowered  me.  These  agita- 
tions were  of  frequent  and  long  continuance.  But  still 
my  heart  remained  hard  ;  it  seemed  as  if  my  convictions 
were  all  leaving  me,  and  I  should  be  left  to  my  own 
destruction.  I  mourne<l  because  I  could  not  mourn 
aright,  and  nothing  aflbrded  me  any  encouragement.'" 
>•  Letter  to  the  author. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  225 

In  Febniary,  1789,  on  a  Saturday  evening,  he  at- 
tended a  Methodist  prayer-meeting  at  a  private  house. 
"I  felt,"  he  says,  "that  I  only  grew  worse,  and  must 
perish  in  my  present  condition.  The  meeting  closed, 
and  my  heart  remained  hard.  Part  of  the  people  with- 
drew; but  a  few  remained,  and  I  with  them.  Before 
leaving  the  house,  some  one  proposed  to  have  prayer 
again,  and  while  the  company  were  singing,  light  broke 
into  my  mind.  I  had  such  a  discovery  of  the  beauty 
and  excellence  of  the  Saviour's  chai-acter,  that  I  felt  to 
admire  and  adore,  and,  glory  be  to  his  name,  I  felt 
that  he  did  have  mercy  upon  me.  All  his  attributes 
appeared  lovely  to  my  soul,  and  1  sunk  down  into  calm- 
ness and  resignation  to  his  will,  so  that  I  went  home 
rejoicing  and  praising  God,  and  in  this  sweet  frame 
closed  my  eyes  for  sleep.  I  loved  my  Saviour,  I  loved 
his  children,  and  rejoiced  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory." 

Some  months  later  he  was  induced  to  exhort  in  pub- 
lic, and  soon  the  way  was  opened  before  him  for  more 
important  labors.  He  joined  the  itinerant  ranks  in  1791. 
The  next  year  he  entered  New  England,  and  labored 
on  Fairfield  Circuit.  "I  recollect,"  he  writes,  "that 
some  of  our  rides  wei-e  long  and  tedious  in  the  winter. 
But  we  found  kind  friends,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
year  had  a  blessed  revival  of  religion;  many  were 
awakened,  and  a  goodly  number  were  converted  to  the 
Lord.  One  instance,  which  I  recorded  in  my  memo- 
randum, I  will  here  state.  A  Mr.  S.,  living  in  Step- 
ney, was  friendly  to  the  Methodists  until  his  wife  joined 
our.  society,  but  after  that  he  became  so  enraged  that 
he  took  an  oath  he  would  disown  her  if  she  ever  went 
into  a  class-meeting  again.  When  I  came  round  again, 
they  were  both  at  meeting.  After  preaching,  I  re- 
C— 15 


226  HISTORY    OF    THE 

quested  the  class  to  stop,  as  usual;  she  stopped,  but 
when  he  perceived  it  he  came  into  the  room,  and  taking 
hold  of  her  arm,  pulled  her  out.  This  act  excited  much 
feeling  among  us;  they  were  not  forgotten  in  our 
prayers ;  and  as  they  were  goiug  home,  the  Lord  smote 
him  with  such  keen  conviction  that  he  groaned  with 
anguish.  The  next  time  when  I  came  round  I  j»reached 
at  his  house,  and  found  him  under  deep  conviction,  but 
strongly  tempted  to  put  his  horrid  oath  into  execution; 
and  yet  he  seemed  sensible  that  it  would  terminate  in 
the  ruin  of  his  soul.  I  reasoned  a  long  time  with  him, 
and  left  him  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord.  "When  I  came 
round  again  he  professed  to  have  found  peace  with  God, 
and,  after  making  a  very  humble  confession  for  what  he 
had  said  against  his  wife  and  us,  he  joined  our  society 
himself.  A  blesse<l  time  of  rejoicing  was  experienced 
both  in  his  family  and  in  the  little  Church." 

During  the  following  four  years  he  traveled  success- 
ively Middletown,  Conn.,  Granville,  Mass.,  Trenton, 
N.  J.,  and  (the  second  time)  Middletown  Circuits.  In 
1707,  when  the  a])pointment8  in  Maine,  which  had  in- 
creased to  six  circuits,  were  organized  into  a  district,  he 
was  appointed  presiding  elder  over  them,  and  will  ever 
hold  a  prominent  ])lace  in  the  annals  of  the  Church  in 
that  state  as  the  first  officer  of  the  kind  who  exclusively 
pertained  to  it.  He  continued  sole  presiding  elder  in 
Maine,  during  four  years,  with  such  men  as  Timothy 
Merritt,  Nicholas  Snethen,  Enoch  Mudgc,  Peter  Jane, 
Joshua  Soule,  John  Broadhead,  Daniel  Webb,  and 
Epaphras  Kibby,  under  him.  Though  that  was  "the 
day  of  small  things,"  it  was  one  of  great  men,  in  Maine, 
as  we  shall  hereafter  see.  From  Maine  he  passed  to 
Boston  District,  where  he  continued  two  years ;  here 
again  he  commanded  a  corps  of  the  "giants  of  those 


_J 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         227 

days ; "  among  them  wore  Joshua  Wells,  Joshua  Soule, 
George  Pickering,  Dr.  Thomas  F.  Sargent,  Dr.  Thomas 
Lyell,  etc.  In  1803  he  was  reappointed  to  the  Maine 
District,  then  comprehending  eleven  circuits — the  whole 
extent  of  Methodism  in  the  state.  The  following  two 
years  he  was  stationed  at  Portland,  and  in  1806,  after 
fifteen  yeai-s  of  indefatigable  travels  and  toils,  located — 
following  the  almost  universal  example,  perhaps  we 
may  say  necessity,  of  married  preachers  in  those  days  of 
"  much  work  and  little  pay."  He  will  reappear  in  our 
pages  at  future  dates.  An  old  fellow-laborer  wrote  of 
him :  "  He  was  small  in  stature,  and  of  a  clear,  method- 
ical, and  orderly  mind.  His  labors  were  extensive  and 
useful.  He  filled  many  important  appointments  in 
towns,  circuits,  and  districts.  He  faithfully  propagated, 
and  carefully  guarded,  primitive  Methodism  through 
evil  and  good  report.  He  might  have  had  his  choice  of 
many  places  to  settle  in,  could  he  have  been  prevailed 
upon  to  take  charge  of  a  parish.  He  was  a  most  de- 
lightful companion.  The  man  that  did  not  grow  better 
by  the  company  of  Joshua  Taylor,  must  have  neglected 
a  rare  privilege.  I  never  knew  malice  to  touch  his 
character.  I  dare  not  indulge  my  feelings  or  expres- 
sions— he  is  yet  alive.  In  the  closet,  in  the  grove,  by 
the  roadside,  and  in  public,  I  have  witnessed  his  devo- 
tions." " 

Another  well-known  name  occurs  in  this  list  of 
veterans,  that  of  Daniel  Ostrander.  His  prominence, 
for  many  years,  in  the  New  York  Conference — where 
he  continued  until  our  day,  a  representative  of  the 
earlier  times — has  identified  him  in  the  public  mind 
with  that  body,  and  but  few  of  the  present  generation 
of  Eastern  Methodists  know  anything  of  his  intimate 
"  Letter  from  Rev.  E.  Mudge  to  the  author  in  1846. 


228  HISTORY    OF    THE 

connection  with  their  early  history.  Daniel  Ostrander 
was,  nevertheless,  one  of  the  founders  of  Methodism 
in  Xew  England.  He  commenced  his  ministry  within 
its  limits,  and  spent  the  first  thirteen  years  of  it 
(save  one)  in  sharing  the  trials  and  struggles  of  Lee, 
Roberts,  Pickering,  Mudge,  Taylor,  and  their  asso- 
ciates; laboring  mightily  in  western  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, lihode  Island,  and  as  far  east  as  Boston.  He 
was  born,  August  9,  1772,  at  Plattekill,  Ulster  County, 
N.  Y.  His  ancestors  were  Hollanders,  and  his  whole 
career  was  an  exemplification  of  the  old  Teutonic  vigor. 
Upon  no  other  class  of  population  did  Methodism  exert 
a  more  j)rrifound  effect,  and  from  none  did  it  produce 
more  indomitable  laborers. 

Daniel  Ostrander  was  converted  in  his  sixteenth  year, 
and  from  that  date  devoted  his  life  wholly  to  God.  He 
entered  upon  his  ministerial  travels  in  1793,  as  col- 
leasjue  of  Lemuel  Smith,  on  Litchfield  Circuit.  In  1794 
he  traveled,  with  Menzies  Kainor,  the  Middletown  Cir- 
cuit. The  three  following  years  he  was  successively  on 
Pomfret,  Conn.,  Warren,  H.  I.,  and  Boston  and  Xeedham 
Circuits.  In  1798  he  returned  to  Pomfret,  as  colleague 
of  Asa  Heath.  The  three  succeeding  years  his  appoint- 
ments were  Tolland,  Pomfret,  and  New  York  city. 
He  next  took  charge,  tor  two  years,  of  the  New  London 
District,  which  comprehended  during  a  part  of  that 
time  the  entire  field  of  Methodism  in  Connecticut,  (ex- 
cept one  circuit,)  most  of  Kho(le  Island,  and  a  portion 
of  Massachusetts.  On  retiring  from  this  district  he 
entered  Duchess  Circuit,  N.  Y.,  where  he  continued  two 
years. 

From  1808  to  1827  he  labored  in  Brooklyn;  Albany 
city,  two  years ;  on  Hudson  River  District,  four  years ; 
New  Rochelle;  Ashgrove  District,  and  Hudson  River 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         229 

District,  four  years  each.  In  182V  he  re-entered  New 
England,  and  superintended  the  New  Haven  District. 
The  next  year  he  presided  over  the  New  York  Dis- 
trict, which  extended  into  the  southwestern  section  of 
Connecticut.  He  continued  in  this  responsible  charge 
four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  was 
appointed  to  New  York  city,  where  he  labored  two 
years.  The  following  two  years  he  was  at  New 
Kochelle,  and  in  1836  became,  for  four  years  more,  pre- 
siding elder  of  the  New  York  District.  In  1840  he 
took  charge  of  the  Newburgh  District,  where  he  con- 
tinued till  1843,  when  he  retired  into  the  ranks  of  the 
superannuated,  which  then  included,  in  the  New  York 
Conference,  a  goodly  company  of  veterans,  his  compan- 
ions in  the  early  struggles  of  Methodism  in  the  east— 
Hibbard,  Woolsey,  Crawford,  Pease,  Hunt,  Eben  Smith, 
Washburn,  and  others. 

"From  the   year  1793  to   the  year  1843,"   say  his 
brethren  of  the  New  York  Conference,  "  a  full  term  of 
fifty  years,  so  remarkably  did  the  Lord  preserve  him, 
that  only  three  Sabbaths  in  all  that  time  was  he  disabled 
from   pulpit   service  by  sickness.     Where,  in  the  his- 
tory of  ministers,  shall  we  find  a  parallel  to  this  ?    For 
fourteen  years  he  was  on  circuits,  eight  years  in  stations, 
(New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  Albany,)  and  twenty-eight 
years  in  the  weighty  and  responsible  office  of  presiding 
elder.    The  districts  of  New  London,  New  Haven,  Sara- 
toga, Hudson   River,   New  York,  and  Newburgh,  re- 
member him  with  affection.     His  high  standing  in  the 
esteem  of  his  brethren  in  Conference  appears  from  the 
fact,  that  since  the  establishment  of  the  delegated  Gen- 
eral Conference  in  1808,  they   always  elected  him  a 
member  of  that  highest  judicatory  in  our  Church,  down 
to  the  year  1840,  inclusive;  and  never  has  his  seat  in 


230  HISTORY    OF    THE 

an  Annual  Conference  been  vacant,  during  the  forty- 
eight  years  that  the  writer  of  this  article  has  known 
him,  till  called  to  his  reward.  The  same  is  thought  to 
have  been  the  case  from  the  time  of  his  admission  as  a 
member  of  this  body.  His  firm  integrity,  sound  judg- 
ment, and  solid  piety  won  the  confidence  of  his  brethren. 
Jle  identified  himself  with  all  the  interests  of  the  Church, 
as  a  faithful  and  wise  steward.  Always  at  his  [)ost,  and 
j>rompt  to  serve,  whether  on  a  circuit,  in  a  station,  in 
quarterly  meetings,  in  annual  or  General  Conferences, 
and  <»n  all  suitable  occasions,  his  clear  voice,  his  manly 
elo<iuence,  his  decision  of  mind,  his  sound  arguments 
and  manly  zeal,  all  showed  that-  he  preferred  Jerusalem 
above  his  chief  joy ;  yet  it  was  in  the  pulpit  that  his 
pre-eminence  shune  the  brightest — so  warm  in  delivery, 
sound  in  doctrine,  clear  in  preaching,  pungent  in  warn- 
ing, heavenly  in  comforting,  and  gracious  in  encourag- 
ing, that  hard  must  have  been  the  heart  in  his  audience 
that  could  sit  unmoved,  or  go  away  unprofited,  for  a 
divine  unction. gave  power  to  the  word.  Yes,  we  have 
heard  him  prt-ach,  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from 
heaven,  till  the  shouts  of  saints  and  tin-  cries  of  peni- 
tents mingled,  completely  drowned  the  highest  strains 
of  his  stentorian  voice.  Such  was  Daniel  Ostrander. 
Firmly,  faithfully,  and  wisely  did  he  hold  on  to  the 
plow,  nor  look  back  till  he  was  called  to  his  heavenly 
rest.  He  was  well  schooled  at  an  early  day  ;  for  the 
first  nine  years  of  his  itinerant  life  were  spent,  princi- 
jtally,  among  the  sharp-eyed  opponents  of  Methodism 
in  New  England,  where  the  battles  of  controversy 
called  into  action  all  the  heavenly  armor  so  essentially 
necessary  .as  a  panoply  of  a  Methodist  preacher.  There, 
in  all  his  conflicts,  he  proved  himself  a  workman  that 
needed  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word 


•  METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        •231 

of  truth.  It  was  there,  too,  that  He,  who  gave  Adam 
his  Eve,  gave  our  dear  brother  his  excellent  Mary 
Bowen,  who  had,  in  1793,  in  the  bloom  of  her  youth, 
believed  in  Jesus  and  embraced  Methodism  persever- 
ingly,  in  defiance  of  all  the  persecution  which  her 
choice  of  this  people  involved  her  in,  till  shielded  by 
the  protection  of  so  worthy  a  husband  of  such  an  ex- 
cellent wife.  Daniel  and  Mary  Ostrander  were  lovely 
in  their  lives,  and  in  their  death  (almost)  not  divided ; 
for,  in  January,  1844,  five  weeks  from  the  death  of  her 
husband,  she  triumphantly  left  the  world  and  joined 
him  in  glory." 

In  the  New  York  Conference  of  1843  he  appeared  for 
the  last  time  among  his  ministerial  brethren.  His  fifty 
years'  effective  work  was  done.  He  preached,  occasion- 
ally, on  Sabbaths,  until  his  final  sickness ;  and  on  the 
29th  of  August,  1843,  at  a  camp-meeting  near  New- 
burgh,  delivered  his  last  sermon,  from  Psalm  cxivi,  8 : 
'  The  Lord  openeth  the  eyes  of  the  blind,'  etc.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  an  able  discourse,  and  one  of  his 
happiest  efforts. 

Through  the  whole  of  the  summer  he  seemed  to  be 
ripening  for  heaven,  and  soon  after  this  last  message 
his  health  failed.  When  asked  if  Christ  was  still  pre- 
cious, with  his  last  and  utmost  effort  he  cried,  'Yes!' 
and  peacefully  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  So  lived,  so  labored, 
and  so  died  Daniel  Ostrander,  literally  worn  out  in  the 
best  cause — his  life,  from  sixteen  years  of  age  to  seventy- 
two,  a  living  sacrifice  to  God.  Thousands  will  rise  up 
in  the  last  day  and  call  him  blessed. 

Zadok  Priest  was  a  youthful  martyr  to  the  extreme 
labors  of  these  times  of  struggle  and  victory.  A  few 
still  linger  about  the  regions  of  the  old  circuits  of  New 
London  and  Warren,  in  whose  hearts  the  preciousness 


232  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  his  memory  remains  unabated  by  the  changes  of  the 
more  than  half  century  which  has  passed  over  his  grave. 
He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  commenced  his 
ministry  in  the  year  179:i  on  the  Pittsfield  Circuit. 
The  next  year  he  traveled  the  New  London  Circuit 
with  Wilson  Lee,  David  Abbott,  and  Enoch  Mudge. 
In  1795  he  hil^ored  on  Warren  Circuit,  where  he  was 
attacked  with  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  which  termin- 
ated in  consumption.  He  retired  from  his  work  to  die. 
There  resided  at  that  time,  and  for  many  subsequent 
years,  at  Norton,  Ma^Jsachusets,  a  venerable  Methodist, 
known  as  "  Father  Newcomb,"'  whose  house  was  ever 
open  as  an  asylum  for  the  itinerants.  Thither  Zadok 
Priest  went — "to  die  with  them,"  as  he  said  when  the 
door  was  opened  to  receive  him.  He  was  confined 
there  three  weeks,  and  then  passed  down  into  the  valley 
and  shadow  of  death,  expressing  "  a  strong  confidence 
in  the  favor  of  God,  and  no  doubt  of  his  salvation."  " 
He  died  on  the  22d  of  June,  179G,  in  the  twenty-seventh 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  on  the  estate  of  Mr. 
Newcomb.  He  was  generally  beloved,  and  a  Christian 
brother  now  rests  by  his  side,  who  esteemed  him  so 
highly  in  lif«-  as  to  request  that  he  might  sleep  with 
him  in  death. 

One  of  our  best  authorities  in  Methodist  history  says, 
after  a  pilgrimage  to  his  grave,  that  the  Warren  Circwit, 
which  had  been  recently  formed,  was  a  six  weeks'  one, 
and  then  included  all  the  state  of  Rhode  Island  east  ol 
Narraganset  and  the  Blackstone,  and  all  the  county  of 
Bristol,  in  Massachusetts,  south  of  Taunton  Ki\er,  and 
even  extended  as  far  east  as  Bridgewater,  in  Plymouth 
County,  embracing  what  is  now  the  greater  part  of 
the  Providence  District,  and  a  portion  of  the  Sand- 
>»  Mlnntes,  i,  p.  196. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  233 

"wioh  District,  and  containing  about  twenty  appoint- 
ments. The  church  in  Warren,  which  had  been  built 
the  previous  year,  and  was  the  first  in  the  state  of 
Rhode  Island,  was  the  only  one  on  this  great  circuit. 
During  this  year,  probably  through  the  severe  labors 
and  exposure  then  usually  connected  with  the  itinerant 
life,  Priest  contracted  the  disease  under  which  he 
went  home  to  die.  But  his  father,  who  was  opposed 
to  him  as  a  Methodist  preacher,  in  a  spirit  which 
was  somewhat  characteristic  of  the  times,  refused  him 
the  shelter  of  his  roof  in  his  last  extremity.  With  a  sad 
heart  the  weary  and  dying  itinerant  turned  away 
from  the  home  and  friends  of  his  childhood,  and 
returned  to  his  flock  on  the  Warren  Circuit.  "  On 
one  of  the  first  days  of  June,  1796,  just  after  the  sur- 
rounding forests  had  put  forth  their  leaves  of  green, 
the  youthful  preacher,  in  the  very  last  stage  of  his  fatal 
disorder,  bent  his  weary  and  faltering  steps  to  the  house 
of  'Father  Newcomb,'  the  hospitable  doors  of  which 
were  opened  wide,  to  receive  the  homeless  stranger,  as 
the  representative  of  a  Master  who  once  '  had  not  where 
to  lay  his  head.'  There,  in  the  midst  of  the  quietude 
and  kind  attention  of  this  rural  Christian  home,  after 
lingering  but  three  weeks,  he  died  in  holy  triumph,  but 
twenty-six  years  of  age — the  first  Methodist  preacher 
who  ascended  from  New  England.  The  rustic  Chris- 
tian neighbors,  whose  hearts  had  been  stirred  by  his 
eloquence,  with  tears  and  affectionate  sympathies,  bore 
him  to  his  last  resting-place  on  Father  Newcomb's 
fiirm.  The  event  occasioned  a  great  sensation  among 
his  fellow-laborers  and  the  infant  societies  in  New 
England.  His  obituary  may  be  seen  in  the  Minutes  for 
1796  ;  and  Lee,  who  was  his  presiding  elder  at  this  time, 
also  handsomely  notices  him  in  his  History  of  Method- 


234:  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ism.  But  after  the  decease  of  Father  Newcomb,  which 
occurred  in  1829,  and  the  removal  of  preaching  from 
his  housf,  and  the  departure  of  nearly  all  the  men  of  his 
time,  Zadok  Priest  has  l)eeii  mostly  forgotten,"  " 

The  visitor  found  the  house  of  Newcomb  "  in  one  of 
the  most  retired  ni'i<;hborh<)ods  of  New  England,"  a 
large  two  story  dwelling,  ''  which  had  been  a  lirst-class 
rural  mansion  of  the  Revolutionary  period,  but  is  now 
nearly  in  ruins.  Its  spacious  old  kitchen,  which  before 
Father  Xewcomb's  conversion,  after  the  custom  of  the 
times,  was  used  as  a  dancing-hall,  but  afterward  was 
made  to  resound  with  the  voices  of  Lee,  Pickering, 
Ostrander,  and  the  mighty  men  of  the  times,  is  now 
reduced  to  half  its  former  dimensions,  and  looks  desolate 
indeed.  The  room  from  which  Priest  took  his  flight  to 
his  mansion  of  eternal  rest  is  on  the  lower  floor,  and 
opens  from  the  kitchen  on  the  right,  and  looks  out  upon 
the  south  and  west,  from  which  it  catches  the  lingering 
rays  of  the  setting  sun."  lie  found  the  grave,  "a  little 
n(»rth  of  the  house  on  another  road,  .bearing  a  humble 
inscrijition  recording  the  itinerant's  death,  and  testify- 
ing that '  he  l)eing  dead,  yet  spcaketh.'"  His  hospitable 
friends  sleep  around  him.  "  I'nited  in  life,  they  are  not 
separated  in  death."  It  was  the  pious  intention  of  "Fa- 
ther Newcomb"  that  a  church  should  be  built  on  the  lot 
on  which  Zadok  Priest  is  buried,  and  between  whose 
grave  and  the  road  space  was  left  for  that  purpose. 

Joshua  Hall's  labors  as  a  Methodist  preacher  were 
extensive  and  exceedingly  varied.  His  itinerant  minis- 
try was  limited  to  about  ten  years,  but  during  that 
time  he  preached  in  most  of  the  New  England  States, 
and  formed  some  of  the  most  important  societies.  He 
was  born  in  Lewistown,  Sussex  County,  Del.,  October 
J  «»  Rev.  Dr.  CoggeshaU. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  235 

22,  1768,  and  "experienced  religion  in  Kent  County, 
near  Milford,  in  February,  1787."^''  In  November, 
1791,  he  was  sent  by  Asbury  to  the  North,  and  passed 
to  Elizabethtown  Circuit,  N.  J.,  where  he  traveled  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  In  1792  he  was  admitted  on 
probation  by  the  Conference  at  New  York,  and  ap- 
pointed to  Croton  Circuit,  N.  Y.'^  The  next  year  he 
entered  New  England  and  became  the  colleague  of 
Pickering,  on  Hartford  Circuit.  "  Here,"  he  says, 
"  we  labored  part  of  the  year  and  formed  New  London 
Circuit."  In  1794  he  was  appointed  to  "Vermont," 
but  did  not  travel  there.  "Jesse  Lee,"  he  writes, 
"  had  made  a  tour  through  Fitchburgh,  Ashburnham, 
Rindge,  Selby,  Marlborough,  Parkersfield,  Dublin,  Ches- 
terfield, Orange,  Hardwick,  and  Athol,  and  I  had  to  go 
and  supply  a  long  series  of  appointments,  to  which  he 
pledged  that  a  preacher  should  be  sent  after  the  con- 
ference. George  Cannon,  who  was  expected,  did  not 
come,  and  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  remain  till  the  next  con- 
ference, which  sat  at  New  London." 

In  1795,  by  a  long  transition,  he  passed  to  Penobscot 
Circuit,  Me.,  which  had  recently  been  surveyed  by  Lee. 
He  was  the  third  Methodist  preacher  sent  to  that  state, 
and  the  first  who  traveled  after  Lee  on  the  Penobscot. 
"I  met  with  much  opposition  there,"  he  says,  but  a 
gracious  reformation  cheered  him  in  this  distant  and 
difticult  field.  He  formed  the  first  societies  which  were 
organized  along  that  river.  "  God,"  he  remarks,  "  won- 
derfully blessed  my  feeble  labors,  and  when  I  left  I  had 
occasion  to  exclaim.  What  hath  He  wrought ! "  Be- 
fore the  next  Conference  he  labored  about  three  months 
at  Readfield,  visited  Portland,  and   preached  there  a 

"  Letter  from  him  to  the  writer. 

15  Ibid.    His  appointment  this  year  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Minutes. 


286  HISTORY    OF    THE 

short  time,  in  company  with  Stephen  Hull,  and  thence 
passed  on  to  the  Conference  at  Thompson,  Conn.  Sev- 
eral years  had  now  elapsed  since  he  had  visited  his 
home,  and  he  longed  to  return  to  its  ali'ections  and  more 
genial  climate.  But  those  were  times  for  great  sacri- 
fices as  well  as  groat  labors;  Asbury  pointed  him  to 
the  field  white  unto  the  harvest,  and  reminded  him  of 
the  fewness  of  the  laborers.  Hall  decided  to  tarry. 
"  I  have  never,"  he  wrote,  some  yeare  before  his  death, 
"seen  one  of  my  relations  since  171*2,  and  never 
shall  till  I  meet  them  in  the  eternal  world ;  for  I 
am  now  in  my  seventy-ninth  year,  my  energies  are 
paralyzed;  all  my  faculties,  especially  my  memory,  fail 
fast.  I  have,  you  perceive,  a  trembling  hand;  it  is 
difficult  for  me  to  write."  Instead  of  returning  South 
he  was  appointed,  with  his  Ibrmer  colleague,  Pickering, 
to  Boston  and  Needham.  Thence  he  went  to  Sandwich, 
on  Cape  Cod ;  there  his  labors  were  attended  with 
great  success;  an  extensive  reformation  took  place,  and 
seventy  persons  were  gathered  in  the  society.  "  Blessed 
be  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !"  exclaims  the  veteran  on  re- 
calling those  times,  ''this  was  the  Lord's  work,  and 
the  beginning  of  MetlKxlism  in  that  place."  In  1797 
he  was  appointed  to  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  was  instru- 
mental in  planting  the  Church  on  that  island.  The 
next  year  Asbury  requested  him  to  throw  himself  into 
the  city  of  Providence,  provide  as  he  could  for  his  sup- 
port, and,  "  by  the  blessing  of  God,  raise  up  a  society." 
He  went  thither,  opened  a  school  for  his  suh)sistence, 
preached  and  labored  among  the  people,  and  fonned  a 
class,  the  beginning  of  Methodism  in  that  city. 

In  1799  he  was  appointed  to  Warren  and  Greenwich 
Circuit,  as  colleague  with  Ezekiel  Cantield  and  Tru- 
man Bishop.     In   1800  his  appointment  was    'Rhode 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.        237 

Island."  He  visited  Newport,  "preached  four  times 
"by  daylight,  and  had  a  meeting  again  in  the  even- 
ing. "  This,"  he  says,  "  was  the  hardest  day's  work 
I  ever  performed,  but  it  was  delightful."  He  had  the 
honor  of  forming  the  first  Methodist  Society  of  New- 
port. Moving  to  and  fro  with  the  usual  rapidity 
of  the  itinerants  of  that  day,  he  soon  reached  New 
Bedford  and  introduced  Methodism  there.  "  John  Gib- 
son," he  writes,  "  came  to  help  me  while  we  i-aised  and 
unfurled  the  evangelical  standard;  though  smitten  down 
for  a  time  it  still  waves  there,  bless  the  name  of  the  Lord ! 
May  it  always  wave  there  till  time  shall  be  no  more ! " 

In  the  Minutes  of  the  next  year  he  is  returned  on  the 
located  list.  He  visited  Maine,  however,  and  labored 
with  Joseph  Baker  at  Camden  one  year,  during  which 
he  preached  also  at  Thomaston,  Union,  Lincoln,  Hope, 
and  Northport.  "  We  had,"  he  writes,  "  Daniel  Rickow 
to  assist  us,  and  a  good  revival  of  religion  spread 
throughout  the  circuit,"  In  1802  he  I'eturned  to  Pe- 
nobscot River  and  chose  a  resting-place  at  Frankfort 
Mills,  the  home  of  his  old  age.  During  his  itinerant 
life  he  did  good  battle  for  the  faith;  he  commenced 
many  important  societies  from  the  Penobscot  to  Long 
Island  Sound.  After  his  location  he  continued  to  labor 
as  his  health  would  admit,  and  sustained  public  respon- 
sibilities in  the  State.  In  1830  he  was  placed  on  the 
supernumerary  list  of  the  Maine  Conference,  and  after- 
ward transferred  to  the  list  of  the  superannuated.  He 
concludes  a  brief  narrative  of  his  life  with  the  joyful 
exclamation,  "I  have  almost  finished  my  journey,  and 
heaven  is  my  future  home.  Glory  be  to  God,  my  Sav- 
iour, for  ever  and  ever.  Amen  !" 

He  lived  to  see  his  Church  prosperous  and  prevalent 
throughout    Maine    and    throughout    the   nation,    and 


238  HISTORY   OF  the 

died,  sending  a  message  to  his  Conference,  saying, 
"Tell  the  hrethren  I  go  in  holy  triumph.  There  is  no 
darkness  on  the  path."  Tliey  commemorate  him  in 
their  Minutes:  "Joshua  Hall,"  they  say,  "  atter  walk- 
ing with  God  seventy-seven  years  and  preaching  the 
Gospel  of  the  kingdom  seventy-five,  died  in  holy 
triumph,  at  F'ranklort,  Me.,  December  25,  ISGJ,  in  the 
ninety-fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  possessed  much  native 
shrewdness,  quick  perception,  and  a  remarkable  com- 
mand of  language.  He  acijuired  in  early  life  a  fair 
English  education,  as  a  preacher  was  always  interest- 
ing, retaining  his  mental  vigor  wonderfully  almost  to 
the  end  of  his  ])rotracted  life,  and  was  a  genial,  cheerful, 
loving  Christian  gentleman,  whom  everybody  loved." 

In  some  of  the  foregoing  personal  sketches  I  have, 
necessarily,  had  to  anticipate  events  of  much  later  date, 
especially  in  respect  to  Maine,  Methodism  had  not  yet 
reached  that  province.  It  was  assigned  as  an  appoint- 
ment to  Lee  himself  in  the  year  1793.  It  then,  and  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  afterward,  pertained 
to  Massachusetts,  and  its  settlements  were  sparse,  and 
mostly  on  the  seaboard  or  principal  rivers.  Most  of 
the  interior  regions  were  hut  occasionally  favored  with 
ordinances  of  religion.  Lee  himself  refers  to  it  as 
"an  unimproved  country,"  and  speaks  of  the  "thinly 
settled"  places,  "where  the  people  could  seldom  hear 
a  sennon  of  any  kind."  "  At  that  time,"  he  adds, 
"  there  were  very  few  settled  ministers  in  the  province, 
except  in  the  old  parts  near  the  sea-shore."  Such 
was  precisely  the  field  for  a  man  of  his  spirit.  He 
longed  to  sound  the  trump  of  the  gospel  through  the 
primeval  forests  and  along  the  great  rivers  of  that 
now  noble  state ;  and  though  he  knew  no  one  there  to 
welcome  him  on  his  arrival,  nor  any  one  elsewhere  to 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         2o9 

give  him  "a  particular  account  of  the  place  and  people," 
yet,  as  "  it  was  commonly  understood  that  they  were  in 
want  of  preaching,"  he  took  his  horse  and  saddle-bags, 
and  directed  his  course  toward  it,  not  knowing  what 
should  befall  him. 

He  left  Lynn  on  Thursday,  September  5,  and  on 
Saturday  was  at  Portsmouth.  His  former  visits  had 
procured  him  some  steadfast  friends,  who  greeted  his 
return  ;  they  endeavored  to  obtain  the  Court-house  for 
him  to  preach  in,  but  it  was  refused.  The  next  day 
(Sabbath)  he  walked  to  it,  with  a  few  friends,  but  the 
authorities  still  denied  him  the  privilege  of  using 
it.  They  knew  not  the  spirit  of  the  man,  however, 
and  only  secured  him  a  better  hearing  by  their  dis- 
courtesy. He  coolly  ascended  to  the  "  step  of  the  door 
of  the  Court-house  and  began."  When  he  commenced 
he  had  but  about  twelve  hearers,  but  they  soon  began 
to  flock  together,  and  swelled  to  some  hundreds  before 
he  concluded.  They  crowded  into  several  adjacent 
streets,  and  Hstened  with  solemnity  and  manifest  emo- 
tion, while  he  declared  to  them,  with  "  much  freedom," 
the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord. 

The  next  day  he  was  "  ofl"  early,"  crossed  the  river, 
and  entered  the  "  Province."  His  biographer  has  pre- 
served but  brief  notices  of  this  first  excursion  to  Maine  ; 
it  was,  however,  but  a  visit  of  observation;  his  subse- 
quent labors  in  that  new  region  are  more  fully  detailed, 
and  will  afford  us  some  interest  in  their  due  place. 
"He  continued,"  says  his  Memoir,  "in  these  settle- 
ments, traveling  to  and  fro  and  preaching,  with  good 
hopes  that  his  labor  would  be  blessed  of  the  Lord,  until 
the  latter  part  of  October,  at  which  time  he  returned  to 
Lynn.  In  January,  1794,  he  repeated  his  visit  to  the 
settlements  on  the  Kennebec  and  Penobscot  Rivers,  and 


240  HISTORY    OF    THE 

enlarged  his  borders  by  preaching  in  many  new  places. 
His  difficulties  were  many,  but  God  gave  him  strength 
to  bear  all  with  becoming  patience  and  resolution.  He 
succeeded  in  forming  a  Circuit  in  the  Province  which, 
by  the  way,  is  all  that  can  be  said  of  it,  for  we  are  not 
assured  that  there  was  a  single  society  of  Methodists 
within  its  whole  bounds." 

There  was,  in  fact,  no  society  formed  within  its  limits, 
or  within  the  entire  province,  until  after  the  ensuing 
Conference.  The  first  class  in  Elaine  was  organized  at 
Monmouth  about  the  first  of  November,  1 794.  Lee 
has  given  us,  in  his  History  of  the  Methodists,  a  brief 
sketch  of  this  second  tour.  *'  I  traveled,"  he  says, 
"through  a  greater  part  of  that  country  frum  Septem- 
ber to  the  end  of  the  year.  I  went  as  far  as  Castine,  at 
the  mouth  ol"  the  Penobscot  River ;  up  the  river  to  the 
upper  sctth'monts,  which  were  then  just  below  the 
Indian  settlement  called  Old  Town  ;  thence  I  returned 
by  the  way  of  the  Twenty-five  mile  Pond  to  Kennebec 
River;  thence  up  the  San<ly  River,  and  back  to  Hallo- 
well,  and  thence  through  to  Portland." 

By  tracing  his  route  on  thtvmap  it  will  be  perceived 
that  he  surveyed  rpiite  thoroughly  most  of  what  was 
then  the  occupieil  jtortiun  of  the  province,  namely,  the 
region  of  the  coast  from  Portsmouth  to  Castine,  and  the 
interior,  between  tlie  Kennebec  and  Penobscot,  as  far 
up,  and  even  iarther,  than  what  has  since  become  the 
site  of  Bangor  on  the  latter,  and  Waterville  on  the 
former.  '•  Although,"  he  continues,  "  I  was  a  perfect 
stranger  to  the  people,  and  had  to  make  my  own  ap- 
pointments, I  preached  almost  every  day,  and  to 
crowded  assemblies.  After  viewing  the  country,  I 
thought  the  most  proper  place  to  form  a  circuit  was 
on  the  Kennebec  River.     It  was  accordingly   formed, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  241 

and  called  Readfield.  This  was  the  name  of  the  first 
circuit  formed  by  the  Methodists  in  that  part  of  the 
country.  It  was  about  two  hundred  miles  from  any 
other  which  we  had  in  New  England.  It  extended  from 
Hallowell  to  Sandy  River."  "It  will,  no  doubt,"  he 
adds,  "  afford  some  satisfaction  to  the  people  to  know 
the  exact  time  when  the  Methodists  first  preached 
among  them  on  that  circuit,  and  in  the  neighboring 
towns.  On  the  13th  of  October,  1V93,  the  first  Meth- 
odist sermon  was  preached  in  Hallowell ;  on  the  15th, 
in  Farmington;  on  the  17th,  in  New  Sharon;  on  the 
18th,  in  Mount  Vernon;  the  19th,  Readfield;  the  21st, 
Winthrop ;  the  22d,  Monmouth." 

These  were  all  the  towns  comprised  in  the  Readfield 
Circuit  in  1793.  Others  were  added,  however,  in  the 
beginning  of  1794. 

While  Lee  was  thus  preparing  the  way  in  the  wilder- 
ness, his  colleagues,  in  other  parts  of  New  England, 
were  assiduously  cultivating  and  extending  their  re- 
spective fields  of  labor.  Their  success  had  already 
begun  to  appear  ominous  to  the  settled  clergy  of  the 
time.  Hitherto  they  had  been  considered  either  fanati- 
cal intruders,  whose  ardor  would  soon  abate,  or  "  a  set 
of  broken  merchants,"  who  had  come  up  from  the  South, 
and,  being  poor,  and  too  indolent  to  work,  had  betaken 
themselves  to  preaching,  as  the  best  mode  of  spunging 
from  the  devout  people  of  New  England  the  means  of 
subsistence,  but  who  would  soon  find  it  convenient  to 
go  elsewhere.'^  It  was  now  becoming  quite  manifest, 
however,  that  they  were  in  earnest,  and  were  intrench- 
ing themselves  in  all  the  land.  Demonstrations  of 
hostility  were  therefore  made  in  many  directions.  The 
pulpits  denounced  them  as  "wolves  in  sheep's  clothing," 

«  Bangs's  History,  vol.  i,  book  iii,  chap.  iL 
C— 16 


242  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  "fiilse  prophets  who  should  come  in  the  latter  day," 
or  "  itinerant  peddlers  of  false  doctrine."  Though  for- 
mally authorized  and  ordained  by  a  Church  which  had 
spread  through  most  of  the  slates,  they  were  not  recog- 
nized by  the  magistrates  of  New  England,  especially  in 
Connecticut,  as  regular  clergymen,  and  Roberts  was 
prosecuted  and  fined  for  consecrating  the  marriage  of  a 
couple  of  bis  people.  Several  laymen,  whose  consciences 
were  too  scrupulous  or  obstinate  for  the  laws  which 
refjuired  them  to  support  what  they  deemed  a  dead  and 
heretical  ministry,  were  thrust  into  prison,  or  despoiled 
of  tluir  property.  Popular  violence  sometimes  disturbed 
their  solemn  assemblies. 

The  people  of  New  England  were  then,  even  more 
than  at  present,  addicted  to  sjteculative  disputation  on 
theological  subjects.  The  doctrines  of  the  new  sect 
were  thoroughly  canvassed,  and  as  thoroughly  carica- 
tured in  the  pulpit,  in  the  vestry,  at  the  village  inn,  and 
at  the  fireside.  Both  its  preachers  and  its  people  were 
incessantly  harassed  with  assaults  about  "  principles." 
The  former  had  to  contend  with  a<lditional  vexations 
respecting  their  "education,"  and  "notes"  in  the  pul- 
pit. Their  unquestionable  and  effective  eloquence  was 
a  sufficient  vindication  of  them  in  the  latter  respect, 
their  tact,  and  sometimes  their  wit,  in  the  former.  The 
preacher,  deacon,  and  lawyer  generally  foi*med,  in  those 
days,  a  trio  of  leadership  in  the  village  society  of  New 
England.  The  former  usually  assailed  the  new  comers 
with  distant  dignity  from  the  pulpit,  the  deacon  pur- 
sued them  with  rigorous  questions  of  orthodoxy  to  their 
meetings  and  social  circles,  and  the  lawyer,  strictly 
conforming  then,  as  now,  to  the  strongest  local  influ- 
ence, followed,  to  ply  with  his  logic,  the  deacon's  meta- 
physics.    The  former  two  Lee  generally  rebutted  bv 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  243 

apt  quotations  of  the  Scriptures  ;  with  the  latter  he  felt 
himself  at  liberty,  from  the  impression  he  had  of  their 
less  commendable  motives,  to  use  the  weapon  of  his 
native  and  cutting  satire.  Oftentimes  did  he  turn  upon 
them  the  ridicule  of  large  companies  of  bystanders,  and 
compel  them  to  shrink  back  abashed  at  the  unexpected 
reaction  of  their  own  impertinence. 

Thomas  Ware,  a  man  whose  memory  is  revered  by 
all  who  knew  him,  was  this  year,  as  we  have  seen,  on  a 
district  which  comprehended  several  New  England  ap- 
pointments. He  refers  to  the  species  of  trials  I  have 
described  as  frequent  in  the  Eastern  States  at  that  time. 
"  It  was  common,"  he  remarks,  "  for  the  Methodist 
preachers,  when  they  preached  in  new  places,  and  often 
in  their  regular  appointments,  to  be  attacked  by  some 
disputant  on  the  subject  of  doctrines,  sometimes  by 
ministers,  but  more  frequently  by  students  in  divinity 
or  loquacious  and  controversial  laymen.  And  so  far  as 
my  experience  on  this  district  extended,  I  discovered 
much  rancor  and  bitterness  mingled  with  these  dis- 
putes. I  am  obliged  to  say  that,  during  the  three  years 
of  my  labors  in  this  section,  I  found  not  so  much  as  one 
friendly  clergyman.  There  may  have  been  such;  but  all 
with  whom  I  conversed,  or  whose  sentiments  I  knew,  were 
violent  in  their  opposition  to  ns ;  and  the  rough  manner 
in  which  I  was  usually  treated  by  them,  rendered  me 
unwilling  to  come  in  contact  with  them.  But  when  it 
so  happened  that  we  must  try  our  strength,  I  found  no 
difficulty  in  defending  the  cause  I  had  espoused,  for  a 
foe  despised  has  a  great  advantage.  And  when  a  man 
has  a  system  which  is  clearly  scriptural,  he  needs  only 
a  little  plain  common  sense  and  self-possession  to  maiii- 
tain  his  ground,  though  a  host  of  learned  theologians 
should  unite  aerainst  him.     In  Granville  and  Pittsfield 


244  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  current  of  opposition  was  very  strong  against  us." 
Hope  Hull  had  labored  in  this  region  under  Ware,  and 
evidently  understood  the  best  way  of  managing  these 
troubles.  Ware  says,  "  I  knew  and  almost  envied  hiiu 
his  talents.  I  thought,  indeed,  if  I  possessed  his  qualifi- 
cations I  could  be  instrumental  in  saving  thousands 
where,  with  my  own,  I  could  gain  one."  This  extra- 
ordinary young  man  dnw  multitudes  after  him,  who, 
disarmed  of  their  pre;iudicfs,  were,  under  the  influence 
of  his  discourses,  likr  day  in  the  hand  of  the  potter.  It 
seemed  that  he  could  do  with  tlitin  just  as  he  pleased. 
And  yet,  in  the  midst  of  this  astonishing  infliience  and 
career  of  usefulness,  he  sighed  for  a  southern  elime,  and 
at  his  own  request  he  was  permitted  to  retire  to  another 
j>ortion  of  the  field.  Perhaps  it  was  best,  lest,  if  he  had 
remained,  he  might  have  been  idoli/A'd  by  the  devoted 
people  among  whom  he  labored,  to  his  own  injury  and 
theirs.  A  man  of  some  distinction  represented  him  as 
a  skillful  musician,  who  could  excite  any  passion  he 
pU-a^iftl.  ''  In  our  parts,"  said  he,  "  Arminians  were 
di'oiiicd  guilty  of  abominable  heresy,  and  our  minister 
had  tilten  denounced  them  and  consigned  them  to  cer- 
tain perdition;  but  Hull  came  to  a  neighboring  town, 
an  influtiitial  individual  invited  him  to  ours,  and  in- 
formed our  minister  that,  if  he  refused  him  the  meeting- 
house, he  should  preach  in  his  own  house.  The  meeting- 
house was  opened,  and  it  was  crowded  to  ovei'flowing. 
Our  minister  was  present,  and  was  the  first  who  began 
to  weep.  My  eyes  were  alternately  on  the  minister  in 
the  pulpit  and  the  one  in  the  pew,  and  I  was  surprised 
to  see  how  soon  and  how  completely  the  latter  was 
unmanned.  Hull,  it  is  true,  soon  left,  us;  but  by  his 
nuecpialed  power  to  move  the  feelings  of  the  people, 
he    so    far    secured    their    attention    as    to    coiumend 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         245 

to  their  understanding  and  hearts  the  Gospel  he 
preached,  and  Arminians  have  since  been  permitted 
to  live  among  us.  From  that  time  to  the  day  of  his 
death  our  minister  was  never  heard  to  say  a  word 
against  them." 

It  was  in  the  period  under  review  that  the  Rev. 
IVIr.  Williams,  of  Tolland,  who  had  become  alarmed  at 
the  rapid  spread  of  the  Methodists  around  him,  pub- 
lished a  sermon  against  them,  fully  exemplifying  the 
hostile  spirit  with  which  they  were  then  ti'cated.  It 
was  the  first  attack  made  upon  them  from  the  press, 
and  was  considered  by  the  infant  Church  a  serious 
event  in  their  yet  uncertain  history.  To  us  it  is  inter- 
esting, at  least  as  an  indication  of  the  times,  and  the 
first  in  a  series  of  assaults  from  pamphleteers,  which 
have  been  most  useful  provocatives  of  success.  It  was 
delivered  to  his  people  with  a  degree  of  emphasis  quite 
unusual  in  his  preaching,  and  produced  a  profound  sen- 
sation among  them."  The  discourse  was  accompanied 
in  print  by  a  letter  from  Dr.  Huntington,  of  Coventry ; 
both  documents  were  most  unscrupulous  in  their  charges, 
and  uncharitable  in  their  spirit.  The  laborious  zeal  and 
self-sacrificing  devotion  of  the  new  preachers  were  con- 
strued into  hypocrisy.  "  There  may  be  little  sincerity," 
said  Williams,  "  where  there  is  a  great  share  of  zeal. 
When  a  new  sect  has  arisen  in  the  Christian  Church,  the 
leaders,  especially,  have  made  high  pretensions  to  emi- 
nent piety  and  love  for  precious  souls.  The  Christians 
in  the  Church  of  Corinth  and  Achaia  were  practiced 
upon  by  the  same  sort  of  teachers.  St.  Paul  says  they 
are  false  apostles,  deceitful,  worthless,  transforming 
themselves  into  the  apostles  of  Christ.     And  no  marvel, 

1'  Letter  to  the  author  from  Joseph  Howard,  of  Tolland,  who  was 
present  at  the  time. 


246  HISTORY    OF    THE 

for  Satan  himself  is  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light. 
Therefore  it  is  no  great  thing  if  his  ministers,  also,  be 
transformed  into  the  ministers  of  righteousness,  corrui)t 
teachers,  beguiling  unstable  souls,  creeping  into  houses, 
and  leading  captive  silly  women,  laden  with  sins,  and 
led  away  with  divers  lusts,"  etc." 

Such  are  some  of  the  ungenerous  allusions  of  Wil- 
liams to  the  disinterested  men  of  the  first  New  England 
jNIethodist  ministry.  He  stoutly  denounces  the  preten- 
sion of  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry,  considers  it  a 
"tempting  of  heaven  to  give"  the  pretender  "up  to 
delusion,"  and  further  remarks,  "These  are  no  new 
things;  multitudes  have  come  forth  as  preachers  on 
this  ground,  within  a  number  of  years  past,  in  these 
New  England  Churches,  whom  you  believe  were  de- 
ceived themselves,  or  aimed  to  deceive  others." 

Dr.  Huntington's  appended  letter  is  equally  severe. 
"  The  modern  Methodist  teachers,"  he  asserts,  "  are  men 
of  Machiavellian  principles,  and  do,  without  any  scru- 
ples, make  use  of  truth  and  deceit  j)roniiscuously,  as 
they  judge  will  most  promote  the  interest  of  their 
party."  He  speaks  of  their  "  heretical  doctrines,"  and 
of  Wesley  as  "a  flaming  enthusiast,"  given  to  "wild 
singularities,"  among  which  he  enumerates  the  "insti- 
tution of  classes  and  class-meetings." 

These  are  but  specimens  of  the  first  printed  attack  on 
the  New  England  Methodists.  It  was  considered  ap- 
propriate to  the  humble  and  deprecatory  devotions  of 
the  Fast  Day,  and  was  published  "  with  the  unanimous 
approbation  of  the  Association,  and  at  their  cordial 
request."  '* 

Some  apprehensions  spread  among  the  "  little  flock  " 

"  Cited  in  Dr.  Roberta's  *'  Strictarcs  "  on  the  Sermon. 
'•  Dr.  IIuntington'8  Letter. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCH.  247 

at  the  appearance  of  this  deliberate  and  formal  opposi- 
tion. They  were  soon  allayed,  however.  Roberts,  pre- 
siding elder  that  year  of  the  district  which  included 
Tolland,  entered  the  lists  against  the  two  pugnacious 
divines,  with  such  ability  and  satirical  power,  as  turned 
the  current  of  public  opinion,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
against  them,  and  effectually  disposed  them  to  abandon 
the  controversy.^"  Roberts  had  an  important  advantage 
over  the  assailants  in  the  tendencies  of  the  popular  mind 
at  that  time  against  the  compulsory  support  of  the  Church 
by  taxation.  Being  thoroughly  republican  himself,  and 
a  hearty  lover  of  the  institutions  of  his  country,  he  spoke 
out  indignantly  on  the  subject." 

I  have  referred  to  this  polemical  rencounter  as  an 
illustration  of  the  age.  It  was  unfortunately  con- 
ducted on  both  sides.  Roberts  was  scathingly  severe 
in  some  of  his  passages.  The  Congregational  com- 
batants, while  they  could  not  ajpproach  him  in  satii'i- 
cal  force,  were  even  more  severe  with  their  stultified 
abuse.  Much  must  be  pardoned  to  both  parties,  in 
consideration  of  the  times.  Williams  yielded,  it  may 
be  charitably  supposed,  to  a  temporary  feeling,  not  in 
harmony  with  his  habitual  disposition.  At  their  first 
arrival,  the  Methodist  preachers  were  hospitably  re- 
ceived at  his  house  and  admitted  to  his  pulpit.  "  He 
received  them  very  cordially,  and  treated  them  kindly, 
until  there  began  to  be  a  reformation,  and  classes  were 
formed ;  then  an  alarm  was  raised— the  preachers  were 

20  Dr.  Roberts's  reply  was  entitled,  "  Strictures  on  a  Sermon,  de- 
livered by  Mr.  Nathan  Williams,  A.  M.,  in  Tolland,  on  the  Public  Fast, 
April  17,  1793,  with  some  observations  on  Dr.  Huntington's  Letter, 
annexed  to  said  sermon,  in  a  letter  by  George  Roberts." 

21  A  Baptist  had  actually  been  lying  in  the  prison  at  Tolland,  about 
this  time,  lor  refusing  to  pay  the  "minister's  rate"  in  a  Church  he 
could  not  approve.    Roberts  availed  himself  of  the  fact. 


248  HISTORY    OF    THE 

afterward  treated  by  him  with  indifference  and  inatten- 
tion, and  finally  with  such  neglect  that  they  ceased  to 
visit  bira  —  and  then  appeared  his  sermon.  He  was 
never  known  to  be  so  much  affected  in  any  discourse 
he  had  delivered,  or  to  produce  so  much  apparent  feel- 
ing among  his  Church.""  Time  and  better  inlormatioii 
relieved  his  fears,  however,  and  it  is  affecting  to  learn 
that  "  before  he  died  he  welcomed  his  Methodist  breth- 
ren to  hold  prayer-meetings  in  his  own  house."  lie 
passed  into  the  grave,  grateful  for  the  prayers  and 
Christian  regards  of  those  whom  he  once,  honestly,  no 
doultt,  opposed  as  dangerous  heretics. 

The  assailed  ititjcrants  had  a  better  and  more  effectual 
mode  of  repelling  attacks;  their  devoted  lives  and  un- 
tiring laboi>i  for  the  salvation  of  the  j)eople  stopped  the 
mouths  and  conlounded  the  hostility  of  their  opjionents. 
They  moved  through  all  the  region  of  the  "Associa- 
tion"' which  "cordially  reipiested"  the  publication  and 
aided  the  circulation  of  this  pamphlet,  sj)rea<ling  piety 
in  their  course,  and  raising  up  in  the  persons  of  many 
who  w  "re  before  considered  "reprobates,"  "living 
epistles"  of  their  ministry,  which  were  read  of  all  men. 
"  It  is  very  plea.sing  to  me  now,"  says  my  Methodist 
authority  who  lived  in  Tolland  in  that  day  of  trial,  "to 
r»-rteet  on  those  times,  the  beginning  of  illumination  to 
my  darkened  mind.  I  had  before  that  supposed  that 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  religion,  and  that  it  was  in- 
dispensable for  the  aged  and  dying,  but  I  had  no  idea  of 
its  real  excellence,  until  I  saw  it  exemplified  in  the  spirit 
and  lives  of  the  Methodist  preachers.  My  father's  house 
w;us  a  home  for  them ;  there  they  met  and  consulted 
together  when  they  had  a  day  of  leisure,  while  on  the 
circuit,  though  such  a  day  did  not  occur  more  than  once 
"  Howard's  letter  to  the  writer. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCH.         249 

in  two  weeks,  and  often  not  more  than  once  a  month. 
Those  were  times  when  they  preaclied,  at  least,  once 
a  day,  besides  riding  many  miles.  Tolland  was  about 
the  center  of  the  circuit.  The  chapel  was  built  on  my 
father's  land,  perhaps  twenty  rods  from  our  dwelling. 
Two  of  my  brothers,  a  sister,  and,  I  think,  my  mother, 
all  became  members  of  the  Church  in  those  troubled 
days.  Among  the  preachers  whom  I  recollect,  were 
Lee,  Rainor,  Smith,  Roberts,  Pickering,  Mudge,  Hall, 
Mills,  Brush,  Hope  Hull,  Swain,  etc.  Amid  all  the 
opposition  Methodism  flourished,  and  for  ten  years 
after,  with  a  short  interruption,  I  think,  much  more 
than  in  this  day,  notwithstanding  all  later  improve- 
ments. I  like  to  look  back  on  those  times,  and  I 
expect  to  rejoice  for  ever  that  it  was  my  lot  to  become 
acquainted  with  Methodism  in  early  life.  I  consider  it 
the  chief  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  of  my  salva- 
tion, and  the  most  happy  seasons  of  my  life ;  and  I  hope 
one  day  to  join  those  who  have  gone  before  me  in  cele- 
brating the  praises  of  my  Redeemer  forever."" 

Thus  the  ecclesiastical  year  of  1793-94  had  nearly 
passed  in  labors,  trials,  and  triumphs ;  meanwhile,  as 
the  period  for  the  next  Conference  approached,  the  chief 
apostle  of  American  Methodism,  after  having  traversed 
the  continent,  re-entered  New  England.  He  was  still 
feeble  with  disease,  and  wearied  with  unremitted  labors; 
but  he  pressed  on  as  before,  journeying  and  preaching 
daily. 

He  passed  into  Connecticut  on  Thursday,  July  10, 
1794.  On  Saturday  the  19th  he  reached  Waltham, 
where  he  tarried  over  the  Sabbath,  amid  warm  hearts 
and  hospitable  attentions  in  the  mansion  of  Bemis.  On 
the  same  day  he  held  a  quarterly  meeting.  "At  three 
23  Howard's  letter  to  the  author. 


250  HISTORY    OF    THE 

o'clock,"  he  writes,  "I  gave  them  a  discourse  on  the 
little  flock,  to  comfort  the  atFrighted  sheep.  Sabbath- 
day  we  had  love-feast  at  eight  o'clock,  sermon  at  half 
])ast  ten,  and  again  in  the  afternoon :  there  was  some 
life  in  the  love-feast,  and  sacrament  abo." 

On  Monday  he  entered  Boston,  "  unwell  in  body,  and 
with  a  heavy  heart."  The  times  had  changed  some- 
what in  the  city  since  his  previous  visit.  A  home  could 
now  be  found  by  the  tired  evangelist,  and  the  little 
company  of  believers  had  found  a  place,  however 
humble,  for  the  ark  of  the  Lord.  "  We  have,"  he 
writes,  "a  very  agreeable  lodging  in  this  town;  but 
have  to  preach,  as  did  our  Lord,  in  an  upper  room. 
We  had  a  prayer-meeting,  an<l  the  Lord  was  present  to 
bless  us."  He  tarried  in  Boston  two  days.  "  Tuesday, 
22d,"  he  says,  "  I  took  up  my  cross  and  preached  in  a 
large  room,  which  was  full  enough  and  warm  emmgh. 
I  stood  over  the  street ;  the  boys  and  Jack-tars  made  a 
noise,  but  mine  was  loudest ;  there  was  fire  in  the 
smoke ;  some,  I  think,  felt  the  word,  and  we  shall  yet 
liave  a  work  in  Boston.  My  talk  was  strange  and  true 
to  some." 

This  "large  room"  was  a  "hired  chamber  in  the 
liouse  of  John  Kuddock,  opposite  Clark's  shij>-yard, 
Ship-street,  a  building  which,  by  its  situation  and  ten- 
ants, received  the  name  of  'The  College.'  The  Society 
meetings  were  frequently  surrounded  with  noises  of 
every  kind."^*  On  Wednesday  the  bishop  went  to  Lynn, 
where  he  conducted  the  business  of  the  conference. 

The  ecclesiastical  year  closed  in  the  latter  part  of 
July.     It  had  been  a  time  of  adversity  and  declension 

»♦  MS.  account  of  Methodism  In  Boston  by  Col.  Binney.  Col.  Bin- 
uey  was  an  early,  wealtby,  and  liberal  member  of  the  Church  in 
Boston,  and  one  of  the  chief  founders  of  the  Wilbrabam  Academy. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.        251 

to  the  general  Church ;  severe  trials  had  also  afflicted 
the  small  itinerant  band  in  New  England.  They  were 
hedged  in  on  every  side  by  a  decayed  Church,  whose 
chief  remaining  vigor  consisted  in  its  pertinacity  for 
its  antiquated  polemics,  and  its  intolerance  toward 
dissenting  sects.  They  had  reached,  too,  a  degree  of 
advancement  where,  more  than  at  any  earlier  period 
of  their  history,  the  sectarian  jealousy  of  the  estab- 
lished Churches  became  excited  and  alarmed ;  but  they 
surmounted  all  impediments  and  made  good  prog- 
ress. The  circuits  were  extended  on  all  sides ;  eighteen 
were  reported  at  the  next  Conference,  a  gain  of  more 
than  one  fourth  on  the  number  of  the  preceding  year. 
Lee  had  surveyed  extensively  the  wilderness  of  Maine, 
and  was  now  on  his  way  to  the  Conference  to  solicit  a 
laborer  for  that  vast  field,  carrying  with  him  a  schedule 
of  appointments,  which,  after  personal  inspection,  he 
had  definitively  arranged  into  a  circuit  that  extended 
along  the  Kennebec,  quite  into  the  interior  of  the 
province.  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  were  also 
"  stretching  out  their  hands,"  and  the  itinerant  corps 
resolved  to  extend  its  lines  into  those  remoter  regions 
at  the  approaching  Conference.  Thus  the  three  remain- 
ing sections  of  New  England  were  about  to  be  perma- 
nently occupied  by  them. 

While  the  aggregate  membership  of  the  Church  had 
decreased  during  the  year  more  than  2,000,  chiefly  by 
the  O'Kelly  schism,  the  local  membership  of  New 
England  had  advanced  from  1,739  to  2,039,  a  small 
addition  when  compared  with  the  progress  of  later 
years,  but  large  for  those  days  of  trial  and  struggle. 


252  HISTORY    OF    THE 


riTAI'TKR  YTTT. 

METHODISM     IN    THE    EASTEKN    STATES,    CONTINUED: 
1793-1796. 

Another  Conference  at  Lynn — Asbury  Itinerating  —  Tbe  Wilbrabana 
Conference  —  Interesting  Scenes  tlierc  —  New  Preaeliers  —  Wilson 
Lee  — Scenes  In  bis  Ministry  —  Nicliolas  Snetben  — The  Protestant 
Methodist  Controversy  —  Lee  Itinerating  —  First  Preacher  Stationed 
in  Maine  —  Its  first  Class  —  First  Chapel  —  First  Methodist  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Eucharist  —  Scenes  in  Lee's  Itinerancy  there  —  As- 
bury again  returns  -  Results  —  Conference  at  New  London  —  Scenes 
there  —  Location  of  Preachers  —  Lee  and  Asbury  Itinerating  —  Statis- 
tic*—  Outspread  of  Methodism  —  The  Thoinijson  Conference  —  Lor- 
enzo Dow  —  Results. 

The  ConfercHce  commenced  in  Lynn,  July  25,  1794. 
-Vnothcr  session  hud  been  appointed  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  preachers  in  the  wcBtern  portion  of  New 
En<^l;ind,  who,  therefore,  were  not  present  at  the  one  in 
Lynn.  We  have  scarcely  any  information  respecting 
the  latter.  Asbury  has  recorded  but  about  half  a  dozen 
lines  concemini;  it,  with  no  intimation  whatever  of  its 
business,  except  that  ditlicnlties  had  arisen  which  grieved 
him  deeply,  and  rendered  its  termination  grateful  to  his 
wt)unded  feelings.  lie  ]»reached  before  the  Conference 
and  the  Society  of  Lynn  twice  on  the  8abl»ath,  and 
departed  for  the  Willuiiham  session  the  next  morning, 
passing,  with  his  usual  rapidity,  a  distance  of  forty  miles 
the  same  day. 

On  Tuesday,  29,  he  rode  through  Attleborough  to 
Providence.  "  I  had,"  he  says,  "  no  freedom  to  eat 
bread  or  drink  water  in  that  place.  I  found  a  calm 
retreat  in  General  Lippett's,  where  we  can  rest  our- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  253 

selves.  The  Lord  is  in  this  family.  1  am  content  to 
stay  a  clay,  and  give  them  a  sermon."  His  unfavorable 
allusion  to  Providence  refers  to  the  conduct  of  a  local 
preacher  from  Ireland,  who  had  compromised  (as  the 
bishop  supposed)  his  Methodistic  principles  in  an  ar- 
rangement with  some  Congregational  citizens,  by  which 
the  few  friends  of  Methodism  in  the  town  were  absorbed 
into  a  new  Congregational  Society,  still  known  there  as 
the  "Beneficent  Congregational  Church." 

On  the  first  of  August  he  left  his  comfortable  retreat 
at  General  Lippett's,  and,  after  traveling  and  preaching 
daily,  reached  Tolland,  Conn.,  by  the  tenth.  He  was 
now  in  the  region  of  the  "  Association,"  which  had 
arrayed  itself  against  Methodism,  under  the  leadership 
of  Williams  and  Huntington.  "Ah!"  he  exclaims, 
"here  are  the  iron  walls  of  prejudice;  but  God  can 
break  them  down.  Out  of  fifteen  United  States,  thir- 
teen are  free ;  but  two  are  fettered  with  ecclesiastical 
chains,  taxed  to  support  ministers  who  are  chosen  by  a 
small  committee,  and  settled  for  life.  My  simple  proph- 
ecy is,  that  this  must  come  to  an  end  with  the  present 
century."  He  was  too  sanguine;  the  ecclesiastical  op- 
pressions of  Connecticut  were  not  abolished  till  1816, 
and  his  own  sons  in  the  ministry  had  no  unimportant 
agency  in  their  removal. 

By  Sunday,  17,  he  was  in  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  where 
he  found  a  Methodist  chapel,  "forty  by  thirty-four 
feet,  neatly  designed."  He  was  sick  and  weary  through- 
out this  trip,  but,  being  accompanied  by  Roberts,  they 
were  able  jointly  to  hold  meetings  continually.  They 
made  preaching  excursions  during  a  fortnight,  and  on 
September  2d  returned  to  Wilbraham,  lodged  with 
Abel  Bliss,  a  name  still  familiar  to  Massachusetts 
Methodists,   and,   on   Thursday,   the   4th,   opened   the 


254  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"  Wilbrahara  Conference."  As  the  itinerants  arrived 
with  their  horses  and  saddle-bags,  from  all  directions, 
dusty  and  wearied  by  long  journeys,  but  joyful  with 
cheering  reports  of  success,  they  were  welcomed  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  into  the  new  temple,  and  to  hos- 
fiitable  hearths  and  bountiful  tables.  Tht-  brethren  in 
\N'ilbraham  uet-ded  the  inspiriting  influence  of  such  an 
assembly.  They  had  struggled  for  every  inch  of  their 
j»rogresS  thus  tar;  they  had  erected  their  chapel  amid 
determined  hostility,  and  several  of  their  princi|)al 
members  had  been  carried  away  and  thrust  into  prison 
for  refusing  to  support  a  cre('<l  wliicli  their  consciences 
rejected. 

The  Wilbraham  Conference  was  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting in  our  early  history.  Great  men  were  there: 
Asbury,  wayworn,  but  "miglity  through  God;"  Lee, 
eloquent,  tireless,  and  ambitious,  like  Coke,  for  "  the 
wings  of  an  eagle,  and  the  voice  of  a  trumpet,  that  he 
might  proclaim  the  Gospel  through  the  P^ast  and  the 
West,  the  Nortli  ami  the  S..utli;"  Roberts,  as  robust 
and  noble  in  spirit  as  in  person  ;  Wilson  Lee,  "a  flame 
of  fire;"  Ostrander,  firm  and  unwavering  as  a  pillar  of 
brass;  Pickering,  clear  and  pure  as  a  beam  of  the 
morning ;  young  kludge,  the  beloved  firstborn  of  the 
New  England  itinerancy;  the  two  Joshuas  of  >Laine, 
Taylor  and  Hall,  who,  like  their  ancient  namesake,  led 
the  triumphs  of  Israel  in  the  land  of  the  East ;  and 
others  whose  record  is  on  high.  The  proceedings  were 
what  might  have  been  expected  from  such  evangelists : 
dispatch  of  business,  incessant  public  devotions,  and 
daily  preaching.  "  Friday,  5,"  says  Asbury,  "  we  had 
a  full  house,  and  hastened  through  much  business." 
The  same  day  Lee,  on  his  route  from  the  Lynn  Confer- 
ence to  New  Hampshire,  arrived,  "  .sat  with  them,  and 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  255 

attended  preaching  at  night."  Saturday  was  a  great 
day ;  Lee,  Roberts,  and  Asbury  preached ;  the  three 
principal  men  of  the  occasion.  The  bishop's  discourse 
was  on  Mai.  iii,  1-4 :  "  Behold  I  will  send  my  messen- 
ger, and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me ;  and  the 
Lord  whom  ye  seek  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple, 
even  the  messenger  of  the  covenant,  whom  ye  delight 
in ;  behold  he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  etc. 
He  treated  on  "  the  coming  and  work  of  John  the 
Baptist ;  the  coming,  work,  and  doctrine  of  Christ,  and 
his  changing  the  ordinances  and  priesthood  with  the 
ministry  and  discipline  of  the  Church."  It  was  a 
sermon  for  the  times.  At  eleven  o'clock  Lee  ascended 
the  pulpit,  and  closed  the  morning  session  by  a  power- 
ful discourse,  full  of  encouragement  to  preachers  and 
people,  from  2  Cor.  xii,  9 :  "  My  grace  is  sufficient 
for  thee."  "  The  power  of  the  Lord,"  writes  the  great 
evangelist,  "  was  among  us."  He  was  profoundly 
affected  himself;  few  men  indeed  had  better  tested  the 
promise  by  experience.  He  wept,  and  the  sympathetic 
emotion  spread  through  the  assembly,  till  there  was 
sobbing  and  ejaculations  in  all  parts  of  the  house.  "  I 
felt,"  he  says,  "  the  grace  of  God  sufficient  for  me  at  the 
time,  and  I  was  willing  to  trust  him  all  the  days  of  my 
life.  O  what  a  precious  sense  of  the  love  of  Jesus  my 
soul  enjoyed  at  that  time ! "  Sunday  was  a  high  festival. 
The  services  commenced  at  eight  o'clock  A.  M.  The 
first  hour  was  spent  in  prevailing  prayer,  and  in  singing 
the  rapturous  melodies  of  the  poet  of  Methodism,  the 
doggerels  of  later  days  having  not  yet  come  into 
vogue.  Asbury  then  mounted  the  pulpit,  and  addressed 
the  throng,  appealing  to  the  ministry  like  a  veteran 
general  to  his  hosts  on  the  eve  of  battle,  calling  on  them 
to  "put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,"  and  "endure  hard- 


256  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ness  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ."  Conflicts  were 
before  them,  but  their  weapons  were  "  iniglity  through 
God,"  and  their  brethren  were  moving  on  to  victory 
througli  the  land.  Many  might  fall,  but  it  would  be 
amid  the  slain  of  the  Lord,  and  with  the  shout  of 
triumph. 

At^cr  tlie  stirring  discourse,  he  descended  to  the  altar 
and  consecrated  four  young  men  to  the  ministry  of  the 
itinerancy,  tliree  as  elders,  one  as  deacon.  Preaclicrs 
and  people  then  crowded  around  the  altar,  and  with 
solemnity  and  teai-s  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
Lee's  ardent  spirit  was  nioveil  within  him,  for  to  him  it 
was  a  "solemn  time,"  "  (piickening"  and  refreshing. 

The  assembly  was  dismissed,  but  the  people  withdrew 
only  for  a  few  minutes.  They  again  thronged  the 
h6use,  and  were  addressed  in  a  series  of  exhortations 
by  Lee,  Thompson,  an<l  Kctcliuni.  The  exhortation 
of  Lee  was  long  sp<jken  of  as  an  example  of  over- 
whelming eloquence.  "Tl>e  crowd,"  says  one  who 
heard  it,'  "  moved  under  it  like  the  forest  under  a  tem- 
pest." "  It  was  a  lime  of  God's  power,"  says  Lee. 
Stout  hearts  broke  under  the  word,  the  fountain  of 
tears  was  opened,  and  there  was  weeping  in  all  parts  of 
the  house;  the  emotion  at  last  became  insupportable, 
and  the  overwhelmed  assembly  gave  vent  to  their  un- 
controllable feelings  in  loud  exclamations.  The  eloquent 
pioneer  addressed  all  classes,  "1,  sinners;  2,  mourn- 
ers in  Zion ;  3,  Christians;  4,  backsliders;  5,  young 
people  ;  6,  the  aged ;  and  lastly,  ministers."  The  serv- 
ices Anally  closed  alter  continuing  seven  hours  and  a  half. 
"  It  was,"  exclaims  Lee,  "  a  blessed  day  to  my  soul." 

The   Conference   was   publicly  concluded   amid  this 
deep  interest ;  the  preachers  immediately  mounted  their 
>  Enoch  Mudgc  to  the  author. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         257 

horses,  and  were  away  for  their  new  fields,  without  tar- 
rying for  meals.  Ten  or  twelve  of  them,  with  Asbury 
in  their  midst,  passed  on  rapidly  to  Enfield.  Lee's  soul 
was  yet  on  fire,  and  though  he  had  taken  neither  dinner 
nor  tea  that  day,  except  a  crust  of  bread  which  he  had 
begged  at  a  door  on  the  route,  and  ate  on  horseback, 
yet,  after  "  eating  a  little,"  he  went  with  Roberts  to  the 
meeting-house  in  Enfield,  where  the  people  were  wait- 
ing, and  admonished  them  to  reckon  themselves  "  to 
be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Rom.  vi,  11.  "It  was  a  profit- 
able time,"  he  says,  "  to  my  soul."  He  "  felt  the  power 
of  the  Lord,"  and  had  "  freedom  in  preaching."  Roberts 
followed  with  an  exhortation,  and  thus  closed  "  the  last 
day,  that  great  day  of  the  feast." 

Asbury  hastened  away  to  attend  the  New  York  Con- 
ference. At  one  place  on  his  route  calls  came  to  him  to 
send  preachers  into  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  and  at 
another  he  met  Dunham,  from  Canada,  beseeching  him 
to  send  additional  laborers  into  that  opening  region. 
Thus  the  field  was  enlarging  in  all  directions,  and 
whitening  unto  the  harvest. 

The  new  ecclesiastical  year  began  with  two  districts 
and  part  of  a  third,  eighteen  circuits  and  stations,  and 
thirty  preachers ;  four  circuits  and  five  preachers  more 
than  in  the  preceding  year.  The  names  of  New  Hamp- 
shire and  Vermont  appear,  for  the  first  time,  in  the 
Minutes. 

Of  the  itinerants  who  now,  for  the  first  time,  appear 
in  New  England,  twelve  in  number,  more  than  half 
were  recruits  from  Maryland  or  Virginia.  Among 
them  were  conspicuous  men,  like  Christopher  Spry,  long 
known  in  the  "Old  Baltimore  Conference;"  George 
Cannon,  who  founded  Methodism  at  Provincetown  and 
C— 17 


258  niSTORY  OF  the 

Nantucket ;  John  Chalmers,  who  oriijinated  the  first 
]\rethodist  chapel  of  Uhode  Island,  (on  Warren  Cireuit,) 
and  fell  in  his  work,  as  late  as  1833,  in  Maryland,  "full 
of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost,"  say  his  brethren ;  David 
Abbott,  son  of  the  Xew  Jersey  "Boanerges,"  and  Wil- 
son Lee. 

Wilson  Lee  we  have  already  repeatedly  met  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  states,  and  west  of  the  AUeghanies. 
If  we  remind  ourselves  of  the  rapid  transitions  of  the 
early  itinerary,  we  are  hardly  surprised  to  find  him 
again  rising  uj)  before  us  in  this  new  and  far-off  field. 
He  labored  briefly,  but  with  great  success,  in  the  East. 
An  old  Methodist  local  preacher,  of  long  and  honorable 
service  in  the  New  England  Church,  writes  that  "  the 
first  Methodist  I  ha<I  any  knowledge  of  was  Wilson 
Lee.  He  j»reached  at  ^liddle  Haddam,  on  the  Con- 
necticut. His  first  prayer  was  novel  in  its  brevity  and 
fervency,  for  the  ])eopU'  had  been  habituated  to  formal 
prayers  of  about  forty  minutes  in  length.  After  prayer 
the  preacher  took  from  his  pocket  a  little  Bible,  read 
his  text,  and  closed  the  book.  The  ])eoiile  saw  no  note- 
book, and  seeing  the  preacher  fix  his  eyes  on  the  con- 
gregation, instead  of  a  book,  their  curiosity  was  raised 
to  the  highest  pitch.  The  preaching  was  with  the 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  with  power.  The 
people  trembled  and  wept;  some  fell  to  the  floor  and 
cried  aloud  for  mercy,  and  some  fled  from  the  house 
and  ran  home,  declaring  that  the  devil  was  among  the 
people  in  the  stone  house.  When  Wilson  Lee  saw  the 
effect  he  stood  and  cried,  '  Glory  to  God  ! '  "  This  meet- 
ing was  the  beginning  of  a  profound  religious  interest 
in  Middle  Haddam,  in  which  many  souls  were  con- 
verted, under  the  ministry  of  Lee,  who  formed  a  class, 
and  made  it  a  Sabbath  appointment  for  New  London 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         259 

Circuit.  It  is  now  a  station,  with  a  convenient  chapel. 
During  his  labors  in  Middle  Haddam  he  was  sick  with 
fever,  which  brought  him  to  the  gate  of  death.  "It 
proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  class,"  continues  our 
authority  "  by  exhibiting  his  faith  on  the  verge  of  the 
grave,  and  his  ardent  prayers  for  his  spiritual  children. 
If  it  should  be  said  that  Wilson  Lee  was  not  one  of 
the  three  mighty  men,  I  think  none  will  deny  him  a 
place  among  the  thirty,  for  he  was  deeply  pious,  of 
ardent  zeal  for  his  Master,  of  unwavering  faith,  which 
rendered  him  a  successful  minister  of  the  gospel, 
and  a  useful  agent  in  planting  the  standard  of  Meth- 
odism in  the  land  of  the  Puritans.  Very  few  now  re- 
main of  those  who  knew  him.  When  I  look  back  to 
more  than  half  a  century,  and  times  and  things  as  they 
then  were,  and  compare  those  times  with  the  present,  I 
am  constrained  to  say,  *  What  hath  the  Lord  wrought  ? ' 
Then  our  circuit  was  more  than  two  hundred  miles  in 
circumference,  with  two  preachers,  and  perhaps  one 
small  meeting-house ;  there  are  now  more  than  twenty 
preachers,  and  as  many  large  and  convenient  chapels, 
dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God."  2  We  have 
already  seen  Wilson  Lee  founding  the  Church  at  South- 
hold,  Long  Island,  on  his  passage  southward  from  New 
England,  and  have  traced  him  through  most  of  his 
remarkable  career. 

Nicholas  Snethen  is  a  name  of  considerable  note  in 
the  history  of  Methodism.  He  was  born  on  Long 
Island,  N.  Y.,  1769.  His  education  was  limited  to  the 
scanty  instruction  of  the  country-school  of  the  day,  a 
considerable  portion  of  his  early  life  being  spent  on  the 
sea,  in  chai'ge  of  his  father's  vessels,  in  the  flour  trade. 
His  subsequent  application  to  books  supplied,  however, 
«  Letter  of  Rev.  J.  Stockin":  to  the  writer. 


200  HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  some  extent,  tlie  deficiency  of  his  early  studies.  II(» 
acquired  a  competent  knowledge  of  his  own  language, 
and  was  able  to  use  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  in  biblical 
exegesis.  He  was  converted  to  God  in  his  twentieth 
year,  and  preached  his  first  sermon  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one.^ 

He  ((iinnienced  his  itinerant  labore  in  Xew  England, 
in  1794,  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  His 
first  appoint nu-nt  was  to  Fairfield  Circuit.  In  1795  he 
labored  on  Tulland  Circuit  with  Christopher  Spry.  The 
year  following  he  traveled  the  Vershire  Circuit,  the 
first  projected  in  the  state  of  Vermont.  He  has  the 
honor  of  appearing  in  the  Minutes  as  the  first  Methodist 
preacher  formally  appointed  to  that  state.  In  1797  he 
was  sent  to  the  Portland  Circuit,  with  John  Finnegan. 
The  next  year  we  miss  him  from  the  Minutes,  owing, 
probably,  to  his  removal  southward.  In  1799  he  was 
apjiointed  to  Charleston,  S.  C.  The  following  year  he 
was  in  IJaltimore,  with  Thomas  Morrell,  George  lioberts, 
Philip  Bruce,  etc.,  a  band  of  mighty  men.  In  1801-2 
he  traveled  at  large  with  Asbury.  In  1803  he  was 
again  in  Baltimore,  and  the  next  two  years  in  New 
York  city,  with  Michael  Coate,  Samuel  Merwin,  Ezekiel 
Cooper,  F'reeborn  Garrettson,  and  ^\aron  Hunt.  Dur- 
ing the  three  ensuing  years  he  was  in  the  local  ranks, 
but  re-entered  the  itinerancy  in  1809,  and  8i)erit  two 
years  in  Baltimore,  as  colleague  of  Asa  Shinn  and  Robert 
Burch.  The  three  loUowing  years  he  labored  suc- 
cessively at  Georgetown,  Alexandria,  and  Frederick. 
In  1814  he  again  located,  and  retired  to  his  estate  in 
Frederick  County,  Maryland. 

Amiable,  talented,  and   devoted,  Nicholas    Snethen 
was,  uevetheless,  versatile  and  restless.     He  twice  re- 
5  MethodUt  Protestant,  Baltimore,  July  12,  1845. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         261 

tired  from  the  itinerancy  to  the  local  ranks,  besides 
passing  through  transferences  from  north  to  south, 
remarkable  in  number  and  extent,  even  in  that  day  of 
frequent  and  long  transitions.  Two  years  he  traveled 
with  Asbury,  and  his  regular  aj)pointments  ranged  from 
Portland  in  Maine  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  At 
one  time  he  was  the  champion  defender  of  Methodism ; 
at  another,  the  most  strenuous  leader  of  schism.  Dur- 
ing the  revolt  of  O'Kelly  he  published,  as  has  been 
shown,  an  "Answer  to  Mr.  O'Kelly's  Vindication,"  in 
which  he  defended  the  Church  and  Asbury  in  language 
the  most  emphatic;  in  1828  he  pi-esided  at  the  Con- 
vention of  Seceders  which  assembled  at  Baltimore  to 
organize  the  "Associated  Methodist  Churches,"  now 
known  as  the  "Protestant  Methodist  Church;"  and 
during  eight  previous  years  he  had  been  writing  with 
great  severity  (but,  doubtless,  with  equal  sincerity) 
anonymous  attacks  on  the  Church,  for  whose  prosperity 
he  had  so  arduously  labored. 

The  movement  which  resulted  in  the  secession  of 
1828,  commenced  by  the  publication  of  the  "  Wesleyan 
Repository"  in  Trenton,  N,  J.,  in  1820,  and  was  con- 
tinued by  the  violent  assaults  of  the  "Mutual  Rights" 
in  Baltimore.  Snethen  was  a  frequent  contributor  to 
these  periodicals.  He  subsequently  published  his  articles 
in  a  volume,  as  also  another  work  in  defense  of  his 
seceding  breth]-en.  He  attended  the  Maryland  Conven- 
tion, in  1827,  and  prepared  the  memorial  to  the  next 
General  Conference,  which  called  forth  the  celebrated 
Report  of  the  Conference  on  Lay  Representation.  He 
was  leader  of  the  Convention  which  formed  the  Articles 
of  Association  for  the  new  Church,  and  was  afterward 
elected  President  of  the  Maryland  Annual  Conference 
District.     In   1829  he  emigrated  to  the  banks  of  the 


262  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Wabash,  near  Merom,  Sullivan  County,  Indiana,  Do- 
mestic bereavements  induced  him,  subsequently,  to 
remove  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  Tie  finally  settled  in 
Cincinnati,  where  he  labored  assiduously  in  the  min- 
istry. In  May,  1838,  he  presided  over  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  assembled 
at  Alexandria,  D,  C.  He  also  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  deliberations  of  the.  same  body  at  Pittsburgh,  in 
1«38,  and  at  Baltimore,  in  1842.  "The  last  year  or  two 
of  his  life  was  sj)ent,"  says  his  son,  "  in  building  up 
a  new  school  in  Iowa  City,  in  the  territory  of  Iowa. 
They  called  it  the  Snethen  Seminary.  He  opened  it 
in  person,  and  returned  to  Cincinnati  to  prepare  for  it 
one  hundred  lectures,  which  he  intended  to  have  de- 
livered with  his  own  lips  the  ensuing  summer.  He 
was  on  his  way  to  Iowa  City  when  he  was  taken  ill  at 
the  residence  of  his  son-in-law.  Dr.  Pennington,  in 
Princeton,  Indiana,  where,  at\er  two  months  of  great 
sufferings,  he  died  on  the  30th  of  ^lay,  1845,  magni- 
fying and  praising  the  Lord  to  the  last  moment  of 
his  life.*'  * 

He  was  no  ordinary  man ;  his  literary  acquire- 
ments were  highly  respectable;  in  the  pulpit  he  was 
elotpient,  and  at  times  overjtowering;  in  i)rivate  life 
he  was  cheerful,  sociable,  and  sympathetic;  an  un- 
wavering friend,  and  a  complete  Christian  gentleman. 
There  was  a  peculiarity  in  his  nuntal  constitution  to 
which  must  be  referred  his  unfortunate  course  in 
the  Church.  "His  philosophic  mind,"  says  one  who 
knew  him  well,  "delighted  in  theory.  He  theorized  on 
every  subject  that  came  under  his  investigation ;  and 
most  of  his  theories  were  ingenious,  jdausible,  and  cap- 
tivating, and  bespoke  a  mind  of  vast  compass,  great 
♦  Methodist  Protestant,  July  12,  1845. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUECH.  263 

originality,  and  intense  application."  ^  With  such  a 
characteristic  propensity,  it  is  no  matter  of  surprise 
that  he  finally  stumbled  at  the  ecclesiastical  system  of 
Metliodism.  The  polity  of  no  other  Church,  if,  indeed, 
of  any  other  community  of  men  whatever,  is  more 
thoroughly  practical  or  less  theoretical ;  it  presents  an 
episcopacy  which  is  presbyterian,  a  pastorate  without 
settlement,  a  creed  almost  dangerously  liberal,  and  yet 
the  most  rigorously  applied  in  the  pulpit ;  a  system,  in 
fine,  made  up  of  the  most  energetic  peculiarities  and 
most  marked  contrasts,  its  contrasts  being,  however, 
but  salutary  counterparts.  No  system  confers  higher 
powers  on  its  ministry,  and  yet  none  places  its  minis- 
try in  more  utter  subjection  to  popular  control.  No 
ecclesiastical  officers,  out  of  the  papal  hierarchy,  have 
stronger  executive  functions  than  its  bishops,  and  yet 
none  have  more  stringent  checks  and  restrictions.  It 
pretends  to  no  theoretical  foundation  and  no  divine 
right,  but  is  a  result  of  providential  circumstances, 
and  having  operated  more  successfully  than  any  other, 
and  with  as  few,  if  not  fewer,  abuses  than  any  other, 
the  good  sense  of  its  people,  while  accepting  improve- 
ments, has  always  repelled  hasty  changes.  Snethen 
and  his  associates  attempted  a  revolution,  with  what 
success  I  need  not  here  say.  The  very  changes  he  too 
impetuously  attempted,  the  Church  has,  by  formal  vote, 
declared  itself  ready  to  concede  whenever  its  laity  shall 
generally  demand  them.  Asbury  himself  predicted 
their  concession  in  due  time.  But  neither  the  ministry 
nor  the  people  were  willing  to  concede  them  to  agita- 
tion and  strife.  Snethen,  however  sincere  his  purpose, 
presents  the  sad  and  affecting  spectacle  of  a  veteran 
evangelist — the  associate  of  Lee  in  New  England,  the 
6  Rev.  J.  R.  Williams,  in  Meth.  Prot.,  Baltimore,  July  12, 1845. 


264  HISTORY    OF    THE 

friend  and  traveling  companion  of  Asbury,  the  able 
deiender  of  the  Church  against  schism,  the  itinerant 
who  had  suffered  and  labored  through  most  of  the  land 
to  lay  the  foundations  and  rear  the  walls  of  the  Church 
— turning  from  it,  and  from  the  thinned  ranks  of  his 
old  fellow  laborers,  to  head  a  revolt  which  was  to 
spread  discord  and  rancor  through  the  goodly  brother- 
hood !  Sad,  indeed,  to  see  a  man  so  good  and  great, 
after  a  useful  ministry  of  thirty  years  or  more,  spend 
the  remainder  of  his  weary  and  declining  life  amid  the 
anxieties  and  reactions  of  an  impracticable  experiment, 
and  in  conflict  with  the  sympathies  and  endeared  mem- 
ories of  his  earlier  and  better  years !  He  mingles  again, 
we  doubt  not,  with  his  old  itinerant  associates,  in  that 
world  where  good  men  no  longer  "  see  through  a  glass 
darkly,"  but  "  know  even  as  also  they  are  known," 
and  where  the  best  of  them  will  discern  errors  enough 
in  their  past  exisf(n<'('  to  call  lor  mutual  sympathy  and 
forgiveness. 

We  left  Lee  in  the  i)ulpit  at  Enfield  on  the  evening 
of  the  day  which  closed  the  Wilbraham  Conference. 
His  appointment  for  the  ensuing  year  was  to  the  office 
of  presiding  elder;  his  district  comprehcjided,  nomin- 
ally, Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and  .Maine,  but 
virtually,  the  whole  Methodist  interests  in  New  En- 
gland. A  year  of  extraordinary  travels  and  labors  was 
before  him ;  but,  sustained  by  a  zeal  as  steady  as  it  was 
ardent,  he  went  forth  upon  it  like  a  giant  to  run  a  race. 
He  passed  in  a  rapid  flight  through  Connecticut,  Rhode 
Island,  Eastern  Massachusetts,  and  far  into  the  interior 
of  Maine,  amid  snow-drifts  and  wintry  storms;  back 
again  through  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  the 
islands  of  Xantucket  and  Martha's  Vineyard,  and 
again  through  Massachusetts  and  Maine  into  the  British 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  205 

provinces,  and  back  yet  again  to  the  interior  of  Con- 
necticut. 

We  have  ah-eacly  followed  him  so  closely  in  his  first 
fields  that  we  have  space  now  only  to  retrace  rapidly 
his  course  in  the  new  one  of  Maine.  The  winter  had 
set  in,  and  the  province  was  yet  "a  howling  wilder- 
ness;" he  set  out  for  it  on  the  3d  of  November,  lie 
preached  in  Portland,  and  found  a  home  in  the  house  of 
a  hospitable  Quaker,  "friend  Cobb,"  who,  he  says, 
"  was  quite  reconciled  to  prayers  morning  and  evening." 
He  left  the  city,  not  doubting  "but  what  the  Lord 
would  yet  favor  this  people."  At  Monmouth  he  saw 
signs  of  a  revival  of  religion,  and  wrote,  "  Surely  the 
Lord  is  saying  to  the  North,  'Give  up.'  Amen,  even  so : 
come  Lord  Jesus." 

Philip  Wager  had  been  sent  this  year  to  Maine — the 
first  Methodist  preacher  stationed  in  that  section  of 
New  England.  Lee's  delight  at  the  good  indications 
in  Monmouth  was  enhanced  by  the  arrival  of  Wager, 
Avho  brought  him  the  cheering  news  of  similar  signs  in 
other  parts  of  the  province.  After  conversing  and  re- 
joicing over  their  prospects  they  went  forth  to  a  neigh- 
boring tavern,  where  Lee  preached  and  Wager  exhorted, 
"  with  freedom,"  to  a  company  of  hearers  who  expected 
them;  "the  Lord,"  says  the  former,  "moved  upon  the 
hearts  of  many."  His  joy  was  increased  in  meeting, 
after  the  sermon,  the  first  Methodist  Class  formed  in 
Maine,  and  hearing,  "from  the  people's  own  mouths, 
what  the  Lord  had  done  for  their  souls."  This  little 
band  comprised  fifteen  members.  It  was  organized 
"about  the  first  of  November,  1794."^  The  first  lay 
Methodist  in  Maine  was  Daniel  Smith,  afterward  a 
local  preacher.  He  died  in  peace,  October  10,  1846. 
8  Lee's  Hist,  of  Meth.,  anno  1794. 


266  HISTORY     OF    THE 

Lee  left  the  new  society,  praying  that  it  might  be  as 
the  "  little  cloud,  which  at  first  was  like  a  man's  hand, 
but  soon  covered  the  heavens."  His  prayer  has  i)re- 
vailed,  and  in  our  day  his  denomination  has  become  the 
strongest,  numerically,  in  the  state. 

On  Saturday,  15th,  he  reached  lleadfield,  whither  he 
was  attracted  by  the  recollections  of  his  former  cordial 
reception.  Good  news  awaited  him  in  that  remote 
region  ;  he  found  there  the  second  Methodist  society 
of  Maine,  recently  formed — a  people  hungering  for  the 
word  of  life,  and  hanging  on  his  miniHtrations  with  sobs 
and  ejaculations — and  the  shell  of  the  first  Methodist 
chapel  of  Maine  already  reared.  The  class  consisted  of 
seventeen  members.  "  Surely,"  ho  exclaims,  "  the  Lord 
is  about  to  do  great  things  lor  the  people.  Even  so; 
amen,  and  amen."  Early  on  Wednesday,  26th,  he  was 
again  j)ressing  forward,  on  his  way  to  Sandy  Kivei", 
over  a  lonely  road,  and  through  intense  cold.  In  a  part 
of  his  route  he  passed  through  seven  or  eight  miles 
without  seeing  a  single  habitation.  "It  appeared,"  he 
says,  "as  if  my  feet  would  free/.e ;  but  I  drew  one  of 
ray  mittens  over  the  toe  of  my  shoe,  and  made  out  to 
keep  it   from  freezing." 

December,  with  its  borean  storms,  ha<l  come  upon 
the  evangelist  in  what  was  then  the  heart  of  the  wilder- 
ness province,  but  he  still  went  forward. 

By  Wednesday,  3d,  he  reached,  through  the  woods, 
the  junction  of  Sandy  River  and  the  Kennebec.  On  a 
jtart  of  the  way  there  were  no  traces  of  a  path;  his 
guide  had  to  follow  the  ''chops"  on  the  trees;  the  snow 
was  nearly  a  foot  deep,  and  the  traveling  most  difficult. 
The  next  day  he  "  rode  up  the  Kennebec,  to  Mr.  James 
liurn's,  at  Titcomlttown,  a  little  below  Seven  Miles 
Brook,"  where  he  proclaimed  at  night  that  "God  sent 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  267 

his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world  that  we  might 
live  through  him."  1  John  iv,  9.     "  They  were  all  attevi- 
tion,"  he  says,  "  and  some  of  them  much  wrought  upon, 
so  that  they  could  not  forbear  weeping.     They  impor- 
tuned me  to  come  among  them  again,  or  try  and  send 
one  to  preach  to  them,  for  they  seldom  hear  a  sermon 
of  any  kind.     My  heart  was  moved  with  compassion 
for  the  people.     There  never  was  a  Methodist  preacher 
in  these  parts  before.     Lord,  send  forth  more  laborers 
into  thy  vineyard,  and  into  this  part  of  the  world!" 
There  were  sparse  settlements  scattered  about  thirty 
miles  higher  up  the  river,  but  his  time  was  limited ;  the 
next  day  he  turned  his  face  toward  the  south,  preached 
on  his  way,  and  recrossed  Sandy  River  on  the  ice.     By 
the  12th  he  was  again  in  Readfield.     It  was  a  fast  day 
in  the  infant  society,  in  preparation  for  what  was  to  be 
a  great  occasion  among  them  on  the  approaching  Sab- 
Ittath— the  first  consecration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  by  the 
Methodists  of  Maine.      He  preached  to  them  ;   "  there 
was  a  considerable  move  among  the  people,"  he  says. 
"  I  met  the  class,  and  consulted  about  administering  the 
Lord's  Supper.     One  of  our  friends  gave  us  an  agree- 
able account  of  a  gracious  work  of  God  among  the 
people  at  Sandy  River.     Lord,  increase  it  abundantly ! 
Sunday,  14th,  I  preached  in  Readfield,  and  administered 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  about  eight  persons.     This  was 
the  first  time  that  this  ordinance  had  ever  been  admin- 
istered in  this  town  by  the  Methodists,  or  in  any  part 
of  this  province.     We  had  a  happy  time  together." 

On  Tuesday,  the  23d,  he  was  preaching  in  Little- 
borough,  to  a  crowded  congregation,  which  melted 
under  his  word.  "Many  of  the  people,"  he  remarks, 
"  could  hardly  refrain  from  weeping  aloud."  Remark- 
able scenes  occurred  here.     After  he  had  dismissed  the 


268  HISTORY    OF    THE 

assembly  and  retire<l  into  another  room,  "a  man,"  he 
says,  "  came  in  to  speak  to  me,  and  burst  into  tears. 
Another  came  in  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  begged 
that  I  would  preach  again  at  night.  I  could  not  refuse. 
Some  of  the  people  then  went  home,  but  soon  returned. 
One  man,  being  in  deep  distress,  began  to  cry  aloud  to 
God  to  have  mercy  upon  his  poor  soul ;  and  thus  he 
continued  to  cry  with  all  his  might,  until  some  of  the 
people  were  much  frightened.  I  talked,  prayed,  and 
sung,  and  while  I  was  singing  a  visible  alteration  took 
place  in  his  countenanrf,  and  I  was  inclined  to  think 
his  soul  was  set  at  liberty,  lie  afterward  spoke  as 
though  he  believed  it  was  so."  But  scarcely  had  this 
jienitent  l<Mnnl  comfort,  when  another  "was  seized  with 
trembling,  and  began  to  pray  the  Lord  to  have  mercy 
upon  his  poor  soul,  and  cried  aloud  for  some  time." 
These  strange  scenes  excited  much  interest  among  the 
spectators.  Lee  immediately  o})ened  his  Bible  and  be- 
gan to  address  them  from  1  Peter  v,  7,  "Casting  all 
ymir  care  upon  him,  for  he  careth  for  you;"  but  soon 
another  man  was  svizA'd  with  a  violent  trembling,  and 
cricil  alouil.  Tlure  was  weeping  through  the  whole 
assembly.  The  preachers  voice  was  drowned,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  stop.  lie  knelt  down  and  prayed  for 
the  awakened  man,  and  when  quiet  was  restored  re- 
sumed his  discourse,  amid  the  sobbings  of  the  congre- 
gation. "It  appeared,"  he  remarks,  "as  if  the  whole 
neighborhood  was  about  to  turn  to  God.  I  hope  the 
fruit  of  this  meeting  will  be  seen  after  many  days,  and 
that  the  work  of  the  Lord  will  revive  from  this  time." 
He  hastened  on,  witnessing  similar  scenes,  and,  early  in 
January,  1705,  was  again  at  Lynn. 

lie  ha<l   spent  about  two  months  in  Maine,  during 
which,  undaunted  by  the  driving  storms  of  the  north, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  269 

he  had  penetrated  on  horseback  to  the  frontier  set- 
tlements, preaching  the  word,  and  encouraging  the 
incipient  societies,  which  could  yet  claim  but  one 
sanctuary  in  the  province,  and  that  scarcely  more 
substantial  than  a  barn,  but  have  since  multiplied 
themselves  throughout  the  state,  and  studded  its 
surface  with  temples.  After  laboring  two  or  three 
weeks  in  Lynn  and  its  vicinity,  he  sallied  forth  again, 
though  amid  the  blasts  of  midwinter,  on  an  excursion 
to  Rhode  Island,  and  the  southeastern  parts  of  Massa- 
chiasetts. 

Again  he  sought  temporary  shelter  at  his  headquarters 
in  Lynn;  but  though  it  was  now  the  most  inclement 
period  of  the  year,  and  especially  unfavorable  for  travel, 
he  longed  to  plunge  again  into  the  wintry  Tvilderness 
of  Maine,  and  to  bear  the  cross  onward  far  beyond 
his  former  tours.  He  was  soon  away,  and  penetrated 
through  the  province  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  By  the 
21st  of  June  he  was  back  at  Readfield  dedicating  the 
first  Methodist  chapel  of  Maine. 

