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diff --git a/76653-0.txt b/76653-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..99c5f17 --- /dev/null +++ b/76653-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14634 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76653 *** + + + + + +[Illustration: Eng. by A. R. Ritchie. + +yours affectionately + +Henry Boehm + +b. June 8, 1775--d. 1875.] + + + + + THE + PATRIARCH OF ONE HUNDRED YEARS; + + BEING + REMINISCENCES, + HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, + OF + REV. HENRY BOEHM. + + BY REV. J. B. WAKELEY, D.D. + + [Illustration] + + With several additional chapters, containing an Account of the + Exercises on his One Hundredth Birthday; his Sermon + before the Newark Conference and the Addresses then + delivered; his Centennial Sermons in Trinity + Church, Jersey City, and in John-street + Church, New York, and + The Addresses made on + those occasions, + PHONOGRAPHICALLY REPORTED. + + [Illustration] + + NEW YORK: + NELSON & PHILLIPS. + CINCINNATI: HITCHCOCK & WALDEN. + 1875. + + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by + CARLTON & PORTER, + in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the + Southern District of New York. + + + + + TO + THOMAS A. MORRIS, D.D., + AND + HIS COLLEAGUES, + THE + BISHOPS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, + THE + WORTHY SUCCESSORS OF THE APOSTOLIC ASBURY, + IS + THIS VOLUME + MOST AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED + BY + HENRY BOEHM. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +For many years, and by many persons, including bishops, editors, and +others, I have been importuned to publish the substance of my records +and recollections of the Methodism of my day. It was judged that my +great age, my intimate relations with Bishop Asbury, and my acquaintance +with other pioneers and fathers of the Church, would enable me thus +to preserve much desirable information which would otherwise soon be +forgotten. + +In 1847 the New Jersey Conference took action on the subject, and +appointed a committee to confer with me in respect to my journals and +other papers, and aid in preparing them for publication. The committee +was a very competent one, but the members were too widely separated for +any effectual result. I had concluded to abandon the design, and this +volume would probably never have seen the light had not the Rev. J. B. +Wakeley come to my help. + +For the materials of the work I had a manuscript journal of two thousand +pages. This we went over together, reviewing all my fields of labor, and +drawing additional particulars from the storehouse of memory, Brother +Wakeley performing the work of transcribing, arranging, and revising. +Thus the journal furnished the warp and recollection the filling of +what is before the reader in the shape of a book. In this way we were +employed, at different times, during a period of twelve years, so that if +the work has been poorly done it has not been through undue haste or the +sparing of labor or pains. + +Next year is the centenary of American Methodism, and this volume is a +connecting link between the present and the origin of our Church, for +I have heard Robert Strawbridge, who laid the foundation of Methodism +in Maryland nearly a hundred years ago. From it the reader may get a +good idea of primitive Methodism, and learn how our fathers toiled and +“endured hardness as good soldiers,” and some, I trust, will catch their +spirit of labor and self-denial for Christ and the Church. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. MY ANCESTORS AND MY EARLY DAYS 9 + + II. SKETCHES OF EARLY PREACHERS 19 + + III. BOEHM’S CHAPEL 30 + + IV. GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1800 35 + + V. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE—GREAT REVIVALS—BARRATT’S CHAPEL 44 + + VI. MY FIRST CIRCUIT, DORCHESTER 57 + + VII. MY SECOND CIRCUIT, ANNAMESSEX, 1802 65 + + VIII. KENT, BRISTOL, AND NORTHAMPTON CIRCUITS 75 + + IX. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE, 1803—BRISTOL CIRCUIT 88 + + X. SHORT TOUR WITH BISHOP ASBURY, 1803 100 + + XI. DAUPHIN CIRCUIT, 1803-4 106 + + XII. BALTIMORE AND PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCES, 1805—ST. MARTIN’S + CIRCUIT 118 + + XIII. FIRST CAMP-MEETING ON THE PENINSULA, 1805 128 + + XIV. DOVER CIRCUIT, 1806—SICKNESS AND DEATH OF BISHOP WHATCOAT 137 + + XV. DOVER CIRCUIT—GREAT CAMP-MEETINGS 147 + + XVI. MISSIONARIES, 1807 161 + + XVII. DOCTOR ROMER AND THE GERMAN METHODIST DISCIPLINE 173 + + XVIII. GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1808 180 + + XIX. FIRST ANNUAL TOUR WITH BISHOP ASBURY, 1808 186 + + XX. FIRST VISIT TO THE SOUTH 209 + + XXI. NORTHERN TOUR—VIRGINIA AND BALTIMORE CONFERENCES 220 + + XXII. FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK CITY—NEW YORK AND NEW ENGLAND + CONFERENCES 234 + + XXIII. SECOND ANNUAL TOUR—WESTERN AND SOUTHERN CONFERENCES 254 + + XXIV. TOUR TO VIRGINIA, BALTIMORE, AND PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCES 273 + + XXV. NEW ENGLAND AND GENESEE CONFERENCES OF 1810 289 + + XXVI. ANNUAL TOUR, 1810—WESTERN CONFERENCE 310 + + XXVII. TOUR TO SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE 322 + + XXVIII. VIRGINIA, BALTIMORE, PHILADELPHIA, AND NEW ENGLAND + CONFERENCES 333 + + XXIX. BISHOP ASBURY’S FIRST VISIT TO CANADA 348 + + XXX. FOURTH WESTERN AND SOUTHERN TOUR—CONFERENCES OF 1811 363 + + XXXI. DEATH, FUNERAL, AND CHARACTER OF REV. MARTIN BOEHM 372 + + XXXII. THE UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST—SKETCH OF OTTERBEIN, ETC. 387 + + XXXIII. PHILADELPHIA AND GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1812 394 + + XXXIV. NEW YORK, NEW ENGLAND, AND GENESEE CONFERENCES 399 + + XXXV. MY LAST TOUR WITH BISHOP ASBURY 405 + + XXXVI. SCHUYLKILL DISTRICT, 1813-14 416 + + XXXVII. CHESAPEAKE DISTRICT—GOVERNOR BASSETT’S DEATH AND CHARACTER 424 + + XXXVIII. GENERAL CONFERENCE—ASBURY’S FUNERAL, ETC. 430 + + XXXIX. BISHOP ASBURY—CHARACTER AND HABITS 438 + + XL. DEATH OF JESSE LEE—HIS CHARACTER 460 + + XLI. CHESAPEAKE DISTRICT—TOURS WITH BISHOPS GEORGE AND + M’KENDREE 466 + + XLII. DELAWARE DISTRICT, 1819-21—THOMAS AND EDWARD WHITE—JOSHUA + THOMAS—CIRCUITS 472 + + XLIII. LAST VISIT TO MY NATIVE PLACE—WESTERN TOUR 481 + + + + +REMINISCENCES OF REV. HENRY BOEHM. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +MY ANCESTORS AND MY EARLY DAYS. + + +My forefathers were from Switzerland. There is romance in their +history as well as in the land of their birth. Jacob Boehm, my +great-great-grandfather, was a Presbyterian. His son Jacob learned +a trade. It was a custom in Switzerland for all who completed their +apprenticeship to travel three years through the country as itinerant +journeymen. The design was to make them finished workmen; and no man +could enter into business for himself, no matter how well qualified, +until he pursued this course. + +In his wanderings Jacob fell in with a people called _Pietists_. In +many respects they resembled the Puritans. He was converted among them. +The change was so great when he returned home, his language so strange, +that his friends could not understand him. “The natural man receiveth +not the things of the Spirit of God.” His singular experience, his +exposure of formal religion, his boldness in reproving sin, raised a +storm of persecution. The minister withstood him, and denounced him as a +heretic. His answers were so pertinent that his father gave him a severe +reprimand, inquiring, “Boy, do you answer a minister in that way?” The +Church exercised civil as well as ecclesiastical authority, and young +Boehm was convicted of heresy, and sentenced to prison. An elder brother +was appointed to conduct him to the prison-house. He did not watch his +brother very closely, and as they were near the line that separated +Switzerland from France the prisoner crossed over, and was forever free +from his domestic and priestly persecutors. + +He journeyed along the banks of the Rhine till he entered the Dukedom of +Pfaltz. This was the Palatinate bordering on Belgium. From this region +were the ancestors of Philip Embury. There young Jacob became acquainted +with a people called Mennonites. They took their name from Menno Simon, +who was cotemporary with Luther. They were a simple-hearted people, and +he united with them, and became a lay elder. He had several children, +of whom Jacob, the third, was my grandfather. He was born in 1693, and +emigrated to this country in 1715. Many of the Mennonites emigrated from +Switzerland and Germany. + +My grandfather was induced to come to America from the glowing +description given of this country by Martin Kendig, one of the seven +families who had settled in what is now Lancaster County, Pa. He landed +in Philadelphia, from thence went to Germantown, then to Lancaster, and +finally settled in Pequea, Conestoga Township. Soon afterward he married +a Miss Kendig. My grandfather was a lay elder in the Mennonite Society. + +Soon after his arrival he bought a farm and built him a house. He was +also a blacksmith, the first in all that region. His wife was very +industrious, and when necessary, she would leave her work and blow and +strike for him. I recollect him well. When I was five years old he walked +over the fields showing me various things, and trying to entertain me. +Not knowing anything about the infirmities of age, I wondered why he did +not walk faster. He died in 1780, aged eighty-seven. My grandmother was +an excellent woman, particularly fond of me because I was the youngest +grandchild. They had a number of sons and daughters. My father, Martin +Boehm, was the youngest. He was born November 30, 1725, and married in +1753 to Eve Steiner, who was born on Christmas day, 1734. Her ancestors +were from Switzerland, and settled near my grandfather’s. + +My father inherited my grandfather’s beautiful farm, and in 1750 built +him a house, in which his children were all born, and where many have +been born again. He was a short, stout man, with a vigorous constitution, +an intellectual countenance, and a fine flowing beard, which gave him a +patriarchal appearance. He had strong common sense, and well understood +the science of family government. The order and discipline of the family +attracted the attention of the apostolic Asbury, and he made mention of +it in preaching my father’s funeral sermon. + +Martin Boehm was first a Mennonite preacher, for he embraced the religion +of his fathers. He was made so by lot in 1756, for such was the custom of +this singular people. For some time he preached without a knowledge of +sins forgiven; but in 1761 he found redemption in the blood of the Lamb, +and then he became a flame of fire, and preached with the Holy Ghost +sent down from heaven. His success was wonderful, and the seals to his +ministry were numerous. Then the Mennonites expelled him for being too +evangelical. He then joined the United Brethren, and afterward became a +member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. + +My mother was a noble woman, and to my parents I am, under God, indebted +for what I am on earth, and all I hope to be in heaven. + + +MY EARLY DAYS. + +I was born in the old homestead, in the township of Conestoga,[1] +Lancaster County, Pa., on the 8th of June, 1775. This was immediately +after the battle of Lexington, and one year before the Declaration of +Independence. Thus I saw the birth of our nation, and have lived under +the first President, 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 “pack 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. + +Like my father, I was the youngest child. There were seven older than +myself, and four of them had grown up to manhood before I was born. I +had a common school education. The old school-house and my schoolmaster, +Henry Rosman, I well remember. He went from house to house, and it was +a great occasion when he came to my father’s to board. He was quite a +character, a perfect original. He came from Hesse Cassel, and was one of +the Hessian soldiers taken prisoner at Trenton, N. J., when Washington +and his noble band crossed the frozen Delaware and surprised Colonel +Ralle and his troops and took them prisoners, while their commander was +slain. Many of the Hessians had come to this country contrary to their +own will to fight against America, and they preferred remaining here to +returning to Europe. A number of them were sent to Lancaster County, and +among the rest my old schoolmaster. He possessed many rare qualifications +for an instructor. He was a thorough German scholar, and had mastered the +English language. His school was kept in perfect order; every scholar +knew his place, and was obliged to keep it. The teacher prayed in school, +and taught the children short prayers. Like Ichabod Crane, he sung psalms +and hymns, and we learned to sing them. Some of the German hymns which +he taught me to sing over eighty years ago I still remember well. To him +I am indebted for my accurate knowledge of the German language, which +I learned before the English. Germans have often admired my correct +pronunciation of their vernacular. They said it was pure, and not mixed +with other dialects, like the Pennsylvania German. In after years it was +a great benefit to me when I preached in German. I was one of the first +among the Methodists that preached in that language. This I have done in +fourteen different states. Some things which I wrote in German over sixty +years ago I have preserved, and am surprised to find them so correct. I +was a great favorite with Mr. Rosman, and he took delight in giving me +instruction. + +The little old school-house still remains, but where are the scholars +and the teachers? When, after an absence of many years, I paid a visit +to my native town in 1856, I inquired for my old schoolfellows, hoping +to find one with whom I could converse about by-gone days. I inquired in +vain. They were all gone, and I found myself alone and lonely. Dilworth’s +spelling-book, from which I learned English, and the knife and fork I +used when a very little boy, I have preserved as relics of my childhood. + +Once in my early days I went to the theater in Philadelphia. I had +heard much of the theater, and I wanted to see what it was. I got +along very well until mimic thunder and lightning was brought in to +illustrate the play. When I saw and heard this I was shocked. It seemed +to me so irreverent and presumptuous that I thought the Almighty in +his displeasure would send real thunder and lightning to terrify those +imitators. I expected to hear the deep-toned thunder, and to see the +vivid lightning flash over my guilty head. I prayed, and promised God, if +he would only spare me to get out of the house and return safely home, I +would never enter such a place again. That was my first and last visit to +the theater. + + +RELIGIOUS EXERCISES. + +My early advantages for religious instruction were great. I was “brought +up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Morning and evening 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.” + +There lived in my father’s family a wicked man who had a peculiar +hatred against the Methodists, and he prejudiced me against them by his +misrepresentations. This had a soul-withering influence on me. I lost my +tender feelings, and neglected the means of grace. “One sinner destroyeth +much good.” Sinners enticed me to sin and I consented. + +In the year 1790, when I was about fifteen, I went to learn the milling +business, and worked in a grist mill. There I had no religious counsel +or example. What a critical period it is when a young man leaves home! +I went into bad company, supposing my father would not hear of it; but +I was mistaken. He did hear of my conduct, and came to see me. When I +saw him I suspected his errand. A guilty conscience needs no accuser. +The plain, solemn, and affecting reproof he gave me at that time had a +wonderful effect upon me. His quivering lip, tearful eye, and tremulous +voice showed how deeply he felt for me. Shame crimsoned my cheeks. His +counsel was not lost, but it terminated in deep conviction for sin. My +soul was burdened, and, almost in despair, I prayed, + + “Show pity, Lord, O Lord, forgive; + Let a repenting rebel live. + Are not thy mercies large and free? + May not a sinner trust in thee?” + +When my father left I went into the upper loft of the mill, and on my +knees, in an agony of deep distress, I cried, “God be merciful to me +a sinner.” “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” I had a view +of the atonement of the Son of God. By faith I realized my interest in +it, and in a moment I felt my heart strangely warmed. My conscience was +assured of its part in the atoning blood, and God sent forth the spirit +of his Son into my heart crying, “Abba, Father.” This was in February, +1793. + +I lived near the Lord, and enjoyed a great deal of comfort for some time; +but I fell into a sad error. As I was converted alone away from the +Church the enemy suggested that I could get along without uniting with +God’s people. I yielded, and this error was like to have ruined me. I +enlarge here because many have yielded to a similar temptation and been +lost to the Church and lost to heaven. The lambs of the flock cannot +too soon enter the fold. In apostolic times converts did not first try +the experiment whether they could get along without uniting with the +Church. On the day of Pentecost the three thousand who were “pricked in +their hearts” under the preaching of Peter were baptized and united with +the Church that day. So with the jailer; he was converted, baptized, and +united with the Church that very night in Philippi, when Paul and Silas +prayed, and sang praises to God. This was the course pursued in the days +of the apostles. I would advise young persons not to imitate my example. +Never try to see if you can get along without the Church. _The Church +can get along without you, but you cannot get along without the Church._ +Place yourself under her care as soon as possible. Confess Christ before +men, and he will confess you before his Father and the holy angels. + +The consequence of my error was that I lost my spiritual enjoyment. My +course was zig-zag. I ran forward, then stood still, then went backward. +I was not a member of the Church, therefore was not under her watch-care, +and I had no opportunity to improve the talents God had given me. I told +no one I was converted. Instead of letting my light shine before men I +resolved to hide it. Sad mistake! Thus I continued five long years. These +were 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. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +SKETCHES OF EARLY PREACHERS. + + +The Methodist fathers were self-sacrificing men, who possessed great +virtues, and performed heroic deeds. Many of them are now unknown except +by their names. Those who knew them personally are nearly all numbered +among the dead. I knew most of them, and will give a sketch of a few of +those who found their way into the rural districts of Lancaster County, +Pa. + +ROBERT STRAWBRIDGE, the apostle of Methodism in Maryland, is a name +prominent in the early annals of American Methodism. We are indebted to +Ireland for Robert Strawbridge as well as for Philip Embury. I heard +Strawbridge preach at my father’s house in 1781, and am the only man +now living that has a personal recollection of him. Though I was then +quite small, his image is still before me. He was a stout, heavy man, +and looked as if he was built for service. My father was much pleased +with him and his preaching. He was agreeable company, full of interesting +anecdotes. Many times I have been to the old log meeting-house he erected +in Maryland, concerning which so much has been said and written, and +around which so many interests cluster. He died in August of the same +year I heard him, and his spiritual son, Richard Owings,[2] preached his +funeral sermon from Rev. xiv, 13. No monument marks the place where his +dust is sleeping. I hope this will not be said after the celebration +of the first centenary of American Methodism, for his name will be +prominently connected with it. + +Another of these pioneers was BENJAMIN ABBOTT, who early visited my +father’s house. He was indeed a son of thunder, and preached with +exceeding power. This was the only ministerial tour he made through +Pennsylvania, and he went like a flame of fire. My father had a very +exalted opinion of Mr. Abbott, and felt it an honor to entertain him as +his guest and listen to his powerful sermons. + +Mr. Abbott wrote his life, and in it he describes his visit to my +father’s, his preaching, and the wonderful results that followed. I +prefer he should give it in his own peculiar style. + +“At Boehm’s we found a large congregation. When I came to my application +the power of the Lord came in such a manner that the people fell all +about the house, and their cries might be heard afar off. This alarmed +the wicked, who sprang for the doors in such haste that they fell over +one another in heaps. The cry of mourners was so great that I thought +to give out a hymn to drown the noise, and desired one of our English +friends to raise it; but as soon as he began to sing the power of the +Lord struck him, and he pitched under the table, and there lay like a +dead man. I gave it out again, and asked another to raise it. As soon as +he attempted he fell also. I then made the third attempt, and the power +of God came upon me in such a manner that I cried out and was amazed. I +then saw that I was fighting against God, and did not attempt to sing +again. + +“Mr. Boehm, the owner of the house, and a preacher among the Germans, +cried out, ‘I never saw God in this way before.’ I replied, ‘This is +a pentecost, father.’ ‘Yes, be sure,’ said he, clapping his hands, ‘a +pentecost, be sure.’ Prayer was all through the house, up stairs and +down. I desired Mr. Boehm to go to prayer. He did so, and five or six of +us did the same. + +“A watch-night having been appointed for that evening, and seeing no +prospect of this meeting being over, although it had begun at eleven +o’clock, I told Mr. Boehm we had best quietly withdraw from the +meeting-house. When we had got out of the door a young man came out and +laid hold upon the fence to support himself from falling, and there cried +amain for God to have mercy upon him. ‘To be sure,’ said Mr. Boehm, ‘I +never saw God in this way before.’ We exhorted him to look to God, and +not to give up the struggle, and God would bless him before he left the +place. + +“I took the old gentleman by the arm, and we went quietly to the house +to get some dinner. About five o’clock a messenger came from the +preaching-house requesting that I would go there immediately, for there +was a person dying. We went without delay. I went up stairs, and there +lay several about the floor in like manner. I then went to see the +person said to be dying. She lay gasping. I kneeled down to pray, but it +was instantly given me that God had converted her soul, and therefore, +instead of praying for her deliverance, I gave God thanks that he had +delivered her, and immediately she arose and praised God for what he had +done for her soul. A young German came to me and clasped me in his arms, +but could not speak English that I could understand. + +“I then retired to the house and consulted with Mr. Boehm who should +preach in the evening, for I thought it would be best for one of the +German preachers to speak first, there being several of them present. The +rumor having run through the neighborhood of the power of God through the +day, we had a very large congregation in the evening, to whom one of the +German preachers preached. It appeared to me he spoke with life. Then Mr. +Boehm gave an exhortation in the German language, and after him a young +man gave a warm exhortation in the same tongue. Then I arose and hardly +knew how to speak, there had been so much said, and it was now growing +late. However I spoke, and the Lord laid to his helping hand as he had +done in the day time. Divers fled, and made their way out of the house, +and then it appeared as if there were none left but what were earnestly +engaged in prayer; some praising God, and others crying for mercy. I told +Mr. Boehm that I should not be fit for the duties of the ensuing day if +I did not retire, so we went to the house about twelve o’clock and took +some refreshment and went to bed. In the morning I found the people were +still engaged, and had been all night. I went to the house about sun an +hour high, where I found about one dozen still engaged in prayer. I told +them we ought to begin to prepare for the other meeting, so they broke up. + +“We set out with about forty friends to the next appointment. The people +being gathered, after singing and prayer I began to preach, and God laid +to his helping hand. Many cried aloud for mercy. One young man being +powerfully wrought upon retired up stairs, and then thumped about on the +floor, so that Mr. Boehm was afraid that he would be injured in body. +‘To be sure,’ said he, ‘I never saw God work in this way before.’ I told +him there was no danger, he was in the hands of a merciful God. In a few +minutes after, in attempting to come down stairs, he fell from the top to +the bottom, and hallooed aloud, ‘The devil is in the chamber! the devil +is in the chamber!’ which greatly alarmed all the people. This brought +a great damp over my spirits, for I thought if I had raised the devil I +might as well go home again. However, after a little space, I bid some +of the good people go up stairs and see if the devil was there. Several +went up to see what the matter was, and there they found a man rolling, +groaning, and crying to God for mercy. They returned and told us how +the matter stood. When I dismissed the people many wept around me; some +said they had found peace, some were truly awakened, and others deeply +convicted.”[3] + +Such is Mr. Abbott’s description of the scenes that occurred in the old +house where my grandfather used to live. I heard him, and beheld the +strange scenes he relates. It was more like pentecost than anything else +I ever saw. The influence of that meeting was tremendous, and for years +it made a great deal of talk in my father’s neighborhood. + +RICHARD WEBSTER was the second Methodist preacher raised up in America. +He joined at the second Conference, 1774, with Philip Gatch, when there +were only twenty Methodist preachers in America and two thousand members. +He was appointed to Baltimore Circuit with the excellent George Shadford +and Edward Dromgoole. He used to preach in my father’s barn long before +the Chapel was built, and I listened to him with great delight. He was +a fine specimen of the early Methodist ministers. He was a perfect +Christian gentleman, a son of consolation; the Gospel flowed sweetly from +his lips. Mr. Webster was the first Methodist minister that Freeborn +Garrettson heard, and he greatly admired him. I heard him preach in after +years, as the shadows of the evening were gathering around him. + +SYLVESTER HUTCHINSON was a thundering preacher, who alarmed the careless +ones. In 1790 he preached at my father’s, and a glorious revival followed. + +RICHARD WHATCOAT was the Elder in 1790,[4] and I heard him preach. He +was then stationed in Philadelphia, and the only Methodist preacher in +that city. His text was, “There shall be a handful of corn in the earth +on the top of the mountains,” etc. I well remember the preacher and his +illustrations, and the mighty effect produced by the sermon, although it +is now over seventy years ago. + +WILLIAM THOMAS was a good minister of Jesus; I heard him on the witness +of the spirit. Our fathers were great in preaching experimental +Christianity, especially the knowledge of sins forgiven. + +JOHN JARRELL I heard in 1793. He was lively and energetic. His discourse +was against Winchester’s doctrine of Universal Restoration. “See the +wicked,” said he, “coming up from the furnace of fire. What will they +sing in heaven? ‘Unto Him who hath loved us and washed us from our sins +in his own blood be glory for ever?’ No. They cannot sing any such song; +but ‘Unto hell fire that hath purified us and made us meet for heaven, be +glory for evermore.’ This is the only song they can sing. Will any such +song be heard in heaven?” Thus he used irony in exposing and refuting +error. Mr. Jarrell was a fine-looking man, with a splendid voice, which +he knew how to use to purpose. He was very popular and successful. He +entered the traveling connection in 1786, and, after having traveled ten +years, died in Wilmington, Delaware. + +VALENTINE COOK was over six feet high, with dark complexion, long arms, +very black hair, coarse and bushy, and dark piercing eyes. He had a +fine cultivated intellect and a powerful voice. He was an extraordinary +preacher, and I listened to him with great delight. In after years I +heard of his fame when traveling with Bishop Asbury in the West. + +JOSEPH EVERETT was a soldier of the Revolution, and a standard-bearer +in the ranks of Methodism. He preached in Boehm’s neighborhood in +1793. He abhorred slavery, and preached against it with all his might, +denouncing it in no measured terms. Sometimes he would refuse to eat with +slaveholders till they had freed their slaves. I spent weeks with him +at Dr. White’s in Cambridge after he had retired from the regular work, +and could only ask, “How goes the battle?” Mr. Everett was six feet +high, well proportioned, of a commanding appearance, very agreeable in +conversation, and full of anecdotes and reminiscences of olden times. + +SIMON MILLER was a native of Lancaster County. He possessed much of +this world’s goods, but he was ready to make any sacrifice to preach +the Gospel. He was a man of deep piety and remarkable gifts. He was the +spiritual father of Jacob Gruber. I recollect with gratitude the efforts +he made for my salvation, how earnestly he labored, what sympathy he +manifested. He was a German, and preached in his vernacular. He received +him into society in 1792, when he was but a school-boy. His ministerial +career was brief but brilliant; his end triumphant. He joined the +traveling connection in 1791, and died, deeply lamented, in 1795. He left +no children. Thomas Ware married his widow. + +WILLIAM JESSOP was a tall man, with a prominent nose and a very grave +countenance. I knew him intimately, and heard him preach often. +He joined the traveling connection in 1784, the year in which the +Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. Mr. Jessop occupied prominent +appointments. In 1790 he was stationed in New York, and the next year +volunteered to go to Nova Scotia. He died of consumption in the latter +part of 1795, and was buried in the graveyard connected with Boehm’s +Chapel. His last sermon was on the sufferings of Christ, and was one +of the most melting I ever heard. He was reduced almost to a skeleton; +his face was pale, his eye sunken and glassy, his voice sepulchral, his +countenance grave, and his manner solemn as eternity. The preacher and +his auditors felt that his days were numbered. A few days after he died +in triumph, exclaiming, “My work is done! Glory, glory!” He expired at +Strasburg, at the house of John Miller, who was a brother of Simon the +preacher. This family were great friends of the preachers. They nursed +them when sick, and when dying they smoothed their pillow. John and +Simon Miller helped to give character and stability to Methodism in that +region. Mr. Jessop, knowing he could not survive long, sent to Bishop +Asbury requesting him to preach his funeral sermon. The bishop complied, +and preached it at Boehm’s Chapel. He says in his journal: “I had my +difficulties in speaking of a man so well known and so much beloved. He +was always solemn, and few such holy, steady men have we found among us.” + +MICHAEL H. R. WILSON visited Lancaster County, and fell at his post +while the dew of his youth was upon him. He was from Maryland, and only +twenty-eight years old when he died, on April 24, 1798. He finished +his course with joy at John Miller’s, in Strasburg, in the same room +where William Jessop had expired three years before, and they were both +interred in the same ground. + +But time would fail to tell of Caleb Boyer, John Bloodgood, John +M’Claskey, Joseph Cromwell, John Haggerty, and others, from whom I heard +the Gospel, and to whom I am indebted for my Methodism. These were the +pioneers in the great work of introducing Methodism into Lancaster County. + +Bishop Asbury early visited my father’s house. In July, 1799, he came +there with Jesse Lee, who was then his traveling companion. They both +preached at Boehm’s Chapel; the bishop from Heb. vi, 12, Mr. Lee from +Isa. xxx, 31. The latter wandered among the tombs, and stood by the +grave of William Jessop, whom he greatly loved, and wept there, and then +rejoiced for his triumphant death and the consoling thought that “them +that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Reluctantly turning away +from the grave with his eyes moist with tears, he offered the prayer +that has been repeated a thousand times: “Let me die the death of the +righteous, and let my last end be like his.” + +Mr. Lee gives a description of my father, of his conversion, his +personal appearance, his long white beard, his call to the ministry, and +his praying in German in the family after Bishop Asbury had prayed in +English.[5] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +BOEHM’S CHAPEL. + + +Great interests cluster around the early Methodist chapels. Boehm’s +Chapel is distinguished for its antiquity. It was the first Methodist +house of worship built in Lancaster County, now studded with Methodist +temples. The plan of the edifice was furnished in 1790 by Richard +Whatcoat, afterward bishop. He was elder at the time, and came there to +administer the ordinances. Years before the erection of this building, +as early as 1775, the year I was born, a class was formed at my father’s +house. My mother was one of the first who joined, and therefore belonged +to the first race of Methodists in America. Until the chapel was built +my grandfather’s house was used as the preaching place, except on great +occasions, when it was too small; then they used the barn. + +Boehm’s Chapel was erected in 1791, the year in which Shadrach Bostwick, +Joshua Taylor, and other strong men of our Israel were received on trial. +The house was built on a hill, from which there is a fine view of the +neighborhood country, and was surrounded by trees, which still remain, +adding to the beauty of the scene. The house was built of limestone; was +forty feet deep and thirty-two wide, and had galleries. It was called +“Boehm’s Chapel,” because it was built upon Boehm’s land in Boehm’s +neighborhood, and because the different families of Boehms did much +toward its erection, and were regular attendants there. In the same way +“Barratt’s Chapel,” “Gatch’s Chapel,” “Watters’s Chapel,” and others, +obtained their names. My brother Jacob gave the land for the house and +the burying-ground. In this ground my honored parents were buried. + +There were wonderful gatherings at Boehm’s Chapel. The bishops and the +great men of Methodism found their way there, and preached the word. At +quarterly meetings the people came from Philadelphia and the Eastern +Shore of Maryland and the Western Shore from Watters’s neighborhood. +Boehm’s Chapel was a great center of influence. It is difficult now to +estimate the position it once occupied in Methodism. My father was “given +to hospitality,” and at great meetings fifty and even one hundred have +been entertained at his house. Several itinerant ministers were raised +up and went out from the neighborhood of Boehm’s Chapel to preach the +Gospel. Ten I now think of, and there may be others: Joseph Jewell, who +was Nathan Bangs’s first presiding elder in Canada; Simon Miller, Richard +Sneath, William and James Hunter, James and William Mitchell, Thomas and +Robert Burch, and Henry Boehm. David Best and James Aiken were from the +circuit. It is singular they were all from Ireland except Jewell, Miller, +and myself. + +Great quarterly meetings were held in this house. I will notice one held +in 1798. Thomas Ware was the presiding elder, William Colbert and William +P. Chandler the circuit preachers. The meeting began on Saturday, and +while the presiding elder was praying the Holy Ghost filled the house +where they had assembled. The work of revival commenced, and such were +the cries of distress, the prayers for mercy heard all over the house, +in the gallery as well as the lower part, that it was impossible for Mr. +Ware to preach. He came down from the pulpit, and the brethren went to +the penitent ones, as they found them in different parts of the house, +and pointed them to Jesus, and prayed with them. They were assembled in +different groups praying for the broken-hearted, and one after another +found redemption in the blood of the Lamb. It was impossible to close the +meeting, so it continued all day and most of the night. Sunday morning +came, and they attempted to hold a regular love-feast, but all in vain. +The cries of mourners, the prayers for mercy, and shout after shout as +one after another passed from death unto life, made it impossible to +proceed. On Saturday, when I beheld my niece Nancy Keaggy kneeling near +me in an agony of prayer asking for mercy, the comparatively innocent +child so intent on forgiveness, my heart was melted, my eyes were filled +with tears, and again I knelt down and there “gave my wanderings o’er by +giving God my heart.” There God restored to me the joy of his salvation. +Then I united with the Church, a duty I ought to have performed years +before. I was admitted by Thomas Ware. + +A few months before my probation expired they appointed me class-leader +at Soudersburg. The brethren knew what I had lost by refusing to bear +the yoke in my youth, and they were determined to put it on me and +make me wear it. I begged, but there was no excuse. They threw the +responsibility on me, and said, “On such a day, Henry, do you go and +meet that class.” I was living at my brother Jacob’s, near where the +class met. On Saturday I took my horse and rode to my father’s, eight +miles. My object was to have a good excuse for not meeting the class. +My father was absent preaching. The devotional exercises of the family +devolved on me, and I attended family prayer. The power of God came down, +and my beloved mother and a relative were so overwhelmed they fell to +the floor, and the room was filled with glory. That Saturday night I +retired to rest, but not to sleep. In the morning I rode nine miles and +met the class. We had a refreshing season. I dared not stay away. I took +the manifestations of power the evening before as an indication that I +should obey the preachers in taking charge of the class. I continued to +meet that class for over two years, till I became an itinerant minister. +To the class-meeting I am greatly indebted. There I was “strengthened,” +“stablished,” “settled.” + +A great revival followed that quarterly meeting. My father’s children +and grandchildren shared largely in it. Some moved to Canada, some to +Ohio, and other parts of the West. They are nearly all now in heaven. +The revival spread to the Peninsula, from that to Baltimore in 1800, and +the influence was felt all over the country. Bishop Asbury mentions my +brother Jacob, and says, “God has begun to work in the children of this +family. The parents have followed us for the space of twenty years.” +On August 31, 1799, he says: “I had a comfortable time at Boehm’s +church. Here lieth the dust of William Jessop and Michael R. Wilson.... +Martin Boehm is upon wings and springs since the Lord has blessed his +grandchildren. His son Henry is greatly led out in public exercises.” +This is the mention the bishop makes of my boyish performances. Honorable +mention I might make of the ministers who were engaged in this revival: +Thomas Ware, William Colbert, and William Penn Chandler. The latter was +my spiritual father. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1800. + + +The General Conference of 1800 was one of the most remarkable in the +history of our Church. The revival at that time was the greatest that +has ever occurred during the session of any General Conference. I was a +visitor, and had peculiar opportunities to witness the wonderful scenes +that created joy on earth and in heaven. All the accounts we have had are +extremely meager. As I have been preserved, while all who were actors in +those scenes are gone, I will describe what I heard and saw at that time. +Is it not generally known that the greatest displays of divine power and +the most numerous conversions were in private houses, in prayer-meetings? +And yet the preaching was highly honored of God, for the ministers were +endued with power from on high. I kept in my journal a particular account +of their texts and themes. + +The General Conference commenced its session on Tuesday, May 6, in +Light-street, Baltimore. All the General Conferences, from the famous +Christmas conference to the first delegated conference, were held in +Baltimore. Baltimore was a small place to what it is now. We then +called it Baltimore town. The Methodists had two church edifices, one +in Light-street, the other in Oldtown, which was in the suburbs. This +was the first time I had ever seen a body of Methodist preachers; only +now and then one who wended his way to my father’s neighborhood. The +conference was then composed of all the traveling elders. The strong +men of Methodism were there, and such a noble class of men I had never +beheld. There were Philip Bruce, Jesse Lee, George Roberts, John +Bloodgood, William P. Chandler, John M’Claskey, Ezekiel Cooper, Nicholas +Snethen, Thomas Morrell, Joseph Totten, Lawrence M’Combs, Thomas F. +Sargent, William Burke, William M’Kendree, and other prominent men. These +were representative men who laid the broad foundations of Methodism east, +west, north, and south. What a privilege to hear them debate, and listen +to their sermons! + +Such was the health of Bishop Asbury he thought of resigning; but the +conference, in order to relieve him, authorized him to take an elder +as a traveling companion. This the bishop did during the remainder of +life. They elected Richard Whatcoat bishop, he having a majority of four +votes over Jesse Lee. I witnessed the excitement attending the different +ballotings. The first, no election; the second, a tie; the third, Richard +Whatcoat was elected. + +I will now make some extracts from my journal, written sixty-five years +ago. + +“_Sabbath morning, May 11, 1800._—I heard Bishop Asbury preach in +Light-street Church on the perfect law of liberty. He had great liberty +in preaching, and multitudes as well as myself were blessed under +the word. In the afternoon Rev. Thomas Lyell, on making our calling +and election sure. There was preaching at four o’clock in two places +on the streets, and several were converted. In the evening we had a +prayer-meeting at Brother William Bruff’s. After we began to sing and +pray the people crowded in till the house was filled, and the awakening +and converting power of God was displayed. After the prayer-meeting was +over we went to Oldtown meeting-house, singing the praises of God along +the streets. This greatly surprised the people, and hundreds came running +out of their houses and followed us till we reached the house of God. +There were wonderful exhibitions of power as we went through the streets, +and we entered the house singing and shouting the praises of God. Five +were converted that evening. It was heaven in my soul and glory all +around. On Monday evening we went to John Chalmers’s to prayer-meeting. +It was a powerful meeting. God’s people prayed that sinners might be +awakened and converted. Heaven heard their petitions, and twenty-four +were converted to God that night. The meeting lasted till two o’clock the +next morning. God was converting the people in three different rooms at +the same time. I never saw such a night. Glory! glory! + +“_Tuesday, May 13._ Numbers stayed at Brother Bruff’s over night, and the +work of revival soon began. In the morning, Philip Bruce came to us and +went to prayer, and the Lord answered and came in our midst. Some were +crying for mercy, while others were leaping for joy. We then came down to +Brother Price’s and began to sing, and some of the neighbors came in and +we went to prayer. The Lord was there of a truth. Several were converted, +and one who was in the class yesterday. This is a day of feasting. The +Lord is at work in all parts of the town. There were six converted last +night at the Point. Brother Chalmers preached a sermon at six o’clock +at Brother Bruff’s, and two more were converted. In the evening went +to Oldtown meeting, and God’s power was there, and several more were +converted. + +“_Wednesday, 14._ In the evening Brother Smith preached at Brother +Bruff’s; many rejoiced in the God of their salvation. After that we went +to Oldtown meeting, where Rev. John M’Claskey preached a powerful sermon. +The Lord blessed his word: there were six converted. The children of +darkness were very mad. + +“_Thursday, 15._ Felt very weak, being up every night till after twelve +o’clock; but it is in a good cause. Rested to-day at Brother Martin’s. In +the evening went to Brother Bruff’s. At 5 o’clock Rev. Lawrence M’Combs +preached. He impressed holiness upon the people. Many saw a great beauty +in it. While he was preaching, one was converted; before the meeting +broke up, two more were set at liberty. Old and young were leaping for +joy. My soul, praise the Lord! + +“_Friday, 16._ Spent the day in the Conference. The Lord is with the +preachers of a truth. In the evening went to meeting again at Brother +Bruff’s. Christopher Sprye preached a powerful sermon. After preaching +the Lord began to work, and eighteen were converted that night. ‘Christ +the Lord is come to reign.’ + +“_Saturday, 17._ Stayed last night at Brother Chalmers’s, at the Point. +Heard Dr. Thomas F. Sargent preach from 2 Cor. vi, 1, ‘We then, as +workers together with him,’ etc. He spoke with great liberty. Some were +crying for mercy. This evening, at Brother Bruff’s, three were converted. + +“Sunday, the 18th, was a great day in Baltimore among the Methodists. +The ordination sermon was preached by Rev. Thomas Coke, LL.D., in +Light-street Church. Crowds at an early hour thronged the temple. The +doctor preached from Rev. ii, 8, ‘And unto the angel of the Church at +Smyrna write; These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead +and is alive,’ etc. After the sermon, which was adapted to the occasion, +Richard Whatcoat was ordained a Bishop in the Church of God by the +imposition of the hands of Dr. Coke and Bishop Asbury, assisted by +several elders. Never were holy hands laid upon a holier head. In those +days we went ‘out into the highways and hedges and compelled them to come +in.’ That afternoon Jesse Lee preached in the market-house on Howard’s +Hill, from John xvii, 3, ‘And this is life eternal, that they might +know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.’ The +Lord was there in a powerful manner. Several were converted; one in the +evening at Brother Bruff’s.” + +Jesse Lee makes the following record in his Journal: “The power of the +Lord came down upon us while I was preaching, and the people wept and +roared aloud and prayed most earnestly. Joseph Totten exhorted with life. +Afterward several prayed with those who were under conviction.” + +“On Monday, the 19th, Richard Sneath preached in the evening. Many came +to hear the word of the Lord and were affected. After preaching we went +to John Chalmers’s. We had a glorious time. Eight were converted, and +about that number received the second blessing. The meeting was going +on in three rooms; sinners were crying for mercy in each, and the glory +of God filled the room as one after another passed from death unto +life. This was a never-to-be-forgotten night. A shout of victory in one +room inspired them in another. The meeting was continued with unabated +interest until three o’clock the next morning. + +“On Tuesday, the 20th, I heard the Rev. Jesse Lee preach at Brother +Bruff’s. Many were powerfully wrought upon under the word. In those days +he preached with unusual power and success. Several of the old fathers +and mothers stayed here after preaching, and while they were talking +about the goodness of God such a melting power came down that almost all +who were present were melted into tears. + +“_Wednesday, 21._ Yesterday Conference adjourned, and the preachers have +parted and are going to different parts of the continent, having got a +fresh spring from heaven. About five in the evening the young converts +met together at Brother Bruff’s. Brother James Moore and several of the +preachers were with us. We sung and prayed with them. The Lord was with +us of a truth. Some of the sisters related their experience, which was +rendered a great blessing to all who were present. It filled me with joy +to see so many young people happy in God; some of them were strangers to +God only a few days ago. At night we went to the Point; the power of God +was among the people; many were crying for mercy, and four were converted +to God. After meeting I went home with Brother Haskins. + +“_Thursday, May 22._ Came up to Oldtown this morning. I am told there +were seven souls converted last night at the upper end of the town in a +prayer-meeting. The devil can’t stand the prayers of the faithful ones. +It seems there was the most good done in the prayer-meetings. The Lord +loves simplicity.” + +Bishop Asbury writes only fifteen lines concerning this wonderful +Conference. He says, “The unction that attended the word was great; +more than one hundred souls professed conversion during the sitting of +the Conference.” Bishop Whatcoat is still more brief. In nine lines he +tells the story. “We had a most blessed time and much preaching, fervent +prayers and strong exhortations through the city, while the high praises +of a gracious God reverberated from street to street and from house to +house. It was thought that not less than two hundred were converted +during the Conference.”—_Journal_, p. 29. Jesse Lee’s account is also +short: “Such a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord has not +been felt in that town for some years.”—_Lee’s History_, p. 271. + +During this Conference I became acquainted with many choice spirits, +both among the ministry and laity; among the rest, Dr. Thomas Coke. +I not only had the pleasure of hearing the doctor preach and make +motions and speeches in the Conference, but also of dining with him +and Bishop Asbury. The doctor was a short man, and rather corpulent. +He had a beautiful face, and it was full of expression, a sweet smile +often playing over his features. His eyes were dark and his look very +piercing. His voice was soft and full of melody, unless raised to a +very high pitch, and then it was harsh, discordant, and squeaking. His +conversational powers were great. He was very entertaining. He did a +noble work for American Methodism, and should ever be remembered with the +liveliest sentiments of gratitude. He sleeps in the Indian Ocean, “till +the sea give up its dead.” + +Brother Bruff, at whose house such glorious meetings were held, and where +so many souls were converted, was a most excellent man. He had married +Catharine, sister of Harry Ennalls, of Dorchester; she was instrumental +in introducing Methodism into that county. She was a sister to Governor +Bassett’s first wife. Mrs. Bruff was a very superior woman; her Christian +virtues shone with transcendent luster. She was very useful in that +revival, as well as many other holy women whose names are in the Book of +Life. + +It will be seen that John Chalmers did a noble work. He joined the +Conference in 1788, but had located. Years after, side by side, I fought +with this veteran the battles of the Lord. I never knew a more courageous +soldier, one that used sharper arrows, or had more splendid victories. We +shall see more of him before we are through with this narrative. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE—GREAT REVIVALS—BARRATT’S CHAPEL. + + +We reluctantly bade adieu to our kind friends in Baltimore on Saturday, +May 24, 1800, and started for Duck Creek (now called Smyrna) Cross Roads, +the seat of the Philadelphia Conference, in company with Dr. Chandler, +L. M’Combs, Samuel Coate, John Chalmers, and Shadrach Bostwick. We went +in a packet to Georgetown Cross Roads, and arrived just in time for a +love-feast. Some of those present had been to Baltimore and beheld the +wonderful works of God, and returned home full of the holy fire, and the +revival extended to that place. On Monday Dr. Chandler and I went to Duck +Creek Cross Roads, and were entertained at Brother George Kennard’s. + +The revival at the Philadelphia Conference is a matter of history as one +of the most remarkable that has taken place on this continent, and yet we +have had few particulars. All the bishops and preachers who were there +are dead, and I alone am left to give an account. Fortunately I kept +a record of what took place every day. It was written with the utmost +simplicity, and I transcribe it because every scrap of the history of +that period is valuable. It shows the simplicity of the times, and how +our fathers did in days of old. + +“We had preaching on the evening of May 27. The power of God was +among the people. Some were convicted of sin. On Thursday evening a +prayer-meeting was held. God’s people were blessed, and went singing and +shouting on their way home. + +“On Friday, the 30th, Brother Chandler and I went to meet Bishops Asbury +and Whatcoat. Bishop Whatcoat arrived, and preached from ‘Come out from +among them, and be ye separate,’ etc. It was a season of refreshing from +the presence of the Lord. Bishop Asbury had gone to Dover, and did not +come till Sunday. On Saturday evening Brother John Chalmers preached. +There was considerable of a move. The expectations of the people were +greatly raised. Some were powerfully convicted, and others shouted aloud +the praise of God. + +“On Sunday, June 1, a prayer-meeting was held at sunrise. At eleven +o’clock Father Whatcoat preached from Rev. xi, 18: ‘And the nations were +angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead,’ etc. He preached +with great liberty; the word was powerful; many were convicted of sin, +and others rejoiced in the God of their salvation. I never felt happier +in my life. After preaching a love-feast was held, in which one was +converted. There was preaching in the afternoon and evening, and great +power among the people. + +“On Monday morning, June 2, the conference commenced its session. At +sunrise Anning Owen preached on Christian perfection; it was a theme he +loved. Quite a number were present at this early hour. I never saw such a +beauty in holiness before. There were sixty-six preachers present at the +conference. The conference was held at a private house; the meeting-house +was used for religious services. Tuesday was a great day. The work began +in the morning, and went on all day and the greater part of the night, +and numbers were converted. + +“On Wednesday, about sunrise, there was a sermon preached, and the power +came down upon the people. The work then went on all day and until three +o’clock the next morning, and many were brought to rejoice in God their +Saviour. I never saw such a glorious time; it exceeds what we have just +witnessed in Baltimore. Sinners are flocking home; the people of God are +getting happier and happier. I feel thankful that I ever came to Duck +Creek Cross Roads. + +“_Thursday, 5._ This morning we had a glorious love-feast. The power of +God was among the people, and many rejoiced with exceeding great joy. +The work of revival continued; sinners were crying for mercy, and many +obtained pardon. Many were converted at Brother Kennard’s house. The +work of God continued all this day and most of the night. Great numbers +were converted. In the evening a sermon was preached, followed by an +exhortation; both delivered with great power. God was among the people. +Such a night I never beheld, such a shout I never heard. I think there +were upward of two hundred people who shouted at one time. It was glory +all over the house, and I hope it will be remembered throughout all +eternity.” + +Bishop Asbury mentions the revival in his journal, and says, “Over one +hundred souls were converted to God.” Jesse Lee says “one hundred and +fifty.” They both made too low an estimate. + +There were great revivalists at this conference: W. 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 church continued forty-five hours without cessation. Many +were converted in private houses and at family prayer as well as in the +house of the Lord. This revival did immense good; the preachers returned +to their work like flames of fire. + +As the Philadelphia Conference held its session six hours each day, the +members were obliged to be present; but as I was not a member I had +nothing to interrupt me or to call off my attention from the revival, +but devoted every moment to the blessed work. For several nights I did +not take off my clothes, but lay down upon the sofa and rested a little +while, and then up and right into the thickest of the battle. Thus was +I employed for days and nights, and was an eye and ear witness to the +joyful scenes that were occurring. + +This was my second visit to Duck Creek. I was there in 1798 with Dr. +William P. Chandler, and then we put up at Brother George Kennard’s. This +was my home at the conference in 1800, and there we had the company of +Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat. Brother Kennard was a gentleman, a merchant, +a great business man, and a thorough Methodist. He used to correspond +with Bishop Asbury. His house was one of the choice Methodist homes in +that day, and there in after years I was made very welcome. + +The scenes which I witnessed in the revival at Baltimore during the +General Conference, and then so soon after in the one at Duck Creek Cross +Roads, come up freshly before me after over threescore years, and I still +feel the sacred flame. And yet a kind of melancholy comes over me when I +remember I am the sole survivor that took an active part in the scenes +that angels must have contemplated with delight. Like an aged oak, I +remain while all the trees have fallen around me. + +At this conference Richard Whatcoat first presided as bishop. A number of +young men were received, who occupied prominent stations and made their +mark in after years: Learner Blackman, Jacob Gruber, well known for his +virtues and eccentricities, William Williams, and others. + +This remarkable conference closed on the 6th of June, at nine o’clock, +and I started for my father’s house, walking sixty miles to the rural +district of Lancaster; having seen more, heard more, enjoyed more, since +I left home, than in all my lifetime before. It was an ever-memorable +period in my history. + +Twice before I had been down the Peninsula with Dr. Chandler, and +witnessed wonderful displays of the power of God; the first in 1798, the +second in 1799, when there was a great revival on Cecil Circuit, the +flame of which spread to Baltimore. I was permitted again to accompany +him. The reason was, my health had suddenly failed. I was mowing in my +brother’s meadow in August; the day was excessively hot, and I perspired +most freely; while in this state I walked through cold spring water, and +it checked perspiration and affected my whole system. I was so ill that I +was obliged to leave the meadow and return home. When I reached the house +I found Dr. Chandler, the circuit preacher, had just arrived. He was a +physician and minister, and could attend to bodies as well as souls. His +arrival seemed to be providential, and may have saved my life. He saw +the critical state I was in, and that there was no time to be lost. He +immediately bled me, which afforded instant relief. And yet I continued +very weak and unable to work, therefore the doctor proposed that I should +go with him to Cape Henlopen, where I could be benefited by sea-bathing. +With great joy I accepted the invitation, and we soon were ready for our +journey. Better company no one could have, and I had this to comfort me, +my medical adviser was with me. I believe that tour not only benefited my +health, but had a great influence in shaping my destiny in after years. + +On our way we stopped at a quarterly meeting at “Barratt’s Chapel.” This +chapel was twelve miles below Dover, in Delaware, between Dover and +Milford. It was built of brick, on land belonging to Philip Barratt, who +rendered much assistance, and therefore it was called “Barratt’s Chapel.” +Francis Asbury encouraged its erection. He visited this place on March +20, 1780, and had an interview with Philip Barratt and Waitman Scipple, +and he says, they “determined to go about the chapel.” They then fixed +the site, concluding “to set it near the drawbridge.” Such was the origin +of this chapel. Mr. Asbury, we see, was the prime mover. He also helped +raise means to erect it, for on November 8, 1780, at Perdin’s, after +lecturing, he “engaged the friends to subscribe seven hundred weight of +pork toward the meeting-house at Barratt’s.”—_Journal_, vol. i, p. 410. + +Philip Barratt was a noble man, and he and Francis Asbury were great +friends. I did not know him, he was gone before my time, but I knew +his children. He had three sons: Andrew was a judge, and a man of +talents. He lived near the church, and we put up with him. Doctor +Barratt was a practicing physician. Caleb was the only son who was a +member of our Church; the others were friendly. How would the spirit +of Philip Barratt (as well as that of Asbury) rejoice to know that he +had a great-grandson a foreign missionary. The Rev. William Prettyman, +formerly of the Philadelphia, then of the Baltimore Conference, married +a daughter of Doctor Barratt, and his son, Doctor William Prettyman, is +the Superintendent of our Methodist Mission in Bulgaria, Turkey. The +Methodist seed among the descendants of Philip Barratt has not run out. + +This is the famous chapel where Doctor Coke and Asbury met for the first +time and embraced each other. Famous meeting! of great hearts and kindred +spirits who have met long since in a far more glorious temple, + + “Where perfect love and friendship reign + To all eternity.” + +Here the plan was formed for the meeting of the Methodist Minister’s +Conference in Baltimore, by which the Methodist Episcopal Church was +organized in 1784. + +In the love-feast at this quarterly meeting I made a covenant with God, +that if he would restore me to health I would dedicate myself wholly to +him, and would do the work of an evangelist to the best of my ability. I +here made the promise, and the covenant I have always kept in mind; and +I have not only taken “the cup of salvation and called upon the name of +the Lord,” but have been enabled “to pay my vows in the presence of his +people.” + +I traveled that circuit some years after, and was presiding elder of the +district, and often preached at this heaven-honored chapel; but never did +I enter it without peculiar feelings, remembering the love-feast and my +self-consecration to the work of the ministry. + +Sunday being over, Dr. Chandler and myself started for Lewistown and Cape +Henlopen. We put up at Caleb Rodney’s. The light-house was kept by a +local preacher named J. R. Hargus. I stayed with him at the light-house +and bathed in the salt water. I had never seen the ocean before. I was so +weak that when I walked down upon the shore the breezes from the ocean +almost deprived me of my breath. I went in to bathe at one time and +the waves came rolling in from the ocean and threw me down, and I was +greatly frightened. I did not know but the returning waves would carry +me out where I could not get back. The fright and being thrown down set +my blood circulating, roused it to action, and did me much good. Dr. +Chandler, when he saw me thrown down by the undertow, and witnessed my +fright, laughed, and said, “that was just what he wanted; he was glad of +it; it would benefit me more than all the medicine I could take.” The +doctor was right. In less than a week I had greatly improved; and there +was prospect of soon recovering my strength. In a little time I was as +well as ever: a happy soul in a sound body. + +The next Sabbath, on our return, we attended a quarterly meeting at +Milford. The place of worship was too small to hold the vast multitudes, +and they were obliged to go in a grove to preach the word. There was a +mighty outpouring of the Spirit of God, and many exclaimed, “Men and +brethren, what shall we do?” During the exercises, one man—a person of +standing and influence—was so affected that he tried to hold himself up +as he stood trembling by a sapling, but he could not stand. He got down +on the ground and cried for mercy, and there he experienced religion. He +united with the Methodist Church and became a very useful member. + +The Rev. William Mills, of Philadelphia Conference, preached. His +text was novel and his explanations original. It was 1 Sam. xxx, 24: +“But as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part +be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.” He said the +itinerant preachers were the ones that went to battle for God and +truth—standard-bearers in the Christian army, achieving victory after +victory over the king’s enemies; but they must not think they were to +receive all the reward—as if they accomplished all that was done. He +showed that it was as necessary for some to stay by the stuff as it was +for others to go into the battle; both were doing the work of the Lord. +The local preachers and exhorters and class-leaders and private members +that stay by the stuff should not lose their reward, but their part shall +be equal to those that went to battle. This is the order of Heaven, and +nothing could be more just and proper than this law, that those who stay +at home to defend house and property have equal right to the spoils of +victory as those who go forth to battle. + +The next day I returned to my father’s house a healthier, wiser, and +better man than when I left. The scenes I witnessed on the tour are very +vivid before me after the lapse of over threescore years. Dr. Chandler’s +kindness to me was unparalleled. He lives in my affections, and I look +back upon him as one of the finest specimens of a Christian gentleman +with whom it has been my good fortune to be associated. + +When I arrived at home my father was about to take a ministerial tour +through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the great valley of Virginia, or +what was known as “New Virginia.” He wished me to accompany him, and I +did so. We were absent from home about a month. It was in September and +October. I kept a diary in the German language, written every day, of +where we were and what we were doing. It is still carefully preserved. +My father was a German preacher, then holding some connection with the +“United Brethren.” The Rev. William Otterbein was with the same people. +We traveled every day, and my father preached in German, and I exhorted +after him, sometimes in German and sometimes in English. He preached +with great life, power, and success, and had many seals to his ministry. +We went as far as Winchester, Va., where he preached in the Methodist +church, and under the sermon one was awakened, namely, Simon Lauck, who +afterward became a traveling preacher and a member of the Baltimore +Conference. My father also preached at the Rev. Henry Smith’s father’s. I +remember his text and sermon well. + +I had an opportunity of getting more particularly acquainted with the +distinguished ministers connected with the United Brethren. They held +great meetings that were often attended with power. Their annual meeting +was held September 25, at Peter Kemp’s, in Frederick County, Maryland. +This was important in many respects. First, they resolved to call +themselves “_The Church of the United Brethren in Christ_.” Second, they +elected bishops for the first time. William Otterbein and Martin Boehm +(my father) were unanimously chosen. Here were assembled their great men: +Gueting, Newcomer, Draksel, and the two brothers Crums. The meeting was +full of interest. Reports were given from different parts of the work, +and each minister gave an account of the progress of the work of God in +his own soul. They had at that time but little order and discipline, and +what I had seen of the order and discipline of the Methodists at the +General Conference in Baltimore and at the Philadelphia Conference showed +me the vast superiority of the latter, and I made up my mind to enter +their itinerant ministry. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +MY FIRST CIRCUIT, DORCHESTER. + + +In January, 1800, I began my regular itinerant life. It was on Dorchester +Circuit, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in Philadelphia Conference. +The peninsula that lies between the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, though +not considered very healthy, was the garden of Methodism in America. +Methodism was early introduced there, and for a time the ministers were +greatly persecuted; but they achieved a glorious success. The heroic +Garrettson was persecuted; Caleb B. Pedicord, the sweet singer of our +Israel, received scars which he carried with him to the grave; Joseph +Hartley was imprisoned, and through the grates of his prison preached +deliverance to the captive; and Thomas S. Chew took the sheriff prisoner +who had taken him captive. Dorchester Circuit was formed in 1780. It was +a large circuit, embracing not only Dorchester County, but Taylor’s and +Hooper’s Island in the Chesapeake Bay. + +The introduction of Methodism into Dorchester can be traced to the +conversion of a young woman, Miss Catharine, sister of Harry Ennalls. +She was afterward Mrs. Bruff of Baltimore, who was so useful in the +revival at the General Conference of 1800. Through her influence her +sister Mary, and her husband, the Hon. Richard Bassett of Delaware, were +converted; also Henry Airey, Esq. It was at Squire Airey’s house that +Freeborn Garrettson preached the first Methodist sermon in Dorchester +County, and from that house he was taken to the jail at Cambridge. The +squire threw over Mr. Garrettson the mantle of his protection as far as +he was able. I learned while traveling there that all the ringleaders in +that mob died a violent death, except Batt Ennalls, who was converted, +and joined the Church. I knew him very well, and preached at his house +when on that circuit. The sad end of these persecutors was considered a +special judgment from God. + +I was employed by Rev. Thomas Ware to preach on this circuit because John +Leach was sick and unable to travel. He was an excellent young man, with +a shattered constitution, who lingered a year or two, and then entered +into rest. I bade farewell to the scenes of my childhood and started to +go among strangers. My mother’s sweet kiss and my aged father’s blessing +I still remember. The tears rolled down my cheek as I looked back upon +the home of my childhood, the old family mansion, endeared to me by so +many tender associations. With weakness, fear, and much trembling, I +entered upon my new field of labor and began to cultivate Immanuel’s +land. The arrival of a new preacher, a German youth from Pennsylvania, +was soon noised abroad, and this called out many to see and hear. I was +reluctant to go to a circuit and preach in the English tongue. Had it +been in the German language I should not have been so embarrassed. + +For two months I suffered powerful temptation to abandon my work and +return home. I went to Brother Harry Ennalls’s. He lived near the +Choptank River, one of the largest streams on the Peninsula. His house +was a preaching-place and a home for the preachers. This family did not +belong to the class who were “afraid they would be eaten out of house +and home.” Harry Ennalls was a man of wealth, and he used this world +as not abusing it. His money gave him power and influence, which were +used to advance the great interest of the Redeemer’s kingdom. He was a +holy, zealous Christian, and a devout Methodist. One of our preachers, +Thomas Smith, met him and the late Hon. James A. Bayard, senator in +Congress from Delaware, at Governor Bassett’s. Harry Ennalls prayed +with great power and unction, talking with God as if he was used to +conversing with him. He did not forget the honorable statesman in his +prayer, but fervently invoked the blessing of God upon him. When he +had finished praying, and the family had risen from their knees, Mr. +Bayard was observed walking the floor very rapidly, much agitated; then +turning to Mr. Ennalls, he said, “Henry, what did you mean by shaking +your brimstone bag over me?” “To save you from hell, sir,” replied Mr. +Ennalls. Governor Bassett’s first wife was Harry Ennalls’s sister. +Harry Ennalls’s wife was one of the best of women. She was a Goldsbury, +related to Governor Goldsbury. This was one of the great families of +the Peninsula. They had no children, and always made the preachers very +welcome, and considered the younger as their children. Mrs. Ennalls, who +was a person of discernment, saw I was suffering under deep depression of +spirits. I was fearful I had mistaken my calling. Ingenuously she asked +me a great many questions, till she drew from me the real state of my +mind. When she found out that I was discouraged, and about to give up my +work in despair and return home, she gave me 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. You may lose your soul by +such an unwise, hasty step.” Then she exhorted me in the most earnest and +emphatic manner 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 “having 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 for life. She has been in the grave for many years, and +I remember her still with a heart overflowing with gratitude.[6] + +I then went to that famous house where the first sermon was preached in +Dorchester County by Freeborn Garrettson, where the widow of Squire Airey +resided. The old squire was dead and gone. By his position and character +he was enabled to do noble service for Methodism, and he deserves a +conspicuous place in the gallery of portraits of the distinguished laymen +of the early Methodist Church in America. His widow still lived in the +old homestead, and the itinerant ministers were made as welcome as when +he was alive. She lived but a short distance from Mr. Ennalls. In family +prayer we had a gracious time. The Holy Ghost descended in copious +effusions, and the widow was so baptized she shouted aloud for joy and +was greatly strengthened and encouraged. I retired to my couch feeling +that my soul was resting in God. + +It was in the month of March, and the snow had mantled the earth with its +sheet of white. I went to sleep sweetly and had a most singular dream. I +have never attached much importance to dreams, but this was so strange +that I will relate it; it will do no harm if it does no good. I dreamed +of seeing a large field of wheat, ripe, waving before the wind, ready +for the sickle, and the reapers were cutting it down and binding up the +golden sheaves. And there was a large field of green wheat, so extensive +I saw no end. This beautiful dream was a benefit to me; the idea of such +scenery at that time of the year, when the snow was on the ground, caused +me to rejoice, and the rejoicing to awake, and lo, it was but a dream. I +concluded this dream could not have come from an evil source, otherwise I +could not have been in such a happy state of mind; and if it was from a +good source, it was for some good purpose, and accordingly I thanked God +and took courage, and “went forth weeping, bearing precious seed,” not +doubting that I should “come again with rejoicing, bringing my sheaves +with me.” + +We had a number of appointments on Dorchester circuit. I have preserved +the names of all the classes and of all the members, both colored and +white, and of those who died during the year, and of those who married +out of the society, and all who were expelled. The record is singular; +it would be still more so if we knew the destiny of each of the persons +whose name is recorded; but they are all written in God’s book. Most +of them, no doubt, are in their graves. A prominent appointment was +Cambridge. It was here that the noble Garrettson was imprisoned. But +the days of persecution were passed, and Methodism was respected. +Here resided Dr. Edward White, who helped give tone and character to +Methodism. Among the names I find on the class-book in Cambridge are Dr. +Edward White, Mary Ann White, his wife, and Eliza White, Sarah White, and +Mary White, his three daughters. + +Religion did wonders for the colored people on this circuit, and hundreds +of them were converted. They sometimes took the name of their masters. +I copy from the African class at Cambridge: Edward, Lina, Jacob, Alice, +Ralph, Lua, David, Rhoda, Adam, Esther, Rachel, Harrie, Isaac, Minta, +Primus, Philus, Ned, Den, John, Drape, Rive, Robert, Tom, Jacob, David, +Adam, Esther. + +I preached at Ennalls’s meeting-house. There was also a class at Harry +Ennalls’s: on the book are the names of Harry Ennalls, leader; Sarah, +his wife, and Eliza Airey, the widow of Squire Airey. There are other +honorable names that I have not space to transcribe—they are in the book +of life. There were two colored classes that met at Ennalls’s: one had +twenty members, the other twenty-five. Among their names are Pompey, +Dido, Moses, and others. We not only had separate classes for the colored +people, but separate love-feasts; they were generally held in the morning +previous to the love-feasts for the whites, and were seasons of great +interest. Religion in its simplicity and power was exhibited by them. + +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. William +Pitt was the leader, and among the members were a number of Aireys. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +MY SECOND CIRCUIT, ANNAMESSEX, 1802. + + +Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat visited my circuit previous to the Conference +of 1801, which was held in Philadelphia. We had then but two houses of +worship in that city, St. George’s and Ebenezer. + +There was great political excitement at the time. Federalism and +Democracy ran high, and Jefferson and Adams were talked about everywhere. +Such was the excitement that it separated families and friends and +members of the Church. I was urged on every side to identify myself with +one political party or the other, or to express an opinion. I felt sad +to see what influence this state of feeling was producing in the Church. +I consulted Bishop Whatcoat, who said that our different political +sentiments should never affect our Christian fellowship and affections; +that each had a right to his own peculiar views, and we should make no +man an offender because his views of politics were different from ours. + +At this Conference I was not received on trial, because my recommendation +from Dorchester circuit, by some mistake, was not brought to the +Conference. I was received virtually, but not formally. The next year, +to the question in the Minutes, “Who remain on trial?” the answer is, +“Henry Boehm;” and at the end of the following year I was admitted into +full connection and ordained. The Minutes and Dr. Bangs’s History make me +one year younger in the traveling ministry than I am. I date from 1801, +the same year as Dr. Bangs and Bishop Hedding. + +At the Conference of 1801, William Colbert was appointed to Annamessex +Circuit, and Thomas Ware, the presiding elder, employed me to labor with +him. Mr. Colbert had charge also of Somerset Circuit, on which Daniel +Ryan and Edward Larkins traveled. + +The introduction of Methodism into this circuit was providential, and in +it we can see the hand of God. A Methodist preacher, whose name I have +forgotten, was on his way from the Line Chapel to Accomac, Virginia. +(It was so called because on the _line_ between Delaware and Maryland.) +The preacher being a stranger, inquired the best way to Accomac. He was +directed into the Cypress Swamp, which extended for many miles. + +Supposing it was the direct route, the unsuspecting stranger entered, +to learn, by sad experience, that he had been deceived. After wandering +about for a long time in the mud, bogs, and water, where he was in danger +of sinking, he came out of the swamp near the house of Jepthah Bowen, on +the east side of the Pocomoke River. His preservation was very singular, +equally so that he should have come out at the right place. Mr. Bowen +took the stranger in and gave him a hearty welcome. He was a member of +the Church of England, and learning his guest was a minister, proposed +prayer. The preacher prayed with so much power that he was invited to +preach at Mr. Bowen’s house. On his return from Virginia he did so, and +the people were so pleased with his sermon that Mr. Bowen’s house became +a regular preaching place. Thus Methodism was singularly introduced in +that section of the country. + +Jepthah Bowen was converted and many others, and a society was early +formed at his house. He lived long enough to see the frame of a new house +of worship erected that bore his name, Bowen’s Chapel. This led to the +formation of several societies in that region, and to the conversion +of multitudes. Mr. Bowen’s was the first house opened for Methodist +preaching in Worcester County. In after years I was entertained by his +aged widow at the old homestead. His children and children’s children +were blessed, being the descendants of those who entertained the Lord’s +prophets. + +The Rev. Freeborn Garrettson was lost in this swamp in 1779. After +wandering for a long time, night overtook him. It was quite dark, and to +add to the gloom, the rain descended in torrents. He was about to take +lodgings upon the cold, wet ground, when, to his great joy, he discovered +a light at a distance, and following it, he found a house where he was +kindly entertained. The man with whom he stayed thought his guest was an +angel, and he surveyed him from head to foot, and then inquired, “What +are you, and who are you? for I am sure I never saw such a man as you +appear to be.” Mr. Garrettson answered, “I am a follower of our blessed +Saviour.” + +The woman of the house had been peculiarly afflicted for sixteen days; +she had neither eaten nor drunk. There were many who went to see her die, +when she suddenly rose in the bed and exclaimed, “You thought mine a +disorder of the body, but it was not; now I know my Maker loves me.” She +was very happy, and said she knew Mr. Garrettson was a man of God, one +whom the Lord had sent to reform the world. His visit to the family at +that time was a great blessing. + +Another anecdote related by Mr. Garrettson will illustrate the ignorance +of some of the people. He met a man in the region of the Cypress Swamp, +and asked him if he was acquainted with Jesus Christ. “Sir,” said he, “I +know not where the gentleman lives.” Mr. Garrettson, supposing the man +misunderstood him, repeated his question, and to the astonishment of Mr. +G. he replied, “I don’t know the man.” + +I was glad to travel with my friend William Colbert, who had been so +often at my father’s house. He was an eminent revivalist. Our circuit was +nearly two hundred miles round. There were several houses of worship: +Bowen’s Chapel, Miles’s Chapel, Curtis’s Chapel, St. Martin’s Chapel, and +Sound Meeting-house. I have a record of all the members. Nathaniel Bowen, +a descendant of Jepthah, had thirty-one members in his class, five by the +name of Bowen. + +We preached against slavery, and persuaded our brethren and those who +were converted to liberate their slaves, and we were often successful. +There was a revival both among the white and colored. Many slaves were +made “free” by “the Son,” and they enjoyed the liberty of the soul. + +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. +Methodism made a mighty change here and destroyed this inhuman traffic. +Snow Hill for years has been a prominent place for Methodism. People +often fell under the word. George Ward, a local preacher, who married +Harry Ennalls’s sister, resided here. When I was preaching at his house +Sister Ward fell under the power. She was a woman of fine intellect, +therefore I name it because some think that none but persons of weak +minds are thus affected. At Brother Ward’s house we used to preach, and +there we formed the first class at Snow Hill. Henry White, so long an +honored member of the Philadelphia Conference, frequently a delegate to +the General Conference, I had the honor of taking into the Church while +on this circuit. I also knew his father, Southy White. He was a good man, +and an excellent local preacher. I preached at his house, and was his +guest. He died the year I was on that circuit. I knew many of the fathers +in the Methodist ministry, and have lived not only to bury the fathers, +but many of their sons. + +John Phœbus’s at Quantico Neck was another of our preaching places. He +was the brother of Dr. William Phœbus, so long known in New York for his +talents and his eccentricities. The doctor went out into the ministry +from that section of the country. + +We preached also at Brother Lazarus Maddox’s, at Potato Neck. His house +was an excellent home for a wayworn itinerant. On February 14, while +preaching at his house, the power of God came down and Brother Maddox was +struck to the floor, and lay for some time under the divine influence. +Thrilling were the scenes we witnessed. Indeed the whole circuit had a +wall of fire around about it and a glory in the midst. The people got so +happy and shouted so loud they drowned my voice, and leaped for joy, and +sometimes they would fall, lose their strength, and lie for hours in this +condition, and then come to praising the Lord. At several funerals many +were awakened, and in several instances loud shouts were heard at the +grave. This was something entirely new to me. + +We also preached at Devil’s Island, as it was called. Deil’s it should +be named. The first time I visited it I preached from “Prepare to meet +thy God.” I had spoken but a few words when twelve were struck under +conviction. I was so pleased I wrote, “The devil will have to give up his +island.” + +There was one general revival; the circuit was in a flame. In every +appointment sinners were converted. The Peninsula seemed like the garden +of God. Scenes took place that gladdened the eyes of angels and thrilled +the heart of the Saviour. The Gospel had wonderful power, and the results +were glorious, as the records of eternity will reveal. + +To show that I have not over-estimated the work, and to record the +wonderful works of God in those days, I make a few extracts from letters +written by men of God long since in Abraham’s bosom. The first was from +Thomas Ware to Dr. Coke, dated Duck Creek, Delaware, September 12, 1802, +and published in the Arminian Magazine for 1803: + + “REV. SIR,—In the year 1800 I was appointed to preside on the + Peninsula. From the time of my entering on that important charge + to the Annual Conference in Philadelphia, May, 1802, above six + thousand souls were added to the Church, most of whom, I trust, + are added to the Lord.... In Milford Circuit have been added one + thousand six hundred members, in Talbot about one thousand, in + Somerset and Annamessex one thousand, and the prospect continues + equally pleasing in that favored country.” + +Ezekiel Cooper, in a letter to Dr. Coke dated Philadelphia, September +7, 1801, says: “I have just now received a letter from Brother Colbert, +one of our preachers in Annamessex Circuit. He wrote: ‘Good news from +Pocomoke. The kingdom of hell is falling, the borders of Zion are +enlarging, and glory to God, the prospect of a greater work than we had +last year lies before us. In both circuits, Somerset and Annamessex, the +Lord is powerfully at work; our preaching places or houses are too small +for the congregations, and, two or three places excepted, too small even +for our love-feasts. I believe the Peninsula has never known such a time +as heaven now favors us with. Glory to Jesus on high! we have what is the +most inviting among us, namely, the Lord in power converting sinners, and +the saints feel as if they were sunning in the beams of redeeming love, +overwhelmed with the glorious billows. Some fall motionless, and lie for +some minutes, others for hours, and some for a great part of the night +without the use of their limbs or speech, and then they spring up with +heaven in their eyes and music on their tongues, overwhelmed with love +divine. O, glory to God! this work makes Pocomoke swamps like a blooming +paradise to my soul. If the Lord spares us, I trust that we shall return +to the North giving him glory for another thousand members. One thousand +joined last year. By grace there is a good beginning. To God be all the +praise.’” + +Such is the account Brother Colbert gave of the work of God that year I +traveled with him. + +John Scott’s was one of our preaching places. He lived near Poplartown, +Worcester County. He was an active and liberal man. He was also +very shrewd; knew how to answer a fool according to his folly. As +he entertained the Methodist preachers and their horses some of his +neighbors predicted that he would be “eaten out of house and home.” It +was a very dry season, and things were parched up. He was a farmer, and +had planted one hundred acres of corn. The crop was likely to be cut off. +On a certain day a cloud came up from the west and the refreshing rain +descended on his fields, but extended no further. His fields were fresh +and green, while those of his neighbors were dry. In the fall when they +were gathering the crops his neighbors expressed astonishment that his +corn should be so much more valuable than theirs. They did not know how +to account for it. He replied that he “had fed the Methodist preachers’ +horses.” He left his neighbors to infer that this was one cause of his +prosperity. I have often noticed those families who were not given to +hospitality, and those who have welcomed the messengers of God to their +houses, and the latter have prospered far more than the former. A noble +man was Brother John Scott. + +When I was on Hooper’s Island I put up with a Widow Ruack, who was a +member of our Church, and entertained Methodist preachers. She related +to me the following anecdote: “Joseph Everett traveled and preach there. +One day she looked out of her window and saw Mr. Everett coming. She +rejoiced to see the preacher, but was exceedingly mortified that she had +nothing in the house to cook for his dinner, and living on the island, it +was not convenient to get anything, for stores and markets were scarce. +She went out into the door-yard for some wood to make a fire to boil the +tea-kettle. Just that moment something fell at her feet. It was a large +fresh bass that weighed several pounds. She looked up and saw a large +hawk flying over, which had dropped the fish. He had just taken the fish +out of the bay, and finding it heavy, had dropped it in the right place. +She immediately dressed and cooked it for the preacher’s dinner, and he +praised it exceedingly, not having enjoyed such a meal in a long time.” + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +KENT, BRISTOL, AND NORTHAMPTON CIRCUITS. + + +During the interval between the Baltimore and the Philadelphia Conference +Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat spent some time on the Peninsula. They +visited my circuit, and I had the honor of going with them to the +conference which met in Philadelphia on Saturday, May 1, 1802. + +Sunday was a high day in Zion. In the morning, at St. George’s, the +Rev. George Roberts preached a sermon of rare excellence on salvation +by grace through faith. In the afternoon John M’Claskey preached from +Exod. xv, 16, on Israel’s separation from the world, and how it might be +known that God was with his people; not by the descent of manna, but the +pillar and cloud day and night. He showed great ingenuity, and while he +was preaching the baptism of fire descended. In the evening Rev. William +Colbert discoursed on the advantages of an itinerant ministry from “Many +shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” It was delivered +with great unction. Colbert was a great little man in the days of his +glory. + +This pleasant conference closed the next Friday, and I was appointed to +Kent Circuit with Christopher Sprye. He was a noble colleague, one of +the pioneers of Methodism in New England. This was the oldest circuit +on the Peninsula, being formed in 1774. There were many things on this +circuit of peculiar interest to me. I had the honor of preaching in +Kent’s Meeting-house, the first Methodist house of worship erected on the +Eastern Shore of Maryland. + +It was built in 1774, one year after the first conference was held in +America. + +This was four miles below Chestertown. The old chapel years ago gave way +to a better structure, now called Hynson’s Chapel, from the name of a +family who resided near it. + +The burying-ground connected with this chapel is also a place of +interest, not only because of the old families of Methodism who were +sleeping there, but from its being the last resting-place of ministers +who have fallen at their post. The renowned William Gill, one of our +early preachers, was buried there. He was a man of surpassing genius, of +philosophic mind. Dr. Rush greatly admired him, and pronounced him the +greatest divine he had ever heard. This is no mean praise coming from +such a source. In 1777 he joined the traveling connection, and died in +1789; a short but brilliant career. With his own hands he closed his +eyes, and laid his body down in sure and certain hope of a glorious +resurrection. + +In this circuit I formed the acquaintance of Rev. JOHN SMITH, one of +our old preachers, who possessed much of the spirit of the beloved John, +whose name he bore. He was at the famous Christmas Conference of 1784. +He lived in Chestertown, and his house was my home. He was a very genial +old man, and his conversation was agreeable and profitable. I heard him +preach from Psalm xxiv, 3, 4: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the +Lord?” etc. It was a profitable discourse, and much good was done. He +died triumphantly in 1812, exclaiming, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly; +take my enraptured soul away. I am not afraid to die. I long to be +dissolved and see the face of God without a dimming vail between: death +has lost his sting.” He was buried beside the grave of William Gill. + +The father of SHADRACH BOSTWICK resided on this circuit. Shadrach +Bostwick was one of the mighty men of our Israel. I wonder not that +Bishop Hedding called him a “glorious man;” we have had but few such men. +I first saw and heard him at the General Conference in Baltimore in 1800. + +The same spring I went with him to Georgetown, when he was on his way to +see his aged father for the last time. + +Dr. Bostwick was born near the head of Chester, in Kent County, Maryland. +In Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New England, and Ohio he did noble +service for Methodism, and was everywhere esteemed as “a prince and a +great man.” He emigrated to Ohio, and was a pioneer in more senses than +one. Long since he fell asleep, leaving behind him a name distinguished +for its purity and luster. His father’s house was one of my regular +preaching places on this circuit. In the old homestead where he was born +and spent his early days, and where he was born again, I preached over +sixty years ago the glorious Gospel of the blessed God. + +His father was among the oldest Methodists on the Peninsula, and when +his son joined the conference, in 1791, he was “in age and feebleness +extreme.” He died while I was on the circuit. + +I wrote thus in my Journal: “_June 23, 1802_, I rode to Father +Bostwick’s; I found him in a low state of health; but the way to the +celestial country appeared bright before him; this enables him to rejoice +in the midst of pain. I preached at his house from ‘Blessed are the +pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ This was a theme adapted to his +character and condition. The old man got happy under the word in the +prospect of seeing God. + +“_July 22._ I rode to the aged Father Bostwick’s. When within a quarter +of a mile of the place I met the people returning, who informed me that +the old man lay at the point of death, and, therefore, there could be no +preaching at his house that night. I told them we would have a meeting in +the road where we were. I gave them an exhortation, followed by prayer. +We all knelt down in the street and had a precious time.” I name this +to show the early Methodist ministers lost then no opportunity of doing +good. It was the uniform custom to be “instant in season and out of +season.” + +I then went to his house and found the old pilgrim near “The narrow +stream of death.” The next day, as he had somewhat revived, I preached in +his orchard from “Ye know the grace,” etc. I then spent some time with +the dying father. The scene was beautiful, the room full of glory; the +old saint was triumphant. I prayed with him, and then bade him farewell +till we meet in the pilgrim’s home. Before I came round again he was in +Paradise. + +The peninsula produced some of the strongest men of Methodism: Shadrach +Bostwick, Caleb Boyer, William Beauchamp, Ezekiel Cooper, Hope Hull, Dr. +William Phœbus, Stephen Martindale, Lawrence McCombs, Lawrence Lawrenson, +Bishop Emory, and many others. + +Frequent changes were made at that time in the ministry during the +conference year. I traveled Kent Circuit, with Christopher Sprye, till +August, then my presiding elder removed me to Northampton Circuit, +formerly a part of Bristol. It embraced several counties besides +Northampton, Montgomery, Berks, and others. An exchange was made between +Johnson Dunham and myself. So I went from the low to the high lands. The +contrast was wonderful: the former low, level, and unhealthy; you might +travel a whole day without seeing a hill; the latter, hills, mountains, +and valleys. The change had a fine effect on my health and spirits. I +entered upon my new field of labor with delight. The country was new, the +circuit large and rough. + +Bristol Circuit was traveled by Thomas Everard and T. Jones. James +Lattomas was stationed in Wilmington. He was a superior preacher, and in +his day a man of considerable note. He was taken sick, and Brother T. +Jones was sent to fill his place. A relative of Thomas Everard died in +Philadelphia of yellow fever, so he left the circuit, and Bristol and +Northampton were blended into one, and I alone left to travel them. I +found I had enough to do to go round this large territory in three weeks. +I had no time for “rest week,” no time to rust out; but it was happy +toil, and the best of all, God was with me, strengthening me with his +Spirit, and cheering me with his presence. + +Jacob Gruber’s birthplace was on this circuit, and I used to stay with +his parents, who lived in Springfield township. I was there in 1798 +with my father, who was on a ministerial tour. Jacob’s father belonged +to the United Brethren; his mother, and brother Peter, and sister were +Methodists. I knew the family well. They were exceedingly industrious and +economical. Jacob was converted, as we have seen, under Simon Miller, +and from this place he went out to travel. He was highly esteemed in his +neighborhood, but met with great opposition from his father when he +joined the Methodists. He had a very ready utterance, with quite a German +accent. I shall say more about him hereafter, as he was my colleague. + +There was a house of worship in the neighborhood called Bryan’s +Meeting-house, named after Brother Bryan, who was a man of standing and +influence. He was formerly a deist, but was converted under the labors of +Dr. William P. Chandler. + +I preached in Stroudsburg, now the county seat of Monroe. It took its +name from Colonel Jacob Stroud, who was the first settler, and owned four +thousand acres of land. He was colonel in the Revolutionary army, and +commanded at Fort Penn, which stood where the village of Stroudsburgh is +now. This was the first settlement reached by the unfortunate fugitives +from Wyoming after the terrible slaughter of July, 1778. I knew Colonel +Stroud well, for he kept a public-house, and I often put up with him, +and his house was a regular preaching place. We preached there on +Sunday mornings. The colonel was a short, thick-set man, and much of a +gentleman, and a thorough business man. His wife was an excellent woman, +and a member of our Church. + +The colonel was very friendly, very courteous, but not religious. I went +to his house to preach one Sabbath morning, and arriving before the hour +of service, I was kindly invited into a private room. The colonel came +in, and, after wishing me good morning, I inquired after the state of his +health. He answered, “As hearty as a buck, but I do not like this dying. +I believe God made man to live forever.” I replied, “I believe that too, +but sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and now it is appointed +unto all men once to die.” He looked thoughtful, but made no reply, and +left the room. A few minutes after I began the service, and the colonel +was one of my auditors, for he was always present at the preaching, and a +very attentive hearer. He was then an old man, and yet he did not like to +think of death. He died three years after, in 1806. + +My excellent friend and brother, William Colbert, in November, 1804, +married Colonel Stroud’s daughter Elizabeth. As I was so well acquainted +in the family, and he and myself such intimate friends, he consulted +me concerning the step he was about to take. I knew how deeply he was +in love, and said I could give him no better advice than I saw in the +almanac: “If you marry, you will be sorry; if you do not, you will be +sorry.” He smiled, and said, “You have now fixed me.” A few months after +he was married, and I never heard he was sorry. She made him an excellent +helpmate, and William and Elizabeth “walked in all the commandments and +ordinances of the Lord blameless,” till death separated them, in 1833. +Then Elizabeth was left a widow, and William went up to receive his crown. + +Another of my preaching places was at Father Broadhead’s, in Smithfield, +Northampton County. There was a place called “Broadhead Settlement,” +and there is a stream called “Broadhead Creek,” They probably were +so called from General Broadhead, who distinguished himself first in +the Indian wars, and afterward in the Revolution. Here the Rev. John +Broadhead, a descendant of his, was born and converted, and began to +preach, and from this place entered the traveling connection. It was at +his uncle’s I preached, and there were a number of his relatives in the +neighborhood. He entered the traveling connection in 1794, and after +having accomplished a noble work, died with his armor on, April 7, 1838. +No name in the annals of New England Methodism shines brighter than +John Broadhead’s; none will be more enduring. He was a man of imposing +appearance, a dignified Christian minister, and a model preacher. In 1800 +I became acquainted with him, and in after years, when at the New England +Conferences, I saw him and heard him preach. + +I preached also at Bristol, a beautiful place on the banks of the +Delaware, twenty miles from Philadelphia. We had a small class there, +and I preached in the old Episcopal church. The Episcopalians had no +minister and no preaching, therefore they permitted us to occupy it. This +was the case then almost everywhere in that part of the country, but it +is very different now. Our people some years before had begun to erect +a brick edifice in Bristol. The walls were up, but the roof was not on. +They began to build, but were not able to finish; so it stood for several +years. We circulated a subscription, raised the money, and completed the +edifice, and I had the honor of dedicating it on March 12, 1803. My text +was 1 Peter iii, 12. I made this record: “I preached to one hundred and +seventy, who appeared remarkably attentive. The Lord truly let us feel +the evidence of his approbation.” + +I see by the last Minutes that we now have in Bristol 204 members and 191 +probationers, and a church edifice worth $10,000. There is a great change +since I was there in 1803. + +Then I went to Germantown, and John M’Claskey preached for me. His text +was 2 Kings v, 14: “Then he went down and dipped himself seven times +in Jordan,” etc. His sermon was original and full of interest. A great +preacher was John M’Claskey in the days of his strength. He was one +of the noblest looking men in the pulpit I ever saw. His commanding +appearance, beautiful flowing locks, and magnificent voice made him quite +an object of attraction. + +On July 1 I went to Philadelphia and preached at Zoar, and lodged with +Brother D. Doughty. The next evening I heard Thomas F. Sargent preach at +the Bethel on “the stone which the builders rejected.” His sermon showed +him to be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. + +Near the close of this conference year I received a letter from William +Colbert requesting me to take a tour with him through the Peninsula +previous to the session of our conference. I could not have been better +pleased than at the opportunity to revisit with such a man the scenes of +our former labors and triumphs. + +On April 7 we started for Annamessex and St. Martin’s Circuits. Again we +witnessed the mighty displays of the mercy and power of God. Multitudes +were converted; among them many Africans. Brother Colbert preached at +that time with great efficiency. He moved the masses as the wind does the +wheat in summer. I have a list of all his texts and themes. He showed +great wisdom in their selection. At every place we were hailed with +delight. After many days of traveling, on April 30 we reached Dover, and +were the guests of the Hon. Richard Bassett. + +Bishop Asbury being sick, and not able to fill his appointment, Ezekiel +Cooper held forth, and then Brother Colbert gave a narrative of the work +of God on Albany District, over which he had presided during the year, +and of the hundreds who were flocking to Jesus in the north, and while he +was so doing the holy fire began to kindle on the altar of many hearts. + +Joseph Jewell from Canada gave an account of the work of God on his +district, which was like good news from a far country, and the people +were much refreshed. We had no periodicals then, and this is the way +religious intelligence was communicated. What a different age we live +in now, when we have so many “Advocates” and other religious journals. +The reader will get an idea of the extent of the work when he learns +that in what was then the Albany District there are now several annual +conferences. This district and Canada then belonged to the Philadelphia +Conference. + +Bishop Whatcoat arrived and preached at four o’clock one of his rich +sermons, on all things working for good to them that love God. Richard +Sneath exhorted. In the evening James Moore preached from Rom. viii, 18: +“I reckon the sufferings of the present time,” etc. There was a general +move in the congregation, and some professed to be converted. + +On Sunday, May 1, Bishop Whatcoat preached from 1 Peter iii, 5, on being +“clothed with humility.” It was a melting time. Few men could move +and melt an audience like Bishop Whatcoat. His own heart was made of +tenderness, and no wonder those felt who listened to him. + +I never saw a more general move in a congregation under the word than on +that day. Many were awakened, and we spent hours with those in distress. +Several were converted, and the shouts of joy and songs of triumph were +heard afar off. The meeting continued from nine in the morning till three +in the afternoon without intermission. The recollection of such days of +power and glory is enough to make an old man renew his youth. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE, 1803—BRISTOL CIRCUIT. + + +The Philadelphia Conference met at Duck Creek Cross Roads, now Smyrna, in +May, 1803, in the meeting-house of the Friends, so that we could have our +own to preach in. This we did several times a day. + +Methodism was introduced into this place in 1779. Among the early +Methodists here was Joseph Wyatt, who joined the conference in 1781, +and located in 1788. His house was the preaching place till the church +was built. Also, Alexander M’Lane, who gave the site on which the +church was built; he and his wife were excellent members. He was an old +Revolutionary soldier under Washington, as well as a valiant soldier +under the great Captain of our salvation. He was father of the Hon. Louis +M’Lane, a member of General Jackson’s cabinet and minister to England, +and of Robert M’Lane, minister to Mexico, both of whom were baptized by +Bishop Asbury. I was well acquainted with this family. Near their farm +lived Sarah, daughter of Thomas White, Bishop Asbury’s early friend. She +married Dr. Cook, who became a prominent Methodist. George Kennard was +also a pillar in the infant Church, and his house was my home during +conference. + +At Brother Kennard’s I met my dear aged father, who had come to attend +the conference. I made this record: “Glory to God that we are brought to +see each others’ faces in the land of hope.” + +On Monday, May 2, the conference commenced its session. In the evening +Brother Richard Swain[7] preached from, “To-day shalt thou be with me +in Paradise.” A glorious time: my soul, magnify thou the Lord. We had a +powerful prayer-meeting at six in the morning. It was the custom in those +days to have a prayer meeting early in the morning during conference, and +they were refreshing seasons. Preachers and people were in the habit of +rising earlier than they do now; they had not learned to turn midnight +into noon. + +I heard, during the session, a number of admirable sermons: one from +Richard Sneath, on Matt, vi, 10, “Thy kingdom come;” another by Thomas +Foster, from Isaiah xlv, 18, a profitable and pointed discourse; the +power of God rested on the congregation. I also heard “Black Harry,” who +traveled with Bishop Asbury and Freeborn Garrettson. He was a perfect +character; could neither read nor write, and yet was very eloquent. His +text was, “Man goeth to his long home;” his sermon was one of great +eloquence and power. The preachers listened to this son of Ham with great +wonder, attention, and profit. I shall say something more concerning him. + +I made this record in my journal: “Throughout the whole this was a +comfortable and profitable conference; the business was done in love +and harmony. The conference continued _four_ days. There were about +one hundred preachers. Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat were both present. +Twenty-four were ordained: twelve deacons and twelve elders.” + +Bishop Whatcoat preached from 1 Peter v, 10: “But the God of all grace, +who hath called us to his eternal glory,” etc. The sermon was most +powerful. It was one of the most melting times I ever witnessed; the +theme suited him. I was ordained a deacon at this conference, and took +the solemn vows of God upon me. I was in the regular succession, for I +was ordained by Richard Whatcoat, who was ordained by Wesley. Of the +twenty-four who were ordained at the conference, and the venerated +bishops who presided, not one remains but myself; the rest sleep in +honored sepulchers. + + +BLACK HARRY. + +Having heard this African preach, I have been asked a great many +questions concerning him. The preaching of a colored man was, in those +days, a novelty. Harry traveled with Bishop Asbury as early as 1782; +also with Dr. Coke, Bishop Whatcoat, and Freeborn Garrettson. Crowds +flocked to hear him, not only because he was a colored man, but because +he was eloquent. Mr. Asbury wished him to travel with him for the benefit +of the colored people. + +Some inquire whether he was really black, or whether Anglo-Saxon blood +was not mixed in his veins? Harry was very black, an African of the +Africans. He was so illiterate he could not read a word. He would repeat +the hymn as if reading it, and quote his text with great accuracy. His +voice was musical, and his tongue as the pen of a ready writer. He was +unboundedly popular, and many would rather hear him than the bishops. +In 1790 he traveled with Mr. Garrettson through New England and a part +of New York. In Hudson Mr. Garrettson says: “I found the people curious +to hear Harry. I therefore declined, that their curiosity might be +satisfied. The different denominations heard him with much admiration, +and the Quakers thought, as he was unlearned, he must speak by immediate +inspiration.” Another time he says: “Harry exhorted after me to the +admiration of the people.” Again, near Gen. Van Courtland’s, he says: +“The people of this circuit are amazingly fond of hearing Harry.” In +Canaan, Conn., Mr. Garrettson preached, and says: “Harry preached after +me with much applause.” The same afternoon Mr. Garrettson preached in +Salisbury, and adds: “I have never seen so tender a meeting in this town +before, for a general weeping ran through the congregation, especially +when Harry gave an exhortation.” + +Dr. Rush heard him and admired his eloquence. Dr. Coke heard him preach, +soon after his arrival in America, on the Peninsula, and said, “I am well +pleased with Harry’s preaching.” + +’Tis painful to mar a picture so beautiful. Gladly I will leave it as +it is. But, alas! poor Harry was so petted and made so much of that he +became lifted up. Falling under the influence of strong drink, he made +shipwreck of the faith, and for years he remained in this condition. He +was afterward reclaimed, and died in peace in Philadelphia in 1810, and +was buried in Kensington. + + +BRISTOL CIRCUIT IN 1803. + +I was appointed this year to Bristol Circuit; John Bethel was my +colleague. I rode home to Lancaster with my venerable father. We were +accompanied by several preachers: Jacob Gruber, James Ridgeway, J. +Dunham, Gideon Draper, and Benjamin Bidlack, the latter so graphically +described by Dr. Peck. We had preaching every night. + +Before I returned to my circuit I took a tour with my father. We went to +New Holland and tarried with John Davis. On Sunday my father preached, +as he always did, in German, from “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come,” +etc. After the sermon the Lord’s Supper was administered, and Jesus was +made known to us in the breaking of bread. + +On May 18, after these seasons of refreshing, I started for my circuit +full of the spirit of my Master. I went to Germantown, then to Tullytown. +I preached there on the 28th on “Acquaint now thyself with God,” etc. At +the conclusion of the sermon a man who was intoxicated reeled into the +school-house with a tumbler full of strong drink, and offered it to me. +The tavern was opposite the school-house, and a number of “lewd fellows +of the baser sort” had gathered there. They could have had no idea that +I would drink of their fire-water. They wanted some fun with a Methodist +preacher, or to discourage him so that he would not come again. + +I preached also in Germantown. This place is within ten years as old as +Philadelphia. It was called Germantown because it was founded by Germans. +They were from the Palatinate. + +Germantown was the birthplace of David Rittenhouse the astronomer. +Often have I seen the old house where he was born, and the mill where +he studied his first lessons. His father was a paper manufacturer. My +father preached in Germantown for many years, and was well acquainted +with the Rittenhouses. The old people were Mennonites, and hence their +acquaintance with my father, who was a Mennonite preacher. + +In 1802-3 the Methodists had had scarcely a foothold in Germantown. There +was a small class, but the members were poor and of but little influence. +They had preached in the school-house, but were now excluded from it. +This was from prejudice against “a sect everywhere spoken against.” I +concluded we ought to have a church of our own there where we could +preach the Gospel without the fear of the doors being closed against us. +It was in my parish, and I felt the importance of cultivating this part +of Immanuel’s land. + +Brother Ezekiel Cooper was book agent in Philadelphia. I went and +informed him of the state of things, and he advised me to circulate a +subscription to build a church. He wrote a subscription, and I circulated +it. I do not wish to boast, but simply to state a fact: the preacher in +charge had a salary of eighty dollars, and he headed the subscription +with forty dollars. + +In my journal, February 9, 1803, I wrote: “In Germantown I tried to +get a meeting-house started. We got upward of one hundred dollars on +subscription in part of one day. If we had only one or two leading men +the work, I believe, would go on.” I even prayed for them, for this +follows: “O Lord, the hearts of all men are in thy hands; do thou look in +mercy upon us.” Has not this prayer, offered fifty-nine years ago, been +answered? + +Several hundred dollars were soon after subscribed, and we immediately +secured a site and prepared for the erection of a small house. We +appointed a committee to superintend the erection of the building. It +consisted of five persons: two members of the Church, and three who were +not members. The appointment of a majority of outsiders on the committee +showed two things: 1. The scarcity of Methodist timber for material. 2. +The friendly feeling of others toward this new enterprise. I made a short +visit to Philadelphia, and on my return I jotted down the following: “I +came back to Germantown, where I met the committee. They all seemed to +be in good spirits about the meeting-house. O may the Lord prosper his +blessed work in this town!” + +In circulating the subscription among the Germans it greatly aided me +when they learned I was a son of “Elder Boehm.” My father had preached +there years before, and they were pleased with him, and many of them +gave me a ten-dollar subscription for our new church. Soon after some +influential families were converted, which gave character and stability +to Methodism in this place. Such was the origin of the first Methodist +house of worship in Germantown. It is now a large place, and an arm of +Philadelphia. The Methodists have there two churches: 483 members, and +116 probationers; in all, 509, and Church property worth $36,000. + +What a mighty change since the school-house was closed against us, and +we, like Noah’s dove, found no rest for the sole of our foot! To God be +all the glory. + +Some striking incidents occurred on this circuit. Near Bristol there +was a wild, fast young man, who was awakened under very singular +circumstances. He wished to frighten some of the neighbors on their +way from meeting; so one night he fastened some horns on his head, and +covered himself with the skin of a beast with the hair on, and said he +was the devil; but instead of frightening others, he frightened himself, +and resolved to leave the service of the devil and become a servant of +God. + +I preached at Mr. Heath’s, a little below Morrisville. There were two +brothers, who were mechanics, and in partnership, working in a shop +about forty yards from the preaching place. One got ready for meeting, +and asked his brother if he would not go. He said he could not spare the +time, and added, “You had better stick to your work also.” He replied, +“I am determined to go to meeting, let the consequences be as they may.” +After he was gone the brother who stayed home with a determination +to work was suddenly taken sick with a violent fever, and instead of +working, he was not able to help himself even to a drink of water, and he +was in perfect misery all the time his brother was gone. As soon as his +brother returned the fever left him, and he was able to join his brother +in work. When I came round on the circuit the same thing occurred over +again, that made it still more strange. At the next appointment for +preaching both the brothers went to hear the word, and we were invited to +make their shop a regular preaching-place, which we did, as it was much +more convenient than the other. + +Near Morristown, on this circuit, a house of worship had been erected by +the Rev. Mr. Demer, who also built the Forrest Chapel in Berks County. +He was a Swedish minister. When he first heard the Rev. Joseph Pilmoor, +one of Mr. Wesley’s missionaries, preach in Philadelphia, he welcomed +him as a minister of God preaching the truth as it was in Jesus, and +after a time his Church property and the society were transferred to the +Methodists. My colleague and myself used to preach there. + +There was a serious difficulty among some of the most prominent members +and families which threatened the destruction of the society. Various +attempts had been made to settle it, but all to no purpose; the storm +still raged. My colleague, Thomas Everhard, tried, but it was labor in +vain. I resolved, as the charge then devolved on me, in the name of the +God of peace to try and settle the affair. I knew that if we did not it +would destroy that Church root and branch, and that “Ichabod” would soon +be written upon the deserted wall of their sanctuary. When I came round +I found the society all at logger-heads. It was a perfect Babel. I was +young in the ministry, and greatly exercised to know how to restore +peace. I preached, and the society came together afterward, and each +opened his budget of grievances. And after searching into the origin of +the difficulty, I found it was much ado about nothing. It commenced with +evil surmising, and this led to evil words. My impression was it could +never be settled in the ordinary way, for there was nothing definite; +there were no tangible points. I then told them I had a plan for +disposing of the whole matter at once. I told them my plan was that all +should agree to settle the difficulty at once and forever by burying it +very deep. Both parties with tears agreed to it. We dug its grave deep, +we buried it, and then prayed that it might never have a resurrection. +There was not a single mourner at the funeral, but a general rejoicing. +I invited all who were in favor of burying it and living hereafter in +Christian fellowship to rise. They all stood up; tears flowed freely; +they embraced and forgave each other. Best of all, it stayed settled. +They did not in burying the hatchet leave the handle sticking out so +that they could get hold of it and renew the war, but buried handle and +all. The old people have been gathered to their fathers. They lived and +died in peace and harmony, and to this day their children and children’s +children bless me. I saw one of the sons years after, and he spoke with +gratitude of the day when that old difficulty was buried, and when Zion +became a quiet habitation. + +This was at Supplee’s Chapel, the oldest Methodist house of worship in +Pennsylvania except St. George’s. Joseph Pilmoor early preached here. The +Supplees also heard Captain Webb. Abraham Supplee was a local preacher. +I was often his guest. This chapel was used as a hospital for our sick +and wounded soldiers after the battle of Germantown, and a number of the +soldiers died and were buried here. Several of the officers made Abraham +Supplee’s house their home. Washington was often there, having his +headquarters in the neighborhood. + +It was an old stone chapel, and was afterward called Bethel. Many of +our early chapels were built of stone, which was abundant, cheap, and +durable. Indeed, the first Methodist chapel in America was built of +stone, namely, Wesley Chapel in New York. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +SHORT TOUR WITH BISHOP ASBURY, 1803. + + +Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat visited my circuit on the 18th of July. +Bishop Whatcoat preached in Bristol, and Bishop Asbury in Burlington; +after which I rode with the bishops to Philadelphia, in company with +Thomas F. Sargent and Oliver Beale. Bishop Asbury said he wished me to +travel with him, so I left all, for in that day the bishop said “go, and +he goeth; come, and he cometh.” I heard the bishop, George Roberts, and +T. F. Sargent preach before I left Philadelphia. The bishops moved on in +advance of me, and I overtook them at Soudersburg. Here Bishop Asbury +preached from Psalm li, 9-12, on “a clean heart and a right spirit.” +Bishop Whatcoat exhorted after him. + +Bishop Whatcoat had designed to go the western route, but he became so +feeble that Asbury was obliged to proceed without him. + +We went first to Columbia, then to Little York, then to Hollow Pence’s, a +little distance from York. The bishop preached in every place. At Brother +Pence’s, Brother Wilson Lee met us. After the bishop’s sermon he exhorted +with great effect, and there was a shaking among the dry bones. From +thence we had his company for some days. He was the presiding elder, +and when the bishop entered a district the elder generally accompanied +him. Next we went to Carlisle, to quarterly meeting. On Saturday Bishop +Asbury preached at eleven, from Col. iii, 12, 13; at night Wilson Lee, +from Joshua iii, 5, “Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do +wonders among you.” This was indeed a preparation sermon for the wonders +of the morrow. + +On Sunday morning we had a prayer-meeting at sunrise. It was a joyful +season. At eight o’clock James Smith preached from Acts xiii, 26; at +eleven, Bishop Asbury preached with life and power from 2 Cor. iv, 2, +“But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,” etc. At four, +Wilson Lee preached from 2 Cor. x, 3-9, on the weapons of our warfare. +Brother Fidler preached in the evening. We had four sermons, besides +a prayer-meeting at sunrise. That was a great day in Carlisle; crowds +attended to hear the word. + +The next day we went to David Snyder’s, where the bishop preached from +2 Tim. iv, 7, 8, “I have fought a good fight.” Wilson Lee exhorted. I +wrote, “Glory to God, this was a comfortable season.” In the afternoon we +went to Shippensburgh, where the bishop preached in the evening from 1 +Peter iii, 15, 16, on the “reason of the hope” within you. I wrote thus: +“It is remarkable to see what labors our father in the Gospel undergoes. +I think there is not a traveling preacher in the connection that goes +through more fatigue. His extreme toil and labor eclipses the most +zealous among us.” + +On Wednesday Brother Lee left us, and I went on with the bishop over the +mountains and rocks till we reached Bedford County, Pennsylvania. We then +went over the Dry Ridge and the Alleghany Hills singing the praises of +the Most High. We stopped in Berlin, Somerset County, on the top of the +mountains. I preached in German, and the bishop exhorted. + +Here, on the top of the Alleghany Mountains, I parted with the bishop, +on the 5th of August, having been with him fourteen days, and heard him +preach eight times. He always loved the Germans, and as I could preach +in that language, and few at that time could, he said to me, “Henry, +you had better return and preach to the Germans, and I will pursue my +journey alone.” He did not send me back to Bristol, but to Dauphin, there +being more Germans 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. Years after I crossed the Alleghanies several times with the +bishop; I did something more than go to the top and look over at the +mighty West. + +The bishop, when I parted with him, was feeble in body, but in a blessed +state of mind, as will be seen by an entry in his journal the next +Tuesday after we separated. He says: “Although much afflicted, I felt +wholly given up to do or suffer the will of God; to be sick or well, +and to live or die, at any time and in any place—the fields, the woods, +the house, or the wilderness: glory be to God for such resignation! I +have but little to leave except a journey of five thousand miles a year, +the care of more than a hundred thousand souls, and the arrangement of +about four hundred preachers yearly, to which I may add the murmurs and +discontent of ministers and people. Who wants this legacy? Those who do +are welcome to it for me!” Many might covet the honor, but few the toils +and the sacrifices. The office of bishop was no sinecure in those days. + +At the time frequent changes in the ministry were made by the bishops +during the interval of conference, but they did not always appear in the +Minutes. Most of the preachers were single men, and could move without +much trouble. My name in the Minutes that year does not stand connected +with Bristol Circuit, but Dauphin. Thus: “Dauphin, Jacob Gruber, Henry +Boehm.” + +On Sunday, August 7, I went to a quarterly meeting held at Fort Littleton +by Wilson Lee, presiding elder of Baltimore district. There was an +excellent love-feast at nine o’clock, at which Brother Lee presided. It +was the only time I was in a love-feast with that heavenly-minded man. + +Brother Lee was very ill, and urged me to preach. In the name and fear +of my Lord I undertook it. My text was 1 Peter iii, 12: “For the eyes of +the Lord are over the righteous,” etc. I was blessed with great liberty. +God’s power was felt in the sanctuary; the house echoed with songs of +joy and shouts of triumph all through the sermon, but the Lord gave me +strength to keep my voice above the rest. There was not only a shout of +the king in the camp, but the power of God so rested upon the people +that many of them fell both speechless and helpless. It reminded me of +the exhibitions of power I had seen in the Peninsula. Four souls were +converted during this meeting. + +On Tuesday, the 9th, we came to Shippensburgh. Here Brother Lee and I +bade each other farewell. The refreshing seasons we had together I have +not forgotten, and his image for over half a century has been before me. +I had heard him preach in Philadelphia, in 1797, at St. George’s, when +he was stationed there. He was a tall, slender man, had a musical voice, +and his delivery was very agreeable. He was one of the great men of +Methodism, and a great favorite of Mr. Asbury. + +Bishop Asbury saw him but once after this, and that was on the 27th +of April, 1804, on his return from the south. He says: “We came to +Georgetown, and I visited Wilson Lee, ill with a bleeding of the lungs.” +Mr. Lee lingered till autumn, and on the 4th of October he died at Walter +Worthington’s, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, in the forty-third year +of his age. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +DAUPHIN CIRCUIT, 1803-4. + + +This circuit was very large, and the people were mostly Germans. We had +thirty appointments, and at twenty of them we preached in German. Under +the first sermon I preached in German one was converted. After a time +it was as easy to preach in the one language as the other. Jacob Gruber +was my colleague, and we both preached in our vernacular. We held union, +or what were called “friendly meetings,” where the Methodists and the +“United Brethren in Christ” met in harmony, and the ministers took turns +in preaching. These were meetings of great interest to the Methodists. It +gave them access to many they could not otherwise have reached. + +We held one of these meetings in Columbia in August. Multitudes were +present. James Thomas preached the first sermon;[8] then my father +preached in German from Gal. vi, 15, 16; then I preached in English from +Isa. liv, 13. Thus we had three sermons in the forenoon without any +intermission. In the afternoon three of the United Brethren held forth: +Smith, Hershy, and Shaefer. + +To show how we worked at that day I will give an account of a few days +with Jacob Gruber. At Johnstown, on Sunday, August 28, Brother Gruber +preached at eight o’clock in German on Christ and him crucified. At +twelve he preached again on “the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind.” +I exhorted both times, and at four o’clock preached at Millerstown in +English from Acts x, 35. Brother Gruber exhorted in German. We lodged +at Henry Myers’s. On Monday evening Brother Gruber preached in German +on the way of life and the way of death, and I exhorted in English. +On Tuesday we went to Harrisburgh, but on our way there I preached at +Brother Neiding’s, one of the ministers of the United Brethren, in +German, from Psalm xix, 11: “And in keeping of them there is great +reward.” Brother Gruber exhorted. This was a melting time. At night +Brother Gruber preached in Harrisburgh on Felix trembling, a sermon full +of alarm to delayers. He preached in German, and I exhorted in English. +It was necessary that we should do so, for we had a mixed congregation. +I sometimes preached in German, and then interpreted it in English; at +other times I would preach in English, and then give the same sermon in +German. + +On Monday, September 5, I wrote: “I begin to feel as if I should be +able to give the devil some heavy blows in my mother tongue before all +is over.” I was greatly encouraged among the Germans, as will be seen +by another extract. “September 14. The prospect is good in almost every +preaching place. I feel as if the Lord was about doing a great work among +the Germans. Glory to God, the fields are blossoming, and I begin to feel +more liberty in preaching in my mother tongue.” + +In October I attended a meeting of the United Brethren at George +Zoeler’s, west of Reading. I heard some of their great preachers: Father +Tracksel, Newcomer, Kemp, and Gueting. I greatly profited by their +preaching; it was a fine school for me. + +On October 22 the yearly meeting of the United Brethren was held at my +father’s. Quite a number were converted during the meeting, and others +were filled with the wine of the kingdom. Their meetings generally lasted +three days, and were seasons of great interest. + +I had made an appointment to preach in the court-house at Reading, but +the commissioner refused to give up the key, so a large number who +had assembled were disappointed. There was in this town a deep-rooted +prejudice against the Methodists, which continued for years. When I +passed through Reading in 1810 with Bishop Asbury the boys laughed at us, +and said, “There go the Methodist preachers.” They knew us by our garb, +and perhaps thought it no harm to ridicule us. In 1822, when on Lancaster +Circuit, I succeeded in planting Methodism in Reading, and formed the +first class there, where I had been shut out a score of years before. +This I considered quite a triumph. We then put up at a public-house, +for there was no family to entertain us. Some young men rented the +school-house for us to preach in, but we still met with much opposition +and ridicule. + +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 said he would show how +they fell down. (The Methodists 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 wondered 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 examined the man and pronounced him dead. This awful +incident did two things for us. 1. It stopped ridicule and persecution. +Sinners were afraid, and no marvel: “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, +and perish,” etc. 2. It also gave us favor in the sight of the people. +They believed that God was for us, and if he would thus vindicate us we +must be the people of God. + +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. + +Harrisburgh was another of our preaching places. I was in the +neighborhood of where Harrisburgh now is in 1793. It was then called +“Harris’s Ferry,” from John Harris, its founder, whose grave is there. +In 1803 it was a small place, and Lancaster was then the capital of +Pennsylvania. We had very hard work to get a foothold in Harrisburgh. +We preached mostly in German, and had only a small class in 1803. In my +journal I wrote most discouragingly, as will be seen by the following +extracts: “Friday, November 11, 1803, I preached to a few from Gal. vi, +9. Hard work in this town rowing against wind and tide; but I trust in +the Captain of my salvation.” Again: “Friday, April 6, I preached in +Harrisburgh. The people in this town are the next thing to inaccessible.” + +Harrisburgh was then a small village; it did not become a borough till +five years after I was there. We did not then cross the Susquehanna on a +bridge that cost $150,000, but in an old scow. Horse-boats were not then +in existence. Most of the inhabitants were Germans. + +We were kindly entertained at Friend Zollinger’s, a very fine family, +who afterward became Methodists. What has God wrought? Now we have in +Harrisburgh five hundred members and forty-eight probationers, and a +beautiful church edifice worth nineteen thousand dollars. + +Columbia was another of our preaching places. I was at this spot in 1791, +when it was called “Wright’s Ferry,” from John Wright, a Quaker preacher, +who came from England, and was the original land proprietor. Methodism +was introduced here near the close of the last century. In 1803-4 we had +a small society of very lively members, among whom were John Mitchell, +brother of William and James Mitchell, traveling preachers, Brother +Gough, an Englishman, and others. In Columbia we have now a fine house of +worship worth $11,000, a parsonage worth $1,800, and a membership of two +hundred and fifty. + +My presiding elder was James Smith, a native of Ireland, and a man of +large frame. There being several of that name in the conference, we used +to call him “Big Jimmy,” to distinguish him from “Baltimore James” and +“Delaware James.” In the days of his glory and strength he was quite a +preacher. + +I took a tour with him for several days. He preached in English, and I +immediately translated his sermons into German. There was no other way +by which he could get access to the people or be understood by them, +for many of them had never heard a sermon in English. German was the +pioneer language, and prepared the way for the English. I could have +accomplished but little there if I had not been able to preach in German. + +We were all the time breaking up new ground, entering new fields, +stretching ourselves beyond ourselves. It was pioneer work. + +My colleague, Jacob Gruber, soon went to another field of labor, and I +was left alone on this large circuit. He was 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 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 attending his word. He had many spiritual +children, some of whom entered the ministry; among others, Alfred Brunson +of the Wisconsin Conference. I do not mean to justify his eccentricities; +but we should remember religion does not alter our natural constitution. +I might relate many anecdotes respecting him, but have not space. + +The Philadelphia Conference of 1804 was held at Soudersburg, commencing +on May 28. At the adjournment of the General Conference, in Baltimore, +Bishop Asbury hastened on to my father’s, and on Sabbath preached in +Boehm’s Chapel. The place was called Soudersburg from Benjamin and Jacob +Souders, the proprietors. They were both Methodists, Benjamin being a +local preacher. + +Methodism was introduced here in 1791, and a house of worship was built +in 1801. The conference was held in a private room, at the house of +Benjamin Souders, that the meeting-house might be used for preaching, +which was done three times a day, except on the first day. There were one +hundred and twenty preachers present, and the utmost order and harmony +prevailed. My soul exulted at the idea of a Methodist Conference in my +native county; it was an era in the history of Methodism in that region. +Bishop Asbury preached twice during the session. The influence of the +conference was beneficial in all that region. There were strong men at +the conference, and some very powerful preaching. + +I was appointed to Dauphin Circuit. My colleague was Anning Owen, who +had charge of the circuit, greatly to my relief. William Colbert was my +presiding elder. + +This, as has been seen, was a large and laborious circuit; it included +Boehm’s Chapel and Lancaster, as well as many other places. We had hard +work to get a foothold in Lancaster, and met with powerful opposition. +Having no church there, we preached in the market, and those of the +baser sort annoyed my colleague and myself exceedingly. Once while I was +preaching, and there was some disturbance, I saw a man coming toward me +from the tavern. He seemed to be full of wrath, and pressed through the +crowd toward my pulpit, which was a butcher’s block, as if he intended +violence. I kept on preaching, throwing out some hot shots, when suddenly +he stopped, his countenance changed, and the lion became a lamb, and I +was preserved from the harm he no doubt intended I should suffer. + +Brother Owen had tried to preach there several times, and once they so +interrupted him, and even threatened him, that he bade them farewell, +after telling them his skirts were clear from their blood, and he +literally shook off the dust of his feet as a testimony against them. +Then we abandoned the place, and for three years after no Methodist +preachers visited it. It was not till 1807 I formed a class there, as +will be seen in a following chapter. There was a small class earlier, but +it soon died away. + +One of our preaching places was David Musselmen’s. He lived about seven +miles from Lancaster, between that and Marietta. It was a fine family, +and their house one of the choice homes the early ministers loved to +find. There was something very peculiar about his conversion. He was a +Pharisee; thought himself good enough, a little better than most men, +and looked on experimental religion as fanaticism. One day he was in his +field at work, in the summer of 1800, when a storm suddenly gathered, +and the clouds were dark and lowering. His little boy was with him. He +saw they would not have time to reach the house before the rain fell, so +they went under a large walnut tree that stood by the roadside. The rain +fell in torrents; there was a flash of lightning, and quick as thought a +loud peal of thunder followed. The tree was struck, and father and son +fell to the ground, both senseless. When the father recovered he heard +louder thunder—the thunder of Mount Sinai; all his sins were set in order +before him; his guilty soul trembled. He had hoped that his darling boy +was, like himself, only stunned; but, alas! he found he was dead. His +self-righteousness was now all gone, and he cried out, “O Lord, I thank +thee that thou hast taken the innocent and spared the guilty.” There +under the tree, beside his dead son, he knelt down and sought the Lord +with prayer and tears, and the Lord heard and answered. He united with +the Methodist Church, and was a most excellent member. His house was the +pilgrim’s rest, indeed it was a sanctuary, “for there the Lord commanded +the blessing, even life for evermore.” My father, Thomas Burch, myself, +and many others, have preached under his roof “the glorious Gospel of the +blessed God.” He lived faithful many years, and then died happy in the +Lord. + +THOMAS and ROBERT BURCH were among my early associates in the Church. +Their mother lived in the neighborhood of my father’s, and belonged to +the society at Boehm’s Chapel, and so did her sons. She had a daughter +who married a preacher. The mother was a woman of intelligence and +decision of character. Years after she lived in Columbia, and I used to +put up with her with Bishop Asbury when I traveled with him. It affords +me pleasure, now she and her sons sleep in the grave, to make a record of +her virtues. They were from Ireland; emigrated to this country in June, +1800, and settled in the neighborhood of my father’s. She was a widow, +having lost her husband 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 father’s +house; it was an old class, formed before I was born. I heard some of his +earliest efforts at exhortation and at preaching. I encouraged him and +his brother Robert to enter the ministry. Robert joined the Philadelphia +Conference in 1804, and Thomas in 1805. I have rode hundreds of miles +with them, attended 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 soft and musical, yet strong. He was one of the most eloquent +and popular preachers of the day. In 1810, when he had been only four +years in the ministry, he was stationed in Philadelphia. His mother at +that time resided with him, and she was delighted with her clerical sons. +To a person who was eulogizing the preaching of Thomas she inquired, “Do +you think that is great? wait till you hear my Robert.” Thomas Burch died +in Brooklyn on August 22, 1849, aged seventy, having been forty-four +years in the ministry. He left a son, Thomas H. Burch, who is a member of +the New York East Conference. Robert Burch was a member of Philadelphia, +Baltimore, and Genesee Conferences. He traveled for a while with Bishop +Asbury. He was a man of fine talent, great simplicity of character, and +honest integrity. He died July 1, 1855, aged seventy-seven. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +BALTIMORE AND PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCES, 1805—ST. MARTIN’S CIRCUIT. + + +Having a little ecclesiastical business, I attended the Baltimore +Conference in Winchester, Va., on April 1, 1805. I was at Winchester in +1800 with my father, and in 1805 I was the guest of Simon Lauk, Jun., +who was converted under my father’s labors in 1800. Mine host gave me a +most cordial welcome, and my former colleague, Jacob Gruber, also was +entertained there. He had been transferred to the Baltimore Conference, +where he spent the remainder of his days. + +Methodism was early introduced into Winchester. They had a house of +worship there in 1800. Joseph and Christopher Frye were from this place. +They were Germans, but not preaching in that language, soon lost the use +of their native tongue. + +On Sunday I heard four sermons: Brother William Page at eight in the +morning, Bishop Asbury at eleven, Bishop Whatcoat at three in the +afternoon, and James Hunter in the evening. The preaching was powerful, +and the results were great. + +This was the first time I was permitted to look upon the noble body of +men that composed the Baltimore Conference. There were seventy-four +preachers present. The conference was held in an upper room in the +private house of Brother George Reed. The reason for this was that the +Methodist church was occupied for preaching three times a day. There was +quite a revival during the conference, and a number passed from death +unto life. All but two or three of the preachers that were present have +long since been in their sepulchers.[9] + +Here I had the privilege of seeing for the first time the Rev. William +Watters. He was the first American Methodist traveling preacher. I was +not only privileged to see him but to hear him preach. I still remember +his appearance and his theme. He preached on the “Christian armor,” and +I was perfectly delighted while he described, as I never heard before, +the various parts of that armor and their uses. He showed that the armor +was not only defensive but offensive; that we must carry the war into +the enemies’ camp. The sermon was delivered with great unction, and many +resolved under it to be valiant for the truth; to conquer, and then share +in the rewards of victory. + +At this conference I first saw and heard Robert R. Roberts, afterward one +of our bishops. He was then a homespun looking man, plainly and coarsely +dressed, and yet his personal appearance and preaching attracted +considerable attention. He had not then graduated to elder’s orders. I +heard him preach from 1 Cor. i, 31: “He that glorieth let him glory in +the Lord.” The sermon was able and eloquent, showing great pulpit power. +This was Mr. Roberts’s first sermon at an annual conference. Bishop +Asbury heard it with great admiration, and he determined to bring the +young preacher forward and give him a more prominent appointment. In 1809 +he was appointed to Baltimore, and then to Philadelphia, and so he rose +step by step until he reached the episcopal office. + +Most honorable mention I make in my journal of this conference, of +its peace and harmony, of the largeness of the congregations, of the +faithfulness of the preaching, and of the souls converted. In returning +from this conference I had the company of James Hunter and Henry Smith. +Where we stayed over night we went into the woods, and there we wrestled +and prayed together for a deeper baptism of love. Heaven met us in the +grove, and we felt it none other than God’s own house and heaven’s gate. +After riding together three days we separated. + +I knew Henry Smith’s father. He resided not far from Winchester. I was at +his house in 1800 with my father. Mr. Smith, the aged, belonged to the +United Brethren, having been converted at one of Mr. Otterbein’s meetings +at Antietam previous to 1789. Both the Methodists and the United +Brethren used to preach at his house. + +The Philadelphia Conference met on May 1, 1805, in Chestertown, Md., in +the court-house, that we might occupy the meeting-house for preaching. +My father and Brother Thomas Burch accompanied me to conference. On our +way we attended a quarterly meeting at North East. On Saturday Brother +Colbert preached in the morning, and Anning Owen in the evening. Freeborn +Garrettson preached on Sunday morning a most profitable discourse, and he +again preached at Elkton at five o’clock. This was the first time I heard +him. + +The next day we reached Chestertown, and Brother Thomas Burch and I +were kindly entertained at Friend Pope’s. My father having been present +when I was ordained deacon, was desirous to see me invested with full +ministerial powers. Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat were both present. +Alas, it was the last time we ever beheld the venerable form of Richard +Whatcoat presiding in the Philadelphia Conference. + +Bishop Whatcoat ordained seven deacons, and after an impressive sermon +from Bishop Asbury from Luke iii, 4, 6, “All flesh shall see the +salvation of God,” six of us were ordained elders in the Church of God: +James Aikins, James Polhemus, John Wiltbank, Asa Smith, Benjamin Iliff, +and Henry Boehm. I can almost feel the hands of the sainted Asbury as +well as of the elders still resting on my head, and hear the echoes of +his voice saying, “The Lord pour upon thee the Holy Ghost for the office +and work of an elder in the Church of God, now committed unto thee by the +imposition of our hands,” etc. + +My parchments I have preserved as carefully as if diamonds, the first +bearing the signature of Richard Whatcoat, the other of Francis Asbury. +I was ordained a deacon on May 4, 1803, at Cross Roads, and an elder on +May 5, 1805. I was licensed to preach in Pennsylvania, ordained a deacon +in Delaware, and an elder in Maryland. Except myself, those who were +ordained at this conference have long since gone to rest. Benjamin Iliff +was the first that fell at his post. I used to preach at his father’s +house in Bucks County, below Easton, when on Bristol Circuit. With +Benjamin I took sweet counsel, and together we walked to the house of God +in company. I little thought as we stood at the altar taking the vows +of God upon us that my friend and brother would die before he reached +his appointment. Twenty-four days from that Sabbath he rested from his +labors. He was a good man and a good preacher. His last words were: “_I +have lost sight of the world; come, Lord Jesus, come quickly._” + +JAMES POLHEMUS was a pious man, and died in 1827, and was interred at +Woodrow Chapel on Staten Island, where Joseph Totten is sleeping, and +where I expect to myself. + +JAMES AIKINS was an Irishman. He came to this country in 1792, and was +converted in Pennsylvania. He died of cancer at Haverstraw in 1823. He +was aware that he was dying, and said to the family with which he was +staying, “I shall die here. God called me into the ministry, and he has +called me out of it. Medical aid cannot save me.” + +JOHN WILTBANK was a man of moderate talents. He located in 1813, and died +many years ago, and was buried at Dover. + +ASA SMITH was useful, but he was very boisterous in preaching, sometimes +forgetting that bodily exercise profiteth but little. He died in New +Jersey several years ago. + +I was appointed to St. Martin’s Circuit with James Ridgeway. I left the +mountains and hills of Dauphin to travel again on the Peninsula. This was +a part of Annamessex Circuit that I had previously traveled. + +After visiting my native place I entered upon my interesting field of +labor. Returning I attended a quarterly meeting in Barratt’s Chapel. +William P. Chandler was the presiding elder, and our quarterly and +camp-meetings were great occasions. The first meeting was held at Snow +Hill. Samuel Porter, father of Rev. John S. Porter, D.D., was a most +prominent man on the circuit. He was a steward and class-leader, and +his house a preaching place. Mr. Asbury greatly admired him, and makes +most honorable mention of him in his journal. Arthur and Ezekiel Williams +were brothers, and both local preachers. They lived near the head of the +Sound. The Sound Meeting-house was built in 1785. Freeborn Garrettson +introduced Methodism here, and through him the Williamses were converted. +Arthur was one of the best local preachers I ever knew. He was a sound +divine, an evangelical preacher, a thorough Methodist. He was wise in +counsel. When I obtained his advice in a critical or difficult case I +felt secure. I loved to throw myself under his wing. + +Arthur Williams had several children, and his wife began to be seriously +exercised about their salvation. They were moral and amiable; but, alas! +they had no religion. While Mr. Williams was attending an appointment +some distance off she prayed with the family, as was her custom when +he was away. While she was wrestling with the angel of the covenant on +behalf of her children, their hearts were melted into tenderness as they +saw the anxiety of their mother on their behalf. Some began to sigh, and +others to cry and pray for mercy. Several were converted that night, and +when the father came home there was wonderful rejoicing. In a little +while they were all converted. + +I received a letter from Bishop Asbury requesting me to meet him at my +father’s. I did so. On Sunday he preached at Boehm’s Chapel from 2 Thess. +i, 2-10, on the second coming of Christ. The unction of the Holy One +rested on him. The sermon was delivered with great life and power, and +there was a melting time under the word. Joseph Crawford traveled with +him then. The next day they started for the Western Conference, and I for +my circuit. + +On Friday we went to the Bethel, where Lorenzo Dow had an appointment. +He took no text, but discoursed on “The Character of a Gentleman.” He +gave the deists no quarters. Then he spoke clearly and feelingly upon +justification by faith and sanctification. We then accompanied him to +the “Union Meeting-House,” on Duck Creek Circuit, where he preached from +“Watchman, what of the night,” etc. His theme was the signs of the times. +It was a time of great power; there were a thousand people present. Dow +had traveled all night, and until ten o’clock the next morning, before +he reached Bethel. As soon as he had finished his sermon he jumped out +of the window, back of the pulpit, and mounting his horse rode seventeen +miles to “Union;” then to Duck Creek Cross Roads, where he preached from +“Many are called, but few are chosen.” His powers of endurance must have +been great, for he rode eighty miles and had five meetings without sleep. + +Dow was then an Evangelist. He was irregular, eccentric, and yet +powerful. He had acquired the title of “Crazy Dow.” The preachers were +divided in opinion concerning him. Some gave out his appointments, and +others would not. John M’Claskey absolutely refused; he said, “I give out +no appointments for him, for I have nothing to do with Lorenzo Dow.” + +I heard him preach several years after in Camden, N. J., and came to the +conclusion that the Lorenzo Dow I heard then was not the Lorenzo Dow I +heard in 1805. He was like the sun under an eclipse, or like Samson after +he lost the locks of his strength. + +Previous to the session of the Philadelphia Conference in 1806, Bishops +Asbury and Whatcoat made a short tour through the Peninsula. I had the +privilege of accompanying them, and heard them preach. The fifth of April +we met them at Snow Hill, which was on my circuit. I felt a thrill of +delight in seeing them again. They went a journey of five hundred and +fifty miles to visit the Churches and preach after they left Baltimore. + +Bishop Asbury preached at Snow Hill, from Heb. iii, 12, 13: the caution +“not to depart from the living God,” and the duty to “exhort one another +daily.” Notwithstanding the rain fell in torrents, crowds came to listen. +Thence we went to Broadkilltown, Delaware, where the bishop preached on +Christian steadfastness, from 1 Cor. xv, 6-8; then to Milford, where he +held forth on the form and power of godliness: 2 Tim. iii, 5. + +Thence we hurried on to Dover with the afflicted Bishop Whatcoat. He was +taken with a severe fit of the gravel, and suffered most intense agony. +We did not know but he would die on the road. Bishop Whatcoat remained at +the house of Hon. Richard Bassett, while Bishop Asbury went on to meet +the Philadelphia Conference. Here these great-hearted, noble-souled, true +yoke-fellows, who had known each other in England, met in class together +when boys, who had traveled all over the mountains and valleys of this +country in pursuit of the lost sheep of the House of Israel, looked upon +each other’s faces for the last time. How touching the scene of the +separation of those patriarchs, whose hearts had beat responsive to the +other for so many years! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +FIRST CAMP-MEETING ON THE PENINSULA, 1805. + + +The introduction of camp-meetings into the Peninsula formed a new era in +Methodism in that section of country. Worshiping in the groves, God’s +first temples, was a novelty, and called out the people by thousands. +The ministers preached with unusual power, for crowds inspired them, and +converts were multiplied as the drops of the morning. I attended all +these meetings and kept a record of them. + +Camp-meetings had their origin in Tennessee, in 1799. Two brothers, +named Magee, one a Methodist the other a Presbyterian minister, had the +high honor of originating them. With John Magee, the Methodist, I was +acquainted for several years; I traveled with him many miles, and heard +him in preach. He was the father-in-law of the Rev. Thomas L. Douglas. + +Jesse Lee introduced camp-meetings into Virginia and Maryland, and then +to Delaware. But the first camp-meeting in the East was held by the Rev. +William Thatcher, in Carmel, New York, in 1804. + +The meeting of which I now speak was the first held on the Peninsula, and +the beginning of a series that were greatly honored of God and a blessing +to thousands. It was held in a beautiful grove three miles south of +Duck Creek Cross Roads, (now Smyrna,) and commenced on the 25th of July, +1805. There were multitudes of tents, and thousands came to the feast of +tabernacles. Worshiping in nature’s magnificent temple, the preachers and +the people got new inspiration. + +A notice of the ministers who preached, and their texts, may seem dry +to some, but by others the record will be read with interest, for all +who preached on that ground at that camp-meeting have long since been in +Paradise. + +The opening sermon was by Jesse Lee, who had attended many camp-meetings. +He was then in his palmy days, and was a host in himself. His text was +Isaiah xxxiii, 12: “And the people shall be as the burnings of lime, +as thorns shall they be burned in the fire.” This was a singular text. +The sermon was terrific, showing the awful end of the wicked. Jesse Lee +was occasionally a “son of thunder.” His texts were often novel, and +therefore attracted attention. + +John Chalmers, the old hero, preached in the afternoon from Numbers x, +1-9. If the reader will turn to it he will see it was a most ingenious +text for a camp-meeting, and the sermon was equally ingenious. A +minister’s skill and wisdom are exhibited as much in the selection of his +texts as in expounding them. Adaptation is the great secret of success. +John Chalmers knew as well as any other man how to adapt his subject to +the occasion. In his text we read of “camps,” of “trumpets” that were +blown, of the “assembly,” “congregation,” of “priests,” of “solemn days” +and “days of gladness,” all reminding us of modern camp-meetings. + +Joseph Totten preached in the evening from Hab. iii, 2, “O Lord, revive +thy work.” My journal says: “This was a time of power to many souls; +about twenty-two professed to find converting grace to-day.” Such was the +first day’s work of the first camp-meeting held on the eastern shore of +Maryland. + +On Friday Thomas Ware preached at eight o’clock, from 1 John v, 4, on +faith and its victories. The word was conveyed by the Spirit to the +hearts of many. At three o’clock John Chalmers preached from John xiv, +12, on faith and works. James Aikins, at eight in the evening, from +Matt. xi, 28, on the rest for those who labor and are heavy laden. The +result of the second day was glorious: sixty were converted and a number +sanctified. The meeting continued all night; some were crying for mercy, +others praying, singing, shouting—there was indeed a shout of a king in +the camp. We had a glorious time at sunrise. + +On Saturday morning Jesse Lee preached at eight, from John xvi, 20, on +weeping and lamentation being turned into joy. That was verily a time +of weeping. Richard Lyon preached at three o’clock, from Isaiah i, 18: +“Come and let us reason together.” William Bishop preached at night. +About one hundred were converted during the day and last night. Wonderful +are thy works, O Lord Almighty! + +On Sunday, at eight o’clock, Alvard White preached, from Psalm cvii, 8, +on praising the Lord for his wonderful works. Ephraim Chambers preached +in the afternoon, and Richard Sneath in the evening. This was a high day +in Zion. It was supposed there were more converted to-day than yesterday. + +On Monday our camp-meeting closed, after a most affectionate parting. +Jesse Lee says, concerning this meeting: “Thousands of people attended, +and I suppose two hundred were converted among the white people, and many +among the blacks. I think it exceeded anything that I ever saw for the +conversion of souls, and for the quickening influences of the Holy Ghost +upon the hearts of believers. I took an account of sixty-eight Methodist +preachers who were at that meeting. The work went on beautifully and +powerfully. It was said the noise occasioned by the cries of the +distressed and the shouts of the saints was heard at the distance of +three miles. From that meeting the work of the Lord spread greatly on the +eastern shore, both in Maryland and Delaware states; and hundreds were +converted and added to the society in the course of a few months after +that meeting.” I make this long quotation because it confirms all I have +said by one who was a prominent actor. + +This camp-meeting was under the charge of William P. Chandler, who was +a mighty leader of the “sacramental host,” and just the man to command +such a wing of the Christian army. Of the sixty-eight preachers who were +present I alone survive. William P. Chandler, who presided, has been dead +forty-three years; Jesse Lee, forty-nine years; and John Chalmers, thirty +years. + +I went with Dr. Chandler to the camp-meeting in Accomac County, Va. We +arrived there on Monday, August 26, and worked hard in clearing the +ground and fixing the seats. We were entertained at Major Kerr’s, a man +of wealth, who stood high in the community, and had built him a splendid +mansion. He was one of Dr. Chandler’s spiritual children, and had +recently joined the society. His conversion was quite singular. Brother +Chandler preached in the neighborhood, and was entertained by the major, +who had respect for the Gospel and its ministers, though he was then +emphatically a man of the world. One day while walking with him in his +fine parlor, and amid his splendid furniture, the doctor said, “Well, +major, this mansion is too beautiful to leave behind you, and yet you +will soon have to leave it and go to that narrow house appointed for all +living.” It was a word “fitly spoken,” a “nail fastened in a sure place.” +It led the major to reflection, which resulted in his conviction and +conversion. The major identified himself with Methodism, and became very +useful. + +A great multitude attended this camp-meeting. The ministers preached +with “the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,” and the “arrows were very +sharp in the hearts of the king’s enemies.” On Thursday sixty were +converted, on Friday one hundred and fifty, on Saturday and Sunday over +a hundred each day. It was the opinion of the preachers, and others who +took pains to ascertain, that four hundred whites and over one hundred +and fifty blacks were converted. The work went on day and night without +intermission from Thursday till Monday. Besides Dr. Chandler there were +present Henry White, Thomas Birch, James Ridgeway, and John Chalmers. + +There was a skeptic at the meeting who made some disturbance. He was very +fluent, and crowds gathered around him as he argued against the divinity +of Jesus, and ridiculed his mysterious birth. At last John Chalmers +encountered him, and he was just the man. He inquired of the skeptic, +“Do you believe that God created the universe?” He answered, “I do.” +“Do you believe God formed man out of the dust of the earth?” He said, +“Yes.” Another question: “Do you believe that God formed the woman out of +the man?” “Yes.” Then came the crowning question: “Do you think it more +difficult for God to create a man out of a woman than a woman out of a +man?” The question struck at the foundation of his skepticism. He was +confounded; he trembled and wept, and in a little while was on his knees +at the mourners’ bench imploring pardon. And he found that the blood of +the incarnate Jesus could wash all his guilty stains away. He became an +ornament to the Church. Years afterward I saw him with a face that looked +toward heaven, declaring, “I seek a better country.” + +There has been some discussion in our periodicals as to the time when +mourners were first invited to the altar for prayers, and with whom the +custom originated. As this practice made a new era in the Church, and has +been so highly honored of God, the question is one of interest. + +Dr. Bangs, in his History of Methodism, vol. iii, p. 374, speaks of the +revival in the city of New York in 1806, and says: “It was during this +powerful revival the practice of inviting penitent sinners to the altar +was first introduced. The honor of doing this, if I am rightly informed, +belongs to Brother Aaron Hunt, who resorted to it to prevent the +confusion arising from praying in different parts of the house.” This has +been for years stereotyped, and is interwoven into history. The doctor +expressed himself cautiously, for he said, “If I am rightly informed.” +The truth is, he was not correctly informed. Aaron Hunt was no doubt +the one who first introduced its practice in New York, but it existed +previously in other places. The Rev. Henry Smith of Baltimore Conference +wrote a letter to Dr. Bangs when he was editor of the _Advocate_ asking +that this error in his history might be corrected. In it he stated he had +invited mourners to the altar as early as 1803, and adds, “It was not a +solitary case or a new thing, but often practiced with success.” + +I know the practice commenced much earlier than 1806. As early as 1799, +when in company with that eminent revivalist, Rev. W. P. Chandler, +on Cecil Circuit, at Back Creek, after preaching, the doctor invited +mourners to the altar. Nearly a score came forward, and twelve men +experienced the forgiveness of sins that day, and among them Lawrence +Laurenson, who became one of the most popular and useful preachers in the +Philadelphia Conference. That was the first time I ever saw or heard of +mourners being invited to the altar. + +During the revivals on the Peninsula in 1801, and the two following +years, as well as at the camp-meeting in 1805, it was the invariable +practice to invite mourners to come forward. The Rev. Richard Sneath, one +of the best of ministers, with whom I fought side by side the battles +of the Lord, has thrown light on this subject. In a letter to Dr. Coke, +dated Milford, October 5, 1802, he says: “On January 25, 1801, at St. +George’s, Philadelphia, after Mr. Cooper had been preaching, I invited +all the mourners to come to the communion-table that we might pray +particularly for them. This I found to be useful, as it removed that +shame which often hinders souls from coming to Christ, and excited them +to the exercise of faith. About thirty professed to be converted, and +twenty-six joined the society.” Mr. Sneath says also: “In 1800 and 1801 +I added on Milford Circuit upward of three thousand members.”[10] So +mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. The scenes were pentecostal. +It is difficult to realize them now. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +DOVER CIRCUIT, 1806—SICKNESS AND DEATH OF BISHOP WHATCOAT. + + +On Saturday, August 12, I went with Bishop Asbury to Philadelphia. He +preached twice on Sabbath. In the morning at St. George’s, from 2 Peter +i, 12-14. If the reader will turn to the passage he will see how touching +and how appropriate it was. The bishop had just left his dying colleague, +Bishop Whatcoat. He was himself pressed down with many infirmities; his +tabernacle was shaken, some of the pins were being taken out. He preached +also at the Academy from James v, 7, 8, on patiently waiting for results, +like the husbandman. The conference commenced on Monday the 14th. There +were sixty-three preachers present, and the session was one of great +peace and harmony. Bishop Asbury preached on Wednesday from 1 Tim. iv, +12, 13: “Let no man despise thy youth;” after which he ordained seven +elders. + +On Thursday I heard Ezekiel Cooper preach in the Bethel from Haggai ii, +9: “The glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former,” etc. +This was a sermon of superior excellence. Ezekiel Cooper was then in his +palmy days, powerful in the pulpit, powerful on the conference floor. +The influence he wielded in the Philadelphia Conference was wonderful. He +was the master-mind, the leading spirit. + +On Monday the 21st this pleasant and profitable conference adjourned. +The bishop in his journal says, “I hope many souls will be converted in +consequence of the coming together of this conference, having had great +peace in the societies, and sound, sure preaching three times a day.” + +I was appointed to Dover Circuit with James Bateman. It was a pleasant +circuit, and he was a pleasant colleague. He was a young man, belonging +to one of the first families on the Peninsula, and this was his first +circuit. William P. Chandler was the presiding elder. On my arrival I +was heartily welcomed in the name of my Master. My home was the house of +the Hon. Richard Bassett. On the 26th I wrote: “Here in this hospitable +mansion the venerated Richard Whatcoat is confined with dangerous +illness; but I rejoice to find him better, and that there is hope of his +recovery.” Alas, it was a false hope, raised only to settle in despair. + +On Sunday morning, with the assistance of several class-leaders, I met +two hundred colored members. Their black faces shone with holy joy, and +their songs were fervent and exhilarating. Religion does wonders for the +children of Ham. + +On Tuesday I went with Dr. Chandler to James Purnell’s, where our +quarterly meeting was to be held in a grove. This was the custom in that +day. They were miniature camp-meetings. The people came in crowds, so +the churches could not hold them. We spent a day or two in clearing the +ground and removing the underbrush, and prepared seats for twelve hundred +persons. On Friday there were several tents on the ground, and a number +of people. + +Dr. Chandler preached the opening sermon from Hab. iii, 2: “O Lord, +revive thy work,” etc. Great success attended the word. Brother Richard +Lyon exhorted. I closed with prayer, and then Brother Lyon invited +the mourners to the front of the preachers’ stand. I preached in the +afternoon, from 1 Peter iii, 9; and at night James Bateman, from Acts +iii, 19, on the times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. We had +not only the gentle dew, but the refreshing shower; a number of mourners +came to the altar; sinners were pricked to the heart, and some who came +to mock, remained to pray. + +Sunday was a day of mighty power; we had three sermons. I never witnessed +a more melting time. The work of justifying and sanctifying grace went on +with sweetness and power. + +During the meeting one hundred and sixty were converted, and thirty-four +professed to be sanctified, and were witnesses that the blood of Jesus +Christ cleanseth from all sin. + +I do not wish to make any invidious comparisons, and all my brethren +know that I never belonged to the family of croakers; but I will ask +this question: What would we think if we could witness such a scene at a +modern quarterly meeting? There was a power among the fathers, both in +the ministry and laity, that we do not possess. The ministers moved the +masses as the wind does a field of wheat, and they mowed them down as the +scythe does the grass. + +After spending several days in attending the different appointments, I +returned to Dover on Monday the 12th. I wrote in my journal thus: “Father +Whatcoat is still very dangerous.” Tuesday, “To-day I shaved the dear +saint of God. I also had great satisfaction in conversing with him; he +is much resigned to the will of God.” Never shall I forget the days and +hours I spent with the dying bishop. The place was hallowed, and the room +seemed filled with the glory of God. + +I took another tour, and then returned and spent more time with the +excellent bishop, whose days were closing, and the shadows of a long +evening were gathering around him. + +On the 18th I preached at Barratt’s Chapel. I also preached at Frederica +and at Banning’s Chapel. Much of the power of God was felt in many of +these meetings; several lay speechless and helpless. + +On May 26 I made this record: “This evening I had the pleasure of +conversing with dear Father Whatcoat, who is in a very low state of +bodily health; but what is infinitely superior, he has peace of mind, +which the world, together with health, cannot give.” The next day I had +another conversation with the aged pilgrim. “O! may the loving wholesome +advice he gave me never be erased from my mind. May I, agreeably to his +wish, continue in the field of battle should I live fifty years from now +and have health and strength. Lord, thou knowest I want to be wholly +thine while I live, thine in the article of death, thine in Paradise, +thine in the morning of the resurrection.” + +Such is the record I made fifty-nine years ago, after an interview with +one of the holiest men earth ever saw. He was exceedingly happy; he +shouted aloud the praises of Jesus, and gave a glorious testimony to the +power of religion to sustain in adversity. He talked sweetly of heaven, +and of the numerous friends in America and in England that he expected to +meet in heaven. + +I have ever esteemed it one of the most exalted privileges of my life to +enjoy the interviews I did with the dying bishop, and to be favored with +his benediction. + +On the 5th of July, 1806, the good bishop gave his soul to God and his +body to the dust. Seldom has the Church lost a brighter ornament, seldom +heaven received a purer spirit. + +Dr. Chandler delivered an address at his funeral to an immense crowd, +and the remains were deposited under the altar of the church, in Dover, +Delaware. + + +PORTRAITURE OF BISHOP WHATCOAT. + +With Bishop Whatcoat I was personally acquainted for sixteen years. I had +seen him at my father’s house long before he was elected bishop. I was +present at his election and ordination, and I was myself ordained by him +a deacon. I have heard him preach often; have traveled with him hundreds +of miles; have been with him in many families; enjoyed his friendship, +and had the benefit of his wise counsels. I presume there is no one +living that has as many personal recollections of Bishop Whatcoat as I +have. + +In regard to his personal appearance, Bishop Whatcoat was not very +tall; he was stout, though not corpulent. He had a fine intellectual +face; his mouth was small; his eyes not very dark, but expressive. His +dress was very plain, in Methodist minister style: the shad-belly coat, +and vest buttoned snug up to his neck. A few years before his death he +lost all his hair, so he was entirely bald. Some time after, to his +great astonishment, it began to grow, and his hair came out thick and +beautiful, so that when he died he had a fine head of dark hair, not even +sprinkled with gray. He combed it down straight over his forehead, the +Methodist fashion in those days. It would have been considered out of +order to have worn it so as to exhibit a noble forehead. His face, like +that of Bishop Asbury, was bronzed or tanned by exposure to many summer’s +suns and winter winds and storms. His likeness in the “Arminian Magazine” +resembles him, though it is younger than when I saw him. + +As a man he was most remarkable, for in him was blended a dignity +that commanded reverence, and a humility and sweetness that inspired +affection. The benignity that shone in his countenance revealed the +character of the inner man. He loved everybody, and all loved him in +return. As a bishop he was a safe counselor, for he was wise in judgment. +He was a good presiding officer. He governed by the law of kindness, and +the preachers all venerated him. In the pulpit he excelled. He could melt +and mould an audience as few men ever did. The holy anointing rested on +him, and a peculiar unction attended his words. Several of his sermons I +can never forget. One I heard from him in 1790, seventy-five years ago, I +distinctly remember: “The handful of corn,” and “the fruit shaking like +Lebanon.” Also the one at Duck Creek Cross Roads, in 1803, on “suffering +a while,” etc. He professed purity of heart, and no one that knew him +doubted his being in possession of it. A holier man has not lived since +the days of the seraphic Fletcher, whom in some respects he strikingly +resembled. He walked in the light as God was in the light. He was a man +of one book, the Bible; and such was his knowledge of the Scriptures +that he was called “a concordance.” He was peculiarly solemn. He always +appeared to act as if he heard a voice saying, “Occupy till I come,” or +as if the judgment trump was sounding in his ears summoning him to “give +an account of his stewardship.” + +It was my privilege on September 23 to hear Dr. Chandler in Dover +preach the funeral sermon of Bishop Whatcoat from John i, 47: “Behold +an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.” Was there ever a more +appropriate text? No man was ever more free from guile than Bishop +Whatcoat. Dr. Chandler did justice to the subject. He had known the +bishop intimately for years, and was a great admirer of his many virtues. +I wrote thus in my journal: “This was truly a solemn and profitable +discourse. My heart was affected on reflecting on what wholesome +instructions I have heard from the lips of our father in the Lord both in +private and public. I am encouraged to be more faithful, that I may not +become a castaway, and be separated from those who have gone before.” + +Bishop Asbury hastened back after his New England tour to see his friend +and “true yoke-fellow,” but he was too late. “At Kingston,” he says, “I +found a letter from Dr. Chandler declaring the death of Bishop Whatcoat, +that father in Israel, and my faithful friend for forty years; a man of +solid parts; a self-denying man of God. Who ever heard him speak an +idle word? When was guile found in his mouth? He had been thirty-eight +years in the ministry: sixteen years in England, Wales, and Ireland, and +twenty-two in America; twelve years as presiding elder; four of this time +he was stationed in the cities, or traveling with me, and six years in +the superintendency. A man so uniformly good I have not known in Europe +or America.... At his taking leave of the South Carolina Conference I +thought his time was short. I changed my route to visit him, but only +reached within a hundred and thirty miles; death was too quick for me.” + +The next spring, when Bishop Asbury was returning from his annual +southern tour, he came to Dover. On April 27, 1807, in Wesley Chapel, +standing over the remains of Bishop Whatcoat, he preached the funeral +sermon of his late colleague from 2 Tim. iii, 10: “But thou hast fully +known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, +charity, patience.”[11] Governor Bassett was present, and many others who +loved Bishop Whatcoat in life, and mourned the loss they sustained in +his death. It was a portraiture of Bishop Whatcoat sketched and painted +by a master workman who was well acquainted with his subject; and so +accurate was the likeness, with its lights and shades, that there was no +difficulty in recognizing the original. + +On the walls of the church in Dover was placed a neat marble slab, on +which the following was inscribed: + +“In memory of the REV. RICHARD WHATCOAT, one of the bishops of the +Methodist Episcopal Church, who was born March, 1736, in Gloucestershire, +England, and died in Dover July 5, 1806, aged seventy years.” + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +DOVER CIRCUIT—GREAT CAMP-MEETINGS. + + +It is now almost impossible to realize what great times we had at our +early camp-meetings. They did much in breaking up the strongholds of the +devil, and almost revolutionized the Peninsula. They made, as Bishop +Asbury said, “our harvest seasons.” Among the Methodists no gentlemen and +ladies attended for leisure, pleasure, or pure air; but they went to work +to save souls from death, and acted as if they had no other business. On +June 11 we held a camp-meeting on Dover Circuit. There were two hundred +tents on the ground. Brother Alward White preached the first sermon +from Neh. iv, 10, on removing the rubbish so we shall be able to build +the wall. On the first day forty-seven were converted and thirty-nine +sanctified. This is the way they looked for things in those days: +while penitents were pardoned the saints were purified. Friday morning +Richard Lyon preached from Matt. xx, 6, to idlers in God’s vineyard. +Then mourners were invited to the altar. Many came, and the work of God +went on till three o’clock, when James Aikins preached from Luke xiv, +17, on the Gospel feast. The work went on gloriously, and at sunset they +reported one hundred converted and seventy-five sanctified. In the +evening George Woolley preached from Isaiah xxviii, 17, on sweeping away +the refuge of lies. The last refuge of the sinner seemed to be swept +away. The next morning they reported sixty-two converted and fifty-three +sanctified. + +Thomas Boring preached on Saturday at eight o’clock from Rev. iii, 20: +“Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” etc.; W. B. Lacy at three from +Deut. xxxii, 11, about “The eagle stirreth up her nest,” etc.; Thomas +Dunn in the evening from Psalm cxlv, 19. There were one hundred and +forty-six converted and seventy-six sanctified during the day. The next +morning they reported one hundred and fifty-six converted and one hundred +and sixteen sanctified during the night. + +Sabbath was a great day in Israel. Dr. Chandler preached in the morning +at ten from Isaiah xi, 9: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge +of the Lord,” etc. He could move the masses as the wind stirs the leaves +on the trees. James Ridgeway at three in the afternoon, from 1 Peter iv, +17: “What shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel.” He was a +powerful man at camp-meetings. At sunset they reported three hundred and +thirty-nine conversions and one hundred and twenty-two sanctifications. +What a Sabbath! Peter Vannest preached at eight o’clock. Eighty-one +converted that evening and sixty-eight sanctified. + +On Monday morning William Hardisty preached from Psalm xxxiv, 5; in the +afternoon Brother Jackson from Acts iii, 19, 20, on times of refreshing +from the presence of the Lord; and James Herron preached in the evening. +There were this day two hundred and sixty-four conversions and fifty +sanctifications. + +On Tuesday morning the Lord’s supper was administered. There was a most +melting time. I have given this record just as it was written in 1806. I +added: “O how the power and love of God unites the hearts of his people. +Glory to my God and Saviour that I have lived to see such times of the +outpouring of his Spirit! Agreeable to the report of those who were most +active in the work, there were eleven hundred conversions and six hundred +sanctifications.” This may seem an exaggeration, but the record was made +at the time, and there could be no object to state anything but the +truth, for it was written simply for myself, and not for others. + +July 15 the camp-meeting began near Dover. For several days we had been +preparing seats for six thousand persons. The people came in crowds. +There were four hundred tents, wagons, and carts within the inclosure. +Some slept in wagons, others in carts. + +On Thursday John Chalmers, an old warrior, opened the campaign from Exod. +xiv, 15: “Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.” They +did go forward with banners flying, and a shout was heard along the +ranks of our Israel. The work of revival commenced in a powerful manner +under the first sermon, and continued through the night. There were +sixty-eight converted and twenty-nine sanctified. Glory to the Highest! + +On Friday at eight o’clock Lawrence M’Combs preached on 2 Cor. iv, +5. He had a powerful voice, and was an admirable man to preach at +camp-meetings. Brother Kendall preached in the afternoon. On Saturday +morning Daniel Chambers, a local preacher from Baltimore, preached on +“The Lord preserveth all them that love him, but all the wicked will he +destroy.” Joshua Wells preached in the afternoon from Psalm lxxxvii, 3: +“Glorious things are spoken of thee,” etc.; and William B. Lacy at night +from Isaiah xxxiii, 16. The work went on all night. Will the reader be +surprised that I added, “Glory! glory!” + +Sabbath was a high day in Zion. There were about ten thousand people +on the ground. In the morning Samuel Coate preached on John iii, 17; +John Chalmers preached in the afternoon; and Brother Ridgeway at night. +One hundred and ninety-eight were converted and one hundred and sixty +sanctified. Halleluiah! This was during the day. The work continued all +night, and one hundred and twenty-seven were converted and one hundred +sanctified before the sun rose in the east. + +On Monday morning Peter Vannest preached on Luke xv, 2: “This man +receiveth sinners and eateth with them.” He did receive them cordially +into his arms, into his family; he was receiving them when my brother was +preaching. Samuel Coate preached again on being instant in season and out +of season. He was there to raise money for a church in Montreal, Canada, +and was very successful. I preached at night from Luke xiv, 22, 23: +“And yet there is room.” The work went on gloriously all night. During +the meeting there were reported one thousand three hundred and twenty +conversions and nine hundred and sixteen sanctifications. + +This is wonderful. I give the figures just as I wrote them in my journal +in July, 1806. Shall these eyes, before they are closed in death, ever +witness such scenes again? Shall these ears ever hear such cries of +distress, such shouts of joy, such songs of victory? Shall this aged +heart ever feel such shocks of divine power as I felt on that consecrated +ground? + +Governor Bassett was full of faith and the Holy Ghost. He obtained a +wonderful baptism, and gave in his testimony before listening thousands. +Bishop Whatcoat had died a short time before at his house, and his +patience in suffering and his triumphant death was a great benefit to the +governor, who witnessed the agony and the triumph of that holy man. Allen +M’Lane, father of Hon. Louis M’Lane, was there on his knees wrestling +with the Angel of the Covenant, with tears rolling down his cheeks, for +a clean heart, and he was made pure in heart and enabled to see God. +Methodism received a mighty impetus from this meeting. + +On the 31st of July I left home for a camp-meeting in Virginia. On the +way I attended quarterly meeting, with Dr. Chandler, in the grove near +Samuel Porter’s, at Snow Hill. Two hundred and forty were converted and +many sanctified. On Sunday, at midnight, I started with the doctor, +Brothers R. Lyons, T. Burch, Aikins, and others, for the camp-meeting at +Accomac. We reached Onancock, and put up with Major Kerr, whom I have +described. + +On Thursday morning our camp-meeting commenced, and the work of God +broke out in the several tents before a single sermon was preached. In +the evening Alward White preached from Psalm xlii, 3: “My tears have +been my meat day and night,” etc. The work went on nearly all night, and +the next morning they reported one hundred and twenty-two converted and +eighty-four sanctified. + +The preachers and subjects during the rest of the meeting were as +follows: _Friday_—John Chalmers, Eccles. iii, 3; Matthew Greentree, Col. +iii, 3, 4; Peter Vannest, Rev. xii, 1, “And there appeared a great wonder +in heaven,” etc.; a wonderful text, and there was a wonderful time. +_Saturday_—James Aikins, Zech. ix, 12; Richard Lyon, Luke xii, 57; John +Chambers, Matt. i, 21. On this day the sons of Belial made a great stir, +and for a time somewhat hindered the progress of the work; yet there were +two hundred and sixty-three conversions and one hundred and twenty-three +reported to have been sanctified during the day and night. _Sunday_—John +Chalmers, Rev. xx, 1-3; Henry White, Rev. xxi, 27; he struck with the +hammer of God’s word and broke the hearts of stone, and the work went on +during the whole night. On Monday I held forth, from Gal. vi, 9, on not +being weary in well-doing. + +On Tuesday morning the Lord’s supper was administered; after which we +had our Christian parting, which was truly affecting, for many of us +parted to meet no more till we pitch our tent in the groves of Paradise. +A number of friends were there from Baltimore. The preachers and the +people who were there have gone most of them the way whence they will not +return. The number of conversions reported in the course of the meeting +was over nine hundred. + +Brother Chalmers went with me to Snow Hill, where he preached. I was +taken very ill. I lodged with Samuel Porter. I read a part of a chapter +and fainted, and Brother Porter prayed. I fainted also in preaching that +day. I was kindly cared for at G. Ward’s, a local preacher. Here I was +dangerously ill for several days under the doctor’s care. I then went +with Brother Ridgeway to the Line quarterly meeting to see Dr. Chandler, +to get some advice from him concerning my health. The chapel could not +hold the people, so the preaching was out of doors, and the preachers +lodged in the meeting-house. There were one hundred and twenty converted +at this meeting. Dr. Chandler advised me to go with him to Dr. Edward +White’s, in Cambridge. I was so weak I could not have gone had not Doctor +Chandler kindly permitted me to ride in his carriage. For five weeks I +was under the care of Dr. White, who was a skillful physician as well as +Christian gentleman. And here slowly I began to recover. The doctor and +his family were very kind to me. + +During these days I enjoyed the society of Joseph Everett, who was then +worn out. It was a privilege to hear the old warrior talk of bygone days, +of battles fought and victories won. On the 30th of October I took my +leave of Dr. White, and recorded this prayer: “May the Lord bless this +kind family. I trust I shall never forget the kindness they have shown +to me.” I never can. They have gone to their reward, but my heart throbs +with gratitude when I recall their peculiar kindness to me over fifty +years ago. + +I went to our quarterly meeting, not far from Snow Hill, and found +Brother Chandler and the preachers clearing the ground and preparing the +seats. The people went with their tents to quarterly meeting as they do +now to camp-meeting. There were many tents on the ground. On Saturday +there was a great awakening, and though it rained, the work went on all +night. + +On Sunday morning, Dr. Chandler preached from John vii, 17, “If any +man shall do his will he shall know of the doctrine,” etc. Then he +called the mourners forward, and many came and the work went on till +three o’clock, when Ezekiel Williams preached from 1 Cor. i, 30. Dr. +Chandler immediately followed, and took for his theme the ten lepers. +At the conclusion of the discourse he called the mourners forward; a +great number accepted of the invitation, and the cries of the mourners +and the shouts of those who were happy continued until morning, when we +separated, and it was a time of weeping and of shouting. There were sixty +souls converted and fifty sanctified during the meeting. My soul, praise +the Lord! I have dwelt here to show the reader what kind of times we had +at our quarterly meetings in those days. I returned to my circuit, and +there was one general revival. + +In September I preached the funeral sermon of Edward Callahan, who +resided near Banning’s Chapel. He died of cancer, after long and +excruciating sufferings. It commenced with his under lip, and spread so +that it eat off the side of his face and his tongue, yet such was the +power of grace that he was enabled to triumph over pain, and glorified +God in the fires. Like his Master, he was made perfect through +suffering. His was a peculiar case. Before his conversion he was a +confirmed stammerer; indeed such was the impediment in his speech that +often he could not express what he wanted to say in language, and was +obliged to resort to writing; but the moment he passed from death unto +life a physical as well as moral miracle was wrought, his tongue was +unloosed, and he became a very useful local preacher. He preached for +over twenty-five years. + +I could fill a volume with what occurred on Dover Circuit; it was one of +the most glorious years of my life. At Dover, Barratt’s Chapel, Milford, +Banning’s Chapel, and many other places, we saw the wonderful works of +God. I was happy in my colleague, James Bateman, a Christian gentleman, +and a brother beloved. I was happy in my presiding elder, Doctor +Chandler. I was happy in my home, the house of the Hon. Richard Bassett, +for though I had many good stopping places on the circuit, his house was +my home, and there could be no better one for a Methodist preacher. I was +happy among the colored people; we paid special attention to them, and +witnessed the power of the Gospel upon their hearts. The whole year was +one scene of revival. + + +REV. WILLIAM P. CHANDLER, M.D. + +I rode with Dr. Chandler, in his wagon, to Philadelphia, to attend the +conference. As this is the last of my traveling with him I will give a +sketch of him. I do this with pleasure, as I think too little has been +said concerning him. He was among the great men of Methodism in that +day, and his name deserves to be held in everlasting remembrance. I was +intimately acquainted with him for years. No man did I venerate more, +none had I greater reason to love. He was my spiritual father, my early +counselor and friend, and it was by him I was first encouraged to enter +the work of the ministry. + +He was born in Maryland on June 22, 1764, and in 1790 was converted in +St. George’s, Philadelphia. In 1797 he was admitted into the Philadelphia +Conference, and appointed to Strasburg Circuit. This included Boehm’s +Chapel. This was the first year I saw and heard Dr. Chandler. He was +called doctor because he had studied medicine with the famous Dr. Rush, +one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Ware +brought him out into the work, and had for him a great admiration. + +He did most efficient service for several years, until his health +failed, and he located in 1813. Anxious to die with his name enrolled +with his brethren, he was received into the Philadelphia Conference as a +superannuated preacher in 1822, the very year he died. + +Dr. Chandler was emphatically a great man: great physically, for he had a +noble body; great mentally, for he had a noble mind; great morally, for +he had a noble soul. As presiding elder, he magnified his office. His +quarterly meetings were seasons of great interest and power. He was great +at camp-meetings. He inaugurated the camp-meetings that were first held +on the Peninsula, where thousands were converted. + +The great revival at the General Conference in 1800 was the result of +a revival previously commenced on Cecil Circuit, and the flame spread +to Baltimore, from that to Duck Creek, throughout the Peninsula, and +almost all over our entire work. Dr. Chandler was the leading spirit, the +pioneer in that glorious work which is now a part of the history of the +Church. + +He was pre-eminently a revivalist. Powerful scenes were often witnessed +under his preaching. Scores would be awakened under a single sermon. +Sinners seized with trembling would fall to the ground like dead men, +while the shout of victory from the redeemed could be heard afar off. +I saw him on an ordinary occasion take twelve into society who were +converted at a meeting one Sabbath day, and two of them, Lawrence +Laurenson[12] and Thomas Curran, became preachers. + +Dr. Chandler was great in faith and prayer. At the first camp-meeting a +dark, thick cloud gathered over the encampment, and there was a prospect +of a tremendous shower. The people showed symptoms of alarm, and began to +disperse. The doctor requested them to be seated, expressing the utmost +confidence there would be no rain. Then he said, “Let us pray.” And he +prayed that God would fold up the clouds, and that the rain might not +descend upon the encampment. He that heard Elijah’s prayer listened to +Dr. Chandler’s. The clouds parted when right over the camp, and it rained +on either side, but no sprinkling on the camp-ground. I make no comment, +but simply state the fact, of which I was an eye-witness. I heard him +preach over fifty times sermons of such power as I have seldom heard in +a long life of over fourscore years. Down on the Peninsula such was his +power that the wicked used to say, “If Dr. Chandler was placed on one +end of a stand at camp-meeting and Solomon Sharp on the other they could +preach the devil out of hell.” This rough expression shows what they +thought of his power. + +The doctor suffered from paralysis. He went to the West Indies, but +returned home worse than when he went. His death was such a triumph that +angels must have contemplated it with delight. A friend being on the way +to meeting stopped to inquire how he was. The doctor asked “What day is +it?” On being told it was Sunday, “Sunday?” said the doctor; “go then +to meeting and tell them I am dying shouting the praises of God.” Then +turning to his wife he said, “My dear Mary, open the window and let me +proclaim to the people in the streets the goodness of God.” Thus passed +away one of the most powerful ministers that ever wielded the sword of +the Spirit. Such was the last hour of my lifetime friend and spiritual +father. He died on December 8, 1822, aged fifty-eight. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +MISSIONARIES, 1807. + + +Bishop Asbury preached the funeral sermon of Bishop Whatcoat April 29, +1807, and the same evening in Dover I preached my farewell sermon. My +heart was deeply affected on parting with my dear brethren and friends, +with whom I have had so many gracious seasons. Can it be wondered at that +I wrote, “I hope to meet them in a better country?” Most of them are +already there, and I am on my way. + +The session of the Philadelphia Conference was a harmonious one. It was +held in Philadelphia, commencing on April 2. On Sunday morning Bishop +Asbury preached from Rev. ii, 10, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I +will give thee a crown of life.” In the afternoon I went with William +Colbert to the debtor’s prison, where he preached. Many of the prisoners +appeared very serious. In those days we took great pains to preach +in poor-houses, jails, penitentiaries, and state-prisons. We visited +prisoners, and particularly those who were under sentence of death. The +Wesleys did the same in the infancy of Methodism. My appointment was +strange, as it appears in the Minutes: “Pennsylvania, William Hunter, +Henry Boehm.” We had not, however, the whole “Keystone State” as our +field of labor, but only that part which lies between the Delaware and +Susquehanna Rivers. We were to break up new ground, “stretch ourselves +beyond ourselves.” This was what Bishop Asbury was ever trying to do +himself, and wished others to imitate him. I was appointed to that field +because I understood the German language. My German sword had become +a little rusty, for I had had but little occasion to use it on Dover +Circuit; but I had now to take it out of its scabbard and polish it, and +try its temper. + +Thomas Burch and I put up with Mr. Rolph, who was the keeper of the +debtor’s prison. People were in those days imprisoned for debt, and as +there were many in debt, so there were many prisoners. ROBERT MORRIS, +a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the intimate friend of +Washington, one of the framers of the Federal Constitution, and the great +financier of the Revolution, whose credit for a time was better than his +country’s, lost all his property and became bankrupt, and was confined +in this very prison for debt for a long time, to the shame of the city +of brotherly love and to the shame of his country. But the year before I +was there death came to his relief, on May 6, 1806. He died in poverty +at the age of seventy-three. This law of imprisonment for debt is now +abolished, thanks to humanity. The keeper of this prison and his wife +were awakened, and shortly after converted. It was a very fine family, +and in after years I used to be entertained by them. + +In the conference our brethren were filled with much of the divine +presence. The work of God went on in the congregations, and many were +converted. Fifteen were admitted on trial at this conference, among them +Peter P. Sandford, long known as one of the strong men of the New York +Conference. + +Solomon Sharp was my presiding elder. Our first quarterly meeting was +held in a grove near Cornwall Furnace. Brother Sharp preached on 1 Peter +iv, 7, “But the end of all things is at hand,” etc., a sermon full of +power; and again on Sunday from Eccles. ix, 11. On Monday the sacrament +was administered, and Solomon Sharp preached a very profitable sermon +from Gal. v, 17, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you?” etc. There were +a few converted, and both ministry and the laity got a wonderful baptism +of love at our first quarterly meeting in the grove. We had about twenty +tents and wagons, in which the people lodged. + +The last of May a camp-meeting was held in the neighborhood of what +is called “the Forrest Chapel.” This was an old chapel in the forest, +built by Mr. Demer, whom I have already noticed. Brothers Sharp, Hunter, +Ireland, and others preached, and also myself. Solomon Sharp preached +four very impressive sermons. He was a mighty man in the tented grove, +and had great power over the masses. + +One of his sermons was on the worth of the soul, and the danger of its +loss. Sinners trembled, and who can wonder? Another was the contrast +between the Law and the Gospel, John i, 17; another on the danger of +looking back after having put his hand to the Gospel plow. Upward +of twenty were converted, many shouted for joy, and over ten were +sanctified. Meetings of this kind were new in this part of the country, +and crowds came to attend them. + +An incident occurred here worthy of note. Some of the sinners of a +baser sort were disposed to interrupt the service. When the disturbance +threatened to be serious, the Hon. George Clymer, a signer of the +Declaration of Independence, then a lawyer, residing in Reading, arose in +the congregation and addressed the assembly. He spoke of the struggles of +the Revolution, of what our liberties cost, and the right our glorious +Constitution gives to all to worship under their own vine and fig-tree. +Then he said, “In vain have patriots bled and martyrs died to procure +freedom if we cannot worship the God of our fathers according to our own +conscience.” His address had a most happy effect in restoring order. It +was whispered round, “Who is that?” “The Hon. George Clymer,” was the +answer. It was the only time I ever saw him or heard him. His conduct +was so noble, for then we were a “sect everywhere spoken against,” and no +great honor could be obtained by defending us. + +Mr. Clymer was a tall, fine-looking man, with a dark, expressive eye, +a grave countenance, and hair of a kind of iron gray. He was a great +financier, associated with Robert Morris in establishing a bank for the +relief of his country. He was a member of Congress, and president of +the Philadelphia Bank and of the Academy of Fine Arts. He was one of +the great men of Pennsylvania, and of the nation, and for such a man to +defend the Methodists under circumstances that I have described certainly +was a noble act. The name of George Clymer has in my mind ever been +associated with the Forrest camp-meeting. Six years after he died, aged +seventy-three years, just as old as his friend and compatriot Robert +Morris was when he bid adieu to earth. + + +CAMP-MEETING AT WYE. + +In July Bishop Asbury and Daniel Hitt made us a brief visit, as they were +on their tour West. + +On Sunday, July 26, the bishop preached, under the shade of some locust +trees, near Columbia, on the east bank of the Susquehanna, from 2 Cor. v, +14, on the death of Jesus, and why he died for all. Daniel Hitt preached +from 2 Cor. vi, 17, 18, on coming out from the world, etc. The next day +I accompanied Bishop Asbury to Little York, and then bade him adieu, +little thinking that the next year I would be his traveling companion. + +On Wednesday I went with Brother Sharp and several friends to Wye +camp-meeting, Queen Anne County, Maryland. On Friday night the campaign +was opened by Solomon Sharp, from Mal. iii, 16-18, “Then they that feared +the Lord spake one to another,” etc., an admirable introduction. I +preached on Jer. vi, 16, and John Chalmers on Matt. vi, 10, “Thy kingdom +come.” It did come, not in word only, but in power. The work of revival +went on all night. Many were converted, and the grove echoed with loud +halleluiahs. + +Sunday was a great day. Great crowds, great singing, great preaching, and +great power under the word. Solomon Sharp preached in the morning from +Jer. ix, 1, “O that my head were waters,” etc.; Brother Ridgeway in the +afternoon, on 1 Cor. xv, 34, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not,” etc., +a very awakening sermon; and William B. Lacy in the evening, on Luke xiv, +17. The slain of the Lord were many. + +On Monday there was a novel scene. In the morning, John Chalmers preached +with great effect. He was followed by his son, John Chalmers, Jr., who +preached from Dan. vii, 18, “But the saints of the Most High shall take +the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever,” +a sermon full of encouragement. The preacher was a noble son of a noble +father. His youth then attracted great attention. He was called “little +Jackey Chalmers.” Many souls found the Lord this day. + +On Tuesday morning Leonard Castle, of Baltimore, preached from 2 Cor. +iv, 5, “For we preach not ourselves,” etc., a sermon of uncommon beauty, +eloquence, and power. Solomon Sharp followed, on Luke xxii, 26. Great +unction attended the word; convictions and conversions were greatly +multiplied. A brother was appointed to preach in the evening; but the +work broke out so under the prayer offered at the stand, and such were +the cries of distress, the shouts of triumph, that the preaching had to +be dispensed with. But the work went on gloriously. + +On Wednesday Leonard Castle preached again from Ezek. xxxiii, 5. This was +a sermon full of alarm. Sinai’s thunder could be heard, its lightnings +seen. The people were awe-struck, and listened as if they were hearing +an angel from heaven. I wrote: “Praise the Lord that mine eyes have ever +been permitted to witness such displays of the power of God as I have +seen this day.” The work went on all night. + +On Thursday morning a love-feast was held. The testimonies were clear. +God spread his banner over us, and it was love. At three o’clock Brother +Leonard Castle preached from I Tim. iv, 8, on the profitableness of +godliness for two lives and two worlds. He was surpassingly eloquent, and +the Lord worked powerfully. + +On Friday Solomon Sharp and E. Larkins preached. The work went on with +such power that it was concluded, to the joy of many, to continue the +meeting over another Sabbath. + +On Saturday Leonard Castle, Henry Boehm, and Henry White preached. It was +a great day of the converting and sanctifying power of God. The work went +on during the night. + +Sunday was a day of wonders. Eight thousand people were on the ground. +Brothers Sharp, Castle, and Alward White preached. Leonard Castle’s text +was: “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the +scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of +heaven.” The sermon was one of the most eloquent and impressive I have +ever heard. The multitude on the ground looked astonished; it was visible +in their countenances. If we would know the number of conversions and +sanctifications we must wait till we are permitted to search the records +of heaven. But they were many. + +On Monday morning we separated with tears and regrets. I wrote: “This was +the greatest meeting I have ever attended. Almost every sinner on the +ground was awed to reverence.” + +Over twenty sermons were preached by men who knew how to wield the sword +of the Spirit. Solomon Sharp preached five sermons of rare power and +excellence. The youthful and captivating Leonard Castle preached five +times on the grandest themes that ever engaged the powers of a minister +or the attention of a congregation. His sermons on that camp ground +for years were subjects of profound admiration.