Such  is  but  a  glance  at  the  labors  of  this  wonderful 
man  during  the  ten  months  which  had  elapsed  since  his 
departure  from  the  Wilbraham  Conference.  Similar 
journeys  and  labors,  performed  with  our  present  con- 
veniences for  travel,  would  be  considered  extraordinary ; 
how  much  more  so  were  they  at  that  day !  How^  soon 
would  the  earth  be  evangelized  were  the  Avhole  Chris- 
tian ministry  of  like  spirit !  He  has  recorded,  for  the 
satisfaction  of  later  Methodists,  the  dates  of  the  first 
sermons  by  Methodist  preachers  in  several  parts  of 
Maine.  The  first  in  the  province  was  at  Saco,  Septem- 
ber 10,  1793:  in  Portland,  12;  Hallowell,  October  13, 
Farmington,  15;  Readfield,  16;  Winthrop,  21;  Mon- 
mouth, 22;  Livermore,  January  12,  1794;  Chesterville, 


270  HISTORY    OF     THE 

21;  Yassalborough,  ^larcli  5;   Winslow,  9;    Xorridg- 
wock,  11;  Fairfield,  13. 

Whilo  Lee  was  a])|in)acliin<;  the  seat  of  the  next  Con- 
ference from  the  north,  Ashiiry  was  wending  his  course 
toward  it  from  the  south,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  he 
liad  ]H>rform«'«l  unparalleled  journeys  ami  labors.  He 
lefl  New  York  city  on  the  sixth  of  July,  and,  entering 
Connecticut,  preached  at  Stamford  in  a  jirivate  house. 
The  next  day  he  rode  tliirty-thn-e  niiles  to  Stratford, 
where,  though  weak  and  depresscMl,  he  a<l<lrcsscd  a 
multitude  which  crowded  the  house  inside  and  out.  On 
Friilay,  10,  he  reache<]  New  Haven.  His  former  visit 
had  left  a  favorable  impression.  "Nothing  would  do," 
he  remarks,  "  but  I  must  preach  in  Dr.  Edwards's  meet- 
ing hou*<e,  which  I  did  from  these  words:  'Yea,  doubt- 
less, and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of 
the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  my  Lord.' "  The  next 
day  he  was  at  Middletown,  and  spent  a  j>ortion  of  the 
day  in  visiting  from  house  to  house,  and  in  cotiducting 
a  prayer-meeting.  No  labor  seemed  too  great  nor  too 
small  for  his  tireless  spirit.  The  following  day  was  the 
Sabbath.  He  preached  three  sermons,  two  at  "The 
Farms,"  and  one  at  the  Court-house.  On  ^londay,  13, 
he  preached  with  "some  life"  at  Middle  Haddam,  and 
reached  New  London  the  next  day.  The  itinerants  had 
been  arriving,  wayworn  and  dusty,  during  the  day;  but 
in  the  evening  they  gathered  around  their  great  champion, 
who,  ever  ready,  addressed  them  and  the  multitude. 

The  year  had  been  a  calamitous  one  for  the  Church 
generally ;  the  Minutes  reported  an  aggregate  decrease 
of  six  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventeen  members. 
"  Such  a  loss,"  says  Lee,  "  we  had  never  known  since  we 
were  a  people."  ^  But  while  the  desolating  measures  of 
•  Let's  Hist,  of  Metli.,  anno  1795. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  271 

O'Kelly  wei'e  blighting  the  former  rich  growth  of  the 
South,  the  New  England  field  was  extending  on  every 
hand,  and  yielding  an  abundant  increase.  Its  returns 
of  members  amounted  to  two  thousand  five  hundred 
and  seventy-five,  an  advance  on  the  preceding  year  of 
five  hundred  and  thirty-six,  or  more  than  one  fourth. 
There  was  apparently  a  gain  of  but  one  circuit  or  sta- 
tion, eighteen  being  reported  the  preceding  year,  and 
nineteen  the  present.  One,  however,  of  the  former 
(Veimont)  was  merely  nominal ;  Joshua  Hall,  who  was 
appointed  to  it,  being  detained  in  Massachusetts.^  The 
gain  was  at  least  five ;  actually  larger  than  in  any  former 
year.  The  remodeling  of  several  western  circuits  di- 
minished their  number,  but  their  real  extent  and  import- 
ance were  proportionably  augmented  by  the  change. 
Pomfret,  in  Connecticut ;  Provincetown  and  Marble- 
head,  in  Massachusetts;  Portland  and  Penobscot,  in 
Maine,  were  the  new  names  reported  among  the  ap- 
pointments for  the  ensuing  year.  The  gains  in  the 
membership  were  chiefly  in  Maine.  A  solitary  preacher 
had  been  appointed,  at  the  preceding  Conference,  to 
that  vast  field,  but  no  society  had  then  been  organized. 
In  the  present  year  Lee,  as  we  have  seen,  had  repeat- 
edly traveled  to  its  farthest  boundary.  Hundreds 
were  awakened  and  converted  under  his  faithful  labors, 
and  those  of  his  coadjutor.  Several  societies  were  or- 
ganized ;  the  first  Methodist  chapel  erected  ;  the  first 
returns  of  members  made.  Readfield  Circuit  reported 
232;  Portland,  136;  and  Passamaquoddy,  (on  the  east- 
ern boundary,)  50;  an  aggregate  of  318.  Methodism 
had  unfurled  its  banners  in  Maine,  with  the  hope  never 
to  strike  them  till  the  heavens  are  no  more. 

"  Dr.  Banfjs's  statement  respecting  Hall's  labors  in  Vermont  (Hist, 
of  M.  E.  Church,  anno  1794)  is  inaccurate. 


272  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  Conference  at  New  London,  Conn.,  commenced 
its  session  on  Wednesday,  the  15th  of  July,  1735. 
Nineteen  preachers  were  present.'"  A  small  number  of 
Mitliodists  had  been  formed  into  a  society  in  the 
city  about  two  years,  but  they  were  yet  with<»ut  a 
chapel  in  which  to  accommodate  the  Conference.  It 
met  in  the  house  of  Daniel  Burrows.  Though  as- 
sembled without  ostentation,  and  without  a  temple, 
sublime  visions  of  the  future  rose  before  the  con- 
templation of  the  men  who  composed  the  unnoticed 
})ody.  Asbury  looked  forth  from  the  private  room  in 
which  they  met,  with  the  hope  that  their  deliberations 
Would  be  ''  for  the  good  of  thousands."  Some  of  them 
were  yet  to  see  their  little  comj)any  grow  into  a  host 
nearly  a  thousand  strong,  leading  an  evangelical  army 
of  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  souls.  Asbury,  Lee, 
Roberts,  Pickering,  Mudge,  Taylor,  Snethen,  Smith, 
Ostrandcr,  and  M'Combs  were  among  the  rare  men 
who  composed  the  unpretending  synod. 

The  session  continued  until  Saturday.  M'Call,  fnun 
the  British  Provinces,  and  Kingston  and  ILirper,  Wes- 
leyan  missionaries  from  the  West  Indies,  were  present. 
Some  polemical  discussions  occurred,  "especially,"  says 
Asbury,  "  in  reference  to  the  ancient  contest  about 
baptism,  these  people  being  originally  connected  with 
those  who  are  of  that  line."  "O  what  wisdom,  meek- 
ness, patience,  and  prudence  are  necessary,"  he  adds ; 
"great  peace,"  however,  prevailed  throughout  the  de- 
liberations. The  brethren  from  the  West  Indies  had 
arrived  with  prostrate  health  and  exhausted  jjursus. 
Asbury  expresses  his  pleasure  at  seeing  "  our  ])reach- 
ers  ready  to  give  their  strange  brethren  a  little  of  the 

•0  MS.  Sermon  of  Rev.  R.  W.  Allen.  Asbury  says  "  about  twenty," 
Journals,  anno  1795. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         273 

little  they  had,"  a  liberality  almost  universal  among 
Methodist  preachers  in  those  days  of  suffering  and  self- 
sacrifice.  They  reviewed  the  successes  and  trials  of  the 
past  year,  planned  new  and  more  extended  projects  of 
labor  for  the  future,  united  in  frequent  prayer  that  the 
word  might  run  and  be  glorified,  and  preached  it  daily 
to  each  other  and  the  gathered  multitude  in  the  court- 
house, Evan  Rogers,  who  had  been  educated  a  Quaker, 
and  combined  much  of  the  gravity  of  his  first  with  the 
warm  energy  of  his  new  faith,  addressed  the  preachers 
particularly,  and,  it  is  said,  very  pertinently,  on  defects 
in  their  pulpit  delivery,  which  were  not  uncommon  at 
that  date.  His  text,  at  least,  was  significant.  It  was 
1  Cor.  xiv,  19:  "Yet  in  the  church  I  had  rather  speak 
five  words  with  my  understanding,  that  by  my  voice 
I  might  teach  others  also,  than  ten  thousand  words  in 
an  unknown  tongue."  " 

Chalmers  brought  them  glad  tidings  from  Rhode 
Island,  and  reported  the  erection  of  the  first  Methodist 
chapel  of  that  state. '^  Ostrander  brought  good  news 
from  the  Connecticut  River;  the  cause  was  advancing 
slowly,  but  surely,  along  its  banks,  j^rejudice  was  yield- 
ing, the  hostility  of  the  established  Churches  had  been 
defeated  in  several  instances,  and  though  the  cry  was 
that  they  were  "turning  the  world  upside  down,"  yet 
numerous  places  in  all  directions  were  uttering  to  them 
the  "  Macedonian  cry  "  to  come  over  and  help  them, 
and  hundreds  were  waking  from  their  sjjiritual  slumbers 
to  a  devouter  life.  Hill  was  there  from  New  Hampshire, 
to  report  that  innumerable  doors  were  opening  in  that 

n  Letter  of  Enoch  Mudge  to  the  writer. 

"  It  was  usual,  at  this  period,  for  the  preachers  to  "  give  a  free  and 
full  account  of  themselves  and  their  circuits  at  the  Conference."    As- 
bury's  Journals,  Sept.  22,  1795. 
C— 18 


274  HISTORY    OF    THE 

sparsely  settled  state  for  the  new  evangelists ;  hut 
the  laborers  were  few,  and  none  could  yet  be  spared. 
Lee,  wayworn  with  his  frrcat  travels,  cheered  them  with 
surprising  encouragements  from  Maine :  the  formation 
of  two  new  circuits,  the  organization  of  the  first  Meth- 
odist Society,  and  the  erection  of  the  first  Methodist 
chapel  in  the  province,  together  with  the  report  of  more 
than  three  hundred  members  received  there  since  the 
last  session  of  the  Conference.  Encouraged  by  their 
mutual  cr)mmunicati<)ns  they  sung  a  hymn,  and  bowed 
together  in  a  concluding  prayer,  at  noon,  on  Saturday. 
They  tarried,  however,  through  the  Sabbath,  the  great 
day  of  the  feast.  Early  on  Monday  morning,  before 
the  community  were  fairly  astir,  Asbury  was  away  on 
his  horse,  and  by  eight  o'clock  A.  M.  was  sounding  the 
alarm  in  Norwich,  while  the  preachers  were  urging  their 
steeds  in  all  directions  to  the  conflicts  of  another  year. 

The  programme  of  labor  for  the  year,  from  July, 
1795,  to  September,  1790,  included  one  district  and 
part  of  a  second,  nineteen  circuits,  and  thirty  preach- 
ers. Add  to  these  about  two  thousand  six  hundred 
members,  with  some  half  dozen  chapels,  and  we  have 
a  general  outline  of  Methodism  in  New  England  at 
this  date. 

Hitherto  I  have  given  abundant  notices  of  the  itiner- 
ant preachers  in  these  Eastern  States.  They  now  be- 
come too  numerous  for  such  detail.  Nearly  one  third 
on  the  list  of  appointments  this  year  were  new  laborers 
in  New  England.  They  were  nine;  and,  of  all  this 
number,  two  withdrew  from  the  ministry,  and  the  re- 
mainder sooner  or  later  located  without  again  resuming 
effective  service,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain.  It  was  a  sad 
necessity  of  the  times  which  compelled  so  many,  at  the 
maturest  period  of  their  energies,  to  seek  bread  for  their 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        275 

families  in  secular  pursuits.  But  it  was  a  necessity,  nor 
was  the  Church  culpable  for  it.  Recently  organized, 
existing  yet  in  feeble  and  scattered  bands,  composed 
mostly  of  the  poor,  without  chapels,  and  without  re- 
sources, and  almost  without  friends  or  sympathy,  it  was 
impossible  for  it  to  maintain  a  married  ministry.  Hence 
most  of  the  itinerants  of  that  day  retired  in  early  man- 
hood. But  young  men,  vigorous  in  faith  and  talent, 
were  perpetually  rising  up  to  fill  the  vacated  ranks, 
while,  through  the  admirable  economy  of  the  Church,  the 
retiring  champions  continued  their  Sabbath  labors  un- 
diminished, and  became  the  veteran  garrisons  of  local 
positions  throughout  the  land.  Hundreds,  too,  of  the 
latter,  after  providing  for  their  families,  i*e-entered  the 
active  service  with  unabated  heroism,  and  fell,  at  last, 
with  their  armor  on.  The  ministry  of  no  Church,  since 
the  apostolic  age,  has  presented  severer  tests  of  charac- 
ter, and  no  tests  have  brought  out  nobler  developments 
of  energy  and  devotion. 

Lee  returned  to  Boston,  that  he  might  assist  in  the 
ceremonies  with  which  the  founding  of  the  Methodist 
chapel  on  Hanover  Avenue  was  solemnized.  Five  years 
had  he  been  laying  siege  to  the  almost  inaccessible 
community  of  the  metropolis,  returning  to  the  attack, 
ever  and  anon,  from  his  distant  excursions ;  his  perse- 
verance had  conquered  at  last,  and  he  now  erected  a 
battery  in  its  midst.  On  the  28th  of  August  he  con- 
secrated the  corner-stone  of  the  new  temple,  amid  the 
rejoicings  and  thanksgivings  of  the  humble  worshipers, 
who  had  struggled  to  the  utmost  for  its  erection.  It 
was  located  on  a  narrow  lane  in  the  poorest  suburb  of 
the  city,  but  was  for  years  a  moral  pharos,  throwing  an 
evangelical  radiance  over  the  population  around  it. 
Many  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  Methodist  ministry 


276  IIISTOKY     OF    THE 

proclaimed  the  truth  from  its  rmle  pulpit,  and  its  hum- 
ble communion  has  been  adorned  by  some  of  the  best 
samj)les  of  Christian  character  which  have  distinizuished 
the  denomination.  Lee  was  three  weeks  in  tlie  city; 
during  this  time  he  took  his  stand,  three  successive 
Sabbaths,  on  the  Common,  where  thousands  heard  the 
word  of  life  from  his  li{»s,  who  would  have  gone  no 
where  else  to  hear  it. 

Leaving  the  work  in  lioston  in  charge  of  Harper, 
he  went  forth  again  on  his  travels,  passing  with  rapid 
transitions  in  every  direction.  The  unfortunate  loss  of 
his  manuscripts"  has  deprived  us  of  the  details  of 
these  tours.  We  know,  however,  that  he  i)asse<l  over 
the  whole  length  of  Cape  Cod,  made  two  tours  in 
Elaine,  and  seemed  almost  omnipresent  in  his  older 
eastern  fields. 

In  September,  1796,  Asbury  again  entered  New  En- 
gland. On  reaching  Old  Iladdam  he  wrote,  "My  body 
is  full  ot"  iiitirmities,  and  my  soul  of  the  love  of  God. 
I  think  that  God  is  returning  to  this  place,  and  that 
great  days  will  yet  come  on  in  New  England."  lie 
read  aright  the  signs  of  the  times.  He  passed  on  to 
Th<»m])son,  Conn.,  where  the  Conference  assembled  on 
the  inth.  The  aggregate  of  the  returns  of  Church 
members  was  now  2,519,  showing  a  decrease  of  56.  On 
the  other  hand  there  had  been  a  gain  of  105  in  Maine 
and  New  IIamj)shire,  and  numerous  conversions  in  Ver- 
mont, which  were  not  reported.  The  real  loss  was, 
therefore,  ])roba1)ly  smaller  than  it  appears  to  be  in  the 
census.  But  if  there  was  a  slight  numerical  declension, 
there  was  an  actual  growth  of  the  cause  in  the  invig- 
oration  of  its  organized  plans,  and  the  extension  of  its 

"  They  were  consumed  in  the  burning  of  the  Methodist  Book  Con- 
ctrn,  New  York,  in  1836. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  277 

scope  of  operations.  Its  lalsorers  had  formed  two  new 
circuits  in  Maine.  They  had  penetrated  into  New 
Hampshire  and  Vermont,  and  had  projected  a  long  cir- 
cuit in  each.  Lee  had  formerly  preached  the  doctrines 
of  Methodism  in  all  the  New  England  states,  but  before 
the  present  year  its  standards  had  been  planted  perma- 
nently only  in  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts, 
and  Maine ;  now  they  were  reared,  to  be  furled  no  more, 
in  all  the  Eastern  states.  A  network  of  systematic 
labors  extended  into  them  all,  from  Norwalk  in  Con- 
necticut to  the  Penobscot  in  Maine,  and  from  Province- 
town  in  Massachusetts  to  Montpelier  in  Vermont ;  and 
hereaftei"  the  progress  of  the  new  communion  is  to  ad- 
vance, as  we  shall  witness,  with  accelerated  rapidity  in 
every  direction. 

The  number  of  circuits  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
was  19  ;  those  reported  at  its  conclusion  amounted  to  21. 
Two  of  the  former  were  now  merged,  however,  in 
neighboring  appointments ;  there  was,  therefore,  an 
actual  gain  of  four. 

At  the  Thompson,  as  at  the  New  London  Confer- 
ence, the  year  before,  the  itinerants  had  not  the  con- 
venience of  a  chapel  for  their  deliberations,  but  were 
entertained  with  hearty  hospitality  by  the  young 
Church,  and  assembled  in  an  unfinished  chamber  in  the 
house  of  Captain  Jonathan  Nichols. i*  In  this  humble 
apartment  did  these  men  of  great  souls  devise  plans 
which  comprehended  all  these  states,  and  contemplated 
all  coming  time.  About  thirty  were  present,  "  some 
of  whom,"  remarks  Asbury,  "  were  from  the  province 
of  Maine,  three  hundred  miles  distant,  who  gave  us  a 
pleasing  relation  of  the  work  of  God  in  those  parts." 
He  preached  to  them  in  the  chamber,  enjoining  upon 
"  Letter  of  Rev.  H.  S.  Ramsdel  to  the  writer. 


278  HISTORY  OF  the 

them  tlicir  ministerial  duties  to  the  people,  from  Acts 
xxvi,  18,  19:  "To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them 
from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God  ;  that  they  may  re- 
ceive forgiveness  of  sins,  and  inheritance  among  them 
which  are  justified."  The  sermon  was  heard  with  deep 
oniotion  by  a  crowded  assembly,  among  whom  sat 
the  parish  pastor,  rapt  in  the  interest  of  the  occasion. 
To  a  late  day  its  effect  was  often  mentioned  among 
the  reminiscences  of  the  olden  times  in  the  conversa- 
tions of  veteran  Methodists.  ''  Wv  talked  together,  and 
rejoiced  in  the  Lord,"  says  Asbury.  Enoch  Mudge 
and  Joshua  Hall  brought  them  refreshing  reports  from 
Maine.  The  former  had  witnessed  the  rapid  spread  of 
the  gosi>el  along  the  banks  of  the  Kennebec,  where  an 
additional  circuit  had  been  formed;  the  latter  had  been 
proclaiming  it  on  both  sides  of  the  Penobscot,  and  ha<l 
seen  "the  arm  of  the  Lord  made  bare."  They  could  both 
tell  of  hard  fare,  terrible  winters,  long  journeys  amid 
driving  storms,  and  comfortless  lodgings  in  log-cabins, 
thr  >ugh  which  the  snow  beat  upon  their  beds;  but  also 
of  divine  consolations  which  had  sanctified  every  sufler- 
ing,  and  victories  of  the  truth  raultij»lying  through  the 
land.  LiMuuel  Smith  relieved  the  reports  of  declension 
from  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  by  news  of  an 
e.xtensive  revival  on  Granville  Circuit,  where  nearly  one 
hundred  souls  had  been  gathered  into  the  Church  since 
their  last  session.  Lawrence  M'Coombs  reported  severe 
combats  and  serious  losses  on  New  London  Circuit,  but 
was  undaunted  in  his  characteristic  courage  and  san- 
guine hopes.  Cyrus  Stebbins  brought  the  mournful 
intelligence  that  one  of  their  number  had  fallen  in  the 
field  since  they  last  met,  the  youthful  and  devoted 
Za<lok  Priest.  Asbury  ordained  seven  deacons  and  five 
elders;  three  itinerants,  compelled,  probably,  by  sick 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  279 

ness  or  want,  took  leave  of  their  itinerant  brethren  and 
retired  to  the  local  ranks ;  but  others,  mightier  men — 
Timothy  Merritt,  John  Broadhead,  Elijah  Woolsey,  etc. 
— stepped  into  their  places,  and  the  New  England 
Methodist  ministry  presented  a  more  imposing  aspect 
of  strength  than  had  yet  distinguished  it.  A  man, 
subsequently  noted  throughout  the  nation,  presented 
himself  for  admission  among  them,  the  eccentric  Lo- 
renzo Dow;  but  the  discerning  eye  of  Asbury  per- 
ceived the  peculiarity  of  his  character,  and  his  applica- 
tion was  declined.  He  lingered  about  the  place  during 
the  session,  weeping  sincere  tears.  "  I  took  no  food," 
he  says,  "  for  thirty-six  hours  afterward."  On  Wednes- 
day the  little  band  again  dispersed,  to  sound  the  alarm 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Eastern  states. 

Twenty-one  circuits,  one  district,  and  a  large  portion 
of  a  second,  together  with  thirty-one  itinerant  laborers 
and  2,519  members,  constituted  the  force  of  New  En- 
gland Methodism  for  the  year  1796-7. 


280  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  IX. 

METHODISM   IN   THE   WEST — 1792-1700. 

Rcviev/  —  Asbury  apiln  amone;  the  Monntains  —  His  Ilardsiliips  —  John 
Cooper  the  llret  Itin<-nint  appointed  to  the  West  —  His  Colleague 
Sunuiel  Brcese  —  Henry  Willis— His  SiilTorings,  Persistent  Labors, 
and  Character  —  Moriarty,  Tunncll,  and  Poythress  —  The  Frontier  at 
this  Period  —  Smith  and  Boone  in  the  Wilderness  —  Extreme  Hard- 
ships of  the  Pioneer  Itinerants  —  Character  and  Condition  of  the 
Settlers  —  Methodism  saves  them  from  Barbarism  —  Bamabaa 
M'Henry  enters  the  Field— The  first  Methodist  Itinerant  raised  up 
in  the  West  —  His  Ijibors  —  Anecdotes  —  His  Deatli  by  Cholera  — 
His  Character  — William  Burlic  —  Perils  from  Indians  —  Perils  in  the 
Wilderness  with  Asbury  —  Martyred  Local  Preachers — Burke's 
Trials  and  Services  -  John  Kobler  —  Jud;;c  Scott  —  His  Early  La- 
bors —  He  receives  into  the  Church  Dr.  Tillin  —  Sl<eteh  of  Tillin  — 
His  tlrst  Preaching  —  Scott  meets  him  in  the  West  —  Tillin's  Useful- 
ness —  Mrs.  Tillin  —  Tillin  l)ecomes  the  first  Governor  of  Ohio  His 
Character  —  Soott's  Succes*  —  Francis  MM'ormlek,  Founder  of  Meth- 
odism In  Ohio  — Sketch  of  his  Life  — Henry  Smith's  Westeni  Adven- 
tures—Major  M'Coloch  —  Valentine  Cook  —  Asbury  again  in  the 
West  — Review. 

I  n.wK  reconlcd,  willi  some  tU-tail,  tlie  early  trans- 
AUecfhany  movements  of  Methodism  from  the  labors  of 
the  local  preacher,  Robert  Wooster,  in  the  Redstone 
country,  in  17H1,  down  to  the  (ieneral  Conference 
of  1702.  We  have  witnessed  the  outspread  of  the 
Church  in  the  then  frontier  refjions  now  comjtrised  in 
the  P^rie,  Pittsburgh,  and  Western  Virginia  Confer- 
ences, the  designation  of  Lambert  to  the  Holston 
country,  in  17S3,'  the  crossing  of  the  Alleghanies,  the 

'  The  reader  has  noticed  that  my  allnsions  to  this  early  ap])ointment 
have  not  been  very  positive.  There  seems  to  be  no  evidence,  besides 
the  recorded  appointment,  that  Lambert  went  thither.     IJcturas  of  its 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         281 

same  year,  by  Poythress ;  the  first  Western  Conference, 
held  among  the  Holston  mountains,  in  1788  ;  the  arrival 
in  Kentucky  of  its  first  itinerants,  Haw  and  Ogden,  in 
1780  ;  Asbury's  adventurous  expeditions  over  the  mount- 
ains; the  first  Kentucky  Conference  in  1790,  and  the 
perils  and  labors  of  the  early  evangelists,  Poythress, 
Coopei-,  Breeze,  Haw,  Ogden,  Moriarty,  Wilson  Lee, 
Fidler,  Phoebus,  Chieuvrant,  Matthews,  Lurton,  Willis, 
Ware,  Tunnell,  Maston,  Bruce,  M'Gee,  Burke,  Whitaker, 
Moore,  Williamson,  M'Henry,  Tucker,  Birchett,  Massie, 
Daniel  Asbury,  and  others;  names  which  should  never 
be  forgotten  in  the  West,  for  these  men  laid  the 
foundations  not  merely  of  a  sect,  but  of  a  moral  empire, 
in  that  most  magnificent  domain  of  the  new  world. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1793,  the  apostolic  bishop  of 
Methodism,  after  a  laborious  tour  over  the  South, 
through  which  we  have  followed  him,  set  his  face  again 
toward  the  far  off  pioneers,  so  dear  to  him  alike  by 
their  sufferings  and  their  chivalric  character.  "We 
began,"  he  says,  "our  journey  over  the  great  ridge  of 
mountains.  We  had  not  gone  far  before  we  saw  and 
felt  the  snow ;  the  sharpness  of  the  air  gave  me  a  deep 
cold,  not  unlike  an  influenza.  We  came  to  the  head  of 
Watauga  River,  where  we  proclaimed  to  the  settlers, 
'the  promise  is  to  you  and  to  your  children.'  My 
soul,"  he  adds,  "felt  for  these  neglected  people.  It 
may  be,  by  my  coming  this  way.  Providence  will  so 
order  it  that  I  shall  send  them  a  preacher.  We  hasted 
on  to  Cove's  Creek,  invited  ourselves  to  stay  at  C.'s, 

members  were  made  before  the  appointment.  Appointments  were 
very  uncertain  in  those  da3's,  the  appointees  being  often  sent  else- 
where. I  liave  increasing  doubts  that  Lambert  was  tlie  first  trans- 
Alleghauy  Methodist  itinerant.  It  seems  more  i^robable  that  this 
honor  belongs  to  Poythress.  Compare  vol.  ii,  pp.  34G-7and3o7.  At  least 
Poythress  crossed  the  AUeghanies  in  the  same  year  that  Lambert  did. 


282  HISTORY    OF    THE 

where  we  made  our  own  tea,  obtained  some  butter  and 
milk,  and  some  most  excellent  Irish  potatoes.  We  were 
presented  with  a  little  flax  for  our  beds,  on  Avhich  we 
spread  our  coats  and  blankets,  and  three  of  us  slept 
before  a  large  fire.  Thursday,  28,  we  made  an  carly 
start,  and  came  to  the  Beaver  Dam.  Three  years  ago 
we  slept  here  in  a  cabin  without  a  cover.  We  made 
a  breakfast,  and  then  attempted  the  iron  or  stone 
mountain,  which  is  steep  like  the  roof  of  a  house.  I 
found  it  dithcult  and  trying  to  my  lungs  to  walk  up 
it.  Descending  it,  we  had  to  jump  down  the  steep 
stairs  from  two  to  three  and  four  feet.  At  the  foot  of 
this  mountain  our  guide  left  us  to  a  man  on  foot ;  he 
soon  declined,  and  we  made  the  best  of  our  way  to 
Dugger's  Ford  on  Roan's  Creek.  We  came  down  the 
river,  where  there  are  plenty  of  large,  round,  rolling 
stones,  and  the  stream  was  rapid.  My  horse  began  to 
grow  dull ;  an  intermittent  fever  and  a  deep  cold  dis- 
ordered me  much.  I  was  under  obligations  to  Henry 
Hill,  my  new  aid,  who  was  ready  to  do  anything  for  me 
in  his  power.  Perhaps  Providence  moved  him  to  ofler 
to  travel  with  me,  and  his  father  to  recommend  him. 
Twenty  years  ago  a  rude,  open  loft  did  not  affect  me; 
now  it  seldom  fails  to  injure  me." 

On  the  twenty-ninth  they  were  in  Tennessee.  "  We 
passed,"  he  says,  "  Doe  River  at  the  fork,  and  came 
through  the  Gap ;  a  most  gloomy  scene,  not  unlike  the 
Shades  of  Death  in  the  Alleghany  Mountain.  My  way 
opens,  and  I  think  I  shall  go  to  Kentucky.  Tuesday, 
April  2,  our  Conference  began  at  Nelson's,  near  Jones- 
borough,  in  the  new  territory.  We  have  only  four  or 
five  families  of  Methodists  here.  We  had  sweet  peace 
in  our  Conference." 

On  the  fifth  he  rode  to  Xolachucky.      "  We  have 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  288 

formed  a  society  in  this  place,"  he  says,  "  of  thirty-one 
members,  most  of  them  new.     There  are  appearances  of 
clanger  on  the  road  to  Kentucky ;  but  the  Lord  is  with 
us.     We  have  formed  a  company  of  nine  men,  (five  of 
whom  are  preachers,)  who  are  well  armed  and  mounted," 
"As  they  departed,"   he  continues,  "a  whisky  toper 
gave  me  a  cheer  of  success  as  one  of  John  Wesley's 
congregation.    I  came  on  through  heavy  rains,  over  bad 
hills  and  poor  ridges,  to  Brother  Vanpelt's,  on   Lick 
Creek;  he  is  brother  to  Peter,  my  old,  first  friend  on 
Staten  Island.     I  was  weary,  damp,  and  hungry;  but 
had  a  comfortable  habitation,  and  kind,  loving  people, 
who  heard,  refreshed,  and  fed  me.     We  had  a  large 
congregation  at  Vanpelt's  Chapel,  where  I  had  liberty 
in  speaking.      If  reports  be  true,  there  is  danger  in 
journeying  through  the  wilderness;  but  I  do  not  fear; 
we  go  armed.     If  God  suiFer  Satan  to  drive  the  Indians 
on  us,  if  it  be  his  Avill,  he  will  teach  our  hands  to  war, 
and  our  fingers  to  fight  and  conquer.     Monday,  8,  our 
guard  appeared,  fixed  and  armed  for  the  wilderness. 
We   proceeded    on   to   the    main   branch    of  Holston, 
which,  being  swelled,  we  crossed  in  a  flat ;  thence  to 
R.'s,  where  I  found  the  reports  relative  to  the  Indians 
were  true :   they  had  killed  the  post,  and  one  or  two 
more,   and   taken   some   prisoners.      I   had   not   much 
thought  or  fear  about  them.     Tuesday,  9,  we  came  off: 
there  were  only  eight  in  our  company,  and  eight  in  the 
other ;  two  women  and  three  children.     I  went  to  Rob- 
inson's station,  where  the  soldiers  behaved  civilly.    We 
gave  them  two  exhortations,  and  had  prayer  with  them. 
They  honored  me  with  the  swinging  hammock,  (a  bear 
skin,)  which  was  as  great  a  favor  to  me  as  the  governor's 
bed ;  here  T  slept  well." 

On  the  tenth  they  entered  Kentucky,  and  began  to 


284  HISTORY    OF    THE 

hold  frequent  quarterly  meetings,  riding  often  thirty  or 
forty  miles  a  day  without  food  from  morning  till  night. 
"  I  cannot,"  he  remarks,  "  stand  quarterly  nieeting^i 
every  day.  None  need  desire  to  be  an  Anieriean  bishop 
upon  our  plan  for  the  ease,  honor,  or  interest  that  at- 
tends the  ottiee.  From  my  jiresent  views  and  feelings, 
I  am  led  to  wish  the  Conference  would  elect  another 
bishop,  who  might  atlbrd  me  some  help.  Tuesday,  IGth, 
rode  thirty  miles  without  food  lor  man  or  horse.  1  was 
uncomfortable  when  I  came  into  the  neighborhood  of 
W.'s.  There  is  a  I'alling  away  among  the  people. 
Lord,  help  me  to  bear  up  in  the  evil  day  !  Let  me  not 
disquiet  naysclf,  and  kill  man  and  horse  in  vain." 

Throughout  tliese  and  all  his  other  labors  and  out- 
ward distractions,  we  find  continual  evidence  of  bis 
devout  watchfulness  over  his  inner  life.  In  spite  of 
frecjueiit  attacks  of  iiis  constitutional  dejection,  perhaps 
as  the  sanctitied  ettect  of  this  chronic  trial,  his  soul  soars 
above  surrounding  hamssments  to  an  etherial  region  of 
jieace  and  prayer.  "My  winter's  clothing,"  he  writes, 
"the  heat  of  the  weather,  and  my  great  exertions  iu 
traveling,  cause  me  to  be  heavy  with  sleep;  yet,  blessed 
be  God  I  I  live  continually  in  his  presence,  and  Christ  is 
all  in  all  to  my  soul."  Such  are  not  rare  ejaculatiuus ; 
they  breathe  through  all  the  long  record  of  his  great 
life. 

By  the  last  day  of  April  he  reached  Lexington,  where 
the  Conference  began  immediately,  and  lasted  three 
days,  "  in  openly  speaking  our  minds  to  each  other."  He 
ailds :  "  We  ended  under  the  melting,  praying,  praising 
power  of  God.  We  appointed  trustees  for  the  school, 
and  made  sundry  regulations  relative  thereto:  we  read 
the  Form  of  J)iscipliiR'  through,  section  by  section,  in 
Conference.     Friday,  3d,  I  preached  on  Ilabakkuk  iii,  2. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  285 

I  first  pointed  out  the  distinguishing  marks  of  a  work 
of  God ;  second,  the  subjects  ;  third,  the  instruments ; 
fourth,  the  means.  If  ever  I  delivered  my  own  soul,  I 
think  I  have  done  it  this  day.  Some  people  were  moved 
in  an  extraordinary  manner,  shouting  and  jumping  at  a 
strange  rate.  Saturday,  4th,  came  to  Bethel  to  meet 
the  trustees  [of  the  school  there.]  Sunday,  5th,  we  had 
an  awful  time  while  I  opened  and  applied  'Knowing, 
therefore,  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men.'  It 
was  a  feeling,  melting  time,  among  old  and  young ;  and 
I  am  persuaded  good  was  certainly  done  this  day.  I 
feel  a  good  deal  tried  in  spirit,  yet,  blessed  be  God !  I 
still  have  peace  within ;  God  is  all  to  me :  I  want  more 
faith  to  trust  him  with  my  life,  and  all  I  have  and  am. 
Tuesday,  7,  we  rode  down  to  the  Crab  Orchard,  where 
we  found  company  enough,  some  of  whom  were  very 
wild :  we  had  a  company  of  our  own,  and  refused  to 
go  with  them.  Some  of  them  gave  us  very  abusive 
language ;  and  one  man  went  upon  a  hill  above  us, 
and  fired  a  pistol  toward  us.  We  resolved  to  travel 
in  order,  and  bound  ourselves  by  honor  and  con- 
science to  support  and  defend  each  other,  and  to  see 
every  man  through  the  wilderness.  But  we  could  not 
depend  upon  wicked  and  unprincipled  men,  who  would 
leave  and  neglect  us,  and  even  curse  us  to  our  faces. 
Nor  were  we  at  liberty  to  mix  with  swearers,  liars, 
drunkards ;  and,  for  aught  we  know,  this  may  not  be 
the  worst  with  some.  We  were  about  fourteen  or  fif- 
teen in  company,  and  had  twelve  guns  and  pistols. 
We  rode  on  near  the  defeated  camp,  and  rested  till 
three  o'clock  under  great  suspicion  of  Indians:  we 
pushed  forward  ;  and  by  riding  forty-five  miles  on  Wed- 
nesday, and  about  the  same  distance  on  Thursday,  we 
came  safe  to  Robinson's  Station,  about  eight  o'clock. 


286  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Friday,  10th,  we  rodo  leisurely  from  the  edge  of  the 
wilderness,  crossed  Holston,  and  about  one  o'clock 
came  to  Brother  E.'s,  it  being  about  sixteen  miles." 
The  next  day  he  was  again  in  Tennessee  at  his  friend 
Vanpelt's,  with  whom  he  rested  on  the  Sabbath.  "  I 
have  traveled,"  he  adds,  "between  five  and  six  hundred 
miles  in  the  last  four  weeks,  and  have  rested  from  riding 
fifteen  days,  at  Conferences  and  other  places.  I  have 
been  much  distressed  with  this  night  work — no  regular 
meals  n<»r  sleep:  and  it  is  ditlicult  to  keep  uj)  jirayer  in 
such  rude  companies  as  we  have  been  exposed  to;  I 
have  also  been  severely  afflicted  through  the  whole 
journey."  Uy  the  iHth  he  was  at  Kusse'll's  mansion, 
mourning,  as  we  have  seen,  the  death  of  the  General, 
but  preaching  with  power  beneath  the  roof  of  the  be- 
reaved home. 

He  passed  on,  in  one  of  those  hardly  less  laborious 
northern  journeys  over  which  we  have  already  traced 
him,  and  did  not  recross  the  mountains  for  nearly  two 
years. 

Not  a  few  characters  meriting  perpetual  commemora- 
tion have  already  appeared  in  the  Western  itinerancy. 
"We  have  seen  that  John  Cooper  and  Samuel  Breesc 
were  the  first  regular  preachers  sent  to  the  Redstone 
country,  whither  they  went  in  1784,  following  in 
the  tracts  of  Robert  Wooster.  John  Cooper  was  the 
humble  but  memorable  evangelist  whose  sufferings  we 
have  noticed  as  early  as  1775,  when  he  was  the  col- 
league of  Philip  Gatch,  (one  of  the  two  first  native 
^lethodist  preachers  of  America,)  on  Kent  circuit, 
Maryland — a  man  "who,"  Gatch  says,  "had  suffered 
much  jtersecution,"  for  as  has  been  recorded,  his  family 
violently  opposed  him  for  becoming  a  Metl)odist,  and 
his  father,  detecting  him  on  his  knees,  at  prayer,  threw 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHUKCH.         287 

a  shovel  of  hot  coals  upon  him,  and  expelled  him  from 
his  house.  He  took  up  his  cross,  joined  the  itinerant 
host,  and  here  we  find  him  at  last,  the  first  appointed 
standard  bearer  of  the  Church  beyond  the  Pennsyl- 
vania AUeghanies,  the  first  regularly  appointed  one  in 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  if  the  doubtful  designation 
of  Lambert  to  the  Holston  country,  the  preceding 
year,  did  not  take  effect,  as  I  deem  very  probable. 
Alas,  that  we  must  say  so  little  of  such  a  man  !  And 
yet,  how  much  does  that  little  mean  !  He  was  admitted 
to  the  Conference  in  1V75,  and  labored  in  Maryland, 
Philadeli^hia,  New  Jersey,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
and  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  1789;  and  the 
Minutes,  with  their  then  usual  laconicism,  gave  him, 
evidently  by  the  pen  of  Asbury,  two  sentences,  but 
these  were  full  of  significance.  "  John  Cooper,  fifteen 
years  in  the  work ;  quiet,  inoffensive,  and  blameless ;  a 
man  of  affliction,  subject  to  dejection,  sorrow,  and  sut- 
fering ;  often  in  want,  but  too  modest  to  complain  till 
observed  and  relieved  by  his  friends.    He  died  in  peace ! " 

Of  his  colleague,  Samuel  Breese,^  we  know  still  less. 
He  joined  the  Conference  in  1783,  traveled  ten  years  in 
Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  located  in 
1793. 

Henry  Willis  was  appointed  to  Holston  in  1784, 
the  next  year  after  Lambert's  appointment.  We  have 
heretofore  often  met  him.^  He  was  the  first  preacher 
stationed  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  was  prob- 
ably the  first  who  had  an  effective  appointment  in  the 
Holston   mountains.      Sinking   under   pulmonary   con- 

2  Following  Quinn,  I  was  led,  in  vol.  ii,  p.  333,  into  the  mistake  of 
calling  this  preacher  Solomon  Breese ;  the  Minutes  name  him  Samuel. 
Probably  a  typographical  error  escaped  in  Quiun's  book. 

3  See  particularly  voi.  ii,  pp.  51,  347. 


288  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Bumption,  he  nevertheless  persisted  in  his  travels  through 
years  of  suftering,  and  was  one  of  the  most  dominant 
spirits  of  the  times,  energizing  by  liis  irrepressil)le  ar- 
dor the  Work  of  the  Church  throughout  two  thirds  of  its 
territory.  He  labored  mightily  for  the  West,  as  if  eon- 
sfious  of  its  prospective  importance  in  the  State  and  the 
Church.  In  17^5  he  had  cliarge  as  presiding  elder  of  a 
district  which,  comprehending  much  of  North  Carolina, 
reached  far  into  the  Ilolston  country.  In  178G  he  was 
in  Charleston,  iSuuth  Carolina;  in  1787  in  New  York 
city;  1788,  presiding  elder  of  New  York  district;  1789, 
of  a  district  which  extended  from  Philadelphia  to  Red- 
stone and  Pittsburgh,  bringing  him  again  prominently 
into  the  trans-Alleghany  field;  in  1790  he  located,  but 
hardly  abated  his  labors;  the  next  three  years  he  was 
again  in  the  elVective  ranks  in  Philadelphia,  with  John 
Dickins.  He  was  comj)elled  to  locate  again.  In  179G 
he  reappears  in  Baltimore  with  John  Ilaggerty,  Nelson 
Heed,  and  other  worthies;  here  he  seems  to  have  re- 
mained till  1800,  when  he  bet^ame  a  supernumerary,  do- 
ing what  service  he  could,  mostly  on  the  Frederick 
circuit,  near  bis  home,  till  his  death  in  1808,  near  Straw- 
bridge's  old  church,  on  Pipe  Creek.  We  have  seen 
Ware's  high  estimate  of  him,  and  Asbury  mourning  at 
his  grave  as  over  one  of  the  noblest  men  he  had 
ever  known,  (^uinn,  who  knew  him  in  the  Redstone 
country,  describes  him  as  about  "six  feet  in  stature," 
"  slender,"  a  "  good  English  scholar,"  "  well  read," 
"an  elorjuent  man,  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  a  most 
profound  and  powerful  reasoner.  He  became  leeble  in 
the  i»rime  of  life,  retired  from  the  itinerant  field,  mar- 
ried, and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Frederick  county, 
Maryland.  The  Baltimore  Conference  sat  in  his  jjarlor 
in  April,   1801.     In   this   neighborhood  Robert  Straw- 


MET110]>IST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  289 

bridge  raised  his  first  society.  At  this  Conference 
William  Watters  re-entered  the  work — having  been 
local  for  some  years — and  was  ordained  elder.  Willis 
lingered  on  a  few  more  years  in  pain,  then  fell  asleep, 
and  was  gathered  to  his  fathers." 

Peter  Moriarty  has  already  been  sketched  as  a  laborer 
in  the  Southern,  Northern,  and  Eastern  States,*  a  man 
of  great  power.  He  also  shared  in  the  pioneer  evan- 
gelization of  the  West,  entering  the  Redstone  country 
as  early  as  1785,  with  John  Fidler  and  Wilson  Lee,  the 
latter  of  whom  has  also  appeared  repeatedly,  before  us 
in  most  of  the  field.  They  were  then  the  only  itiner- 
ants on  that  side  of  the  Alleghanies,  except  Henry  Willis 
and  the  two  preachers  on  his  solitary  Holston  circuit. 
We  have  seen  John  Tunuell  leading,  for  years,  a  pioneer 
band  of  preachers  among  the  Holston  mountains,^  and 
buried,  at  last,  by  Asbury,  among  the  Alleghany 
heights,  a  martyr  to  his  work.  We  have  also  traced 
Poythress  to  the  great  western  arena,  where  he  became 
one  of  its  most  conspicuous  champions,  and  broke 
down,  jihysically  and  mentally,  under  superabundant 
labors,  as  we  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  record. 

Though  examples  of  the  privations  and  perils  of  these 
pioneer  evangelists  have  repeatedly  been  given  in  the 
course  of  our  narrative,  they  can  hardly  be  appreciated 
in  our  age.  The  itinerants  in  the  Redstone  country 
stood  upon  the  frontier  confronting  the  immense  wilder- 
ness known  as  the  Northwestern  Territory.  The  scat- 
tered settlers  had  been  slowly  creeping  across  the 
mountains  on  the  Braddock  Military  Road.  Fort  Pitt 
(Fort  du  Quesne)  stood  not  far  off,  a  memorial  of 
French  military  adventure.  A  few  huts  nestled  under 
its  shelter ;  but  Pittsburgh  was  not  to  be  incorpoi-atcd 

•>  Vol.  ii,  p.  106.  5  Vol.  ii,  p.  35. 

C— 19 


290  HISTORY    OF    THE 

as  a  borough  till  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  arrival 
of  Wooster.  The  itinerants  formed  a  circuit  called 
Ohio,  as  has  been  remarked,  but  it  extended  along  the 
eastern  bank  of  tlie  river.  The  great  wilderness  gave 
no  certain  signs  yet  of  the  magnificent  states  which 
were  soon  to  rise  on  its  suH'ace :  f)hio,  ^liohigan,  Indi- 
ana, Illinois,  and  others,  stretching  to  the  Mississi])|ii, 
and  overleaping  it  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  evan- 
gelists looked  across  tlie  Ohio  with  vague  though  sub- 
lime anticipations  of  the  moral  emj»ire  they  were  about 
to  found  in  the  boundless  wilds.  The  first  permanent 
settlement  in  Ohio,  Marietta,  was  not  ma<le  till  17BS, 
seven  years  al\er  Wooster  began  to  jireach  in  the  Red- 
stone region,  and  four  after  Cooper  and  Hreese  began 
their  regular  labors  on  the  hither  side  of  the  Ohio  River. 
More  than  twenty  years  were  yet  to  jiass,  afti-r  Woos- 
ter's  arrival,  before  Ohio  was  to  become  a  state, 
thirty-five  years  before  Indiana,  and  thirty-seven  befftre 
Illinois.  The  itinerants  in  the  more  southern  trans- 
Alleghany  field,  the  "  Holston  Country,"  from  their 
mountainous  position,  and  their  exposure  to  the  Chero- 
kees,  were  in  even  a  more  desolate  region.  "  Strag- 
gling settlements*'  had  been  slowly  extending,  from  the 
locality  of  Pittsburgh,  up  the  Monongahela  and  its 
branches  to  the  Greenbrier  and  the  Xeuse  Rivers,  where 
•we  have  seen  Asbury  in  some  of  his  most  romantic  ad- 
ventures. Thence  they  had  reached  to  the  upper  valley 
of  the  Ilolston,  "where  the  military  path  of  Virginia 
led  to  the  country  of  the  Cherokees."^  Only  seventeen 
years  before  the  Methodist  preachers  penetrated  to 
this  valley,  James  Smith,  accompanied  by  three  fellow- 
adventurers,   passed    through   it   into   Kentucky,  then 

*  Bancroft  vi,  S4;  Day's  Hist.  Coll.  of  Pennsylvania,  336;  Monetle's 
Hist,  of  Disc.,  etc.,  in  Valley  of  Mississippi,  i,  345. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         291 

without  a  single  settlement ;  pushing  down  the  Cum- 
berland he  i-eached  the  Ohio  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Tennessee,  but  left  no  trace  of  his  passage  except  the 
name  of  one  of  his  little  band,  Stone,  which  he  gave  to 
a  stream  above  the  site  of  Nashville.'  Only  about  ten 
yefirs  (1773)  before  the  appearance  of  the  itinerants  on 
■the  Holston,  and  but  eleven  before  Methodist  local 
preachers  penetrated  Kentucky,  Daniel  Boone,  the 
"  illustrious  pioneer,"  after  previous  surveys,  com.- 
menced  his  settlement  of  the  latter  county  with  six 
families,  and  began  a  road  from  the  settlements  on  the 
Holston  to  the  Kentucky  River,  harassed  by  the  sav- 
ages, who  killed  four  of  his  men,  and  wounded  as  many 
more. 

By  our  present  period  the  current  of  emigration  had 
strongly  set  in  toward  these  western  paradises,  as  they 
were  esteemed,  and  as,  in  all  natural  attractions,  they 
were  worthy  to  be  esteemed.  But  the  privations  and 
other  sufferings  of  the  first  settlers  were  as  yet  only 
aggravated  by  the  new  accessions  of  jjopulation.  The 
savages  were  rendered  the  more  alarmed  and  relentless 
by  the  increasing  probability  of  the  inundation  of  their 
domain  by  the  Avhite  race,  and  ambuscades  and  massa- 
cres prevailed  everywhere,  Asbury,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  to  travel  with  armed  convoys,  and  keep  anxious 
watch  by  night,  and  his  preachers  pursued  their  mount- 
ainous routes  in  continual  hazard  of  theii"  lives.  Their 
fare  was  the  hardest ;  the  habitations  of  the  settlers 
were  log-cabins,  clinging  to  the  shelter  of  "  stations,"  or 
stockaded  "  block-houses,"  The  preachers  lived  chiefly 
on  Indian  corn  and  game.  They  could  get  little  or  no 
money,  except  what  their  brethen  (themselves  poor)  of 
the  more  eastern  Conferences  could  send  them  by 
''  Bancroft,  vi,  84. 


292  HISTORY    OF     THE 

Asljurv.  They  wore  the  coarsest  clothing,  often  tat 
tered  or  patched.  Their  congregations  gathered  at  the 
stations  with  arms,  with  sentinels  stationed  around  to 
announce  the  approach  of  savages,  and  were  not  unfre- 
quently  broken  up,  in  the  midst  of  their  worship,  by  the 
alarm  of  the  warwhooj*  and  the  sound  of  muskets.  The 
population  was  generally,  though  not  universally,  of  the 
rudest  character;  much  of  it  likely  to  sink  into  barbar- 
ism had  it  not  been  for  the  gospel  so  persistently  borne 
along  fr<»m  settlement  to  settlement  by  these  unpaid 
and  self-sacrificing  men.  We  have  already  shown, 
fmm  a  contemporary  author,  that  liaiikrupts,  refugees 
from  justice,  deserters  of  wives  and  children,  and  all 
sorts  of  reckless  adventurers,  hastened  to  these  wil- 
dernesses. It  was  soon  demonstratively  evident  that 
the  "itinerancy"  was  a  providential  jjrovision  for  the 
great  moral  exigencies  of  this  new,  this  strange,  this 
vast  western  world,  almost  barricaded  by  mountains 
from  the  Christian  civilization  of  the  Atlantic  states, 
but  not  barricaded  from  the  civilizing  power  of  Chris- 
tianity as  embodied  in  the  indomitable  ministry  of 
^letliodism.  The  preachers,  many  of  whom  had  come 
from  comfortable  Eastern  families,  some  of  Avhom  were 
men  of  no  little  intelligence  and  refinement,  saw  the 
sublime  importance  of  their  frontier  work  in  contrast 
with  its  extreme  privations  and  humiliations,  and  shrank 
not  from  their  mission.  They  became  "all  thintrs  to  all 
men ;''  while  astonishing  the  jjcople  with  their  rare 
eloquence,  they  won  their  sympathies,  their  admiration, 
their  intimate  and  hearty  fellowship,  by  proving  that 
they  could  chivalrously  share  their  perils  from  savages, 
and  enjoy  the  rude  but  romantic  life  of  their  cabins  ard 
stockades.  A  ^lethodist  preacher,  than  whom  no  one 
knew  more  of  the  early  West,  says  of  these  times  that 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  293 

"  the  backwoodsman  usually  wore  a  hunting-shirt  and 
trowsers  made  of  buckskin,  and  moccasins  of  the  same 
material.  His  cap  was  made  of  coonskin,  and  some- 
times ornamented  with  a  fox's  tail.  The  ladies  dressed 
in  linsey-woolsey,  and  sometimes  buckskin."^  The  com- 
pai-atively  few,  of  the  higher  classes,  sported  the  eastern 
'•fashions"  of  the  times  as  best  they  could,  but  the 
people  generally  were  extremely  self-negligent.  Many 
of  the  cabins,  as  ^Vsbury  has  shown  us,  were  filthy,  and 
hardly  habitable ;  drunkenness  prevailed,  and  weapons 
were  habitually  carried,  and  too  readily  used.  But 
Methodism  qvdckly  pervaded  this  imperiled  population, 
like  leaven,  and  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  it 
effected  the  moral  salvation  of  the  West. 

It  was  among  such  scenes  that  the  itinerants  carried  the 
cross,  and  soon  bore  it  to  the  very  front  of  emigration, 
leading  with  it  the  rude  but  triumphant  popular  march. 

These  first  evangelists  were  immediatly  followed  by 
some  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  ministry.  Barnabas 
M'Henry  entered  the  great  field  as  early  as  1V89,  and 
lives  yet  in  its  traditions  as  one  of  its  most  notable 
ecclesiastical  founders.  He  has  the  peculiar  honor  of 
being  the  first  Methodist  preacher  raised  up  west  of 
the  Mountains.' 

He  was  born  December  10,  1767,  in  Eastern  Virginia, 
but  in  his  tenth  year  his  family  emigrated  to  the  west 
of  the  Virginia  Mountains.  In  his  fifteenth  year,  about 
two   years   before   the   organization  of  the   Methodist 

8  Finley's  Autobiography,  p.  96. 

1 1  have  here  to  correct  an  error  into  which  I  was  led  by  a  citation 
from  Quinn,  in  vol.  ii,  p.  840,  where  John  Doddridge,  of  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, who  aftei-ward  became  a  Protestant  Episcopal  clergyman,  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  Methodist  preacher  raised  up  in  the  West. 
M'Henry,  "  who  was  faithful  to  the  end,"  preceded  him  in  the  itin- 
erancy one  year. 


20-1  HISTOUY    OF    THE 

Episcopal  Church,  he  was  converted  under  the  labors 
of  a  ))ioneer  Methodist  ])reafher,  who  liad  penetrated  to 
his  distant  home.'"  He  joined  the  itinerancy  in  1 787,  when 
not  twenty  years  old.  His  superior  natural  powers,  im- 
jiroved  with  tlie  utmost  assiduity,  ixave  him  almost  imme- 
diately a  commanding  inlluence,  and,  after  traveling 
two  years,  he  was  made  an  elder,  and  in  two  years 
more  a  presiding  elder.  Bishop  Bascom,  who  knew  him 
li)ng  anil  intimately,  says:  ''  He  was  early  remarkable  lor 
an  admirable  acquaintance  with  theology,  and  a  felicitous 
use  of  language  in  the  pulpit.  In  both  his  excellence 
was  b.?yond  dispute,  and  so  conversant  was  he  with  the 
whole  range  of  theology  as  usually  taught  in  tlie  pulpit, 
and  so  accurately  aripiainted  with  the  laws  ami  struc- 
ture of  the  English  language  especially,  that  his  judg- 
ments, with  those  who  knew  him,  had  the  force  of  law 
on  these  subjects.  In  the  Greek  of  the  Xew  Testament 
he  sube<piently  became  (piite  a  proficient,  while  his  less 
perfect  knowledge  of  Hebrew  and  Latin  enabled  him  to 
consult  authorities  with  great  facility."  His  first  cir- 
cuit was  on  the  Yadkin,  an<l  extended  from  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  mountains  down  into  North  Carolina ;  but 
in  1788  he  w.as  sent  to  the  Cumberland  Circuit,  c(»mpris- 
ing  a  great  rangr  of  country  in  Southern  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  He  became  a  chieftain  of  Western  Method- 
ism, braving  its  severest  trials,  and  leading,  on  immense 
districts,  bands  of  its  ministerial  pioneers.  His  excessive 
labors  broke  him  down  in  1  795,  and  he  retired  to  a  farm 

'"Bishop  BaBCom's  Sketch  of  M'Henrj-  in  the  Southern  Methodist 
Qnartf-rlj-  Review,  1849,  p.  415.  Bascom  docs  not  say  wliether  the 
"liiom-er  preaelier"  was  a  local  or  itinerant  one.  In  either  case  the 
fad.-*,  if  accumte  in  date,  show  that  Metliotlism  readied  this  region  a 
yi-ar  earlier  than  i»  usually  supposed,  thus  eonlirminf^  my  conjecture  in 
vol.  ii,  !>47.  Finley  (Sketches  of  Western  Methodism)  says,  "M'Ut'nry 
wa*  among  the  Urst  fruitu  of  Western  .Methodism." 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         295 

near  Springfield,  Washington  County,  Ky.,  whence, 
however,  he  continued  his  ministry,  as  he  had  strength, 
in  all  the  surrounding  country,  and  sometimes  to  remote 
distances.  He  also  established  a  school,  in  which  he 
successfully  taught,  for  he  appreciated  the  importance 
of  education  to  the  young  commonwealth  rising  around 
him.  "In  this  way,"  says  his  episcopal  biographer, 
"  he  continued  steadily  to  wield  a  most  enviable  influ- 
ence in  every  circle  in  which  he  was  known,  and  it  was 
during  this  period  he  contributed  so  largely  to  the 
establishment  and  reputation  of  the  Church  in  Kentucky. 
His  character  commanded  universal  respect.  His  influ- 
ence was  felt  wherever  he  was  known  personally  or  by 
reputation.  It  was  generally  conceded  that  no  minister 
in  the  state,  of  whatever  denomination,  occupied  higher 
intellectual  or  moral  rank.  Many  of  the  most  influen- 
tial men  in  the  state  were  his  friends,  associates,  and 
correspondents.  From  the  period  of  his  location 
until  he  again  joined  the  traveling  connection,  the 
ministry  of  the  Church  especially,  in  all  its  grades, 
largely  shared  his  hospitality,  counsels,  and  confidence ; 
and  in  his  quiet  retirement  and  unobtrusive  habits  of 
life  at  '  Mount  Pleasant,'  he  continued  to  devote  himself 
to  the  great  interests  of  practical  godliness  and  the 
common  weal  of  all  about  him.  Whether  in  the  bosom 
of  his  family  or  a  circle  of  friends,  in  the  pulpit  or  the 
school-room,  on  his  farm  or  in  his  study,  he  was  the 
same  uniform  example  of  devotion  to  the  best  interests 
of  humanity."  His  superior  self-culture  enabled  him  to 
wield  a  powerful  pen  for  his  people,  and  in  1812  he  vin- 
dicated them  against  the  printed  attacks  of  two  western 
clergymen,  in  a  pamphlet  of  marked  ability,  containing 
"  passages  worthy  of  the  pen  of  Horsely." 

He  i-esumed  his  itinerant  labors  in  1818,  and  con- 


296  HISTORY    OF    THE 

tiuued  them,  iu  important  western  appointments,  till 
1824,  when  he  was  returned  "superannuated,"  in  which 
honored  relation  to  the  Conference  he  remained  till  his 
death,  seven  years  later.  His  ministry  extended  through 
forty-six  years,  twenty-three  of  them  in  the  itinerancy, 
and  twenty-three  in  the  local  ranks.  Like  most  of  the 
itinerants  of  his  day.  he  left  i'vw  or  no  records  of  his 
frontier  life,  but  his  biographer  speaksof  "  the  clurislud 
traditions  of  the  beauty,  unction,  and  eloquence  of  his 
jireiehing,  together  witli  the  dangers  and  hardships  to 
which  he  was  exposed  as  a  pioneer  missionary  in  the 
wilderness  of  the  West.  The  noble  band  of  his  asso- 
ciates, too,  what  do  we  know  of  them  !  How  eminently 
worthy  of  preservation  is  tliis  part  of  the  history  of  the 
Church  in  the  West,  especially  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 
The  exposure  and  sutfering,  the  adventures  and  hair- 
breadth escapes  of  M'Henry,  Lee,  Kobler,  Cook,  Ogdeu, 
Hurke,  (iarrett,  and  others,  would  alone  furnish  a  modern 
Tasso  with  matter  for  an  epic.  We  have  heard  many 
startling  incidents  connected  with '  these  early  times,'  re- 
lated by  M'Henry, Cook,  Burke,  Garrett,and  others,  their 
associates.  On  one  occasion,  remaining  over  night  at 
the  cabin  of  a  friend  in  the  wilderness,  after  the  family 
had  ictired,  M'Henry  spent  two  or  three  hours  readiug 
at  a  table  by  candle  light,  with  the  door  of  the  cabin 
jiartly  open.  The  next  night  the  Indians  murdered  this 
Avhole  family,  and  stated  that  they  had  gone  to  the 
cabin  to  eff'ect  the  j)urp<»se  the  night  before,  but  finding 
the  door  (»pen  and  a  light  within,  they  supposed  the  in- 
mates were  prepared  lor  an  attack,  and  postponed  the 
execution  of  their  purpose  until  circumstances  should 
apju'ar  more  favorable.  On  another  occasion,  passing 
the  night  at  the  house  of  his  future  father-in-law,  CoL 
Hardin,  the  Indians  presented  themselves  in  force,  and 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,         297 

carried  off  every  horse  on  the  plantation  except  M'Hen- 
ry's,  which  happened  to  be  apart  from  the  rest,  and 
was  not  found  by  them.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing 
for  the  men  of  whom  we  speak  to  be  found  camping  out 
at  night,  amid  the  gloom  of  forest  solitudes,  surrounded 
by  the  Indians,  and  the  next  day  at  a  distance  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  miles  preaching  to  the  frontier  settlers  in 
their  cabins,  forts,  or  block-houses,  as  the  case  might  be. 
The  track,  the  trail,  the  yell  of  the  Indian,  his  camp-fii*e 
and  the  crack  of  his  rifle ;  watching  by  day  and  sleep- 
ing under  guard  at  night,  were  with  these  men  almost 
ordinary  occurrences.  Would  we  could  do  justice  to 
the  memory  of  men  so  fearless  and  abundant  in  labor, 
and  at  the  same  time  illustrious  in  talent  and  virtue. 
Among  all  these  M'Henry  held  eminent  rank,  and  well 
and  nobly  did  he  'serve  his  generation  by  the  will  of 
God.'  The  great  theme  of  his  ministrations,  for  several 
years  before  his  death,  was  holiness  of  heart  and  lite, 
essential  and  attainable,  as  the  proper  finish  of  Christain 
character,  and  the  only  preparation  for  the  rewards  of 
immortality.  And  how  beautifully  did  his  life  exem- 
plify his  faith !  His  death,  too,  how  calmly  peaceful, 
under  circumstances  the  most  appalling  !  On  Sabbath, 
the  9th  of  June,  1833,  the  cholera  appeared  in  Spring- 
field, four  miles  from  his  residence,  and  with  such  vio- 
lence that  by  little  after  noon  of  the  next  day,  in  a 
population  of  only  a  few  hundreds,  there  had  been  some 
thirty  cases,  and  ten  or  twelve  deaths.  He  went  to 
town  early  Monday  morning,  and  spent  the  day  with 
the  sick  and  the  dying.  On  Tuesday  he  repeated 
his  visit,  and  again  on  Wednesday.  On  Thursday  he 
visited  some  of  his  immediate  neighbors,  among  whom 
the  cholera  had  appeared.  On  Friday  morning  he  was 
attacked  himself.     The  attack,  however,  did  not  appear 


298  HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  be  violent;  once  or  twice  he  was  sensibly  relitved, 
and  for  several  hours  after  the  attack  it  was  thought 
he  could  recover.  lie  suffered  very  little,  but  toward 
evening  was  found  to  be  sinking  rapidly,  and  at  one 
o'clock,  Saturday  morning,  the  15th  of  June,  he  ex- 
pired. ^Irs.  M'Henry,  who  was  attacked  about  noon  of 
Friday,  and  who  appeared  to  suffer  almost  beyond 
expression,  required  the  attention  of  the  only  mem- 
bers of  the  family  present  so  constantly,  that  he  said 
but  little  during  his  last  hours,  except  to  give  occa- 
sional «lirections,  answer  in(|uiries,  and  express  a  wish, 
in  a  whisper  to  one  of  his  daughters,  as  to  the  place  of 
his  burial.  His  whole  manner  indicated  the  most  per- 
fect mental  repose.  Xo  alarm  or  excitement  of  any 
kind,  and  yet  the  most  touching  manifestations  of  sym- 
pathy with  his  dying  wife  and  anguished  children;  fit 
termination  this  of  the  life  he  had  lived !  tramjuil  and 
full  of  hope!  Mrs.  M'llenry,  assuring  all  of  confidence 
in  God,  and  that  she  felt  sustained  by  his  grace,  died  a 
few  hours  after  him,  and  husband  and  wife  rest  together 
in  the  same  grave.  The  next  day,  Sabbath  the  IGth, 
a  daughter  and  granddaughter  fell  victims  to  the  same 
destroyer,  and  a  common  grave  received  their  uncoffined 
forms;  laid  there  by  kindred  hands,  to  be  followed  by 
yet  another  victim,  the  youngest  daughter,  only  three 
days  after.  What  a  dispensation  of  events  in  a  single 
funily  in  less  than  one  short  week!"  But  to  the  an- 
guish of  that  terrible  death-scene  succeeded  "  the  rest 
that  remains  for  the  people  of  God." 

Our  Western  biographical  and  historical  books  abound 

in  allusions  to  M'llenry  as  a  champion  of  the  ministry.    .\ 

distinguished  Kentucky  statesman"  says,  "  1  have  known 

and  admired  many  ministers  of  diffei-ent  denominations; 

"  Hon.  Jobn  Rowan,  in  Sprayue,  p.  144. 


METnODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        299 

but  the  only  man  I  have  ever  known,  who  even  reminded 
me  of  my  ideal  of  an  apostle,  was  Barnabas  M'Henry." 

In  his  advanced  life,  mature  in  chai-acter,  and  gen- 
erally revered,  he  was  one  of  the  most  influential  men 
of  his  Church  and  State.  He  was  low  in  stature, 
"square  built,  with  a  Grecian  rather  than  a  Roman 
face,"  '^  with  heavy  eyebrows,  a  sallow  complexion,  and 
a  singularly  frank,  generous,  and  noble  physiognomy. 
His  mind  was  remarkably  well  balanced.  Though 
characteristically  modest,  he  was  always  intrepidly 
self-possessed.  "Indeed,"  says  a  high  authority,  "if  I 
were  to  mention  any  trait  in  his  character  as  more 
strongly  marked  than  any  other,  it  would  be  the  perfect 
self-possession  which  he  always  evinced  under  the  most 
vexatious  and  disturbing  circumstances.  You  could 
not  place  him  in  any  situation  which  would  be  an  over- 
match either  for  his  composure  or  his  sagacity  ;  however 
difficult  the  case  might  seem,  you  might  be  sure  that 
he  would  betray  no  trepidation  or  embarrassment,  and 
that  he  would  be  ready  with  some  suggestion  that  was 
fitted  to  give  to  the  point  in  debate  a  new  and  better 
direction.  He  was  no  doubt  indebted  for  this  uncom- 
mon and  very  valuable  facility  partly  to  the  original 
structure  of  his  mind,  and  partly  to  a  habit  of  long- 
continued  and  vigorous  self-discipline."  '^ 

In  the  year  1792  Western  Methodi&m  reported  three 
districts,  two  in  Western  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Ten- 
nessee, under  Poythress  and  M'Henry,  with  such  men 
as  Wm.  Burke,  Wilson  Lee,  Henry  Birchett,  John  Kob- 
ler,  John  Lindsey,  and  Stith  Mead  on  their  circuits; 
and  one  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  under  Amos  Thomp- 
son, with  Thornton  Fleming,  Daniel  Hitt,  and  Valentine 
Cook  as  preachers. 

"  Bishop  Morris,  in  Sprague.  is  Ibid. 


300  IIISTORV    OF    THE 

William  Burke  we  have  already  presented  on  the 
scene,  and  obtained  I'rom  him  some  of  its  earliest  rem- 
iniscences." Few  men  saw  harder  service  there  than 
he.  In  the  very  outset  his  circuit  led  him  through  the 
thickest  perils  of  Indian  warfare."  On  his  second  round 
a  Cherokee  war  was  just  hreaking  out.  After  he  had 
crossed  the  F"rench  Broad  and  Little  Kivers,  and  arrived 
at  the  extreme  point  of  the  settlement,  he  found  the  in- 
liabitants  in  general  alarm.  lie  preached  that  day,  and 
at  night  the  whole  neighborhood  collected,  bringing 
intelligence  that  the  Indians  were  in  the  settlement.  In 
the  morning  he  started  for  his  next  appointment,  on  the 
south  bank  of  Little  Itiver,  having  a  guard  of  two 
brothers,  who  piloted  him  through  the  woods  part  of  the 
way,  but  becoming  alarnuMl  forthe  safety  of  tlu-ir  families, 
Ictt  him  to  make  liis  way  alone.  He  arrived  a  little  bef«)re 
noon,  but  found  it  would  be  impossible  to  collect  a  con- 
gregation. The  peopK'  were  moving  in,  and  concen- 
trating at  a  certain  point,  for  the  purpose  of  fortifying, 
iiihI  liy  niglit  they  were  the  frontier  house.  After  dark 
the  lights  were  all  put  out,  and  each  one  sat  down  with 
his  gun  on  his  lap.  One  of  the  company  started  about 
nine  o'clock  to  go  where  the  Indians  had  collected; 
but  soon  returned,  and  said  they  were  all  through  the 
neighborhood. 

Burke  immediately  determined  to  make  his  journey 
to  the  next  j>reaching  ]»lace,  which  was  about  ten  miles. 
He  was  obliged  to  travel  under  cover  of  the  night,  and 
had  only  a  small  path,  and  the  river  to  cross,  and  an 
island  to  reach  in  the  river.  The  night  was  dark,  the 
timber  very  thick  on  the  island,  and  he  could  not  pre- 

>«  Vol.  li,  p.  ^.55. 

'» See  liis  autobiogi-apby  In  Finlej-'e  "  Sketches  of  Western  Metb 
oUism." 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         301 

vail  on  any  of  the  peoj^le  to  leave  the  house  or  give  him 
any  assistance.  "  However,"  he  says,  "  I  put  my  trust 
in  God,  and  set  off."  After  having  passed  over  a  part 
of  his  route,  he  had  to  alight  from  his  horse,  and  keep 
the  path  on  foot.  He  succeeded,  reached  the  shore  at 
the  proper  point,  and  proceeded  without  difficulty. 
About  two  o'clock  he  arrived  at  the  house  where  his 
appointment  was  for  that  day,  knocked  at  the  door,  and 
sought  admittance,  but  found  no  inmates.  He  knew 
there  were  cabins  on  the  opposite  side  of  a  marsh,  and 
he  commenced  hallooing  as  loud  as  he  could.  Soon 
some  men  came  out,  who  wished  to  know  who  he  was, 
and  what  he  wanted.  They  suspected  that  the  Indians 
wished  to  decoy  them,  and  were  preparing  to  give  him 
"  a  warm  reception  of  powder  and  lead,"  when  the  lady 
at  whose  house  the  itinerants  usually  preached  came 
out  and  recognized  his  voice.  They  then  came  over 
and  conducted  him  to  the  place  where  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood was  collected,  surprised  to  find  that  the  terri- 
ble dangers  of  the  region  could  not  deter  the  evangelists 
from  their  labors.  The  next  day  he  was  away  again, 
and,  recrossing  the  French  Broad  River,  was  beyond 
the  reach  of  immediate  danger.  He  passed  up  through 
the  circuit,  leaving  the  frontier  appointments,  which  were 
Pine  Chapel,  and  Little  and  Big  Pigeon,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river ;  and  the  first  intelligence  he  had  from 
that  quarter  was  that  all  the  inhabitants  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Pine  Chapel  were  massacred  in  one  night. 

The  next  year  he  labored  chiefly  on  Clinch  Circuit, 
"  a  frontier  one,"  he  says,  "  of  three  weeks,  where  I  was 
alone,  without  even  a  local  preacher  to  help  me;"  but  he 
had  a  "  good  revival,"  though  many  conflicts,  in  a  ncAV 
country,  with  Indian  "  wai'fare  going  on  all  the  winter  on 
the  southern  borders."     He  started  in  this  year,  for  the 


302  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Annual  Confcronoo,  still  further  westward,  in  Kentucky, 
and  ixivcs  us  some  idea  of  Asbury's  ei»isco)»al  journeys 
in  the  wilderness.  M'Henry  and  other  preachers  ac- 
companied him,  making,  with  some  lay  adventurers  and 
"  frientls,"  who  were  to  convoy  them,  a  company  of 
sixteen.  "We  were  all  armed,"  he  says,  "except  the 
hishop.  It  was  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles 
through  the  wihlerness,  with  but  one  house  in  Powell's 
Valley,  where  we  stayed  the  first  night.  Next  morning, 
by  sunrise,  we  crossed  Cumberland  Mountain,  and 
entered  into  the  heart  of  the  wilderness.  I  will  here 
introduce  a  plan  that  Asbury  suggested  before  we  left 
the  settlements.  It  was  to  make  a  ro])C  long  enough  to 
tie  to  the  trees  all  around  the  camp,  when  we  stopped  at 
night,  except  a  small  )»assage  for  us  to  retreat,  should 
the  Indians  surprise  us;  the  rope  to  be  so  fixed  as  to 
strike  the  Indians  below  the  knee,  in  which  case  they 
woulil  fall  forward,  and  we  would  retreat  into  the  dark 
and  pour  in  a  fire  upon  them  fnmi  <jur  rifles.  We  ac- 
cordingly prepared  ourselves  with  the  rope,  and  placed 
it  on  our  pack-horse.  We  had  to  jiack  <»n  the  horses  we 
rode  corn  sufficient  to  feed  them  for  three  days,  and  our 
own  provisions,  besides  our  saddle  bags  of  clothes. 
Through  the  c<)urse  of  the  day  nothing  material  tran- 
sj»ired  till  very  late  in  the  afternoon,  when,  passing  up  a 
stony  hollow  from  Richland  Creek,  at  the  head  of  which 
was  the  war-path  from  the  northern  Indians  to  the 
s.iuthern  tribes,  we  hearl,  just  over  the  point  of  a  hill, 
a  noise  like  a  child  crying  in  great  distress.  W^e  soon 
discovered  that  Indians  were  there,  and  the  reason 
why  they  used  that  stratagem  to  decoy  us  was,  that,  a 
few  days  before,  they  had  defeated  a  company,  known 
for  a  long  time  as  M'Farland's  defeat,  and  a  number 
were  killed,  and  several  children  were  supposed  to  be  lost 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         303 

in  the  woods.  We  iram(!cliately  put  whip  to  our  horses, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  crossed  the  ridge  and  descended 
to  Camp  Creek  about  sunset,  when  we  called  a  halt  to 
consult  on  what  was  best  to  be  done,  and,  on  putting  it 
to  a  vote  whether  we  should  proceed  on  our  journey, 
all  were  for  proceeding  but  one  of  the  preachers, 
who  said  it  would  kill  his  horse  to  travel  that  night. 
The  bishop  all  the  time  was  sitting  on  his  horse  in 
silence,  and  on  the  vote  being  taken,  he  reined  up  his 
steed,  and  said,  '  Kill  man,  kill  horse ;  kill  horse  first ;' 
and  in  a  few  minutes  we  made  our  arrangements  for  the 
night.  The  night  being  dark,  and  having  but  a  narrow 
path,  we  appointed  two  to  proceed  in  front  to  lead  the 
way  and  keep  the  path,  and  two  as  a  rear  guard,  to 
keep  some  distance  behind,  and  bring  intelligence  every 
half  hour,  that  we  might  know  whether  the  Indians 
Avere  in  pursuit  of  us,  for  we  could  not  go  faster  than  a 
walk.  It  was  reported  that  they  were  following  us 
till  near  twelve  o'clock.  We  were  then  on  the  Big 
Laui'el  River.  We  agi'eed  to  proceed,  alighted  from 
our  horses,  and  continued  on  foot  till  daybreak,  when 
we  arrived  at  the  Hazel  Patch,  Avhere  we  stopped 
and  fed  our  horses,  and  took  some  refreshment.  We 
were  mounted  and  on  our  journey  by  the  rising  of  the 
sun.  By  this  time  we  were  all  very  much  fatigued,  and 
had  yet  at  least  between  forty  and  fifty  miles  before  us 
for  that  day.  That  night  about  dark  we  arrived  at  our 
good  friend  Willis  Oreen's,  near  Standford,  Lincoln 
Court-house,  having  been  on  horseback  nearly  forty 
hours,  during  which  we  traveled  about  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles.  I  perfectly  recollect  that  at  supper  I 
handed  my  cup  for  a  second  cup  of  tea,  and  before  it 
reached  rae  I  was  fast  asleep,  and  had  to  be  waked  up 
to  receive  it." 


304  HISTORY     OF    THE 

AVo  tlius  get  some  glimpses  of  the  hard  realities  of 
the  early  itinerancy  in  the  Weet.  With  their  bishop 
bravely  confronting  such  ex]»osures  and  fiitignes,  the 
subordinate  evangelists  could  not  but  be  emboldened 
to  defy  them.  Burke's  next  appointment  was  on  Dan- 
ville circuit,  which  comprised  Mercer,  Lincoln,  Garrow, 
and  Madison  counties.  Its  settlements  were  mostly 
around  the  fortified  "stations."  It  had  but  three  log 
ch:i])els  in  all  this  vast  range  of  country;  a  fourth  was 
built  before  the  close  of  the  year,  and  properly  named 
after  the  heroic  circuit  preacher.  Burke  was  a  cour- 
ageous m;in,  and  as  such  was  chosen  to  command  bands 
of  preachers  and  laymen  who  used  to  advance  to  meet 
Asbury  and  conduct  him  westward ;  he  led  such  a  band, 
consisting  of  sixty  persons,  in  1794,  through  terrible 
ditlicultics  and  dangers  among  the  Cumberland  Mount- 
ains, to  meet  the  bishop  on  the  Ilolston,  when  four  of 
the  corps,  who  had  advanced  one  mile,  were  killed  and 
scalped. 

In  1794  we  find  him  on  Salt  River  circuit,  famous  for 
its  hardships.  It  was  nearly  five  hundred  miles  in  ex- 
tent, comprising  five  counties,  to  be  traveled  every  four 
weeks,  with  continual  preaching.  The  sorely  tried  itin- 
erant writes:  "I  was  reduced  to  the  last  |>inch.  My 
clothes  were  nearly  all  gone.  I  had  patch  upon  patch, 
and  patch  by  patch,  and  I  received  only  money  suffi- 
cient  to  buy  a  waistcoat,  and  not  enough  of  that  to  pay 
for  the  making." 

By  the  spring  of  1795  this  brave  man  had  traveled 
all  the  circuits  of  Kentucky,  save  a  small  one,  called 
Limestone,  which  lay  on  the  north  side  of  Licking  River. 
From  the  time  that  the  first  Methodist  missionaries  en- 
tered the  new  field  up  to  this  spring,  there  had  been 
one  continued  Indian   war,  while  the  whole   frontier, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  305 

east,  west,  north,  and  south,  had  been  exposed  to  the 
inroads  and  depredations  of  the  merciless  savages.  In 
this  spring  was  the  noted  Nickajack  expedition,  which 
terminated  the  Cherokee  carnage ;  Wayne's  treaty  at 
Greenville,  Ohio,  put  an  end  to  the  Indian  wars,  and 
the  whole  Western  country,  for  once,  had  peace.  Burke 
remarks  that  "  there  is  one  thing  worthy  of  notice  ;  that 
notwithstanding  the  constant  exposure  of  the  traveling 
jjreachers,  but  two  of  them  fell  by  the  hands  of  the 
savages,  and  both  of  them  had  the  name  of  Tucker." 
He  is  mistaken,  however ;  no  itinerant  preacher  fell  by 
the  savages  during  these  times.  There  was  but  one  of 
the  name  of  Tucker  in  the  regular  ministry  before  the 
year  1800,  and  he  located  in  1798.  These  two  victims 
were  indeed  Methodist  preachers  and  martyrs,  .but  they 
belonged  to  the  local  ministry.  One  of  them  was  the 
devoted  man  whose  melancholy  death  we  have  heretofore 
noticed.'^  The  other  perished  near  a  "station"  south 
of  Green  River,  not  far  from  the  j^resent  Greensburg. 

It  would  not  be  tedious,  but  unnecessary,  to  cite 
further  illustrations  of  these  trying  but  romantic  times, 
from  the  i-ecord  of  Burke.  We  read  continually  of 
incredible  travels,  labors,  and  sufferings,  of  journeys  of 
upward  of  a  hundred  miles  without  a  single  house  on 
the  way,  and  of  night  campings  in  the  Avoods,  but  also 
of  the  triumphs  of  the  gospel  against  the  threatening 
barbarism  of  the  wilderness.  At  the  end  of  our  present 
period  (1796)  he  recrossed  the  mountains,  being  ap- 
pointed to  Guildford  Circuit,  North  Carolina.  But  the 
next  year  he  was  back  again.  His  fate  was  now  fixed 
for  the  West ;  by  the  end  of  the  century  he  had  com- 
mand of  most  of  its  Methodist  interests ;  and  in  the 
summer   of  1800    he   "rode  down    two  good   horses," 

"  Vol.  ii,  p.  S58. 
C— 20 


306  HISTORY    OF    THE 

had  "worn  out  his  clothes,"  was  "ragged  and  tat 
tered,"  and  liad  "  not  a  cent  in  his  pocket."  He  la- 
bored twenty-six  years  in  the  hardest  fields  of  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Oliio.  As  late  as  1811  he 
organized  and  took  charge  of  the  first  Methodist  station 
in  Cincinnati,  the  first  indeed  in  Ohio ;  there  his  health 
fiiiled,  and  he  had  to  retire  from  the  efl^ective  work  of 
the  ministry.  He  was  universally  venerated  in  the 
city ;  "  there  was  no  civil  office,  in  the  gift  of  the 
])eople,  which  was  not  within  his  reach." '"  He  was 
appointed  a  judge  of  the  county,  and  afterward  post- 
master of  the  city,  and  held  the  latter  office  under 
successive  administrations  for  twenty-eight  years.  A 
shadow  passed  over  his  path;  he  was  suspended  by  a 
Conference  for  alleged  contumacy,  but  one  of  the  best 
authorities  and  noblest  men  of  the  Church  has  vindi- 
cated his  memory,  and  says :  "  Previously  to  this  time 
he  had  been  a  great  and  good  Methodist.  He  had 
done  and  suffi.'red  as  much  for  the  cause  as  any  man 
in  the  great  West.  His  controversy  with  the  elder, 
for  which  he  was  accused,  was  about  a  very  small 
matter,  involving  nothing  like  immorality,  and  by  bad 
management,  on  the  part  of  the  Conference,  more  than 
on  Burke's  part,  it  terminated  in  his  expulsion  from  the 
Church.  I  had  a  j)erfect  knowledge  of  this  entire  case 
from  first  to  last,  and  rejoice  to  leave  it  as  ray  dying 
testimony  that  the  Conference  was  more  to  blame  than 
William  Burke.  It  is  true  he  was  restored  again  to 
membership  after  he  had  lived  out  of  the  Church  twenty 
loner,  gloomy  years  ;  but  he  never  was  the  same  man 
afterward.  I  pretend  not  to  say  Burke  was  a  faultless 
man :  he  had  faults  and  many  faults;  but  in  his  heart  he 
was  a  man  of  God.  I  have  loved  him  long,  and  love 
>■  Rev.  Dr.  Scbon,  iu  Annals  of  Southern  Methodism,  vol.  ii,  p.  271. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  307 

him  now  that  he  has  passed  away  to  his  home  in  heaven."^^ 
Thus  again  we  learn,  that  with  all  their  devotion  and  hero- 
ism these  Methodist  preachers  were  but  men.  It  is  indeed 
mournful  that  this  veteran  hero  should,  in  his  broken 
age  suffer  the  severest  and  longest  of  all  his  trials  in 
the  western  field,  for  which  he  had  suffered  and  achieved 
more  perhaps  than  any  other  man  of  his  day,  and  suffer 
now  from  the  hands  of  his  own  brethren,  most  of  whom 
were  but  the  children  of  his  early  people,  for  it  was  as 
late  as  1818  that  the  hasty  act  of  the  Conference  cast 
the  grayheaded  man  out  of  the  ranks  that  he  had  so 
often  led  to  victory.  His  vindication,  however,  by  one 
of  the  saintliest  men  of  the  ministry,  scarcely  less  a  vet- 
eran than  himself,  suffices  for  his  memory.  But  further 
than  this,  the  General  Conference,  which  sustained  the 
course  of  his  Conference,  voted,  in  1836,  for  the  restora- 
tion of  his  name  to  the  Minutes.  After  the  division  of 
the  Church  in  1844  it  appears  in  the  Minutes  of  his  old 
field,  the  Kentucky  Conference.  He  committed  errors, 
and  showed  undue  resentment  of  his  treatment;  but 
such  a  man  has  peculiar  claims  on  the  forbearance  of 
his  junior  brethren.  He  died  in  the  peace  of  the  gospel, 
at  Cincinnati,  in  1855,  aged  85. '^  He  had  been  the  first 
secretary  of  an  American  Methodist  Conference,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  fourteen  who,  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1808,  drafted  the  constitutional 
law,  or  "  Restrictive  Rules  "  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

John  Kobler  appeared  in  1792  among  the  rugged 
mountains  of  the  Greenbrier,  under  the  presiding  elder- 
ship of  Poythress,  whose  district  comprehended  much 
of  Western  Virginia,  and  Kentucky  as  far  as  Lexing- 

18  Rev.  Jacob  Young's  Autobiography,  etc.,  p.  313.      ♦ 
>»  Letter  of  Rev.  Dr.  A.  Poe  to  the  author. 


308  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ton.  Kol)k'r  was  horn  in  Culpt-pper  County,  Virginia, 
in  1  768,  of  religious  parents,  who  educated  bim  in  habits 
of  strict  morality.  He  joined  the  Church  in  liis  nine- 
teenth year,  and  in  his  twenty-first  "gave  up  home, 
friends,  and  prospects,  and  entered  tlie  rough  tiekl  of 
itinerant  life."'*  He  appears  in  the  Minutes  of  1790  as 
"continued  on  trial,"  and  therefore  must  have  traveled 
the  preceiling  year,  though  the  Minutes  do  not  tell 
where.  His  tirst  recorded  appointment  was  on  Ami'lia 
circuit,  Virginia,  under  O'Kelly's  ])residing  eldership. 
In  1791  he  began  to  ten<l  westward,  traveling  Bradlonl 
circuit,  Virginia,  at  the  eastem  slope  of  the  Blue  Kidge ; 
the  next  year  he  scaled  the  Alleghanies  and  traveled 
the  Greenbrier  Valley.  In  1703  he  became  presiding 
elder  of  the  entire  denomination  in  the  Ilolston  ^loun- 
tains,  with  three  circuits  and  five  preachers;  and  now, 
in  an  adecjuate  field,  he  displayed  his  full  powers  as  one 
of  the  giant  men  of  the  itinerancy,  by  vast  travels,  con- 
tinual and  powerful  preaching,  and  the  endurance  of 
the  worst  trials  of  the  ministry.  The  next  year  he 
retained  command  of  his  mountain  corps,  enlarged  to 
seven  men,  with  five  circuits.  We  find  him  there  still 
in  1795,  with  seven  circuits  and  eleven  men,  among 
whom  were  such  befitting  associates  as  Hcnjaniin  Lakin, 
Tobias  (iibson,  and  William  M'Kendree.  His  great  dis- 
trict reached  to  this  side  the  mountains.  He  retained 
the  laborious  office  till  1707,  when  he  passed  further 
westward,  and  presided  over  the  whole  field  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  He  continued  to  traverse  these 
wilds  till  179s,  when  we  shall  meet  him  again,  in  Ohio, 
the  first  Methodist  itinerant  who  entered  the  great 
Northwestern  Territory — "a  man,"  say  his  brethren, 
in  their  Minutes,  "of  saint-like  spirit,  dignified  and 
»•  Finlej's  Sketches,  etc.,  p.  IW. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.        809 

ministerial  bearing,  untiring  labors  in  preaching,  pray- 
ing, and  visiting  the  sick;"  of  "preaching  abilities 
above  mediocrity ; "  tall,  slender,  with  an  energy  of 
soul  which  far  surpassed  that  of  his  body. 

Among  the  really  great  men  that  begin  now  to  rise  like 
a  host  in  Western  Methodism  is  Thomas  Scott,  known 
and  venerated  throughout  the  West  as  Judge  Scott. 
He  was  born  at  Skypton,  near  the  junction  of  the  north 
and  south  branches  of  the  Potomac,  Alleghany  County, 
Md.,  in  1772.  In  his  fourteenth  year  he  became  a 
Methodist,  and,  when  but  sixteen  and  a  half  years  old, 
was  received  on  trial  by  the  Conference  of  1789,  and 
appointed,  as  colleague  of  Valentine  Cook,  on  Gloucester 
Circuit,  Va.  The  next  year  he  traveled  Berkeley  Cir- 
cuit, Va. ;  in  1791  he  was  with  Daniel  Hitt,  on  Stafford 
Circuit,  Va. ;  the  following  year  he  was  with  Thomas 
Lyell,  on  Frederick  Circuit,  Va.,  and  in  1793  was  sent 
to  the  Ohio  Circuit,  a  field  of  "  great  extent,  much  of 
which  lay  along  the  frontier  settlements  on  the  Ohio 
River,  in  Western  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  attacks  of  the  Indians."  His  lot  was  now 
cast,  permanently,  in  the  West.  In  1794,  at  the  com- 
mand of  Asbury,  he  descended  the  Ohio  River  from 
Wheeling,  on  a  flat-boat,  to  join  the  band  of  Kentucky 
itinerants,  and  met  them  in  conference  at  the  Bethel 
Academy,  in  Jessamine  County.  He  afterward  labored 
on  Danville  and  Lexington  Circuits.  Marrying  in  1796, 
it  became  necessary,  as  usual  with  his  fellow-laborers, 
to  locate.  To  locate,  however,  was  then,  as  we  have 
often  remarked,  not  to  cease  to  preach.  Scott  was  to 
remain  an  influential  preacher  when  nearly  all  that  gen- 
eration of  Methodist  itinerants  and  people  had  passed 
away.  Preaching  on  Sundays,  he  applied  himself  to 
business  on  week  days  to  support  his  family.     Mean- 


310  HISTORY    OF    TFIE 

while,  he  studied  law  as  best  he  could  with  the  few 
laeilities  for  sueh  studies  in  the  West.  His  wife  read 
his  law  books  for  him  while  he  plied  his  work,  and,  by 
the  superior  force  of  his  mind,  he  made  extraordinary 
))n)gress.  In  1798  he  was  able  to  remove  to  Lexington, 
and  i)ursue  more  effectually  his  legal  studies  in  the 
oftice  of  an  able  jurist,  lie  afterward  moved  into 
Fleming  County,  where  he  was  ajipitinted  "  Prosecuting 
Attorney." 

In  IHOI  he  went  to  Chilicothe,  Ohio,  where  by  pro- 
vidential circumstances  he  became  fixed  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  long  and  useful  life.  Years  earlier,  while 
traveling  Berkeley  Circuit,  Va.,  he  was  invited  to 
visit  Charlestown,  about  four  miles  out  of  his  usual 
route,  a  place  where  a  few  Methodists  had  been  for 
some  time  molested  by  mobs.  After  preaching  there, 
in  a  grove,  he  requested  all  who  wished  to  join  the 
Church  to  meet  him  at  his  lodging  at  a  given  hour. 
He  writes  that  "before  the  hour  had  arrived  Dr.  Ed- 
ward Tiffin  came  into  the  room  where  I  was  sitting,  and 
commenced  a  conversation  with  me.  Being  a  stranger 
to  me,  and  not  knowing  but  that  he  had  been  one  of 
those  who  had  favored  the  mobs,  I  conversed  with  him 
cautiously.  He,  however,  remained,  and  several  others 
soon  collected.  After  singing,  prayer,  and  an  exhorta- 
tion, I  gave  an  invitation  to  those  who  wished  to  be- 
come members  to  come  forward  and  announce  their 
names.  The  doctor  was  standing  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  room  fronting  me.  I  had  not  perceived  that  he 
was  affected;  but  the  moment  I  gave  the  invitation  he 
quickly  stej»ped  forward,  evidently  under  deep  and 
pungent  conviction,  roaring  almost  witli  anguish,  and 
asked  for  admission  into  the  Church.  He  was  admitted  ; 
and  before  I  had  completed  that  round  on  the  circuit  he 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  811 

had  preached  several  sermons.  Immediately  after  I  had 
received  Dr.  Tiffin  into  the  Church  he  became  convinced 
of  his  call  to  the  ministry.  Conferring  not  with  flesh 
and  blood,  and  without  waiting  for  a  license,  he  forth- 
with commenced  preaching.  One  of  the  places  selected 
by  him  for  that  purpose  was  Bullskin.  There  his  minis- 
terial labors,  as  also  the  labors  of  Lewis  .Chastain  and 
Yalentine  Cook,  were  greatly  blessed.  A  very  large 
class  of  lively,  excellent  members  was  formed,  who  met 
at  the  house  of  old  Mr.  Smith,  father  of  Henry  Smith, 
of  Pilgrim's  Rest,  near  Baltimore.  The  latter,  in  his 
'Recollections,'  speaks  of  Dr.  Tiffin's  sermons  as  'j^a- 
thetic  and  powerful.'  Although  the  doctor  commenced 
preaching  before  receiving  license  for  that  purpose,  it 
was  evident  that  he  had  not  run  before  he  was  sent. 
Yet  the  cross  was  almost  insupportably  heavy,  and  he 
had  at  first  well  nigh  sunk  under  it.  He  told  me  him- 
self, more  than  thirty  five  years  ago,  that,  attending 
at  one  of  his  appointments — perhaps  one  of  the  first 
that  had  been  made  for  him — seeing  the  people  flock 
in,  in  multitudes,  and  knowing  that  mere  curiosity  to 
hear  him  had  brought  most  of  them  out,  his  heart 
failed  within  him.  He  slipped  out  some  half  an  hour 
before  the  time  appointed  for  commencing  the  meeting, 
and  hastily  retired  to  a  deep  forest  near  at  hand,  with 
the  intention  of  hiding  himself  till  the  congregation 
should  become  tired  of  waiting  and  disperse.  But  it 
would  not  do.  He  could  not  flee  from  the  vivid  convic- 
tion, '  a  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  is  committed  to  me, 
and  woe  is  unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel.'  In  his 
agony  the  perspiration  fell  in  large  drops  from  his  face, 
and  his  garments  were  wet  with  its  profuse  flow. 
He  felt  almost  involuntarily  impelled  to  return  to  the 
house,  which  was  now  full  to  overflowing,  with  great 


31:?  HISTORY  of  the 

huiuIkts  outside.  Scarcely  able  to  stand,  he  eom- 
menced  the  service  '  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and 
in  much  tri'inhlini;.'  But  he  soon  felt  divinely  aided, 
and  j)reached  with  great  liberty,  for  sinners  were  cut  to 
the  heart,  and  God  honored  his  servant  in  the  sight  of 
all  tlu'  j)i'oj»le.'' 

Tittin  had  a  family,  and  could  not,  therefore,  enter 
the  itinerancy  in  these  hard  times,  when  the  marriage 
of  a  |)reacher  was  synonymous  with  his  location;  but 
he  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  energy  and  zeal, 
and  henceforth,  through  his  long  life,  was  a  representa- 
tive of  his  <lennminati()n.  In  two  years  he  was  or- 
dained a  deacon  by  Asbury.  The  bishop  admired  and 
loved  him  heartily,  was  often  entertained  at  his  house, 
and,  it  is  said,  dis|>ens«'d,  in  his  ordination,  with  the  usual 
prere(|uisites  of  reccMuiiu-ndations  from  three  elders, 
three  deacons,  etc.,  and  "  without  solicitation  or  sug- 
gestion of  any  one,  conferred  the  office  upon  him  im- 
promptu."" Scott  had  no  apprehension,  as  he  received 
the  young  physician  into  the  Church,  that  he  was  pro- 
viding, not  only  a  great  man  for  the  denomination,  but 
a  great  frii-nd  for  his  own  time  of  need.  Now,  eleven 
years  later,  as  he  wandered  to  Chilicothe,  he  found 
that  Tittin  hail  also  wandered  thither  from  Virginia, 
and  was  already  a  commanding  citizA-n,  preaching  the 
gospel  in  all  the  surrounding  country,  organizing 
t'hurclies,  turning  his  medical  practice  into  a  means  of 
religiuus  ministration  to  the  sick  and  dying,  gratui- 
tously dealing  out  medicines,  with  his  characteristic 
liberality,  to  the  poor,  who  came  to  him  from  great  dis- 
tances, courageously  and  successfully  jterforming  diffi- 
cult cases  of  surgery,  and  sheltering  with  profuse  liber- 
ality Methodist  preachers,  his  "  e.xcellent  wife  receiving 
»'  Finley's  Sketches,  p.  2&4. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHUllCH.         313 

them  as  messengers  from  God."  "She  was,"  says  a 
veteran  itinerant,  "  one  of  the  most  conscientious  and 
heavenly-minded  women  I  ever  saw — a  mother  in  our 
Israel,  indeed.""  She  Avas  one  of  those  select  "  women 
of  Methodism"  who  ministered  to  Asbury,  and  who 
were  honored  with  his  affectionate  friendship.  Asbury, 
on  visiting  Chilicothe  in  1808,  went  to  her  tomb  and 
made  the  following  record:  "Within  sight  of  this 
beautiful  mansion  lies  the  precious  dust  of  JVIary 
Tiffin.  It  was  as  much  as  I  could  do  to  forbear 
weeping  as  I  mused  over  her  speaking  grave.  How 
mutely  eloquent !  Ah,  the  world  knows  little  of  ray 
sorrows;  little  knows  how  dear  to  me  are  my  many 
friends,  and  how  deeply  I  feel  their  loss ;  but  they  all 
die  in  the  Lord,  and  this  shall  comfort  me.  I  delivei-ed 
my  soul  here.  May  this  dear  family  feel  an  answer  to 
Mary  Tiffin's  prayers."  Boehm,  who  was  with  the 
bishop,  adds:  "  On  our  tour  in  1811  we  visited  Governor 
Worthington,  her  brother,  and  he  requested  the  bisliop 
to  write  an  appropriate  inscription  for  the  tombstone  of 
his  sister.  He  took  his  pen  and  wrote  this :  '  And  Mary 
hath  chosen  that  good  part  that  shall  not  be  taken 
away  from  her.'  These  words  are  upon  the  tombstone 
of  that  excellent  woman."  Boehm  at  the  same  visit 
thus  characterizes  the  doctor:  "Several  sermons  of  great 
pathos  and  power  were  preached  on  the  camp-ground. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  was  by  Dr.  Tiffin,  ex- 
governor  of  Ohio,  from  '  What  is  a  man  profited,'  etc. 
The  doctor  threw  his  whole  soul  into  it  as  he  dwelt 
upon  the  soul's  immense  value  and  its  amazing  loss, 
and  the  fact  that  nothing  can  compensate  for  such  a 
loss.  His  appeals  to  the  heart  and  conscience  were 
almost  irresistible.  His  voice  was  musical,  his  gestures 
22  Rev.  Henry  Smith's  "  Recollections  of  an  Old  Itinerant,"  p.  327. 


314  HISTORY    OF    THE 

were  rajtid,  and  his  countenance  expressed  all  his 
tongue  uttered.  There  was  a  mighty  work  among 
the  people  during  this  day,  and  it  continued  all 
night."  " 

Tlie  doctor  became  the  chief  citizen  of  Ohio ;  it  was 
still  a  territory;  he  was  one  of  its  legislators;  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  convention  which  formed  its 
state  constitution,  and  soon  after  had  the  signal  honor 
to  be  elected  its  first  state  governor  "  without  opposi- 
tion.'' He  served  in  this  high  office  a  second  term,  and 
defeated  the  conspiracy  of  Aaron  Burr  in  a  manner  that 
c.ilk'd  forth  the  written  thanks  of  President  Jefferson, 
who,  in  commending  the  conduct  of  the  citizens  of  the 
state,  said  of  its  governor,  "  that  in  declaring  that  you 
have  deserved  niuch  of  your  country,  I  do  but  express 
the  grateful  sentiments  of  every  fellow-citizen  in  it." 
Tiffin  was  allerward  chosen  Senator  in  Congress,  and 
held  other  places  of  trust.  He  was  an  honor  to  his 
denomination,  and  his  influence,  for  it  was  one  of  its 
greatest  early  advantages  in  the  West.  He  died,  after 
severe  suffi'rings,  in  the  assured  hope  of  the  gos|>el,  in 
ls29,  a  man  "never  excelled,"  said  the  public  journal 
of  his  city,  "  in  the  various  relations  of  parent,  husband, 
Christian,  and  citizen."'^  In  stature  he  was  about  five 
feet  six  inches,  full  and  rf»bust,  with  a  capacious  head,  a 
round,  florid  face,  and  remarkably  expressive  features ; 
in  conversation  vivid,  direct,  and  intelligent ;  in  the 
puljiit  systematic  and  energetic.  "  His  discourses  were 
delivered  with  great  animation  and  with  eloquence  and 
power.  In  the  country  around  Chilicothe,  where  he  had 
BO  ol\en  preached,  he  was  deservedly  very  popular,  his 
labors  in  the  pulpit  were  much   sought  after,  and  at 

»>  Boelim's  Reminiscences,  p.  198. 

"  The  "  Scioto  Gazette,"  of  Chilicollie,  Aug.  12,  1829. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         315 

quarterly  and  camp-meetings  he  Avas  always  assigned 
one,  at  least,  of  the  chief  appointments  on  the  Sabhath. 
To  his  active  labors  and  influence  the  Church  is  more 
indebted  than  to«-auy  other  man  for  the  introduction 
and  establishment  of  Methodism  in  Chilicothe  and  the 
surrounding  country."  ^^ 

He  sympathized  tenderly  with  the  sufiering  itinerants. 
To  the  young  preachers  especially  he  gave  inspiriting 
counsels,  writing  to  them  with  the  tenderness  of  a 
father,  being  anxious  that  they  should  keep  up  their 
energy  and  heroism.  To  one  of  them  he  wrote  :  "  I  feel 
glad  also  to  hear  of  your  getting  so  big  and  strong, 
hoping  thereby  you  will  be  better  enabled  to  cry  aloud 
and  spare  not.  But  take  care,  if  this  be  not  the  conse- 
quence, that  it  don't  fill  up  your  silver  pipe,  and  make 
you  like  an  overgrown  drone  bee,  that  always  makes  a 
buzzing,  and  drives  no  sting.  If  this  should  be  the 
case,  which  God  forbid,  send  me  word,  and  I  will  en- 
deavor to  find  you  a  prescription  to  remedy  it.  Watch 
and  pray,  and  I  hope  my  God  will  make  you  a  polished 
shaft  in  his  quiver.  Be  humble ;  endeavor  to  get  freed 
of  a  man-fearing  and  man-pleasing  spirit.  Simply  drink 
into  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  preach  for  God,  and  pray 
for  poor,  dear  sinners ;  and  I  hope  and  believe  God  will 
give  you  to  see  his  pleasure  prosper  in  your  hands. 
Blessed  be  God,  my  wife  and  self  are  bound  for  glory. 
We  do  feel  ourselves  advancing  in  the  divine  life,  and 
God  does  dwell  in  our  hearts.  O  how  many  sweet 
times  I  have  with  the  sick,  poor  sinners,  when  the  hand 
of  God  is  upon  them ;  then  their  hearts  are  tender,  and 
I  can  bring  them  on  their  knees  before  him,  I  think,  if 
I  know  my  heart,  I  only  want  to  live  to  and  for  God. 
But  O  my  weakness,  my  weakness !  What  a  field  is 
25  Samuel  Williams,  Esq.,  in  Finlej's  Sketches,  p.  286. 


316  HIPTORY    OF    THE 

before  me  f<ir  doiiit;  ^ood  if  I  lia«l  but  grace  enoutjh  to 
redeem  every  moment  <»f  precious  time.  O  brother, 
pray  for  poor  me,  and  improve  every  op])ort\inity  of 
writiiii^  to  me.  liless  God,  T  am  hap])y  while  writinj; 
to  you,  and  feel  as  if  I  only  wanti-d  wings  and  an  open- 
ing in  this  clay  temjde  to  creejt  out,  tliat  I  might  fly 
away  to  ray  Saviour's  arms.  I  think  they  would  be 
open  to  receive  me."  '* 

Scott  was  welconUMl  to  Chilicothe  by  his  old  friend 
and  convert.  lie  sent  for  liis  family,  and  settled  there. 
Tittin  gave  him  employment  in  a  clerkship,  and  promoted 
his  legal  business  and  studies.  lie  was  elected  secretary 
to  tlie  convention  for  the  formation  of  the  state  consti- 
tution. When  Titlin  was  elected  governor,  Scott  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  clerkship  of  several  courts,  and  at  the 
first  township  election  of  Chilicothe,  under  the  constitu- 
tion, he  was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace,  the  first  one 
commissioned  under  the  state  organization.  He  was 
also  elected  secretary  of  the  fiist  state  senate,  an  oftice 
which  he  hidd  several  years,  till  he  was  appointed,  by 
the  Legislature,  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  whose 
chief  justice  he  became  one  year  later. 

In  these  prominent  civil  places  he  acquitted  himself 
with  honor,  for  his  native  capacity  was  much  above 
mediocrity,  and  his  diligent  aj)|»lication  both  to  study 
and  labor  rendered  him  master  of  his  position.  His 
official  rank  secured  him  public  influence,  and  this  he, 
like  his  friend  Tiffin,  consecrated  to  religion.  They 
•were  two  of  the  strongest  pillars  of  Methodism  in  Ohio, 
and  to  their  public  character  and  la)joi-s  it  owes  much 
of  its  rai)id  growth  and  predominant  sway  in  that  mag- 
nificent state.  Had  Scott  been  able,  after  his  marriage, 
to  remain  in  the  itinerant  ministry,  he  would  j>robably 

**  U'tlcr  to  Daniel  Hitt,  So.  Meth.  Quart  Rev.,  Apr.,  1859,  p.  294. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH,         317 

have  attained,  as  his  friends  predicted,  its  highest  office 
and  dignity;  but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  he  or 
Tiffin  could,  even  as  its  chief  bishop,  have  served  their 
denomination,  or  their  generation,  more  effectively  than 
they  did  in  their  long  and  honorable  lives  as  local 
preachers  and  public  citizens.  Ohio  reveres  the  mem- 
ory of  her  Methodist  first  governor  and  first  chief 
justice,  and  has  given  the  name  of  the  former  to  two 
of  her  towns. 

In  following  Scott  northward,  in  order  to  complete, 
at  one  view,  the  outline  of  his  career,  we  have  anti- 
cipated, somewhat,  important  events  of  our  narrative, 
for  we  leave  him  and  Tiffin  representatives  of  Methodism 
in  Ohio  before  we  have  witnessed  its  introduction  into 
the  great  "  Northwestern  Territory."  The  anticipation, 
however,  is  but  brief;  we  have  already  seen  Kobler, 
its  first  regular  itinerant,  tending  toward  that  region ; 
and  before  the  close  of  our  present  period,  its  recognized 
founder  in  Ohio,  a  local  preacher,  had  reached  it.^'  In 
the  account  of  Henry  Smith,  a  convert  of  Judge  Scott, 
in  Virginia,  and  himself  a  western  pioneer,  we  have  met, 
in  Western  Virginia,  an  obscure  but  most  interesting 
character  by  the  name  of  Francis  M'Corraick.  M'Cor- 
mick,  "  a  powerful  man  "  with  the  fist  and  the  ax,  was  a 
young  fellow-convert,  and  a  fellow-exhorter,  with  Smith. 
We  have  seen  both  essaying  their  first  ability  as  "  ex- 
horters  "  in  "  Davenport's  Meeting-house,"  at  the  "  head 
of  Bullskin,"  a  place  where  Tiffin  also  had  often 
preached.  Smith  broke  down  in  the  attempt,  though 
"  one  poor  sinner  cried  out  for  mercy  "  under  his  open- 

"■;  We  have  some  dim  evidence  that  Francis  Clark  (who  is  said  to  have 
formed  the  first  Methodist  Society  in  Kentucivy)  preached  as  early  as 
1793  in  Fort  Wasliinjjton,  now  Cincinnati.  "  He  visited  and  preached 
at  Fort  Washington,  where  Cincinnati  now  stands,  as  early  as  1793, 
two  years  before  General  Wayne's  treaty  with  the  Indians.     For  this 


318  HISTORY     OF    THE 

ing  prayer.  M'Corinick  rose  for  his  rescue,  and  con- 
ducted the  service  with  such  "liberty"  and  effect  that 
"the  soul-nu'ltinj;  i)ower  of  the  Lord  came  down,  and 
was  felt  through  all  the  house."  ** 

The  name  of  Francis  M'Cormick  was  destined  to 
hecome  dear  in  the  hearts,  and  great  in  the  history,  of 
his  people  as  the  founder  of  Methodism  in  the  most 
important  section  of  the  North  American  continent, 
tl)i'  Northwestern  Territory.  A  ^fethodist  bishop,  medi- 
tating at  the  grave  of  the  pioneer,  has  recorded  some  of 
the  most  important  facts  of  his  life."  He  was  born  in 
Frederick  County,  Va  ,  June  3,  1764.  IKs  parents  were 
good  Presbyterians,  but  his  father  l)ecame  a  distiller, 
ceased  to  pray  in  liis  family,  and  not  only  fVII  away  from, 
but  opposed  religion.  His  son  grew  up  "a  wild  and 
wicked''  youth.  He  heard  \N'illiain  .Tessop  preach,  a 
man  of  powerful  eloquence.'"  As  he  saw  the  people^^eep- 
iiiir  and  pniying  under  the  discourse,  "his  heart  was 
filled  with  madne^s,''  and  he  turned  away  with  the  deter- 

historic  fact  we  have  tbc  testimony  of  Samuel  Brown,  who  was  a 
memJKT  of  the  flr»l  Methodist  Society  formed,  and  in  good  repute 
amoiii;  tliem.  He  alllrmcd  tiiat  he  was  in  the  fort  at  the  time  of 
(Jiaric's  visit,  and  that  he  was  welcomed  and  respected  as  a  mes- 
M-nf^er  from  God,  regarded  as  exemplary  in  his  conduct,  and  pos- 
sessed of  good  gifts,  as  well  vnr  grace,  and  the  people  heard  him 
gladly.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  invited  missionary,  who 
as  he  coul<l  obtain  escorts,  visited  the  various  stations,  bloclv-houses, 
and  military  posts  on  the  frontiers,  where  the  people  had  to  be 
concentmfed  for  mtitual  ])rotection.  We  have  evidence  for  believ- 
ing this  was  the  same  '  Francis  Clark,'  a  local  preacher,  who  was  the 
honored  pioneer  of  Methodism  in  Kentucky.  He  and  John  Durham, 
a  class-leader,  and  a  few  of  their  neiglibors,  with  tlieir  families,  removed 
from  Virginia  about  1784;  and  Clark  organized  the  first  Methodist 
class  ever  fonned  in  what  was  then  called  '  tlie  far  West,'  about  six 
miles  from  where  Danville  now  stands." — Rev.  J.  F.  Wright,  in  West. 
Chris.  .Adv.,  March  7,  18tJ0. 

^  Smith's  "  Recollections,"  etc.,  p.  246. 

'»  Bishop  Clark,  in  "  i^adies'  Repository,"  .March,  1860. 

*o  See  vol.  ii,  p.  148. 


xVtETHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  319 

mination  to  witness  sucli  scenes  no  more.    He  forbade  his 
young  wife  to  attend  them,  yet  she  could  not  but  per- 
ceive that,  in  spite  of  his  resolution,  his  conscience  was 
tlioroughly  awakened.     We  have  already  seen  how  the 
conversion  of  his  young  friend  Smith,  about  this  time, 
affected  him.    He  returned  with  his  wife  to  the  Methodist 
meetings ;  and  after  a  sermon  he  remained  to  witness  a 
love-feast,  of  which  he  later  wrote :   "  The  simplicity, 
love,  and  union  that  prevailed  I  was  quite  charmed  with. 
Surely,  thought  T,  these  are  the  people  of  God.     Yet  for 
all  this,  when  the  invitation  was  given  for  people  to 
join  society,  my  wife  being  one  of  the  first  to  join, 
1  was  so  angry  that  I  went  off  home  and  left  her.    I  was 
so  filled  with  the   wicked   one   that   I  scarcely  knew 
what  to  think  of  myself,  for  I  then  as  much  believed 
she  was  doing  right  as  I  should  now  if  any  other  person 
was  becoming  a  member."     He   could   not,  however, 
silence  his  awakened  conscience.     He  became  the  more 
interested  in  the  Methodists  when  he  learned  that  they 
"  prohibited  drunkenness  and  tippling,"  for  his  life  in  the 
house  of  his  father  had  convinced  him  of  their  ruinous 
consequences.     He  describes  himself  as  "  miserable  be- 
yond expression,"  when  he  went  to  hear  Lewis  Chas- 
teen,  another  itinerant   of  eminent  usefulness.     "The 
preacher,"  he  writes,  ''•  was  at  prayer  when  we  arrived. 
When  he  took  his  text,  '  And  now  also  the  ax  is  laid 
unto  the  root  of  the  tree ;  therefore  every  tree,'  etc.,  it 
appeared  to  me  that  all  the  wickedness  that  I  had  ever 
committed  stared  me  in  my  face.     A  trembling  seized 
me  as  though  all  my  flesh  would  drop  from  my  bones. 
He  preached  like  a  son  of  thunder,  as  he  truly  was. 
After  public  service  he  gave  an  invitation  to  such  as 
desired  to  become  members  to  join.     There  were  none 
but  members  present,  except  myself  and  a  young  man 


820  HISTORY    OF    THE 

by  tlie  name  of  Murphy,  who  had  for  some  time  been 
uniU'r  awakenings;  but  he  declined,  like  Felix,  for  a 
more  convenient  season.  Living  in  the  midst  of  about 
a  hundred  relatives,  all  enemies  to  the  Methodists,  how 
is  it  possible  that  I  can  stand  to  be  opposed  by  such  a 
multituth'!  It  staggered  me  in  a  wonderful  manner; 
but  it  appeared  as  though  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven, 
'My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  man.'  This 
had  such  a  |»owerful  effect  on  my  mind  that  I  was 
resolved  to  make  the  trial,  let  the  consequences  be 
what  they  might.  Christmas  that  year  (1790)  came  on 
Sunday,  and  I  joined  on  the  Tuesday  jireceding.  The 
Saturday  following,  my  father,  who  lived  with  one  of 
my  brothers,  sent  for  me  to  come  and  see  him.  There 
were  a  number  collected  of  brothers,  and  their  relatives 
by  marriage,  to  keep  Christmas  in  their  and  my  old 
way,  and  I  have  always  thought  that  their  aim  was  to 
get  me  intoxicated,  lie  that  as  it  may,  they  missed  it. 
They  were  very  kind  indeed,  more  so  than  common, 
and  said  nothing  to  me  about  religion  till  I  refused  to 
drink  with  them;  then  my  father  said,  'How  came  you 
to  join  the  Methodists  without  my  leave?'  I  tohl  him 
that  I  did  not  know  it  was  my  duty  to  obtain  his  con- 
sent;  and  added,  in  the  language  of  Scripture,  'P]xcei)t 
ve  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish.'  He  rej)lied, 
'  What  have  you  done  that  you  need  repentance  ? 
Have  you  killed  anybody?  You  must  leave  the  Meth- 
odists, and  I  will  give  you  the  farm  to  live  on,  and  treat 
vou  as  a  son.'  I  replied  that  I  thanked  him  for  all  the 
j.ains  and  trouble  he  had  been  at  in  bringing  me  up, 
but  to  leave  the  Methodists  was  out  of  the  question,  for 
I  would  not  leave  them  for  all  the  land  in  the  world. 
He  then  flew  into  a  great  rage,  and  told  me  to  begone, 
or  he  would  burn  the  house  over  my  head.     A  number 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         821 

of  those  present  laughed  and  made  sport  of  me,  and 
ray  poor  wicked  heart  resented  it  for  a  moment,  till 
I  thought,  'just  such  a  one  was  I  a  few  days  ago.' 
But  upon  the  whole  I  thought  I  could  have  passed 
through  the  fire  rather  than  draw  back  to  perdition, 
and  I  can  truly  say  that  none  of  these  things  moved 
me.  The  next  day,  Sunday,  I  went  to  meeting. 
Chasteen  preached  again  from  '  There  was  a  little 
city,  and  few  men  within  it,'  etc.  In  the  discus. 
sion  of  the  subject  I  saw  the  dreadful  situation  our 
world  is  in  through  sin,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  poor 
wise  man  in  seeking  redemption  from  death  and 
destruction.  It  was  then  that  my  load  of  guilty  woe 
was  removed ;  and  how  did  I  feel  ?  All  peace  and 
joy.  But  I  had  not  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  for  some 
days.  Finally,  I  began  to  reflect  on  the  trouble  I  had 
just  been  in  to  mourn  because  I  could  not  grieve  for 
my  sins.  At  last  I  discovered  by  faith  that  they  were 
all  forgiven.  Then  the  Spirit  bore  witness  with  my 
spirit  that  I  was  a  child  of  God  ;  the  peace  and  joy  that 
followed  no  language  could  express.  I  wondered  at  my 
own  stupidity,  and  that  of  all  the  rest  of  Adam's  race, 
that  they  could  have  anything  against  religion;  and  I 
could  truly  say  with  David,  '  I  was  glad  when  they  said. 
Come  let  us  go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord.'  I 
have  thought  a  thousand  times  of  the  lengths  of 
sin  I  ran  into  before  I  was  twenty- six  years  of  age, 
such  as  drinking.  Sabbath-breaking,  etc.,  and  no  one 
admonished  me ;  but  so  soon  as  I  began  to  go  to  meet- 
ing, losing  time,  as  they  called  it,  the  cry  was,  'You 
will  be  ruined  !'  'Take  care  that  you  are  not  deceived  !' 
'  The  Methodists  will  all  come  to  nothing  ! '  and  what  is 
btill  more  astonishing,  it  is  the  cry  of  some  people  down 

to  the  present  day." 
C— 21 


322  HISTORY  OF  -.he 

His  fidelity  had  its  reward.  His  fallen  father  sent  for 
him  to  pray  by  his  death-bed,  and  the  faithful  son  "hnd 
aceess  to  the  mercy-seat,"  and  ever  after  consoled  him- 
self with  the  hope  that  his  parent  was  at  last  reclaimed 
and  saved.  Valentine  Cook  crossed  his  path,  and  ap- 
pointed him  class-leader.  He  began  to  exhort,  and  at 
last  to  preach.  Being  married,  he  could  not  hope  to 
enter  the  itinerancy;  but  he  now  devoted  himself  to 
evangelical  labors,  manual  work  being  bnt  the  means  of 
his  support,  while  the  promotion  ol"  religion  was  the 
task  of  his  life.  Like  the  martyr  Tucker,  and  other 
local  preachers  of  that  day,  he  emigrated,  in  1795,  to 
Kentucky,  more  to  preach  the  g<»spel  than  to  get  gain. 
He  settled  in  Bourbon  County,  but  was  soon  dissatisfied 
with  his  position.  Though  of  little  cultivation,  he  was 
a  man  of  the  clearest  common  sense,  ami,  above  all,  of 
that  practical  moral  scnsi'  which,  for  the  affairs  of  this 
world,  as  well  as  of  the  next,  is  the  highest  prudence,  the 
best  philosophy  of  life.  Being  a  native  of  a  slavehold- 
ing  state,  he  had  seen,  with  most  of  the  Methodists  of  his 
dav,  that  slavery  was  not  only  a  ])rofound  moral  wrong, 
but  an  incubus  on  domestic  and  in<luslrial  life.  It  was 
extending  around  him  in  Kentucky,  and  he  resolved  to 
escape  from  it,  with  his  young  family,  into  the  North- 
western Territory.  He  crossed  the  Ohio,  and  built  his 
log-cabin  at  ^lilford,  in  Clermont  County.  Seven 
years  afterward  he  removed  to  what  is  now  known  as 
Salem,  but  for  many  years  was  called  "M'Cormick's 
Settlement,"  about  ten  miles  from  the  site  of  Cincinnati. 
"  It  was  then  little  better  than  a  wilderaess ;  now  it  is 
one  of  those  rural  spots  where  the  eye  is  feasted  with 
beauty,  and  the  ear  with  melody,  making  one  dream  of 
Arcadian  loveliness.  In  its  quiet  graveyard  his  ashes 
now  slumber." 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  323 

At  Milford  he  found  the  settlers  thoroughly  demoral- 
ized, for  lack  of  the  means  of  religion^  and  forthwith 
began  his  good  work,  inviting  them  to  assemble  to  hear 
the  word,  which  he  proclaimed  to  them  "as  the  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness."  He  formed  a  class 
there,  the  iirst  Methodist  society  organized  in  the 
Northwestern  Territory.  He  went  out  preaching  among 
the  settlements,  and  soon  established  two  other  classes, 
one  near  the  present  town  of  Lockland,  the  other  near 
Columbia.  He  made  urgent  appeals  to  the  Kentucky 
itinerants,  informing  them  of  the  new  and  open  door  of 
the  great  Northwest,  and  calling  for  immediate  help. 
John  Kobler,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  soon  responded, 
and  became  the  first  regular  Methodist  pi'eacher  north 
and  west  of  the  Ohio  River.  We  shall  have  occasion, 
before  long,  to  follow  him,  and,  thenceforward,  will  rise 
before  us  the  gigantic  Methodism  of  the  great  northern 
states  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

M'Cormick  was  a  man  worthy  of  his  peculiar  distinc- 
tion as  the  Methodistic  founder  of  Ohio.  Born  and 
trained  in  the  Avilds  of  the  Virginia  mountains,  he  could 
"  endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  the  Lord  Jesus," 
amid  the  privations  of  the  West.  He  had  a  remai-k- 
ably  sound  judgment,  a  quick  but  steady  view  of  what 
was  befitting  or  expedient;  was  a  "wise  and  judi- 
cious man,"  and  exceedingly  candid,  accessible  and  con- 
ciliatory in  his  manners.  He  was  calmly  but  invincibly 
courageous,  and  in  his  youth  served  two  campaigns 
in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  assisting  in  the  siege 
of  Yorktown,  and  witnessing  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis.  Without  remarkable  talents  as  a  pi'eacher, 
his  good  sense,  his  earnestness,  unction,  and  sell-deny- 
ing devotion,  made  him  powerful.  Withal,  he  had  an 
imposing  presence.     He   was  robust  and  tall,  full  six 


324  IIISTOKV    OF    THE 

feet  in  heiirlit,  and  -weighed  two  hundred  and  forty 
pounds.  "■  His  gigantic  body  was  surmounted  by  a 
well-developed  head  and  a  florid  face,  expressive  of 
good  temjier,  intelligence,  and  benevolence.  He  was 
tlie  center  and  diarni  of  the  social  company  which  his 
position  and  character  drew  around  him.  He  possessed 
the  largest  liberality:  house,  table,  money,  time,  and 
intluence  were  freely  devoted  to  God  and  his  Church. 
His  home  was  for  many  years  a  preaching-place,  and 
not  unfrequently  the  people  would  come  lorty  miles  or 
more  to  hear  the  word  of  life.  All  such  found  cordial 
welcome,  not  only  to  a  free  gospel,  but  to  a  free  enter- 
tainment. He  lived  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  Church 
and  the  cause  of  God."  A  giant,  a  pioneer,  a  soldier, 
a  Methodist  preacher,  he  was  the  fitting  man  for  his 
great  historic  mission. 

Henry  Smith,  our  own  venerated  contemporary,  of 
"  Pilgrim's  Rest,"  was  now  also  itinerating  in  the  West, 
having  gone,  as  we  have  seen,  to  Clarksburgh  Circuit, 
on  the  Monongahela,  Va.,  in  1794.  He  shared  there  the 
trials  and  the  triumphs  common  to  his  ultramontane 
fellow-laborers.  At  his  first  appointment,  about  fifteen 
miles  beyond.  Clarksburgh,  he  gives  us  a  picture  of  the 
western  congregations  of  the  times.  He  found  there 
"  a  good  Methodist  society,"  under  the  care  of 
the  devoted  Joseph  Chieuvrant,  "  a  respectable  local 
]>n:u'her.""  The  congregation  came  from  miles  around. 
"  They  were,*'  says  he,  "  all  backwoods  peoj)le,  and 
came  to  meeting  in  backwoods  style,  a  considerable 
congregation.  I  looked  round  and  saw  one  old  man 
who  had  shoes  on  his  feet.  The  preacher  wore  Indian 
moccasins;  every  man,  woman,  and  child  besides  was 
barefooted.  The  old  women  had  on  what  we  then 
s>  Sec  voL  ii,  p.  34-1, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURJH.  325 

called  sliort-gowns,  and  the  rest  had  neither  short  nor 
long  gowns.  This  was  a  novel  sight  to  see  for  a  Sun- 
day congregation.  Chieuvrant,  in  his  mocasins,  could 
have  preached  all  round  me  ;  but  I  was  a  stranger,  and, 
withal,  the  circuit  preacher,  and  must  preach,  of  course. 
I  did  my  best,  and  soon  found  if  there  were  no  shoes 
and  fine  dresses  in  the  congregation,  there  were  attent- 
ive hearei's  and  feeling  hearts ;  for  the  melting  power 
of  the  Lord  cnme  down  upon  us,  and  we  felt  that  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church  was  in  the  midst  of  us.  In 
meeting  the  class  I  heard  the  same  humble,  loving,  re- 
ligious experience  that  I  had  often  heard  in  better- 
dressed  societies.  If  this  scene  did  not  make  a  back- 
woodsman of  me  outright,  it  at  least  reconciled  me  to 
the  people,  and  I  felt  happy  among  them." 

They  were  still  exposed  here  to  the  Indians,  and 
Chieuvrant  not  only  preached  in  moccasins,  but  shoul- 
dered his  gun  and  followed  the  trail  in  pursuit  of  the 
murderous  savages.  In  some  places  Smith  saw  the  men 
"  coming  to  meeting  with  their  lifles  on  their  shoulders, 
guarding  their  families,  then  setting  their  guns  in  a 
corner  of  the  house  till  after  meeting,  and  returning  in 
the  same  order.  "  0  what  a  poor  chance,"  he  exclaims, 
"these  people  had  to  be  religious!  and  yet  I  found 
some  very  pious  souls  among  them.  They  could  give 
as  clear  and  scriptural  an  account  of  conviction  for  sin 
and  conversion  as  any  people.  In  conversation  with 
some  of  these  Christian  hunters,  I  was  told  that  when 
they  were  under  conviction  they  could  take  no  game. 
The  game  was  always  on  the  flight  before  they  saw  or 
heard  it.  The  mind  was  absent,  and  the  eye  and  the 
ear  would  not  answer  the  purpose.  We  had  but  one 
half-finished  log  meeting-house  in  the  whole  circuit. 
We  labored  hard,  and  suffered  not  a  little,  and  did  not 


326  HISTORY    OF    THK 

get  the  half  of  our  sixty-four  dollars  for  support.  "We 
traveled  tlirr)ugh  all  weathers  and  dangers,  over  bad 
roads  and  slippery  hills^  and  waded  deep  waters,  hav- 
ing the  Monongahela  to  cross  seven  times  every  round, 
and  few  ferries.  Our  fare  was  plain  enough.  Some- 
times we  had  venison  and  bear-meat  in  abundance. 
Our  lodgings  were  often  uncomfortable.  Most  of  my 
clothes  became  threadbare,  and  some  worn  out,  and 
I  had  no  money  to  buy  new  ones.  I  had  to  put  up  one 
irght  with  a  strange  family,  where  I  was  obliged  to 
keep  on  my  overcoat  to  hide  the  rents  in  my  clothes." 

Methodist  laymen  were  made  the  braver  by  their  re- 
ligion to  defend  the  settlements  from  the  savages.  Some 
of  them  were  noted  Indian  lighters.  There  remains 
a  letter  from  the  famous  Major  J.  M'Collooh  to  the 
western  itinerant,  Daniel  Ilitt,  dated  "Ohio,"  1794, 
which  shows  the  spirit  of  the  times  on  this  frontier.  He 
writes:  "  I  am  just  going  to  love-feast  at  Brother  Meek's, 
hoping  to  meet  the  Lord,  and  get  my  spiritual  strength 
renewed.  I  thank  God  for  his  goodness  to  me  day  by 
day  in  givintr  me  a  heart  to  serve  him.  I  know  and 
feel  my  unworthiness,  but  thank  God  that  I  am  what 
I  am ;  and  through  his  grace  I  hope  to  meet  him  in 
glory.  I  am  still  commanding  the  Hangers,  and,  before 
this  reaches  you,  it  may  be  my  lot  to  lall  by  the  hand 
of  a  savage  enemy ;  but  the  Lord's  will  be  done.  I 
thank  you  for  your  visit  to  my  house,  and  hope,  if  you 
should  come  near  us,  you  will  always  call  upon  us. 
I  saw  your  brother  at  quarterly  meeting,  but  I  had  not 
the  ]>leasure  of  speaking  to  him.  I  hope  that  the  bishop 
Avill  send  him  to  this  circuit.  Please  to  write  to  me  by 
the  preachers  that  come;  and  may  the  God  of  glory 
make  you  and  me  more  zealous  to  do  his  will,  and  grant 
us  grace  so  to  live  that  we  may  be  worthy  to  praise 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUECH.  327 

liim  in  endless  glory.  Pray  for  me,  your  unworthy 
brother,  that  I  may  be  able  to  stand,  and  not  turn  my 
back  to  run  from  my  enemies,  neither  spiritual  nor  tem- 
poral, and  that  the  Lord  may  enable  me  to  walk  humbly 
before  him  every  day  of  my  life.  I  remain  your  unworthy 
brother  in  Christ."'^'  Henry  Boehm,  traveling  with 
Asbui-y  through  the  Redstone  country  in  1808,  wrote: 
"  We'  were  entertained  at  Major  Samuel  M'Colloch's. 
He  and  his  brother  John  were  celebrated  in  the  annals 
of  Indian  warfare.  He  it  was  who,  when  pursued  by 
the  Indians,  made  that  terrible  leap  of  three  hundred 
feet  down  a  precipice  with  his  horse  into  the  river,  and 
thus  mercifully  escaped  out  of  their  murderous  hands. 
The  leap  of  General  Putnam  at  Ilorseneck  was  nothing- 
compared  with  this.  He  was  an  excellent  member  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  and  his  house  was  one  of  the 
choice  homes  where  the  bishop  and  other  preachers  were 
made  welcome." 

In  his  old  age  and  retirement  the  genial  veteran, 
Henry  Smith,  related  with  entertaining  zest  the  ad- 
ventures of  his  youth  in  these  wilds :  "  I  have  often 
rode,"  he  said,  "  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  through  the 
woods  where  no  one  lived,  the  people  having  fled 
from  danger ;  and  I  rode  alone,  for  I  never  had  any 
guard  but  the  angels.  The  tales  of  woe  that  were  told 
me  in  almost  every  place  where  there  was  danger ;  the 
places  pointed  out  where  murder  had  been  committed ; 
sleeping  in  houses  where  the  people  who  were  inured 
to  these  things  were  afraid  to  go  out  of  doors  after 
sunset ;  I  say,  riding  alone,  under  these  circumstances, 
was  far  from  being  agreeable.  I  was  often  in  danger 
in  crossing  rivers  and  swimming  creeks.  I  found  the 
people  remarkably  kind  and  sociable.  Many  pleasant 
32  So.  Mcth.  Quar.  Rev.,  Oct.,  1859,  p.  C20. 


S28  IIISTOllY    OF    THE 

hours  we  spent  together  by  the  side  of  our  large  log- 
fires  in  the  log-cabins  conversing  on  various  subjects;  but 
religion  was  generally  our  delightl'ul  theme.  Our  hearts 
were  sometimes  made  to  burn  within  us  while  we  talked 
of  Jesus  and  his  love.  It  is  true,  some  of  us  smoked  the 
]»ipe  with  them,  but  we  really  thought  there  was  no 
hai-m  in  that,  for  we  had  no  anti-tobacco  societies  among 
us  then ;  and  yet  some  of  us  rose  at  four  o'clock  In  the 
morning  to  pray  and  read  our  Bibles.  If  we  could  get  a 
lamp  or  candle  we  preferred  it ;  if  not,  we  read  by  tire- 
light.  Many  times  I  have  begged  to  have  a  pallet  before 
the  tire,  that  I  might  not  oversleep  mvself.  We  were 
also  regular  in  our  hours  of  retirement  lor  prayer.  When 
we  had  a  closet  for  the  purpose  we  went  to  it;  if  not,  we 
went  to  the  woods,  in  summer;  but  when  there  was  dan- 
ger, always  at  an  early  hour.  In  winter,  or  when  it  rained, 
we  sought  a  place  in  a  fodder-house,  or  somewhere  else 
when-  we  could  be  secreted.  More  than  once  I  have 
been  startled  by  dogs  bouncing  out  when  I  entered  into 
the  foddt-r-house,  or  coming  upon  me  at  my  devotions, 
and  assailing  me  as  an  intruder.  If  I  did  not  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  private  i)rayer,  j)articularly  in  the  evening, 
I  felt  uncomfortable  in  mind.  And  we  were  not  satis- 
fied with  having  said  our  prayers ;  our  doctrine  was. 
Pray  till  you  get  your  soul  made  hajtpy.  As  to  preach- 
ing to  a  congregation  without  having  previously  been 
upon  our  knees,  and  asked  divine  assistance  and  God's 
blessing  upon  the  word,  (when  opportunity  offi-red,)  we 
would  have  been  afraid  of  being  confounded  before  them. 
We  had  few  books.  I  had  Wesley's  Notes  and  Fletch- 
er's Appeal,  and,  I  believe,  Wesley's  Sermons,  but  no 
commentary  on  the  Bible.  The  first  time  I  saw  Brown's 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible  I  would  have  purchased  it  at 
any  pnce  if  I  had  been  able  to  procure  it." 


METPIODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         329 

In  1 795  Tie  was  sent  to  the  famous  Redstone  Circuit. 
At  the  Baltimore  Conference  of  1796,  "  Asbury,"  he 
says,  "called  for  volunteers  to  go  to  Kentucky,  and 
lixed  his  eye  upon  me  as  one.  I  said,  'Here  am  1, 
send  me.'  I  was  ordained  in  a  private  room,  before 
Conference  opened ;  and  in  a  {"e^v  hours  after  my  ordi- 
nation John  Watson  and  myself  were  on  horseback,  on 
our  way  to  Kentucky,  almost  before  any  one  knew  we 
were  going.  We  pushed  across  the  Alleghany  Mount- 
ain to  Youghiongheny  River,  in  hopes  of  getting  into 
a  family  boat  down  the  Ohio,  for  then  there  was  no 
road  through  the  wilderness.  We  had  two  families  and 
eleven  horses  (ours  made  thirteen)  in  the  boat.  Two  or 
three  of  our  family  had  the  measles  on  board.  We 
were  much  crowded;  but  after  floating,  and  some- 
times rowing,  night  and  day,  through  rain,  wind,  and 
smoke,  for  nine  days  and  nights,  we  landed  safely  at 
Brooke's  Landing,  Mason  County,  Kentucky,  Decem- 
ber 1796.  We  were  very  uncomfortably  situated, 
but  we  were  going  on  the  Lord's  business,  and  our 
minds  were  stayed  on  him  and  ke-pt  in  peace.  We  had 
family  prayer  when  circumstances  would  admit  of  it. 
The  wind  blew  from  every  point,  and  it  was  cold,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  have  fire  in  a  large  kettle.  The 
smoke  annoyed  us  very  much,  but  we  were  mercifully 
preserved.  How  much  better  we  were  off  than  poor 
Tucker  and  Carter,  two  Methodist  preachers,  who 
were  killed  by  the  Indians  in  going  down  the  river!" 
He  hastened  into  the  interior  and  found  Poythress,  who 
sent  him  to  Salt  River  Circuit.  For  some  years  he  was 
a  successful  pioneer  of  the  Church,  "traveling  round 
every  circuit  in  Kentucky  and  visiting  every  society," 
sharing  fully  the  trials  and  triumphs  of  the  mighty 
men  who  were  then  abroad  there,  Poythress,  M'Henry, 


330  n  I  STORY    OF    THE 

Burke,  Kobler,  and  their  compeers.  "Metlio<li>m,"  lie 
remarks,  "had  sj)read,  when  I  went  out,  nearly  over  the 
state,  though  opposed  everywhere,  and  by  nearly  every 
sort  of  people."  lie  passed  also  into  the  northwestern 
territory,  and  became  a  co-laborer  of  Kobler  and 
M'Cormick. 

In  the  great  trans- Alleghany  field  we  meet  again 
Valentine  Cook,  that  "wonderful  man"  of  whom  mar- 
velous traditions  are  rife  in  the  Church,  from  the  in- 
terior lakes  of  New  York,  through  the  Wyoming  and 
Tioga  Mountains,  and  Redstone  and  Holston  countries, 
down  to  the  remotest  regions  of  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee. He  was  on  tlie  Pittsburgh  and  Clarksburgh  Cir- 
cuits, and  the  Pittsburgh  Distri.-t,  during  these  years,  and 
afterward  pushe<l  into  Kentucky,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  was  considered  the  most  learned 
man  of  the  Methodist  ministry  of  his  day.  His  early 
education,  at  Cokesbury,  and  his  devotion  to  biVilical 
studies  and  the  classic  languages,  together  with  a  pecul- 
iar, original  capacity  of  mind,  very  much  like  genius, 
gave  him  an  intellectual  vigor  which,  combined  with 
extraordinary  moral  force  and  unction,  rendered  him  a 
sort  of  prodigy  among  his  brethren." 

Asbury,  as  has  been  intimated,  was  kept,  for  some  time, 
from  the  West  by  his  infirm  health;  but  in  April,  1795, 
he  again  ventured  over  the  mountains  into,  at  least,  the 
verge  of  Tennessee.  As  he  entered  the  heights,  in  Wilkes 
County,  N.  C,  he  was  depressed  at  the  semi-barbarous 
condition  of  the  people,  "  O  Lord  !"  he  exclaims,  "help 
me  to  go  through  good  and  evil  report,  prosperity'  and 
adversitv,  storms  and  calms,  kindness  and  unkindness, 

«>  A  pamphlet  containing  a  report,  by  himself,  of  one  of  his  famous 
western  public  debates  on  Baptism,  shows  rare  excellencies  of  style, 
research,  and  logic. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  331 

friends  and  enemies,  life  and  death,  in  the  spirit  and 
practice  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ !  We  came  in  the 
evening  to  the  honse  of  a  poor,  honest  man.  Bless  God  ! 
we  can  enter  the  poor  cabins  and  find  shelter.  The 
people  are  kind  and  free  with  what  they  have.  My  soul 
enjoys  sweet  peace ;  but  I  see  an  awful  danger  of  losing 
that  simple  walking  and  living  in  the  enjoyment  of  God, 
I  observed  a  day  of  rigid  fasting ;  this  I  cannot  do  more 
than  once  a  month.  I  am  frequently  obliged  to  go  on 
three  cups  of  tea,  with  a  little  bread,  for  eight  or  nine 
hours,  and  to  ride  many  miles,  and  preach,  and  perform 
my  other  ministerial  labors.  I  stood  the  fatigue,  and 
sleeping  three  in  a  bed,  better  than  I  expected.  We 
hasted  to  Earnest's,  on  Nolachucky  River,  where  we 
held  our  Western  Conference.  Here  six  brethren  from 
Kentucky  met  us,  and  we  opened  the  Conference  with 
twenty-three  preachers,  fifteen  of  whom  were  members. 
We  received  every  man's  account  of  himself  and  his  late 
labors ;  and  inquired  of  each  man's  character  among  his 
brethren.  Our  business  was  conducted  with  great  love 
and  harmony.  Our  brethren  have  built  a  meeting-house, 
and  I  must  needs  preach  the  first  sermon,  which  I  did 
on  Exod.  XX,  24.  Notwithstanding  it  was  a  time  of 
great  scarcity,  we  Avere  most  kindly  entertained."  We 
have  already  been  at  this  place  and  learned  the  story  of 
"  Father  Earnest's  "  singular  conversion.  The  good  local 
preacher  now  rejoiced  in  the  honor  of  having  nearly  all 
the  itinerant  heroes  of  the  West  around  him  in  his  own 
chapel.  "  On  the  1st  of  May,"  continues  the  bishop, 
"  we  rode  thirty  miles  to  Holstein,  without  food  for  man 
or  horse.  In  addition  to  the  heat  of  the  weather  and 
fatigue  I  have  gone  through,  I  have  not  slept  five 
hours  a  night,  one  night  with  another,  for  five  nights 
past."     On  reaching  Fincastle  he  says :  "  The  toils  of  this 


332  HISTORY    OF    THE 

journey  have  been  great,  the  weather  sultry,  the  rides 
li)n<r,  and  roads  rough.  We  sutiered  from  irreguUirity 
in  food  and  lodging ;  although  the  people  arc  very 
kind,  and  give  us  the  best  they  have,  and  that  without 
fee  or  reward,  so  that  I  have  only  spent  about  two 
.shillings  in  riding  about  two  hundred  miles.  I  hope 
])(»sterily  will  be  bettered  by  ray  feeble  eflbrts,  I  have 
ri<lden  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  seven  days 
and  a  half,  and  am  so  exceedingly  outdone  and  o[>- 
l)re8sed  with  pain,  weariness,  and  want  of  sleep,  that 
I  have  hardly  courage  to  do  anything.  Hail,  happy 
day  of  rest!  It  draws  nigh,  and  this  labor  and  toil 
will  soon  be  at  an  end !" 

He  hastened  eastward,  but  in  about  one  year  (April, 
1700)  he  again  set  his  face  toward  the  wilderness, 
writing,  as  he  ascended  the  mountains,  "Ah,  what  a 
round  of  continual  running  is  my  life  I  Of  late,  feeble 
as  I  am,  I  cannot  help  thinking  of  Cumberland,  in  Ten- 
nessee, and  trying  to  go  there.  If  1  must  go  to  Ken- 
tucky, I  think  it  is  time  to  go  to  Cumberland  also.  I 
ascended  about  one  mile  up  a  mountain,  and  came  to 
Davenport's.  Here  I  felt  deep  dejecti(jn  ol"  mind  ;i- 
well  as  great  weakness  of  body,  and  as  if  I  could  lie 
down  and  die ;  owing  in  some  measure,  I  presume,  to 
the  great  fatigue  I  underwent  in  ascending  the  mount- 
ain, which  was  very  steep.  Saturday,  16,  we  set  ofi'  at 
six  o'clock,  and  directed  our  course  up  Tow  Kiver ; 
thence  up  the  Kocky  Creek  through  the  gap  of  the 
Yellow  Mountain,  to  the  bead  waters  of  Tow  River. 
We  had  to  ri<le  till  eight  o'clock  at  night.  My  mind  is 
still  under  deep  depression." 

Passing  on  through  the  gap  of  the  Yellow  Mountain, 
he  was  again  in  Tennessee,  "at  Dawe's,"  where' he 
preached  to  two  hundred  settlers,  "met  the  society, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         doo 

and  had  a  melting  season,"  and  on  Tuesday,  April  19, 
writes:    "The  preachers  came  in  from  Kentucky  and 
Cumberland.     Wednesday,   20,  our  Conference  began 
in  great  peace,  and  thus  it  ended.     We  had  only  one 
preacher   for   each   circuit   in  Kentucky,  and  one   for 
Green  Circuit  in  Tennessee.     Myself  being  weak,  and 
my  horse  still  weaker,  I  judged  it  impracticable  to  at- 
tempt going  through  the  wilderness  to  Kentucky,  and 
have  concluded  to  visit  Nolachucky.     I  wrote  an  apol- 
ogy to  the  brethren  in  Kentucky  for  my  not  coming, 
and  informed  them  of  the  cause.     Monday,  25,  on  the 
banks  of  Nolachucky  I  parted  with  our  dear  sufiering 
brethren,  going  through  the  howling  wilderness.     I  feel 
happy  in  God.     The  preachers,  although  young  men, 
appear  to  be  solemn  and  devoted  to  God,  and  doubtless 
are  men  who  may  be  depended  upon.     Sunday,  May  1, 
we  came  to  Acuff's  Chapel.     I  found  the  family  sorrow- 
ful and  weeping,  on  account  of  the  death  of  Francis 
Acuff,  who  from  a  fiddler  became  a  Christian ;  from  a 
Christian,  a  preacher;  and  from  a  preacher,  I  trust,  a 
glorified  saint.     He  died  in  the  work  of  the  Lord  in 
Kentucky.     I  found   myself  assisted  in  preaching  on 
Ephes.  ii,  1,  2.     The  house  was  crowded,  and  I  trust 
they  did  not  come  together  in  vain.     I  was  somewhat 
alarmed  at  the  sudden  death  of  Reuben  Ellis,  who  hath 
been  in  the  ministry  upward  of  twenty  years ;  a  faithful 
man  of  God,  of  slow,  but  very  solid  parts :  he  was  an 
excellent   counselor,  and   steady  yoke-fellow  in  Jesus. 
My  mind  is  variously  exercised  as  to  future  events — 
whether  it  is  my  duty  to  continue  to  bear  the  burden  I 
now  bear,  or  whether  I  had  better  retire  to  some  other 
land.    I  am  not  without  fears  that  a  door  will  be  opened 
to  honor,  ease,  or  interest,  and  then  farewell  to  religion 
in    the    American    Methodist   Connection;    but    death 


334  HISTORY     OF     THE 

uiay  soon  end  all  these  thoughts,  and  quiet  all  these 
tl'ars." 

He  was,  in  fact,  seriously  thinking  of  the  resignation 
of  his  episcojial  office,  and  he  tendered  it  at  a  subse- 
quent General  Conference.  He  was  worn  out,  but  was 
to  continue  to  battle  with  his  infirmities,  and  travel  on 
yet  for  a  score  of  years,  dropping  at  last  from  the  jtulpit 
into  the  grave;  the  only  death  befitting  such  a  life. 

"  I  hnl)l)l('d  oil,"  he  continues,  "  over  the  ridge  through 
Russell  County,''  where  ho  greeted  John  Kobler.  Has- 
tening through  Wythe  County,  "  we  rode,"  he  says, 
"forty  miles  to  Indian  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  above 
the  UKJUth.  We  had  no  place  to  dine  uutil  we  arrived 
at  Father  C.'s,  about  six  o'clock.  If  I  could  have  regu- 
lar food  and  sleep  I  could  stand  the  fatigue  I  have  to 
go  through  much  better;  but  this  is  impossible  under 
some  circumstances.  To  sleep  four  hours,  and  ride 
forty  miles  without  food  or  fire,  is  hard;  but  we  had 
water  enough  in  the  rivers  and  creeks.  I  shall  have 
ridden  nearly  one  thousand  miles  on  the  western  waters 
before  I  leave  them.  I  have  been  on  the  waters  of  Xo- 
l.uhiu'ky  to  the  mouth  of  Clinch;  on  the  north,  middle, 
and  south  branches  of  Holston ;  on  New  liiver,  Green 
J>rier,  and  by  the  head  springs  of  Monongahela.  If  I 
were  able  I  shoidd  go  from  Charleston,  S.  C,  a  direct 
course,  five  hundred  miles,  to  Nolachucky  ;  thence  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  Cumberland  ;  thence  one 
liiiudred  to  Kentucky ;  thence  one  hundred  miles 
through  that  state,  and  two  hundred  to  Saltsburgh ; 
thence  two  hundred  to  Green  Brier;  thence  two  hund- 
red to  Red  Stone,  and  three  hundred  to  Baltimore. 
Ah,  it'  I  were  young  again  !  I  was  happy  to  have  a 
comfortable  night's  sleep  at\er  a  hard  day's  ride,  and 
but  little  rest  the  niijht   before.     I  have  now  a  little 


JM  IvniODIST    PJPISCOPAL     CHUKCH.  835 

time  to  refit,  recollect,  and  write.  Here  forts  and  sav- 
ages once  had  a  being,  but  now  peace  and  improve- 
ment." 

Thus  meager  as  are  these  bald  outlines  (all  that 
remain  of  him)  the  great  man  nevertheless  looms  up 
before  us  amid  these  mountains,  a  giant,  with  moral 
proportions  correspondent  with  the  physical  grandeur 
around  him. 

He  held  a  small  Conference  at  Rehoboth,  in  the  Green 
Brier  heights,  and  thence  he  pushed  on  to  meet  the  pio- 
neers of  the  Redstone  country,  in  Western  Pennsylvania, 
encountering  appalling  difficulties  through  the  mount- 
ains. "  Frequently,"  he  writes,  "  we  were  in  danger  of 
being  plucked  off  our  horses  by  the  boughs  of  the  trees 
under  which  we  had  to  ride.  About  seven  o'clock,  after 
crossing  six  mountains,  and  many  rocky  creeks  and 
fords  of  Elk  and  Monongahela  Rivers,  we  made  the 
Valley  of  Distress,  called  by  the  natives  Tyger's  Valley. 
Thence  we  hastened  on  at  the  rate  of  forty-two  miles  a 
day.  We  had  to  ride  four  miles  in  the  night,  and  went 
supperless  to  the  Punchins,  where  we  slept  a  little  on 
hard  lines.  After  encountering  many  difficulties,  known 
only  to  God  and  ourselves,  we  came  to  Morgantown." 
After  a  Conference  at  Uniontown  he  returned  xo  the 
East,  but  not  to  rest,  as  we  have  seen  in  following  him 
to  the  North,  to  New  England,  to  the  farthest  South. 

Besides  the  itinerants  heretofore  mentioned,  many 
yet  young,  but  destined  to  become  historical  characters, 
had  already  entered,  or  were  about  to  enter  the  great 
West,  such  as  Daniel  Hitt,  John  Lindsey,  Tobias  Gib- 
son, Benjamin  Lakin,  William  Beauchamp.  William 
M'Kendree  had  been  tending  thither  for  some  years, 
traveling  a  Virginia  district  which  stretched  beyond 
the  Blue  Ridge  into  the  Green  Brier  Country;  he  was 


336  nisTOKY   OF   the 

soon  to  enter  Kentucky  as  the  chieftain  of  Westom 
.Methodism,  and  to  inaugurate  a  new  era  in  its  history. 
Kdbert  R.  Roberts  was  preparing  for  his  episco])al 
career,  in  the  woods,  on  the  banks  of  the  Little  Che- 
nango. James  Quinn  (who  first  led  Roberts  into  public 
labors)  was  about  to  start  on  his  first  circuit.  John 
Sale  was  being  trained  on  the  hardest  circuit  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  soon  to  make  his  way  over  the  mount- 
ains. Thornton  Fleming,  whom  we  have  met  in  the  far 
North,  was  rapidly  rising  to  that  commanding  influence 
which  he  long  wielded  in  the  old  Pittsburgh  Confer- 
ence. John  Collins,  still  in  New  Jersey,  was  seeking  to 
save  his  soul,  and  leading  his  brother-in-law,  the  mem- 
orable Lamer  Blackman,  into  a  holy  life,  both  to  become 
ftiunders  of  the  Church  in  the  Northwest.  James  B. 
Finley,  yet  a  youth,  but  a  "mighty  hunter,"  was  pon- 
dering, in  the  Western  woods,  reports  of  the  marvels 
of  Methodism.  Peter  Cartwright,  "naturally  a  wild, 
wicked  boy,  delighting  in  horse-racing,  card-playing, 
and  dancing,"  was  studying,  in  the  Kentucky  wilder- 
ness, under  Beverly  Allen,  and  wondering  at  the  strange 
news  that  reached  him  occasionally  from  the  ^lethodist 
"Ebenezer"  Church,  a  few  miles  to  the  south.  Philip 
Gatch,  whom  we  have  so  often  met  as  one  of  the  first 
two  American  itinerants,  was  preparing  to  leave  his 
retreat  in  Virginia,  and  plunge  into  the  wilds  of 
Ohio,  where  he  was  to  do  good  service  for  the 
Church.  Methodism  was,  in  short,  putting  on  strength 
all  through  the  settled  regions  of  the  West.  It  had 
now  spread  entirely  over  Kentucky  and  Tennessee; 
there  was  hardly  a  "  block-house  station  "  or  "  settle- 
ment" where  the  itinerants  did  not,  at  longer  or  shorter 
intervals,  sound  their  trumpets,  and  it  had  commenced 
that  march,  that   triumphant  march,  into  the  North- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  337 

western  Territory,  in  which  it  has  continuously  gone  on 
from  conquering  to  conquer.  Log  chapels  were  rising 
through  the  wilderness ;  there'  was  probably  not  yet  a 
single  church  of  higher  pretensions ;  cabins,  barns,  and 
the  sheltering  woods  were  the  most  common  sanctuaries. 
By  the  end  of  this  period,  the  autumn  of  1796,  there 
were  west  of  the  mountains  four  districts,  twenty-three 
circuits,  thirty-six  traveling  preachers,  and  six  thousand 
five  hundred  Church  members.^s  The  few  Methodists 
of  Ohio  were  yet  unreported.  Tennessee  had  about 
550,  Kentucky  about  1,750;  the  remainder  wei-e  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  The  West  had 
already  much  more  than  double  the  number  reported 
from  New  England. 

"  I  am  not  absolutely  certain  of  these  figures.  In  the  Minutes  of 
1796  some  four  western  circuits  are  repeated,  and  assigned  to  two  pre- 
siding elders. 

C— 22 


3S8  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  X. 

GENERAL  CONFERENCE   OF   1790. 

The  Third  Gcueral  Conference  — Coke's  Return  —Pierre  de  Pontnvice, 
bis  Traveling  Comijunion  — The  Proceedings  of  the  Confereneo  — 
Detinitive  Annual  Confcrinces  —  Chapel  Deed  —  Ciusorship  of  the 
Press  — The  Methodist  Magazine  —  The  Clmrtired  Fund  —  Local 
Preachers  —  Spirituous  Liquors  —  Slaver}-  —  Rules  for  Methodist  Sem- 
inaries—  Marriage  with  Unbelievers  —  Address  to  the  Uritish  Con- 
ference—  Asbury  and  Coke  on  the  Session. 

The  tliiifl  (iciuTul  Conft-ronce  '  was  appointed  to 
moel  in  Haltiniure  on  tl)t'  '20t]j  of  October,  1706.  No 
difficult  business,  however,  was  pendingr,  an<l  it  need 
not  long  delay  the  chronological  course  of  our  nar- 
rative. Coke  had  been  in  the  West  Indies,  EiiirJand, 
Ireland,  and  Holland,  promoting  his  missions,  writ- 
ing his  commentary,  and  preaching  continually.  In 
the  latti'r  jiart  of  August  he  embarked  for  America, 
aecompanii'd  by  Pierre  de  Pontavice,  a  nobleman 
of  a  distinguished  house  in  lirittany,  who  had  been 
cf»nverted  fmm  popery  through  the  instrumentality  of 
^Ii'thndisin,  and  had  l)oeome  a  useful  ]>reacher,  and  a 
founder  of  the  denomination  in  F' ranee."  The  bishop 
brought  him  out  lor  his  Christian  companionship,  and 
to  ac(juire,  from  his  conversation,  a  better  use  of  the 
French  language,  for  he  hoped  yet  to  proclaim  the  gos- 
])el  among  the  French.  Though  he  could  not  preach  in 
P^ULrlish,  Pontavice  was  useful  in  the  social  circles  of  the 

'  Properly  called  the  third,  though  usually  the  second,  as  the  first,  or 
Christmas  session,  was  in  fact  a  Geneial  Conference. 

'  See  a  sketch  of  Pontavice  in  "The  History  of  the  Religious  Move- 
ment of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  called  Methodism,"  etc.,  ii,  ;i36.  | 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         339 

American  Church.     The   contemporary  records   allude 
to  him  occasionally  with  interest. 

They  arrived  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay  on  the  third 
of  October,  but  were  detained  there  five  days  by 
utifavorable  winds.  On  the  18th  they  reached  Balti- 
more, two  days  before  the  Conference  opened.^  As- 
bury  was  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  Gough,  at  Perry 
Hall,  but  joined  his  colleague  in  the  city  on  the 
19th,  where,  he  says,  about  a  hundred  preachers  were 
in  attendance ;  according  to  Lee,  twenty  more  ar- 
rived later.  An  address  from  the  British  Conference 
was  presented,  declaring  "  that  whatever  diiferences 
may  mark  other  denominations,  we  are  eminently  one 
body,"  and  congratulating  the  American  Church  on 
its  "  amazing  success."  The  most  important  business 
done  at  this  session  was  the  definitive  arrangement  of 
the  whole  Church  in  six  yearly  Conferences,  to  be  no 
longer  called  "District,"  but  Annual  Conferences, 
namely,  the  New  England,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
Vii'ginia,  South  Carolina,  and  Western  Conferences  ;^ 
the  limitation  of  the  attendance  of  preachers  at  the 
sessions  to  those  who  were  in  "  full  connection,  and 
those  who  were  to  be  received  into  full  connection," 
"  that  the  congregations  might  be  supplied  with  preach- 
ing "  during  the  sessions  by  those  yet  on  trial ;  the 
adoption  of  a  form  of  deed  for  the  security  of  Church 
real  estate,  vesting  its  ownership  in  the  societies,  to  be 
held  for  them  by  their  trustees,  but  guaranteeing  the 
use  of  the  pulpits  to  the  authorized  ministry ;  the  adop- 
tion of  the  rule  that  a  deacon  should  serve  two  years 

3  Coke's  Journals  in  the  Methodist  Magazine;  Lonrton,  1798.  The 
volume  of  Coke's  Journals  heretofore  cited  does  not  include  this  voy- 
age, but  ends  in  1793. 

^  The  bishop  was  allowed  to  bold  a  Conference  in  Maine  if  he  should 
And  it  expedient. 


n 


340  II  I  pro  RV    OF    THE 

hoforo  his  ordination  as  an  elder,  exce])t  in  missions ; 
tlie  aiitliorization  of  tlic  Philadelpliia  Conference  to  de- 
termine, by  a  two  thirds  vote,  with  the  concurrence  of 
a  bishop,  what  books  should  or  should  not  be  published 
by  the  Hook  Concern,  wliich  was  still  located  in  Phila- 
delphia ;  the  authorization  of  the  jmblication  of  a 
monthly  periodical,  to  be  called  "The  Methodist  ^lasja- 
zine,"  the  Conlerence  declarint;  that  "the  propagation  of 
religious  knowlcdifo  by  means  of  the  press  is  next  iu 
importance  to  the  preachincc  of  the  jjospel ;"  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  "Chartered  Fund"  for  the  relief  of 
"distressed  traveling  preachers,  the  families  of  travelinir 
])reacher8,  superannuated  and  worn  out  preachers,  and 
the  widows  and  orphans  of  preachers,"  an  institution 
which  still  exists;  the  enactment  of  the  rule  that  no 
local  preacher  shall  receive  license  to  preach  till  he  has 
been  examined  and  recommended  by  a  quarterly  Con- 
icrence,  havinix  been  first  recommended  by  the  society 
of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  that  he  shall  be  eligible 
to  ordination  as  a  deacon  four  years  after  the  date  of 
his  license;  also  of  a  ride  allowing  accused  local  preach- 
ers (who  had  hitherto  been  tried  as  private  members) 
ti-ial  by  local  preachers,  or,  for  want  of  Ihem,  b}-  leaders 
or  evhorters,  with  the  right  of  apjieal  to  the  Annual 
Conferences.  It  was  also  enacted  that  "if  any  member  of 
our  society  retail  or  give  spirituous  liquors,  and  anything 
disorderly  be  transacted  under  his  roof  on  this  account, 
the  preacher  who  has  the  oversight  of  the  circuit  shall 
proceed  against  him,  as  in  the  case  of  other  immoralities, 
and  the  person  accused  shall  be  cleared,  censured,  sus- 
pended, or  excluded,  according  to  his  conduct,  as  on 
other  charges  of  immorality.*' 

Though  defeated  in  their  original  provisions  against 
slavery,  the  zeal  of  the  ministry,  on  that  question,  was 


MhrniODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         341 

still  unabated,  and  the  Conference  asked  the  question 
"  What  regulations  shall  be  made  for  the  extirpation  of 
the  crjnng  evil  of  African  slavery?"  And  answered, 
"1.  We  declare  that  we  are  more  than  ever  convinced  of 
the  great  evil  of  the  African  slavery  which  still  exists 
in  these  United  States,  and  do  most  earnestly  recom- 
mend to  the  yearly  Conferences,  quarterly  meetings, 
and  to  those  who  have  the  oversight  of  districts  and 
circuits,  to  be  exceedingly  cautious  what  persons  they 
admit  to  official  stations  in  our  Church ;  and,  in  the 
case  of  future  admission  to  official  stations,  to  require 
such  security  of  those  who  hold  slaves,  for  the  emanci- 
pation of  them,  immediately  or  gradually,  as  the  laws 
of  the  states  respectively  and  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  will  admit.  And  we  do  fully  authorize  all  the 
yearly  Conferences  to  make  whatever  regulations  they 
judge  proper,  in  the  present  case,  respecting  the  admis- 
sion of  persons  to  official  stations  in  our  Church. 

"  2.  No  slaveholder  shall  be  received  into  society  till 
the  preacher  who  has  the  oversight  of  the  circuit  has 
spoken  to  him  freely  and  faithfully  on  the  subject  of 
slavery. 

"  3.  Every  member  of  the  society  who  sells  a  slave 
shall  immediately,  after  full  proof,  be  excluded  the 
society.  And  if  any  member  of  our  society  purchase  a 
slave,  the  ensuing  quarterly  meeting  shall  determine  on 
the  number  of  years  in  which  the  slave  so  purchased 
would  work  out  the  price  of  his  purchase.  And  the 
person  so  purchasing  shall,  immediately  after  such  de- 
termination, execute  a  legal  instrument  for  the  manu- 
mission of  such  slave  at  the  expiration  of  the  term 
determined  by  the  quarterly  meeting.  And  in  default 
of  his  executing  such  instrument  of  manumission, 
or    on    his    refusal   to    submit    his    case   to   the  judg- 


342  HISTORY    OF    THE 

merit  of  the  quarterly  meetinpf,  such  member  shall  be 
excluded  the  society.  Provided,  also,  that  in  the  case 
of  a  female  slave,  it  shall  be  inserted  in  the  aforesaid 
instrument  of  manumission,  that  all  her  children  which 
shall  be  born  durins^j  the  years  of  her  servitude  shall  be 
free  at  the  following  times,  namely,  every  female  child 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  every  male  child  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five.  Nevertheless  if  the  member  of  our 
society,  executing  the  said  instrument  of  manumission, 
judge  it  proper,  he  may  fix  the  times  of  manumission 
of  the  children  of  the  female  slaves  before  mentioned  at 
an  earlier  ago  than  that  which  is  prescribed  above. 

"  4.  The  preachers  and  other  members  of  our  society 
are  requested  to  consider  the  subject  of  negro  slavery 
M-itli  deep  attention  till  the  ensuing  (Teneral  Conference, 
and  that  they  impart  to  the  General  Conference,  through 
the  medium  of  the  yearly  Conferences,  or  otherwise,  any 
imj»ortant  thftughts  ui>on  the  sul)ject,  that  the  Confer- 
ence may  have  full  light,  in  order  to  take  further  steps 
toward  the  eradicating  this  enormous  evil  from  that 
jiart  of  the  Church  of  God  to  which  they  are  united." 

The  largest  space  devoted  to  any  one  subject  in  the 
journal  of  this  session,  is  that  given  to  education,  pre- 
scribing minute,  though  they  are  entitled  "General 
Hules  for  the  Methf»dist  Seminaries  of  Learning," 
Already  substantially  given  in  the  account  of  (Okes- 
burv  College,  they  were,  nevertheless,  adopted  and  jtro- 
mulgated  atU'r  the  destruction  of  that  establislinient,  a 
proof  that  the  Church  still  persisted  in  its  educational 
plans.  They  were  ordered  to  be  inserted  in  the  Annual 
Minutes.  As  a  system  they  present  striking  excellen- 
ces, though  marred  by  some  equally  striking  errors,  one 
of  these  being  the  "  jirohibition  of  play  in  the  strongest 
terms;"  manual  labor  and  walking  being  the  only  per- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  343 

mitted  recreations ;  they  require  also  that  students 
shall  rise  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  winter  as 
well  as  summer,  and  without  regard  to  age.  Marriage 
of  members  with  irreligious  persons  was  prohibited,  and 
"  even  in  doubtful  cases  "  the  offenders  were  to  "  be  put 
back  upon  trial."  An  Address  to  the  British  Confer- 
ence Avas  adopted,  declaring  that  "  though  a  vast  ocean 
divides  us,  we  are  intimately  one  with  you  in  spirit, 
and  frequently  with  much  delight  remember  you  in  our 
prayers.  We  rejoice  in  your  union,  and  can  bless  God 
that  we  were  never  more  united  than  at  present.  A 
few,  indeed,  who  were  as  great  enemies  to  the  civil 
government  under  which  they  lived  as  to  our  discipline, 
have  left  us,  and  we  have  now  not  a  jarring  string 
among  us.  God  has  abundantly  owned  our  feeble 
labors  during  this  present  Conference  to  the  jjeople  of 
Baltimore,  and  we  trust  it  is  an  earnest  of  a  glorious 
gospel-harvest  through  this  continent  in  the  ensuing 
and  future  yeai'S.  At  present  you  have  the  largest  field 
of  action  in  respect  to  the  number  of  souls,  but  we  are 
humbly  endeavoring  to  sow  those  seeds  of  grace  which 
may  grow  up  and  spread  in  this  immense  country, 
which  in  ages  to  come  will  probably  be  the  habitation 
of  hundreds  of  millions.  We  trust  we  shall  never  forget 
your  kind  advice,  but  shall  always  remember  that  the 
Methodist  societies  through  the  world  are  eminently  called 
to  be  one  body,  and  to  be  actuated  by  one  spirit;  and 
that  we  have  but  one  faith,  one  Lord,  and  one  baptism." 
It  had  become  evident  that  Asbury's  health  was  too 
much  impaired  to  sustain  alone  the  labors  of  the  episco- 
pate ;  the  appointment  of  another  bishop  was  therefore 
proposed.  A  discussion  ensued  for  two  days,  not  with- 
out some  partisan  feeling,^  on  the  manner  of  his  appoiut- 
6  Lee's  Life,  etc.,  of  Lee,  p.  325. 


344  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ment ;  but  Coke  ended  the  proceeding,  at  a  critical  mo- 
ment, by  giving  a  written  pledge  that  he  would  devote 
himself  entirely  to  their  service,  as  the  episcopal  col- 
league of  Asbury,  and  visit  the  "West  Indies  and 
France,  only  when  there  should  l»o  an  opening,  and 
he  could  be  spared. 

Tlie  session  continued  two  weeks.  Asbury  says  of  it: 
"  I  preached  on  '  the  men  of  Issachar  that  knew  what 
Israel  ought  to  do ;'  and  again  on  '  Neither  as  being 
lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  being  ensamples  to  the 
flock.'  There  were  souls  awakened  and  converted. 
No  angry  passions  were  felt  among  the  preachers.  We 
had  a  great  deal  of  good  and  judicious  talk.  The  Con- 
ference rose  on  Thursday,  the  third  of  November. 
AVhat  we  have  done  is  printed.  Bishop  Coke  was  cor- 
<lially  received  as  my  friend  and  colleague,  to  be  wholly 
for  America,  unless  a  way  should  be  opened  to  France. 
At  this  Conference  there  was  a  stroke  aimed  at  the 
])resident  eldership.  I  am  thankful  that  our  session  is 
over.  My  soul  and  body  have  health,  and  have  hard 
labor.  Brother  Whatcoat  is  going  to  the  south  of  Vir- 
ginia, Brother  M'Claskey  is  going  to  New  Jersey, 
Brothrr  Ware  to  Pennsylvania,  and  Brother  Hutchin- 
son to  New  York  and  Connecticut.  Very  great  and 
good  changes  have  taken  place." 

Coke  says:  "All  was  unity  and  love.  There  was  not 
a  jarring  string  among  us.  For  two  or  three  years  past 
we  have  had  a  sifting  time  after  the  great  revivals, 
witli  whicli  we  were  so  long  and  so  wonderfully  blessed. 
But  in  all  I  saw  the  hand  of  Providence.  The  preach- 
ers now  seem  to  have  a  full  view  of  the  Sylla  and 
Charybdis,  the  rocks  and  whirlj)Ools,  which  lie  on  either 
hand,  an<l  are  determined  to  avoid  them.  They  are 
like  the  heart  of  one  man.     Surely  this  sweet  and  entire 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHLKCH.         345 

concord  must  be  very  pleasing  to  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
It  came  from  him,  and  to  him  let  all  glory  be  ascribed. 
Methinks  it  affords  us  a  prospect  of  great  days  to  come. 
At  this  Conference  the  Lord  gave  us  signal  proofs  of  his 
approbation.  Every  evening  he  was  graciously  present ; 
seldom  could  the  congregation  break  up  till  near  mid- 
night, and  seldom  were  there  less  than  half  a  dozen 
brought  into  the  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  One 
Sunday  morning,  when  I  endeavored  to  set  forth  the 
intercession  of  Christ,  seven  were  justified  under  the 
sermon  and  the  prayers  which  succeeded  it." 


346  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  XL 

REVIEW   OF  THE   PERIOD:    1792-1796. 

Importance  of  the  Period  —  Numerical  Declension  —  Sectional  Growth 
—  Statistics  —  Great  Number  of  Locations  —  Pulilic  Fiist  and  Thanks- 
giving—Slavery and  Loyalty  —  Metlu)dist  Preachers  and  Politics  — 
Washington's  Letter  to  three  of  them  —  Ministerial  Recruits  —  The 
Presiding  Elders  —Obituary Chanutorizatii>ns  —  Birchett  — Scene  at 
the  Grave  of  AcutT —  Prophetic  Letter  from  Coke. 

I  HAVE  treated,  with  the  more  minuteness,  the  interval 
l^etween  the  General  Conferences  of  1792  and  1796, 
because  it  is  one  oi'  the  most  important  j»eriods  in  the 
history  of  American  Metliodism.  Within  those  years 
the  denomination  was  chiefly  founded  in  Xew  England, 
in  Canada,  an<l  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi;  for 
though  it  entered  these  sections  somewhat  earlier, 
it  now  really  laid,  in  each  of  them,  its  permanent 
I'oundations,  and  stood  forth  a  secured,  a  general, 
ami  more  than  a  national  form  of  American  Protest- 
antism. 

Its  aggregate  membership  shows  a  loss,  since  1792,  of 
more  than  nine  thousand ;  it  had  been  losing  for  three 
years,'  the  effect  of  the  O'Kelly  schism  ;  but  substan- 
tially it  had  never  been  more  vigorous  or  more  ])ro- 
gressive.  Away  from  the  local  disturbance  it  was  not 
only  fortifying  all  its  positions,  but  gaining  in  numerical 
strength.  In  Xew  England  it  more  than  doubled  its 
circuits,  and  nearly  doubk'il  its  preachers  and  communi- 
cants.    It  had  now  intrenched  itself  in  all  the  Eastern 

•  It  reported  a  diminution  of  white  members  as  early  as  1793,  but 
the  loss  was  then  more  than  repaired  by  the  gain  of  black  niembeis. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHUIiCH.         347 

States.  In  Caniida  it  had  trebled  its  circuits,  quad- 
rupled its  ministry,  and  nearly  trebled  its  membership. 

In  the  great  West  everything  had  been  in  transition, 
no  accurate  returns  could  be  made,  the  members  in  one 
settlement  to-day  being  in  another  to-morrow ;  they 
were,  however,  extending  their  cause,  and  they  had 
now  much  more  than  double  the  numerical  strength  of 
Canada  and  New  England  together. 

The  chief  force  of  the  denomination  was  now  in  Vir- 
ginia; she  reported  nearly  14,000  members;  more  than 
three  times  the  number  of  the  state  of  New  York.  Mary- 
land ranked  next,  and  had  nearly  12,500;  more  than 
four  times  as  many  as  Pennsylvania,  and  more  than 
three  times  the  number  of  New  York.  New  Hampshire 
ranked  lowest  on  the  list  of  the  states,  her  Methodistic 
roll  having  yet  but  sixty-eight  names. 

The  aggregate  membership,  throughout  the  republic 
and  Canada,  was  56,664,  the  aggregate  ministry  293; 
showing  a  loss,  for  the  four  years,  of  9,316  members, 
and  a  gain  of  27  preachers.  On  a  closer  examina- 
tion of  the  statistics  of  the  Minutes,  we  ai-e  startled 
by  the  evidence  of  ministerial  privation  and  suffer- 
ing proved  by  the  frequency  of  locations.  Though  we 
find  a  gain  of  but  27  itinerants  in  these  four  years, 
there  were  actually  received,  at  the  Conferences,  no  less 
than  161  candidates;  and  but  twenty  deaths  and  six 
expulsions  occurred  in  all  this  period.  There  were, 
meanwhile,  no  less  than  106  locations.  These  located 
men,  however,  as  has  been  amply  shown,  ceased  not  to 
preach  ;  they  hardly  ceased  to  travel,  though  their  tours 
were  more  circumscribed. 

The  decrease,  occasioned  chiefly  by  the  Virginia  con- 
troversy, excited  alarm.  A  General  Fast  was  proclaimed 
for  the  first  Friday  in  March,  1796,  "  to  be  attended  in  all 


3-18  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  societies  and  congregations  with  Sabbatic  strictness," 
and  among  the  sins  enumerated,  as  demanding  this  peni- 
tence, was  that  of  slavery.  The  Church  was  called  upon 
to  "  lament  the  deep-rooted  vassalage  that  still  reigncth 
in  many  parts  of  these  free,  independent  United  States; 
to  call  upon  the  Lord  to  direct  our  rulers,  and  teach 
our  senators  wisdom ;  that  the  Lord  would  teach  our 
people  a  just  and  lawful  submission  to  their  rulers;  that 
America  may  not  commit  abominations  with  other  cor- 
rupt nations  of  the  earth,  and  partake  of  their  sins  and 
their  plagues ;  and  that  the  Gospel  may  be  preached 
with  more  ]»urity,  and  be  heard  with  more  affection." 
In  the  following  October  a  day  of  General  Thanksgiving 
was  observed,  "  to  give  glory  to  God  for  his  late  good- 
ness to  the  ancient  i)arent  society  from  whom  we  are  de- 
rived ;  that  they  have  been  honored  with  the  conversion 
of  hundreds  and  thousands  within  these  two  years  last 
past ; — for  such  a  signal  display  of  his  power  in  the 
^lethodist  Society,  within  the  space  of  twenty-six 
years,  through  the  continent  of  America,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  volume  of  our  Annual  Minutes;  for  the  late 
glorious  and  powerful  work  we  have  had  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  and  which  still  continues  in  an  eminent 
and  special  manner  in  some  parts  of  our  American  con- 
nection;  for  the  many  iaithful  public  witnesses  which 
have  been  raised  up,  an<l  that  so  few  (comparatively 
speaking)  have  dishonoreil  their  holy  calling; — that  we 
have  had  so  many  drawn  from  the  depth  of  sin  and 
misery  to  the  heights  of  love  and  holiness  among  the 
subjects  of  grace,  numl)ers  of  whom  are  now  living, 
while  others  have  died  in  the  full  and  glorious  triumph 
of  faith ; — to  take  into  remembrance  the  goodness  and 
wisdom  of  God  displayed  toward  America,  by  making 
it  an  asylum  for  those  who  are  distressed  in  Europe 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  849 

with  war  and  want,  and  oppressed  with  ecclesiastical 
and  civil  tyranny ;  and  the  rapid  settlement  and  won- 
derful population  of  the  continent;— for  the  general  union 
and  government,  that  they  may  be  kept  pure  and  per- 
manent;  for  the  admirable  Revolution,  obtained  and 
established  at  so  small  a  price  of  blood  and  treasure. 
And  for  African  liberty;  we  feel  gratitude  that  so 
many  thousands  of  these  poor  people  are  free  and 
pious."  ^ 

The  declension  of  numbers  ceased  from  this  year; 
slowly  but  surely  the  returns  increased  until  they  rolled 
up  in  those  grand  aggregates  which  have  astonished 
not  only  the  denomination  itself,  but  the  religious  world. 
It  will  be  observed,  in  the  proclamations  of  the  Fast 
and  Thanksgiving,  that  these  early  Methodist  preachers 
hesitated  not  to  utter  their  solemn  convictions  on  politi- 
cal matters  involving  Christian  ethics.  They  denounced 
slavery,  and  some  of  them  suffered  violence  and  im- 
prisoninent  for  doing  so.  They  gloried  in  our  "  admi- 
rable Revolution,"  and  sustained  with  hearty  patriotism 
the  government  and  laws.  Their  ardent  loyalty  was 
appreciated  by  the  government,  and  as  early  as  1793, 
when  the  noted  "Whisky  Insurrection"  in  Pennsylva- 
nia was  alarming  the  country,  Washington  wrote  to 
Thornton  Fleming,  Valentine  Cook,  and  William  M'Len- 
ahan,  preachers  in  the  midst  of  the  agitation,  thanking 
them  for  "  using  their  influence,  in  their  several  spheres, 
to  inculcate  the  necessity  of  a  peaceable  compliance 
with  the  law,"  which,  by  laying  a  duty  on  distilled 
spirits,  had  occasioned  the  outbreak.  "Your  conduct 
on  this  occasion,  gentlemen,"  he  adds,  "  is  that  of  good 
citizens  and  certainly  meritorious,  and  I  hope  and  trust 
that  those  good  and  enlightened  characters  who  have 
2  Bound  Minutes,  vol.  i,  p.  64. 


350  HISTORY    OF    THE 

at  heart  the  true  interest  of  the  public,  will  endeavo* 
to  effect,  by  fair  and  just  rejiresentations,  what  it  would 
be  extremely  painful,  however  necessary,  to  carry  into 
operation  by  compulsive  means." 

The  young  men  received  as  recruits  of  the  ministry, 
in  this  period,  included  some  of  our  must  meuK^rable 
(■haractei*s :  William  Burke,  Tobias  Gibson,  Thomas 
Lyell,  Lawrence  M'Coombs,  Ilezekiah  C.  Wooster,  Enoch 
Mjidixo,  Daniel  Ostrandcr,  Ilinry  Smith,  William  Heau- 
champ,  Nichulas  Suethen,  Joseph  Mitchell,  John  Broad- 
head,  Dr.  Sargent,  Benjamin  Lakin,  John  Finnegan, 
John  Sale,  Timotliy  ^ferritt,  Peter  Vannest,  and  many 
more,  the  mere  catalogue  of  whose  names  is  full  of  sig- 
niBcance  to  students  of  our  early  annals. 

During  these  years  the  C'lmrch  was  stron<:ly  ofliccrcd  : 
in  the  South  by  such  presiding  elders  as  Ira  Ellis,  Keuben 
Ellis,  Richard  Ivey,  Philip  Bruce,  Nelson  Reed,  Isaac 
Smith,  Thomas  Bowen,  Lemuel  Green,  Joshua  Wells, 
Joseph  Everett,  \\'illiam  M'Kendree,  Enoch  George; 
in  the  Middle  and  North  with  such  as  John  M'Claskey, 
Jacob  Brush,  Freeborn  Garrettson,  Kicliard  Whatcoat, 
Thomas  Ware,  Tiiornton  Fleming,  Darius  Duidiam;  in 
the  East  with  such  as  Jesse  Lee,  Ezekiel  Cooper, 
George  Roberts,  Sylvester  Hutchinson  ;  and  in  the  West 
with  such  as  Francis  Poythress,  Barnabas  M'Henry, 
John  Kobler.  Valentine  Cook,  Charles  Conaway,  Daniel 
Ilitt — men  of  might. 

Of  the  score  who  fell  at  their  j)osts  in  this  period, 
several  have  heretofore  been  fully  noticed,  such  as 
Philip  Cox,  the  first  of  Methodist  Book  Agents ;  Jacob 
Brush,  one  of  Lee's  first  colleagues  in  New  P^ngland  ; 
Zadok  Priest,  the  first  Avho  died  in  the  Eastern  field ; 
Reuben  Ellis,  Richard  Ivey,  William  Jessiip,  and  J^en- 
jamin  Abbott.     Of  the  others  we  have  but  few  words, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHLRCII.         851 

mostly  from  Asbury's  pen,  who  was  in  too  much  haste 
to  stop  for  details.     Among  them  was  Thomas  Weather- 
ford,  "  who  lived  the  gospel,  and  died  triumphant  in  the 
Lord;"    George  Browning,  "a  serious,  devoted    man, 
who  died  in  peace ;"  Jacob  Carter,  who  had  long  suf- 
fered from  a  wound  received  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
but  preached  six  years  zealously,  and  as  a  trained  sol- 
dier was  "  a  strict  disciplinarian,  a  happy  man,  and  one 
that  feared  not  the  face  of  any ;"  John  Spraul,  "  a  sim- 
ple, honest  man,  who  gave  himself  wholly  to  God  and 
his  work ;"  James  Wilson,  "  whose  piety,  walking  with 
God,    fervor   in   prayer,   and   exhortations,   were   very 
great ;"   John  Wynn,  a  young  man  "  of  address  and 
natural  eloquence,  of  an  upright  heart,  a  son  of  afflic- 
tion, but  willing  to  labor  to  the  last ;"  Hardy  Herbert, 
a  "  youth   of  genius,  a  pleasing  speaker,  of  easy  and 
natural  elocution,"  "sentimental,"  but  "not  given  to 
dissimulation,"    "  loved   and   esteemed ;"    John    Ahair, 
"meek-spirited,  holy,  zealous,  weak  in  body,  strong  in 
faith   and   love,"    and    who    "sweetly    slept    in    Jesus 
after  a  short  but  happy  life  ;"  Thomas  Boyd,  "  a  man  of 
tender  spirit  and  much  afflicted,  but  who  went  to  his 
long  home  in  peace  after  giving  strong  proof  of  his 
piety  by  an  innocent,  holy  life ;"   Emory  Prior,  whose 
"  temper  and  spirit  were  a  continual  comment  on  '  Let 
this  mind  be  in  you  which  was  also  in  Christ ;'  "  Samuel 
Miller,  "  a  man  of  genuine  piety,  deep  experience,  and 
useful  gifts,  preaching  in  both  German  and  English ; 
had  he  loved  his  ease  he  could  have  had  it  at  home,  but 
the  love  of  God   and  souls  moved  him  to  spread  the 
gospel;"  Stephen  Davis,  "a  man  of  established  piety 
and  great  strength  of  memory,  who  wrought  frequently 
with  his  own  hands,  and  left  what  he  possessed  to  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry ;"  John  Farrell,  "  of  an  honest 


852  HISTORY     OF    THE 

heart,  and  faithful  in  his  labors,  a  plain,  lively  preacher, 
a  friend  to  discipline  and  order,"  who  died  "  with  un- 
broken confidence,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

Two  are  recorded  as  fallinfj  in  the  distant  Western 
field.  One  was  Henry  Birchett,  "  a  gracious,  happy, 
useful  man,  who  freely  oftVred  himself  for  the  dangerous 
stations  of  Kentucky  and  Cumberland."  We  have  seen 
him  making  such  an  otfi-r  when  sinking  with  dis- 
ease, and  when  none  other  was  ready  to  go,  and,  facing 
j>rivation,  smallpox,  and  savages,  departing  to  his  far  off 
and  solitary  post  to  die  there.  "  He  was  among  the 
watchers,"  say  the  Minutes ;  "  his  meekness,  love, 
labors,  prayers,  tears,  sermons,  and  exhortations  will 
not  soon  be  forgotten.  He  wanted  no  appeal  fr(»m 
labor,  danger,  or  suflering."  The  other  was  Francis 
Acuff,  "  a  young  man  of  genius,  much  beloved,  and 
greatly  lamented."  He  died  near  Danville,  Ky,,  in 
1795,  nut  twenty  five  years  old.  Though  his  career  was 
bnef,  he  left  a  profound  impression ;  his  extraordinary 
talents  and  great  devotion  won  universal  affection. 
We  have  seen  the  mournful  interest  felt  in  his  death,  as 
recorded  by  Asbury  at  "  Acuft'  Chapel "  in  North  Caro- 
lina. An  historian  of  the  Church  has  said  that  he  left  a 
name  in  the  West  which  will  be  gratefully  remem- 
bered while  Methodism  shall  continue  to  live  and 
flourish  in  that  country.  He  adds  an  "instance  of 
the  strong  attachment  which  was  felt  by  those 
who  were  best  acquainted  with  this  man  of  God:" 
An  Englishman,  named  William  Jones,  on  his  arrival 
in  Vir<'inia  was  sold  for  his  passage.  He  served  his 
time,  four  years,  with  fidelity,  and  was  finally  brought 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  by  means  of  Methodist 
jueaching.     As  he  had  been  greatly  blessed  under  the 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         353 

ministry  of  AcuiF,  when  he  heard  of  his  death,  he  de- 
termined to  visit  his  tomb.  Though  he  had  to  travel  a 
long  distance  through  the  wilderness,  exposed  to  the 
Indians,  yet  his  afiectionate  desire  to  see  the  grave  of  his 
friend  impelled  him  forward.  "  When  I  came  to  the 
rivers,"  he  said,  "  I  would  wade  them,  or  if  there  were 
ferries  they  would  take  me  over ;  and  when  I  was 
hungry  travelers  would  give  me  a  morsel  of  bread. 
When  I  came  to  Mr,  Greene's,  in  Madison  County,  I 
inquired  for  our  dear  Brother  Acuff' s  grave.  The  peo- 
ple looked  astonished,  but  directed  me  to  it.  I  went  to 
it,  felt  ray  soul  happy,  kneeled  down,  shouted  over  it, 
and  praised  the  Lord,"^  What  eulogy  could  surpass 
such  a  proof  of  gratitude  and  affection  ? 

Toward  the  close  of  this  period  Coke,  then  in  Ireland, 
hearing  of  the  prosperity  of  Methodism  here  as  else- 
where, conceived  the  subliraest  destinies  for  it,  and 
wrote  to  one  of  the  itinerants,  in  the  Western  wilds, 
with  his  characteristic  ardor.  "  The  last  year,"  he  says, 
"  was  the  greatest  Methodism  has  ever  known  in  Eu- 
rope. O,  my  brother,  labor  to  stir  up  our  dear  Ameri- 
can brethren,  who  are  children  of  God,  to  go  on  to 
perfection.  Let  them  expect  and  pray  for  the  universal 
reign  of  Christ.  The  time  is  hastening  on  when  all  the 
world  shall  bow  the  knee  to  Jesus.  I  am  glad  to  hear 
that  your  district  schools  are  going  on  so  prosperously. 
May  the  Lord  increase  the  number  of  them,  and  give 
his  constant  blessing  to  them  for  the  sake  of  the  rising 
generation.  My  dear  brother,  have  great  compassion 
on  the  poor  negroes,  and  do  all  you  can  to  convert 
them.  If  they  have  religious  liberty,  their  temporal 
slavery  will  be  comparatively  but  a  small  thing.  But 
even  in  respect  to  this  latter  point,  I  do  long  for  the 

2  Bangs,  ii,  40. 
C— 23 


354  HISTORY    OF    THE 

time  when  the  Lord  will  turn  their  captivity  like  the 
rivers  of  the  south.  And  he  will  appear  for  them.  He 
is  windiuij  up  the  sacred  ball ;  he  is  sweeping  off  the 
wicked  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  with  pestilence, 
famine,  and  war,  and  will  never  withdraw  his  hand  till 
civil  and  religious  li1»erty  be  established  over  all  the 
earth.  I  have  no  doubt  but  if  the  body  of  Methodist 
preachers  keep  close  to  God,  they  will  be  the  chief  in- 
struments of  bringing  about  this  most  desirable  state  of 
things.  Let  us  be  a  praying,  jireaching,  selfdenying, 
mortified,  crucified  set  of  men,  (as,  blessed  be  God !  is 
the  case  with  nutst  of  the  jtreachers  more  or  less  at 
present,)  and  we  shall  carry  the  world  before  us."' 
» Dated  April  28,  1795,    See  South.  Moth.  Quart.  Rev.,  Oct.,  1859. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         855 


CHAPTEE  ZII. 

METHODISM  IN  THE  SOUTH:    1796-1804. 

Asbury  and  Coke  Itinerating  in  the  South  —  Losses  by  Locations^ 
Slavery  —  Asbury's  Interest  for  Africans  —  The  Bishop  and  Black 
"Punch" — Asbury's  Dejection^ The  Bishops  in  Charleston,  S.  C. 
—  Burning  of  the  Second  College  and  Light-street  Church  —  Death 
of  Edgar  Mills  —  Hammett's  Failure  —  Asbury  rests  —  His  Suflfer- 
ings  —  Death  of  Jarratt  —  Lee  in  the  South  —  Asbury's  Letter  to 
him  —  Methodist  Unity  —  Coke  and  Asbury  —  Lee  in  Charleston  — 
His  Birthday  Reflections  —  Presentiments  —  Lee  and  Slavery  —  His 
Hard  Fare  —  His  Humor — Examples  —  His  Success  —  An  Extraor- 
dinary Quarterly  Meeting  —  Great  Prosperity — Camp-Meetings  — 
Coke's  Visits. 

Asbury  and  Coke  left  the  Conference  together  for  the 
South  on  the  4th  of  November,  1795.  They  were  soon 
among  the  scenes  of  the  O'Kelly  schism  in  Virginia. 
"  I  feel  happy,"  wrote  Asbury,  "  among  the  few  old 
disciples  who  are  left.  My  mind  of  late  hath  been  in 
great  peace.  I  am  glad  I  have  not  contended  with 
those  violent  men  who  were  once  with  us.  "We  ought 
to  mind  our  work,  and  try  to  get  souls  to  Christ ;  and 
the  Lord  can  give  us  children,  '  that  we  shall  have  aftei* 
we  have  lost  our  former,'  who  shall  say  in  our  hearing, 
'  Give  place  that  there  may  be  room  for  us  to  dwell.' 
My  dear  aged  friends  told  me  their  troubles  and  sorrow, 
which  the  divisions  in  the  societies  had  caused."  He 
adds,  after  seeing  a  spot  memorable  to  us  all,  "  I  had 
solemn  thoughts  while  I  passed  the  house  where  Robert 
Williams  lived  and  died,  whose  funeral  rites  I  per- 
formed." Coke  rejoiced,  in  the  Virginia  Conference,  at 
"  Maybery's  Chapel,"  not  only  for  the  prospect  in  that 


356  HISTORY    OF    THE 

State,  but  in  the  whole  country,  for  his  vivid  faith 
was  prophetic  of  American  Methodism.  "  About  fifty 
preachers  met  us  liere,"  he  says,  "lodging  at  the  i>lanta- 
tions  of  our  friends  within  a  circle  of  three  or  four  miles 
from  the  chapel.  Nothing  but  love,  peace,  joy,  unity, 
and  concord,  I  may  truly  say,  manifested  themselves  in 
this  Conference.  It  was,  in  respect  to  love,  the  counter- 
part of  our  General  Conference.  O  what  great  good 
does  the  Lord  frequently  bring  out  of  evil!  The  sift- 
ings  and  schisms  we  ha\e  had  have  turned  out  to  be 
the  greatest  blessings  !  Surely  the  Prince  of  Peace  and 
lover  of  concord  is  about  to  accomplish  great  things  on 
the  continent  of  Anierca  by  the  means  of  the  Method- 
ists !  After  the  necessary  business  was  finished  we 
spent  about  two  days  in  band,  each  preacher  in  his 
turn  relating  the  experience  of  his  own  soul,  and  the 
success  of  his  ministry  for  the  last  year.  It  was  a  profit- 
able season.  I  wish  this  useful  method  were  pursued,  as 
far  as  possible,  in  our  European  Conferences.  We  all 
parted  on  the  Lord's  day,  after  I  had  given  the  congre- 
gation, first,  a  comment  on  the  20th  chapter  of  the 
Revelation,  and  then  a  sermon  on  Luke  xiv,  26.  Brother 
Asbury  and  I  then  separated  for  a  time.  We  had  before 
agreed  to  take  different  routes  to  Charleston.  He  took 
the  seaside  and  I  the  upper  country.  A  preacher  went 
off  a  few  days  before  me  to  make  puV:»lications.  I  had  now 
about  eight  or  nine  hundred  miles  to  travel  to  Charles- 
ton, on  the  zig-zag  line  which  I  intended  to  pursue.'" 

Coke  advanced  rapidly  southward.  On  reaching 
Camden,  South  Carolina,  he  remarks :  ''  I  lodged  at  the 
house  of  Brother  Smith,  formerly  an  eminent  and  suc- 
cesstlil  traveling  preacher.  It  is  most  lamentable  to  see 
80  many  of  our  able  married  preachers  (or  rather,  I 
»  Metb.  Mug.,  London,  1798. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.  357 

might  say,  almost  all  of  them)  become  located  merely 
for  want  of  support  for  their  families.  I  am  conscious 
it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  people ;  it  is  the  fault  of  the 
preachers,  who,  through  a  fiilse  and  most  unfortunate 
delicacy,  have  not  pressed  the  important  subject  as  they 
ought  upon  the  consciences  of  the  people.  I  am  truly 
astonished  that  the  work  has  risen  to  its  present  height 
on  this  continent,  when  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
— of  the  gifts  of  preaching — yea,  of  the  most  precious 
gifts  which  God  bestows  on  mortals,  except  the  gifts  of 
his  only-begotten  Son  and  his  Spirit  of  grace,  should 
thus  miserably  be  thrown  away.  I  could,  methinks, 
enter  into  my  closet  and  weej)  tears  of  blood  upon  the 
occasion."  He  arrived  at  Rembert  Hall,  and  was  hos- 
pitably entertained;  but  on  meeting  another  located 
preacher,  bitterly  repeats  his  lamentation  over  this  quite 
universal  loss  of  the  Church.  "  The  location  of  so  many 
scores  of  our  most  able  and  experienced  preachers  tears 
my  very  heai't  in  pieces.  Methinks  almost  the  whole 
continent  would  have  fallen  before  the  power  of  God, 
had  it  not  beeil  for  this  enormous  evil." 