[13] The old hero, John +Chalmers, twice held forth; and Jackey, a counterpart of himself, once. + +We tried to break into new ground. About ten miles from Wilmington was +Sharpless’s rolling mill. We got a foothold, and formed a society, and a +church was afterward built in the neighborhood. When we first preached +there some tried to mob us. They gathered around the door and tried to +rush in and seize us. I was preaching, and Brother Hunter was with me. +There was a strong man who stood at the door with a stone in his hand +and took sides with us, and threatened to knock down the first man who +touched us. So he frightened the rowdies, and we preached on unmolested. +He was a large Irishman, and one reason he interested himself so much on +our behalf was that Brother Hunter was an Irishman, and he was determined +that his countryman should not be abused. + +When on this circuit several years after I became acquainted with Abram +Sharpless, the owner of the works. He was an orthodox Quaker, a man of +wealth and great business talent. We put up with his foreman, and Mr. +Sharpless furnished plenty of food for our horses. Mr. Sharpless when +eighty years of age spoke to me of the great change that had taken place +among his workmen. Of their sobriety and industry since the Gospel had +been introduced among them he said that previous to the preaching there +on seventh day his hands would be dissipated, and no better on first +day. On second day he would have to send after them to get them to work, +and then they were not worth much. He said it was very different now. +All he had to do was to tell his people what he wanted done, and how, +and it was accomplished. I then asked him if we might not conclude that +the influence of the Gospel had produced this great change. He heartily +assented. This was acknowledging a great deal for an old Quaker. + +In 1790 my old schoolmaster left Lancaster, and I did not know where he +had gone. One Sabbath in July this year, while preaching in German in +a barn in Likens’s Valley, I saw an intelligent-looking man viewing me +intently through his spectacles. I wondered who it was, and where I had +seen him. Behold, it was my old schoolmaster, that I had not seen since +I was his pupil eighteen years before. We greeted each other with tears, +and talked of bygone days and scenes. He was a Lutheran, and used to read +the burial service at funerals when the minister was absent. He became a +minister, and was pastor of a church west of the Susquehanna. I never saw +him afterward, but I never can forget Henry Rossman, my old schoolmaster, +to whom I am so deeply indebted, especially for my knowledge of the +German language. + +It was not till 1807 we got a permanent foothold in Lancaster. It was +very hard soil for Methodism. Twice we made a beginning, but failed, and +for several years the place was abandoned. We had no preaching there, +only an occasional sermon. + +The introduction of Methodism into Lancaster was providential. The +translation of the Methodist Discipline into German had something to do +with it. In 1807 I went to Lancaster to read the proof-sheets of this +translation at the printer’s. After I had read them, and was about to +return home, it commenced raining hard, and I put up at a public house +where I had often stopped. The Lutherans were there in great numbers +to draw a lottery, the proceeds of which were to finish a church +steeple.[14] A crowd had come together to see who was fortunate enough +to obtain a prize. Feeling no interest in the result of the drawing, +and annoyed by the noise and confusion of the people, I left the public +house and took a walk through Lancaster to while away the time. While +going along the street I met with a woman who had been a member of the +Methodist Church in Germantown. She told me there was a man by the name +of Philip Benedict in Lancaster who had been awakened at a camp-meeting, +and he and his wife were seeking the Lord, and she advised me to call and +see them, telling me where they lived. I went to their house, pointed +them to Jesus, and prayed with them. As I was about leaving they said, +“O that we could have Methodist preaching in Lancaster!” I told them +they could have it. So I left an appointment to preach at his house. It +became a permanent preaching place. In a little while I formed a class of +six members: Philip Benedict and his wife, and four others. This was the +nucleus of the society which remained permanent. I am thankful that I had +the honor of planting the tree of Methodism in that city. Behold how many +links there are in this singular chain; how many small causes to bring +about such large results! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +DOCTOR ROMER AND THE GERMAN METHODIST DISCIPLINE. + + +There are but few who know that the Methodist Discipline was translated +into German fifty-seven years ago, and I am the only man living who knows +all about it: by whom it was translated, who brought it through the +press, etc. In Asbury’s Journal we find, under date of Friday, August 30, +1810, “At Middletown, Penn. We here broke bread with Dr. Romer, a German, +who has translated our Discipline for his countrymen.” This brief record +is all. There is not a historian of our Church that names the fact so +full of historic interest. Mr. Asbury ever felt the deepest interest in +the welfare of the Germans. When I commenced traveling with him in 1803, +and went as far as Berlin, on the top of the Alleghany Mountains, the +reader will remember he sent me back to Dauphin to preach to the Germans. +The Rev. John Lednum in his recent work, “Rise of Methodism in America,” +p. 241, has fallen into an error. In speaking of Peter Albright,[15] and +the Albright Methodists, he says: “Dr. Romer of Middletown translated the +Discipline into German for their use.” This is a great mistake. + +The Albrights were not regularly organized into a conference till 1807. +The same year the Methodist Discipline was translated into German. Their +whole membership at that time was only two hundred and twenty. It is not +likely they would have had the Methodist Discipline translated for that +small number. Furthermore, at their Conference of 1807 those associated +with him requested Mr. Albright to draw up some “articles of faith and +a discipline for the association, in conformity with the Scriptures.” +Would they have made any such request if they had adopted the Methodist +Discipline? Mr. Albright died six months after the conference, and +therefore was unable to comply with their request. The association +had not the name of “Albrights” until 1809, and in that year the Rev. +J. Miller drew up the articles of faith and discipline for them. Our +Discipline was translated into German two years before, but not at their +request, or for their use; they had no hand in it. + +The facts are these: At the request of Bishop Asbury and the Philadelphia +Conference I had the Methodist Discipline translated into German in 1807. +I employed Dr. Romer, and aided him in the translation. We frequently +compared notes, and consulted about certain terms. I also employed the +printers and paid them, and examined all the proof-sheets, and attended +to the distribution of the books after they were printed. I made a +number of entries in my journal at that time which throw light on the +subject: “June 30, 1807, I rode to Middletown and came to Dr. Romer’s +about sundown. The doctor has now translated our form of Discipline into +the German language, which I expect soon will be published.” This was in +June, and some time was spent afterward in revising it, for it was not +until September it went into the hands of the printer, as will be seen +from the following extracts from my journal: + +“September 1, I rode to Lancaster, and agreed with Henry and Benjamin +Grimler, printers, to print fifteen hundred copies of our form of +Discipline in German, then returned home to my parents in the afternoon.” +Again: “Monday, September 7, went to Lancaster, and saw the first +proof-sheets of the Discipline.” October 14 I was again in Lancaster, and +the record says, “I stopped a while with the printers; the Discipline is +about half done.” From these extracts and others I might make, it will be +seen what kind of a hand I had in publishing the first German Methodist +Discipline in the new world. The Germans had an idea that the Methodists +had no Discipline, and this was widely circulated to our injury, for it +was extensively believed. This translation corrected the error. Then +there was a prospect of a union between the Methodists and the United +Brethren, and it was well to have the Discipline in their own language, +so that they could understand our doctrines and our mode of Church +government. It was also necessary for the Germans who were connected with +our Church. The translation was an admirable one, and was very useful, +correcting the errors that had been circulated about us, and enabling +the Germans to read in their mother tongue our excellent Discipline. I +sent several hundreds of them in a box to Cincinnati, to be distributed +gratuitously among the Germans in the West; others were circulated about +Pennsylvania. Bishop Asbury had some of them. I footed the bill, and the +publication caused me some pecuniary loss. It might not have been so +if I had continued to travel in Pennsylvania; but the following spring +I commenced traveling with Bishop Asbury, and so could not well attend +to the sale of the books. I do not complain, but I rejoice that I was +permitted to do anything toward the translation of the Discipline into +German at that early day. “I cast my bread upon the waters” expecting to +“find it after many days,” and I have not been disappointed. I found it +long ago. + +The reader would no doubt like to know more of the translator. I was +intimately acquainted with DR. ROMER for years, having been often at +his house, and often preached there. I was there in 1802, and in after +years. He was a physician, and resided in Middletown, Penn., ten miles +south-east of Harrisburgh, and situated near the junction of Swatara +(sweet arrow) and Susquehanna Rivers. Middletown was built upon the site +of an ancient Indian village, and derived its name from being half way +between Lancaster and Carlisle. + +Dr. Romer was a native of Switzerland. He was educated for a Roman +priest, but he became so disgusted with the conduct of a corrupt +priesthood that instead of entering the sacred office he became +skeptical. He acknowledged the existence of a God, but denied the +authenticity of the Scriptures. He emigrated to this country and married +here. The doctor was awakened, not by reading the arguments of able +champions of revelation, nor by the eloquence of able ministers of the +Gospel, but by that most powerful argument in favor of Christianity, a +holy life. The great Teacher said, “Let your light so shine before men +that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in +heaven.” It was the holy life and correct deportment of a widow lady by +the name of Flanagan, who was a neighbor of Dr. Romer, which shook the +foundations of his skepticism, and the whole superstructure fell to the +ground. He had no argument against a holy life. Her example led him to +abandon his skepticism, led him to Calvary, to the cross, to the Church, +to heaven. + +I was well acquainted with Mrs. Flanagan. She was a good woman, possessed +a strong mind, and was keen and shrewd. She not only lived religion +before the doctor, but was able “to give a reason for the hope that was +in her with meekness and fear.” Being convinced of the truth of the +Christian religion, he sought and found the pearl of great price, and +rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He joined the Methodist +Episcopal Church, whose doctrines he cordially believed, and whose +discipline he approved and loved. This was about the year 1800. He was +ever after the preachers’ friend; his house was their home, and also +one of our regular preaching places on the circuit. I made his house my +home when on the Schuylkill District in 1814. He was a man of sterling +integrity, and greatly esteemed for his many virtues. He was a profound +Latin as well as German scholar; indeed he had a superior education in +all respects; was eminent as an astronomer, and a good English scholar, +though he always retained something of the German accent. + +Dr. Romer did immense service for Methodism by his translation of the +Discipline. Up to that time but little had been done by the Methodists +for the Germans; but O what wonders since! The doctor wrote an admirable +preface to the German Discipline, in which he gave a condensed view of +our history, doctrines, and discipline. All honor to the man who did +such noble service for the Germans; a work and labor of love, for he +would not take a farthing for his labor. + +Dr. Romer held fast his integrity until the end, and died a few years ago +at Lewistown on the Juniata. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1808. + + +The Philadelphia Conference met this year in the city of brotherly love, +on March 20. It was like one great love-feast from beginning to end. The +preaching was of a high order, and many were converted. Twelve preachers +were received on trial, among others Thomas Neal, long one of the honored +fathers of the New Jersey Conference. Five were admitted into full +connection; one of them was Charles Giles, so useful in Western New York. + +Bishop Asbury was constantly in favor of breaking up new ground. The +success of the previous year encouraged him to appoint an additional +laborer to the field we had tried to cultivate. The bishop read the +appointment thus: “Pennsylvania, William Hunter, William Colbert, and +Henry Boehm.” + +On the 26th of April, with Brothers William Hunter and William Colbert, +I started for Baltimore to attend the General Conference. We rode on +horseback, as was the custom in those days. On the 30th we arrived in +Baltimore, and were appointed to John Fisher’s at Oldtown. + +The conference began the 1st of May. Bishop Asbury alone presided, as +Dr. Coke was in Europe, and Bishop Whatcoat was dead. This was in many +respects the most important Methodist ecclesiastical body that had ever +assembled in America. + +Previous to the session of this conference the Church had been like our +nation under the _articles of confederation_; but subsequently we were +like it after our constitution was formed. + +There were one hundred and twenty-nine members representing seven +conferences. All the elders were entitled to a seat in the conference, +but many of them did not attend. The funeral of Harry Dorsey Gough was +attended at seven o’clock the 6th of May. Mr. Gough resided in Baltimore +in the winter, and at his splendid country residence, Perry Hall, in +the summer. When his corpse was removed, to be taken into the country, +Bishop Asbury and many members of the General Conference walked in the +procession to the end of the city. The multitude was so great few of them +got into the house. Bishop Asbury’s prayer, before the body was removed, +was one of the most powerful I had ever heard. + +During the session of the conference there was much eloquent and +powerful preaching. On Sunday, the 8th, George Pickering preached in the +market-house, and three preachers exhorted after him, Joseph Totten, +Francis Ward, and S. Budd. There was a mighty shaking among the people. +This was early in the morning. At half past ten I heard William M’Kendree +from, “Is there no balm in Gilead,” etc. This was the eloquent sermon +that made him bishop. The late Dr. Bangs gives a graphic description +of it. Slow in his commencement, he rose with his subject, till his +audience were melted like wax before the fire. In the afternoon Rev. +Stith Mead, from Virginia, preached at Oldtown. Bishop Asbury preached, +in Eutaw-street, the opening sermon of the new chapel, from 2 Cor. iii, +12, “Seeing then we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech.” +The crowd was immense and the sermon characteristic. + +There was not only preaching on Sunday, but three times every day in +the Light-street Church, and every evening in the four other churches, +namely: The Point, Oldtown, African, and the New Church, (Eutaw.) Several +were converted during the week, but we saw no such scenes as occurred +during the General Conference of 1800. + +The Conference elected William M’Kendree bishop. There was great +unanimity in regard to the choice, for on the first ballot he received +ninety-five out of one hundred and twenty-eight votes. + +Sunday the 15th was a great day. William M’Kendree, bishop elect, +preached at seven o’clock in the Marsh market. My record says: “This was +an awful time of the power and presence of the Lord.” At ten o’clock +Bishop Asbury, in Light-street Church, and the sheep were gloriously fed +by the under shepherd. In the afternoon Jacob Gruber preached in German, +at three o’clock, in Father Otterbein’s church; Brother M’Kendree again +at five, in the New Church; and John M’Claskey at Light-street in the +evening. + +On Wednesday, the 18th, William M’Kendree was consecrated to the office +and work of a bishop. Previous to the ordination Bishop Asbury preached +from 1 Tim. iv, 16, “Take heed unto thyself,” etc. Freeborn Garrettson, +Philip Bruce, Jesse Lee, and Thomas Ware assisted Bishop Asbury in the +ordination service, they being the oldest ministers present. The future +life of Bishop M’Kendree, his efficient services for years, show the +wisdom of the choice. + +Sunday the 22d was a great day in Baltimore. George Pickering preached +in the new church at six in the morning from Col. i, 28; at ten, Samuel +Coates, in Oldtown, from Gen. xxiii, 14; at three, Jacob Gruber, at the +African Church, from Psalm xxxiv, 6; at five, Ezekiel Cooper preached +in Eutaw-street Church, from Matt. iii, 7, “O generation of vipers, +who hath warned you to flee the wrath to come?” He dwelt not only upon +wrath—divine wrath—but particularly “wrath to come;” taking the sinner +onward and showing that to all eternity it would be _wrath to come_! +future wrath, increasing wrath, Jesse Lee preached in the evening at +Light-street, from John v, 40. Thus ended this day of privileges, the +last Sabbath of the General Conference in Baltimore in 1808. + +I have given a description of the preaching, for this had not been done. +Others have dwelt upon the doings of the General Conference during the +week, and have said but little of what was done on Sunday. But to hear +giants in the pulpit, these master workmen, was a privilege that afforded +me consolation in after years. + +It will be seen they preached early in the morning, and had five +services a day. There was a great deal more preaching during the General +Conference. I have simply named the men I heard. + +The business of the conference was done in great harmony. There were +masterly debates on the great questions of Church polity that came +before them, but all was done in love. The members seemed to possess +much of that “charity that thinketh no evil.” They not only elected a +superintendent, but made provision for a delegated General Conference, a +measure that was much needed. + +Bishop Asbury requested me to travel with him. On Monday, May 23, William +Hunter, William Colbert, and myself, obtained leave of absence. It was +necessary for me to go home to get ready to travel with Bishop Asbury, +and I was to meet him at Perry Hall. + +After my return home I went to Lancaster, and agreed with Messrs. +Grimlers to print a pamphlet on the Characteristics of a true Methodist +or Christian, and a sermon on, “Awake thou that sleepest,” etc., in the +German language. Bishop Asbury was anxious I should travel with him, +especially on account of the Germans. He was so well pleased with the +German discipline that I went to the same printers to get the German +tracts printed. These we took with us and distributed them, as will be +seen by Asbury’s journal. These tracts did immense good; they often went +where the preacher could not go. These were the first Methodist tracts +that were published in the German language; now they are abundant. I +shall not be accused of egotism for thus showing that over half a century +ago I was a humble pioneer in this blessed work. + +As I part with my excellent colleagues, William Hunter and William +Colbert, I would like to give an outline of them. Brother Hunter, a +noble-hearted man and an able minister, was born in Ireland in 1755, +and came to this country in 1790. He was intimately acquainted with the +venerated Wesley, often heard him preach, and traveled extensively with +him when he visited Ireland. After he left the Pennsylvania Mission he +was presiding elder of Schuylkill District four years. He died in 1833. + +William Colbert was a small man. He was a genuine Methodist, a sound +divine, and a great revivalist. Hundreds will rise up and call him +blessed. He had a heart formed for friendship. He and my friend William +Hunter died the same year. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +FIRST ANNUAL TOUR WITH BISHOP ASBURY, 1808. + + +Bishop Asbury had a number of traveling companions: Edward Bailey, Hope +Hull, Nicholas Snethen, Sylvester Hutchinson, Thomas Morrell, Jesse Lee, +Daniel Hitt, Joseph Crawford, and others. Some were among our ablest men. +Snethen Mr. Asbury called his “silver trumpet;” Hope Hull was a prince +among orators; Morrell was dignified, wise in counsel; Hutchinson a son +of thunder; Jesse Lee shrewd, ever knowing how and when to answer a fool +according to his folly; but I have no space to notice the characteristics +of each. After my term of service expired he had two others travel with +him: John C. French, and John W. Bond, brother to the late Thomas E. +Bond, M.D., so well known as the editor of the _Christian Advocate and +Journal_. + +The General Conference of 1800, on motion of Thomas Morrell, resolved +“that Mr. Asbury be authorized to take with him an elder through any +part or all his travels.” Mr. Morrell had been the traveling companion +of Mr. Asbury, and he knew how much the venerable patriarch needed one. +Previously elders had traveled with him at his own request, but from +that time it was done by the authority of the General Conference. + +This year was an era in my ministerial life. I was no longer confined to +a small circuit, but traveled with the bishop around his large diocese. +Though my name in the Minutes for 1808 stands as Pennsylvania missionary, +I was there only a few weeks previous to the General Conference; the rest +of the year I was traveling with Bishop Asbury. My new field of labor +was a splendid school for a young minister, and he must have been a dull +scholar that did not learn important lessons. It enlarged my knowledge of +the country, of the Church, and of her ministers. + +The venerable Asbury was sixty-three years old when I began to travel +with him. Having been greatly exposed, he was feeble, and suffered from +many infirmities. I traveled with him much longer than any of his other +companions, and have survived them all many years. + +John Wesley Bond, who traveled with him last, has been dead forty-seven +and Bishop Asbury fifty years. + +By agreement I was to meet the bishop at Perry Hall, Md., on June 5, +where he was to preach the funeral sermon of Harry Dorsey Gough, and then +we were to proceed on our western tour. I took leave of my aged mother +with tears, and my father accompanied me for some distance. On our way +we came to a camp-meeting that commenced on June 3, near Salem Chapel, +under the care of Dr. Chandler. Jesse Lee was at this camp-meeting in all +his glory, and preached three powerful sermons. + +On Monday morning I had a most affecting parting with my father. He loved +me as Jacob did Joseph, for I was the son of his old age. I did not +reach Perry Hall till June 7, two days later than I was expected, having +lingered at the camp-meeting. I found Mrs. Gough in all the loneliness of +widowhood. She treated me very kindly. + +As I was not there at the time, I supposed the bishop would wait till +I arrived; but when I reached Perry Hall I found he had left the day +before. He never waited for any man, and he wanted no man to wait for +him. His motto was, “The king’s business requires haste.” + +Perry Hall was the most splendid mansion I had ever seen. There was +beauty, elegance, and magnificence. It contrasted strangely with the +little cottages and uncomfortable places where I had sometimes put up. +Mr. Gough had inherited a large estate from England, and he built Perry +Hall for his residence in the summer. It was twelve miles from Baltimore, +on the Bel Air Road. + +Mr. Gough was fortunate in his marriage. His wife, Prudence, was a +sister of General Ridgeley, who was afterward governor of Maryland. She +was rightly named, for she was a very prudent woman. Mrs. Gough was +first awakened by hearing the Methodists preach, and her proud husband +forbid her hearing them again. However, he went to hear Mr. Asbury more +out of curiosity than anything else. The sword of the Spirit was very +sharp that evening, and the proud sinner was cut to the heart. On the +way home one said, “What a heap of nonsense we have heard to-night!” To +his astonishment Mr. Gough replied, “No; we have heard the truth as it +is in Jesus.” He hastened home and said to his beloved Prudence, “My +dear, I shall never hinder you again from hearing the Methodists.” This +was joyful intelligence for her. They were both converted under Bishop +Asbury, were his lifetime friends, lived holy lives, and died triumphant +deaths. The Rev. Thomas B. Sargent, D.D., married a descendant of this +family. + +The next day I overtook Bishop Asbury at James M’Cannon’s at Pipe +Creek.[16] We also went to visit the widow of Rev. Henry Willis, and his +aged mother. The bishop kissed and encircled in his arms the six orphan +children of his departed friend, and blessed them in the name of the +Lord, and prayed with them. Henry Willis had died but a few weeks before, +and this was Bishop Asbury’s first visit to the lonely family after their +bereavement. The bishop went out and wept at the new-made grave of his +friend. Henry Willis was one of the noblest men of Methodism. He was +universally beloved and universally lamented.[17] + +While at Pipe Creek I saw the old log meeting house built by Robert +Strawbridge, the first Methodist preaching house erected in Maryland. +It was then in a dilapidated state, and used for a barn. What wonderful +interests cluster around this humble edifice! + +We commenced our tour westward. The roads were rough, the weather +excessively hot, and the bishop very feeble, and yet on he would go, and +at almost every stopping-place would preach. It was his element, his +life; he could not live long without. He makes this mournful record: “I +begin to fail.” Dear old man! He had endured enough to kill many strong +men, and now he makes the discovery that he has _begun_ to fail. Old men +are not generally willing to admit this; gray hairs are upon them, and +they do not know it. What an era it is in a man’s history when he is +conscious he is failing! + +After visiting a number of places and preaching every day we began to +climb the Alleghany Mountains. It was a most tedious ride, especially for +the aged and infirm bishop. Can we wonder he wrote thus: “I have suffered +much. I am pained and sore, and poor Jane stumbled so often; but my +limbs and my soul are safe. Glory! glory!” + +We were thirty-nine hours crossing the mountains. Five years before I +went with Mr. Asbury to the top of the Alleghanies, and then returned to +preach to the Germans; but now I have crossed this nature’s monument. +It was seventy miles over the mountains by the crooked paths we had to +travel. I wrote thus in my journal: “There were few houses, plenty of +stones, rocks, and hills, and springs of water and brooks; but the best +of all, the rock which cheered the Israelites in the wilderness was with +us while traveling under the rays of the scorching sun. My soul, praise +Jesus!” We passed over several mountain ridges of stupendous magnitude. +The grandeur of the natural scenery was indeed a subject of admiration. + +On the other side of the mountain we rested in the hospitable mansion +of Jacob Murphy. On Sunday Mr. Asbury preached at Uniontown, Pa., on +“Converting a sinner from the error of his way.” This is said to be the +place where the first conference was held west of the Alleghanies. Here +also I preached at our host’s from Prov. x, 28. The first ordination +among the Methodists west of the mountains took place here. + +The next day was the Fourth of July, and although the bishop and I were +both patriotic, and lovers of freedom, we spent, as he expresses it, “_a +solitary Fourth of July_” at Widow Henthorn’s. The bishop always planned +his work far ahead, and when he came to a conference he had but to carry +out his plan. That day he drafted conference plans as far as Baltimore, +and the next day, besides reading Thomas à Kempis, he copied off a list +of preachers for the western and southern conferences. It was method that +enabled the great Asbury to accomplish so much. + +The bishop writes: “Brother Boehm spoke to the people in English and +German.” Rheumatism troubled the old gentleman, and the incessant rain +for four days kept him a prisoner, and he found the confinement irksome. +Here we saw Edward Dromgoole, one of the early preachers. He joined at +the third conference, 1775. He was now returning from the West, and he +gave a flaming description of the camp-meetings that had been held there. + +We journeyed on to Connellsville. Here we had a new house of worship, or +rather a part of one. The bishop preached and dedicated the walls of the +church, for at that time it was roofless. I held forth in German. This I +did in almost every place. The next day we went to the splendid mansion +of Colonel Mason, and were entertained like princes. + +During this route the bishop suffered all but martyrdom. He was +exceedingly lame, his feet being greatly inflamed, and he had been +blistered; and yet he would press on amid the intense heat of July, that +almost overcame him. + +We met Asa Shinn, author of “Shinn on Salvation.” He was a man of +splendid talents; an excellent metaphysician. The bishop conversed with +him about being removed to Baltimore. Mr. Shinn finally went off with +the Reformers, and died deranged in an asylum. It is supposed his deep +studying had much to do with unbalancing his mind; but at one time he was +a mighty man in our Israel. + +It was pitiful to see the old bishop hobbling on his crutches into church +at Brownsville on Sabbath July 17. There, like his Master, he sat down +and preached. His subject was God’s design in sending his Son into the +world. + +The next day we rode to John Brightwell’s. The bishop says: “I had an +awfully severe ride. I am fairly arrested in my course. My knees and +feet are so disabled that I am lifted to bed. I can neither ride, stand, +nor walk.” What a painful record! And what does the reader think of his +companion, who had to lift the bishop out of bed, bathe his limbs, dress +his blisters, and nurse him like a child. I left him for a while and went +to fill his appointments, while the family kindly took care of him. + +For a week there is no record made in his journal. He was unable to +write a line. But I kept an account of each day. After filling several +appointments during the week, I went to Pittsburgh to fill the +appointment of the bishop there. I lodged at Brother Wrenshall’s, a local +preacher. He was an Englishman, of excellent education and fine mind. +He preached a great deal, and preached well, and helped give tone and +character to Methodism in that section. + +There were few Methodists in Pittsburgh, and they had no house of +worship, so I preached in the Court-house to about a thousand people who +had come out to hear the bishop and saw but a plain German youth from +their own State. They listened with attention while I expounded Matt. +v, 20. In the afternoon I preached in the jury-room, in German, to one +hundred hearers, from Acts x, 35. Some felt the weight of truth. Thus for +the benefit of the Germans in Pittsburgh I preached the Gospel in their +own vernacular fifty-seven years ago. Then, at six o’clock, in Brother +Wrenshall’s door-yard, I preached “deliverance to the captives.” This was +my first visit to Pittsburgh, a place so full of historic interest. And +here, for the first time, I beheld the Ohio. In after years I became very +familiar with it by crossing it so frequently with the pioneer bishop. + +Leaving Pittsburgh, I returned to see how the bishop was getting on. I +was accompanied by Betsy Farley and her son-in-law. She was the daughter +of Edward Bailey, an excellent man, and one of Bishop Asbury’s traveling +companions. He died in October 1780, when on a tour with the bishop, and +here, eighteen years afterward, was one of his daughters traveling many +miles to see the bishop to converse with him about her father. On Tuesday +we reached Brother Brightwell’s, the bishop’s host, and to our great joy +we found him much better. + +Mr. Asbury makes this entry: “How am I honored! Thornton Fleming paid me +a visit, and with him came Mrs. Hebert and a daughter of Edward Bailey +of Amherst, Virginia. These dear souls came sixty miles to see me. I +suppose I must get a four-wheeled carriage. Wednesday was a serious day, +but prepare to move we must; pain and death are nothing when opposed to +duty.” This is a noble sentiment of a noble man. + +I wrote thus in my journal: “Thursday, 28, past human expectation we +started for West Liberty, crossed the Monongahela at Freeport, then to +Mr. Thomas M’Faddin’s, Washington, a little before night, very wet on my +part and very full of pain on the part of Father Asbury. The family were +exceeding kind.” Is it not marvelous that the old sick man should travel +in the rain under such circumstances? What but love for the Church and +for souls could have induced him? + +On Friday we reached John Beck’s. This was one of the homes that Bishop +Asbury prized very highly. There was quite a society here, and John +Beck was the class-leader. He has long since gone to Paradise, but his +descendants are Methodists, and they have preserved the old chair in +which Bishop Asbury used to sit, and the old chest on which James Quinn +sat when he was converted; for this was his spiritual birthplace. It was +a famous place in Methodism; one of its early strongholds in this part of +the country. Mr. Beck was from Kent County, Maryland. + +We left John Beck’s and 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 Horseneck 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. His father was +originally from New Jersey, and one of the early pioneers of the West. + +At Wheeling Bishop Asbury preached in the Court-house from Heb. ii, 2, 3, +on the great salvation and the danger of neglecting it. We had no house +of worship there at that time. We were kindly entertained by Colonel +Ebenezer Zane, one of the earliest settlers in the West. I was highly +delighted, as well as the bishop, to hear Mr. Zane and his wife (who +was a sister of Samuel and John M’Colloch) relate the thrilling scenes +through which they had passed, and their hair-breadth escapes from wild +beasts and from the murderous savages. She told us about the siege of +the fort, and how she was engaged in running bullets which the men fired +at the Indians who were thirsting for their blood. Mr. Zane was a great +hunter, a man of noble deeds and noble daring, and his history, if fully +written, would be equal to that of Daniel Boone of Kentucky. + +Zanesville, Ohio, was named after Colonel Zane. He was not a Methodist, +but a great friend to our people. Mrs. Zane joined the Methodists in +1785, under Wilson Lee. Her cabin was early opened for preaching, and she +made the ministers very welcome. She was a Christian heroine, an honor to +her sex and to the Church. + +We left Wheeling and the Zane family, and entered Ohio. That State, so +rich and flourishing now, was then in its infancy, being a child only +six years old. To my great joy Bishop Asbury’s health was improving, +and we rode one hundred and thirteen miles to a camp-meeting at Rush +Creek. Camp-meetings were numerous then, and attended with great success. +They were not merely for visiting or pastime, but to save souls. Their +character in some parts of the county has greatly changed. We had four +sermons a day. On Sunday John Sale, then in his palmy days, preached +early in the morning; Bishop Asbury followed at eleven; and I, at three +o’clock, gave a sermon in English, and concluded in German. There was +considerable of a move, many convicted crying for mercy. We then went to +Chilicothe, and were the guests of Dr. Edward Tiffin. + +On Thursday, August 11, in compliance with an invitation, we visited +General Thomas Worthington, one of the candidates for governor. Dr. +Tiffin married his sister Mary, a woman of remarkable sweetness and +loveliness. The general was a very fine man, and was elected to the +governorship. He resided in a splendid mansion called Mount Prospect Hall. + +Mr. Asbury felt keenly the loss of the general’s sister. He went to her +grave and sighed there, and made the following record: “Within sight of +this beautiful mansion lies the precious dust of Mary 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 my sorrows; +little know 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 delivered my soul here. May this dear family feel an answer to Mary +Tiffin’s prayers.” + +On our tour in 1811 we visited Governor Worthington, and he requested +the bishop 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. Who would not exclaim, + + “O that I could forever sit + With Mary at the Master’s feet! + Be this my happy choice,” etc. + +On Friday, 12th, we attended a camp-meeting at Deer Creek. There were +twenty-three preachers, traveling and local, and about two thousand +people on the ground, and a multitude of tents; and some people put up in +their covered wagons. + +This camp-meeting was near White Brown’s, and we were entertained by him. +He was a noble man, a sterling Methodist. He was a nephew of Thomas White +of Delaware. Asbury used to preach at White Brown’s on the Peninsula in +Maryland as early as 1779. He emigrated to Ohio in the early part of this +century. + +Mr. Asbury delighted to put up with his old friend, whom he had known +in the East, and with whom he had had an unbroken friendship for nearly +forty years. + +Several sermons of great pathos and power were preached on the 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 +were rapid, and his countenance expressed all his tongue uttered. There +was a mighty work among the people during the day, and it continued all +night. + +On Sunday morning John Sale, presiding elder of the Ohio District, +preached from Psalm xlv, 13. He was an able preacher and a good +disciplinarian. He had much natural dignity, and was remarkably +courteous. He had a fine form, intelligent countenance, and a dark eye +that was very expressive. + +The bishop preached at eleven o’clock, and Dr. Monnett gave an eloquent +discourse immediately after from Psalm cxviii, 15, 16, “The voice of +rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous,” etc. In +the evening Benjamin Lakin preached on Christian purity from 2 Cor. vii, +1. Over forty were converted beside the witnesses of perfect love. + +Deer Creek was the first circuit traveled by Henry B. Bascom when he was +a stripling. + +On Tuesday the 16th we journeyed twenty-three miles to the edge of the +prairies. We tarried at the “New Purchase” with a hospitable family +named Wood, who had emigrated from Pennsylvania.[18] The next morning +at six o’clock we were on our journey, and rode eighteen miles through +the prairies. The bishop and I must have been talking about the prairies, +for in our journals on that day we both make a similar record. He says: +“The prairies have once been, I suppose, lakes of water; they furnish +grand and beautiful views still.” I wrote: “We rode through the prairies, +which, from their appearance, must have been covered with large lakes or +ponds; now they furnish extensive ranges for stock.” + +On Wednesday we passed through Xenia to Frederick Bonner’s, at Little +Miami. This was one of the great families of Methodism in the West, one +of the bishop’s excellent homes, and they looked for his annual visit as +they would for an angel’s. Here we rested one day. Brother Bonner was an +early friend of Rev, Freeborn Garrettson, and knew him from the time he +began to preach. He was a Methodist in Maryland before he emigrated to +Ohio. John Sale married a daughter of Frederick Bonner. + +The bishop was satisfied that he crossed the Alleghany Mountains at +the wrong time of the year. He not only talked about it, but made this +singular record: “I have more than once put the wrong foot foremost in +my journeys to the West: the spring will not do because of wet and deep +and dismal roads; the summer’s extreme heat, and the small green flies, +make disagreeable traveling. I make a decree, but not of the Medes and +Persians, never in future to cross the mountains before the first of +September, nor leave Carlisle before the first of October.” + +On Friday we were the guests of Rev. John Sale, who at one time had +almost the whole state of Ohio for his district. + +On Sunday the bishop preached at Xenia Court-house on Col. i, 28, “Whom +we preach.” There were about five hundred to hear him. I tried to clinch +the nail the bishop had been driving. We went to Peter Pelham’s, another +of the bishop’s choice homes, where he delighted to rest his weary head. +This was a most respectable family. They had emigrated to Ohio from Old +Virginia. + +This night we were very unfortunate, for our horses were lost and in the +morning could not be found. Our appointments were out in advance, and the +people must not be disappointed, so we borrowed horses and on we went to +Samuel Hitt’s, (brother of Daniel,) and then to Widow Smith’s, where the +bishop preached. By the time he had finished his discourse our horses +were there. Brothers Sale and Pelham had gone in pursuit of them, found +them, and then brought them to us. + +On the 26th we went to the house of Rev. Philip Gatch, one of the +bishop’s famous homes. A camp-meeting was held there, and the bishop was +delighted to greet many of his old friends whose society he greatly +enjoyed. The meeting was attended by the mighty power of God, and over +fifty were converted; but I was suffering so with inflammation in my +eyes that I did not attend till Sabbath. I spoke to the crowd in German. +I must have looked comical enough, for I had a blister behind each ear, +and a bandage around my head and over my eyes. Immediately after my +exhortation the bishop preached to two thousand people. On Monday evening +I preached in German at Brother Gatch’s house. The family were very kind +to me, and I parted invoking the blessing of God to rest upon them. + +These noble families I have mentioned emigrated from Virginia and +Maryland, which were slave states, to Ohio, a free state. They abominated +slavery and slave soil, and they emancipated their slaves before they +left for Ohio. This I had from their own lips. All honor to their memory +for their noble deeds! At that day we preached against holding human +beings in bondage. I did it early on the Peninsula, as my journal will +show. + +On Friday, September 2, we reached Cincinnati, and were the guests of +Brother Lines. This is a family given to hospitality, and therefore +deserving of grateful remembrance. Cincinnati was first settled by +emigrants from New England and New Jersey. At the time of our visit it +was a small village of less than two thousand inhabitants. + +The first Methodist sermon in Cincinnati was preached in an upper room +to twelve hearers, in 1804, by Rev. John Collins. The next who preached +there was John Sale, who organized a society of eight persons, just as +many as were in the ark. The first Methodist chapel was erected in 1806, +and was built of stone. In this church the bishop and I both preached. +He gave an admirable sermon in the morning from 2 Cor. v, 14, “For the +love of Christ constraineth us,” etc., and then called on me to preach +immediately after in the German language. I did so from John i, 11, 12, +“He came unto his own and his own received him not.” This is believed +to be the first sermon preached in Cincinnati in the German language; +certainly it was the first Methodist sermon in that tongue. In the +afternoon Brother Lakin preached from Luke xvi, 8; and I again in the +evening, in English. + +I made this record in my journal: “The house was crowded both day and +night; there is a good prospect in this town for a revival of religion.” +This record was made fifty-seven years ago. Was it prophetic? How strange +it sounds now to speak of “the Queen City of the West” as “this town.” +Bishop Asbury advised the society to enlarge their house of worship, and +to invite the Western Conference to hold its next session there. They did +so, and the invitation was accepted. + +On Tuesday we left Cincinnati, accompanied by Brother and Sister Lakin. +We put up in Lawrenceburgh, in the Indiana territory, with Elijah +Sparks. He had moved from Maryland, and was a brother of Robert Sparks. +Elijah was a local preacher and a lawyer. The Indiana territory was +then one vast wilderness. The bishop said: “In this wild there may be +twenty thousand souls already. I feel for them.” How would his great soul +rejoice if he could return to that territory and see a rich populous +state teeming with inhabitants and four flourishing annual conferences! +In what Mr. Asbury called “that wild” there are now one million three +hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. + +In traveling the Indiana territory the next day, in thirty-three miles we +passed only six houses. This will give an idea of the sparseness of the +population at that time. “The wilderness and the solitary place has been +made glad, and the desert has rejoiced and blossomed as the rose.” + +We crossed the Ohio at the mouth of the Licking River in what Mr. Asbury +most appropriately called a “crazy flat.” With great difficulty we +reached the other side. It was leaking, and like to have sunk with the +bishop and all on board; but we were mercifully preserved. + + +THE WESTERN CONFERENCE. + +We had but seven conferences at that time. The Western Conference +included all the vast tract of country lying west of the Alleghanies as +far as it was settled with whites, with the exception of Monongahela +District, which belonged to Baltimore Conference. It was a field that was +widening and expanding every day. + +The conference met on October 1 at Liberty Hill, Tenn., at Rev. Green +Hill’s. He was a local preacher, had emigrated from North Carolina, where +Bishop Asbury had been well acquainted with him. + +A conference was held at his house in North Carolina as early as 1785, +and Dr. Coke and Asbury were both there. Another conference was held +there in 1792, at which Bishop Asbury presided. He and his family +emigrated to Tennessee when all was a wilderness, and they had to make +their way through a cane-brake to the place where their house was +located. Liberty Hill was twelve miles west of Nashville, and Nashville +was then but a very small village. This was the first conference I +attended with Bishop Asbury as his aid, and all I saw and heard were full +of interest. + +It was the first conference William M’Kendree attended as bishop. I saw +him when he filled the episcopal chair for the first time, and so I did +Bishop Whatcoat. M’Kendree had left Baltimore at the close of the General +Conference and gone West by the most direct route. He was one of the +fathers of the Western Conference, where his influence was unbounded. The +preachers gave the new bishop as well as the old one a hearty welcome. + +There was a camp-meeting connected with the conference, and the preachers +ate and slept in their tents. There were eighty ministers present, +and there had been an increase of twenty-five hundred members during +the year. It was a most pleasant conference, and the discussions were +interesting. + +There were noble men belonging to the conference: Learner Blackman, +William Burke, John Sale, Jacob Young, and James Ward. These were the +presiding elders, and they were on districts that were large enough +for conferences. There were present also Jesse Walker, the pioneer of +Missouri. He was a young man then, only six years in the ministry. Samuel +Parker, the Cicero of the West. He was a deacon. Peter Cartwright, young, +strong, courageous; but he had not graduated to elders’ orders. Twelve +were admitted on trial, six ordained deacons, and ten elders, among whom +was the eccentric James Axley. + +The names of the districts now appear strange: Ohio District, John Sale, +Presiding Elder; Kentucky District, William Burke; Mississippi District, +Jacob Young. + +Some of the appointments also sound still more strangely to our ears: +Illinois, John Clingan; Missouri, Jesse Walker. What a foundation they +were laying for the opening future! Noble, self-sacrificing men as earth +ever saw or the Church was ever blessed with were these pioneers of the +West. With a single exception, I believe they are now passed away. “Our +fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live forever?” + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +FIRST VISIT TO THE SOUTH. + + +The next day after the Western Conference adjourned the two bishops and +myself started for the South Carolina Conference, which was to meet in +Liberty Chapel, Green County, Georgia, on December 6, 1808. + +There was a novelty and variety about my present large field of labor +which made it peculiarly interesting. I had been to what was then the +West, (it would be difficult to tell where it is now,) and I was highly +delighted, and now I was on my way to the sunny South. And I had the +wisest and best companions in the world. This was the first tour which +M’Kendree made with Bishop Asbury after his ordination to the episcopal +office. Everywhere the old and the new bishop were objects of interest, +and their appearance hailed with joy. + +On Monday we reached Dr. Henry Tooley’s. This was a family of note, and +their house one of the best of homes. Here we rested and refitted, and +prepared to climb the mountains and to penetrate the wilderness, for all +this must be done before we could reach Georgia. On we went, preaching +every evening, till on Saturday we fell in with a camp-meeting at +Ohaver’s. + +On Sunday morning Brother Learner Blackman, Presiding Elder of Holston +District, preached at sunrise, I preached at ten o’clock, and then Bishop +M’Kendree gave one of his overwhelming discourses, after which I preached +again in the German language. Bishop Asbury then preached with great +liberty. We were at it five hours without intermission, during which time +the people heard four sermons in English and one in German, and yet we +were not through, for in the evening John Henninger preached, and Nathan +Barnes exhorted. Thus ended this memorable day. It was a time of uncommon +power, and many were converted. What would people think now of listening +to six sermons in one day? How would they get along who can hardly endure +one? + +The next morning the bishops preached again: Bishop Asbury first, and +Bishop M’Kendree immediately after him. I have written, “It was a solemn, +searching time.” + +To benefit the Germans I took a little tour by myself, while the bishops +went forward. Bishop Asbury makes this entry in his journal: “Henry Boehm +has gone to Pigeon River to preach to the Dutch.” I preached six times, +and then rode on to overtake the bishops. After riding twenty miles I +learned they were still far in the advance of me, and had gone on to +Buncombe. On Thursday I hastened on to overtake them. I went over the +lofty hills and mountains and solitary valleys along the banks of the +French Broad. This is an astonishing river in its meanderings through +beautiful valleys and mountain gorges, with overhanging rocks. Here +nature is seen in her beauty and grandeur, and I wonderfully admired that +day the works of nature as one scene after another broke on my delighted +vision. + +That night I lodged at Barnett’s Station.[19] This was a public house, +partly over the mountain, where multitudes of travelers put up. We +carried our religion wherever we went, and always hoisted our colors. +Bishop Asbury taught us, both by precept and example, to be valiant for +the truth. So the travelers were called together, and I gave them an +exhortation, and prayed with the family. All were civil, respectful, and +attentive to what was said. + +On Friday I rode to Buncombe, expecting to find the bishops there. +Buncombe County is in the western part of North Carolina, joining +Tennessee. It was nine days before I overtook them. On Monday, November +2, I found them at Samuel Edney’s,[20] one of the bishop’s choice homes. +We were overjoyed to see each other. + +It was a tremendous task to descend from the lofty mountain. The ascent +was rough and fatiguing, but the descent still more difficult. On we +went, the bishop preaching every day and several times on the Sabbath +till we reached Waxhaw, South Carolina, famous for being the birthplace +of Andrew Jackson. Here at this time Bishop Asbury ordained Robert +Hancock, who was a respectable local preacher. There were many private +ordinations of that kind in those days. + +We arrived at Camden and put up with Samuel Matthis. On Sabbath morning +Bishop Asbury preached from Ephes. v, 8, on walking as children of the +light. At three I held forth from John i, 9, and in the evening Bishop +M’Kendree preached from “worship God.” Immediately after the first sermon +Brother Jackson, who was the preacher, met the colored people, about +three hundred in number, to whom I preached from Luke ix, 62, on putting +the hand to the plow and looking back. The colored people are fond of +figures; such a text suited them. I told them if a man was plowing and he +should look back, he would make a very crooked furrow. A circle of smiles +passed over their black faces when they heard this. A colored brother +in a love-feast said, “I have put my hand to the Gospel plow, and I am +determined to plow my furrow clean up to glory.” Another, in relating +his experience, said, “Bredren, I cannot exactly tell it, but when I was +converted two suns rose dat morning sartin.” This was a beautiful figure. +He was converted just as the natural sun was rising, and that moment the +Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in its wings and shone into his +dark soul, and he was all light in the Lord. + +The next day we went to James Rembert’s. Camp-meeting began here on +Wednesday, November 23. Bishop M’Kendree opened the campaign by preaching +at seven o’clock from 1 Cor. xv, 48, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, +be ye steadfast,” etc. A mighty man was Bishop M’Kendree on great +occasions: they woke up the giant, and he put forth all his strength. In +the afternoon Bishop Asbury preached one of his massive sermons from “Go +through, go through the gates, prepare ye the way of the people,” etc. +The next day there was preaching by James Jenkins, Morris Mathis, Bishop +M’Kendree, and myself. I wrote in my journal: “The Lord was in his word +through the day and evening. A general shout in the camp this evening; +some powerfully converted.” + +On Friday there were five sermons, the preachers being Lovick Pierce, +Bishop Asbury, Henry Boehm, James Jenkins, and I again at night. There +were forty tents and cabins. It being very late in the season they had +fireplaces in the tents, so the people kept very comfortable. The meeting +was held late in the year, not only because the people were in the spirit +of camp-meetings, but also to have the presence of two bishops. There was +a cabin neatly fitted up with its chimney and fireplace for the bishops. + +In regard to the result of this meeting Bishop Asbury says: “There was +a powerful work among white saints and sinners, and the poor oppressed, +neglected Africans.” And Bishop Capers says: “The camp-meeting was one +of the best I have ever known.” I had attended four camp-meetings in the +West, and this was the first in the South. + +It was here I first saw the Southern preachers, and for the first time +that beautiful and amiable youth, William Capers. He, as my readers know, +became one of the strong men of the South. At this time he had not been +licensed to preach; he had traveled as an exhorter, and at a quarterly +conference held at this camp-meeting he was licensed to preach and also +recommended to the Annual Conference. Two of William Capers’s brothers, +John and Gabriel, were here converted, and his father was reconciled with +Bishop Asbury. Mr. Asbury used to preach at his father’s house years +before, but Mr. Hammett had prejudiced his mind against the bishop, and +for seventeen years he had been estranged from him. But I prefer that +William Capers tell his own story. “At this camp-meeting I first saw +Bishop Asbury. I was introduced to him immediately on his first coming +to the camp-meeting, as I happened to be in the preachers’ tent at the +time of his arrival. I approached him timidly, and with a feeling of +veneration; but, ‘Ah,’ said he, ‘this is the baby; come and let me hug +you,’ meaning that I was the baby when he was last at my father’s house. +On my father’s entering the tent, he rose hastily from his seat and met +him with his arms extended, and they embraced each other with mutual +emotion. It had been seventeen years since they had seen each other, and +yet the bishop asked after Sally and Gabriel, as if it had been but a few +months, and repeated, gleefully, ‘I have got the baby!’ It was evident no +common friendship had subsisted between them; and how much happier had +those years of estrangement been to my honored father if they had been +passed in the fellowship he had been seduced to leave.” Mr. Capers well +adds the following, worthy to be written in a conspicuous place: “I hate +schism; I abhor it as the very track and trail of him who, as a roaring +lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”[21] + +All the preachers who were at that camp-meeting in 1808 have gone the way +whence they will not return, except Lovick Pierce and myself. + +James Rembert, with whom we were staying, was a large man in body, and +equally large in soul. He was very wealthy and very benevolent. He +lived in a place called Rembert’s Settlement; there was a church called +Rembert’s Chapel, and James Rembert was the honored patriarch. Bishop +Asbury had been here to Rembert’s Hall several times before, and always +had a hearty welcome. + +On Monday the 28th we left Rembert’s Hall and started for Charleston. +On our arrival we were the guests of Dr. William Phœbus, who was the +stationed preacher. In former years I preached at his brother John’s, on +the eastern shore of Maryland. The doctor was a most eccentric genius. +There was dignity about him, and yet he was peculiarly odd. He was, +however, quite a philosopher, and did noble service for Methodism. + +We remained in Charleston for several days, and both bishops preached +almost daily. I also preached there several times. Never was I more +delighted than with my visit to Charleston and the Charleston Methodists. +There was a zeal and warmth among them I much admired. They not only +lived in a warm climate, but had warm hearts. I wrote thus in my journal: +“The Lord has a kind and loving people in this city. The prospects of +Zion are very promising in this place.” Wonders has God done for the +Methodists in Charleston since I made this record. But alas, what a +change has come over the city! How has the fine gold become dim! It was +a sad day for them when secession was born, and they fired upon Fort +Sumter and the old time-honored flag. + +We were several days in reaching the seat of the South Carolina +Conference, and crossed several rivers on the way. On Wednesday the +15th Bishop M’Kendree preached a very ingenious sermon on 1 Peter i, +13, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind,” etc. He was perfectly +original in his mode of illustration. He said the loins were the weakest +part of the body, and therefore the necessity of strengthening them. +We were to gird the weak places. He applied to diligent attention, +watchfulness, etc. It was a striking discourse, impressive both in matter +and manner. + +On Saturday we reached Augusta in Georgia. This day we dined in the +woods. It was nothing new; and the bishops were just as grateful over +their dry morsel, and would ask a blessing as fervently over it as over +some of the sumptuous dinners of the wealthy. + +Bishop Asbury preached in Augusta in the morning, M’Kendree in the +afternoon, and I in the evening. Mr. Asbury makes this mournful record: +“Sunday, 18, my flesh sinks under labor. We are riding in a poor +thirty-dollar chaise, in partnership; two bishops of us, but it must be +confessed it tallies well with the weight of our purse: what bishops! +Well, but we have great views, and we have great times, and the Western, +Southern, and Virginia Conferences will have one thousand souls truly +converted to God; and is this not an equivalent for a light purse? And +are we not well paid for starving and for toil? Yes. Glory to God!” This +record is characteristic of the sainted Asbury. The bishops rode in a +carriage, and I on horseback, a kind of body-guard. + +On Saturday the 24th we reached Liberty Chapel, near Milledgeville, the +seat of the conference. It was held in the house where the bishops were +entertained, commencing on Monday, December 26, 1808. The day before +being Christmas, Bishop Asbury preached a sermon from John iii, 17, on +the design of God in sending his Son into the world. + +At the opening of the conference Bishop Asbury, in a very appropriate +manner, introduced the new bishop to them. The preachers received him +joyfully. Every member, one after another, went forward and gave the +bishop his right hand, and bade him welcome. The scene was beautiful, and +to Bishop M’Kendree it was as refreshing as the dews of heaven. Sixteen +were received on trial, among others the excellent and eloquent William +Capers. They are all dead. Nine deacons were ordained and six elders. +There were nearly seventy preachers, and the sweetest spirit prevailed. + +In connection with the conference they held a camp-meeting. I had never +thought of attending a camp-meeting between Christmas and New Year’s. +I wrote thus: “My heart feels united to my southern brethren in the +bonds of a peaceful Gospel.” Peace and harmony continued throughout the +progress of the conference; preaching, praying, exhortation, shouting, +crying, rejoicing. There were about forty or fifty converted. There were +quite a number of tents and fifteen cabins, and about a thousand people +attended every day. + +On the last day of the year a love-feast was held, and it was a precious +time both with preachers and people. Bishop Asbury preached at noon from +1 Peter i, 10-12, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired,” etc. +It was a masterly sermon, delivered to three thousand people. We had the +sacrament in the evening. There was over three thousand increase in the +South Carolina Conference during the year. It was a glorious year for the +South. + +There was a noble class of men in this conference who helped lay the +foundation for the future prosperity of Methodism in the South, James +Jenkins, Hilliard Judge, Lewis Myers, Daniel Asbury, and many others that +we might name. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +NORTHERN TOUR—VIRGINIA AND BALTIMORE CONFERENCES. + + +On Monday, January 2, 1809, we left for the Virginia Conference. +In crossing Cashaway Ferry we just escaped drowning. It was most +providential. We were oft in perils on the land and on the water. Part +of our journey was on a muddy road, through a forlorn-looking tract of +marshy country. No wonder Bishop Asbury said in reference to it, “My +limbs, my patience, and my faith have been put to a severe trial.” + +Fayetteville was one hundred and thirty miles from Camden, the route we +took. “We had a cold, fatiguing ride, especially for Father Asbury, who +certainly is astonishingly supported under almost incredible toil for a +man upward of sixty-three, amid perpetual exertion of body and mind and +constant affliction.” So I wrote fifty-five years ago, when I witnessed +him in labors more abundant, and his martyr sufferings which he bore with +a martyr spirit. + +The Virginia Conference for 1809 met in Tarborough on February 1. This +was my introduction to the Virginia Methodist preachers, and a fine body +of men they were; and it was Bishop M’Kendree’s first visit to them as +superintendent. Virginia was dear to him as his native state and his +spiritual birthplace, and the scenes of his early itinerant labors. There +were eighty-four preachers present, and only three of them married. It +was properly called the “Bachelor” Conference. We also had bachelor +bishops. Bishop Asbury was delighted with the appearance of the men. He +said, “Many of them are the most elegant young men I have ever seen in +features, body, and mind; they are manly, and yet meek.” + +I had an opportunity of hearing their great preachers, and seeing how +they transacted business. Indeed, I was honored with preaching the first +sermon at eleven o’clock the day the conference commenced. My text was +Prov. xviii, 10. I felt as if I was talking before giants. Hilliard +Judge, a visitor from South Carolina Conference, preached from Job xxi, +15, “What is the Almighty,” etc. Jesse Lee followed with a powerful +exhortation. The work of God revived, and souls were converted. + +On Friday afternoon at three o’clock we enjoyed a rich treat. Bishop +M’Kendree preached an ordination sermon from 2 Tim. ii, 15, “Study to +show thyself approved unto God,” etc. It was attended with great unction. +Thirteen deacons were ordained, among them John Early, now one of the +bishops of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church. + +Jesse Lee preached on Sunday in the court-house one of his ingenious +sermons from Deut. xxix, 29, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our +God,” etc. He said if the Lord has been so kind as to intrust his secrets +to any, those who revealed them treated the Lord unkindly. He left the +“secret things” with God, where they belonged. Then he dwelt largely and +forcibly upon “revealed” things: the subject of redemption as revealed to +us by the prophets of the Old Testament and the evangelists and apostles +of the new, and showed they belong to us with all their benefits, and are +not confined to us, but extend to our children. There was a melting time +under this sermon. In the afternoon Jesse Lee preached again from Heb. +vii, 12, “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity +a change of the law.” He gave us some fine thoughts on the necessity of +the change of priesthood, and the necessity there was of a change in +the ceremonial law, and the advantages of such a change. He was plain, +practical, and powerful. There was a great stir among the people, and +a number sought and found the Lord. In the evening Thomas L. Douglass +preached a great sermon on the value of the human soul and the danger of +its loss. He was one of the great men of Methodism, and at that time one +of the pillars of the Virginia Conference. + +On Monday I preached again from Matt. xi, 28, 29. On Tuesday I heard +Philip Bruce from Matt. v, 8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they +shall see God.” A sweet sermon on Christian purity. He was a charming man +as well as a charming preacher. He went through Virginia and Carolina +like a flame of fire and of love. + +We had a cold uncomfortable ride from Tarboro’ to Harrisonburg, Va., +the seat of the Baltimore Conference. We reached Norfolk on Saturday. +Methodism was early introduced into this place by Robert Williams; indeed +he was the Apostle of Methodism in Virginia. He arrived in this country +before Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor. Mr. Pilmoor also did early +service in this place to the cause of truth. + +On Tuesday we reached Petersburgh and stayed with Edward Lee, a brother +of Jesse Lee, and father of Rev. Leroy M. Lee of the Virginia Conference. + +We also stayed one night with a man by the name of Bradly, who had just +been converted. There was something very singular about his conversion. +He was home alone one Sabbath reading his prayer-book, when as sudden as +lightning he was awakened, dropped his prayer-book, and fell on his knees +and prayed without a book for the Lord to have mercy on his soul. Heaven +heard his prayer and forgave him. He had a number of race-horses when +converted. These he parted with at once, for old things had passed away +and all things become new. + +On Saturday we reached Richmond and stayed over the Sabbath, preaching +there and at Manchester. We were glad to see our early friend, Archibald +Foster, who had been a traveling preacher for several years. He was +originally from Ireland. He married the daughter of old Mr. Hynson, +the founder of Hynson’s Chapel, in Kent County, Maryland. I formed his +acquaintance in 1802. His family was given to hospitality. + +Methodism had to struggle hard for an existence in Richmond. It was long +an up-hill business. The first society was formed in 1793. They early +preached in the court-house, but were turned out on account of their +noise. Then a noble woman by the name of Parrott fitted up a large room +for preaching in her barn or stable. Here Asbury and M’Kendrick preached +at an early day. + +Thomas Lyell was stationed here in 1799, and he was unboundedly popular, +and succeeded in building a church. This is the house in which Mr. Asbury +preached his last sermon. + +Stith Mead was stationed at Richmond. He was one of the purest and most +zealous men in our connection; a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost. He +preached to the prisoners in the Penitentiary, and the word of God was +quick and powerful; and there was a great revival, and he formed classes +of the converted prisoners. They used to pray in their rooms and sing, +and make the old walls ring with their shouts of praise. I went with +him to the prison and we held divine service there. I was well pleased +with the devotional appearance of the prisoners. One young man, after he +professed religion, was pardoned by the Governor. Much good Mr. Mead did +among the poor friendless prisoners; and no doubt Jesus will say to him, +“I was sick and in prison, and ye visited me.” + +We left Richmond and pursued our journey, having the company of Bishop +M’Kendree. On Tuesday we had a peculiar day: 1st. We rode forty-five +miles without food for ourselves or our horses—both man and beast fasted. +2d. Twice on that day we got lost in the woods, and wandered round and +round to find our way out. Bishop M’Kendree preached in the evening. On +Friday we passed within sight of Monticello, the famous seat of Thomas +Jefferson. It occupied a lofty eminence, from which there was a most +extensive prospect. + +We crossed the Blue Ridge to Harrisonburgh. The roads were in a sad +condition, and the snow was deep in crossing the mountain. I ruined a +valuable horse on this route, and parted with him for a trifle when I +reached Philadelphia. This county was early settled by Germans. It was +this region my father visited in 1761, where he obtained new light, which +he scattered with holy zeal. I traveled here with him in 1800. + +The Baltimore Conference commenced its session on Thursday, March 2. +Besides the business of the conference, which was done in great harmony, +there was preaching three times a day; I preached in German. There were +ten young men received on probation; among them was Beverly Waugh, +a handsome young man, afterward book-agent and bishop; Joseph Frye, +brother of Christopher;[22] and Simon Lauck, one of my father’s spiritual +sons; he was awakened in 1800 under a sermon my father preached in the +Methodist church in Winchester. + +We hastened on through Winchester and Harper’s Ferry to Baltimore. +This was always a favorite place with the bishop; it was the scene of +his early labors, and the people were always kind to him. On Sunday he +preached morning and evening in Light-street. The next day we attended a +camp-meeting near Perry Hall. Bishop Asbury not being very well, preached +in the camp-meeting chapel on “Work out your own salvation with fear and +trembling,” etc. He was deeply affected as he passed the grave of his +late friend, Harry Gough, and said, “his image came up before him.” + +Onward we went to Delaware. March 27 found us at Barratt’s Chapel. Father +Asbury always thought much of the children of the earliest Methodists. +We see it in regard to the children of Thomas White and Philip Barratt, +the founder of Barratt’s Chapel. At this time he said, “I have powerful +feelings of sympathy for the children and the grand-children of that +holy man in life and death, Philip Barratt.” He then had the pleasure of +baptizing some of his descendants. He was much rejoiced also to meet here +his dear friends, Governor Bassett and his excellent wife, who went forty +miles to see him. How strong the friendship that subsisted between them! + +We had a cold uncomfortable ride for many days, and no wonder the old man +of God wrote in such a melancholy strain: “I have suffered incredibly +by the cold in the last one hundred and thirty miles: souls and their +Saviour can reward me, and nothing else! Lord, remember Francis Asbury in +all his labors and afflictions.” + +Friday was a joyful day to me, and not to me only, but to others, as +will be seen by the following record made by Asbury: “I preached at +Keagy’s. Brother M’Kendree and Father Boehm met me once more, and we +greatly rejoiced in God together.” Abraham Keagy had married my only +sister, Barbara. Bishop Asbury and my father never met without a thrill +of delight. I had not seen my loved father for ten months, a longer time +than I had ever been absent from him before, and he embraced me in his +arms. + +The third of April, 1809, the Philadelphia Conference met in St. +George’s, Philadelphia. Bishops M’Kendree and Asbury were both present. +It was a privilege to see my brethren, “true yoke-fellows,” after the +absence of a year. There were eighty-four preachers present. Fourteen +were received on trial, some of whom have since filled prominent stations +in the Church, among whom were Stephen Martindale and Loring Grant. +Fourteen were ordained deacons, one of whom was Peter P. Sandford. My +early friend, Thomas Burch, was ordained elder, and also George Lane, +long our book agent, a man of uncommon purity, and seven others. + +It may be asked to whom I was amenable when I traveled with Bishop +Asbury. I answer, To the Philadelphia Conference. It may be asked who +represented me, as I had no presiding elder. I answer, Bishop Asbury. +When the question was asked, “Is there anything against Henry Boehm?” the +bishop was the only person who could answer it, for he was the only one +who knew how I spent the year, and he would answer, with great gravity, +“Nothing against Brother Boehm.” It may be asked how I was supported +while I traveled with the bishop. I answer, I received it from the +different conferences, just as the bishops did theirs. My salary was one +hundred dollars. + +At the adjournment of the conference Bishop M’Kendree went direct to +Elizabethtown. Bishop Asbury and myself made a tour of twenty days +through the lower and eastern part of New Jersey. He was everywhere +hailed as an apostle. He had not been over this route in twenty-five +years. + +We started to go to Brother Blackman’s, father of Learner Blackman. +We were to have been there at three o’clock. Charles Reed was to have +piloted us, but he did not come. We got lost in the pines, and we went +round and round without making much progress. We arrived there two +hours after the time, and found Charles Reed preaching. He ceased on +our arrival, and the bishop commenced; but our long, tedious ride had +perfectly unfitted him for preaching, and after saying a few words he +suddenly stopped, and called out, “Henry, you must preach, for I cannot.” +Quick as thought these words came in my mind, “And all thy children shall +be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children.” +I had extraordinary liberty, and all got happy, and among the rest the +bishop, who then rose and gave a discourse of great power. + +Here was the natural and spiritual birthplace of that distinguished +minister of the Western Conference, Learner Blackman. The bishop made +this record: “Learner Blackman has been raised up from small appearances +possibly to very great consequences.” There can be no doubt of this if he +had not been drowned in the Ohio River. + +Space would fail to tell of Absecom, Tuckerton, Waretown, Polhemus’s +Chapel, Squam River, and Shark River, where also the bishop preached. At +the last place, as the men were fishing, and his congregation composed +of women, he preached on Martha and Mary, Luke x, 41, 42, and adds, +“Ah, how many Marthas are there, and how few Marys!” I might inquire, +What kind of a world would we have if all the women were Marys? Has not +injustice often been done to Martha? Do we not need a union of both +Martha’s zeal and Mary’s love? + +Sunday, April 30, we spent at Long Branch. Mr. Asbury preached, from +Acts iii, 26, a sermon of great strength. This has become a famous +watering-place. Hundreds resort here from Philadelphia and New York to +spend the summer. Here the broad Atlantic Ocean is seen in her glory. +Methodism has greatly prospered here. + +We then went to Staten Island and put up with Rev. Joseph Totten. He +was presiding elder of Jersey District, which included the whole of +New Jersey and Staten Island. Methodism was early introduced on this +beautiful island by Francis Asbury. It was always a favorite place with +him. He preached here before he did in the city of New York. As he was +on his way from Burlington to New York he came across a gentleman by the +name of P. Vanpelt, who had heard him preach in Philadelphia, and he +invited Mr. Asbury to go with him to Staten Island. + +On Saturday, May 6, we went to Elizabethtown. In crossing the Narrows +we saw for the first time a vessel moving without sails, and to us it +was a great curiosity, neither Bishop Asbury nor myself ever having +seen a steamboat before. We gazed upon it with wonderful interest, as +the following extracts from our journals will show. The bishop wrote, +“My attention was strongly excited by the steamboat. This is, indeed, +a great invention.” My record reads thus: “At Elizabeth Point we saw a +packet which goes by steam, a wheel on each side like a flutter wheel. +The vessel is about eighty feet long, and travels one mile against wind +and tide in about eighteen minutes.” All this must sound strange to the +reader who is familiar with steamboats, floating palaces, and steamships +that plow the ocean, and bring continents into one neighborhood. + +At Elizabethtown we stopped with Rev. Thomas Morrell, who lived there in +a fine mansion. The bishop and Mr. Morrell were very intimate. They loved +each other as brothers, and often corresponded. He considered Mr. Morrell +wise in counsel. Mr. Morrell had been an officer under Washington during +the Revolutionary War, and had been wounded in battle. He was also a bold +soldier of the cross, and filled some very important appointments. He was +then in deep mourning, having lost his excellent wife, the mother of the +amiable and beloved Francis Asbury Morrell of the New Jersey Conference. + +Methodism was introduced here as early as 1785 by John Haggarty. Here +Rev. George G. Cookman made his earliest efforts in this country. Joseph +Holdich in the early part of his ministry preached here, and here he +found his excellent wife. + +In the old Episcopal church Samuel Spaggs was rector. He preached in +John-street Church, New York, during the whole of the Revolutionary War, +being then a minister in our Church. He died here, and had a tablet in +the old church. + +At Elizabethtown we met Bishop M’Kendree. He preached in the morning, +and Bishop Asbury in the evening. Bishop M’Kendree and I went to Newark, +where he preached from Prov. i, 23, “Turn you at my reproof,” etc. +Here we saw the Rev. John Dow, and at his request I accompanied him +to Belleville, four miles from Newark, a pretty little village on the +Passaic, where I preached in the evening from 1 John i, 9. + +Methodism was introduced in Belleville much earlier than in Newark, and a +stone church built. John Dow was a local elder, a man of fine talent and +sterling integrity. He was several times a member of the Legislature. The +Rev. Isaac N. Felch of the New Jersey Conference married his daughter. + +Here the eloquent Nicholas Snethen used to tend a mill; here he was +converted, and commenced his first public exercises. Here Peter P. +Sandford was converted and went out into the itinerant work. This is +enough to give this place a Methodistic celebrity. + +In Newark we stopped at Richard Leycraft’s. This was for some time the +only home for Methodist itinerants in Newark. There was a very small +class here, only three years old, and a little edifice was erected in +Halsey-street. This is a mother of a numerous and thriving family. What +a contrast between 1809 and the present, when we have ten churches in +Newark, some of them the most beautiful in the country, among which are +Central and Broad-street Churches. I little thought then that we should +ever have a Newark Conference, and that I should be a member of it. The +Methodists in Newark are among the most liberal and enterprising in +America. Newark is a place of uncommon beauty, with splendid parks and +lofty elms, and Broad-street is one of the finest in America. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK CITY—NEW YORK AND NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCES. + + +On Monday, May 7, 1809, we left Newark for New York. Crossing the +beautiful Passaic river, and then the Hackensack, we passed a singular +elevation called Snake Hill, and then through Bergen, an old Dutch town +almost as old as New York. From Bergen Hill we had a magnificent view +of the beautiful bay of New York and of the city. For the first time I +beheld the noble Hudson. At Powles Hook we crossed the river. There was +no Jersey City then. The spot where that city now is appeared to be a +kind of island of sand. There were scarcely any houses. Jersey City was +not incorporated till 1820; now it has thirty thousand inhabitants, and +we have four beautiful Methodist churches there. + +Our place of entertainment in New York was John Mills’s, near the +corner of Fulton-street and Broadway. He was an excellent man, an elder +in the “Brick” Presbyterian church, (Dr. Spring’s.) His wife was a +charming woman, and belonged to the John-street Methodist church. They +were wealthy, and left much property to their descendants. They both +possessed catholic spirits, and theirs was a home for all Christian +ministers. + +In the evening I went for the first time to the old church in +John-street, built by Philip Embury, called “Wesley Chapel,” the first +in the world named after Mr. Wesley. What thoughts crowded my mind as I +entered this cradle of Methodism! What rich and hallowed associations +cluster around this original home of Methodism on this continent! I +heard a sermon from James i, 27, on pure religion. The next evening, in +the Bowery Church, I heard Samuel Cochrane preach from Rom. v, 1, on +justification by faith. He had a powerful voice and was not afraid to use +it. + +On Tuesday morning at four o’clock we were alarmed with the cry of “Fire, +fire, fire!” It was no false alarm; about thirty houses were burned. It +was truly affecting to see parents and children and the aged and helpless +turned out into the street, not knowing where to go. It was the first +large fire I had ever witnessed. + +_May 10._ The New York Conference commenced its session in John-street. +This was the first time I ever beheld the men that composed this +conference. This was Bishop M’Kendree’s first visit as superintendent, +and most heartily they welcomed him. There was great love and unanimity +among the brethren. On Friday Bishop M’Kendree preached an ordination +sermon that was much admired. His text was 2 Cor. v, 20, “Now then we +are embassadors for Christ,” etc. After the sermon Bishop Asbury ordained +twelve deacons, among whom were William Swayze, a most blessed man, who +did noble execution afterward in Ohio; Lewis Pease, distinguished for his +zeal and eloquence; and Phineas Rice. When the case of the latter came up +the conference voted that he was “too funny,” and passed the resolution +that Bishop M’Kendree should reprove him. The bishop did so. Years after +Mr. Rice said, that as he had never been to conference before he supposed +that this was the regular process that all young ministers went through, +and therefore did not feel at all unpleasant. + +At that time our conferences were held with closed doors, and local +preachers and probationers were not permitted to be present until they +were received into full membership. + +Five were ordained elders; ten were received on trial, among others the +excellent Coles Carpenter, Robert Hibbard, who was drowned in the St. +Lawrence, Isaac Puffer, who was known as the traveling concordance, +and the amiable Marvin Richardson. He is the only survivor, enjoying +a green old age, as straight as he was fifty years ago. He resides at +Poughkeepsie, greatly esteemed. + +On Sabbath there was a great love-feast in the Hudson Church, now Duane. +There were fourteen hundred guests at the feast. I wrote in my journal: +“It was a blessed time; O my soul, never forget the gracious visitation +this morning! Many cups were made to run over in loud acclamations to God +and the Lamb.” Bishop Asbury preached in the morning, in John-street, +from Mark x, 23, and in Hudson Church in the afternoon, from Rev. ii, 10. + +On Monday evening, by special request, I preached in German, in the +English Lutheran Church, from Luke xix, 10, “For the Son of man is come +to seek and to save that which is lost.” Great attention and great +solemnity. Twice more I preached during the week in the Bowery Church, +(now Forsyth-street,) and in the English Lutheran school-house. + +Here I saw for the first time the excellent but eccentric Billy Hibbard. +When the roll was called the secretary read the name “William Hibbard.” +There was no response, and Bishop M’Kendree said, “Brother Hibbard, why +don’t you answer to your name and not keep the conference waiting?” “I +will,” said Mr. Hibbard, “when he calls my name.” “Is not your name +William?” “No, sir.” “What is it?” said the bishop. “Billy,” was the +answer. “Billy!” said the bishop, with great emphasis; “that is a little +boy’s name.” “I know it,” said Mr. Hibbard; “I was a very little boy when +my father gave it me.” Then the conference was convulsed with laughter. + +When his character was examined it was objected that he was practicing +medicine. Bishop M’Kendree inquired, “Brother Hibbard, are you a +physician?” “I am not,” he replied; “I simply give advice in critical +cases.” “What do you mean by that?” asked the bishop. “In critical +cases,” said Mr. Hibbard, “I always advise them to send for a physician.” + +There were one hundred and twenty preachers belonging to this conference. +It began in peace and fellowship, which seemed to increase toward the +close, and then a gracious shower of blessings descended on the preachers. + +The trustees of the Methodist Church in New York were ever kind to +Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree, and they took good care of their horses. +As a part of the history of the times, and as a curiosity, and to show +the generosity of the trustees, I transcribe an old bill that has been +carefully preserved in good order fifty-five years: + + 1809. BISHOP ASBURY, + TO PETER ALEXANDER ALLAIRE, Dr. + + 20th May. To keeping 3 horses from 8th of May, on hay, at 4s £7 4 0 + + To 9 quarts oats per horse, per day for each horse, + say 27 quarts per day, 324 quarts, at 4d 5 8 0 + + To keeping 1 horse from 8th of May, on hay, at 4s 2 8 0 + + To 78 quarts of oats, at 4d 1 6 0 + + To bleeding bishop’s horse, phisick, fetching, etc. 0 16 0 + -------- + £17 2 0 + -------- + $42 75 + + Received payment from MR. ABRAHAM RUSSEL, + PETER ALEX’R ALLAIRE. + +Abraham Russel was a noble man; he was indeed a pillar in the Methodist +temple. The three horses, one was Bishop Asbury’s, the other Bishop +M’Kendree’s, the other mine. The bill was made out to Bishop Asbury. +At another time Bishop M’Kendree paid for his horse-keeping. When the +trustees heard of it they sent him an apology and refunded the money. + +On Saturday we went to Tuckahoe, and were kindly entertained at one of +the bishop’s choicest homes, Bishop Sherwood’s. Pages might be written +concerning this most excellent family. Nowhere did the bishop find warmer +hearts or meet with a kinder reception than in the Sherwood cottage. On +Sabbath the bishop preached in the morning at Sherwood’s Chapel. This old +chapel still remains in all its glory, and has been a little improved. + +The site was given by the Sherwoods; the ground was staked out by Bishop +Asbury, and the plan of the church given by him. It is in a valley at +the foot of a hill, and surrounded by beautiful locust trees. There is a +burying-ground connected with it, where the early Methodists sleep. + +In the afternoon we went to New Rochelle, and were the guests of Peter +Bonnets, one of the oldest Methodists in that place. He was a descendant +of the Huguenots, formerly an Episcopalian, and one of the first trustees +of the Methodist Church in that place, which was organized in 1791. + +Crossing the Byram River, which is the dividing line between New York +and Connecticut, I found myself in the land of steady habits. We reached +Norwalk, a place famous in the history of our country. It was burned in +1779 by Governor Tryon. It has an important position in the history of +Methodism, for here in 1789 Jesse Lee first planted the tree of Methodism +in New England, and now one hundred thousand Methodists in the New +England states sit under its shade and partake of its fruit with delight. +Here resided Absalom Day. He was a potter. He lived at what was called +the “Old Well.” In this (Fairfield) county the first class was formed in +New England, and the first Methodist house of worship built, and called +“Lee’s Chapel,” in honor of Jesse Lee. + +The bishop preached that evening at Brother Day’s, from Rom. xvi, 24, the +apostolic benediction, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you +all. Amen.” The Methodists had no house of worship then in Norwalk. Many +strong Methodist ministers were born in this county: Nathan Bangs, D.D., +Heman Bangs, William Thacher, and many others. + +We passed on through Fairfield and Bridgeport to Stratford, where we +stayed at Thaddeus Peck’s, one of the bishop’s old homes, then through +Milford, one of the oldest towns in the state, to New Haven, the City +of Elms, no doubt the most beautiful city in America; and here is Yale +College, one of the oldest in the land. We were entertained here at +Pember Jocelin’s. + +We journeyed on through beautiful towns to Saybrook, on the Connecticut. +This received its name from Lords Say and Brook, who procured a large +patent of land, of which this was a part. Here the famous “confession of +faith” was drawn up in 1708 known as the “Saybrook Platform.” There was +much all along this route that was enchanting: riding most of the time +in view of Long Island Sound, then crossing the rivers and beholding the +harbors, then through neat and beautiful villages. It was the last of +May, and the peach and other trees were in blossom. Everything looked +beautiful: flowers blooming, birds singing, nature having put on her +loveliest robes, and the air perfumed as if with sweet incense. + +The bishop rode in a carriage and I on horseback. The weather or +something else had such an effect upon the bishop’s horse that day that +twice he started to run away, and it was as much as he could do to hold +him, so he took Henry’s horse and rode on his back, and Henry rode in the +chaise, and had no difficulty in managing the bishop’s horse. + +In the evening we reached New London, and put up with Mr. Douglass. +The bishop preached at night to two hundred hearers from 1 John ii, +5; I preached next morning, at the early hour of five, to one hundred +hearers, from Matt. v, 6; then we crossed the Thames in a flat-bottomed +sail-boat. The wind being fair we were soon over. Journeying on, we +entered Rhode Island, and crossed the beautiful Narraganset Bay to +Newport. Here we were the guests of Samuel Merwin, the stationed +minister. He was a noble man, then young and in his glory. He was all +courtesy and attention; a Christian gentleman. The bishop preached at +Newport on Sabbath morning and afternoon, and I in the evening. + +On Monday we visited Fort Wolcott. Here the bishop preached to the +soldiers from Isaiah lv, 6, 7. Then we went to the school and the +hospital, talking and praying with the soldiers who were sick. I +addressed a number of German soldiers by themselves, then I gave them the +Methodist German tracts, a pamphlet on “The Character of a Methodist,” +and the tract on “Awake Thou that Sleepest,” etc. Among them was a young +man named Shellenbuerger, a native of Switzerland, who had been taken +from his friends at eleven years of age by Napoleon Bonaparte, and then +by the British; afterward he came to America, where he enlisted. He was +very serious, and thankfully received the tracts. + +Captain Beal had charge of the fort. He was a fine man, a Christian +gentleman, a Methodist. The bishop greatly admired the order and +discipline at the fort; indeed, he was an admirer of discipline +everywhere, in the family and in the Church. + +On we rode through various towns and villages, preaching Jesus, till +Saturday, when we reached Boston, and were there entertained by Widow +Lewis. We had but two chapels then in Boston, the “Old” and the “New.” +The bishop preached in both, and so did I. Elijah R. Sabin and Philip +Munger were the stationed preachers in Boston, both good men and true. + +The next day we went to Waltham, and were entertained by Abram Bemis. +He possessed much of the spirit of Abram of old, who was given to +hospitality, and who entertained strangers and sometimes angels. George +Pickering married into this family. There were four generations living in +that house: the great-grandfather, Abram Bemis, was in his ninety-second +year; and the oldest grandson, Asbury Pickering, was about twelve. This +was one of the leading families of Methodism in New England. The bishop +preached here from 2 Peter iii, 14. + +The next day found us at Lynn, the cradle of Methodism in Massachusetts. +The first Methodist chapel was built here; the first New England +Conference was held here; and Enoch Mudge, the first native preacher in +New England, was born here. We put up with Benjamin Johnson. The bishop +preached on Thursday from Hab. ii, 3; and I the next morning at five +o’clock from Psalm xxxiv, 8, “O taste and see,” etc. I have had the honor +of preaching in the oldest house of worship in Massachusetts, as well as +the oldest on the Peninsula, and the oldest in America. + +We passed through many important places: Marblehead, Salem, Newburyport, +etc., to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This was my first introduction to the +old Granite State. We put up at Friend Hutchins’s, and stayed over the +Sabbath, the bishop preaching twice and I once. + +On Monday we started for Monmouth, in the Province of Maine. (Maine was +then attached to Massachusetts, and was not admitted into the Union till +1820.) We fell in with John Broadhead, George Pickering, and Elijah +Metcalf, who were on their way to conference. They were most excellent +company. We went as far as Saco Falls, and as Methodist homes were scarce +we went on our own hook and put up at Moody’s tavern. The day we reached +Monmouth we stopped at a tavern, and the following scene is described by +the Rev. Ebenezer F. Newell: “After we had rested half an hour Bishop +Asbury said, ‘We must have prayers before we leave; I will go and give +notice to the landlord, and some of you must pray.’ I followed him to +the bar-room to learn his way of proceeding in such a case. He said, +‘Landlord, we are going to have prayers in our room, and if you or any +of your family wish to attend we should be happy to have you.’ ‘Thank +you, sir,’ he replied; ‘please wait until I speak not only to my family, +but my neighbors.’ Soon they flocked in; we sung and prayed, and melting +mercy moved our hearts. When our bill was called for we were told there +was no demand against us, and were requested to call again.”