Preaching  almost  daily  on  the  route,  witnessing  the 
power  of  the  word  in  his  mongrel  congregations,  and 
enjoying  the  peculiar  scenery  of  the  South,  he  at  last 
reached  Charleston  in  the  happiest  mood  of  his  habitually 
happy  temperament.  "  The  whole  journey,"  he  writes, 
"  was  very  pleasing.  The  weather  was  continually  mild, 
a  few  days  only  excepted.  The  lofty  pine-trees  through 
which  we  rode  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  way,  cast 
such  a  pleasing  gloom  over  the  country  that  I  felt  my- 
solf  perfectly  shut  out  from  the  busy  world,  at  the  same 
time  that  I  was  ranging  through  immeasurable  forests. 
How  many  blessings  of  a  temporal  kind  does  our  good 
God  mix  in  our  cup,  besides  that  crowning  blessing,  the 


358  HISTORY    OF    THE 

consciousness  of  his  favor !  How  inexcusable,  therefore, 
would  it  be  to  murmur  when  enjoying  so  many  com- 
forts, even  in  a  state  of  probation !  O  what  must  the 
rivers  of  pleasure  be  which  flow  at  his  right  hand  for 
evermore  ! "' 

Meanwhile  Asbury  had  pursued,  with  much  illness, 
his  sea  side  route.  He  was  greeted,  especially  by  the 
old  ^Methodists,  for  he  and  they  were  now  become  vet- 
erans ;  yet  he  mourned  to  find  tlieir  ranks  rapidly  be- 
coming thinned.  "  I  every  day,"  he  writes,  "  see  and 
feel  the  emptiness  of  all  created  good,  and  am  taking 
my  leave  of  all :  what  is  worth  living  for  but  the  work 
of  God?"  But  he  found  the  children  of  his  old  and 
departed  friends  rising  up  in  the  C^hurch.  "  So  it  is," 
he  writes,  "  when  the  dear,  aged  jjarents  go  ofl^,  they 
leave  me  their  children."  The  changes  he  witnessed  in 
his  great  continental  journeys,  and  his  own  growing 
infirmities,  began  to  impress  him  with  a  sadness  which 
breaks  out  often  in  touching  expressions.  He  was  still 
more  depressed  at  the  influence  of  slavery  on  the  pros- 
pect of  Methodit-m  in  the  South.  In  South  Carolina  he 
writes :  "  My  spirit  was  grieved  at  the  conduct  of  some 
Methodists  that  hire  out  slaves  at  public  places  to  the 
highest  bidder,  to  cut,  skin,  and  starve  them  ;  I  think 
such  members  ought  to  be  dealt  with:  on  the  side  of 
oppressors  there  are  law  and  power,  but  where  are 
justice  and  mercy  to  the  pour  slaves?  what  eye  will 
pity,  what  hand  will  help,  or  ear  listen  to  their  dis- 
tresses ?  I  will  try  if  words  can  be  like  drawn  swords, 
to  pierce  the  hearts  of  the  owners."  Again  he  writes: 
"  My  mind  is  much  pained.  ()  to  be  dependent  on  slave- 
holders is  in  part  to  be  a  slave,  and  I  was  free-born  ! 
I  am  brought  to  conclude  that  slavery  will  exist  in  Vir. 
ginia  perhaps  for  ages;  there  is  not  a  sufticient  sense  of 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CIIUP.CII.         359 

religion  nor  of  liberty  to  'destroy  it ;  Methodists,  Bap- 
tists, Presbyterians,  in  the  highest  flights  of  rapturous 
piety,  still  maintain  and  defend  it.  I  judge  in  after  ages 
it  will  be  so  that  poor  men  and  free  men  will  not  live 
among  slaveholders,  but  will  go  to  new  lands:  they 
only  who  are  concerned  in,  and  dependent  on  them  will 
stay  in  old  Virginia."  In  Virginia  he  drew  up  "  an 
agreement  for  our  officiary  to  sign  against  slavery : 
thus  we  may  know  the  real  sentiments  of  our  local 
preachers.  It  appears  to  me  that  we  can  never  fully 
reform  the  people  until  we  reform  the  preachers ;  and 
that  hitherto,  except  purging  the  traveling  connec- 
tion, we  have  been  working  at  the  wrong  end.  But  if 
it  be  lawful  for  local  preachers  to  hold  slaves,  then  it  is 
lawful  for  traveling  preachers  also ;  and  they  may  keep 
plantations  and  overseers  upon  their  quarters;  but  this 
reproach  of  inconsistency  must  be  rolled  away."  What 
absurdities  will  not  men  defend !  He  writes  at  another 
time :  ''  If  the  Gospel  will  tolerate  slavery,  what  will 
it  not  authorize  ! "  He  almost  despaired  of  the  perma- 
nent prosperity  of  the  denomination  among  the  South- 
ern whites,  but  had  strong  hope  for  it  among  the  blacks. 
In  South  Carolina  he  wi'ites :  "  Religion  is  reviving  here 
among  the  Africans;  these  are  the  poor;  these  are  the 
people  we  are  more  immediately  called  to  preach  to." 
He  devoted  special  attention  to  them,  and  while  in 
Chai'leston  assembled  them  every  morning  between  five 
and  six  o'clock  for  instruction  and  prayer.  They  loved 
him  with  their  characteristic  ardor,  and  wished  to 
lavish  upon  him  their  humble  gifts.  While  yet  in 
Charleston  he  writes:  "My  mind  has  been  greatly 
afflicted,  so  that  my  sleep  has  been  much  interrupted, 
yet  there  was  a  balm  for  this ;  a  poor  black,  sixty  years 
of  age,  who  suj^ports  herself  by  picking  oakum,  and  the 


360  HISTORY    OF    THE 

charity,  of  her  friends,  brought  me  a  French  crown,  and 
sail!  she  liad  been  distressed  on  my  account,  and  I  must 
have  her  money.  But  no !  although  I  have  not  three 
dollars  to  travel  two  thousand  miles,  I  will  not  take 
money  from  the  poor." 

"  O,"  he  elsewhere  exclaims,  "  it  was  by  going  down 
into  the  Egypt  of  South  Carolina  after  those  poor  souls 
of  Africans  that  I  have  lost  my  health,  if  not  my  life  in 
the  end  !  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done."  This  he 
remarks  after  conversing  with  a  slave  "  at  a  stone 
wall.  Poor  creature,"  he  adds,  "he  seemed  struck  at 
my  counsel,  and  gave  me  thanks."  We  are  surprised, 
throughout  his  journals,  with  examples  of  interest  for 
individual  Africans ;  though  ccmducting  the  sublime 
schemes  of  a  more  than  national  Church,  his  great  soul 
was  never  too  much  absorbed  by  them  to  aj>preciate 
the  value  of  individual  men,  even  of  the  lowliest,  for 
whom  "no  man  cared."  An  at^V-cting  instance  of  not 
only  his  sympathy,  but  his  usefulness  in  this  respect  is 
related  by  a  southern  itinerant,  a  fact  which  is  historic 
in  its  character,  as  having  given  origin  to  a  society  of 
hundreds  of  members.  As  he  was  journeying  on  the 
highway,  in  South  Carolina,  he  saw  a  slave,  called 
"  Punch,"  fishing  on  the  bank  of  a  stream.  The  bislio]> 
stopped  his  horse,  and  asked,  "Do  you  ever  pray?" 
"  No,  sir,"  replied  the  negro  respectfully.  Asbury 
alighted,  sat  down  by  his  side,  and  instructed  and  ex- 
horte<l  him.  The  poor  man  wept  ;  the  bi^liop  sung  a 
hymn,  knelt  with  the  astonished  slave  in  prayer,  and 
left  him.  Twenty  years  passed,  when  the  bishop  was 
surprised  by  a  visit  from  the  negro,  who  had  come  over 
sixty  miles  to  see  him  and  thank  him,  for  his  well-di- 
rected instructions  had  been  successful  in  his  conversion. 
Forty-eight  years  after  the  first  interview  the  Methodist 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         861 

itinerant  who  relates  the  story  was  appointed  to  a  planta- 
tion mission,  where,  it  had  been  reported,  there  were 
many  colored  but  unrecognized  Methodists.  He  found 
there  "between  two  and  three  hundred  members  in 
society."  "I  met  a  herdsman,"  he  writes,  "and  asked 
him  if  thei-e  was  any  preacher  on  the  plantation.  '  O 
yes,  massa,  de  old  bushup  lib  here  ! '  '  Is  he  a  good 
preacher?'  'O  yes,'  was  the  reply;  'he  word  burn 
we  heart ! '  He  showed  me  the  house.  I  knocked  at 
the  door,  and  I  saw  before  me,  leaning  on  a  staiF,  a 
hoary-headed  black  man,  with  palsied  limbs,  but  a 
smiling  face.  He  looked  at  me  a  moment  in  silence; 
then,  raising  his  hands  and  eyes  to  heaven,  he  said, 
'  Now,  Lord,  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation  ! '  He  asked  me 
to  take  a  seat.  'I  have,'  he  said,  'many  children  in 
this  place.  I  have  lelt  for  some  time  past  that  my  end 
was  nigh.  I  have  looked  around  to  see  who  might  take 
my  place  when  I  am  gone.  I  could  find  none.  I  felt 
unwillincr  to  die  and  leave  them  so,  and  have  been 
praying  to  God  to  send  some  one  to  take  care  of 
them.  The  Lord  has  sent  you,  my  child;  I  am 
ready  to  go.'  Tears  coursed  freely  down  his  time- 
shriveled  face." 

It  was  "Punch;"  the  bishop's  passing  word  had 
raised  up  an  apostle,  who  had,  through  all  these  years, 
been  ministering  to  his  neglected  people.  "  The  little 
leaven  worked,"  says  the  narrator.  "  One  and  another, 
praying  to  God  for  light  and  mercy,  was  brought  to 
know  Christ  in  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit;  the 
circle  widened,  until  crowds  would  gather  around  the 
cabin  doors  of  Punch  for  religious  conversation  and 
prayers.  All  this,  of  course,  could  not  pass  without 
the  notice  of  the  overseer,  who  felt  himself  called  on 


362  IIISTOHY    OF    THE 

to  oppose  '  this  waj-.'  Bcinj;  tlms  restricted,  Puneh 
could  only  speak  ])rivately,  and  in  his  own  house,  to  a 
few  friends  who  were  awakened  to  the  interest  of  their 
souls.  One  nicrht  he  heard  the  overseer  call  him.  As 
a  few  had  met  in  his  house  for  prayer,  he  went  out  an- 
ticipating rough  consequences;  but,  to  his  astonishment, 
he  found  the  overseer  j)rostrate  on  the  ground,  crying 
to  God  for  mercy  on  his  soul.  '  Punch,'  he  said,  '  will 
you  pray  for  me  ? ' "  The  grateful  slave  knelt  by  his 
side  till  the  overseer  threw  his  arms,  a  regenerated 
man,  around  his  black  neck,  and  wept  for  thankfuluess, 
''This  overseer  afterward  joined  the  Church,  became  an 
exhorter,  and,  after  some  time,  a  preacher."^ 

Asbury's  allusions  to  his  illness  and  dejection  are 
increasingly  frecjuent.  He  was  suffering  under  a  vio- 
lent attack  of  intermittent  fever,  his  old  foe,  which  per- 
haps was  unavoidable  while  he  exposed  himself  to  all 
clitnates  and  weather  of  the  continent,  exhausted  most 
of  the  time  by  travel,  and  much  of  it  by  scarcity  of  food, 
"  My  depression  of  spirits,"  he  says,  "  at  times  is  awful, 
especially  when  afflicteil ;  that  which  is  deeply  consti- 
tutional will  never  die  but  with  my  body.  I  am  sol- 
emnly given  up  to  God,  and  have  been  for  many  months 
willing  to  live  or  die  in*  for,  and  with  Jesus."  He  was, 
in  short,  unconsciously  guilty  of  overworking  himself, 
:in<l  all  who  were  immediately  associated  with  him,  and 
h:id  been  doing  so  for  years.  Even  his  horse  had  to 
share  in  his  sulferings.  "My  horse,"  he  writes,  "trots 
stiff,  and  no  wonder,  as  I  have  ridden  him,  upon  an 
average,  five  thousand  miles  a  year  for  the  last  five 
yeai*s  successively." 

At  Charlestown  he  and  Coke  held  the  South  Carolina 
Conference  for  a  week,  with  preaching  every  day,  and 
•  Wakeley's  "Heroes  of  Methodism,"  p.  29. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  363 

great  congregations.  The  news  of  the  burning  of  the 
new  academy,  (substituted  for  Cokesbury,)  and  the  adja- 
cent Light-street  Church,  with  the  parsonage  and  sev- 
eral other  buildings,  in  Baltimore,  spread  gloom  over 
the  session.  It  occurred  on  Sunday,  the  fourth  of  De- 
cember, 1796,  while  the  preacher  was  conducting  divine 
service,  "just  twelve  months  to  a  day,"  says  Lee,  "from 
the  time  that  Cokesbury  College  was  burned."  "  The 
loss,"  wrote  Asbury  at  the  time,  "we  sustain  in  the 
college,  academy,  and  church,  I  estimate  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  thousand  pounds.  It  affected  my  mind  ;  but  I 
concluded  God  loveth  the  people  of  Baltimore,  and  he 
will  keep  them  jDOor,  to  make  them  pure ;  and  it  will  be 
for  the  humiliation  of  the  society." 

He  sustained  another  heavy  affliction  about  this  time 
in  the  death  of  his  old  friend  Wells,  the  merchant,  who 
first  received  him  in  Charleston,  and  who  had  been  the 
chief  pillar  of  .the  Church  there.  "It  was  twelve  long 
years,"  he  writes,  "next  March  since  he  first  received 
Henry  Willis,  Jesse  Lee,  and  myself,  into  his  house. 
In  a  few  days  he  was  brought  under  heart  distress  for 
sin,  and  soon  after  professed  faith  in  Christ ;  since  that 
he  hath  been  a  diligent  member  in  society.  About 
fourteen  months  ago,  when  there  was  a  revival  of  re- 
ligion in  the  society,  and  in  his  own  family,  it  came 
home  to  his  own  soul ;  he  was  quickened,  and  remark- 
ably blessed,  and  continued  so  to  be  until  his  death. 
His  affliction  was  long  and  very  severe.  The  last  words 
he  was  heard  to  say  that  could  be  understood  wei-e, 
that  'he  knew  where  he  was,  that  his  wife  was  with 
him,  and  that  God  was  with  him.'  He  was  one  much 
for  the  feeling  pai-t  of  religion,  a  gentleman  of  spirit 
and  sentiment  and  fine  feelings,  a  faithful  friend  to  the 
poor,  and  warmly  attached  to  the  ministers  of  the  gos- 


364  HISTORY     OF     THE 

pel.  This  was  a  solitary  day,  and  I  laboivd  under  un- 
common dejection.  I  preached  in  the  evening,  and  was 
in  (^reat  heaviness."  ^  Asbury  preached  his  funeral 
sermon,  Coke  performed  the  rites  at  his  grave,  and 
"delivered  an  oration,"  followed  by  an  address  from 
Asl)ury. 

Coke  remarks  that  "  poor  William  Haramet  is  now 
come  to  nothing.  When  he  began  his  schism  his  popu- 
larity was  such  that  he  soon  erected  a  church  nearly,  if  not 
(juite,  as  large  as  our  new  chapel  in  Londoii,  which  was 
crowded  on  the  Lord's  day;  but,  alas!  hi-  has  now,  upon 
Sunday  evenings,  only  about  thirty  white  pcojde,  with 
their  dependent  blacks.  He  has  indeed  gained  a  sutH- 
ciency  of  money  to  procure  a  plantation,  and  to  stock  it 
with  slaves,  though  no  one  was  more  strenuous  against 
slavery  than  he  while  destitute  of  the  power  of  enslav- 
ing. During  his  popularity  we  lost  almost  all  our  con- 
gregation and  society ;  but,  blessed  be  God,  we  have 
now  a  crowded  church,  and  a  society,  inclusive  of  the 
blacks,  amounting  to  treble  the  number  which  we  had 
when  the  division  took  place,  and  our  people  intend 
immediately  to  erect  a  second  church.  Our  society  of 
blacks  in  this  city  are  in  general  very  much  alive  to 
God.  They  now  amount  to  about  five  hundred.  The 
Lord  has  raised  up  a  zealous  man  in  Mr,  M'Farland,  a 
merchant,  and  partner  with  the  late  Mr.  Wells.  He 
amply  sup])lies  the  place  of  his  valuable  deceased  part- 
ner. His  weekly  exhortations  to  the  blacks  are  ren- 
dered very  profitable.  It  is  common  for  the  proprietors 
of  slaves  to  name  their  blacks  after  the  heathen  gods 
and  goddesses.  The  most  lively  leader  among  our  ne- 
groes in  this  place  has  no  other  name  than  Jupiter.  He 
has  a  blessed  gift  in  prayer ;  but  it  appears  to  me  ex- 
•  aee  vol.  U,  299. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         305 

tremely  odd  to  hear  the  preacher  cry  out,  'Jupiter,  will 
you  pray  ? '  " 

Pontavice  was  with  them,   and   preached  tAvice,  in 
French,   to    about    two    hundred   of   his    countrymen. 
On   the   sixth   of  February,    1797,   Coke   and   he   em- 
barked for   Europe.     Asbury   wended  his  way  south- 
ward, sick,  but  preaching.     He  again  passes  over  the 
Western  mountains,  and  returns  in  April,  after  trav- 
eling six  hundred  miles,  with  an  inflammatory  fever, 
and  "a  fixed  pain  in  his  breast."     "I  must  be  made 
perfect,"  he  Says,  "  through  sufferings."     He  has  hith- 
erto traveled  on  horseback,  but  now  procures  a  "  sulky," 
and  takes  temporary  refuge  at  Perry  Hall.     "  God  hath 
not   left   this   house,"   he   writes;    "I  felt   great   love 
for  the  family."     He  passes  northward  through  Dela- 
ware, Pennsylvania,   and   New  York,  but    cannot   go 
to  New  England,  for  his  "  fever  rises  every  night."     In 
October  we  find  him  again  in  the  South,  but  he  is  so 
feeble  that  the  Virginia  Conference  advises  him  to  rest 
until  their  next  session,  some  four  months.     He  spends 
the   time   in   that   state,    entertained   at  the   house   of 
Dromgoole,  and  other  Methodist  families,  revising  his 
journals,  writing  a  hundred  letters,  reviewing  the  inter- 
ests of  tlie  Church,  but  restless  as  a  caged  eagle.     Com- 
paring the  trials  of  European  and  American  itinerants, 
he  remarks  there  that  "  no  minister  could  have  suffered 
in  those  countries  as  in  America,  the  most  ancient  parts 
of  which  have  not  been  settled  two  hundred   years, 
some  parts  not  forty,  others  not  thirty,  twenty,  nor 
ten,  and  some  not  five  years.     I  have  frequently  skim- 
med along  the  frontiers,  for  four  and  five  hundred  miles, 
from  Kentucky  to  Greenbrier,  on  the  very  edge  of  the 
wiklerness,  and  thence  along  Tygart's  Valley  to  Clarks- 
burgh  on  the  Ohio.     These  places,  if  not  the  haunts  of 


366  HISTORY    OF    THE 

!=avage  men,  yet  abound  with  wild  beasts.  I  make  no 
doubt  the  Methodists  are  and  will  be  a  numerous  and 
wealthy  people,  and  their  preachers  who  follow  us  will 
not  know  our  struggles  but  by  comparing  the  present 
improved  state  of  the  country  with  what  it  was  in  our 
(lays,  as  exhibited  in  my  journal  and  other  records  of 
that  day." 

In  April,  ITOS,  he  resumed  his  travels,  though  still 
unwell.  He  passed  to  the  inti'rior  of  Maine,  but  in  the 
early  part  of  October  .again  entered  the  South,  accom- 
panied by  Lee,  who  greatly  relieved  his  labors.  In  the 
remainder  of  the  present  period  he  traveled  this  section 
no  less  than  six  times,  besides  occasional  excursions 
through  Virginia  to  the  West.  He  was  accompanied 
now  by  a  traveling  companion,  Loe,  Whatcoat,  Snethen, 
Hutchinson,  or  M'Caine,  who  did  most  (»f  the  preaching, 
the  bishop  following  the  sermons  usually  with  exhorta- 
tions, and  ])reaching  occasionally,  as  he  had  strength. 
His  health  evidently  imj>roved  with  this  relief,  notwith- 
standing his  advancing  age.  He  becomes  more  cheerful, 
and  toward  the  end  of  the  period  increases  the  rapidity 
of  his  movements.  He  still  writes  pensively  of  the  eftect 
of  time  on  his  old  friends  in  the  South.  The  people  mul- 
tiplv  fast,  but  die  fast.  In  many  places  in  South  Caro- 
lina he  finds  that  he  is  preaching  to  the  third  gen- 
eration ;  and,  as  he  draws  toward  the  close  of  the 
period,  on  his  way  through  Virginia  to  the  General 
Conference  ol'  1804,  he  says,  "I  am  taking  leave  of  the 
people  every  visit.  In  old  Virginia  I  have  administered 
the  word  thirty  years.  There  is  a  great  mortality 
amcmg  the  aged  ;  our  old  members  drop  off  suq)ris- 
ingly ;  but  they  all,  by  account,  die  in  the  Lord,  and, 
in  general,  triumphantly.  Now  I  have  finished  my 
awful  tour  of  duty  for  the  past  month.     To  ride  twenty 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCH,  367 

and  thirty  miles  a  day ;  to  preach,  baptize,  and  admin- 
ister the  Lord's  Supper;  to  write  and  answer  letters, 
and  plan  for  myself  and  four  hundred  preachers  ;  O 
Lord,  I  have  not  desired  this  awful  day,  thou  knowest ! 
I  refused  to  travel  as  long  as  I  could,  and  I  lived  long 
before  I  took  upon  me  the  superintendency  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church  in  America,  and  now  I  bear  it  as  a  heavy 
load.  I  hardly  bear  it,  and  yet  dare  not  cast  it  down, 
for  fear  God  and  my  brethren  should  cast  me  down  for 
such  an  abandonment  of  duty.  True  it  is,  my  wages 
are  great — precious  souls  here,  and  glory  hereafter." 

While  in  Virginia,  in  1801,  he  heard  of  the  death  of 
his  early  friend,  Jarratt,  the  Methodistic  clergyman  of 
Dinwiddle  County,  whose  labors  have  been  largely  nar- 
rated in  our  pages.  "  The  old  prophet,  I  hear,  is  dead," 
he  writes.  "  He  was  a  man  of  genius,  possessed  a  great 
deal  of  natural  oratory,  was  an  excellent  reader,  and  a 
good  writer.  I  have  reason  to  presume  that  he  was 
instrumentally  successful  in  awakening  hundreds  of 
souls  to  some  sense  of  religion  in  that  dark  day  and 
time.  How  he  died  I  shall  probably  hear  and  record 
hereafter."  On  arriving  at  Petersburgh  he  says,  "There 
had  been  put  forth  a  printed  appointment  for  me  to 
preach  the  funeral  sermon  of  the  late  Rev.  Devereux 
Jarratt,  who  has  lately  returned  to  his  rest.  My  sub- 
ject was  Matt,  xxv,  21  :  '  His  Lord  said  unto  him.  Well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant :  thou  hast  been 
faithful  over  a  few. things;  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over 
many  things  :  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.' 
]3evereux  Jarratt  was  settled  in  Bath  parish,  Dinwiddle 
County,  Virginia,  in  the  year  1763,  and  continued  until 
February,  1801.  He  was  a  faithful  and  successful 
preacher.  He  had  witnessed  four  or  five  periodical 
revivals  of  religion  in  his  parish.     When  he  began  his 


308  HISTOUY    OF    THK 

labors  there  was  no  other  evano^elical  minister  tliat  lie 
knew  of  in  all  the  province.  He  traveled  into  several 
counties,  and  there  were  very  few  jtarish  churches 
within  titty  miles  of  his  own  in  which  he  had  not 
preached ;  to  which  labors  of  love  and  zeal  were  added 
jireachiuLT  the  word  of  life  on  solitary  plantations,  and 
in  meeting-houses.  He  was  the  first  who  received  our 
despised  preachers;  when  strangers  and  unfriended,  he 
took  them  to  his  house,  and  had  societies  ftn-nied  in  his 
]»arish.  Some  of  liis  people  became  traveling  j)reachers 
among  us,  I  have  already  observed  that  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  .Tarratt  was  successful.  I  verily  believe  that 
hundreds  were  awakened  by  his  labors.  They  are  dis- 
persed. Some  are  gone  to  the  Carolinas,  to  Georgia,  to 
the  Western  country  ;  some  perhaps  are  in  heaven,  and 
some,  it  may  be,  in  hell." 

It  is  inferable  from  these  allusions  that  the  friendshij)  of 
Asbury  and  .larratt  continued  to  the  end,  though  the 
latter  stood  aloof  from  the  Methodists  after  the  episcoj»al 
organization  of  the  Church  in  17s4.  He  questioned 
the  validity  of  its  episcopaey,  disa[»j»roved  its  stringent 
laws  on  slavery,  and  his  private  correspondence,  in<lis- 
creetly  j)ublished,  detracts,  if  genuine,  from  the  cordial- 
ity and  catholicity  of  his  Christian  character  as  exhibited 
in  his  early  intercourse  with  the  <lenomination.' 

We  have  but  slight  intimations  of  Lee's  labors  in  the 
South  while  relieving  Asbury,  but  enough  to  i>rove  that 

*  His  lifr,  published  in  IfiOC,  contained  epistolary  passages  so  excep- 
tionable as  to  be  unaccountable  to  Methodists  wh<»  knew  him.  Tlie 
book  was  prepared  by  the  Rev.  .John  Coleman,  who  had  been  a  Meth- 
oditt  preacher.  Bishop  Meade,  of  Virginia,  published  an  abridgment 
in  1.S40,  omitting  the  questionable  passages,  but  invidiously  speaking 
of  "the  zealous  exhorters  of  Mr.  Wesley,"  and  "their  meetings  for 
pmyer  and  exhortation :"  phraseology  which  bos  a  special  sense  when 
used  by  such  writers. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  369 

he  was  adequate  to  the  responsible  task.  Asbury  had 
hoped  to  meet  him  at  the  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  Confer- 
ence in  1797,  but  broke  down  before  he  could  reach  the 
New  England  boundary,  and  sent  Joshua  Wells  to  re- 
present him,  with  a  letter  to  Lee,  in  which  he  remarked : 
"  I  have  sent  Brother  Wells,  who,  next  to  Jonathan,  has 
seen  much  of  my  continual  labors  and  afflictions  for 
many  days  and  miles.  The  burden  lieth  on  thee,  I 
hope  it  will  force  the  Connection  to  do  something,  and 
turn  their  attention  for  one  to  assist  or  substitute  me. 
I  cannot  express  the  distress  I  have  had  in  all  my  af- 
flictions for  the  state  of  the  Connection.  You  and  every 
man  that  thinks  properly  will  find  it  will  never  do  to 
divide  the  North  from  the  South.  Methodism  is  union 
all  over :  union  in  exchange  of  preachers,  union  in  ex- 
change of  sentiments,  union  in  exchange  of  interest. 
We  must  draw  resources  from  the  center  to  the  circum- 
ference. Your  brethren  in  Virginia  wish  you  to  come 
forth.  I  think  the  most  general  and  impartial  election 
may  take  place  in  the  Yearly  Conferences.  Every  one 
may  vote ;  and,  in  General  Conference,  perhaps  one 
fifth  or  one  sixth  part  would  be  absent.  I  wish  you  to 
come  and  keep  as  close  to  me  and  my  directions  as  you 
can.  I  wish  you  to  go,  after  the  Conference,  to  Georgia, 
Holston,  and  Kentucky,  and  perhaps  come  to  Balti- 
more in  June,  if  the  ordination^  should  take  place, 
and  so  come  on  to  the  Eastern  Conference.     You  will 

5  "  This  haa  reference  to  a  communication  which  Bishop  Asbury 
made  to  the  Conference  at  Wilbraham,  which  proposed  the  election  of 
Whatcoat,  Poythress,  and  Lee,  as  Assistant  Bishops  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  rejected,  being  thought  contrary  to  the  form  of  Dis- 
cipline." (Thrift;  Memoir  of  Lee.)  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
General  Conference  was  not  yet  a  delegated  body,  but  included  all  the 
preachers.  Asbury  supposed,  therefore,  that  ordinations  of  bishops, 
by  order  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences,  plight  be  legal  without  the 
order  of  a  General  Conference. 
C— 24 


370  HISTORY     OF    THE 

have   to   follow  my   advice   for  your  health    steel   as 
you  are." 

It  is  ohvious  from  this  letter  that  Asbury  favi>refl  the 
elevation  of  Lee  to  the  episcojiate ;  it  was  in  this  sense 
that  his  "brethren  in  Virginia  wished"  Lee  "to  come 
forlh."  No  man  in  the  Connection  was  belter  fitted  to 
be  the  colleague  of  Asbury,  and  we  shall  hereal'ter  see 
that  he  barely  escaped  that  onerous  distinction. 

The  Xew  England  jireachers  yielded  to  the  bishop's 
call,  and  Lee  met  him  at  New  Hochelle  and  commenced 
with  him  the  Southern  tour.  They  were  soon  in  the 
heart  of  Virginia,  where  tliey  were  surprised  to  sec 
Coke  riding  up,  "on  a  VK>rrowed  horse,"  says  Asbury, 
"  with  a  large  white  boy  riding  behind  him  on  the  same 
horse.''  Coke  was  a  small  man,  and  his  contrast  with 
his  juvenile  fellow-rider  struck  even  the  grave  bishoj)  as 
ludicrous.  The  doctor  was  supposed  to  be  far  away, 
pursuing  his  erratic  course  in  Europe,  if  not  in  Africa. 
He  brought  now  an  Address  to  the  General  Conference, 
from  the  British  Conference,  praying  that  his  -late 
engagement  to  that  body,  which  bound  him  to  remain 
in  America,  might  be  canceled.  No  authority,  save 
that  of  the  next  General  Conference,  could  grant  the 
j)etition  ;  but  Asbury,  with  the  advice  of  the  Virginia 
Conference,  wrote,  that  "  in  our  own  persons  and  order 
we  consent  to  his  return,  and  partial  continuance  with 
Tou,  and  earnestly  pray  that  you  may  have  much  peace, 
union,  and  happiness  together.  By  a  probable  guess 
we  have,  perhaps,  from  1,000  to  2,200  traveling  and 
local  preachers.  Local  preachers  are  daily  rising  up 
and  coming  forward  with  proper  recommendations 
from  their  respective  societies  to  receive  ordination, 
besides  the  ordinations  of  the  yearly  conferences. 
From  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  the  Conference 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  871 

was  held,  to  the  province  of  Maine,  where  another  Con- 
ference is  to  be  held,  there  is  a  space  of  about  thirteen 
hundred  miles ;  and  we  have  only  one  worn  out  super- 
intendent, who  was  this  day  advised  by  the  yearly  con- 
ference to  desist  from  preaching  till  next  spring,  on 
account  of  his  debilitated  state  of  body." « 

Lee  left  him,  in  repose,  in  Virginia,  and  passed  rapidly 
o\-er  his  Southern  route,  having  about  five  hundred 
miles  to  travel  and  twenty-five  aj^pointments  to  meet  in 
thirty  days."  He  reached  Charleston  by  the  beginning 
of  1798.  He  had  been  in  the  city,  with  Asbury  and 
Willis,  about  thirteen  years  before,  and  preached  the 
first  sermon  on  that  occasion ;  he  now  met  there  au 
Annual  Conference,  beheld  two  chapels,  with  seventy- 
seven  white,  and  four  hundred  and  twenty-one  black 
Methodists,  while,  in  the  state,  were  four  thousand  six 
hundred  members. 

He  penetrated  into  Georgia,  where  he  preached 
twenty-one  sermons  in  twenty-seven  days.  Returning 
northward  he  hastened  along,  preaching  continually  with 
an  ardor  and  eloquence  that  stirred  the  Churches,  On 
the  12th  of  March,  1798,  he  notes  his  birthday.  "  I  am 
now,"  he  says,  "  forty  years  old.  I  have  enjoyed  religion 
twenty-five  years,  have  been  in  the  Methodist  Society 
twenty-four  years  and  four  days,  and  a  traveling  preacher 
about  fifteen  years.  I  feel,  as  much  as  ever,  determined 
to  spend  my  days  for  the  Lord.  My  soul  is  still  panting 
after  God.  I  wish  to  be  more  than  ever  devoted  to  his 
service ;  and  if  I  live  to  the  Lord,  I  expect  to  be  in 
heaven  before  I  see  forty  years  more ;  however  strange 
it  may  appear,  so  it  is,  that  I  have  often  thought 
I  should  live  till  I  was  about  fifty-six  years  old.     I  do 

'  Drew's  Life  of  Coke,  New  York,  1837,  p.  280. 
7  Dr.  Lee's  Life  of  Lee,  p.  339. 


872  HISTORY    OF    THE 

not  protend  to  say  that  the  Lord  has  revealed  this  to 
me.  It  may  be  from  an  evil  spirit,  or  it  may  be  vain 
thoughts.  Time  will  show ;  but  if  I  were  called  to  die 
to-morrow,  I  do  not  know  that  I  should  have  any  objec- 
tions. I  do  feel  a  pleasing  hope  of  leaving  all  my 
troubles  when  I  leave  the  world ;  but  if  my  life  is  pro- 
longed, I  hope  to  be  the  instrument  of  bringing  a  few 
more  souls  to  God  before  I  rest  from  my  labors."  The 
primitive  Methodists  were  too  much  given  to  "pre- 
sentiments;" Lee  survived,  full  of  vigor,  to  beyond  his 
tifty-ninth  year.  He  met  Asbury  again  at  the  Virginia 
Conference,  in  Salem,  where  he  preached  the  opening 
sermon,  and  says  "  we  had  a  most  powerful,  weeping, 
shouting  time;  the  house  seemed  to  be  filled  with  the 
presence  of  God;  and  I  could  truly  say,  it  was  a  time 
of  love  to  my  soul.  Bishop  Asbury  exhorted  for  some 
time,  and  the  people  were  much  melted  under  the  word. 
Several  new  preachers  engaged  in  the  work,  and  we 
had  a  very  good  supply  for  all  the  circuits."  Lee  now 
turned  aside  to  his  paternal  home  a  few  days,  to  per- 
suade his  father,  one  of  the  earliest  ^Methodists  of  Vir- 
ginia, to  provide  in  his  will  for  the  emancipation  of  his 
slaves ;  for  though  the  son  was  opposed  to  the  policy  of 
the  Church  in  legislating  against  the  evil,  he  shared  the 
opinions  of  his  ministerial  brethren  generally  against  it. 
He  afterward  went  to  Richmond,  and  preached  in  the 
Court-house ;  the  Society  there  was  small,  but  was  now 
erecting  a  temple  which  was  dedicated  in  a  few  months. 
He  again  met  Asbury  at  the  Baltimore  Conference, 
where  he  dedicated  a  new  church,  and  then  hastened  to 
his  hard,  but  favorite  field  of  the  East.  But  beibre  the 
close  of  the  year  he  was  again  abroad  in  the  South. 
After  traveling  over  the  vast  See  of  Asbury,  in  1799,  he 
says :  "  Our  borders  were  greatly  enlarged  this  year, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         373 

and  the  way  was  opening  foi'  us  to  spread  further,  and  to 
send  forth  more  laborers  into  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 
We  had  an  addition  to  the  Society  of  1,182  members. 
Great  peace  and  harmony  prevailed  throughout  the 
Connection,  both  among  preachers  and  people,  and  the 
prospect  of  a  great  revival  of  religion  was  more  pleas- 
ing than  it  had  been  at  any  time  for  some  years.  In 
some  places  there  was  a  good  stir  of  religion,  and  many 
souls  were  brought  into  the  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God." 

In  1800  Asbury  accompanied  him,  but  Lee  did  most 
of  the  preaching.  From  three  to  six  thousand  people 
heard  them  weekly.  Lee  endured  their  hard  fare  as 
sturdily  as  the  bishop ;  they  often  "  had  kitchen,  house, 
and  chamber  all  in  one,  and  no  closet  but  the  woods ;" 
or  "found  shelter  in  a  log-cabin  without  doors,  and  with 
thirty  or  forty  hogs  sleeping  under  it."  Their  chief 
affliction,  however,  was  the  demoralization  of  the  rustic 
population.  There  were  "  people  grown  to  men's  estate, 
and  some  that  had  families,  who  never  heard  a  sermon 
till  last  summer,"  when  the  Methodist  itinerants  had 
reached  them. 

Down  to  the  General  Conference  of  1804  Lee  confined 
his  labors  to  Virginia,  where  he  was  universally  popular 
for  not  only  his  rare  eloquence,  but  his  unsparing  devo- 
tion to  his  work.  Withal,  his  characteristic  and  irre- 
pressible humor  gave  him  a  species  of  power  not  with- 
out value.  It  attracted  a  class  of  minds  which  might 
not  otherwise  have  come  within  his  reach.  It  also 
enabled  him  to  give  elfective  rebukes,  which  rendered 
him  a  terror  to  evil-doers.  "  On  one  occasion,"  says  his 
biographer,  "when  he  was  engaged  in  the  opening 
services  of  public  worship,  he  perceived  the  gentlemen 
intermixed  with  the  ladies,  and  occupying  seats  appro- 


374  ■  HISTORY    OF    THE 

printed  to  the  latter.  Supposing  them  to  be  unaware 
of  the  violation  of  our  order,  he  respectfully  stated  the 
rule  upon  the  subject,  and  reriuested  them  to  take  their 
seats  on  their  own  side  of  the  house.  ^Vll  but  a  few 
immediately  eomplied  with  the  request.  It  was  again 
repeated,  and  all  but  one  left.  He  stood  his  ground  as 
if  determined  not  to  yield.  Again  the  rule  was  re- 
peated, and  the  request  followed  it.  But  no  disposition 
to  retire  was  indicated.  Leaning  down  upon  the  desk, 
and  ti.\ing  his  penetrating  eye  upon  the  otiender  fur  a 
moment,  and  then  raising  himself  erect,  and  looking 
with  an  arch  smile  over  the  congregation,  he  drawled 
out,  '  Well,  brethren,  I  asked  the  gentlemen  to  retire 
from  those  seats,  and  tUey  did  so.  But  it  seems  that 
titnn  is  determined  not  to  move.  We  must,  therefore, 
serve  him  as  the  little  boys  say  when  a  marble  slips 
from  their  fingers — let  him  'go  for  slippance.'"  To  say 
lie  slippcfl  out  of  the  house,  is  only  to  describe  the  fact 
iu  language  borrowed  from  the  figure  by  which  the  re- 
buke was  conveyed.  At  another  time,  while  engaged 
in  preaching,  he  was  not  a  little  mortified  to  discover 
niany  of  the  congregation  taking  rest  in  sleej),  and  not 
a  little  annoyed  by  the  loud  talking  of  the  people  in  the 
yard.  Pausing  long  enough  for  the  absence  of  the 
sound  to  startle  the  sleepers,  he  raised  his  voice,  and 
cried  out.  Til  thank  the  people  in  the  yard  not  to  talk 
so  loud  ;  they'll  wake  up  the  people  in  the  house  !'  This 
was  'killing  two  binls  with  one  stone'  in  a  most  adroit 
and  effectual  manner."  Anecdotes  of  the  wit  of  Lee 
are  still  current  all  through  the  denomination.  It  was 
usually  very  genial,  but  could  be  sufficiently  arrowy  to 
make  opponents  and  wags  keep  at  a  due  distance  or 
approach  him  with  deierence. 

Lee's  labors  in  Virginia  gave  a  general  impulse  to 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         375 

Methodism  in  that  state.     He  was  eminently  a  "revi- 
valist," and  expected   appreciable  resuks   from  every 
public   meeting.     He   records  a   quarterly  meeting   at 
Jones's   chapel,   Sussex,   at  which    every   unconverted 
attendant  was  converted,  black  and  white.     The  service 
lasted  all  day;    when  all  the  congregation  within  the 
house  had  been  gathered  into  the  fold,  search  was  made 
outside  for  a  single  unreclaimed  soul,  but  all  had  been 
rescued.     "  One  of  the   preachers  shouted  aloud,   and 
'  praised  God  that  the  Christians  had  taken  the  field,  and 
kept  the  ground,  for  there  was  no  sinner  left.     So  they 
praised  God   together   and   returned   home.      Most  of 
those  who  were  converted  were  the  children  of  Method- 
ist parents,  though  some  of  their  parents  had  been  dead 
for  many  years."     This  was  a  period  (1803)  of  great  re- 
ligious interest  throughout  Virginia ;  a  thousand  souls 
were  added  to  its  Churches.     The  sensation  extended 
through  the  denomination,  and   more  than  seventeen 
thousand  (17,336)  were  added  to  its  membership.     Lee 
speaks  of  it  as  the  most  prosperous  year  the  Church 
had  known  since  its  origin  in  America,     He  attributes 
much  of  its  success  to  camp-meetings,  which  were  now 
introduced  from  the  West  into  Virginia.     Of  one  of  the 
earliest,  on  Brunswick  Circuit,  the  old  and  most  famous 
battle-ground    of  Methodism    in    the    state,    he    says: 
"  Every  discourse,  and  every  exhortation  given  during 
the  meeting,  was  attended  by  displays  of  divine  power. 
Almost  every  hour  and  every  minute  was  employed  in 
the  worship  of  God.     A  little  time  was  spent  in  seeking 
refreshment  and  in  necessary  repose,  but  each  endeavored 
to  improve  his  time  to  the  best  advantage,  and  seemed 
satisfied  only  with  the  hidden  manna  of  God's  love  and 
the  living  streams  of  his  grace.     More  than  a  hundred 
living  witnesses  for  Jesus  were  raised  up  at  this  meeting.' 


376  HISTORY    OF    THE 

These  grove  meetings  had  their  justification  in  the  dis- 
persed condition  of  the  population,  the  insufficiency  of 
the  chapels,  and  the  great  hosts  which  could  be  as- 
sembled after  the  ingathering  of  the  harvests. 

Coke,  after  his  sudden  appearance  in  Virginia,  con- 
tinued in  the  country  for  about  six  months,  but  has  left 
no  record  of  his  labors.^  In  1799  he  was  again  in 
America,  but  his  journal  is  lost.  In  the  autumn  of  1 803 
he  made  his  ninth  voyage  hither,  and  spent  the  interval, 
between  his  arrival  and  the  General  Conference  of  1804,  in 
traversing  the  country  and  strengthening  the  Churches. 
After  the  Conference  he  left  America  to  see  it  no  more ; 
we  shall  meet  him  at  the  sessions  of  1800  and  1804.^ 
Meanwhile,  let  us  turn  to  other  laborers  and  events  in 
the  Southern  field. 

•  Etherldju'e's  Coke,  p.  292. 

»  Drew  eavB,  (Life  of  Coke,  p.  .S08,  note,)  "  It  appears,  from  an  inspec- 
tion of  liis  prirale  papers,  (bat  in  going  and  returning,  be  crossed  tbe 
Atlantic  no  less  tlian  eighteen  times.  Of  bis  first  five  voyages  an  ac- 
count is  published  in  bis  journals,  and  tbe  particulars  of  anotber  are 
inserted  in  tbe  Methodist  Magazine  for  the  year  1798.  Among  bis 
private  paiRTS  some  memorials  are  jiresericd,  in  bis  own  handwriting,  of 
his  seventh  and  eighth  voyages,  with  their  dates  respectively  fixed.  Hirt 
ninth  and  last  voyage  is  ascertained  from  his  own  letters  now  in  the 
author's  possession,  and  from  the  date  of  others  addressed  to  Dr.  Coke 
while  in  America  in  the  year  1803." 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHUKCH.        377 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

METHODISM   IN  THE   SOUTH,  CONTINUED  :    1796-1804. 

Prosperity  of  the  Church  — Great  Revivals  —  Singular  Conversion  of 
Captain  Burton  —  George  Clark  and  Isaac  Smith  Pioneering  — 
Strong  Men  of  the  South  —  George  Dougherty  —  His  Superior  Tal- 
ents—An Example  — He  is  Mobbed  and  "Pumped"  in  Charleston 
—  His  Death  —  William  Walters  re-enters  the  Itinerancy  —  The 
Watters  Family  —  William  Gassaway  — His  Sing-ular  Conversion  — 
Victory  over  an  Enemy  —  He  calls  out  Bishop  Capers  —  Enoch 
George  —  William  M'Kendree  goes  to  the  West  — Tobias  Gibson 
goes  to  the  Southwest  —  William  Ryland  — His  Eloquence  —  Chap- 
lain to  Congress  —  General  Jackson  —  James  Smith  —  Statistical 
View  of  Southern  Methodism. 

Peace  was  now  generally  restored  in  the  southern  sec- 
tion of  the  Church,  and  its  societies  were  rapidly  grow- 
ing. The  Hammett  schism  had  dwindled  nearly  away, 
and  some  of  its  pulpits  were  already  occupied  by  the 
itinerants.  The  O'Kelly  secession  still  occasionally  dis- 
turbed the  societies  of  Virginia,  and  O'Kelly  published 
a  second  pamphlet  in  1799;  but  the  leaders  of  the  de- 
nomination, after  having  sturdily  defended  it,  now 
adopted  the  wise  policy  of  letting  the  recusants  alone, 
and  of  pursuing  quietly  their  accustomed  labors,  though 
they  put  upon  record  a  statement  of  the  facts  of  the 
controversy  in  an  authorized  reply  to  O'Kelly,  from  the 
pen  of  Snethen.  It  was  "soft  and  defensive,"  says 
Asbury,  "  and  as  little  offensive  as  possible."  *  Though 
the  schism  lingered,  it  gradually  died  from  this  period, 
and  extraordinary  "revivals"  followed,  not  only  in 
Virginia,  but  throughout  the  South.  This  renewed 
»  Journals,  anno,  1800. 


378  HISTORY   OF  the 

interest  pervaded  the  whole  city  of  Baltimore  during; 
the  General  Conference  there  in  1800,  as  will  here- 
after be  noticed.  Lee  says  it  "  hegan  particularly 
in  ()]d  Town,  wliere  the  people  held  meeting  in  a 
private  house,  and  some  of  the  preachers  attended 
them  in  the  afternoon  of  each  day.  The  work  then 
spread,  and  souls  were  converted  in  the  ditterent 
int'eting-houses.  and  in  different  private  houses,  both 
l»y  day  and  by  night.  Old  Christians  were  wonder- 
fully stirred  up  to  cry  to  God  more  earnestly,  and 
the  preachers  that  tarried  in  town  for  a  few  days  were 
all  on  fire.  Such  a  time  of  refreshing  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  had  not  been  felt  in  that  town  for  some 
years.  About  two  weeks  after  the  close  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  we  held  our  Annual  Conference  at 
Duck  Creek  Cross-roads,  and  a  good  many  of  the  young 
converts  and  of  the  old  Christians  from  Baltimore  came 
over  to  the  meeting.  A  wonderful  display  of  the  divine 
power  was  soon  seen  among  the  pi-ojde,  and  many  souls 
were  brought  into  the  liberty  of  the  children  of  God  in 
a  short  time.  The  Conference  sat  in  a  private  room, 
while  the  local  preachers,  the  young  traveling  preach- 
ers, and  others  were  almost  continually  engaged  in  car- 
rving  on  the  meeting  in  the  meeting-house,  and  in 
jtrivate  houses.  At  one  time  the  meeting  continued 
without  intermission  for  forty-five  hours,  which  was 
almost  two  days  and  nights."' 

During  a  week,  through  which  this  Conference  con- 
tinued, "there  were  but  few  hours  together  in  which 
there  was  no  one  converted."  "  Many  peoj»le,"  contin- 
ues Lee,  ''  were  converted  in  private  houses  when  by 
themselves,  or  when  they  were  at  prayer  in  the  family. 
I  believe  I  never  saw  before,  for  so  many  days  together, 
a  Hist,  of  Metb.,  p.  271. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHU-RCH.  379 

such  a  glorious  work  of  God,  and  so  many  people 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God  by  the  forgiveness  of 
their  sins,  I  think  there  were  at  least  one  hundred  and 
fifty  souls  converted  at  that  place  in  the  course  of  the 
week.  From  that  time  and  place  the  heavenly  flame 
spread  through  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  and 
the  lower  counties  of  Delaware,  in  an  uncommon  man- 
ner. The  preachers  and  people  carried  the  fire  with 
them  to  their  different  circuits  and  places  of  abode. 
Thousands  will  have  cause  to  bless  God  for  that  Con- 
ference. I  suppose  the  Methodist  Connection  hardly 
ever  kncAV  such  a  time  of  a  general  revival  of  religion, 
through  the  whole  of  their  circuits,  as  they  had  about 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  1800." 

The  excitement  spread  through  most  of  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  and  continued  throughout  the  year.  In  1801 
it  extended  "  greatly  in  most  parts  of  the  Connection," 
but  prevailed  chiefly  in  Maryland  and  Delaware.  It 
was  estimated  that  one  thousand  souls  were  converted 
on  Baltimore  District  in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 
The  revival  overleaped  the  Western  mountains,  and 
we  shall  hereafter  see  that  it  prevailed  in  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  like  fire  on  the  prairies.  In  Virginia  Lee 
says  that  it  was  "  remarkable  to  see  what  a  number  of 
young  people  who  had  been  brought  up  by  religious 
parents,  were  under  serious  impressions,  and  afterward 
happily  converted." 

On  Northampton  Circuit  the  labors  of  Thomas  Smith, 
who  will  soon  be  more  fully  introduced  to  the  I'eader, 
were  signally  successful.  They  provoked  the  opposition 
of  "  Churchmen,"  and  an  efibrt  was  made,  by  one  of 
the  clergy,  to  uproot  the  new  "  sect,  everywhere  spoken 
against,"  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia.  He  an- 
nounced a  public  discourse  against  it,  and  a  vast  as- 


380  HISTORY    OF    THE 

sembly  gathered  to  hear  him  preach,  as  was  said,  the 
"  funeral  sernlon  of" Methodism."  Among  his  hearei-s  was 
Captain  Burton  ;  a  name  then  fiimiliar  in  the  gay  circles 
of  the  community,  but  afterward  historical  in  the  local 
Church  for  important  services.  Burton  was  a  tenacious 
Churchman,  and  extremely  hostile  to  the  new  denomi- 
nation. The  reverend  antagonist  violently  attacked 
Wesley  and  his  whole  system,  and  with  apparent  effect. 
"The  next  day,"  writes  Smith,  "I  met  with  our  much- 
esteemed  friend,  Colonel  W.  Paramour,  a  member  of 
long  standing  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  who 
gave  me  the  outlines  of  the  discourse,  and  remarked 
that  he  thought  it  would  be  expedient  for  Dr.  Coke  to 
return  from  England,  and  clear  up  Wesley's  character, 
or  we  should  be  ruined  as  a  Church.  I  told  the  colonel 
our  cause  was  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  he  would  take 
care  of  it.  Strange  to  tell,  under  this  very  sermon 
Captain  Burton  became  so  troubled  that  he  could  not 
rest  day  nor  night,  through  fear  that  his  minister  might 
be  wrong,  and  the  Methodists  right,  after  all.  Three 
days  having  passed,  and  his  trouble  remaining,  Mrs. 
liurton  said  to  him,  '  What  is  the  matter  with  you  ? 
You  have  not  been  yourself  since  you  came  from  church 
on  Christmas  day.  What  is  the  cause  of  your  distress  ?' 
He  told  her  that  it  was  a  fear  that  he  and  his  minister 
were  both  wrong,  and  the  Methodists,  after  all,  were 
right.  She  advised  him  to  send  for  a  Methodist  preacher 
to  come  and  see  him ;  but  he  objected,  saying,  '  How 
can  I  send  for  a  people  to  come  to  my  house  whom  I 
have  so  bitterly  reviled  ? '  She  replied,  '  Captain  Bur- 
ton, I  have  always  thought  the  Methodists  were  the 
Lord's  people,  and  if  the  Lord  will  forgive  you,  I  am 
sure  they  will.'  After  having  made  up  his  mind  to  do 
as  his  wife  advised,  he  sent  me  a  note,  requesting  me  to 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUECH.  381 

come  and  see  him.  At  the  time  I  received  the  note  I 
knew  Captain  Burton  only  by  character:  that  he  was, 
to  Methodism,  a  Saul  of  Tarsus.  Having  read  the  note, 
I  handed  it  to  the  gentleman  of  the  house,  who  read  it 
with  astonishment,  exclaiming,  '  What  can  be  the  mat- 
ter at  Captain  Burton's  !  But  go,'  said  he  ;  '  Captain 
Burton  is  a  gentleman,  and  will  treat  you  politely.' " 

Smith  sent  him  word  that  he  would  be  at  his  house 
the  following  day.  He  went,  expounded  to  the  assem- 
bled family  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  Methodism, 
prayed  with  them,  "  and  left  them  all  in  tears.*'  "  Be- 
fore night,"  he  adds,  "  I  received  another  note,  saying, 
'  When  can  you  come  and  preach  for  us  ? '  I  an- 
swered, '  On  New  Year's  day,  at  three  o'clock  P.  M.' 
The  next  day,  on  my  way  to  my  appointment,  I  fell  in 
with  some  of  our  warm  frielids  going  to  the  meeting, 
who  said,  'The  people  don't  believe  you  will  preach  at 
Captain  Burton's  to-day ;  they  think  he  is  making  a  fool 
of  you ;  that  he  no  more  intends  to  let  you  preach  at  his 
house  than  he  intends  going  to  the  moon.'  'Very  well,' 
I  said,  '  we  will  go  and  test  it.'  When  we  arrived  at 
the  place  we  found  everything  as  solemn  as  death. 
The  people  were  awed  into  profound  reverence.  It 
was  a  difficult  matter  to  get  into  the  yard,  the  press  of 
hearers  was  so  great.  When  I  got  to  my  station,  at  the 
front  door,  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  I  gave  out  a 
hymn.  After  prayer  I  preached  on  Rom.  xvi,  19,  20: 
'  I  would  have  you  wise  unto  that  which  is  good,  and 
simple  concerning  evil,  and  the  God  of  peace  shall 
bruise  Satan  under  your  feet  shortly.  The  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you.  Amen.'  Before  the 
sun  rose  the  next  day  the  enemy's  flag  was  struck,  and 
the  banner  of  Jesus  Christ  was  waving  there.  This 
night,  this   memorable   night,   never  to  be   forgotten, 


382  HISTORY    OF    THE 

excelled  all  I  had  ever  seen.  At  the  very  commence- 
ment of  the  meetingr  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  as  a 
rushintr,  micrhty  wind;  the  people  fell  before  it,  and  lay 
all  over  the  floor.  The  work  continued  all  nijjht,  nor 
did  it  stop  in  the  morning,  hut  continued  for  thirteen 
day8  and  nisjhts  without  interruption  ;  some  cominc:, 
some  jxoinjr,  so  that  the  meeting  was  kept  up  day  and 
night.  1  did  the  preaching,  and  our  friends  did  the 
praying.  I  have  stood  in  the  yard  in  the  evening,  and 
seen  scores  of  ])eople  coming  along  the  roads,  and  across 
the  fields.  Sometimes  they  would  gather  up  in  the 
fields  or  on  the  roadside  and  form  a  prayer-meeting, 
and  a  number  of  souls  have  been  converted  in  these  out- 
door meetings ;  but  Burton's  house  was  the  center  to 
which  all  came.  I  cannot  dwell  on  particulars,  they 
Avould  make  a  book.  At  the  close  of  this  meeting  wo 
formed  a  new  class  of  fifty-five  members,  who  never  had 
their  names  on  a  class  )>aper  before.  Hurton's  family, 
white  and  cftlored,  were  converted  to  God,  with  many 
other  whole  families,  and  his  house  was  made  a  regular 
]>reaching  place,  where  the  new  class  met,  and  also  a 
class  of  about  forty  colored  members.  Tims,  in  about 
thirteen  days,  we  added  about  ninety-five  to  the  Church 
on  probation.  Burton  and  his  wife  headed  the  class 
jiaper,  then  all  their  children,  then  followed  nearly  all 
their  neighbors.  Some  years  ailer  they  built  them- 
selves a  chapel,  and  there  has  been  a  fine  society  in  that 
jdace  ever  since." 

Burton's  Chapel  was  long  a  humble  but  historical 
monument  of  Methodism  in  that  part  of  Virginia. 
More  than  seven  hundred  members  were  added  to  the 
Church  on  this  circuit  by  the  close  of  the  year. 
"  Glory  to  God ! "  exclaimed  the  itinerant,  as  he  re- 
turned to  it  after  the  Conference  of  1801,  '  the  work 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  883 

still  goes  on  gloriously  !  Our  field  extends  over  two 
counties,  and  is  everywhere  white  unto  the  harvest." 
By  the  end  of  his  second  year  the  additions  amounted 
(for  the  two  years)  to  one  thousand  and  ninety 
members. 

In  1802  the  interest  extended.  At  Rockingham  a 
meeting  continued  nine  days;  "business  was  wholly 
suspended,  merchants  and  mechanics  shut  up  their 
shops,"  and  "little  else  was  attended  to  but  waiting 
upon  the  Lord."  The  people  crowded  in  from  all  the 
surrounding  country,  and  hundreds  were  converted. 
In  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  similar 
scenes  occurred,  and  lasted  through  most  of  our  present 
period.  High  up  the  Yadkin  River  "  the  work  of  the 
Lord  was  very  great,  and  more  or  less  people  were 
converted  at  public  preaching.  One  pi'eacher  said  he 
preached  as  often  as  his  strength  would  admit,  and 
the  power  of  God  attended  his  meetings,  and  from 
three  to  four,  and  sometimes  from  seven  to  eight,  were 
brought  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God 
at  a  meeting."  Lee  formed  new  societies  of  fifty  con- 
verts at  a  time. 

"In  North  Carolina,"  continues  the  historian,  "the 
Avork  of  the  Lord  spread  greatly,  and  was  known  both 
among  saints  and  sinners."  In  South  Carolina  "re 
ligion  gained  ground,  and  in  many  places  it  may  be 
said  to  have  been  all  in  a  flame."  In  Georgia  "  the  Loj-d 
was  pleased  to  favor  the  people  with  an  uncommonly 
prosperous  time  in  religion,  and  many  souls  were 
brought  to  God  at  public  and  private  meetings."  Many 
individual  societies  were  reinforced  by  a  hundred  addi- 
tions at  a  time.  Quai-terly  meetings  were  frequentlj' 
turned  into  pi'otracted  camp-meetings,  and  it  seemed,  to 
the  sanguine  evangelists,  that  the  whole  population  was 


384  HISTORY    OF    THE 

about  to  bow  before  the  power  of  their  word.  In  short, 
the  subsequent  predominance  of  Methodisnt  in  the 
South  can  be  traced  to  the  impulse  that  it  now  received. 
It  spread  out  into  neglected  regions,  where  the  people, 
in  the  absence  of  religious  provisions,  had  been  sinking 
into  barbarism.  Lee  says  that  about  the  beginning  of 
this  general  awakening  George  Clark  went  to  St.  Mary's 
in  Georgia  to  preach,  and  if  possible  to  form  a  circuit. 
He  found  the  people  in  different  places  entirely  destitute 
of  preaching,  and  he  had  to  direct  them  when  to  stand, 
when  to  kneel,  etc.  Some  who  were  grown  to  years 
said  they  had  never  heard  a  sermon  or  prayer  before  in 
all  their  lives.  "  I  suppose,"  he  adds,  ''the  two  counties 
where  he  traveled  principally.  Glen  and  Camden,  were  at 
that  time  less  accjuainted  with  the  public  worship  of  God 
than  any  other  j»art  of  the  Unitetl  States.  However, 
before  the  close  of  the  year,  some  of  the  people  became 
constant  attendants  on  the  word,  were  much  reformed 
in  their  lives,  and  some  of  them  were  truly  converted 
to  God.  On  the  23d  day  of  December,  1799,  there  was 
a  Society  formed  in  the  town  of  Augusta,  in  Georgia, 
which  was  the  first  class  ever  joined  together  in  that 
town.  After  some  time  the  Society  built  a  convenient 
meeting-house." 

There  were  many  such  regions  in  the  South  in  these 
early  times.  A  Methodist  writer,  speaking  of  the  labors 
of  Isaac  Smith,  who  went  forth  in  South  Carolina,  form- 
ing a  circuit,  which  included  the  suggestive  names  of 
"  The  Cypress,  Four  Holes,  Indian  Fields  Saltketlepen, 
Cattle  Creek,  and  Edisto  River,"  says  that  the  state 
of  moral  destitution  throughout  all  this  region  was 
melancholy  in  the  extreme;  that  there  were  whole 
families  who  had  never  seen  a  preacher  nor  heard  a  ser- 
mon ;  that  literally  he  had  to  go  into  the  highways  and 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,  885 

hedges,  to  penetrate  the  swamps  aii«l  canebrakes  in 
search  of  the  demoralized  people,  early  and  late,  by 
day  and  by  night,  through  the  heats  of  the  burning  sun, 
and  exposed  to  the  rains  and  to  the  poisonous  miasma 
of  the  low  country,  risking  health,  and  life  itself 

In  January,  1804,  Asbury  wrote  to  Fleming :  "  Grace, 
mercy,  and  peace  from  Him  that  was,  and  is,  and  is  to 
come,  be  with  thee  and  thine,  now  and  forever.  From 
Kentucky  I  came  on  to  Tennessee.  I  found  tbe  Meth- 
odists generally  living  and  growing.  In  North  and 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  some  very  memorable  dis- 
plays in  large  meetings.  The  north  side  of  Virginia 
you  have  heard  of;  the  south  side  is  glorious.  At  Drom- 
goole's  old  chapel,  at  a  great  meeting,  near  one  hundred 
professed  faith,  besides  many  blacks.  In  Maryland,  you 
have  heard,  at  a  camp  near  Prysterstown,  some  hundreds 
were  moved ;  many  were  converted,  and  some  restored. 
In  Jersey,  Brother  Morrell  writes,  the  Presbyterians 
are  greatly  stirred  up,  riding  about  and  preaching  upon 
week  days.  Upon  Connecticut  River  they  have  had 
a  field-meeting.  The  people  came  from  a  town  called 
Middletown,  in  a  boat,  and  some  were  converted  on 
board  the  boat ;  and  the  work  spread  in  the  town.  In 
the  district  of  Maine  we  have  good  times,  down  to 
tlie  very  east  end  of  the  continent.  In  the  West  and 
South  Conferences  the  increase,  after  the  dead  and  ex- 
pelled are  reckoned,  is  between  three  and  four  thousand." 

Southern  Methodism  was  powerfully  manned  during 
this  joeriod.  M'Kendree,  Whatcoat,  George,  Everett, 
Bruce,  Blanton,  Spry,  Mead,  Jenkins,  Lee,  (the  latter  part 
of  the  time,)  Hitt,  Wilson  Lee,  Dougherty,  M'Caine, 
were  among  its  presiding  elders;  while  such  men  as  Sale, 
Harpei',  Gibson,  Smith,  Hill,  Reed,  Bloodgood,  Sargent, 
Fleming,  Lyell,  M'Coy,  Myers,  Gassaway,  Walters, 
C— 25 


386  HISTORY    OF    THE 

M'Combs,  Daniel  Asbui  y,  Wells,  Cowles,  Jones,  Frjre, 
Kobcrts,  were  among  the  circuit  itinerants. 

George  Dougharty  occupies  a  conspicuous  place  in 
the  early  annals  of  Southern  Metlu^ilisni.  "Among  the 
men  of  tliat  day,  whose  character  looms  grandlj-  up 
from  the  misty  past,"  none,  writes  a  bishop  of  the 
South,*  filled  a  larger  sj>ace  in  the  Church.  We  know 
little  of  his  early  life,  except  that  he  was  born  in  South 
Carolina,  "  reared  in  Newberry  District,  near  Lexing- 
ton line,"*  and  "used  to  cut  ranging  timber  on  the 
Edisto  River."  He  was  early  converted,  and  "came 
into  our  neighborhood,"  says  one  of  his  fellow-itinerants, 
"and  taught  a  school;  in  every  crowd  wliere  the  ^leth- 
odist  schoolmaster  appeared  he  was  a  mark  for  the 
finger  of  scorn  ;"  but  he  maintained  his  integrity,  ap- 
plied himself  to  study,  and  was  at  last  discovered  and 
summoned  out  to  preach,  by  an  itinerant  on  the  neigh- 
boring Rush  River  Circuit,  who  took  him  to  the  South 
Carolina  Conference,  where  he  began  his  regular  minis- 
terial career  in  170S.  "By  application  and  perseverance 
he  took,"  says  his  fellow-evangelist,  "a  stand  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  South  Carolina  band  of  |)ioneers,  mar- 
shaling the  armies  of  the  sacramental  host  from  the  sea 
shore  to  the  Blue  Ridge."  He  was  ungainly  in  his 
person;  tall,  slight,  with  but  one  eye,  and  negligent  of 
dress;  but  his  intellect  was  of  lofty  tone,  his  logical 
powers  remarkable,  and  his  eloquence  at  times  abso- 
lutely irresistible.  An  example  is  recorded,  which 
occurred  at  one  of  those  mixed  woods-meetings  which 
the  primitive  condition  of  the  people  rendered  common 
in  that  day,  and  at  which  all  sorts  of  theological  specu- 
lations came  into  collision.     He  had  been  appointed  to 

•  Bishop  .Andrew,  in  Nashville  Ch.  Advocate. 

*  Rev.  D.  Deirick,  in  So.  Ch.  Ad. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  387 

follow,  without  intermission,  a  preacher  of  another  sect, 
who  dealt  out  lustily  opinions  which,  according  to 
Methodism,  were  dangerous  heresies.  Dougharty,  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  overwhelming  exhortation,  "  urging  compliance  with 
the  conditions  of  salvation.  The  power  of  God  came 
down,  and  one  universal  cry  was  heard  through  all  that 
vast  concourse.  Some  fell  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
others  rising  to  flee  from  the  scene  fell  by  the  way." 
Dougharty,  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." 

One  of  our  best  authorities  in  the  South,  who  often 
heard  him  preach,  says :  "  His  mind  seemed  to  me,  in 
its  relation  to  the  tabernacle  which  it  inhabited,  like 
some  mighty  engine  that  makes  the  timbers  of  the 
vessel  it  is  propelling  tremble.  So  interested  was  he  in 
the  study  of  the  Hebrew,  that  I  remember  reading  to 
him  in  our  English  Bible,  while  he  read  in  his  Hebrew 
Bible,  until  I  observed  the  powerful  workings  of  his 
mind  had  completely  exhausted  him.  He  was  far  in 
advance  of  the  period  in  which  he  lived,  in  his  estimate 
and  advocacy  of  education.  As  early  as  1803  he  was 
laboring  in  his  native  state  for  the  establishment  of  an 
academy,  to  be  under  the  control  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  He  was  about  six  feet  in  stature, 
his  shoulders  a  little  stooping,  his  knees  bending  slightly 
forward,  his  walk  tottering,  and,  in  his  general  appear- 


388  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ance,  a  very  personification  of  frailty.  lie  had  lost  one 
eye  after  he  reaehed  manhood  by  small-pox  ;  and  the 
natural  beauty  of  a  fair  face  had  been  otherwise  dread- 
fully marred  by  the  ravasjes  of  the  same  malady.  His 
hair  was  very  thin,  and  he  wore  it  rather  long,  as  was 
the  custom  of  itinerant  preachers  in  his  day.  His  cos- 
tume, like  that  of  his  brethren  srenerally,  Avas  a  straight 
coat,  long  vest,  and  knee  breeches,  with  stockings  and 
Rhoes,  sometimes  long,  fair-topped  boots,  fastened  by  a 
modest  strap  to  one  of  the  knee  buttons  to  keep  the 
boots  genteelly  up.  And  in  those  days  it  was  a  beautiful 
clerical  dress,  where  the  wearer  was  a  person  of  good 
taste  and  genteel  habits.  But  in  these  little  accom- 
plishments Dougharty  was  sadly  wanting;  indeed,  I 
would  say  that  his  negligence  was  so  great  as  to  form  a 
positive  fault.  Nowithstanding  his  bodily  weakness 
he  preached  almost  daily,  and  often  twice  in  a  day, 
riding  large  circuits  or  districts,  as  his  appointment 
might  be,  for  seven  or  eight  years  successively.  It 
seemed  as  if  his  great  mind  and  warm  heart  infused  into 
his  feeble  frame  a  preternatural  lite  and  energy.  His 
sermons  were  frequently  long,  and  always  character- 
ized by  a  glow  that  seemed  akin  to  inspiration.  His 
supremacy  as  a  preacher  in  his  day  was  never  disputeil, 
to  my  knowledge,  by  any  competent  witness.  I  have 
no  hesitation'  in  expressing  the  opinion  that  George 
Dougharty  had  no  equal  in  his  day  among  his  brethren."* 
In  1801  he  was  attacked  by  a  mob  in  Charleston, 
S.  C,  provoked  by  the  anti-slavery  action  of  the  General 
Conference.  They  dragged  him  from  the  church  to  a 
pump,  where  they  pumped  upon  him  till  he  was  ex- 
hausted, and  would  probably  have  perished,  had  not  a 
heroic  Methodist  woman  interfered,  stopping  up  the 
'  Rev.  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  iu  Spraguc,  p.  291-295. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    C  H  U  1  C  H.  389 

mouth  of  the  pump  with  her  shawl.  She  held  the  mob 
abashed  by  her  remonstrances  till  a  courageous  citizen 
threw  himself  into  their  midst  with  a  drawn  sword, 
rescued  their  victim,  and  led  him  to  a  place  of  shelter. 
lie  never  recovered  from  this  inhuman  treatment,  but 
lingered  with  consumption  till  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference of  1807,  when  his  voice  was  last  heard,  in  that 
body,  proposing  and  advocating  a  resolution,  that  any 
preacher  who  should  desert  his  appointment  "through 
fear  in  times  of  sickness  or  danger,"  shoilld  never  again 
be  employed  by  the  Conference,  a  requisition  necessary 
in  that  region  of  epidemics.  He  "  spoke,"  says  the  old 
Minutes,  "to  the  case  with  amazing  argument  and 
energy,  and  carried  his  cause  like  a  dying  general  in 
victory,"  He  died  this  year  at  Wilmington,  N.  C, 
where  he  was  appropriately  "buried  in  the  African 
Church."  ^  Joshua  Wells,  under  whose  roof  he  exjiired, 
says  "he  spoke  of  death  and  eternity  with  an  engag- 
ing, feeling,  sweet  composure,  and  manifested  an  in- 
describable confidence,  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 ;  and  so  perfect  was 
his  tranquillity,  that  his  true  greatness  was  probably 
never  seen  or  known  until  that  trying  period." 

His  ministerial  brethren  commemorated  him  in  their 
Minutes  as  "  a  great  preacher,"  of  "  an  exceedingly  capa- 
cious "  mind,  having  "  a  fund  of  knowledge,"  and  as  "  to- 
tally dead  to  the  world,  and  indefatigable  in  labor  and 
study."  They  pronounce  him  the  right  character  "  if  they 
wanted  a  guide,  a  pillar,  or  a  man  to  stand  in  the  gap."  "^ 

8  Minutes  of  1808. 

'  The  lady  who  rescued  Dougharty  from  the  mob  was  Mrs.  Martha 
Kugley.     "The  wetting  she  received  at  the  pump  from  the  heartless 


390  HISTORY    OF    THE 

William  Wattcrs,  the  first  native  American  ^Fethodist 
preacher,  reappears  in  the  appointments  for  the  year 
If^Ol,  after  havinj;  been  located  about  oitrhteen  years. 
During  his  location  he  preached  habitually,  and  otlen 
at  distances  of  many  miles  from  his  home.  He  was  now 
fifty  years  old,  mature  in  health  and  character,  of  extreme 
amiability,  good  sense,  sell-possession,  and  soundness  of 
judgment.  During  most  of  our  present  period  he  labored 
at  Alexandria,  Georgetown,  and  Washington.  "I  en- 
joyed," he  writes,  "good  health  and  great  enlargement 
of  heart  for  the  ingathering  of  souls  to  the  Lord's  king- 
dom, with  considenible  life  and  liberty  in  all  the  ordi- 
nances of  his  house,  but  iji  none  more  than  in  dispensing 
the  words  of  eternal  lile.  It  was  to  me  more  than  the 
increase  of  corn,  wine,  or  oil.  I  often  enjoyed  through 
the  silent  hours  of  the  Sabbath  nights,  after  laboring  all 
the  day  an<l  part  of  the  night,  such  a  sacred  sense  of  the 
divine  jiresence  an<l  nearness  to  (he  throne  of  grace  by 
the  precious  blood  of  the  covenant,  that  all  sleep  has 
been  banished  from  my  eyes,  while  I  have  felt 

•Tliut  solemn  awt-  tliat  dnrcs  not  move, 
And  all  the  cilint  heaven  of  love.'  "  » 

He  had  been  gradually  gathering  members  into  the 
societies  of  his  appointments,  when  the  great  revival  of 
these  times  swept  ov<'r  his  field.  "  Many,"  he  says,  "  were 
certainly  reformed  and  converted  to  the  Lord,  but  many 

rnfllans  wna  the  cause  of  her  i)rcmature  death.  Like  Doughiirty,  ehc 
v>as  of  a  con!*umptive  habit,  and  the  cold  acquired  that  winfrj'  night 
never  left  her,  and  she  and  Dougharty  died  about  the  same  time." — 
Annals  of  Southern  Methodism,  by  Kev.  Dr.  Deems,  p.  228.  Nash- 
ville, 1856.  Bangs  says  that  "of  ail  those  concerned  in  this  pcrsccu 
tion  not  one  prospered.  Most  of  them  died  miserable  deaths,  and  one 
of  them  acknowledged  that  God's  curse  lighted  upon  him  for  his  con- 
duct In  this  affair." 
•  Short  Account,  etc.,  p.  137. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         891 

made  a  great  noise  and  ado  that  knew  too  little  of  what 
they  were  about,  and,  from  the  greatness  of  the  work, 
the  spirit  of  the  times,  as  well  as  from  several  other 
causes  that  then  existed,  which  I  do  not  think  proper 
10  mention,  I  never  found  more  difficulty  in  separating 
the  chaff  from  the  wheat  without  endangering  the  i-eal 
woi-k.  There  were  many  in  the  course  of  twelve  months 
added  unto  the  Church,  numbers  of  whom  continue  to 
adorn  their  profession,  yet  the  spirit  and  genius  of  the 
revival  was  not  so  congenial  to  my  feelings  as  the  less 
revival  with  which  we  had  been  blessed  two  years 
before.  But  I  am  sensible,  and  wish  to  be  more  so, 
that  there  are  diversities  of  operations,  the  same  God 
which  working  all  in  all,  and  that  it  belongeth  not  unto 
me  to  dictate,  but  to  follow  the  leadings  of  a  kind  Provi- 
dence, and  that  word  of  inspiration  that  gives  us  infal- 
lible instructions  in  all  such  matters,  so  that  however 
things  may  turn  up  from  the  enemy,  from  sinners,  or 
the  injudicious  among  us,  all  will  end  well  if  we  do  but 
with  patience  and  perseverance,  pursue  the  work  given 
us  to  do."     These  are  characteristic  remarks. 

He  located  again  in  1806,  and  we  get  but  few  later 
glimpses  of  him.  Boehm,  the  traveling  companion 
of  Asbury,  says  that  in  February,  1811,  while  in  Vir- 
ginia, they  "  rode  to  William  Watters's.  He  retired 
from  the  regular  work  in  1806,  but  his  heart  was 
always  in  it.  He  was  now  living  in  dignified  retire- 
ment on  his  farm  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac, 
opposite  Georgetown.  He  was  the  first  traveling 
preacher  raised  up  in  America.  Philip  Gatch  com- 
menced nearly  the  same  time.  They  were  intimate, 
and  in  their  declining  years  corresponded  with  eacK 
other.  Watters  was  a  stout  man,  of  medium  height,  of 
very  venerable  and  solemn  appearance.     Bishop  Asbury 


392  HISTORY    OF    THE 

and  he  were  lifetime  friends.  The  bishop  was  ac- 
quainted with  him  before  he  was  licensed  to  preacli. 
When  these  aged  men  met  on  this  occasion  they  em- 
braced and  saluted  each  other  with  'a  holy  kiss;'  and 
the  bishop,  writing  of  this  visit  in  his  journal,  speaks  of 
him  as  '  my  dear  old  frienil,  William  Watters,'  He  was 
distinguisheti  for  humility,  simplicity,  and  purity.  P\'W 
holier  ministers  has  the  Methodist  Church  ever  had  than 
William  Watters.  I  rejoice  that  I  was  permitted  to 
hear  him  preach,  and  to  be  his  guest ;  to  eat  at  his 
table,  to  sit  at  his  fireside,  to  enjoy  his  friendship  and 
hos[»itality.  His  house  was  for  years  a  regular  preach- 
ing-place on  the  circuit.  In  1S33,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two,  he  died  in  holy  triumph.  His  name  will  go  down 
to  the  end  of  time,  })eariiig  the  honored  title  of  'The 
First  American  Traveling  Preacher."' 

The  biographer  of  his  friend  Gatch,  who  commenced 
preaching  in  the  same  year  with  him,  but  joined  the 
itinerancy  a  little  later,  describes  Watters  in  1813  as  a 
venerable  looking  man  ^  his  head  white,  his  form  erect, 
his  oountenanoe  full  of  benevolence.^  For  some  time 
before  his  death  he  was  totally  blind.  One  of  our  best 
Church  antiquarians  says:  "The  family  to  which  Wat- 
tei-s  belonged  was  ju-rhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
in  the  early  annals  of  American  Methodism.  His  mother 
died  in  her  ninety-second  year.  There  were  seven 
brothers  and  two  sisters.  They  were  among  the  first  of 
those  whose  hearts  and  houses  were  opened  to  receive  the 
Methodist  preachers  when  the  latter  came  into  Harford 

•  Mem.  of  Gatch,  p.  153.  "  It  is  strange  that  so  little  is  known  of 
the  latter  years  of  so  great  and  good  a  man.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
holy  and  useful  men  of  the  many  wljo  have  adorned  Metliodism^a 
Virginian  (jlirislian  gentleman  of  the  right  type.  His  upright  walk 
and  fcterling  character  were  proverbial." — Letter  of  D.  Creamer,  Esq., 
Baltimore,  to  the  author. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCir.         893 

County,  Md. ;  and  several  of  the  brothers,  at  an  early- 
period,  became  official  members  of  the  Methodist  Socie- 
ties. Stephen  was  a  local  preacher,  Nicholas  entered 
upon  the  itinerant  work  in  1786,  and  closed  his  useful 
life  while  stationed  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1805.  One 
of  the  earliest  Methodist  churches  in  Maryland  was 
erected  on  the  farm  of  Henry  Watters,  and  was  only 
removed  a  few  years  since  in  order  to  give  place  to  a 
larger  one.  It  was  there  that  the  famous  Conference 
was  held  in  1777,  when  the  English  preachers,  with  the 
exception  of  Asbury,  gave  up  the  field,  and  returned  to 
their  native  country.  The  old  homestead  is  still  in  pos- 
session of  the  family ;  Henry  Watters,  Esq.,  the  oldest 
son  of  his  father,  and  class-leader  in  the  Church,  is  the 
proprietor.  What  imperishable  memories  cluster  around 
the  sweet  rural  mansion  where  Pilmoor  and  Boardman, 
Coke  and  Asbury,  so  often  lodged  and  prayed  !  Verily, 
'  the  righteous  shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance.""" 

William  Gassaway  has  left  many  an  interesting  tra- 
dition in  the  Southern  Church.  He  was  one  of  those 
lowly  men  whom  Methodism  so  often  rescued  from  vice 
and  obscurity,  and  made  princes  in  Israel — a  wild,  profli- 
gate youth,  a  hard  drinker,  a  formidable  pugilist,  a 
famous  fiddler  in  bacchanalian  scenes,  and  afterward 
as  ardent  a  saint  and  apostle.  A  southern  bishop" 
has  endeavored  to  rescue  his  memory,  and  says, 
he  chanced  one  day  to  attend  a  Methodist  meeting, 
where  the  gospel  came  to  his  heart  in  power, 
arousing  him  from  his  guilty  dream  of  pleasure  and 
security.  When  penitents  were  invited  forward  for 
prayers,  he,  with  others,  accepted  the  invitation.  This 
surprised  everybody.    The  dancing  people  said,  "  What 

»o  Rev.  Dr.  Hamilton,  in  Spiague,  p.  49.  ''  Bishop  Andrew. 


394  HISTORY    OV    THE 

shall  we  do  for  a  fiddler  ?  "  Every  one  hud  something 
to  say  about  Gassaway.  Many  prophesied  he  would 
not  hold  out  loni;.  But  those  who  knew  him  best  said, 
"lie  is  trone !  the  Mothcxlists  have  j^ot  him!  he  will 
never  play  tlu*  fiddle,  or  drink,  or  fiifht  any  more!" 
His  religious  impressions  were  profound,  but  he  was 
almost  utterly  ignorant  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  and 
expected  to  be  saved  by  self-niortifieation.  For  some 
time,  detesting  himself  as  a  sinner,  he  w«)uld  not  even 
drink.  Passing  a  stream  he  allowed  his  horse  to  drink, 
saying,  "  You  may,  you  are  not  a  sinner ;  but  I  am.  I 
will  not  drink."  There  remains  a  fragnu'utary  record 
of  his  life  about  this  time,"  in  whieh  he  says  he  was 
totally  ignorant  of  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christian- 
ity. "  I  understood  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of 
(lod,  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world;  but  that  he  had 
died  for  my  sins,  and  for  his  sake,  and  his  sake  alone, 
the  Father  would  forgive  my  sins,  was  what  I  knew 
nothing  at  all  al)out  ;  and,  what  was  worse,  I  knew  of 
nobody  to  whcmi  I  could  go,  but  one  man,  who  was  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church;  and  so  little  did  I 
know  of  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity,  I  thought,  as  I 
had  been  up  for  the  Methodists  to  pray  for  me,  that 
this  man  would  show  me  no  favor.  Hut  at  last,  so 
jiungent  were  my  convictions,  that  I  concluded  to  go 
and  see  this  old  Presbyterian  man  anyhow.  So  I 
went.  I  did  not  know  how  to  make  any  apology,  so 
I  just  told  him  plainly  my  condition.  Think  of  my 
surprise  when  he  took  me  into  his  open  arms,  say- 
ing to  me,  'The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  with  you. 
See   that    you    don't   quench   that   Spirit.      Make    my 

>'  Bishop  Andrew  quotes  from  a  MS.  in  possession  of  Colonel 
Thoma-s  Williums,  of  Montijomery,  Gil,  "whose  honse  was  for  miiny 
years  one  of  Gasbaway's  hoinea." 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         395 

house   your   home.      I  will  give   you   all    the   help   I 
can.' " 

This  good  Presbyterian  was  Major  Joseph  M'Junkin, 
of  Union  District,  S.  C,  a  man  of  genuine  piety  and 
recognized  Christian  standing,  who  knew  how  to  appre- 
ciate Gassaway's  peculiar  chai'acter,  and  now  became 
his  instructor,  for  he  kept  him  at  his  house  some  weeks, 
that  he  might  guide  and  fortify  him,  exhorting  him 
"  never  to  look  back,  but  to  persevere  to  the  end,  for 
only  such  could  be  saved."  He  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  untutored  inquirer  Baxter's  "  Saints'  Rest."  Gas- 
saway  says  that  he  took  the  book,  and  walked  out 
into  the  woods  near  a  little  stream.  He  had  been 
long  weeping  over  his  sins,  and  confessing  them  to  God, 
and  in  deep  sorrow  he  sat  down  to  read.  He  says  he 
had  not  read  long  "  before  the  Lord,  the  King  of  glory, 
for  the  sake  of  his  Son,  baptized  him  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  fire  from  heaven,"  and  that  he  was  never 
better  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  any  fact  in  his  life  than 
he  was  of  his  conversion  at  this  time.  "  With  no  human 
being  near  me,  I  immediately  got  on  my  knees,  and 
thanked  God,  and  then  and  there  dedicated  myself, 
soul,  body,  and  spirit,  to  him,  and  covenanted  to  be 
his  for  ever.  I  returned  immediately  to  the  house 
of  my  fi'iend,  and  told  him  the  whole  story.  He 
blessed  God,  called  his  family  together,  told  them 
what  had  taken  place,  and  then  we  all  united  in  prayer 
and  in  praise." 

Having  thus  found  his  way  into  the  "  path  of  life,"  he 
was  soon  leading  others  into  it  more  zealously  than  he 
had  ever  led  them  in  the  dance.  Joining  the  Method 
ists,  he  became  an  exhorter,  then  a  local  preacher,  and, 
at  last,  a  genuine  hero  of  the  itinerancy,  in  which,  for 
about  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he  was  one  of  the  most 


396  UISTORY    OF    THE 

laborious  and  successful  evangelists  of  the  South,  spread- 
ini;  out  Methodism  over  much  of  Georgia  and  North 
and  South  Carolina.  He  "had  a  large  family,  and  poor 
pay,"  says  one  of  his  contemporaries,"  and  had  to  locate 
in  1613,  but  continued  to  labor  with  energy  and  suc- 
cess. He  is  described  as  a  man  exceeilingly  given  to 
prayer,  and  of  the  most  childlike  and  absolute  faith 
in  prayer,  committing  his  ways  unto  God,  and  thence- 
forward being  "careful  for  nothing,"  Not  a  few  ex- 
amples of  the  power  of  his  prayers  and  preaching  are 
still  current  in  the  Southern  Church.  While  traveling 
on  a  circuit,  which  includi-d  Camden,  S.  C,  a  very  pow- 
erful religious  interest  broke  out,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  persons  were  converted.  Among  these  was 
a  lady  whose  husband,  then  absent,  was  noted  for  his 
violent  hostility  to  religion.  When  he  returned  he 
became  furious,  ordered  his  wife  to  have  her  name  taken 
off  the  Church  books,  and  swore  he  would  cowhide  the 
]>reacher.  ^lany  of  Gassaway's  friends  admoiiishetl 
him  to  keep  away,  for  they  knew  the  violent  sj)irit 
of  his  opposer;  but,  "according  to  the  )»reacher's  wont, 
he  carried  this  matter  to  God  in  jtrayer,  and  seems  to 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  in  the  order  of  God, 
he  was  on  that  circuit,  and  as  Camden  was  in  his  circuit, 
it  was  his  duty  to  go  there  and  preach,  and  leave  God 
to  manage  consequences.  At  the  apj)ointed  time  ac- 
cordingly he  was  found  at  his  appointment.  He  arose 
to  preach,  and  there  sat  his  enemy  before  him,  with  a 
countenance  of  wrath  and  storm,  and  a  cowhide  in 
his  hand,  prcjtared  to  execute  his  threat.  Gassaway 
gave  out  his  hymn,  and  sang  it ;  he  knelt  in  prayer, 
and  God  was  with  him.  He  arose  from  his  knees,  took 
his  text,  and  pmceeded  to  preach;  but  before  he  con- 
"  Autobiograpby  of  Josepli  Travis,  p.  197.     Nashville,  1856. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  397 

eluded  he  saw  that  his  persecutor  was  yielding,  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.  "  It  was  not  long  before 
he  was  happily  converted,  and  united  with  his  wife 
in  the  way  to  heaven,  and  of  course  he  became  one 
of  Gassaway's  warmest  friends."  '^* 

"  I  was  well  acquainted  with  him,"  says  one  of  our 
authorities.  "  When  but  a  youth  I  was  accustomed 
to  hear  him  preach  at  my  uncle's  in  Chester  District, 
South  Carolina;  and  when  I  entered  the  itinerancy,  it 
was  in  the  same  Conference  to  which  he  belonged.  He 
was  a  sound,  orthodox  preacher,  and,  on  suitable  occa- 
sions, argumentative  and  polemical,  a  great  lover  and 
skilfull  defender  of  Methodist  doctrines  and  usages. 
He  was  a  pleasant  and  sociable  companion,  always 
cheerful.  I  never  saw  him  gloomy.  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  lived, 
'  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost.'  But  where  is  the 
periodical  or  paper,  religious  or  secular,  that  has  re- 
corded his  exit  ?  '  The  righteous  should  be  in  evei-last- 
ing  remembrance,'  and  William  Gassaway  ought  to  be 
numbered  with  the  blessed  company."  '^ 

William  Gassaway  had  the  honor  of  calling  out  to 
the  itinerant  field  Bishop  Capers,  who  speaks  of  him  as 
"that  most  godly  man,  and  best  of  ministers,"'^  and 
began  his  own  distinguished  career  by  riding  a  circuit 
with  the  humble  itinerant,  and  "exhorting"  after  his 
sermons. 

Enoch  George  resumed  his  itinerant  labors  in  lYQO 

"  Bishop  Andrew.  i^  Travis,  p.  198. 

18  Bisliop  Wig-btman's  "  Life  of  Capers,"  p.  76.     Nashville,  1858. 


3r^8  IIISTOH  Y     OF    Til  K 

on  Rockingham  Ciiriiit,  Virginia,'"  where,  he  says,  "tho 
windows  of  heaven  were  again  opened,  and  grace  de- 
scended upon  us."  In  IHOO  he  had  cliargc  of  a  district 
extending  from  the  AUeghaiiies  to  the  Chesaj)eake  Bay, 
and  requiring  from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred 
miles  travel  (juarti-rly.  His  excessive  labors  brought 
back  his  old  intirniities,  for  "in  those  days,"  he  says, 
"the  preachers  'ceased  not  t(t  warn  every  one  night 
and  day  with  tears'  in  doing  the  work  given  them,  and 
exerted  themselves  not  only  to  increase  the  numbers, 
but  the  holiness  of  the  people.  It  was  our  duty  to 
attend  diligently  to  the  Africans,  in  forming  and  estab- 
lishing socifties;  but  as  their  masters  would  not  allow 
them  to  attend  the  meetings  during  the  day,  we  were 
obliged  to  meet  them  at  night.  Oftentimes  this  kept 
us  up  and  out  till  late,  in  this  unhealthy  climate,  which 
had  a  destructive  influence  upon  our  health.  We  were 
'very  zealous  for  the  Lord  of  hosts;'  and  having  for 
the  most  part  no  family  ties,  we  wanted  'but  little  here 
below,'  and  were  ready  to  'count  all  things  but  loss,' 
that  we  might  'take  heed  unto,  and  faithfully  fulfill,  the 
ministry  we  had  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus.'"  He 
broke  down,  was  again  loeated,  and  taught  school  in 
Winchester,  Va.,  for  his  support.  He  preached  mean- 
while on  Sabbaths,  and  having  recovered  sufticieut 
strength  re-entered  the  itinerancy  in  1H03,  and  laborid 
successively  and  mightily  on  Frederick  Circuit,  Balti- 
more District,  Alexandria  District,  Georgetown,  Fred 
crick,  Montgomery,  and  Baltimore  Circuits,  and  Balti- 
more and  Georgetown  Districts,  till  his  consecration  to 
the  episcopate. 

William    M'Kendree    traveled    during    the    present 
period,  down  to  the  end  of  the  century,  on  vast  districts 
>'  Metb.  Qu:  rt.  Rev.,  18:30,  p.  253. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    lHURCH.         399 

in  Virginia:  on  the  Richmond  District  from  1796  to 
1799,  superintonding  five  great  circuits  in  Eastern  and 
Southern  Virginia,  to  which  were  added,  at  the  close  of 
the  first  year,  three  more  in  the  mountainous  west  of  the 
state,  thus  bringing  him  further  under  frontier  train- 
ing for  his  great  Western  mission,  which  was  now  at 
hand.  His  labors  were  almost  superhuman,  interfering, 
he  says,  with  his  studies  and  impairing  his  nervous  sys- 
tem ;  but  he  rejoiced  in  the  rapid  extension  of  the 
Church.  In  1799  he  was  appointed  over  a  district, 
which  comprised  no  less  than  nine  circuits,  extending 
along  the  Potomac,  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  reach- 
ing from  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  to  the  heights 
of  the  Alleghanies.  In  1 800  he  was  again  on  his  Rich- 
mond District,  but  had  passed  round  it  only  once  when 
Asbury  and  Whatcoat  met  him,  with  orders  to  pack 
up  forthwith,  and  throw  himself  into  the  great  Western 
field  as  leader  of  its  itinerant  pioneers.  "  I  was,"  he 
says,  "  without  my  money,  books,  or  clothes.  These 
were  all  at  a  distance,  and  I  had  no  time  to  go  after 
them ;  but  I  was  not  in  debt,  therefore  unembarrassed. 
Of  moneys  due  me  I  collected  one  hundred  dollars, 
bought  cloth  for  a  coat,  carried  it  to  Holston,  and  left 
it  with  a  tailor  in  the  bounds  of  my  new  district.  The 
bishops  continued  their  course  :  my  business  was  to 
take  care  of  their  horses,  and  wait  on  them,  for  they 
were  both  infirm  old  men."  They  were  soon  descend- 
ing the  western  slope  of  the  Alleghanies,  whither  we 
shall  hereafter  follow  them. 

Tobias  Gibson,  also,  after  seven  years  of  hardest  serv- 
ice in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  penetrating,  in  1 795,  to 
the  Holston  region,  departed  in  1799  for  the  farther  west, 
the  first  Methodist  pioneer  of  the  Southern  INIississippi 
Valley  ;  we  shall  soon  have  occasion  to  greet  him  there. 


400  UISTORY    OF    1  flE 

Among  the  host  of  able  men  cf  this  period  in  the 
ministry  of  the  South,  two  appeared  who  presented  pre- 
eminent attractions  as  eloquent  preachers,  William  l{y- 
land  and  James  Smith.  The  former  was  an  Irishman, 
and  a  bom  orator.  He  joined  the  itinerancy  in  1802, 
and  continued  in  it  forty-two  years.  He  was  six  times 
elected  cliapKain  to  Congress,  and  was  pronounced,  by 
the  statesman,  William  Pinckncy,  the  greatest  ])ulpit 
orator  he  had  ever  heard.  General  Jackson  admired 
him  enthiisiastically  while  senator;  and  arriving  in 
Washington  for  his  inauguration  as  President  of  the 
nation,  hastened,  the  next  day,  to  see  him,  the  itinerant 
being  then  on  a  sick  bed.  "  General,"  said  Ryland, 
"  you  have  been  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 
Xo  man  can  govern  this  great  nation,  no  sane  man 
should  think  of  doing  so,  without  asking  wisdom  of  God 
to  direct  him,  and  strength  to  supjtort  him;"  at  the 
same  time,  suiting  his  actions  to  his  words,  he  drew  the 
general  down  to  the  side  of  the  bed,  and  offered  up  a 
ft-rvent  prayer  for  him,  and  also  for  the  peace  and  jiros- 
perity  of  the  country.  Upon  leaving  the  room,  Jackson 
took  him  by  the  hand,  saying,  "I  know  that  your 
Clmrch  makes  no  provision  for  her  preachers  in  the 
decline  of  life;  but  I  will  see  that  you  are  taken  care 
of  in  your  old  age."  In  a  few  days  after  his  inaugura- 
tion he  sent  Ryland  a  chaplain's  cotnmission,  and  sta- 
tioned him  at  the  Navy  Yard  in  Washington  City.'® 
For  seventeen  years  he  occupied  this  office,  to  the  honor 
of  his  Church  and  the  naval  service.  He  was  a  diligent 
student,  and  acquired  a  knowledge  not  only  of  general 
English  literature,  but  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew. 
He  was  fastidiously  exact  in  all  his  habits,  extremely 
neat  in  his  jierson,  wearing  the  simple  clerical  garb  of 
'«  Rev.  Dr.  Hamilton,  in  Spitiguc,  p.  393. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        401 

his  brethren  to  the  last.  He  was  six  feet  in  stature,  of 
robust  frame,  and  in  extreme  age  his  countenance  was 
fresh  and  delicate  as  that  of  a  woman ;  his  manners 
dignified,  his  voice  of  great  compass  and  surpassing 
melody;  his  pronunciation  faultless,  his  diction  pure, 
terse,  Saxon.  A  church,  in  the  national  capital,  bears 
his  name. 

James  Smith  joined  the  Baltimore  Conference  in  the 
same  year  with  Ryland.  He  began  to  preach  when 
only  sixteen  years  old,  and  was  hardly  twenty  when 
he  began  to  travel.  He  occupied  important  appoint- 
ments in  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania,  down 
to  the  year  1826,  when  he  died  in  Baltimore.  Among 
his  stations  were  Washington,  Baltimore,  and  Phila- 
delphia. He  was  a  delegate  in  three  General  Con- 
ferences. "A  man  of  high  intellect,"'^  of  kind  and 
generous  feelings,  of  excessive  humor  in  the  familiar 
cirles  of  his  ministerial  brethren ;  "  one  of  the  most 
ti'ansparent  and  ingenuous  of  men,"  and  of  "manly  and 
stirring  eloquence."  He  had  a  voice  of  great  compass 
and  harmony,  and  susceptible  of  such  variety  of  intona- 
tion as  to  express,  with  the  finest  effect,  every  shade  of 
thought  he  might  wish  to  convey.  His  language  was 
nervous  and  chaste.  "  Taking  into  account  the  matter 
and  style  of  his  sermons,  together  with  the  manner  of  de- 
livery, I  have,"  says  his  friend.  Bishop  Waugh,  "  known 
few  more  attractive  preachers.  He  appeared  to  great 
advantage  as  a  debater  in  our  ecclesiastical  judicatories, 
especially  on  the  floor  of  an  Annual  or  General  Con- 
ference. On  such  occasions  he  gave  fine  specimens  of 
forensic  eloquence,  ancf  often  produced  a  wonderful 
impression."  He  was  nearly  six  feet  in  height,  stout 
and  erect,  with  fair  complexion,  silky  auburn  hair,  a 

"  Bishop  Waugh,  in  Sprague,  p.  873. 
C— 26 


402  HISTORY    OF    THE 

round  and  benevolent  face,  with  a  singul  ir  ditTcrence  in 
the  color  of  his  eyes,  "  one  being  a  soft  and  beautiful 
blue,  the  other  so  dark  a  hazel  as  to  become  coal-black 
at  night,  or  when  he  was  excited  in  conversation  or 
preaching.  It  had  always  this  shade  when  you  saw 
him  at  the  distance  of  the  iniljtit.  In  talking  or  ])reach- 
ing  he  could  hardly  speak  without  being  eloquent.  He 
was  fond  of  arguing,  and,  when  animated  with  a  melt- 
ing or  a  kindling  eye,  and  the  high  or  low  cadences  of 
a  gottd  voice,  it  was  a  treat  to  listen.  As  a  jireacher  he 
was  in  marked  contrast  with  the  venerable  Kyland. 
While  Rvl:ind  was,  in  every  tone  and  gesture,  awfully 
solemn  and  impressive,  Smith,  by  word  and  look,  was 
winning  and  attractive.  The  one  inspired  reverence, 
the  other  secured  love."^"  lie  had  remarkable  fervor 
and  pathos  in  prayer. 

By  the  close  of  this  period  the  Minutes  had  ceased  to 
return  Church  members  according  to  states,  but  re- 
])orted  them  according  to  Conferences.  There  were 
now  three  of  these  bodies  in  the  South:  Baltimore 
C(Miference,  with  23,C4G  members ;  Virginia,  with 
17,130;  and  South  Carolina,  with  14,510.  The  aggre- 
gate of  Southern  Methodists  was  55,295,  of  whom  more 
than  14,000  were  Africans.  The  gain  for  the  last  eight 
years  had  been  1 5,554,  an  average  of  nearly  two  lhf»usand 
a  year.  The  South  had  now  nearly  one  half  of  all  the 
nu'ml)ership  of  the  Church,  including  that  of  ( 'anada. 
More  than  a  hunclred  and  sixty  itinerants  were  abroad 
in  its  Conferences.'^' 

»  Rev.  Dr.  Sargent,  in  Spragnc,  p.  377. 

»'  These  Conferences  Included,  however,  portions  of  what  I  have 
hitherto  called  the  West,  that  is  to  say,  the  regions  of  Viriennia  and 
Pennsylvania  west  of  the  mountains.  The  Western  Conference  was 
now  organized,  and  was  limited  to  western  states,  except  a  portion  of 
the  Holbton  countr}'. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  403 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 

METHODISM  IN  THE   MIDDLE  AND   NORTHERN   STATES  : 
1796-1804. 