[23] The +course of the bishop surprised Brother Newell, but to me it was almost +an every-day occurrence in traveling. It was Asbury’s invariable custom. +Even the night before, where we put up at the tavern, the bishop proposed +having prayers; they objected, but he insisted upon it, so we had prayers +both evening and morning. + +On Thursday, June 16, 1809, the New England Conference commenced its +session. Both Asbury and M’Kendree were present. This was Bishop +M’Kendree’s first visit to New England as superintendent, and everywhere +he was regarded with peculiar interest. We put up with a Brother Derbin. +There was peace and good order throughout the session from beginning to +end. There was a camp-meeting held in connection with the conference. I +preached on the camp-ground to about eight hundred on Friday, from Matt. +xi, 28, 29. + +Doctor Stevens in his Memorials says: “M’Kendree was present, but we have +no notice of the part he took in the proceedings.” Perhaps I alone am +left to supply the deficiency. First, he presided, with dignity, a part +of the time. Secondly, he preached two never-to-be-forgotten sermons: the +first on Saturday at noon, from Rom. vi, 22, “But now being made free +from sin, ye become servants to God, and have your fruit unto holiness, +and the end everlasting life.” The dignity, freedom, fruit, and end of a +Christian were dwelt upon, after which Bishop Asbury ordained twenty-two +deacons. At three o’clock John Broadhead preached from John iii, 1, +“Behold what manner of love,” etc. Adopting love was his glorious theme, +which he handled in a workmanlike manner. + +Sunday was a high day in Monmouth; we had five sermons. At six in the +morning Bishop M’Kendree preached from Rev. ii, 10, on fidelity unto +death, and its reward. At ten Bishop Asbury preached in the grove to +three thousand people, from Isaiah xliv, 23, “Sing, O ye heavens; for +the Lord hath done it,” etc. He regarded it as an “open season.” My +impression is that Bishop M’Kendree ordained the elders after this +discourse. This was their custom: one ordained the deacons, the other the +elders. Then George Pickering preached from Luke xix, 5, on the talents +given, and man’s responsibility. + +At half past two Martin Ruter preached from Job xix, 25, 26, “For I know +that my Redeemer liveth,” etc. Job’s knowledge of a living Redeemer and +the resurrection of the body at the last day was his theme. These sermons +were preached on the camp-ground to crowds. There was great attention and +solemnity, and much good was done. Several professed to be converted. At +five o’clock I preached in the meeting-house from Prov. xviii, 10. Thus +ended this memorable Sabbath. + +There were noble men at this conference: two future bishops, Joshua +Soule and Elijah Hedding; also John Broadhead, Thomas Branch, Elijah +Sabin, and many others. Eighteen were received on trial, among whom were +George Gary, then a boy of fifteen, but he was a boy with a man’s head; +John Lindsay, whose praise is in the Church; and Edward Hyde of blessed +memory. Joshua Taylor was at this conference, though I think he then held +a local relation. + +Here Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree separated for a season, taking +different routes, expecting to meet at the Western Conference, if not +before. Thence we went to Danville in Vermont. This was my introduction +to the Green Mountain State. On Friday we accompanied Solomon Sias to +the house of his mother, an excellent woman. I wrote, “We are weary, but +not forsaken.” We spent the Sabbath and preached in that neighborhood. +In the evening I preached at Widow Sias’s, and John W. Hardy and Solomon +Sias exhorted. On Tuesday the bishop preached in the meeting-house in +Danville, while seated in a pew. No wonder the bishop admired the scenery +during our late route, and wrote: “We have passed many a fertile hill, +and saw many fruitful vales, through which flowed noble rivers.” + +On Thursday we were at Montpelier, the capital of the state. The bishop +admired the fine state-house, and said “it was worthy of the seat of +government of Vermont;” and the splendid hotel, which he said “was an +appropriate appendage to the state-house.” + +On Friday the bishop preached at Mr. Fuller’s on Lake Champlain. Here he +ordained Joseph Sampson an elder, and sent him as a missionary to his +countrymen in Quebec. Sampson was a Canadian Frenchman, and talked broken +English. In speaking of the Lamb of God he could not think of the word, +so he said “God’s mouton,” the French word for sheep. He did not succeed +in Canada, and afterward was a member of the Philadelphia Conference, +and on my district. He was not a Samson physically or mentally or +theologically. Becoming unsound in doctrine, and denying the divinity of +Christ, he was expelled. He appealed to the General Conference, and the +decision of the Philadelphia Conference was confirmed. + +On Saturday we had the company of William Anson, presiding elder of +Ashgrove District, who went with us through Vergennes to Bridport. I +found Brother Anson a most genial man. He told me the Congregationalists +were the “standing order” of ministers in Vermont, and all were taxed +to support them. The Methodists having to support their own ministry +thought it was not fair, so they petitioned the Legislature to have the +law repealed. Their petitions were treated with contempt, and the inquiry +was sneeringly made, “Who are the Methodists?” affecting to be ignorant +of the existence of such a people. The Methodists in the state concluded +that if this was the kind of treatment they were to receive it was time +to show who they were; so they and their friends had an understanding, +and at the election the next year there was, to the astonishment of many, +a general turning over. The new governor and Legislature found out who +the Methodists were, and the obnoxious law was repealed. + +We tarried on Sunday night with Luther Chamberlin, who, I believe, was +a relative of Pamerly Chamberlin, late of the New York Conference. Here +we rested near the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, which was taken in 1775 by +Colonel Ethan Allen of Vermont “in the name of the great Jehovah and the +Continental Congress.” This was the first fortress captured in the war of +the Revolution. + +On Tuesday we traveled along Burgoyne’s Road to Fort Edward. This was +called Burgoyne’s Road because he made it through the wilderness for +the use of his army. Here the bishop preached in the store of Dr. +Lawrence to a large and attentive congregation. He preached the next day +at M’Cready’s barn from Rom. viii, 1. Here were the ruins of an old +fort built in 1755. Near here Jane M’Crea met with her tragical end, +being cruelly butchered by the Indians. Here Burgoyne’s army waited six +weeks for provisions, and thus lost the best part of the season, which +seemed to be the beginning of his blunders. We have now at Fort Edward a +splendid literary institute. + +The next day we rode by Saratoga Lake to Ballston. Here the bishop +preached in the bar-room of the tavern kept by General Clark, and he +says “had life and liberty.” It was not every minister that could adapt +himself to every place in preaching like the bishop. + +On Saturday we visited the springs at Ballston, very celebrated then for +the medicinal qualities of the waters. + +The same day we rode forty miles to Kingsbury. Here at a quarterly +meeting we met Bishop M’Kendree with several preachers. On Sunday Bishop +Asbury preached in a grove to a thousand people from Matt. xvii, 5. I +preached immediately after from 1 John i, 9. The bishop says in his +journal, “Brother Boehm closed a meeting of three hours’ continuance.” + +The next morning we started with the two bishops for Cayuga Lake. For +several days we traveled together. Bishop Asbury preached, Bishop +M’Kendree exhorted, and I closed with prayer. We passed Utica and reached +Cazenovia, where Bishop M’Kendree parted with us to go to Pittsburgh by +Lake Erie, and we took another route, expecting to meet at the Western +Conference. We went to Manlius Square and to Auburn. The bishop wrote, +“No food or rest to-day.” + +We had quite a variety the next day: rain and mud and mud and rain. We +rode six miles to Asa Cummins’s cabin, a humble place twelve feet square, +but a warm reception within. The next day found us on one of the head +branches of the Susquehanna, which was greatly swollen with heavy rains, +so it was considered reckless to attempt to cross. No wonder the bishop +wrote, “We had an awful time on Thursday in the woods among rocks and +trees, living and dead, prostrate, barring our way. When we thought the +bitterness of death was passed, behold the back-water had covered the +causeway.” This was about two miles below Owego. We worked our passage +round the Narrows with the utmost difficulty. However, we got safely +through, to the astonishment of the people, particularly concerning our +carriage. A gentleman by the name of Hathaway was very kind, and rendered +us much assistance. + +On Friday we rode to Tioga Point, Pennsylvania, to Dr. Hopkins’s. The +Susquehanna was so high we could not cross, so the bishop preached in the +academy from “Seek ye the Lord,” etc. Here he made this wonderful record, +and who can read it without deep emotion? “Such roads, such rains, and +such lodgings! Why should I stay in this land? I have no possessions +or babes to bind me to the soil. What are called the comforts of life +I rarely enjoy. The wish to live an hour such a life as this would be +strange to so suffering, so toil-worn a wretch; but God is with me, and +souls are my reward. I might fill pages with this week’s wonder.” Dr. +Stevens, in his “Memorials,” says, “It is a pity he didn’t.” Is it not +wonderful that he recorded as much as he did under the circumstances? I +hope my journal will supply in some measure the deficiency. I was not +merely a spectator of the wonderful scenes he hints at, but an actor. In +the daily sacrifices and toils and sufferings I shared. To the bishop’s +every-day martyr-like sufferings I was a witness, and it brings tears +to my eyes now when I think of them. Our appointments were generally +sent forward, and here, in consequence of heavy rains, swollen rivers, +and muddy roads, we were eighty miles behind our Sabbath appointments. +On Saturday, as the waters had abated, we crossed the Susquehanna, and +rode to the mouth of Wyoming Creek, and put up at Stevens’s tavern. On +Sunday we attempted to reach the place where George Lane was preaching, +but we missed it. We met with an accident. The bishop says, “Brother +Boehm upset the sulky and broke the shaft.” The only wonder is we did +not upset twenty times where we did once. It was well I was in the sulky +instead of the old bishop, or he might have fared hard. He might have +had something worse than a “broken shaft:” a broken limb or a broken +neck. This happened on Sunday; but we were traveling from necessity, not +from choice. On Monday we went through the Narrows on the east side, not +without considerable danger; then we crossed to the west side, dined +at our friend Sutton’s, and came to Widow Dennison’s at Kingston. This +is the place where Methodism was first introduced into Wyoming. My old +colleague, Anning Owen, had the distinguished honor of being the pioneer. + +This valley is far famed for its beauty. Campbell has immortalized it in +song, and it is embalmed in history. At Kingston we have now a splendid +seminary. The next morning we crossed to Wilkesbarre, a very fine place, +the seat of justice for Luzerne County. We have now a Wyoming Conference. +It did not look much like it then. This region is now the garden of +Methodism.[24] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +SECOND ANNUAL TOUR—WESTERN AND SOUTHERN CONFERENCE. + + +The relation of my first annual tour with Asbury has convinced the reader +that the office of a bishop was then no sinecure, and that his traveling +companion had something more to do than play the gentleman. It indeed was +toil, intense toil, as much so as soul and body could bear. During the +tour I visited all the conferences, and preached the Gospel in fifteen +states, and became acquainted with the great men of Methodism in the +ministry and laity, East, West, North, and South. + +Never was a mariner, after a perilous voyage, more rejoiced to get into +harbor than we were to reach the old family mansion of my father. We +arrived there on Friday, July 28, 1809, but both my parents were from +home, therefore Mr. Asbury concluded he would go right on, and I got a +friend to go with him a distance, while I went to see my parents. I could +not bear the thought of being gone ten months without having an interview +with them before I left. They were infirm and I might never see them +again. I went to a camp-meeting near Morgantown, where I met my parents, +and they embraced me with joy. I had been in seven different states +besides the Province of Maine since I saw them. + +Mr. Asbury wrote: “On Friday a thirty mile ride brought us to Martin +Boehm’s. Delightful rest! but it may not be so.” The next morning found +him on his way to Lancaster. At the camp-meeting I heard my father preach +from Luke on the Gospel Supper. He preached in German; I immediately +after in English. + +Sabbath was a great day. James Smith preached in the morning on the +peculiar doctrines of Methodism, in opposition to antinomianism; I at +noon from Isaiah xxxii, 17; then Thomas Burch. The next day I went home +with my parents, remained a few hours, and then bade them farewell till +the next spring. + +My next business was to overtake Mr. Asbury, who had gone on, waiting +for no one. I did not overtake him till the third of August at James +Hunter’s, Fort Littleton. I found him in a sad plight. He was not able to +stand, preach, kneel, or pray. He had needed both a traveling companion +and a nurse. Suffering from rheumatism, he had applied several blisters +to relieve him. He had put them on too strong, and the remedy was worse +than the disease. Camp-meetings he still zealously engaged in, and said, +“We must attend to them; they make our harvest times.” + +In crossing the Alleghanies we were in great danger, and came near +being dashed in pieces, but were providentially preserved. Mr. Asbury +wrote: “The hand of God was manifested to-day in saving man and horse +from wreck; the danger appeared exceeding great.” At Berlin the German +Presbyterian minister caused the church-bell to be rung, and Mr. Asbury +says: “Brother Boehm preached to them in high Dutch.” + +On Tuesday the 8th we rode thirty miles in a heavy mountain rain, and +were dripping wet. We put up with a German. Mr. Asbury says: “We called +a meeting, and our exercises were in German. We gave away religious +tracts, German and English. We have disposed of many thousands of these; +it is our duty to do good in every possible way.” We were pioneers in +circulating tracts. The German tracts were those I had published in +Lancaster. I preached in the German language every day, and often in +German and English at the same time. On Saturday we reached Pike Run +camp-meeting. Here to our great joy we met Bishop M’Kendree. + +On Sunday morning I preached at eight o’clock on the profitableness of +godliness. Bishop Asbury preached at eleven, from 2 Cor. v, 20, on the +dignity and employment of the embassadors of Christ. The grove rang with +his deep-toned voice. Bishop M’Kendree preached at two o’clock from Deut. +xxx, 19, “I call heaven and earth to record,” etc. I wrote: “The work of +God is progressing mightily among sinners, mourners, backsliders, and +believers.” The work went on until after midnight. It then began to +rain, and continued until next day about noon, when I preached on Matt. +xi, 28, 29, to the weary and heavy laden, for there were many such on +the ground. At three o’clock Bishop M’Kendree preached again from 1 Cor. +xiii, 13, on faith, hope, and charity. Such a time of power has seldom +been witnessed. I wrote: “The cries of mourners, prayers, shouting, +rejoicing, etc., were the uninterrupted exercises until after midnight. +Some that were the companions of drunkards and persecutors in the first +part of the meeting now swelled the number of mourners. Glory Halleluiah! +The Lord’s supper was administered on Tuesday, after which Bishop Asbury +delivered a profitable lecture.” He wrote: “It appears the bishops will +hold a camp-meeting in every district. We are encouraged so to do. Great +power was manifested here, and much good was done. I will not say how I +felt or how near heaven.” Bishop M’Kendree preached four times at this +meeting. + +On Wednesday the 6th to Brightwell’s, Philip Smith’s, and then en route +for Pittsburgh. On Thursday the cross-bar of that old sulky broke and +brought us up all standing. I do not wonder Jacob Gruber could not bear a +sulky. He thought they were _sulky_ enough. + +On Friday evening we reached Pittsburgh, and stopped at Brother John +Wrenshall’s. I preached at Thomas Cooper’s on Friday and Saturday +evenings. On Sunday Bishop Asbury preached at Brother Cooper’s at eight +o’clock from Titus ii, 11-14. At twelve I preached in German in the same +house from Rom. x, 12. Some felt the force and spirituality of the word. +I closed by giving the substance of the discourse in English. My heart +was much enlarged. + +Bishop Asbury being invited to preach in the elegant Presbyterian church, +did so at three o’clock from 2 Cor. v, 11, “Knowing therefore the terror +of the Lord we persuade men,” etc. Five hundred listened to his solemn +persuasions. At six I preached in Brother Wrenshall’s yard to about three +hundred attentive hearers from Heb. ii, 1. + +On we journeyed to Zanesville, where I preached in the Court-house, as +we had no house of worship there then. In New Lancaster I preached in +German, and Robert Cloud exhorted after me. This is the man who was so +useful in the East, and who was once under a cloud; but he was doing +better, and the sun was once more shining upon him. He had a son, Caleb +W. Cloud, a very good preacher, a member of the Western Conference. + +We went to Chillicothe, and were made welcome at Dr. Edward Tiffin’s; +then to Deer Creek, at White Brown’s. Here I saw Stephen Simmons, who +used to travel our circuit in Lancaster County. He had located and +married the daughter of White Brown. On Wednesday we reached Peter +Pelham’s. I preached in German almost every day through this part of Ohio. + +On Saturday, September 23, we reached one of Bishop Asbury’s best homes, +that of one of his dearest friends, Philip Gatch. While the bishop +rested there I took a tour among the Germans. Some of them had not heard +preaching in their own tongue since they left their native land. Tears +flowed from many eyes, and they heard with delight the word of life. What +has God wrought since among the Germans![25] + +On the 28th we reached Cincinnati, the seat of the Western Conference. + + +FIRST CONFERENCE IN CINCINNATI. + +On Saturday, September 30, 1809, the Western Conference commenced its +session in Cincinnati. This was the first conference held in what has +since become the Queen City of the West. We were kindly entertained by +Oliver Spencer, Esq. When a boy he was taken captive by the Indians, and +his early history is full of wild romance and sober truth. + +There were some splendid men at this conference, who were destined, under +God, to lay the foundations of Methodism in what is now the mighty West. +I heard some excellent preaching here. The evening before conference +began I heard Miles Harper on “Set thine house in order,” etc. He was +one of their strong men. I preached on Saturday from John i, 11, 12, +and Brother Lakin exhorted. The Lord was eminently nigh. Several souls +professed to find the Lord in the pardon of their sins. + +The Lord’s day was a high day in Zion. We had four sermons. The first +from Learner Blackman on Judges iii, 20, “I have a message from God unto +thee.” It was a message of light and truth and power. At noon Bishop +M’Kendree preached on a favorite subject, Prov. i, 23, “Turn you at my +reproof,” etc. At three William Burke on 1 John i, 9, “If we confess our +sins,” etc. A mighty preacher was William Burke in his palmy days. He +wielded a tremendous power in the pulpit, and in the conference he was +then the master-spirit. In the evening Caleb W. Cloud preached from the +same text I had taken the evening before. This was a day of feasting for +my soul and many others. + +On Monday James Quinn preached at noon from Heb. xxiv, 26 on Moses’s +choice and Moses’s reward. A wonderful man was James Quinn when he +got the baptism of power. I wrote, “The Lord is with us both in the +conference and the congregation.” On Tuesday at noon Bishop Asbury +preached an ordination sermon from Titus ii, 7, 8, “In all things showing +thyself a pattern of good works.” It was a most impressive discourse, +and was owned of God. At noon on Wednesday Bishop M’Kendree preached on +faith, hope, and charity. Our souls were richly fed with celestial manna. +At night Daniel Hitt, the book agent, preached on “Pray for us, that +the word of God may have free course,” etc. On Thursday I preached at +noon from Matt. v, 20; on Friday William Burke preached from Isaiah xl, +1, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God;” a sermon full of +consolation. James Quinn preached at night. + +On Saturday Samuel Parker preached at noon from 1 John i, 3, “That +which we have seen and heard declare we unto you,” etc. This was an +eloquent discourse, delivered in the sweetest spirit, making a powerful +impression. He presented some fine thoughts on our union with the Father +and the Son, and that all the divine attributes are engaged for our good; +also the blessed effects of fellowship with the people of God. + +On Sunday, the 8th, Bishop Asbury preached in the morning at nine, +Learner Blackman in the afternoon at three, and Samuel Parker in the +evening. The sermons were all good, but Samuel Parker’s excelled. His +text was Phil. iii, 10, “That I may know him and the power of his +resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable +unto his death.” Over fifty years have passed away since I heard him, and +yet the image of the eloquent Parker is before me, and I remember with +what overwhelming pathos he dwelt on the “fellowship of his sufferings.” +The word ran through the audience like electricity, tears flowed, and +shouts were heard. It was a most appropriate sermon for the last before +the conference adjourned. It prepared the ministers for the work of +suffering with their Lord if they would reign with him. + +Bishop Asbury then delivered to the Methodists in Cincinnati a farewell +address, which was not only able and ingenious, but truly affecting. +We had spent two Sabbaths there, and on the morrow were to take our +departure. I heard fifteen sermons at this conference from the master +minds of the West, men who were giving tone and character to Methodism +through all that vast region. The bishop does not name a text or theme +that any of the ministers used at that conference; mine may be the +only record there is. To the Methodists in Cincinnati, where so many +conferences have since been held, it may be of interest to know the +ministers who preached at the first conference there, and the texts they +used on the occasion. + +Seventeen were admitted on trial at this conference, among whom were +Moses Crume and William Winans. The latter became a giant in the south +and south-west. Eight elders were ordained, among others Samuel Parker, +John Collins, Miles Harper, and Peter Cartwright. These were mighty men. +Peter Cartwright is the only one living. + +Three of the prominent ministers in this conference were from New +Jersey: Parker, Blackman, and Collins. John Collins did wonders for +Methodism in the West. His life, abounding with thrilling incidents, has +been written by the late Judge M’Lean, to which I refer the reader. + +SAMUEL PARKER has been called the Cicero of the West. He was born in +1774, and early learned the business of a cabinet-maker. At the age +of fourteen he gave his heart to the Saviour. In 1805 he joined the +itinerancy, and after being in the work fifteen years, fell at his post. +He volunteered to go to Mississippi, and died there of consumption in +December, 1819, and was buried near Washington in that State. His name +at the West will ever be fragrant. William Winans was deeply indebted to +him, loving him as a father, for Mr. Parker was his counselor and friend, +and gave him his first license to preach. There was nothing prepossessing +in his appearance; his face was very thin, and his countenance dull, till +he became animated with the truths he preached. His voice was uncommonly +melodious; it was soft, rich, sweet. He was a very superior singer; but +it was as a pulpit orator he excelled, and will long be remembered. + + +EPISCOPAL TOUR FROM CINCINNATI TO SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE. + +With regret we bade farewell to our kind friends in Cincinnati and +started for the South Carolina Conference, several of the preachers with +us. We entered Kentucky on Tuesday, and at midnight the bishop called us +up, and we traveled twenty-five miles to Mount Gerizim, where he had an +appointment. Bishop M’Kendree here preached a sweet sermon from “Is it +well with thee?” He used to inquire of his dying sister, Frances Moore, +whom I knew very well, “Is it well with thee?” and when he was himself +on his deathbed he exclaimed, “All is well.” Bishop Asbury preached from +“Suffer the word of exhortation,” and then ordained a person. + +On Thursday we reached Martin’s meeting-house, called so from Major +Martin, with whom we stayed; sometimes it was called “Ebenezer.” Bishop +Asbury preached from Psalm lxxxv, 1-9. The reader will recollect what I +have said about the bishop liking a long text. + +There had been considerable excitement among the local preachers in this +part of the country on the subject of ordination. The bishops had a +number of them convened here by previous appointment, and they held what +Bishop Asbury called a “Conciliatory Conference.” + +The next day, at the same place, Bishop M’Kendree preached a +characteristic sermon from “He that endureth to the end;” then I held +forth, then Daniel Hitt, then Bishop Asbury. He says, “I embraced +various subjects in my exhortation.” It was a very able address on +the qualifications and duties of ministers. We rode a number of miles +the next morning before breakfast, and there Bishop M’Kendree left us +for Cumberland, accompanied by Thomas Lasley, who was his traveling +companion.[26] We forded the Kentucky and came to John Bennett’s, a very +fine man and family, having a meeting-house called after him. On Sabbath +the bishop preached at Bennett’s meeting-house on John iii, 19, 20. + +We left Kentucky and entered Tennessee, crossing rivers and climbing +mountains. Can we wonder the bishop wrote: “My mind and body have had +no small exercise in bringing my stiff-jointed horse over the rocks and +rough and deep roads.” + +Crossing the French Broad, we reached Barnett’s Tavern. The old landlord +was very sick and like to die. The bishop, who was a physician when +necessary, always carrying medicine with him, gave Mr. Barnett a dose +that almost instantly relieved him, and he fell asleep. He was so +thankful he would receive nothing for our entertainment. The bishop +writes: “Eight times within nine years have I crossed these Alps.” Well +might he call those high mountains the Alps. Never can I forget the toils +over those mountains, rocks, hills, stumps, trees, streams, awful roads, +and dangerous passes. + +We crossed to Buncombe, North Carolina, preaching every day. In South +Carolina we attended a number of quarterly meetings with that excellent +man of God, long since gone to his rest, Lewis Myers. + +There were glorious revivals through the South this year, and the +bishop’s soul greatly rejoiced. He wrote: “Great news, great times in +Georgia; rich and poor coming to Christ.” Again: “The Methodists have +great success on Camden District; surely there must be some good done; +all are on fire, and I feel the flame! God is with preachers and people.” + +On Tuesday, November 21, we stayed with William Gassoway, a noble old +preacher, universally esteemed. He joined as early as 1788. He was +William Capers’s first colleague. We had a very severe snow-storm. It was +cold and chilly, and we reached Waxsaw and put up with Robert Hancock. +Almost every prominent Methodist man had a meeting-house named after +him: so we had a “Hancock Chapel.” On Saturday I preached in this chapel +on John xiii, 35, and Brother William Capers followed with a charming +exhortation. The bishop preached the next day in the chapel. “The next +day on the south side of the Catawba river, piloted by Brother William +Capers, who is a promising young man about twenty.” So I wrote over +fifty years ago. We had a delightful interview with Capers at Robert +Hancock’s, as well as the privilege of traveling with him many days. +William Capers, in his Autobiography, (pp. 113-115,) has described what +took place at Robert Hancock’s, and made such honorable mention of Bishop +Asbury and his traveling companion that I transcribe it for my work now +the writer is in his grave: + +“At the close of the year 1809 Bishop Asbury passed through my circuit +on his way to conference, and it was arranged for me to meet him at +Waxsaw, (General Jackson’s birthplace,) and attend him along a somewhat +circuitous route to Camden. I met him at the house of that most estimable +man and worthy local preacher, Robert Hancock, who had been more than +a friend to me, even a father, from the beginning. The bishop was then +accompanied by the Rev. Henry Boehm as his traveling companion, so long +afterward known in the Philadelphia Conference as one of the purest and +best of Methodist ministers, and whose society I found to be as ‘the +dew of Hermon.’ This was the last of my itinerant year on the Wateree +Circuit; and as I have had quite enough of the disagreeable in my account +of it, I will end the chapter (perhaps more to your liking) with an +anecdote of my first night and last night on the trip with the bishop. +I met him when a heavy snow had just fallen, and the north-west wind +blowing hard made it extremely cold. The snow had not been expected, and +our host was out of wood, so that we had to use what had been picked up +from under the snow, and was damp and incombustible. Our bed-room was +aloft, with a fireplace in it, and plenty of wood; but how to make the +wood burn was the question. I had been at work blowing and blowing long +before bed-time, till, to my mortification, the aged bishop came up, and +there was still no fire to warm him. ‘O Billy, sugar,’ said he as he +approached the fireplace, ‘never mind it; give it up; we will get warm +in bed.’ And then stepping to his bed as if to ascertain the certainty +of it, and lifting the bed-clothes, he continued, ‘yes, yes, give it up, +sugar; blankets are plenty.’ So I gave it up, thinking the play of my +pretty strong lungs might disturb his devotions, for he was instantly on +his knees. + +“Well, thought I, this is too bad. But how for the morning? Bishop Asbury +rises at four—two hours before day—and what shall I do for a fire then? +No light wood, and nothing dry. But it occurred to me that the coals +put in the midst of the simmering wood might dry it sufficiently to +keep fire and prepare it for kindling in the morning; so I gave it up. +But then how might I be sure of waking early enough to kindle a fire at +four o’clock? My usual hour had been six. And to meet this difficulty +I concluded to wrap myself in my overcoat, and lie on the bed without +using the bed-clothes. In this predicament I was not likely to over sleep +myself on so cold a night; but there might be danger of my not knowing +what hour it was when I happened to awake. Nap after nap was dreamed away +as I lay shivering in the cold, till I thought it must be four o’clock; +and then creeping softly to the chimney, and applying the breath of my +live bellows, I held my watch to the reluctant coals to see the hour. I +had just made it out, when the same soft accents saluted me: ‘Go to bed, +sugar, it is hardly three o’clock yet.’ + +“This may do for the first night, and the last was as follows: It had +rained heavily through the night, and we slept near enough to the +shingles for the benefit of the composing power of its pattering upon +them. It was past four o’clock and the bishop was awake, but ‘Billy +sugar’ lay fast asleep; so he whispered to Brother Boehm not to disturb +me, and the fire was made. They were dressed, had had their devotions, +and were at their books before I was awake. This seemed shockingly out +of order, and my confusion was complete as, waking and springing out +of bed, I saw them sitting before a blazing fire. I could scarcely say +good-morning, and the bishop, as if he might have been offended at my +neglect, affected not to hear it. Boehm, who knew him better, smiled +pleasantly as I whispered in his ear, ‘Why didn’t you wake me?’ The +bishop seemed to hear this, and closing his book and turning to me with a +look of downright mischief, had an anecdote for me. ‘I was traveling,’ +said he, ‘quite lately, and came to a circuit where we had one of our +good boys. O, he was so good! and the weather was as cold as it was the +other night at Brother Hancock’s, and as I was Bishop Asbury, he got up +in the bitter cold at three o’clock to make a fire for me; and what do +you think? He slept last night till six.’ And he tickled at it as if he +might have been a boy himself. And this was that Bishop Asbury whom I +have heard called austere, a man confessedly who never shed tears, and +who seldom laughed, but whose sympathies were, nevertheless, as soft as a +sanctified spirit might possess.” + +We next went to Camden and stayed with James Jenkins. Bishop Asbury +baptized his daughter, Elizabeth Asbury Jenkins, perpetuating not only +the bishop’s name, but his mother’s also. On Sunday at eleven Bishop +Asbury preached at Camden from Rev. xxii, 14, on the blessedness of +doing his commandment. I preached at three on Acts v, 2, after which the +bishop addressed himself to the people of color. He was a great friend of +the colored race, whom he called his “black sheep.” I held forth in the +evening from 1 Peter iv, 7. It was a day of marrow and fat things. + +On Tuesday we went to Father Rembert’s on Black River. On Wednesday the +bishop preached to the negroes of Henry Young, who were called together +to hear him. We then had free access both to the master and the slave. + +On Sunday there was a quarterly meeting at Rembert’s for the Santee +Circuit. I preached on Saturday, and John and James Capers exhorted. On +Sunday the bishop preached from Matt. xiv, 35, then Joseph Tarpley and +Lewis Hobbs exhorted. The meeting lasted five hours. At night I held +forth on Heb. ii, 1. + +On Monday we started for Charleston. The roads were muddy in the extreme, +the rivers high, and we had swamps to go through; but Wednesday evening +brought us to the goodly city. + +On Tuesday of next week Bishop M’Kendree arrived with his traveling +companion, Thomas Lasley. We had preaching nearly every night. + +The South Carolina Conference commenced on Saturday, December 23. It was +a very pleasant session. Preaching three times a day on Sunday, and in +all the churches in the evening, and in the Bethel Church every morning +at eleven. On Monday, being Christmas, I preached in Cumberland Church to +a large audience on Luke ii, 15. Thomas Lasley exhorted. It was a time of +refreshing from the presence of the Lord. + +There were several conversions during the conference. The closing scene +was peculiarly affecting. On Friday, just before adjournment, the Lord’s +supper was administered. It was a most melting time. No wonder I wrote, +“O my soul, never forget this melting, soul-animating time of the power +of God.” The excellent William Capers, with fifteen others, was received +on trial; Joseph Travis, with a number of others, was ordained deacon; +Lovick Pierce and his brother Reddick, and James Russell, with three +more, were ordained elders. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +TOUR TO VIRGINIA, BALTIMORE, AND PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCES. + + +Again we turn our faces toward the North. The first night we were the +guests of a brother of Bishop M’Kendree, who was overjoyed to see us, and +treated us in a friendly manner. + +We went to Newbern, N. C., and on Sunday had four sermons: Thomas +Lasley preached at sunrise from Gen. xlix, 10, “The scepter shall not +depart,” etc.; Bishop Asbury at eleven from Heb. xii, 1, 2. The race, +the witnesses, the judge, and the prize, were the topics he dwelt upon. +At three Bishop M’Kendree from Jer. iv, 14, “O Jerusalem,” etc. Brother +Merritt at night from 1 Tim. ii, 22, “Flee youthful lusts,” etc. + +On Friday Bishop M’Kendree left us to go direct to Norfolk, and Bishop +Asbury and I went out of our direct route to Edenton. We borrowed two +horses, that our tired animals might rest, and arrived at Edenton +after dark. Well might Mr. Asbury inquire, “Are we riding for life?” +It was exceedingly cold, and I suffered severely. We stayed at William +Hankins’s. In the evening I walked to the church and preached, and in +returning took a cold that had like to have cost me my life. + +On Sabbath there was a tremendous snow-storm. So after all our pains +the bishop preached to only six men and twelve women. In the evening I +preached to the Africans. We never forgot these sable children. + +During this route I suffered more than the martyrs. For a fortnight I +had high fevers every night; and then riding all day in the cold, my +sufferings were intolerable. I became so weak that I had to be helped on +to my horse, and then, though I could hardly sit upon him, rode thirty +and forty miles a day, with cold winds beating upon me. + +Bishop Asbury describes our route: “My flesh complains of cold riding +and the labor of preaching. May I be made perfect through sufferings! +Saturday brought us through rain and snow, without eating or prayer, to +William Birdsong’s. On Monday, February 5, we wrought our solitary way +through the woods to Allen’s bridge. The Widow Pennington received us. +Her husband is dead, she is sick, her children irreligious. O misery! O +mercy!... We have passed like a mail through South and North Carolina. I +solemnly sympathize with my dear Brother Boehm. He has suffered greatly +in his journey; an awful cough and fevers. Lord, what is life?” From this +I think the bishop doubted my recovery. My sufferings can never be told. +The day we rode to Petersburgh we stopped to rest in the woods, and I lay +down upon a log, for I was too weak to sit up. The time came to start, +and I told the bishops (Bishop M’Kendree had now rejoined us) to go on +and leave me there. I felt as if I would rather die on that log than +go on. They were all attention and full of sympathy. Bishop M’Kendree +prepared me a little medicine, and I drank it, and then ate a little. +They lifted me from the log on to my horse, and in this plight I rode to +Petersburgh. When we arrived there, about sundown, I was so weak they +had to lift me from my horse and carry me into the house. The ride was +most tedious and painful. At Petersburgh we found a kind home at Sister +Harden’s. + +The Virginia Conference commenced its session in Petersburgh on Thursday, +February 8, 1810; but I was so sick that it was six days before I could +go to the conference room. On Friday Bishop M’Kendree, seeing how +ill I was, took me into his room, and was my nurse and physician. He +administered medicine to me, and watched over me with all the kindness of +a father. If I had been his only son he could not have treated me more +tenderly. When he was under the necessity of being absent, his traveling +companion, Thomas Lasley, continued with me, and was very attentive and +kind. The family we put up with were all kindness and affection. What a +debt of gratitude I owe them! “I was a stranger, and they took me in.” + +Under God I owe the preservation of my life to Bishop M’Kendree. Blessed +man! I had often waited on him, for he was frequently an invalid. On +his first episcopal tour he was afflicted with asthma, and needed much +attention, and it afforded me great pleasure when I could do anything to +relieve him. Sometimes he could not lie down, and suffered exceedingly. +And yet I have often thought his continental tours were a great benefit +to him, and prolonged his life. The open air and the exercise on +horseback did him good. + +On Wednesday, the 14th, I was able to go to the conference room. Then I +heard Bishop Asbury preach an ordination sermon from “Lo, I am with you +alway,” etc. It was full of instruction and encouragement to Christian +ministers. Immediately after the sermon Bishop M’Kendree ordained +the elders. In the afternoon I heard a profitable sermon from Edward +Dromgoole. + +The next day at noon the conference adjourned, and immediately Bishop +Asbury and I started for Richmond. I left Petersburgh with a heart +overwhelmed with gratitude. I wrote, “The Lord made use of Bishop +M’Kendree in saving my life. May the Lord abundantly bless him; also this +kind family.” + +Forward we went to Richmond, then to Fredericksburgh, through heavy +rain and deep mud, not the best weather for an invalid. Here the bishop +preached. Onward through Dumfries, one of the oldest places in Virginia. +Mud, mud, mud! deeper, and still deeper, till we were in danger of being +stuck. + +At Alexandria the bishop preached from, “If any man speak,” etc. We went +thence to Georgetown to Henry Foxall’s. Speaking of Washington city, the +bishop exclaimed, “O what a world of bustle and show we have here!” If he +thought so in 1810, what would he think if he could revisit Washington +city in 1865? + +Jesse Lee was then chaplain to the House of Representatives. I went with +him to the capitol. He first prayed in the House of Representatives, +and then we went to the Senate, and there he offered prayer. He and +the chaplain to the Senate took turns, praying alternate weeks in both +houses. Lee was much respected as chaplain. His prayers at that time were +short, fervent, and patriotic. + +In coming north with Bishop Asbury in 1810, at the south of Washington we +met John Randolph, that peculiar genius and unequaled orator of Roanoke. +He was riding, and had his dogs with him in the carriage. He always +thought much of his dogs, and took them with him to Washington. His +complexion was very dark, and his eyes were black. + +On Saturday, February 24, we reached Baltimore, and put up with Sister +Dickins. Then I went to see my father, and he went with me to the +Baltimore Conference. He loved to attend the conference, and wished +another interview with his life-time friends, Bishops Asbury and +Otterbein. + +On Lord’s day I heard my aged father preach in Otterbein’s Church from 1 +Cor. iv, 20, “For the kingdom of God is not in word,” etc. Of course it +was in German. At three o’clock my colleague, Jacob Gruber, preached in +Otterbein’s Church, from John v, 25, on the spiritual resurrection. It +was a lovely sight to behold the venerable Otterbein, my aged father, and +Newcomber, all together worshiping in such delightful harmony. + +On Wednesday evening I preached at Otterbein’s Church, on Matt. xi, +28, 29, in my mother tongue. My father concluded with an impressive +exhortation and prayer. This was my father’s last visit to Baltimore, +his last interview with Otterbein, and the last time he ever attended an +annual conference. + +Twelve were received on trial at this conference; among them John Davis, +long an ornament to the Baltimore Conference and a pillar in the temple +of Methodism; and John W. Bond, the last traveling companion of Bishop +Asbury. Among the elders ordained were Gerard Morgan, (father of N. J. +B. and L. F. Morgan,) Job Guest, and Alfred Griffith, who has recently +retired from the work. The bishop wrote thus: “If we want plenty of good +eating and new suits of clothes, let us come to Baltimore; but we want +souls.”[27] This will give an idea of our entertainment in Baltimore. + +The conference adjourned on Saturday, March 17, and Bishops Asbury and +M’Kendree, and my father and Thomas Lasley, immediately left for Perry +Hall, where Sister Gough treated us with the usual kindness. + +On Monday we rode to Henry Watters’s at Deer Creek. He was seventy-two +years old when we were there. He was a brother of William Watters, and in +this house William was born and converted. One of the earliest Methodist +churches in Maryland was erected on the farm of Henry Watters. It was +in this chapel the famous conference was held in 1777,[28] when the +English preachers, with the exception of Mr. Asbury, gave up the field, +and returned to their native country. The old homestead is still in +possession of the family of Henry Watters, Esq., the oldest son. He is a +class-leader in the Church. What imperishable memories cluster around the +sweet rural mansion where Pilmoor and Boardman, Coke and Asbury, so often +lodged and prayed![29] + +This was Bishop Asbury’s last visit to Deer Creek and to the Watters +family. He was here the year after he arrived in America, namely, 1772, +and often afterward, and had witnessed thrilling scenes. He wrote +mournfully, in his journal, “I parted at Deer Creek (ah, when to meet +again!) with aged Father Boehm and my ancient friend, Henry Watters.” It +was his last interview with his friend Watters. My father and the bishop +met but once more. + +I accompanied the bishop through the Peninsula before the session of the +Philadelphia Conference. On Thursday, at Elkton, I heard Bishop M’Kendree +and George Pickering preach. The latter was raising money for a church +in Boston, so he came to the Peninsula, the garden of Methodism, for +sympathy and funds. He found both, as the sequel will show. This was +Bishop M’Kendree’s first tour through the Peninsula. We went to Bohemia +Manor, where there was preaching, and we were entertained by Richard +Bassett. + +We continued traveling and preaching every day. On Saturday at Friendship +meeting-house. Sunday, at Smyrna, Bishop Asbury preached from 2 Chron. +xxxii, 25, 26, “But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit +done unto him,” etc. George Pickering spoke afterward, and then a noble +collection was taken for the Boston Chapel. Here Bishop Asbury wandered +among the tombs, and his heart was affected as he looked at the graves of +those he loved, and with whom he had worshiped years before. + +On Monday we were at Dover, and the bishop preached in the chapel. +Mournfully he wrote: “Most of my old friends in this quarter have fallen +asleep.” We went to Barratt’s Chapel, where George Pickering preached +on “By whom shall Jacob arise,” etc.; then Bishop Asbury, on Heb. x, +38. We stayed with Andrew Barratt, Esq., son of Philip Barratt. Onward +we went till we reached the Sound Chapel, and after the bishop preached +we stopped with my old friend, Arthur Williams. We had ridden fourteen +hundred and sixty-six miles on horseback since we left Charleston. + +We went to Snow Hill. The bishop wrote: “Lodged at Samuel Porter’s, the +steward of the circuit; he is a solemn man in his appearance, as an +official character ought to be.” On Tuesday bishop M’Kendree preached at +eleven at Captain Downing’s, and Bishop Asbury at night. + +On Wednesday, April 11, at Curtiss’s Chapel, and then went to Francis +Waters, Esq., at Potato Neck. He was a sterling man and a sterling +Methodist. He was the father of Francis Waters, D.D., and of the wife of +Freeborn Garrettson, Esq., of Rhinebeck, N. Y. The bishop here wrote: +“I rode to Francis Waters’s at Potato Neck. They kept me busy: I must +preach; I am senior; I have been long absent; some never expected to hear +me again; possibly I may never come again. I am reminded that such and +such I dandled in my lap. The rich, too, thirty years ago, would not let +me approach them; now I visit and preach to them. And the Africans, dear +affectionate souls, bond and free, I must preach to them.” + +Next day we preached at Potato Neck, and lodged with Lazarus Maddox. He +was one of the best men I ever met with. On Monday Bishop Asbury preached +at Ennalls’s Chapel, and we dined with my early friend, the widow of +Harry Ennalls. I have given but a part of this memorable tour through +the Peninsula. Everywhere the bishops were hailed as holy apostles, +everywhere they preached with power. + +On Thursday, April 18, the Philadelphia Conference commenced its session +in Easton, Maryland. Here the early Methodist ministers were persecuted. +Joseph Hartly was imprisoned, but he felt the “word of God was not +bound,” and through the grates of his jail he “preached deliverance to +the captives,” and many were converted, and the persecutors liberated the +prisoner for fear he would convert the whole county. + +There was a camp-meeting connected with the conference. There was much +feeling under a sermon preached by Bishop Asbury from 1 Peter ii, 21-23, +on the example of Jesus. A number were converted on the camp-ground. + +John Emory, afterward bishop, and Laurence Laurenson, were received +on trial with others. This was one of the most harmonious conferences +I have ever attended. Bishop Asbury was delighted, as will appear by +the following: “What a grand and glorious time we have had! how kind +and affectionate the people!” On Friday the conference adjourned. My +appointment was read off thus: “Henry Boehm travels with Bishop Asbury.” + +On Saturday we went to Henry Down’s at Tuckahoe. Bishop Asbury and he +were bosom friends. We rode fifty miles this day to Dover, and Bishop +M’Kendree preached in the evening. We stayed at Richard Bassett’s. Bishop +M’Kendree preached at Dover on Sunday, the 22d, at eleven, and Asbury +immediately after. Then I went to Smyrna, and Bishop M’Kendree preached +there. Have such laborious bishops been seen since the days of the +apostles? + +We went to Chester, where Bishop Asbury preached the funeral sermon +of Mary Withey. Chester is the most ancient town and county seat in +Pennsylvania. Very early William Penn was here, and Whitefield preached +in this place to thousands. Here lived Mary Withey. She was a woman of +superior talents, and kept one of the best public houses in America. As +early as 1798 I was her guest with Dr. Chandler, and was often at her +house in after years. Her husband during the Revolutionary War was for +King George; she was for America, a decided Whig. Washington was often +her guest, and she took great pains to entertain him well, Mr. Asbury +early became acquainted with her, and in 1800 was at her house with +Bishop Whatcoat, and he wrote thus: “On Saturday we dined with Mary +Withey, now raised above her doubts, and rejoicing in God. Through her +instrumentality a small society is raised up in Chester, and she hath fed +the Lord’s prophets twenty-eight or more years.” What a splendid eulogy +upon Mary! Now we have there a membership of over three hundred, a very +pleasant station. What would the old landlady say if she could revisit +Chester and contrast the present with the past? + +Mr. Asbury went eighteen miles out of his way to preach the funeral +sermon of Mary Withey. This he did in the Chester Church May 5, 1810. +He makes the following interesting record: “She was awakened to a +deep inquiry respecting the salvation of her soul while I officiated +at her house in family prayer. This was in 1772, on my first journey +to Maryland. She had lived twelve years a wife, forty-four years a +widow, and for the last thirty years kept one of the best houses of +entertainment on the continent. In her household management she had +Martha’s anxieties, to which she added the spirit and humility of +Mary. Her religious experience has been checkered by doubts and happy +confidence. She slept in Jesus.” + + +NORTHERN TOUR TO PITTSFIELD, NEW YORK CONFERENCE. + +We made a visit to Burlington, N. J., to James Sterling’s. A whole +volume might be written concerning this estimable man and his family. +It is difficult now to appreciate the position they once occupied. James +Sterling was a prince in our Israel. + +Having the company of George Pickering we went to New Brunswick, where +Bishop Asbury preached in the court-house to three hundred people. We +had no house of worship, and there was but one family that entertained +Methodist preachers. It was a family by the name of Poole, who made us +very welcome. It was years after before we got much of a foothold in +this beautiful place. The Rev. Charles Pitman was the first stationed +preacher, and he was favored with a glorious revival. He was then in his +prime, and he helped to give character and stability to Methodism in New +Brunswick. Now we have three flourishing Churches there. + +The next day we went to New York and stayed with John Mills, Esq. +Bishop Asbury preached in old John-street. He made this record in his +journal: “We are in New York. Great times here. Two new houses within +the year.[30] I preached in old John-street. This is the thirty-ninth +year I have officiated within the walls. This house must come down, and +something larger and better occupy its place.” + +It did not come down, however, till the venerable bishop was in his +grave. It was not till May 13, 1817, the old walls were demolished after +an appropriate address by Rev. Daniel Ostrander. Then it was not done +without powerful opposition; but the energetic William Thacher succeeded +in raising the necessary funds for the new edifice. Now the third church +edifice occupies the site. + +On Saturday we left New York and went to Sherwood Vale, the next +morning to White Plains, and the bishop preached from Heb. vi, 9, 10. +Methodism was early introduced into White Plains, which is the county +town of Westchester. Indeed this has been one of its strongholds. +Here a memorable battle was fought during the Revolution, and here is +“Washington’s headquarters;” and in the very room Washington occupied the +first Methodist sermon in the town was preached, and the first Methodist +class formed.[31] + +On Monday we left for Pittsfield, Mass. We reached Amenia, and put up +with Father Ingraham. Amenia has been a stronghold for Methodism many +years, and we have here an excellent seminary. Two annual conferences +have been held here. The Ingrahams, the Hunts, and others have been +strong pillars of Methodism in this place. + +We passed on to Lenox, Mass., which is indeed a gem among the mountains, +and then to Pittsfield. We put up during the conference at John Ward’s. +We have ridden from Charleston more than two thousand miles. This would +be but little by railroad or steamboat, but much to perform on horseback, +as any one would find out by trying it. + +Here lived the excellent Robert Green, who was a Methodist preacher +of the old stamp and brother of Lemuel. Methodism was introduced into +Pittsfield in 1790. The first Methodist sermon was preached by Freeborn +Garrettson. The Rev. Robert Green formed the first society in this place. +He was the main pillar of the society and ornament to the Church, and an +honor to Methodism. + +Both Bishop Asbury and M’Kendree were at the conference. On Saturday +evening I heard Francis Ward preach. He was an excellent brother, a fine +penman, and for several years secretary of the New York Conference. On +Sabbath morning Bishop Asbury preached from Phil. iii, 17-21; Bishop +M’Kendree in the afternoon. + +Bishop M’Kendree presided at the conference most of the time. The +brethren were not as familiar with his method as Bishop Asbury’s, and at +first it did not go very smoothly. He was more systematic; but they soon +got used to his ways, and most highly esteemed him. + +The conference lamented the loss of one of its brightest ornaments, the +Rev. John Wilson. He was a very pure spirit. He was book agent, and I +used to do business with him and also correspond with him, as I attended +to the interest of the Book Room. He was a Christian gentleman, an able +preacher, a superior scholar, a good penman and accountant, and an able +businessman. He died suddenly of asthma in New York city, January 28, +1810. His brethren say such were his excellences that even envy itself +must be turned into praise, and malice and hatred into veneration. + +Half a century has made a great change in the members of the New York +Conference. Of the eighty-four who were present in 1810 but two remain, +Laban Clark and Marvin Richardson. Fourteen were received on trial, among +others Arnold Scolefield and Tobias Spicer. + +The conference adjourned on Saturday, but the bishops and several of the +ministers remained over Sabbath. We were the guests of the venerable +Robert Green. + +On Sabbath Daniel Hitt preached from “We have not received the spirit of +bondage,” etc.; and Bishop M’Kendree, in the Congregational Church, in +the afternoon, from John viii, 31, 32, on Christian Freedom. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +NEW ENGLAND AND GENESEE CONFERENCES OF 1810. + + +On Monday we left Pittsfield (the most beautiful inland town in the +United States) for Winchester, New Hampshire, the seat of the New England +Conference. We went over the perpetual hills and descended beautiful +valleys, crossing the Connecticut River, and on Thursday reached +Winchester, and were the welcome guests of Caleb Alexander. There was +but one Methodist family in the village. He was a large-hearted man, and +had petitioned to have the conference hold its session there, pledging +himself they should be well entertained. His own house and his neighbors’ +were filled, and he paid the board of others. He was a noble-hearted man, +and the preachers were delighted with him and their entertainment. + +Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree were both present, and presided alternately +at the conference. There was a general fast held by several of the +conferences on Friday, and we religiously observed it till six o’clock in +the evening. Bishop Asbury regularly observed his fasts whether ordered +by conferences or not. It was his practice to abstain every Friday. + +On Sunday, June 3, the bishop preached in the morning and I in the +evening. He says: “I think my words pierced the hearts of some like a +sword. I neither spared myself nor my hearers.” + +On Wednesday, June 6, the New England Conference for 1810 commenced in +the Congregational meeting-house. + +There was a camp-meeting held in connection with it, about three miles +distant, and they had preaching there three times a day during its +session. + +On Sunday the 10th Bishop Asbury preached with life and energy; after +which six deacons and twelve elders were ordained. There were about +fifteen hundred persons present. Six sermons were preached that day. + +On Monday morning, after the bishops had delivered their valedictory +addresses, which were distinguished for appropriateness and pathos, +Bishop Asbury read off the appointments of eighty-seven preachers, who +all went cheerfully to their work in the spirit of their Master. + +We left Winchester and went to Waltham, and on the 16th Bishop Asbury, +George Pickering, and myself went to Boston, and were the guests of the +Rev. Elijah Sabin, the stationed preacher. The new chapel was greatly in +debt, and Brother Pickering had been south soliciting funds; and yet, +such were the pressing wants of the Church, that while we were in Boston +Bishop Asbury wrote five letters supplicating a collection for the new +chapel, namely, to Baltimore, Georgetown, Alexandria, Norfolk, and +Charleston, and I believe they all responded. + +We visited Newport, and in the afternoon I went with Brother Daniel Webb +(now the oldest effective preacher in the world) to Fort Wolcott. On +Sunday the 24th we had preaching three times. The bishop preached to the +soldiers at the fort. + +On Monday we crossed the Narraganset Bay, and then went to Stonington, +Conn. I do not wonder at its name, for the ground is literally covered +with stones. We crossed the Thames. We found a home at friend Douglass’s, +and the bishop preached in the evening. + +Here for the first time Bishop Asbury saw a copy of Jesse Lee’s History +of Methodism. It made the bishop nervous, as will be seen by the record +he made at the time in his journal: “It is better than I expected. He +has not always presented me under the most honorable aspect. We are +all liable to mistakes, and I am unmoved by his. I correct him in one +fact. My compelled seclusion in the beginning of the war in the State of +Delaware was in no wise a season of inactivity. On the contrary, except +about two months of retirement from the direst necessity, it was the +most active, the most useful, the most afflictive part of my life. If +I spent a few dumb Sabbaths, if I did not for a short time steal after +dark, or through the gloom of the woods, as was my wont, from house to +house to enforce that truth I, an only child, had left father and mother +to proclaim, I shall not be blamed, I hope, when it is known my patron, +good and respectable Thomas White, who promised me security and secresy, +was himself taken into custody by the light horse patrol. If such things +happened to him what might I expect, a fugitive and an Englishman? In +these many years we added eighteen hundred members to society, and laid +a broad and deep foundation for the wonderful success Methodism has +met with in that quarter. The children and the children’s children of +those who witnessed my labor and my sufferings in that day of peril and +affliction now rise up by hundreds to bless me. Where are the witnesses +themselves? Alas! there remain not five perhaps whom I could summon to +attest the truth of this statement.” + +I do not think Mr. Lee meant to censure the bishop,[32] but others have, +and I am thankful we have the bishop’s explanations and his admirable +defense. + +One who has recently written says, “It was a question painfully revolved +in the mind of Mr. Asbury whether or not he ought to have thus concealed +himself from his enemies. It is certain that in this he was not imitating +the Saviour, who went forth to meet Judas and his band in the garden; +neither was he following the example of the apostles, who went forward in +their work, although forbidden by the Jewish Council; nor did he exhibit +the courage of Wesley in the days of mob violence in England, nor yet +that of Abbott, Garrettson, and Hartley, who dared to meet their worst +foes. It seems that his prudence prevailed over his faith.”[33] + +Does my friend Lednum mean to accuse Francis Asbury of cowardice? If he +does, the bishop’s explanation is a defense against all attacks until the +end of time. + +We left New London on Wednesday, June 27, and went to Hebron, riding six +hours in the rain. The bishop seldom stopped for rain, even if it came in +torrents. He preached in the evening. + +The next day we rode to East Glastenbury, and put up with Jeremiah +Stocking. He was one of the oldest and most distinguished local preachers +in New England. His ministry extended over a period of sixty years. He +was the first to open his doors in that part of the country to receive +the Methodist preachers; he was the father of the Methodist society in +the town. He died in holy joy March 23, 1853, aged eighty-five, his wife +and eight children following on in the path made smooth by his feet and +wet by his tears. Brother Stocking wrote many interesting articles while +Dr. Bond was editor, entitled “Sketches of my Life,” and dated “Pilgrim’s +Tent, on the Banks of Jordan.” + +Saturday we rode through Hartford to Middletown amid a heavy +thunder-storm. At Hartford we were like Noah’s dove: had no place for +the sole of our foot, and it was the day of small things at Middletown. +We rode one hundred and eighty-six miles this week. We spent the Sabbath +in Middletown, and were entertained at Brother Eggleston’s. The bishop +preached in the morning from 1 Cor. xv, 5-8; I preached at three o’clock +from Acts iii, 19; the bishop again at six from “Behold, now is the +accepted time,” etc. There was a small congregation both morning and +afternoon; but who hath despised the day of small things? Could the +bishop have foreseen the growth of the Church in Hartford and Middletown, +and especially that noble institution, the Wesleyan University, which has +been such a blessing to our Church, how would his great soul have thanked +God and taken courage! Its first president, the seraphic Fisk, who sleeps +in the beautiful cemetery on the hill, was then a youth of eighteen, and +was not licensed to preach till eight years after; and Stephen Olin, of +blessed memory, was then a lad in his father’s house in Vermont, and +it was not till twelve years after our visit to Middletown he became a +Methodist minister. + +The bishop had been at Middletown several times before. He was there as +early as June, 1791. He preached in the meeting-house belonging to the +Standing Order, and then after preaching rode a mile out of town to get +lodging. Bishop Whatcoat was with him there in the month of May, 1803, +and preached at five o’clock on Sunday in “the Separate Meeting-house.” +When he had finished his sermon the old women controverted his doctrine +of sanctification. + +On Monday we went to Burlington. The bishop preached, and he shaved very +close. On through Goshen, next to Sharon, where we were the guests of +Alpheus Jewett, a wealthy farmer. He was a large man, with much native +dignity. He was the father of the late Rev. William Jewett. + +Bishop Asbury preached at Brother Jewett’s from Heb. iv, 11-16. Our +meeting-house was a mile from the village, among a huge pile of rocks. +Our fathers were not Solomons in regard to the sites of their churches. +Now we have a neat brick church in the village. + +Thursday, July 5, brought us to Amenia, and to Thomas Ingraham’s, +just where we were May 17; and think what a round we had taken in the +intervening six weeks. One would have thought that the bishop might +have rested a little from his incessant toil after he had attended the +conference in Winchester; but no, he never thought of resting till he +rested in Abraham’s bosom, or of locating till in the neighborhood of the +throne of God. + +The next day he preached at John Row’s meeting-house in Milan. The old +man still lives, and has consecrated his money to God by building a +church and parsonage.[34] Here we met Freeborn Garrettson and Daniel +Hitt, and went with them to Rhinebeck. + +On Monday, July 16, Bishop Asbury, Daniel Hitt, William Jewett, and I +started for the Genesee Conference. William Jewett was then a youth +of uncommon beauty and promise. We crossed the Hudson, passed through +Kingston, (formerly Esopus, originally settled by the Huguenots,) then to +Durham, over the mountains, to New Sharon, to a camp-meeting under the +charge of Henry Stead. + +On Thursday we fired three guns in quick succession. Bishop Asbury +preached first; then Daniel Hitt, without any intermission; and as soon +as he sat down I preached in German. There was a good number of Germans +present (many of them Lutherans) who were permitted to sit near the +stand and hear in their own tongue the wonderful works of God. They were +delighted. They had supposed the difference in the effect of Methodist +preaching from that of their own ministers was in the language. They +thought the English expressed the Gospel better. But when the power of +God came upon the people, and tears flowed down many cheeks under German +preaching, they were convinced the difference was not in the language, +but in the manner of communication; the one formal, the other spiritual. +Quite a revival followed, and a number of preachers were raised up. This +meeting was held near Cherry Valley. + +We spent the Sabbath at Cazenovia. Bishop Asbury, Brother Hitt, and +I, preached, and William Jewett exhorted. The services were held in +Silas Blass’s barn. It would have been a glorious vision of the future +could Bishop Asbury have foreseen the future prosperity of Methodism in +Cazenovia and the noble seminary of learning erected there. + +On Monday we reached Daniel Dorsey’s, at Lyons, about sunset. We had +rode two hundred and sixty-one miles from Rhinebeck. Daniel Dorsey, a +Methodist of the old stamp, was originally from Maryland, and a Methodist +there. He had a large farm and a large heart. His house was a home where +the weary itinerant delighted to rest. He was steward of the circuit and +a local preacher. + + +FORMATION OF GENESEE CONFERENCE. + +As Bishop Asbury was severely censured for organizing this conference, +and as it produced much agitation at the time, so that several annual +conferences and the General Conference of 1812 took action upon it, I +will give a brief sketch of it, showing that what Bishop Asbury did was +worthy of all praise, and that, like Mr. Wesley, he was far-seeing, and +could plan for the future. + +Previous to its formation, the preachers on the Susquehanna District, in +Western New York, (eighteen in number,) belonged to the Philadelphia +Conference, and it was a long distance to go to conference on horseback, +which was then their usual mode of traveling; so also the preachers in +Canada and Cayuga District, who belonged to New York Conference. Mr. +Asbury believed there was a more excellent way for both preachers and +people. Much time was lost, and the work on circuits suffered by the long +absence of the preachers. Bishop Asbury, with almost a prophet’s eye, +foresaw the growth and prosperity of Western New York; that it would be +the garden of the Empire State, and the garden of Methodism. + +In 1809, while the bishop and I were passing through the Genesee country, +as we were riding along he said to me, “Henry, things do not go right +here. There must be a Genesee Conference;” and then he went on to assign +his reasons. The bishop then planned the conference and its boundaries in +his own mind, and proceeded afterward to carry his purpose into effect. +The new conference was composed of four districts, namely, Susquehanna, +Cayuga, and Upper and Lower Canada, and it was to hold its first session +in Lyons, Ontario County, July 20, 1810. + +This act of the bishop gave great dissatisfaction to many of the +preachers, not of the Genesee, but of other conferences. James Smith and +Jesse Lee were greatly displeased. The former said “it gave evidence of +the increasing infirmities of age in Bishop Asbury; that he was in his +dotage,” etc.; others considered it an unauthorized assumption of power; +and some said “it was cruel, setting off these preachers to starve.” I +justified him, and said “I thought it one of the best official acts of +the bishop, and that in a few years Genesee Conference would be one of +the richest in the Union.” How far I was right may be easily seen. It +certainly was the best thing that could have been done for the Methodists +in Western New York. The plan originated with Bishop Asbury, who was +better acquainted with the state of things in that part of the country +than his colleague; but Bishop M’Kendree concurred in it, and therefore +received his share of the censure. But very nobly some of the conferences +vindicated the bishops, for most of them took action upon it. That the +bishops were perfectly justifiable is evident from the fact that in 1796 +a proviso had been inserted in the Discipline in these words: “Provided +that the bishops shall have authority to appoint other yearly conferences +in the interval of the General Conference, if a sufficiency of new +circuits be anywhere formed for that purpose.” This was re-enacted at +each succeeding conference, with a slight change, until 1832; therefore +the bishop’s act was constitutional, and there was no reason to complain +of “assumed powers,” etc. + +At the Virginia Conference of 1810 this important question was asked: +“Whether the bishops had a right to form the eighth, or Genesee +Conference?” The bishop had no difficulty in answering this question +in the affirmative. It will be seen, however, that the “right” was +questioned. + +Bishop Asbury, after the first session of the Genesee Conference, makes +the following record: “If the cry of ‘want of order’ came from God, the +appointment of the Genesee Conference was one of the most judicious acts +of the episcopacy. We stationed sixty-three preachers, and cured some +till then incurable cases.” + +The New York Conference took action on the subject and nobly vindicated +the bishops. I cannot withhold their preamble and resolutions, which do +them so much honor, especially as they never have been published: + +“Whereas, doubts have been entertained in the minds of some of our +brethren respecting the constitutionality and necessity of the Genesee +Conference. Our opinion being requested on the subject, after mature +deliberation, we are of opinion that the constituting of that conference +is perfectly conformable to the spirit and letter of our form of +discipline, and calculated to facilitate the work of God, and spread +the Redeemer’s kingdom, in the convincing, conviction, conversion, and +establishing immortal souls in the precious truths of the blessed Gospel; +and also we are of opinion that our venerable superintendents have acted +judiciously therein, and entirely under the authority our discipline has +vested in them, and therefore recommend the adoption of the following +resolutions: + +“_Resolved_, 1, That we consider the appointment of the Genesee +Conference to be perfectly consistent with the spirit and letter of +our form of discipline; and that the superintendents have assumed no +illegitimate power, or forfeited any of the confidence reposed in them.” +Carried. + +“_Resolved_, 2, That, considering the extent of the Philadelphia and New +York Conferences, and the great increase of circuits since the bounds +thereof were defined by the General Conference in 1800, which is about +or fully double the number, we consider the appointment of the Genesee +Conference proper and necessary for the good of the connection.” Carried. + +“_Resolved_, 3, That we therefore recommend or advise the continuation of +that conference, and that we do pledge our mutual support to our bishops +and superintendents therein.” Carried. + +At the General Conference of 1812 an address of several preachers of +the Genesee Conference on the subject was presented by Bishop M’Kendree +on the 6th of May. A committee of eight was appointed, one from each +conference. Ezekiel Cooper was chairman. The next day, May the 7th, the +chairman presented the following resolution: “Moved, that this General +Conference do consider that the Genesee Annual Conference is a legally +constituted and organized conference.” It was carried unanimously. + +The organization of the Genesee Conference was an era in the history of +Methodism in Western New York. The first conference began on Friday. +Both Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree were present. There was a camp-meeting +held in connection with the conference. We had no meeting-house in Lyons +then, and the conference was held in Captain Dorsey’s granary. There were +sixty-three preachers present, among them some noble men: Anning Owen, +my old colleague, Benjamin Bidlack, and Gideon Draper. William Case, +Ebenezer White, Seth Mattison, and others were indeed pillars in our +Church. + +A more harmonious conference I never attended. Everything augured well +for the future prosperity of our Zion. + +On Sunday Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree preached on the camp-ground. The +word was quick and powerful. + +On Wednesday about two o’clock the conference adjourned, and the +preachers, after shaking hands and exchanging plans, separated for their +various fields of labor, to preach, to suffer, or to die. Most of them +are now resting in Abraham’s bosom. + +After dinner Bishop Asbury and I started on our journey. It was not his +custom to tarry after conference adjourned. He moved right on, and often +his horse was at the door and he was ready to commence his journey as +soon as the benediction was pronounced. He thus avoided importunity, and +no one could have his appointment changed if he desired to, for no one +knew where to find the bishop. + +We commenced our southern and Western tour. Such a doleful, fearful +ride few bishops ever had, and it was one calculated to make the +traveler rejoice when at the end of his journey. Asbury at that time, in +consequence of infirmities, rode in a sulky and I on horseback. Sometimes +I would ride before him and then in the rear. We would occasionally +change when he was tired, or the roads very rough. + +The first part of our journey was very pleasant. We had the company of +Anning Owen, the apostle of Methodism in Wyoming, who was not only good +company but a good guide. He went with us to Tioga Point, and then we +parted with him reluctantly. Brother Owen went to Wyoming, and we took +the route for Northumberland. We soon got lost in the wilderness, and +needed a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide us. Then a +fine gentleman, by the name of Coles, piloted us five miles, and helped +us out of our difficulty. + +We had been accustomed to muddy roads, rocks, hills, mountains, gulfs, +rapids, dangerous streams, but this route excelled them all for +difficulty and danger. We traveled several hours in the rain and gained +nine miles. We came to Elder’s Inn, where, though not a very desirable +place, we were glad to put up. It poured all night. The next morning we +proceeded through the solitary woods, that had been the abode of Indians, +and where the wild beast still found a home, through deep mud, over +huge rocks and lofty hills, down deep gulleys, to where two branches of +the Elk waters formed a junction. The current being so rapid we thought +it not safe to venture over; but we soon perceived that the water was +falling, and in about an hour and a half we passed over in safety. + +Of this journey Bishop Asbury makes the following mournful record: “We +must needs come the Northumberland road; it is an awful wilderness. +Alas! Read and prayed in the woods. I leave the rest to God. In the last +three days and a half we have ridden one hundred and forty miles. What +mountains, hills, rocks, roots! Brother Boehm was thrown from the sulky, +but providentially not a bone broken.” This record needs no comment. It +makes me weep when I look back and remember how patiently he suffered. +I was suddenly thrown from the sulky and might have been killed, but as +the bishop said I was providentially preserved, or I might have found a +grave in the wilderness and left the poor infirm old man to have pursued +his journey alone. The road was so rough that Father Asbury could not +ride in the sulky; it jolted and hurt him, so he and I exchanged, and he +rode my horse and I in his vehicle. If he had been thrown out as I was +he probably would have been killed. No bone of mine was broken, and yet +the flesh was torn from my left leg so that I was a cripple for months. I +suffered more than if it had been broken. Riding on horseback with that +poor leg, no language can describe my suffering. + +We will resume our narrative, for we are not yet out of the woods. When +we reached the other side of the stream we fell in with a man by the name +of John Brown. As it was dangerous for us to proceed, Mr. Brown kindly +invited us to his cabin. No endangered mariner was ever more glad to get +into harbor than we were to find a shelter, for houses in that wilderness +were very “few and far between.” + +But the reader must not suppose Mr. Brown’s cabin was close at hand, +and that all we had to do was to enter it. We had to cross the creek +twice, and that with great difficulty and danger, and then tug our way +up an exceedingly high mountain in the heart of the wilderness before we +reached his cottage. When we arrived there we found he had no wife, nor +children, nor housekeeper. He did his own cooking and washing. John Brown +was a hermit. He was an Englishman who, for some reason, had chosen this +secluded spot where he lived, four miles from any other dwelling. His +cabin was pleasant, and he most cheerfully divided his coarse fare with +us. + +We felt much at home, and the after part of this day we were employed in +reading, meditation, and prayer. We spent the Sabbath very differently +from what we had generally done. It was what Mr. Asbury used to call a +“dumb Sabbath.” What added to the gloom, it rained all the day and night. +By the fall out of the carriage the day before I was more injured than I +thought for at first; my left leg was bruised and torn and much inflamed, +and I was very lame. + +But onward we must move. So on Monday, July 30, we began to descend the +mountain, and our kind friend John Brown accompanied us to the shore of +the creek, which we found considerably higher than the day before, being +swollen by the rain. As it was dangerous to attempt to cross, we took the +back track, our host inviting us to return to his cabin and stay till it +was safe to proceed on our journey. He did everything he could to make +us comfortable and happy. I have put up in palaces, but never felt more +comfortable and grateful than in the humble cabin of John Brown. + +As the storm had abated the next morning we bade a final adieu to our +pleasant home in the wilderness, and began to descend the mountain; but +our kind friend and benefactor would not permit us to go alone. He went +with us five miles, in which distance we crossed the waters of the Elk +seven times. John Brown’s hospitality was worthy of patriarchal times. To +us it was a heaven-send, for if we had been obliged to remain at a tavern +during that time we stayed with him we should have been bankrupt, for +Bishop Asbury and myself had only two dollars. I know, for I carried the +purse. + +With grateful hearts we bade adieu to the hermit, and proceeded on our +perilous journey. After dining at Hill’s Inn we crossed the stream, +which was full of drift logs. The wheels were taken from our carriage, +and they and the body placed in a canoe, in which we also got, and were +rowed over by two men, while our horses were obliged to swim across. The +stream was swollen and the waters rapid, but fortunately we all reached +in safety the other shore; then we had to put on our wheels to get our +sulky in order to prepare for our journey. I was lame and the bishop +feeble. To add to the gloom, clouds gathered over us dark and heavy. It +thundered and lightened, and the rain fell in torrents, and when we were +over the stream to begin our journey we had to ascend a rough, high, +craggy mountain; but as Mr. Asbury wrote, “God brought us in safety to +Muddy Creek. Deep roads and swollen streams we had enough on our route to +Northumberland on Wednesday.” + +Northumberland is a pleasant, quiet, romantic place on the Susquehanna. +The distinguished Dr. Joseph Priestley spent the evening of life here, +and died in 1804, aged seventy. He was a splendid scholar, and a great +man; but how different his life, labors, and influence from that of the +apostolic Asbury. They both were adopted citizens of America; both died +at the age of seventy. + +On Friday, after an unparalleled week of toil and suffering, we reached +Middletown, Pa., and took dinner with our old friend Dr. Romer. A number +of the neighbors heard of the bishop’s arrival and came to see him, and +urged him to preach; but he had only time to pray with them, and say +“farewell.” But it was very refreshing, after having for so long put up +at miserable taverns, and been among strangers, and through such perils, +to meet with so many familiar faces and kind friends. + +In the afternoon we journeyed on to my father’s. My aged parents embraced +me with joy, while I felt “there is no place like home.” Bishop Asbury +and my father gave to each other the kiss of affection, and mutually +encircled each other in their arms. That day we rode fifty miles. From +Charleston to my father’s house we had traveled two thousand two hundred +and twenty-five miles. The bishop preached on Saturday evening at +“Boehm’s Chapel.” + +His letters were generally sent to the care of my father, and at his +house he answered them, so he was generally busy with his pen after our +arrival home. He found fifteen letters waiting this time, and he answered +them all on Saturday. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +ANNUAL TOUR, 1810—WESTERN CONFERENCE. + + +After an absence of months I remained at home one day and two nights, and +the bishop said, “Henry, we must move.” My father and sister and many +others went with us to Lancaster, where, on the fifth of August, we had a +great day. The bishop even felt an interest in this place, where we had +such a hard time to obtain a foothold. He preached morning and evening, +James Smith at three, and I immediately after him in German. The bishop +rejoiced to see such a comfortable house of worship here, and wrote: +“After forty years’ labor we have a neat little chapel of our own.” + +“Good-by,” I said to my friends, and at noon on Monday we were at +Columbia, where the bishop preached. I was lame, and the lameness was +increasing; but I did not name it to my parents lest they should urge +me to stay home, or worry about me when I was gone; therefore I bore +my sufferings in silence. From Columbia we went to York. Methodism was +introduced here in 1781 by Freeborn Garrettson. On Wednesday to Carlisle, +where the bishop drew up a plan for a new meeting-house, and answered +twenty letters. + +The bishop preached in Shippensburgh from Gal. vi, 9, then we went to +Chambersburgh. We had there a neat little chapel in the town, but the +bishop preached in the court-house, as it would hold more people. Bishop +Asbury made but two visits to this place, and I was with him on both +occasions, the one in 1810, the other in 1811. + +The next day our ride was terrible over three lofty mountains, and we +were under the rays of an August sun, and I suffering almost martyrdom +with my lame leg. James Hunter kindly escorted us to Fort Littleton, and +took us to his own house, and treated us as if we were angels. The bishop +says, “On Sunday, August 12, at Littleton Chapel, I preached, and we +administered the sacrament; but as my aid was lame the labor fell on me. +Though wearied and sore with traveling I enjoyed a gracious season.” + +I was so lame and in such misery that I was advised to remain at home; +but lame or not lame, bright and early the next morning we were on our +journey to Bloody Run, and though it rained, we reached it at three +o’clock. After having changed our wet garments the bishop preached at +four from Luke xiii, 12, and as soon as he had done I preached in German +from John iii, 19, and at night I preached again in English from Acts +x, 35, and Joshua Monroe exhorted. It was a time of power, and we had a +shout in the camp. + +We preached at Bomerdollar’s tavern. There were seven of his family who +professed to belong to the household of faith. It is not often there +is as much salt in a public house. There is generally no room for the +Saviour at the inn. + +The roads next day were intolerable. The bishop said, “I enter my +protest, as I have yearly for forty years, against this road.” In the +evening we reached Connellsville, in Fayette County, one hundred and +thirty-four miles from Chambersburgh. It was so called from Zachariah +Connell, who laid it out seventy years ago. Mr. Asbury must have felt a +little sad when he wrote, “O what a life is this! My aid is lame, and I +am obliged to drive.” It will also be seen how the bishop employed his +time, and how deeply he felt for the Germans, for he adds: “People call +me by my name as they pass me on the road, and I hand them a religious +tract in German or in English, or I call at a door for a glass of water, +and leave a little pamphlet. How can I be useful? I am old and feeble +and sick, and can do but little; and the poor Germans! they are as sheep +without a shepherd.” + +On Saturday we reached Brownsville. This is where the old Redstone fort +was. We then went to Pike Run camp-meeting, on Jacob Gruber’s district, +in Washington County. This county was the hotbed of the famous “Whisky +Rebellion.” There were one hundred tents and four or five hundred people +encamped on the ground. Sunday was a high day. There were three thousand +people in the grove. I opened the campaign in the morning by preaching +from Acts x, 35 at eleven, and in the evening Bishop Asbury preached, and +in the afternoon Jacob Gruber. + +In reference to this meeting Bishop Asbury says, “There were very wicked +people there, I learned, who desperately libeled Brother M’Kendree and +the preachers, and committed other abominable offenses. On Monday I was +called upon to preach in the morning. I took occasion to give a solemn +warning to certain sons of Belial that they would be watched, and their +names published. I felt much, but God was in the word.” He was very +pointed, and it had a good effect upon the sons of Belial. + +Friday, August 26, brought us to Pittsburgh. Bishop Asbury visited +this town as early as July, 1789. The population in 1786 was only five +hundred. It was a little settlement when Mr. Asbury first visited it, and +when we were there in 1810 there were only five thousand inhabitants. +On his first visit he wrote: “I preached in the evening to a serious +audience. This is a day of very small things. What can we hope? yet what +can we fear? I felt great love to the people, and hope God will arise +to help and bless them.” He remained in Pittsburgh several days on that +visit. He preached on Monday, and says the people were attentive; “but, +alas! they are far from God, and too near the savages in situation and +manners.” This must have been the introduction of Methodism in Pittsburgh. + +More than a dozen years rolled away before Asbury visited Pittsburgh +again; that was in August, 1803, the year I traveled with him almost to +this place, and then returned. On Sunday, August 27, 1803, the bishop +preached in the court-house in the morning from 1 Chron. vii, 14 to about +four hundred people. He says, “I would have preached again, but the +Episcopalians occupied the house. I come once in twelve years, but they +could not consent to give way for me. It is time we had a house of our +own. I think I have seen a lot which will answer to build upon.” + +We put up with John Wrenshall. On Sunday the bishop preached on the +foundation of the new meeting-house at nine o’clock to about five hundred +hearers. Text, Mark xi, 17, “My house shall be called of all nations the +house of prayer,” etc. I exhorted. At two o’clock I preached at Brother +Cooper’s house from 1 John iii, 1, “Behold what manner,” etc. At five +Asbury preached again on the foundation of our Church to a thousand +people. The bishop adds: “The society here is lively and increasing in +numbers, and the prospect still is good in this borough.” + +On Monday morning we left Pittsburgh, piloted for a few miles by John +Wrenshall. + +The next day we reached John Beck’s. There I carved my name on a tree, +with the date of our being there. The old tree may still be standing +to witness that Henry Boehm was there the 30th of August, 1810, over +fifty years ago; but where is our host, his family, and his guests? They +have fallen; I am left alone. On we traveled to a camp-meeting at Little +Kanawha. James Quin was presiding elder of the district where it was +held. We were the guests of Richard Lee, brother of Rev. Wilson Lee. + +On Sabbath morning, at eight o’clock, I preached from Prov. xviii, 10. +Bishop Asbury at eleven, from 1 Tim. iv, 16, “Take heed unto thyself, +and unto the doctrine,” etc.; after which he ordained John Holmes to the +office of an elder. There were a great many such ordinations wherever +the bishop traveled. It accommodated those who could not go far to +conference. At three James Quin gave us a powerful sermon from 2 Thess. +i, 7-10, on the second coming of Jesus. I preached again in the evening. + +On Monday morning the Lord’s supper was administered; after which the +bishop preached a profitable discourse on 1 Peter v, 7-9. + +We left the encampment, and I preached at Brother Wolf’s, in German, from +Acts viii, 35. I had great liberty in speaking to a people who had not +heard the Gospel in their mother tongue in ten or twelve years. Bishop +Asbury held forth in English immediately after. James Quin continued with +us several days, and he was most excellent company. + +On Wednesday the bishop preached in the school-house on a bluff +opposite Blennerhassett’s Island. I saw the beautiful island where +Harman Blennerhassett and his beautiful wife dwelt in most surpassing +loveliness, till a blight came over this terrestrial Eden and destroyed +it. The reader must be familiar with the melancholy history of this most +unfortunate family. + +On Tuesday we crossed the Ohio into Belpre, and put up at Mr. Browning’s. +The lady of the house, who was from Old Connecticut, was delighted in +entertaining a Methodist bishop. She conversed with him readily, and +lamented the destitution of the West in regard to able preachers, and +spoke of the elegant meeting-houses, pews, organs, singing, and the +charming preachers of the East. “O bishop,” said she, “you can’t tell!” +The bishop, delighted with her enthusiastic descriptions, exclaimed, “O +yes, yes, Old Connecticut for all the world! + + “A fine house and a high steeple, + A learned priest and a gay people.” + +After considerable further conversation she inquired, “Bishop, where do +you live?” With the utmost solemnity, and with a countenance and tone +that showed the deep emotion of his soul, he replied, + + “No foot of land do I possess, + No cottage in the wilderness, + A poor wayfaring man.” + +The bishop preached in Belpre school-house from Luke xix, 10. + +Colonel Putnam, son of Israel Putnam, who bearded the wolf in his den, +and who also bearded the British lion, invited the bishop, Brother Quin, +and myself to the house of Mr. Waldo, grandson of the old veteran. We +had a hearty welcome and were treated like princes. In the evening six +or eight gentlemen, revolutionary officers, with their ladies, were +invited in, and we spent a most agreeable evening. The conversation was +very entertaining and instructing, and the bishop took a very active part +in it. But he would often manage to give the conversation a religious +turn, to which the company would bow assent. The bishop prayed before the +company retired. We lodged that night in a splendid ball-room. “Here,” +said the bishop, as he kneeled down, “they used to worship the devil; let +us worship God.” + +Early next morning we bade adieu to our polite host and were on our way +to Athens, and on Thursday we arrived at the camp-meeting near that town. +We had now traveled five hundred and forty-two miles since we left my +father’s, and three thousand four hundred and sixty-seven miles since we +left Charleston. + +Much good was done at this camp-meeting. We had four sermons on Sunday, +Bishop Asbury preaching twice. I preached in German. + +Traveling on and preaching every night we reached Chillicothe, and put up +with Dr. Tiffin. The bishop says, “I am happy to find him no longer in +public life, but a private citizen, respectable and respected, and the +work of God revived in his soul. I have preached to many souls in the +late camp-meetings. Lord, give thy word success. My own soul is humbled +and purified. Glory be to God!” The bishop preached in the evening from +Rev. xvi, 15. + +On Sunday Bishop Asbury preached in Chillicothe, and baptized a whole +family of Quaker descent. He dwelt upon the nature of the ordinance +of baptism, and the duty it imposes upon parents. It was a rare thing +for birthright Quakers to be brought over to the faith, for they are +generally as unyielding as the oak; but we have noticed when they are +really converted they make most excellent Methodists. This was the case +with that bright and shining light, John Collins. + +On Thursday we reached Cincinnati, and were entertained at Oliver +Spencer’s. On Friday evening I preached in German from John viii, 36 on +being free indeed, and Bishop Asbury exhorted. The bishop was very happy +in his remarks. He was always present when it was practicable to hear me +preach in German. He had a great love for the Germans, and an imperfect +knowledge of the German language. On Sabbath the bishop preached morning +and evening, and I in the afternoon. It was a day of great consolation +to many. + +On Monday we visited several families, and prayed with them, and then +in the evening Father Asbury met the society and gave them a pastoral +address. It was his custom to meet classes and to meet the societies, +and give them good advice and wise suggestions, and in these family +gatherings and family lectures the bishop often excelled himself. + +Having spent four days in this goodly city we prepared for our departure. +The bishop felt a peculiar affection for the people in Cincinnati, as +may be seen from the following extract from his journal: “Sunday, 30, I +preached morning and evening. It was a season of deep seriousness with +the congregations. I felt an intimate communion with God, and a great +love to the people, saints and poor sinners. Monday, met the society; +Tuesday, we bade farewell to our affectionate friends in Cincinnati. +The great river was covered with mist until nine o’clock, when the airy +curtain rose slowly from the waters, gliding along in expanded and silent +majesty.” + +We traveled in Kentucky, preaching every day. The bishop makes this +singular record: “The Methodists are all for camp-meetings, the Baptists +are for public baptizings. I am afraid this dipping with many is the _ne +plus ultra_ of Christian experience.” + +On Saturday we reached Joseph Ferguson’s, and on Sunday spent the day at +Ferguson’s Chapel. Here Bishop M’Kendree, Learner Blackman, James Gwin, +and Peter Cartwright overtook us, and our spirits were much refreshed. We +had not seen Bishop M’Kendree since we parted with him at Lyons at the +close of the Genesee Conference. He had returned by another route. Now +the two bishops and the preachers started in company for the seat of the +Western Conference. + +Bishop Asbury’s soul was delighted to hear of the enlargement of the +borders of Zion, and he wrote in ecstasy: “We have an open door set +wide to us in Mississippi. The preachers there sent but one messenger +to conference; they could not spare more. They keep their ground like +soldiers of Christ. Good news from the south. Great prospects within the +bounds of the South Carolina Conference.” + +The Western Conference was held in the new chapel, Shelby County, Ky., +commencing on November 1, 1810. The two bishops were present, and nearly +a hundred preachers from their various fields of toil. The conference +began, continued, and ended in peace. + +I preached on Saturday, at early candle-light, from Matt. xi, 28, 29. + +On Sabbath Bishop M’Kendree preached one of his mighty sermons, and +Bishop Asbury exhorted with wonderful power. Then the elders and deacons +were ordained. Fourteen were admitted into full membership and ordained +deacons, among whom were William Winans and James Gwin. The latter was +also ordained elder at this conference. He had been a local preacher +years before he entered the traveling connection. John Crane and a number +of others were ordained at the same time. Twenty-six were received on +trial, among whom were John Strange and Michael Ellis, and other pure and +noble spirits. J. B. Finley was continued on trial. There had been an +increase of four thousand members in the Western Conference this year. + +The bishops assigned fields of labor to ninety-five preachers, and then +we parted to cultivate Immanuel’s land. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +TOUR TO SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE. + + +On Tuesday, October 9, we rode to Winchester, capital of Clarke County, +Ky., and were the guests of Leroy Cole. The history of this brother is +a peculiar one. He became a traveling preacher as early as 1777. His +first appointment was to North Carolina with John Dickins and John King, +one of the pioneers in that state. He was in Kent, Delaware, and on the +Peninsula, Maryland, with Gill and Tunnell, and did noble service. In +1784 he was in Philadelphia. He was a member of the famous Christmas +Conference in Baltimore, where the Methodist Episcopal Church was +organized in 1784. In 1785 we find in the Minutes the question, “Who is +laid aside? Answer, Leroy Cole.” This is all the light we have on the +subject, and this is enough to make darkness visible. There might have +been injustice done him, for soon after he was restored, and he was a +traveling or local preacher for over fifty years. He early emigrated to +the West, and settled near Lexington, Ky., where he was a farmer, beloved +and respected. Mr. Asbury’s visiting him and the friendship he exhibited +shows he had confidence in him. He was a Virginian, born in 1749, +converted in 1777, and the same year licensed to preach and entered the +traveling ministry. He sustained a local relation when we visited him. +He was afterward a member of the Kentucky Conference. He died in triumph +February 6, 1830, aged eighty-one. + +We remained two days at Leroy Coles’s, and the bishop preached on +Thursday evening. On Saturday he preached at Abraham Cassell’s, brother +to Rev. Leonard Cassell of the Baltimore Conference, who died in 1808. +Abraham had emigrated from Pipe Creek, Md. + +On Sunday, at Nicholasville, the bishop preached, and I in the evening at +Brother Cassell’s on Matt. v, 20, and then gave them another discourse in +German. + +At Brother Cassell’s the bishop heard sad intelligence of the death of +Benjamin Swope. He had died the winter before. The bishop says, “My old +acquaintance was a man of more than common mind and gifts, and might have +been much more useful than I fear he was.” Mr. Swope was a minister among +“The United Brethren.” Mr. Asbury became acquainted with him in 1771, and +through him with the great Otterbein. + +On Monday we visited an old minister, one of the pioneers of the West, +and the bishop makes this melancholy record. I never read it without +pain: “This has been an awful day to me. I visited Francis Poythress. +‘If thou be he; but O how fallen!’” Perhaps no record in his journals +has been so little understood as this, and none more liable to be +misinterpreted. Some have supposed that he had fallen like wretched +apostates, who have made shipwreck of the faith; but it was not so, and +the bishop would not willingly or knowingly have done the unfortunate +brother injustice. My journal reads thus: “Monday 15, we went with +Brother Harris to see Francis Poythress, one of our old preachers. +He _has been for ten years in a state of insanity, and is still in a +distressed state of mind_. We then returned to Brother Harris’s.” This +is the record I made over fifty years ago, and it was italicised as the +reader now sees it. + +Francis Poythress was one of the leaders in our Israel. He was admitted +into the traveling connection at the third conference, held in 1776, with +Freeborn Garrettson, Joseph Hartley, Nicholas Watters, and others. He was +a pioneer of the West. In 1790, John Tunnel dying, Francis Poythress was +appointed elder at the West, having five large circuits on his district, +and on them were Wilson Lee, James Haw, and Barnabas M’Henry. We have not +space to trace his history. His excessive labors shattered his system, +and his body and intellect were both injured. About the year 1800 he +became deranged, and a gloom settled down upon him not to be removed. +When Asbury saw him he was shocked, contrasting his former look with +his appearance then. He was then living with his sister, twelve miles +below Lexington. Bishop Asbury never saw him more; death soon came to the +relief of poor Francis Poythress, and none who knew him doubt but he is +among the clear unclouded intellects of the upper and better world. + +On Friday Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree, James Gwin, and myself started +for Cumberland, Tennessee. Before we left an event occurred that pleased +me much. Bishop Asbury sold our sulky and bought a horse. His object was +to get through the wilderness to Georgia easier. The bishop remarked, +“The reward of my toils is not to be found in this world.” No, thou +venerable man of God, but thou art finding it in the other, “for if we +suffer with him we shall also reign with him.” + +At Springfield Hills Bishop M’Kendree preached an excellent sermon in the +morning; I exhorted. In the afternoon the Rev. Mr. M’Clelland preached +from “The time is short.” Bishop Asbury followed right after from “Now is +the accepted time,” and James Gwin exhorted after him. + +On Thursday we reached the residence of James Gwin, near Fountain Head. +Here we found a comfortable home. Mr. Gwin was one of the early pioneers +in Tennessee, and with Andrew Jackson he fought the Cherokee Indians. +General Jackson greatly admired him. He was chaplain in Jackson’s army at +the time of the battle of New Orleans. He was a noble man, and did noble +service in the Western and Tennessee Conferences. Bishop M’Kendree and +James Gwin were long intimate friends, and the latter named his son after +the bishop.