Great  Religious  Interest  —  Its  Excesses  —  It  extends  over  the  Nation 

—  Senator  Bassett  —  Asbury  —  Ware  —  Dr.  Rush's  Interest  for  Meth- 
odism—Dr.  Chandler's  Services  —  Solomon  Sharp's  Character  — 
A  Practical  Joke  — Thomas  Smith  attempts  Suicide  —  Becomes  a 
Useful  Preacher  —  Curious  Facts  in  his  Ministry  —  A  Solemn  Wasrer 

—  Persecution  —  Restoration  of  a  Decayed  Church  — Henry  Boehm 

—  Boehm's  Chapel  — Boehm  Itinerating  in  Maryland  — The  Eniials 
and  Airy  Families— Singular  Introduction  of  Methodism  into  Anna- 
messcx  — Boehm  among  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania  — Sketch  of 
Jacob  Gruber  —  Peter  Vannest  —  Thomas  Burch  —  The  "  Albright " 
Methodists  —  Dr.  Power's  German  Translation  of  the  Methodist 
Discipline. 

The  Church  in  the  Middle  States  shared  largely  in  the 
religious  interest  which  we  have  noticed  as  prevailing 
throughout  the  South  in  the  present  period.  It  was 
indeed  universal,  if  not  simultaneous,  from  Maine  to 
Tennessee,  from  Georgia  to  Canada.  Some  of  our  early 
authorities  attribute  it  to  the  impulse  given  by  the 
labors  of  Wooster  in  the  latter  section  of  the  denomina- 
tion. It  seems,  however,  to  have  been  one  of  those 
mysterious  "  times  of  refreshing "  which  appear  at  in- 
tervals ia  Christian  communities,  pass  through  their 
salutary  cycle,  and  subside,  to  reappear  in  due  time. 
Some  excesses  were  incidental,  if  not  unavoidable  to 
the  excitement.  Watters,  as  has  been  observed,  was 
perplexed  by  them.  Enoch  George  hesitated  before 
them,  and  used  repressive  measures  at  first ;  but  these 
prudent  men,  and  their  brethren  generally,  seem  to  have 


404  HISTORV    OF    THE 

arrived  at  the  conclusion  of  Wesley  and  his  colaborers 
in  similar  cases,  that  such  proofs  of  human  weakness, 
or  even  folly,  were  not  disproofs  of  the  LTcnuineness  of 
the  revi\al;  it  being  natural,  if  not  inevitable,  that 
human  infirmity  should  mingle  (?ven  with  a  divine 
work  among  fallen  men.  They  saw  that  the  results  of 
the  excitement  were  salutary,  that  its  general  character 
was  good,  its  defects  exceptional. 

In  Haltimore  it  prevailed  mightily.  Asbury  had 
written  from  the  South,  advising  the  pastors  of  the  city 
to  open  j)rayer-meeting8  in  private  houses  wherever 
jtossible.  Many  were  now  hehl,  and  they  spread  relig- 
ious influence  through  many  neighborhoods  hardly 
otherwise  accessible  to  the  labors  of  the  Church.  A 
great  part  of  the  community  seemed  roused  by  them  to 
religious  imjuiry.  The  (juickening  spirit  extended  all 
through  Maryland  and  Delaware ;  the  chapels  and 
meetings  at  private  houses  were  crowded  in  the  even- 
ings, and  by  day  the  harvest  fields,  workshojis,  the 
forests,  where  the  woodmen  were  cutting  timber,  and 
tlu'  homes  of  the  people  were  vocal  with  Methodist 
hymns.  It  seemed,  remarks  a  witness  of  the  scene,  that 
all  the  population  were  turning  unto  the  Lord,'  In 
some  small  villages  the  societies  were  recruited  by  the 
addition  of  hundreds  of  members.  On  the  Baltimore 
District  hosts  of  souls  were  converted  in  1801,  when 
the  excitement  had  reached  its  height,  and  the  contem- 
jiorary  historian  of  the  Church'  shows  that,  during  three 
or  four  years  more,  it  spread  like  fire  in  stubble  through 
all  |)arts  of  the  country.  About  the  beginning  of  the 
century  the  yellow  fever  prevailed  in  the  Atlantic  cities, 
and  added  much  to  the  religious  seriousness  of  the 
times.  The  Methodist  preachers  were  steadfast  at  their 
>  See  vol.  U,  p.  460.  »  Lee,  1801-1804. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         405 

posts  through  the  period  of  the  jiestilence  in  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore.  Some  perished  by  it,  but 
their  Churches  prospered  greatly.  George  Roberts  con- 
tinued, during  its  prevalence  in  Baltimore,  to  preach 
regularly,  "  while  hundreds  were  falling  its  victims  on 
bis  right  hand  and  his  left."  Light-street  Church  was 
crowded  continually  with  moi'e  than  two  thousand 
hearers.  "  More  or  less,"  he  says,  "  are  hopefully  con- 
verted every  week.  In  Philadelphia,  it  is  said,  there  is 
a  very  great  revival  of  religion,  and  near  one  hundred 
have  been  added  to  the  society  in  two  weeks."  Senator 
Bassett  wrote  to  Asbury  from  Dover,  Del.,  in  1801: 
"  Glory  to  God,  he  has  done  wondei-s !  About  one  hund- 
red and  thirteen,  white  and  black,  were  joined  in  society 
yesterday,  and,  from  what  I  hear,  I  doubt  not  but  as 
many,  if  not  twice  the  number,  who  went  away  wounded 
and  crippled,  sick  and  sore,  will  be  joined  in  different 
parts  of  the  country ;  all  the  fruits  of  this  blessed 
meeting." 

Bassett  was  practically  a  lay  evangelist  among  his 
neighbors.  He  held  at  Dover  a  sort  of  annual  pro- 
tracted meeting,  with  daily  preaching  and  prayer- 
meetings  at  sunrise,  for  a  whole  week.  "  O  the  won- 
ders of  redeeming  love  !  "  he  writes  in  1802  ;  "  without 
controversy  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness.  I  con- 
ceive I  am  within  bounds  when  I  say  the  congregations 
this  day,  had  they  been  numbered,  were  seven  thousand 
souls.  I  say  congregations,  for  such  was  the  multitude, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  have  three  preachers  engaged 
at  the  same  time,  the  congregations  at  a  proper  dis- 
tance from  each  other;  and  this  was  not  enough,  a 
fourth  congregation  might  have  been  found.  Surely 
the  scene  was  awful ;  a  time  to  be  remembered,  and  a 
day  of  great  solemnity.     The  power  of  God  was  great 


■iOf)  HISTORY    OF    THE 

among  saints  and  sinners.  We  had  also  a  glorious  day 
and  night  both  in  the  house  of  God,  and  my  own  house  ; 
several  were  |»owerfulIy  awakened,  at  private  houses, 
in  times  of  singing  and  )>rayer.  On  Monday  sinners 
began  to  be  greatly  alarmed  and  powerfully  agitated  in 
mind.  On  Tuesday,  after  preaching,  the  sacrament  was 
atlministered.  This  was  the  most  gracious,  solemn,  and 
rejoicing  time  I  ever  saw.  I  conclude  there  were  not 
less  than  between  twelve  and  fifteen  hundred  who  came 
to  the  Lord's  table,  white  and  colored  people.  In  this 
exercise  many  sinners  were  cut  to  the  heart,  and  power- 
ful convictions  took  place,  most  of  which  I  believe  ended 
in  sound  conversions,  and  many  backsliders  were  re- 
claimed. O  the  astonishing  goodness  of  the  all-wonder- 
working God !  I  presume  there  wore  not  less  than 
from  twenty  to  thirty  souls  converted  or  sanctified  in 
my  own  house  during  the  meeting.  Blessed  be  God 
for  it.  I  know  you  will  say  in  your  heart,  Amen.  The 
twQ  last  days  our  meeting  was  the  best,  and  so  it  was 
at  tlie  last  yearly  meeting.  Our  blessed  God,  fn  both 
instances,  kept  the  best  wine  to  the  last.  We  continued 
till  three  o'clock  on  Friday  morning.  It  gave  me  some 
grief  that  we  did  not  hold  out  longer,  because  I  saw  such 
an  uncommon  thirst  in  the  h«'arts  of  the  j)eoj)le  of  God. 
There  must  have  been  some  hundreds  awakened." 

Wilson  Li'c  writes,  in  180.3:  "The  work  in  the  city 
(Baltimore)  and  circuits  has  been  moving  on  in  power. 
In  the  federal  city  and  Georgetown  a  goodly  number 
have  joined  society.  In  Prince  George  and  Calvert 
Circuits  seven  hundred  and  seventy-two  joined  in  the 
first  six  months  after  Conference,  and,  from  the  informa- 
tion I  received,  in  two  rounds  afterward  upward  of  one 
thousand  joined.  In  other  places  the  work  has  been 
going  forward  without  any  visible  declension," 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         407 

Similar  reports  were  made,  from  all  parts  of  the 
Church,  down  to  1805,  and  so  extraordinary  was  this 
almost  universal  revival,  that  it  was  deemed  expedient 
to  put  upon  record  some  account  of  it,  by  the  publica- 
tion of  several  letters  of  preachers  and  laymen,  to  As- 
bury,  describing  its  scenes  in  various  parts  of  the 
country.' 

Asbury  made  no  less  than  twelve  passages  over  the 
Middle  States  in  these  years,  going  to  and  returning 
from  the  East ;  but,  as  usual  in  this  mature  portion  of 
the  Church,  his  notes  are  too  meager  to  afford  any  his- 
torical information  or  interest. 

Thomas  Ware,  Avhom  we  have  met  in  so  many  widely 
a23art  sections,  was  sent  at  the  beginning  of  this  period 
to  the  Philadelphia  District,  which  extended  from  Wil- 
mington, Del.,  to  the  Seneca  Lake,  N.  Y.  "  A  glorious 
religious  excitement,"  he  writes,  "  commenced  on  Stras- 
burgh  and  Chester  Circuits,  which  spread  through  the 
whole  peninsula,  exceeding  anything  I  have  ever  wit- 
nessed. This  revival  embraced  all  classes,  governor, 
judges,  lawyers,  and  statesmen,  old  and  young,  rich 
and  poor,  including  many  of  the  African  race,  who 
adoi-ned  their  profession  by  a  well-ordered  life,  and 
some  of  them  by  a  triumphant  death.  For  Strasburgh 
Circuit  I  felt  a  particular  interest,  as  it  had  now  become 
the  place  of  my  residence.  Many  of  the  children  of  the 
early  Methodists  were  nearly  grown  up,  and  but  few  of 
them  professed  religion,  and  some  who  had  long  prayed 
for  a  revival  had  become  almost  discouraged.  Such 
was  the  state  of  things  on  this  circuit  when  I  j^revailed 

3  Tliis  volume  was  entitled  "Extracts  of  Letters,  containing  some 
Account  of  the  Work  of  God  since  the  Year  1800,  etc.  New  York, 
1805."  An  edition  was  printed  also  at  Bernard,  Vt.,  in  1812.  It  has 
long  been  out  of  print.     My  citations  are  from  it. 


408  HISTORY    OF    THE 

on  Bishop  Asbury  to  aj>poinl  Dr.  Chandler  to  it,  as  tie 
most  likely,  in  my  estimation,  to  be  useful  in  stirring 
up  the  people.  Dr.  Chandler,  at  the  time  I  obtained 
liis  consent  to  travel,  was  reading  medicine  with  Dr. 
liush.  He  had  been  for  some  time  a  licensed  preacher. 
lie  was  gifted,  enterprising,  and  every  way  well  quali- 
fied for  the  itinerant  work ;  and  in  that  capacity  I 
thought  he  would  be  most  likely  to  be  useful.  I  had  a 
very  particular  frieudship  for  him,  as  I  had  long  known 
him  and  his  habits,  which  I  believed  were  such  as  would 
render  him  eminently  successful  in  the  work  of  saving 
souls,  if  he  would  give  himself  up  wholly  to  the  service 
of  the  Church.  I  accordingly  communicated  with  him 
on  the  subject,  but  he  ]»lea<led  his  engagements  with 
Dr.  Hush  as  a  barrier  against  his  going  out  into  the 
field.  I  accordingly  waited  on  the  venerable  Rush, 
and  exj)ressed  to  him  my  views  respecting  the  duty 
of  Chandler,  who  jterfectly  agreed  with  me  in  the 
matter,  and  cheerfully  released  him  from  his  engage- 
ments, and  he  i-ntered  with  all  his  soul  into  the  work." 

Rush  was  himself  a  Methodist  in  spirit,  if  not  in 
name.  \h-  educated  in  medicine  several  Methodist 
jireachers  who  were  com|»elled  to  locate  by  the  growth 
of  their  families.  He  entertaiiie<l  at  his  house  many  of 
them  «luring  the  sessions  of  the  Conferences,  addressed 
the  Philadeljthia  Conference  in  behalf  of  "  temj)erance," 
heard  with  admiration  the  more  celebrated  itinerants, 
read  with  delight  the  writings  of  Wesley  and  Fletcher, 
and  contemplated  with  devout  interest  the  prospects  of 
^lethodism  in  the  new  world.'     He  readily,  therefore, 

*  Rev.  Joshua  Mareden,  a  disUngiiiBhcd  Wesleyan  prcacber,  who  was 
in  the  United  States  in  1814,  says:  "One  of  his  pupils  related  to  me  a 
Kin^^ular  nnecdote  respecting  him.  He  wa^  at  one  time  attending  liis 
lectures,  and  remarked  that  In  one  of  tliem  lie  branched  out  upon  a 
subject,  which  he,  Dr.  Sargent,  hf  d  read,  more  lar^fely  treated  upon  in 


METHODIST    EI'ISCOP;VL    CHURCH.         409 

spared  Chandler  for  the  itinerancy.  "At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  second  quarter,"  continues  Ware, 
"Dr.  Chandler  began  covenanting  with  the  people. 
He  obtained  a  pledge  from  them  to  abstain  Avholiy 
from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  to  meet  him  at  the 
throne  of  grace  three  times  a  day,  namely,  at  sunrise,  at 
noon,  and  at  the  going  down  of  the  sun,  to  pray  for  a 
revival  of  the  work  of  God  on  the  circuit,  and  especially 
that  he  would  visit  them  and  give  them  some  token  for 
good  at  their  next  quarterly  meeting.  As  the  time  of 
the  meeting  approached  he  pressed  them  to  come  out 
without  fail,  and  expressed  a  belief  that  the  Lord  would 
do  great  things  for  us.  Soon  after  he  commenced  this 
coui-se  there  were  evident  indications  that  the  work  was 
beginning  to  revive,  and  many,  with  the  preacher,  began 
to  predict  that  something  great  would  be  done  at  the 

a  v/ork  of  Mr.  Fletcher's,  and,  meeting  with  Dr.  Rush  afterward,  my 
friend  asked  him  if  he  knew  the  writings  of  Mr.  Fletcher.  '  Ah,  yes,' 
replied  the  doctor,  'I  know  the  writings  of  that  great  and  good  man 
well,  and  can  assure  you  he  was  the  first  that  knocked  the  shackles  of 
absolute  unconditional  predestination  from  my  mind.  Before  I  read 
his  works  I  could  not  pray  for  all  men  ;  hut  he  set  me  at  liberty ;  and 
if  I  meet  him  in  heaven,  I  will  thank  him,  and  say,  You,  Mr.  Fletcher, 
gave  me  just  views  of  God's  love  to  the  human  family.'  This  anec- 
dote may  be  depended  upon  as  an  absolute  fact."— Marsden's  Nar- 
rative of  a  Mission,  etc.,  p.  319.  London,  1827.  Drs.  Rush  and 
Physic,  the  two  most  eminent  members  of  the  Philadelphia  faculty 
of  that  day,  were  physicians  general  to  the  itinerants  of  the  Middle 
States.  Asbury  often  mentions  them.  He  says,  (May  1,  1811,)  "Drs. 
Rush  and  Physic  paid  me  a  visit.  How  consoling  it  is  to  know  that 
these  great  characters  are  men  fearing  God!  I  was  much  grati- 
fied, as  I  ever  am,  by  their  attentions,  kindness,  and  charming  con- 
vei-sation;  indeed  they  have  beea  of  eminent  use  to  me,  and  I  ac- 
knowledge their  services  with  gratitude."  Boehm  (p.  343)  says:  "It 
was  at  this  interview,  as  they  were  separating,  the  bishop  inquired 
what  he  should  pay  for  their  professional  services.  They  answered, 
'Nothing;  only  an  interest  in  your  prayers.'  Said  Bishop  Asbury, 
'As  I  do  not  like  to  be  in  debt,  we  will  pray  now;'  and  he  knelt  down 
and  oflFered  a  most  impressive  prayer  that  God  would  bless  and  reward 
them  for  their  kindness  to  him." 


410  HISTORY    OF    THE 

quarterly  meeting.  On  Saturday  many  people  attended. 
I  opened  the  meeting  by  singing,  and  then  attempted 
to  j>ray ;  but  in  two  minutes  my  voice  was  drowned  in 
tlie  general  cry  throughout  the  house,  which  continued 
all  that  day  and  night,  and  indeed  for  the  greater  part 
of  three  days.  A  great  number  professed  to  be  con- 
verted, who  stood  fast  and  adorned  their  profession ; 
but  the  best  of  all  was,  many  who  had  lost  their  first 
love  repented,  and  did  their  first  works,  an«l  God  re- 
stored them  to  his  favor.  Cecil  Circuit  had  been  added 
to  the  Philadelpliia  District.  The  (piarterly  meeting  on 
this  circuit  was  at  hand,  and  I  urged  Dr.  C.  to  attend 
it.  He  came  with  a  number  of  the  warmhearted  mem- 
bers from  his  circuit.  Some  twenty  or  thirty  professed 
to  receive  an  evidence  of  the  remission  of  their  sins,  and 
united  with  the  Church.  From  this  the  fire  began  to 
spread  to  the  South,  and  soon  the  whole  peninsula  was 
in  a  flame  of  revival.  At  the  North  also  the  influence 
was  felt.  Sparks  were  kindled  in  Mi«ldletown,  Nor- 
thumberhmd,  Wilkesliarre,  and  quite  up  in  the  Genesee 
and  Lake  country  in  Western  New  York.  In  1800  I 
was  appointed  to  a  district  on  the  peninsula.  There 
were  in  this  district  ten  circuits,  twenty  traveling 
jtreachers,  and  about  nine  thousand  members.  This  I 
deemed  one  of  the  most  important  charges  I  ever  filled. 
The  scenes  which  I  witnesseil  at  Sniynia,  Dover,  ]\Iil- 
ford,  Centerville,  Easton,  and  many  other  places,  I  have 
not  ability  to  describe.  During  the  times  of  revival  in 
these  places  thousands  of  all  ranks  were  drawn  to  the 
meetings,  and  spent  days  together  in  acts  of  devotion, 
apparently  forgetful  of  their  temporal  concerns.  In  this 
way  tlio  work  continued  to  extend  until  it  became  gen- 
eral. Here,  as  in  Tennessee,  I  hesitated  not  to  call  at 
any  house  when  I  wanted  refreshment  or  a  night's  en- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  411 

tertainment.  The  candle  of  the  Lord  shone  brilliantly 
about  my  path,  and  my  cup  was  oftentimes  full  to 
overflowing." 

At  a  Conference  held  this  year  at  Smyrna,  Del.,  he  says, 
"  there  were  persons  present  from  almost  all  parts  of 
the  Eastern  Shore,  who  witnessed  the  general  excitement 
and  gracious  influence  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of 
the  Conference,  during  which  time  hundreds  were  con- 
verted to  God.  These  returned  home,  revived  in  their 
spirits,  and  wondering  at  what  they  had  seen,  and 
heard,  and  felt;  and  through  the  instrumentality  of 
some  of  these  the  fires  of  revival  were  kindled  up  in  their 
neighborhoods  before  the  preachers  arrived.  At  the 
close  of  this  Conference  one  hundred  persons  were  re- 
ceived on  trial  in  the  Church."  Ware  had  charge  of 
Bassett's  protracted  meeting,  and  "there  were  few 
of  the  principal  houses  in  Dover  in  which  there  were 
not  some  converted  during  it ;  and  more  than  once 
the  whole  night  was  employed,  both  in  the  church 
and  private  houses,  in  prayer  for  j^enitents,  and  in 
rejoicing  with  those  who  had  obtained  an  evidence 
of  pardon,  or  were  reclaimed  from  their  backslidings." 
So  profound  was  the  interest  all  over  his  district,  that 
he  says  we  knew  not  what  to  do  with  the  thousands 
who  attended  the  quarterly  meetings.  "  Sometimes  we 
were  forced  to  resort  to  the  woods,  and  even  to  hold 
our  love-feasts  in  the  grove.  Our  membership  increased 
rapidly."  He  spent  the  remainder  of  the  period  in  ardu- 
ous labors  on  the  Philadelphia  and  Jersey  Districts. 

Dr.  Chandler,  whom  he  had  recalled  to  the  itinerancy, 
became  one  of  its  most  influential  members.  He  was 
born  in  Maryland  in  1764,  converted  at  St.  George's 
Church,  Philadelphia,  in  1790,  joined  the  Conference  in 
1797,  traveled  several  circuits  in  the  Middle  States  with 


412  HISTORY    OF    THE 

success,  and  was  j)rei>aring  to  locate  as  a  physician, 
when  Ware's  influence  and  Rush's  counsels  brought 
him  again  into  active  labors.  lie  was  eminently  useful 
and  i)ojnilar  on  districts  and  in  Philadelphia  down  to 
1813,  when  he  located,  irrecoverably  broken  down  in 
health.  In  1822  his  name  was  replaced  upon  the  Coni'er- 
ence  roll,  that  he  might  die  a  member  of  the  body, 
though  unable  to  jterform  active  service.  lie  had 
preached  as  he  had  strength  till  1H20,  when  he  was 
struck  with  paralysis  in  the  pulpit  of  Ebeuezer  Church, 
Philadelphia.  He  went  to  the  West  Indies  for  relief, 
but  sutiered  there  a  second  attack,  and  hastened  home 
to  die.  As  usual  with  this  malady,  his  mind  sliaied  the 
debility  of  his  body,  and  for  some  time  he  was  i)ainfully 
troul)led  with  doubts  regarding  his  Christian  exjx>- 
rience  and  pro.spects;  but  a  few  days  before  his  death 
the  clouds  dispersed,  and  left  his  last  hours  radiant  as 
with  an  excess  of  light.  On  a  Sunday  morning  he  said 
to  his  class-leader,  "Go  to  the  meetiiig  and  tell  them 
I  am  dying,  shonting  the  praises  of  God  ! "  His  physician 
wrote  that  his  disea.se  was  an  almost  universal  paralysis, 
and  "although  his  body  was  fast  sinking,  his  mind,  for 
two  days,  was  restored  to  perfect  vigor  and  correctnes.s. 
During  this  time  he  seemed  to  be  in  the  borders  of  the 
heavenly  inheritance.  He  spoke  of  the  glories,  the  joys, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  as  though  he  had  been  in 
the  midst  of  them.  He  remarked  to  me  at  the  time, 
that  he  felt  that  his  soul  had  begun  to  dissolve  its 
connection  with  the  body  ;  and  that  there  was  a  free- 
dom, a  clearness  and  ease  in  its  views  and  operations 
that  was  entirely  new  to  him,  of  which  he  had  never  be- 
fore formed  a  conception.  "  In  fact,"  said  he,  "I  know 
not  whether  I  am  in  the  body  or  out  of  it."  Soon  after 
this  he  sunk  into  a  stupor,  in  which  he  remained  to  the 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         413 

last.  His  brethren  of  the  Conference  pronounce  him  a 
man  of  no  ordinary  grade.  *'  In  his  deportment,  dignity 
and  humility,  fervor  and  gentleness,  plainness  and 
brotherly  kindness,  with  uniform  piety,  were  strikingly 
ex«emplified.  In  the  pulpit  his  soul  was  in  his  eloquence, 
his  Saviour  was  his  theme,  and  the  divine  unction  that 
rested  upon  him,  and  the  evangelical  energy  of  his  ser- 
mons, gave  a  success  to  his  labors  that  has  been  ex- 
ceeded by  few."  In  stature  he  was  of  medium  height, 
his  countenance  was  "  fine  and  expressive,"  his  manners 
bland  and  polished,  but  without  aifectation ;  his  intel- 
lect much  above  mediocrity,  and  his  preaching  often  of 
an  enrapturing  eloquence. 

Solomon  Sharp,  whose  name  is  still  familiar  through- 
out the  Churches  of  the  Middle  States,  was  one  of  the 
conspicuous  itinerants  of  these  times,  traveling  import- 
ant circuits  in  Delaware,  large  districts  in  New  Jersey, 
and  closing  the  period  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  native 
of  the  Eastern  Shoi-e  of  Maryland,  where  his  parents 
had  been  pioneer  Methodists.  In  1791,  when  about 
twenty  years  old,  he  began  to  travel,  "  under  the  pre- 
siding elder;"  the  next  year  he  was  admitted  to  the 
Conference,  and  continued  in  the  service,  occupying 
almost  all  important  appointments  in  New  Jersey, 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware,  down  to  1835, 
when  he  was  reported  superannuated.  The  next  year 
he  died  at  Smyrna,  Del.  His  last  sermon,  preached 
a  short  time  previously,  was  on  the  text,  "  There 
remaineth,  therefore,  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God," 
After  closing  the  discourse,  in  which  he  had  treated 
with  much  interest  of  the  final  rest  of  saints,  he 
was  heard  to  exclaim,  "Now  I  feel  that  my  work  is 
done ! "  He  was  found  dead  in  his  bed.  The  Minutes 
testify   that,   "as   a  Christian   he  was   irreproachable, 


414  HISTORY    OF    THE 

and  as  a  preacher  his  talents  were  of  an  extraordinary 
elmracter." 

Solomon  Sharp  was  an  original,  an  eccentric,  but  a 
mighty  man.  Ilis  sermons  were  powerful,  and  delivered 
with  a  sinrjular  tone  of  authority,  as  if  he  were  conscio'us 
of  his  divine  commission.  His  form  was  tall,  remark- 
ably robust,  and  in  his  latter  years  he  was  one  of  the 
most  noticeable  and  patriarchal  figures  in  the  Confer- 
ence, with  long  white  locks  flowing  upon  his  shoulders, 
and  a  bearing  of  no  littli'  dignity.  He  was  subject  to 
variations  of  mind,  which  bordered  on  hypochondria, 
being  at  times  one  of  the  most  vivacious  and  entertain- 
ing of  talkers,  lull  of  anecdotes  and  apjiosite  remarks ; 
at  others  totally  reticent,  if  not  sombre,  in  whatever 
company.  His  voice  was  powerful,  and  he  sometimes 
used  it  to  its  utmost  capacity,  esjiecially  at  camp-meet- 
ings; "but,"  says  one  of  his  friends,  "  there  was  nothing 
in  his  manner  that  savoured  of  extravagance."  He  was 
noted  for  his  courage,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  was 
hardly  capable  of  feeling  fear.  He  had  occasion  some- 
times, at  cam|)-meetings  and  elsewhere,  to  show  lliis 
quality.  No  oj)ponent  challenged  it  a  second  time.  In 
his  old  age  a  company  of  reckless  young  men  attempted 
to  play  a' "  practical  joke"  upon  him,  by  sending  for 
him  to  come  to  their  work-shop,  under  pretence  that 
one  of  their  number  was  in  great  distress  of  conscience, 
and  was  desirous  that  he  should  converse  and  pray 
with  him.  Prompt  to  obey  every  call  of  duty,  and  espe- 
cially such  a  call  as  this,  he  hastened  to  the  place,  where 
he  found  a  person  apj)arently  in  such  a  state  of  mind  as 
had  been  represented.  He  listened  with  close  attention 
to  the  sad  recital,  and  was  about  to  proceed  to  give  the 
appropriate  instruction,  when  something  in  the  appear- 
ance of  one  or  more  of  the  men  who  were  standing 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    C  Ii  U  R  C  H.        415 

around,  awakened  his  suspicion  that  all  was  not  right ; 
and  presently  the  whole  company,  not  excepting  the 
l^oor  creature  who  had  consented  to  be  the  subject  of 
the  impious  farce,  were  exhibiting  a  broad  grin  at 
their  imagined  triumph.  But  the  old  hero  was  not  at 
all  at  a  loss  how  to  meet  such  an  emergency.  He  in- 
stantly closed  the  door  and  stood  with  his  back  against 
it;  and,  as  there  was  no  other  way  by  which  they 
could  make  their  escape,  they  were  obliged  to  listen, 
while  he  placed  their  characters  and  conduct  in  a  light 
that  was  entirely  new  to  them.  He  dwelt  upon  their 
meanness  as  well  as  their  wickedness.  He  called  them 
heaven-daring,  heaven-provoking,  hell-deserving  sinners. 
He  wrought  himself  up  into  a  perfect  storm  of  indigna- 
tion, while  he  denounced  upon  them  the  threatenings 
of  God,  and  brought  vividly  before  them  the  terrors  of 
the  judgment.  The  infidel  sneer  and  laugh  soon  gave 
place  to  the  deepest  concern  ;  and  it  was  not  long  before 
they  actually  trembled,  like  Belshazzar,  when  he  saw 
the  hand-writing  on  the  wall.  And  now  they  began 
to  cry  for  mercy.  "  Down  on  your  knees,  down  on 
your  knees,"  said  the  veteran ;  and  they  actually  fell 
upon  their  knees,  praying,  and  begging  the  good  old 
man  to  pray  for  them.  He  did  pray  for  them,  and  some 
of  them  dated  the  beginning  of  a  religious  life  from 
that  period.^ 

Thomas  Smith,  whom  we  have  met  in  Virginia,  was 
an  effective  laborer  in  the  revival  scenes  of  this  period 
in  the  Middle  States.^  He  was  converted  in  early 
life,  and  almost  in  the  act  of  committing  suicide.  "  I 
had  caught  up  the  rope,"  he  says,  "  and  had  taken  hold 

6  Sprajrue,  p.  217. 

0  Experience  and  Ministerial  Labors  of  Rev.  Thomas  Smith,  etc. 
Edited  bj  Eev.  David  Daily :  New  York,  1848. 


L. 


416  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  the  ladder,  and  put  my  foot  on  a  round  of  it,  m  hen 
the  thought  rushed  into  my  mind,  'It  is  an  awful  thing 
to  die,  you  had  better  pray  first!'"  He  dropjted  the 
rope  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  fell  on  his  knees,  and  con- 
tinued praying  till  his  disturbed  mind  was  restored,  and 
liis  troubled  conscience  found  peace  with  God.  In  his 
eighteenth  year  he  began  to  preach.  In  liis  twenty-second 
year  (1798)  he  was  received  into  the  Philadelphia  t'on- 
lerence.  Throughout  our  present  period  he  preaclu'd  in 
Delaware  and  New  Jersey  with  great  power;  the  dv- 
monstrations  which  had  attended  Abbott's  labors  were 
repeated  at  almost  all  his  appointments,  and  hund- 
reds of  souls  were  gathered  into  the  societies.  He 
and  his  colleague,  Anning  Owen,  the  itinerant  hero  of 
Wyoi'iing,  suffered  no  little  maltreatment.  While  on 
Flanders  Circuit,  "I  went,"  he  says,  "to  a  place 
called  Dover,  where  there  was  a  noted  iron  factory, 
owned  by  a  few  gentlemen,  who  neither  feared  God 
nor  regarded  man.  In  their  employment  were  several 
hundred  men,  mostly  foreigners,  and  they  of  the  baser 
sort.  Having  been  invited  by  a  gentleman  to  preach 
in  his  house,  I  rode  up  to  his  door  at  the  time  aitpointed. 
The  gentleman  met  me,  expressing  his  sorrow  at  seeing 
me,  saying  that  my  coming  to  the  place  to  preach  had 
given  such  offense  to  his  neighbors  that  he  believed, 
did  I  attempt  to  preach,  they  would  pull  down  the 
house  and  mob  the  peoj)le.  While  I  yet  sat  on  my 
h(jrse  I  was  surrounded  by  ruffians,  for  such  they 
looked  to  be,  and  such  they  were.  They  informed  me 
that  I  was  not  to  preach  there  that  night.  'So  I  per- 
ceive, gentlemen,'  said  I:  'this  makes  seven  times  that 
I  have  come  to  you  in  the  name  of  my  Master  and  your 
Judge,  in  a  peaceful  manner,  and  with  a  peaceful  gospel, 
and  seven  times  you  have  prevented  me,  save  one.     I 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  417 

am  now  cle.ar  of  your  blood,  and  yoix  shall  see  my  face 
no  more  until  we  stand  at  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ. 
Three  months  ago  you  mobbed  my  colleague,  Mr,  Owen, 
a  man  upward  of  seventy  years  of  age,  for  attempting 
to  i^reach  Jesus  Christ  to  perishing  sinners.  You  de- 
signed to  kill  him;  but  failing  in  that,  you  drummed 
hiui  out  of  your  town,  court-martialed  him  on  the  road, 
made  a  halter  to  hang  him,  and  treated  him  most 
shamefully  and  cruelly,  disfiguring  the  horse  on  which 
he  rode;  then  you  drew  his  likeness  on  a  board,  and 
set  it  up  at  auction,  and  sold  the  Lord's  servant  for 
twenty-five  cents,  who  came  seeking  your  salvation, 
desiring  to  rescue  you  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil." 

This  hostility  was  chiefly,  as  he  says,  from  foi-eigners, 
Romanists.  Methodism  subsequently  made  its  way 
into  the  town,  and  the  citizens  erected  a  chapel  for  it. 
Elsewhere  on  their  rugged  circuit  the  two  itinerants 
were  thoroughly  compensated  for  such  trials  by  the 
afiectionate  attentions  of  the  people,  and,  as  they 
made  their  last  round,  the  leave-takings  were  heart- 
breaking ;  the  people  hung  around  them,  sobbing 
aloud.  Though  preaching  with  the  utmost  energy. 
Smith  was  remarkable  for  the  shortness  of  his  ser- 
mons, seldom  exceeding  twenty  minutes.  In  these 
primitive  times,  when  the  congregations  gathered  from 
great  distances,  they  demanded  longer  entertainment ; 
and,  strange  as  it  may  seem  in  our  day,  would  some- 
times remonstrate  against  his  brevity.  He  never,  how- 
ever, would  consent  to  prolong  a  single  sermon,  but 
sometimes  would  despatch  one,  and,  announcing  a 
second  text,  discuss  another  subject,  and  formally 
concluding  it,  add  even  a  third  text  and  discourse. 
His  introductory  devotions  had  surpassing  power,  and 
Buch  was  his  faith  in  prayer,  that  he  sometimes 
C— 27 


418  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ventured  to  extraordinary  unwarrantable  risks  in  its 
use.  An  example  occurred  on  his  Flanders  Circuit, 
which,  if  it  did  not  lully  justify  his  prudence,  yet 
showed  the  wonderful,  not  to  say  irresistible,  unction 
and  force  of  his  sup}»lications.  At  a  quarterly  meetint; 
at  Pembertnn,"  Sylvester  Hutchinson,"  he  says,  "])roach- 
ed,  and  mighty  power  from  on  high  came  among  the  |)eo- 
ple.  I  saw  a  young  man  sallying  around  in  the  crowd, 
and,  coming  to  the  left  of  the  juilpit,  I  made  my  Avay  to 
him,  and  inquired  into  the  state  of  his  mind.  He  toM  me 
he  was  in  great  distress  on  account  of  his  sins.  While 
conversing  witlt  him,  three  gentlcmon  caine  up,  and 
insisted  on  his  going  away.  I  a^ked  them  if  they  were 
his  guardians.  They  told  me  '  No.'  I  desired  them  to 
be  <jui('t  until  I  was  done  talking  with  him.  They  re- 
marked that  there  was  no  necessity  for  talking  with  the 
young  man  on  the  subject  of  religion.  '  Perhaps,  gen- 
tlemen,' said  I, 'you  don't  believe  in  the  Christian  re- 
ligion?' They  said,  'No;  we  do  not.'  I  said,  'Gen- 
tlemen, will  you  suffer  us  to  gather  around  you,  and 
]iray  for  you  thirty  minutes?  Afler  which,  if  there  be 
no  change  in  your  minds  on  the  subject  of  the  Christian 
religion,  I  will  agree  to  give  it  up  niyselC'  They  re- 
])lied,  'Well,  sir,  wi'  will  take  you  up  on  your  own 
proposal.  You  shall  ]>ray  for  us  thirty  minutes,  and 
wc  will  stand  our  ground  until  tlir  lliiity  iiiiiuilcs  shall 
liave  expired,  and  if  any  change  be  wrought  in  our 
minds  by  any  sujiernatural  power,  we  will,  as  honest 
men,  confess  it ;  but  if  there  be  no  change  in  our  minds 
as  to  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  you  shall,  on 
vour  part,  renounce  it  bef<jre  this  congregation.'  My 
answer  was,  'Gentlemen,  I  will  most  solemnly  do  so. 
Then  it  is  a  bargain.  Amen.'  1  then  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  congregation  to  this  awful  contract.     Many 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCIT.         419 

faces  turned  pale,  others  trembled  with  fear  lest  I 
should  be  a  ruined  man  from  that  night  forever,  I  re- 
quested our  friends  to  give  up  the  whole  block  of  seats 
next  to  the  pulpit.  'Infidelity  and  Christianity  are 
fairly  at  issue,  and  may  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  answer  by  fire  ! '  I  then  called  on  all  the 
official  members  of  the  church,  and  all  who  could  pray 
in  faith,  to  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the 
mighty.  In  one  minute  there  were  scores  around  us. 
But  before  we  kneeled  I  delivered  them  a  charge,  and 
that  was,  '  Brethren,  you  are  not  to  offer  one  prayer  for 
the  conversion  of  these  gentlemen.  If  you  do,  that 
prayer  will  be  lost;  but  send  your  petitions  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  that  God  may  convict  them  of  the 
error  of  their  way,  as  he  did  Saul  of  Tarsus  on  his  way 
to  Damascus.'  This  being  understood,  I  cried,  '  Let  us 
pray.'  At  that  moment  I  reckon  there  were  twenty 
watches  drawn  from  the  pocket  to  mark  the  time.  If  I 
ever  saw  a  time  of  prayer  it  was  that  night.  The  whole 
congregation  were  as  one  mouth  and  one  breath.  The 
foundations  of  the  house  seemed  to  tremble.  I  held  my 
watch,  and  proclaimed  the  time.  '  Five  minutes  of  the 
time  are  gone !  Ten  minutes  of  the  time  are  gone  ! 
Fifteen  minutes  of  the  time  are  gone ! '  and  down  came 
a  Saul  of  Tarsus  to  the  floor.  And  was  there  not  a 
shout  ?  It  was  like  the  tumbling  down  of  the  walls  of 
Jericho.  '  Twenty  minutes  of  the  time  are  gone  ! '  and 
down  came  the  second.  '  Twenty-five  minutes  of  the 
time  are  gone  ! '  and  the  third  gentleman  took  his  seat. 
After  the  time  allotted  for  prayer  had  expired,  two 
gentlemen  on  the  floor,  and  the  third  seated,  I  requested 
the  congregation  to  be  seated,  and  to  be  quiet,  for  the 
spirit  of  the  prophets  is  subject  to  the  prophets.  T  then 
called  on  these  three  gentlemen  to  tell  the  congregation  if 


420 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


any  chaucrc  h:id  taken  place  in  their  minds,  and  whether 
they  tlien  lielieved  in  the  Christian  religion.  So  many 
of  tliem  as  could  stand  arose,  and  most  solemnly  de- 
clared that  their  minds  had  changed,  and  that  they  then 
believed  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God.  Chris- 
tianity did  at  that  time  triumph  over  infidelity.  To 
God  be  the  glory!" 

The  itinerant's  faith  was  admirable  in  its  earnestness, 
and  sublime  in  its  power,  but  it  went  beyond  his  the- 
ology ;  he  seemed  not  to  rcmeml>er  that  his  Church 
believes  in  the  freedom  of  the  will,  and  the  power  of 
man  to  resist  utterly  religious  convictions.  He  impru- 
dently hazarded  much,  but  his  triumph  was  complete. 

His  courage  was  unshakable,  and  he  needed  it  all  in 
his  many  encounters  with  persecutoi-s.  On  one  of  his 
circuits,  in  1801,  Ware  was  with  him,  jireaching  with 
overwhelming  effect,  while  a  band  of  young  men  waited 
at  the  door  with  bludgeons  to  attack  Smith.  When  the 
meeting  closed  he  boldly  advanced  through  them,  brusbr 
ing  tlu'ir  clothes,  and  seeing  their  clubs,  but  every  arm 
hung  down  helpless.  The  next  day  he  was  fearlessly 
preaching  among  them  in  the  open  air  to  three  thousand 
African  slaves.  A  few  days  afterward  he  was  "  way- 
laid by  four  of  his  opposers,  who  had  bound  themselves 
under  an  oath  to  spill  his  blood  that  day."  He  ap- 
pealed to  (iod :  "I  will  i»ut  my  trust  in  thee;"  and 
rode  bravely  past  them,  hearing  them  curse  one 
another  behind  him,  with  mutual  accusations  of  cow 
ardice.  Nothing  could  deter  him.  "The  work  of  the 
Lord,"'  he  wrote,  "  has  been  going  on  day  and  night  foi 
six  months  past,  and  Christ's  kingdom  is  coming.  On 
this  circuit  we  have  nf)  rest  week.  A  pity  we  should, 
while  souls  are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge.  Let 
us  be  up  and  at  our  posts.     We  generally  preach  twice 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH,  421 

a  day,  meet  two  classes,  and  get  up  a  i^rayer-meeting 
somewhere  in  the  afternoon,  if  we  can.  Our  work  on 
this  circuit  is  never  done ;  we  rest,  and  at  it  again." 

In  1802  he  traveled  Dover  Circuit  with  Chandler, 
and  had  his  usual  success.  In  the  first  five  weeks  two 
hundred  and  forty  converts  were  received  on  probation. 
Methodism  seldom  experienced  even  local  declension  in 
these  energetic  times,  hut  there  was  one  memorable 
place  on  his  circuit — " Blackiston's  Meeting-house" — a 
building  planned  by  Asbury  himself,  where,  after  years 
of  prosjDerity,  the  congregation  had  so  much  dwindled 
that  the  Sunday  preaching  was  given  up,  and  it  had 
become  a  week-day  appointment  with  a  small  class.  To 
Smith  such  a  fact  was  inadmissible  in  Methodism.  He 
obtained  a  supply  for  one  of  his  Sunday  appointments, 
and  resolved  to  spend  the  entire  day  with  the  decayed 
Church.  "  I  held,"  he  says,  "  a  love-feast  at  eight 
o'clock,  and  many  attended  from  neighboring  classes. 
When  it  was  near  the  time  to  close  the  love-feast  I 
looked  out  at  the  pulpit  window,  and  saw  about  three 
hundred  people  in  the  yard  of  the  meeting-house,  scores 
of  whom  were  bathed  in  tears,  smiting  their  breasts, 
and  crying  for  mercy.  I  made  this  known  to  the 
friends,  and  advised  them  to  open  the  doors  and  win- 
dows forthwith,  and  let  the  people  come  in.  They  did 
so.  The  i^eople  without  rushed  into  the  house,  and 
there  was  one  tremendous  rush  of  God's  power  upon 
them.  They  fell  before  it  in  all  directions,  and  the  vast 
multitude  lay  on  the  floor  like  men  slain  in  battle. 
There  was  no  preaching  until  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. The  people  were  coming  and  going  to  and  from 
this  meeting,  night  and  day,  until  Tuesday  at  ten 
o'clock.  There  were  several  sermons  preached  in  the 
time,  but  the  meeting  was  carried  on   principally  by 


422  HISTORY    OF    THE 

praytT  and  exhortation.  On  Monday  afternoon  we 
gave  an  opportunity  for  all  who  had  been  converted  at 
the  meeting,  to  come  forward  and  give  in  their  names, 
when  eighty-five  came  up  to  the  altar,  and  were  all 
received  on  probation  in  the  Church."  On  Monday, 
about  night,  he  attempted  to  break  up  the  assembly, 
and  left  the  house ;  but  the  people  made  a  halt  in  the 
yard,  and  began  to  sing.  The  full  moon  was  shining. 
Smith  stood  on  a  grave,  and  preached  on  the  words, 
'•At  midnight  there  was  a  cry  made.  Behold,  the  bride- 
groom Cometh!"  "After  closing  the  sermon  we  got 
back,"  he  says,  "  into  the  meeting-house  as  well  as  we 
could,  for  such  a  time  of  God's  power  I  never  saw  in 
this  world  before,  and  we  then  held  on  until  ten  o'clock 
on  Tuesday  morning.  The  Lord  began  this  meeting, 
the  Lord  carried  it  on,  and  the  Lord  finished  it ;  yea, 
this  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvelous  in  our 
eyes."  This  occasion  produced  a  general  revival;  a 
large  society  and  congregation  were  formed  at  Blackis- 
ton's  Meeting-house,  where  Sunday  preaching  was  per- 
manently restored. 

Such  was  Thomas  Smith  throughout  these  and  many 
subsequent  years,  a  man  wlio  jireached  with  the  utmost 
brevity,  but  with  the  utmost  power.  He  had  great 
physical  vigor,  was  stout  to  corpulence,  below  the 
ordinary  height,  erect  and  authoritative  in  mien,  fas- 
tidiously neat  in  dress,  exceedingly  sociable  among  his 
intimate  friends,  and  preached  always  with  intense 
excitement,  moving  through  liis  twenty-minute  dis- 
course like  a  war-steed  in  a  charge. 

Henry  Boehm  began  his  long  itinerant  career  in  our 
present  period.  We  have  repeatedly  alluded  to  the  old 
homestead  of  his  venerable  father,  .Martin  Boehm,  who, 
expelled   from   the   "Mennonites"  for  his  "too  evan- 


■^/  O'C  c^  V        ^  //-^  C/c£r7^  ac^.^ 


(^ii7L^^/  (^o-eA-^^ 


y 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUECH.  423 

gelical  opinions,"  became  a  bishop  among  the  "  United 
Brethren,"  or  "  German  Methodists,"  a  people  founded, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  labors  of  Asbury's  friend,  Otter- 
bein."  He  lived  and  died  a  patriarch  of  Methodism  in 
Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania.  His  home  at  Cones- 
toga  is  consecrated  in  the  early  Methodist  records  as 
the  frequent  shelter  of  Asbury,  Whatcoat,  and  most  of 
the  Methodist  leaders.  We  have  noticed  the  achieve- 
ments of  Abbott  in  "  Boehm's  Chapel,"  and  all  through 
its  neighborhood.  Henry  Boehm,  born  in  the  home- 
stead in  1775,  was  trained  up  under  the  best  influences 
of  Methodism  and  the  benedictions  of  its  best  evangel- 
ists. "Morning  and  evening,"  he  says,  "the  old  family 
Bible  was  read,  and  prayer  was  offered.  My  father's 
voice  still  echoes  in  my  ears.  My  mother,  too,  had 
much  to  do  in  moulding  my  character  and  shaping  my 
destiny.  One  evening  as  I  returned  home  I  heard  a 
familiar  voice  engaged  in  prayer.  I  listened  :  it  was 
my  mother.  Among  other  things,  she  prayed  for  her 
children,  and  mentioned  Henry,  her  youngest  son.  The 
mention  of  my  name  broke  my  heart,  and  melted  me 
into  contrition.  Tears  rolled  down  my  cheeks,  and  I 
felt  the  importance  of  complying  with  the  command  of 
God :  '  My  son,  give  me  thine  heart.' "  '^ 

He  was  converted  in  1793,  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  Chandler,  but  concealed  the  fact  for  five  years. 
"  These,"  he  writes,  "  wei'e  lost  years ;  lost  to  myself, 
lost  to  the  Church,  and  lost  to  the  world.  There  is 
nothing  in  my  early  history  I  regret  so  much  as  the 
loss  of  these  five  years ;  a  loss  that  tears  and  prayers 
cannot  recall,  for  time  once  lost  is  gone  forever." 

11  Lee,  vol.  i,  p.  216. 

12  Reminiscences,  Historical  and  Biographical,  etc.,  by  Rev.  Henry 
Boelim.     Edited  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Walceley,  p.  18.     New  Yorlv,  1865. 


424  HISTORY    OF    THE 

He  heard  Strawhridge  and  Abbott,  and  most  of  the 
itinerant  "  sons  of  thunder,"  at  Boehra's  Chapel.  TJiis 
famous  structure  was  phmned  by  Whatcoat,  and  built, 
in  1701,  of  limestone,  on  a  hill  which  commands  a  m.v^- 
nificent  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  ''There  were 
wonderful  gatherings,"  he  says,  "at  Boehm's  Chapel. 
Tlie  bishops  and  the  great  men  of  Methodism  found 
their  way  there,  and  preached  the  word.  At  Quarterly 
meetings  the  people  came  from  Philadeljdiia  and  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  and  the  Western  Shore 
from  Watters's  neighborhood.  Hoehm's  Chapel  was  a 
great  center  of  influence.  It  is  dithcult  now  to  estimate 
the  position  it  once  occujjied  in  Methodism,  My  father 
was  'given  to  hospitality,'  and  at  great  meetings  fifty 
and  even  one  hundred  have  Ijeen  entertained  at  his 
house.  Several  itinerant  ministers  were  raised  up  and 
went  out  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Chapel  to 
preach  the  gospel.  Ten  I  now  think  of,  and  there 
may  be  others:  Joseph  Jewell,  Simon  Miller,  Richard 
Sncath.  William  and  James  Hunter,  James  and  William 
Mitchell,  Thomas  and  liobert  Burch,  and  Henry  Boehm. 
David  Best  and  James  Aiken  were  from  the  circuit.  It 
is  siniTular  that  they  were  all  fr(»m  Ireland  excejit  Ji-well, 
Miller,  and  myself"  In  this  noU-d  temple  Henry  Boehm 
openly  took  upon  him  the  vows  of  religion  in  1798,  and 
was  received  into  the  Church  by  Thomas  Ware.  He 
was  soon  appointed  class-leader,  began  to  exhort,  and 
at  last  to  preach.  He  was  a  spectator  at  the  General 
CoTiference  of  ISOO,  and  was  inspired  by  its  extraor- 
dinary scenes  for  the  mission  of  his  life.  Thence  he 
went  with  Chandler,  M'Combs,  Bostwick,  and  others  to 
the  Philadelphia  Conference  at  Smyrna,  where  he  wit- 
nessed still  more  stirring  scenes  than  at  Baltimore;  the 
session   was  held  at  a  private  house,  that  the  chajel 


I 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  425 

might  be  continually  used  for  jDublic  worship.  Love- 
feasts,  preaching,  prayer-meetings,  beginning  at  sunrise, 
were  held  daily,  and  throughout  almost  the  entire 
nights ;  the  people  crowded  in  from  all  the  neighboring 
regions,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  souls  were  converted 
before  the  adjournment  of  the  Conference.  "  There  were 
great  revivalists  at  this  Conference,"  continues  Boehm : 
"  VV.  P.  Chandler,  John  Chalmers,  Jesse  Lee,  each  a 
host  in  himself,  and  many  others,  who  entered  heartily 
into  the  work.  It  was  not  confined  to  them;  the 
preachers  and  people  all  had  a  mind  to  work.  This 
Conference  will  ever  be  memorable  as  the  most  fruitful 
in  saving  souls  of  any  ever  held  in  America.  Those 
who  were  not  present  can  form  but  a  faint  idea  of  the 
nature  of  the  work.  Meetings  were  held  day  and  night, 
with  rarely  any  intermission.  One  meeting  in  the 
chui-ch  continued  forty-five  hours  without  cessation. 
Many  were  converted  in  private  houses  and  at  family 
jDrayer,  as  well  as  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  This  re- 
vival did  immense  good;  the  preachers  returned  to 
their  work  like  flames  of  fire.  For  several  nights  I  did 
not  take  ofi'my  clothes,  but  lay  down  upon  the  sofa  and 
rested  a  little  while,  and  then  was  up  and  right  into  the 
thickest  of  the  battle."  He  walked  back  to  Lancaster, 
sixty  miles,  "having  seen  more,  heard  more,  enjoyed 
more,  since  he  left  home,  than  in  all  his  lifetime  before." 
In  this  year  Thomas  Ware  called  him  out  to  travel 
Dorchester  Circuit,  Md.,  famous  as  the  region  into  which 
Catharine  Ennalls  had  introduced  Methodism,  and 
where  Garrettson  suffered  his  most  memorable  persecu- 
cutions  and  imprisonment. '^  Henry  Ennalls  and  his 
family  were  yet  the  chief  supporters  of  the  Church  on 
this  circuit,  and  his  wife  now  saved  Boehm,  for  though 
"  See  vol.  i,  p.  369. 


426  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ho  could  readily  preach  in  German,  his  public  use  of 
the  English  language  was  difficult  and  embarrassing, 
and  he  began  to  despond  and  think  of  ix'turning  home 
wlicn  she,  who  "  was  one  of  the  best  of  women,  gave  me,'' 
he  says,  "such  a  reproof  as  I  shall  never  forget.  'My 
young  brother,'  she  said,  '  your  eternal  salvation  may 
depend  upon  the  course  you  are  about  to  take.  Y^u 
may  lose  your  soul  by  such  an  unwise, hasty  step.'  Thin 
she  exhorted  me  in  the  most  earnest  and  emphatic  man- 
ner not  to  abandon  my  work,  but  to  keep  on.  I  resolved 
in  the  strength  of  my  Master  to  try  again,  and  though 
over  threescore  years  have  gone  into  eternity  since, '  hav- 
ing obtained  help  from  God,  I  continue  unto  this  day.' 
Well  I  remember  that  hospitable  mansion;  and  the 
room  in  which  we  were,  the  attitude  of  the  woman,  her 
anxious  countenance,  her  piercing  eye,  the  tone  of  her 
voice,  are  all  before  me  just  as  if  it  were  yesterday.  Her 
wise  counsel  has  had  an  influence  upon  me  all  my  days; 
it  shaped  my  destiny  f<»r  life.  She  has  been  in  the 
grave  many  years,  and  I  remember  her  still  with  a 
heart  overflowing  with  gratitu<le."  Airy,  who  had  be- 
friended Garrettson,  was  dea<l,  but  his  widow  still 
lived,  a  faithful  witness  for  the  truth,  keejiing  open 
doors  for  the  preachers.  He  visited  her,  and  "in  family 
prayer,"  he  says,  "we  had  a  gracious  time.  The  Holy 
Ghost  descended  in  copious  effusions,  and  the  widow 
was  so  baptized  that  she  shouted  aloud  for  joy,  and  was 
greatly  strengthened  and  encouraged.  I  retired  to  my 
couch  feeling  that  my  soul  was  resting  in  God.  I 
preached  at  Ennalls's  meeting-house.  There  was  a  class 
at  Harry  Ennalls's:  on  the  book  were  the  names  of 
Harry  Ennalls,  leader;  Sarah,  his  wife;  and  Eliza  Airey, 
the  widow  of  Squire  Airey.  There  were  other  honor- 
able names  that  I  have  not  space  to  transcribe — they 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         427 

are  in  the  book  of  life.  There  were  two  colored  classes 
that  met  at  Ennalls's:  one  had  twenty  members,  the 
other  twenty-five.  "We  preached  also  at  Airey's  Chapel. 
This  was  not  far  from  where  Squire  Airey  lived  and 
died,  and  it  was  called  after  him ;  there  was  a  class  or 
society  here ;  there  were  forty-four  names  belonging 
to  one  class."  Ennalls's  and  Airey's  chapels  were  now 
important  preaching  places  of  the  circuit. 

His  next  circuit  was  Annamessex,  where  he  labored 
with  William  Colbert.  It  has  a  singular  history.  An 
itinerant  on  his  way  to  Accomac,  beyond  the  line,  in  Vir- 
ginia, inquired  for  his  route,  and  was  cruelly  directed  in 
a  course  that  led  him  into  Cypress  Swamp,  which  ex- 
tended many  miles;  plunging  into  it,  he  discovered  that 
he  had  been  deceived ;  but  after  wandering  about  in  the 
mud,  bogs,  and  water,  in  danger  of  sinking  and  perish- 
ing, he  came  out  near  the  house  of  Jepthah  Bowen,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Pocomoke  River.  Bowen  gave 
him  a  hearty  welcome.  The  preacher  prayed  with  so 
much  effect  in  the  family  that  he  was  invited  to  pi-each 
at  the  house.  He  did  so,  and  the  people  were  so  pleased 
with  his  sermon  that  Bowen's  house  became  a  regular 
preaching  place.  Thus  Methodism  was  providentially 
introduced  into  that  region  of  the  country.  Jepthah 
Bowen  and  many  of  his  neighbors  were  converted,  and 
a  society  was  early  formed  at  his  house.  He  lived  long 
enough  to  see  the  frame  of  a  new  chapel  erected,  which 
bore  his  name.  "  This  led  to  the  formation  of  several 
societies  in  that  region,  and  to  the  conversion  of  multi- 
tudes. His  children  and  children's  children  were  blessed, 
being  the  descendants  of  those  who  entertained  the 
Lord's  prophets." 

Boehm's  circuit  was  nearly  two  hundred  miles  round. 
"  We  preached,"  he  says,  "  against  slavery,  and  per- 


428  HISTORY     OF    THE 

suadod  our  brethren  ami  those  who  were  converted  to 
liberate  their  shives,  and  we  were  often  successful.  There 
was  a  revival  both  among  the  white  and  colored  people. 
We  preached  at  Snow  Hill.  It  was  formerly  a  wretched 
place,  where  the  traffic  in  negroes  was  carried  on.  The 
Georgia  traders  in  human  flesh  came  there  and  bought 
slaves,  and  then  took  them  south  and  sold  them.  Meth- 
odism made  a  mighty  change  there  and  destroyed  this 
inhuman  traffic.  Indeed  the  whole  circuit  had  a  wall 
of  tire  around  it  and  a  glory  in  the  midst.  In  every 
appointment  sinnei"s  were  converted.  The  Peninsula 
seemed  like  a  garden  of  God.  Scenes  took  place  that 
gladdened  the  eyes  of  angels  and  thiilled  the  heart 
of  the  Saviour.  Tlie  Gospel  had  won<k'rful  power,  and 
the  results  were  glorious,  as  the  records  of  eternity  will 
reveal."  He  subsequently  labored  on  Kent,  Bristol, 
and  Daupliin  Circuits.  The  latter  was  large,  and  mostly 
among  a  German  poi)ulation,  to  whom  he.  and  Jacob 
Gruber  preached,  in  their  vernacular,  at  twenty  out  of 
thirty  appointments. 

Asbury  took  uj»  Hoehm  on  the  Bristol  Circuit  tc 
accompany  him  to  the  West.  "  We  went,"  says  Boehm, 
"over  the  Dry  Ridge  and  the  Alleghany  Hills  singing 
the  praises  of  the  Most  High.  We  stopped  in  Berlin, 
Somerset  County,  on  the  toj>  of  the  mountains.  I 
j»reached  in  German,  and  the  l)ish(»p  exhorted.  Here, 
on  the  tojt  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  I  parted  with 
the  bishop,  having  been  with  him  fourteen  days,  and 
heard  him  jtreach  eight  times.  He  always  loved  the 
Germans,  and  as  I  could  preach  in  that  language,  and 
few  at  that  time  could,  be  said  to  me,  '  Henry,  you  had 
better  return  and  preach  to  the  Germans,  and  I  will 
pursue  my  journey  ahrne.'  He  did  not  send  me  back 
to  Bristol,  but  to  Dauphin,  there  being  more  Germans 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCH.         429 

on  that  circuit.  The  bishop  gave  me  his  blessing,  and 
■with  tears  I  bade  him  adieu,  and  he  turned  his  face 
westward  and  I  went  eastward."  Thus  went  the  itin- 
erants of  those  days ;  triumphing  wherever  they  went. 
He  introduced  Methodism  into  Reading  and  Harris- 
burgh,  not  without  much  opposition.  At  the  former, 
he  says,  "  there  was  a  shop  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
school-house,  where  some  men  used  to  meet  together. 
One  of  the  company,  a  young  man,  undertook  to  mimic 
the  Methodists.  He  went  on  to  show  how  they  acted 
in  their  meetings.  He  shouted,  clapped  his  hands,  and 
then  he  would  show  how  they  fell  down.  (The  Meth- 
odists in  that  day  would  sometimes  fall  and  lose  their 
strength.)  He  then  threw  himself  down  on  the  floor, 
and  lay  there  as  if  asleep.  His  companions  enjoyed  the 
sport;  but  after  he  had  lain  for  some  time  they  won- 
dered why  he  did  not  get  up.  They  shook  him  in  order 
to  awake  him.  When  they  saw  he  did  not  breathe 
they  turned  pale,  and  sent  for  a  physician,  who  ex- 
amined the  man  and  pronounced  him  dead.  This  awful 
incident  did  two  things  for  us :  it  stopped  ridicule  and 
persecution ;  it  also  gave  us  favor  in  the  sight  of  the 
people.  They  believed  that  God  was  for  us.  Little  do 
the  present  Methodists  of  Reading  know  of  our  early 
struggles  and  difficulties.  Now  they  have  two  churches, 
Ebenezer  and  St.  Paul's,  and  Reading  is  the  head  of  a 
district,  which  is  not  larger  than  my  circuit  in  1803." 
When  James  Smith,  his  presiding  elder,  came  to  the  cir- 
cuit, Boehm  had  to  translate  his  discourses  into  German. 
Many  of  the  people  had  never  heard  an  English  sermon. 
"  German,"  he  says,  "  was  the  pioneer  language,  and 
prepared  the  way  for  the  English.  I  could  have  accom- 
plished but  little  there  if  I  had  not  been  able  to  preach 
in  German."     Boehm  and  Gruber  were  thus  successfully 


430  HISTORY    OF    THE 

bearing  the  standard  of  Methodism  into  the  German 
regions  of  Pennsylvania  before  the  close  of  our  present 
period.  The  former  was  to  survive  till  our  day ;  his 
personal  life  has  been  woven  into  our  whole  subsequent 
Church  history,  and  we  shall  often  have  occasion  to 
repeat  his  venerated  name.  "  I  saw,"  he  writes,  "  the 
birth  of  our  nation,  and  have  lived  under  the  first  Presi- 
dent, George  Washington,  and  sixteen  of  his  successors, 
to  Andrew  Johnson.  I  was  born  nine  years  before  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized,  and  have 
known  all  its  bishops,  from  Thomas  Coke,  the  first, 
to  Calvin  Kingsley,  the  last  elected.  My  memory  goes 
back  over  eighty  years.  I  recollect  when  they  traveled 
out  West  to  Fort  Pitt,  now  Pittsburgh,  on  'j>ack 
horses.'  The  roads,  if  we  may  call  them  roads,  for  they 
were  mere  paths  through  the  wilderness,  were  so  rough 
that  they  could  not  be  traveled  any  other  way.  I  knew 
many  of  the  fathers  in  the  Methodist  ministry,  and 
have  lived  not  only  to  bury  the  fathers,  but  many  of 
their  sons." 

Jacob  Gniber  was  one  of  the  unique  "characters" 
of  these  times.  Many  of  us  still  recall  him :  his  ])rim 
clerical  costume,  his  white  locks  sleekly  combed  behind 
his  ea»"s,  his  German  accent,  his  glowing,  genial  face, 
with  its  quizzical  jday  of  humor  and  sarcasm  that  at  once 
attracted,  and  held  on  anxious  guard,  the  interlocutor, 
his  unrivaled  ])ower  of  quaint  and  apposite  illustration, 
his  aptness  and  humor  in  telling  a  story,  his  tireless 
readiness  for  labor,  and  his  staunch  tenacity  for  every- 
thing: Methodistic.  His  colleague,  Boehm,  says  he  was 
at  this  time  a  fine  intelligent  looking  man,  and  his 
countenance  often  expressed  a  thing  before  his  tongue 
uttered  it.  "  He  had  a  German  face  and  a  German 
tongue,  and  often  looked  quizzical.     He  wore  a  drab 


9' 


^.  Y't'C^-'V^yiy 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  431 

hat,  and  a  suit  of  gray  cut  in  Quaker  style.  With  a 
rough  exterior,  but  a  kind  heart,  it  was  necessary  to 
know  him  in  order  to  appreciate  him.  A  more  honest 
man  never  lived,  a  bolder  soldier  of  the  cross  never 
wielded  '  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.'  As  a  preacher  he  was 
original  and  eccentric.  His  powers  of  irony,  sarcasm, 
and  ridicule  were  tremendous,  and  woe  to  the  poor 
fellow  who  got  into  his  hands ;  he  would  wish  himself 
somewhere  else.  I  heard  him  preach  scores  of  times, 
and  always  admired  him ;  not  only  for  his  originality, 
but  at  all  times  there  was  a  marvelous  unction  attend- 
ing his  word." 

He  was  born  in  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  in  1778,  and  be- 
came a  Methodist  before  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  He 
was  driven  by  his  father  from  his  home  on  account  of  ♦ 
his  new  faith;  they  wei*e  reconciled,  and  he  was  re- 
ceived again  under  the  parental  roof,  but  his  zealous 
labors  for  the  religious  welfare  of  his  neighbors  pro- 
duced such  excitement  as  to  lead  to  his  second  and  final 
expulsion.  He  took  his  leave,  with  his  clothes  in  a 
knapsack  on  his  back,  and  wended  his  way  on  foot 
toward  Lancaster,  not  knowing  what  should  befall 
him.  But  on  the  route  a  Methodist  preacher  on  horse- 
back accosted  him;  a  few  minutes  conversation  sufficed 
to  make  known  his  forlorn  case  to  the  itinerant,  who 
exhorted  him  to  go  out  forthwith  and  preach  the  gospel, 
recommending  him  to  a  vacancy  on  a  cii'cuit.  No 
advice  could  better  suit  Gruber's  feelings  at  the  moment. 
He  immediately  spent  all  his  little  means  in  purchas- 
ing a  horse,  and  mounting  him  was  away  for  the  cir- 
cuit. Thus  commenced,  in  about  his  twenty-second  year, 
his  long  and  never-slackened  itinerant  career  of  more 
than  half  a  century,  during  the  whole  of  which,  it  has 
been  affirmed  as  "  a  remarkable  fact,"  that  there  was 


432  HISTOKY    OF    THE 

not  a  gap  or  intermission  of  four  consecutive  weeks  for 
any  cause  whatever.''*  His  appointments  extended  from 
New  Jersey  tlirough  Pennsylvania  to  the  Greenbrier 
Mountains  of  Western  Virginia,  from  the  interior  Lake 
regions  of  New  York  to  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake, 
lie  was  presiding  elder  eleven  years,  was  on  circuits 
thirty-two,  and  during  seven  tilled  important  stations  in 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Washington.  He  dieil  an 
honored  veteran  of  more  than  seventy-two  years,  anil 
in  a  manner  befitting  his  career.  On  being  infbrnied 
that  he  could  not  live  through  another  night,  "Then," 
he  replied,  '"to-morrow  I  shall  spend  my  tirst  Sabbath 
in  heaven  !  Last  Sabbath  in  the  Church  on  earth — next 
Sabbath  in  the  Church  above!"  and  with  evident  emo- 
tion added,  "  Where  congregations  ne'er  break  up, 
and  Sabbaths  never  end!"  He  recpiested  a  fellow- 
laborer  to  collect  a  few  brethren  and  sisters  around 
liim,  "to  see  me  safe  otT,"  (to  use  his  own  words,)  "and 
while  I  am  going  sing,  '  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks 
I  stand.'"  They  were  gathered,  and  sung  while  his 
spirit  calmly  took  its  flight. 

It  has  been  aftirmed  that  he  performed  more  work, 
])reached  more  sermons,  endured  more  fatigue  and  hard- 
ship, with  less  abatement  of  mental  and  physical  energy, 
than  perhaps  any  other  minister  of  his  times.  Like 
most  of  the  primitive  ^Methodist  preachers,  he  was  a 
courageous  opponent  of  slavery,  and  hesitated  not  to 
])reach  against  it.  We  shall  hereafter  see  him  arraigned 
before  a  court  of  Maryland  for  his  fidelity  to  his  minis- 
terial office  in  this  respect,  in  a  case  which  resulted  in 
his  honorable  acquittal,  and  an  important  demonstration 
of  the  antislavery  position  nf  the  Church  before  a  slave- 
holding  jieople. 

'«  Ruv.  Dr.  Monroe,  in  "  Cliri^tian  Advocate,"  New  York, 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         433 

Peter  Yannest  was  a  worthy  coadjutor  of  these  faith- 
ful men.  He  was  horn  in  Bethlehem  Township,  New 
Jersey,  in  1759.  When  about  thirty  years  old  he  was 
in  England,  and  there  heard  a  Wesleyan  preacher, 
whose  discourse  was  so  pungent,  and  seemed  so  per- 
sonal to  him,  that  his  conscience  was  profoundly 
awakened.  He  at  once  became  a  Methodist,  and  ac- 
quired the  friendship  of  Wesley.  Henry  Moore,  the 
biographer  of  Wesley,  commissioned  him  as  a  local 
preacher.  He  was  thoroughly  trained  in  Methodism, 
and  was  characteristically  tenacious  of  its  peculiarities 
throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  returned  to 
America  in  1796,  was  admitted  in  the  same  year  to  the 
Philadelphia  Conference,  and  appointed  to  a  circuit  in 
New  Jersey,  but  did  not  travel  it.  The  next  year  he 
was  sent  to  New  England.  He  labored  some  years  in 
the  Eastern  States,  then  in  Canada  during  two  years, 
and  subsequently  for  seventeen  years  in  the  middle 
states,  from  Western  New  York  to  Maryland.  Taking 
a  "superannuated  relation"  in  1821,  he  resided  in  Pem- 
berton,  N.  J.,  till  his  death  in  1850.  He  was  revered  as 
a  veteran  throughout  the  Church.  "To  the  last  he 
watched  over  the  Church  in  Pemberton.  When  he  was 
in  his  ninety-second  year  he  was  often  seen,  with  staff 
in  hand,  going  about  from  house  to  house,  and  inquiring 
vith  great  interest  in  respect  to  both  the  temporal  and 
jpiritual  welfare  of  the  inmates."  '^  His  death  was  not 
only  peaceful,  it  was  triumphant.  His  name  will  often 
recur  in  our  pages. 

Thomas  Burch  joined  the  Philadelphia  Conference  in 
the  last  year  of  our  present  period.  "  His  mother,"  says 
Boehm,  "  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  my  father's,  and 
belonged  to  the  society  at  Boehm's  Chapel,  and  so  did 

'« Spnig:ue,  p.  277. 
C— 28 


434  HISTORY     OF    THE 

her  sons.  She  had  a  daughter  who  married  a  preacher. 
The  mother  was  a  woman  oi"  intelligence  and  decision  of 
character.  Years  afterward  she  lived  in  Columbia,  and 
I  used  to  put  up  with  her  with  Bishop  Asbury  when  I 
traveled  with  him.  It  aflbrds  me  pleasure,  now  she  and 
her  sons  sleep  in  tlie  grave,  to  make  a  record  of  her 
virtues.  They  were  from  Ireland ;  emigrated  to  this 
country  in  June,  IHOO,  and  settled  in  the  neighborhood 
of  my  father's.  She  was  a  widow,  having  lost  her  hus- 
band several  years  before.  They  had  been  converted 
under  the  ministry  of  Ireland's  great  missionary,  Gideon 
Ouseley,  of  whom  they  often  spoke  in  the  most  exalted 
terms.  Thomas,  the  oldest  son,  was  my  father's  and 
mother's  class-leader.  The  class  met  at  my  iather's 
house ;  it  was  an  old  class,  lormed  before  I  was  born. 
I  heard  some  of  his  earliest  efforts  at  exhortation  and 
at  preaching.  I  encouraged  him  an<l  his  brother  Kobert 
to  enter  the  ministry.  Robert  joined  the  Philadelphia 
Conference  in  1804,  and  Thomas  in  1805.  I  have  rode 
hundreds  of  miles  with  them,  atten<led  a  great  many 
meetings,  and  heard  them  preach  scores  of  times.  They 
soon  occupied  some  of  our  most  important  stations,  with 
honor  to  themselves  and  usefulness  to  the  Church. 
Thomas  had  a  voice  remarkably  sofl  and  musical,  yet 
strong.  He  was  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  pojmlar 
preachers  of  the  day.  In  1810,  wlien  he  had  been  only 
four  years  in  the  ministry,  he  was  stationed  in  Phihulel- 
phia.  He  died  in  Brooklyn,  August  22,  1849,  aged 
sevinty,  having  been  forty-four  years  in  the  ministry. 
He  left  a  son,  who  is  a  member  of  the  New  York  East 
Conference." 

His  labors  extended  from  Montreal  to  Baltimore,  in 
the  most  prominent  appointments  of  the  Church.  One 
of  his  familiar  ministerial  associates  says :    "  He  was 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        435 

one  of  the  most  amiable  and  sweet-tempered  men 
whom  I  ever  knew.  All  his  actions  as  Avell  as  words 
breathed  the  spirit  of  good-will.  He  was  gentle,  un- 
assuming, and  affectionate  in  all  his  intercourse,  and 
uncommonly  conscientious  and  devout.  His  mind  was 
clear  and  safe  in  its  operations,  and,  considering  his 
advantages  for  education,  remarkably  well-disciplined. 
As  a  preacher  he  always  held  a  very  high  rank.  The 
most  remai'kable  attribute  of  his  preaching,  and  indeed 
of  his  character  generally,  was  a  charming  simplicity. 
He  evidently  spoke  out  of  the  depths  of  a  well-stored 
mind,  as  well  as  of  a  full,  strong,  Christian  heart ;  and 
there  was  so  much  of  nature  in  his  manner,  and  such 
an  entire  absence  of  all  apparent  effort,  that  it  seemed 
as  if  he  had  only  to  open  his  lips  and  the  right 
thoughts,  clothed  in  the  right  language,  would  come 
of  course.'"® 

It  was  in  the  present  period  that  the  "Evangelical 
Association,"  sometimes  called  "  German  Albright 
Methodists,"  had  its  origin  in  Pennsylvania.  This  sect 
must  not  be  confounded  with  the  "  United  Brethren," 
or  "  German  Methodists,"  of  whom  some  account  has 
been  given  in  our  pages.  Jacob  Albright  was  con- 
verted under  the  ministry  of  the  elder  Boehm,  and 
became  a  local  preacher  among  the  Methodists  "  in  the 
year  1V90.  In  1796  he  began  to  itinerate  as  an  evan- 
gelist among  the  Germans,  being  convinced  that  "  his 
call  was  exclusively  to  them."  Asbury  "  esteemed  him 
as  a  brother  beloved,"  and  doubtless  the  prevalent  in- 
fluence  and   example   of  Methodism   in   Pennsylvania 

'"  Rev.  Dr.  Luckey,  in  Sprague,  p.  423. 

"  Lednum,  p.  2il.  Lednum  errs  in  naming  him  Peter  Albright, 
also  in  attributing  the  German  translation  of  the  Methodist  Discipline 
to  the  "AlbrightB."    See  Bochm's  Reminiscences,  p.  173. 


436  HISTORY    OF    THE 

prompted  his  extraordinary  labors,  and  its  practical 
system  became  the  model  of  the  organization  of  his 
people.  In  If 07  Henry  Boehin  ]trocurcd,  at  his  own 
expense,  the  translation  and  publication  in  German  of 
the  Methodist  Discipline,  The  translator  was  an  ac- 
com])lished  scholar,  Dr.  Romer,  of  Middletown,  Pa.,  a 
physician,  who  had  been  educated  in  Europe  as  a 
Uoman  priest,  but  whose  vigorous  intellect  had  broken 
away  from  ]>opery  and  had  fallen  into  philosophic  skep- 
ticism. The  devoutly  exemplary  life  of  a  remarkable 
.Mcthoilist  woman  restored  his  faith.  He  became  a 
.Methodist  in  1(^00,  and  his  house  was  for  years  a  home 
and  a  "preaching  place"  of  the  early  itinerant.s.  He 
prefixed  to  his  version  of  the  Discipline  an  a<lmiraV)le 
account  of  Methodism.  This  book  had  great  influence 
on  the  Germans  of  not  only  Pennsylvania,  but  of  other 
])arts  of  the  country,  for  Hoehm  and  Asbury  circulated 
it  generally.  We  owe  to  it  doubtless  the  Methodistic 
type  so  strongly  impressed  upon  both  the  Otterbein 
and  Albright  communions,  the  "  I'^nited  Brethren  in 
Christ,"  and  the  "  Evangelical  Association."  The  for- 
mer, as  we  have  seen,  have  the  Methodistic  economy  in 
detail;  the  latter  has  equally  ailopted  it,  both  in  its 
ecclesiastical  system,  and  its  articles  of  religion.  Al- 
bright organized  ^is  converts  in  1800.  In  1803  their 
increase  demanded  more  thorough  care,  and  he  was 
appointed  their  presiding  elder.  They  were  regularly 
organized  as  a  Conference  in  1807,  the  year  of  Ro- 
mer's  translation  of  the  Discijdine.  Albright  died  six 
months  after  the  Conference.  In  1809  his  people  took 
the  name  of  "  Albrights."  and  at  the  same  time  one  of 
their  preachers  framed  their  Articles  of  Faith  and  Dis- 
cipline. In  our  day  they  are  an  important  part  of  the 
German  Methodistic  Christianity  of  the  country,  report- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  437 

mg  eight  Conferences,  three  bishops,  four  hundj-ed  and 
five  traveling,  and  three  hundred  and  twenty-three 
local  preachers,  with  more  than  fifty  thousand  commu- 
nicants, and  several  educational  institutions.  Thus,  while 
the  denomination  was  spreading  out,  wave  after  wave, 
among  the  general  population  of  the  country,  it  was 
continually  revealing  special  power  or  adaptation  for 
special  classes.  Its  peculiar  "  economy  "  and  its  spirit- 
ual vitality  explain,  in  part,  at  least,  this  ever-varying 
and  ever-growing  success.  Its  ministerial  itinerancy 
brought  it  into  the  presence,  face  to  face,  of  every  class 
in  almost  every  locality.  Its  spiritual  vitality  met  a 
profoundly  felt  want  of  earnest  minds,  in  whatever  class, 
a  want  that  was  not  usually  met  by  contemporary 
communions.  Thousands,  rich  and  poor,  hastened  from 
the  comparatively  dead  Churches  into  its  living  and 
moving  ranks.  They  were  not  inveigled  into  them,  for 
from  the  beginning  down  to  our  day  Methodism  has 
been  characteristically  abhorrent  of  the  artifices  of  pros- 
elytism.  It  opens  its  arms  to  all  who  come  to  it  for 
spiritual  help,  and  asks  not  whence  they  come,  if  they 
evidently  come  only  ibr  such  help.  If  it  at  first 
drew,  vmdesignedly  and  largely,  the  devout  from  other 
Churches,  it  has  in  later  years,  after  provoking  such 
Churches  to  renewed  life,  more  than  compensated  their 
early  losses  by  yielding  to  them  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  its  converts  and  children. 


iS8  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  XV. 

METHODISM    IN'   THE   MIDDLE  AND   NORTHERN   STATES, 
CONTINUED:    1796-1804. 

The  New  York  Confercnre —William  Timelier  — Billy  Hibbard  — His 
Ilnnior  —  Early  Life  —  Minislerial  Toils  and  Suceesses  —  His  Death 

—  Experience  of  a  Dutch  Methodist,  Note  —  Samuel  Merwin  — 
Sylvester  Hutchinson  -  Ebenezer  Washburn  —  William  Anson  on 
Grand  Isle  —  Methodism  at  the  Head  of  the  Hudson  —  Amonf;  the 
Pennsylvania  Mountains  and  Valleys,  and  New  York  Lakes  —  Ware 
and  CollKTt  in  the  Wyominj;  Valky — Colbert's  Hardships  —  Benja- 
min Bidlack  —  Outspread  of  the  Church  —  Alfred  Grillith's  Trials 

—  Progress  In  the  Interior  of  New  York  —  First  Chapel  of  Genesee 
Conference — Lorenzo  Dow  —  Colbert  —  Enlargement  of  the  Field 

—  Methodism  in  New  York  City  —  Statistics. 

The  New  York  Conference  was  still  an  immense  ter- 
ritory, comprising  New  England,  west  of  the  Con- 
necticut and  the  Green  Mountains,  all  the  INrethodist 
field  of  Canada,  and  New  York  alongj  the  Hudson  and 
westward  till  it  reached  the  incipient  circuits,  where 
the  itinerants  from  the  Philadelphia  Conference  and 
from  west  of  the  Pennsylvania  nmuntains  were  planting 
societies.  At  the  beginning  of  this  period  there  was 
nominally  n<»  New  York  Conference,  its  territory  being 
included  (by  act  of  the  (teneral  Conference  of  1796)  in 
the  New  England  and  Philadelphia  Conferences;  but 
by  the  General  Conference  of  1800  it  was  defined  as 
including  much  of  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Vermont,  Canada,  and  all  New  York  east  of  the  Hud- 
son. It  comprised  during  this  period  a  host  of  able 
itinerants,  many  of  whom  have  already  been  noticed. 
One  of  them,  William  Thatcher,  has  left  us  a  descrip- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHUKCH.        439 

tion  of  its  primitive  meetings  in  an  account  of  its  session 
in  1797.  "As  it  was,"  he  says,  "the  first  in  which  I 
was  ever  honored  Avith  a  seat,  I  will  give  a  brief  account 
of  it.  About  a  dozen  of  us  Methodist  preachers,  pas- 
sengers from  the  East,  landed  at  New  York,  and  made 
our  way  to  the  old  headquarters  in  John-street,  bearing 
on  our  arms  our  saddle-bags  or  portmanteaus.  We 
were  horseback  men.  We  did  not  use  trunks  for  trav- 
eling in  those  days.  Not  a  spice  of  dandyism  was  seen 
in  all  our  borders  any  more  than  leaven  in  a  Jewish 
passover;  we  were  all  plain  men,  plain  enough.  We 
were  welcomed  into  the  little  old  parsonage  in  John- 
street  by  the  venerable  Thomas  Morrell  and  Joshua 
Wells,  ministers  in  the  station.  Wells  took  us  as  he 
found  us,  'bag  and  baggage,'  formed  us  rank  and  file, 
and  placed  himself,  as  the  captain,  at  the  head  of  the 
company,  (we  were  in  Methodist  preachers'  uniform,) 
in  military  style.  Our  walk,  especially  through  Chat- 
ham-street, seemed  to  attract  attention  and  excite  no- 
toriety. We  were  soon  disposed  of  My  home  was 
with  a  good  old  Welsh  brother  in  Henry-street,  named 
John  Davies.  On  June  19  a  new  scene  opened  to  my 
view :  a  Conference  at  the  old  hive  of  Methodism,  the 
old  John-street  Meeting-house,  that  holy  place  where  I 
felt,  eight  years  before,  the  Holy  Ghost  say  to  me,  for 
the  first  time,  '  Go  thou  and  preach  the  gospel.'  What 
a  congregation  of  Methodist  preachers  !  what  greeting  ! 
what  love  beaming  in  every  eye  !  what  gratulation  ! 
what  rejoicing!  what  solemnity!  The  clock  strikes 
nine.  We  are  seated  in  the  sanctuary,  in  Conference 
order,  around  the  sacred  altar,  within  which  sits  the  ven- 
erable Asbury,  Bible  in  hand.  A  chapter  read,  a  hymn 
sung,  we  kneel.  How  solemn  !  how  awful !  how  de- 
vout the  prayer!     What  solemn  'aniens'  are  responded  ! 


440  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Inspiration  seemed  to  jiervade  the  whole.  The  prayer 
closed,  we  arise,  and  are  seated.  The  secretary  calls 
the  list  of  names;  each  /esponds ;  and  how  interesting 
to  hear  my  own  name  in  that  Ijook  of  life.  Tlie  various 
business  of  Conference  now  enga«;es  our  prayerful  at- 
tention, conducted  by  the  bishop,  our  president;  six 
hours  each  day  for  the  transaction  of  the  regular  Con- 
fiTcnce  business,  from  nine  o'clock  to  twelve,  and  from 
three  to  six  in  the  afternoon ;  each  session  opened  with 
reading  the  Scriptures,  singing,  and  prayer,  and  closed 
with  prayer,  I  have  attended  Conferences  for  half  a 
century  since,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  Methodism  or 
our  Annual  Conference  has  deteriorated." ' 

ThachiT  was  born  in  17G0,  in  the  town  of  Norwalk, 
Conn.  "  I  was  ])orn  again,''  he  writes,  "  on  the  19th  of 
June,  1700,  in  Baltimore,  M<1. ;  1  then  joined  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  My  coiivcrsiftn  was  not  a  hope 
obtained,  Init  a  thorough  work  of  grace,  a  bright  wit- 
ness of  pardon,  an  overflowing  love  of  God,  shed  abroad 
in  my  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  given  unto  nu*  about 
nine  o'clock  that  m«>rning.  Since  then,  a  lajjse  of  nearly 
si.xty-seven  years,  I  have  never  lost  my  adoption  into 
the  family  of  God.'" 

lie  began  to  preach  in  the  city  of  Xew  Haven  in  1  795. 
His  family  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Methodist  Church 
in  that  community.  He  steadily  jiersevered  as  a  local 
preacher  for  two  years,  and  in  September,  1797,  was  ad- 
mit'.ed  into  the  Xew  York  Conference,  and  ordained  a 
deacon  in  June,  1799,  by  Bishop  Asbury.  Bishop  What- 
coat  ordained  him  elder  in  June,  1801.  His  first  circuit 
was  that  of  Litchfield,  Conn.  He  labored  very  success- 
fully, traveling  about  three  hundred  miles  every  four 

>  From  his  MSS.     Wakeley's  LoS  Chapters,  p.  490. 
*  Letter  from  him  to  the  writer 


J 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         441 

weeks.  "  So  closely,"  he  writes,  "  was  Biy  time  employed, 
that  it  was  about  twelve  weeks  from  the  period  I  took  the 
circuit  before  I  could  visit  my  wife  and  little  son,  whom 
I  had  left  at  the  house  of  her  father,  in  New  Haven,  and 
the  last  quarter  of  fliis  same  '  Conference  year,'  (as  itin- 
erancy was  our  glory,)  my  good  presiding  elder  changed 
my  field  of  labor  to  Pittsfield  Circuit,  in  Massachusetts 
and  Vermont,  and  I  was  another  twelve  weeks  from  my 
dear  family.  This  circuit  had  then  two  hundred  and  fifty 
members.  God  was  with  me  there,  and  the  quarter  was 
spent  happily.  In  1Y98  I  was  stationed  on  Redding 
Circuit,  in  Fairfield  County,  Conn.,  alone  on  a  four- 
weeks'  circuit,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  round,  with 
twenty-four  appointments.  I  soon  made  it  a  two-weeks' 
circuit,  preaching  twenty-four  times  a  fortnight,  and 
then  crossed  the  Housatonic  River  on  a  visit  home  to 
New  Haven,  fifteen  miles  east,  on  Saturday,  and  early 
on  Sabbath  morning  started  for  my  Sabbath  forenoon 
appointment,  twenty  miles  from  my  home.  Then  I  was 
at  home  once  a  fortnight,  after  preaching  twenty-four 
sermons  in  two  weeks,  and  riding  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles.  This  was  my  regular  work  for  the  nine  months 
of  my  service  on  Redding  Circuit.  The  time  of  Confer- 
ence that  year  was  changed  from  September  to  Jvme." 

In  1799  he  was  stationed  on  Pomfret  Circuit,  which 
was  partly  in  Connecticut,  partly  in  Massachusetts,  and 
partly  in  the  north  of  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  though 
it  contained  but  one  hundred  and  sixty  members.  In 
this  field  he  had  the  happiness  of  witnessing  a  good 
revival,  especially  at  Eastford,  Thompson,  Ware,  and 
Brookfield.  At  the  latter  he  formed  a  new  class  of 
seven  members,  which  soon  increased  to  twelve.  Asa 
Kent,  Isaac  Bonney,  David  and  Joshua  Crowell,  preach- 
ers who  afterward    entered  the  traveling   connection, 


442  HISTORY    OF    THE 

were  among  the  fruits  of  this  success.  He  subsequently 
labored  in  important  appointments  of  the  middle  and 
northern  states,  down  to  1846,  when  he  was  superan- 
nuated, after  an  itinerant  ministry  of  half  a  century, 
lacking  one  year.  He  afterward  resided  at  Poughkeep- 
sie,  N.  Y.,  in  a  happy  and  sanctified  old  age,  beloved 
by  all  who  knew  him,  and  shedding  around  the  sphere 
of  his  retirement  the  bright  and  genial  influence  of  a 
remarkably  cheerful  temper  and  joyous  piety.  During 
his  long  and  laborious  life  he  had  been  able,  by  rigor- 
ously economizing  his  time,  to  acquire  extensive  general 
knowledge  and  considerable  proficiency  in  the  original 
languages  and  exegesis  of  the  Scriptures.  His  puljiit 
exercises  were  always  lively,  instructive,  and  imi)ress- 
ive.  The  doctrine  of  Christian  sanctificatiun  was  his 
favorite  theme.  He  died  in  his  eighty-seventh  year, 
triumphing  over  severe  sufferings,  and  praising  God  to 
the  end. 

A  memorable  character  entered  the  ministerial  ranks 
in  1708,  Hilly  Ilibbanl,  still  familiar  t<»  the  Church  by  his 
extraordinary  wit,  his  devoted  life,  and  useful  labors. 
When  his  name  was  called  in  the  Conference  as  William 
Hibbard,  he  gave  no  response.  Tiie  liishop  asked  him  if 
this  was  not  his  name.  *'  No,  sir,"  he  replied.  "  What 
is  it,  then  ? "  rejoined  the  bishop.  "  It  is  Billy  Hib- 
bard." "Why,"  said  the  bishop,  with  a  smile,  "that  is 
a  little  boy's  name."  "  I  was  a  very  little  boy  when 
my  father  gave  it  to  me,"  replied  Ilibbard.  "The  Con- 
ference was  convulsed  with  laucrhtor,"  says  Boehm, 
for  many  of  them  knew  him.  When  his  character  was 
examined,  as  was  customary,  it  was  objected  to  him  that 
he  practiced  medicine.  "  Are  you  a  physician,  Brother 
Hibbard  ?"  inquired  the  bishop.  "  I  am  not,"  he  re- 
plied;  "I  simply  give  a<lvicein  critical  cases."    "  What 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         443 

do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  asked  the  bishop.  "  In  critical 
cases,"  said  Hibbard,  "I  always  advise  them  to  send 
for  a  physician." 

His  humor  seemed  not  to  interfere  with,  but  to  en- 
hance his  usefulness.  It  attracted  hearers  which  per- 
haps nothing  else  could  bring  within  his  influence.  His 
meetings  Avere  usually  thronged.  A  tenacious  Quaker 
hung  about  him,  charmed  with  his  conversation,  but 
not  venturing  to  attend  his  preaching,  objecting  that  the 
custom  of  "  Friends "  required  him  to  wear  his  hat  in 
the  congregation.  Hibbard  sent  him  a  hearty  invita- 
tion to  come  and  wear  his  hat,  or  two  of  them  if  he 
wished,  oifering  to  lend  him  his  own  for  the  purpose  if 
the  good  man  would  accept  it.  He  could  resist  the 
charm  no  longer,  went,  and  became  a  zealous  Methodist, 
and  a  useful  class-leader. 

Hibbard  was  born  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  February  24, 
1771,  of  parents  who  observed  the  early  religious  strict- 
ness of  that  commonwealth,  and  trained  him  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  Puritan  faith.  In  very  early  life,  his 
singularly  constituted  mind  became  absorbed  in  relig- 
ious meditation ;  and  notwithstanding  a  constitutional 
and  exuberant  flow  of  humor,  he  was  plunged  in  pro- 
found melancholy.  He  needed  more  benign  views  of 
theology  than  his  education  afibrded  him.  "  I  read  the 
Scriptures,"  he  says,  "with  great  attention,  and  in 
private  I  would  weep  and  mourn  for  my  sins.  I  had 
some  fears  that  I  should  not  find  mercy  at  last :  never- 
theless, I  prayed  heartily  that  the  Lord  would  spare  my 
life  until  I  could  completely  repent.  At  one  time  I  felt 
encouraged,  that  if  I  were  faithful,  I  should  repent 
enough  by  the  time  I  was  thirty  years  old.  ISTow  the 
most  of  my  nights  I  spent  in  weeping ;  my  pillow  and 
tny  shirt  collar  were  often  wet  with  tears,  and  I  would 


444:  HISTORY    OF    THE 

rise  eai'ly  to  wash  my  lace,  for  fear  some  one  would 
discover  that  I  had  been  crying,  and  ask  me  what  was 
the  matter."  This  mental  agony  increased  fearfully, 
till  it  became  a  jtarallel  almost  to  that  under  which  the 
sturdy  spirit  of  the  author  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress 
suffered.  Not  comprehending  the  doctrine  of  "justifica- 
tion by  faith,"  he  was  engaged  in  a  vain  endeavor  to 
wash  away  his  sins  by  the  tears  of  rej)ent;ince  alone; 
but,  as  he  attempted  to  estimate  the  number  and  enor- 
mity of  his  offenses,  an  almost  hopeless  period  seemed 
ni.'cessary  for  the  task.  ''  I  began  to  conclude,"  he  writes, 
"that  I  should  not  get  through  my  repentance  until 
I  was  fifty  or  sixty  years  old."  As  he  ruminated  over 
the  dreary  catalogue,  he  sunk  into  utter  despair.  "I 
found,"  he  says,  "  to  my  unspeakable  grief  and  dismay, 
that  I  was  altogether  unholy  in  my  nature ;  ray  sins 
had  corrupted  every  part,  so  that  there  was  nothing  in 
me  that  was  good  ;  I  was  a  complete  sink  of  sin  and 
iniquity.  I  looked  to  see  if  there  was  no  way  to  escape ; 
if  God  could  not  be  just  and  have  mercy  on  me;  but 
no,  my  sins  were  of  that  nature  that  they  ha<l  made  my 
nature  sinful.  I  cried  out  when  alone,  'O  wretch  that 
I  am  !  undone  forever!  all  my  hopes  of  o})taining  mercy, 
and  getting  to  heaven  at  last,  are  gone,  and  gone  for- 
ever !  and  it  is  all  just  and  right  with  God.'  Still,  it  is 
a  little  mercy  to  me  that  I  am  not  killed  and  damned 
outright;  I  may  live  here  a  while,  but  then,  at  last, 
I  must  be  damned ;  and  to  pray  for  myself  will  do  no 
good;  there  is  no  mercy  for  me;  I  can  do  nothing  that 
will  make  amends  for  my  sins;  they  are  ]>ast,  and  can- 
not be  recalled.  O  wretch  that  I  am  !  I  have  undone 
myself,  and  am  undone  forever!" 

Such  was  in  those  days  the  experience  of  many  an 
anxious  mind,  misguided  by  a  theology  the  metaphysics 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  445 

of  which  obscure  the  clearest  and  most  gracious  light 
of  the  divine  promises.     Such  despondence  must  soon 
terminate  in  insanity,  or  a  favorable  reaction.     Happily 
for  young  Hibbard,  the  latter  was  the  case  with  him. 
On  a  Sabbath  day,  the  quiet  beauties  of  which  looked 
more  "  dismal  than  a  shroud,"  he  read  in  his  Bible  of 
"  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  had  an  impression  to  go 
into  secret  and  pray."     His  anguish  followed  him  to  his 
closet ;  but  the  impressions  of  the  truths  he  had  been 
readino-  were  vivid.     They  embodied  themselves,  as  in 
a  vision,  to  his  troubled  mind ;  and  he  saw,  as  it  were, 
"  Jesus  Christ  at  the  right  hand  of  God,"  looking  down 
upon  him  with  compassion.     His  despair  gave  way  to 
faith  ;  "  and  now,"  he  writes,  "  I  could  see  the  justice  of 
God  in  showing  mercy  to  me  for  the  sake  of  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  not  only  to  me,  but  to  all  that  would 
come  to  him,  forsaking  their  sins,  and  believing  that  his 
death  and  suffering  were  the  only  satisfactory  sacrifice 
for  sin.     I  felt  a  sudden  sense  of  the  impropriety  of  my 
offer  to  be  damned  for  the  good  of  others,  though  I  had 
no  condemnation  for  it ;  but  the  love  of  God  in  Christ, 
and  of  Christ  in  God,  so  completely  overcame  me  that 
I  was  all  in  tears,  crying  Glory !  glory  !  glory  !     Be- 
holding the   glory  of  God  by  faith  was   a  rapturous 
sight!     But  soon  it  was  suggested  that  I  must  open 
my  eyes  on  creation  ;  and  feeling  an  ardent  desire  for 
company  to  encourage  me  in  this  worship  of  God,  it 
appeared  that,  on  opening  my  eyes,  I  should  see  some. 
I  opened  my  eyes,  therefore,  while  on  my  knees;  and 
behold!   all  nature  was  praising  God.     The  sun  and 
firmament,  the   trees,  birds   and   beasts,  all   appeared 
glowing  with  the  glory  of  God.     I  leaped  from  my 
kneeling  posture,  clapped  my  hands,  and  cried  Glory  ! 
glory  !  glory  !  heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  thy  glory  !" 


446  IIISTOKV    OF    THE 

Such  was  Hibbard's  experience  at  twelve  years  of 
age,  and  such  is  an  example  of  the  ordinary  expe- 
rience of  the  early  Methodist;',  indeed,  of  most  earnest 
minds.  It  is  cliuractori/.ed  by  much  fcelint;,  and  dis- 
torted and  otlen  despondent  views  of  the  divine  method 
of  human  recovery,  but  also  by  profound  scrupulous- 
ness, conscientious  estimates  of  sin,  and,  at  last,  by 
transfonning  faith  in  Christ. 

This  happy  state  of  mind  continued  till  it  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  dogma  of  pre-re|>robation,  which  was 
suggested  to  his  meditations  by  the  speculations  of  his 
neighbors;  for  it  was  then  tenaciously  hcM  as  an  essen- 
tial doctrine  of  the  popular  faith.  From  this  terrible 
fallacy  he  at  last  recovered,  but  not  till  he  had  passed 
through  sore  mental  conflicts,  and  received,  as  he  suj)- 
posed,  special  illuminations  of  the  Spirit  on  the  subject, 
lie  at  this  time  anticipated  vividly  the  doctrines  of 
Methodism,  and  waited  prayerfully  till  their  promulga- 
tion should  reach  his  neighborhood.  Several  years, 
howi'ver,  elapsed  before  a  Meth<idist  itinerant  appeared 
there;  and  during  this  interval  he  had  l)('en  induce<l, 
by  the  example  of  Christians  around  him,  and  the 
opinions  of  the  pastor  of  the  village  where  he  now  re- 
sided— who  approved  of  dancing — to  attend  balls,  and 
to  plunge  into  all  the  youthful  gayeties  of  the  vicinity, 
lie  lost  the  devout  and  peaceful  frame  of  mind  which 
he  had  attained  through  such  an  ordeal  of  mental 
suffering. 