[35] There was a chapel not far from his house called “Gwin’s +Chapel.” + +On Friday I went to see Bishop M’Kendree’s father; he was a venerable +looking man of eighty-six years, and was like a patriarch in the +family, greatly beloved. Also James M’Kendree, brother of the bishop, +and his sister Frances. The family emigrated from Virginia. James was +a sterling man. Frances was converted under John Easter as well as the +bishop. Frances married Rev. Nathaniel Moore in 1815, and she died in +peace January 1, 1825. The venerated father of the bishop died in holy +joy in 1815. And here in Tennessee, many years after, at the house of +his brother James, the bishop fell at his post, loaded with honors and +covered with scars, shouting, “All is well.” Here he was buried. + +On Saturday and Sunday night I lodged with Bishop Asbury at James +M’Kendree’s. On Sunday morning Bishop Asbury preached at Gwin’s Chapel, +and the other part of the day at Fountain Head meeting-house. This was +near where James M’Kendree lived. + +Bishop Asbury seemed to be delighted to be rid of his sulky and on +horseback again; for he says, “Since I am on horseback my fetters are +gone; I meditate much more at ease.” The advantages of being on horseback +he thus designates: “1. That I can better turn aside and visit the poor. +2. I shall save money to give away to the needy. 3. I can get along more +difficult and intricate roads. And lastly, I can be more tender to my +poor faithful beast.” Surely these were weighty reasons. + +On Monday the 19th the two bishops and myself started for South Carolina +by way of Buncombe. We reached John M’Gee’s, (father-in-law of Thomas L. +Douglas,) about thirty-five miles from Fountain Head. We have rode one +thousand one hundred and fifty-three miles since I left my father’s, and +four thousand one hundred and seventy-eight miles from Charleston. + +Tuesday brought us to Dr. Tooley’s. On Wednesday we started for the +Holston settlements with Brother John M’Gee, crossing Cumberland River +at Walton’s Ferry. After days of hard toiling, on Saturday evening we +reached Brother Winton’s. On Sunday the 25th Bishop M’Kendree preached in +the meeting house on Matt. v, 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” etc. +John M’Gee and I exhorted. Bishop Asbury preached at Brother Winton’s in +the evening. + +For days we toiled on, and on Friday we took a new route over the +mountains. We started about seven o’clock and crossed Big Creek with some +difficulty, and not without danger, the water being deep and rapid and +the bottom very rocky. After crossing we had to toil several hours over +high mountains, and then came to Catahouche Creek; here on its banks +in the woods we took a little bread and gave our horses some oats. The +venerable bishops asked a blessing over our humble meal, and were as +thankful as if seated at a well spread table in a parlor. + +This was a deep and rapid stream. After we had refreshed both man and +beast we prepared to cross. There was no bridge. Brother M’Gee rode +through and we drove our horses after him, then the bishops and myself +walked over the rapid stream on a tree, and were thankful to get across +in safety. The next thing was to climb the Catoluche Mountain. No wonder +the bishop wrote, “But O, the mountain, height after height, and five +miles over;” and to add to our troubles, we got lost in the wilderness +and crossed other streams, wandering hour after hour in the home of wild +beasts. Seventeen miles we went through a dreary wilderness. We came to +a gate which we entered and passed through the settlements on Jonathan’s +and Richland Creeks, and came in at Brother Jacob Shuck’s at nine o’clock +in the evening, long after dark, weary, cold, and hungry; but my soul +was stayed on the Lord. Bishop Asbury characterizes this as “an awful +day.” + +Bishop M’Kendree and Brother Magee went a few miles to attend a two days’ +meeting at Rev. Samuel Edney’s, and we spent the Sabbath in Buncombe. +Bishop Asbury preached for the Rev. Mr. Newton, a Presbyterian minister, +whom he loved exceedingly, not only for his catholic spirit, but his +strong resemblance to Bishop Whatcoat both in regard to placidity and +solemnity. + +After crossing mountains and streams, a week from Monday 10th brought us +to Rev. James Jenkins’s. He had located some years before, and the bishop +was delighted that he was going to re-enter the traveling connection. The +bishop here received from the North the sad news of the death of his old +friends Jesse Hollingsworth, Peter Hoffman, and John Bloodgood. The next +day Brother Jenkins rode with us to Camden. Father Asbury met a class at +night in Brother Mathis’s room. + +In regard to our late route Mr. Asbury wrote thus: “Great fatigue, my +lame horse, and unknown roads where we lose ourselves, are small trials; +but ‘as thy days so shall thy strength be.’” He then wrote what is very +complimentary to the inhabitants of Carolina, and contrasts strangely +with some who would take the bishop’s last cent for a little refreshment: +“We are not, nor have we been lately, much among our own people; but +it has made little difference in the article of expense. The generous +Carolinians are polite and kind, and will not take our money.” + +On Friday the 14th we left Camden and rode to Father Rembert’s. Brother +William M. Kenneday, Brother Gilman, myself, and several others fixed the +seats in the new meeting-house. We spent the Sabbath there. Father Asbury +preached in the morning, and William M. Kenneday followed him. I preached +in the evening, and William Capers exhorted. Bishop Asbury was very much +indisposed here for several days. + +On Thursday we rode with quite a number of preachers to Columbia, the +seat of the South Carolina Conference. It was held in the private mansion +of Colonel Thomas Taylor, United States senator. He was not a Methodist, +but was very friendly. He and his family were at Washington, and he gave +up his whole house for the conference to be held there, and the preachers +to remain in it. He gave two brethren, Wyth and Williamson, the privilege +of moving into his house and entertaining the preachers. + +The conference commenced on Saturday, December 22. After singing and +prayer, Bishop Asbury addressed the conference in a most parental and +affectionate manner, stating, among other things, that he was in the +fiftieth year of his ministerial service and his fortieth in America, +and that he could not endure such labors much longer. The brethren were +deeply affected. The conference commenced and progressed in great +harmony. + +On Sunday morning at eight o’clock we had a social meeting, composed of +traveling and local preachers, in the conference room. Several spoke +of the dealing of God to their souls. It was a blessed privilege to +listen to these warm-hearted southern brethren as they talked of Jesus +and his love. Surely we sat together in a heavenly place in Christ +Jesus. To crown the whole, we had a pastoral address from Bishops Asbury +and M’Kendree. It was a moving and a memorable time. At eleven Bishop +Asbury preached from 2 Cor. iii, 12. Plainness of speech was dwelt upon +with great effect. The congregation was immense, and there was great +seriousness. At three Bishop M’Kendree preached from 2 Cor. v, 20, “Now, +then, we are embassadors for Christ,” etc. The sermon was masterly. No +wonder I added, “The Lord was with us. Glory to the Saviour that such an +unworthy creature as I am permitted to enjoy such a refreshing season +from the presence of the Lord! Glorious Sabbath, never to be forgotten in +time or eternity.” On Monday at eleven I preached from John i, 11, 12. +The Lord made the word a blessing to some souls. + +Tuesday was Christmas day. In the morning James Russell preached at five +o’clock from Mark i, 15. It was a great privilege to hear that original +genius preach. I added under the sermon, “There was a shout in the camp. +Glory! halleluiah!” The preachers in those days were up in the morning; +they were not caught napping. Early as it was, long before the sun got +out of bed, there were over three hundred hearers. At eleven o’clock +Bishop Asbury ordained eleven promising men to the office of deacon, +after which Jonathan Jackson preached on Rev. xiv, 6, 7. + +Love and harmony seems to increase in our conference. Twenty preachers +were admitted on trial, and there was about two thousand five hundred +increase of members. The elders were ordained on Friday, the last day of +the session, after Bishop Asbury had preached a sermon admirably adapted +to the occasion from Heb. iii, 12, 14. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +VIRGINIA, BALTIMORE, PHILADELPHIA, AND NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCES. + + +We left Columbia for Charleston on Saturday, December 30, accompanied by +that noble man of God, Lewis Myers. We reached General Rumph’s, on the +Orangeburgh District, where we spent the Sabbath. He was a man of mark, +a general of the Revolution, and a noble soldier in the Christian army. +The general had two sons, Christian and Jacob Rumph, who were excellent +men and superior preachers. Jacob was in the work only five years. He +joined in 1808, and died in Charleston in 1813. His father was wealthy, +and Jacob might have richly enjoyed the good things of this life, but +he chose to endure the hardships of an itinerant ministry. His career +was short, but brilliant; his end triumphant. I have noticed for a long +lifetime that those families that early entertained the Lord’s prophets +were greatly blessed. The Lord put the broad seal of his approbation upon +them, and this is strikingly illustrated in the family of General Rumph. +The general was one of the first that welcomed Methodist ministers in +that part of South Carolina. Bishop Asbury makes the following honorable +record: “God has repaid this family for its kindness to the poor +followers of the Lord Jesus. There are four sons and three daughters, +gracious souls. Two of the sons, Jacob and Christian, are preachers of +the Gospel.” This was the bishop’s last interview with General Rumph. +Before his next annual round the general was in the sepulcher. + +We reached Charleston January 2, 1811, and spent several days there. The +bishop preached several times. I attended to some important business for +the Book Room, procuring drafts, etc. After several days’ riding and +preaching, on Monday 28 we crossed Cape Fear River at Governor Smith’s +Ferry. The bishop was oft in perils on the land, on the water, on the +mountains, and in the woods. Of these he makes but little mention in his +journal. One of the most fearful perils he had while I was with him was +at this ferry. We started to cross with one ferryman instead of two. I +was holding the bridles of our horses, standing between their heads. +Another ferryman came up with a canoe. I warned him not to let it strike +our boat; but he did not heed the caution, and his canoe struck our +scow, which so frightened one horse that he sprang against the other and +both went overboard. The bishop and myself were also in danger of being +knocked overboard and drowned, as the water was very deep. The bishop +was seated at the end of the scow with his staff in his hand. One of the +horses struck the staff and broke it, and a little more and it might +have broke his leg or knocked the feeble old man overboard. I held on +to the reins of one, and he swam along the side of the scow; the other +began to swim toward the shore, but seeing which way the other horse was +swimming he turned round and passed us, and reached the opposite shore +before we did. There he sunk in the mud, and his exertions to escape only +sunk him deeper, and his case became more hopeless. The bishop looked +very sad as he saw his favorite animal floundering in the mud. Just then +an old colored woman, a slave, made her appearance, and she was full of +sympathy. “O,” said the bishop, “my horse is mired, and I am afraid we +shall never be able to get him out.” “O yes, massa,” said she, “you will, +for we will call the colored people down from their quarters, and they +will lift him out bodily.” At this the bishop laughed most heartily. But +previous to sending for help I thought I would try what could be done. So +I got a rail and put it under the horse’s haunches, and he gave a spring +and was soon out, to the bishop’s great joy as well as my own. + +The bishop’s saddle-bags were fastened to his saddle, mine were not, and +they floated down the stream. I felt much anxiety until I recovered them, +as I had many dollars in them belonging to the Book Room. Our clothes, +books, and manuscripts were all well soaked. We spent hours in drying +them, and then started on our journey. Bishop Asbury was much alarmed, +far more so than I had ever seen him. Our preservation and that of the +horses was providential, and we had special cause for thanksgiving.[36] + +The Virginia Conference commenced its session in Raleigh, N. C., on +February 7, 1811. In 1810 the conference was held in Newbern, and the +citizens of Raleigh sent an invitation to have the next session there, +pledging themselves to entertain the preachers and their horses. We +had a very small society at Raleigh, and the brethren considered the +invitation providential, and accepted it. I know of no particular account +of this memorable conference anywhere. It was held in the state-house, +in the senate chamber, and we preached in the hall of the House of +Representatives. There was preaching three times a day. C. H. Hines and +Jesse Lee preached the first day. On Friday Bishop M’Kendree preached at +eleven o’clock, and I at three. The work of conviction was going on, and +a number were converted in the evening. Saturday was a day of the Lord’s +power. The work not only continued during the day, but till midnight. + +On Sunday Bishop Asbury preached in the morning to a thousand people, +and Thomas L. Douglass at three o’clock. Many embraced religion, and +the interest continued to increase to the last. This was the greatest +time I had seen for years at any conference for the display of saving +power. Over fifty were converted and united with us, among whom were the +Secretary of State and some of his family. This revival gave such an +impetus to Methodism in Raleigh that they proceeded to build a church +that year, and Methodism had a character and permanency that remains to +this day. We put up with a kind family named Mears, who kept a public +house. They shared in the blessings of the Gospel, for some of them +experienced religion during the conference. + +For three nights Bishop Asbury, Thomas L. Douglass, and myself lodged +with our aged friend, Rev. William Glendenning, who came and insisted +that we should put up with him. He was a Scotchman, a man of rather +large stature, and had something of a brogue. He was one of our earliest +preachers, having been received at the conference held in 1776, when +there were only nineteen Methodist preachers in America. This made him +to me an object of great interest. His first appointment was Brunswick, +Virginia, with George Shadford, Edward Drumgoole, and Robert Williams. +Mr. Glendenning was remarkably eccentric, if not a little “cracked.” I +knew him very early, having seen him at my father’s house and heard +him preach. He withdrew in 1785. He afterward joined the “Republican +Methodists” under James O’Kelley, and preached among them; then he became +a Unitarian, and built a church in Raleigh. We had a very pleasant time +at his house. + +He attended our conference and the preaching, and appeared interested in +the revival scenes; but he would exclaim, “I do not like the government.” +There seemed to be a conflict in his own mind: he believed the work to +be of God—that souls were really converted; and yet he was so strongly +prejudiced against our Church government that he could not see how heaven +had set its seal of approbation upon such measures. At this time he was +an old man. He ended his days in Raleigh. + +In 1814 Bishop Asbury visited Raleigh again, and writes: “After all +allowance for drawbacks, we cannot tell all the good that was done by our +conference in Raleigh in 1811.” + +I have noticed the conversion of the Secretary of State. His name was +William Hill. He immediately joined the Methodist Church, and was +baptized by Bishop Asbury. Such was the purity of his character that +amid all the changes of party he held the office of Secretary of State +from 1811 till his death in 1857, a period of forty-six years. This is +unparalleled. He was a class-leader and steward for many years. He was +eighty-four when he died. + +On the 28th of February we 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 retirement on his farm on the Virginia side of the +Potomac, opposite Georgetown. He was the first traveling preacher raised +up in America. Philip Gatch commenced nearly the same time. They were +intimate, and in their declining years corresponded with each other. Mr. +Watters was a stout man, of medium height, of very venerable and solemn +appearance. Bishop Asbury and he were life-time friends. The bishop was +acquainted with him before he was licensed to preach, and used to call +him familiarly, “Billy Watters.” When these aged men met on this occasion +they embraced 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 +friend, William Watters.” He was distinguished for humility, simplicity, +and purity. + +Few 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 hospitality. His house was for years a regular +preaching-place on the circuit. In 1833, at the age of eighty-two, he +died in holy triumph. His name will go down to the end of time bearing +the honored title of _The First American Methodist Traveling Preacher_. + +William Watters rode with us about four miles, and then we went to +Georgetown to Henry Foxall’s. On Sunday the bishop preached in Washington +city, in the new chapel, and at Georgetown. On the next Saturday Hamilton +Jefferson, Dr. Hall, and James Smith overtook us, and we journeyed on +together. On Wednesday we reached Pipe Creek, and Bishop Asbury preached +next day at the Pipe Creek Chapel. I held forth at night on Acts x, 33. +Thence we proceeded to Baltimore. + +On Wednesday, March 11, 1811, the Baltimore Conference commenced its +session in Light-street Church. The first evening I heard Gill Watt +preach on “The preparation of the heart,” etc.; Thursday, at eleven, +Benedict Reynolds on “Who then can be saved?” There was a good work +in the evening in Light-street Church—sinners awakened and mourners +comforted. + +On Sunday morning I heard Jacob Gruber preach in German in Father +Otterbein’s Church. In the afternoon I preached also in German in the +same place, from Gal. vi, 9; my dear old friend Newcomber exhorted. + +The revival continued during the conference. Such a work during the +session of a conference is delightful, and should always be expected. At +this conference Beverly Waugh, Joseph Frye, James M. Hanson, and four +others were admitted into full connection and ordained deacons. + +On Thursday the conference adjourned, and I went with Bishop Asbury +to see Mr. Otterbein. The interview between these ancient friends was +most delightful. Then we went to Gatch’s meeting-house, and the bishop +preached from Heb. xii, 15. The reader can see what a laborious man the +bishop was when he remembers that after many days’ close sitting in +conference, and stationing so many men, instead of retiring for rest, +that very day he preaches at Gatch’s Chapel. He was the most laborious +man I ever knew. + +We had in company with us Brother James Paynter, Sister Gough, and Sister +Dickins, both widows indeed. We went with them to Perry Hall. + +On Friday the bishop preached in the camp-meeting chapel and I exhorted. +We returned to Perry Hall. On Saturday we rode to the Fork Chapel, where +the bishop preached and I exhorted. Here we parted with three widows, +Gough, Dickins, and Cassell. The last was the widow of the eloquent +Leonard Cassell, who fell asleep three years before. + +I left the bishop and hastened to my father’s, whom I had not seen since +the summer before. To my great joy I found there Bishop M’Kendree and +Robert Burch. On Friday, April 5, Bishop M’Kendree preached in Boehm’s +Chapel on Luke xii, 32. On Sunday Bishop M’Kendree, Robert Burch, and +I preached in Lancaster. On Monday I rode with Bishop M’Kendree to +Strasburgh, where he preached, and we tarried with my old friend Thomas +Ware; thence to Souderburgh, where the bishop preached from Prov. xxiv, +30-34. I returned with him to Strasburgh. + +Having rejoined Bishop Asbury, we went to Philadelphia, and put up with +Alexander Cook. This was a very fine family. Their house was then a +little out of town, but the city has now grown out to them. He was the +father-in-law of Rev. John P. Durbin, D.D. + +On Saturday the Philadelphia Conference commenced its session in St. +George’s Church. On Sunday I heard three sermons from Bishop M’Kendree, +Stephen G. Roszell, and Bishop Asbury, all in St. George’s. Thomas Burch +and I lodged with my early friend, Dr. Chandler. + +On Saturday 27 Bishop M’Kendree, having appointments for preaching ahead, +left Bishop Asbury to finish the work of the conference. Ten preachers +were admitted on trial, among whom were Joseph Lybrand. The conference +adjourned on Monday. I wrote, “It seems the voice of Providence that I +should keep on with Bishop Asbury.” + +On Wednesday we went to Germantown, and Bishop Asbury preached in the +evening. Here he was visited by those distinguished physicians, Drs. +Rush and Physic. It was my privilege to be present at the interview. +Dr. Benjamin Rush, as a man, a patriot, a physician, and a scholar, +occupied the first rank. He was one of the signers of the Declaration +of Independence. Bishop Asbury was delighted with their attentions, as +will appear from the following entry in his journal: “Wednesday, May +1, I preached in Germantown. 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 gratified, as I ever am, by their attentions, kindness, and +charming conversation; indeed they have been of eminent use to me, and I +acknowledge their services with gratitude.” + +The bishop had had several interviews with them before, but I believe +this was the last. In less than two years Dr. Rush was in his grave. He +died in Philadelphia, April 19, 1813, aged sixty-seven. Bishop Asbury +lived only five years after. Dr. Physic, who was much younger than +either, died in 1837, aged sixty-nine. + +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 offered +a most impressive prayer that God would bless and reward them for their +kindness to him. + +We were next to visit the New York Conference. On May 18 we came to +Powles Hook, and had to wait two hours for wind to cross the Hudson +River. We went over then in sail-boats, and there was not wind enough to +fill the sails. In this go-ahead, rushing age, when every one is in a +hurry, what would a person think of being delayed at a ferry two hours? +Now you cross every three minutes, as regular as clock-work. + +We put up in New York at Sister Grice’s. She was a widow, from Annapolis. +She had a daughter who was also a widow, Mrs. Ann Tucker. They were +milliners, and lived in William-street, and their house was an excellent +home. Our old friend, Mrs. John Mills, where we put up last year, was +dead. + +The conference commenced its session in New York May 20, 1811. Both the +bishops were present. There was nothing special except the election of +delegates to the General Conference in 1812. The New York Conference was +the first that elected its delegates. There was considerable excitement, +and some electioneering. They elected thirteen. Freeborn Garrettson +headed the delegation, and was followed by Daniel Ostrander, Aaron Hunt, +William Phœbus, William Anson, Nathan Bangs, Laban Clark, Truman Bishop, +Eben Smith, Henry Stead, Billy Hibbard, Seth Crowell, and Samuel Merwin. +They are all gone years ago, except the venerable Laban Clark. + +On Friday, May 31, the bishop preached at the “two-mile stone,” as it +was called, or “Bowery Village.” It was considered out of the city. He +preached in an academy in what is now St. Mark’s Place. The society +there was early organized. John and Gilbert Coutant were among the early +members. This was the germ of what is now the Seventh-street Church, one +of the most flourishing in New York. + +We put up with George Suckley, Esq., a wealthy gentleman of the old +school, who came over to America with Dr. Coke. We had the company of +Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, Freeborn Garrettson, and Daniel Hitt. Brother +Garrettson and Brother Suckley were intimate friends, and in 1827 Mr. +Garrettson died at the house of his friend in New York. + +Onward to Sherwood Yale, and spent the Sabbath there and at New Rochelle. +Here Thomas Paine was buried, and has a monument. On Monday to Croton to +General Van Cortland’s. The governor was ninety-one years old, with clear +mental faculties, and, best of all, happy in God his Saviour. The bishop +preached at three o’clock on the prodigal’s return. + +On Friday, June 7, we reached George Ingraham’s in Amenia. On Saturday +I wrote thus: “This day I am thirty-six years old, and it is twelve +years since I joined the Methodist connection. My much esteemed senior, +Thomas Ware, asked me if I had ‘a desire to join society.’ I answered, +‘If the society could venture on their part, I was willing to make the +trial.’ He then set down my name. It is ten years last January since I +left my dear father and mother and relations, with small gifts and little +Christian experience, and less in the ministry, not knowing much of men +and things, and but little knowledge of the English tongue; and yet +the people have generally received me in the character of an itinerant +minister in different parts of our continent. This is indeed marvelous. +It is the Lord’s doing. My soul feels deeply humbled in love and +gratitude before the Lord. Halleluiah! The sun shines bright, the meadows +and fields are clothed with grass, wheat, etc.; all nature smiles. O +for a trumpet’s voice and the power of the Spirit! that Henry might +successfully call souls to God.” I have transcribed this from my journal +that the reader might see the scrap of history it contains, and also the +frame of mind I was in at that time when I was a houseless wanderer. + +After spending the Sabbath at Amenia, we traveled through Hillsdale, +Lenox, Pittsfield, Pownal, and Bennington, to Ashgrove. We stopped at +Brother John Armitage’s, and here we met Bishop M’Kendree and Elijah +Chichester, who accompanied him to the New England Conference. Ashgrove, +as the reader well knows, is Methodist classic ground. + +On Wednesday we reached Barnard, Vermont, the seat of the New England +Conference. We put up with Andrew Stevens. On Thursday, June 20, +the session commenced. They had preaching every day. Elijah Hedding +preached at eleven o’clock from Isaiah xl, 1, 2. It was a sermon full of +consolation. On Friday there was a general fast that was observed by six +conferences, and Bishop Asbury preached and ordained the deacons. It was +a gracious time. The elders were ordained on Sunday afternoon after a +sermon by Bishop M’Kendree. + +On Tuesday, after a pleasant session, the Conference adjourned, and the +preachers repaired with cheerfulness to their different fields of labor. +Here also I witnessed the first election by this conference of delegates +to the General Conference. Nine were chosen: George Pickering, Oliver +Beale, Elijah Hedding, Joshua Soule, William Stevens, Asa Kent, Solomon +Sias, Joel Winch, and Daniel Webb. They have been gone years ago, except +Daniel Webb, who entered the traveling ministry sixty-seven years ago, +and Joshua Soule. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +BISHOP ASBURY’S VISIT TO CANADA. + + +For many years Bishop Asbury had an ardent desire to visit Canada. I was +with the bishop in July, 1809, near Lake Champlain, where he ordained +“Joseph Sampson, a native of Canada, and sent him to be a missionary to +his countrymen.” He adds, “The day of small things will be great; but +the day is not yet come, rather it is still afar off. Patience, my soul! +Do I not feel for the lost sheep? Yea, verily.” We had at that time two +districts in Canada, and a little over two thousand members. The next +year Joseph Sampson was presiding elder of Lower Canada District. + +Mr. Asbury believed a bishop should travel through every part of his +diocese, and as far as possible acquaint himself with every part of his +work. When we were in Kentucky, in October, 1809, he wrote: “If spared, I +shall see Canada before I die.” + +The foundation of a great work had been laid there by William Lozee, +James Coleman, Darius Dunham, Joseph Sawyer, Hezekiah C. Wooster, Samuel +Coate, Joseph Jewell, Elijah Woolsey, Nathan Bangs, and others, to whom +the Methodists in Canada owe a debt of gratitude. Annually the bishop had +heard of the state of the work there since he appointed William Lozee +the first missionary in 1791. + +Mr. Asbury selected the interval between the session of the New England +and Genesee Conferences for his visit to Canada. Had he not gone then he +would never have made the journey, for the war which commenced the next +year between Great Britain and the United States would have prevented, +and by the time war was over the bishop would have been too feeble to +have undertaken it. + +According to his usual custom the plan was laid beforehand, his guide +selected, and his appointments sent forward. At Barnard, Vt., Bishop +M’Kendree and he separated, to meet at Paris, N. Y., the seat of the +Genesee Conference, and he and I started for Canada. An ordinary man +would have sought an interval of rest; but the laborious Asbury, +though old and infirm, never thought of repose till the heavenly land +should unfold its boundless loveliness and welcome him to its rest and +refreshment forever. + +Our guide was the Rev. Bela Smith, then preaching in Canada, on the +Cornwall Circuit. We had a very severe time on our journey. We crossed +Lake Champlain, and Mr. Asbury preached in a bar-room in Plattsburgh. +The heat was intolerable. The roads through the woods, over rocks, down +gulleys, over stumps, and through the mud, were indescribable. They were +enough to jolt a hale bishop to death, let alone a poor infirm old man +near the grave. + +We crossed the Chateaugay and Salmon Rivers, and on Monday, July 1, +reached a large Indian village called St. Regis. The St. Regis River, a +beautiful stream, here enters the grand old St. Lawrence. These Indians, +and there were some thousands of them, were a nation composed of the +fragments of several once powerful tribes, who had been gathered many +years before by a Roman Catholic priest. A part of the Indians belonged +to the United States and the rest to Canada. The St. Lawrence River is +not the line that here separates the two countries. The Indians belonging +to Canada live one side of the line, those belonging to the United +States on the other. They were chiefly Roman Catholics, and had a large +church, with its steeple and bell, and a parsonage, in which the priest +lived, near the bank of the St. Lawrence. The church was built about the +beginning of 1700. They are known as the St. Regis Indians. + +In entering the village, as Mr. Asbury was leading his horse across a +bridge made of poles, the animal got his feet between them and sunk into +the mud and water. Away went the saddle-bags; the books and clothes were +wet, and the horse was fast. We got a pole under him to pry him out; at +the same time the horse made a leap and came out safe and sound. + +The French have intermarried with these Indians. Since our visit we have +had, and still have, a mission among them and a little church. But we +have had no great success. The beads, crosses, etc., suit the Indians +best, for they strike their senses. + +We crossed the St. Lawrence in romantic style. We hired four Indians to +paddle us over. They lashed three canoes together and put our horses in +them, their fore feet in one canoe, their hind feet in another. It was a +singular load: three canoes, three passengers, (the bishop, Bela Smith, +and myself,) three horses, and four Indians. They were to take us over +for three dollars. It was nearly three miles across to where we landed. +It was late in the afternoon when we started, and we were a long time +crossing, for some part was rough, especially the rapids, so we did not +reach the other side till late in the evening. Then the Indians claimed +an additional dollar. They said, “four men four dollar,” intimating that +three dollars could not be so easily divided among four. We cheerfully +paid the additional dollar, and were full of gratitude for our crossing +in safety. We might have shared the fate of Robert Hibbard, a preacher +in Canada, who was drowned October 10, 1812, in the St. Lawrence, in +crossing the ferry some distance below Montreal. His body was never found. + +We arrived in Canada on July 1, 1811, landing at Cornwall, and about +midnight we reached the hospitable dwelling of Evan Roy, who hailed the +bishop’s arrival with joy, and gave him and his companions a welcome +worthy of patriarchal times. + +We found it warm in Canada, and the bishop suffered greatly. Here Henry +Ryan, presiding elder of Upper Canada, met us. The next day Bishop Asbury +preached, and Brother Ryan and I exhorted. + +The day after there was a love-feast, and the Lord’s supper was +administered, and the bishop preached. After meeting we rode up to the +banks of the river, dined at Stephen Bailey’s, and then went to Brother +Glassford’s. The bishop rode in Brother Glassford’s small close carriage, +which he called a “calash,” and he inquired how they were to get out if +they should upset. He had hardly asked the question before over went the +carriage, and again the venerable bishop was upset; but fortunately no +bones were broken; the saplings alongside of the road broke the fall, and +he escaped uninjured. + +On Thursday, July 4, we heard the firing on the other side of the river, +celebrating the day. The war spirit was waking up in Canada as well as in +the United States, and the people there answered by firing popguns by way +of contempt. This woke up my patriotism, for I had always regarded the +Fourth of July as the birthday of liberty, the Sabbath day of freedom. + +On Friday the bishop preached in Matilda Chapel, in what was called the +“German Settlement;” I followed him, preaching in German. We had a good +time, and from appearances good was done. The bishop was delighted with +the people. He wrote thus: “I was weak in body, yet greatly helped in +speaking. Here is a decent, loving people. My soul is much united to +them. I called upon Father Dulmage, and on Brother Hicks, a branch of an +old Irish stock of Methodists in New York.” + +We tarried over night with David Breckenridge. He was a local deacon. He +married and baptized a great many people, and attended many funerals. In +1804 he preached the funeral sermon of Mrs. Heck, who died suddenly. She +is said to have been a most estimable woman. She was the wife of Paul +Heck, who was one of the first trustees of old John-street, and it is +said she claimed to be the woman who stirred up Philip Embury to preach +the Gospel.[37] + +On Saturday we rode twelve miles before breakfast to Brother Boyce’s, +where we attended a quarterly meeting. The meeting was at Elizabethtown. +I preached at noon on 1 Peter iii, 12. William Mitchel and Bela Smith +exhorted. It was a time of power; many of God’s people rejoiced, and some +mourners found converting grace. On Sunday we had a glorious time in +love-feast and at the Lord’s supper. Bishop Asbury preached a thrilling +sermon from Titus ii, 11, 12. + +This was about sixty miles from Cornwall. The bishop greatly admired the +country through which we rode. He says: “Our ride has brought us through +one of the finest countries I have ever seen. The timber is of a noble +size, the cattle are well shaped and well looking, the crops are abundant +on a most fruitful soil. Surely this is a land that God the Lord hath +blessed.” + +This extract not only shows the estimate the bishop formed of that part +of Canada, but his habits of observation, extending not merely to the +inhabitants, but to the soil, the crops, the timber, the cattle, both to +their shape as well as size. The bishop passed through this world with +his eyes open. + +On Monday we proceeded with Henry Ryan and E. Cooper, a young man from +Ireland, to Cannoughway Falls to Colonel Stone’s. Father Asbury was very +lame in his left foot with inflammatory rheumatism. He suffered like +a martyr. On Tuesday we reached Brother Elias Dulmage’s, a very kind +family, and Bishop Asbury preached in the first town church on Heb. x, +38, 39; Brother Cooper and I exhorted. The bishop was so poorly he could +not proceed on his journey, and was obliged to lie by and rest, that he +might be able to attend the Genesee Conference at Paris. He remained +at Brother Dulmage’s, where he found a very kind home, and I went with +Henry Ryan to his quarterly meeting in Fourth or Adolphus Town, by Bay +of Quinte. We dined at Father Miller’s, a native of Germany. On Friday +we rode to Brother John Embury’s, by Hay Bay. He was a nephew of Philip +Embury, the apostle of American Methodism. He was awakened at the age of +sixteen under his uncle’s preaching in New York. The next day, Saturday, +Ezekiel Cooper preached at eleven o’clock, and Henry Ryan and I exhorted. + +On the Lord’s day we had a glorious love-feast, and at the Lord’s supper +Jesus was made known to us in the breaking of bread. In a beautiful +grove, under the shade of trees planted by God’s own hand, I preached +to two thousand people from Luke xix, 10, John Reynolds and Henry Ryan +exhorted. The sparks flew and the fire fell. Henry Ryan was from Ireland. +He was a powerful man in that day. + +In order to get to the conference Brother Ryan and I were obliged, after +this day of toil, to ride all night to meet the bishop. About eleven +o’clock we reached Brother Miller’s, where we were refreshed. We slept +for a while, and when it was time to start I had hard work to awake +Brother Ryan, he was sleeping so soundly. At length he awoke, and we +started, and wended our way through the dark, and just as the morning +light made its appearance we reached Brother Dulmage’s. The distance we +rode that night was thirty-five miles. + +To our great joy we found Father Asbury better. We found also that +notwithstanding his lameness and indisposition the ruling passion was +so strong that he could not keep quiet; but he had sent round and got a +congregation, to whom he preached in the chapel. He also met the society +and baptized two children. + +We were in Canada just a fortnight, during which time we visited a +number of important places: Cornwall, Matilda, Augusta, Kingston, and +Elizabethtown. Everywhere the bishop was treated as the angel of the +Churches. I was also in Adolphustown, Hay Bay Shore, and Bay of Quinte. +In Adolphustown the first regularly organized class was formed in Canada, +and at Hay Bay the first Methodist church in Canada was erected. + +The bishop preached six times in Canada, besides numerous lectures which +he delivered to societies. + +Bela Smith piloted Mr. Asbury and myself in crossing Chateaugay woods +from Plattsburgh to St. Regis, and crossed with us into Canada. In the +woods there was a log across the road, and it was very muddy. I rolled +the log out of the road so we could pass. Bela Smith said, “I believe +you can do anything.” “O yes,” I said, “anything that is necessary to be +done.” Forty years afterward I met him in Forsyth-street Church at the +New York Conference, and I asked him if he remembered Chateaugay woods. +He said yes. And while we talked over the dangers we encountered in that +perilous journey, and the sacrifices of the past, a young man listened +to us, and with a significant look he tossed his head and said, “It is +all Greek to me.” I have no doubt but he would have thought so if he +had had as much difficulty in translating it as some of us had; but a +brighter day has dawned upon the Church, and I rejoice that the young men +are now called to make no such sacrifices, and to bear no such burdens. +Mr. Smith was an excellent man. After suffering much he died in holy +triumph, and was buried in Durham, N. Y. His excellent wife, whose name +was Merwin, a relative of Rev. Samuel Merwin, sleeps beside him. He had +two sons, Thomas B. and J. W., who have caught his falling mantle, and +are members of the New York Conference. + +The bishop being anxious to get to the conference at Paris, left +Kingston on Monday to cross Lake Ontario for Sackett’s Harbor in an open +sail-boat, dignified by the name of “packet.” We commenced our voyage +with a very heavy head wind, and were obliged to beat all the way. We +could have crossed in a few hours if the wind had been fair. A tremendous +storm overtook us; the wind blew like a hurricane, and it was so dark +the captain did not know where he was. He intended to have anchored at +a harbor in Grenadier Island, but we passed it without knowing it. The +captain swore and cursed the wind when he found he could not reach the +island before dark, and then I thought we were in danger. A female +passenger reproved him, and inquired if he was not ashamed to swear so. +He made no reply, but he swore no more that night. + +After we passed the island we looked back, and beheld a large raft with +a fire upon it. When we saw the light we hailed those on the raft, and +learned from them that we were near to some dangerous rocks. We should +no doubt have found a watery grave if we had not seen the light on that +raft. They had come to anchor in consequence of the storm. + +We turned our old scow round and came to anchor alongside of the raft +on the north side of Fox Island, Henry Ryan and the rest of our company +left the vessel and went on to the island, where there was a house of +entertainment. + +Bishop Asbury and I remained on the boat till morning. There was no +cabin; it was an open boat, and the wind was howling and the storm +beating upon us. In order to make the bishop as comfortable as possible +I made him a bed, covered him with the blankets we carried with us, and +fixed the canvas over him like a tent, to keep off the wind and the rain. +Then I laid down in the bottom of the boat, on some stones placed there +for ballast, which I covered with some hay I procured at Kingston for our +horses. + +At midnight a sudden squall struck our frail bark; the canvas flapped +and awoke and alarmed the bishop. He cried out, “Henry, Henry, the horses +are going overboard.” I quieted his fears by telling him that all was +safe, that it was merely the flapping of the sail in the midnight winds. +He then lay down again and was quiet till morning. The reader will +remember that I had no sleep the night before, but traveled nearly forty +miles; and on the lake it was difficult to sleep under the circumstances +I have described. No shipwrecked mariner who had endured the darkness of +a stormy night on the ocean was ever more rejoiced to see the light of +the morning than ourselves. “Truly light is sweet, and a pleasant thing +it is to behold the sun.” + +In the morning we went on to Fox Island and took our breakfast, which +tasted good, as we lay down the night before supperless. Then we set +sail for Sackett’s Harbor, and arrived there about two in the afternoon +in safety, after the perilous storm and tedious night, and we were never +more glad to set our feet on terra firma. + +We dined at Sackett’s Harbor, and then set out in a thunder-shower toward +the seat of conference. It was singular to see the feeble old bishop, who +had such a rough passage across the lake, moving forward in a heavy rain, +amid lightning and thunder, showing that in his estimation “the king’s +business required haste.” In his journal he speaks of his sufferings: +“My foot swelled, and was very painful.” “I have passed a night in great +pain and disquietude.” Friday, “Sore, lame, and weary.” + +On Friday we reached Paris, where we met with Bishop M’Kendree, and the +old veterans were overjoyed to meet each other. Bishop Asbury wrote: “My +spirit rejoiced with dear Bishop M’Kendree; he nursed me as if I had been +his own babe,” We were kindly entertained at Brother Elijah Davis’s. + +It was a very pleasant and harmonious conference. On Thursday evening it +adjourned, to meet the next July at Niagara, Canada. + +Loring Grant, who still lives, an old veteran, and Isaac Puffer, known as +chapter and verse, or as a traveling concordance, were ordained deacons. +The latter has fallen asleep. Charles Giles, George Harman, and others +were ordained elders. They elected their first delegates to General +Conference, William B. Lacy, Anning Owen, Timothy Lee, James Kelsey, +Elijah Batchelor, and William Snow. It is singular they did not send one +of their presiding elders, Gideon Draper, William Case, or Henry Ryan. + +The next day Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree and myself set out for +Wilkesbarre, accompanied by Gideon Draper, who was then a young man. +Bishop Asbury carried his crutches with him, and his leg pained him so +we were obliged to stop at a house and get some vinegar with which to +alleviate his misery by bathing it. + +We reached Kingston and put up with Elijah Shomakers. On Sunday morning +the Methodists in Kingston had a rich treat: Bishop Asbury preached a +sermon on the Pharisee and the publican in his own peculiar style; Bishop +M’Kendree preached immediately after from 1 Cor. i, 23, 24, on preaching +Christ crucified, and the effects of such preaching upon different +hearers. At five o’clock Bishop Asbury preached at Wilkesbarre from 2 +Cor. vi, 1, 2, “We then as workers together,” etc. + +Bishop Asbury thus notices the labors of this Sabbath: “Sabbath, August +4, 1811.—Preached in the Methodistico-Presbyterian Church at Kingston. +It was a time of freedom, and words were given me to speak, which were +felt by preachers and people. I preached at Wilkesbarre and had a liberal +season.” We were invited to Judge Fell’s, and were treated kindly. + +On Friday, after intense suffering on the part of Bishop Asbury, we +reached my father’s. No wonder the bishop wrote: “My flesh is ready to +think it something for a man of sixty-six, with a highly inflamed and +painful foot, to ride nearly four hundred miles on a stumbling, starting +horse, slipping or blundering over desperate roads, from Paris to this +place, in twelve days.” + +We tarried here longer than usual, from the 9th to the 20th. Thus I had +a fine opportunity for a final visit with my much loved father. On Sunday +Bishop Asbury preached at Boehm’s Chapel from Rom. viii, 11-18. It was +the last time my father ever heard Bishop Asbury preach. I preached in +the afternoon from 1 John i, 9; the last time my father ever heard his +son Henry. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +FOURTH WESTERN AND SOUTHERN TOUR—CONFERENCES OF 1811. + + +On Tuesday, August 20, we took out solemn leave of my dear aged parents +and friends. O how my heart was pierced with hearing my father say, as +the tears ran down his furrowed cheeks, “We shall not see each other +again.” How I gazed upon his patriarchal form, and wept as he embraced +me, when I thought those arms will embrace me no more. Bishop Asbury +said, “We hope to meet in glory.” This was a word in season, and proved +a cordial to my soul. My father’s words were prophetic. Before we came +round again the sun shone on his grave, and his spirit had returned to +God. + +We started West, and the tour was full of incident. We crossed again +the rugged Alleghanies, and spent a Sabbath in Pittsburgh. We attended +several camp-meetings. The first was in Ohio, fourteen miles above +Zanesville, beginning on September 2. Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree +preached, and some others. There were thirteen hundred people, and a +number were converted. The second camp-meeting we attended was on the +15th, one mile from Xenia. Bishop Asbury preached on Sunday, and after +half an hour’s intermission Bishop M’Kendree followed. + +On the 21st we visited Rev. Philip Gatch. I wrote: “But dear Mother Gatch +is gone to a better country, that is, a heavenly.” She was a blessed +woman. + +On Friday we reached Cincinnati, where we spent three Sabbaths, and +stopped at Oliver M. Spencer’s. On Sunday the 29th Bishop Asbury and +Learner Blackman preached. + +On Tuesday, October 1, the Western Conference commenced its session. +There was much weighty and critical business, but it was attended to +with order, dispatch, and good feeling. On Sunday, October 6, Bishops +Asbury and M’Kendree again preached. The conference lasted ten days, and +one hundred ministers were appointed to fields of labor. The work was so +widening and spreading that there were not workmen enough to supply the +work: twenty-two additional laborers were needed. The following Sabbath +the bishop delivered what he called “a farewell warning to preachers;” +after which he met the society and then visited the sick. + +At this session they made their first election of delegates to the +General Conference. Learner Blackman, who was very popular, headed the +list. He was brother-in-law of John Collins. I had known him since 1800, +and was present when he was received at the Philadelphia Conference that +year. He traveled with Bishop Asbury and myself many hundred miles on +his way to General Conference. He met with a sad end. He was drowned in +the Ohio in crossing a ferry in 1815. The other delegates were Benjamin +Lakin, James Quinn, Frederick Stier, John Sale, William Pattison, Isaac +Quinn, William Houston, John Collins, Samuel Parker, James Axley, David +Young, Thomas Stilwell. + +On October 14 we started for the South Carolina Conference. We passed +through Kentucky, everywhere preaching the word. The bishop wrote, “What +a field is opened and opening daily in this new world!” + +I will give a specimen of the lights and shadows of the itinerancy. +Friday, about half an hour after dark, we came to Rock Castle Bridge, +and wished for entertainment over night. The answer was, “All full.” The +bishop, sick and feeble as he was, and I, had to grope our way seven +miles before there was another place at which we could put up. We both +rejoiced when we reached, as we supposed, the end of our journey for +that toilsome day. We inquired if they could entertain us. The answer +was, “No admittance.” On we went a mile further, and wished to tarry +over night. The answer was, “No room.” We began to despair. The hour was +late. Then we came across a person who kindly conducted us through the +dark woods amid stumps and stones for several miles to the house of a +kind friend, who exhibited a hospitality worthy of patriarchal times. +We rode forty-seven miles that day. It was eleven at night when we +arrived. We had had no dinner or supper, so they gave us a delicious meal +that answered for both. This was at Waynesborough, and the family that +so kindly entertained us was Colonel Milton’s. We did not retire till +midnight, and next morning at five o’clock we were again on our journey, +and traveled on till on Friday, the 8th, we reached Athens, Ga., where we +were kindly received by Hope Hull. On Tuesday Bishop Asbury preached at +Bethel Chapel, and Hope Hull and I exhorted. + +HOPE HULL was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. His name is one that +will long live in the annals of Methodism as one of the pioneers of our +Church in New England and the South. He had a fine intellectual face, and +features that expressed determination. His hair, originally black, was +then sprinkled with gray. He had a melodious voice, was a very superior +preacher, and in eloquence few equaled him. In 1794 he traveled with +Bishop Asbury, who greatly admired him as a man, as a preacher, and as an +orator. He was a pioneer in the cause of education. He resided in Athens, +Ga., and had much to do with the origin and prosperity of the University +of Georgia, and was for a time president. + +He was born in 1763, entered the traveling ministry in 1785, and died +October 4, 1818. One inquired concerning his spiritual state when he was +dying. He heroically replied, “God has laid me under marching orders, and +I am ready to obey.” + +Everywhere in the South the bishop’s visit was hailed with joy, and he +preached almost every day. + +The bishop and I went to Savannah and Augusta, and I preached in both +places. I preached in German as well as English. Here I saw peach-trees +in bloom, a great curiosity for December. + +On the morning of December 16, about three o’clock, the house where we +were was awfully shaken by an earthquake. This was repeated at eight +o’clock as we were at our family devotions. Many people were much +alarmed. The shock was felt very seriously in Columbia, so that some of +the citizens ran out into the streets, supposing the houses would fall +down. + +We arrived at Camden, the seat of the conference, and were entertained +by Samuel Mathis. The conference commenced on the twenty-first. Bishops +Asbury and M’Kendree were present, and we had good tidings from almost +every part of the work. + +On Sunday morning Bishop M’Kendree preached from John iii, 18, 19, “He +that believeth on him is not condemned,” etc. In the afternoon Bishop +Asbury preached from 2 Chron. xiv, 7. On Thursday morning Learner +Blackman preached from James v, 16. On Friday evening the conference +adjourned. Such peace and love I have hardly ever seen in any conference. +A goodly number were converted during the session. + +There was a great increase during the year—three thousand three hundred +and eighty. The bishops were in fine spirits, full of hope in regard +to the future. Twelve were received into full connection and ordained +deacons. They elected the following to the first delegated General +Conference: Lewis Myers, Lovick Pierce, Joseph Tarpley, Daniel Asbury, +William M. Kennedy, Samuel Dunwoody, James E. Glenn, Hilliard Judge, and +Joseph Travis. + +Leaving Camden we went to Charleston, thence to Georgetown, where we +stopped with William Wayne, nephew of General Anthony Wayne. He was +born in Wilmington in 1736. He was awakened by reading the writings +of John Wesley, and was converted in his forty-seventh year under a +sermon preached by Bishop Asbury in Georgetown. He and his wife joined +in August, 1784, and this was the nucleus of the Methodist society in +Georgetown. + +The Virginia Conference was held in Richmond on February 20, 1812. This +was the first time the conference had been held at the capital. On +Sunday Bishop M’Kendree preached in the morning, and Dr. Jennings in +the afternoon. On Wednesday Bishop Asbury preached from 2 Tim. ii, 1-7, +on the faithfulness of ministers, their ability, their disentanglement +from the world, their power of endurance, and their reward. Afterward +he ordained the elders, and while he was performing the office in +his solemn and impressive manner the work of revival broke out in the +gallery, and quite a number were converted. I never before witnessed +just such a scene in conference. I wrote: “O my soul, never forget the +blessing received on this occasion.” + +The conference made its first election for delegates to the General +Conference, choosing Jesse Lee, Philip Bruce, John Buxton, Thomas L. +Douglass, James Boyd, Richard Lattimore, Charles Callaway, C. H. Hines, +William Jean, and John Early. + +While at Richmond I visited the ruins of the theater that was burned the +night of December 11, 1811. Just before the conclusion of the play the +scenery caught fire, and the whole building was almost instantly wrapped +in flames. I saw the staircase where the people crowded down the steps +to escape, and falling one upon another, perished in a heap. There was a +general gloom in the city, and the people were clad in mourning. + +On the site of the theater they erected a house of worship, which they +called “Monumental Church.” Indeed it was a monument of one of the +saddest events that has occurred on our continent. It was an Episcopal +church, and Bishop Moore was the rector. The remains of the unfortunate +victims who perished were deposited in a marble urn, which stands in the +front portico of the church, and therefore its name. + +In the interval between the session of the Virginia and Baltimore +Conferences, the bishop made a tour through the most interesting part +of old Virginia. We went to James City, and he preached there; then to +Williamsburgh, and on the 3d of March he preached in the venerable old +State-house or capitol, in the afternoon, to a crowded audience; and I +had the honor of holding forth in the evening from Heb. ii, 3, “How shall +we escape,” etc. We lodged at Brother Ratcliff’s. This was the capital of +Virginia before Richmond, and it is the oldest incorporated town in the +state. + +The old walls of the State-house in which we preached had echoed with the +eloquence of Virginia’s greatest men. Here Patrick Henry made his first +grand speech; and in this old house Henry exclaimed, in tones of thunder, +“Cesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the +Third—” (“Treason!” cried the Speaker; “treason, treason!” echoed from +every part of the house)—Henry exclaimed, “may profit by his example. +If _this_ be treason, make the most of it.” It was in this edifice they +returned thanks to George Washington for his services in the French and +Indian war, and he rose to reply, and was so embarrassed he could say +nothing; then the Speaker, Robinson, said, “Sit down, Mr. Washington; +your modesty is equal to your valor, and that surpasses the power of any +language that I possess.” + +We then went to Elizabeth City County and preached at Hampton, the county +seat, ninety-six miles from Richmond. Hampton is distinguished for its +antiquity; its site was visited by Captain John Smith previous to the +settlement in Jamestown. Old Point Comfort, on which Fortress Monroe +stands, is two miles and a half from Hampton. + +The bishop preached every day, going miles out of our direct route, +visiting and confirming the Churches during the interval between the +Virginia and Baltimore Conferences. + +On Friday, March 20, the Baltimore Conference commenced its session in +Leesburgh, Virginia. There were twelve ordained deacons, among others +Beverly Waugh, afterward book agent, then bishop; Joseph Frye, of blessed +memory, and James M. Hanson. They also elected their delegates to the +first delegated conference, fifteen in number: Nelson Reed, Joseph +Toy, Joshua Wells, Nicholas Snethen, Enoch George, Asa Shinn, Hamilton +Jefferson, Jacob Gruber, Robert R. Roberts, William Ryland, Christopher +Frye, James Smith, Robert Burch, Henry Smith, Andrew Hemphill. These were +all men of mark; two afterward became bishops. + +On Sabbath both Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree preached. Bishop Asbury +ordained the deacons on Sunday, and the elders were ordained the next +Wednesday, after an able sermon from Nicholas Snethen. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +DEATH, FUNERAL, AND CHARACTER OF REV. MARTIN BOEHM. + + +A short time before the conference closed at Leesburgh Bishop Asbury +said to me, “Henry, as soon as conference adjourns you must have the +horses ready and we must go right to your father’s.” I reminded him of +appointments he had sent on to Baltimore and through the eastern shore +of Maryland. He said, “Never mind, we can get them filled; I tell you we +must go right to your father’s.” We were then one hundred miles distant. + +The reason of the sudden change in his plans I believed to be, the bishop +had a presentiment or an impression that my father was dead. How else +could we account for his abandoning a long list of appointments, changing +his entire route, and hastening on to my father’s? + +When we reached Samuel Brinkley’s, who lived about a mile from our old +homestead, the mystery was solved; there we heard my father was dead. The +aged Asbury wept, and I felt sad at the thought I should see him no more. +I learned that he was taken sick the 17th of March, and on Monday the 23d +he departed this life in great peace and triumph, so his mournful words +proved true that “we should never see each other again.” + +The bishop makes this record: “Friday, a cold disagreeable ride brought +us across the country to Samuel Brinkley’s; here I received the first +intelligence of the death of my dear old friend, Martin Boehm.” + +The next day, Saturday, we passed by his new-made grave to the old +homestead, where I found my mother in all the sorrows of widowhood. The +bishop writes thus: “Sabbath, April 5, I preached at Boehm’s Chapel +the funeral sermon of Martin Boehm, and gave my audience some very +interesting particulars of his life.” His text was, “Behold an Israelite +indeed, in whom there is no guile.” Immense was the crowd; and the +occasion was one of mournful interest. The bishop drew the character of +his lifetime friend with great exactness, and also that of many of his +cotemporaries, particularly William Otterbein. + +“Martin Boehm,” he said, “was plain in dress and manners. When age had +stamped its impress of reverence upon him he filled the mind with the +noble idea of a patriarch. At the head of a family, a father, a neighbor, +a friend, a companion, the prominent feature of his character was +goodness; you felt that he was good. His mind was strong, and well stored +with the learning necessary for one whose aim is to preach Christ with +apostolic zeal and simplicity. + +“Martin Boehm had frequent and severe conflicts in his own mind, produced +by the necessity he felt himself under of offending his Mennonist +brethren by the zeal and doctrines of his ministry. Some he gained, but +most of them opposed him. He had difficulties also with ‘The United +Brethren.’ It was late in life that he joined the Methodists, to whom +long before his wife and children had attached themselves. The head of +the house had two societies to pass through to arrive at the Methodists, +and his meek and quiet spirit kept him back. + +“In his ministry he did not make the Gospel a charge to any one; his +reward was souls and glory. + +“The virtue of hospitality was practiced by his family as a matter of +course, and in following the impulses of their own generous natures the +members of his household obeyed the oft-repeated charge of their head to +open his doors to the homeless, that the weary might be solaced and the +hungry fed. And what a family was here presented to an observant visitor! +Here was order, quiet, occupation. The father, if not absent on a journey +of five hundred miles in cold, hunger, and privation, proclaiming the +glad tidings of salvation to his dispersed German brethren, might, by his +conduct under his own roof, explain to a careful looker on the secret +of a parent’s success in rearing a family to the duties of piety, to +the diligent and useful occupation of time, and to the uninterrupted +exhibition of reflected and reciprocal love, esteem, and kindness in word +and deed. + +“If it is true, as generally believed, that the mother does much toward +forming the character of her children, it will be readily allowed that +Martin Boehm had an able help-meet in his pious wife. The offspring of +this noble pair have done them honor. The son Jacob, immediately upon +his marriage, took upon himself the management of the farm, that his +excellent father might, ‘without carefulness,’ extend his labors more far +and wide. + +“A younger son, Henry, is a useful minister of the Methodist connection, +having the advantage of being able to preach in English and German. We +are willing to hope that the children of Martin Boehm, and his children’s +children to the third, fourth, and last generations, will have cause +to thank God that his house for fifty years has been a house for the +welcome reception of Gospel ministers, and one in which the worship of +God has been uninterruptedly preserved and practiced. O ye children and +grandchildren! O rising generation, who have so often heard the prayers +of this man of God in the houses of your fathers! O ye Germans to whom +he has long preached the word of truth! Martin Boehm being dead yet +speaketh. O hear his voice from the grave exhorting you to repent, to +believe, to obey!”[38] + +After the bishop had finished his impressive discourse, which was +listened to with tears and sighs by a numerous auditory, he called on me +to speak. I endeavored to do so, but when I stood in the pulpit where I +had so often beheld my father, in the church that bore his name, with my +venerable mother before me, tottering over the grave, my relatives all +around me, where I could look out of the window into the burying-ground +and see the new-made grave of my father, my eyes filled with tears, and I +was so overcome that I could only utter, “Let silence speak.” + +The people were deeply affected all over the house. There was weeping +from many eyes. My father was greatly beloved in life, and deeply +lamented in death. I had heard the venerable Asbury often when he was +great, and he was peculiarly great on funeral occasions, but then he far +transcended himself. + +He called upon Thomas Ware to make some observations. He had long known +and loved my father, and his remarks were very touching and appropriate. +The bishop then called upon Abram Keaggy, who had married my sister; but +his feelings overcame him, and he sat down and wept, and thus we all wept +together.[39] A spectator might have said, “Behold how they loved him.” + +My father was in his eighty-seventh year when he died, and had preached +the Gospel fifty-five years. + +It is a matter of deep regret that I am under the necessity of noticing +a grave attack upon the character of my father and of the Methodist +Episcopal Church, made by the historians of the “United Brethren in +Christ.”[40] + +The attack was first made thirty-nine years after my father was in the +grave, and was repeated eleven years later. So half a century after my +father’s death I, an old man in my ninety-first year, am obliged to +vindicate his character from those who profess to revere his memory, +who eulogize him, who place him next to the great Otterbein. Beautiful +garlands they bring with which to adorn their victim. These historians +say: + +In justice to his memory, to the Church in whose origin he was so +intimately concerned, and to the truth of history, we must pause at +the grave of this venerable patriarch to review an account of William +Otterbein and Martin Boehm, which first appeared in the Methodist +Magazine, volume vi, pp. 210-249. The sketch purports to have been +furnished to Bishop Asbury a short time previous to his death, by his +friend, F. Hollingsworth, the transcriber of the bishop’s journal; it has +also been embodied in the history of the Methodist Episcopal Church, by +Dr. Bangs, and may be found in volume ii, pp. 365-376. Here is the matter +referred to: + + “Martin Boehm, of whom we desire to speak, was born in November, + 1725. As a professor of religion and minister of Christ, the + labors and experience of his life may be pretty justly estimated + by what we learn from himself, communicated in answers to certain + questions propounded to him by his son Jacob, which we transcribe. + + “_Ques._ Father, when were you put into the ministry? + + “_Ans._ My ministerial labors began about the year 1756. Three + years afterward, by nomination to the lot, I received full + pastoral orders. + + “_Q._ What was your religious experience during that time? + + “_A._ I was sincere and strict in the religious duties of prayer + in my family, in the congregation, and in the closet. I lived and + preached according to the light I had: I was a servant and not a + son; nor did I know any one, at that time, who would claim the + birthright by adoption but Nancy Keaggy, my mother’s sister; she + was a woman of great piety and singular devotion to God. + + “_Q._ By what means did you discover the nature and necessity of + a real change of heart? + + “_A._ By deep meditation upon the doctrine which I myself + preached, of the fall of man, his sinful estate, and utter + helplessness; I discovered and felt the want of Christ within, + etc., etc. + + “_Q._ Were your labors owned of the Lord in the awakening and + conversion of souls? + + “_A._ Yes; many were brought to the knowledge of the truth. But + it was a strange work; and some of the Mennonist meeting-houses + were closed against me. Nevertheless, I was received in other + places. I now preached the Gospel spiritually and powerfully. + Some years afterward I was excommunicated from the Mennonist + church, on a charge truly enough advanced, of holding fellowship + with other societies of a different language. I had invited the + Methodists to my house, and they soon formed the society in my + neighborhood, which exists to this day. My beloved wife, Eve, my + children, and my cousin Keaggy’s family, were among the first of + its members. For myself, I felt my heart more greatly enlarged + toward all religious persons and all denominations of Christians. + Upward of thirty years ago I became acquainted with my greatly + beloved brother, William Otterbein, and several other ministers, + who about this time had been ejected from their churches as I + had been from mine, because of their zeal, which was looked upon + as an irregularity. We held many large meetings in Pennsylvania, + Maryland, and New Virginia, which generally lasted three days. At + these meetings hundreds were made the subjects of penitence and + pardon. Being convinced of the necessity of order and discipline + in the Church of God, and having no wish to be at the head of a + separate body, I advised serious persons to join the Methodists, + whose doctrine, discipline, and zeal suited, as I thought, an + unlearned, sincere, and simple-hearted people. Several of the + ministers with whom I labored continued to meet in a conference + of the German United Brethren; but we felt difficulties arising + from the want of that which the Methodists possessed. Age having + overtaken me with some of its accompanying infirmities, I could + not travel as I had formerly done. In 1802 I enrolled my name + on a Methodist class-book, and I have found great comfort in + meeting with my brethren. I can truly say my last days are my + best days. My beloved Eve is traveling with me the same road, + Zionward; my children, and most of my grandchildren, are made the + partakers of the same grace. I am, this 12th of April, 1811, in + my eighty-sixth year. Through the boundless goodness of God I am + still able to visit the sick, and occasionally to preach in the + neighborhood: to His name be all the glory in Christ Jesus.” + +After giving this quotation, Mr. Spayth observes: + + The first remark we make on the foregoing is that, as Father + Boehm spoke but little English at best, the foregoing questions + and answers were neither written or spoken by him in English. It + is true that he went to Virginia in 1761, but not as Jacob would + have it understood, before he had experienced a change of heart, + _but after that event_. As to the statement we have given of the + cause of his going to Virginia, we are safe to vouchsafe for its + correctness, for we had it _from his own lips_. For some reason, + or by some means, the statement given by Jacob may be warped in + the English version. + + The second exception we take is to the idea conveyed in the + statement that his name was enrolled on a Methodist class-book + in 1802. That his name was placed on the class-book referred to + is true, but the circumstances were as follows: A meeting-house + had been built on his land principally by his aid and that of his + German brethren. At this meeting-house the Methodists had formed + a class previous to the year 1802, under the liberal construction + of their rules, and hence with the free assent of Bother Boehm; + but this liberality was some time after withdrawn, and the + restrictive rule relating to class-meetings and love-feasts was + insisted on, and even the venerable Boehm was not excepted. Here + was a dilemma. To admit Brother Boehm, the preachers said, was + in violation of an express disciplinary rule, and to deny him + the privilege in his own meeting-house was hard; but the law is + imperative and binding. Now comes the gist of the matter. Brother + Boehm was entreated, _for form’s sake_, at least, to allow his + name to go on the class, nominally, as a private member, and all + would be right. To this, for peace’s sake, he consented, and + nothing more. + + How far the law of kindness, of Christian friendship, and + hospitality, and of pure love had to stand aside in this case we + leave to every one to say. As it was it did not give the Brethren + a moment’s concern, nor would we here have taken any notice of + it at all had not the Methodist historian made it a subject of + record. In concluding this topic we remark that Brother Boehm’s + relation to the Brethren Church was unbroken from first to last, + as has already been seen. + + This our annual conference proceedings sufficiently show. Thus + in 1800, in connection with Otterbein, he was elected bishop. He + was prevented by sickness from attending the conference of 1801; + attended conference in Maryland in 1802, was re-elected bishop + in 1805, and attended the conference of 1809, which was the last + this devoted servant of the Lord enjoyed with his brethren in + the Church on earth. From this time to the time of his death, + great age, with its accompanying infirmities, prevented him from + attending an annual conference. + +It is a duty I owe to my venerated father, to the memory of Bishop +Asbury, and to the ministers that were in charge of the Church at Boehm’s +Chapel in 1802, that I should correct the misrepresentations contained in +the history of the “United Brethren in Christ.” + +There was a mistake in the account in the Methodist Magazine, and copied +in Bangs’s history and the “History of the United Brethren.” It says the +questions were asked by Martin Boehm’s son Jacob. It should have been +Henry. I asked the questions, and wrote the answers. This was fifty-three +years ago last March. I have the original copy with my father’s +signature, and the reader can see a fac-simile of his autograph. I asked +the questions, and took down the answers at the request of Bishop Asbury, +who wished the history of my father. The bishop had taken down from the +lips of Otterbein the answers giving his history. It was at my father’s +house where the questions were asked and the answers given. To the +animadversions that have been made to my statement I make the following +replies: 1. It is objected that my father did not understand English, +and that he wrote neither the questions nor answers. He did understand +English very well. He conversed very readily in English, and had quite a +library of English works, which he read with great pleasure and profit; +among others, Wesley’s Sermons and Fletcher’s Checks. These were great +favorites with him. + +As my father was aged and infirm I wrote the questions and answers. He +fully understood them both, and it was voluntary on his part, and not the +least influence was exerted over him. I carefully wrote every word of the +answers from his mouth, and then read them over to him, and he pronounced +them correct, and then deliberately affixed his signature to them. My +father was not one who would sign a document when he was ignorant of its +contents, or that he knew to be untrue. + +At that time neither Bishop Asbury or myself supposed it would ever be +a matter of controversy. It was not obtained for any such object, or +to prove my father was a Methodist, but simply to obtain his history +correctly. + +2. Another error is this: that his son had warped the statement. This +is both uncharitable and unjust. It was not enough to hint that I took +advantage of my father’s ignorance of the English language, but now I am +accused of warping what he said. I would as soon have cut off my right +hand. If I had been guilty of an act so mean, so unjust to my father, +and so false to others, I should have despised myself all the rest of my +life. The insinuation has not the semblance of truth. Those answers were +not warped; there was no false coloring, but sober truth. I took them +down from his lips as he answered in honest simplicity, and in the same +spirit I wrote them down. + +3. This historian speaks of Boehm’s Chapel being built on Martin Boehm’s +land, principally by him and his German brethren, and then the Methodists +denying him the privilege of his own meeting-house, etc. Now all this +is a mistake. It was not built upon my father’s land, but upon that of +my brother Jacob, who gave the site for the church. Nor was it built +principally by my father and “the German Brethren.” I suppose he means +by this the United Brethren. As a body they had nothing to do with it. +My father gave something, and so might some of them; but it was built +for the Methodists, and principally by the Methodists. It was not my +father’s church any more than it was mine, and it is sheer nonsense to +talk of the cruelty of shutting him out of his own church. No such thing +ever did or could take place, simply from the fact that he never owned +any church, and therefore the thing was impossible. It was built for a +Methodist church, the plan was furnished by a Methodist minister, and it +was deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church. After the lapse of seventy +years it is still a Methodist Episcopal Church, and their ministers still +preach in it. + +4. Another error is accusing the Methodists at Boehm’s Chapel of double +dealing. In the first place “forming a class under a liberal construction +of their rules,” so that Father Boehm, not a member, could attend a +class, and then “withdrawing such liberal construction,” and bringing it +to bear on Father Boehm, so he was excluded from the class-meeting and +love-feast. Any one acquainted with the Methodist Discipline knows that +no such thing could take place. No individual Methodist society makes +and unmakes terms of membership. We have a Discipline, and the terms +are fixed by the General Conference. We are not independent bodies to +make rules for ourselves. Furthermore, I was there at the time, and know +that no such thing ever took place. William Hunter then had charge of +the circuit, an honest man as ever came from the land of Erin. He was an +outspoken man, open as the light of day, and incapable of duplicity. + +But to “the gist of the matter.” Father Boehm, says this writer, was +entreated, “for form’s sake,” to have his name go on to the class-book +nominally. So, according to this statement, he never joined the +Methodists, he was only a “nominal member.” Here the Methodists are +accused of deception, and my aged father of complicity with them: they +pretending that he was a member, and he allowing his name to be entered +as a member, all the while knowing that he was not one. My father would +never have stooped to such meanness. He did not consider himself a +nominal, but a real member of the Methodist Church. He was not only a +member of the class, and used to meet in it, but he was a member of the +Quarterly Conference; he used to meet and take a part there, by virtue of +his office, as a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was +an ordained minister and used to administer the ordinances, Baptism and +the Lord’s Supper. + +But it is said “he was entreated to do this for peace’ sake.” For whose +peace? My father was not so easily persuaded to do a wrong action for the +sake of peace. He always preferred purity to peace: “First pure, then +peaceable.” + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +THE UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST—SKETCH OF OTTERBEIN, ETC. + + +“The United Brethren in Christ” have often been confounded with the +Moravians. They had gone by the name of “United Brethren” ever since Mr. +Otterbein took my father in his arms and exclaimed, “We are brethren;” +and at the conference in 1800 they added the words, “in Christ.” + +There was a great effort made to unite the Methodists and the United +Brethren, who were often called “German Methodists.” The Baltimore and +Philadelphia Conferences not only corresponded with them, but delegates +from both Churches were ordered to devise a plan of union. This was kept +up for years. In 1813 William Hunter and myself were appointed delegates +to them. This was the last of fraternal letters or fraternal delegates. +Terms of union were agreed upon, and it promised well for a time, but +before long there was dissatisfaction on both sides. So the United +Brethren took their course and we ours, each doing our own work in our +own way. + +The United Brethren had class-meetings, but did not, like the Methodists, +make them a test of membership. They had love-feasts also, but lacked +discipline. William Otterbein recommended their adopting the Methodist +discipline. They had at that time no regular organization, but were +composed of persons belonging to different denominations. They recorded +the name of their ministers but not of the membership. At their +conference in 1802 a proposal to record the names of members as well as +ministers was voted down. When they began to “number Israel” I cannot say. + +In their Minutes for 1800 they named Henry Boehm one of their ministers; +but I did not belong to them, and at that time had no license to preach. +It was not till 1815 they had a regular discipline. Their doctrines are +the same as the Methodists’, but they differ in practice. They wash each +other’s feet; they are opposed to masonry and all secret societies; they +always abominated slavery and would never tolerate it. They have bishops, +Annual and General Conferences, traveling and local preachers. They have +a large publishing house in Dayton, Ohio, and print two newspapers, +one in German, the other in English. At their General Conference in +May, 1861, they reported 5,166 preaching places, 3,900 classes, 94,443 +members, 499 itinerant and 417 local preachers, and 15,130 Sabbath +scholars. + + +REV. WILLIAM P. OTTERBEIN. + +The relation of Mr. Otterbein to Bishop Asbury and my father was such as +to require more than a passing notice. They were united by a threefold +cord stronger than death, and lasting as their existence. They never met +without complying with the apostolic injunction: “Salute one another with +a holy kiss.” + +Mr. Otterbein was one of the fathers of the “United Brethren in Christ.” +He assisted in ordaining Francis Asbury bishop, and was ever a friend of +the Methodists. There are but few living who knew him. I heard him preach +frequently, have seen him at my father’s and at great meetings, have been +his guest, and preached for him in Baltimore. + +He was born in Nassau, Prussia, June 4, 1726. His education was of a +superior order. In 1752 he emigrated to this country, and settled in +Lancaster. Mr. Asbury and he became acquainted through Benjamin Swope, +one of the German preachers, the year the apostle of Methodism came +to America. Mr. Asbury wrote to Mr. Otterbein urging him to come to +Baltimore, and he did so in 1774, and organized the “Evangelical Reformed +Church” out of the ruins of another completely demoralized. + +In sentiment they were like the Methodists, and somewhat in practice. +Their constitution read thus: “No preacher can stay among us who teacheth +the doctrines of predestination or the impossibility of falling from +grace, or who holdeth them as doctrinal points.” They were genuine +Arminians. No preacher could remain who did not strictly attend +class-meetings. + +Mr. Otterbein’s church was built on Howard’s Hill. My father and he first +met at Isaac Long’s, a few miles from Lancaster. Various denominations +had been invited to meet there, and my father preached the first sermon, +which was attended with peculiar unction, and when he had finished, Mr. +Otterbein arose and encircled him in his arms, and exclaimed, “We are +brethren.” Shout after shout went up, and tears flowed freely from many +eyes, the scene was so pentecostal. Such was the origin of the United +Brethren. Mr. Otterbein used to itinerate, and hold great union meetings +generally in groves, barns, or church-yards, for houses of worship were +generally closed against him. + +I first saw Mr. Otterbein and heard him preach in 1798. It was at my +father’s, where a three days’ meeting was held. I heard him in 1800 at +their conference, from Rev. iii, 7. It was a masterly sermon, and the +effect was overwhelming. His sermons were scripturally rich, and were +delivered with unusual energy. He was a great expounder of the word, +giving the meaning of the inspired writer. His voice had lost its musical +notes, and was harsh and husky. + +Bishop Asbury speaks of him as the “great Otterbein.” There was no man +for whom he had a higher regard, none whose death he lamented more +deeply. In person he was tall, being six feet high, with a noble frame +and a commanding appearance. He had a thoughtful, open countenance, full +of benignity, a dark-bluish eye that was very expressive. In reading +the lessons he used spectacles, which he would take off and hold in his +left hand while speaking. He had a high forehead, a double chin, with a +beautiful dimple in the center. His locks were gray, his dress parsonic. + +He married the sister of the distinguished Dr. Handall, a man of profound +learning and deep piety. + +I was at his house the last evening Mr. Asbury and he ever spent +together. This was April 22, 1813. The bishop says, “I gave an evening to +the great Otterbein.” Mr. Otterbein was one year younger than my father, +and nineteen years older than Mr. Asbury. Mr. Otterbein was useful in +life, and triumphant in death. His last words were, “The conflict is +over; lay me down upon the pillow, and be still.” His friends complied +with his request. During that stillness angels whispered, “Sister spirit, +come away.” Gladly he obeyed the summons, and entered into the joy of his +Lord. + +On Thursday, April 24, 1814, in Mr. Otterbein’s chapel, Bishop Asbury +preached his funeral discourse. He says, “Solemnity marked the silent +meeting in the German church, where were assembled the members of our +conference, and many of the clergy of the city. Forty years have I known +this retiring, modest man of God, towering majestically above his fellows +in learning, wisdom, and grace, yet seeking to be known only of God and +the people of God. He had been sixty years a minister, fifty years a +converted one.” He was buried in the ground connected with his church. + +I knew others of the fathers of the United Brethren Church. George Adam +Guething was the most eloquent. He was truly an Apollos. He was born in +Germany, and emigrated to this country when he was seventeen. He taught +school in winter, and quarried stone and dug wells in summer. He became +a splendid preacher. I heard him at my father’s, and at other places. In +1800 I was his guest with my father. He lived in Washington County, Md. +Over sixty years ago I heard him preach from Jer. xvii, 7, 8, “Blessed +is the man that trusteth in the Lord,” etc. This beautiful text, which +reminds us of the first psalm, just suited the genius of Guething, who +preached a sermon of rare beauty and excellence. He was the spiritual +father of the Rev. Henry Smith, late of the Baltimore Conference, who +was converted under a powerful sermon which he preached at Antietam. Mr. +Guething died in 1812, the same year as my father. He made a visit to +Father Otterbein, was taken sick, started for home, and died before he +reached it. His death was one of exceeding triumph. He was very quiet +for a while, when he suddenly exclaimed, “I feel as though my end had +come. Hark! hark! who spoke? whose voice is that I hear? Light, light, +what golden light! Now all is dark again. Please help me out of bed.” He +said, “Let us sing, ‘Come, thou long-expected moment,’” etc. He knelt +and offered prayer. He was helped into bed, folded his hands across his +bosom, and in fifteen minutes the angel of death had done his work. Thus +triumphantly died my father’s friend, the most splendid orator among the +United Brethren in Christ, aged seventy-two years, of which he had spent +forty in the ministry. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +PHILADELPHIA AND GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1812. + + +I will now resume my narrative. Notwithstanding the recent death of my +father, and the loneliness of my widowed mother, three days was all the +time we could spend at the old homestead after months of absence. As for +rest we knew not what it meant, unless it was on horseback. Mr. Asbury +acted as if a voice was ringing in his ear, constantly saying, “Arise ye +and depart, for this is not your rest.” His motto was, “Labor here, rest +hereafter.” + +The next Sabbath Mr. Asbury preached near Valley Forge at Isaac +Anderson’s, Esq. He had been a Methodist for over thirty years, was +several times a member of the State Legislature, and was honored with a +seat in Congress. + +The Philadelphia Conference began on Saturday, April 18. Bishop Asbury, +feeble as he was, preached four times during the session, namely, at St. +George’s, St. Thomas’s, Union Chapel, and Ebenezer. The deacons were +ordained on Wednesday, and the elders on Thursday by Bishop Asbury, +Bishop M’Kendree being sick. + +This was the first time this conference elected delegates to the General +Conference. They sent fourteen: Ezekiel Cooper, John M’Claskey, Thomas +F. Sargent, Stephen G. Roszel, Thomas Ware, Richard Sneath, Thomas +Boring, David Bartine, John Walker, George Wolley, James Bateman, Thomas +Burch, Michael Coate, and Asa Smith. Several of them, like M’Claskey, +Sargent, and Roszel, were physically as well as mentally great men. +Long since they have all been gathered to their fathers. The conference +adjourned on the 26th after a very peaceful and profitable session. + + +GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1812. + +On Friday, May 1, 1812, in the city of New York, there was a great +gathering in “Wesley Chapel,” John-street. The cradle of American +Methodism was an appropriate place in which to hold the “first delegated +General Conference” of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishops Asbury +and M’Kendree were there, and ninety representatives from eight Annual +Conferences. It was the first Bishop M’Kendree attended after his +election to the episcopacy, and the last at which the venerable Bishop +Asbury was present. Before the next session he was in Abraham’s bosom. + +No account has hitherto been published of the opening services of this +conference, nor is there any record in the journal. The first day was +observed as a day of fasting and prayer. Bishop Asbury preached at +eleven o’clock from Matt. xvii, 19-21, a text admirably adapted to the +occasion. No man ever understood adaptation in preaching better than +Francis Asbury. Fasting was regularly observed by the Wesley’s and by our +fathers in the ministry. Alas, though enjoined in our general rules, it +is now almost obsolete. + +On Sunday Bishop Asbury preached in the morning at the Bowery (now +Forsyth-street) Church, in the evening in the Fourth-street (now +Allen-street) Church. The Spirit of God accompanied the word to many +souls. On Monday the 4th it not only rained, but snowed: rather late in +the season for snow-storms. On Tuesday night I preached in Hudson (now +Duane) Church on John i, 11, 12. + +On next Sunday, the 10th, Bishop Asbury preached in the morning in the +African Church. The colored people had a great time under the word. The +bishop was always a great friend to colored people, and they always had +the highest regard for him. In the evening he preached in the Hudson +Church. A good and gracious time in both places. + +On Thursday evening I preached in John-street, from Matt. xi, 28, with +some comfort. + +On Sunday the 17th I heard Bishop Asbury preach in Sands-street, +Brooklyn, from Isaiah lii, 1, “Awake, awake, put on thy strength O Zion,” +etc. I wrote in my journal, “A solemn, awful time.” The bishop said it +was an “elegant house.” What would he say now to our elegant houses if +he could revisit our churches? In the afternoon I heard Joshua Marsden +in John-street, on “wisdom.” He was a member of the English Wesleyan +Conference, and had been for some years in Nova Scotia. He had come to +New York to return to England, but the breaking out of the war between +England and America prevented him, and therefore he was employed to +preach in New York. He was a good preacher, a great admirer of Bishop +Asbury, and has given one of the best descriptions of the bishop’s +personal appearance and character I ever read. He had also no common gift +as a poet. Some of his pieces, especially a sonnet, “What is Time,” are +much admired.[41] + +I need not give an account of the doings of the General Conference, which +the reader can find in the printed journals. I have dwelt on things +hitherto unrecorded. The presiding elder question was debated, whether +they should be appointed by the bishop or elected by the conference; +also the ordination of local preachers. Asa Shinn and Jesse Lee were +here opposed to each other, and it was like the wrestling of giants. +Lee contended the local preachers could not perform their ordination +vows while in a local condition. Mr. Shinn shrewdly replied that the +same form of ordination required an “elder to rule well his own family;” +that Brother Lee had promised to perform this duty twenty years before, +and yet he had never done it—he was a delinquent, and should keep his +own vows, etc. This retort was effective. The conference was perfectly +convulsed with laughter at the expense of the old bachelor, who sat down +shaking his great sides and enjoying it as well as others. From that time +he gave up his opposition. + +On the 22d the conference adjourned, to meet in Baltimore May 1, 1816. +Where are now those delegates that met in New York in May, 1812? Of the +ninety strong men who were there eighty-four are dead, and six only +survive: Laban Clark, Joshua Soule, Daniel Webb, Lovick Pierce, Joseph +Travis, and John Early. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +NEW YORK, NEW ENGLAND, AND GENESEE CONFERENCES. + + +At the close of the General Conference Mr. Asbury and I left for Albany. +On the way we made Governor Van Cortland a visit at Croton. I wrote: “We +found the aged father in the possession of his faculties, and he loves +to hear of the prosperity of Zion.” He resided in the old Manor-house, +near the mouth of the Croton River. The governor was very rich, having +inherited a large part of Cortland Manor. The house was famous for its +antiquity, and for the distinguished guests that had been entertained +there, among whom were Washington, Lafayette, Franklin, and Whitefield, +who preached from the piazza to the multitudes who thronged to hear him. +It was a stopping place of Bishop Asbury, Garrettson, Moriarty, Hibbard, +Hutchinson, and others of the early Methodist fathers. + +Governor Pierre Van Cortland was the first lieutenant-governor of New +York, and was re-elected eighteen times. He was the president of the +convention that formed and adopted the constitution of the State of New +York. In the City Hall in New York is a fine marble bust of him. He was +very tall, and of a commanding appearance. He wore breeches, and silver +shoe-buckles. + +The governor was a Methodist, and gave the land for a church and +burying-ground. It was erected upon a hill, and commands a splendid view +of the Hudson. The old building remains, a relic of former days. He +married Joanna Livingston. They were both pure spirits. Their daughter, +Mrs. Van Wick, was a gifted woman, a shouting Methodist, who would +exhort with great effect. His daughter, Mrs. Gerard Beekman, was also a +Methodist, and her son, Dr. Stephen Beekman, at whose house the Rev. John +Summerfield died in New York on June 30, 1825. + +Bishop Asbury greatly admired the old governor, and said he resembled +General Russel of Kentucky, who married the sister of Patrick Henry. +The governor, full of years and of honors, died on May 1, 1814, in the +ninety-fourth year of his age. + +The next year, on May 13, the bishop in making his last tour through +his diocese went to the old mansion, and found its inhabitant gone. He +mournfully wrote: “The dear, aged man, Governor Van Cortland, has gone to +his rest, having attained his ninetieth year and upward.” He was buried +in his family cemetery, on a beautiful elevation a short distance from +the old Manor-house. On his marble tomb his portrait is drawn in full. +It concludes thus: “The simplicity of his private life was that of an +ancient patriarch. He died a bright witness of that perfect love which +casteth out the fear of death,” etc. + +His son Philip was an illustrious man. He was brigadier-general during +the Revolutionary War, and distinguished himself in several battles, +and especially at Yorktown, where the crowning battle of the Revolution +was fought. He was the intimate friend of Lafayette, whom it is said +he strikingly resembled, and he made the tour of the country with him +in 1824. He was very friendly to the Methodists, and attended their +meetings; and when the minister failed to come, he would read a chapter +from the Bible. Great camp-meetings were held upon his land, and +multitudes were converted there. He died in 1831, and Noble W. Thomas +preached his funeral sermon. + +From Croton we went to Rev. Freeborn Garrettson’s at Rhinebeck. The +bishop delighted to visit that model household. Fifty years later, long +after the death of Father Garrettson and his amiable wife, I went to the +old homestead. It stood as in the days when Bishop Asbury and I were +there, but where were its inmates? Melancholy reflections came over me +when I thought of the changes that had taken place; but I was kindly +entertained by their daughter Mary, as well as their nephew, Freeborn +Garrettson, Esq., whose friends I knew and those of his wife when I +traveled on the Peninsula half a century ago. + +We tarried a short time at Poughkeepsie, where Methodism was then very +feeble. In the winter of 1861 I spent several weeks there, and was glad +to find three flourishing Churches, besides a German Church. In the +latter I was permitted to preach in my own vernacular, which I had not +done for years. + +On Thursday, June 4, 1812, the New York Conference commenced its session +in Albany. Eleven were received on trial, among them William Ross, Tobias +Spicer, and Theodosius Clark. Mr. Clark is the only one remaining. +Fourteen remained on trial, including J. B. Matthias, Benjamin Griffen, +John B. Stratten, and Samuel Luckey. The latter is the only one living, +except Hawley Sanford, who located years ago. He is the father of Rev. +A. K. Sanford of the New York Conference. This was my last visit to the +noble New York Conference with Bishop Asbury. I attended its session at +Poughkeepsie in 1861, and looked in vain for the men I saw in 1812. But +four remained: Marvin Richardson, Phineas Rice, Benjamin Griffen, and +Theodosius Clark. Rice and Griffen have since departed. + +Leaving Albany, we rode on horseback to Boston, and were the guests +of our old friend Otheman, father of Rev. B. Otheman, of New England +Conference, and grandfather of Rev. E. B. Otheman, of New York +Conference, and of the late Mrs. Stevens, wife of Rev. Abel Stevens, LL.D. + +On June 20, 1812, the New England Conference began in Lynn. Both Asbury +and M’Kendree were present. On Sunday I preached at five in the morning, +Bishop M’Kendree at ten, and Bishop Asbury at three in the afternoon. +The session was exceedingly harmonious. The announcement that war was +declared by the United States against Great Britain produced the most +intense excitement. Of the eighty-four preachers present all are gone +except Joshua Soule and Daniel Webb. + +Leaving Lynn, the bishop went to the Genesee Conference. We stopped in +Troy, and Bishop Asbury held forth from “If any man speak,” etc. We heard +Nathan Bangs on “Being made free from sin,” etc. It was the first time I +ever heard him. Samuel Merwin, then stationed in Albany, accompanied us +for a little distance. He was a noble looking man. + +The Genesee Conference was to have been held in Niagara, Upper Canada, +but the war prevented, and it was changed to Lyons. + +The 28th of July it commenced in Daniel Dorsey’s store-house or granary. +Here the ordinations were performed. I am told the venerable old building +is still standing. There was a camp-meeting held in connection with the +conference. I preached in German from Isaiah iii, 10, 11. + +We missed the preachers from Canada. There was an increase of six hundred +on two districts. We could not hear from Canada. This was my last visit +to the Genesee Conference. What has God done for Methodism in Western +New York since that day! + +We left for my mother’s, passing through the valley of Wyoming, and +arrived at the old mansion the 11th of August. Bishop Asbury wept for his +old friend, and I for my father. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +MY LAST TOUR WITH BISHOP ASBURY. + + +On Monday, August 17, we started on the last tour I made with the bishop. +The next Monday we went to Pipe Creek and attended a camp-meeting there. +Then we started West, and the bishop remarked, “There was a strange +medley of preachers, drovers, beasts on four legs, and beasts made by +whisky on two, traveling on the turnpike at one time.” + +In eight months we had traveled six thousand miles and attended nine +conferences and ten camp-meetings. + +On Friday, September 18, we went to Rush Creek camp-meeting. We tarried +with Edward Teel, a Methodist of the old stamp, nearly eighty years +old. Mr. Asbury and he had been friends over forty years. He was the +father-in-law of Rev. James Quin. The bishop at this time was very +feeble, and required much care and constant nursing. + +We reached Chillicothe, and were the guests of Rev. Thomas S. Hines, +a local preacher. He was a good writer, and capital at sketching. +He wrote those sketches on Western Methodism that appeared in the +_Methodist Magazine_ and in the _Christian Advocate_, over the signature +of Theophilus Arminius. He was the intimate friend of Rev. William +Beauchamp, and wrote his memoir. He was the son of Dr. S. Hines, whom +Bishop Asbury mentions, who put a blister plaster on the back of his +wife’s head to draw her Methodism out of her. She bore it with such +meekness and patience that it led to the awakening and conversion of her +husband. I was acquainted with the old doctor, who was a very singular +but interesting man. + +He related the circumstance of his trying to extract his wife’s Methodism +by so harsh a remedy to the bishop and myself, and he cried, and said, +“what a fool I was to do so.” The doctor was a surgeon in the British +army under General Wolfe, and was present at the Plains of Abraham +where Wolfe fell at Quebec, and Captain Webb lost an eye. The doctor +and his family emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky when it was one vast +wilderness. He was formerly a deist, but became a Methodist. He and his +estimable wife were pillars in the temple of Western Methodism. She was +a noble woman, and had a superior mind. She gave a reason of the hope +within her, silenced infidels, and carried the war into the enemy’s camp. + +The Western Conference began at Chillicothe October 1, 1812. Friday was +a day of fasting. At eleven Bishop Asbury preached from Acts xiii, 1, 2, +“And they ministered to the Lord, and fasted,” etc. The bishop preached +three times, and labored with apostolic zeal. He ordained twelve deacons +and twelve elders. He made this entry in his journal: “Upon the last day +my strength failed. I want sleep, sleep, sleep; for three hours I lay +undisturbed in bed, to which I had stolen on Wednesday, but they called +me up to read off the stations. I have considerable fever, but we must +move.” + +The bishop and I went to Cincinnati, where we spent the Sabbath, and both +preached. This was my last visit to this place till forty-seven years +after. Thence we traveled to Kentucky. At Lexington the bishop heard +a local preacher, at whose father’s house he had preached in 1780. At +Frankfort he preached in the chamber of the House of Representatives, +and found among his hearers a man who was his companion through the +wilderness twenty-three years before. + +At Nashville, Tennessee, we saw a daughter of General Russel, Widow +Bowen and her three daughters, who were all Methodists. We lodged with +the jailor, but he kindly let us out. The bishop pleasantly said we were +“prisoners of hope.” He preached in the new church on the Sabbath, and +wrote, “This is a pentecostal day to my soul. Hail, all hail, eternal +glory!” + +The Tennessee Conference met near James Quin’s at Fountain Head, +November 9, 1812. It was held at Brother House’s, that we might have the +meeting-house to preach in. Both the bishops preached, and I had the +privilege also. Forty deacons and ten elders were ordained, and there +was an increase of eight thousand within its bounds. This was the first +session of the Tennessee Conference. Up to that time we had had in the +West only the grand old Western Conference. + +The formation of the Tennessee Conference was a new era in Western +Methodism, and paved the way for the formation of future conferences. +Bishop Asbury was anxious to form a Mississippi Conference, and makes +this record: “We shall have gone entirely round the United States in +forty years; but there will be other states! God will raise up men to +make and meet conferences in them also, if we remain faithful as a +people.” How true his predictions concerning other states and other +conferences: states have been more than doubled, and conferences have +multiplied till, North and South, we have nearly a hundred. And God has +raised up the men and furnished the means to carry on this glorious work. + +During conference I was the honored guest of James M’Kendree, father of +the bishop. He was happy in God and bound for heaven. This was my last +visit to the venerated patriarch. + +A number of preachers started with the bishops on our Southern tour. The +eccentric James Axley was with us, and he was most excellent company. At +night we were entertained by Rev. John Magee, the father of camp-meetings +in America and the father-in-law of Rev. Thomas L. Douglass. On +Wednesday Bishop Asbury baptized six children. Then we crossed the French +Broad and forded the Big Pigeon. It was nothing for us to ford rivers. + +On Sunday Bishop M’Kendree preached a characteristic sermon, James Axley +exhorted, and I followed. In those days we gave them sermon upon sermon, +exhortation upon exhortation. + +On December 17 we reached Charleston, and our bishops were received +as angels from God. During the route over the mountains Bishop Asbury +suffered exceedingly from cold. We had to ford deep streams, and dined +frequently in the woods. We stopped at one place where a gentleman +offered Bishop Asbury brandy and the Bible. He took the Bible, and let +the brandy alone. In his journal he says: “I cannot easily describe the +pain under which I shrink and writhe. The weather is cold, and I have +constant pleuritic twinges in the side. In cold, in hunger, and in want +of clothing, mine are apostolic sufferings.” I witnessed his intense +suffering, and in a measure shared them. How I rejoice that the mountains +are crossed for the last time, but never can I forget the toils, the +struggles, the privations the bishop endured for the Church of God. + +The conference was pleasant, and lasted one week. My visits to Charleston +were always refreshing. The southern preachers I ardently loved, and the +Charleston Methodists. What a bond of union then bound the North and +the South together! O for the return of those days of peace and union +and confidence! then my old heart would rejoice, and I would say, “Lord, +lettest now thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy +salvation.” + +Our northern route was exceedingly irksome and tedious, not merely on +account of the weather, which was very raw and cold, but of the severe +illness of Bishop Asbury. Never was he more feeble, never less able to +travel, and yet he would go on. There was only one thing that could stop +him—the pale horse and his rider. + +We left Charleston the last day of 1812. Father Asbury having lost the +use of one of his feet by rheumatism, I had to carry him in my arms and +place him in his sulky, and then to take him out and carry him into a +church or private dwelling, and he would sit and preach. At Fayetteville +I carried him into the church, and he preached from Zech. ix, 12, “the +stronghold.” After the sermon he ordained three persons. He had one +blister on him, and I carried him to our host and he put on three more. +He traveled in great misery. + +On the twenty-fourth, at Wilmington, I carried him into church, and he +preached in the morning, and then met the society; and that not being +enough for a sick, old, infirm bishop, he would preach again in the +evening. After that he was in such misery that a poultice was applied to +mitigate his pain. + +The next day we rode twenty-four miles. The bishop’s feet were so swollen +he could not wear a shoe. Almost any other man would have been in bed, +but he loved his work better than his life. His record on that day is, “I +have a fever and swelled feet.” The next day, “I suffer violent pain in +my right foot;” and yet he says, “I have filled all my appointments, and +answered the letters received.” Who else would have thus persevered amid +pain and anguish, dying by inches to accomplish so much work? + +On February 4 the bishop was as tickled as a little child. Why? Because +he was able once more to put on his leather shoes. And he exclaimed, “O +the sufferings I have endured, patiently I hope!” He did suffer most +excruciatingly, but patience in him had its perfect work. On our way to +Newbern the bishop preached every day, sometimes at considerable length. +One service, ordination and all, lasted two hours. The bishop said, “I +gained a fever and a clear conscience by my labors.” I would rather have +had the clear conscience without the fever; but he often forgot himself +in his anxiety to benefit others. + +On Monday, February 8, we reached Newbern, N. C. The bishop writes, +“I am in Newbern on crutches.” The Virginia Conference was held in a +school-room. Both Asbury and M’Kendree were present. There was some +excellent preaching from Stith Mead, Thomas L. Douglass, and the two +bishops. + +Jesse Lee preached from Acts xvii, 6, “These that have turned the world +upside down,” etc. His propositions were, 1. That originally the moral +world was right side up. 2. Sin had turned it wrong side up. 3. It was +the design of the Gospel and the business of the ministry to restore it +to its original position. The next morning nearly everything about the +town looked ridiculous, being upside down. Wagons, boats, signs, gates, +almost everything was bottom side upward. Some of the inhabitants were +vexed, and some laughed; while the authors of the mischief enjoyed the +fun, and laid it to the preacher, who they said had come to turn the town +over that it might be right side up. + +Of the conference Bishop Asbury says: “We had great order, great union, +and dispatch in business. The increase here in membership this year is +seven hundred; but ah, deaths and locations!” There were in the Virginia +Conference this year no less than thirteen locations. No wonder the +bishop groaned over such defections. + +We reached Georgetown and were the guests of Henry Foxall.[42] Here the +bishop received an invitation from the British Conference to visit +them, and promising to meet the expenses of his journey, which was very +gratifying to him. He also had a call from the Rev. William Watters, now +aged and feeble. This was the last time I ever saw him. + +We went to Annapolis and thence to Baltimore. We tarried all night +with our aged friend, Father Otterbein. Bishop Asbury says, “I gave an +evening to the great Otterbein. I found him placid and happy in God.” +That was an evening I shall ever remember; two noble souls met, and their +conversation was rich and full of instruction. They had met frequently +before; this was their last interview on earth—long ago they met in +heaven. + +Baltimore Conference commenced on the 24th. Jacob Gruber and I preached, +in German, on Sunday in Otterbein’s Church. Bishop Asbury preached twice. +At this conference Beverly Waugh, James M. Hanson, and others were +ordained elders. On leaving Baltimore we took a tour through a part of +the Peninsula. + +The Philadelphia Conference assembled in Philadelphia on April 24, 1813. +Both bishops were present. Bishop M’Kendree preached at the Union from +James iv, 10; Bishop Asbury in St. George’s from Rom. i, 16. + +At the conference in 1813 I ceased to travel with Bishop Asbury as his +“help-meet.” I had been with Bishop Asbury since 1808. He thought I was +needed among the Germans, and that I ought to be near my mother, who was +living within the bounds of Schuylkill District, to which he appointed me. + +When my character was examined the question was asked, “Is there anything +against Henry Boehm?” “Nothing,” said the bishop, “against Brother +Boehm.” He then rose and said, in his nervous and emphatic manner, “For +five years he has been my constant companion. He served me as a _son_; he +served me as a _brother_; he served me as a _servant_; he served me as +a _slave_.” His earnest, emphatic manner caused some to smile and many +to weep. Dr. Thomas F. Sargent laughed and said, “The bishop has given +you quite a character.” Without egotism, I may say I always retained the +bishop’s confidence. This is evident from the fact that six weeks after +we parted he appointed me one of the executors of his last will and +testament. + +While with Mr. Asbury I attended to the financial affairs of the Book +Room at conferences. This was during the war, when there was great +trouble in remitting funds. John Wilson, book agent, died in 1810, and +Daniel Hitt, the other agent, had to attend to the business at home. It +was a greater task to attend to such complex business, to collect funds +and remit drafts, than many would suppose. This brought me into a more +intimate acquaintance with all the preachers North and South, East and +West. + +On the journals of the General Conference of 1812 the reader will find +the following: “L. Myers moved that this conference express their +gratitude to Brother Henry Boehm for his services to the connection in +collecting and remitting moneys belonging thereunto, and that they vote +him some compensation as an acknowledgement of their gratitude.” Their +“thanks” were voted, but no “compensation.” Thanks are cheap. I saved the +Book Room thousands of dollars. I was sub-agent. Daniel Hitt could not +go, and to have sent a special agent would have involved much expense. I +have never received any compensation, and never desired any. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +SCHUYLKILL DISTRICT, 1813-14. + + +The office of presiding elder was new to me, and I felt my +responsibility. Philadelphia, Wilmington, and seven circuits composed +my district. Several of the circuits I had previously traveled, and +my old friends hailed me with joy. It included my native place and +Boehm’s Chapel, and I was near my old mother, who was bending under the +infirmities of age. Several of the preachers had been my colleagues, and +were my personal friends, and I could not but feel at home with them. +There were noble men on my district, among them two future bishops, +Robert R. Roberts and John Emory. The other presiding elders were Peter +Vannest, Michael Coate, and John M’Claskey. Peter Vannest had heard John +Wesley, and he used to say, “Brethren, remain by the old landmarks. These +very eyes have seen John Wesley, and these hands have handled him.” While +the others died early he lived to an extreme old age, beloved by all who +knew him, and died in holy triumph in Pemberton, New Jersey. + +My home on the district was with Robert R. Roberts, in Philadelphia. I +was a single man, and he had no children. He invited me to make his +house my home. + +On the 31st of July Bishop Asbury and John C. French, who traveled with +him, came to the old homestead while I was there. The bishop spent the +Sabbath and preached in Boehm’s Chapel in the morning from Titus ii, +2-10. The text was a sermon in itself: advice to “aged men,” to “aged +women,” to “young women,” to “young men,” to “servants,” etc. The bishop +says in his journal, “Happily we met H. Boehm, who had appointed a +meeting at Boehm’s Chapel.” He had been on his northern and eastern tour, +and he was exceedingly fatigued, and he wrote, “Rest man and beast.” They +both needed it. For three days he was employed in answering letters. He +also wrote on my father’s old desk a valedictory to the Church, to be +read by Bishop M’Kendree to the General Conference when he was gathered +to his fathers. It contained his views of the primitive Church government +and ordination, and abounded in wise counsels and suggestions. He knew +he could not live much longer, and he left his thoughts on these weighty +subjects for the benefit of others when he rested from his labors. + +Soon after I held a camp-meeting on the banks of the Sweet Arrow, in +Dauphin County. Many were converted at this meeting; among others the +daughter of the distinguished Joseph Priestley. + +The Schuylkill District was about one hundred miles square, and yet, +after traveling with Bishop Asbury around his large diocese, such is the +power of habit, I felt as if I was confined to a small space; therefore I +sometimes left my district and visited other fields of labor. I attended +a camp-meeting on the Chesapeake District, on land that belonged to +Thomas White, Bishop Asbury’s early friend. + +On Tuesday, April 5, 1814, I went to Philadelphia, and met our aged and +venerable Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree. On Wednesday our conference +commenced its session. All went on harmoniously. Bishop M’Kendree +preached at St. George’s a most melting sermon. Bishop Asbury preached +in the morning at the Union, on “Will ye also go away?” etc.; in the +afternoon at St. George’s, from Rom. ii, 21. On Wednesday Bishop +M’Kendree preached an ordination sermon from 2 Cor. v, 20, and then he +ordained eleven to the office of elder. This was a gracious conference. +Bishop Asbury says in his journal: “The Philadelphia Conference +progressed in great peace and Gospel order. We had crowded houses day +and night. We doubt not but that souls have been convinced, converted, +comforted, and sanctified by the ministration of the word.” There was +but little change on my district among the preachers; but, alas! there +was a change in the presiding elderships before the year was out. Two of +them were transferred to heaven. John M’Claskey, of Chesapeake District, +fell at his post, covered with scars and loaded with honors, on September +2, 1814. I have had occasion to speak of him several times. He was the +spiritual son of “Daddy Abbott,” and preached his funeral sermon by +his particular request. He was a noble presiding officer. His strong +constitution suffered from yellow fever in New York in 1800, and then the +death of his only son, who was going to be married, and who died from a +mistake his physician made in giving him medicine, almost crushed his +heart. His end was triumphant. + +Michael Coate, of West Jersey District, died the first of August. I had +known him for years, as well as his brother Samuel. He was distinguished +for strength of mind and soundness of judgment, and especially for the +meek and quiet spirit which, in the sight of God, is of great price. The +last time he preached was on the multitude John saw before the throne, +Rev. viii, 9, and soon he went to join them. He was born in 1767, and +converted, died, and was buried in Burlington County, N. J. The death +of two such men in one year was a great loss to our conference and the +Church. + +Immediately after the adjournment of conference I made a very pleasant +tour with Bishop M’Kendree. We first went to Germantown, and he preached +there. On Sunday he preached at the new church in Holmesburgh, from +Rom. i, 16. Then we rode to Trenton and went with Peter Vannest to +the Bethel, where the bishop preached; then to Hopewell, now called +Pennington. The bishop preached there, and we put up with an old +Methodist by the name of Bunn. His descendants are numerous, and they +are all Methodists. Methodism was introduced here early by Captain Webb. +We have now there a noble seminary and a flourishing Church. Thence went +to Asbury, and Bishop M’Kendree preached in the morning on the parable +of the “Unjust steward,” and in the afternoon from Isaiah xxxii, 17. On +Monday we parted with the bishop, he going on to attend the New York +Conference, and I returning to my district. On reaching home I heard that +Bishop Asbury was sick at Brother Sale Coate’s, a brother of Michael and +Samuel Coate, at Lumberton, New Jersey. On the 3d of May I went there +and found him so very low he was scarcely able to breathe. The next day +he appeared a little better. On Friday and Saturday his difficulty of +breathing was so great that we frequently looked for his departure. On +Sunday I wrote, “Bishop Asbury is very low, but expectorates freely; +no material change, only that he gradually decreases in strength.” +On Monday, about one o’clock A.M., there appeared an evident change +for the better. In answer to prayer, he was remarkably comforted with +the presence and power of the Lord. He continued in a convalescent +state until Friday morning, when we thought he would have expired; +his hands and feet were cold. Through the whole of his affliction his +conversation was about the great and deep things of God; the Church of +God on earth, and the many glorified saints who are reaping the rewards +of the heavenly world. For ten nights in succession I sat up and watched +with him; the last night he seemed to be carried out of himself: all +of his conversation was relative to God, Christ, and the great work +of redemption. On the 18th I wrote: “Bishop Asbury seems to be much +better, so that he can now lie upon his pillow and sleep, which he had +not been able to do in three weeks, except a few minutes at a time. The +prospect of his recovering is somewhat flattering.” Such is the record +I made fifty years ago. John W. Bond was then the bishop’s traveling +companion, and was all kindness and attention, but he had been with the +bishop but a few weeks. There was enough for two or three of us to do at +Brother Coate’s while the bishop was so dangerously ill. The family were +exceedingly kind, and did all in their power to make him comfortable. I +remained with them sixteen days and nights in succession. He never fully +recovered from that sickness, and he was physically unfit to go round his +diocese again. It was a living death, a perpetual martyrdom. For three +months the dear old man kept no record in his journal. On resuming it +he wrote: “I return to my journal after an interval of twelve weeks. I +have been ill indeed; but medicine, nursing, and kindness, under God, +have been so far effectual, that I have recovered strength enough to sit +in my little covered wagon, into which they lift me. I have clambered +over the rude mountains, passing through York and Chambersburgh to +Greensburgh. Tuesday, July 19, I would not be loved to death, and so +came down from my sick room and took the road, weak enough. Attention +constant, and kindness unceasing, have pursued me to this place, and my +strength increases daily. I look back upon a martyr’s life of toil and +privation and pain, and I am ready for a martyr’s death. The purity of +my intentions; my diligence in the labors to which God has been pleased +to call me; the unknown sufferings I have endured; what are all these? +The merit, atonement, and righteousness of Christ alone make my plea. My +friends in Philadelphia gave me a little light four-wheel carriage; but +God and the Baltimore Conference gave me a richer present—they gave me +John Wesley Bond for a traveling companion; has he his equal on earth for +excellences of every kind as an aid? I groan one minute with pain, and +shout glory the next.” + +In August I had a delightful interview at Middletown with my friend Dr. +Romer, who translated the Methodist Discipline into German. On the 31st +of March I went with John Emory to visit the sick and pray with them. +He was not only a superior man and preacher, but an excellent pastor. +Though a great student, it did not prevent his attending to his pastoral +work. He was very popular. I had often visited his father, Judge Emory, +and I knew his spiritual father, John Chalmers. John Emory was afterward +book agent, a clear-headed business man, a delegate to the Wesleyan +Conference; elected bishop in 1832, and was thrown from his carriage +and killed December 6, 1835. I baptized his son, Robert Emory. He was +a beautiful infant when I laid on his head the consecrated waters of +baptism. When he grew up to manhood, and was president of Dickinson +College, I looked upon him and thought of his excellent father and +mother, and of the time I baptized him in the name of the Trinity. He, +too, has fallen asleep. + +On April 12, to my great joy, I met Bishop M’Kendree at Radner’s. On +the next day, which was appointed by the general government for public +thanksgiving for the restoration of peace, he preached a most appropriate +sermon. The bishop was full of patriotism, and with a national subject he +was perfectly at home. He was the intimate friend and a great admirer of +General Jackson, and related many characteristic anecdotes concerning him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +CHESAPEAKE DISTRICT—GOVERNOR BASSETT’S DEATH AND CHARACTER. + + +The conference met in Philadelphia on April 20, 1815. Bishop Asbury was +so exceedingly ill that the laboring oar fell upon Bishop M’Kendree. +Bishop Asbury visited the conference room once only and then was obliged +to retire. Alas! when he departed his venerable form and whitened locks +disappeared, to be seen in that body no more. He always had a high regard +for the Philadelphia Conference. It was in Philadelphia he preached his +first sermon in America, and was “received as an angel from God.” He was +at the first conference in Philadelphia in 1773, when there were ten +traveling preachers in America, and he had attended it for thirty-two +years. + +On Friday I went with Bishop M’Kendree to visit Bishop Asbury. He was +feeble in body but strong in God, and his wrinkled countenance brightened +at the prospect of soon seeing “the King in his beauty.” M’Kendree prayed +with his venerable colleague, who was hovering between two worlds. + +I was appointed to Chesapeake District. It may appear strange I did +not remain on the Schuylkill District. John M’Claskey, who was on the +Chesapeake District, died the preceding year; it was proposed to appoint +Robert R. Roberts, but he feared that going down on the Peninsula would +injure his health. I had spent some years there and got acclimated, and +it was thought I could stand it better, and therefore he was appointed +to the Schuylkill District and I to the Chesapeake. Being a single man, +it was not much trouble for me to move, and I was glad to accommodate my +excellent friend, who had furnished me with a kind home for two years in +Philadelphia. + +I entered upon my pleasant field of labor with joy. Over much of the +ground I had traveled before, and there were many old friends to welcome +me. My district was a noble one, including some of the best circuits on +the Peninsula. + +On the 16th of May, in company with Robert R. Roberts and Ezekiel +Cooper, I went to visit Governor Bassett at Bohemia Manor. He was ill +in body, but happy in God. We had a delightful interview, and found him +ripening for the other world. How beautiful is religion in old age! +“The hoary head” is indeed a crown of glory, being found in “the way of +righteousness.” + +The 31st of June I was at Father Henry Downs’s. He it was that imprisoned +Thomas S. Chew, and was converted by his prisoner. I mingled with the +fathers, who were familiar with Methodism almost from its origin in +America, both ministers and laymen. Such laymen as Father Downs, whose +history has all the charms of romance and all the power of truth, did +much toward establishing Methodism in its infancy in the Peninsula. + +On the Fourth of July I visited my mother at the old family mansion. +I had not been home more than fifteen minutes when, to my great joy, +Bishop Asbury unexpectedly arrived. He came from the New England and +other Conferences with Rev. J. W. Bond, and was much better than when +I saw him last. The bishop was glad to see me, as will appear by the +following extract from his journal: “Happy at Mother Boehm’s. A pleasing +Providence, according to my wishes, had brought Henry in a few moments +before.” + +He remained two days. He had visited that old home for the pilgrim for +thirty-five years, and received hearty welcomes from my father when +alive, and from my mother in her widowhood. He had completed his last +episcopal tour, and my aged mother and the bishop bade one another adieu +for the last time. I went with him to Lancaster, and then was reluctant +to leave him, and so I went a little further, for I had an impression +I should see his face no more. He gave me much excellent advice, and +cautioned me to take good care of my health, as I was then traveling in +a region of country not considered very healthy. He then embraced me +in his arms, pressed me to his bosom, gave me his last kiss and his +benediction. He rode on while I lingered and gazed till his venerable +form was beyond my vision. I felt a veneration for Bishop Asbury I never +had for any other human being, and loved him as I loved my own dear +father. + + +GOVERNOR BASSETT. + +Governor Bassett died in the summer of 1815. He should ever have a +prominent place in the annals of early American Methodism. At this remote +period it is almost impossible to have a correct idea of the position he +once occupied, and the influence he exerted in favor of Methodism. + +Some have entertained the idea that Methodism was adapted only to the +low and the ignorant, for the common people; but this is a mistake. In +its early days in America some of the loftiest families embraced it with +joy. Among the most distinguished was Richard Bassett. He was an eminent +lawyer, a judge, Governor of Delaware, a member of the old Congress in +1787, and a senator under the new constitution. He was a delegate from +Delaware to the convention that formed the Constitution of the United +States, and his name is enrolled on that account with those of George +Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, and +other distinguished patriots and statesmen. + +Mr. Bassett was rich. He inherited six thousand acres of land, much of it +near the Bohemia River. He had three homes, residing part of the time +in Dover, and then in Bohemia and Wilmington. I have been entertained at +them all. + +Before he was converted he was a very fashionable man, and moved in the +highest circles in society. He had his good things in this life. But when +converted he was as humble and teachable as a little child. In person he +was a stout-built man, of medium height, and looked as if he was made +for service. His countenance was full of benignity, and his eye was +very expressive. He was a man of superior judgment, a safe counselor. +I used to ask his advice, and he gave it most cheerfully, and I always +found it judicious. His voice was very strong and musical, and at camp +and quarterly meetings he thrilled the people. He was distinguished for +benevolence, and given to hospitality. He has entertained over a hundred +at one time. His heart was as large as his mansion. + +His first wife did not live long. She left an amiable daughter, who was +married to the Hon. James A. Bayard, who was a commissioner to form a +treaty of peace with England. With her father I visited Mrs. Bayard while +her husband was absent in Europe. + +The governor was a Methodist of the old stamp. He admired all its +peculiarities; loved to worship in the groves, and had several +camp-meetings on his own grounds. He was one of the sweet singers of +our Israel. He delighted to hear the colored people sing; there was no +sweeter music to him. He held fast his integrity to the end. I often +saw him in age and feebleness extreme. Though princely rich, he lived +plainly, without display or extravagance. + +His large possessions were in Bohemia, Cecil County, Maryland. It was +called Bohemia from Augustus Hermon, a Bohemian, who obtained a grant +for eighteen thousand acres of land. Richard Bassett became heir to a +part of this immense estate. He died in 1815, and his life-time friend, +Ezekiel Cooper, preached his funeral sermon. He was buried in a vault +he had prepared in a beautiful locust grove on the banks of the Bohemia +River. There sleep his family and the Bayards. The venerable old mansion, +distinguished for its antiquity, for the splendid paintings that adorned +its walls, for the hospitality that reigned there, and as the home of +Bishop Asbury and the old pioneers of Methodism, was burned down a few +years ago, and, like the owner, has passed away. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +GENERAL CONFERENCE—ASBURY’S FUNERAL, ETC. + + +The conference which was held in Philadelphia April 18, 1816, was a +gloomy one. There was no bishop to preside, Asbury being dead, and +M’Kendree sick. During this conference Ezekiel Cooper preached a sermon +on the life and character of Bishop Asbury, that afterward made a book +called “Cooper on Asbury.” + +Rev. R. R. Roberts was elected president. He filled the office with ease +and dignity, and we passed harmoniously through the business of the +session. Several delegates from the eastern conferences, who were on +their way to attend the General Conference at Baltimore, were present, +and admired the manner in which Brother Roberts conducted the business of +the conference, and this led to his nomination and election as bishop. + +No ordination took place at this conference in consequence of the absence +of the bishop. The delegates elected to the General Conference were R. +R. Roberts, L. M’Combs, S. Sharp, J. Totten, J. Walker, S. Hill, S. +Martindale, A. Smith, H. Boehm, J. Emory, W. Bishop, and J. Sharpley. I +was reappointed presiding elder of Chesapeake District. + +The second delegated General Conference met in the Light-street Church, +Baltimore, May 1, 1816. There was a feeling of sadness caused by the +absence of Bishop Asbury. Bishop M’Kendree was present, but very feeble. +After the organization, on the first day an address was presented from +the male members of the Church in Baltimore asking the privilege of +removing the remains of Bishop Asbury from the place where they had been +buried to Baltimore. Their request was granted, and Rev. John W. Bond +was desired to superintend their removal. Five members of the General +Conference were appointed to act in concert with the Baltimore brethren: +Philip Bruce, Nelson Reed, Freeborn Garrettson, Lewis Myers, and George +Pickering. + +The conference passed a vote of thanks to George Arnold of Spottsylvania, +at whose house the bishop died, for his attention to our venerable father +during his illness, and requesting permission to have the bishop’s +remains removed from his family burying-ground to Baltimore. Mr. Arnold +granted the request, and on the 9th of May the body arrived, and was +placed at the house of William Hawkins. The fact being announced to the +conference by Stephen G. Roszel, they resolved to attend his funeral the +next morning, and appointed Henry Stead, William Case, Seth Mattison, and +myself to sit up with the corpse during the night. Never shall I forget +that night; thought was busy in reviewing the past; the whole life of +Bishop Asbury, particularly the five years I was with him, passed before +me in review like a panorama. Five times that night, in imagination, I +went with the bishop around his large diocese, over the mountains and +valleys. I thought of his self-denial, his deadness to the world; of his +intense labors, his enlarged benevolence, his sympathy for the suffering, +of the hundreds of sermons I had heard him preach, the prayers I had +heard him offer; the many times I had slept with him; how often I had +carried him in my arms. Where are the great and good men that watched +with me that night? Long ago they have met the bishop “where they can die +no more, but are equal to the angels of God.” + +At ten o’clock next morning the funeral services took place. There was an +immense gathering at Light-street, where the bishop’s remains had been +placed. They were removed in solemn procession to the Eutaw Church. At +the head of this procession were Bishop M’Kendree and William Black of +Nova Scotia. Bishop Asbury having no relatives in this country, John W. +Bond and myself, his surviving traveling companions, were selected to +follow his remains as chief mourners. Indeed we both felt to exclaim, +“My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” +The members of the conference followed, with several ministers of other +denominations and a vast throng of citizens. + +Bishop M’Kendree pronounced a funeral oration full of melting pathos, +and the remains of the deceased, embalmed by the tears of multitudes, +were deposited in a vault under the recess of the pulpit of the +Eutaw-street Church. Upon beautiful marble was inscribed an appropriate +epitaph, to tell the stranger where the dust of the noble Asbury sleeps. + +On the Sunday following the obsequies of Bishop Asbury, funeral sermons +were preached in all our churches in Baltimore. I was appointed to preach +in the late Father Otterbein’s church. My text was Rev. xiv, 13. I gave +a sketch of the bishop’s life, character, labors, and success, and his +peaceful end; of the relation that subsisted between their late venerated +pastor, William Otterbein, Bishop Asbury, and Martin Boehm, and how they +were reunited in the bright world above. + +Bishop Asbury, at the request of Bishop M’Kendree and the Genesee +Conference, wrote a valedictory to be read after he was gone. This +he left among his papers. That important document was written at my +mother’s, on my father’s old desk, the first week in August, 1813. I was +present when he wrote it, and he talked with me on various points. + +On the second day of May this valedictory address was read to the General +Conference after some introductory remarks by Bishop M’Kendree. It was +the last message of the lamented Asbury, the final counsel of a father +to his children, and it was listened to with breathless attention. It +was replete with wise sayings and appropriate suggestions. It advocated +a divine call to the ministry and opposed men-made ministers; cautioned +against the tendency to locality, and dwelt upon the importance of the +itinerancy; directed them to guard against two orders of ministers, one +for the country the other for cities. Among other counsels was this, +worthy to be written in letters of gold, “Preserve a noble independence +on all occasions; be the willing servants of slaves, but slaves to none.” + +Two months after I left Mr. Asbury as his traveling companion he made his +will in Winchester, New Hampshire, as the following record in his journal +will show: “June 6, 1813. Knowing the uncertainty of the tenure of life +I have made my will, appointing Bishop M’Kendree, Daniel Hitt, and Henry +Boehm my executors. If I do not in the mean time spend it, I shall leave +when I die an estate of two thousand dollars, I believe. I give it all to +the Book Room. This money, and somewhat more, I have inherited from dear +departed Methodist friends in the state of Maryland, who died childless; +besides some legacies I have never taken. Let all return and continue to +aid the cause of piety.” + +The bishop’s will was recorded in Baltimore; and during the General +Conference in 1816, Bishop M’Kendree, Daniel Hitt, and I went to the +proper authorities and were qualified to act as executors. + +In regard to the money, a lady in Baltimore had given him near two +thousand dollars, and I advised him to put it out upon interest. He did +so, or he would have got rid of it. He was very uneasy when he had money +until it was gone. It seemed to burn in his pocket until he was relieved. + +He left a Bible to every child that had been named after him. He left +eighty dollars a year to Mrs. Elizabeth Dickins, widow of our first book +agent. Her name was Yancey, and she was from North Carolina. She was a +charming woman, worthy to have been the wife of that great and good man, +John Dickins. She continued to receive this annuity till her death in +1835. + +Most of the business of distributing the Bibles fell on me, and I gave +more than four hundred to children that had been named Francis Asbury. +There were probably a thousand children named after him at the time, but +many of the parents would know nothing of the will, for we had then no +Methodist papers to give the information. His will gave a Bible to all +the children who had been named after him up to his death.[43] I made a +final settlement with Rev. John Emory when he was book agent. Daniel Hitt +died in 1825, Bishop M’Kendree in 1835. I have survived Daniel Hitt forty +years, Bishop M’Kendree thirty years, and Bishop Asbury forty-nine years. + +There was a vast amount of business done at the General Conference of +1816, and it was more methodical than formerly. John Emory, for the +first time, was a member of the General Conference, and he distinguished +himself at once by his clear head and capacity for business. + +I was placed on two important committees, “Temporal Economy” and +“Slavery.” The other members of that on slavery were William Phœbus, +Charles Virgin, Abner Chase, Charles Holliday, Samuel Sellers, Daniel +Asbury, C. H. Hines, and Beverly Waugh. We were directed “to examine into +the subject of slavery and report.” On this question, which has vexed +ecclesiastical and national councils from the beginning, the committee +brought in a report, of which the following is a part: “After mature +deliberation, they are of the opinion that, under the present existing +circumstances in relation to slavery little can be done to abolish a +practice so contrary to the principles of moral justice. They are sorry +to say that the evil appears to be past remedy, and they are led to +deplore the destructive consequences which have already accrued and are +yet likely to result therefrom.” They recommended the insertion of the +following clause in the Discipline: “Therefore no slaveholder shall be +eligible to any official station in our Church hereafter where the laws +of the state in which he lives will admit of emancipation, and permit +the liberated slave to enjoy freedom.” The report was adopted by the +conference. + +On Tuesday, the 14th, the conferences elected two bishops, Enoch George +and Robert R. Roberts, the former having fifty-seven and the latter +fifty-five votes out of one hundred and six that were cast. + +On Friday they were ordained, after Bishop M’Kendree had preached an +admirable sermon on “The great commission,” from Mark xvi, 15, 16. In the +ordination he was assisted by Philip Bruce of Virginia, Dr. Phœbus of New +York, and Nelson Reed of Baltimore, they being the three oldest elders +present. + +I was present at the ordination of Bishops Whatcoat, Coke, and Asbury, +in 1800; at the ordination of M’Kendree in 1808, and that of George and +Roberts in 1816. I had the honor of voting for the last three, and never +had cause to regret it. These ordinations were all held in the same +church, namely, Light-street, Baltimore. After the adjournment of the +conference I returned to my district, and was diligent in cultivating +Immanuel’s land. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +BISHOP ASBURY—CHARACTER AND HABITS. + + +As I traveled with Bishop Asbury longer than any other man, and knew him +more intimately than any who survive, it will be expected that I notice +his character and habits more fully than in the preceding chapters. +Hundreds of questions have been asked me respecting his appearance, size, +dress, personal character, etc. + +Bishop Asbury was five feet nine inches high, weighed one hundred and +fifty-one pounds, erect in person, and of a very commanding appearance. +His features were rugged, but his countenance was intelligent, though +time and care had furrowed it deep with wrinkles. His nose was prominent, +his mouth large, as if made on purpose to talk, and his eyes of a blueish +cast, and so keen that it seemed as if he could look right through a +person. He had a fine forehead, indicative of no ordinary brain, and +beautiful white locks, which hung about his brow and shoulders, and +added to his venerable appearance. There was as much native dignity +about him as any man I ever knew. He seemed born to sway others. There +was an austerity about his looks that was forbidding to those who were +unacquainted with him. + +In dress he was a pattern of neatness and plainness. He could have passed +for a quaker had it not been for the color of his garments, which were +black when I traveled with him. He formerly wore gray clothes. He wore +a low-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, a frock coat, which was generally +buttoned up to the neck, with straight collar. He wore breeches or small +clothes, with leggings. Sometimes he wore shoe-buckles. Indeed all the +preachers, and I among the number, wore breeches and leggings till 1810, +and then several left them off, which Bishop Asbury heartily disapproved. + +Bishop Asbury had great administrative ability. He was wise and +far-seeing, and kept his work planned and mapped out beforehand. The +mass of the appointments were arranged before conference, so that but +few changes needed to be made. He often talked to me freely about the +appointments of the preachers, and sometimes consulted me. I used +to transcribe them for him before they were read out. The preachers +tormented me to know where they were going; but I was silent, for secret +things belonged to the bishop, revealed things to the preachers. + +He had an almost intuitive knowledge of men. He would sit in conference +and look from under his dark and heavy eyebrows, reading the countenances +and studying the character and constitution of the preachers. He also +kept a record of his observations upon men for his own private use. The +bishop not only read men for the sake of the Church, but for their own +sakes. He would say to me, “Henry, Brother A or B has been too long in +the rice plantation, or on the Peninsula; he looks pale, health begins +to decline; he must go up to the high lands.” The preacher would be +removed and know not the cause, and the next year come to conference with +health improved and constitution invigorated, and not know to whom he was +indebted for the change; for the bishop assigned few reasons, and made +but few explanations for his conduct. + +It has been supposed that he was an inferior preacher, though superior as +a governor. But this is a mistake. I have heard him over fifteen hundred +times. His sermons were scripturally rich. He was a well-instructed +scribe, “bringing out of his treasury things new and old.” He was a good +expounder of the word of God, giving the meaning of the writer, the mind +of the Spirit. He was wise in his selection of texts. There was a rich +variety in his sermons. No tedious sameness; no repeating old stale +truths. He could be a son of thunder or consolation. There was variety +both in matter and manner. He was great at camp-meetings, on funeral +occasions, and at ordinations. I have heard him preach fifty ordination +sermons, and they were among the most impressive I have ever heard. + +In preaching he depended, like the fathers, much on the divine +influence. He knew it was “not by might or power, but by the Spirit of +the Lord.” He once took hold of the arm of Rev. Samuel Thomas, when he +rose in the pulpit to preach, and whispered to him, “Feel for the power, +feel for the power, brother.” He often felt for the power himself, and +when he obtained it he was a kind of moral Samson. When he did not he was +like Samson shorn of his strength. + +Speaking of his preaching in his journal, he characterized it according +to the influence that accompanied the word. He would say “he was much +assisted;” at another time, “had some life;” again, “found himself much +shut up,” “had some liberty in speaking,” “I was assisted in preaching,” +“had enlargement of heart,” “I had the presence of God in speaking,” “had +an open time,” “a flat time,” “but little liberty,” “I had not freedom,” +“had a feeling time,” “I had great assistance,” “I had some light in +preaching,” “had but little life in speaking,” “had a melting time.” + +I am a witness to the struggles, the sighs, the tears, the prayers of +Bishop Asbury for divine influence, that he might wield with success the +sword of the Spirit. + +The bishop was peculiar in adapting his subjects to times and +circumstances. When with him in Kentucky in 1810 there was a great +drouth, and Father Asbury preached from, “If the Lord shut up the +heavens that it rain not,” etc. Again, when showers were descending, he +preached from, “As the rain cometh down from heaven,” etc. To a company +of women, he preached on the “duties of women professing godliness,” or +“Mary has chosen that good part.” To soldiers, “And the soldiers came and +inquired, And what shall we do?” etc. Preaching in a court-house, where +there were lawyers and judges, and where one man had just been sentenced +to death, he dwelt upon the solemnities of the final judgment—the court +from which there was no appeal—from “knowing therefore the terror of the +Lord, we persuade men,” etc. At a certain place where he was expected +they announced him in the newspapers to preach on a special subject. +He knew nothing of it before his arrival, and that was just before the +service commenced. To their astonishment he read this text, “I speak not +by commandment, but by reason _of the forwardness of others_, and to +prove the sincerity of your love.” I was often startled, when I heard him +read his text and announce his theme, at his power of adaptation. + +The bishop’s lectures in families were full of instruction. He would +dwell upon the domestic relations, that of husband and wife, parents and +children, and the duties they owed to each other; on their deportment to +each other and to their neighbors, and duty of exemplifying the Christian +character throughout; on family prayer, order, and cleanliness; which he +always recommended as “next to godliness.” Indeed the bishop was “instant +in season and out of season.” Like his Master, he “went about doing +good,” and lost no opportunity to benefit his race. I am sure he will get +one blessing if no other: “Blessed are they that sow beside all waters.” + +In his public exercises—in preaching, in administering the ordinances, +in ordaining—there was a peculiar solemnity. Those who heard him never +forgot it. But sometimes in private circles he would unbend, and relate +amusing incidents and laugh most heartily. He said “if he was as grave +as Bishop M’Kendree he should live but a short time.” He would often +indulge in a vein of innocent pleasantry. When engaged in business or +study, however, he did not like to be interrupted, and he would sometimes +appear a little short; and we cannot wonder when we remember the many +interruptions to which he was subject. + +He was fond of singing. He had a full base or organ-like voice, and would +often set the tune in public worship, for choristers and choirs were +scarce in those days; but if the people did not sing scientifically they +sang in the spirit. The bishop sang as he walked the floor, and this he +often did when in deep meditation. He was a great admirer of Charles +Wesley’s hymns, and not only loved to sing them, but esteemed them highly +as a body of divinity. + +He diligently read the Bible. He was in the practice of reading on +the Sabbath the message to the seven Churches of Asia. He said it was +revealed and written on the Lord’s day, and it gave excellent counsel to +the Churches. Stimulated by his example, I have been in the practice of +doing the same thing for over fifty years. He was one of the best readers +of the Scriptures I ever heard. There was solemnity and dignity in his +manner, and correctness in his emphasis and accents. + +He was often very laconic in his replies. In 1808, while traveling with +him, in company with John Sale, in Ohio, we were just entering the +prairies when we met a gentleman who abruptly inquired of the bishop, +“Where are you from?” Mr. Asbury replied, “From Boston, New York, +Philadelphia, Baltimore, or almost any place you please.” This was +literally true. The man looked astonished and rode on, while Brother Sale +and I smiled, but neither spoke, and the bishop was silent, and onward we +pursued our journey. + +He was a great redeemer of time. He knew its value, its brevity, its +relation to eternity, therefore he kept that rule in the Discipline, +“Be diligent; never be triflingly employed.” He was a great scholar +considering he was a self-taught man. He read Hebrew, and his Hebrew +Bible was his constant companion. The bishop read a great many books +while I was with him. The moment we were in the house, after having laid +aside his saddle-bags and greeted the family, then he began to read and +write. + +Asbury studied medicine, which was a necessity both for his own benefit +and that of others. He traveled in unsettled parts of the country, where +the people were often sick, and medical aid at a great distance. He was +often very successful in removing pain and healing diseases; sometimes +he would doctor the landlords where we were entertained, for which he +received many thanks. + +He was remarkable for his temperate habits. One day a lady set a brandy +bottle on the table, and he gave her a gentle reproof. Said she, “Bishop, +it is good in its place.” He removed it from the table and placed it in +an old-fashioned cupboard, and closing the door, said, “Now it is in its +place; let it remain there.” Although a man of great courage, there were, +he said, “two classes of men that he was afraid of: crazy men and drunken +ones.” + +As we traveled on horseback we had to be careful not to be overburdened. +The bishop used to say that the equipment of a Methodist minister +consisted of a horse, saddle and bridle, one suit of clothes, a watch, +a pocket Bible, and a hymn book. Anything else would be an incumbrance. +I assure the reader our saddle-bags were stuffed full of clothing, +medicine, books, journal, etc.; it was astonishing how much we could +crowd into them. He used to say, “Henry, we must study what we can do +without.” My old saddle-bags, on which I rode so many thousand miles +with the bishop, I have carefully preserved. I think as much of them as +the returned soldier does of his arms, which he has no more use for, but +which remind him of former battles and victories. It used to be said that +“Methodist ministers kept house in their saddle-bags.” + +Mr. Asbury’s powers of endurance were great. If they had not been he +would have fallen long before he did. Winter’s cold and summer’s heat he +could endure. He was not afraid to set out in a storm, but would say, +“Let us journey on, we are neither sugar nor salt; there is no danger of +our melting.” And yet I have no doubt but these exposures did his feeble +constitution a vast injury. + +He married a great many. Multitudes were baptized by him. In 1811, when +traveling with him near Xenia, Ohio, we were kindly entertained by a +family named Simpson, and Bishop Asbury baptized a little infant and +called him Matthew. I little thought that infant, when grown to manhood, +would become a bishop. His fame is now world-wide, and his praise in all +our Churches. He dedicated many churches. Some were completed, some half +done, and some had not the roof on. Some of them were called after his +name. He did not approve of this, and called it folly; neither did Mr. +Wesley like to have any building named after him. He drew up many plans +for houses of worship, and in some instances secured sites for them. He +was ever intent on good, and very solicitous that we should “stretch +ourselves beyond ourselves.” + +The bishop was very fond of children, and they of him. They would run to +meet him and then receive his blessing; they gathered around his knees +and listened to his conversation. He would sometimes place them on his +knee, and teach them the following lesson: + + “Learn to read, and learn to pray; + Learn to work, and learn to obey.” + +Then he would show the benefit of learning these lessons. “Learn to read, +to make you wise; learn to pray, to make you good; learn to work, to get +your living; learn to obey, that you may be obeyed.” One day we were +approaching a house, and a little boy saw us coming. He ran in and said, +“Mother, I want my face washed and a clean apron on, for Bishop Asbury +is coming, and I am sure he will hug me up.” The bishop loved to hug the +children to his heart, which always beat with such pure affection toward +them. In this respect he strikingly resembled his Master, and was a fine +model for ministers to follow. + +His conversational powers were great. He was full of interesting +anecdotes, and could entertain people for hours. He could make himself +at home in a splendid mansion or in the humblest cottage. His powers of +observation were great; nothing escaped the notice of his piercing eye. +He would refer to incidents that occurred when he passed through certain +places such a year, and the changes that had taken place during his +absence. + +At times he appeared unsociable, for his mind was engrossed with his +work. When traveling from Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1809, we came +near a pond. As we rode along nothing had been said for some time by +either of us. The frogs were croaking, but as they heard the sound of our +horses’ feet they were still. I said, “Mr. Asbury, you see the very frogs +respect us, for they manifest it by their silence.” Mr. Asbury laughed, +and said, “O Henry, you are full of pleasantry.” And the reverie being +broken, he was very sociable as we rode along, and his conversation was +full of interest. My object was to break the spell, and I succeeded. + +He was very fond of horses, which he generally petted, and had names +for them. One he sold to Bishop Whatcoat he called “Brunswick.” Another +was “Jane;” she was as fleet as a deer. Another was “Fox;” he was as +cunning as his namesake, and a most beautiful animal. He took the bishop +over the ground with great ease and rapidity; but he had one prominent +failing, he would get frightened occasionally and start and run, and as +the bishop did not consider him safe he disposed of him. The horses +frequently broke down by such extensive traveling, and the bishop parted +with them with a sigh, and sometimes with a tear. When we parted with one +in Wyoming the bishop said, “He whickered after us; it went right through +my heart.” The bishop was a good rider, and he looked well on horseback. +When we remember how many thousands of miles he traveled on horseback +annually we cannot wonder at this, if there is any truth in that old +adage, “practice makes perfect.” He always preferred riding on horseback, +but there were times when he was so infirm he was obliged to ride in a +buggy. + +Bishop Asbury had his favorite stopping places where he felt the most +at home: among others, at Governor Bassett’s, of Dover, Delaware; Mrs. +Dickins’s, Baltimore; Harry Gough’s, Perry Hall; Mrs. Mills’s, Widow +Grice’s, and George Suckley’s, New York City; Bishop Sherwood’s, Governor +Van Cortland’s, Freeborn Garrettson’s, Rhinebeck; Father Bemis’s, at +Waltham; Father and Mother Boehm’s; John Renshall’s and Thomas Cooper’s, +Pittsburgh; further west, Dr. Tiffin’s, Governor Worthington’s, Philip +Gatch’s, Peter Pelham’s, White Brown’s; in the South, General Rumph’s, +James Rembert’s, and others. Many others might be named, but space fails. +These homes were indeed the pilgrim’s rest. They were like an oasis in +the desert. What hearty greetings and welcomes have I seen the bishop +receive. But the reader must not infer he always put up in palaces. +Cottages, log-houses, huts, dirt, filth, fleas, bed-bugs, hard beds, +hard fare, these the bishop was familiar with, and so was his traveling +companion. + +The bishop was often in perils: perils on the land, perils on the water, +perils among false brethren. I have often wondered that he was not +suddenly removed when I think of the many hairbreadth escapes he had. +We often rode at night over rough stony roads and stumps, where it was +exceedingly dangerous; sometimes on the side of a mountain near a river, +under such circumstances that a few feet, or even a few inches, would +have been sudden destruction; sometimes when it was so dark I had to go +before to feel the way and lead the horse. Several times he was in danger +by his horses running away, or by their sudden starting, then by the +upsetting of his carriage. This happened several times and in dangerous +places, and yet he was almost miraculously preserved; not a bone was +broken. He was often in danger in crossing the rivers and streams, to say +nothing of swimming horses or crossing over on logs and trees, where, if +he fell off, he would be greatly injured, but particularly in crossing +the ferries. He often crossed in “old flats,” and “scows,” and canoes, +with horses, and sometimes wagons. Many of these boats were old and +leaky, and sometimes poorly manned, and at other times unmanageable. We +often waited for hours, and even days, at a ferry. The streams would be +swollen and dangerous, and we had to wait till the water fell. When we +remember that the bishop crossed the highest mountains, the widest and +most rapid rivers, at all seasons of the year, we can estimate the danger +to which he was exposed. Twice he was in great danger of being drowned. +But he hardly mentions the perils to which he was exposed. None of these +things moved him, neither counted he his life dear unto him, so that he +might finish his course with joy, and the ministry which he had received +of the Lord Jesus to testify the Gospel of the grace of God. + +Bishop Asbury has been represented as rough, unfeeling, harsh, and +stoical. Those who make such assertions are entirely ignorant of his +character, and do great injustice to one of the noblest men that ever +blessed the Church or the world. I grant he had rather a rough exterior, +that he was sometimes stern; but under that roughness and sternness of +manner beat a heart as feeling as ever dwelt in human bosom. The bishop +was “born to command,” and he had a commanding way with him; but he was +as far from being a tyrant as possible, and yet I have heard him accused +of tyranny by those who never knew him. If he injured the feelings of a +brother he would encircle him in his arms and ask his forgiveness. Here +was true manliness, genuine greatness, real dignity. This I have known +him to do to a brother when convinced he was in error. + +Bishop Asbury stoical! See his sympathy for the suffering. Look at him +with his mite subscription—always heading it himself—to raise money +for necessitous cases among the preachers; see him wandering among the +tombs and weeping at the graves of his friends; visiting the widow and +the fatherless and weeping with them, and commending the one to the +widow’s husband, the other to the orphan’s father. He used frequently to +mention his mother, and as he did so the tear would fill his blue eye. +At one time he thought of her coming to America, but concluded it would +not be best. His correspondence with her was very frequent. Out of his +small salary he sent money to supply the wants of his parents before his +father died, and then afterward to his mother when she was left a widow. +In a letter to his mother he says, “My salary is £14 10s. sterling, +[sixty-four dollars.] I have sold my watch and library, and would sell +my shirt before you should want.” He added, “The contents of a small +saddle-bag will do for me, and one coat a year.” He also made arrangement +with Richard Whatcoat that if he died first Mr. Whatcoat was to see the +wants of Mrs. Asbury supplied. What an example of filial regard! + +There are many reasons why he did not marry; he has assigned them in +his journal; but he always believed every man should support one woman. +He maintained his mother while she lived, and then the widow of John +Dickins. He not only supported Mrs. Dickins while he lived, but left +provision in his will that she be paid eighty dollars a year till her +death. This sum I paid her annually, as his executor, till she died. + +It is needless to say that Bishop Asbury was a true patriot. Though he +loved the land of his birth, yet he loved most ardently the land of +his adoption. He showed this by remaining here when the other English +preachers returned home. He loved Washington and the constitution of this +country. When I was with him in Canada he said to me, “England always +had the wrong foot foremost in regard to America.” This country is under +great obligations to Francis Asbury: he accomplished for her a mighty +work, and yet not one of our historians name him. + +The bishop was well known on most of the great thoroughfares in the +country, and to most of the landlords and public houses. They seemed to +reverence his age, his office, and his character. On one of his western +tours we came to a small tavern where there was quite a gathering. +The company were noisy and profane, and it seemed as if we should get +no sleep that night. When the hour came at which the bishop wished +to retire, he went to the landlord and proposed having prayer. The +landlord said, “My house is at your service, sir.” Then the bishop said, +“Gentlemen, we are going to have prayer, and should be happy if you would +join us.” His manner, as well as his patriarchal appearance, pleased +them; and after prayer they soon retired, and left us to sleep sweetly +till morning undisturbed. This had a better effect than severe reproof. +Indeed it was reproof of the most effectual kind. + +The bishop was a man of universal philanthropy. Wherever there was a +door open for doing good he entered it. Passing through Ohio, we came to +a place where the cow of a widow woman was about to be sold for debt. +The bishop’s heart was touched, and he was determined the widow’s cow +should not be sold. He said, “It must not be;” and giving something +himself, he solicited money from others who were present, till in a few +minutes sufficient was raised to satisfy the claim against her. The widow +expressed her gratitude not only with words but tears as she started to +drive her cow home. I have named this to show what kind of a heart beat +in his bosom; that, like his Master, he went about doing good. + +His benevolence was unbounded; selfishness had no place in his soul. +He would divide his last dollar with a Methodist preacher. He had +considerable money given him. Brother Rembert, at Black River settlement, +South Carolina, frequently gave him one hundred dollars, and others gave +him considerable sums. He was restless till it was gone, so anxious was +he to do good with it. I was the treasurer. He would give most of it away +at the next conference for the most necessitous cases, reserving only +enough for our traveling expenses. + +Bishop Asbury felt a deep interest in the welfare of the preachers, +many of whom in those days received but a miserable pittance for their +support. While I was with him he started the “mite subscription.” +For this he collected during his tours and carried the money to the +conference, to be distributed among the most necessitous cases. His last +“mite subscription” list is now before me. The preface, which is printed, +sets forth that “some of the annual conferences pay but thirty-one +dollars to the unmarried and sixty-two to the married preachers, and +the children are generally excluded from receiving anything in the +settlement.” Can we wonder that under such circumstances so many of our +early preachers located, and their services were in great measure lost +to the Church? This document is dated April 1, 1815, and signed Francis +Asbury. His name and that of his last traveling companion are found in +the list of subscribers, which contains the autographs of some of the +prominent men and women of Methodism in that day, as well as many persons +who were not connected with our Church. Among others are those of Richard +Channing Moore, bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Virginia; +General Pierre Van Cortlandt, of New York; Governors Worthington and +Tiffin, of Ohio. The latest names on the list were from Richmond, +Virginia, where the bishop preached his last sermon.[44] + +Of the moneys he collected that year he paid to the New York Conference +$135 99, and the receipt is in the book of the conference stewards, +signed Samuel Merwin, Phineas Rice, and Thomas Drummond. The receipt +of $50 27 from the mite subscription, and the donation of one hundred +dollars, which was paid over by J. W. Bond, is acknowledged by Daniel +Filmore, John Lindsay, and Jacob Sanborn, stewards of the New England +Conference, on June 2, 1815. A note is added, that the New England +Conference “not being able to raise the salaries of the preachers,” paid +“only thirty-one dollars to the single and sixty-two to the married +preachers, and children in proportion.” + +Marcus Lindsey, John Dew, and Thomas D. Porter, of the Ohio Conference, +acknowledged the receipt of $192 from the mite subscription this year. +They also record “that all the children of the married traveling +preachers who received nothing from the districts or circuits, received +ten dollars apiece from Bishop Asbury’s Mite Subscription.” The salaries +in this conference were better than in the East, for the single preachers +received sixty-nine dollars and the married one hundred and thirty-eight. +The stewards of Tennessee Conference gave, on October 27, their receipt +for $267 06 “from the mite subscription,” and added that the married +preachers received one hundred and ten dollars and the single fifty-five; +and that the mite subscription for the benefit of the children, being +one hundred dollars, enabled them to give ten dollars to each child. +According to this, all the children of Methodist preachers in the +Tennessee Conference in 1815 numbered but ten. + +The last receipt is that of the Virginia Conference, for the sum of $95 +31. This conference met in January, 1816, and was the last that Bishop +Asbury attended. He was then reduced almost to a skeleton, and in about +two months after he ended both his labor and his life. + +Thank God, a brighter day has since dawned on the Church; and though our +ministers have even now no superabundance of this world’s goods, it is at +least no longer needful that our bishops should beg from house to house +to collect “mites” that the preachers might be able to keep soul and body +together. + +The bishop had commenced his “mite subscription” for the next year with +enlarged views. The prelude, which is dated January 1, 1816, and signed +Francis Asbury, sets forth that the design was not only to equalize +the salaries of the preachers, to relieve the most necessitous, and to +provide for the children, but also “to enable us to send out German, +French, and Spanish missionaries.” This was years before the formation of +our Missionary Society. Like John Wesley, Bishop Asbury was constantly in +advance of his age. + +For five years I not only traveled with the venerable Asbury, but slept +with him.[45] When he was quite ill I would wrap myself in my blanket +and lie down on the floor beside the bed and watch till I heard him call +“Henry,” and then I would rise and minister to his wants. Being so feeble +he needed a great deal of attention. Many times have I taken him from his +horse and carried him in my arms into private houses and meeting-houses, +where he would sit down, and expound the word of life to the astonishment +of all who heard him. I also carried him from the houses and placed him +upon his horse. He often preached sitting down, not so much in imitation +of his Lord, but because he was unable to stand up. + +Bishop Asbury possessed more deadness to the world, more of a +self-sacrificing spirit, more of the spirit of prayer,[46] of Christian +enterprise, of labor, and of benevolence, than any other man I ever +knew. He was the most unselfish being I was ever acquainted with. Bishop +Whatcoat I loved, Bishop M’Kendree I admired, Bishop Asbury I venerated. + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + +DEATH OF JESSE LEE—HIS CHARACTER. + + +During the summer of 1816 I held several camp-meetings that were greatly +honored of God. The fourth was in Hillsborough, Maryland. It commenced +the 22d of August. Jesse Lee preached the second sermon from 1 Peter ii, +5, on the lively stones and the spiritual house. I wrote: “He preached +with life and power, and many of the people were much refreshed and built +up in the faith of the Gospel.” Some of his illustrations were very +quaint. He said, “If you cannot be a stone in the building you may be +a nail to hold on a shingle.” He preached again on “Grow in grace.” In +announcing his subject he said, “In the last verse of the last chapter +of the last Epistle of Peter you may find my text, and this may be my +last sermon.” And so it proved. That voice which had rung through so many +groves, offering salvation to the lost, was then heard for the last time. +He who introduced camp-meetings into the East fell at one of them sword +in hand. He had been taken sick the day before, and he suffered much +while delivering this his last message. After preaching he was removed +to the house of Brother Henry D. Sellers, brother-in-law of Bishop +Emory.[47] Brother Sellers and his wife were at this time summoned to +Baltimore to see a son who was very sick. They reluctantly left home when +Brother Lee was so ill, but yielded to the prior claims of a dying son. +They left word to have everything possible done for the comfort of the +sick man. While absent they buried their son, and when they returned home +found Jesse Lee in his grave. + +The camp-meeting was one of great power and interest. God honored his +word, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. On Tuesday we +parted till we pitch our tents in the groves of Paradise. Then I went to +attend to our beloved Brother Lee. + +Before he left Annapolis Mr. Lee knocked off a little skin from his leg. +He thought nothing of it at the time, but it became inflamed, and he had +quite a fever. He grew worse and worse till mortification took place, +and death came to his relief. On Tuesday, at 10 o’clock, while we were +praying with him, the room was filled with glory. He was graciously +visited by the Lord, and broke out in ecstacies, “Glory, Glory, Jesus +reigns! heaven is just before me!” + +The next day he was “filled with the Spirit,” so that he shouted the +praises of God. He had said but little during the early part of his +sickness; but now heaven was opened and glory revealed. All present were +deeply affected, and felt it a hallowed place. He suffered intensely, but +grace triumphed over pain of body. + +On Wednesday strong symptoms of dissolution appeared, and the doctor was +frank and told him he might not live twelve hours. This did not at all +alarm him. He shouted aloud the praises of God, and deliberately set his +house in order. He wished me to write to his brother Ned, and tell him he +“died happy.” He also said, “Give my respects to Bishop M’Kendree; tell +him that I die in love with all the preachers, and that he lives in my +heart.” Then he bade all present farewell and requested us to pray. We +did so. It was a solemn hour and place. On Thursday he lost the power of +speech, but retained his reason and gave signs that all was well. In the +evening, at half past seven, the great and good man fell asleep. + +I watched over him nearly two weeks; he would not allow me to leave him. +I went down stairs to shave one day, and he was very uneasy, and sent two +or three messengers for me before I could finish. He had an idea that no +other person could do as well for him, therefore he constantly looked for +me. I hardly took off my clothes day or night for nearly two weeks, he +needed such constant attention. The family being absent, the great care +fell upon me. He said to me, “Brother Boehm, when I die I wish you to +close my eyes.” I did so. I placed the muffler about his face and laid +him out, and put his shroud upon him. I helped place him in his coffin, +then committed his remains to the grave, and performed the funeral +service. We buried him in the family burying-ground of Father Henry Downs. + +Two days after, while I was absent, some brethren came from Baltimore and +disinterred the remains and removed them to that city, and laid him to +rest in the old Methodist burying-ground. He was taken sick the 24th of +August, and died the 12th of September, 1816. + +I complied with his dying request, sending his final messages to those he +loved. I wrote to his brother Edward, (father of Rev. Leroy M. Lee,) who +lived at Petersburgh, and gave him the particulars of Jesse’s illness and +death. I also wrote to Bishop M’Kendree, giving him the message of the +dying minister as well as the particulars of his last sickness and death. +This account was given in Jesse Lee’s obituary in the Minutes, with my +name connected with it. In Dr. Bangs’s History of Methodism, and Leroy +M. Lee’s life of his uncle, my name is omitted. They could have had no +correct description of his last days and hours unless I had furnished it. + +I must conclude this chapter by noticing his character. My own opinion +is that injustice has been done to the name and fame of Jesse Lee. I was +acquainted with him for many years. He was at my father’s in 1799. I saw +him at the General Conference of 1800, 1808, and 1812; also at the Annual +Conferences and at camp-meetings. Mr. Lee was one of the most efficient +and useful men we ever had. Like Paul, he was “in labors more abundant.” + +He was shrewd, witty, and ready at repartee. There are those who think +he was nothing but a bundle of fun; that this was the element in which +he moved; and that he considered a rich joke a means of grace. Such have +altogether mistaken his character. Mr. Lee had a rich vein of spiritual +wit, he had a keen sense of the ludicrous, he knew how to answer a fool +according to his folly; but he made his wit subservient to the cause +of truth and to silence cavilers. He had “higher excellences than wit, +holier instincts than mirth.” He made great sacrifices, and devoted his +life to the promotion of the cause of truth. + +Jesse Lee was an excellent preacher. I must have heard him thirty times. +He exhibited great wisdom in the selection of his texts. In General and +Annual Conferences he was a prominent man. He was an able debater, and +those who encountered him found they were grappling with a giant. At the +General Conference of 1800 he came near being elected bishop. He was +worthy of the episcopal office, and doubtless would have filled it with +honor to himself and benefit to the Church. Some one told him he would +have been elected if he had been sufficiently grave. Said he, “Would it +not have been premature to assume the gravity of the office previous to +my election?” + +As the apostle of Methodism in the East he can never be forgotten. +He was the pioneer of a noble army of Methodist preachers who have +revolutionized New England and New England theology. All over its hills +and valleys he has written his name in characters that will be read by +succeeding generations until the end of time. As the first historian +of American Methodism he will ever be remembered. His work is valuable +as a repository of facts to which his successors have all been largely +indebted. He achieved many triumphs, but the greatest of all was his +victory over “the last enemy.” + + “Servant of God, well done! + Thy glorious warfare’s past; + The battle’s fought, the race is won, + And thou art crowned at last.” + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + +CHESAPEAKE DISTRICT—TOURS WITH BISHOPS GEORGE AND M’KENDREE. + + +At the conference held in Philadelphia in April, 1817, I was appointed +presiding elder of Chesapeake District. + +It was my privilege to take short tours with other bishops besides +Asbury. Bishop M’Kendree was always a great friend of mine, and at his +request I went with him several times to visit the Churches. + +On the 30th of June we went to Wilmington, Delaware; from that to +Chestertown, where he preached on Sunday from Jer. v, 25. At Centerville +he preached from Isaiah lxvi, 3-5, “He that killeth an ox is as if he +slew a man,” etc. It was a most singular text, but he showed himself +a workman in its exposition. He dwelt upon man’s agency and his +responsibility, thus clearing the eternal throne and justifying the ways +of God to man. Both Asbury and M’Kendree frequently took long texts. +Their preaching was generally of the expository kind; they never took +a text for a motto. From thence we went to Baltimore, and visited the +Churches, and I heard him preach in Light-street, Oldtown, and Eutaw. +After spending fifteen days with the bishop, I returned to my district +and held several camp-meetings. The first was in Camden, in July. The +converts were numerous, and at the close of the meeting I baptized one +hundred. In those days we not only cut down the grain, but we shocked up +immediately. Three meetings at other places followed in quick succession, +so that we held four camp-meetings in less than a month. + +In October, at the request of Bishop George, I took a ministerial tour +with him. He preached on Thursday at Salem from Isaiah xl, 31, on waiting +on the Lord and its advantages; a theme that well suited him. On Friday +he preached at Asbury Chapel, and on Saturday at Union, from Psalm xxxiv, +19, on the afflictions of the righteous and their deliverance. It was a +sermon full of consolation. On Sunday he preached from Matt. xxv, 29, on +the measure of man’s responsibility, and the next day on watching, from +Luke xxi, 36; on Tuesday in Wesley Chapel, Dover, from John ii, 17; on +Wednesday at Barratt’s Chapel, from 1 Peter i, 5; on Thursday at Milford, +from 1 Peter iii, 15; on Sunday at Johnstown, from 1 Cor. vi, 19, 20; on +Monday at Concord, from John xii, 26; and on Tuesday at the Line Chapel, +from 2 Cor. vi, 2. + +Then we went to Snow Hill and were the guests of Samuel Porter, father +of John S. Porter, D.D. Bishop George preached here on Sunday from Eph. +iii, 20, 21, “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly,” +etc. This glorious doxology he expounded in a manner delightfully sweet. +Thence we went to Potato Neck and put up with Francis Waters, father +of Dr. Waters, and Mrs. Freeborn Garrettson, of Rhinebeck. At Princess +Anne the bishop preached on “patient continuance in well doing;” and +on Sunday, at Salisbury, from 1 John v, 4, on Faith and its victories. +Thence we went to Cambridge, where we both preached, and were kindly +entertained by Dr. Edward White. At Easton, the bishop preached on +“the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and next day, at +the Trappe, from 1 Thess. v, 6, “Therefore let us not sleep,” etc. On +Saturday and Sunday we held a quarterly meeting at St. Michael’s. We had +a charming love-feast, after which the bishop preached from John v, 6, +“Wilt thou be made whole?” On Tuesday he preached at Centreville from +John v, 36. + +Next Saturday we held a quarterly meeting at Hynson’s Chapel. There was +a serious difficulty between some of the official men and the society +about temporal matters. There had been a trial before a committee, which +resulted very unsatisfactorily, and they had appealed to the Quarterly +Conference, and if its decision did not please them they threatened to go +to law. The bishop, who was a great peacemaker, got the parties together +and reasoned with them. He wept, and so did they. There were mutual +confessions, and they asked forgiveness of each other. The difficulty +from which we had so much to fear was settled honorably and forever. His +visit to that part of the Peninsula was made a great blessing, for “Zion +became a quiet habitation.” On Sunday morning we had a love-feast indeed, +after which the bishop preached from Hosea xiv, 9, “Who is wise, and he +shall understand these things,” etc. + +Reluctantly I parted with the much-loved superintendent after spending +six weeks with him, enjoying his society every day and listening to +twenty sermons from him, besides exhortations and lectures in societies +and families. I traveled with him through the heart of the Peninsula, and +was with him from the 25th of October till the 5th of December. It was +his first tour through the Peninsula, and everywhere he was hailed with +joy as a worthy successor of the apostolic Asbury. + +Bishop George was a short, stout man. His chest was large, and this +enabled him to speak so easily. His face was bronzed, owing to exposure; +but it was intelligent, and expressive of benignity. His dress was +plain and careless, and his hair was coarse and thick and parted in the +middle. He had quite a patriarchal appearance. His voice was peculiar for +strength and melody. As a preacher, he was surpassingly eloquent. He had +unusual power over his audience, and he took them captive at his will. +At times he was perfectly irresistible. He was well acquainted with the +springs of the human heart, and knew how to touch them. I must have heard +him preach fifty times. It is probable there is not a man living who has +heard him as often as myself. + +As a presiding officer he did not excel. He had not the administrative +talents of Asbury, M’Kendree, or Roberts. He was a good companion where +he was well acquainted, full of anecdotes; but he was diffident and +avoided company, and had a perfect abhorrence of being questioned. He +was very powerful in prayer. He would rise in the night, and putting his +cloak around him, spend whole hours on his knees wrestling with the angel +of the covenant. + +He would never permit any to take his likeness; he said “he did not like +to have his image sold for three cents when he was dead and gone.” He +died suddenly at Staunton, Virginia, August 23, 1828. It is as true of +him as of the patriarch, whose name he bore, he “walked with God, and was +not, for God took him.” + +This year, 1818, was in many respects the most memorable year of my life. +Not believing in the celibacy of the clergy, on the 15th of January I was +married to Sarah Hill, the step-daughter of Thomas Dodson. He resided +in Kent County, Maryland, below Chestertown. He had been a traveling +preacher for some years, but had located. She was a most estimable +woman, and I found her a helpmeet indeed. We had four children, who are +all living. My wife died in holy triumph the 26th of August, 1853, and +was buried in the church-yard at Woodrow, Staten Island, where I expect +soon to sleep myself. Her memoir was written by the Rev. Joseph Holdich, +who had been well acquainted with her from the time he entered the +traveling connection in 1822 to the close of her pilgrimage. + +On the 22d of April, 1818, our conference was held in Philadelphia. +Bishops George and Roberts were both present. I was reappointed to the +Chesapeake District. It was a year of great prosperity. I have a record +of every day. We had powerful camp and quarterly meetings, which were +greatly honored of God, and multitudes were converted. I traveled this +year two thousand six hundred miles to preach the glorious Gospel of the +blessed God. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + +DELAWARE DISTRICT, 1819-21—THOMAS AND EDWARD WHITE—JOSHUA THOMAS—CIRCUITS. + + +In 1819 our conference commenced its session in Philadelphia on the +19th of April. Bishop Roberts presided. Bishop M’Kendree was too ill to +attend. During the session Bishop Roberts dedicated the Ebenezer Church. + +I was appointed to the Delaware District. William Bishop was my +predecessor. He was an odd, eccentric man, the Billy Hibbard of the +Philadelphia Conference. When he rose to speak in conference the +brethren would smile in advance, expecting some strokes of wit or +shrewd expression. In representing a brother on his district he said, +“He appears to be tired of everything but rest.” The character of the +brother was so well known, and the hit so capital, that the whole +conference was convulsed with laughter. However, he was a good preacher, +and, notwithstanding his eccentricities, had the confidence of his +superintendents and of his brethren in the ministry. + +Delaware District included much of the ground I had traveled years +before. Many camp-meetings were held this year. I can name but one. It +was held on the Tangier Islands the last week of August. I went with +Francis Watters in his boat. We preached one sermon, and then we had the +most awful storm I ever beheld. The island was bleak, the waves dashed +against it, and the winds blew over it. The tents were blown down and +trees were prostrated; the water rose to a prodigious height, and we +feared the island would be submerged. Notwithstanding the storm, many +were converted to God. + +In 1820 our conference was held in Smyrna, Delaware, commencing on April +12. Bishop George presided. On Sunday he preached an ordination sermon +from Phil. iii, 13, 14, on the course Paul pursued to obtain the prize. +The unction of the mighty one rested on him and his audience. + +Four were received into full connection: Charles Pitman, James Long, +Samuel Grace, and William Wright. Brother Long was a simple-hearted +Irishman, who preached the pure Gospel. Charles Pitman had a noble frame, +a massive brow, an expressive eye, and a voice as deep-toned as an organ. +No man ever did more for Methodism in New Jersey than he. Bishop Hedding, +no mean judge, considered him the greatest pulpit orator he had ever +heard. + +We held several camp-meetings this year. One was at the Tangier Islands. +The weather was fine, contrasting agreeably with the terrible storm we +had the year before. + +In April, 1821, our conference met in Milford, Delaware, where I was +residing. Bishop George, Freeborn Garrettson, and Ezekiel Cooper were my +guests. When dining one day Mr. Garrettson inquired, “Where did you find +this little woman?” speaking of Mrs. Boehm. I answered, “On the Eastern +Shore of Maryland.” He smiled and seemed to be much pleased, as it was +the scene of his early trials and triumphs. + +I was reappointed to the Delaware District. We this year held another +camp-meeting on the Tangier Islands, which was even more successful than +the preceding ones. + +Thomas and Edward White are names very dear to American Methodists. +Thomas has a conspicuous place in the early annals of our Church, while +Edward’s name is scarcely known, and yet he was in Christ before his +uncle, and was the cause of his uniting with the Methodists. + +Dr. EDWARD WHITE formerly lived in Kent County, Maryland, near his +Uncle Thomas, but he removed to Cambridge, Maryland, in 1799. I became +acquainted with in 1800, and for years his house was my home. He was my +physician in sickness, my counselor in perplexity, my faithful friend. +Bishop Asbury loved him tenderly, called him “Dear Edward White,” and +says “he had known and followed the Methodists since 1778.” He was much +beloved and esteemed, a pillar in our Church, and his house was a home +for all the bishops and all the ministers of Jesus. He was a large fleshy +man, with a good understanding and an intelligent countenance. His wife +was a most estimable woman. + +He was the means of leading Joseph Everett to the Methodists. Everett +joined the Philadelphia Conference in 1781, and was a mighty man in our +Israel. He went from Dr. White’s to travel, and when he broke down he +returned to the doctor’s to spend the evening of life and to die. There +I used to see the old soldier and hear him talk of former conflicts and +triumphs. His first circuit was Dorchester, and in Dorchester he died. + +The last time I was at Dr. White’s was in 1822. He was then “in age and +feebleness extreme.” The strong man was bowing himself. He went years ago +to join Asbury and Everett and his Uncle Thomas, “where no friend goes +out or enemy comes in.” + +JOSHUA THOMAS resided on one of the Tangier Islands, (a group in +Chesapeake Bay,) and was called “The Parson of the Islands.” He was a +local preacher, a man of great notoriety and influence, especially among +the Islanders. I was acquainted with him several years, having been to +his island home and sailed with him in his boat, which he called “The +Methodist.” + +I often met him at camp and quarterly meetings, and heard him preach and +exhort and relate his Christian experience with great effect. He was +perfectly artless, a child of nature. He never tried to be anybody but +Joshua Thomas. + +During the war with England, in 1812, twelve thousand British soldiers +encamped on Joshua’s island. Both the officers and men admired him, and +called him “Parson Thomas.” + +He raised vegetables on the Island and fished in the waters of the +Chesapeake. He had an impediment in his speech. He told me that when +the British fleet lay in the Bay the officers sent for him on board the +admiral’s ship. They had heard he stuttered when talking on worldly +business and not when he was preaching, and they did not believe this +could be possible. He did not know why they had sent for him, but he +obeyed the summons and was taken on board the admiral’s ship and into +the cabin, where he saw the officers of several ships. They said they +wished him to preach to them. He was perfectly astonished, but believing +it his duty to be “instant in season and out of season,” he took his +text and commenced his discourse. He was a little embarrassed at first, +and stated that he was unlearned and they were men of cultivated minds; +but as he proceeded he gathered confidence and strength, and preached to +them just as he would have done to the sinners on the islands. He showed +them that notwithstanding their learning, talents, and position, if they +neglected the condition of salvation they would be lost and damned with +common sinners, and find one common hell. He did not stutter once while +he delivered his faithful message, and the officers listened to him with +great attention. + +At the conclusion of the discourse one of the officers inquired, +“Parson Thomas, can you tell us for what reason President Madison +declared war against England?” Then he stuttered exceedingly, and +it was some time before he could get the answer out. He began, +“Tut—tut—tut—tut—tut-tut-tut,” and after various efforts said, “I was not +in his cabinet, and therefore I cannot answer.” + +The following incidents will still further illustrate his influence +with the British officers. Some of the soldiers were cutting down some +large pine trees which furnished a beautiful shade, under which large +camp-meetings had been held. Parson Thomas went to the commanding +officer, told him what the soldiers were doing, and expostulated against +it. He said that grove was their house of worship, and to destroy the +trees was to destroy God’s house. His appeal was irresistible. The trees +were spared, and for years the grove continued to be a place of worship. + +Just before the British made their attack on Baltimore, Parson Thomas, at +their request, preached to them on the island. He was as true a patriot +as Joshua of old, whose name he bore. He gave the following account of +the sermon he preached: The old camp-ground was the center of the British +camp. The soldiers were drawn up in solid column under the pine trees. +Mr. Thomas occupied a stand; all the soldiers were before him, and on +his right and left were the British officers. He determined to clear his +skirts of their blood; if they wished to hear him they should have a +faithful warning. He did not know but his plainness might give offense +and cause him to fall a sacrifice. Singing and prayer, however, quieted +his fears, and put his soul in frame for the occasion. He faithfully +warned the British of the unholiness of their cause, of the wickedness of +killing their fellow-men. He told them he had heard they were going to +Baltimore to take that city; but, said he, “you cannot take Baltimore; +if you attempt to you will not succeed; and you had better prepare to +die.” Both officers and soldiers were very attentive. They admired his +patriotism, his honesty, his simplicity. Soon after that memorable +meeting the British made their attack on Baltimore, and Parson Thomas’s +prediction was fulfilled to the letter. + +As he saw the British returning, Parson Thomas went down to the shore to +meet them, and the first inquiry he made of the officers was, “Have you +taken Baltimore?” They mournfully answered, “No. It turned out just as +you told us the Sunday before we left. The battle was bloody. Hundreds of +our men were slain, our general also; and all the time we were fighting +in the field we thought of what you told us, ‘You cannot take Baltimore.’” + +Here we see the true character of the man. Though he did not possess the +talents, he had the boldness of Luther or John Knox; and such was his +good common sense and his simplicity of character that he retained the +confidence of the British while they continued on the island. + +I must abridge my narrative or it will swell to volumes. In 1823 I was +on Lancaster Circuit. Joseph Holdich was my colleague. It was his first +circuit. He was young but studious, and then gave promise of the future +man. My mother died in November of that year, and was buried beside my +father. I was returned to the circuit the following year. + +In 1824-5 I was upon old Chester Circuit; in 1826-7, Strasburgh; in +1828-9, Burlington Circuit, N. J. Rev. Charles Pitman was my presiding +elder. He was then in the days of his glory. In 1830-31 I was at +Pemberton; in 1832, at Bargaintown; in 1833, at Tuckerton; in 1834, New +Egypt; in 1835-6 I had the whole of Staten Island for my circuit. For +fourteen years I was on circuits after I left the districts. I have a +full record of men, and thrilling scenes, and glorious revivals, but have +not space even to name my colleagues or their characteristics. + +Methodism was introduced into Staten Island very early by Francis +Asbury, before he preached in New York. I was with him on the island +in 1809. When I was stationed on Staten Island there were two hundred +and seventy-eight members; now there are one thousand one hundred and +forty-nine, and instead of one preacher we have seven. Having been many +years in the work, at the close of the two years on Staten Island I took +a supernumerary relation. I bought me a little place on the island, where +I lived for many years, till death invaded my dwelling and laid my loved +one low. In 1837 the Philadelphia Conference was divided and I fell +into the New Jersey, and then by a subsequent division into the Newark +Conference. + +I have preached in all parts of the island; have married many, and buried +many of the dead. In great harmony I have lived with all the friends of +Jesus. I was a member of the General Conference in 1832, and was present +at the memorable conference in 1844 when our Church was divided. I had +much to do with laying the foundation of German Methodism in New York. +By both preachers and the laity I have ever been treated with the utmost +kindness. Many of them I should like to notice but have no space, but +their names are in the book of life. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +LAST VISIT TO MY NATIVE PLACE—WESTERN TOUR. + + +Many years had passed away since I had seen the home of my childhood, and +my advanced age admonish me that I must do so soon or never. On February +15, 1856, I left my home on Staten Island and went to Pemberton, N. J. +For four years Pemberton was my residence. I was glad to see my old +friends, and preached for them twice. Thence I went to Mount Holly, a +place of rare beauty. Here lived my old friend, Judge Monroe, father of +Rev. Samuel Y. Monroe, D.D. + +Reaching Camden, I found it greatly changed since I first saw it. Then +there was only a ferry-house, now a large city with three flourishing +Methodist Churches. A few years ago I preached the half century sermon of +the introduction of Methodism in Camden. By request it was published. + +I hastened on to Lancaster, where I was heartily welcomed by John Boehm’s +widow. He was my nephew, and yet we were about the same age, were +converted at the same time, and were life-time friends. He did much for +Methodism in Lancaster and Lancaster County. I spent several weeks in the +vicinity visiting old friends and preaching the Gospel. There was quite +a contrast to the state of things in 1805, when I preached there on a +butcher’s block in the market. + +To my great joy I found Philip Benedict and his wife living. It was in +their house I formed the first class in 1807. We talked over the early +struggles and triumphs of Methodism in Lancaster. He was eighty-four +years old, his wife about the same age. The Church in Lancaster is +greatly indebted to this old patriarch and his excellent wife. + +I went to Little Britain, twenty-two miles from Lancaster, celebrated as +the birthplace of Robert Fulton. The old homestead where he was born was +still standing. What gave it additional interest to me was, that there, +in 1814, I formed the first Methodist class in the town. We have now a +fine society and a beautiful church edifice. + +I went to Columbia, and was the guest of Abraham Brunner, son of Owen. +Here I met Alfred Cookman, who had married into the family, and his +children are the fifth generation that I have preached to in this family. +I went to the old Boehm’s Chapel and the old house where I was born. My +eye lighted upon the place in the gallery where in 1798 I gave my heart +to God. Well did I exclaim, + + “O happy day, that fixed my choice + On thee, my Saviour and my God,” etc. + +What sermons had I heard in that chapel! The venerable forms of Asbury, +Whatcoat, M’Kendree, and others I had heard preach came up before me. It +was Easter Sabbath, and I preached on the resurrection of Jesus. It was +forty-four years that day since my father died. From the window I could +see his grave and those of my mother and the other loved ones. My mind +went forward to the time when the sleepers should awake at the sound of +the trump and rise to life immortal. + +My feelings well nigh overcame me. The friends of my youth were gone. +There were none of my name remaining in that neighborhood. Generations +had passed away, new ones had risen that knew me not. I wandered +among the tombs in the old burying ground, then bade adieu to the old +grave-yard, to the old chapel, to the old homestead, hallowed by so many +pleasing recollections, exclaiming, + + “Farewell to the home of my birth, + To the scenes which I cannot but love, + To the nearest and dearest on earth, + Till we meet in the mansions above.” + +On my return I visited the Philadelphia Conference, then sitting in +Trinity Church, Philadelphia. I had not attended it for twenty years, +and had long desired to see it once more. Bishop Waugh presided, and at +his request I made an address. I contrasted the past with the present. +I told them not one remained who had belonged to the conference when I +joined it. I always loved the Philadelphia Conference: within its bounds +I was born, converted, licensed to preach, and ordained; with them I +had spent my youth and the prime of my manhood; here I had toiled the +hardest and had the greatest success; here were the scenes of my trials +and triumphs, and within its bounds I was married and my children born. I +never belonged to any other, the New Jersey and Newark Conferences being +portions of the Philadelphia Conference when I joined it. I bade farewell +to the Philadelphia brethren and returned to my island home after an +absence of two months. + +On my return home I attended the New Jersey Conference in Broad-street +Chapel, Newark. How strangely this magnificent edifice contrasted with +Boehm’s Chapel! and what a change in Newark since I visited it with +Bishop Asbury in 1809, when we had no house of worship there, and Richard +Leaycraft, who had moved from New York, was the only one to entertain the +itinerants! + +Having relatives in Ohio whom I had not seen for nearly half a century, I +concluded, though over fourscore, to visit them. In January, 1859, I went +to Baltimore, where I had not been for forty-two years. We received a +hearty welcome from Dr. Roberts, the distinguished Methodist antiquarian +and father of the Methodist Historical Society. Multitudes are the relics +he has preserved, which will enrich the history of our Church in future +years. + +Most of my old friends in Baltimore were dead; only a few recognized +me. I went to Mount Olivet Cemetery, where sleep the remains of Bishops +Asbury, George, Emory, and Waugh. Standing by the grave of the first the +image of the patriarch came up before me, and I vainly attempted to keep +back the tears that rolled down my cheeks. The other bishops also I had +known intimately. Two of them were much younger than myself, and I was +present when they were received into the conference. + +My next visit was to “Pilgrim’s Rest,” to see my old friend and brother, +the Rev. Henry Smith. We had known each other half a century. He was one +of the purest and best men that I ever knew. I had a charming visit with +him, and when reviewing the past we lived over a great many years in a +few hours. He was over ninety, and had been in the ministry sixty-five +years. We prayed and wept together, and then we parted to meet in the +“Pilgrim’s Rest” on the other side of Jordan. He has since entered there. + +Leaving Baltimore for Ohio, we crossed the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry +and then went over the Alleghanies. Rushing over in the cars was very +different from the slow manner Bishop Asbury and I crawled over them +forty-seven years before. I could not help wondering what the bishop +would think if he could return and go over them as we do now, the +contrast is so great in ease, comfort, and saving of time. Towns, +cities, and states have been born since that time we went to Zanesville. + +Cincinnati was so changed that I could scarcely recognize in the Queen +City of the West the little village I had visited nearly fifty years +before; but when I beheld the Licking River everything came to my mind, +and I began to feel quite at home. When with Bishop Asbury we put up with +Brother Lines, an excellent local preacher. I was pleased to see two of +his daughters, Mrs. Widow Smith and the wife of Doctor Phillips. Edward +Sargent, son of my old friend, Rev. Thomas F. Sargent, M.D., married a +daughter of Widow Smith. In the society of these friends I took great +delight. + +Not only had the city grown immensely, but Methodism also. At the time of +my former visit there was only one Methodist church edifice, “The Stone +Chapel;” that had given way to a noble structure, “Wesley Chapel,” and +had become also the mother of a large and healthy family of children, +most of them named after bishops or other prominent ministers, as Asbury +Chapel, M’Kendree, Morris, Raper, Christie, Finlay, etc. Then the large +Book Concern with its _Western Christian Advocate_, _Ladies’ Repository_, +and other widely circulated publications. But what filled me with the +greatest delight, and made my old soul rejoice with exceeding joy, was to +behold what God had done for the Germans. I found four German Methodist +Churches in Cincinnati, with several hundred members; also a German +newspaper, the _Christian Apologist_, one of the most able papers I have +ever read, and edited by that great and good man, Dr. Nast, and a long +list of books and tracts in the German language. What a change since +1807, when I had the Methodist Discipline translated into German, and +1808, when I preached the first Methodist sermon in German in Cincinnati, +and when Bishop Asbury and I had two tracts printed in the German +language, that we scattered over the mountains and valleys as we rode +round his large diocese! + +A German love-feast was held in order that I might hear in my mother +tongue the wonderful work that God had wrought. Several hundred +were present, including members from all the German churches. Their +testimonies were thrilling, and their singing exquisite. They sung as Mr. +Wesley said, “lustily.” At the conclusion of a glorious love-feast, Dr. +Nast said, “We will sing Martin Luther’s Hymn, tune Old Hundred,” and +then they sung as I never heard it before that good old doxology, “Praise +God, from whom all blessings flow,” etc. + +I had a delightful interview with Judge M’Lean, one of our noblest men, a +spiritual son of John Collins. He remembered hearing me preach in Lebanon +in 1810. It was with deep regret that I afterward heard of his death. He +left a pure record both as a man and a statesman. + +I went to Dayton, which was a small place when I was there before, but +has now thirty thousand inhabitants. The “United Brethren in Christ” have +a publishing house here. When I entered their building and looked upon +the wall I saw a portrait of my father. I had not seen it in fifty years, +nor did I know it had been preserved, or that there was an image of him +in existence. There he was with his German visage, his gray locks and +venerable beard. It was a very good likeness, painted by a German artist +for my nephew, Martin Boehm, who carried it West when he removed to Ohio. +At his death it was presented to “The United Brethren in Christ,” who +were glad to get such a relic to adorn the walls of their publishing +house. Here also I saw an excellent likeness of Father Otterbein. + +I visited my relative, Samuel Binkley, who formerly lived near my +father’s. Here a cane was presented to me that I highly prize on account +of its historic associations, for it originally belonged to Father +Otterbein, who gave it to Bishop Asbury; the bishop gave it to Samuel +Binkley, and he presented it to my daughter. + +After my return home I again visited the West, and spent a year in +Cincinnati. I preached before the conference in Xenia, and was present +at the marriage of General Grant’s sister in Covington, Kentucky, to a +German preacher stationed in Cincinnati. + +In May, 1800, I was present at the General Conference in Baltimore; +in May, 1864, I attended the General Conference in Union Church, +Philadelphia. With perhaps two exceptions, Drs. C. Elliott and G. Peck, +all the delegates to the latter body were born during the intervening +period; and the senior bishop, Thomas A. Morris, was, in 1800, a +prattling boy of five years. I rejoiced that God had raised up so many +strong men to be pillars in the Church. Some were from the further West, +California, Oregon, and regions which in my early days were almost a +_terra incognita_, and were uninhabited except by wandering tribes of +Indians. The bishops and members seemed to regard me as an old Methodist +patriarch, and honored me with a seat on the platform. + +The nation was then struggling for life, having to contend both with +open enemies and secret foes. But a more loyal body than the men +who represented the Church in that conference never assembled. What +interested me most, however, was the fraternal interchange of delegates +between our General Conference and that of the African Methodist +Episcopal Church, which was sitting in Philadelphia at the same time. +The colored delegates were received by our conference on May 13, and +delivered addresses that would have done honor to men of any land. The +utmost enthusiasm prevailed, and the Union Church rang with shouts +of applause. At the conclusion of one of the most thrilling scenes +ever witnessed I was honored with delivering an address, of which the +following report appeared in the _Daily Advocate_ of May 14: + +“Mr. President, I thought it was but proper that I should express some of +my feelings and recollections as appropriate to this occasion. It fell +to my lot to have charge of this district in 1813 and 1814. It was then +called the Schuylkill District, and embraced the whole region between +the Delaware and the Susquehanna Rivers, including Wilmington, and north +by the mountains. During that period Robert R. Roberts, afterward Bishop +Roberts, was stationed at St. George’s, and John Emory, afterward Bishop +Emory, at this church. During these two years, in either 1813 or 1814, +he would not be positive which, the separation of the colored brethren +took place. There was some friction between the founder of the present +African Methodist Episcopal Church and us, and they drew off. But it was +prudently managed, and they passed quietly off. We feared then that it +was an unfortunate change; but I confess to you that my heart has been +touched. I have been very much affected in hearing our colored brethren +testify here, and state their influence and progress. I admire the +providence of God in this instance. We then considered it an unfortunate +case; but God has overruled it, and I hope he will continue to overrule +it and superintend it, and that it will react and spread its evangelizing +and saving influence south and south-west, and all over the world. God +grant that this may be the case. [Numerous responses of Amen.] I thought +it would be appropriate for me to express my feelings thus, and I rejoice +and give glory to God for his goodness and his power.” + +“The venerable patriarch sat down with swimming eyes, while many in +the audience wept with sympathy and joy. It is certainly a singular +coincidence that the man who was the Church officer charged with the +administration of the Discipline upon this district when the founders +of the African Methodist Episcopal Church withdrew from our connection, +previous to organizing their own, should, after a period of at least +fifty years, be present to witness the first fraternal reception of their +official representatives by the General Conference of the Methodist +Episcopal Church, and that assembled in the Union Church, Philadelphia, +the very scene of the events of half a century ago.” + +I cannot refrain from referring to the amazing growth of our Church since +the period when I joined it. We had then in America two hundred and +sixty-six traveling preachers, and sixty-five thousand nine hundred and +eighty members. Church edifices were scarce, and parsonages comparatively +unknown. We had no colleges or seminaries; no Biblical Institutes, +no periodicals, and were almost without a literature; indeed wholly +so, except a Hymn Book, Discipline, and a few tracts and other small +publications. Now we have nearly seven thousand traveling preachers, and +more than nine hundred thousand church members, (besides those in the +South,) with over ten thousand church edifices, and nearly three thousand +parsonages. Our numerous colleges and other institutions of learning, and +the extended operations of our Book Concerns in the East and the West, +bear witness to the success with which we have labored in the cause of +education and religious literature. + +In some matters I cannot but think that, as a Church, we have +retrograded. The people and preachers in that day were patterns of +plainness; we conform more to the world, and have lost much of the spirit +of self-denial they possessed. Our fathers paid great attention to Church +discipline, and their preaching was more direct; they aimed at the heart, +and looked for more immediate results than we of the present day. + +But if there are some things to lament, there is much that calls for +gratitude. If we remain true to Methodism, “walking by the same rule and +minding the same things” our fathers did, then our future will be grand +and glorious as the past, and the result such as to meet the expectations +of the most ardent among us. + +And now, having seen what great things God has done for us as a Church, +and the salvation which he has wrought out for us as a nation in the +overthrow of the great rebellion, I feel like saying with Simeon of old, +“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.” On this side the +river I patiently wait till the Master shall bid me pass over Jordan and +rejoin the sainted Asbury and other of my fellow-laborers and companions +in tribulation who have preceded me to the climes of bliss. + + “My old companions in distress + I haste again to see, + And eager long for my release + And full felicity: + Even now by faith I join my hands + With those that went before, + And greet the blood-besprinkled bands + On the eternal shore.” + +THE END + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +HISTORY AND NATURE OF FATHER BOEHM’S REMINISCENCES—THE LAST TEN YEARS OF +HIS LIFE. + + +Father Boehm’s valuable life has been marvelously prolonged to such a +very old age that he is now regarded every-where, in Europe and America, +as the patriarch of Methodism, and so many interests cluster around the +aged veteran that we add a few chapters to his Reminiscences. + +There are several classes of men. There are those who live wholly in the +past, others live wholly in the present, and others wholly in the future. +These are all in the wrong. + +The man who lives with an eye on the past, the present, and the future; +who looks backward, and forward, and around him; who makes the past +tell on the present, the present on the future—he is the live man; he +understands the true philosophy of life; he will accomplish the most +good, and secure the greatest happiness. The inspired penman says: +“Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the +search of their fathers: (for we are but of yesterday, and know nothing:) +... shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of +their heart?” + +The reader will readily see why we add a few chapters to the original +volume. “Boehm’s Reminiscences, Historical and Biographical,” is one of +the richest volumes in Methodist literature. It is remarkable, first, for +the antiquity of its contents, taking us back to the origin of American +Methodism: second, for its originality; the old gentleman drew upon his +own resources; there has never been any thing like it, and it is doubtful +whether there ever will be again; in it he testifies what he has seen and +heard, and he has seen much, for he has lived a great many years: third, +for the description he gives of men and things, and the simplicity of its +style: fourth, for its facts; he never gives wings to his imagination; +on the contrary, he deals in sober history and truthful biography. Had +it been written in another style it would not have been his, for he is a +plain, matter-of-fact man; he stated truth in its simplest form, without +any embellishment. + +In his volume there are no false colorings, no exaggerations; it is +true to nature and true to life. All honor to the truthful veteran who +introduces to us so many of the heroes of Methodism, whose names and fame +are immortal! He presents before his readers Robert Strawbridge, the +apostle of Methodism in Maryland; Dr. Thomas Coke, the founder of modern +missions, whose heart was large enough to hold four continents, and who +found a grave in the Indian Ocean; what a graphic description he gives +of Jesse Lee, the apostle of Methodism to New England, and the first +historian of American Methodism! We hear him preach his last sermons, +and these were delivered in God’s great cathedral—nature’s magnificent +temple; we are taken into the chamber of the dying saint; we see Father +Boehm wetting the parched lips of the dying hero, smoothing his pillow +of agony, speaking words of cheer; we see him kneel down by his bedside +and commend the dying one to Him who is “the resurrection and the life;” +we hear a shout of joy from the dying one; we see him as his breath +grows shorter and shorter, till he heaves one long, deep-drawn sigh, and +all is over; we see Boehm with his own hands close his eyes and put the +muffler around his face; we see the open grave, and Father Boehm laying +him quietly to rest. Sleepless nights, restless days, watching, waiting, +trembling, hoping, till all was over. What affection, what care, what +solicitude, what unwavering faith, what ardent love! + +He introduces us to Bishop Whatcoat, that seraphic man. We have a +description of his person, of his preaching, of his last sickness, and +his triumphant death. He gives the best description of Bishop Asbury ever +written; and no man ever knew him better, for he was with him in the +closest intimacy for five years. We have a description of his person, +his dress. We have Asbury in the family, Asbury in the pulpit, Asbury in +the conferences, Asbury among friends, Asbury among strangers, Asbury +among the children. He describes so vividly the bishop’s sermons and +exhortations we imagine we see and are listening to the great apostle of +American Methodism. O how graphic is Boehm’s description of Bishop Asbury! + +In regard to the volume, let me say, it was prepared with the greatest +care. For years we were employed on it at different intervals. We took +his own journals and read them carefully; then we read Asbury’s journals +to refresh his mind; then we questioned him concerning men and places, +and in regard to General and Annual Conferences. We took down, from his +“own lips,” anecdotes and incidents till we were sure there was not one +left. The work was complete; it was finished; the stock was exhausted. +Not an original idea but we had obtained, not an anecdote but we have +recorded it. We never stopped pumping till the water was out of the well. +There is no chance to glean over the fields we passed over, for we not +only gathered the grain, but we gleaned as we went along. We never could +get the old veteran to say what he did not distinctly remember. We might +ask him over and over again, “Did not such a thing take place? Were you +not there?” “_I do not remember_,” was the emphatic answer. After the +chapters were written we read them over to him, and he appended the +following to each:— + + “This chapter is correct. HENRY BOEHM.” + + NOTE.—Each chapter was dated at the place where it was written. + Some were written in New York, others in Harlem, still others in + Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, and other places. + +It is ten years since the first edition of this volume was published. +Since that time Father Boehm has enjoyed a peaceful old age. He has +visited an Annual Conference occasionally, where he has been an object of +great attention. + +He visited his own Conference, Philadelphia, which he joined in 1801, +and his visit was as welcome as if he had been an angel from heaven. +Its members hung upon the lips of the old Methodist patriarch in silent +wonder as he described the fathers who had fallen asleep, and the early +days and scenes in which he was such a prominent actor, and then drew +a contrast between the past and present, showing how Methodism had +advanced. He was an object of great interest at the great Centenary +Meeting in the city of New York, at Cooper Institute, in October 1866, +Daniel Ross, Esq., presiding. Rev. Thomas Sewall, D.D., delivered one +of the most eloquent addresses I ever listened to. The venerable Boehm +was on the platform, and his appearance gave additional charm to the +intensely interesting meeting. In the midst of his address, replete +with beauty, abounding in historical reminiscences, the speaker turned +to Father Boehm, and delivered a personal address to him. He said: “We +thank you, venerable father, for lingering so long among us to cheer us +by your presence, your example, and for giving us so many interesting +reminiscences of the past. Thou art a representative of the former age of +Methodism—thou art a splendid representative of the fathers. Venerable +man, friend of Coke and Asbury, Whatcoat and M’Kendree, we thank you for +your presence here; you are the great link that connects the past with +the present.” + +After invoking many blessings on his head, and a glorious future, he +concluded his address of beauty, eloquence, and power, one that will not +soon be forgotten. Now his voice is silent in death. + +Father Boehm has of late years led such a quiet life that there are +few additional reminiscences, or anecdotes to record. He is a grand +specimen of religion in old age. His days glide on, calm and peaceful +as a summer evening. The autumn of life is peculiarly beautiful in him. +It is charming to see grace thrive, when nature decays; while the outer +man is perishing, to see the inner man renewed day by day in vigor, in +knowledge, and in joy. It is delightful to see his fading eye brighten +at the promise, “Where I am, there shall also my servant be;” to see his +aged, wrinkled countenance glow with seraphic beauty. + +Happy, happy old man! splendid specimen of the venerated fathers. He has +“fought the good fight,” he has “kept the faith,” and will soon “finish +his course.” The past, the present, and the future smile upon him. It +will soon be said concerning him:— + + “Servant of God, well done! + Thy glorious warfare’s past; + The battle’s fought, the race is won, + And thou art crown’d at last.” + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +ENTRANCE UPON HIS ONE HUNDREDTH YEAR. + + +The following description of the celebration of Father Boehm’s entrance +upon his one hundredth year appeared in the _Christian Advocate_, and +was copied into many religious journals, not only in America but also in +Europe, showing the intense interest that clusters around the hero of a +hundred years and the hero of a hundred battles:— + +Father Henry Boehm, the old Methodist patriarch, entered upon his one +hundredth year June 8, 1874, and the wonderful event was celebrated on +Tuesday in Jersey City, at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. Emley. +A number of friends honored him with their presence. It was to the old +patriarch quite a surprise. A good supper was provided, with abundance of +the delicacies of the season. There was a centenary cake, having on it +the figures 1775 and 1874. Flowers of rare beauty and odor were presented +to him, and he made a most appropriate reply. On one of the floral +offerings, beautifully inwrought in green, were these figures, “99.” The +patriarch’s wrinkled countenance was wreathed with smiles; he looked as +placid as a summer’s evening, and seemed to have “renewed his youth like +the eagle’s.” + +Dr. J. B. Wakeley was spokesman for the occasion, and delivered the +following congratulatory address. He concluded by dwelling upon the +character and labors of Bishop Asbury, and surprised Father Boehm by +presenting him with a beautiful likeness of the bishop. Father Boehm +took it, looked at it, and said, “Well done!” and then he made a +characteristic reply. It was one of those rare occasions that seldom +occur in one’s life-time, and can never be forgotten. + + +ADDRESS TO FATHER BOEHM. + + VENERABLE PATRIARCH: This is an auspicious day and a joyful + occasion that has summoned us together; we have met to celebrate + the almost one hundredth anniversary of your birthday. + Ninety-nine years ago, the eighth day of June, in the town of + Conestoga, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a child was born, and + they called him “Henry.” Few of those who then looked upon that + little infant suspected that he would live to celebrate his one + hundredth birthday. Venerable man! with your whitened locks, your + wrinkled face, you stand before us a representative of the past; + you connect us with ages and generations long since passed away. + + We congratulate you on having been born in June, not only the + loveliest month of the year, but also the birth-month of many + distinguished statesmen and holy ministers of the Gospel. Your + father, Martin Boehm, the friend of Bishop Asbury and of the + “great Otterbein,” was a noble man, and your mother a noble + woman. What a eulogium did Bishop Asbury, in preaching your + father’s funeral sermon, pronounce on him! + + We congratulate you on having been born so early. You are older + than our Republic—even than the Methodist Episcopal Church, in + its present organic form. When you were born “The Declaration + of Independence” was not written. George Washington was then + forty-three years old, a man comparatively unknown to fame; Henry + Clay was not born till two years after; and Daniel Webster and + John C. Calhoun not till seven years after. The year of your + birth was fourteen years before that in which Washington was + inaugurated President of the United States, nine years before + the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized, sixteen years + before the death of John Wesley, and thirteen years before that + of Charles Wesley, the sweet singer of our Methodist Israel. + Then Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Boston, now imperial + cities, were the merest villages. States as large as empires have + been born during your life-time, and kingly cities have sprung + into existence. “The wilderness and the solitary place” have been + made glad, and “the desert” has rejoiced and blossomed “as the + rose.” + + There were then no steamboats, no railroads, no telegraphs even + on the land, to say nothing of ocean telegraphs. Now we travel + by steam, do our correspondence by lightning, and take life-like + portraits by sunbeams. We whisper here, and they hear us in + London, and answer back; and we cross the Atlantic with the + regularity of a ferry-boat. + + How the world has moved since you came on the stage of action! + Continents have been explored, oceans and islands then unknown + have been visited, the source of the Nile has been discovered, + Egypt’s hieroglyphics have been deciphered, and Nineveh has had + a resurrection! Wonderfully has the world advanced in art, in + science, in discoveries, since you were born. It has made more + advancement during your life-time of ninety-nine years than in + any thousand years previous. The world moves; on its lofty banner + “Progress” is written in capital letters. Compare the world as + you saw it first, and as you behold it now, and how wonderful + the change! The world has also made advances in morals and in + religious enterprises. You were born forty-four years before we + had a Missionary Society, (it not being organized till 1819,) and + thirty-one years before the American Bible Society had a being. + + We congratulate you on having witnessed the growth, not only of + our country, but also of that of American Methodism, until now it + numbers its millions. We congratulate you on having lived under + all the Presidents, from Washington to Grant, and on having lived + and known all the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, + from the first down to the last. We congratulate you on having + known the pioneers and founders of American Methodism: Robert + Strawbridge, the apostle of Methodism in Maryland; William + Watters, the first native Methodist preacher; and Philip Gatch, + and Benjamin Abbott, and Bishop Richard Whatcoat, who died on + your circuit, (Delaware,) where you heard his dying testimony. + You knew Jesse Lee, the apostle of Methodism in New England, the + first historian of American Methodism. You heard his last sermons + at a camp-meeting, where he was taken sick and died in 1816; you + heard his dying testimony, closed his eyes, and laid him quietly + to rest. We congratulate you on having heard the great orators + and preachers of early Methodism: Nicholas Snethen, Asbury’s + “silver trumpet;” Hope Hull, the silver-tongued; Samuel Parker, + the Cicero of the West; Leonard Castle, the Summerfield of the + Baltimore Conference; Henry Willis, Wilson Lee, and others. + + We congratulate you on having been acquainted with the fathers + of the fathers of American Methodism. Strange as it may seem, + you knew the father of Bishop M’Kendree, James M’Kendree, and + have been his guest. You were acquainted with the father of Henry + Smith, who for a while was the oldest Methodist minister in the + world. You knew Judge Emory, the father of Bishop Emory; and the + father of Dr. Shadrick Bostwick, whom Bishop Hedding called a + “glorious man.” How this takes us back to the former age! + + We congratulate you on having attended so many General and + Annual Conferences, where you became acquainted with the great + preachers of early Methodism. You attended the General Conference + in Baltimore in 1800, where you dined with Dr. Coke, heard + him preach, witnessed the election and ordination of Richard + Whatcoat, and the wonderful revival of religion, such as has + never occurred at any other General Conference; then the one in + 1808, where you beheld the ordination of Bishop M’Kendree; you + were also at the first delegated General Conference, held in the + city of New York in 1812. + + We congratulate you on attending so many camp-meetings in + different States, “for the groves were God’s first temples,” + and also on being acquainted with John M’Gee, the founder of + camp-meetings in America. What a privilege to attend these + meetings, and hear such sons of thunder as Bishops Asbury and + M’Kendree, Dr. Chandler, John Chalmers, John M’Claskey, Solomon + Sharp, and hundreds of others, immortal names that cannot die! + We congratulate you on being acquainted with the great laymen + and women who helped to give character and stability to early + Methodism. + + We congratulate you on preaching in so many of the early chapels + of American Methodism. How those humble chapels contrast with the + beautiful edifices that are now being erected all over the land! + + We congratulate you on being the intimate friend and traveling + companion of Bishop Asbury, the great apostle of American + Methodism. For five years you accompanied him around his large + diocese; you climbed the mountains with him; you forded the + rivers; you nursed him when sick; you carried him in your arms; + and such confidence did he repose in you that he made you one of + the executors of his last will and testament. + + We thank you for your “Reminiscences, Historical and + Biographical,” which contain the purest history and the truest + biography; in which you give us the best portraiture of Bishop + Asbury that has ever been given. The Church will thank you + for those “Reminiscences” when the sun shines on your grave. + We congratulate you for being such an itinerant; on having + traveled over one hundred thousand miles on horseback to preach + the Gospel—more than sufficient to circumnavigate the globe + four times. We congratulate you on having been so happy in your + domestic relations. You had one of the best of wives; “her + children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and + he praiseth her.” You have been blessed with kind children. + Your daughter Elizabeth has been remarkably affectionate and + attentive, which must have been a great consolation to you as + time has shaken you by the hand, and the shadows of the evening + are gathering around you. We congratulate you for having kept up + with the times, and for feeling an interest in every thing that + is going on both in Church and State; for not only living, but + being a live man. We rejoice that you have been no croaker; that + you made no invidious comparisons between the present and the + former times. You have never inquired, “Why were the former times + better than the present?” + + We thank you not only for living so long, but for living so + well. Your age is wonderful! Remember how much longer you have + lived than many whom the world called old men. Washington was + considered old when he died, and you are thirty-two years older + than was he. John Wesley is spoken of as aged, but you are + eleven years older than was John Wesley. Charles Wesley was also + considered old, but you are nineteen years older. Bishop Asbury + was considered old—you are twenty-eight years older than was + Bishop Asbury, thirty-two years older than was Bishop M’Kendree, + and forty-one years older than was Jesse Lee, when they severally + ended their lives. + + We congratulate you on having been so long in the + _ministry—seventy-three years_; you are to-day the oldest + Methodist minister in America, if not in the world. Sir, all who + were in the ministerial work when you commenced have yielded + to the conqueror of conquerors! “The fathers, where are they? + and the prophets, do they live forever?” You can say as one of + old, “And I only am left alone to tell thee.” You stand alone, + occupying a position no man ever has, no man ever can. You have + seen what no other eyes can ever see; you have heard what no + other ears can ever hear. Yours has been a wonderful life, as + well as a long one; you are a history in yourself; you are a + splendid representative of the former generation of Methodist + ministers. + + We congratulate you on having kept your garments so clean. For + over seventy years they have asked in conference: “Is there any + thing against Henry Boehm?” The answer has always been, “Nothing + against Henry Boehm.” Your hoary head is a crown of glory, being + found in the way of righteousness. May your sun go down without + a cloud, to rise in fairer heavens, and the twilight of your + evening melt away into the twilight of the morning of an eternal + day! May you be found among the number who, “having been wise,” + and “turned many to righteousness,” shall shine in brilliancy + that is cloudless and eternal! May you, when the voyage of life + is o’er, meet Wesley, Asbury, M’Kendree, and the multitude who + have gone before, where + + ... “all the ship’s company meet, + Who sailed with the Saviour beneath; + With shouting each other they greet, + And triumph o’er sorrow and death.” + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +INTERESTING PUBLIC SERVICE AT THE NEWARK ANNUAL CONFERENCE—FATHER BOEHM’S +CENTENNIAL SERMON. + + +Although Father Boehm had not quite completed his one hundredth year at +the time of the annual session of the Newark Conference, in the spring +of 1875, the members of the Conference earnestly desired to hear him +preach his centennial sermon. Accordingly a very interesting and unique +religious service was held in the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, +Jersey City, on Friday morning, April 2. At an early hour the church was +crowded to its utmost capacity, and hundreds of people vainly sought +admission within its walls. Among those present were Bishops Janes, +Ames, Bowman, Harris, and Wiley. A great number of preachers from other +neighboring Conferences were also present. After the regular order of +business of the Conference was finished, Bishop Bowman requested Bishop +Janes to preside at the centennial services. + +The hymn commencing “A charge to keep I have” was sung, after which the +Rev. J. B. Wakeley, D.D., offered prayer. + + +OPENING ADDRESS OF BISHOP JANES. + +Bishop Janes said:— + + It has already been intimated in the prayer that this is an + unusual occasion. It is one of those occurrences where extremes + meet. We have been paying our tribute to the character and memory + of the youthful ministers who died in the service of the Church + and in the work of the pastorate. We expect to hear from the + oldest minister of our Church. I hope it may not be his final + message. I hope he may live to speak to us yet many times more + before he shall close his glorious career on earth. Nevertheless, + I presume none of us have ever heard a centennial sermon, and + none of us, in all probability, will ever hear another one. The + occasion, therefore, is novel, and I will add it is instructive + and impressive. I have seen the longest rivers, the highest + mountains, and the grandest cataracts of our wonderful country, + but in all that I have seen of the beauty and grandeur of nature, + I have never looked upon a physical object with so much interest + as I look upon this human form here this morning. A human + body so fearfully and wonderfully made, with so many and such + delicate connections, performing so many offices, subject to so + much exposure, to have been preserved for so many years in its + healthfulness and in all its beauty, is to me the most wonderful + physical object I have ever beheld. And then, it has been all + this while the tabernacle of a rational spirit, the instrument by + which that spirit has performed its wonderful works and secured + its wonderful results. Well may we say with the poet this morning: + + “Strange that a harp of thousand strings + Should keep in tune so long.” + + I have stood in the presence of kings and nobles, of scholars + and divines in other countries, but I never have felt in all + my experience such an interest and so profound a reverence as + I feel in the presence of revered and beloved father in God, + this aged servant of our Lord Jesus Christ. I revere him for + his personal worth, his strictly moral youth. Converted to + God in his early manhood, his life has been one of strict + consistency and of great purity from that time until the present. + It is forty-three years this month since I made his personal + acquaintance; and, having been intimate with him from that time + till now, I say in this presence I have never known a fellow-man + in whom there was so little moral infirmity even as in this our + father before us to-day. I venerate him for his associations. He + was associated with those names that are dearest to us in our + Church history—Asbury, Whatcoat, M’Kendree, Jesse Lee, Freeborn + Garrettson, and Nathan Bangs; names that we hold in the highest + regard; they were his associates. And then he has been associated + with a great multitude of godly men and women who have composed + our Church from that early period until now. What fellowships he + has enjoyed! + + And I revere him for his works. He was in the early councils of + the Church. He helped to form the polity of our Church; he has + seen its wonderful workings until this hour, and he has really + witnessed the planting and growth of this branch of the Church + of our Lord Jesus Christ until this present time. His ministry + has been one of great excellence and of great usefulness, and + his example one of great power and of great benefit. We cannot + any of us look upon him but with the highest regard and with the + greatest reverence, and even with awe. Considering the length + of time when Enoch walked with God, which men then lived, and + the length of human life now, he has walked with God as long as + Enoch walked with God. And having been in these associations to + which I have referred, having been in this holy ministry all of + the nineteenth century—for I believe that is the fact—and having + been living all these years in fellowship with the divine and the + spiritual and the eternal, how sacred and grand and glorious is + his character. It will be an era in my history to hear from him + this morning, and I think it will be an incident in the life of + everyone here which they will carry with them in rememberance to + eternity. I pray that God may aid him in this effort, and that + God may sanctify this occasion to the religious profiting of + all of us who are permitted to enjoy it, both in the laity and + in the ministry. Before Father Boehm speaks to you, the pastor + of this Church will read the credentials that he has received, + giving the dates of his offices. + +The Rev. John Atkinson read as follows:— + + “To whom it may concern: This is to authorize Henry Boehm to + exercise the office of a preacher and travel Dorchester Circuit. + Thomas Ware. January 5, 1800.” + +The document is excellently preserved. + + “To whom it may concern: This is to authorize Henry Boehm to + exercise the office of exhorter in the Methodist Episcopal + Church. Given on the 16th of June, 1800, by Thomas Ware, + Presiding Elder.” + +Brother Atkinson then spoke as follows:— + + He was authorized to preach on the presiding elder’s own + authority, and sent to travel a circuit on January 5, 1800; + and after the case came before the Quarterly Conference, he + was licensed to exhort and travel the circuit. This [showing + the parchment] is his ordination parchment of deacon. It reads + a little differently from our parchments of to-day, though + very little. It is signed by Richard Whatcoat, and is dated at + Dock Creek, Del., May 4, 1803. This [showing the parchment] + is his parchment as elder, and reads thus: “Ordained elder by + Francis Asbury on the 5th day of May, in the year of our Lord + one thousand eight hundred and five. Done at the Philadelphia + Conference, held at Chestertown. FRANCIS ASBURY.” + + I have been requested by Father Boehm to state that two weeks ago + he was very ill, and it was feared that he would not recover. I + was sent for in haste on that day to see him. I had great fears + that he would not be able to be here. God has raised him up, and + he is here to speak to us as he was requested to do at the last + session of our Conference. + +The audience rose _en masse_ in token of respect to the venerable apostle +of Methodism, which added greatly to the impressiveness of the scene. + + +FATHER BOEHM’S SERMON. + +The Rev. Henry Boehm then proceeded, amid profound silence, to speak as +follows:— + + MY DEAR BRETHREN: I feel very dependent. I hope you will offer + me up in prayer before the Lord that he may graciously assist + me once more in proclaiming the precious truth. The passage of + Scripture to which I invite your attention you will find recorded + in Nahum, the first chapter and seventh verse: “The Lord is good, + a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that + trust in him.” + + There is a little difference in the German in this text! The + beginning in the German reads, “Der Herr ist gietig,” the Lord + is munificent, freely distributing his blessings and goodness. + Now, then, to say that a person is munificent presupposes that he + is good, and goodness produces munificence. O what a wonderful + mercy-seat we have the privilege of approaching unto! The Lord + is munificent in distributing his blessings, in showering down + his goodness and mercy upon us. The Lord, then, is good. He + is good in his mercy. Benevolence, kindness, long suffering, + tender mercy, flow out through the mercy of God manifested to a + fallen world. Yes, brethren, but for the goodness of the Lord + where should we be? His goodness and mercy have spared us to the + present period, and we have the privilege now of approaching + to the mercy-seat in the name of Jesus Christ. The Lord is a + stronghold, a strong tower, a strong fortification. He that + entereth and dwelleth in this stronghold is safe in time of + trouble, in time of distress, in time of need. God is present + and ready to supply our wants. He is all-sufficient according + to our need. He knoweth them that trust in him. He owns them. + He acknowledges them to be his subjects, and to be influenced + by his Holy Spirit. Yes, brethren, the Lord knows them; he + dwells with them as such who trust in him, who walk in the light + of his countenance. O blessed be the name of the Lord that he + knows the heart and he looks upon the mind, the immortal mind! + If we sincerely look to him he owns and acknowledges us as his + own. He knoweth them that trust in him. Bless the Lord! O, the + goodness of God—his mercy and long suffering! I bless God for his + goodness that I realized in early life. Religion made my soul + happy then. It kept me from evil; it directed me in the path of + humble submission to the will of God, and it now in old age makes + me feel lively. It supports and comforts me, and when I look + forward to death I do not stop there. I look beyond it, and then + it is all light, all peace, and joy, and triumph. O, glory be to + God for his mercy and goodness in our privilege this day to meet + together for his worship, for his services, and for his praise! + Blessed be the name of the Lord! When I look at the changes—how + population has extended, how Methodism has followed up—I am + astonished. In 1809 I passed, with Bishop Asbury, through here + from Newark and crossed over to New York, and there was no town + here then at all—nothing but a ferry-house. What a change! Now + there are several thousand inhabitants, and the best of all is + the Lord is among the people, and many are happy in his salvation + and rejoice in his gracious presence. Blessed be the name of the + Lord! O what wonders hath God wrought! Newark was then a small + town. There were two rows of houses, I think, in Newark in 1809. + Now it has spread out into a large town. O may the Gospel go on + in its power and glory, that multitudes may bow to the scepter of + the Redeemer! and finally may we meet in heaven to rejoice in the + Lord for ever and ever! Amen. + +The congregation united in singing, + + “My latest sun is sinking fast.” + + +REMARKS OF BISHOP JANES. + + DEAR FRIENDS: You will all of you remember the text, and the + sermon and the preacher. The text is one of the most sweet + and precious in the Holy Bible; the exposition of it has been + clear and forcible, though brief. To my mind the sermon has two + especial excellences: one is, it was preached, and not read! and + the other is that it was brief, and the preacher stopped when + he got done—a beautiful example to us in those two respects, + and I propose to profit by them. One of the most remarkable + things in the character and history of our Father Boehm is that + he has not reached his second childhood. He is just as manly as + he ever has been, in any period of his past history, and his + mental powers are preserved to him in their strength, in their + harmony, and in their adaptation to the office and work in which + he has spent his long and holy life. His physical strength is + lessened. The great probability is that we shall not have his + presence at a conference where most of us will be gathered again + in this world. He may attend other annual conferences with us, + but the most of this congregation, and probably some of these + ministers, will not be present; and it seems to us fitting that + he should now give us his benediction, and a few farewell words. + In 1832 Bishop M’Kendree came this side of the mountains for the + last time. He preached the sermon when I was ordained deacon. + Bishop Hedding ordained me, but he preached the sermon. He was + then quite as feeble as Brother Boehm is now. He went from the + Philadelphia Conference at Wilmington to the General Conference + which was held in Philadelphia. He assisted to some extent in the + services of that session. A little before its close, feeling his + infirmities and desiring to escape the excitement of the close of + the conference, he took occasion to bid the conference farewell. + He was assisted to the platform, where the bishops, secretaries, + and representatives of other conferences were sitting, and he + stood before them in all his patriarchal character, lifted up his + hands, and simply said to that General Conference of ministers, + “Little children, love one another,” bowed, and left the + platform, the conference rising as he retired, went to his home + in Nashville, and very soon died. Now if Father Boehm can say no + more words than those, let us have his benediction this morning. + + +FATHER BOEHM’S BENEDICTION. + +Father Boehm responded thus:— + + MY BELOVED BRETHREN: It is very probable this is the last time + I shall be with you at an annual conference. If it is, I hope + we shall meet up yonder when we go. I now take my leave of you, + and ask the Lord to bless you, and bless you abundantly. May + this year be a great year in the Newark Conference, as well as + throughout the land and throughout the world! The grace of our + Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy + Ghost, be with you all ever more. Amen. + +The patriarch spoke distinctly throughout, and was heard without +difficulty in all parts of the church. + + +ADDRESS OF DR. DEEMS. + +Dr. Deems was introduced and spoke as follows:— + + MR. PRESIDENT, FATHERS AND BRETHREN, AND MOTHERS AND SISTERS: I + have come over to Jersey City this morning on a little private + anniversary of my own. I am not a hundred years old by a good + deal, but I have always really expected and hoped for the last + twenty-five years of my ministry to preach on my one hundredth + birthday, and I intend, God willing, to do it yet. Fathers and + brethren, it is just thirty-five years ago when you were good + enough, without seeing me, to take me into this conference as a + preacher. It was a great peril, but you took the risks. I had + preached on a circuit in New Jersey one year before I ever saw + this conference. Then I saw this body thirty-four years ago in + the city of Newark, and saw it to love it. At that time your + Bishop Janes was Secretary of the American Bible Society; and + somehow he seemed to have been born a bishop, because, ever since + I knew any thing about him, he has been sending men all about + the world. He picked me up off the hills of Warren County, and + sent me down into North Carolina as Agent of the American Bible + Society; and I have never seen the Newark Conference since until + to-day. + + “What troubles have we seen! + What conflicts have we pass’d! + Fightings without, and fears within, + Since we assembled last! + But out of all the Lord + Hath brought us by his love.” + + It is a peculiarly happy circumstance that after these + thirty-five years of ministry, in which I have been called to so + many various positions in the Church of God, in the Methodist + Church and elsewhere in the general work of Christianity, that I + come back to meet your conference under the presidency of an old + college-mate, always beloved from the days of our youth until + now, beloved over the storm of war, beloved over the field of + blood; and it is a happy thing that now I can be presented to you + by Bishop Janes, who, having picked me up and sent me away, I + determined that day, God willing, to help to make bishop; I fell + to work among the southern delegations when they were going up + to the General Conference, and when they came back they turned + to me and said, “Well, we have made your friend bishop;” and + the accounts were square. Now we owe nothing to one another, + bishop, but to love one another, and now we will see who will + pray best, quickest, fastest, richest, and be like our Lord, who + is munificent. I thank God that I am a preacher of the Gospel of + the Son of God. I thank God that with my advancing years I do + love the work of preaching and of the pastorate. I do thank God + that every week, more and more, without distinction of sect or + nationality or other difference, I do more and more deeply love + all that call and profess themselves Christians. I have no right + to detain you, Mr. President, fathers, and brethren, any further + with remarks of my own. Father Boehm hath seemed to come to say, + “farewell.” I have come to say, Hail, brethren, hail! O, my + brethren, life is full of these hails and farewells; but, blessed + be God! every time there is a “farewell” spoken it is followed + by a “hail.” As soon as Father Boehm shall say, “Farewell, + farewell,” to all these bishops, old and young, on earth, how + quickly thereafter he will say, “All hail! all hail!” to the + blessed bishops that have gone before him into the skies! When I + started this morning I told my family why I was coming; and it + is a rare thing for me to leave my work. I started with a sense + of joyousness and pleasure, but while I have been sitting at the + foot of this pulpit I had a sense of awe and humiliation. Since + I saw you last, brethren, I have had great opportunities, I have + had great positions of usefulness; I have had troops of friends; + I have had all that heart in this world could wish; I have had a + perfect domestic circle; I have two children in heaven—one about + to enter the ministry and taken up above. I have four children + upon earth; they are all communicants of the Church of our Lord + Jesus Christ, and two Sundays ago one of them preached his first + sermon. I have had great opportunities, but as I sat to-day at + the foot of this pulpit I have felt so humiliated that I have + done so little for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, + I have written much, I have spoken much, and I want to tell you + now that as I sat on this solemn occasion in which Father Boehm + was preaching this centenarian sermon that I have this morning + profoundly regretted all the time and all the talent that I have + spent in any department of literature, or science, or public life + which did not more and more qualify me to preach Jesus Christ and + him crucified. I count it loss, and, by God’s grace, no more of + my time shall be thus lost. We have but one work—to save souls; + and I have no doubt that the hundred years looks very short to + Father Boehm now. Brethren, the time is short, and we shall soon + be in eternity. God grant that all the atmosphere of our lives + may be so spent in his service that we shall finish our course + with joy, and this ministry which we have received of the Lord + Jesus. Then, whatever else will be unfinished, we shall have + made a rounded and triumphant life. I thank you for your great + kindness. + + +ADDRESS OF THE REV. DR. WAKELEY. + +The Rev. J. B. Wakeley, D.D., was requested to address the conference, +and responded by saying:— + + I indorse all that Bishop Janes said concerning our venerable + and venerated father. I honor every gray hair upon that head, + [turning to Father Boehm,] and believe one of the purest spirits + ever formed by the Almighty dwells in that body. I have spent + years with him: I am talking about what I know. I have known + his inner life; and while I have been sitting here I have been + thinking about that wonderful saying of the psalmist, blessing + the Lord for forgiving our iniquities, healing all our diseases, + keeping our eyes from tears and our feet from falling, satisfying + our mouth with good things, and renewing our youth like the + eagle’s. I heard an old lady say in love-feast one time, “I was + left a poor widow with seven children; I did not know what would + become of them or me either. God has been a husband to me and a + father to my fatherless children. They are all converted. Now + look at me. Time has shaken me by the hand; the strong man begins + to bow himself; those that look out of the windows are darkened; + the keepers of the house tremble; the grinders are ceasing + because they are few. I have an old, feeble body, but, glory to + God! I have a young soul.” Here, continued Dr. Wakeley, pointing + to Father Boehm, “is a young soul.” Well, now, then, just think, + just throw your mind back and remember you have heard a man + preach that was born before the Republic was born, when we were + colonies dependent on Great Britain, long before Washington was + inaugurated President, having lived under every President from + Washington down to Grant. + + Here is a man who was born before the Methodist Episcopal Church + existed; here is a man who heard Robert Strawbridge preach at his + father’s house, who founded Methodism in Maryland, and was very + near contemporary with Philip Embury. He heard Benjamin Abbott, + that son of thunder, at his father’s house; and the people fell + like dead men around him when the old man was preaching, for he + always called for power when he preached. Well, just think that + he was with Bishop Whatcoat when he was dying, and in his last + days and hours ministered to his wants. Just think that he was + with Jesse Lee in 1816, the first historian of Methodism, closed + his eyes, and laid him quietly at rest. Think of his traveling + one hundred thousand miles on horseback to preach the glorious + Gospel of the blessed God. Think of his being five years the + traveling companion of Bishop Asbury. Think of his living to + see our Republic growing, till States have become as large as + empires, and conference after conference has multiplied until the + Atlantic speaks to the Pacific, and the Pacific answers back—deep + answers unto deep. He has seen Annual Conferences established + in India, in China, and in Germany, the land of Luther and the + Reformation. I want you to understand that Father Boehm is not + an old man who is disgusted with life, finding fault with the + present age and comparing it invidiously with the former. No; + he has kept up with the times; he reads the newspapers and + knows what is going on in the Church and what is going on in + the State. He has been a live man until this hour. I heard old + Uncle Billy Hibbard say, “I want you to understand that Billy + Hibbard don’t mean to die while he lives.” I assure you that you + have listened to-day to the most marvelous man in the Methodist + Episcopal Church, if not in the world’s history. O, think of a + hundred years past! There were no railroads, nor steamboats, nor + telegraphs, nor any thing of that kind when Father Boehm was a + boy. [Turning to the patriarch,] Did you cross in an old scow + from Jersey City to New York the first time? + + FATHER BOEHM. Yes. + + DR. WAKELEY. There were no horse-boats or ferry-boats then? + + FATHER BOEHM. No. + + DR. WAKELEY. Somebody, a colored man, I believe, used to come + down on the New York side and blow a horn, telling them that + the boat was going over. That is the way they traveled then. O, + how the world has moved since then! Where are those to whom he + preached in the different States? Where are the bishops that he + knew? O how many have passed on to the other side of the river + with whom our venerable father worshiped in the dwellings and + in the churches! I thought while I listened here to-day of that + beautiful sentiment of Charles Wesley, “God buries his workmen, + but carries on his work.” Voltaire said, “Christianity is in its + twilight.” He was correct, but he mistook the time of day. It + was not the twilight of the evening that precedes the darkness + of the night, but the twilight of the morning that precedes the + brilliancy of an eternal day. Father Boehm may die, but the work + will go on, and on, and on until the last son and daughter of + Adam hears the story of the manger, the garden, and the Cross. + I gave him a little advice fifteen years ago; I hope he has + profited by it. I said, “Father Boehm, make up your mind to live + to be a hundred years old.” He said he would try. “You might as + well do it,” said I. Well, now, then, here he is, born the eighth + of June, 1775. Think how the world has moved forward. A hundred + years past—a hundred years to come! Where will we be a hundred + years to come? Long before that our venerable father will be on + the other side of the river. O that his last song on earth may + be, “My heart and my flesh faileth, but God is the strength of + my heart and my portion forever!” He has given us his blessing, + and now we will give him our benediction. May the blessing of him + whose blessing maketh rich and addeth no sorrow rest upon him; + may God guide him a little longer by his counsel and afterward + receive him to glory! O, how many you will meet up yonder that + you knew here! A hundred years to come and all these bishops will + be with Asbury, M’Kendree, and George. A hundred years to come + and we will be walking with Jesus in white. A hundred years to + come and we will be listening to the song of redemption before + the throne. Good John Bunyan described the white-robed multitude, + and he says: “Which when I saw them, I wished myself among them.” + O, we shall soon be there, and I tell you it will be sweet to + meet at Jesus’ feet those we love! It is said that Charles + Wesley, when he met his old friends as we have met to-day, would + always give out those two verses of his:— + + “There all the ship’s company meet, + Who sail’d with the Saviour beneath; + With shouting each other they greet, + And triumph o’er sorrow and death: + The voyage of life’s at an end; + The mortal affliction is past: + The age that in heaven they spend, + Forever and ever shall last.” + + So may we meet where we can die no more. I want to get to that + world where they cannot die from disease, for nobody is sick; + where they cannot die from old age, for nobody grows old; + where they cannot die from care, for there are no care-worn + cheeks. “Neither can they die any more,” says Jesus. They are + under a divine restraint to live forever—immortal as Gabriel, + immortal as the “King eternal, immortal, invisible.” They are + equal to the angels of God in dignity, in purity, in felicity, + and in immortality. There I hope to meet you, old patriarch of + Methodism, and all these people who are here, where we can see + with our own eyes the King in his beauty, and we will crown him + Lord of all. + + A BROTHER. “I want Brother Wakeley to advise Father Boehm to live + a little longer, to see the celebration of the birthday of the + nation.” + +The meeting was brought to a close by Bishop Ames, who pronounced the +benediction. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD—SPECIAL CENTENNIAL SERVICE. + + +On Tuesday, June 8, 1875, Father Boehm completed the one hundredth +year of his age. The event was publicly celebrated on that day in the +Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, Jersey City, under the auspices of +a committee of the Newark Conference, to which the reverend centenarian +belongs. Of course the church was crowded, and, as was the case at the +preliminary service held in April, the building could not accommodate all +who sought admission. Among the ministers present were the venerable Dr. +John S. Porter, Rev. Bartholomew Weed, Rev. Father Reynolds; Presiding +Elders Vanhorne and Brice, of the Newark Conference; President John F. +Hurst, D.D., Prof. John Miley, Prof. H. A. Buttz, and Prof. Kidder, of +Drew Theological Seminary; Rev. Jacob Todd, Rev. Dr. Foss, Rev. Dr. +Dashiell, Rev. Geo. L. Taylor, Rev. Dr. De Puy, Rev. Dr. Bartine, Rev. +J. M. Freeman, Rev. John Atkinson, and other members of the Newark, New +Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, New York East, and other Conferences. +Among the audience was the mother of President Grant, who had come to +town expressly to attend the services. A large and finely executed +photographic portrait of Father Boehm hung in front of the pulpit. +The venerable patriarch himself entered the church, attended by his +physician, Dr. Walter Hadden, and took his place in the pulpit beside +several of his ministerial brethren. He was in excellent condition, and +remained throughout the service, which was three and a half hours in +duration, without showing any signs of fatigue. The Rev. R. Vanhorne +presided. + +The proceedings were opened by the quartet choir singing the following +hymn, written for the occasion by the Rev. Thomas H. Smith:— + + God of our patriarch friend, + We raise our hearts to thee + Whose love and mercy never end + To all eternity. + + Thy kindly care appears; + It challenges our praise; + Extending through a hundred years— + A hundred years of grace. + + We praise thee for a life + So useful, Christlike, pure: + A life of manly Christian strife + Thy glory to secure. + + Now crown his hoary age + With blessings all divine; + And may his life through every page + Still bright and brighter shine. + + And to his latest day + Be peace and honor given, + Until he gently glides away + To sing thy praise in heaven. + +After a comprehensive and impressive prayer by Rev. Bartholomew Weed, +Rev. Father Reynolds read the Twenty-third Psalm. Then the choir sang the +following hymn, composed for the occasion by Fanny Crosby:— + + Thou Rock on which our Church is built, + And shall forever stand, + On him, its oldest watchman, now + Thy blessing, Lord, command. + + Behold this vet’ran of the cross, + Our aged pilgrim sire, + And let the ardor of the past + Once more his soul inspire. + + Well has he fought, and long has trod + The strait and narrow way; + The circle of his life completes + A hundred years to-day. + + Dear Saviour, bear him in thine arms + While he on earth shall stay; + And with his years may blessings come + A hundredfold to-day. + + So may we live, that we at last + May sing thy praise with him, + Where hearts shall never fail with time, + Nor eyes with age grow dim. + +Father Boehm then arose, and amid profound silence and in a clear voice, +which was heard distinctly throughout the church, spoke as follows:— + + +FATHER BOEHM’S REMARKS. + + I rejoice to meet you here to-day, my brethren in the Lord. I + rejoice that I am privileged to see the wonderful progress of the + work of the Lord through our land. I rejoice that I am permitted + to see such an assemblage here to-day. The first time I passed + through this place there was no town here. That was in 1809, + with the venerable Bishop Asbury. There were sand-banks, and so + on, here then, but no houses—except the ferry-house, I think. + Blessed be God for his wonderful work throughout our land! Yes, + where we passed through wildernesses and solitary places, they + are now inhabited, and churches have arisen, where a numerous and + enlightened people worship and praise the Lord. Thanks be to his + name! I cannot speak very long. I will commit the subject of my + experience and travels to my “venerable” Brother Atkinson, who + will read you some facts appropriate to this occasion. + +Rev. John Atkinson, on rising to read the autobiographical sketch, +referring to the mirth occasioned by the centenarian’s jocose allusion, +said: “Father Boehm understands that this is a festive occasion, and +these good people like a little good cheer.” He then read the following + + +SKETCH OF FATHER BOEHM’S LIFE. + + I was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 1775, + one hundred years ago this day. I was one year a subject of + King George, as it was not until I had attained that age that + the American people renounced their allegiance to the British + Government by proclaiming the Declaration of Independence. The + noise of the battles of Concord and Lexington had scarcely died + away when I drew my first breath, so that my history includes + nearly the whole of the period of the Revolutionary War. I was + a contemporary of the fathers and founders of the Republic, and + have lived under the administration of all the Presidents of + the United States. I clearly remember the days of Washington’s + presidency, and I cast my first vote for his successor, John + Adams, in 1796. I lived through almost a quarter of the last + century, and have lived thus far through the present one, and I + have witnessed with my own eyes the rise, progress, and present + grand development of the United States of America. + + The changes and progress of the country within my recollection + have been so vast and overwhelming I scarcely know how to speak + of them. When I became a man there was only thirteen States. + Early in this century Ohio became a member of the Federal Union, + and then the star of our empire moved westward until it shone + upon the waves of the Pacific Ocean. I witnessed the system + of slavery in the Southern States, and I have been permitted + to see it swept from the land, and the banner of impartial + freedom waving triumphantly over every State. Bless the Lord! I + well remember the days when the steamboat was unknown, and the + railroad unthought of. The winds of heaven wafted our commerce, + and horses furnished our swiftest means of travel by land. I, + myself, have traveled over a hundred thousand miles on horseback. + + I have witnessed the progress of the nation in population and + wealth to a degree that seems incredible to have been attained + in one man’s life-time. I have seen the increase of the oldest + cities, and the founding and wonderful growth of newer ones. I + have observed the advancement of our people from a comparatively + rude and pioneer condition to their present high _status_ of + intelligence, wealth, and refinement. When, in 1809, I first + stood upon the site of the city in which we are this day + assembled, I think there were no buildings upon it except the + ferry-house and the barn-houses which here and there dotted it. + To-day its streets and buildings cover a territory many miles in + circumference, and its population exceeds one hundred thousand + souls. Then the city of New York only reached to Canal-street, + and Brooklyn was a very small town. Cincinnati had then only + commenced its history, and Chicago was yet to be. + + I have seen wonderful progress in the religious world in my time. + I was born nine years after the introduction of Methodism in New + York by Barbara Heck and Philip Embury, and nine years before the + organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the election + of its first bishops, Coke and Asbury. When my life began there + were, probably, scarcely a half score of Methodist houses of + worship on this continent, and there were only 3,148 members and + 19 traveling preachers. When I commenced my public life Methodism + was small, both numerically and financially. There were very + few commodious churches except in the large cities, such as + St. George’s, in Philadelphia, Light-street, in Baltimore, and + John-street, in New York. + + Our best churches of that day were very inferior compared with + those of the present. Our meetings were mostly held, at the time + I began to preach, in private houses, in barns, and wherever we + could obtain shelter. There was much opposition shown toward us, + and I have had stones hurled at me while preaching. + + I joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1797, in Boehm’s + Chapel, being at that time twenty-two years of age. My father, + Martin Boehm, was many years a minister among the United + Brethren, and was a bishop in that Church. He was for a long + time a warm personal friend of Bishop Asbury, and toward the + close of his life he united with our Church. Boehm’s Chapel is + still standing in good condition, and is now the church of the + neighborhood where it stands. My father’s influence contributed + much toward its erection. Bishop Whatcoat furnished the plan of + the edifice. It was built in 1791, was the first Methodist church + in Lancaster County, and it was one of the early fortresses of + American Methodism. + + I was licensed to preach January 6, 1800, by Rev. Thomas Ware, + who was then presiding elder on the Chesapeake District, and + who at the same time appointed me to travel Dorchester Circuit, + on the eastern shore of Maryland. Therefore I was never a local + preacher, though I have been a witness of the great usefulness + of that numerous and honored class of Gospel heralds, whose + unremunerated and zealous labors have done so much for the + evangelization of this nation. In the days of my effective + ministry the local ministry was an indispensable adjunct of our + itinerant system. + + About four months after I was licensed to preach I attended + the General Conference of 1800, in Baltimore. I was present at + Richard Whatcoat’s ordination as bishop, in the presence of + that body, in Light-street Church, and heard Dr. Coke’s sermon + on that occasion. I also was a witness of, and participant in, + the wonderful revival which prevailed in Baltimore during that + General Conference. People fell under the mighty influence that + rested upon them as they walked the streets. After the General + Conference closed I attended the Philadelphia Conference at + Smyrna, (then Duck Creek,) where the revival work went forward + with great power. It extended, in fact, over the whole Peninsula. + When I traveled Annamessex Circuit, in 1801, with William + Colbert, we received eight hundred persons into the Church in + that Circuit alone. + + Methodism was very prosperous on the Peninsula in that day, + and included among its members many of the first people of + that section. Dr. White, Harry Ennalls, Governor Bassett, of + Delaware, an eminent lawyer, a judge, and a member of Congress + in 1787, Dr. Sellers, and others, gave influence and strength to + the denomination in those early times. The social position of + our Church has hardly been relatively higher anywhere in this + country, at any time in its history, than it was in the Peninsula + in the beginning of this century. That region furnished many of + our best and most successful preachers in the days when there + were giants among us, for truly there were giants in those days. + Among the great men of that period was Dr. Chandler, a man of + commanding intellect, of large executive capacity, a powerful + preacher, a mighty evangelist, greatly successful in winning + souls. Jesse Lee, one of the Church’s noblest and brightest + names, was then in his ripe maturity, and lost the bishopric by + only one vote at the first General Conference I attended. I was + with him in his last hours, heard his rapturous and triumphant + utterances as he met his final foe, and, at his own request, I + closed his eyes after the great soul departed. William Colbert, + one of my early colleagues was a man of low stature, but of + high usefulness, indefatigable in labor, and among the first in + success. + + That portion of my life in which I was the traveling companion + of bishop Asbury has probably the most public interest, because + I was in that capacity the representative of the denomination at + large, and was the most intimate and daily associate of a man, + the purity and greatness of whose character, and the vastness and + value of whose work, must forever place him among the foremost + servants of God and mankind. + + Bishop Asbury chose me to be his traveling companion in the + spring of 1808—which choice the Philadelphia Conference + ratified—and I ceased traveling with him at the conference of + 1813, when he appointed me presiding elder of the Schuylkill + District, which comprised the whole territory from Wilmington + to Stroudsburgh, between the Susquehanna and the Delaware. My + first tour with Bishop Asbury was from a point between Baltimore + and Fredericktown, Maryland—a spot historic in Methodism, where + Strawbridge built his log church; thence westward. We crossed + the Alleghany Mountains on our way, and the ascent occupied + thirty-nine hours. I have since crossed the Alleghanies several + times in express trains in a much shorter time. I had previously + accompanied Asbury to the Alleghanies in 1803, where I left him + to pursue his westward journey, while I returned to my work. + Having passed the mountains, we made our way to Wheeling; thence + through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee; thence pursued a southerly + course, visiting the conferences in the Southern States. During + the western portion of this tour we visited the territory + of Indiana, which was a vast wilderness. We traveled in it + thirty-six miles, and saw in all that distance only six human + habitations. Among the noted and worthy laymen whose acquaintance + I formed, and by whom I was entertained on this my first + journey with Bishop Asbury, were Governor Tiffin and Governor + Worthington, both of Ohio, who were exemplary and devoted members + and representatives of our Church. During our progress through + Tennessee we were joined by Bishop M’Kendree, who had just been + elected a bishop at Baltimore, and who was on his first episcopal + tour. He accompanied us through the South, presiding with Asbury + over the Southern conferences. + + I became acquainted with the Southern Methodist preachers at + that time. Lovick Pierce, but a few years my junior, was then + conspicuous for the purity and beauty of his character, and his + popular talents as a preacher, and he yet lingers, with me, + behind our beloved early colaborers who have gone on before. + William Capers, beautiful in person and eloquent in speech, + was at that time received on trial by the conference. He was + afterward one of the most distinguished men in our connection, + and became a bishop of the Church South after we were divided. + The Southern Methodists at that time were remarkable for their + spiritual fervor, and Christian friendliness and hospitality. + There were among them many noble examples of the great virtues + produced by our faith. I learned to love the South, and I have + now fond memories of my friends whom I once cherished there. + + I knew the South when there was but one Methodism in America. I + wept when, in 1844, we were rent asunder, and now, as I stand + amid the thronging memories of a century, I plead and pray that + Methodism, North and South, may become one again. I am, in some + sense, at least, a representative of the fathers of the Church—of + the preachers and bishops who toiled and sacrificed to lay strong + the foundations of our beautiful Zion, and I am sure I do not + misrepresent them when, in their name, and as almost their sole + survivor, I plead for a united Methodism throughout this great + land. This desire and prayer leaps strong and warm out of my + heart, which, after beating for a hundred years, still beats as + true and strong as ever for the welfare of the Church to which + its best love and zeal have been given. + + During this first tour with Bishop Asbury I saw the Virginia + Conference. It was composed of a fine body of men. There was one + striking fact connected with it. Of the eighty-four members of + the body, the two bishops, and the traveling companion of the + bishops, all were bachelors except three. Our early preachers + were compelled to deny themselves largely of the pleasures and + endearments of domestic life, in order that they might do the + work of evangelists and make full proof of their ministry. At + this time I made the acquaintance of, and was entertained by, + Edward Lee, at Petersburgh, Va. He was a brother of Jesse Lee, + and father of Rev. Dr. Leroy M. Lee, now, and for a long time, a + distinguished representative of Southern Methodism. + + From the Virginia Conference we proceeded over the Blue Ridge to + Harrisonburgh, where we attended the Baltimore Conference; thence + to the Philadelphia Conference, in St. George’s, Philadelphia, + Bishops Asbury and M’Kendree alternately presiding. Though + attending all the conferences, I was a member of this conference, + and was home again with my brethren. When my name was called + in conference the brethren said: “None but the bishop can tell + whether there is any thing against Brother Boehm.” The bishop + rose and said, with much gravity: “Nothing against Brother + Boehm.” This conference has given many noble and illustrious + ministers and laymen to the Church. + + After the Philadelphia Conference, we proceeded onward through + New Jersey, which Bishop Asbury had not visited for twenty-five + years, and we missed our way in the Pines, and reaching a church + where the bishop had an appointment to preach, we found that, + as a result of our delay, the services had been commenced by + the preacher in charge of the circuit. The house was crowded. + Bishop Asbury immediately entered the pulpit, and, after talking + a brief time, he stepped backward and said: “I cannot preach; + Henry, you must get up and preach.” I immediately arose, and the + passage came to my mind, “And all thy children shall be taught of + the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children.” If the + passage had not come to my mind I should have been dumb, but as + it was I preached from it, and had a good time. After I finished + the bishop arose and delivered a warm exhortation. This was in + the coast region of South Jersey in 1809. + + Proceeding toward New York, we were joined by bishop M’Kendree + again at Elizabeth, and at Elizabethport we saw for the first + time a steamboat. It excited our curiosity. We passed on to + Paulus’ Hook, now Jersey City. Here for the first time I saw + the noble Hudson, and crossed it to New York, where we met the + conference in John-street Church. Bishop M’Kendree was then first + introduced to the New York Conference. I traveled many hundreds + of miles with M’Kendree during my five years’ sojournings with + Asbury, and heard him preach, probably, at least a hundred + times. He was a very powerful preacher. He often preached great + sermons, and seldom preached a poor one. + + From the New York Conference we proceeded to New England, + attending the only conference in that section, after which we + proceeded again on our western and southern tour. But it is + impossible for me on this occasion to recount the many scenes and + events I witnessed during my long journeys with that great man, + whose memory is ever green in my heart. + + It was my office to attend upon and minister to him for five + years. I frequently lifted him upon his horse, and helped him to + alight. I gave him medicine when he was sick, and watched with + him at night. It was my privilege to attend Bishop Whatcoat in + his last illness, at Governor Bassett’s, in Delaware, in 1806. I + have been personally acquainted with all our bishops, from Coke + to Peck, but to none have I been so endeared as to Bishop Asbury. + I guarded him in his journeys when it was unsafe for him to be + without a companion, and I shared with him the perils of the + wilderness. + + In North Carolina, coming on from Wilmington toward Newbern, + Bishop Asbury’s horse became frightened and ran away. He was in + the sulky, and I was on horseback. I suffered great apprehension + of mind, not knowing what to do. I did not dare to pursue after + him lest I should increase the horse’s fright, and so add to the + bishop’s peril. I began to pray, and if ever I prayed I prayed + then, that God would deliver the bishop from the destruction with + which he was threatened. Suddenly the horse stopped, and became + quiet and docile, and I rode up to the bishop, and found him in + much trepidation, but safe and thankful. + + “The Lord is good: a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he + knoweth them that trust in him.” As I attended and guarded and + nursed Asbury, so am I attended, nursed, and tenderly cared for + by my beloved daughter in my weakness and age. My hope is bright, + and I expect soon to meet my colaborers on high. + + The last of my dear friends who have preceded me was Rev. Dr. + Wakeley, my intimate associate for many years. He was to me a + true and loving friend. He was with me on my last birthday, and + participated in the service when I preached my centennial sermon + at the last session of the Newark Conference. He then expected to + be here to-day; but he is not here—he has gone on before. I shall + see him soon, and Asbury, and others dear to me, + + “Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet, + Their Saviour and brethren transported to greet; + While anthems of rapture unceasingly roll, + And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul.” + +Rev. J. M. Freeman then read the following letter from Bishop Asbury to +Rev. Joseph Totten, New Brunswick, N. J., written in 1811, to which were +added a few lines by Father Boehm:— + + +LETTER FROM BISHOP ASBURY. + + MARTIN BOEHM’S, _Aug. 10, 1811_. + + MY DEAR BROTHER: We have need of great grace to make and keep us + what we ought to be as Christian men and Gospel ministers. Alas + for poor.... They are well kept whom the Lord keepeth, and they + only. I have been looking many years for a general spread, not + only of Methodism, but religion, in Jersey. There, I fear, we + shall grow so like other societies that there will be but little + difference. I have this morning opened about a dozen letters from + the South—growing prospects still; living and dying witnesses; + camp-meetings moving on; thirty or forty souls coming out, boldly + declaring what the Lord hath done for them. It is of consequence + to have scaffolding—I mean houses—for the service of God. I have + many times felt with Eli for the ark of God in forty years when + I view our prosperity—200,000 members; two or three millions + of annual hearers; between 2,000 and 3,000 local and traveling + preachers; that we minute almost 700 in eight conferences. + Satan, the world, carnal Churches—more so than ourselves—envy + us, and wish our fall; but let us watch, and fast, and pray. The + Lord will direct. Children and great grandchildren may forget + old fathers. I shall keep close to children whether the ship + should be in storm, or calm, or fresh breeze; near the helm, + if permitted, or before the mast. I cannot leave them or cast + them off. Let my traveling so many thousand miles in pain, in + lameness, in hunger, in thirst, in all seasons, witness, that I + wish to stand clear of a party or policy. I must speak and write + as a plain, open man, as you have always found me. Your request + to know the names of the delegates is what any one in your + standing might reasonably wish, and the names are on the cover + of my Characteristic Book. Brother Boehm knoweth the delegates; + he may give them in this letter. I may be censured if I do it; + nothing is hid. I conclude. Let us be plain, peaceable, praying + men; the Lord will direct us all. I hope for the best. You will + recollect how restless two young men were in the last General + Conference. It was but a little while they had to feel the rod or + staff of the bishops. I am most affectionately, as ever, yours, + + F. ASBURY. + +Following is Father Boehm’s postscript to the above:— + + AT MY FATHER’S, _Aug. 11_. + + DEAR BROTHER: Through a kind and gracious Providence my life and + peace are perpetuated to the present moment. I desire to exercise + greater confidence in the Lord as regards myself and the Church + of God. + + H. BOEHM. + +Rev. Abraham J. Palmer read some letters which had been received by the +committee in charge of the centennial celebration, among which were the +following:— + + +LETTER FROM BISHOP JANES. + + NEW YORK, _May 8, 1875_. + + REV. A. J. PALMER, DEAR SIR: I thank the committee for inviting + me to be present at the one hundredth birthday of Rev. Henry + Boehm. I should regard it as a very high honor, and it would + be a very great pleasure, to participate in the services of + that very unusual occasion were it practicable for me to do so + consistently with engagements made previous to the reception of + your invitation. My engagements in the West will not allow me to + return in time to enjoy the occasion. Permit me, through you, to + extend to Father Boehm my warm congratulations and affectionate + greetings. I am sure one who has lived so long and intimately + with God on earth will live with him forever in heaven. May + all who unite in celebrating his centennial share with him his + immortality! + + Yours in Christian love, + + E. S. JANES. + + +LETTER FROM BISHOP BOWMAN. + + CHICAGO, _June 1, 1875_. + + DEAR FATHER BOEHM: As neither my colleagues nor myself can be + present at your centennial anniversary, we beg to assure you that + our absence does not in the least indicate any loss of respect or + affection for you. Your pure Christian character and holy life, + as well as your long and valuable services to the Church, have + given you a warm place in our hearts. We are glad and thankful + that a kind Providence has spared you to us so long, and that + you are permitted to enjoy so comfortable and happy an old age. + It would give us great pleasure to be present on the occasion + referred to, and participate in the interesting and memorable + services connected with it. But as other duties will not allow + this, we hereby send our hearty congratulations and Christian + greetings, and most devoutly pray that God’s blessings may abound + toward you, and that, when the end shall have come, the light + of your cheerful and beautiful life may, without a cloud or a + shadow, melt away into the glory of heaven. + + Yours affectionately, + + THOMAS BOWMAN, + _By order of the Board of Bishops_. + + +LETTER FROM BISHOP SIMPSON. + + PHILADELPHIA, _June 7, 1875_. + + DEAR BROTHER PALMER: I regret that I cannot be present at Father + Boehm’s anniversary. At our recent meeting I was appointed to + hold the German Conference and to visit our missions in Italy + and Scandinavia, and I expect to sail this week. Please present + to Father Boehm my sincere congratulations that God has spared + him so long to the Church and the world. Few men have seen their + hundredth anniversary. Very few ministers have ever approximated + such an age. His experience, too, has been so rich and joyous. He + has seen the Church of his youth rise from infancy to maturity. + He has witnessed the development of all its agencies, and the + enlargement of its borders. We rejoice still to have his presence + with us, and his blessing upon us. May his last days be unusually + full of gracious enjoyments, and may he finally be crowned + in holy triumph in our Father’s kingdom. With thanks to the + committee for their courtesy, and with regret at my unavoidable + absence, + + I am yours, truly, + + M. SIMPSON. + + +LETTER FROM SAMUEL PETTIT. + + PIQUA, O., _June 5, 1875_. + + Rev. HENRY BOEHM: + + MY DEAR BROTHER: I see by the “Western Advocate” that you expect + to celebrate your hundredth anniversary, which will be next + Tuesday, and I should be glad were it in my power to meet you on + that occasion. But as this cannot be, I must praise the Lord, and + shake hands with you in my heart. In 1822 I stopped at your house + in Lancaster, Pa., on my way to Reading, where Methodism was soon + after planted in that wicked town, which was on your circuit, and + where you were likely to be drowned by swimming the Schuylkill to + get to your appointment there, and where your books and clothes + were well soaked in the water, and where I took you to my house + and had you dried and comforted as best I could. It was in 1822 + that you gave me my first license, which I still have to look + at. It was also in 1822, at Churchtown camp-meeting, that you + took into Society Ellen Righter, who has been my wife over fifty + years, and who has never been too tired to rise up and make the + preachers comfortable at our house, and who is known to most of + the preachers of the Cincinnati Conference, and whose praise is + in all the Churches. + + You will remember Brother Kimber, who was my fellow-laborer at + Reading in the Church, and helped greatly in the work of the + Lord. He still lives in Urbana, Ohio, and he and I are now both + in our seventy-ninth year, and, by the grace of God, walking by + the same rule, and minding the same thing. I thank my God for + my acquaintance with you, and for the long life with which my + heavenly Father has favored you, and pray that your sun may grow + brighter and broader at its setting, and bring a pleasing day in + glory. + + SAMUEL PETTIT. + + P. S.