He  continued  in  this  backslidden  state  lor  some  time, 
when,  at  last,  a  Methodist  evangelist  reached  the  vil- 
lage. His  mind  was  reawakened  by  the  new  preach- 
ing, and,  passing  through  another  inward  conflict, 
similar  to  that  alreaily  descrilied,  he  emerged  into  a 
still  clearer  light,  and  settled  habits  of  piety,  embrac- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  447 

ing  heartily  the  doctrines  of  the  new  sect,  though, 
as  he  liad  removed  to  Norway,  Conn.,  and  there  were 
no  Methodists  within  twenty  miles  of  him,  he  did  not 
yet  join  their  communion.  While  waiting  their  arrival 
in  the  place  of  his  new  residence  he  felt  impressed  with 
the  anticipation  that  it  might  he  his  duty  to  join  their 
humble  ministry,  and  preach  the  great  truths  which 
sustained  his  own  soul.  He  resolved  to  begin  by  "  ex- 
horting," and  held  occasional  social  services  in  the 
houses  of  his  neighbors.  After  two  or  three  of  these 
meetings  he  found  that  many  persons  were  awakened, 
and  thirteen  professed  to  be  converted.  Removing 
from  Norway  to  Hinsdale,  he  had  more  access  to  the 
Methodists,  and  now  cast  in  his  lot  with  them.  Provi- 
dential encouragements  to  devote  himself  more  entirely 
to  religious  labors  occurred.  His  wife,  who  had  dis- 
liked somewhat  his  sturdy  religious  seriousness,  became 
converted.  He  was  induced,  by  peculiar  circumstances, 
to  discourse  for  the  first  time  from  a  text  at  a  tavern, 
and  found  afterward  that  an  old  man  was  converted 
under  the  sermon,  who,  in  a  few  months,  died  in  hope. 
His  stepmother  was  led  by  his  guidance  into  the  way  of 
life.  "  She  never  had  a  witness  of  her  acceptance  with 
God,"  he  says,  "  but  now  stated  to  me  her  distress  of  mind. 
And  we  sat  up  all  night  to  weep  and  talk  and  pray  to- 
gether, and  it  pleased  God  to  make  her  strong  in  faith  and 
jtjyful  in  hope.  It  was  about  two  o'clock  in  the  night 
when  the  Lord  made  her  soul  to  rejoice  in  God  her 
Saviour.  Then  we  were  so  happy  we  wanted  no  sleep, 
but  only  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  Thus  we  spent  all  the 
night.  Glory  to  God !  this  season  was  sweet  to  my 
soul."  He  now  labored  more  abundantly,  and  resolved 
to  enter  the  itinerant  ministry ;  but  he  desponded  under 
the  consciousness  of  his  defects.     "  My  way  was  open," 


448  HISTORY    OF    THE 

he  writes,  "  but  my  weakness  almost  discouraged  me  at 
times,  for  I  had  not  then  heard  tlie  good  effect  my 
weak  sermons  Iiad,  so  that  I  began  to  grow  gloomy  and 
discouraged,  until  I  attended  the  quarterly  meeting  in 
Pittsfield.  At  the  prayer-meeting  in  the  evening  it 
was  j)roj)osed  to  have  a  local  preacher  deliver  us  a 
sermon.  lie  was  a  stranger  to  me;  and  as  he  :ippeare<l 
to  be  a  solemn,  gracious,  good  man,  I  was  much  pleased 
with  the  hope  of  a  good  time;  but  when  he  commenced 
his  <liscourse,  I  perceived  he  was  a  weak  brother.  And 
as  he  progressed  I  was  confirmed  that  he  was  very 
weak ;  and  before  he  was  done  I  concluded  that  he  was 
weaker  than  I  was;  and  surely,  I  thought,  if  I  were  as 
weak  as  he  was,  I  would  never  attempt  to  preach  again. 
Well,  our  meeting  closed,  and  I  went  to  my  lodgings 
with  a  sad  heart,  to  think  no  good  was  done  that  night. 
But  next  morning,  to  my  surprise,  I  heard  that  live 
persons  who  heard  our  weak  brother  the  night  before 
were  converted.  I  said  nothing;  but  hid  my  face  in 
my  han<ls,  and  thought,  truly  thi'se  are  thy  marvelous 
works,  O  Lord !  Thou  dost  make  use  of  things  which 
are  not  to  bring  to  naught  things  that  are.  Well,  I 
must  take  courage,  and  if  I  cannot  shine  in  gifts,  let 
rae  shine  in  humility,  and  adorn  myself  in  a  meek  and 
quiet  frame  of  mind,  which  is  an  ornament,  in  the  sight 
of  God,  of  great  price." 

I  have  been  the  more  minute  in  these  quotations, 
because  they  present  an  interesting  illustration  of  the 
power  and  working  of  the  religious  sentiment,  under 
divine  influence,  in  a  robust  but  untutored  mind.  This 
process  of  spiritual  experience  resulted  in  the  develop 
meiit  of  a  beautiful  moral  character,  full  of  religious 
sympathy,  of  atVectionateness,  of  devout  simplicity, 
and  sanctified  zeal ;  a  zeal  that  labored  mightily,  and 


MKTIIODIST    ETISCOPAL    CHURCH.         449 

endured  most  formidable  hardships  throughout  a  minis- 
terial career  of  almost  half  a  century. 

In  1797  he  was  directed  by  the  presiding  elder  to 
labor  on  Pittsfield  Circuit,  Mass.,  which  he  traveled  till 
the  spring  of  1798.  He  was  then  transferred  to  Gran- 
ville Circuit,  Mass.,  until  the  Granville  Conference  of 
1798,  when  he  joined  the  regular  itinerant  ministry,  and 
was  appointed  to  Dutchess  Circuit,  N".  Y.  While  on  the 
Pittsfield  and  Granville  Circuits  his  labors  were  re- 
markably successful ;  more  than  one  hundred  persons 
Avere  awakened ;  not  a  little  persecution  beset  his 
course ;  but  he  became  confirmed  in  his  devotion  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  In  1799  he  was  sent  to  Cambridge 
Circuit,  which  was  chiefly  in  New  York,  but  compre- 
hended also  several  Vermont  towns.  He  began  now  to 
exj)erience  some  of  the  privations  of  the  early  itiner- 
ancy. He  had  to  remove  his  family,  including  three 
children,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  among  entire 
strangers,  and  without  money  to  suppoi't  them.  During 
the  preceding  nine  months  he  had  received  but  eighty- 
four  dollars,  and  for  twenty  months  his  salary  had 
been  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars.  Nearly  all 
his  own  property  had  been  expended.  His  thoughts 
under  these  accumulating  trials,  recorded  in  his  own 
simple  language,  afford  an  interesting  illustration  of  his 
character.  "  I  looked  at  my  call  to  this  work  to  be  of 
God.  And  I  said  in  my  heart,  and  to  my  dear  wife,  to 
God  I  will  look  for  support.  My  wife  encouraged  me 
to  suffer  with  patience.  She  often  said,  '  If  we  can  do 
our  duty  to  God  here,  and  be  a  means  of  saving  some 
souls,  and  get  to  heaven  at  last,  all  our  sufferings  will 
work  together  for  our  good.'  Ah,  thought  I,  you  are  a 
dear  soul;   what  husband  would  not  want  to   live  at 

home,  and  enjoy  the  society  of  such  a  wife !     But  the 

C— 29 


1:50  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Lord  calls  me  to  leave  wife  and  children,  and  for  his 
sake  I  give  up  all." 

He  passed  over  his  circuit,  preaching  daily,  witness- 
ing the  conversion  of  souls,  and  seeking  a  home  for  his 
family ;  but  finding  none  for  many  weeks,  he  writes  : 
"  Well,  thought  I,  tlie  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  hirds 
of  the  air  have  nests,  but  I  have  not  even  a  log-house. 
I  am  now  tasting  of  my  blaster's  fare.  He  suffered  this 
for  the  good  of  souls  ;  and  O  what  an  honor,  that  I  may 
suffer  a  little  with  my  Master !  So  I  went  on  cheerful, 
trusting  in  the  Lord.  We  had  refreshing  seasons; 
many  were  awakened,  and,  I  trust,  converted.  Our 
circuit  at  that  time  was  five  hundred  miles  around  it, 
and  for  me  to  preach,  as  I  did,  sixty  three  sermons  in 
four  weeks,  and  travel  five  hundrtMl  miles,  was  too  hard. 
IJut  I  cried  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  heard  me ;  for  as  my 
day  was,  so  was  my  strength." 

Such  were  the  trials  of  the  primitive  jiroachcrs, 
trials  which,  as  we  have  elsewhere  remarked,  eitlu-r 
drove  them  from  the  field,  or  made  them  heroes ; 
their  successors  may  well  blush  to  repine  at  their  more 
lurtunate  lot.  About  three  hundred  persons  were  con- 
verted during  his  travels  on  Cambridge  Circuit.  The 
indomitable  Henry  T?yan  shared  its  labors,  ati<l  they 
"pushed  the  battle  to  the  gates.''  Violent  i)ersecution8 
opposed  them.  Hibbard  writes :  "  Brother  Ryan  was 
in  good  health  and  high  spirits  for  this  great  work. 
The  persecution  in  Thunnaii's  Patent,  where  we  had 
livecl,  was  truly  grievous.  Many  young  people  that 
experienced  religion  were  turned  out  of  doors  by  their 
parents.  Some  of  them  were  whij)ped  cruelly.  Two 
young  women  were  so  whipped  by  their  father  that  the 
blood  ran  down  from  their  backs  to  their  feet,  and  he 
then  turned  them  out  of  doors,  and  they  walked  fifteen 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCH.         451 

miles  to  a  Methodist  society.  When  they  recovered  of 
their  wounds,  some  of  our  sisters  informed  me  that  they 
had  many  scars,  some  five  inches  long.  Their  two 
young  brothers,  one  fourteen,  and  the  other  twelve 
yeai-s  old,  had  both  experienced  religion,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  Methodists,  and  suffered  in  like 
manner.  It  astonished  me  that  a  father  of  ten  children, 
eight  of  whom  had  experienced  religion,  should  drive 
Kix  from  his  house,  and  whip  these  two  boys,  for  no 
other  crime,  in  reality,  than  because  they  worshiped 
God  with  the  Methodists," 

These  persecuted  children  agreed  to  visit  and  pray 
with  their  enraged  parent  together  at  a  given  time. 
"  With  hearts  all  engaged  in  prayer  for  their  father, 
they  entered  his  house,  and,  in  the  most  affectionate 
manner,  made  known  to  him  their  tender  regard  for  his 
precious  soul.  The  power  of  God  rested  on  them,  inso- 
much that  the  old  man  was  not  able  to  answer  them. 
He  threw  himself  upon  the  bed,  and  made  a  howling 
noise,  while  they  prayed.  The  poor  old  man  could  not 
arise  from  it.  Something  rendered  him  helpless,  inso- 
much that  he  was  not  able  to  whip  his  boys  any  more 
for  worshiping  God.  He  lived  in  this  helpless  state 
eight  years  afterward.  From  this  time  the  persecution 
began  to  cease  in  this  part  of  the  circuit." 

At  the  New  York  Conference  of  1800  Hibbard  was 
appointed  to  Granville  Circuit,  Mass.  His  subsequent 
circuits  were,  1801,  Long  Island;  1802,  Dutchess  and 
Columbia,  N.  Y.;  1803-4,  Dutchess ;  1805-6,  Croton,  N. 
Y.,  with  a  congenial  colleague,  the  quaint  John  Finne- 
gan;  1807-8,  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.  In  1809  he  re- 
entered New  England,  and  was  the  colleague  of  Isaac 
Candee  on  Redding  Circuit.  Their  labors  were  unusu- 
ally successful ;   extensive  reformations  prevailed,  and 


4r)2  HISTORY    OF    THE 

about  three  huiulred  persons  were  converted.  In  1810 
he  was  on  Court  land  Circuit,  X,  Y.,  with  Ezekiel  Can- 
field,  and  1811-12  at  Rhinebeck,  X.  Y.  At  the  Confer- 
ence of  lsl3  he  was  again  returned  to  X"ew  England, 
and  api»»iinted  to  Pittstield  Circuit,  Mass.  He  was  sent 
to  this  circuit  also  in  1814,  but  with  the  understanding 
that  he  sh()uld  accept  a  cha]»laincy  in  the  army  if  an 
opportunity  occurred.  lie  <litl  so,  and  as  war  then 
raged  on  the  northern  frontier,  he  was  appointed  to  a 
reiriiuent.  and  was  with  the  troops  some  time  in  the 
ntiirid)orhottd  of  Boston.  "  Xot  long  after  I  returned 
home,"  he  says,  "  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  hear  of  forty- 
three,  who  were  in  our  regiment,  that  had  experienced 
reliirion,  an<l  joined  our  society."' 

In  1815  he  was  sent  to  Litchfield  Circuit,  Conn.,  and 
labored  with  more  than  even  his  usual  success.  About 
six  hundred  )»ersons,  it  is  estimated,  were  converted; 
and  as  many  joined  the  Congregational  Churches;  an 
impulse  was  given  to  the  cause  of  God  in  every  direc- 
tion through  the  region  of  the  circuit.  In  1816-17  he 
labored  on  Granville  Circuit;  1818,  Chatham,  X.  Y. ; 
1819-20,  Xew  York  city,  with  Aaron  Hunt,  Samuel 
Merwin,  Laban  Clark,  and  Tobias  Spicer;  1821,  Peters- 
burgh,  X.  Y. ;  1822,  Dalton,  X'.  Y.  Having  ruj)tured  a 
blood-vessel  while  preaching  in  Xew  York  city,  his 
health  had  declined  so  far  by  this  time  that  he  was 
compelled  to  retire  into  the  ranks  of  the  "superannu- 
ated or  woniout  preachers,"  where  he  remained  three 
years,  but  we  find  him  again  in  the  field  in  1826,  when 
he  was  api)ointed  to  Petersburgh  ;  1827-8,  to  Salisbui7  ; 
and  lb29,  to  Tyringham. 

Being  still  subject  to  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  and 
woni  out  with  infirmities  and  years,  he  now  returned  to 
the  superannuated  ranks,  where  he  continued  till  his 


METHODIST    EriSCOPAL    CHURCH.  453 

death.  He  had  labored  in  the  Church  about  fifty  years, 
devotedly  and  successfully.  He  died  in  1844,  in  great 
peace,  and  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his  itinerant  minis- 
try. "  When  asked  by  a  son  in  the  gospel,  how  he  felt 
in  view  of  death,"  he  replied,  "My  mind  is  calm  as  a 
summer  eve ;"  and  when  again  asked  if  death  had  any 
terror,  he  answered,  "  No,  surely  ! "  ^ 

Methodism,  while  adapted  to  all  classes,  had  peculiar 
adaptations  to  the  unlettered  and  neglected  masses. 
Its  simple  doctrines  were  intelligible  to  their  compre- 
hension, and  its  energetic  economy  reached  them  in 
whatever  recesses  of  obscurity.  At  the  same  time  its 
living  agents  were  a  providential  counterpart  to  these 
adaptations.  Many  of  its  preachers  seemed  to  have 
been  raised  up  exclusively  for  the  poor  and  illiterate, 
and  the  peculiarities  which  might  have  interfered  with 
their  usefulness  in  higher  spheres  secured  them  greater 
success  among  men  of  lowly  life.  Hibbard  was  an  ex- 
ample of  this  remark.  His  memoirs  abound  in  striking 
instances  of  the  power  of  his  ministry  ;  even  his  humor, 
sanctified  as  it  was,  had  its  good  agency;  the  hardest 
and  the  rudest  characters  yielded  to  his  influence.* 

3  Minutes,  1845. 

*  It  would  not  be  deemed  compatible  with  the  dignity  of  history  to 
narrate  some  of  the  incidents  of  his  humble  memoirs;  but  as  my  pages 
aim  at  the  best  possible  illustration  of  the  primitive  character  and  in- 
fluence of  Methodism,  I  insert  an  instance  which  exemplifies  his  influ- 
ence over  an  untutored  family.  It  is  an  account  of  the  testimony  of  a 
converted  Dutciiman,  given  in  a  love-feast,  about  the  present  period. 
Hibbard  writes:  "He  said,  'Mine  dear  brethren,  I  want  to  tell  you 
some  mine  experience.  When  the  Metodists  tirst  came  into  these 
parls  I  tot  I  was  doing  bery  well,  for  mine  wife  and  I  had  two  sons, 
Ned  and  Jim,  and  we  had  a  good  farm  that  Neddy  and  I  could  work 
bery  well,  so  I  let  Jim  go  out  to  work  about  fourteen  miles  off  from 
home.  But  de  Metodists  come  into  our  parts,  and  Neddy  went  to 
dare  meeting,  and  he  got  converted,  and  I  tot  we  should  all  be 
undone  ;  so  I  told  Ned  he  must  not  go  to  dese  Melodist  nieelings,  for 
60  much  praying  and  so  much  going  to  meeting  would  ruin  us  all. 


454  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Hibburd  was  a  very  genial  iDiiul,  luimoroiis,  amiable, 
witliout  learning,  yet  abounding  in  intelligen?e,  fond 
of  anecdote,  and  exceedingly  hai)pv  in  telling  one  ;  sur- 
prisingly apt  in  laconic  remarks,  richly  endowed  with 

But  Neddy  eaid,  "O,  lador,  I  must  serve  dc  Lord,  and  save  my  soul." 
But,  I  said,  you  must  do  de  work  too.  So  I  <j;-d\e  him  a  liard  stint  on 
de  day  of  dare  meeting;  but  lie  worit  so  liard  dat  lie  got  liis  stint  done, 
and  went  to  de  meeting  after  all.  While  I  set  on  my  stoop  and 
smoked  mine  pipe,  I  see  him  go  over  de  hill  to  de  Melodist  meeting, 
and  I  said  to  my  wife  Elizabet,  We  shall  be  undone,  for  our  Ned  will 
go  to  dese  meetings;  and  she  said,  "  Wliat  can  we  do?"  Well,  I  said, 
den  I  will  stint  him  harder;  and  so  I  did  several  times  when  dc 
meeting  come.  But  Neddy  worked  hard,  an<l  sometimes  he  got  some 
boys  to  help  him,  so  dat  he  would  go  off  to  de  meeting  while  I  set  on 
mine  stoop  and  smoked  mine  pipe.  I  could  see  Ned  go  over  de  hill. 
I  said  one  day,  O  mine  Got  I  what  can  I  do  ?  dis  boy  will  go  to  dese 
meetings,  after  all  I  can  do.  So  when  Ned  come  home,  I  said,  Ned, 
you  must  leave  off  going  to  dese  meetings,  or  I  will  send  for  Jim  to 
come  home,  and  turn  you  away.  But  Neddy  said,  "  O,  fader,  I  must 
8er\e  de  Lord,  and  save  my  soul ! "  Well,  den,  I  will  send  for  Jim. 
So  I  sent  for  Jim;  and  when  he  come  home,  den  I  heard  he  had  been 
to  the  Metodist  meeting,  where  he  had  lived,  and  he  was  converted 
too.  And  Ned  and  Jim  both  said,  "O,  fader,  we  must  ser\e  de  Lord, 
and  save  our  souls ! "  But  I  said  to  mine  wife,  Dese  MetodistB  must 
be  wrong;  da  will  undo  us  all,  for  da  have  got  Ned  and  Jim  both.  I 
wish  you  would  go  to  dare  meeting,  and  you  can  see  what  is  wrong ; 
but  Ned  and  Jim  can't  see  it  So  de  next  meeting-day  de  old  woman 
vent  wid  Ned  and  Jim,  but  I  set  on  mine  stoop  and  smoked  mine 
pijK'.  But  I  said  to  mlneself,  I  guess  dese  Melodists  have  got  dare 
match,  to  get  de  old  woman,  and  she  will  see  what's  wrong.  So  I 
smoked  mine  pijx-,  an<l  lookt  to  see  dem  come  back.  By  and  by  I  see 
dem  coming ;  and  when  da  come  near,  I  see  de  tears  nin  down  mine 
wife's  face.  Den  I  said,  O  mine  Got,  <la  have  got  de  old  woman  too ! 
I  tot  I  am  undone,  for  da  have  got  Ned  and  Jim,  and  de  old  woman; 
and  when  da  come  on  de  stoop,  mine  wife  said,  "O  we  must  not  speak 
nirainst  dis  jjeople,  for  da  are  de  people  of  Got."  But  I  said  nothing, 
fi»r  I  had  not  been  to  any  of  de  meetings,  so  I  was  in  great  trouble. 
But  in  a  few  days  after  I  heard  dat  derc  was  a  missionary  going  to 
]>reaeh  a  little  ways  off;  so  I  tot  I  would  go,  for  I  tot  it  would  not 
hurt  anybody  to  go  to  his  meeting:  and  I  went  wid  Ned  and  Jim  and 
mine  wife,  and  he  prcacht;  but  dere  was  noting  done  till  after  de 
meeting  was  over,  and  den  dare  was  two  young  men  in  dc  toder  room 
dat  sung  and  prayed  so  good  as  anybody,  and  da  prayed  for  dar  old 
fader  too.  And  many  cried,  and  I  tot  da  prayed  bery  well.  After  dis 
I  was  going  out  of  de  door  to  go  home,  and  a  woman  baid  to  me,  "  Mr. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CIIUKCH.        455 

the  spirit  of  piety,  ever  ready  for  religious  conver- 
sation, a  thorough  lover  of  his  country,  and  staunchly 
republican  in  his  politics ;  a  tireless  laborer  in  the 
puljnt,  and  one  of  the  most  useful  men  in  our  early 
annals.  His  love  and  devotion  to  the  Church  were 
enthusiastic.  He  died  soon  after  its  division  by  the 
separation  of  the  Methodists  Episcopal  Church  South, 
and,  it  is  said,  that  event  broke  his  spirit,  and  hastened 
his  death. 

Samuel  Merwin  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  amono-  the 
Methodist  societies  of  the  Atlantic  States  from  Canada 
to  Maryland,  Dignified  in  person,  powerful  in  elo- 
quence, generous  in  spirit,  and  mighty  in  laboi's,  he  was 
one  of  the  most  popular  preachers  of  his  day.  He  was 
born  in  Durham,  Conn.,  September  13,  1777.  His  early 
education  was  strictly  religious,  and  it  is  said  he  was 
from  childhood  the  subject  of  deep  spiritual  impressions 
— an  explanation,  in  part,  of  the  remarkable  force  of  his 

,  you  must  be  a  happy  man,  to  have  two  such  young  men  as  dem 

dat  prayed."  I  said,  Was  dat  Ned  and  Jim?  She  said,  "Yes."  O, 
I  fult  so  mad  to  tink  da  had  prayed  for  me,  and  exposed  me  before  all 
de  people !  But  I  said  noting,  but  went  home ;  and  I  went  right  to 
bed.  But  now  mine  mind  was  more  troubled  dan  ever  before,  for  I 
began  to  tink  how  wicked  I  was  to  stint  poor  Neddy  so  hard,  and  try 
to  hinder  him  from  saving  his  soul ;  but  I  said  noting,  and  mine  wife 
said  noting ;  so  I  tried  to  go  sleep ;  but  as  soon  as  I  shut  mine  eyes  I 
could  see  Neddy  going  over  de  hill  to  go  to  his  meeting  after  he  had 
done  his  hard  stint,  so  tired  and  weary.  Den  I  felt  worse  and  worse ; 
and  by  and  by  I  groaned  out,  and  mine  wife  axt  me  wliat's  de  matter. 
I  said,  I  believe  I  am  dying.  She  said,  "Shall  I  call  up  Ned  and 
Jim  !  "  I  said.  Yes.  And  Jim  come  to  de  bed,  and  said,  "  O  fader, 
what  is  de  matter?"  I  said,  I  believe  I  am  dying.  And  he  said, 
"  Fader,  shall  I  pray  for  you  ?"  I  said,  0  yes,  and  Neddy  too.  And 
glory  be  to  Got!  I  belive  he  heard  prayer;  for  tough  I  felt  my  sins 
like  a  mounUin  load  to  sink  me  down  to  hell,  I  cried,  0  Got,  have 
mercy  on  me,  a  poor  sinner !  and  by  and  by  I  feel  someting  run  all 
over  me,  and  split  mine  heart  all  to  pieces;  and  I  felt  so  humble  and 
so  loving,  dat  I  rejoice  and  praise  Got;  and  now  I  am  resolved  to 
serve  Got  wit  Ned  and  Jim,  and  mine  wife,  and  dese  Melodists.'  " 


456  HISTORY  OF  the 

n-liirious  ])nnci]»U-s  and  address  in  subsequent  years. 
"While  quite  younsx  his  conseieuce  was  awakened  under 
a  funeral  diseourse ;  and  it  is  believed  that  he  was  con- 
verted at  this  time,  but,  for  laek  of  suitable  guidance, 
relapsed  into  a  state  of  carelessness,  till  the  Methodist 
ministry  came  to  his  place  of  residence,  then  at  New 
l^urham,  N.  Y,,  where  he  was  atrain  thorouijhly  awak- 
ened ami  soundly  converted.  Glowing  with  joy  and  the 
zeal  of  a  new  life,  he  soon  began  to  exhort  <in  those  social 
religious  occasions  with  which  Methodism  abounds,  and 
which  have  eminently  tended  to  draw  forth  the  talent 
of  its  young  men,  and  thereby  to  recruit  its  ministry. 
When  not  yet  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  dispatched, 
by  a  presiding  elder,  to  labor  on  a  part  of  the  Delaware 
District,  X.  Y.,  and  in  the  year  18(10  was  received  as 
a  probationer  at  the  New  York  Conference.  And  now 
commenced  that  career  of  ministerial  labors  and  suc- 
cesses, extending  throuirh  about  forty  years,  which  has 
rendered  his  name  familiar  through  our  northern  and 
middle  Churches.  The  long  catalogue  of  his  appoint- 
ments is  a  significant  memorial  of  his  services.  lie  was 
sent,  in  IHOO,  to  Long  Island  Circuit;  IHOI,  Redding, 
Conn.;  1802,  Adams,  Mass.;  180.3,  Montreal,  Canada; 
1H04,  New  York  city  ;  IHOo,  Hedding,  Conn.,  with  Peter 
Moriarty  ;  Ihoo,  Hoston,  Mass.,  with  Peter.Jayne;  isOT, 
1808,  Newport,  K.  I.;  1809,  Bristol  and  Rhode  Island; 
1810,  .Albany  Circuit ;  Inii,  Schenectady;  1812,  1813, 
Albany  city;  1814,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  1815-1818,  pre- 
>iiling  elder  of  New  York  District;  1819,  New  York 
city;  1820,  Albany  city;  1821-182.3,  New  Haven  Dis- 
trict; 1824,  1825,  Baltimore;  1826,  1827,  Pliiladel- 
l>hia;  1828,  1829,  Troy,  N.  Y. ;  1830,  1831,  New 
York  city;  1832-1835,  New  York  District;  1836,  New 
York   city;    1837,    1838,    Rhinebeck,    N.  Y.      He   de- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CIIUKCH.         457 

parted  to  his  rest  in  peace,  at  Rhiuebcck,  N.  Y., 
January  13,   1839. 

It  will  be  inferred,  from  tlie  important  posts  assigned 
him,  that  he  was  a  chief  among  his  brethren.  His  per- 
son was  lai*ge  and  commanding,  and  his  voice  musical  and 
strong,  swaying  the  greatest  assemblies.  Exceedingly 
graceful  in  his  movements  and  lively  in  his  aiFections,  he 
was  a  perfect  Christian  gentleman.  He  possessed  supe- 
rior powers  of  government,  and  discharged  the  functions 
of  the  presiding  eldership  with  special  ability.  The 
invaluable  talent  of  reconciling  discordant  brethren  or 
societies  was  his  in  a  rare  degree,  and  the  kindly,  sym- 
pathetic spirit  Avhich  usually  accompanies  that  talent 
characterized  him  everywhere,  and  imparted  to  his 
ministrations  a  richly  consolatary  character.  His  pulpit 
appeals  were  accompanied  by  a  flowing  and  sweeping 
eloquence,  sometimes  rising  to  wonderful  power  and 
majesty,  and  the  living  evidences  of  his  usefulness  are 
yet  found  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  his  pastoral 
labors.  His  brethren  of  the  New  York  Conference  say 
of  him,  "  Samuel  jMerwin  loved  his  Chui'ch,  and  was 
most  ardently  devoted  to  its  interests.  Wise  in  counsel 
and  skilled  in  execution,  he  Avas  ahvays  ready  to  step 
forward  in  defense  of  its  rights:  he  was  the  friend  of  all 
its  literary  and  benevolent  institutions;  to  support  them 
he  gave  his  influence  and  his  money  ;  his  voice,  too,  was 
often  heard,  powerfully  and  successfully  pleading  their 
respective  claims.  But  he  has  gone,  and  '  2:)recious  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints.' "  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  our  records  allow  not  of  a  more 
adequate  sketch  of  such  a  man. 

Few  men  were  more  prominent  in  the  service  of  the 
Church  during  this  period  than  Sjdvester  Hutchinson; 
but  as  he  located   the   next   year   after  its  close,  the 


458  HISTORY  OF  the 

Minutes  give  him  no  other  record  than  his  appoint- 
ments,' and  "where  he  found  a  grave  we  know  not."' 
Yet  he  traveled  seventeen  years  in  New  Jersey,  Mary- 
land, Xew  York,  New  England,  In  1800,"  says  one  of 
our  authorities,*  "he  was  stationed  in  New  York  city, 
with  Jesse  Lee  and  John  M'Claskey,  who  were  giants 
in  those  days.  In  IHOI  he  was  the  traveling  companion 
of  that  holy  man,  Bishop  Whatcoat.  In  1803  he  was 
the  successor  of  Shadrath  Bostwick,  as  presiding  elder 
on  the  Pittsfield  District.  Among  the  preachers  under 
his  charge,  at  that  time,  were  the  youthful  and  eloquent 
Samuel  Merwin  ;  Martin  Huter,  wlio  was  then  also  in  the 
morning  of  life,  and  in  at\er  years  fell  a  martyr  to  the 
work  in  Texas  ;  Seth  Crowell,  with  a  clear,  logical  head, 
and  a  warm  heart;  Luman  Andrus,  amiable,  and  of  a 
sweet  disposition;  William  Anson,  rejoicing  that  he 
was  counted  worthy  to  suffer  in  a  cause  so  good ;  Henry 
Eames,  with  his  warm  Irish  heart;  Elijah  Cliicluster, 
like  Elijah  of  old,  faithful  to  his  God,  and  faithful  to 
others."  When  he  traveled  Pittsfield  District,  Hutchin- 
son was  the  presiding  elder  of  the  youthful  Elijah 
Iledding,  afltrwanl  bishop.  Hcdding  always  s])oke  of 
him  in  the  highest  terms.  "The  district,"  says  Bishop 
Clark,  in  his  Life  of  ILdding,  "  was  of  gigantic  pro- 
portions, and  the  presiding  eldership  no  sinecure  in 
those  early  days.  It  embraced  New  York  city,  the 
whole  of  Long  Island,  and  extended  northward,  embrac- 
ing the  whole  territory  having  the  Connecticut  Hiveron 
the  east  and  Hudson  River  and  Lake  Champlain  on  the 
west,  and  stretching  far   into   Canada.      It  embraced 

"  The  Mlnutea  give  short  obituaries  of  all  who  died  members  of  Con- 
ference. 

'  Wiikcley's  Heroes,  p.  289.  Wakeley  gives  some  details  of  his  life  in 
the  "  Lost  Chapters."  *  Ibid.,  p.  2S8. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         459 

n.\^:ly  the  whole  territory  now  included  within  three 
annual  conferences.  Hutchinson  was  a  man  of  burning 
zeal  and  indomitable  energy.  Mounted  upon  his  favorite 
horse,  he  would  ride  through  the  entire  extent  of  his 
district  once  in  three  months,  visiting  each  circuit,  and 
invariably  filling  all  his  numerous  appointments.  His 
voice  rung  like  a  trumpet  blast;  and  with  words  of 
fire,  and  in  powerful  demonstration  of  the  Spii-it,  he 
preached  Christ  Jesus.  His  appointments  show  the 
rank  he  held  in  the  ministry — the  profound  confidence 
his  brethren  had  in  him.  He  was  a  small  man,  but  had 
a  very  strong  voice,  and  seemed  never  to  be  wearied  ; 
he  lived  in  the  Spirit,  and  was  constantly  ready  for 
every  good  word  and  work." 

With  such  itinerants  were  associated  in  the  northern 
field,  in  these  years,  many  congenial  and  mightier 
men :  Garrettson,  Bostwick,  Arnold,  Jewel,  Draper,  Cro- 
well.  Sawyer,  M'Claskey,  Morrell,  Ostrander,  Michael 
Coate,  Jayne,  Moriarty,  Ryan,  and  others,  who  have 
already  received  or  will  hereafter  claim  our  atten- 
tion. The  revivals,  which  have  been  noticed,  as  pre- 
vailing in  the  South  and  middle  parts  of  the  country, 
extended  up  the  Hudson  and  spread  westward  to  the 
New  York  Lakes,  and  eastward  over  New  England, 
greatly  recruiting  the  societies  and  the  ministry.  Joseph 
Sawyer,  whom  we  shall  soon  meet  in  Canada,  preached, 
in  1798,  a  discourse  of  great  eflect  in  Petersburgh,  N.  Y,, 
under  which  Ebenezer  Washburn,  a  school  teacher,  was 
awakened.  He  hastened  to  the  nearest  society,  in 
Hoosack,  and  joined  it.  His  wife  and  several  of  his 
neighbors  were  converted,  and  they  formed  the  first 
class  in  Petersburgh.  Washburn  became  one  of  the 
holiest  and  most  useful  of  the  eai'ly  itinerants.  He 
began  his   successful    career  by  exhorting   among  his 


460  HISTORY    OF    THE 

neighbors,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  reported  thiiiy 
converts  on  the  Petersburgh  ^Mountains.  This  was  the 
bi'irinning  of  nearly  half  a  century  of  ministerial  labors, 
sutterings,  and  triuini»hs. 

Before  the  end  of  our  period  Methodism  was  sucpess- 
fully  jdantt'd  in  Troy.  A  class  was  formed  there  as 
early  as  isol,  ])ut  it  had  nearly  exj)ired,  when,  in  1804, 
John  Wright,  a  lay  Methodist,  moving  to  the  city, 
iii<|uiri'd  for  his  brethren,  and  found  "a  small  company 
W(»r>liiping  in  a  private  house."''  In  three  or  four  years 
tlicy  were  able  to  build  a  humble  temple  in  State-street. 
It  became  the  head<|uarters  of  a  "charge,"  including 
Troy,  Albia,  West  Troy,  Lansing])urgh,  and  Brunswick, 
but  for  twelve  or  fifteen  years  the  whole  membership 
hardly  exceeded  one  Inuidred.  Troy  now  gives  name 
to  a  powerful  Conlerence. 

In  1802  William  Anson  was  sent  to  plant  the  Church 
on  Grand  Isle,  in  Lake  Champlain.  He  extended  his 
circuit  to  other  islands,  and  even  into  Canada,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  year  reported  more  than  a  hundred 
Church  members.  Anson  joined  the  Conference  two 
years  before  going  to  Grand  Isle,  and  spent  them  in 
hard  work  in  Canada.  He  was  twenty-three  years  in 
the  itinerancy.  In  1823  he  was  compelled  by  enfeebled 
health  to  retire  from  effective  service,  and  was  retunud 
suiternumerary.  He  sought  repose  on  his  fjirm,  at 
^lalta,  Saratoga  County,  X.  Y.  In  the  spring  of  1847 
he  was  attacked  by  paralysis,  and  rapidly  declined  in 
body  and  mind  until  he  died  on  the  17th  of  July,  1848, 
He  joined  the  itinerant  ministry  when  it  was  beset  with 
]»rivations  and  imposed  labors  which  tried  the  souls  of 
the  bravest  men,  ''  He  had  his  full  share  of  hardshij)S," 
say  his  co-laborers,  "but  never  flinched."  He  was  the 
»  Park's  Troy  Conference  Miscellany,  p.  48. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  461 

"  pioneei*  of  Methodism  in  many  places,  and  carried  the 
proclamation  of  free  salvation  into  the  wilderness  of 
Vermont,  northern  New  York,  and  Canada,  and  often 
from  house  to  house."  His  piety  is  pronounced  "  un- 
doubted," his  integrity  "sterling,"  and  his  talents 
"  respectable."  "  He  was  laborious  and  useful,  and  his 
preaching  plain  and  powerful."  The  name  of  such  a 
man  should  not  be  allowed  to  perish. 

Before  the  end  of  the  century  Methodism  had  got 
a  permanent  footing  in  Warren  County,  near  the  head 
of  the  Hudson,  a  locality  then  called  "  Thurman's 
Patent."  Josiah  Woodward  and  Samuel  Crane,  with 
their  families,  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  society  which 
gave  origin  at  last  to  the  "Old  Thui'man  Circuit." 
The  first  information  they  ever  received  of  Methodism 
was  the  news  of  the  drowning  of  Richard  Jacobs,  who, 
as  we  have  seen,  perished  in  Schroon  Lake,  while 
traversing,  as  an  evangelist,  this  distant  wilderness. 
His  death  led  to  inquiries  about  the  "  new  sect ;"  the 
settlers  were  excited  with  curiosity  to  see  and  hear 
an  itinerant.  Henry  Ryan  arrived  there  in  1798, 
and  lodged  with  Crane.  Woodward  invited  him  to 
preach  at  his  neighboring  house,  Ryan  stayed  long 
enough  to  form  a  class,  comprising  these  two  families, 
seven  members  in  all.  The  little  society  was  attached 
to  the  nearest  circuit,  and  supplied  with  preaching  once 
in  four  weeks.  Another  class  was  soon  formed  at  Johns- 
burgh,  "  and  thus  Methodism  was  introduced  into  that 
town."^  Subsequently  "Thurman's  Patent"  became 
"  Thurman  Circuit,"  extending  through  ten  towns,  and 
comprehending  all  the  Methodism  in  that  region ;  it 
has,  still  later,  grown  to  half  a  dozen  circuits.  The 
early  itinerants  had  hard  fare  in  this  wilderness.     One 

8  Autobiography  of  Rev.  Tobias  Spicer,  p.  33.     New  York:  1831. 


462  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  them  says,  "  it  then  embraced  a  newly-settled  country, 
rou<;h  and  poor.  The  accommodations  for  a  preacher's 
family,  and  their  means  of  support,  were  very  scanty. 
The  only  place  I  could  obtain  for  a  residence  consisted 
of  one  room,  having  only  one  small  window.  The  room 
was  so  small  that  it  could  contain  only  our  bed,  a  table, 
three  chairs,  one  chest,  and  two  trunks.  On  one  side 
of  the  fireplace  was  a  little  closet,  which  contained  our 
table-dishes  and  some  of  our  ])rovisions.  This  room 
served  us  as  our  parlor,  dining-room,  kitchen,  and  bed- 
room ;  and  it  was  also  my  study.  But  we  were  not 
much  mortified  to  appear  thus  poor,  for  many  of  our 
neighbors  around  us  were  poor  also,  and  we  appeared  as 
well  as  a  large  portion  of  our  brethren  on  the  circuit. 
There  was  at  that  time  very  little  money  circulating 
in  these  part'*.  On  this  account,  our  contributions 
consisted  principally  in  such  articles  of  provision  as 
our  friends  coiild  spare.  All  the.  support  I  received 
from  the  circuit,  rluring  the  whole  year,  amounted  to 
only  eighty-five  dollars;  perhaps  one  half  of  this  was 
cash."" 

Mi-anwhile  the  denomination  was  extending  its  lines 
iii  the  interior  regions  of  the  Pennsylvania  Mountain 
valleys  and  New  York  Lakes.  Ware's  modest  ministry 
there,  as  presiding  elder,  was  like  "the  still  small 
voice,"  in  contrast  with  the  tempestuous  eloquence  of 
his  jiredecessor,  Valentine  Cook;  but  the  contrast  was 
salutary,  and  jterhaps  lu-eded,  for  the  scenes  of  excite- 
ment which  had  prevailed  through  these  wildernesses 
required  his  tempering  counsels  and  example.  In  the 
spring  of  1797  Colbert  leturned  to  the  Wyoming  Val- 
ley, and  went  preaching  from  settlement  to  settlement, 
attended  by  the  old  hardships  and  demonstrations  of 
"  Spicer. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CIIURCII.        463 

his  ministry.  He  readied  the  extremity  of  his  circuit 
and  wrote,  "  Thus  have  I  got  on  the  frontiers  of  Wyo- 
ming once  more,  on  my  way  to  Tioga.  Hard  times  I 
now  expect."  He  had  them  fully  up  to  his  expectation, 
in  his  mountain  lodgings,  his  long  and  stormy  journeys, 
his  small  log  cabin  congregations,  sometimes  so  dis- 
turbed by  the  crying  of  children  that  he  could  hardly 
hear  his  own  voice.  His  journals  are  a  curious  record 
of  the  primitive  life  of  these  regions.  "  I  have  had,"  he 
says,  "  a  veiy  disagreeable  ride  from  Bennet's,  to  Avhere 
a  few  women  had  gathered  for  preaching,  but  was  called 
off,  before  I  began,  to  a  woman  in  the  neighborhood 
who  was  sick,  therefore  I  neither  preached,  prayed,  nor 
exhorted,  but  chose  to  ride  until  ten  o'clock  at  night  in 
preference  to  staying  in  the  filth  among  children,  cattle, 
hogs,  and,  no  doubt,  an  army  of  fleas."  On  his  way 
from  this  place  to  another  appointment  he  writes,  "  The 
wind  was  blowing,  the  lightning  blazing,  the  thunder 
roaring,  and  the  rain  so  pouring  down  that  1  could  not 
see  to  escape  the  timber  that  might  be  falling  around 
me.  I  was  wet  enough  when  I  reached  my  appoint- 
ment, and  found  it  hard  to  get  a  dry  corner  to  stand 
and  preach  in."  He  goes  to  Canandaigua,  Seneca  Lake, 
etc.,  and  encounters  similar  difficulties.  "  A  man,"  he 
says,  needs  to  have  a  good  constitution  and  a  large 
stock  of  patience  to  travel  this  circuit.  May  the  Lord 
bless  me  with  the  latter ! "  He  was  sick  also  with  chills 
and  fever,  the  effect  of  his  exposures,  but  drove  on  in 
his  work.  "The  people,"  he  says,  "called  to  hear 
preaching  in  the  forenoon.  I  did  not  feel  able  to  sit  up, 
but  wishing  them  to  hear  something,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  I  made  an  attempt  to  preach,  but  found  myself 
unable,  and  had  to  lie  down,  desiring  the  friends  to 
hold    a    prayer-meeting.      After   several   of   them   had 


4o4:  HISTOKY     OF     THE 

prayed  I  made  a.  second  attempt,  and  was  enabled  to 
preach  and  meet  two  classes.  In  the  afternoon  1  rode  to 
Robert  Alexander's,  and  found  A! ward  White  preneh- 
uvj;.  I  gave  an  exhortation  alter  him,  and  have  reasjon 
to  be  thankful  that  I  feel  better  than  I  did  in  the  mom- 
inir."  He  hardly  names  the  places  where  he  thus 
j)reaches  and  sutlers;  most  of  them  had  yet  no  names, 
but  they  were  on  the  old  Seneca  Circuit.  The  chronicler 
of  the  Church  there  says:  '"The  brave  hearts  that  stood 
it  out,  and  butl«ted  the  dangers  and  ditticulties  of  the 
country  when  it  was  a  frontier,  must  have  the  Gospel,  and 
our  i>ld  itinerants  were  the  men  to  carry  it  to  them.  They 
could  shake  ami  Iturn  one  <lay,  and  encounter  the  storm 
and  mud,  and  ])nach  in  open,  comfortless  log  'pens' 
the  next,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  souls.  So  did  the 
heroic  Colbert.  The  lalnir  was  hard,  the  sacrifices 
great,  ami  as  to  /"'//,  he  says  nothing  about  it.  The 
probability  is  that  he  received  little  more  than  his 
board  and  the  keeping  of  his  horse."*  Ujton  closing  his 
labors  upon  the  circuit  he  makes  the  following  record: 
"  I  have  traveled  from  the  20th  of  May  to  the  12th  of 
Septembi-r  on  Seneca  Circuit,  in  Ontario  and  Onondaga 
Counties,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  among  the  lakes 
Canantlaigua,  Iloneoye,  and  Crooked  Lake,  west  and 
southwest,  an«l  Cayuga,  Owasco,  and  Skaneateles,  east 
and  northeast  of  the  Seneca  Lake.  The  inhabitants  are 
jtrincipally  immigrants  from  the  New  England  States, 
the  older  settlements  in  the  state  of  New  York,  Xew 
Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  and,  toward  the  Honeoye, 
s'^)me  are  from  Maryland.  Hamilton  Jefferson  has  been 
mv  colleairue,  a  man  high  in  the  esteem  of  many  of  the 
people.  The  people  generally  have  been  raised  under  a 
Calvinistic  ministry.  Some  who  joined  us  appear  to  be 
»  Peck,  p.  133. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         465 

mucli  alive  to  God.  In  many  places  the  people  are  ex- 
tremely ignorant,  and  in  others  they  are  well  informed. 
Truly  I  can  say  that  since  I  have  been  in  this  country 
my  life  has  been  one  continual  scene  of  toil."  Bad  as 
these  scenes  were,  they  were  an  improvement  on  what 
he  had  witnessed  in  his  former  travels  here.  Numerous 
societies  were  now  organized,  the  beginning  of  the 
Methodism  that  now  flourishes  in  all  the  region  like  its 
rich  harvests.  The  circuit  extended  from  the  Skaneateles 
to  the  Canandaigua  Lakes.  Colbert  names  but  two 
small  villages  upon  it,  Geneva  and  Canandaigua,  and  in 
neither  of  these  had  he  yet  permanent  "  appointments." 
In  1798  he  was  again  on  Wyoming  and  Northumber- 
land Circuits.  The  Conference  rightly  judged  that  he 
was  the  man  for  the  mountains.  The  next  year  this 
interior  field  was  rearranged,  the  northern  portion  being 
connected  with  a  district  that  comprehended  Albany 
and  the  Mohawk  region,  under  the  presiding  eldership 
of  William  M'Lenahan.  There  were  three  circuits :  Sen-, 
eca,  with  Jonathan  Bateman  for  preacher ;  Tioga,  with 
John  Leach  and  David  Dunham ;  Wyoming  and  Nor- 
thumberland, with  James  Moore,  Benjamin  Bidlack, 
and  David  Stevens.  These  evangelists  did  valiant 
service ;  Bidlack  especially  was  a  noted  hero,  and  was 
here  in  his  own  field.  He  had  been  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army,  being  at  Boston  when  Washington  took  com- 
mand, and  at  Yorktown  wheii  Cornwallis  surrendered ; 
had  been  noted  "for  fun  and  fi'olic,"  for  his  love  of 
strong  drink  and  "  good  fellowship,"  and  yet  had  a  sin- 
gular reverence  for  religion.  He  would  attend  gravely 
the  preaching  of  the  early  evangelists,  however  drunk 
he  might  be  at  the  time.  "  He  sometimes  sung  with 
great  gusto,  and  even  raised  the  tune,  when  he  could 
hardly  stand  without  holding  on  to  something."  He 
C— 30 


466  HISTORY    OF    THK 

once  api»eare<l  in  tlie  congregation  with  his  usual 
gravity,  hut  with  a  hottlc  of  rum  in  his  pocket,  its  kin<f 
neck  visible  to  all  around.  Anthony  Turck,  a  Dutch 
itificrant,  fiery  w^ith  zeal,  and  "bold  as  a  lion,"  saw 
him,  and  poured  forth  a  terrible  denunciation  against 
drunkenness.  The  congregation  were  alarmed,  for  they 
knew  Bidlack's  courage;  but  he  trembled  under  the 
word,  anil  "instead  of  resenting  the  attack,  went  home 
stung  with  remorse."  He  ])ul)licly  confessed  his  vices, 
repented,  became  a  Methodist,  and,  before  long,  was 
traveling  with  the  itinerants,  one  of  their  most  flaming 
fellow-laborers.  He  was  a  superior  singer,  an  important 
advantage  in  the  early  ministry,  and  a  preacher  of 
acknowledged  talents.  "  Bidlack  has  become  a  Meth- 
odist i»rcachcr  rang  through  the  country,  and  stirred  up 
a  mighty  coraraotion."  He  was  a  gigantic  man,  over 
six  feet  hiirh,  with  broad  shoulders,  and  strong  limbs. 
He  became  at  last  the  venerated  "Father  Bidlack," 
with  white  flowing  locks,  a  face  full  of  generous  charac- 
ter, and  universally  beloved  of  the  people.  He  died,  in 
the  peace  of  the  gospel,  in  1H43,  aged  eighty-seven  years. 
In  1800  Wyoming  and  Northumberland  were  at- 
tached to  thf  Philadelphia  District,  under  the  ])residing 
ehhTshiji  of  the  veteran  Joseph  Everett,  already  familiar 
to  us,  while  Oneida  and  Cayuga,  Seneca  and  Tioga 
Avere  connected  with  the  Albany  District.  Asa  Smith, 
Bidlack,  an<l  (Truber  were  among  the  evangelists.  "  The 
word  of  God  mightily  grew  and  prevailed  this  year" 
thn>uirhout  these  regions,  and  the  first  meeting-house  in 
Wilkesbarre  was  erected.  The  next  year  Owen  was 
back  again  in  this  his  old  territory,  where  he  had 
labored  for  about  ten  years.  The  evangelical  black- 
smith was  in  full  strength,  and  kept  all  around  him  in 
motion.     "  Inileed,"  says  the  local  historian,  "  he  had 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  467 

been  hammering  upon  the  consciences  of  the  people  of 
Wyoming,  as  an  exhorter  or  preacher,  ever  since  the 
summer  of  1788,  and  either  the  people  did  not  consider 
him  worn  out,  or  they  were  not  consulted  in  the  ap- 
pointment." 

The  field  continually  enlarges  during  the  remainder 
of  this  period ;  its  ministerial  laborers  multiply,  and 
church  edifices  begin  to  appear;  but  the  evangelists 
still  have  to  endure  many  of  their  early  sufferings. 
About  the  close  of  the  period  Alfred  Griflith,  who  still 
survives,  was  sent,  with  Christopher  Spry,  to  the 
Wyoming  Circuit.  "  The  circuit,"  says  his  biographer, 
"like  all  others  in  that  day,  was  large,  and  the  fare 
poor  and  coarse  enough.  The  only  flrink  they  had 
besides  water  was  coffee  made  of  buckwheat  bread. 
The  process  of  making  this  drink  was  to  hold  a  piece 
of  buckwheat  bread,  called  a  slapjack,  in  the  fire  in  the 
tongs  till  completely  charred,  and  then  to  boil  it  in  an 
iron  pot.  The  liquor  thus  obtained,  sweetened  with 
maple  sugar,  received  from  Griflith  the  name  of  '  slap- 
jack cottee,'  and  by  this  designation  came  to  be  gener- 
ally known.  As  to  eating,  from  early  in  June  till 
autumn,  except  when  on  the  Flats,  they  had  not  a 
morsel  of  meat  of  any  kind.  Poultry  could  not  be 
raised,  nor  pigs,  nor  sheep,  for  as  soon  as  anything  of 
the  sort  made  its  appearance  it  was  carried  ofl"  by  the 
foxes,  the  bears,  the  panthers,  or  the  wolves.  If  now 
and  then  a  man  was  found  bold  enough  to  attempt  to 
keep  a  hog,  the  pen  was  built  just  at  the  front  door  of 
the  cabin ;  and  if  he  owned  a  calf  it  Avas  brought  up 
and  tied  behind  the  house  every  night,  and  the  guns 
kept  loaded  and  at  hand  to  drive  off"  or  kill  the  invading 
panther  or  wolf  As  they  rested  at  night  on  their  bear- 
skins, or  deerskins,  they  frequently  heard  around  them 


468  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  wailinfj  scream  of  the  panther  or  the  howl  of  the 
wolf;  and  the  sight  of  the  hear  was  more  common  than 
that  of  a  pig  or  a  lamb.  The  sleeping  was  as  poor  in 
some  instances  as  the  eating  and  drinking.  About  fifty 
miles  from  the  Flats  lived  a  huml)le  family,  whose  house 
was  both  stopping  place  and  church  for  our  young 
itinerant,  who  had  for  his  bed,  when  he  remained  over 
night  with  them,  the  frame  of  an  old  loom,  across  whose 
bi'ams  were  laid  slats,  and  on  the  slats  a  bear-skin  or 
two.  These,  Avith  a  pair  of  clean  sheets,  which  were 
kept  exclusively  for  the  preachers,  and  a  few  supenn- 
cumbent  duds,  constituted  the  sleeping  apparatus."^ 

This  was  proljably  an  extreme  case;  but  it  indicates 
the  general  hardships  of  these  most  devoted  and  most 
Buccesslul  apostles  of  modern  Christendom.  They  pr(v 
pared  better  things  for  their  successors. 

We  have  had  occasional  glimpses  of  the  progress  of 
the  denomination  in  the  more  northern  portions  of  these 
interior  regions.  After  the  creation  of  the  Delaware 
Circuit  in  1794,  at  the  sources  of  the  Delaware,  and 
comjin-hcndini^  the  country  between  the  Susquehanna 
and  the  Catskill  Mountains,  no  new  circuit  is  recorded 
till  1798,  when  Chenango  appears,  comprising  the  ex- 
tremes of  Otsego,  Herkimer,  and  Tioga,  and  the  Che- 
nango and  Unadilla  valleys.  Mohawk  and  Cayuga,  and 
Oneida  are  reported  the  next  year,  the  former  detached 
from  Herkimer,  with  one  hundred  and  eighteen  mem- 
bers. Oneida  has  less  than  thirty.  In  1800  the  great 
revivals,  prevailing  in  most  other  portions  of  the  Church, 
swept  over  all  this  section ;  the  societies  rapidly  enlarged, 
and  nearly  sixteen  hundred  members  were  reported 
from  westward  of  the  Albany  and  Saratoga  Circuits. 
Powerful  itinerants  were  traversing  the  country  under 
'  Rev.  Dr.  Nadal,  in  "Ladies'  Repository.'' 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  469 

M'Lenahan — Turck,  Bidlack,  Morris,  Willy,  Newman, 
Vredenburgh,  Gruber,  and  others,  and  this  year  the 
first  Methodist  cliapel  within  the  limits  of  the  Genesee 
Conference  was  erected  at  Sauquoit.  "At  the  laying 
of  the  foundation  stone  the  late  Kirkland  Griffin,  Esq., 
then  a  member  of  this  society,  but  now  a  saint  in  heaven, 
knelt  and  offered  up  prayer  to  God.  The  work  pro- 
gressed, and  when  the  house  was  ready  to  be  raised, 
bi-ethren  and  sisters  in  large  numbers,  considering  the 
sparseness  of  the  population,  came  together;  the  latter 
furnishing,  in  true  temperance  style,  cake  and  cheese  as 
the  most  appropriate  refreshment.  Before  the  raising 
was  commenced,  Lemuel  Smith,  a  located  pi-eacher,  gave 
out  a  hymn,  which  all  present  cordially  united  in  sing- 
ing, when,  with  great  ardor  and  appropriateness,  he 
addressed  the  throne  of  grace.  After  the  building  was 
up,  and  before  the  persons  present  separated,  there  were 
again  singing  and  prayer  directed  by  the  same  indi- 
vidual. The  house  thus  erected  has  probably  been  the 
spiritual  birthplace  of  more  than  a  thousand  souls  ;  and 
how  many  have  been  blessed  and  comforted  and  sancti- 
fied within  its  sacred  walls  eternity  alone  can  deter- 
mine. With  the  exception  of  perhaps  one  log  chapel,  it 
was  the  first  Methodist  meeting-house  erected  in  the 
state  of  New  York  west  of  Albany.  The  fii'st  sermon 
preached  in  it  was  delivered  by  Bishoj)  Whatcoat,  the 
house  being  then  in  an  unfinished  state."  ^°  It  has  since 
given  place  to  a  more  substantial  edifice. 

In  1802  Colbert  became  presiding  elder  of  the  Albany 
District,  which  took  in  all  this  county.  His  stentorian 
trumpet- resounded  all  over  it.  The  famous  and  erratic 
Lorenzo  Dow  broke  into  the  region  and  worked  mightily 
with  the  circuit  evangelists.  "He  is  taU,"  writes  Col- 
'0  Rev.  Dr.  Paddock,  in  Christian  Advocate,  1840. 


470  HISTORY    OF    THE 

bert,  *'of  a  very  slender  form ;  liis  countenance  is  serene, 
solemn,  but  not  dejected,  and  his  words,  or  rather  God's 
words  delivered  by  him,  cut  like  a  sword.  At  night 
Lorenzo  Dow  delivered  one  of  the  greatest  discourses  I 
ever  heard  against  atheism,  deism,  and  Calvinism,  He 
took  his  text  in  about  the  middle  of  his  sermon.  Brother 
Covel  arose  after  him,  and  said  that  a  young  man  desired 
the  prayers  of  the  preachers.  Several  others  desired  to 
be  prayed  for,  and  at  length  there  was  a  wonderful  dis- 
play of  divine  power  in  the  large  congregation,  beneath 
the  boughs  of  the  trees  and  the  starry  heavens." 

He  speaks  of  another  discourse  by  Dow,  in  the 
woods,  by  candle-light;  "a  powt-rful  sermon,"  under 
which  "  many  were  brought  to  cry  for  mercy."  Colbert 
continued,  through  m<ist  of  these  years,  to  labor  inde- 
fatigably  in  founding  the  Church  throughout  the  interior 
jtarts  of  the  state;  he  returned,  in  1804,  to  Maryland, 
and  took  charge  of  the  Chesapeake  District.  In  this 
year  we  fiiul  Methodism  well  organized  through  all  this 
new  country,  though  strangely  enough  divided  in  its 
ecclesiastical  arrangement.  Black  River,  Western,  and 
Herkimer  Circuits  are  on  Albany  District,  under  Elijah 
Woolsey,  and  in  New  York  Conference ;  Wyoniing  is 
on  Susquehanna  District,  under  James  Smith,  in  Balti- 
more Conference ;  the  remaining  circuits,  no  less  than 
ei<rht  in  number — Chenango,  Westmon-land,  Otsego, 
I'ompey,  Cayuga,  Ontario,  Seneca,  and  Tioga — form  the 
"Genesee  District,"  under  Joseph  Jewell,  in  Philadel- 
]thia  Conference,  To  many  elder  Methodists  of  the 
region,  this  bare  catalogue  of  names  will  have  a  pe- 
culiar significance.  We  see  already  the  forthcoming 
of  the  renowned  ''old  Genesee  Conference,"  and  the 
mighty  Methodism  of  interior  and  western  New  York. 
It  was  even  now  preparing  to  move  westward  of  the 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,         471 

Genesee  River,  where  David  Hamlin,  a  lay  Methodist 
settler,  is  (in  1804)  reading  Wesley's  sermons  on  Sun- 
days to  his  neighbors  in  his  own  cabin,  and  waiting 
and  watching  for  the  coming  of  the  itinerants.  Ot 
several  of  the  stalwart  evangelists  who  founded  Method- 
ism in  these  wilds  I  have  already  given  some  account — 
of  Owen,  Mills,  Colbert,  Cook,  Ware,  Gruber,  and  Bid- 
lack;  but  of  most  of  them  we  have  no  other  information 
than  the  vague  but  grateful  traditions  of  the  people, 
and  the  allusions  of  our  early  records,  Anthony  Turck 
was  a  rough  German,  who  labored  mightily  for  ten 
years,  and  died  in  the  itinerancy,  "  a  holy  man,"  say 
the  old  Minutes ;  "  indefatigable  and  successful ;"  James 
Paynter,  a  good  preacher,  a  man  of  few  words,  exceed- 
ingly grave,  yet  as  amiable,  a  great  laborer,  from 
these  valleys  to  the  valleys  of  Western  Virginia ;  after 
preaching  forty-eight  years  he  died  in  Maryland,  ex- 
claiming, "  I  am  not  afraid  to  die  ;"  Alward  White, 
thirty-nine  years  in  the  ministry,  a  modest,  unassuming, 
but  acceptable  preacher ;  Cornelius  Mars,  called  "  thun- 
dering Mars,"  for  his  manner  of  preaching ;  John  Brod- 
head,  of  note  in  New  England,  now  a  young  man  of 
extraordinary  power  in  the  pulpit ;  he  "  hurled  thun- 
derbolts," says  one  of  our  authorities ;  Roger  Benton, 
a  "  short,  thickset  man,  a  most  excellent  preacher," 
singularly  "  modest  and  meek,"  with  a  stentorian 
voice ;  he  early  broke  down  under  his  labors  and 
exposures,  and  died  in  peace  ;  "  a  better  man  I  never 
knew,"  says  one  of  his  friends ;  John  Leach,  "  a  pious, 
circumspect  man,"  of  short  and  afflicted  ministry,  who 
died  in  "great  peace"  in  New  Jersey,  in  1802;  James 
Moore,  an  Irishman  of  very  precise  manners,  of  shrewd- 
ness, and  good  preaching  talents ;  David  Stevens,  from 
Baltimore,  who  "  labored  incessantly  for  the  salvation 


472  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  souls  for  thirty  years,  and,"  say  the  Minutes,  "died 
full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost"  in  Maryland,  1825; 
James  Polhamus,  who  spent  twenty-six  years  in  the 
ministry,  popular,  useful,  a  "great  exhorter,"  his  "  ai> 
peals  overwhelming,"  and  "  revivals  following  him 
wherever  he  went ;"  James  Smith,  called  "  Irish 
Jemmy,"  a  "good  preacher,  but  a  little  queer;"  Morris 
Howe,  "a  great  exhorter,"  twenty-seven  years  in  the 
itinerancy,  and  spoken  of  as  a  very  pathetic  preacher; 
Kobert  Hurch,  brother  to  Thomas  Hurch,  and  his  ecpial 
in  the  pulpit,  excessively  social,  and  abounding  in  Irish 
wit  and  true  piety  ;  Jonathan  Newman,  a  great  laborer, 
Homewhat  eccentric  and  vacillating,  but  honest  and  zeal- 
ous, with  a  heavy  voice,  "capable  of  an  immense  com- 
pass; when  he  was  fairly  under  way  he  slightly  drew 
one  corner  of  his  mouth  in  the  direction  of  his  ear,  and 
rolled  out  y>eal  after  peal  like  the  roaring  of  distant 
thunder;"  Timothy  Dewy,  one  of  the  founders  of  3Ieth- 
odism  in  New  England,  as  well  as  New  York,  eccentric, 
firm  ti^  obstinacy,  a  grappler  of  thenlogical  problems,  a 
great  reader,  and,  it  is  said,  "a  profound  thinker,"  often 
a  tremendous  preacher,  "  ardently  pious,  a  true-hearted 
Meth'idist,  never  moved  l>y  temptations  to  forsake  the 
Church,  although  these  were  numerous  and  urgent ;  a 
great  and  good  man."  These  are  but  a  portion  of  the 
j»rimitive  corps;  their  names  are  still  precious  to  the 
elder  ^lethodists  that  linger  in  the  scenes  of  their  hard 
toils.  They  were  soon  to  be  followed  by  men  more 
f  iiniliar  to  our  memory — Draper,  Lane,  Jewell,  Ensign, 
\'annest.  Puffer,  Paddock,  Bigelow,  Chamberlayne, 
P^illmore,  Lanning,  Seager,  Grant,  Harmon,  Mattison, 
Luckey,  Peck,  and  other  founders  of  the  vigorous 
Conferences  that  now  embody  so  much  of  the  Meth- 
odism of  interior  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  473 

The  ChurcTi  was  greatly  fortified  in  New  York  city 
during  this  period.  In  1797  there  were  nearly  eight 
hundred  members  crowded  in  the  congregations  of 
John-street  and  Forsyth-street.  They  were  compelled 
to  erect  another  temple.  "  An  admirable  site "  was 
obtained  on  Duane-street,  and  George  Roberts  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  the  edifice  on  June  29,  1797.  He 
continued  to  preach  there  in  the  open  air,  standing 
on  the  foundation  stones,  for  several  weeks.  "  Mighty 
displays  of  the  power  of  God,"  says  the  chronicler, 
"  have  been  witnessed  within  its  hallowed  walls.  There 
are  those  who  are  scattered  all  over  the  country,  and 
many  in  heaven,  who  look  back  to  the  old  church  as 
their  spiritual  birthplace.  When  God  writeth  up  the 
people,  it  will  be  said  that  this  and  that  man  were  born 
here.  Bishop  Asbury  pj-eached  his  last  sermon  in  New 
York  in  this  honored  temple.""  In  18Q0  Jesse  Lee 
says  in  his  journal :  "  It  is  now  thirty-two  years  since 
our  society  built  a  place  of  worship  in  this  place,  and 
they  have  been  increasing  and  multiplying  ever  since. 
We  have  now  five  houses  of  public  worship.  The  first 
is  commonly  called  'The  Old  Church,'  (John-street,) 
the  second  is  called  Bowery,  (Forsyth-street,)  the  third, 
North  River,  (Duane  street,)  and  the  fourth  is  called 
the  Two-Mile-Stone,  being  two  miles  from  the  center 
of  the  city.  The  fifth  is  the  African  Chui'ch,  which  was 
erected  by  the  -people  of  color  for  themselves  to  wor- 
ship in,  yet  they  are  to  be  governed  by  the  Methodists 
in  all  their  spiritual  matters.  This  church  was  built 
the  latter  part  of  last  year.  Three  traveling  preachers 
are  stationed  in  the  city,  and  are  assisted  by  several 
local  preachers." 

The  Two-Mile-Stone  Church  was  in  the  Bowery,  two 
11  Wakeley's  Lost  Chapters,  p.  496. 


474  HISTORY    OF    THE 

miles  from  the  old  City  Hall,  which  stood  on  the  corner 
of  Wall  and  Nassau  streets.  The  family  of  Gilbert 
Coutant,  long  a  venerated  citizen,  was  the  germ  of  this 
society,  forming  its  first  class.  Seventh-street  Church 
sprung  from  it. 

The  citv  churches  were  sujiplied  througliout  these 
years  by  distinguished  preachers:  IJobcrts,  Lee,  Wells, 
Beauchamp,  M'Claskey,  Sargent,  Michael  Coate,  Hutch- 
inson, Morrell,  Ostrander,  Snethen,  Merwin,  an<l  others. 
They  presente<l  also  a  strong  array  of  orticial  laymen, 
many  of  whom  were  practical  evangelists,  and  not  a  few 
of  whom  have  left  families  representative  of  the  denom- 
ination among  their  felkiw  citizens.  Hick,  Arcularius, 
Staples,  Chase,  Kussell,  Disosway,  Smith,  Mercein, 
Suckley,  Coutant,  Dando,  Bleecker,  Mead,  Carpenter, 
are  but  a  few  of  the  memoral)le  names  of  the  times. 
At  the  close  of  the  period  there  were  more  than  a  thou- 
sand (l,Ols)  Mt'thodists  in  the  city.  Brooklyn  had  but 
seventy-three;  Philadelphia  reported  more  than  four- 
teen hundred." 

"  But  the  Minutes  do  not  show  the  (act,  for  the  city  appointments 
extended  into  the  adjacent  country. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  475 


CHAPTER  XYI.     ' 

METHODISM    IN    THE    NORTH,    CONTINUED:     CANADA, 
1796-1804. 

Canada  Methodism  pertains  to  New  Yorlc  Conference  — Prosperity  — 
Michael  Coate  — Joseph  Jewell  —  Joseph  Sawyer  —  Wiliam  Anson 
—  Other  Laborers  —  The  Layman  Warner  —  Samuel  Draper  —  Seth 
Crowell  —  Great  Success  —Nathan  Bangs  —  His  great  Services  —  His 
Canadian  Life  —  Sawyer  presses  him  into  the  Itinerancy  —  A  signifl- 
cant  Dream  — Looses  his  Horse  — Its  Consequences  —  Fallacy  of 
"  Impressions  "  —  Frontier  Life  —  Providential  Escape  —  Calvin 
Wooster  — Bangs' 8  "Double  Voice "— Asbury  —  Sawyer  begins 
Methodism  in  Montreal  —  Peter  Vannest's  Hardships  —  Thomas 
Madden  —  Other  Itinerants  —  Statistical  Results  —  Death  of  Barbara 
Heck  —  The  Heck  and  Embury  Families :  Note. 

Canadian  Methodism  still  appertained  to  the  New 
York  Conference.  It  was  considered,  in  fact,  but  an 
extension  of  that  great  interior  field  which  we  have  just 
been  surveying.  Preachers  of  the  interior,  Draper, 
Jewell,  aud  others,  were  laborers  beyond  the  line. 
William  Case,  one  of  the  first  two  presiding  elders  of 
the  Genesee  Conference,  became  a  representative  man 
of  the  Provincial  Church,  and  for  some  time  the  Upper 
Province  was  an  important  portion  of  the  territory  of 
that  Conference. 

We  have  traced  its  progress  down  to  the  close  of 
1796,  atnd  witnessed  the  labors  and  sufferings  of  Losee, 
Dunham,  Coleman,  Woolsey,  Keeler,  and  Coate.  In 
1797  the  Minutes  record  no  additional  laborers,  nor 
indeed  anything  respecting  its  appointments.  The 
historians  of  the  Church  assure  us  that  great  revivals 
prevailed  among  the  settlements,  chiefly  through  the 


476  HISTORY    OF    THE 

instrumontality  ot"  Wooster,  whose  mighty  miuistry 
seemed  to  inflame  its  whole  people.' 

In  1798  the  itinerant  band  consisted  of  Dunham, 
Coate,  Coleman,  and  ^Michael  Cuate.  The  latter  was  the 
brother  of  Samuel  Coate,  but  a  very  diflferent  character. 
An  early  Quaker  training  had  given  him  iirudciue  and 
stability;  "he  possessed,"  say  his  bnthixn  in  their 
Conference  obituary,*  "a  strong  mind  and  suimd  judg- 
ment ;  was  nmc-h  devoted  ti)  (iod,  serious,  weighty,  and 
solemn  in  all  his  earriagi-."'  He  began  his  ministry  in 
1795,  and  continued  it  with  blameless  fidelity  till  his 
death  in  lsi4.  He  occupied  prominent  appointments 
iu  Baltimore,  I'hiladelphia,  New  York,  and  was  often 
presiding  elder  of  extensive  districts.  "  He  was  a  man 
of  irreat  talents,"  said  one  of  the  best  judges,  "a  solid, 
amiable,  tine-looking  man.*"' 

In  1799  the  Minutes  still  show  three  circuits,  but 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-six  members.  Michael  Coate 
returns  to  the  States;  but  Joseph  Jewell  enters  the 
province,  and  takes  charge  of  it  as  presiding  elder.  He 
was  a  good  man,  says  one  of  our  Canadian  authorities,' 
cheerful,  fond  <»f  singing,  and  had  the  finest  voice,  it 
was  said,  that  had  ever  been  heard  in  the  province. 
He  went  to  Canada  from  Maryland,  and  braved  its 
wintry  storms  for  four  years.  By  the  next  Conference 
nearly  a  thousand  members  (930)  are  enrolled  in  the 
province.  Samuel  Coate  and  Coleman  retire  from  the 
field,  the  latter  after  six  years'  toil  in  it;  but  he  goes 
to  encounter  similar  labors  in  Vermont.  Dunham  also 
disappears  from  the  appointments,  but  settles,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  the  country,  to  become  a  useful  local 
preacher.     Four  new  laborers  appear  now  on  the  roll ; 

«  Banj,'s  and  Pluytor.  ^  Miuutes,  1815. 

•  Letter  of  Bishop  Hodding  to  tlie  author.         *  Playtir,  p.  59. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         477 

Joseph  Sawyer,  William  Anson,  James  Herron,  and 
Daniel  Pickett.  Sawyer  began  to  travel,  in  the  New 
York  Conference,  in  1797;  he  afterward  itinerated  in 
Massachusetts  and  Vermont,  and,  for  a  number  of  most 
useful  years,  devoted  himself  to  this  frontier  work.  He 
had  led  Washburn  and  Laban  Clark  into  the  Church, 
and  was  to  find  in  the  wilderness  of  Upper  Canada 
Nathan  Bangs,  and  send  him  forth  on  his  long  and 
memorable  career  of  hardly  rivaled  services  to  American 
Methodism.  Thirteen  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Conference,  four  of  them  as  a  circuit  preacher,  four  as 
presiding  elder,  in  Canada,  the  other  five  in  the  United 
States.  He  was  a  holy  man,  full  of  energy,  of  a  vigor- 
ous mind,  and  great  success.  When  he  married  he  was 
compelled  to  locate,  and  settled  in  Matilda,  on  the 
St.  Lawrence,  where  he  continued  to  preach  with  great 
acceptance.  Late  in  life  he  returned  to  the  United 
States,  and  died  at  Mainaroneck,  near  New  York  city, 
endeared  to  all  who  knew  him  by  the  purity  of  his  life, 
and  the  religious  geniality  of  his  temper. 

William  Anson  we  have  already  met,  planting  Meth- 
odism on  Grand  Isle,  Lake  Champlain.  He  remained 
a  member  of  the  Conference  till  his  death  at  Malta, 
N.  Y.,  in  1848.  Though  a  preacher  for  nearly  half  a 
century,  a  founder  of  the  Church  in  Canada  and  Ver- 
mont, a  circuit  evangelist  and  presiding  elder  in  some 
of  the  hardest  fields  of  early  Methodism,  scarcely  any 
information  of  his  services  has  been  recorded,  and  we 
are  entirely  ignorant  of  his  parentage,  early  life,  con- 
version, and  even  the  place  and  date  of  his  birth.^  His 
brief  obituary  in  the  Minutes  says  "  he  never  flinched 
from  duty,"  was  a  "pioneer  of  the  gospel  in  many 
places,"  of  "  sterling  integrity  and  respectable  talents." 
6  Memorials  of  Metliodism  in  the  Eastern  States,  ii,  p.  193. 


478  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"NVe  know  still  U-ss  of  Picki'tt  and  Herron,  the  two 
young  recruits  who  came  with  him  to  the  province. 
The  Grant!  River  Circuit  was  now  added  to  the  ap- 
pointments, and  traveled  by  Pickett  ;  it  took  in  the 
Ottawa  country,  where,  it  is  saitl,  the  young  itinerant, 
for  many  years,  was  affectionately  remembered. 

In  the  next  year  Sawyer  procured  the  erection  of  the 
first  Methodist  church  in  the  Niagara  country,  where 
the  faithful  layman,  Christian  Warner,  had  long  repre- 
sented Methodism,  and  entertained  its  preachers.  The 
building  was  located  near  8t.  David's,  in  Warner's 
neighborhood;  it  bore  his  worthy  name,  and  was  the 
third  built  in  the  province.  There  wore  now  (1801) 
1,159  Methodists  in  the  country,  and  five  circuits,  sup- 
plied by  ten  preachers.  Samuel  Draper  had  come  from 
the  interior  of  New  York,  a  man  of  excessive  humor, 
but  "in  many  places  quite  successful."  '"Hundreds," 
add  the  Minutes,  "  will  have  cause  to  rejoice  that  they 
ever  heard  his  voice."  ^  He  died  in  Amenia,  N.  Y.,  1 824, 
in  the  forty-si.\th  year  of  his  age  and  twenty-third  of 
his  ministry.  Seth  Crow«dl  hatl  come  from  New  En- 
gland; he  was  now  about  twenty  years  old,  but  of 
heroic  character.  Bangs  says :  "  He  was  a  young 
preacher  of  great  zeal,  and  of  the  most  indefatigable 
industry ;  and  going  into  that  country  he  soon  caught 
the  divine  fire  which  had  l)een  enkindled  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  Wooster,  Coate,  and  Duidiam.  It  had,  in- 
deed, extended  into  the  lower  province,  on  the  Ottawa 
River,  an  English  settlement  about  fifty  miles  west  of 
Montreal.''  He  possessed  superior  talents,  "and,"  say 
his  brethren,  "  was  often  heard  to  speak  in  demonstra- 
tion of  the  Spirit  and  with  power,  and  was  instrumental 
in  the  conversi<m  of  many  souls."" 

•  Minutes,  1825.  '  Minutes,  1827. 


/     -2— 


H> 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  479 

He  subsequently  labored,  with  extraordinary  success, 
in  New  England  and  New  York.  Bangs,  who  was  now 
a  spectator  of  the  labors  of  these  brave  men,  says  that 
this  year  "  a  glorious  revival  in  Upper  Canada  extended 
up  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  even  to  the  head  of  the 
lake,  and  to  Niagara,  and  thence  to  Long  Point,  on  the 
northwestern  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  including  four  large 
four-weeks'  circuits.  The  district  was  under  the  charge 
of  Joseph  Jewell,  who  traveled  extensively  through  the 
newly-settled  country,  preaching  in  log-houses,  in  barns, 
and  sometimes  in  groves,  and  everywhere  beholding 
the  displays  of  the  power  and  grace  of  God  in  the 
awakening  and  conversion  of  sinners,  as  well  as  the 
sanctification  of  believers.  A  great  work  of  God  was 
carried  on  this  year,  under  the  preaching  of  Joseph 
Sawyer,  whose  faithful  labors  on  the  Niagara  Circuit 
will  be  long  and  gratefully  remembered  by  the  people 
in  that  country;  and  it  was  during  this  revival  that  the 
present  writer,  after  four  or  live  years  of  hard  strug- 
gling under  a  consciousness  of  his  sinfulness,  was 
brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ.  And  here  he  wishes  to 
record  his  gratitude  to  God  for  his  distinguished  grace 
in  snatching  such  a  brand  from  the  fire,  and  to  his 
jteople  for  their  kindness,  and  more  especially  to  that 
servant  of  God,  Joseph  Sawyer,  under  whose  pastoral 
oversight  he  was  brought  into  the  Church.  Nor  should 
the  labors  and  privations,  the  prayers  and  sufferings  in 
the  cause  of  Christ,  of  that  faithful  servant  of  God, 
James  Coleman,  be  forgotten.  He  preceded  Sawyer  in 
the  Niagara  Circuit,  and  was  beloved  by  the  people  of 
God  for  his  fidelity  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  for 
his  deep  devotion  to  their  spiritual  interests,  evinced  by 
his  faithful  attention  to  the  arduous  duties  of  his  circuit. 
He  had  many  seals  to  his  ministry,  and  the  writer  of 


480  HISTORY    OF     THE 

this  remembers  with  gratitude  the  many  prayers  which 
James  Coleman  offered  up  to  God  in  his  behalf  while  a 
youthful  stranger  in  that  land,  and  while  seeking,  with 
his  eyts  but  half  opened,  to  find  the  way  of  peace.  The 
work  also  prevailed  on  the  Bay  of  Quinte  and  Oswe- 
gatchie  Circuits,  under  the  labors  of  Sylvanus  Keeler, 
8eth  Crowell,  and  others.  Like  the  new  settlements  in 
the  Western  country.  Upper  Canada  was  at  that  time 
but  sparsely  populated,  so  that  in  riding  from  one  ap- 
pointment to  another  the  preachers  sometimes  had  to 
pass  through  wililernesscs  from  ten  to  sixty  miles,  and 
not  unfrequt-'ntly  had  either  to  encamp  in  the  woods  or 
sleep  in  Indian  huts.  And  sometimes,  in  visiting  the 
newly  settled  places,  they  have  carried  provender  tor 
their  horses  over  night,  when  they  would  tie  them  to  a 
tree  to  prevent  their  straying  in  the  woods,  while  the 
preachers  themselves  hail  to  preach,  eat,  and  lodge  in 
the  same  room,  the  curling  smoke  ascending  through  an 
opening  in  the  roof  of  the  log-house,  which  had  not 
yet  the  convenience  of  even  a  chimney.  For  the  self- 
denying  labors  and  sacrifices  of  these  early  Methodist 
preachers,  thousands  of  immortal  beings  in  Canada  will 
doubtless  praise  Goil  in  that  day  'when  he  shall  come 
to  make  up  his  jewels.' '' ^  As  a  consequence  of  this 
revival  the  returns  of  1802  show  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  members,  a  gain  of  nearly  three  hundred  and 
filly  in  one  year. 

The  important  name  of  Nathan  Bangs  is  now  recorded 
on  the  roll  of  appointments.  I  have  elsewhere  given 
the  details  of  his  most  interesting  life,'-'  and  have  shown 
that  he  was  not  only  a  public  but  a  representative  man 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  more  than  half  a 
century;    that  during  nearly  sixty  years  he   appeared 

•  Life  and  TIraea  of  Bangs,  p.  77.     New  York,  1863.  •  Ibid. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.        481 

almost  constantly  in  its  pulpits;  that  he  was  the  fouader 
of  its  periodical  literature,  and  of  its  "Conference 
course"  of  ministerial  study,  and  one  of  the  founders 
of  its  present  system  of  educational  institutions;  the 
first  missionary  secretary  appointed  by  its  General 
Conference,  the  first  clerical  editor  of  its  General  Con- 
ference newspaper  press,  the  first  editor  of  its  Quarterly 
Review,  and,  for  many  years,  the  chief  editor  of  its 
monthly  Magazine  and  its  book  publications ;  that  he 
may  be  pronounced  the  principal  founder  of  the  Ameri- 
can literature  of  Methodism,  a  literature  now  remarkable 
for  its  extent,  and  of  no  inconsiderable  intrinsic  value ; 
that  besides  his  innumerable  miscellaneous  writings  for 
its  periodicals,  he  wrote  more  volumes  in  defense  or 
illustratimi  of  his  denomination  than  any  other  man, 
and  became  its  recognized  historian;  that  he  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  its  Missionary  Society,  wrote  the 
Constitution  and  first  Circular  Appeal  of  that  great 
cause,  and  through  sixteen  years,  prior  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  its  secretaryship  as  a  salaried  function,  he  labored 
indefatigably  and  gratuitously  for  the  society  as  its 
vice-president,  secretary,  or  treasurer,  and  during  more 
than  twenty  years  wrote  all  its  annual  reports  ;  that 
after  his  apj^ointment  as  its  resident  secretary  he  de- 
voted to  it  his  entire  energies,  conducting  its  co.re- 
spondence,  seeking  missionaries  for  it,  planning  its 
mission  fields,  pleading  for  it  in  the  Churches,  and 
representing  it  in  the  Conferences;  and  that  he  was, 
withal,  a  man  of  profound  piety,  of  universal  charity, 
and  much  and  admirable  individuality.  Few  men,  if 
any,  have  longer  or  more  successfully  labored  to  pro- 
mote those  great  interests  of  the  denomination  which 
have  given  it  consolidation  and  pei-manence.     If  greater 

men  have,   especially  in  his   latter  years  of  compara- 
C— 31 


482 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


tivc  retirement,  more  actively  represented  it,  no  one, 
in  our  day,  has  embodied  in  himself  more  of  its 
history,  no  one  has  linked  so  much  of  its  past  with 
its  present,  and  hereafter  his  name  must  recur  often  in 
our  pages. 

Bom  in  Connecticut  in  1778,  he  had  emigrated  in  his 
thirteenth  year,  with  his  family,  to  Stamford,  N.  Y.,  and 
had  wandered  thence,  in  his  twenty-first  year,  as  a  school 
teacher  and  surveyor,  to  the  Niagara  region  of  Upper 
Canada.  He  found  a  friend  in  Christian  Warner,  near 
St.  Davids,  an<l  was  brouirht  under  Methodist  influence. 
lie  had  despised  and  ridiculed  the  new  Church  in  for- 
mer times ;  but,  for  years,  he  had  been  struggling  with 
a  restless  conscience.  James  Coleman's  ardent  exhorta- 
tions had  deeply  aftectcd  him,  Joseph  Sawyer  met 
him  at  Warner's,  where  he  heard  the  itinerant  preach. 
'•He  unfolded,"  says  Hangs,  "all  the  enigmas  of  my 
heart  more  fully  than  I  could  myself.  I  was  powerfully 
attected,  and  Avcpt  much."  He  was  soon  after  con- 
verted. "I  resolved,"  he  adds,  "to  devote  myself  to 
God.  come  what  might."  He  began  to  open  his  school 
with  jiravt-r.  The  good  innovation  raised  a  storm  of 
]»erstcution  against  him,  and  he  was  driven  away. 
This  trial  was  a  great  blessing;  it  committed  him  i)ub- 
lidy  to  religion,  and  opened  the  way  for  his  entrance 
upcm  the  career  of  his  life  as  a  preacher  of  the  gos|)el. 
"I  had  now,"  he  continues,  "taken  a  stand  from  which 
I  could  not  well  recede.  I  felt  much  inward  peace,  and 
the  Holv  Scriptures  were  indescribably  precious  to  me." 
He  conformed  himself  to  the  severest  customs  of  the 
Methodists.  He  had  prided  himself  on  his  fine  personal 
a|)pcarance,  and  had  dressed  in  the  full  fashion  of  the 
times,  with  ruflled  shirt,  and  long  hair  in  a  cue.  Ho 
now  ordered  his  latmdress  to  take  off  his  ruffles;  his 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  i83 

long  hair  shared  the  same  fate,  not,  however,  without 
the  remonstrances  of  his  pious  sister,  who  deemed  this 
rigor  unnecessary,  and  admired  his  young  but  manly 
form  with  a  sister's  pride.  He  was  received  into  the 
society  of  the  Methodists.  He  had  considered  them 
unworthy  of  his  regard,  he  now  considered  himself  un- 
worthy of  theirs,  and  took  his  place  among  them  with 
deep  humility.  "Soon  after  this,"  he  continues,  "I 
boarded  with  Christian  Warner,  my  class-leader,  a  man 
of  sweet  spirit,  and  for  whom  I  shall  ever  entertain  an 
ardent  affection.  He  was  a  pattern  of  religion,  always 
consistent  in  his  conduct,  and  acted  the  part  of  a  parent 
toward  me.  Such  was  my  diffidence  that  I  gave  up  ray 
judgment  almost  entirely  to  others  whom  I  esteemed  on 
account  of  their  experience  and  piety.  I  found  Chris- 
tian Warner  worthy  of  my  utmost  confidence,  and  he 
became  my  counselor  and  guide  in  this  critical  period 
of  my  Christian  life." 

Warner  led  him  into  the  knowledge  of  "the  deep 
things  of  God,"  especially  the  Wesleyan  doctrine  of 
sanctification,  which  became  a  favorite  and  lifelong 
theme  in  his  ministrations  and  conversations. 

Sawyer  returned  again  and  again  to  the  settlement, 
and  always  with  the  urgent  exhortation  that  he  should 
go  forth  and  preach.  He  made  several  trials  in  neigh- 
boring hamlets,  sometimes  with  success,  sometimes  with 
failure.  In  the  month  of  August,  1801,  about  one  year 
after  he  had  joined  the  Church,  and  three  months  after 
he  had  been  licensed  as  an  exhorter,  he  received  license 
to  preach,  and  immediately  departed  for  a  circuit. 
Having  earned  some  money  as  a  surveyor,  in  additiv  u 
to  his  salary  as  teacher,  he  was  able  to  purchase  an 
outfit  of  clothing,  and  a  horse  and  its  furniture,  not 
forgetting  the   indispensable    saddle-bags   of  the   itin- 


48-i  HISTORY     OF    THE 

erant.  "I  sold,"  he  says,  "my  surveyor's  instruments 
to  a  friend  whom  I  had  taught  the  art,  mounted  my 
horse,  and  rode  forth  to  '  sound  the  alarm '  in  the  wil- 
derness, taking  no  further  thought  '  what  I  should  eat, 
or  drink,  or  wherewithal  I  should  be  clothed.' "  He 
hail  now  learned  to  trust  the  divine  guidance  unfalter- 
ingly, for  God  "had  found  him  in  a  desert  land,  and  in 
the  waste,  howling  wilderness;  he  had  led  him  about, 
had  instructed  him,  had  ko])t  him  as  the  a]i]»le  of  his 
eye." 

He  thus  began  his  itinerancy,  "under  the  ])residing 
elder,"  Joseph  Sawyer,  and  as  colleague  of  Anson,  on 
Niagara  Circuit,  which  retjuired  six  weeks'  travel  around 
it,  with  daily  preaching.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  he 
had  so  extended  his  circuit  that  a  new  one  was  formed 
of  that  jtart  of  it  called  Long  Point,  which  juts  into 
Lake  Krio.  This  beginning  of  success  lifted  a  weight 
from  his  diffident  spirit.  Before  it  occurred  he  had 
given  way  to  desjiair,  under  a  "  temptation  of  the 
<l"\il,"  as  he  believed.  Seeing  no  immediate  effect  of 
his  labors,  he  had  begun  to  doubt  his  call  to  the  minis- 
try, and  had  resolved  to  return  home  and  give  up  his 
"  license."  He  had  actually  mounted  his  horse,  and 
was  retracing  his  course,  when,  arriving  at  the  Grand 
River,  he  found  that  a  "  January  thaw  "  had  so  broken 
up  the  ice  as  to  render  it  impossible  for  him  to  cross, 
whether  by  a  boat  or  on  the  ice  itself.  Thus  providen- 
tially arrested,  he  returned  despondent  and  confounded. 
A  siLTnificant  dream  relieved  him.  He  thought  he  was 
working  with  a  pickax  on  the  top  of  a  basaltic  rock. 
His  muscular  arm  brought  down  stroke  after  stroke  for 
hours;  but  the  rock  was  hardly  indented.  He  said  to 
himself  at  last,  "It  is  useless;  I  will  pick  no  more." 
Suddenly  a  stranger  of  dignified  mien  stood  by  his  side 


METJIODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         485 

and  s))oke  to  liim.  "You  will  pick  no  more?"  "No 
more."  "Were  you  not  set  to  this  task?"  "Yes."  "And 
"whj"  abandon  it  ?  "  "  My  work  is  vain ;  I  make  no  im- 
pression on  the  rock."  Solemnly  the  stranger  replied, 
"  What  is  that  to  you  ?  Your  duty  is  to  pick,  whether 
the  rock  yields  or  not.  Your  work  is  in  your  own 
hands ;  the  result  is  not,  Wo7-k  on ! "  He  resumed 
his  task.  The  first  blow  was  given  with  almost  super- 
human force,  and  the  rock  flew  into  a  thousand  pieces. 
He  awoke,  pursued  his  way  back  to  Burford  with  fresh 
zeal  and  energy,  and  a  great  revival  followed.  From 
that  day  he  never  had  even  a  "  temptation  "  to  give  up 
his  commission. 

"In  Oxford,"  he  continues, "Major  Ingersoll,  to  whom 
I  was  first  introduced,  was  a  Universalist,  and  he  told 
me,  on  my  first  visit,  that  he  was  an  unbeliever  in  the 
doctrine  of  depravity ;  that  he  never  had  himself  a  de- 
praved heart.  '  This  assertion,'  said  I,  '  is  a  sure  sign 
that  you  never  knew  your  heart.'  On  my  second  visit 
I  found  him  sitting  in  his  chair,  with  his  head  inclined 
on  his  hands.  He  looked  up  to  me,  and  said,  '  O  what 
a  depraved  heart  I  have  ! '  '  Ay  ! '  said  I ;  '  have  you 
discovered  that  fact  at  last  ? '  '  Yes,  indeed,'  he  re- 
plied ;  '  what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ? '  '  Surrender  it 
up  to  God  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  he  will  give  you  a 
new  heart,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  you.'  He 
did  so,  and  found  the  2>i'omise  verified.  He,  his  wife, 
who  was  a  very  sensible  and  amiable  woman,  his  two 
daughters,  together  with  the  husband  of  one  of  them, 
were  soon  converted  and  joined  the  Church,  and  the 
good  Avork  quickly  spread  through  the  neighborhood, 
Bweej)ing  all  before  it.  In  this  way  the  revival  pi'e- 
vailed  in  both  of  these  places,  so  tliat  large  and  flour- 
ishing: societies  were  established,  and  no  less  than  six 


486  HISTORY     OF    THE 

preachers  were  raised  up,  one  of  whom,  hy  the  narro  of 
Reynolds,  became  a  bishop  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Canada.  Thus  the  rock  was  split.  The 
reformation  extended  through  many  settlemenls,  par- 
ticularly Oxford,  where  large  numbers  were  'turned 
from  darkness  to  light.'  " 

He  made  an  excursion  from  his  circuit  to  visit  his  old 
friends  on  the  Hay  of  Quinte  Circuit,  but,  when  not  far 
from  Toronto,  (Little  York,  as  it  was  then  called,)  his  horse 
died  on  the  road.  "  Here,  then,"  he  says,  "I  was  alone  in 
a  strange  place,  without  money,  without  a  horse,  and,  as 
far  as  I  knew,  without  friends.  I  trusted  in  God  alone, 
and  he  jtrovided  for  me.  In  about  hali"  an  hour,  during 
which  I  hardly  knew  which  way  to  turn,  a  gentleman 
came  along  and  oflered  to  lend  me  a  horse  on  condition 
that  I  would  defer  my  journey  to  the  Bay  of  Quinte, 
and  agree  to  remain  in  those  ])arts  preaching  for  some 
time.  I  thankfully  accepted  his  ott'er,  mounted  the 
horse,  and  went  on  my  way  rejoicing  up  to  Little  York. 
The  settlements  in  this  part  of  the  country  were  all 
new,  the  roads  extremely  bad,  and  the  people  generally 
poor  and  demoralized.  Our  occasional  preachers  were 
exposed  to  manj' privations,  and  oAen  to  much  suffering 
from  poor  fare  and  violent  opposition.  Seth  CroweU,  a 
zealous  and  godly  itinerant,  had  traveled  along  the  lake 
phore  Ix'fore  me,  and  had  been  instrumental  in  the  awak- 
ening and  conversion  of  many  of  the  settlers,  so  that 
some  small  societies  had  been  formed;  but  they  were 
far  apart,  and  I  found  them  in  a  dwindled  condition. 
On  Yonge-street,  which  was  a  settkinent  extending 
westward  from  Little  York  in  a  direct  line  for  about 
thirty  miles,  there  were  no  societies,  but  all  the  field 
was  new  and  uncultivated,  with  the  exception  of  some 
Quaker  neighborhoods." 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         487 

He  set  out  to  travel  among  these  settlements  on  a 
winter's  day,  with  the  determination  to  call  at  as  many 
houses  as  possible  on  the  way,  and  give  a  "  word  of 
exhortation  "  to  each.  At  every  door  he  said  :  "  I  have 
come  to  talk  with  you  about  religion,  and  to  pray  with 
you.  If  you  are  willing  to  receive  me  for  this  purpose 
I  will  stop ;  if  not,  I  will  go  on."  "  Only  one,"  he  says, 
"  repulsed  me  through  the  entire  day ;  all  others  heard 
my  exhortations,  and  permitted  me  to  pray  with  them." 

He  learned  at  least  one  valuable  lesson  on  this  jour- 
ney. He  had  given  too  much  importance  to  "  impres- 
sions." "  At  a  certain  time,"  says  his  friend  and  suc- 
cessor in  Canada,  Dr.  Fitch  Reed,  "  when  the  weather 
was  very  cold,  and  the  newly-fallen  snow  quite  deep, 
his  mind  became  more  than  usually  impressed  with  the 
value  of  souls,  and  his  heart  burned  with  desire  to  do 
all  he  could  to  save  them.  In  the  midst  of  his  reflec- 
tions he  came  opposite  a  dwelling  that  stood  quite  a 
distance  from  the  road,  in  the  field.  Instantly  he  was 
irajjressed  to  go  to  the  house  and  talk  and  pray  with  its 
family.  He  could  see  no  path  through  the  deep  snow, 
and  he  felt  reluctant  to  wade  that  distance,  expose 
himself  to  the  cold,  and  perhaps  after  all  accomplish  no 
good.  He  resolved  not  to  go.  No  sooner  had  he 
passed  the  house  than  the  impression  became  doubly 
strong,  and  he  was  constrained  to  turn  back.  He  fast- 
ened his  horse  to  the  fence,  waded  through  the  snow 
to  the  house,  and  not  a  soul  was  there.  From  that  time 
he  resolved  never  to  confide  in  mere  impressions." 

He  delayed  much  on  this  route,  preaching  often,  and 
with  success.  "  There  was  quite  an  awakening  among 
the  people,"  he  writes,  "  and  many  sought  redemption 
in  the  blood  of  Christ,  so  that  several  societies  were 
formed.     But  there  was  a  marked   line  of  distinction 


488  IIISTOKY     OF    THE 

between  the  righteous  ami  the  wicked,  there  beinc:  but 
very  few  who  were  indirt'erent  or  outwardly  moral  to 
interpose  between  then).  All  ^how».■d  openly  what  they 
were  by  their  words  and  actions,  and  either  accepted 
religion  heartily  or  opposed  it  violently;  tlie  great  ma- 
jority, though  most  of  them  would  come  to  hear  me 
preach,  were  determined  opposers."  Such  is  the  char- 
acter of  frontier  conununities.  Moral  restraints  are 
leeble  among  them;  conventional  restraints  are  few; 
the  freedom  of  their  simple  wilderness-life  characterizes 
all  th»'ir  habits  ;  they  have  tlu'ir  own  code  of  decorum, 
and  sometimes  of  law  itself.  They  are  frank,  hospitaldi-, 
but  violent  in  prejudice  and  passion  ;  fond  of  disputa- 
tion, of  excitement,  and  of  hearty,  if  not  reckless,  amuse- 
ments. The  primitive  Methodist  jireachers  knew  well 
luiw  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the  habits,  as  also 
to  the  fare  of  such  a  people,  and  hence  their  extraordi- 
nary success  along  the  whole  American  frontier.  Their 
familiar  methods  of  worship  in  cabins  and  barns,  or 
under  trees,  suited  the  rude  settlers.  Their  meetings 
were  without  the  stiff  «^)rder  and  ceremonious  formal- 
ity of  older  communities.  They  were  often  scenes 
of  free  debate,  of  interpellations  and  interlocutions ;  a 
hearer  at  the  door  j)Ost  or  the  window  responding  to,  or 
(juestioning,  or  defying  the  preacher,  who  "held  forth  " 
from  a  chair,  a  bench,  or  a  barrel,  at  the  other  end  of 
the  building.  This  ])opular  freedom  was  not  without 
its  advantages;  it  authorized  equal  freedom  on  the  i)art 
of  the  preacher;  it  allowed  great  plainness  of  speech 
and  directness  of  appeal.  Bangs's  memoranda  before 
me  afford  not  a  few  examj)les  of  this  primitive  life  of  the 
frontier — crowded  congregations  in  log-huts  or  l>arns, 
some  of  the  hearers  seated,  some  standing,  some  filling 
the  unglazed  casements,  some  thronging  the  overhang- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         489 

ing  trees ;  startling  interjections  thrown  into  the  ser- 
mon by  eccenti-ic  listeners,  violent  polemics  between 
the  preacher  and  headstrong  sectarists,  the  whole  assem- 
bly sometimes  involved  in  the  earnest  debate,  some  ibr, 
some  against  him,  and  ending  in  general  confusion.  A 
lively  Methodist  hymn  was  usually  the  best  means  of 
restoring  order  in  such  cases.  Our  itinerant  was  never 
confounded  by  these  interruptions.  He  had  a  natural 
tact  and  a  certain  authoritative  presence,  an  air  of  com- 
mand, qualified  by  a  concessive  temper,  which  seldom 
failed  to  control  the  roughest  spirits.  He  was  often 
characteristic,  if  not  directly  personal,  in  his  pi-eaching, 
and  sometimes  had  dangerous  encounters. 

"  I  had,"  he  says,  "  an  appointment  to  preach  in  a 
small  cabin,  the  family  of  which  was  too  poor  to  enter- 
tain m(}  conveniently  over  night.  I  therefore  intended 
to  return,  as  had  been  my  custom,  about  six  miles,  after 
the  sermon,  for  lodgings.  I  was  overtaken  on  my  way 
to  the  place  by  a  sleigh,  with  three  men  in  it.  I  turned 
my  horse  out  of  the  road  and  let  them  pass  me ;  but 
they  no  sooner  did  so  than  they  stopped  and  began 
vociferating  blasphemies  and  blackguard  language  at 
me,  and  if  I  attempted  to  pass  them,  they  would  drive 
on,  obstruct  the  way,  and  thus  prevent  my  going  for- 
ward. In  this  manner  they  continued  to  annoy  me 
about  half  an  hour,  keeping  up  an  unceasing  stream  of 
Billingsgate.  I  made  them  no  reply.  They  at  length 
drove  on,  and  left  me  to  pursue  my  way  in  peace.  In 
the  evening,  as  I  rose  up  to  preach,  these  three  men 
stood  looking  in  at  the  door,  and  as  I  was  standing  at 
the  door-post,  they  closed  the  entrance,  and  were  close 
to  my  right  hand.  I  requested  them  to  take  seats ; 
two  of  them  did  so,  but  the  other  kept  his  place.  I 
gave  out  for  my  text  Dan.  v,  27 :  '  Thou  art  weighed  in 


490  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting.'  In  the  introduc- 
tion to  the  discourse  I  made  some  remarks  about  Bel- 
shiizzar's  impious  feast.  I  enlarged  on  the  prevalent 
drinking  habits  of  the  settlers,  and  observed  that  there 
were  people  who  were  not  contented  to  drink  in  taverns 
and  in  their  own  houses,  but  carried  bottles  of  rum  in 
their  pockets.  The  man  who  still  stood  at  my  right 
hand  had  a  bottle  in  his  pocket;  he  drew  it  foith,  shook 
it  in  my  face  with  an  oath,  exclaiming,  'You  are  driving 
that  at  me,'  and  kept  up  a  continual  threat.  The  owner 
of  tlie  house,  who  was  a  warm  friend  of  mine,  instantly 
arose,  with  two  or  three  others,  all  trembling  with  in- 
dignation, and  came  toward  the  oftender  to  seize  him 
and  thrust  him  away.  Perceiving  their  design,  I  feare^l 
there  would  be  bloodshed,  and  requested  them  to  desist 
and  take  their  seats,  for  I  was  not  afraid  of  my  opposer. 
They  sat  down,  but  this  only  seemed  to  enrage  the  man 
still  more.  He  kept  on  swearing,  with  his  clenched  fist 
directed  at  me;  but  I  continued  my  discourse  unmoved 
bv  his  threats,  until  I  finally  called  on  the  God  of  Daniel, 
who  delivered  him  from  the  lions,  to  deliver  me  from 
this  lionlike  sinner,  when  suddenly  he  escaped  out  of 
the  door  and  fled;  his  two  companions  followed  him, 
and  we  ended  the  meeting  in  peace.  My  friends,  fear- 
inix  I  might  meet  with  some  peril  should  I  attempt  to 
return  that  ni<;ht,  as  it  was  supposed  that  these  ruffians 
knew  that  I  intended  to  do  so,  persuaded  me  to  stay  all 
nisjht.  It  was  well  I  did  so,  for  these  men  lay  in  am- 
bush for  me,  and  seeing  a  traveler  approach  on  horse- 
back, one  of  them  said,  with  an  oath,  '  There  he  is,  let's 
have  him,'  and  off  they  went  pursuing  him,  blaspheming 
and  cursing  him  as  the  Methodist  preacher.  They 
caught  him,  and  were  preparing  to  wreak  their  ven- 
geance upon  him,  but  soon  discovered  that  they  had 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CUURCIT.  491 

committed  an  egregious  and  dangerous  blunder.  The 
assailed  traveler,  seeing  his  peril,  turned  upon  them 
holdly,  and,  showing  a  hearty  disposition  to  fight,  not- 
withstanding the  odds  against  him,  and  using  a  style  of 
language  surprisingly  like  their  own,  they  became  con- 
vinced that  he  could  be  no  Methodist  preacher,  and  took 
to  their  heels.  Thus  God  saved  me  from  these  ravening 
wolves.  I  blessed  his  name,  and  learned  to  trust  more 
than  ever  his  protecting  providence.  No  little  good 
resulted  from  this  incident.  It  raised  me  up  many 
friends;  opposers  even  became  ashamed  of  the  malicious 
rowdies,  and  were  ready  now  to  defend  me.  In  the 
midst  of  all  these  strange  scenes  I  enjoyed  great  peace 
with  God,  I  had  constant  access  to  him  in  prayer,  and 
went  on  my  route  rejoicing  that  I  was  counted  worthy 
to  suffer  for  his  name's  sake.  I  passed  on  from  settle- 
ment to  settlement,  preaching  and  praying  with  the 
people.  The  Divine  Spirit  was  poured  out  upon  them, 
and  many  were  converted.  Some  of  the  neighboi'hoods 
were  extremely  poor  ;  in  some  the  people  had  not  yet  a 
single  stable  for  the  accommodation  of  my  horse.  I  car- 
ried with  me  oats  for  him,  and,  tying  him  to  a  tree,  left 
him  to  eat  at  night,  and  ate  and  slept  myself  in  the 
same  room  in  which  I  preached.  This  I  had  to  flo  fre- 
quently ;  but  God  was  with  me,  blessing  my  own  soul 
and  the  people." 

Such  are  some  of  the  "  lights  and  shadows  "  of  fron- 
tier life,  and  of  the  frontier  itinerant  ministry  of  Meth- 
odism at  the  beginning  of  our  century.  The  inhabitants 
of  this  now  rich  and  flourishing  region,  with  a  commo- 
dious Methodist  chapel  in  almost  every  city,  town,  and 
village,  can  hardly  deem  them  credible,  for  the  frontier, 
the  "'far  West,"  has  since  passed  to  the  Mississippi 
River,  and  even  beyond  it. 


492  IIISTOltY    OF    THE 

He  left  the  circuit  in  general  prosperity.  One  year 
before  it  reported  three  hundred  and  twenty  members; 
it  now  rejtorted  six  hundred  and  twenty,  and  Long 
Point,  the  chief  field  of  his  labors,  was  recognized  at 
the  Conference  of  1802  as  a  distinct  circuit.  About  a 
liundnMl  souls  had  been  i-onverted  in  IJurford  and  Oxford 
through  his  instrumentality,  and  in  our  day  his  name  is 
still  a  household  word  in  the  Methodist  families  of  that 
region.  Few  who  knew  him  remain  ;  yet  the  descend- 
ants of  his  old  hearers,  living  no  longer  in  log  cabins, 
but  in  comfortable,  if  not  opulent,  homes,  worshiiung  no 
longer  under  trees,  or  in  barns,  but  in  convenient  tem- 
ples, have  learned  from  tlu-ir  pious  and  departed  fathers 
to  revere  liim  as  the  pioneer  champion  of  the  cross 
among  their  early  settlements. 

At  the  New  York  Conference,  in  June,  1802,  he  was 
received  on  probation,  though  not  present,  and  was 
appointed,  with  Sawyer  and  Vannest,  to  the  Bay  of 
(^uinte  Circuit.  It  was  a  vast  field  of  labor.  "Among 
others,"  he  says, "  Hezekiah  Calvin  Wooster  had  sounded 
the  alarm  through  these  forests,  and  many  were  the 
anecdotes  that  I  heard  of  him  among  the  people,  who 
delighted  to  talk  of  him.  lie  was  indefatigable  in  his 
labors,  'full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  and  i)reached 
with  the  'demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power.' 
He  professed  and  enjoyed  the  blessing  of  sanctification, 
and  was,  therefore,  a  man  of  mighty  faith  and  prayer. 
The  people  never  tired  of  telling  of  the  power  of  his 
word,  how  that  sinners  could  not  stand  before  him,  but 
would  either  rush  out  of  the  house  or  fall  smitten  to  the 
floor.  I  never  found  so  many  persons,  in  proportion  to 
their  number,  who  professed  and  exemplified  the  '  i>cr- 
fect  love'  of  God,  as  he  had  left  on  this  circuit." 

He  was  near  perishing  here  by  an  attack  of  typhus 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH.         4P3 

fever,  which  prostrated  him  for  seven  weeks.  The 
cough  and  expectoration  of  blood,  which  followed  the 
fever,  so  affected  his  lungs,  that  his  first  attempts  to 
ride  were  attended  with  acute  pains ;  but  he  persisted, 
and  horseback  riding  was  probably  itself  the  remedy  that 
saved  him  at  last.  The  feebleness  of  his  voice,  however, 
occasioned  an  unnatural  eftbrt  to  speak  loud  enough  to 
be  heard,  and  to  this  fact  he  ascribed  "that  double  sort 
of  voice  "  which  continued  through  his  long  life.  Many 
of  his  hearers  have  noticed  it  as  a  singularity,  and  per- 
haps condemned  it  as  a  faulty  mannerism,  little  suppos- 
ing that,  like  the  scarred  and  mutilated  confessors  at 
the  Council  of  Nice,  he  thus,  in  our  happier  times,  and 
before  our  opulent  Churches,  "bore  in  his  body  the 
marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  a  memento  of  the  heroic 
days  of  our  ministry.  This  deep,  tremulous  undertone, 
though  usually  not  agreeable,  took  at  times  a  peculiar 
pathos.  How  much  more  aifecting  would  it  have  been 
had  his  hearers,  in  his  latter  years,  known  that  it  was 
caused  by  his  attempts  to  preach  the  everlasting  gospel 
through  the  frontier  wilderness  when  he  was  apparently 

a  dying  man. 

He  went  to  the  next  Conference,  and  was  welcomed 
by  Asbury,  who  "  filled  him  with  admiration."  "  I  was 
impressed,  "  he  says,  "  with  an  awful  solemnity,  as  the 
bishop's  hands  were  laid  on  my  head,  and  he  lifted  up 
his  strong  and  sonorous  voice,  saying,  '  From  the  ends 
of  the  earth  we  call  upon  thee,  O  Lord  God,  to  pour 
upon  this  thy  servant  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the  oftice  and 
work  of  a  deacon  in  the  Church  of  God.'  These  were 
the  words  he  used  instead  of  the  prescribed  form,  and, 
as  he  uttered  them,  such  a  sense  of  the  divine  presence 
overwhelmed  me  that  my  knees  trembled,  and  I  feared 
that  I  should  fall  to  the  floor ! "     At  the  close  of  the 


494  HISTORY    OF    THE 

session  he  mouiite<l  his  horse  and  set  oif  for  the  far 
west,  a  region  still  unpenctrated  by  the  Methodist  itin- 
erants.    Tliitlier  we  shall  hereafter  ft)llo\v  him. 

Meanwhile  Joscjdi  Sawyer  extemk'il  his  travels,  in 
1802,  to  Montreal,  where  he  found  a  few  Methodists 
from  the  states,  and  lormed  a  society  of  seven  members, 
the  germ  of  the  subsequent  growth  of  the  Church  there. 
Other  laborers  had  reached  the  provinces.  Peter  Vaii- 
nest  arrived  in  1802,  and  left  at  the  close  of  our  present 
period,  but  during  these  two  years  did  effective  serv- 
ice, and  had  his  full  share  of  fnmtier  sufferings.  "He 
was  obligeil,''  says  our  Canadian  authority,  "  to  cross 
the  .Mississcjuoi  Hiver  when  winter  came,  but  the  horse- 
boat  was  sunk,  and  he  crossed  in  a  canoe  amid  the  drift 
ice.  He  was  obliged  to  pursue  his  work,  on  the  Lower 
Canada  side  of  the  river,  on  foot.  He  thus  traveled  a 
hundred  miles,  most  of  the  way  through  the  woods  and 
deep  snow,  without  a  track,  sometimes  stepping  into 
spring  holes  up  to  his  knees  in  mud  and  water.  Some 
of  his  appointments  required  him  to  travel  on  the  Mis- 
sissfjuoi  Bay,  covered  with  ice,  and  two  or  three  inches 
of  water  on  the  top,  wearing  shoes,  having  no  boots. 
When  on  the  Bay  of  (^uint*'  Circuit,  one  of  the  journeys 
was  thirty-four  miles  through  woods.  He,  and  proba- 
bly other  preachers,  used  to  carry  oats  in  bis  saddle- 
bags to  feed  his  horse."  '"  On  the  Oswcgatchie  Circuit 
some  of  the  appointments  had  twenty  miles  of  woods 
between  them.  He  was  noted  for  zeal  in  enforcing 
plainness  of  dress  on  the  members.  From  Canada  he 
went  to  labor  in  New  Jersey. 

Thomas  Madden,  though  bom  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  iK'gan  his  ministry  of  thirty-one  years  in  1802  in 
Canada,  a  youth  of  twenty-two  years.  He  died  thero 
"  Playttr,  p.  79. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCJL         495 

"in  Christian  triumph,"  say  the  Canadian  Minutes,"  in 
1834.  He  was  a  diligent  laborer,  traveling  a  circuit  of 
nearly  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  preaching 
thirty  sermons  a  month.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest 
ministers  of  the  Canadian  Church,  says  one  of  his  suc- 
<;essors;"  precise,  methodical,  instructive,  energetic, 
"  admired  for  the  promptitude  and  firmness  of  his  pro- 
ceedings." He  sleeps,  with  tbe  Hecks,  and  other  mem- 
orable Methodists,  in  the  old  graveyard  in  front  of 
Augusta.  In  1804  an  historic  and  worthy  compeer  of 
Bangs  appeared  in  the  province,  Martin  Ruter,  a  youth 
of  nineteen  years,  destined  to  great  eminence  in  the 
denomination,  and  to  a  missionary's  grave  in  Texas. 
We  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  notice  him  more 
fully.  He  now  took  charge  of  the  infant  society  in 
Montreal,  where  Merwin  had  labored  the  preceding 
year,  and  whence  he  had  attempted  to  bear  the  standard 
into  Quebec.  Besides  these  evangelists,  Samuel  Howe, 
Rueben  Harris,  and  Luther  Bishop  served  more  or  less 
time  in  the  hard  field. 

In  1803  we  find  appointments  in  Lower  Canada, 
besides  Montreal ;  but  they  are  obscurely  placed,  in  the 
Minutes,  among  the  circuits  of  a  Ncav  England  (Pitts- 
field)  District.  They  are  St.  John's  and  Saville,  with 
Elijah  Chichester  and  Laban  Clark  as  preachers,  and 
Ottawa,  under  Daniel  Pickett ;  Clark  and  Chichester 
were  in  the  province  but  a  year,  and,  like  Ruter,  belong 
more  properly  to  our  narrative  elsewhere. 

At  the  close  of  the  period  there  were  one  district, 
seven  circuits,  ten  preachers,  and  nearly  eighteen  hund- 
red (1787)  members  in  the  provincial  Church.     It  had 

"  Canada  Minutes,  1834.     Bangs  (Alphabetic  List)  is  erroneous  in 
botli  the  dates  of  the  beginning  and  end  of  his  ministry. 
12  Carroll's  Past  o.nd  Present,  p.  83. 


400  IIISTOUY     OF     THE 

secured  a  permauent  lodgment  in  both  Canadas,  tho.iorh 
it  could  yet  claim  but  little  more  than  a  hundred  com- 
municants in  the  lower  province.  Since  our  last  notice 
of  it,  (in  1796,)  it  had  advanced  from  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-five  to  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  members,  gainini;  nearly  a  thousand,  while 
its  ministry  had  more  than  doubled.  The  period  closed 
with  the  death  of  Barbara  Heck,  whose  humble  name 
will  become  increasingly  illustrious  with  the  lai)se  of 
ages,  as  associated  with  the  founding  of  American 
^Icthodism  in  both  the  United  States  and  British  North 
America.  She  survived  her  husband,  Paul  Heck,  whose 
death  has  been  noticed,  about  twelve  years,  and  died  at 
the  residence  of  her  son,  Samuel  Heck,  in  "front  of 
Augusta,''  in  1804,  aged  seventy  yearn.  Her  death  was 
befitting  her  life.  Her  old  German  Bible,  the  guide  of 
her  youth  in  Ireland,  her  resource  during  the  falling 
away  of  her  poiple  in  New  York,  her  inseparable  com- 
panion ill  all  her  wanderings  in  the  wildernesses  of 
Northern  New  York  and  Canada,  was  her  oracle  and 
comfort  to  the  last.  She  was  found  sitting  in  her  chair 
dead,  with  the  well-used  and  endeared  volume  c)pc'n  on 
lier  lap.  And  thus  |iass«.'<l  away  this  devoted  and  un- 
pretentious woman,  who  so  faithfully,  yet  unconsciously, 
laid  the  foundations  of  one  of  the  grandest  ecclesiastical 
structures  of  modern  ages,  and  whose  memory  will  last 
as  ''  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  endure." 

The  few  Methodists  of  Canada  who  in  1804  bore 
Barbara  Heck  to  her  grave  in  the  old  Blue  Churchyard, 
Augusta,  might  well  have  exclaimed,  "  What  hath  God 
wrought !''  The  cause  which  she  had  been  instrumental 
in  founding  had  already  spread  out  from  New  York 
city  over  the  whole  of  theUnite<l  States,  and  over  much 
of  both  Canadas.     It  comprised  seven  Annual  Coiifir- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHUROH,        497 

ences,  four  hundred  traveling  preachers,  and  more  than 
one  hundred  and  four  thousand  members.  But  if  we 
estimate  its  results  in  our  day,  we  shall  see  that  it  has 
pleased  God  to  encircle  the  name  of  this  lowly  woman 
with  a  halo  of  surpassing  honor,  for  American  Meth- 
odism has  far  transcended  all  other  divisions  of  the 
Methodistic  movement,  and  may  yet  make  her  name 
an  endeared  household  word  throughout  the  world. '^ 

>^  "Women  of  Methodism,"  p.  198,  (New  York,  1866,)  where  will  be 
found  fuller  particulars  of  Mrs.  Heck  aud  her  family.  The  Emburj-  and 
Heck  families,  so  singularly  joined  together  in  Methodist  history,  have 
blended  in  several  neighborhoods,  and  the  descendants  of  both  fam 
ilies  are  now  widely  scattered  in  the  Churches  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Canada.  "Mrs.  Hick,  wife  of  the  late  Rev.  John  Hick,  Wesleyan  min- 
ister, Mrs.  M'Kenzie,  Mrs.  John  Torrance,  and  Mrs.  Lunn,  all  grand- 
children of  Philip  Embury,  died  happy  in  God.  They  have  left 
numerous  descendants  in  Montreal  and  through  Canada,  highly  re- 
siiected.  Philip  Embury's  great-great-grandson,  John  Torrance,  Jr., 
Esq.,  now  fills  the  honorable  and  responsible  position  of  treasurer  and 
trustee  steward  of  three  of  our  large  Wesleyan  Churches  in  Montreal." 
(Christ.  Ad.,  Jan.  11,  1866.)  Paul  and  Barbara  Heck  had  five  children, 
namely,  "Elizabeth,  born  in  New  York  in  1760;  John,  born  in  the 
same  place  in  1767 ;  Jacob,  born  there,  1769 ;  Samuel,  in  Camden, 
N.  Y.,  July  28,  1771 ;  and  Nancy,  at  the  same  place,  1772.  They  are  all 
now  dead.  Elizabeth  and  Nancy  died  in  Montreal,  Samuel  and  Jacob 
in  Augusta,  and  John,  unmarried,  in  Georgia,  U.  S.,  as  early  as  1805. 
Jacob  married  a  Miss  Shorts,  who,  with  himself,  rests  in  the  country 
graveyard  of  the  Old  Blue  Church,  Augusta,  where  rest  also  Paul  and 
iSarbara  Heck.  Samuel  married  a  Miss  Wright;  both  interred  there. 
But  three  of  Jacob's  children  survive  ;  six  of  Samuel's  are  still  living. 
His  son  Samuel  was  a  probationer  in  the  Wesleyan  ministry  when  he 
was  called  to  his  reward ;  his  precious  dust  also  lies  in  this  graveyard. 
He  was  eminently  pious,  a  clear-headed  theologian,  and  a  methodical 
preacher.  The  elder  Samuel  was  an  eminent  local  minister  for  more 
than  forty  years.  The  ten  surviving  grandchildren  of  Paul  aud  Barbara 
Heck  are  pious,  and  many  of  their  great-grandchildren  also.  For  the 
reaspns  we  have  assigned,  this  graveyard  will  be  dear  to  every  heart 
with  which  Methodism  .and  the  cause  of  God  are  identical.  Here  lie 
the  remains  of  the  once  beautiful  Catharine  Sweitzer,  married  at  the 
early  age  of  sixteen  to  Philip  Embury  on  the  eve  of  his  embarkation 
for  America;  also  those  of  the  much  respected  John  Lawrence,  who 
left  Ireland  in  company  with  the  Emburys,  and  who  married  Mrs. 
Embury." — Christian  Guardian,  Canada, 
C— 32 


498  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

METHODISM  IN  THE   EASTERN   STATES:   1796-1804. 

New  England  Methodism  -  Robert  Yellalee  —  Escape  from  an  Assassin 
—  John  Brodhead's  Senices  and  Character  —  Timothy  Merritt'a 
Character  and  Labors  —  Lee  In  the  Eaat 

"We  have  traced  the  progress  of  Methodism,  in  the 
Eastern  States,  d(»wn  to  the  Thoniiison  (Conn.)  Confer- 
ence, held  in  Sejitcniher,  179G,  with  considerable  detail; 
for,  fortunately,  the  early  records  of  the  New  England 
Church  are  more  ample  than  tliose  of  any  other  portion 
of  the  denomination. 

Important  laborers  were  now  added  to  the  small 
hand  of  itinerants.  Robert  Yellalee  commenced  his 
ministry  in  England  when  twenty-two  years  old,  and 
had  there  a  good  training  in  the  toils  and  trials  of  his 
brethren.  While  on  his  way  to  an  appointment,  he  was 
informed  of  an  intended  attemjtt  ujxjn  his  life.  Nothing 
daunted,  tru.sting  in  God,  he  went  forward  and  com- 
menced the  meeting.  After  the  introductory  services 
he  selected  for  a  text,  "  Woe  unto  him  that  striveth 
with  his  Maker,"  Isaiah  xlv,  9.  lie  beheld  before  him  a 
man  whose  countenance  betrayed  contending  passions, 
V)ut  the  sermon  proceeded;  "the  power  of  the  Most 
Iliirh  descended;"  a  long  knife  drojjped  from  the  sleeve 
of  the  man  to  the  floor,  and  at  the  close  of  the  discourse 
he  came  forward  trembling  and  weeping,  "confessed 
the  intention  of  his  heart,  and  begged  for  the  prayers 
of  his  proposed  victim." 

In  1796  Yellalee  was  ordained  older  by  Bishop  Coke 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHLRCH.  499 

far  the  Foulah  Mission,  Africa.  In  company  with  others 
he  emharked  for  Sierra  Leone.  War  some  time  after- 
ward hroke  out,  and,  together  with  other  circum- 
stances, rendered  it  necessary  for  the  missionaries  to 
leave.'  He  sailed  for  America,  joined  the  Methodist 
itinerants  of  New  England  in  1796,  and  was  appointed 
to  Provincetown,  Mass.  In  1797  he  was  colleague  of 
Joshua  Taylor,  on  Readfield  Circuit,  Maine,  and  the 
next  year,  of  Aaron  Humphrey,  on  Bath  and  Union  Cir- 
cuits, in  the  same  state.  In  1797  his  domestic  circum- 
stances compelled  him  to  locate.  He  resided,  till  his 
death,  in  Maine,  usefully  employed  as  a  local  preacher. 
He  founded  the  society  at  Saco,  and  planted  the  germs 
of  many  others  while  traveling  in  that  state.  It  was 
his  happiness  to  receive  into  the  Church  the  senior 
bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
Joshua  Soule.^  He  died  July  12,  1846,  in  the  seventy- 
eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  man  of  ordinary 
talents,  but  of  an  excellent  heart,  and  his  death  was 
attended  with  the  peace  and  victory  of  faith.  "  The 
Sun  of  righteousness,  which  had  been,"  says  one  who 
attended  him,  "his  light  for  above  sixty  years,  shone 
with  higher  brightness  in  the  hour  when  he  was  called 
to  enter  the  vale  of  death.'" 

John  Brodhead's  name,  which  we  have  incidentally 
met  already,  is  endeared  to  New  England  Methodists. 
He  was  born  in  Smithfield,  Northampton  County, 
Penn.,  October  5,  1770.  Like  most  of  the  distinguished 
evangelists  noticed  in  these  pages,  he  was  blessed 
with  the  lessons  and  examples  of  a  pious  mother,  and 
was  the  subject  of  deep  religious  convictions  when 
but  a  child.  "  He  has  been  heard  to  say  that  he  never 
forgot  the  impressions  made  upon  his  mind,  while 
»  Zion's  Herald,  July  16,  1815.    ^  i^^id.^  Aug.  19,  1846.    ^  Bishop  Soule. 


600  IIISTOKY    OF    THE 

kneeliug  at  hh  moiher's  feet,  learning  liis  little  pray- 
ers."* This  early  seriousness  disappeared  amid  the 
gayety  and  temptations  of  youth,  but  about  his 
twenty-second  or  twenty-third  year  he  became  a  regen- 
erated man.  He  entered  the  itinerant  service  in  1794, 
a  year  in  which  Beauchamji,  Siiethen,  Canfield,  Joseph 
.Mitchell,  and  other  New  England  evangelists,  com- 
menced their  travels.  His  fii-st  circuit  was  that  of 
X(»rthuinlH'rland,  IVnn.  In  1795  he  was  appointed  to 
Kent,  I)«.l.  The  next  year  he  came  to  New  Knglaiid, 
and  took  the  distant  appointment  of  Readtield,  Me., 
then  one  of  the  only  three  circuits  in  that  ])rovince.  In 
1707  he  passed  to  Massachusetts,  and  was  appointed  to 
Lynn  and  Marblehead;  the  following  year  he  was  re- 
moved to  Khode  Island,  and  labored  on  Warren  Circuit. 
In  1799  he  returncil  to  Maine,  and  resumed  his  labors 
on  Readtield  Circuit ;  the  next  year  he  passed  through 
a  long  transference  to  Connecticut,  and  took  charge  for 
two  years  of  the  New  London  District,  where  he  sui>er- 
intended  the  labors  of  Ruter,  Branch,  Vannest,  Sabin, 
Ostrander,  and  other  "  mighty  men."  In  1 802  he  traveled 
the  Vershire  District,  chiefly  in  Vermont.  The  next 
year  he  was  ap|)ointed  to  Hanover,  N.  H.,  and  the  three 
following  years  had  charge  of  the  New  Hampshire  Dis- 
trict. He  returned  to  Ma.'vsachusetts  in  1807,  and  trav- 
eled during  two  years  the  Boston  District,  with  a  host 
of  able  men  under  him,  among  whom  were  Pickering, 
AVebb,  Munger,  Steele,  Kibl)y,  ^lerwin,  Ruler,  etc. 
The  next  four  years  he  was  appointed,  respectively,  to 
Portsmouth  and  Newmarket,  (two  years  at  each,)  after 
which  he  was  four  years  on  the  superannuated  list,  but 
took  an  api)ointment  again,  in  1820,  at  Newmarket  and 
Kingston,  as  colleague  of  Joseph  A.  Merrill.  He  was 
«  Letter  from  Rev.  S.  Norris  to  the  autLor. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    C  H  U  K  C  H.  601 

now  advanced  in  years,  and  afflicted  with  infirmities, 
and  his  subsequent  appointments  show  much  irrega- 
larity.  He  was  again  in  the  superannuated  ranks  in 
1821,  but  took  an  appointment  the  next  two  years  as 
colleague  of  Phineas  Crandall  at  Newmarket;  the  ensu- 
ing three  years  he  was  on  the  supernumerary  list,  but 
labored  as  he  was  able  at  Newmarket  and  Epping, 
N.  H.  In  1827  he  took  an  effective  relation  to  the  Con- 
ference, and  labored  two  years,  respectively,  at  New- 
market and  Poplin,  N.  H. ;  the  following  two  years  he 
was  left  without  an  appointment  at  his  own  request. 
In  1831  he  was  again  placed  on  the  supernumerarj'-  list, 
and  continued  there  till  1833,  when  he  resumed  effective 
service,  and  was  appointed  to  Salisbury  and  Exeter, 
N.  H.  The  next  year  we  find  him  among  the  super- 
numeraries, where  he  continued  until  1837,  when  he  once 
more  entered  the  itinerant  ranks,  and,  as  was  befitting 
a  veteran  so  distinguished,  died  in  them  after  a  year's 
service  at  Seabrook  and  Hampton  Mission,  N.  H.  He 
spent  forty-four  years  in  the  ministry,  forty-two  of  them 
in  the  East,  laboring  more  or  less  in  all  the  New  England 
States.  He  died  April  7, 1838,  of  a  disease  of  the  heart, 
from  which  he  had  suffered  for  a  number  of  years.  His 
departure  was  peaceful  and  triumphant.  The  Boston 
Post  paid  the  following  tribute  to  his  memory  at  the 
time  :  "  Possessing  naturally  a  strong  mind,  warm  affec- 
tions, and  an  imposing  person,  he  was  a  popular  as  well 
as  an  able  and  pious  preacher ;  and  probably  no  man  in 
New  England  had  more  personal  friends,  or  could  exer- 
cise a  more  widely  extended  influence.  He  was  repeat- 
edly elected  to  the  Senate  of  his  adopted  state  and  to 
Congress,  yet  was  always  personally  averse  to  taking 
office ;  and  though  he  spoke  but  seldom  on  political  sub- 
jects, the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  the  known 


502  HISTORY    OF    THE 

purity  of  his  life,  gave  much  weight  to  his  opinions.  In 
the  early  days  of  his  ministry  he  endured  almost  incred- 
ible fatigue  and  hardship  in  carrying  the  glad  tidings  of 
the  gosj)el  to  remote  settlements,  olten  swimming  rivers 
on  horseback,  and  preaching  in  his  clothes  saturated 
with  water,  till  he  broke  down  a  naturally  robust  con- 
stitution and  laid  the  foundation  of  disease,  which 
affected  him  more  or  less  during  his  after  life.  In  his 
last  days,  the  gospel,  which  he  had  so  long  and  so  faith- 
fiiUy  preached  to  others,  was  the  never-failing  support 
of  his  own  mind.  To  a  brother  clergyman,  who  inquired 
of  him,  a  short  time  before  his  death,  how  he  was,  he 
said,  'The  old  vessel  is  a  wreck,  but  I  trust  in  God  the 
cargo  is  safe.'" 

Me  "was  a  good  man,"  say  his  ministerial  brethren 
ill  tlie  Minutes;  "deeply  ])ious,  ardently  and  sincerely 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Church  and  world ; 
it  is  known  to  all  who  were  acquainted  with  the  un- 
tarnished excellence  of  his  character,  that  a  great  man 
an<l  a  ]»rince  has  fallen  in  Israel."^  This  brief  but  sig- 
nificant remark  is  all  that  the  public  records  of  the 
Church  have  noted  respecting  the  character  of  one  of 
the  most  l)eloveil  names  of  its  early  history.  I?rodh<ad 
was  a  true  Christian  gentleman,  courteous,  unaUectedly 
dignified,  and  of  a  temper  so  benign  that  all  who 
ap]»rnache<l  him  loved  him,  and  even  little  children 
found  in  him  an  endearing  reciprocation  of  their  tender 
sympathies;  he  was  universally  a  favorite  among  them. 
H"  was  always  hopeful,  confiding  in  God  and  in  man, 
forbearing  toward  the  weak,  co-working  with  the  strong, 
instant  in  prayer,  living  by  faith,  entertaining  large  and 
apostolical  views  of  the  gracious  provisions  of  the  gos- 
pel and  the  gracious  purposes  of  Providence.  All  felt 
•Minutes  of  1838. 


METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHUECil.         503 

in  his  company  that  they  were  in  the  presence  of 
a  large-minded,  pure-hearted,  and  unlhnitedly  trust- 
worthy man.  With  such  a  character  he  could  not  but 
be  generally  popular;  and  such  was  the  esteem  enter- 
tained for  him  by  his  fellow-citizens  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, that,  besides  important  offices  in  their  State 
Legislature  and  Executive  Council,  and  a  term  of  four 
years,  as  their  representative  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  his  consent  alone  was  necessary  to  have 
secured  him  the  supreme  office  of  the  state.  While  in 
civil  positions  he  retained  unabated  the  fervency  of  his 
spiritual  zeal ;  in  Washington  he  maintained,  at  his 
lodgings,  a  weekly  pi-ayer-meeting,  which  was  com- 
posed of  his  fellow-legislators ;  and  on  Sabbaths  he 
preached,  more  or  less,  in  all  the  neighboring  Methodist 
churches. 

As  a  preacher,  he  possessed  more  than  ordinary 
talents;  his  clear  understanding,  combined  with  cj[uick 
sensibilities  and  a  vivid  imagination,  could  not  but  ren- 
der him  eloquent  on  the  themes  of  religion.  He  was 
partial  to  the  benigner  topics  of  the  gospel,  and  often 
would  his  congregations  and  himself  melt  into  tears 
under  the  inspiration  of  his  subjects.  When  he  treated 
on  the  divine  denunciations  of  sin,  it  was  with  a  solem- 
nity, and  at  times  with  an  awful  grandeur,  that  over- 
whelmed his  hearers.  "  I  heard  him,"  says  a  fellow- 
laborer,^  "  when  I  was  a  young  man,  preach  on  the  Last 
Judgment,  in  Bromfield-street  chapel,  on  a  Sabbath 
evening,  and  if  the  tenible  reality  had  occurred  that 
night  its  impression  could  hardly  have  been  more  alarm- 
ing." At  such  times,  "  seeing  the  terror  of  the  Lord," 
he  persuaded  men  with  an  irresistible  eloquence,  his 
large  person  and  noble  countenance  seemed  to  expand 
'  Rev.  T.  C.  Peiice  to  the  author. 


504  HISTORY    OF    THE 

with  the  majesty  of  his  thoughts,  and  he  stood  forth 
before  the  awe-struck  assembly  with  the  authority  of  an 
embassador  of  Clirist. 

He  was  six  feet  in  stature,  with  an  erect  and  firmly- 
built  frame.  Though  slight  in  person  when  young,  in 
his  maturer  years  he  became  robustly  stout,  and  toward 
the  end  «»f  his  life  somewhat  corpulent,  but  retained  to 
the  last  the  dignified  ujirightness  of  his  mien.  His  com- 
plexion was  light,  his  features  well  defined,  his  forehead 
high  and  expanded,  his  eye  dark,  large,  and  glowing 
with  the  spontaneous  benevolence  of  his  spirit.  In  fine, 
]iis  tout  cnxet/thle  rendered  him  one  of  the  noblest  men 
in  |)ei"son,  as  he  unquestionably  was  in  character. 

Timothy  Merritt  was  "a  piince  and  a  great  man  in 
Israel."  He  was  bom  in  Barkhamstcad,  Conn.,  October, 
1775,  and  trained  in  "the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord"  by  devoted  parents,  who  were  early  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  that  state. 
About  the  seventeenth  year  of  liis  life  he  experienee.d 
the  renewing  grace  of  God.  Religion  entirely  imbued 
his  nature,  and  marked  him,  from  that  period  to  his 
death,  as  a  consecrated  man.  One  who  first  led  him 
into  the  pulpit,  and  who  held  with  him  during  life  the 
communion  of  a  most  intimate  friendshii),"  says:  "I  be- 
came acquainted  with  him  at  his  father's,  in  the  town  of 
Harkhamstead,  in  the  northwestern  part  <»f  the  state  of 
Connecticut,  in  the  year  1794.  I  was  introduced  to 
him  as  a  pious  young  man  of  great  hope  and  promise 
to  the  infant  Church  in  that  place  and  vicinit) .  After 
attending  the  usual  preaching  and  other  exercises  at 
Barkha'nstead,  on  the  forenoon  of  the  Sabbath,  he  ac- 
companied me  about  five  or  six  miles  to  another  appoint- 
ment, and,  probably  for  the  first  time,  took  a  part  in  the 
»  Rev.  Enoch  Madge's  letter  to  the  author. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CPIURLH.  505 

puLlic  exercises  of  the  sanctuary.  He  had  before  been 
in  the  habit  of  improving  his  gifts  in  private  and  social 
meetings.  He  entered  the  traveling  connection  in  1796, 
and  was  stationed  on  New  London  Circuit,  on  which 
I  had  traveled  in  1794.  This  circuit,  at  that  time,  was 
about  three  hundred  miles  in  extent.  Here  he  was  both 
acceptable  and  useful.  The  next  year,  1797,  he  joined 
me  in  my  labors  on  Penobscot  Circuit,  in  the  province 
of  Maine.  His  presence  to  me  was  as  the  coming  of  Titus 
to  Paul,  (2  Cor.  vii,  6.)  We  entered  heart  and  handin  to 
the  arduous  labors  required  of  us  in  that  new  country, 
where  we  had  to  cross  rivers  by  swimming  our  horses, 
ford  passes,  and  thread  our  way  into  new  settlements 
by  marked  trees.  The  Lord  gave  him  favor  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people,  and  his  heart  was  encouraged  and  his 
hands  strengthened  by  a  good  revival,  in  which  much 
people  were  added  unto  the  Lord.  Here  our  sym- 
pathies and  Christian  friendship  were  matured  and 
strengthened  as  the  friendship  of  David  and  Jonathan." 

The  next  year,  1798,  he  was  sent  to  Portland  Circuit, 
where  he  continued  two  years.  In  1800  and  1801  he 
was  on  Bath  and  Union  Circuit;  and  in  1802  on  Bath 
Station.  In  1803  he  located,  and  continued  in  Maine 
about  ten  or  eleven  years,  and  then  removed  to  the 
place  of  his  nativity,  where  he  remained  till  1817,  when 
he  again  entered  the  itinerancy. 

The  fourteen  years  of  his  location  were  years  of  great 
labor,  toil,  and  hardship.  He  did  not  locate  to  leave 
the  work,  but  that  the  infant  Churches  might  be  eased 
of  the  burden  of  supporting  him  and  his  growing  family, 
and  that  they  might  have  no  excuse  for  not  supporting 
their  regular  stationed  preachers. 

Besides  the  constant  and  arduous  labors  required  for 
his  own  support,  he  filled  appointments  in  different  towns 


506  HISTORY     OF    THK 

constantly  on  the  Sabbath,  and  delivered  occasional  week- 
day lectures ;  as  most  of  the  stationed  preachers  were 
unordained,  he  had  to  visit  the  societies  to  administer 
the  onlinancc'S,  and  assist  in  organizing  and  rcguhitiug 
atfairs  necessary  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
cause,  Occasifinally  he  attended  quartcrly-nieotings  for 
the  presiding  elders,  from  twenty  to  a  hundre<l  miles 
from  home,  taking  appointments  on  his  way.  He  went 
to  them  in  canoes,  and  skated  to  them  in  winters,  on 
the  streams  and  rivers,  ten,  twelve,  or  fourteen  miles. 

When  he  re-entered  the  traveling  connection,  in  1817, 
he  was  stationed  in  Boston.  lie  continued  in  important 
appointments  down  to  1h31,  when  he  was  stationed  at 
Maiden,  and  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  the  editorial 
duties  of  Zion's  Herald.  In  1832-1835  he  was  at  New 
York,  as  assistant  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal.  Thence  he  ntunud  to  the  New  England 
Conference,  and  was  stationed  at  Lynn,  South  street, 
where  he  continued  two  years.  His  health  and  i)hysical 
ener<;i('S  failing,  he  received  a  superannuated  relation  to 
the  Conference,  which  continued  till  his  life  closed. 

Merritt  possessed  rare  intellectual  vigor.  His  judg- 
ment was  remarkably  clear  and  discriminating,  grasp- 
ing the  subjects  of  its  investigati«»n,  in  all  their  compass, 
and  ])enet rating  to  their  depths.  He  lacked  fancy  and 
imiitrination,  but  was  thereby,  perhaps,  the  better  fitted 
for  his  favorite  courses  of  thought — the  investigation 
and  discussion  of  the  great  doctrinal  truths  of  religion. 
His  j>redilection  for  such  subjects  was  not  a  curious 
]irnpensity  to  speculation,  but  an  interest  to  ascertain 
an'l  demonstrate  the  relations  of  fundamental  tenets  to 
experimental  and  practical  piety.  This  was  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristic  of  his  preaching.  Like  St. 
Paul,  he  delighted  to  discuss  the  "  mystery  of  godli- 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.  507 

ness,"  and  illustrate  its  "greatness."  Dangerous  error 
shrunk  in  his  presence.  The  doctrine  of  Christian  per- 
fection was  his  favorite  theme,  and  he  was  a  living  ex- 
ample of  it.  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord  was  his  constant 
motto,"  says  his  friend,  Enoch  Mudge;  "he  was  em- 
phatically a  man  of  a  single  eye,  a  man  of  one  work. 
He  literally  forsook  all  to  follow  Christ  and  seek  the 
salvation  of  his  fellow-men.  Both  his  mental  and  physi- 
cal system  were  formed  for  the  work.  lie  had  a  muscu- 
lar energy  which  was  fitted  for  labor  and  fatigue.  I 
remember  his  saying  to  me  one  morning,  after  having 
performed  what  to  me  and  others  would  have  been  a 
fatiguing  journey,  '  I  feel  as  fresh  to  start,  if  it  were 
neeedful,  on  a  journey  of  a  thousand  miles,  as  I  did 
when  I  started  on  this.'  His  mind  was  of  a  thoughtful 
and  serious  turn,  and  of  great  activity.  He  was  con- 
stantly grasping  for  new  subjects  of  inquiry  and  new 
scenes  of  usefulness.  In  prayer  he  was  grave,  solemn, 
and  fervent.  In  public  devotions  I  have  sometimes 
seen  him  when  he  appeared  as  if  alone  with  his  God. 
An  undue  familiarity  of  expression  never  fell  from  his 
lips  in  prayer ;  he  truly  sanctified  the  Lord  God  in 
his  heart,  and  honored  him  with  his  lips.  When  his 
physical  energy  gave  way,  his  active  mind  felt  the 
shock  and  totterings  of  the  earthly  tabernacle.  This 
was  the  time  for  the  more  beautiful  development  of 
Christian  resignation  and  submission.  He  wrestled  to 
sustain  himself  under  the  repeated  shocks  of  a  species  of 
paralysis  which  weakened  his  constitution  and  rendered 
it  unfit  for  public  labor,  by  clouding  and  bewildering 
his  mind.  But  here  i^atience  had  her  perfect  work. 
A  calm  submission  spread  a  sacred  halo  over  the  closing 
scenes  of  life.  Even  here  we  had  a  chastened  and  mel- 
ancholy pleasure  in  noticing  the  superioiity  of  the  men- 


60S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

till  and  spiritual  energies,  which  occasionally  gleamed 
out  over  his  physical  imbecility  and  prostration.  We 
saw  a  nohle  teinj»k'  in  ruins,  but  the  divine  Shekinah 
had  not  forsaken  it.''  He  did  extraordinary  service  tor 
Methodism.  His  preaching  and  devout  life  promoted 
it ;  he  was  continually  Avriting  for  it,  and  some  of  his 
jiublications  ranked  high  in  its  early  literature;  he  was 
a  champion  in  its  antislavery  contests ;  he  was  active  in 
its  eftbrts  for  missions  and  education.  No  man  of  his 
day  had  more  prominence  in  the  Eastern  Churches,  for 
either  the  excellence  of  his  life  or  the  importance  of  his 
services,     fie  died  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  in  1845. 

Such  were  some  of  the  men  who  gave  character  to 
New  England  Methodism  at  the  opening  of  the  present 
period ;  with  them  were  associated  a  remarkable  num- 
ber of  similar  characters,  such  as  Pickering,  Ostran- 
der,  Mudge,  Snethen,  M 'Coombs,  Woolsey,  with  Lee 
still  at  their  head,  and  Garrettson  and  Hutchinson 
supervising  much  of  their  Western  territory.  After  his 
visit  to  Virginia,  Lee  resumeil  his  labors  in  the  East  at 
the  beginning  of  1 707.  His  district  comprised  the  whole 
Methodist  field  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Ikhode  Island,  and  Massachusetts,  except  two  western 
circuits  in  the  latter;  Ostrander,  Pickering,  Brodhead, 
]\Iudge,  Snethen,  and  other  strong  men  were  under 
his  guidance.  One  who  witnessed  their  labors  thus 
describes  them :  "  It  is  now  both  pleasing  and  profit- 
able to  reflect  with  what  divine  power  the  gospel  was 
acccompanied,  and  the  sur|»rising  effects  it  j)roiluced  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  as  it  was  preached  by  the 
Methodist  ministry  at  that  time.  '  It  came  not  in 
word  only,  but  in  power.'  The  preachers  from  the 
South  came  among  us  in  the  fullness  of  its  blessing;  in 
faith  and  much  assurance  in   the   Holy  Ghost;  fearing 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.         509 

nothing,  anrl  doubting  nothing.  A  divine  nnction  at- 
tended the  word,  '  and  fire  came  out  from  before 
the  Lord,  and  consumed  upon  the  altar  the  burnt- 
offering  and  the  fat :  which  when  the  people  saw,  they 
shouted  and  fell  on  their  faces.'  They  ran  in  every 
direction,  kindling  and  spreading  the  holy  flame,  which 
all  the  united  powers  of  opposition  were  unable  to 
quench,  for  it  burned  with  an  inextinguishable  blaze. 
Hence  reformations  became  frequent,  deep,  and  power- 
ful, and  many  ran  to  and  fro,  saying,  'These  are  the 
servants  of  the  most  high  God,  who  show  unto  us 
the  way  of  salvation.'  Thus  the  preachers  became  '  a 
spectacle  to  angels  and  men.'  Sometimes  persons  felt 
the  gospel  to  be  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  before 
they  left  the  house,  and  went  home  praising  God,  This 
work  was  so  powerful  that  whole  towns  and  villages,  in 
some  instances,  were  arrested  by  the  influences  of  the 
gospel.  Not  only  the  poor  and  obscure,  but  the  rich 
and  great  in  some  cases  bowed  down  under  the  majesty 
of  the  gospel.  The  great  work  of  God,  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  pioneers  of  Methodism  in  New  En- 
gland, subjected  them  to  many,  very  many  sufferings  and 
privations.  Their  labor  was  great  and  extensive.  They 
traveled  and  preached  almost  every  day.  But  they 
endured  hunger  and  thirst,  cold  and  heat,  persecutions 
and  reproaches,  trials  and  temptations,  weariness  and 
want,  as  good  soldiers  of  the  cross  of  Christ;  not  count- 
ing their  ease  and  pleasure,  friends  and  homes,  health 
and  life,  dear  to  themselves,  so  that  they  might  bring 
sinners  to  God  and  finish  their  work  with  joy."^ 

Such  were  the  labors  of  the  strong  men  whom  Lee 
led  in  the  early  battles  of  NeAV  England,  himself,  mean- 
while, excelling  them  all.     He  traversed  his  immense 
8  Rev.  Epapliras  Kibb}',  letter  to  tbc  author. 


510  HISTORY    OF    THE    M.     E.    CIIURCH. 

district  with  his  usual  rapidity,  proclaiming  the  word 
continually,  encouraging  the  preachers  in  the  privations 
and  toils  of  the  remoter  circuits,  comforting  feeble 
Churches,  and  inspiriting  them  to  struggle  with  i)ersecu- 
tions  and  poverty,  to  erect  chapels,  and  spread  them- 
selves out  into  adjacent  neighborhoods. 


END  OF  VOL.   III. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PKESS. 

METHODIST. 

We  venture  nothing  in  expressing  our  judgment  that  for  profound 
interest,  thrilling  portraiture,  charming  style,  beautiful  diction,  and 
soul-stirring  narrative,  it  is  incomparable.  We  are  not  alone  in  this 
opinion :  in  the  judgment  of  the  best  minds  who  have  read  it,  it  is  all 
we  have  stated  it  to  be. — {Neiu  York)  Christian  Advocate. 

After  a  careful  reading,  we  pronounce  the  work  a  complete  suc- 
cess. There  is  the  same  happy  facility  for  grouping  events  and 
characters,  the  same  beauty  of  description,  the  same  masterly  power  in 
the  delineation  of  character,  which  are  found  in  his  former  work.  We 
are  delighted  with  the  work. — {Boston)  Zion^s  Herald. 

Tliey  have  all  the  charm  of  romance.  We  say  to  all.  Read  these 
intensely  interesting  volumes. — {Glwdnnati)  Western  Christian  Advocate. 

Dr.  Stevens  is  the  ecclesiastical  Macaulay,  and  his  works  are 
equally  interesting  and  ever  enchanting. — (Chicago)  Nor thivestern  Chris- 
tian Advocate. 

The  Senior  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (Morris)  writes 
in  the  {New  York)  C/mslian  Advocate :  "  Some  books  answer  to  look 
over,  for  recreation;  others  are  made  to  be  read.  The  History  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  by  Dr.  Stevens,  is  a  book  to  be  read." 

Entertaining  and  even  fascinating  by  a  style  of  thought  and  a  variety 
of  incident  that  never  cease  to  please.  The  author  has  woven  a  nar- 
rative so  thrilling  and  substantial  that  it  deserves  a  place  in  every 
American  family. — {Pittsburgh)  Christian  Advocate. 

A  work  of  strange  and  delightful  interest.  It  must  be  beneficial  to 
Methodism  the  world  over. —  Canada   Christian  Advocate. 

If  there  is  another  ecclesiastical  historian  who  has  given  to  the 
Church  and  the  world  so  piquant,  so  readable,  so  eloquent  a  book  as 
tins,  we  have  not  read  it.  The  data  have  been  gathered  with  great 
industry,  arranged  with  care,  grouped  in  the  composition  with  skill, 
fused  into  unity,  written  out  with  affectionate  reverence,  in  eloquent, 
ringing  sentences,  and  yet  without  a  tinge  of  slavery  to  the  sect. — 
{Xew  Yo7'k)  Methodist. 

What  Macaulay  has  done  for  England,  Stevens  has  done  for  Method- 
ism.—  William  31' Arthur,  Esq.,  of  London. 

CONGREGATIONAL  AND  LUTHERAN. 

The  Congregational  Quarterly  (Boston)  speaks  of  "  Stevens's  fasci 
nating  History  of  Methodism." 

The  researches  of  Dr.  Stevens  are  exceedingly  valuable,  not  only  to 
the  members  of  his  own  denomination,  but  to  all  who  are  interested 
in  ecclesiastical  history;  and  tlie  author  deserves  the  thanks  of  all  the 
Churches  in  furnishing  the  public  with  so  interesting  and  important  a 
contribution. — {Gettysburgh)  Evangelical  Quarterly  Review. 


OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS. 


PRESBYTERIAN. 


Dr.  Stevens  is  liberal  as  a  Christian  scholar,  and  aims  at  candid  fair- 
ness in  dealinp  with  elements  that  lie  would  oppose.  Hence  his  work 
will  be  studied  by  ministers  and  others  who  are  not  of  his  denomina- 
tion, but  desire  to  be  conversant  with  the  literature  and  sentiment  of 
the  Church  universal. — New  York  Observer. 

We  take  leave  of  the  book,  con^rratulatin^  our  Methodist  friends  that 
their  history  has  been  so  carefully  and  attractively  written.  It  has 
more  than  denominational  interest. — Sew  York  Eaingelist. 

The  American  Presbyterian  and  Theological  lievieiv  speaks  of  it  as 
"  a  well-compacted  and  digested  history,"  and  adds,  "  Dr.  Stevens  con- 
tinues his  excellent  work  wii!i  the  same  comprehensiveness,  minuio- 
nes.s,  and  spirited  delineation  which  marked  the  earlier  volumes. 
American  Methodistn  is  honored  in  and  by  its  historian." 

The  Princeton  Itrview  says:  "Tlio  author's  elaborate  History  of 
Methodism  has  estiil)lished  his  reputation  as  a  faithful  and  able  histo- 
rian. His  writings  have  taken  the  |)Iace  of  atithorities,  and  have  abid- 
ing importance  for  Christians  of  all  deiiomiiuttions." 

PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL. 

We  take  up  these  new  volumes  wishing  for  the  leeway  of  a  Quar- 
terly in  whicli  to  find  room  fur  the  reflections  that  naturally  arise  at 
their  very  sight.  The  fierusal  of  these  initial  volumes  woidd  Hood 
certain  minds  with  light,  and  remove  many  a  root  of  bitterness. — 
Dr.  Tvng,  in  (Sew  York)  Christian  Times. 

Stevens  is  an  excellent  writer ;  he  thinks  clearly  and  writes  strongly ; 
he  makes  all  of  Methmlism  that  can  bo  made  of  it,  and  the  field  is 
fruitful     His  delineations  are  admirable. — Am.  Quart.  Church  Hevurui. 

SECULAR  AND  LITERARY. 

The  SWDi  Amrriam  Quarterly  (non-denominational)  gives  some  nine 
or  ten  pages  to  the  work,  and  sjieaks  of  it  as  "deserving  high  praise — 
an  important  contribution  to  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  United 
States." 

Stevens's  "History  of  the  Meth.  Epis.  Chiirch"  is  a  book  which  no 
public  man  can  afford  to  be  ignorant  of;  and  it  is  also  a  book  which 
unlettered  readers  will  find  more  attractive  than  an  ordinary  novel. 
— (New  York)  Evening  Pout. 

It  is  well  done.  It  will  bo  appreciated  both  in  and  out  of  his 
Church. — {New  York)  Journal  of  Commerce. 

The  narrative  is  marked  by  clearness  and  vivacity  of  statement, 
alwimding  in  graphic  biogniphical  sketches,  man}'  of  which  exhibit  not 
a  little  skill  in  that  branch  of  composition. — New  York  Tribune. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say.  that  in  comprehensiveness  of  detail,  in 
distinctive  portraiture  of  character,  in  broad,  ingenuous  philo.sopliy  of 
facts,  in  brilliance,  purity,  and  vigor  of  stylo,  tlic\'  arc  worthy  to  bo 
compared  with  the  productions  of  the  best  English  or  American  histo- 
rians.— {Hnston)  Evening  Transcript. 


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They  also  publish  The  Sunday-School  Advocate,  spmi-monthl-y,  for  ch 
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Libraries  selected  with  care  to  accommodate  customers. 


NEW  BOOKS  JUST  PUBLISHED 

BY  CARLTON  &  PORTER, 

200  Mulberry-street,  New  York. 


HIBBARD  ON  THE  PSALMS. 

Tlie  Psalms  Chroiiolo^ciilly  Arranged,  with  Historical  Introductions,  and  a 
General  Introduction  to  the  whole  Book.     By  F.  G.  Hibbaed. 

8yo.   Price,  $2  00;  half  morocco,  $2  60;  morocco,  $5  00, 

This  work  i.-<  cominciuii-il  hy  Hcv.  Dr.  S{'ring,  t^l'  tlie  Brick  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York,  in  a  letter  to  tlie  Author,  thus : 

My  Dear  Broths, — I  have  not  read  the  wliole  of  your  elaborate  and  instructive 
work  on  the  I'salms.  I  find  that  it  neeils  to  be  stuilicd  rather  than  read.  So  far  as  I 
have  been  able  to  study  it,  and  compare  it  with  the  references,  to  me  it  appears  a  vol- 
ume of  great  research  and  merit.  Had  I  studied  it  tifty  years  ago  I  shoula  have  been 
a  wiser  man«nd  a  better  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

Yours  truly,  in  the  love  of  the  truth,  Oasdneb  Sfbiho. 

MY   SISTER   MARGARET. 

A  Temperance  Story.     By  >[rs.  C.  M.  Edwards. 
Four  niuxtratioiu.    Large  16mo.    Price,  80  centi. 

The  American  Tcmpcrnnce  Jouninl  says  of  this  work  :  "  This  is  a  book  which,  w« 
venture  to  say,  will  have  'wn  hundred  thousaud  readers.  It  is  in  tlie  best  style  of 
the  old  Temperance  Tales,  by  Sar)^nt.  Wo  commend  this  book  for  eictensive  cir- 
culation.    We  are  sure  it  will  have  it." 

"  It  is  a  powerflil  story,  exhibitini;  the  projrress  to  ruin  of  a  respectable  tippling  fam> 
ily.     Mrs.  Edwards  writes  admirably  well." — lialtimore  Advocate. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  DAN  YOUNG, 

A  New  ilngland  Preacher  of  the  Olden  Time.   Edited  by  W.  P.  StKioKLAjn). 
12ma   Price,  $1  00. 

A  work  of  great  interest  to  the  public,  and  adds  some  accessions  to  our  denomina- 
tional history. — (JuarUrly  Rtvitv). 

"  Dan  Young  was  among  the  early  preachers  of  New  England,  and  was  personally 
acquainted  wiUi  Jesse  Lee,  and  the  colleague  of  Iledding.  His  reminiscences  of  the 
preachers  and  of  the  times  are  of  an  exceedingly  interesting  character.  As  an  autobiog- 
ranhy  it  has  all  the  interest  connected  with  the' East  that  Peter  Cartwright  has  with  tCe 
West,  while,  at  the  same  timCj  none  of  the  objectionable  features  which  characterize 
that  book  are  to  bo  found  in  it.  The  counsels  of  the  old  itinerant  to  the  preachers, 
traveling  and  local,  and  to  the  membership,  are  full  of  interest  and  value." 

HIDDEN   TREASURE; 

Or,  The  Secret  of  Success  in  Life.     By  Miss  Sabah  A.  Baboook,  Author  of 
"  Itinerant  Side." 

Fotir  niuftrations.    Wide  16mo.    Price,  60  cents. 

A  most  entertaining  vi->liiine.  The  ''  Secret  of  Snooef*s  in  Life"  is  unfolded,  leaf  after 
leaf,  in  a  verj'  impressive  manner.  Tlie  pager*  jjlow  with  pathos,  and  the  noblest 
ii!id  most  important  truths  are  displayed  with  beautiful  attractiveness  in  the  well  drawn 
characters.  True  charity  of  purse  and  charity  of  soul  are  rarely  so  well  intermingled 
and  delineated. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  ADVOCATE, 

Which  has  an  increasing  subscription  list  of  over 

T-^T^C^      :^  XT  TO"  ID  H.  E:  DD     TH  O  XT  S -A.  U  ID  . 


CAilLTON  Ss  PORTER'S  PUBLICATIONS, 

200  Mulberry-street,  New  York. 

Chart  of  Life. 

By  Rev.  James  Porter,  D.  D. 
12mo.,  pp.  259.   Price 

The  design  of  this  book  is  to  indicate  the  dangfcrs  and  securities  connected  with  the 
voyage  of  life,  all  which  are  accurately  and  admirably  described. 

We  find  it  impossible  in  the  brief  space  of  an  ordinary  notice  to  do  justice  to  this 
valuiible  little  book.  It  is  a  work  especially  fur  the  young,  and  as  such  is  replete  with 
earnest  instruction  and  pure  moral  sentiment.  It  is  written  in  the  author's  peculiarly 
attractive  style,  and  is  pervaded  throughout  by  a  sweet  and  genial  spirit.  It  should 
be  in  every  family  where  there  is  a  child  competent  to  read  and  understand  it.  It 
should  be  in  all  our  Sunday-school  libraries  to  stimulate  the  youthful  heart  to  a  life 
of  virtue  and  religion.  And  indeed  we  wish  it  were  scatterecl  generally  in  the  com- 
munity, for  such  works  were  never  more  needed  to  neutralize  in  the  minds  of  youth 
the  vicious  sentiments  and  proclivities  of  the  age. — American  Fhtriot. 

This  is  not  a  nautical  .allegory,  but  a  series  of  practical  essays  on  various  themes 
connected  with  the  growth  of  chjiracter  and  the  regulation  of  life.  It  is  written  in  a 
perspicuous  style,  is  characterized  by  a  vein  of  good  sense,  and  is  calculated  to  benefit 
all  who  will  give  attention  to  its  instructions.  We  can  most  cheerfully  commend  it  to 
the  attention  of  Sunday-school  teachers  and  the  larger  scholars  in  our  schools. — ^S".  S 
Advocate. 

life  in  the  Itinerancy; 

In  its  Relation  to  the  Circuit  and  Station,  and  to  the  Minister's  Home  and 
Family. 

12mo.,  pp.  335.    Price 

It  is  virritten  in  a  popular  style — calculated  to  please.  Its  author  was  doubtless 
"experienced"  in  the  things  of  which  he  wrote;  for  he  has  daguenreotyped  the  various 
characters  and  incidents  so  perfectly  that  tee  are  made  to  feel,  even  in  a  cursory  ex- 
amination of  the  work,  that  we  are  living  over  the  last  twenty-four  years  of  our  life.  It 
is  a  work  that  ought  to  be  "  read,  marked,  learned,  and  inwardly  digested  "  by  the 
masses. —  Wesleyan. 

A  telling  picture  of  the  "  Sunny  Side  "  and  "  Shady  Side  "  of  the  Methodist  preacher's 
life  and  labors.  The  book  will  be  welcome  in  the  homes  of  the  worn-out  preachers,  to 
aid  them  in  "  fighting  their  battles  o'er  again,"  as  well  as  by  the  earnest  young  men  who 
are  just  entering  upon  their  arduous  work. —  Weekly  Visitor. 

The  subject,  as  well  as  the  masterly  manner  in  which  it  is  treated,  at  once  takes  hold, 
and  retains  the  reader's  attention,  and  also  excites  in  him  the  deepest  interest.  All  that 
passes  in  a  minister's  family,  together  with  the  innumerable  incidents  consequent  upon 
a  life  of  change  such  as  is  the  lot  of  a  laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  especially 
one  of  the  Methodist  connection,  are  faithfully  recorded. — /%i7.  Daily  Times. 


Life  in  the  Laity; 


Or,  the  History  of  a  Station.     By  Rev.  L.  D.  Davis,  Author  of  "  Life  in  the 
Itinerancy." 

16mo.,  pp.  200.   Price 

Hymns  and  Tunes. 

Hymns  for  the  Use  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     With  Tunes  for 
Congregational  Worship. 

8vo.,  pp.  368.   Roan,  (20  per  cent,  discount  to  the  trade) 

• Morocco,  marbled  edges 

extra  gilt 

This  work  embraces  all  the  hymns  in  our  standard  Hymn  Book,  and  no  more.  It  con- 
tarns  also  more  than  three  hundred  of  the  most  popular  old  and  new  tunes  in  print,  and 
is  offered  at  a  very  low  price  for  a  book  of  its  cost,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  generally 
adopted. 


CAKLTON  &  PORTER'S  PUBLICATIONS, 

200  Mulberry-street,  New  York. 


Harmony  of  the  Divine  Dispensations. 

Harmony  of  the  Divine  Disponsaiions.  Being  a  Series  of  Discourses  on  Se- 
lect Portions  of  Holy  Scripture,  designed  to  show  the  Spirituality,  Efficacy, 
and  Harmony  of  the  Divine  lievelations  made  to  Mankind  from  the  Be- 
pinning.  With  Notes,  Critical,  Historical,  and  Ex]>lanatory.  By  Geougk 
Smitu,  F.  a.  S.,  Member  of  the  Koyal  Asiatic  Society,  of  the  Royal  Society 
of  Literature,  Fellow  of  the  Genealogical  and  Historical  Society,  etc.,  etc. 

8vo.,  pp.  319.    Sheep 

Half  calf 

This  is  a  new  work,  l>«.'in(;  reiiriiited  from  the  London  edition  to  correspond  with  the 
"Patriarchal  Agi-,"  "  Hi-lirew  IVo|.lf,"  and  "Gentile  Nations,"  by  the  same  distin- 
guished author.  It  will  l>o  told  in  cnnnection  with  thu  others,  or  separately.  It  is  a 
profound  work,  and  will  huvc  u  largi-  sale. 

Hibbard  on  the  Psalms. 

The  Psalms  Chronologically  Arranged,  with  Historical  Introductions,  and 
a  General  Introduction  to  the  whole  Book.     By  F.  (i.  Hiijhakd. 

8vo.,  pp.  689.    Mnalin 

Half  Morocco 

Morocco 

This  book  occuiiios  an  im|>ortaut  place  in  Biblical  interpretation,  and  is  a  valuable 
contribution  to  liiblical  liUruturv. 

The  design  of  this  work,  \:\U-l\  issued  by  the  Northern  Methodist  Book  Concern,  is 
to  brinif  the  rea«ler  into  corojilete  sympathy  with  the  writers  of  the  Psalms.  Hence 
tliev  are  chronologically  arraiij:ed  and  grou|ieil ;  and  the  introduction  to  each  Psalm,  or 
to  i-ach  group,  ennbliK  the  rea>ler  to  understand  fully  the  occasion  of  their  utterance. 
The  design  M-enis  hu|>|iilv  aceoniplished.  Tbere  is  also  a  general  Introducton,  embrac- 
ing discussions  un  v.ir.oiis  intere>ting  topics ;  but  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  give  it 
K  thorough  exnniii.atioii.  The  l>u<>k  will  be  useful,  both  to  preachers  and  to  devout 
readers. — .SomAem  Cnrutinn  A<Jvucate. 

Thij  is  really  a  splendid  l>ook  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  1  he  mechanical  execution 
is  in  the  best  style  of  Carlton  &  Porter,  which  is  recommendation  enough  for  any  book, 
so  f.ir  as  "ext«-niaU"  are  concerned.  And  the  soul  of  the  book  is  far  more  precious 
than  the  bo<iy.  The  talented  authi>r  has  undertaken  to  place  the  reader  in  intimate  sym- 
pntliy  with  tne  w  riti-r  of  each  particular  Psalm,  by  giving  a  history  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  wrilU  n.  Such  an  effort,  if  successful,  will  do  more  toward  a  correct 
understanding  of  the  Psalms,  and  Uiward  awakening  an  interest  in  the  subject,  than  all 
the  commentaries  that  have  Ixen  written.  The  author,  we  rejoice  to  know,  contem- 
plates a  similar  work  in  relation  to  the  Projihi^cic  of  the  Old  Testament.  This  method 
of  arriving  at  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  writers  must  commend  itself  to  every  man's 
judgment.  The  work  must  have,  and  deiervrn  to  have  an  immense  circulation.  We 
thank  the  author,  and  we  thank  God  for  such  a  book. —  Wtsteni  Chriilian  Advocate. 

Lady  Huntingdon  Portrayed. 

Including  Brief  Sketches  of  some  of  her  Frrends  and  Co-laborers.  By  the 
Author  of  "  The  Mis.sionary  Teacher,"  "  Sketches  of  Mission  Life,"  etc. 

Large  16mo.,  pp.  319.    Mufllin 

; Morocco 

The  Living  Way; 

Or,  Suggestions  and  Counsels  concerning  some  of  the  Privileges  and  Duties 
of  the  Christian  Life.     By  Kev.  John  Atkinson. 

16mo.,  pp.  139.    Price 


PUBLISHED  BY  CARLTON  &  POBTEE, 

200  Mulberry-street,  New  York. 


EARLY   METHODISM 

Within  the  Bounds  of  the  Old  Genesee  Conference,  from  1788  to 

828 ;    or,   the  first    Forty   Years  of  Wesleyan  Evangelism   in 

Northern  Pennsylvania,   Central   and  Western   New  York,  and 

Canada ;    containing  Sketches  of  interesting   Localities,  exciting 

Scenes,  and  prominent  Actors.     By  George  Peck,  D.  D. 

12mo.   Price 

inserted,  illustrating  their  devotion  and 
the  difficulties  with  which  they  had  to 
contend.  Not  the  least  attractive  feature 
of  the  book  is  the  sketches  which  it  gives 
of  interesting  localities,  exciting  scenes, 
and  prominent  actors.  Some  of  these  are 
furnished  by  individuals  who  were  eye- 
witnesses of  remarkable  scenes,  or  who 
contribute  their  personal  reminiscences  ot 
distinguished  characters. — Evangelist. 


In  this  volume  we  have  a  sketch  of  the 
first  forty  years  of  "  Wesleyan  Evangel- 
ism" in  Northern  Pennsylvania,  Central 
and  Western  New  York,  and  Canada.  It 
contains  much  that  will  stir  the  heart  and 
kindle  the  enthusiasm  of  those  who  can 
appreciate  the  self-denying  character  and 
persevering  energy  of  pioneer  Methodist 
preachers.  Many  instructive  and  valuable 
extracts  from  the  diaries  of  these  men  are 


HISTORY  OF  THE  GREAT  REFORMATION 


In  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  Germany,  France,  and   Italy. 
Rev.  Thomas  Carter. 


B> 


12mo.   Price- 


This  is  a  book  which  must  be  interesting 
to  every  class  of  readers.  It  is  fresh  from 
the  pen  of  an  American  writer,  and  written 
from  an  American  standpoint. 

The  reader  will  find  here,  in  condensed 
and  graphic  language,  the  grand  facts  of 
the  Lutheran  period  which  it  is  important 
to  know,  and  minor  details  of  great  inter- 


est as  the  religious  revolution  of  the  six- 
teenth century  developed  itself. 

By  the  bravery  of  the  Eeformers  we 
learn  to  be  bold  for  God,  by  their  heroic 
deaths  we  learn  to  die,  and  by  their 
preaching  we  learn  to  preach  with  fresh 
zeal  and  fervor. 


A  MISSIONARY  AMONG  CANNIBALS; 

Or,  the   Life  of  John    Hunt,   who   was    eminently   successful    in 
converting  the  people  of  Fiji  from  Cannibalism  to  Christianity. 
By  George  Stringer  Rowe. 
12mo.   Price 


This  volume  is  commended  to  the 
Church  as  especially  adapted  to  promote 
the  growth  of  deep,  earnest,  and  self-sacri- 
licing  piety,  and  also  of  the  most  heroic 
type  of  the  missionary  spirit.  It  brings 
out  in  strong  relief  the  spiritual  life  of  a 
very  holy  man,  whose  soul  grew  into  the 
maturity  of  the  grace  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion  amid  the  severe  literary  and  physical 
toils,  and  the  peculiar  dangers  of  a  mis- 
Bionary's  life  in  a  land  of  cannibals.    Could 


our  young  people  imbibe  the  spirit  of  John 
Hunt,  the  harvest  of  the  world  would 
never  be  permitted  to  perish  for  lack  of 
abundant  reapers.  Let  this  memoir  there- 
fore be  freely  circulated  among  our  fam- 
ilies and  Sunday-schools,  and  the  cause 
of  our  great  Master  and  Teacher  can  hardly 
fail  of  being  greatly  promoted. 

A  book  of  great  facts.     Surely  the  Gos- 
pel is  the  power  of  God  unto  sal  ration. 


V^HEDON'S  COMMENTAEY  ON  THE  GOSPELS. 

VOLXJiVIK    II.       LTJIiE-jrOHN. 


NOTICES     OF    THE    PRESS. 
From  Uie  Episcopalian. 

This  volume  com[ilet«9  the  aulhor's  eii>"eition  of  the  Four  Gonpeb.  It  la  now  designed  to  go 
Uirough  the  whole  New  Testamcnl  In  llie  aamo  way,  ami  jHiaailily  the  Old.  If  even  the  New 
Totitament  is  flni.ihml  after  the  author's  plan  It  will  form  an  admirable  work,  and  8U|iort>edo 
the  use  of  Haniits's  Notes,  except  among  his  partisans.  It  eoniliines  ail  the  latest  researches 
In  biblical  cnlicitm,  includiiij;  the  studies  of  Lani.'e  and  otherx  uf  the  same  class,  and  is  char- 
acterized throughout  bv  careful,  patient  study,  and  by  t;re:kt  clearness  and  vigor.  The  ntyU  is 
at  the  same  time  (.upuiar,  and  to  n<>  clans  will  ilio  \olume  prove  a  valley  of  dry  bonos,  as  Is, 
however,  often  the  case  with  many  works  on  the  same  subject. 

From  the  Bililical  Ilfperlory  and  I'rinrelOD  Review. 

It  is  a  matter  of  gralulatiuii  tlial  h.i  mnny  distinguished  men  of  all  dei.ominations  are  turn- 
ing their  Blt«iiti>iii  to  the  pre|iarBlli>n  «!  eumnieniaries  on  the  Holy  Scriptures  ThU  volume 
Is  written  In  a  clear.  t«rse.  and  fon-iMe  style.  There  is  very  little  waste  of  words.  The  ex- 
positions are  Concise,  to  the  Ix^int,  and  evangelical  aud  edif^'ing.  It  bids  fair  to  be  a  very  val- 
uable work. 

Frum  lh<^  DoMon  Kevtew. 

We  bail  all  such  evangelical  eflbrt  to  simplify,  explain,  and  dlffUse  the  scriptures  among  the 
mamea.  Such  unpret<'ndlng.  yet  really  very  vaiunhle  volumes  are  our  iMut  defense  against  the 
skepticism  and  irreltgiun  of  the  ag>-,  and  that  scholarly.  Insinuating,  and  undermining  inlluenoe 
that  we  Imfiort  from  many  of  the  Oemian  critics.  This  volume  reminds  us  strikingly.  In  form, 
method,  and  style,  of  Karnes's  Notes,  and  will  l>e  eminently  aerviceable  to  the  largo  communion 
that  rejulc«»i  in  the  name  uf  its  distinguished  author. 

From  the  .\rw  BngUnder. 
Il  Menu  to  bo  prepared  with  much  care,  and  exhibits  the  result  of  scholarly  investigation  to 
•  greater  degree  than  Its  unpretending  character  would  le.vl  one  to  anticl[«te.    Sabbath-school 
teachers  and  others  who  desire  brief  and  ctjncise  annotations  nn  the  Ooapels,  to  aid  them  In 
their  studies  and  instructions,  will  dnd  much  in  tills  work  that  will  bo  useful  to  Ibcni. 

Prom  the  Chrisilan  Inquirer. 

It  Is  a  learned  book,  gathering  up  an  Immense  mass  of  illustrative  facts  and  incidents  from 
all  sources,  and  arrangiug  them  in  admirable  order. 

From  the  IVorthwrsiern  Christian  Advocate. 

Whedon's  Commentary  on  the  Oospcls,  which  recently  made  its  appearance.  Is  an  able  and 
timely  production.  Th<-  author  Is  at  present  the  editor  nf  the  Melhodiit  Quarterly  Review,  and, 
as  an  original  think>'r  an>1  r'.z  >roui  writer,  has  no  su|>erior.  lie  [sisHesses  the  qualiflcations  of 
a  commentator,  and    th"  .      fciate  his  volumes  txM-ause  they  contain   new  ideas,  fk'esh 

from  the  laboratory  of  :t  :.iind.     For  advanced  Bible  classes  they  are  unsurpassed  ; 

and  the  Sabbath-schoo',-.  .•  their  Importanoe,  are  intr<.during  them  into  their  coursfl 

of  study.     No  Instructor  of  xniih  should  be  without  them,  as  they  shed  new  light  upon  many 
ntcrcsting  Incidonis  in  the  life  of  Jesus. 

From  the  Canada  Chrbllan  Advocate. 
We  regard  this  scoond  volume  as  fully  equal  to  the  Hrsi.  and  both  together  as  being  a  mosi 
valuable  and  seasonable  cx|>osltlon.  It  will  be  a  companion  to  the  Bible  In  many  houses,  and 
uiil  enable,  we  trust,  many,  many  thousands  to  feed  u|sm  the  blessed  word  with  increasing 
profit  and  relish.  It  was  not  iincallr-d  for,  and  it  will  not  bo  unwelcomed  or  unprized.  Its 
*•  (Hipular  use  "  will  be  another  itB[>"rtant  ltistrum«-nLallty  In  eifucatlng  the  Church,  and  raising 
tho  intelligenoo  of  religions  professors  to  something  like  what  the  times  require.  It  will  ho 
found  a  valuable  a&sislance  to  te.ichers  and  members  of  Ilible  classes.  We  wish  the  author 
beaiib  aud  leisure  to  complete  the  commentary  on  the  entire  New  Testament. 

From   the  Independent. 

Dr.  Whedon  has  won  a  marked  place  in  religious  and  theological  literature  by  the  strengtb 
and  polish  of  his  i«n.  His  commentary  on  Matthew  and  Mark  attracted  no  small  attention 
from  its  style,  no  lees  than  itx  treatment  of  the  topics  of  the  text.  It  Is  less  discursive  and  less 
a-cumulalive  than  I^nge,  whose  work  is  a  thesaurus  as  much  as  an  original  eflbrt.  Yet  it  Is 
h  irilly  less  sagacious  and  profound.  Though  brief,  it  is  not  shallow.  Comiiaot  with  thought 
■  •ftnn  strikingly  eipreiwd.  It  gives  the  essence  of  the  Oospel  In  its  vitals,  lie  has  expfiundwd 
Luke  more  ably  than  (losterzee  :  though  John  is  deemed  by  him  the  crucial  test  of  the  volume, 
as  it  really  is  of  the  liiblc.  Many  passages  merit  quotation,  whether  for  the  thought  or  the 
expression,  for  which,  however,  we  have  no  room.  His  argument,  in  chapter  ix,  against 
Hume's  famous  doctrine  on  miracles.  Is  one  of  tlie  briefest  and  best  we  remember  to  have 
seen.  Clergymen  and  Sunday-school  teachers  will  And  much  nourishment  in  this  scries  of 
volumes  thi  i  is  Intended  to  Include  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament, 

PUBLISHED  BY  CARLTON  &  PORTER, 

200  >liillH-rrv-Mtreet,  .\.V. 


CARLTON  &  PORTER'S  PUBLICATIONS, 

200  Mulberry-street,  New  York. 

Compendmm  of  Methodism. 

A  Compendium  of  Methodism :  embracing  the  History  and  Present  Condition 
of  its  various  Branches  in  all  Countries ;  with  a  Defense  of  its  Doctrinal, 
Governmental,  and  Prudential  Peculiarities.     By  Rev.  James'Porter,  D.D. 

Nineteenth  edition,  revised. 

12mo.,  pp.  501.   Price 

This  work  has  leceived  universal  favor.  The  facta  that  our  bishops  have  put  it  in  the  course 
(<(  study  fur  iireacliers,  and  that  it  has  been  translated  into  the  German  and  Scandinavian 
l;\nguages,  commend  it  to  the  confidence  of  all  Methodists.  Its  peculiar  ad  vantages  are,  1.  That 
It  gives  a  connected  history  of  Methodism  from  the  beginning  in  all  countries,  and  in  all  Its 
denominations.  2.  Tlial  it  shows  our  doctrinal  agreements  and  disagreements  with  other  sects. 
3.  That  it  exhibits  the  different  systems  of  church  government  in  the  world,  and  the  relative 
merits  of  each.  4.  That  it  explains  and  defends  all  our  prudential  means  of  grace  and  other 
Peculiarities  as  no  other  bools  does.  It  Is  a  whole  libraby  in  one  volume,  and  is  a  labor- 
saving  as  well  as  a  j)ionej/-saving  production.  Its  importance  to  preachers  and  others  Is  indi- 
cated by  the  following  testimonials  : 

It  is,  in  fact,  a  digest  of  Methodism.  The  arrangement  and  execution  of  the  several  parts 
are  admirable.  The  style  is  a  model  of  perspicuity,  ease,  and  vigor;  and  in  point  of  condensa- 
tion, the  volume  is  literally  crowded  with  important  matter.  We  have  hardly  seen  as  great 
compactness  without  confusion,  or  an  equal  number  of  pages  from  which  so  few  could  be  elim- 
inated without  detriment.  lint  what  is  far  more  important  than  the  mode  of  composition  is  the 
spirit  which  pervades  the  work.  The  author  writes  with  that  candid  discrimination  so  essential 
to  the  proper  discussion  of  the  topics  which  he  handles. — Ed.  of  North.  Adv. 

This  work  is  a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  Church  literature.  It  embodies  much  important 
information,  arranged  in  a  natural  and  convenient  form,  and  affords  a  good  general  outline  of 
Methodism.  It  is  a  work  of  much  merit.  I  do  cheerfully  commend  it,  as  a  whole,  to  the  favor- 
able consideration  of  our  friends  and  the  public  generally. — T.  Morris,  Bishop  of  M.  E.  Church. 

I  like  the  book  much.  It  will  do  good.  Our  people  and  fViends  ought  to  read  and  study  it 
thoroughly.  It  furnishes  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  petty  objections  urged  against  the 
Methodists  by  a  set  of  ecclesiastical  croakers  with  which  we  are  everywhere  beset.  One  gen- 
tleman, whom  I  let  have  a  copy,  after  reading  it  carefully,  remarked,  "  It  is  the  book  needed  ; 
I  would  not  take  twenty  dollars  for  my  copy  if  I  could  not  obtain  another." — Rev.  Justin 
Spaulding. 

I  have  just  finished  the  reading  of  this  book,  and  I  wish  to  express  my  decided  approbation 
of  it.  It  should  he  a  family  hook,  a  Sunday-school  book,  and  I  would  add  especially,  a  text-look 
fvr  all  candidates  for  the  ministry. — J.  T.  Peck,  D.D. 

The  work  throughout  is  not  a  criticism  on  Methodist  usages,  but  a  statement  and  defense  of 
them.  As  such,  we  trust  it  will  meet  with  the  wide  circulation  it  deserves,  both  in  and  out  of 
the  Church. — Methodist  Quarterly  Review. 

We  have  examined  the  book,  and  most  cordially  recommend  our  fi-iends,  one  and  all,  to  pro 
cure  it  immediately.  No  Methodist  can  study  It  without  profit,  and  gratitude  to  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  for  the  wisdom  imparled  to  those  who  have  been  the  instruments  employed 
in  constructing  the  rules  and  regulations  under  which  the  operations  of  this  most  successful 
branch  of  the  Church  are  conducted. — Editor  of  the  Christian  Guardian,  Toronto. 

It  is  precisely  the  volume  needed  to  instruct  our  people  in  the  peculiarities  of  our  system. 
The  special  character  of  Methodism  is  here  developed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  it  is 
specially  excellent,  and  worthy  of  special  zeal  and  special  sacrifices.  It  is  very  systematically 
arranged,  and  therefore  convenient  for  reference  on  any  given  point.  To  the  Methodist,  espe- 
cially the  "  official  "  Methodist,  this  book  is  fitted  to  be  a  complete  manual ;  and  to  all  others 
who  would  understand  what  Methodism  precisely  is,  as  a  whole,  or  in  any  specific  respect,  wo 
commend  Dr.  Porler's  work  as  an  acknowledged  authority. — A.  Stevens,  LL.D. 


SERMONS 


JABEZ   BUNTING,   D.D. 


BIBLICAL  LITERATURK 


Clarke's  Sacred  lAterature. 

A  Concise  View  of  the  Succession  of  Sacred  Literature,  in  a  Chronological 
Arrangement  of  Authors  and  their  Works,  from  the  Invention  of  Alpha^ 
betical  Characters  to  A.  D.  395.     By  Adam  Clabke,  LL.  D. 


12ino.,  pp.  420.    Maalin  or  ahe«p . 


The  work  commences  with  the  giving  of  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai.  It  contains  the  date  and 
argument  of  ever)'  book  of  Scripture,  and  of  all  the  writings  of  the  Jews  and  Christian 
Fathers  that  are  eilant,  down  to  the  year  SOS ;  and  in  some  instances  the  analysis  of  the 
ditferent  works  is  copious  and  extensive. 

This  work  contains  much  important  information  relative  to  Biblical  and  ecclesiastical  lite- 
rature.—T.  Hartwkll  IIornb. 

We  know  not  in  what  manner  we  could  render  a  more  valuable  se^^•ice  to  the  student  who 
is  directinc  his  attention  to  this  branch  of  knowledge,  than  to  recommend  him  to  avail 
himself  of  the  guidance  wluch  llie  interesting  work  before  us  supplies.— £c/rr(tc  Reviev. 


Coles^s  Concordance. 

A  New  Conoonlnnre  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
By  Rev.  Ukokoe  Colks. 

24mo.,  pp.  960.    Sheep $ 

Calf  neat 

Morocco  extra 

The  preparation  of  such  a  bm>k  is  necessarily  a  work  of  vaat  labour,  but,  when  completed, 
the  work  is  of  groat  value. 

Crudon's  has  been  considered  the  best  Concordance  hitherto  known.  Several  others  have 
been  in  use,  but  they  have  been  Incomplete,  and  inadequate  to  the  wants  of  a  Bible 
student.  The  chief  olijerttons  in  Crudeii  s  Concordance  have  been  its  unwieldy  size  and 
high  price.  Tliat  work,  moreover.  Is  about  a  hundred  years  old,  and  if  not  di'fcctivo  in 
Its  arrangement,  certainly  admits  of  manifest  improvement,  as  is  proved  by  the  volume 
before  us. 

Coles's  Concordance,  although  containing  all  the  references  of  Mr.  Crudon's,  and  many 
new  ones,  is  so  compactly  printed  as  hardly  to  exceed  the  size  of  a  pocket  Bible,  and  is 
sold  at  the  low  price  of  one  dollar.  It  contains  no  less  than  060  pages,  and  is  declined  to 
remain  to  future  Kcneratlons  a  monument  nf  the  careful  research  and  the  untiring  |>erse 
reranco  of  its  author.  The  ^eatest  possible  care  has  been  taken  to  have  ever)'  refer- 
ence CORCCt. 

This,  to  say  the  least  that  can  be  said.  Is,  In  almost  every  respect,  the  very  best  Concord- 
ance  now  extant.  It  is  really  an  improvement  on  all  the  older  works,  being  both  more 
copious  and  more  correct.  What  more  can  we  say!  We  have  used  it  considerably  since 
It  was  laid  upon  our  table,  and  shall  continue  tu  use  it  in  preference  to  any  and  every 
other  within  our  te%ch.—Ladit$'  Rtpotxtory. 

Right  glad  are  we  that  so  valuable  a  contribution  to  Biblical  literature  ha-i  been  furnished 
by  a  Methodist  preacher.  We  are  pleased  that  the  author  has  confined  himself  strictly  to 
the  work  which  he  undertook,  without  Invading  the  province  of  the  lexicographer  or  the 
theologian.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  recommend  it  heartily  to  all  students  of  the  Bible. — 
Southern  Ckristxan  Adrocate. 

Every  Bible  student  has  known  the  value  of  a  good  Concordance.  Very  little  progress 
could  be  made  in  the  doctrinal  study  of  the  Scriptures  without  one.  To  Sabbatli-schoo' 
teachers  and  members  of  lliblc  classes  a  Concordance  is  indispensable.  The  one  named 
at  the  head  of  this  notice  is  said  by  good  judges  to  be  superior  to  all  its  predecessors. — 
RAode  hland  Pledge. 


Covel's  Bible  Dictionary. 

A  Conci.se  Dictionar}-  of  the  Holy  Bible.  Designed  for  the  Use  of  Sunday 
Schools  and  Families,  with  ilaps  and  Engravings.  By  Rev.  Jakes 
CovKL,  .Jr. 


18mo.  pp.  536.    Sheep. 


This  Is  a  convenient  and  valuable  book  of  reference,  compiled  from  the  best  authorities. 
A  good  Bible  Dictionar)"  is  an  almost  indispensable  requisite  to  every  teacher  and  student 
of  the  word  of  God.  There  are  many  larger  and  more  expensive  works  than  this,  but 
few,  if  any,  cheaper,  and  better  adapted  to  practical  use 


BIBLICAL  LITERATURE. 


Home's  Introduction,  Abridged. 


* 


A  Compendious  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Bible,  being  an  Analysis  of 
"  an  Introduction  to  the  Critical  Study  and  Knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures," in  four  volumes,  by  the   same  author.    By  Thomas  Haktweli. 

HORNE. 

12mo.,  pp.  403.    Sheep  or  muslin $ 

This  icork  forms  part  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  hy  the  last  General  Conference. 

We  recommend  this  abridgment  as  a  valuable  compendium  of  information  connected  with 
the  interpretation  of  Scripture. — Wesleyan  Magazine. 

Longhing's  Notes  on  the  Gospels. 

Notes,  Illustrative  and  Explanatoiy,  on  the  Holy  Gospels :  arranged  according 
to  Townsend's  Chronological  New  Testament.  Designed  to  accompany 
Longking's  Questions.    By  Joseph  Longking. 

18mo.,  4  vols.,  pp.  1707.    Vols.  1,  2,  8,  each $ 

Volume  4 

Per  set 

The  rapid  sale  and  general  adoption  of  these  works  give  evidence  that  their  worth  is  appre- 
ciated.   More  than  44,000  volumes  have  been  sold. 

We  have  in  these  Notes  on  the  Gospels  just  what  the  parent  and  teacher  needs.  Mr. 
Longking  has  had  access  to  the  most  valuable  sources  of  information,  and  has  accom 
plished  his  important  task  with  simplicity,  and  with  a  perspicuity  of  style,  with  a  dis- 
crimination and  judgment,  which,  as  .far  as  our  e.varnination  has  e.xtended,  we  admire. 
He  has  collected  a  vast  variety  of  information,  and  given  in  four  moderately  sized 
volumes  sufficiently  ample  notes  touching  the  entire  range  of  topics  which  belong  to  the 
study  of  the  Bible.  It  is  not  iu  his  plan,  indeed,  to  give  detailed  critical  annotations  ; 
this  would  defeat  his  design ;  it  is,  however,  sufficiently  critical  for  the  purposes 
intended.  Difficult  passages  are  satisfactorily  explained  :  while  a  flood  of  illustration  on 
manners  and  customs  is  poured  forth,  drawn  from  the  best  authorities. 

The  Notes  make  an  explanatory  commentary  sufficiently  copious  for  hundreds  of  thou 
sands  of  families  in  tliis  country  who  have  no  time  for  anything  more  comprehensive  — 
Mother's  Assistant. 

*Longking^s  Questions  on  the  Gospels. 

Questions  on  the  Gospels :  arranged  according  to  Townsend's  Chronological 
New  Testament.    By  Joseph  Longking. 

18mo.,  4  vols.,  pp,  512.    Each  vol.  per  dozen $ 

More  than  two  hundred  and  twentv  thousand  volumes  of  these  works  have  been  sold 
at  the  New- York  Book  Concern  alone,  besides  those  which  have  been  published  and  sold 
at  the  establishment  in  Cincinnati. 

Moody'' s  New  Testament. 

The  New  Testament  Expounded  and  Illustrated,  according  to  the  usual  Margin- 
al References,  in  the  very  words  of  Holy  Scripture.  Together  with  the  Notes 
and  Translations,  and  a  complete  Marginal  Harmony  of  the  Gospels.  By 
Clement  Moodt,  M.  A.,  Magdalen  Hall,  Oxford;  Perpetual  Curate  of 
Sebergham. 

(In  preparation.) 


Our  English  Bible. 


A  Succinct  Account  of  English  Translations  and  Translators,  derived  from 
Original  Authorities. 

18mo.,  pp.  218.   Muslin 

Few  of  the  millions  who  peruse  that  blessed  volume  in  our  language,  have  ever  been  in- 
formed of  the  slow  and  painful  steps  by  which  our  excellent  translation  of  the  original 
Scriptures  has  been  freely  furnished  to  them.  The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  supply  that 
iiiformation  with  correctness  and  detail.    The  work  was  prepared  for  the  Religious  Tract 


NEW  BOOKS  JUST  PUBLISHED 

BY  CARLTON  &  PORTER, 

200  Mulberry-street,  New  York. 

A  KEW  pkonotj^ci:d^g  bible, 

In  which  all  the  proper  names  are  (li\'i(led  and  accented  as  they  shonld  be 
pronounced,  and  a  copious  and  original  selection  of  References  and 
numerous  Marginal  Readings  are  given,  together  with  Introductions  to 
each  Book,  and  nmuerous  Tables  and  Maps. 

Boyal  octavo. 

Thi5  is  the  ovlt  ono  in  print  of  the  kind,  embracing  new  and  improved  kaps,  new 
BzrEBKNOK«,  and  much  inRtmction  necessary  to  a  right  understanduiff  of  the  Scrip- 
tures— proper  names  divided  and  acc«nUd  as  they  are  to  be  pronounctd. 

se:etches  of  i^ew  englajnd  diyines. 

By  Rev.   D.   Shbrman. 
12ma 

Giving  true  and  interesting  biograpliical  sketches  of  the  following  distinguished 
divines :  John  Cotton,  Richard  Mather,  Roger  Williams,  Increase  Mather,  Cotton 
Mather,  Elcazcr  Muthur,  John  Warliiim,  Jeseo  Leo,  Jonathan  Edwards,  Elijah  Hed- 
ding,  Timothy  Dwi^tht,  Wilbur  Fisk,  Ezra  Stilea,  Lemuel  Havues,  Billy  llibbard, 
Timothy  Mcrritt,  Jonathan  D.  Bridge,  Nathaniel  Emmons,  Joshua  Crowell,  George 
Pickering,  Stephen  Olin. 

THE  0HRISTIA:N"  LAWYER: 

Being  a  Portraiture  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  WnxiAM  Gkoeqe 
Baker. 

12mo. 

This  is  a  well-written  memoir,  and  deserves  to  be  generally  read.  A  good  holiday 
giil-book  for  our  legal  friends. 

LIFE  OF  DR  ADAM  0LARE:E. 

By  Rev.  J.  W.  ETiiBRrDOB,  M.A. 
With   a  Portrait      12mo. 

The  volume  contains  about  five  hundred  pages,  and  is  ornamented  with  an  excellent 
likeness  of  its  distinguished  subject.  No  one  can  understand  fully  the  great  commen- 
tator and  the  secret  of  his  rreatness  without  reading  this  book.  It  should  bo  bought 
and  read  through  the  whole  Church,  and  through  the  whole  community.  The  book 
shoold  be  in  every  library,  public  and  private.  The  doctor  belonged  to  the  whole 
world. 

THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOIJL 

And  the  Final  Condition  of  the  Wicked  carefully  considered.    By  Rev. 

ROBKBT  W.  LAiTDIS. 

12mo. 

Hero  is  a  volume  at  once  onmcAL,  clear,  oalm,  and  convwoimo.  There  is  no 
hurling  of  anathemas,  no  bandying  of  epithets,  not  even  the  curled  lip  so  common  in 
superior  criticism.  The  gentlemanly  author  has  canvassed  the  entibs  qttestion  oase- 
FULLT  AXD  cAjTDiDLT,  and  tho  rcsult  is  this  ABLE  Aim  COMPLETE  hsud-book  on  the 
subject." — T%e  Dtlatcarean. 

"  It  is  a  work  that  will  repay  tho  mott  careful  ttudy^  on  account  of  tho  learning  and 
profound  thought  it  disjilavs,  e»  well  as  of  its  intrinsic  importance.'" — Daily  Advertiser. 

"As  a  whole,  it  is  wort&y  of  Bioa  pbaise." — A.  Y.  Evangelist. 


CA1?LT0N  &  PORTER'S  PUBLICATIONS, 

200  Mulberry-street,  New  York. 

Stevens's  History  of  Methodism. 

The  History  of  the  Religious  Movement  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  called 
Methodism,  considered  in  its  Different  Denominational  Forms,  and  its  Re- 
lations to  British  and  American  Protestantism.    By  Abel  Stevens,  LL.D. 
Volume  I.     From  the  Origin  of  Methodism  to  the  Death  of  Whitefield. 
Large  12mo.,  pp.  480.    Price 

A  charming  work — full  of  thrilling  facts,  combined  and  stated  in  the  most  interest- 
ing manner.  The  work  has  been  read  and  highly  indorsed  by  the  most  distinguished 
authors.  One  says,  "It  is  wonderfully  readable ;"  and  another,  "I  have  been  inter- 
ested beyond  measure."  It  will  be  a  standard  for  all  Methodists  for  all  time  to  come, 
and  will  be  read  by  thousands  ofChristians  of  other  denominations. 

It  contains  a  ne\T  steel  engraving  of  Rev.  John  Wesley,  the  best  ever  seen  in  this 
country. 

The  volumes  which  are  to  follow  will  be  put  up  in  the  same  style,  so  that  those 
who  get  the  whole  will  have  uniform  sets,  though  they  buy  but  one  volume  at  a  time. 

Heroes  of  Methodism. 

Containing  Sketches  erf"  Eminent  Methodist  Ministers,  and  Characteristic 
Anecdotes  of  their  Personal  History  By  Rev.  J.  B.  Wakeley.  With 
Portraits  of  Bishops  Asbury,  Coke,  and  IM'Kendree. 

12mo.,  pp.  470.    Price 

Morocco 

Life-like  and  interesting  sketches  of  early  Methodist  preachers,  their  toils,  hard- 
ships, and  achievements,  interspersed  with  anecdotes  lively  aud  entertaining. 

I  have  just  finished  the  perusal  of  the  book.  It  will  repay  the  reader  for  his  outlay 
of  money  and  time.  The  title  of  the  book  may  be  regarded  as  sufficiently  quaint,  not 
to  say  imposing,  to  be  applied  to  ministers  of  a  Master  who  declared,  "My  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world;"  but  when  it  is  seen  how  many  fugitive  incidents  characteristic  of 
the  men  of  the  times  the  writer  has  thus  embodied,  and  thus  given  them  form  and 
permanence,  it  ought  to  be  acknowledged  that  the  readers  of  early  Methodist  stoiy 
have  been  brought  under  obligation  to  Mr.  Wakeley  for  so  readable  a  book.  Procure 
and  read  it.    It  will  be  entertaining  and  edifying. — B.  Waugh,  Bishop  of  M.  E.  Chwch. 

Heroines  of  Methodism ; 

Or,  Pen  and  Ink  Sketches  of  the  Mothers  and  Daughters  of  the  Chnrch.  By 
Rev.  George  Coles. 