—If you ever feel like writing me a line I should be very + happy to receive it. You will remember that I met you about ten + years ago at your friend’s below Dayton, where we spent two or + three days together. I may write to you some day again, if I know + your post-office. + + S. P. + + +LETTER FROM AARON WOOD. + + WILLIAMSPORT, IND., _June 4, 1875_. + + A. J. PALMER, JERSEY CITY, N. J.:— + + DEAR SIR: Please read the following at your meeting on the 8th, + as my congratulating contribution for the occasion. In 1811 + Asbury and Boehm came to my father’s, in the State of Ohio. + (See “Asbury’s Journal,” vol. iii, page 317.) I was then nine + years old, and received from the bishop a catechism. Boehm + will remember the visit. But there is a fact that I give of + importance, learned from my mother. Her maiden name was Mary Con, + of York, Pa., and when a child, under the preaching and teaching + of Martin Boehm gave her heart to her Saviour. I am the oldest of + five sons of that mother, and am now seventy-three, and in the + fifty-third year of my itinerancy. I have met H. Boehm in New + York, in Xenia, and Philadelphia, and he will remember + + Yours, respectfully, + + AARON WOOD. + + _Reflections on the extent of personal influence_:— + + 1. Martin Boehm, the Mennonite from Germany. + + 2. Mary Con Wood, the Methodist mother of preachers. + + 3. A. Wood, a young preacher in Indiana, preaching in a cabin in + Knox County. + + 4. Isaac Owen, brought to Christ, and made missionary to + California. + + And who knows but four more would reach around the world? If God + leaves me here in this sound body twenty-seven years more, I may + learn the names of persons who, from Owen in China, and so on + around to Bohemia or Bulgaria, carried the same Gospel which has + saved me. Glory be to God! Amen. + + A. W. + +A communication from Dwight Williams, of Cazenovia, N. Y., inclosed the +following letters from Father Boehm and Bishop Asbury to Rev. Robert +Birch, a member of the East Genesee Conference at the time of his death, +which occurred about twenty-two years ago. Both letters were originally +written upon the same sheet of paper. + + +FATHER BOEHM’S LETTER. + + CAMDEN, S. C., _Dec. 23, 1811_. + + MY VERY DEAR BROTHER: I received yours a few days ago, and was + made glad with its contents, particularly on finding that you + enjoyed good health of body, and, above all, are warring a good + warfare. It is so: great and good men may sometimes be at least + the accidental cause of leading us into inexpedient steps, and + if such a step or steps should be of such a nature and relation + that we cannot step backward for life, it behooves us to consider + well, especially as itinerant ministers of the ever blessed + Gospel of Jesus Christ. The rewards of grace and glory are + suspended on self-denial and taking up the cross. But, my dear + brother, how liable we are to lose sight of the spiritual prize! + for it must be received by faith. My mind is satisfied that + nothing can reconcile a young man to move on as though he cared + for nothing of a temporal or domestic nature but the power of + grace, and the perpetual exercise of the same. + + No doubt you would be glad to hear some account of our tour. + We traveled extensively through the State of Ohio previous to + the Western Conference, at which we had a good time, both in + conference and in the congregations. Some conversions. Things + were very promising as to the perpetuation of peace, order, and + discipline among preachers and people. Upward of three thousand + increase. One hundred and one preachers stationed. From there + we traveled rapidly to the west of Georgia, over into the New + Purchase, down to Savannah, back to Augusta, Columbia, to this + town—upward of eleven hundred miles since we left Cincinnati. + + There has been a gracious work of God, in many parts, within the + bounds of this conference. The increase, in all probability, will + be considerable. It would do you good to see the peace, order, + and love which appear to be prominent features of this conference. + + My health is as usual, and I have reason to believe that my soul + is advancing in humility and love. O, why is not my whole soul + swallowed up in the goodness of God! May the great Head of the + Church be your wisdom, comfort, and strength! Father Asbury has + lately been considerably afflicted with a rheumatic touch in one + of his knees, but is at present nearly well. + + I am, dear brother, yours, etc., + + H. BOEHM. + + +BISHOP ASBURY’S LETTER. + + CAMDEN, S. C., _Dec. 23, 1811_. + + MY DEAR SON: O what graces and grace we need to conduct ourselves + as sons of God, without rebuke! Great grace we need to guide men + of murmuring minds, and called, justified, sanctified, ministers + of Jesus. This year with us is begun in the West and Southern + conferences. The day of God, the day of glory, is begun. Near + seven thousand added this year, besides the numbers triumphantly + gone to join the Church above. Thus the wastage is more filled + up. These two conferences would be a great field for the poor + supernumerary superintendent, but we must wander through the new + world. + + We have recommended the first Friday in May as a day of + humiliation and fasting, that if we must have some radical + changes, (as some say,) and the transfer of some of the + appointing power to the principal officers in our Church + government, the change may be of God, and not of men, who have + partially for years been their own bishops. Pray; watch; flee + youthful desires; follow after every grace. + + Yours, etc., + + FRANCIS ASBURY. + + +TESTIMONIAL TO FATHER BOEHM. + +Rev. John S. Porter, D.D., then came forward, and turning to the +patriarch, said:— + + I have great pleasure, Father Boehm, to meet you again in the + presence of this large assembly. I suppose there is no person + present, perhaps, who has so continuous a recollection of you for + so long a term of years as myself. I do not recollect the time, + but I doubt not you do, when in my infancy, at the request of my + now departed and sainted parents, you baptized me in the name of + the Holy Trinity. When you came to the Delaware District, which, + I think, was in 1820—’19 or ’20— + + FATHER BOEHM—Thereabouts. + + DR. PORTER—I was then a member of the Church, a lad about or + nearly fifteen years of age, and I recollect it was you who gave + me the first book I ever felt sufficient interest in to read + from the beginning to the end. I suppose that book of religious + letters is now out of print, but I recollect my heart was warmed + in reading those letters directed to Bishop Asbury, I think + chiefly from laborers in different parts of the field. From that + time it has been my privilege to know your personal history as + to age and service in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal + Church, and I think what Bishop Asbury said when he was called + upon to say whether there was any thing against Henry Boehm, may + well have been said from year to year from that time till now. + God be praised, by whose grace you have been thus preserved! + + Your brethren, sir, desire to present to you some substantial + token of their respect for you, their interest in you, and their + affection for you in the evening of your life; and although it + was not so determined by the Newark Conference, yet the Newark + Conference was pleased to appoint a committee to take this matter + in charge—the celebration of your centennial—and they have been + pleased to issue circulars and to obtain from different quarters + something of what Kossuth, I believe, used to call “material + aid.” I have something from those who love you to present to you + on this occasion, and I am happy to say that one hundred and + fifty dollars of this subscription comes from the Philadelphia + brethren. I was present at their preachers’ meeting, and when + I told them we were going to celebrate your centennial, and + suggested that they take the matter in hand, (for I thought + they would consider it a privilege to participate in this + celebration,) they very cordially appointed a committee of three + to represent them here, and they also have collected that amount + of money, and those three brethren—Brothers Todd, Chaplain, and + Robinson, together with Brother Fernley, have come here to show + their interest in this matter. + + It is not possible for us to say, Father Boehm, how much the + amount of this testimonial will yet be. I have just been told, + however, that a friend will make it up to the sum of five hundred + dollars, and I have no doubt there are other friends who desire + to add to it, and I hope it will not stop at that figure. I know + that other friends will be glad, when the subject is presented + to them, to participate in the movement. I hope, so far as the + “material aid” is concerned, that it may be of comfort to you—not + that the sum is so considerable, but that you cannot, I know + you cannot, but feel in your heart to rejoice that God raises + up these friends for you. With this substantial token of our + regard for you [handing Father Boehm a purse] I close my remarks, + rejoicing that it is my privilege to sit at your feet, and hoping + to join you in the heavenly land. + +Father Boehm was asked if he desired to reply in person, and he said that +instead of speaking himself he had selected Professor Buttz to represent +him. + +Rev. Henry A. Buttz, A. M., who then appeared in a double representative +capacity—being called upon to speak for Father Boehm and also for the +young men of the Newark Conference—spoke as follows:— + + +ADDRESS OF PROF. HENRY A. BUTTZ. + + DR. PORTER: Little did Father Boehm suppose, when he took you + in his arms and baptized you in the name of the Father, Son, + and Holy Ghost, that you would greet him on the one hundredth + anniversary of his birth with this token of the appreciation of + his younger brethren. + + I am requested by Father Boehm to return through you, to all who + have taken part in this occasion, whether from the Philadelphia, + New York, or other conferences, and particularly to the members + of the Newark Conference, with which he has been connected during + these later years of his life, his thanks for this renewed + testimonial of affection. + + All these brethren have a warm place in his heart. He looks upon + them not as his brethren only, but with all the tenderness with + which a father looks upon his sons, and with a heart whose warmth + a hundred years have not chilled he returns you his gratitude. He + receives this gift for the evidence it gives of your confidence + and esteem. + + Father Boehm gives thanks to God to-day that although he has been + preaching the Gospel since the year 1800 with an average salary + of less than two hundred dollars a year, and in many instances he + has given that to the Church of Christ, yet now, standing at the + end of a century, he can confirm by experience the truth of the + Divine promise to the righteous: “Trust in the Lord, and do good; + so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” + For one hundred years he has not wanted any good thing. Loving + hearts have cared for him, and gentle hands have ministered to + him, through all these years until this hour. If it were proper, + it would be the wish of Father Boehm that I should express on + this occasion, to those of his own immediate circle who have + cared for him so long, his high appreciation of their love, or, + to use his own words, they have been to him “better than good.” + But this is a sacred precinct within which I dare not intrude. + Let it suffice to say, that although for many years he has had no + son of his own, Providence has so arranged that he has not felt + the lack, and he has not wanted for the loving attentions either + of son or daughter. + + It is well known to those intimate with Father Boehm that he has + always had a deep interest in young men, especially in young + ministers. In the true spirit of the fathers he has hailed with + joy every institution which proposed their improvement. It is + his desire that when he can no longer preach the Gospel himself, + he may preach it through others, so that he may still speak for + Christ on earth when he has passed to heaven. I am commissioned + by Father Boehm to say, also, that he gratefully receives this + gift of his brethren; that he will deposit it where it may be at + hand in case of need; and hoping, as he does, that he may never + need it, having always had his wants supplied in the past, it is + his purpose in that event, and also that of those most intimately + connected with him, that this shall be employed as a fund to + aid young men in preparing for the ministry in Drew Theological + Seminary. + + Again, in Father Boehm’s behalf, I thank you, and give to you, + in his name, his centennial blessing, in the language of the + patriarch Jacob to his son Joseph: “God, before whom my fathers + Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long + unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless + the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my + fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in + the midst of the earth.” + + But, venerable father, I have another mission besides the one + with which you have so kindly honored me. The purse is but an + incident in the exercises of this occasion. We are here also to + greet you on this the one hundredth anniversary of your birth, to + assure you of our love and confidence, to pray unitedly for the + continuance of your health and strength, and to hear from your + lips such words as you may choose to speak, and to receive your + blessing. I am asked to extend to you, on this your centennial + anniversary, the cordial salutations of the younger members of + the Newark Conference. I despair of being able in any adequate + sense to represent them. Their voices are so many, and their + sympathies with this occasion are so deep, that I can scarcely + attempt, much less hope to accomplish, such a task. Whatever the + difference in the respective ages of those who are gathered here, + we are alike in this, that by the side of you, Father Boehm, + we are all young men to-day. I seem to myself like a sapling + addressing an oak that has withstood the storms of a century; + like a child, scarcely able to speak, addressing an ancestor + whose life began so long ago as to make his history bear, almost, + the aspect of mythology. + + We congratulate you on having lived to be one hundred years + old; an age to which we young men can scarcely hope to attain. + I say hope to attain, for we do not depreciate the grandeur and + glory of old age, especially when, like yours, it is found in + the way of righteousness. I have been informed that there is a + statistician in England who denies that men live to be so old. If + he were here to-day we would point him to you, and show that in + America it does occur. You have lived one hundred years—twelve + hundred months—thirty-six thousand four hundred days—eight + hundred and seventy-six thousand hours, and minutes almost + innumerable. But time is rightly measured not so much by the + minutes on the dial, as by the work achieved and the events that + have transpired. It has been well said that many of the greatest + events of modern times have taken place during your life. Your + centennial comes in the midst of American centennials, and no + history of our country will be complete without your name. + + It is not merely to the hundred years that you have lived that + we pay our tribute to-day, but to the fact that you have lived + them so well. We pay our homage to a century of character—to the + Christian virtues which have adorned your active life—a century + in which, neither by word or deed, have you brought a stain upon + the Church with which you have been identified, or upon the + Christ whose Gospel you have proclaimed. + + On the 31st of August, 1799, Bishop Asbury wrote in his + journal: “I had a comfortable time at Boehm’s Church.... Martin + Boehm is upon wings and springs since the Lord has blessed + his grandchildren. His son Henry is greatly led out in public + exercises.” This was the bishop’s earliest public testimonial to + your Christian character. + + In the year 1809, in the Philadelphia Conference, after you + had been Bishop Asbury’s traveling companion for one year, the + question was asked, “Is there any thing against Henry Boehm?” + and the bishop gravely answered, “Nothing against Brother + Boehm.” Again, in 1813, after five years’ traveling with him, + the bishop returned the same answer to the same question, and + added, referring to you, “For five years he has been my constant + companion. He served me as a son; he served me as a brother; he + served me as a servant; he served me as a slave.” At the last + session of the Newark Conference, in your hundredth year, the + same question was asked, and the answer was, “Nothing against + Father Boehm.” + + I am sure, sir, if you should live a hundred years more the same + answer would be given. And when, at last, you shall be called + to enter the better world, the answer will still be, “Nothing + against Henry Boehm;” not because of any merit of your own, + but because you have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and + because you have “fought the good fight, you have finished your + course, you have kept the faith.” + + I have wondered that art has never paid that tribute to age to + which it is entitled. Art has embalmed the human frame in its + grandest physical vigor, and it fairly revels in the flowers + of youthful beauty. Even the muscles of Hercules have been + preserved by the sculptor’s chisel or the painter’s brush, + but so far as my own observation has gone, (and I confess it + has not been extensive,) I have seen but little of art in the + embalmment of the proportions of old men. But the men whom the + world would recall from the past in hours of conflict are not the + physically strong, but the ripe, intellectually noble old men. + It is not Hercules, but Nestor. You remember that the greatest + of epics written by the greatest of poets opens with a quarrel + between Agamemnon and Achilles, the rival Grecian chieftains, + in the midst of which an old man, Nestor by name, who had lived + through two generations, and was now ruling over the third, and + whose words are described as “sweeter than honey,” arose and + demanded a hearing by the rival chiefs by declaring his age and + contemporaries:— + + “In times past + I lived with men—and they despised me not— + Abler in counsel, greater than yourselves; + Such men I never saw, and ne’er shall see.... + The mightiest they among the sons of men: + The mightiest they, and of the forest beasts + Strove with the mightiest, and their rage subdued. + With them I played my part; with them, not one + Would dare to fight, of mortals now on earth. + Yet they my counsels heard, my voice obeyed; + And hear ye also—for my words are wise.” + + And it is of the old man, and not of the warrior, that the poet + adds:— + + “O would the gods, in love to Greece, decree + But ten such sages as they grant in thee!” + + You, sir, are older than Nestor of Homeric fame. Three + generations have fully passed while you have lived, and you + are now dwelling among the fourth. You have seen the seventh + generation in your own family. How much more should your words be + heard, and your portrait preserved! We take your portrait to-day, + not in verse, not in marble, not on canvas, but on the tablets of + our hearts, and we will preserve it there while life and memory + last, as an inspiration and joy. + + We congratulate you, also, because you have lived in the heroic + age of the Church to which we belong. You have been an actor in + the great religious movements which led to the firm establishment + of our Church. You were born nine years after its introduction + into America; you have seen all our great institutions rise and + flourish: you have helped to fight the great battles of Methodism. + + You have had great contemporaries, who will be more fully named + by others. It is a great thing to live in a great age with + great men, and to bear your part among them. Your history has + been almost identical with American Methodism. I had almost + said your history _is_ American Methodism. You have seen our + bishops ordained. You yourself were ordained by Whatcoat, who was + ordained by Wesley, and are in the true apostolic succession. You + have helped them in their work, you have smoothed their passage + to the tomb; you helped to lay Whatcoat in the grave. + + On the 4th of July, 1815, you went home to visit your mother. + Bishop Asbury, referring to that visit, wrote in his journal: + “Happy at Mother Boehm’s. A pleasing Providence, according to my + wishes, had brought Henry in a few moments before.” After a two + days’ visit with him there in the old home, where he had been + a visitor for thirty years, and when, after his last episcopal + tour, he had bid your aged mother good-bye, you accompanied him + to Lancaster, when he embraced you in his arms, pressed you + to his bosom, gave you his last kiss and benediction, and you + gazed on him till he was lost from your view. The parting is not + forever. You shall see him again in the land where there are no + separations. + + You can now look upon a Church whose missions encircle the + globe, founded not only on great institutions of benevolence and + learning, but on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, + Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone—a sure pledge + that her history and triumphs have but just begun. + + I have no doubt it would be pleasing for you to know, on this + your centennial anniversary, how the younger members of our + Conference feel on vital matters pertaining to the Church of + your and their choice, and in which you have been a minister for + three quarters of a century. I think I may safely say that they + are loyal to the great doctrines of the Bible as maintained by + the Church during the hundred years you have lived. They maintain + the Bible as the only infallible standard of Christian faith and + practice. They believe and preach the doctrines of depravity, + atonement, regeneration, witness of the Spirit, adoption, + sanctification, eternal salvation for the finally holy, and + eternal punishment for the finally impenitent. While they hold + with tenacity to the doctrines of their own Church, they are not + narrow or bigoted, but with broad Christian hearts they repeat + the Apostle’s Creed with the whole Church of Christ, and gladly + co-operate with Christians of every name for the salvation of + men. They hold fast to the great working forces of the Church + as they have inherited them from you and your colaborers. They + believe in revivals of religion having their inspiration in + God’s Spirit, the class and prayer meeting, and the recognized + instrumentalities of the Church for carrying on her work. If they + criticise, it is not to destroy, but to maintain and upbuild + the Church of their choice. They believe that the great mission + of the Church is the one announced by our fathers, “To spread + scriptural holiness over these lands.” Whatever differences + may exist among them on definitions, I believe they are one in + carrying out the spirit of her early mission, which, I trust, + will continue to be her mission until the world shall be redeemed + to God. They do not fear, but welcome, the highest culture and + the deepest, broadest learning, but they would make it all + tributary to the spread of scriptural holiness. + + They are loyal to the fathers of the Church; they reverence our + old men; they are proud of them; they would as soon be seen + striking a blow at their own earthly parents as at the fathers of + Methodism; they hold them highly in esteem for their characters’ + sake, for the work’s sake, for the Church’s sake to which they + have given their best days and their noblest powers. Every gray + hair on your head, and every wrinkle on that time-scarred brow, + they love and reverence. They are marks of beauty which they + would not exchange for the brightest bloom of youth. In the + esteem they hold you, they desire to express that which they hold + toward all their fathers in the ministry. But in your presence, + and in view of the exercises that are to follow, I dare not + detain you. Your example forbids me to speak longer. To you may + fitly be applied the epigrammatic eulogy once applied to the + philosopher and patriot of America, Benjamin Franklin: “He never + spoke a word too soon, he never spoke a word too late; he never + spoke a word too much, he never failed to speak the right word at + the right season.” + + And now, venerable father, accept again our heartiest + congratulations. We do not say to-day, “My father, my father, + the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!” for our + Elijah is not yet going. We trust the time is yet distant ere + you depart for heaven. Though, like Paul, to depart and be with + Christ is better for you, yet for you to abide in the flesh is + more needful for us. When the time comes, you will die grandly + and serenely, as an old man and a Christian should die. Cicero, + the greatest of Roman orators, said: “Young men seem to me to + die just as when the violence of flame is extinguished by a + flood of water; whereas old men die as the exhausted fire goes + out—spontaneously—without the exertion of any force: and as + fruits, when they are green, are plucked by force from the trees, + but when ripe or mellow drop off, so violence takes away their + lives from youths—maturity from old men; a state which to me, + indeed, is so delightful, that the nearer I approach to death + the more I seem, as it were, to be getting sight of land, and + at length, after a long voyage, to be coming into harbor.” But + Cicero lived but sixty-three years, and old Cato, into whose + mouth he put these words, is represented as but eighty-four; but, + sir, they were boys by the side of you. You have lived _a hundred + years_! You are a Christian, too, and a bright vision is before + you. As the traveler in a region of mountains ascends a distant + summit, and when he has reached it finds another before him and + ascends that, and another, and another, and each time finds that + the topmost point is still distant, so you climbed to childhood, + then to youth, then to manhood, then to middle age, then to old + age, and since then you have been climbing through steps for + which our language has no single word, until now you have reached + an age when we can call you our centenarian, and soon you will + reach the summit, when you will greet, not the distant peaks of + earth, but the mountains of glory, where you shall go on forever, + and, with Paul, exclaim with rapture, “Henceforth there is laid + up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous + judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto + all them also that love his appearing.” + +Rev. Jacob Todd, A. M., of the Philadelphia Conference, delivered the +following address:— + + +DR. TODD’S ADDRESS. + + Our venerable Father Boehm belongs to the whole Methodist + Episcopal Church, and not to any particular locality. We think + of him as the friend and companion of Asbury, the apostle of + American Methodism, and, in consequence, feel that the whole + country can lay claim to him. We could not localize him if we + would, and would not if we could. + + I do not know that any particular credit attaches to a locality + because a great and good man was born there, for the simple + reason that he could not help it. The Hibernian who was born in + the country said he could have been born in the city just as well + if he had desired, but that he preferred the country. Perhaps + if Father Boehm had been consulted he would have preferred the + city. But although the place of our birth is purely accidental, + there is a mystic cord which binds our hearts to our childhood + home through life, such as links us to no other spot on earth. + Representing the Philadelphia Conference, within whose bounds our + venerated father was born, I, with my fellow-committeemen, Drs. + Chaplain and Robinson, feel that our claim is not less, if it be + not more, than that of any others present. Usually upon festive + occasions the children come back from abroad to the paternal + home to do honor to the parents. That order is reversed to-day. + We come from the old homestead to seek out our Father Boehm, + who has gone abroad, and offer him the congratulations of the + Philadelphia Conference upon the one hundredth anniversary of his + birthday. + + There have been some changes at home since he left: there are + more farms in Lancaster County now, and less woods; there are + more villages, towns, and cities, and less country. Those who + were boys then are tottering upon staffs now. There are many, + many more mounds in the grave-yard. The little societies which + met in barns and school-houses then, and were called Methodists + in derision, have since built themselves houses of worship, + and are now a strong and respected Church in the community. + The old house, around which in boyhood he played, is gone; but + the springs sparkle just the same, and the brooks bubble and + flow on as of yore; the sky stretches its big arch overhead, + and the stars twinkle, and the sun’s huge disk of burnished + gold dazzles, just the same as they did a hundred years ago. + The old German Bibles are growing scarce, but English Bibles + in greater numbers have taken their places, and the precious + truths of God’s revelation remain the same through all languages. + The same doctrines are preached, the same hymns are sung, the + same experiences are related, and the same prayers are offered, + as when he in boyhood first attended a Methodist meeting. Men + and their works have all changed; but God, and nature, and the + religion of Jesus, are the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. + + And Father Boehm has changed some, too, since he left home. He + is the youngest man for his years that ever I knew, but still I + notice that time has made some deep furrows in his cheeks, and + the frost has settled in his hair. That stalwart form which, in + other years, bore Bishop Asbury up many a hill and over many a + stream, is bent and feeble now; and his voice, which used to + ring out loud and clear as he delivered his Gospel message among + the mountains of Pennsylvania, now shows signs of faltering and + trembling. But these changes are only on the outside; time has + not been able to alter him at the core. His memory still is good; + his mind is clear; his heart is just as warm, and his faith as + strong, as they were in the days long past and gone. The “outward + man” may perish, “yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” + God’s own image, over which time has no control, is stamped + within him, and there are no wrinkles in his soul. + + A hundred years have rolled away since he first opened his eyes + upon the light of a day in June. It does not seem so long a time + in this age of crowding events; yet it takes us back to when the + fever of the Revolution was in the blood of our ancestors. The + musketry of Concord and Lexington was still echoing in the air + when Father Boehm was born; and he was in his cradle when the + Declaration of Independence was signed. His childhood heard the + tramp of Continental soldiers, and the guns of Valley Forge and + Germantown sounded in his youthful ears. American Methodism was + only a child of nine years old, and was still unweaned from its + mother, when he was born. Why, nineteen such men, the one born + upon the day on which the other died, would take us back beyond + the birth of Christ! This one life spans a continent of history, + arches over the graves of three generations, and bridges a chasm + of forgetfulness a hundred years wide; so that over it the + memories of long ago can travel down to us. + + But a man’s life cannot be measured by the number of seasons + that come and go. Some men live more in ten years than others + do in fifty. Our lives are measured not by clock-ticks, but + by heart-throbs. The excitements of the times, the rush of + events, and the activities of the mind, determine a man’s age + more than the roll of years. Father Boehm has lived longer than + Methuselah, if we reckon time in this way. Within his life-time + the application of steam to mechanical purposes has taken place. + Instead of the clink on the anvil, which he heard in boyhood, now + the heavy thud of the steam trip-hammer shakes the earth; and the + old Conestoga wagons of earlier days have almost disappeared from + the turnpike, and, instead, the iron horse now tosses his smoky + main, and snorts and rushes like the wind through mountains, over + valleys, and across the plain. It had taken Methuselah not less + than a week—possibly a whole month—to come from Philadelphia to + New York. Father Boehm has lived in an age when men breakfast + in Philadelphia, dine in New York, and sup again at home. Within + the last century the lightning has been harnessed and made to do + man’s bidding. By means of the telegraph men are talking across + continents and under oceans with each other, as though they stood + face to face. Messages are sent and answers received in an hour, + which would have required months or years a century ago. He has + lived in an age of books and newspapers. Printing was known and + practiced long before his time, but never in the world’s history + has the press groaned beneath its burden of publications as it + has during his life-time. The newspaper has been born in this + country—not in the sense of being created out of nothing, but + in the sense of being transformed and unfolded into new being. + It existed before, but it was only a grub then. It has taken on + wings since, and is a different thing altogether. Had the great + fire in Chicago occurred a hundred years ago, the city would + have been rebuilt before news of its destruction had reached the + more remote sections of the country. Now, men see in the morning + newspaper, before they get to business, the world’s photograph as + it looked at sunset last night. These wonderful facilities for + intercommunication have quickened thought, have aroused energy, + have stimulated activity. Every thing goes by express now; + haste! is the watchword of this age. In an old colonial paper + published in Connecticut there is a notice to this effect: “The + vessel which was to have sailed from New London for England on + next Wednesday will postpone her departure for two weeks longer + on account of one of the passengers not being able to get ready + before.” Now, if he is two minutes late the plank is drawn, and + he is left behind. + + If we would measure Father Boehm’s life-time aright we must not + forget that he has lived for a century in an age when men talk + by lightning, travel by steam, write with a printing-press, and + move by the second. He has lived through the best hundred years + this world ever saw; he has lived more than the man who was + contemporary with both Adam and Noah; there is more of history + and religion crystallized in his memory than could have entered + into any one experience in any age before. The length of that + life is wonderful—but its breadth amazes and overwhelms me! + + But it is not so much Father Boehm’s extreme age, nor yet his + wide and varied experience, which calls forth our homage to-day. + Old age is honorable, and I always take off my hat before gray + hairs. I am no advocate for relic worship; and yet there is + something in a moss-covered building, in an old mildewed book, or + in the ruins of an ancient city, which irresistibly calls forth + my veneration. I cannot help uncovering my head and walking with + muffled footsteps in the presence of hoary antiquity. By just + as much more as a man is greater and better than a book or a + building, do I venerate the face seamed and scarred, and the head + bleached white with many years. But I have seen older men than + Father Boehm. It was my privilege not long ago to see a man die, + and afterward to bury him, who was two years the senior of the + patriarch of this occasion. There are centenarians to-day living + in almost every State in the Union, the return of whose birthday + calls forth no such public expression of affection and honor. + Father Boehm’s age would command our respect if he had no other + claim upon our attention; but that alone had never called this + concourse of people together from so many and such distant places. + + We cannot help paying deference to knowledge, no matter whether + it be acquired through books or experience, or both together. + Knowledge is power, and it is a power which makes itself + respected every-where. The man who stands before us as a kind of + mental reservoir, into which the experiences, observations, and + studies of a hundred years have poured their ceaseless streams, + is king by virtue of his knowledge; he wears a crown which none + will dispute, and holds a scepter before which all will bow. We + look upon Father Boehm as an incarnate, living volume of history; + his life is a cyclopedia of one nineteenth of the Christian era; + he is the embodiment of all the precious memories of Methodism. + We value, cherish, and honor him for his ripe experience and + well-stored mind. But not for his age and wisdom alone, nor + chiefly for these, do the Church and community value his life + and treasure his memory. Goodness is better than age—is better + than knowledge. It is the sunshine which gilds the mountain of + years, and which ripens into sweetness the fruits of experience + which grow on the sides of that mountain. The Church has sent + her representatives here to-day to emphasize the proverb that + “the hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of + righteousness.” + + We forget every thing else while we remember vividly that Father + Boehm, though a hundred years old, has a moral character upon + which suspicion has never dared to breathe, and that beneath that + wrinkled face the religion of Jesus dwells in all the sweetness, + freshness, innocence, and simplicity of early childhood. We + have come together to-day to offer thanksgiving to God, and + congratulations to each other, for this life of a hundred years + without one spot or stain. His moral and religious life stands + out upon his Christian profession like a white lily upon a field + of snow. My hand shall not attempt to paint so pure a picture. + “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, and throw perfume over + the violet, or seek with taper light the beauteous eye of heaven + to garnish, were wasteful and ridiculous excess.” Were this whole + world at Father Boehm’s disposal, with its wealth and its wisdom, + he could not from all its stores bestow a richer dowry upon the + Church of his love than the record of his own simple, humble, + true and untarnished life. + +Rev. George Lansing Taylor read the following original hexameter ode, +composed by him for Father Boehm’s centennial. Before reading the poem he +said, in a good-humored way:— + + “I ought to make a remark for the benefit of the least bookish + of my hearers, and I will do it in the form of a story. I have + heard the anecdote of a young lady fresh from boarding school, + who, in a conversation on the subject of poetry, sagely remarked + that Shakspeare was not poetry, because it did not rhyme. For + the benefit of some members of the same family as that young + lady who may yet be living I would insist that the world still + continues to call Shakspeare poetry in spite of the absence of + rhyme; and if my hearers will listen attentively to catch the + swing of the long hexameter line they may find rhythm in what I + have to read to them, if not rhyme.” + + +THE HEROIC AGE. + +AN HEXAMETER ODE. + +BY REV. GEORGE LANSING TAYLOR, M.A. + +HENRY BOEHM, 1775-1875. + +_Exegi monumentum ære perennius._—_Horace, Odes III, 80, 1._ + + Where are our hero fathers; the prophets, do they live forever?— + Where are the spirits and forms sublime in the ages departed, + Forms that loom now, gigantic, as men seen through mists on the + hill-tops, + Loom through the vista of years, majestic as gods in their stature, + Towering above us in labors that shame our puny endeavors, + Mighty in godlike virtues, in sufferings like to the martyrs, + Like them in poverty, hardship, loneliness, exile, and anguish; + Like them in fortitude, valiant as knights in the ages heroic; + Lofty and ardent of soul as Godfrey, or Bertrand, or Bayard: + Glorying in toils apostolic, in matchless intent and achievement; + Flaming with ardor seraphic, and scorning earth’s honors for heaven’s, + Such were our hero fathers and founders, the Methodist preachers. + + Honor, all honor to-day to the men, and their labors and triumphs, + Labors that shaped a new world, and triumphs that echoed through heaven. + Rude was the wild they traversed, a continent virgin and pathless, + Peopled by bold, strong races, and States new-rising from darkness; + An unformed chaos of men from the ends of the earth flung together, + Cast on this shore untrodden like drift cast up by the sea-surf. + Men of all lands, all tongues, all ranks, all creeds and opinions, + Mingled as quartz and feldspar and hornblende are mingled in granite; + Mingled by fiery fusion to make the bed-rock of a nation. + Fierce were the forces that fought in the furnace where freedom was + molded. + Tyranny kindled the flame, but Liberty fann’d it and fed it; + Fed it with fire from the skies, and fuel of hearts self-devoted, + Till the rude mass, undigested, refractory, stubborn, chaotic, + Blended at last in a Union of hearts and of States in firm compact, + Welded in blood and fire, cemented for ages of ages. + + Not alone valor heroic, or Liberty’s warm aspirations, + Not alone wisdom and state-craft, secured and cemented that union. + Lo! from the throne of Jehovah, and borne by the children of Wesley, + Came a new message divine to the dying faith of the people. + Not in the outworn phrases of long-dead creeds and confessions, + Not in the garb sacerdotal, with lifeless liturgical echoes, + Not in an unknown tongue, with a wafer Christ, or his image, + Came as an angel of light the new evangel of freedom. + Free grace alike upon all, and freedom in all to receive it, + Pardon of sin, and its witness inborn in the souls of God’s children, + Full salvation on earth, and fitness for death and for heaven: + Such was the glad new song the new evangel was singing; + Such was the message from God that wrought, while the forge-fires of + freedom + Glowed, and the hammers of war fell fast, as on iron at welding— + Wrought, like the flux on the iron, that purifies, softens, dissolves + it, + Melting the parts into one, as the stroke of the hammer unites them. + So did the glad outpouring of grace blend the hearts of the people, + Crying, “What God hath joined let not man’s strifes put asunder!” + + So wrought the mighty revival, and mighty men wrought in its labors, + Giants on earth in those days, and men of renown in the old-time, + Deathless their memory still, and deathless their toils and their + triumphs. + Where is that conquering host, that thundering legion of heroes, + Men girt with lightnings celestial, and each one a match for a thousand;— + Turning the world upside down, and storming the gates of perdition— + Where are they now, with their preaching, their praying, and singing + seraphic? + Gone! all gone from the earth, swept on like an angel procession, + Bursting awhile on men’s eyes, entrancing the earth with their splendor, + Then, through the white-cloud screen, melting into the glory eternal. + So passeth one generation away, pursued by another, + Fading like leaves with the years, while the earth abideth forever. + + Gone! but not all; for lo! one lingers yet living among us, + One of that dauntless host that of old shook the earth with their + thunder. + Hail to the snow-crowned veteran, comrade and partner with heroes! + Hail to the patriarch hoary, survivor of thousands and millions! + Hail to the oak that has stood while the forest was crashing around it, + Stood, and still stands, on the mountain whereerst as a sapling it + flourished, + Grappling the rocks with its roots and with gnarled arms baffling the + tempests, + Gray with a century’s mosses that stream like the beard of a druid, + Ghostly and bare at the top, green below, and sound to the heart-core! + Hail to the hero revered, whose long years stretch on, and still onward, + Passing the threescore and ten, the limit appointed to mortals, + Passing the frosty fourscore, in vigor erect and unbroken, + Shod as with iron and brass, and marching with tramp adamantine + On through the deserts of life, where the bones of youth’s caravans + whiten, + On to the century’s end, to the year that begins a new hundred! + Battled-scarred, time-scarred, and sere, like a storm-beaten crag, + thunder-rifted, + Still in our midst stands the hero, like Nestor of old, sung by Homer; + Nestor, the Pylian sage, who had ruled over three generations: + So stands Boehm, the revered, to-day ’mid the children of Wesley, + Children and children’s children of dead generations who loved him, + Heard from his lips the glad tidings, believed, and passed shouting to + glory! + Heard him who stands here to-day, last link of the ages departed! + + Backward, roll backward, ye years that have drifted like autumn leaves + o’er him, + Bear him in mem’ry once more to the home and the scenes of his childhood. + Bear him once more to the farm of his sires in dear old Conestoga, + Nigh where the broad Susquehanna rolls on to the bay and the ocean, + Bid Pennsylvania’s mountains lift up their blue ridges around him, + Laurel Hill, Blue Ridge, Blue Mountains, stern warders of virtue and + freedom, + Bid the far-known and far-honored old homestead fling wide its broad + portal, + Once more to welcome the feet that have journeyed so oft to that + threshold. + Rise from the dust where ye slumber, ye forms that of yore thronged that + mansion, + Join the bright circle, long broken, and move once more, living, before + us! + + Hail, Martin Boehm, sire and sage evangelist, bishop, and farmer, + Honored in each and by all, a prince among men stamped by nature. + Born of the strong, patient race of the Alps and the old Palatinate;— + Calvinist, Pietist, Mennonite, Methodist last and completest;— + Friend and copartner with Otterbein, Asbury’s helper and brother, + Such was the patriarch sire of that home by the broad Susquehanna. + + Oft there illustrious Asbury rested from toils superhuman, + Worn with the long, long march that yearly encircled a continent, + Worn yet flaming with zeal apostolic, with love archangelic, + Faith that grasped a new world, and the ardor celestial that won it. + There was his heart’s best home. There oft great Otterbein halted, + Scholar, apostle, and saint, by Asbury loved as a brother; + Sage in counsel, and mighty in prayer as Elijah on Carmel; + Founder and head of a people, a godly, fraternal communion. + + Hail, Boehm’s Chapel! the temple of limestone, strong and enduring. + Sprung from the preaching of Strawbridge, the thundergust sermons of + Abbott; + Planned by the hallowing hand of Whatcoat, the humble and holy; + Still stands the relic of years and heroes departed forever! + Where are the trumpet-like voices that pealed there the sound of + salvation; + Asbury, Otterbein, Boehm, and Goeting, Ware, Colbert, and Chandler, + Garrettson, Lee, and M’Kendree, and he who still living, there heard + them; + Heard in his youth and believed, and joined the great host of the + preachers. + There, too, rose Jewell and Miller, with Sneath, and the Mitchells and + Hunters. + There rose the Burches, and Best and Aiken, names honored and cherished. + There sleep the forms of the fallen, whose spirits soared thence to + their crowning. + + Lo! youthful Henry, called forth by the Church and the Lord of the + harvest— + Called to proclaim the great message, sublimest announcement to mortals— + Speeds on his life-long way, as a herald of mercy to thousands, + Speeds with his mother’s sweet kiss, and his patriarch sire’s + benediction. + Down on the old Eastern shore ’twixt the broad Chesapeake and the ocean, + Where the Peninsula’s sands and the dark cypress swamps spread around + him; + Where the strange tongue of the red man still haunts all the lands and + the waters; + Where blind bigotry’s rage in its rudeness had buffeted angels; + There, in the year eighteen hundred, in Dorchester County and Circuit, + Rang forth a voice like John’s in the wilderness preaching repentance. + Not as one beating the air, in an empty pulpit-gymnastic, + Cried the young herald his message ’mid struggles and sorrows of spirit. + Hundreds, awaked at the story, repented in anguish and mourning. + Hundreds in new-found mercy exulted, and shouted salvation. + Bloomed then the desert, a garden, the dark cypress swamps, like + cathedrals, + Rang with the praise of the Lord till ocean in thunder responded, + Hail the Peninsula! cradle and birthplace of prophets and heroes! + Bostwick, and Bayer, and Beauchamp, M’Combs, and Cooper, and Phœbus, + Martindale, silver-tongued Hull, sage Lawrenson, Emory gifted, + Leaders of Israel’s hosts, and wise master-builders in Zion. + + Up, thence, to old Annamessex, to Kent, and Northampton, and Bristol, + Up from the sands to the mountains, from youth to the glory of manhood, + Pressed the evangelist onward, proclaiming free grace and salvation. + Mighty the word in those days, and mighty the Spirit’s outpourings, + Falling on camp-meeting, conference, prophets and people together; + Falling like pentecost whirlwinds on awe-struck thousands assembled; + Sweeping from circuit to circuit till States were ablaze with its glory! + So o’er the prairie in autumn the fire-ocean dashes its surges; + So over pine-clad mountains roars onward the vast conflagration! + + Lo, through the length of the land, from Maine to the Gulf, in his + circuits, + Asbury moves like a flame, with Boehm his companion and helper. + Not as a servant but friend, a counselor, brother, he journeyed, + True as Achates renowned, who of old voyaged with pious Æneas, + Loyal as valiant Patroclus, beloved by the godlike Achilles. + Onward from circuit to circuit, from city to city, unresting, + Toiled the great founder and builder, the care of the Churches upon him. + On through the rich cultured East, the bright sunny South, and the + center, + O’er Alleghanian wilds, Tennessee, rough Kentucky, Ohio; + Rivers unbridged, and mountains untraversed, the home of the panther; + Plunging through forest and flood, nor halting for frost or for freshet; + Heeding nor terror nor tempest, all climates and seasons defying, + On, as by heaven’s inspiration, the tramp of their marching resounded. + + What was the strong lure that drew them with force unresisted, undying, + Stronger than sorrow or pain? Did golden dreams glitter before them? + Empire? or honors? or fame, whose trump thrills the world with its + echoes? + Nay! None, nor all, of all these; but a mightier spell, and diviner, + Bore them on wing and aflame, as it bore the rapt seraphs from glory, + Warbling o’er Bethlehem’s slumbers the gush of a rapture immortal! + Souls, souls of men, of the poor, the friendless, the erring, the + outcast. + These were their hire and their treasure, as erst of the Master who + taught them. + These, won from death, their reward, and the joy of all heaven beholding; + These were their sheaves, which the Lord of the harvest with blessing + accepted. + + Still grows the toil of that harvest, and still swells the joy of its + reaping, + Reaped and resown evermore in endless perennial springing; + Sown like a handful of corn, but waving like Lebanon’s glory:— + Sown with weeping, but reaped ’mid anthems of rapture angelic, + While this hoar harvester leans on his staff, and beholds, and rejoices. + Lo! from the rock-bound shores of the East to the vast Mississippi, + On over river, and prairie, and mountain, and desert, and snow range, + Rolls in grandeur the march of a mighty and marvelous empire. + Hark! In its van, and before it, through solitudes ancient and boundless, + Blown by a thousand heralds, the trump of the new-born evangel + Wakens the wilds where nations extinct have pined for the dawning; + Dawning of morn everlasting, the sunburst for oncoming millions! + + On over earth, as it rolls, in the golden sheen of the sunlight, + Swells now the glad new song, the harmonious anthem celestial. + Where the winged caravan, harnessed with fire and thunder, is flying; + Where, at the magic of commerce, old ocean shrinks to a ferry; + Where thought whispers with lightning, and belts the globe in a + heart-beat; + Where strange tongues babble on through continents old, or untraversed; + Where, round the sea-girdled islands, the waves dash music eternal; + Where o’er all earth man wanders, sorrowing, sinning, immortal— + There shines Columbia’s glory, and their lies the parish of Wesley; + There the great harvests of freedom and God wait the sower and reaper. + + Lo, now, the harvester, bowed with the fierce, long heat of the noonday, + Weary with wielding the sickle, and bent with the sheaves he has + gathered, + Walks through the low slant beams of the sunset, and toils tow’rd the + garner. + Four times the distance that circles this planet those footsteps have + measured, + Through a long century’s day, but the twilight at last is descending. + Shadows of sunset have faded. Through vistas of opal and amber, + Gates beyond gates open upward, of hyacinth, sardine, and jasper, + Softly unbarred, to the inmost, the gate of one pearl, like a rose-bud + Cleft through the core, and turned outward on hinges of gold! Lo, + unfolding, + Noiseless it swings, like a curtain, and rosy wings poise and sail + earthward, + Rosy hands reach toward the harvester, tenderly lifting his burden, + Tenderly lifting his feet till they thrill on threshold of glory, + Till the bent form blooms and glows, and the white head dazzles like + Hermon’s, + Crowned with his sun-smitten snows,—as this with the throne-flash + eternal! + Harvester, Farewell! from earth—and Hail! from the elders of heaven! + +Rev. Cyrus D. Foss, D.D., then responded to the request for some remarks. + + +ADDRESS BY REV. DR. FOSS. + + One of the most distinguished advocates in this country is said + to have remarked concerning the almost interminable speech of + the counsel on the other side: “My learned friend seems to have + feared that it would be impossible for him to make his speech + immortal without making it eternal.” Now I am very sure that + this meeting is in no such peril as that. Each particular part + of these proceedings has been quite too short for its abundant + merit, and the meeting itself will be all too short to enable us + to utter the feeling of all our hearts. But we may be sure that + the memory of this meeting will last, and that three quarters of + a century hence—and it may be even farther off than that—when + there shall be fifteen millions of Methodist communicants on + this continent by the blessing of God, this meeting may be + remembered by some of the youth here to-day, and it will go down + in permanent form in the Methodist records. I will not extend + the time of the meeting long, lest I should impose upon your + patience; I will not occupy half the number of minutes that the + chairman of the committee has requested me to speak. + + We have been very eloquently told how grandly full of history + this last century has been, and how much more this honored + life, which in its earthly form shall soon pass away, contains + than the life of any man who has lived in any century before + this. I recall the sentiment of Bishop Kingsley, who was asked + early in the history of our civil war how old he was, and he + promptly answered, “One hundred and forty-six.” “Why,” said his + questioner, “how do you make that out?” “Well,” he replied, “I + was forty-six years old when the war began, and I have lived a + hundred years since.” Now reckoning upon that principle, which is + the just one, our venerable Father Boehm might well claim to be + a thousand years of age to-day. You have heard in the eloquent + address of our brother from Philadelphia some account of the + wonderful progress we have made within the last century. He did + not tell you what I will add, namely, that since this godly man + began to preach the Gospel there have been ten times as many + copies of the word of God put into circulation as were circulated + before in all the centuries since Moses wrote the Pentateuch; and + that within the same space of time there has been a great deal + more done in extending the Gospel into the regions beyond, in + obedience to that inspiring “Go!” which the Lord Jesus put at the + back of his apostles before he ascended into heaven, than in all + the other ages before. What a century that makes of the one in + which we live! Of this work, by the blessing of God, our honored + guest is no small part: and more, that sublime temple, in which + he stands so tall and strong a column, the temple of Methodism, + is no small part. + + My dear friends, I stand here not to attempt what now would + be impossible—any thing further in the line of the touching, + delicate, and eloquent personalities which have been so fitly + spoken here to-day, and which have thrilled our hearts with + delight. I cannot pluck another flower from anywhere to adorn + the wreath that these brethren have woven for this godly man. I + will say a few words concerning that grand system of religious + revival and propagandism which he helped to build when it was + weak, and which gathers us here to-day. And what is it—this great + religious system, so mighty for the world’s evangelization, by + God’s blessing? If I had an hour to speak here on this occasion, + I would say that the secret of the wonderful success of Methodism + is to be sought, in part, in its doctrinal system, in part in + its ecclesiastical peculiarities, and still more largely in its + religious experience. + + Concerning the first of these points, I could not summarize + our doctrinal teachings, speaking in this impromptu way, half + so well as they have just been stated in the poem. Of course + our fathers adhered to all the great truths which the Church + had held through all time, but they lopped away some of the + errors, and were commissioned by God not to add any new truth, + (for the truth was perfect when the canon of Scripture was + closed,) but to re-emphasize some of the old and forgotten + verities; and so when they went forth into regions in England + and America where the dry rot of religious thinking, which men + call theology, had misled the minds of the people and had dulled + their sensibilities—when they went forth preaching to all men + that they were really in peril of eternal death, and that there + was offered to them in the Gospel, by their lips, _salvation_—a + present salvation, a conscious salvation, a full salvation—no + wonder they found a hearing. That was the proclamation that these + men every-where made; and these important truths, hidden in the + creeds before, or at least not brought out, held up as flaming + torches before the faces of men, needed only to be so presented + to light up the dull eye and warm the frozen heart of the world. + + Not only in the emphasis which they laid on these truths did our + fathers do a grand work for the world. We had also important + ecclesiastical peculiarities. The first of these that arrested + the attention of men seventy-five years ago in America, and one + hundred and twenty-five years ago in England, was our itinerant + ministry. The preacher did not stand still in one place and wait + for the people to come to him, but went to them with the offer + of the Gospel of the Son of God, because he felt within him the + pressure of that almighty “Go!” of the Lord Jesus Christ, which + impelled him on to preach the word with power. After a man’s + attention had been arrested by Methodism, the next thing was to + invite him to the class-meeting. The preacher, seeing the tears + streaming down his face, and going to him after the sermon, would + ask him—not “Do you believe the Thirty-nine Articles?” nor “Are + you willing to be damned for the glory of God?”—but he would + simply say, “Do you desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to + be saved from your sins?” and if he said “Yes,” he would be told, + “Here is Brother Jones, a class leader, go to his class next + Thursday night.” The people also found that a man who wielded + the hammer on the anvil from Monday to Saturday went forth on + Sunday and preached the Gospel. So there was a lay ministry, and + that was another peculiarity of the ecclesiastical polity of our + Church. Concerning these and all the rest I will simply say, that + the grand peculiarity of all was, that it was not a man-made + system, devised in the brain of John Wesley or any body else, + but simply a leading forth, under the providence of God, and by + the hand of God, of godly men to bless and save the world. There + is not a single peculiarity of Methodism that was not a child of + Providence. John Wesley never intended one of them. So we are + followers of Wesley when we follow God. To him who would follow + the path in which John Wesley trod, if Wesley were alive to-day + he would say, “God is our leader, follow him.” And yet in doing + this I am persuaded that we should wisely heed the sentiments of + that eloquent utterance of Bishop Asbury in the letter that has + just now been read to us. Let us hope, and pray, and beseech, + clinging to the very horns of the altar, that every change made + in the policy of this grandly successful Church may be manifestly + “made by God and not by men, who have long been trying to be + their own bishops.” + + After all, as it seems to me, the greatest thing in Methodism, + from the beginning until now, has been its religious experience. + Why, my dear sir, God’s way of making any great truth effective + is not by writing it in the Bible, but on the fleshly tables of + men’s hearts. There is not a single one of those old verities + which are vital to our faith but has been in the world, but has + been in the Book, for almost nineteen centuries; and yet the Dark + Ages passed over the world for all that. Pardon of sin, salvation + through faith alone, was already within the Book of God; but the + people did not heed it until God put it in the heart of Martin + Luther, and when he told it the world believed him, and hence the + Reformation. + + And so in the time of the Wesleys, and in the time of their + followers in England and America, the power of God was made + manifest through their experience. It was not simply the + ecclesiastical peculiarities that they held to, it was not simply + the doctrines they taught; it was those doctrines set on fire in + their hearts that made people learn the lesson, and that alone. + + My dear friends, there is not a single truth of Christianity + which has not been in some age of the world buried, and buried + out of sight; and every such truth, when exhumed, has been + exhumed in this way: God has taken it and put it into the living + soul of a living man, and it has possessed him, and then he has + gone forth and declared it, and men have believed him. Look at + the old truth of the universality of the offer of the Gospel. The + great commission should have taught this to the Apostle Peter. + But long after that you find him hiding away from the Gentiles, + not holding to their company, until God set him right at last + by a vision from heaven, and he came forth and said what one + would have thought his personal experience with Jesus should + have taught him long before:—Peter came forth and declared, as + though he had found something new, “I perceive that God is no + respecter of persons.” And away down the ages, until a century + ago, the Church was possessed by the same Jewish bigotry. It is + within the life-time not only of our venerable patriarch, but of + others here to-day, that at a meeting of ministers the question, + “Will any young minister suggest to us a subject for discussion?” + was asked, and up rose William Carey and said: “Mr. Chairman, I + suggest for discussion this theme, ‘The duty of the Christian + Church to evangelize the heathen world,’” and the old gray-haired + moderator, Dr. Ryland, said: “Sit down, young man, sit down; when + God gets ready to convert the heathen he will do it without your + help or mine.” But the great truth was hidden in the hearts of + William Carey, Adoniram Judson, and Thomas Coke, and they went + forth and proclaimed it, and the world is beginning to believe it. + + So with the knowledge of sins forgiven; by the witness of the + Spirit Methodism has done much to make this precious experience + the common heritage of the Evangelical Church of to-day. A + century and a half ago I doubt if there were ten men in all + England who dared to say they believed that doctrine. When + Benjamin Abbott was past thirty years of age, he had never heard + a man say he knew his sins forgiven; and when he proclaimed it + as his experience a deacon told him it was a dangerous heresy, + and every man who held it ought to be put to death. And that + within this century! But, my dear friends, after fifteen years of + such service of God as few men have ever rendered—after fifteen + years of such apostolic zeal for the relief of the poor, and + the religious instruction of prisoners, and the bringing to + morality and decency of the lowest of the sinful, as few men have + ever passed through—a young man of Lincoln College, Oxford, at + the age of thirty-three or thirty-four, hearing a Moravian read + from one of Luther’s Commentaries about justification by faith + alone, says that in that meeting, about half past eight o’clock + in the evening, his heart was “strangely warmed;” and then + Methodism was born. If it had not been for that strange warming + of John Wesley’s heart we would not be here to-day. It was the + vitalization, in the experience of the Methodists, of the old, + forgotten doctrine that made them mighty, and sent forth this + “great religious movement,” as Stevens so well calls it, “of the + eighteenth century.” + + I must not multiply words, sir. It is my prayer that in all the + changes of our Church polity we may “make haste slowly;” that in + all matters of Christian doctrine we may follow the word of God, + and may have the truth interpreted to us as it was to Wesley, by + the illuminating light of the Spirit, and that the great power + of Methodism may ever be the power of its scriptural, personal, + joyous experience. + +Rev. David W. Bartine, D.D., delivered the closing address. + + +DR. BARTINE’S ADDRESS. + + I feel weary at this moment with the journeyings of a hundred + years—with the reasonings, the preaching, and the toil of a + hundred years. And I presume that this congregation is weary + too—weary for once with perfect delight in the enjoyment of + an entertainment that we shall never forget, with a pleasure + that will thrill our hearts till our feet touch the cold waters + of Jordan. I am one of Father Boehm’s boys, and I delight in + the privilege afforded me to-day, at the closing moments of + these profoundly interesting services, to say so. When I was a + little babe, (of course I don’t remember the circumstance, but + my friends remember it,) Father Boehm, in company with Bishop + Asbury, came to my father’s house. (My father, you know, was one + of the old pioneers, a plain, grand old man, a hero through and + through, who met the heresies to which my brother referred awhile + ago and helped to conquer them.) Well, they came to my father’s + house, and the bishop baptized me, as Father Boehm remembers + and has often told me; and that put me in the succession, and I + am as perfectly in the apostolic succession to-day as any man + in America or in the world—not simply because the old bishop + baptized me, but, my friends, afterward God converted me in the + old-fashioned Methodist style. I learned the great principles of + this wondrous Church in the company of such learned men as these, + (pointing to Father Boehm,) sitting at their feet, listening to + their words, and being taught in the schools of which they were + the prophets. And I glory to-day that I feel like clinging to the + good old-fashioned Methodist style. + + In the year 1832, when I was a boy—and I suppose as we sometimes + say, in cant phrase, somewhat “green”—I received a message from + this venerable father inviting me to attend a camp-meeting; and + those meetings were real camp-meetings; the people went there + to pray all the time, and to look for the baptism of the Holy + Ghost. I went, trembling, fearing, feeling utterly disqualified + for the work I had entered on, and which I believe God called me + to undertake; and I shall never forget the kindly greeting this + precious father gave me as I entered those grounds. He took all + the fear from my heart, and greeted me with a cordiality I have + never forgotten; he said a few kindly, loving, simple words, that + strengthened my heart through and through, and from that day to + this I have been blessed and honored with the friendship of this + venerable man of God. + + If I had time to-day I should like to give a number of + reminiscences which I could present, but the time has passed + so rapidly that the close of these interesting services is + necessarily near at hand. And before we separate this afternoon + let us congratulate ourselves that we still have preserved among + us such a grand specimen of the Methodism of the olden time. Dr. + Foss presented us with some very interesting thoughts upon this + subject, and that is one of the points I intended to present. But + every one who has spoken to-day has stolen some of my thunders, + so that I am compelled to manufacture thunder as I go along; and + I find that its manufacture is not so easy a matter when others + have used your material so freely as have these brethren who + preceded me to-day. + + But let me say to you, my friends, that we are not to treat + lightly an example such as we find in this venerable man. + Concentrated in him is Methodism in its simplest form, in its + purest characteristics—Methodism as I pray God it may go down to + the ages of the future. And I want it to be distinctly understood + that I am not a believer in this modern idea that we are going + easily to improve the system of Methodism which this venerable + man helped to found. It may be tampered with, its success might + be interfered with; but it is not a very easy thing to mend it. I + am willing to be led, as my fathers were, where God shall lead; + but I want to see the footprints of God where I put my feet, + I want to see divine providence indicating the way in all the + wondrous march of this form of Christianity. + + There is one thing most assuredly a fact, and that is, that our + system of itinerancy cannot well be improved. I do not know what + Bishop Asbury would say to-day upon this interesting subject: + whether it is the true philosophy to so change our ministerial + arrangements as to continue a man in one or two appointments + during a life-time, and still call it an itinerancy. I want to + say, that though I would not be an “old fogy,” you will find it + a hard thing to improve in this direction that system which has + shaken the world. And the question with me is, whether, with + all the improvement that is claimed for it, it is shaking the + world to-day as it shook it when this venerable father, with + heroic purpose and earnest voice, led on his combined forces + on his grand old districts? The world did shake then; hell did + shake then; the powers of unbelief and heresy did shake then, + as the hosts of God marched on from battle to battle, and from + victory to victory. A great many well-polished shafts were then + hurled by these men of bluntest speech, with both force and + effect, at the heart of the foe; and it is a question worthy of + consideration whether, after all our advancement in learning and + literature, and every thing of that sort—after all our boasted + improvement—there is that real, old, divine unction that shook + the dead Churches, and awakened the sleeping multitudes to a + realization of their need of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus + Christ? + + I am reminded of all that, and of the simple effort and simple + prayer that took hold of the citadel of death and Satan, and + through the high and hidden things of the Gospel saved men by + leading them to Christ. In Father Boehm’s early and later days, + when persons would come to the altar to seek the Lord Jesus + Christ, and it was fashionable to kneel and to throw themselves + prostrate upon their faces, they would cry mightily to God and + struggle hard for his mercy, and earnest people gathered around + them with tears, and finally with songs of joy; and it was not + the fashion then to pass around the altar and say, “Sister, do + you feel any better?” “Brother, do you think you have found + peace?” No; that was not the way. The common way was to pray on + until the baptism of the Holy Ghost fell upon them, and without + prompting they declared what God had done for their souls. Now + there are some little points like that which I don’t think we can + improve upon—some points which, if we could retain them in all + our efforts to do good, would be better for the Church and the + world. The very kind of testimony that this venerable patriarch + and his compeers were in the habit of bearing to the world is + what still needs to be borne. We should never speak hesitatingly + upon the one great subject, “That God for Christ’s sake has + pardoned all my sins.” They called it heresy then, they call + it heresy now; but it was and it is a blessed truth that Jesus + Christ had then, as he has now, power on earth to forgive sins, + to change the heart, and make a man to know it. + + And then that other doctrine which has not been referred to: it + was a doctrine of Methodism—I have heard this venerable servant + of God preach it, (for I have heard him preach many a time, heard + sweet and precious words from his lips,) the fire of the Holy + Ghost within him, the divine unction resting upon him, while he + would tell us of the power of Jesus Christ to cleanse from all + unrighteousness—it was a doctrine of Methodism that the blood + of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. And that precious truth + still lives, one of the most beautiful trees of God’s garden. The + religion of Jesus Christ found man dead, polluted, corrupted, and + that tree has so grown that to-day multitudes are plucking from + it the ripe and rich and luscious fruits of living Christianity. + All hail to that patriarch who, sitting in his tent door, watches + to see how the battle is going! All hail to his heart as it fills + to-day with the ancient fire, and flames with the ancient divine + patriotism! + + I think there was something said about my closing these services. + I am very sorry Bishop Simpson is not here. We had hoped to + reach the climax of these services in the closing speech of the + excellent bishop. But following all the splendid oratory that + has thundered in your ears to-day, it is a difficult matter + for a small piece of artillery like me to do much on such an + occasion as the present. I do honestly feel, my brethren, that + I am in a very embarrassing position. Just look at it. Here is + a man (Dr. Foss) whom they almost made a bishop at the last + General Conference; here is a man (Dr. Todd) whom I found in the + mountains of Pennsylvania, and sent him on his way as worthy to + be one of the successors of this grand old patriarch; and here + is a distinguished Professor, (Prof. Buttz,) just fresh from + college, with his laurels thick upon him, a man beloved by every + one who knows him. That these brethren have spoken, and spoken so + well, only adds to my embarrassment. + + As one of the brethren said, we are not here to cry, “My father, + my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!” O + no; we are not even where Joash was when he heard of Elisha’s + illness, and came down to weep over him and cry, “My father, my + father,” etc. But I will tell you where we are. You know it is + Christianity that sanctifies the soul, the baptism of love which + photographs the image of the Eternal upon the human affections, + and extracts the sting from death. Now it seems to me when Father + Boehm shall pass away there will not be any death in it. He has + been under the experience and power of this saving faith so long, + that every thing in that line comes as a matter of course, and + after a little while, when his days are numbered, it won’t be + dying, but going up in a chariot of fire into heaven. It has + seemed to me all the morning as though we were taking the last + three miles’ walk that Elijah and Elisha took after they got + over Jordan. You remember that last three miles’ walk, perhaps + the most delightful incident in the history of the prophet + Elijah. Perhaps we are taking that walk this morning—that last + three miles’ walk. You know Elijah had said—and perhaps we may + imagine Father Boehm saying the same this morning—“Tarry here, + I pray thee: while I go over Jordan,” and the answer was, “As + the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” + No, Father Boehm, these hearts cling to you to-day with all the + ardor of youth, and they mean to cling to you until your spirit + shall ascend to be forever at rest with God the Saviour. These + last three miles—have they not been very pleasant to-day, my + brethren, as we talked over the old patriarch’s history, as we + talked over the glory that looms up in the future? Have we not + rejoiced in it? It has been glorious—this last three miles’ walk! + And it may be (though some of us may pass away before him, as the + sainted Wakeley went from this pulpit and from the company of his + brethren, so unexpectedly and so gloriously to his eternal rest) + that many here may receive what Elisha did, a double portion of + his spirit at the translation of our Elijah. “Ask,” said the + prophet, “what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from + thee.” I know Father Boehm’s heart would ask that question if he + knew the day of his departure was near at hand; and I know the + response of each heart here would be like that of Elisha, “Let a + double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” O God, give us a double + portion of the spirit of the fathers—their spirit of sacrifice, + their spirit of love, their spirit of simplicity, their spirit of + holy earnestness in the pursuit of knowledge, their spirit of + consecration to their blessed work; and that divine unction that + shall make every minister in our Church a power, and every member + of our Church a power, thus presenting the banded forces of our + Methodism moving on in one solid column against the hosts of this + wicked world! That is what we want. May God grant the speedy + dawning of that day! + + Meanwhile, brothers and friends, the old bark is approaching + the haven; the hoary head crowned with glory proclaims the + beaming forth of the light of heaven; that venerable countenance + is illuminated to-day with a supernatural light; as the bark + approaches the haven he is striking his topmast and furling his + sails, and after a little while he will drop his anchor in the + waters that are never troubled, amid scenes and under skies that + are never overcast with clouds. The old pilgrim rests to-day + on the top of his staff. O, I am so thankful that a beautiful, + calm twilight is shining softly upon his soul as he approaches + “that bourne whence no traveler returns”—to that river which, as + Payson says, has become a rivulet to him, over which he shall + step at any moment when God shall permit! God grant that there + may be no shadow on Father Boehm’s life in this world, and if it + please God, that he may be permitted to remain among us longer + yet as a living example. For we have a century of history, of + ecclesiastical policy, and of preaching Christ with saving power, + all concentrated in this venerable old man, a monument that + stands firm amid passing years, and throws its light upon the + traveler to the world of spirits, and the home of the good and + the pure. + +The quartet choir then sang the closing centennial hymn, written by Fanny +Crosby:— + + Eternal, ever-present Lord, + We lift our grateful hearts to thee, + In praise for what our ears have heard, + And what our eyes this moment see. + + ’Tis by thy providential care + That he, whose name we all revere, + Is with us in thy house of prayer, + And celebrates his hundredth year. + + As thou on Israel’s tents of old + Didst bid the cloudy pillar shine, + To us, thy chosen, now unfold + Its light and majesty divine. + + And as we leave this hallowed place + Thy benediction we implore + To him, our sire; O grant thy grace, + And keep us all for evermore. + + We may not meet again as now; + But when a few more days have passed, + In thine own kingdom may we bow, + And each receive a crown at last. + +It was announced that, by advice of his physician, Father Boehm would +have to dispense with all congratulatory hand-shaking, a single +exception, however, being made in favor of the mother of President Grant. +The services were closed with the benediction, pronounced by Father Boehm. + + +EVENING RECEPTION. + +From eight o’clock till ten, on the evening of the same day, the parlors +of Father Boehm’s son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Emley, at +59 Wayne-street, Jersey City, were thronged with a goodly company of +friends, who came to spend the last hours of the day with the venerable +centenarian. + +Among others, there were present Rev. Dr. J. S. Porter of Burlington, +N. J.; Rev. Dr. D. W. Bartine and wife of Morristown; Rev. R. Vanhorne, +Presiding Elder of the Jersey City District, and wife; Rev. John +Atkinson, of the Trinity Church, and wife; Rev. J. L. G. M’Kown, of the +Hedding Church, and wife and daughter; Rev. A. J. Palmer, of the Waverly +Church, and wife; Mr. and Mrs. Dusenbury, Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Rouse, Mr. +and Mrs. Hopping, Prof. Martin, David Taylor, Esq., H. N. Ege, Esq., S. +Sterling, Esq., and Dr. Walter Haddon, Father Boehm’s physician. + +They were most delightful hours, those two, and they will live long in +the memory of the happy people present. + +The “hero” of the hour was happy as his guests, and received their +congratulations with thankfulness to God. His strength seemed remarkable, +for he had participated in the prolonged services of the morning, yet +seemed in no way weary till a late hour at night. After an hour’s +conversation presentations were the order, and many beautiful mementos +of the love of his friends were given to Father Boehm. The gift of his +son-in-law was a magnificent marble clock. Several superb bouquets and +baskets of flowers were presented to him by other friends. Dr. Porter, +in behalf of his daughter, handed him a huge cake, elegantly frosted, +and lettered “One Century,” saying that he (Dr. Porter) remembered that +Father Boehm used to be fond of cake and cream when he was a visitor +at his house many years ago. Then Dr. M’Kown, in a neat little speech, +presented him with a picture, the “Rock of Ages,” from loving friends. + +Perhaps the most unique souvenir of all was a chest of tea, containing +four choice kinds of that commodity, and bearing in printed letters the +inscription, “Father Boehm’s Centennial Tea,” which had been sent all +the way from China as a present by Rev. S. L. Baldwin. Rev. A. J. Palmer +read a letter from Brother Baldwin, which accompanied the tea, in which +the writer expressed his pleasure in having been united for years with +Father Boehm in conference relations, (both are members of the Newark +Conference,) his congratulations, and his gratitude to God for the long +and pure life with which the venerable Father had been blessed. This +token of love from the other side of the world was highly appreciated, +and a “drawing” of the tea was presented to each of the guests of the +hour. + +One year before that evening Dr. J. B. Wakeley had presented Father +Boehm with a picture of Bishop Asbury, since which time the giver, who +was a dear friend of the recipient, has “fallen asleep in Jesus.” So, +with great fitness, Rev. J. Atkinson presented Father Boehm with an +elegant portrait of Dr. Wakeley, which was received in silence, but with +appreciation. + +Thus with presents and congratulations the evening passed. When it was +ten o’clock Father Boehm rose, and in a clear, full voice, sang a little +German song which he had learned ninety-five years before from his German +teacher, a Hessian soldier, whom Washington captured at Trenton. Then, +last of all, when the hour of parting came, the venerable man of God +pronounced the benediction upon the company ere they separated. + +Thus ended the exercises, public and private, on the one hundredth +anniversary of the birthday of the Rev. Henry Boehm. + +The words oftenest upon his lips throughout the day were echoed by all, +“The Lord be praised!” + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +CENTENNIAL SERMON AND OTHER SERVICES IN JOHN-STREET CHURCH, NEW YORK. + + +On the morning of Sunday, June 27, 1875, Father Boehm preached his +centennial sermon in the Methodist Episcopal Church in John-street. It +was a notable event, and among the congregation memory and imagination +were both busy with the associations and thoughts suggested by it. When +he preached what was called his centennial sermon before the Newark +Conference, in the preceding April, he had not quite completed his one +hundred years; but now he was a genuine centenarian, and the interest +of the occasion was heightened by the place in which he preached his +real centennial sermon. His first visit to the old church, which stood +on the present site in John-street, was made in company with Bishop +Asbury on the 7th of May, 1809, of which he wrote: “What thoughts crowded +my mind as I entered this cradle of Methodism! What rich and hallowed +associations cluster around this original home of Methodism on this +continent!” + +But to those who were present at the services in question, as well as +to the venerable centenarian who revisited the place after so long a +period, the occasion was one of singular and peculiar interest. Here +was the oldest Methodist minister of the world preaching in the oldest +Methodist church—an event which may well be called unique, an incident +seldom seen, even once in a century. + +The church was crowded. Among the clergymen present were Bishop Janes; +Rev. N. G. Cheney, pastor of the church; Rev. Dr. Reid, Missionary +Secretary; Rev. Dr. De Puy, Rev. Dr. Holdich, Rev. Mr. Dikeman, and +Rev. Dr. Dean, of East Tennessee. After a voluntary on the organ the +congregation joined in singing + + “From all that dwell below the skies.” + +Dr. Holdich led in prayer. During the preliminary devotional services +Father Boehm, accompanied by some of his most intimate friends, entered +the church and took a seat in the pulpit beside Bishop Janes. Our +senior bishop looked to be in the bloom of youth beside the venerable +centenarian. The tender and affectionate manner in which the bishop +assisted him in the service suggested the most touching attention of son +to sire. After singing the hymn commencing, + + “When all thy mercies, O my God,” + +the whole congregation showed their respect for Father Boehm by rising +as he came forward to begin his sermon. Opening the Bible, he announced +his text, and in a clear voice spoke fluently as follows, amid the +profoundest silence:— + + +FATHER BOEHM’S SERMON. + + “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my + voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup + with him, and he with me.”—REV. iii, 20. + + We have set before us in this passage an astounding + condescension. The Great Being condescends to come and stand at + the door of our hearts and knock, and wait for an entrance. This + is indeed a wonderful condescension; for here it is set before us + that the blessed Jesus, who has all power in heaven and in earth, + condescends to come down to dependent, sinful beings, and wait at + the door for voluntary entrance. “I stand at the door and knock.” + + This refers, no doubt, to the impression made upon the mind, the + sensibilities aroused with fear and with hope. This sets before + us the working of the gracious influences upon the heart of man, + and they wait for a voluntary entrance. The Lord condescends + to knock, and this knocking implies a call—“If any man hear my + voice, and open the door.” Jesus will not break the door; he will + not enter by forcible means. There must be voluntary consent + on the part of the subject, who must invite the Holy Spirit to + come in with his gracious influence and divine power. “Behold, I + stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice”—that is, + attentively hear my voice—“if any man hear my voice, and open + the door, I will come in.” “I will turn out all that is contrary + to the divine influence. I will sup with him. I will, in its + gracious manifestations, enjoy the divine favor; and I will, as + it were, partake of the blessings that I have provided.” What + condescension! “I will sup with him as though he had prepared all + the feast.” Jesus provides all that is necessary, and then he + condescends to say, “I will sup with him, and he with me.” + + Glory to God in the highest for his manifestations, for his + goodness, for his mercy and long-suffering, extending unto + us! O, the goodness of God in sparing us, in giving us this + opportunity for another call, another gracious touch, another + divine influence! O, that our hearts may be opened, and may this + be a day long to be remembered, a day of mercy and power in the + salvation of many thousands of precious souls! Blessed be God for + his divine mercy and goodness! I rejoice that the enjoyment of + the favor of God, the love of God, is something that does not get + old. It is ever new, it is ever precious. It is as precious to my + soul this day as it was many years ago. In the days of my youth + the Lord manifested himself unto my soul and led me to see the + evil that I should shun, and his grace was sufficient to lead me + on; and, bless the Lord! now in advanced years it is the source + of comfort, the source of joy and hope to me. Yes! Look beyond + and what do we see? A bright and heavenly day, a glorious day, + awaits us beyond this vale of tears. + + May God in his infinite mercy add his blessing, and may his name + be glorified in the salvation of many precious souls! O what a + change has occurred since I was first at this place—not the same + church edifice, but a church was in this place—in 1809 with the + venerable Bishop Asbury, and many other brethren who have gone + home to their reward! Bless the Lord that he has still a people + here to serve him! O, may their numbers increase many fold, and + may thy name, O Lord, be glorified here in the salvation of + hundreds of precious souls! Amen. + +When Father Boehm had resumed his seat Bishop Janes added the following +remarks:— + + +BISHOP JANES’ ADDRESS. + + Elderly people usually appreciate aged men and aged things. They + usually see in them interest, and have for them veneration, and + perceive that there must be in them some strength, some power, + some excellence which sustains them. Younger persons are more + taken with new things, and those that perhaps have more of + show, more that excites present admiration. And this is not + unphilosophical. Our experiences would naturally lead to this + difference of feeling and of regard. + + No one, however, can contemplate the spectacle that we have + before us this morning without the conviction to which I have + referred—that there must be something in the constitution and + character and life of our dear father that has contributed to + his great longevity. The British fortress of Gibraltar has stood + through so many continental wars because of its great strength, + because it was impregnable to all the military powers and forces + that were known and employed in those wars. Those very ancient + cathedrals in the Old World that have stood for centuries, and + to-day look as if they were likely to stand for centuries more, + convince us that they were built with great care and with great + strength, or they could not have stood so long the exposure to + the elements and the influence of time. If you go to the mountain + side and look upon the oak that has stood there as long as our + father has lived, and that has battled all the storms of a + century and is still strong, and covered with foliage and beauty, + we know that there must have been perfect soundness in the tree, + and that there must have been great strength in its roots, or it + could not have thus lived, and grown, and still possessed such + beauty in its old age. If there had been the least defect in the + tree that defect would have been seen in its increasing decay + long before this. And if you go into an orchard and look upon + a tree that has given fruitage to two generations, and perhaps + is being covered with moss—some of its topmost boughs may be + leafless, and perhaps sapless—and you see it is still bearing + fruit in its old age, you know that tree was a sound one, and had + been cared for; and because of its perfectness, and because of + the care it has received, it has reached this great age, has been + so fruitful and has benefited so many, and given pleasure to such + multitudes. + + The same is true of this individual who has lived one hundred + years. He must have inherited a good constitution, and during + his youth he must have avoided all excesses, and during his + manhood also he must have been, in the language of Scripture, + “temperate in all things.” There can have been indulged no + consuming lust, no excessive indulgence. There can have been + indulged no appetite to excess, but all these bodily appetites, + and passions, and lusts, have been held in abeyance. He has kept + his body under. He has governed himself in all his physical + habits, and in all his physical enjoyments and exercises; + otherwise this “harp of a thousand strings” would not have been + kept in such perfect tune so long. More than this: his mind has + been under government, controlled by right principles and by + proper motives. + + There has been no consuming ambition, no burning desire for + wealth, that consumes the vitality both of body and soul. And + when the secrets of human life are understood we shall find + how many of those sudden deaths, and of those suicides, have + resulted in consequence of this terrible ambition to be rich. And + equally corroding, and consuming and destroying, is the desire + for honor. I do not refer now merely to that extended fame after + which the soldier and the statesman and the poet aspire. Those + little ambitions which exist here among us, in our families, + in our social circle—to excel one another in our condition and + surroundings in life, in the furniture of our houses, and the + style of our living—those petty ambitions in families are just as + corroding and destroying as are those grander ambitions to which + I have referred. And, in order to such a life as our father has + lived, and such an age as he has reached, and such an evening + as he enjoys, a good conscience is an absolute prerequisite. + There is not one of us here to-day who believes if he had had + a reproaching conscience, one that disturbed his hours during + the day, and prevented rest at night, that he would enjoy this + tranquil, serene, beautiful old age. One single cause of remorse + would destroy all this beauty and blessing that crowns his life. + + Now I make these remarks in order that we may learn wisdom from + his example, that the youth who are here may see the importance + of the strictest bodily habits—eating, drinking, sleeping, all + bodily exercises, and especially the avoiding of all bodily + excesses, and all unlawful lusts, and passions, and appetites. + Avoid them as you would death and hell, for they are the cause of + destruction both in this world and in the world to come. + + We also call your attention to that source of strength and power + which has so greatly influenced the character, and governed the + life, and made perfect the experience, of our venerable brother. + As he has told us, he was converted to God in his youth. He gave + his heart to the Saviour in his early manhood, and he has had + through all these years the peace of God, a tranquil soul. O + what a treasure! How rich a boon religion gives in this life! + How sweet the experience which grace imparts! In this governing, + controlling, harmonizing power of religion we have one of the + greatest means of bodily comfort as well as sources of spiritual + delight and joy. And having lived in all good conscience—for I + can say that of him; I have been with him by day and by night; + in the sanctuary, and on the camp ground, and in almost all the + varied circumstances in which itinerant ministers are placed; I + have been thrown intimately with him at times—and I am prepared + to say that he has lived in all good conscience until this day. + He has its sure reward, perfect peace, now. Would God that were + true of all! + + O that these young people would appreciate the great blessing of + a good conscience, that gives us serenity, tranquillity, joy, + peace, hope in all conditions, and in all periods of life! A good + conscience! O, as you would be blessed living and blessed dying, + I charge you in no case, under no temptations, allow yourselves + to do that which conscience condemns. Of all the terrors to be + avoided in this world or the world to come remorse is the most + terrible. And I beseech you be so watchful, so circumspect, so + guarded in all your ways, in all your doings, as to escape from + this terrible calamity. + + But if any one here to-day has this troubled conscience, let + me point him to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of + the world. There is forgiveness with God. The blood of Christ + cleanseth from all sin. Here bring your guilty conscience, here + bring your sinful heart. “Behold, I stand at the door, and + knock:” saith the Saviour: “if any man”—a guilty man, an unholy + person—will “open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup + with him, and he with me.” Fellowship shall be restored between + him and his God. + + And let us who feel that we are the disciples of the Saviour, + that we have the religion which has done so much for our + brother, and enabled him to do so much for his fellow-men—let + us who stand, take heed lest we fall. O, how many mighty have + been slain! What evidences have we of the frailty of men—even + Christian men—and how fitting and appropriate are the admonitions + of Christianity to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation; + and how much need have we to say daily to our heavenly Father, + “Lead us not into temptation.” Let not our providential + circumstances be such as to afford temptation; let not our + spiritual adversaries approach so as to be permitted to make + their foul suggestions that we fall from our steadfastness and + into sin, and bring reproach upon Jesus, and upon ourselves a + gloomy and miserable old age—even though we should be saved “as + if by fire.” Let us take the admonition, and though we cannot + live as long as our dear father, let us live as long as we can, + and let us live to good purpose. + + We might just as well be in our graves as above the ground, + provided we are not useful, and useful to others. _The one great + motive for earthly life is usefulness_; and I repeat, we might as + well be in the grave as above the ground if we are not living to + a purpose, if we are not glorifying God, honoring our Maker, and + doing good to our fellow-men. + + Now let us not only heed the very gracious language of the text + this morning, (and I am sure none of us will ever forget it, or + forget where we heard it preached from, or by whom, nor shall we + forget the simple, plain, and touching sermon that was delivered + to us from it,) but let us not only heed it and come to God for + personal and present fellowship and fruition, but let us take + the lesson which his example furnishes us of temperance and + carefulness in life, of devotion to God, of maintaining such a + spirit as secures us peace, that we may be enabled to do our + duty with joy, consolation, and success, and come down to the + evening of life with a sweet spirit, with a calm mind, with a + joyous heart, and with a hope full of immortality. May God give + us all his blessing, and whether we live shorter or longer upon + earth, grant that we may live for evermore in heaven, with all + the good and glorified through Jesus Christ. Amen. + +Dr. J. Morrison Reid, Missionary Secretary, had been requested to make +some remarks, but declined, thinking it better not to prolong the +services by delivering an address. + +Bishop Janes, after announcing that fact, made merely a passing allusion +to this happy meeting in sweet Christian fellowship of the oldest +Methodist Church Society with the oldest Methodist Pastor in America, +and, in conclusion, pronounced this benediction on the people and the +pastor: “May the presence of God always abide with this people. And +[turning to Father Boehm] may the presence of God always abide with +you, our dear father! Not only in life, but when you come down to the +valley of the shadow of death, may you have our God with you, his rod +and his staff comforting you; and when your eyes shall have closed upon +the scenes of earth, may you be translated to the beatitudes of heaven, +through Jesus Christ. And through Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy +Ghost, we will meet you there, and share with you that endless felicity +in the presence and beatitudes of God.” + +The seventeenth Hymn (“Before Jehovah’s awful throne”) was then sung by +the congregation, together with the doxology, and Father Boehm pronounced +the benediction. The congregation, by request, remained seated until the +venerable man of God had passed out of the church to return to his home +in Jersey City. + + +THE END. + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + +[1] This is an Indian name, and is so called from the Conestoga Creek, a +beautiful stream that empties into the Susquehanna. The Conestoga Indians +were once numerous and powerful. + +[2] Not Owen, as Lednum and Stevens say. See Minutes, and Quarterly +Review, article by Dr. Hamilton. + +[3] Life of Abbott, p. 100. + +[4] He was the elder who traveled through the district, as well as +stationed preacher. + +[5] See Life and Times of Jesse Lee, p. 366. + +[6] After the death of Harry Ennalls his excellent widow married Robert +Carmann at Pipe Creek, and in after years I put up with them when I +traveled with Bishop Asbury. + +[7] He joined the conference in 1789, and died in 1808. Bishop Asbury +loved him, and deeply lamented his death. + +[8] He was an old preacher; joined in 1788, and died in 1827. + +[9] Since this was written my old friends Joshua Wells and Henry Smith +have fallen asleep. + +[10] See Arminian Magazine for 1808, p. 373. + +[11] Ten years later the funeral sermon of Bishop Asbury was preached +from the same text by the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, in Philadelphia. + +[12] Lawrence Laurenson became one of the strong men of the Philadelphia +Conference, and all over the Peninsula his name is as “ointment poured +forth.” + +[13] _Leonard Castle_ was the Summerfield of the Baltimore Conference. He +was converted in a prayer-meeting at Pipe Creek. In after years I knew +his relations there and his brother in Tennessee. His race was short but +brilliant. He was only eighteen when he entered the ministry, and, after +traveling six years, he died of yellow fever in Baltimore on September +21, 1808. He had a splendid intellect and great oratorical powers. +His brethren in the Minutes speak of him “as a happy model of pulpit +simplicity, eloquence, and piety.” They also say, “This astonishing +genius is gone from the thousands of our Israel to the Paradise of God.” +He married the daughter of Rev. Ephraim Chambers. I saw her in all the +loneliness of early widowhood. She was the friend of Mrs. Gough, and I +used to meet her at Perry Hall. + +[14] Years ago various denominations built churches in this way, and +thought nothing of this religious gambling. They said the end sanctified +the means. The state legislature would grant them the privilege. + +[15] His name was not Peter, but Jacob. + +[16] He formerly lived in Baltimore. He was a tailor, and Rev. William +Thacher learned his trade of him. + +[17] I was with the bishop at Mrs. Willis’s at other times. When there in +1811 the bishop exclaimed, “Henry Willis! Ah, when shall I look upon thy +like again?” Behold how he loved him. + +[18] At the Cincinnati Conference of 1863 I saw the Rev. Aaron Wood of +Indiana Conference. He was converted a fortnight before the bishop and +I were at his father’s in 1808. We talked over the scenes of the past, +and he remembered our visit. He has been over forty years a traveling +preacher. The interview I had with him was most refreshing. I also had +the pleasure of seeing him at the General Conference in Philadelphia in +May, 1864. He offered the concluding prayer when that body separated. +He married for his first wife the daughter of the celebrated William +Beauchamp. + +[19] Barnett kept a public house. He was an early settler in the country. +He was quite a character. Famous as the first man in that part of the +country who owned a vehicle with four wheels. + +[20] Samuel Edney was a noble man, a genuine Methodist, given to +hospitality. He joined the conference in 1791, and located in 1794. The +bishop and he were great friends. He has a son, Dr. Edney, living in New +York, a member of the Seventeenth-street Methodist Episcopal Church. + +[21] Autobiography, p. 90. + +[22] The Fryes were originally from Winchester, and were of German +descent. + +[23] Stevens’s Memorials of Methodism, vol. ii, p. 443. + +[24] With great pleasure I call the attention of the reader to Dr. +George Peck’s excellent works “Wyoming” and “Early Methodism” for full +information concerning this far-famed valley. + +[25] Fifty-two years afterward, when in this part of Ohio, I met with +several Germans who heard me preach in their language in 1809. + +[26] He was a good preacher and a pleasant man. I traveled with him many +miles. He joined in 1804, and located in 1838. + +[27] Journal, vol. iii, p. 332. + +[28] The reader will find an account of that memorable conference in +Asbury’s Journal, vol. i, p. 244. + +[29] Rev. William Hamilton, in Sprague’s Annals, vol. iii, p. 332. + +[30] They were Allen-street and Greenwich Village, now Bedford-street. +Few churches have been more honored of God, or a greater blessing to man, +than these two, and they still enjoy great prosperity. + +[31] The old house still remains, with Washington’s table and chair which +he used at the time of the Revolution. + +[32] See Lee’s History of Methodism, p. 64. + +[33] Lednum’s Rise of Methodism in America, p. 210. + +[34] He has died since I made the record. + +[35] He proved a degenerate son of his worthy sire, being the William M. +Gwin who was senator from California, and afterward implicated with the +southern rebels, now seeking his fortune in Mexico. + +[36] The bishop, in his journal, fell into a little error in relating +this scene; but I have described it just as it occurred, and though over +half a century has passed since that morning we crossed Cape Fear River, +I recollect with minuteness all the circumstances as if they took place +yesterday. It was one of those occurrences not easily effaced from the +memory. + +[37] Paul and Hannah Hick of New York informed Dr. Bangs and others it +was Paul Hick’s mother in New York that stirred up Philip Embury to +preach the Gospel. No one denied it for many years. Tho controversy is a +singular one, to say the least of it. + +[38] This was found among the papers of Bishop Asbury by the transcriber +of his journals, Francis Hollingsworth, and published in the Methodist +Magazine of 1823. Dr. Bangs copied it in his history, vol. ii, p. 365. + +[39] Mr. Keaggy was an estimable man, and his house was one of the +bishop’s homes. He was a local preacher, and very useful. He was the +father of Dr. John Keaggy of Philadelphia, long and favorably known in +the literary world. + +[40] See “History of the United Brethren in Christ,” by Rev. H. G. +Spayth, published in 1851; also “History of the Church of the United +Brethren in Christ,” by John Lawrence, where the same is copied from Mr. +Spayth’s History. Concerning Mr. Spayth’s History, Mr. Lawrence says it +“is indispensable to a proper understanding of the rise of the United +Brethren in Christ; and the Church in all time to come will be indebted +to him for the most valuable contributions to her early history.”—Vol. i, +p. 6. + +[41] Bishop Asbury notices him at the New York Conference of 1813. He +says, “Bishop M’Kendree preached. It appeared as if a ray of divine +glory rested upon him. His subject was ‘Great peace have they that love +thy law, and nothing shall offend them.’ The appearance, manner, and +preaching of Bishop M’Kendree produced a very powerful, effect on Joshua +Marsden, a British missionary.” Mr. Marsden returned to Europe after the +war, did good service, and died in holy triumph. His end, as described by +his affectionate daughter who witnessed it, was very triumphant. + +[42] Henry Foxall was an Englishman, and was well acquainted with Bishop +Asbury’s mother. He was converted in Ireland while there on business, and +soon afterward came to this country. He had a foundry in Philadelphia, +on the banks of the Schuylkill, near where the Fairmount water works now +are, and another at Georgetown. I have been in both, and at the latter +saw them casting cannon for the government. I was present when his only +daughter was married by Bishop Asbury to a Mr. M’Kenne. I was well +acquainted with Mr. Foxall, and the bishop and he were like two brothers. +He gave the site for, and built, the new church called “The Foundry.” He +gave it that name for two reasons: first, in remembrance of Mr. Wesley’s +first chapel in London, which was so called; and second, because his +own business was that of a founder. He possessed great business talent +and acquired considerable wealth. He was distinguished for humility, +liberality, and hospitality. He died while on a visit to England in 1823, +at the age of sixty-eight. He left five thousand dollars to the Wesleyan +Missionary Society in England, and five thousand to the “Chartered Fund” +for the relief of worn-out preachers, of which he was one of the early +trustees. + +[43] There are many who supposed Mr. Asbury had made provision to give a +Bible to all the children that should be named after him; and therefore, +up to 1861, forty-five years after the bishop was in his grave, +applications were made to the Book Room for Bibles by parents whose +children were named Francis Asbury. + +[44] Thinking it would gratify some of my readers, I give the names of +some of the subscribers in this list: Bishop M’Kendree, his father, +James M’Kendree, and his sister; my mother, Eve Boehm, and my sister +Barbara, wife of Dr. Keaggy; Francis Hollingsworth, (the transcriber +of Asbury’s Journal,) and Mary his wife; Revs. W. Beauchamp, Samuel +Parker, (spiritual father of Rev. W. Winans,) H. B. Bascom, (then but +two years in the ministry and eighteen years old,) Jacob Young, James +B. Finley, and John Collins, (the spiritual father of Judge M’Lean;) +the Revs. James Quinn, John Sale, Thomas S. Hinde, (once well known as +“Theophilus Arminius,”) William Burke, (an eloquent preacher, and one of +the pioneers of Methodism in the West,) James Gwin, James Axley, (noted +for his eccentricities and excellences,) and their wives; Revs. Thomas +L. Douglass, (an intimate friend of M’Kendree, and who preached his +funeral sermon,) John M’Gee, (father of camp-meetings in this country,) +Jesse Walker, (pioneer of Methodism in Missouri,) and Peter Cartwright. +These were chiefly from the West. Of southern preachers there were James +Jenkins, Daniel Asbury, William Capers, James B. Glenn, S. Dunwoody, +Lewis Myers, Alexander Talley, W. M. Kennedy, Hilliard Judge, and Edward +Drumgoole, with seven of his family. Among the subscribers north and east +we find the names of Freeborn Garrettson, his wife and daughter; Revs. S. +Merwin, W. Phœbus, W. Ross, W. Jewett, W. Anson, Elijah Woolsey, Heman +Bangs, Arnold Schofield, Smith Arnold, Philip Munger, Asa Kent, George +Pickering, Solomon Sias, (first publisher of Zion’s Herald,) Daniel +Filmore, Martin Ruter, (who found a grave in Texas,) Joel Ketchum, and +Ebenezer Newell. Of the laity in this region we find the names of John +Armitage, John Baker, (in whose house the conference was held at Ashgrove +in 1803,) James Sterling and his wife, of Burlington, N. J.; John +Paradise, (the portrait painter,) W. B. Skidmore, J. B. Oakley, and Grace +Shotwell. The amounts subscribed would be thought very small nowadays. +Some gave a dollar, but most of them much less. Some of the distinguished +preachers I have named gave but twenty-five cents. It was as much as they +were able to give, so scanty were their means. + +[45] I traveled forty thousand miles with Bishop Asbury, and since I +entered the itinerancy I have traveled on horseback over one hundred +thousand miles, more than four times the circumference of the earth. + +[46] He was literally a man of prayer. He prayed much in secret, and +this accounts for his power in prayer in public. He was in the habit of +presenting each conference and the preachers by name before the Lord. + +[47] He had married two sisters of John Emory, Susan and Margaret. He +married the youngest first. They were very amiable. I was well acquainted +with them for years. John Emory married a sister of Mr. Sellers. She +was his first wife and the mother of Robert. Dr. Sellers removed to +Pittsburgh, and recently died there. He was a grandson of Henry Downs. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76653 *** |