12mo.,  pp.  336.    Price.. 

Ministering  Children. 

A  Story  showing  how  even  a  Child  may  be  as  a  Ministering  Angel  of  Love  to 

the  Poor  and  Sorrowful. 

Large  16mo.,  pp.  642.   Price  $ 

Illustrated  edition,  gilt  edges 

Morocco,  gilt 

This  is  one  of  the  most  moving  narrations  in  the  whole  list  of  our  publications.    Its 

Bale  in  England  has  reached  Forty  Thousand  copies.    The  illhstrated  edition  contains 

more  than  a  dozen  superb  cuts  on  plate  paper. 

What  must  I  do  to  be  Saved? 

By  Jesse  T.  Peck,  D.D. 

18mo.,  pp.  192.   Price 

A  new  revival  book,  written  by  request,  designed  to  awaken  the  sinner,  guide  11)0 
penitent  to  Christ,  and  establish  the  young  convert. 


12  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  REQUISITES. 

NOTES   AND   COMMENTARIES. 

*lVeshys  JVotes  on  the  JVeiv  Testament. 

New   edition,  with   the   manuscript  corrections   of  the   author.      8vo. 
Plain  sheep        .         -  Calf  pilt       .... 

Plain  calf  .         .  Calf  Extra  .... 

Pearl  edition,  18mo.,  sbecp        . 

Sheep  extra      .        .  Morocco  tucks,  gilt  edges    . 

*  IVcUsons  Exjjosiilon 

Of  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  of  some  other  detached 
parts  of  tne  Holy  Scriptures.     8vo.,  sheep  plain  . 
in  plain  calf  .  Calf  gilt    .  Calf  extra   . 

*Bensons  Commentary 

On  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  Acoordin«r  to  the  present  authorized 
version.  With  critiiiil,  e.xplaiiatorj',  aii<l  jirattical  notes:  the  mar- 
ginal rea«lini:s  of  iIk*  most  ap|irove<i  printed  copies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, with  such  otb<T8  as  ai>|>ear  to  l»e  countenanced  liy  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  Orijriiials;  a  (xtpi^uis  collection  of  parallel  texts;  sum- 
maries of  each  Iwok  and  (•ha|)tt.T;  an<i  the  d;itc  of  evcrj-  transac- 
tion and  ewnt  reconk-*!  in  iIk-  sacred  oracles,  apn-eably  to  the 
calculatinns  of  the  most  correct  chronologcrs.     Imperial  8va,  5  vols., 

sheen  plain 

In  plain  ralf  Calf  pit    .  Calf  extra  . 

Also  in  twenty  numbers,  at       cents  each. 


*  Clarke  s  Couunentary 


On  the  Old  and  New  TestamenLs.     Hie  text  carefully  printed  from  the 
mort  correct  copies  of  tlie  ])i>»st'Mt  authorized  translation,  including 
the  marpinal  n-adin-js  and  jMiralU-l  tt-.xts:  witli  a  Commentary  ami 
critical   not«'s ;  desiijncd  as  a  lieiji  to  a  better  understanding  of  the 
sacred  writings.     A  new  cNlition,  with  the  Author's  final  corrections. 
Imperial  Kvo.,  6  vols.,  sliecp   ....... 

In  ]>lain  calf  Calf  pilt   .  Calf  extra  . 

AJ.so  in  twentj-four  numbers,  at        cents  each. 
For  notices  of  t^  above-meiiUon»d  •Undartl  and  valuakle  ComneaUries,  see  the  General 
CaXalogve. 


Peiree's  JS^otes  on  the  Jlcts. 


Designed  for  Sunday  Schools,  Bible  Classes,   and   Private   Reading. 
r2mo 

A  woik  prepared  etprc«flv  for  the  objects  staled  in  the  title.  The  author  Is  a  prartiral 
laborer  in  the  raii9«  cf  ."^uiKiay  vrliool*.  and  he  has  taken  unbounded  pains  to  make  this 
volume  wDrthy  of  himself  aiid  of  the  (treat  purposes  to  which  it  is  devoted.  In  connection 
with  the  Questions  by  the  same  author,  these  Notes  fonn  a  complete  lesson-book  for 
the  Acts. 

"  We  were  too  long  dependent  on  otiiers  for  Notes  upon  the  Scriptures  adapted  to  the  use 
of  Sunday  schools  and  Hit)le  classes.  Barnes's  were  \-cry  well  adapted  to  their  object,  but 
by  no  means  to  Methodist  use.  Mr.  Lon^king's  Notes  have  supplied  us  amply  on  the 
Gospels,  and  the  work  before  us  does  the  same  thini;  for  the  Acts. 

"Peiree's  Notes  avoid  the  extremes  of  sriving  too  much  or  too  little  commentary  on  par- 
ticular passai^es.  The  style  of  the  innolations  is  excellent — clear,  bnef.  and  to  the  point; 
indeed,  there  is  nothing  left  to  be  desired  in  tius  respect.  Tbe  work  will  have  avast  sale, 
w«  have  no  doubt."— J/<ti.  Qvor.  lUvtem. 


NEW    BOOKS 

PUBLISHED  BY  CARLTON  &  PORTER, 

200  Mulberry-stxeet,  New  York. 


EAULY   METHODISM 

Within  the  Bounds  of  the  Old  Genesee  Conference,  from  1788  to 
1828 ;  or,  the  first  Forty  Years  of  Wesleyan  Evangelism  in 
Northern  Pennsylvania,  Central  and  Western  New  York,  and 
Canada ;  containing  Sketches  of  interesting  Localities,  exciting 
Scenes,  and  prominent  Actors.  By  George  Peck,  D.  D. 
12mo.   Price 


In  this  volume  we  have  a  sketch  of  tlie 
first  forty  years  of  "  Wvsleyan  Eviinijel- 
ism"  in  Northern  Pennsylvaiii:i,  Central 
and  Western  New  York,  and  Canada.  It 
contains  mueh  that  will  stir  the  heart  and 
kindle  the  enthnsiasm  of  those  who  can 
appreciate  the  self-denying  character  and 
persevering  energy  of  pioneer  Methodist 
preachers.  Many'instnietive  and  valuable 
extracts  from  the  diaries  of  these  men  are 


inserted,  illustrating  their  devotion  and 
the  difKculties  with  which  they  had  to 
contend.  Not  the  least  attractive  feature 
of  the  book  is  the  sketches  which  it  gives 
of  interesting  localities,  exciting  scenes, 
and  prominent  actors.  Some  of  these  are 
furnished  by  individuals  who  were  eye- 
witnesses of  remarkable  scenes,  or  who 
contribute  their  personal  reminiscences  of 
distinguished  characters. — Evangelist. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  GREAT  REFORMATION 


In  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  Germany,  France,  and   Italy. 
Rev.  Thomas  Carter. 


By 


12ino.   Price- 


This  is  a  book  which  must  be  interesting 
to  every  class  of  readers.  It  is  fresh  from 
the  pen  of  ai>  American  writer,  and  written 
from  an  American  standpoint. 

The  reader  will  find  here,  in  condensed 
and  graphic  language,  the  grand  facts  of 
the  Lutheran  period  which  it  is  important 
to  know,  and  minor  details  of  gi'cat  inter- 


est as  the  religious  revolution  of  the  six- 
teenth century'  developed  itself. 

By  the  bravery  of  the  Eeformers  we 
leam  to  be  bold  for  God,  by  their  heroic 
deaths  we  learn  to  die,  and  by  their 
preaching  we  leam  to  preach  with  fresh 
zeal  and  fervor. 


A  MISSIONARY  AMONG  CANNIBALS; 

Or,  the   Life  of  John    Hunt,   who   was    eminently   successful    in 
converting  the  people  of  Fiji  from  Cannibalism  to  Christianity. 
By  George  Stringer  Rowe. 
12mo.   Price 


This  volume  is  commended  to  the 
Church  as  especially  adapted  to  promote 
the  growth  of  deep,  earnest,  and  self-sacri- 
ficing piety,  and  also  of  the  most  heroic 
type  of  the  missionary  spirit.  It  brings 
out  in  strong  relief  the  spiritual  life  of  a 
very  holy  man,  wliose  soul  grew  into  the 
maturity  of  the  grace  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion  amid  the  severe  literary  and  physical 
toils,  and  the  peculiar  dangers  of  a  mis- 
sionary's life  in  a  land  of  cannibals.   Could 


our  young  people  imbibe  the  spirit  of  John 
Hunt,  the  harvest  of  the  world  would 
never  be  permitted  to  perish  for  lack  of 
abundant  reapers.  Let  this  memoir  there- 
fore be  freely  circulated  among  our  fam- 
ilies and  Sunday-schools,  and  the  cause 
of  our  great  Master  and  Teacher  can  hardly 
fail  of  beintj  greatly  promoted. 

A  book  of  great  facts.    Surely  the  Gos- 
pel is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 


BIBLICAL  LITERATURR 


Watson's  Dictionary. 

A  Biblical  and  Theological  Dictionary :  explanatory  of  the  History,  Manners, 
and  Customs  of  the  Jews  and  neighl)ounng  Nations.  With  an  Account  of 
the  most  remarkable  Places  and  Persons  mentioned  in  Scripture ;  an  Expo- 
sition of  tlic  principal  Doctrines  of  Christianity ;  and  Notices  of  Jewish  and 
Christian  Sccta  and  Heresies.     By  Kicuard  Watson.     With  five   Maps. 

8to.,  pp.  1007.  Sheep % 

Plain  calf 

Calf  gilt 

Calf  extra 

TUi  Dictionary  is  Uibhcal,  Theolofoc&l.  and  Eccleslutical.  It  U  fair  in  itsstatementi.judi- 
cwuii  m  iia  »electi(in(.  Biid  ■ufficMDtly  compreheDsive  In  Iti  icope.  It  is  indeed  a  more 
complcio  t>od)'  uf  divmity  itiaa  are  many  worlu  which  iMve  been  published  uudor  thai  uame 

Watsons  Exposition. 

An  Exposition  of  tlie  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  of  some  other  de- 
Urhud    Parts   of  the    Holy   Scriptures.     Uy    Kicuakd    Watson. 

8vo.,  pp.  538.  Plain  sheep $ 

Plain  calf 

Calf  gilt 

Calf  extra 

The  iolc  object  of  thii  learned  and  original  work  is  the  elucidation  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
author  has  aimed  tu  aJford  help  to  the  attentive  Koneral  reader,  whenever  he  should  come  to 
a  term,  phrase,  or  a  whole  pasiaKO,  the  mcanini;  of  which  is  not  ohvmus,  and  to  exhibit  the 
true  Theology-  of  tlw  sacrud  volume.  The  iiotc«,  tlierefore,  arc  bnot  \i\ton  the  plainer  pas- 
■afes,  an<l  moat  copious  where  explicalion  api>earcd  Doccssary.  .Yo  real  dijicuily  htu  been 
naiUd.—T.  lUkTwiLL  IIokne. 

The  spirit  of  pure  and  elevated  derotloo  with  which  the  author's  warm  heart  was  so  richly 
imbued,  is  ptenlifully  diffused  through  these  notes.  Their  direct  tendency  Is  to  load  the 
•oul  to  God.  Tl>e  work  is  complete  as  far  as  it  ezteiuls,  and  it  remains  an  affecting  monu- 
raent  of  its  author's  industry,  piety,  and  Chnsliaii  purposes.— VV'ctJ^ycui  Magatine. 

Wesley  s  Azotes  on  the  New  Testament. 

Explanatory  Notes  on  tlie  New  Testament.    By  Rev.  John  Weslet,  A.  M. 

8vo.,  pp.  734.  Plain  sheep $ 

Plain  calf 

. Calf  gilt 

Calf  extra 

Pearl  edition. 

18mo.,  pp.  446.  Sheep t 

Sheep  extra 

Morocco  tncks,  gilt  edges 


For  a  brief  ezposilion  of  the  sacred  text,  we  have  long  considered  the  Notes  of  Mr.  Wesley 
as  the  best  extant ;  the  sense  is  given  in  as  few  words  as  possible.  We  see  that  the 
commentator  is  a  profound  Hihlical  scholar,  and  that  he  ^ves  us  the  results  of  the  best 
efforts  of  both  ancient  and  modem  times  for  the  illustration  of  the  inspired  writings  of 
the  New  Testament.  We  have  long  wished  Wesley's  Notes  more  generally  dlltused 
among  our  people,  and  particularly  that  our  young  preachers  might  always  have  them  at 
hand.  We  hope  the  present  small  and  cheap  edition  (Pearl  edition)  will  secure  this 
desirable  object.  The  work  is  beautifully  got  up.  The  type,  though  necessarily  small, 
is  exceedingly  clear  and  readable.  We  earnestly  recommend  this  edition  of  Wesley's 
Notes  to  our  people,  especially  to  the  young  of  both  sexes.  But  no  young  preacher  should 
t>e  without  it.— Metkodul  Quarterly  Revteia. 

Though  short,  they  are  always  judicious,  accurate,  spiritual,  terse,  and  impressive,  and  pos- 
sess the  happy  and  rare  excelience  of  leading  the  reader  immediately  to  God  and  his  own 
bfiart.— Db.  A.  Claakb. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY  15 

II. 

Doctrinal  anb  ^ontrotjersial  ®l)e0l0gB. 


Dongs  on  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Ministry. 

Tlie  Original  Church  of  Christ ;  or,  a  Scriptural  Vindication  of  the  Orders  and 
Powers  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  By  Nathak 
Bangs,  D.  D.    Revised  edition. 

12mo.,  pp.  388.   Muslin  or  sheep 

Thi«  work  appeared  originally  in  numbers,  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  and  was 
irntended  to  meet  the  strange  and  somewhat  specious  assunriptions  which  are  continually 
made  in  some  sections  of  the  Protestant  Church.  The  correction  which  they  adnfiinister 
was  deemed  so  timely  and  complete,  that  the  publication  of  the  numbers  in  a  more  perma- 
nent form  was  very  earnestly  and  generally  solicited. 

The  best  work  given  by  its  venerable  author  to  our  literature. — Stevens'  Church  Polity. 

"^Binneifs  Theological  Compend. 

Theological  Compend :  containing  a  System  of  Divinity,  or  a  brief  View  of  the 
.    Evidences,  Doctrines,  Morals,  and  Institutions  of  Christianity.    By  Amos 

BiNNET. 


18mo.,  pp.  128.    Muslin 


A  valuable  compendium  of  religious  truth,  sustained  by  short  and  convincing  Scriptural  argu- 
ments. The  volume  is  now  used  as  a  text-book  in  the  adult  classes  in  many  schools  with 
good  success.  It  is  accompanied  with  appropriate  questions,  and  affords  an  interesting 
and  profitable  e.vercise. 

Butler's  Analogy. 

The  Analogy  of  Religion,  Natural  and  Eevealed,  to  the  Constitution  and 
Course  of  Nature.  By  Joseph  Butlek,  LL.  D.,  Bishop  of  Durham.  With 
an  Analysis  of  the  Work,  by  Rev.  B.  F.  Tefft,  D.  D. 

12nio.,  pp.  342.    Muslin  or  sheep 

This  work  forms  part  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  hy  the  last  General  Ccmference. 

The  person  who  has  not  carefully  studied  Butler's  Analogy,  may  be  thankful  that  there  is  one 
book  at  least,  in  which  he  will  "  meet  with  many  things  to  which  he  has  not  before  at- 
tended."— Methodist  Quarterly  Raview. 

This  great  work  on  the  Analogy  of  Religion  to  the  Course  of  Nature,  though  only  a  commen- 
tary on  the  singularly  original  and  pregnant  passage  of  Origen,  which  is  so  honestly  prefixed 
to  it  as  a  motto,  is,  notwithstanding,  the  most  original  and  profound  work  extant  in  anv 
language  on  the  philosophy  of  religion.— Sir  James  Mackintosh. 

Clarice  on  the  Eucharist. 

A  Discourse  on  the  Nature  and  Design  of  the  Eucharist,  or  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.    By  Adam  Clarke,  LL.  D. 

18mo.,  pp.  154.    Muslin  or  sheep  

This  discourse  treats  of  the  nature  and  design  of  this  institution  ;  the  manner  of  its  celebra- 
tion ;  the  proper  meaning  of  the  diflTerent  epithets  given  to  it  in  the  Scriptures,  and  by  the 
primitive  church,  and  a  few  reasons  to  enforce  the  due  and  religious  celebration  of  it :  pre- 
ceded by  an  introduction,  containing  an  examination  of  the  question.  Did  our  Lord  eat 
the  passover  with  his  disciples  on  the  last  year  of  his  public  ministry  ? 


16  DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY. 

Clarke's  Theology. 

Christian  Theology.  By  Adam  Clarke,  LL.  D.,  F.  A.  S.  Selected  from  his 
published  and  unpublished  Writings,  and  Systematically  arranged ;  with  a 
Life  of  the  Author,  by  Samiel  Dcnn. 


12mo.,  pp.  438.    MuBlin  or  sheep 


Sdbjects.  The  Scriptures— God— The  attributes  of  God— The  Trinity— Man— Christ— Re- 
pentanco— Faith — justification— RoRcneralion-Thc  Holy  Spirit — Entire  sanctitication  — 
The  HKiral  law— Public  worship — I'raver— Praise — The  Chnstian  church— Baptism—The 
Lord's  supper — Husband  and  wife — Parents  and  children — .Masters  and  servants— Rulers 
and  subjects — Rich  and  poor — Ministers  and  people  — Good  and  bad  angels— Temptations 
— Afflictions— I'rovidence-.Kpostasy — Death- Judgment — Heaven — Hell — General  priuci- 
plet — .Miscellaneoua  subject*. 

There  are  many  persons  to  whom  the  memory  of  Dr.  Clarke  is  justly  dear,  who  can  nevei 
purchax'  lus  v.iliiiiunoua  and  valued  writings.  Uy  such  persons  a  volume  like  that  which 
Mr.  li  .  Kcd,  must  be  highly  prized.    The  selections  are  made  with  judgment, 

and  V  -.h  edifying  and  instruclive,  possessing  much  of  that  spirit  and  energy 

by  wh  .'.ry  of  Dr.  Clarke  was  distinguished.- tV'rjicyoJi  Magaxutt. 

Clarke  (G.  W.)  on  the  Dwinity  of  Christ. 

Christ  Crurified  ;  or.  a  I'lnin  S(ri|itiiral  Viiulicntion  of  the  Divinity-  and  Re- 
deeming Acts  of  Christ.  With  n  Statement  and  Refutation  of  the  forms  of 
Unituriani.'im   now   most   j»rtvalent.     \i\  Georoe  W.   Clakke. 

18mo.,  pp.  324.    Moalin  or  sheep 

CosTSNTs  -.—Part  I.  Doctrines  nf  the  Cross  stated— The  sufficiency  and  authority  of  the  Holy 

Scriptures- Some  objections  considered—  Definitions— Tlie  Tnnllv— Divinity  of  Jesu.s  Chris 

— Humanity  of  our  Saviour— Necessity  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ  to* the  inlerpretalion  of  the 

Scriptures— Its  importance  lo  practual  Religion— The  merits  of   Chnsl  dependent  on  his 

exalted  nature,  rather  than  his  office— I'roof  texts  of  Unltarianism  examined.    Part  II.  Uni- 

tar:sr.l«ni  rTrinrnrl,  niid  lis  <h'«tinRnnhed  doctrines  shown  to  be  as  unreasonable  as  they 

',>n  of  the  Scnpiures-rnitanan  account  of  the  Creation — .Morai 

I'liitanan  devices  and  misrepresentations. 

!■.  •    !'  itmIiii  .->  what  is  really  a  most  valuable  digest  of  the  best 

t  well-directed  assault  upon  the  strong-holds 
II.  Christianism.or  similar  forms  of  error  pre- 
ulatcd. 
A  >or>  piaiii,  wtjli-iii^fkU-d  fksiiy  uii  a  profound  subject,    l^e  style  is  neat  and  perspicuous, 
the  rea-ooiiing  clear  and  forcible.    Such  a  txrak  cannot  but  do  good. — yortkern  Chrutimt 
Adroeotr. 
An  elatKjrate  and  very    able  defense  of  the  Divinity  and   Redeeming  Acts  of  Christ,  ivith  a 
Refutation  of  the  prevalent  Forms  of  Unitanantsm.     To  such  as  wish  a  brief,  but  thorough 
discussion  of  the  main  points  of  the  Unilanan  Ointroveray  respecting  Christ  and  his  mis- 
sion, we  can  commend  tins  Utile  volume  as  one  of  the  very  t>est  which  can  t>e  obtained. — 
Zton't  HrraU. 

The  work  is  written  in  a  forcible  and  conTinclng  style,  and  is  a  lucid  exposition  of  the  great 
cardinal  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament.— Jvcw-Vort  Sptctator. 


Edmondsori's  Heavenly  World. 


A  Scripture  View  of  the  Heavenly  World.    By  Rev.  Joitathak  Edmondsoit, 
M.A. 


ISmc,  pp.  2SL    MasUn  or  sheep. 


The  character  of  this  most  excellent  and  profitable  little  book  can  be  best  seen  from  its  table 
of  Contents.  • 

C05TB5TS.— There  is  a  heavenly  world— Scripture  names  of  heaven— Gcd  is  present  in  hea- 
ven— The  presence  of  Jesus  in  heaven — N'o  sufferings  in  heaven — No  death  in  heaven — 
No  night  in  heaven — No  war  in  heaven — Heaven  is  a  holy  place — Heaven  is  a  glorious 
place— Happy  emplo)-ment  in  heaven — Extensive  knowledge  in  heaven — We  shall  know 
each  other  in  heaven — The  religion  of  heaven  is  love — The  resurrection  body  in  heaven — 
The  pleasures  of  heaven  are  pure — The  wicked  are  shut  out  of  heaven — Heaven  is 
eternal. 

This  has  been  one  of  the  most  profitable  little  books  which  has  ever  fallen  into  our  hands. 
Tlie  author's  views  are  so  just  and  rational,  so  Scripturally  true,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
vivid  and  clear,  that  we  have  lingered  over  his  pages  with  delight.  We  recommend 
it  to  aU. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY.  17 

Elliott  on  Romanism. 

Delineation  of  Roman  Catholicism :  drawn  from  the  Authentic  and  Acknow- 
ledged Standards  of  the  Church  of  Rome ;  namely,  her  Creeds,  Catecliisms, 
Decisions  of  Councils,  Papal  Bulls,  Roman  Catholic  Writers,  the  Records  of 
History,  &e.,  in  which  the  peculiar  Doctrines,  Morals,  Government,  and 
Usages  of  the  Church  of  Rome  are  stated,  treated  at  large,  and  confuted. 
By  Rev.  Charles  Elliott,  D.  D. 

8vo.,  2  vols.,  pp.  983.    Sheep 

TMi  roork  forma  part  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  hy  the  last  General  Conference. 

The  subject  of  Romanism  is,  at  the  present  time,  one  of  deep  interest  to  every  American 
citizen.  Popery  is  making  a  progress  and  exerting  an  influence  throughout  our  land,  wliich 
render  it  not  only  desirable,  but  absolutely  necessary,  that  Protestants  should  make  them- 
selves thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  real  character  of  the  system,  and  with  the  ques- 
tions at  issue  between  themselves  and  the  Romanists.  No  minister's  library  can  be  said 
to  be  complete  without  this  great  work.  Two  editions  of  three  thousand  copies  each  have 
already  been  published  in  London.  The  "  Church  of  England  Quarterly  Review"  recom- 
mends it  as  the  most  comprehensive  and  valuable  treatise  on  Popery  which  is  extant  in 
the  English  language.  It  contains  a  full  exposition  of  Romish  Doctrines  and  Usages,  from 
the  acknowledged  writings  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  these  are  given  in  the  original,  as 
well  as  in  the  translation,  with  as  much  fidelity  as  possible,  both  in  the  one  case  and  in 
the  other. 

The  work  is  arranged  under  the  successive  heads  of  Scripture,  Tradition,  the  Fathers,  and 
Rule  of  Faith,  in  tUe  first  book;  the  Seven  Sacraments  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  in  the 
second  book  ;  the  Cliurch,  Councils,  and  Papal  Supremacy,  in  the  third  book ;  and  miscel- 
laneous Doctrines  and  Usages  of  Rome,  in  the  fourth  book. 

Although  it  has  fallen  to  our  lot  to  pursue  our  inquiries  at  considerable  length  on  the  Popish 
controversy,  and  hence  to  form  a  somewhat  iiitimate  acquaintance  with  its  appropriate 
literature,  we  are  able  to  name  no  single  volume  to  be  compared,  in  the  amplitude  of  its 
range,  the  fulness  of  its  matter,  and  the  general  accuracy  of  its  details,  with  the  work  of 
Dr.  Elliott.  It  is,  in  fact,  an  encyclopedia  of  the  subject ;  a  bonk  of  reference,  and  yet  in- 
vested with  all  the  attributes  of  popularity,  equally  adapted  to  the  scholar  and  the  peasant. 
In  all  matters  of  importance  it  gives  the  passages  required  to  the  argument  or  illustration 
in  the  original,  in  notes,  while  the  translation  is  incorporated  with  the  text.  One  thing 
deserves  special  notice.  The  work  is  adapted  to  the  times  wliich  are  passing  over  us, 
and  to  the  Popery  of  the  present  hour.  In  this  respect  it  greatly  surpasses  every  work  of  . 
the  kind  of  purely  British  origin. — {London)  Christian  Witness. 

After  due  examination  of  the  work,  we  believe  that  three  times  three  thousand  will,  ere  long, 
be  in  circulation  ;  we  know  of  no  work  containing  such  a  store  of  materials  for  rebutting 
the  advances,  and  repelling  the  encroachments  of  Pcjpery,  as  "  Dr.  Elliott's  Delineation 
of  Romanism."  It  is,  indeed,  the  most  comprehensive  treatise  against  Popery  extant— a 
treasury  of  materials  ready  prepared  for  future  controversialists.— Cirmin^Aam  Advertiser. 

With  more  than  common  earnestness  we  commend  it  to  their  attention.  In  the  present  day 
it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  Protestants  should  so  understand  the  foundations  ou 
which  the  truths  of  the  Reformation  rest,  as  to  be  not  only  grounded  in  the  faith  them- 
selves, but  also  able  to  give  to  others  solid  and  satisfactoiy  reasons  for  their  belief.  Dr. 
EUiott's  Delineation  is  just  the  work  to  be  read,  read  again,  studied,  and  meditated  upon, 
in  order  to  the  attainment  of  this  desirable  object. — London  Watchman. 

But  exactly  such  a  work  as  we  wanted,  we  have  met  with  in  the  second  volume,  by  Dr.  Elliott, 
printed  at  New-York,  at  the  Conference  office  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  We  knowof  no  work 
like  it  in  the  language.  It  is  a  complete  Thesaurus  of  the  subjects  included  in  the  con- 
troversy, &c.  &c. —  Weslctjan  Magazine. 

Emory's  Defence  of  our  Fathers. 

Defence  of  our  Fathers,  and  of  the  Original  Organization  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  against  the  Rev.  Alexander  M'Caine  and  others ;  with 
Historical  Notices   of  early  American  Methodism.    By  Bishop  Emory. 

Svo.,  pp.  154.   Muslin 

This  work  forms  part  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  hy  the  last  Oeneral  Conference. 

Emory's  Episcopal  Controversy. 

The  Episcopal  Controversy  Reviewed.  By  Bishop  Emory.  Edited  by  his 
Son,  from  an  unfinished  Manuscript. 

Svo.,  pp.  183.    Muslin 

This  work  forms  part  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  by  the  last  General  Conference. 

2 


18  DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY. 

Emory's  Controversy  and  Defence. 

Episcopal  Controversy  and  Defence  of  our  Fathers,  (bound  together.)  By 
Bishop  Emory.    'NVith  a  Portrait. 

8vo.,  pp.  337.    Mualin  or  sheep 

These  works  can  also  be  obtained,  bound  with  the  Life  of  Bishop  Emory.    See  "  Biography 

and  Hiitory." 
These  two  works  make  an  excellent  manual  on  the  subject  of  Episcopacy.    The  same  extent 

of  learning,  the  same  clearness,  conciseness,  and  cogency  of  reasoning,  and  the  same  felint- 

ous,  determinate,  and  appropnate  use  of  terms,  are  distingtiishable  in  them,  as  in  all  Bishop 

Emory's  productions. 
I  do  not  speak  In  too  strong  terms  when  I  say  it  is  a  maiierly  argvment.—Du.  Paddock. 

Fisk  on  Calvinism. 

Calvinistic  Controversy,  embrnring  a  Sermon  on  Predestination  and  Election. 
By  Rev.  WiLnuR  Fisk,  I).  1). 

12mo.,  pp.  273.    Sheep 

Co!«Tl»T«  ;  — Sermon  on  Predestination  and  Election— Reply  to  the  Christian  Spectator — In- 
definitcnoss  of  Calvinum  — Brief  nkclch  of  the  past  changes  and  present  state  of  Calvin- 
ism m  this  country— PriMlestination— Moral  agency  and  accountability— Moral  agency, 
as  affected  by  the  fall  aiul  the  subsequent  provisions  of  Grace— Objections  to  gracious 
ability  answered— RcRpncration. 

In  these  able  articles  on  the  "  Calvinistic  Controvorsv,"  many  of  the  "  New  School"  doc- 
tniies  are  brought  out  prominently  and  triumphantly  refuted  by  Dr.  Fisk.  A  clergyman 
of  another  denonunatlun,  says,  "  I  have  seldom  read  anything  more  logical,  argumenta- 
tive, clear,  and  conclusive." 

Fisk  and  Merritt  on  Universal  Salvation. 

Discu.ssion  on  Universal  Salvation,  in  Three  Lectures  and  Five  Answers  against 
that  Doctrine,  by  Rev.  Timothy  Mkrritt.  With  two  Discourses  on  the 
same  Subject,  by  Rev.  Wilrlr  Fisk,  D.  D. 

18mo.,  pp.  328.    Sheep 

The  first  discourse  is  on  the  Curse  of  the  Divine  Law,  and  the  second  on  the  Objections 
against  the  doctnne  of  Universal  Salvation. 

Fletchers  Works. 

The  Works  of  the  Rev.  Jons  Fi.ktciif.r,  late  Vicar  of  Madeley. 

8to.,  4  vols.,  pp.  2480.    Plain  sheep  $ 

Plain  calf 

Calfgilt 

Calf  extra  

Thu  teork  /omu part  nf  the  ccntrtr  nf  tUultj  adr,pted  by  the  Uut  Otncral  Conference. 

Co;«T«J«Ts -.—Vol.  L— Checks  to  Ai»ti»omia!«ism.  First  Check  :  A  Vindication  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Wesley's  Minutes,  occasioned  by  a  i:ircular  Letter,  Inviting  both  Cleno'and  Laity  who 
disapproved  of  those  Minutes,  to  oppose  them  as  a  dreadful  Heresy — Second  Check  ;  In 
which  the  doctrine  of  a  Second  Justification  by  Works  is  defended,  and  the  prevalence  and 
evil  consequences  nf  Aiitinomlanism  are  shown— Tliird  Check  ;  Remarks  on  Mr.  Hill's 
five  letters,  on  man's  faithfulnes-i,  wnrkine  for  life,  merit,  men's  sins  displeasing  God, 
but  not  their  persons,  finished  salvation — Fourth  Check ;  In  which  St.  James'  pure  re- 
ligion IS  defended  asrninst  the  rliarires,  and  established  upon  the  concessions  of  Mr.  Rirhard 
and  Mr.  Rowland  Hill  — Fifth  Check;  Containing  an  Answer  to  "The  Finishing  Stroke' 
of  Richard  Hill.  Esq.,  with  an  Appendix,  upon  the  remaining  difTeretice  between  the 
Calvinists  and  the  Antl-Calvlnlsts,  with  respect  to  our  Lord's  doctlne  of  Justification  bv 
Works,  and  St.  James'  doctnne  of  Justification  by  Works,  aad  not  by  Faith  only.  The 
fictitious  and  genuine  Creed,  beine  "  k  Creed  for  Arminians,"  composed  by  Rirliard  Hill, 
Esq.,  to  which  Is  opposed  a  Crerd  for  tho.se  who  believe  that  Christ  tasted  dea'li  for  every 
man— An  equal  Check  to  Pharisaism  and  Antinomianism — containing,  1st,  an  Essay  on  the 
danger  of  parting  faith  and  works— 2d,  A  Discourse  on  Salvation,  bv  the  covenant  of  Grace 
— 3d,  A  Scripture  Essay  on  the  rewardableness  of  Works,  according  to  the  Covenant  of 
Grace — 4th,  An  Essay  on  Truth  \  or  a  rational  vindication  of  the  Doctrine  of  Salvation 
by  Faith. 

2* 


ADDENDA. 


Ritual  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  Ritual  of  the  jNIethodist  Episcopal  Church. 

8vo.,  (large  type,)  pp.  112.   Roan,  plain  edges 

Gilt  edges 


This  edition  is  printed  in  a  handsome  type,  readily  discernible,  and  with  a  liberal  margin,  for 
tlie  use  of  ministers. 

t 

Rostavbs  Path  made  Plain. 

The  Path  made  Plain ;  or,  an  Explanation  of  those  Passages  of  Scripture 
most  frequently  quoted  against  Christian  Perfection.  From  the  French 
of  the  Rev.  John  L.  Rostan,  Wesleyan  Minister  at  Paris. 

^Senior  Classes  in  Sunday  Schools. 

Senior  Classes  in  Sunday  Schools.  Containing  Cooper's  Prize  Essay,  and 
other  Treatises  on  the  Subject.     Collected   and  Revised  by  Rev.  D.  P. 

KiDDEK. 

18mo.,  pp.  203 

Special  Salvation. 

Special  Salvation :  A  Sermon.  By  Elijah  Hedding,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  Bishops 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Preached,  in  substance,  before  the 
Philadelphia  Annual  Conference,  at  the  opening  of  their  Session  in  Phila- 
delphia, March  27,  1850.     Published  at  the  Request  of  the  Conference. 

18mo.,  pp.  29.   Paper  covers 

Muslin 

Steward's  Weal  and  Need  of  the  Church  and  Times. 

Religion  the  Weal  of  the  Church  and  Need  of  the  Times.  By  George 
Steward. 


12mo.,  pp.  256.    Muslin. 


Some  faint  ideas  of  the  valuable  character  of  this  work  may  be  gathered  from  the  nature  of  its 
contents,  which  embrace,  "  The  Speech  of  God  ;  The  Word  of  God  ;  Evangelism  ;  Character- 
istics of  the  Age  ;  Unbelief;  Church  Requisites ;  Church  Provisions  ;  Methodism;  Church 
Sanctity ;  Church  Visitations  ;  The  Divine  Government ;  and  Prayer  and  its  Presages." 

"I^The  Dead  Sea. 

The  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea. 

18mo.,  pp.  215 


^Warnings  to  Youth. 

Warnings  to  Youth.    Suggested  by  the  History  of  Remarkable  Scripture 
Personages.    By  Robert  Huston. 

18mo.,  pp.  240.    Muslin 

This  work  is  the  counterpart  of  "  Scripture  Characters,"  by  the  same  author.  That  work 
having  exhibited  examples  for  imitation,  this  portrays  scenes  and  characters  for  the  admo- 
nition of  the  young.  The  style  of  the  work  is  affectionate,  but  pointed.  It  brings  truth 
home  to  the  heart  of  the  reader,  and  lays  an  emphasis  upon  it,  by  means  of  many  striking 
examples  of  the  consequences  of  sin. 

Parents  and  teachers  will  find  this  work  very  suitable  as  a  present  to  young  persons  whom 
they  wish  to  guard  agJinst  tlie  evil  that  is  in  the  world. 


20  DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY. 

Fletcher,  Beauties  of. 

Beanties  of  Fletcher;  being  Extracts  from  his  Checks  to  Antinomianism.   Com- 
piled by  Kev.  T.  Si'icer.     With  a  Portrait  of  Mr.  Fletcher. 

12mo.,  pp.  315.    Sheep  or  muBlin 

Hare  on  Justification. 

A  Treatise  on  the  Scriptural  Doctrine  of  Justification.    By  Rev.  Edward 
Har£.     With  a  Pn-fm  c,  by  Thomas  Jackson. 

18mo.,  pp.  253.    Moilin  or  sheep 

This  work  treats  of  the  nature,  f^round,  and  terms  of  Justiflcation.  The  writer  poes  directly 
to  the  Holy  Srrtptures,  and  in  a  clear,  concise,  methodical,  and  consistent  manner,  places 
before  the  reader  whii!  ilu  \  ti-.irh  r.  :;.  •  n  ;:ik'  :i  smncr's  juslification  before  God;  at  the 
same  time  apph  <!i  of  the  different   classes  of  mankind. 

The  latter  part  'le.    The  author  there  shows,  in  a  very 

lucid  and  stnky  •  ■ii.in  between  justification,  and  the  wit- 

ness and  the  fruit  ul  •-in;  ?•;  int.     All  Aiituiuiinan  abuse  of  the  doctnne  is  thus  cut  olT. 

The  present  treatise  iiiutis  Mmphcity  with  depth  and  power,  and  the  author  so  connects  the 
do<-in!ii-  ,,i.  \i  iiri,  I.,  w  u  ,  \\,\\.  (  hnviKdi  cxpcnence  and  practice,  as  to  make  the  work 
di'>  '  tnlieri.     At  <ll  events  it  is  one  which  preachers, 

a-  -<ess. —  Wtilryan  Mafaxtnt. 

Asa  i<i>  Kj  i-iiiii>iij<'ii  I'i  .1  kx.ii  x'AiiiiiK  ui^ilniie  in  the  evangelical  system,  it  has,  In  mir 
opinion,  no  equal.— Ua.  1'addock. 

Hare  on  Socinianisin. 

The  I'rini  ipal  Doctrine*  of  Christianity  defended  against  the  Errors  of  So- 
cinianisiii.     Bv  Hcv.  Epwahd  Hake. 


l?mo.,  pp.  396.    Sheep . 


Tills  Work  '«  1  pl.i:fi  '•■.■-  •■in!  mi  %%■  of  the  character  and  work  of  Christ, in  opposition  to  the 
rr:  '  ^  plan  and  execution  suited  to  common  readers. 

Ti  ■  'I  with  the  errors  of  Unitartanism   will  do  well 

Th>  ■   'iif  topics  :— The  impossibility  of  attaining 

ti'  lit  revelation — The  Impropriety  of  making 

hi  •    rcvelBti9n — The  existence  of  the  devjl— 

Tl  •  ..;)  ul  Jesus  ("hnst — The  (lersonality  and  divinity 

ol  ■.riity — The  propitiAtory  sacnfice  of  the  death  of 

(  li  !   of  the  wicked — The  divine  inspiration  of  the 

Scri^tuicit-  li.L'  ulici.  .o:.i:c  ^l  iii.ii.kiuU— The  nuraculoua  conception  of  Jesus  Christ — The 
ordinary  inlluciicc  of  the  Spirit. 

It  is  plain,  chaste,  and  nervous  In  its  diction  :  It  is  also,  in  its  reasonine,  logical,  clear,  and 
convincing.  Tlie  work  is  well-timed,  the  tendency  of  the  ago  towards  Skrcioianlsm,  or  a 
refined  Deism,  being  stronger,  perhaps,  than  we  arc  apt  to  suspect. 

Hibhard  on  Baptism. 

Chri.«tian  Baptism  :  in  two  Parts.     Part  I. — Its  Subjects.     Part  II. — Its  Mode, 
Obligation,  Import,  ami  Relative  Order.     By  Rev.  F.  G.  Hibbard. 

12iiio.,  pp.  648.    Sheep 

TkU  work  form*  pari  r>/  the  coiiri>e  of  ttudy  adopted  by  the  laat  Otneral  Conferenee. 

In  this  volume  we  have  as  ample  and  just  an  exposition  of  the  Baptismal  question,  in  its 
vanous  branches,  as  could  be  condensed  into  a  moderately  sized  volume,  it  is  worthy  to 
be  the  nde  mtntm  of  every  preacher  in  regions  where  this  controversy  is  troublesome. 
Part  I.  treats  of  the  subject  of  Baptism,  in  eight  chapters,  exhibiting  the  Scriptural  and 
Historical  grounds  on  which  the  ('hiirch  practises  the  baptism  of  infants.  Part  II.  exhibits, 
in  eight  chapters,  the  mode,  obligahon,  tmport,  and  order  of  Baptism. 

We  are  letter  satisfied  with  this  treatise  than  with  most  others  on  this  subject  that  have 
come  under  our  notice.  It  is  a  sterling  t>ook,  and  will  become  a  standard  authority  among 
us. — Zion'i  Herald. 

The  Parts  may  be  had  separately  under  the  following  titles :— 


DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY.  21 

Hibhard's  Christian  Baptism. — Part  II. 

Christian  Baptism:  its  Mode,  Obligation,  Import,  and  Relative  Order.    By 
Rev.  F.  G.  HiBBARD. 

12mo.,  pp.  218.    Sheep  or  muslin 

This  work  forma  part  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  hy  the  last  Oeneral  Conference. 

This  volume  treats  of  John's  Baptism — Christ's  Baptism— Criticism  on  BdTrrw  and  Banri^o) 
— Greek  Particles — Christian  examples — Figurative  language — Objections  answered  and 
proposed — Import  of  Baptism — Relative  order  of  Baptism. 

The  best  tiling  on  the  mode  of  Baptism  we  have  yet  seen. —Methodist  Quarterly  Review. 

Hibhard's  Infant  Baptism. 

A  Treatise  on  Infant  Baptism.    By  Rev.  F.  G.  Hibbaed. 

12mo.,  pp.  330.    Muslin  or  sheep 

This  work  forms  part  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  hy  the  last  General  Conference. 

This  volume,  which  is  Part  I.  of  the  larger  work,  treats  of  the  Church,  The  ordinance  of  ini- 
tiation under  the  Old  Testament,  and  how  altered  under  the  New  Testament  dispensation. 
The  historical  argument,  with  regard  to  the  ancient  usages  of  the  Church,  in  reference 
to  baptizing  infants — Objections  to  Infant  Baptism  answered— Benefits  of  Infant  Baptism 
— Ground  of  Infant  Baptism. 


Hodgson  on  New  Divinity. 


An  Examination  into  the  System  of  New  Divinity,  or  New-School  Theology. 
By  Rev.  Francis  Hodgson,  D.  D. 


12mo.,  pp.  416.    Muslin  or  sheep 


The  following  subjects  are  ably  discussed  in  this  work— Ability — Depravity — Character  of 
Infant  Regeneration— Moral  Suasion — Prayer — Means  of  Grace— Calvinism. 

Dr.  Hodgson  is  a  very  acute  and  able  writer.  Few  men  are  capable  of  closer  logic  ;  indeed, 
it  seems  to  be  his  delight  to  play  with  the  nicest  distinctions,  and  to  analyze  the  minutest 
elements  of  every  question  he  discusses.  No  subjects  demand  this  close  logical  faculty 
more  than  the  topics  treated  of  in  this  volume  ;  and  Dr.  Hodgson  brings  his  logic 
crushingly  and  remorselessly  to  bear  upon  that  strange  combination  of  opposite  theological 
errors  which  bears  the  sobriquet  of  New  Divinity,  in  the  course  of  the  work.  It  is  indeed  a 
repertory  of  arguments  on  the  questions  of  Ability,  Depravity  &c.,  so  far  as  these  ques- 
tions are  disputed  between  Arminians  and  the  new  school  of  Calvinists. 

Hodgsoris  Polity  of  Methodism. 

The  Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  Methodism  defended  :  a  Refutation  of  certain  Ob- 
jections to  the  System  of  Itinerancy  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  By 
F.  Hodgson,  D.  D. 

18mo.,  pp.  132.    Muslin  or  sheep 


Polity  of  Methodism,"  is  the  title  of  a  small  volume  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Hodgson,  in  de- 
fence of  the  itinerant  system  of  Metliodism,  against  the  objections  chiefly  of  Congrega- 
tionaUsts.  It  is  written  with  his  usual  acuteness  and  force,  and  demonstratively  proves 
that  changes  in  the  ministry,  as  involved  in  our  itinerant  system,  are  attended  with  fewer 
practical  difficulties  than  Congregationalism  or  Presbyterianism.  The  work  is  worthy  of 
a  wide  circulation.    We  shall  give  ample  extracts  from  it  hereafter. — Zion's  Herald. 

Jackson's  Vindication  of  the  Methodists. 

A  Letter  to  Dr.  Pusey.  Being  a  Vindication  of  the  Tenets  and  Character  of 
Wesleyan  Methodists  against  his  Misrepresentations  and  Censures  By 
Thomas  Jackson,  D.  D. 


ISmo.,  pp.  208.    Sheep- 


This  httle  volume  is  a  triumphant  vindication  of  Wesleyanism  from  the  false  charges  of  Dr. 
Pusey's  letter,  as  well  as  similar  ones  made  again?t  Methodists  in  this  country.— IftMoiw/ 
Quarterly  Review. 


22  DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY. 

King's  [Lord)  Primitive  Church. 

An  Inquiry  into  the  Constitution,  Discipline,  Unity,  and  Worship  of  the  Primi- 
tive Church  that  flourished  within  the  first  three  hundred  Years  after  Christ, 
Faithfully  collected  out  of  the  Fathers  and  Extant  Writings  of  those  Ages. 
By  rETEK  King.  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  England. 

12mo.,  pp.  300.    MoBlin  or  sheep 

Lord  King's  account  of  the  Primilivo  C'luirch  convinced  me,  many  years  ago,  In  spite  of  the 
vehement  prejudice  of  my  education,  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  the  same  order,  and, 
consc'juently,  have  the  same  right  to  ordain.— J.  Wesley. 

Kingskij  on  the  Resurrection. 

The  Resurrection  of  the  Dead :  a  Vindication  of  the  Literal  Resurrection  of 
the  Iluntan  Uody  ;  in  Opposition  to  the  Work  of  Professor  Bush.  By  Cal- 
vin KiNiiSI.EV. 

18mo.,  pp.  160.    Mnalin  or  s)^p 

Till*  i»  an  adniirable  sj^cinicn  of  fnir.  iimiily  arpumeiit,  and  will  He  found  a  complete  refu- 
tation of  the  li-arni'il  effort  "Inch  I'rolvusor  Bush  has  put  forth  to  bring  into  doubt  and  dis- 
credit a  plain  do<:lrinc  of  God'n  holy  and  blessed  word. 

Although  thin  IS  a  brief,  it  Is  neverlhcles.s  a  satisfactory  refutation  of  the  leading  argument.s 
of  the  b<M>k  of  Professor  Dush,  and  a  plain,  loinmou  sense,  and  Scriptural  demonstratiou 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. — I'rrshyitnan. 

We  have  read  this  work  with  great  satisfaction.  The  author's  language  is  modest  and  re- 
spectful, but  his  arguments  arc  stroiiR.  He  grapples  with  his  subject  fearlessly,  but  can- 
didly ;  and  K'lves  the  pith  of  the  wlmlo  question  in  small  compass.  We  would  earnestly 
recoiiiiiicnd  its  |>erusal  to  all  who  have  read  Professor  Uush's  work  on  the  subject.— Com- 
mercial  AJvtrlitrr. 

Lfinabee's  Eindences.  , 

I>ecturrs  on  the  Scientific  Evidences  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion.  By 
W.  C.  Lakhaiiee,  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  Indiana  Asbury  University. 

12mo.,  pp.  395.    Moalin 

Leslie's  Met  J  tod  with  Deists. 

A  Short  and  Easy  Method  with  Deists:  wherein  the  Truth  of  the  Chrifitian 
Religion  i",  dciiKin^tratcd.     By  Ciiarlks  LESLIE. 

'  18mo.,  pp.  32.    Paper  covers 

If  any  person  wishes  a  short  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  Religion,  we  ad- 
vise him  to  read  this  effective  tract. 

M  Clintocli  s  Atudj/.sis  of  Watson's  Institutes. 

Analysis  of  Watson's  Theological  Institutes,  designed  for  the  Use  of  Students 
ani  Examining  Committees.     By  Rev.  J.  M'Clintock,  D.  D. 

18mo.,  pp.  230.    Sheep 

By  availing  themselves  of  this  work,  both  the  candidates  for  admission  into  full  connexion, 
and  the  committees  of  examination,  will  he  materially  aided.  It  will  also  be  found  useful 
to  all  who  would  refresh  their  recollection  of  the  matter  and  arguments  of  a  work  so 
voluminous  as  to  require  almost  constant  re-examination  and  study  without  some  such 
aid. — MttkodUt  Quarierlj)  Rtvine. 


Merritt's  Lifant  Baptism. 


Anal>;ij>tism  Disjiroved,  and  the  Validity  and  Suflficiency  of  Infant  Baptism 
asserted,  in  two  Letters,  from  a  Minister  to  his  Friend.  By  Rev.  Timothy 
Mekritt. 

8vo.,  pp.  30.    Paper  eovers 

This  cheap  tract  was  written  by  one  of  our  ablest  ministers.    The  number  of  copies  sold 
shows  how  it  has  been  appreciated. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY.  23 

Merritt  and  Fisk  on  Universal  Salvation. 

A  Discussion  on  Universal  Salvation,  in  Three  Lectures  and  Five  Answers 
against  that  Doctrine,  by  Rev.  Timothy  Merritt.  With  Two  Discourses 
on  the  same  Subject,  by  Rev.  Wilbur  Fisk,  D.  D. 

18mo.,  pp.  328.    Sheep 

The  first  lecture  in  this  able  work  is  on  Future  Judgment,  the  second  on  the  Conditionality  of 
Salvation,  from  both  of  which  future  punishment  is  inferred ;  and  the  third  directly  on 
Future  Punishment.  The  five  answers  were  rejoinders  to  Mr.  Paige's  replies  to  the  lec- 
tures. 

M^  Owan  on  the  Sabbath. 

Practical  Considerations  on  the  Christian  Sabbath.  By  Rev.  Peter  M'Owan. 
Treating  on  the  Design  and  Moral  Obligation  of  the  S.ibbath ;  its  change 
from  the  Seventh  to  the  First  Day  of  the  Week;  and  the  Spirit  and  Manner 
in  which  it  ought  to  be  Sanctified. 

18mo.,  pp.  200.    Muslin  or  sheep 

The  desecration  of  the  holy  day  is  so  common,  that  no  effort  should  be  spared  to  bring  about 
a  better  state  of  things.  This  Manual  is  recommended  as  a  timely  and  thorough  exposi- 
tion of  the  subject. 
It  treats  of  the  original  and  general  design  of  the  Sabbath  ;  moral  obligation  of  the  day  ;  its 
change  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which  it 
ought  to  be  sanctified. 

Peck  on  Methodism. 

Answer  to  the  Question.  Why  are  You  a  Methodist  1     To  which  is  added,  An 
Examination  of  a  Tract  entitled,  "  Tracts  for  the  People,  No.  4.     Methodism 
as  held  by  Wesley.    By  D.  S.  P."    By  Rev.  George  Peck,  D.  D. 
18mo.,  pp.  242.   Muslin  or  sheep 

This  volume  is  made  up  of  two  valuable  tracts.  The  first  was  originally  published  in  Eng- 
land, and  gives  a  fair  and  just  view  of  the  ecclesiastical  position  of  Wesleyan  Methodism. 
The  second  is  an  answer,  by  Dr.  Peck,  to  the  express  and  implied  cliargos  of  High-church 
Episcopalians,  against  the  completeness  of  the  Methodist  Churcli  organizaiion  and  hfe. 

Peck  on  Perfection. 

The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Christian  Perfection  Stated  and  Defended,  with  a 
Critical  and  Historical  Examination  of  the  Controversy,  both  Ancient  and 
Modern ;  also,  Practical  Illustrations  and  Advices :  in  a  Series  of  Lectures. 
A  new  and  improved  edition.     By  Rev.  George  Peck,  D.  D. 

12mo.,  pp.  470.    Muslin  or  sheep 

This  work  furrtiH  part  of  the  course  of  study  ado23tcd  hy  the  last  General  Conference. 
A  few  copies  of  the  first  edition  are  left,  which  will  be  sold  at  60  cents. 

This  work  has  passed  through  a  thorough  revision,  and  is,  we  trust,  much  improved.  The 
principal  changes  which  have  been  made  consist  in  large  retrenchments  from  the 
parts  which  are  merely  incidental  to  the  general  subject,  and  the  addition  of  two  new 
lectures— one  upon  the  Law,  and  the  other  upon  the  difference  between  regeneration  and 
entire  sanctiticalion.  These  interesting  topics  having  called  forth  considerable  discussion, 
particularly  since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  this  work,  the  whole  ground  has 
been  reviewed,  and  the  present  edition  gives  the  results  of  the  examination. 

This  work  is  well-timed,  and  Dr.  Peck  has  conferred  an  important  favour  upon  the  Christian 
public  by  its  pubhcatiou.  The  Wesleyan  family  are  peculiarly  indebted  to  him  for  the  clear 
and  able  vindication  of  their  views  therein  contained. — Northern  Advocate. 

We  have  read  this  work  with  great  satisfaction,  and  recommend  it  to  the  public  with  a 
hearty  good-will.     It  is  thoroughly  Wesleyan  throughout.— Sou^Afrra  Christian  Advocate. 
'  It  is  a  book  for  the  times,  and  will  do  much  toward  defending  and  promoting  the  great  cause 
of  holiness. —  Western  Christian  Advocate. 

A  vein  of  hallowed  piety  and  patient  research  is  conspicuous  throughout  the  volume.— 
{London)  Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine. 

It  is  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  whole  subject.  The  theories  of  all  ages  are  reviewed, 
objections  answered,  the  way  of  its  attainment  stated,  and  inducements  to  ft.  urged. — 
Zion's  Herald. 


24  DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY. 

Peck  on  the  Rule  of  Faith. 

An  Ajjpeal  from  Tradition  to  Scripture  and  Common  Sense ;  or,  an  Answer 
to  the  Question,  What  constitutes  tlic  Divine  Rule  of  Faith  and  Practice  ? 
By  George  Peck,  D.  D. 

12ino.,  pp.  472.    Miuliii  or  aheep 

Thi»  work  formi  pari  of  thf  course  of  Mudy  adopted  hy  the  Uut  General  Conference. 

Dr.  Peck  first  states  and  examines  the  nature  of  the  traditionary  system  ;  he  then  pro- 
ceeds to  investigate  and  refute  the  Pupish  and  Tractahan  ar^ments  on  behalf  of  patristic 
tradition  ;  he  next  urges  various  cogent  objections  in  opposition  to  the  claims  of  tradition 
as  a  divine  informant ,  and,  tinally,  he  adduces  ample  and  conclusive  proof  that  Holy 
Scripture  is  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  On  these  various  topics  I)r.  Peck  writes 
as  a  man  of  learning,  of  indu.stn»iis  research,  of  logical  acuteness,  of  great  fidelity  to 
the  cause  of  truth,  coupled  with  Christian  meekness  in  opposing  the  advocates  of  error 
— London  Watdanan. 

It  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  we  hail  the  appearance  of  ever>'  new  indication  that  our  Method 
ist  brethren  are  disposed  to  make  common  cause  with  other  Protestants  in  resisting  the 
Romanizing  spint  of  the  age.  Dr.  Peck  has  gone  laboriously  over  the  whole  ground  of 
controversy  as  to  the  pnmary  point  which  he  undertook  to  discuss  ;  and  has  wisely  forti- 
fied his  positions  by  abundant  citations  from  the  genuine  PrutcNtant  writers  of  the  English 
Church.  We  consider  his  book  a  valuable  and  highly  creditable  contribution  to  the  theo- 
logical literature  of  the  country. — Biblical  Rrpertory. 

The  work  is  really,  though  not  ostentatiously,  learned,  evincing  thorough,  patient,  and 
laborious  investigation.  It  presents  to  the  reader,  within  a  moderate  compass,  abundant 
quntatmns  from  wnteni  of  all  ages  of  the  church,  and  all  those  results  of  the  study  of 
scholars  which  are  necessary  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  subject.  Its  stylo,  though  not 
ornate,  is  per«plcuou«  auU  forcible.— ..Vnc-fw^/oji^r. 

Peck  on  Slavery  and  the  Episcopaaj. 

Slavery  uml  tlic  Ki>i,>ic<>pary.  \K-\n\:  an  Examination  of  Dr.  Bascom's  Review 
of  the  Hcply  of  the  Nlajority  to  the  Protest  of  the  Minority  of  the  late  Gene- 
ral C'onfiroiice  of  the  Methoilist  K]ii$co|>al  Church  in  the  Case  of  Bishop 
Andrew.     By  Gkokm:  Pkck.  I).  D. 

8vo.,  pp.  139.    Paper  coren 

We  hesitate  not  to  say  that  this  able  production  of  Dr.  Pock  fully  sustains  the  Methodist 
Episropal  Church  against  the  doctrines  in  the  Protest,  and  in  Dr.  llascom's  book.— 
Wtttrm  Ckrutian  Advoealt. 

We  have  read  Dr.  lUsrom's  ■■  Review,"  and  Dr.  Peck's  "  Examtnation,"  a  course  which  all 
who  arc  mterestcil  in  the  <|Ut.<tion  should  adopt,  and  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  we 
think  Dr.  Peck  dcmoluhe^  the  arguments  of  his  opponent.— .Vrw -VorA  Upectator. 

This  is  a  clear  and  thorough  examination  of  a  pamphlet  issued  by  Rev.  Dr.  Dascom,  of  Ken- 
tucky, censunng  the  replv  made  by  the  majority  of  the  Committee  on  Slavery,  in  the  last 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Church  m  llus  city,  to  the  Protest  of  the  minority. 
It  reviews  the  whole  transaction,  and  goes  int<i  an  historical  sketch  of  the  relation  of 
MeUiodum  lo  slavery,  wtuch  is  very  interesting,  and  most  important.- iV.  y.  Evangelist. 

Powell  on  Apostolical  Succession. 

An  P^iisay  on  Apostolical  Succession  :  hcinp  a  Defence  of  a  Genuine  Protestant 
Ministry  against  the  exclusive  and  intolerant  Schemes  of  Papists  and  Iliph 
Churchmen ;  and  supplying  a  general  Antidote  to  Popery :  also,  a  Critique 
on  the  Apolog}-  for  A]iostolicnl  Succession,  hy  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  A.  P.  Per- 
ceval, B.  C.  L..  Chaplain  in  ordinary  to  the  Queen  :  and  a  Review  of  Dr.  W. 
F.  Hook's  Sermon  on  "  Hear  the  Church,"  preached  before  tlie  Queen,  June 
17,  1838.     By  Thomas  Powell. 

12mo.,  pp.  354.    Mnalin  or  sheep 

ThU  tmrk  j'urmi  part  of  the  cfjiime  of  ttudy  adopted  by  ike  last-  General  Conference. 

This  volume  contains  statements  of  the  doctrine  of  Apostolical  Succession  by  its  Advocates 
— No  positive  proof  from  the  Scriptures  of  these  high  church  claims.  The  general  spirit 
and  scope  of  the  gospel  opposed  to  this  liigh  church  scheme — Bishops  and  presbyters  the 
same,  proved  from  the  New  Testament  and  from  the  purest  Christian  antiquity.  The 
Church  of  England  at  the  Reformation  against  these  claims — No  sufficient  historic  evidence 
of  a  personal  succession  of  valid  Episcopal  ordinations — Nullity  of  the  Popish  ordinations — 
Genuine  Apostolical  Succession. 

I  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  the  masterly  work  of  Mr.  Powell  on  Apostolical  Succes- 
sion.—Rev.  John  Anoel  James. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY.  25 

Mr.  Powell  has  produced  a  work  of  permanent  value,  and  one  calculated  to  make  a  very 
great  impression  by  its  learning,  cogent  argument,  and  fearless  advocacy  of  the  truth. — 
(London)  Watchman. 

The  author  exhibits  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  his  subject,  and  has  searched  deeply 
into  the  proper  authorities  to  sustain  his  position.  The  immense  mass  of  curious  quota- 
tions from  old  authors  will  prove  a  rich  treat  to  those  who  are  fond  of  sporting  over  the 
preserves  of  antiquity. — Journal  of  Education. 

We  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  it  is  the  best  work  on  the  subject  on  which  it  treats  that  has 
issued  from  the  British  or  American  press. —  Western  Christian  Advocate. 

This  Essay  on  the  vexed  question  of  what  Mr.  Wesley  justly  calls  the  "  fabulous  succession" 
has  excited  remarkable  interest  in  England.  In  our  humble  opinion'  it  is  one  of  the  most 
decisive  arguments  ever  published  on  the  subject. — Zion^s  Herald. 

Power  on  Universalism. 

Exposition  of  Universalism ;  or,  an  Investigation  of  that  System  of  Doctrine 
which  promises  final  Holiness  and  Happiness  in  Heaven  to  all  Mankind, 
irrespective  of  Moral  Character  or  Conduct  in  this  Life.  By  Rev.  John  H. 
Power. 


12mo.,  pp.  311.   Sheep  or  muslin. 


The  contents  of  this  work  are  :  Universalism  defined— Promise  of  general  blessing — Abso- 
lute and  conditional  promises — Salvation  in  heaven  conditional — Divine  will  and  purpose — 
Foreknowledge — Paternal  love  of  God — The  general  resurrection — The  second  coming  of 
Christ— Future  general  judgment— Endless  punishment— Universalism  but  a  modification 
of  infidelity. 

Great  plainness  has  been  observed  throughout  this  work,  in  treating  the  subject ;  first,  that 
all  into  whose  hands  it  may  fall  may  fully  understand  our  views  of  the  subject  ;  second, 
from  a  belief  that  nothing  sliort  of  the  utmost  plainness  will  meet  the  present  imperious 
and  dogmatical  spirit  and  practice  of  Universalism.^Preface. 

Rawson  on  Angels. 

The  Nature  and  Ministry  of  Holy  Angels.    By  Rev.  James  Rawson,  A.  M. 

18mo.,  pp.  118.    Muslin  or  sheep 

This  work  is  designed  to  present,  in  a  connected  form,  the  interesting  facts  which  have  been 
revealed  in  reference  to  the  nature  and  ministry  of  Holy  Angels.  All  that  is  certainly 
known  respecting  the  nature,  names,  number,  age,  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  quali- 
ties of  angels  ;  their  beauty,  power,  wisdom,  purity,  benevolence,  and  supreme  devotion 
to  the  will  of  God,  may  be  seen  in  this  little  volume. 

We  commend  this  small  volume  cordially.  Little,  comparatively,  has  been  revealed  upon 
the  subject  of  which  it  treats,  and  speculation  and  conjecture,  instead  of  standing  reve- 
rently in  abeyance  for  very  lack  of  authoritative  teaching,  have  been  criminally  venture- 
some in  discussing  it.  The  author  treats  the  subject  as  becomes  one  who  believes  that 
"  secret  things  belong  unto  God  ;  what  are  revealed,  to  us  and  our  children."  The  narra- 
tive part,  imbodying  those  instances  wherein  the  Scriptures  declare  angels  to  have  ap- 
peared unto  men,  is  admirably  written. — Commercial  Advertiser. 


Sandforcfs  Christian  Baptism. 


Christian  Baptism :  a  Discourse  on  Acts  ii,  38,  39 ;  in  which  an  attempt  is  made 
to  Investigate  the  Nature  and  Perpetuity,  the  Subjects  and  Mode,  of  Chris- 
tian Baptism.  Third  edition,  enlarged  and  improved  by  the  Author.  By 
Rev.  P.  P.  Sandford,  D.  D. 


8vo.,  pp.  32.    Paper  covers 


"^Sherlock  on  the  Resurrection. 

Trial  of  the  Witnesses  of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ :  in  Answer  to  the  Objec- 
tions of  Mr.  Woolston  and  others.   By  Bishop  Sherlock. 

18mo.,  pp.  114.    Muslin 

A  valuable  little  work,  clearly  examining  and  sustaining  the  evidences  of  the  actual  resurrec- 
tion of  our  Saviour  from  the  grave,  after  a  legal  manner.  It  is  adapted  for  the  reading 
and  instruction  of  the  older  classes  in  the  Sabbath-school.  Its  style  renders  it  peculiarly 
interesting  as  well  as  convincing. 


26  DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY. 

Slicer  on  Baptism. 

An  Appeal  to  the  Candid  of  all  Denominations,  in  which  the  Obligation,  Sub- 
jects, and  Mode  of  Baptism  are  discussed,  by  Rev.  Henrt  Slicer,  in  An- 
swer to  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Broaddus,  of  Virginia,  and  others ;  with  a  further 
Appeal  in  Answer  to  Mr.  Broaddus'  Letters.     Revised   edition. 

18mo.,  pp.  262.    Sheep 

Though  tliis  work  was  first  written  as  a  special  reply  to  a  special  attack  on  the  Church's 
views  of  Baptism,  it  contains  a  body  of  excellent  information  on  the  subject,  presented  in 
a  manner  so  plain,  and  yet  so  forcible,  as  to  adapt  it  admirably  for  general  circulation. 

Stanley  on  Popery. 

Dialogues  on  Popery.  By  Rev.  Jacob  Staklbt.  From  the  second  London 
edition. 

18mo.,  pp.  270.    Muilin  or  iheep 

In  these  dialogtios  the  pnncipal  crrorN  of  the  Church  of  Rome  arc  clearly  exposed,  and  the 
evils  to  which  they  lead  are  poiutod  out  in  plain  language  and  cogent  arguments. 

This  is  a  pleasant,  and,  withal,  a  cogent  and  caustic  Utile  book  ;  bringing  the  arguments  for 
ar^  against  Popery  within  the  grasp  of  common  minds,  and  making  the  whole  attractive 
••  well  as  instructive.  We  have  seen  no  work  of  the  -size  which  presents  so  full  and  com- 
prehensive a  view  of  the  whole  subject. — Quarttrly  Renev. 


Stevens   Church  Polity. 


An  E.'^say  on  Church  I'olity.  Comprisitjg  an  Outline  of  the  Controversy  on 
Ecclesiastiml  (jovemment,  and  a  Vindication  of  the  Ecclesiastical  System 
of  the  Methodist  Ej)iscoi>al  Church.    By  Rct.  Aiiel  Stevens,  A.  M. 

12mo.,  pp.  206.    Mtialin  or  sheep 

Thia  \cork  Jimtyi  part  uf  thr  roiirtf  of  ntuiiy  mlnptrd  hy  the  InH  Oenrral  Cvnferenct. 

The  first  part  of  this  work  is  an  outline  of  the  controversy  on  Church  Government  in  general, 
preseotine  lli^-  ^  nw  ^  o|  our  ow  n  Church  on  the  subject,  and  the  authonties  which  support 
them.     T!  ■  iin*  a  discu.nsion  of  the  origin  of  our  own  sy.stem,  both  of  economy 

and  of  Y.\  'liird  m  an  examination  of  the  structure  of  our  system,  cx|ilaining 

and  defi'N  '  i   features,  such  as  its  itinerancy,  its  episcopacy,  and  its  popular 

checks. 

This  work  embraces  the  substance  of  the  great  Controversy  on  Church  Govemmcnt,  so  fai 
as  It  intcrf-vts  rh..  Miiiiodist  Rptsropal  Church  and  her  opponents.  It  is  a  clear  and  very 
satisfact'  >ur  Church  Polity  against  high  Churchmen  and  high  Congrcgation- 

alists.    <i  of  .\pustolir  succession  It  does  not  supersede  PouelFt  valuable 

work.  — Ji'.'  .        UTly  Rtvirte. 


Walton  on  Adoption. 


The  Witness  of  the  Spirit :  a  Treatise  on  the  Evidence  of  the  Believer's  Adop- 
tion.    Bv  Rev.  Dam  EL  Walton. 


18mo.,  pp.  227.   Mtulin  or  sheep. 


We  recommend  this  work  not  only  as  a  good  production,  but  as  a  good  production  on  a 
practically  important  subject.  It  treats  on  the  general  operation  of  the  Spirit — Adoption — 
The  witness  of  the  Spirit  considered  in  the  direct  character  of  it,  and  as  to  the  mode  in 
which  it  IS  given— TTie  confirmation  of  the  Spirit's  testimony  by  the  witness  of  our  own 
spirit- Tlie  witness  of  the  Spirit  essential  to  the  Life  of  fJod  in  the  Soul— The  evidences 
of  adoption,  considered  in  its  degrees  of  clearness — Objections  answered — Concluding  with 
an  address  to  the  reader. 

Watson  (Bishop)  and  Leslie  on  the  Evidences. 

Apology  for  the  Bible,  in  a  Series  of  Letters  addressed  to  Thomas  Paine, 
author  of  the  "  Age  of  Reason."  By  Bishop  Watson.  To  which  is  added, 
Leslie's  Short  and  Easy  Method  with  the  Deists. 

18mo.,  pp.  220.    Sheep 

Bishop  Watson's  Apology  has  been  widely  circulated  and  much  read,  and,  what  is  of  still 
more  consequence,  is  known  to  have  been  in  many  instances  eminently  aseful.  Wherever, 
then,  the  poison  of  infidelity  is  spreading,  those  who  are  concerned  to  provide  antidotes 
•bouid  not  for^t  this  valuable  and  tried  production.- J/emoir*  of  Dishop  Watson. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY.  27 

Watson^s  (Richard)  Dictionary. 

A  Biblical  and  Theological  Dictionary :  explanatory  of  the  History,  Manners, 
and  Customs  of  the  Jews  and  neighbouring  Nations.  With  an  Account  of 
the  most  remarkable  Places  and  Persons  mentioned  in  Scripture ;  an  Expo- 
sition of  the  principal  Doctrines  of  Christianity ;  and  Notices  of  Jewish  and 
Christian  Sects  and  Heresies.    By  Richard  Watson.    With  five  Maps. 

8vo. ,  pp.  1007.  Sheep $ 

Plain  calf 

Calf  gilt 

Calf  extra 

This  Dictionary  is  Biblical,  Theological,  and  Ecclesiastical.  It  is  fair  in  its  statements,  judi- 
cious in  its  selections,  and  sufficiently  comprehensive  in  its  scope.  It  is  indeed  a  more 
complete  body  of  divinity  than  are  many  works  which  have  been  published  under  that  name. 

WatsorCs  [Richard)  Institutes. 

Theological  Institutes ;  or,  a  View  of  the  E^^dences,  Doctrines,  Morals,  and 
Institutions  of  Christianity.  By  Richard  Watson.  Seventh  thousand.  With 
a  Copious  Analysis,  by  J.  M'Cx.int»ck,  D.D.,  and  a  full  Index  to  the  whole 
work.     A  new  Edition,  revised. 

8va,  2  vols.,  pp.  1323.    Sksep $ 

Plain  calf 

CalfgUt 

I  Calf  extra 

A  few  copies  of  the  last  edition,  without  the  Analysis  and  fnll  Index,  may  be  had  at 

This  work  forms  j3«/'<  of  the  course  of  stitdi/  adopted  hj  the  last  General  Conference. 

The  Analysis,  heretofore  publi.shed  as  a  separate  work,  is  now  printed  in  octavo  form, 
and  bound  up  with  the  Institutes.  The  want  of  a  sufficient  Index  has  long  been  felt ;  and 
the  Publishers  now  offer  one  that  will,  they  hope,  be  found  amply  sufficient.  In  this  new 
form,  this  great  work  of  Richard  Watson  will  b&  better  adapted,  it  is  hoped,  both  for 
students  anfl  general  readers,  than  ever  before. 

While  Mr.  We.sley's  Works  constitute  a  treasury  of  theological  information,  the  value  of 
which  it  would  not  be  easy  to  overrate,  and  which,  in  the  affectionate  estimation  of  the 
societies  founded  by  him,  will  never  tie  suspended,  there  was  still  wanted  an  original 
work  containing  a  complete  course  of  systematic  theology,  based  on  those  views  of  Scrip- 
ture which  Mr.  Wesley  was  led  to  take,  and  by  preaching  wliich  he  became  the  instru- 
ment of  perhaps  the  most  important  revival  of  rehgion  that  has  occurred  since  the  days 
of  the  apostles.  Such  a  work  Mr.  Watson  has  supplied,  and  we  feel  justified  in  saying 
there  is  no  other  from  which  the  persons  for  whose  benefit  it  is  designed  may  derive  so 
much  valuable  information.  It  is  a  noble  monument  of  sanctified  genius. — Wesleyaa 
Methodist  Magazine. 

Watson^s  (Richard)  Sermons. 

Sermons  and  Sketches  of  Sermons.    By  Eer.  Richard  Watson. 

8vo.,  2  vols.,  pp.  959.   Plain  sheep § 

Plain  calf 

Calfgilt  ; 

Calf  extra 

This  work  forms  part  of  the  course  of  stitdy  adopted  hy  the  last  General  Conference. 

These  volumes  contain  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  sermons  and  sketches,  from  the  pen 
of  one  of  the  most  eloquent  preachers  and  able  divines  the  Wesleyan  Church  has  ever 
produced.  Eleven  of  the  sermons  were  published  during  the  life  of  the  author ;  the  re- 
mainder were  printed  from  his  manuscripts  after  his  decease.  The  work  deserves  a  far 
more  extensive  circulation  than  it  has  yet  received :  our  preachers  especially  should  pro- 
vide themselves  with  it  « 


28  DOCTRINAL  AND  CONTROVERSIAL  THEOLOGY. 

Weslet/^s  Works. 

The  Works  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.  M.,  some  time  Fellow  of  Lincoln  Col- 
lege, Oxford.  First  American  complete  and  standard  Edition,  from  the 
latest  London  Edition,  with  the'  last  Corrections  of  the  Author :  compre- 
hending also  numerous  Translations,  Notes,  and  an  Original  Preface,  &c. 
By  John  Emorv. 

8vo.,  7  vol«.,  pp.  5084.    Plain  theep f 

Plain  calf 

Calfgilt 

Calf  extra 

Without  the  Sermons,  plain  iheep 

nis  teork  JurtM  part  of  tke  eourt  of  Hudg  wi'iftfd  h\/  the  laM  General  Conftrenee. 

Volumes  1.  and  II.  contain  Mr.  Wesley's  Sermons.  Tljey  are  one  hundred  and  forty  in  num- 
ber: fifty-three  of  them  belong  to  the  serK's  which  wa.s  first  published,  an  constitutin-r,  with 
Mr.  Wesley's  Explanatory  Notes,  tl>e  standard  dorjnnes  of  Uie  Mctliodist  Uiurch.  The 
rest  relmte  nostly  to  witijiects  coaocrted  with  personal  religion.  The  greater  part  of  them 
are  very  concise,  but  Ibcy  are  all  citremely  uitcrcstini;  ana  fuU  of  instruction.  As  an  ex- 
position of  ChnsUauity,  Mewed  in  relation  l>otJi  to  the  salvation  and  obUgaLioos  of  mankind, 
these  sermoiu  are  perliaps  unrivalled. 

Volumes  IIL  and  IV.  compnse  Mr.  WcsU-y's  Journal,  from  1733  to  1790,  a  short  time  before 
his  death,  aiul  embnciii);  a  |>en<>d  <if  alx>iit  lit^y-five  years,  and  contain  the  manuscript 
corrections  maxie  by  lumself  and  k<';>t  ni  hns  library  at  tlie  tune  of  his  death.  Ttieso  volumes 
form  a  valaable  history  of  early  Methodism. 

Volume  V.  commences  with  the  Ap|>cal  to  Men  of  Reamn  and  Rclif^on,  and  is  succeeded 
by  se%'eral  tracts  intended  to  explam  ibo  ductntie  and  disciplme  of  Methodism.  It  also 
contains  Mr.  Wesley's  treatise  on  the  »uh»<-rl  of  Oni^nal  Sin — The  celebrated  letter  to  Dr. 
Mlddieton,  occaaunod  by  his  "  Free  Inquiry,"  and  several  tract*  against  Popery. 

Volume  VI.  contains  Mr.  WesU'y's  Tracts  a^n.it  tXte  peculiar  doctrines  of  Calvinism — The 
whole  of  his  IVJilical  Trarts— A  sUotX  account  of  tlie  U<(-  and  death  of  Hev.  J.  Fletcher — 
The  plain  account  of  ChnsUan  I'crlection— Ailmoiutory  Address  to  different  classes  of  peo- 
ple, and  two  bandred  and  ninety  letters  addressed  to  various  persons,  a  largo  portion  of 
which  refer  to  the  sulifect  of  personal  religion,  aiid  Dot  a  few  of  ttacm  throw  considerable 
light  upon  the  progress  of  Metitodism. 

Volume  VII.  Tbe  contints  of  this  volume  arc  of  a  niLsrellaneous  clianicter,  consisting  of 
•II  hundred  letters  on  similar  subjects  to  Wtose  of  the  preceding  volume.  Grammars  of 
the  Enghsh,  French.  Latin,  Ureek.  and  Hebrew  languages— A  Com[>endiiim  of  Logic — A 
list  of  the  vanuus  tracts  wtuch  Mr.  Wesley  abridged  from  various  authors,  and  of  the 
poetical  works  publuhed  by  Mr.  John  and  rharles  Wesley,  and  a  cupioux  index  to  the 
whole  seven  volumes,  which  will  enable  the  reader  to   refer  to  c\x-ry  subject  which  is 

'    treated  of  in  (he  work,  tni.  to  every  person  and  place  that  are  there  mentioned. 

Mr.  Wesley's  command  of  temper  was  miK'-t  ('ieni|>(ar\-,  and  his  logical  skill  rarely  excelled  ; 
and  hence  a  carrful  study  of  his  poiriiiiral  wcirks  is  well  calculated  to  induce,  especially 
In  theological  students,  a  habit  of  clo.se  thinking  and  of  correct  reasoning. 

Wesley  s  Doctrinal  Tracts. 

A  Collection  of  Interesting  Tracts,  explaining  several  Important  Points  of 
Scripture  Doctrine.     Published  by  Order  of  the  General  Conference. 

Utno.,  pp.  378.    Mualia  or  sheep 

This  work  consists  of  a  sirifs  mI  line  t  tracts  on  Predestination — Election  and  Reproba- 
tion—Free  Grace— Imputi  .1  lliKliirnistM-.ts— Final  Perseverance— Saving  Faith — Baptism 
and  Clinstian  Perfection,  tlie  diirtrims  c.f  which  arc  stated  and  illustrated  in  a  perspicuous 
and  forcible  manner,  accx^rdiiig  lo  the  Scnptural  account  of  these  sutyects. 

Weslet/s  Sermons: 

Sermons  on  Various  Occasions.  By  Rev.  John  Wksley,  A.  M.  With  a 
Copious  Index,  and  a  Portrait  of  the  Author. 

8to.,  2  vols.,  pp.  1104.    Plain  sheep S 

Plain  calf 

Calfgilt 

Calf  extra 

,  pp.  768.     In  French.    Sheep 

12mo.,  1  vol.,  pp.  420.    In  German.  Sheep 

Thit  t^k  /<jrvu  part  oj  the  a  Aim*  oj  atiidy  adopted  by  the  ia«t  Oenerai  Conference. 


BIBLICAL  LITERATURE. 


Blotch! s  Confirmation  of  Scripture. 

The  Historical  Confirmation  of  Scriptm-e;  with  special  Reference  to  Jewish 
and  Ancient  Heathen  Testimony.    By  William  Blatch. 

18mo.,  pp.  144.    Unslin  or  sheep 

These  Lectures  arose  from  a  conviction  in  the  mind  of  the  author  of  the  Importance  of  fur- 
nishing the  mass  of  Christian  professors  with  a  cheap  and  digested  manual  of  the  direct 
historical  evidence  to  the  facts  narrated  in  Scripture. — Preface. 

Glarhe's  Ancient  Israelites. 

Manners  of  the  Ancient  Israelites :  containing  an  Account  of  their  pecnliar 
Customs,  Ceremonies,  Laws,  Polity,  Religion,  Sects,  Arts,  Trades,  Divisions 
of  Time,  Wars,  Captivities,  &c. ;  with  a  short  Account  of  the  Ancient  and 
Modern  Samaritans.  Written  originally  in  French,  by  Claude  Fleurt 
The  whole  much  enlarged  from  the  principal  Writers.  By  Adam  Clarke, 
LL.'D.    From  the  second  London  edition. 


18mo,,  pp.  386.    Muslin  or  sheep  . 


This  book  is  an  excellent  introduction  to  the  reading  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  should  be 
put  into  the  hands  of  every  young  person. — Bishop  Hosne. 

Clarke^s  Comnientary. 

The  Holy  Bible,  containing  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  The  Text  care- 
fully printed  from  the  most  correct  Copies  of  the  present  authorized  Trans- 
lation, including  the  Marginal  Readings  and  Parallel  Texts :  with  a  Com- 
mentary and  Critical  Notes ;  designed  as  a  help  to  a  better  understanding 
of  the  Sacred  Writings.  A  new  edition,  with  the  Antlior's  final  Corrections. 
By  Adam  Clarke,  LL.  D. 

Imperial  8vo.,  6  vela,  pp.5528.    Sheep % 

In  plain  calf 

Calf  gilt 

— Calf  extra 

Also  in  twenty-four  numbers,  at  45  cents  each. 

Upon  this  valuable  Commentary  the  learned  and  industrious  author  spent  forty  years  of  his 
hfe,  twenty-five  in  preparing  it  for  press,  and  fifteen  in  carrying  it  through.  In  it  "  the 
most  difficult  words  are  analyzed  and  explained;  the  most  important  readings  in  the 
collections  of  Kennicott  and  De  Rossi  on  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  those  of  Mill,  Wet- 
stein,  and  Griesbach,  on  the  New,  are  noticed ;  the  date  of  every  transaction,  as' far  as 
it  has  been  ascertained  by  the  best  chronologers,  is  marked ;  the  peculiar  customs  of 
the  Jews  and  neighbouring  nations,  as  frequently  alluded  to  by  the  propliets,  evangelists, 
and  apostles,  are  explained  from  the  best  Asiatic  authorities  ;  the  great  doctrines  of  the 
law  and  gospel  of  God  are  defined,  illustrated,  and  defended  ;  and  the  whole  is  employed 
in  the  important  purposes  of  practical  Christianity."  The  work  concludes  with  a  copious 
index,  and  a  selection  of  important  various  readings  of  the  New  Testament  from  ten 
ancient  manuscripts. 

The  Uterary  world  in  general,  and  Biblical  students  in  particular,  are  greatly  indebted  to 
Dr.  Clarke  for  the  hght  he  has  thrown  on  many  very  difficult  passages.— T.  Hartwbljl 

HORNE. 

.  Dr.  Clarke's  chief  work,  that  on  which  he  spent  a  laborious  life,  and  on  which  his  name  will 
descend  to  posterity  with  the  greatest  lustre,  is  his  Commentary  on  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
—Rev.  S.  Dunn. 

Our  libraries  needed  to  be  enriched  with  expositions  of  Scripture,  agreeing  with  our  own 
views  of  truth,— a  want  which  has  been  supplied  in  the  varied  excellences  of  a  Benson, 
a  Clarke,  and  a  Watson.  There  are  passages  in  Dr.  Clarke's  Commentary  upon  the 
Holy  Scriptures  which  may  be  justly  classed  among  the  choicest  productions  of  modern 
theology.—  Wes.  Mag. 

This  invaluable  Commentary  ouglit  to  be  in  the  possession  of  every  minister  and  student 
of  theology.— iV.  y.  Com.  Adv. 

Dr.  Clarke  often  succeeds  to  admiration  in  expressing  the  sens«  of  Scripture.— CoZimWfla 
Star,  (Baptist.) 


30  EXPERIMENTAL  AND  PRACTICAL  RELIGION. 


III. 

Experimental  anb  Practical  Ucligion. 


0^^  Under  ike  head  of  Bioorapht  will  be  found  many  records  of  holy  lives,  embodying 
the  best  kind  of  instruction  in  Experimental  and  Practical  Godliness. 

AUeine's  Alarm  and  Baxter's  Call. 

An  Alarm  to  Unconverted  Sinners.  By  Jossni  Alleine.  A  Call  to  the 
Unconvtrti'd.     B_v  Kilhauu  Baxter. 

ISmo.,  pp.  270.    Miuliii  or  Sheep 

Few  books  have  bei-ii  iiiurt  useful  iti  the  awakening  and  conversion  of  sinners  than  "  AUeine's 
Alarm,"  and  "  Baxter's  Call."  Thou.sands  within  the  last  century  have  owed  their  reli- 
gious convictions  to  these  stirring  apin-als,  which  are  as  welt  adapted  to  circulation  now 
as  ever.    77ic  present  edition  is  neat,  portable,  and  cheap. 

Mr.  Baxter  says,  "  Ttiis  little  book  God  liath  blessed  with  unexpected  success  beyond  all  that 
I  have  written,  except  the  Saints'  Rest." 

Baxter's  writings  have  done  more  to  improve  the  understanding  and  mend  the  hearts  of  his 
countrjTncn,  than  those  of  any  writer  of  his  age. — Db.  A.  Clarkjc. 

Read  any  of  Baxter's  writings,  for  they  are  all  good. — Dr.  Johnson. 

I  once  met  with  a  page  of  Mr.  Baxter.  Upon  the  perusal  of  it  I  conceived  lo  good  an  idea 
of  the  author's  piety,  that  I  bought  the  whole  book. — Addison. 

Ashuri/s  Heart  and  Church  Dimsions. 

The  Causes.  Evils,  and  Cures  of  Heart  and  Chnreh  Divisions.  Extracted  from 
ilic  Works  (A  BLituoLoiis  and  Baxter.  By  Francis  Asbory,  Bishop  of 
the  Methodi>t  Kpi.scopal  C'Jiunli. 

18mo.,  pp.  217.    If  nalin  or  sheep 

Our  Discipline  recommends  (Part  I.  chap.  Iv,  <>  tfl)  "a  serious  perusal  of  the  Causes,  Evils, 
and  Cures  of  Heart  and  Church  Divisions."  The  work  has  long  been  out  of  print,  so  that 
the  recommendation  could  not  be  complied  with.  A  new  edition  is  now  furnished  at  a 
low  price,  with  a  view  to  its  general  circulation. 

This  is  a  rare  work,  which  has  been  for  a  long  time  out  of  print.  It  waj  compiled  by  the 
venerable  bishop  from  the  works  of  Burroughs  and  Baxter.  It  comes  out  in  a  cheap  and 
beautiful  form,  at  a  providential  hour  in  the  history  of  the  Church.— 2u>»'/  Herald. 

We  would  respectfully  suggest  that  every  pa.'^tor,  after  reading  it  himself,  would  do  incal- 
culable good  by  placing  a  copy  in  every  family  within  his  charge,  and  that  every  leader 
would  do  a  good  service  by  putting  it  into  the  hands  of  every  member  of  his  class.  We 
should  look  lor  a  deep  and  wide-spread  revival  of  primitive  godliness  as  the  result. — 
Southern  CkrutioM  Advocatt. 


BakeiceWs  Admonitory  Counsels. 


Admonitory  Counsels,  address'd  to  a  Methodist,  on  Subjects  of  Christian  Ex- 
perience and  I'raetice.     By  Jons  Bakewell. 

18mo.,  pp.  228.   MoBlin  or  sheep 


Tlie  subjects  treated  of  in  this  very  pious  and  well- written  volume  are  : — The  nature  and  im- 
portance of  a  thorough  conviction  of  .sin— Justification,  faith,  and  assurance — Sanctifica- 
tion— The  means  of  promoting  personal  religion— The  social  means  of  grace— The  duties 
of  church  memt>ership.  The  book  is  written  with  elegance  and  spirit,  and  the  tendency 
of  it  is  admirable.  It  cannot  fail  to  be  useful,  especially  to  such  young  persons  as  desire 
to  be  Christians  indeed.    The  work  Is  in  no  degree  speculative,  but  wholly  practical. 


EXPERIMENTAL  AND  PRACTICAL  RELIGION.  31 

BcikeweWs  (Mrs.)  Mother's  Practical  Chiide. 

Mother's  Practical  Guide  in  the  Early  Training  of  her  Children ;  containing 
Directions  for  their  Physical,  Intellectual,  and  Moral  Education.  By  Mrs. 
J.  Bakewell.  A  new  and  enlarged  edition,  containing  a  Chapter  on  the 
Duties  and  Responsibilities  of  Stepmothers. 

18mo.,  pp.  224.   Muslin  or  sheep 

The  importance  of  the  subject  on  which  this  volume  treats  cannot  easily  be  overrated,  and 
we  are  glad  to  find  that  increasing  attention  is  paid  to  it.  Mrs.  Bakewell  has  written  with 
great  good  sense  united  with  Christian  principle  and  feeling,  and  given  the  public  a  work 
which  is  calculated  to  make  happy  families,  and  to  assist  in  training  up  "  a  godly  seed." — 
Wesleyan  Magazine. 

This  work  imbodies  much  sound  practical  philosophy,  the  result  of  acute  observation  and 
accurate  reasoning.  Were  Mrs.  Bakewell's  instructions  in  general  adoption,  the  constitu- 
tion of  children,  physical,  mental,  and  moral,  would  exhibit  a  material  improvement. — Liver- 
pool Courier. 

We  have  perused  this  beautiful  little  volume  with  unmingled  satisfaction,  as  a  valuable  ac- 
cession to  the  few  unexceptionable  works  we  have  met  with  on  the  subject  of  infant 
training. 

This  little  book  is  designed  to  subserve  the  most  useful  ends  in  the  training  of  children.  We 
are  sure  that  every  mother  who  reads  it  will  be  better  qualified  thereby  to  execute  the 
sacred  trust  committed  to  her  by  the  God  of  nature. — Ladies^  Repository. 

It  contains  numerous  instructions  of  transcendent  worth— such  as  we  ardently  wish  were 
engraven  on  the  heart  of  every  mother,  and  brought  to  bear  upon  the  education  of  every 
child. — New  Methodist  Magazine. 

We  cordially  recommend  this  elegant  little  work  to  every  mother. — Manchester  Times 

Baxter's  Call  to  the  Unconverted. 

(See  AUeine's  Alarm  and  Baxtei's  Call.) 

Baxter^ s  Saints^  Rest. 

The  Saints'  Everlasting  Rest ;  or,  a  Treatise  on  the  Blessed  State  of  the  Saints  in 
their  Enjoyment  of  God  in  Glory.  By  Rev.  Richard  Baxter.  Abridged 
by  Mr.  Wesley. 

12mo.,  pp.  333.   Muslin  or  sheep 

The  pious  of  all  Protestant  denominations,  for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  have  found  in  this 
work  a  rich  treasure  both  of  instruction  and  comfort.  In  its  original  form  it  is  a  large 
quarto  volume,  containing  upwards  of  eight  hundred  pages  ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding  its 
size,  in  less  than  twenty  years  from  the  time  of  its  publication  it  passed  through  ten  dif- 
ferent editions  ;  so  highly  was  it  esteemed  by  religious  people  in  those  remote  times. 

A  work  in  very  high  repute  among  sincere  Christians  of  all  denominations.  It  is  one  of  the 
best  productions  of  its  gifted  and  pious  author  ;  and  a  degree  of  serious  attention  was 
perhaps  never  bestowed  upon  it  without  spiritual  profit.  It  is  one  of  those  books  wliich 
cannot  be  too  strongly  recommended  nor  too  frequently  read. —  Wesleyan  Magazine. 

Mr.  Baxter's  practical  writings  were  never  mended.^DR.  Barrow. 

This  is  a  book  for  which  multitudes  will  have  cause  to  bless  God  forever.— Dr.  Calamy. 

Mr.  Baxter  comes  nearer  the  Apostolic  writings  than  any  man  in  the  age.— Dr.  Manton. 

BunyarHs  Pilgrimh  Progress. 

Pilgrim's  Progress  from  this  World  to  that  which  is  to  come :  delivered  under 
the  Similitude  of  a  Dream.  By  John  Bunyan.  With  an  Introduction, 
Index,  Notes,  and  a  Sketch  of  the  Author's  Life,  by  Stephen  B.  Wickens. 
Illustrated  with  a  Portrait  of  Bunyan,  and  several  wood-cuts. 

18mo.,  pp.  478.    Muslin  or  sheep $ 

12mo.,  pp.  478.    Muslin,  gilt  back 

Muslin  extra,  gilt  edges 

This  interesting  and  instructive  work  is  here  presented  in  so  cheap  a  form  as  to  bring  it 
within  the  reach  of  most  of  the  admirers  of  the  Tinker  of  Bedford.  The  text  has  been 
carefully  corrected  from  the  best  and  most  accurate  London  editions.  It  is  divided  into 
chapters  of  moderate  length,  (a  great  convenience  to  readers,)  and  contains  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  author's  life  ;  an  introduction  ;  index  ;  and  occasional  explanatory  and  practical 
notes,  chiefly  selected  from  Bunyan's  own  writings.  It  is  embellished  with  a  fine  portrait 
of  the  author,  and  numerous  well-executed  wood  engravings. 


EXPERIMENTAL  AKD  PRACTICAL  RELIGION. 

Bunyan's  great  allegory  has  been  read  and  admired  by  all.  Not  to  have  read  it  is  considered 
a  decided  mark  of  ignorance  or  want  of  taste.  Dr.  Arnold  called  it  "  a  complete  reftectton  of 
Scripture,  with  none  of  the  rubbish  of  the  theologians  mixed  up  with  it."  Coleridge  valued 
it  next  to  the  Bible,  and  characterized  it  as  "  the  best  summary  of  evangehcal  theology 
ever  produced  by  a  writer  not  miraculously  inspired." — Ep\3copal  Recorder. 

Tet  another  edition,  and  one  that  will  doubtless  meet  with  a  very  cordial  reception.  The 
Introduction  is  a  judicious  critical  and  historical  account  of  this  great  work,  giving  new 
facts  and  views  on  the  subject,  which  will  greatly  interest  the  admirers  of  the  allegory. 
The  notes  are  eminently  practical  and  instructive.  We  have  seen  no  edition  to  which  we 
would  more  willingly  accord  the  title  of  a  •'  standard  odH\on."—Netr-York  Spectator. 

An  excellent  edition  of  this  religious  classic,  and  well  adapted  for  younger  readers  as  well 
as  for  adults.  Uimyan's  Progress  should  be  by  the  side  of  the  Bible  in  every  Christian 
family :  put  it  especially  into  the  hands  of  your  children  ;  it  will  fascinate  them  from 
dangerous  books,  and  lead  them  in  the  way  to  he&yeu.—  iCion's  Herald. 

Catechism  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

I  la  preparation. ) 

A  New  and  Standard  Catechism,  for  the  use  of  the  Sunday-Schools  and  Families  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  is  now  in  preparation,  by  direction  of  the  General  Conference. 

Clarke  s  Traveller  s  Prayer. 

A  Trnvcller'.s  Prayer;  n  Discourse  on  the  Thiril  CoUeet  for  Grace,  in  tlie 
Moniinn  Service  of  the  Liturpy  of  the  Church  of  EnjrUind.  By  Ai>am 
Clakke,  LL.  I).,  F.  A.  S.     From  the  fourth  Loudon  edition. 

24mo.,  pp.  48.    MoBlin,  ^t  edges  

The  Traveller's  Prayer  descrit'cs,  in  a  very  impressive  manner,  the  dangers  both  in  regard 
to  the  txidy  and  the  niind.  coiinectod  with  travrllmg,  and  the  great  duty  of  prayer  to  God 

,  for  the  restraint  and  asMstaiicr  of  his  grace,  and  fur  the  care  of  his  providence.  It  is  well 
worthy  the  attention  of  Christian  readers. —  WeWryon  Magaxxnt. 

Christian  Exertion. 

Chri-stian  Exertion :  or,  the  Duty  of  Private  Memlicrs  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
to  LalK)ur  for  the  Souls  of  Men,  explained  and  enforced. 

18mo.,  pp.  160.    Hualin  or  iheep 

The  Hortri')'^  :i-h|  ,ip)'<  .'i1>  of  ilu.i  linle  manual  will  come  home  to  the  heart  and  conscience 
uf '    '  -IT  of  Jesus  (liri!>t.  an<l  the  souls  for  which  he  shed  his  precious  blood 

L<''  t-rof  the  Church  carefully  read  it. — Melhodiit  Quarttrly  Review. 

It  car:  »  itlioiit  .'1  iM.wcrful  impression.     It  ought  to  be  spread  among  our  church 

melIlb^■r^  rvcri  .>.  >  i  Herald. 

It  is  a  woU-timed  '  manual,  in  which  the  duty  stated  is  enforced  by  convincing 

argumefits,  an<l  >tnking  examples.— H'eiiryan  .tft/Aodtrt  Jfo^aitiw. 

Crane  s  Essay  on  Dancing. 

An  E.«say  on  Dancing.  By  Rer.  J.  Townlet  Crane,  of  the  New-Jersey 
Conference. 

18mo.,  pp.  130.   Mnalin 

First,  all  whi>  Ime  t"  liaiico  riuKJit  to  read  It.  Next,  those  who  dtiirt  to  dance,  but  are  not 
quite  certain  that  it  is  nghi,  ought  to  read  it.  Those  parents  who  have  children  who 
dance,  or  wish  to  learn  the  art,  should  read  it — and,  finally,  minitteri  who  have  members 
or  hearers  who  dance,  ought,  by  all  means,  to  read  this  book.  Tlie  following  is  the  table 
of  contents  ;— Chapter  I.  Introduction— Religious  liances  of  the  Hebrews.— 11.  Religious 
Dances  of  the  Heathen. — III.  Military  or  War  Dances. — IV.  Dances  of  Pleasure  and 
Amusement.— V.  Apologies  for  the  Pleasure-Dance  considered.— VI.  More  Apoloines  for 
Dancinif  considered. — VII.  Objections  to  the  Dance  of  Amusement. — VIII.  More  Objections 
to  the  Pleasure-Dance. — IX.  Appeal  to  all  concerned  in  the  Matter. 

The  author  of  this  essay,  which,  however,  is  a  close  and  logical  argument  of  unusual  clear- 
ness and  force,  takes  ground  against  dancing,  as  might  be  expected  from  a  clergyman  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I'niike  many,  however,  who  choose  to  assail  worldly 
amusements,  he  indulges  in  no  railing  accusations  or  harsh  words — he  argues  rather  than 
denounces— and  while  firm  and  dignified  in  the  maintenance  of  what  he  asserts  and  proves, 
■peaks  ever  in  tones  of  kindness  and  respect.  As  a  literary  composition,  the  essay  is  of 
superior  merit,  combining  condensed  thought  with  fluency  and  grace  of  diction,  which  is 
•  rare  combination  in  this  day. — Commerctal  Advertiser. 

A  very  plain,  well-digested  essay  on  an  important  subject.  The  style  is  neat  and  perspicu 
ous  ;  the  reasoning  clear  and  forcible.  Such  a  book  cannot  but  do  %ooA.— Northern  Chru 
Nan  Advocate. 


I 


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