DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 DURHAM, N. C. 
 
 Rec'd 
 
 I3 ; 1930 
 
f) 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 / 
 
 https://archive.org/details/lifelaborsofjohn01spre 
 
In his 52nd year. 
 
THE LIFE AND LABORS 
 
 If 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN SEYBERT, 
 
 FIRST BISHOP 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Evangelical Association 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. S. P. SjPRENG, 
 
 Author of "Rays of Light on the Highway to Success.' 
 
 They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the 
 firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness 
 as the stars forever and ever.— Dan. 12 : 3. 
 
 Published for the Evangelical Association by 
 Lauer & Mattill, Agents, 
 Cleveland, 0. 
 1888. 
 
 160155 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 To the Evangelical Association, whose first Bishop he was; 
 To the Bishops now living, the senior of whom is a spiritual 
 
 SON AS WELL AS A SUCCESSOR IN THIS HIGH OFFICE; 
 TO THE MINISTERS AND MEMBERS, FOR WHOSE EMULATION HIS 
 REMARKABLE EXAMPLE IS HERE PORTRAYED, AND 
 
 To the Church universal, of whose bright lights he was, 
 one of the brightest, this record of the life of 
 Bishop John Seybert is affection- 
 ately DEDICATED, BY 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 COPYRIGHTED, 1888, BY LAUER & MATTILL. 
 
 (2) 
 
c/l«l«o 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 •SCHOOL OF 
 
 The story of Bishop John Sej'bert's life is herewith presented 
 to the Church, in the fond hope that its perusal will serve to keep 
 alive in every Evangelical heart the love of the Church and 
 rekindle the spirit of self-sacrifice which characterized our fathers, 
 by means of which the foundations of the Evangelical Association 
 were laid, and without which our peculiar church-life can not be 
 perpetuated. Bishop Seybert was of all our fathers the typical 
 Evangelical preacher ; in every element peculiar to our ministry, 
 in simplicity of life, in singleness of purpose, in self-sacrificing 
 devotion to the vital truths of the Gospel, he was the example 
 and the pattern. His memory should be kept alive to the latest 
 generations, and especially should the English and modern portion 
 of our Church become well acquainted with the record of his life. 
 
 Nearly a generation has already passed away, since the grand old 
 man was taken from the earth, and yet until now, no record of his 
 remarkable life has ever been offered to the public in the English 
 language. For years there has been a growing desire among our 
 ministry and membership for such a work, but various obstacles 
 delayed its publication until the present moment. Not only do 
 the people desire it, but the exigencies of the times, and of the 
 future demand it. The present modest volume is a slight attempt 
 to meet this demand, as well as to pay a deserved though humble 
 tribute to the extraordinary character and career of the first 
 Bishop and first regular missionar}- of the Evangelical Association. 
 
 In the preparation of the book we have had access to the 
 Bishop's journals, which cover the entire period of his public minis- 
 try, from 1820-1860, and give a complete record of his daily deeds 
 
 160 1 5 5 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 and experiences. The perusal of that journal, written in his 
 beautiful hand-writing, was a privilege of unspeakable preeious- 
 ness. In that journal he gives a concise account of every day for 
 forty years; scarcely a day is omitted. At the close of each da} 7 he 
 could indeed say : 
 
 " One more day's work for Jesus, 
 
 How sweet the work has been, 
 
 To tell the story, 
 
 To show the glory, 
 
 Where Christ's flock enter in ! " 
 
 Another thing should be stated, that in all his private journal 
 entries there occurs not a single word of unkind criticism or a 
 disparaging, uncharitable remark, concerning any person, nor a 
 word which indicates the least vanity or self-esteem. There are 
 not many of whom this can be said. 
 
 The ^Life and Labors of Bishop Seybert " in the German language, 
 by the late Rev. Solomon Neitz, the eloquent preacher of the East 
 Pennsylvania conference, was also consulted, and the literature 
 of the Church in general was drawn upon, besides consulting 
 Bishop Sej^bert's still surviving contemporaries. 
 
 It is the prayer of the author that the book, despite its faults 
 and imperfections, may prove a great spiritual blessing to thou- 
 sands, and that it may aid in the advancement of the kingdom of 
 Christ, and in the spread of the Evangelical Association. 
 
 S. P. Spreng. 
 
LIFE AND LABORS 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN SEYBERT 
 
 (the first bishop of the evangelical association.) 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PARENTAGE, EARLY TRAINING, — CONVERSION. 
 
 During the War of American Independence, Henry 
 Seybert, then a lad of fifteen years, was brought to this 
 country among the German mercenaries employed by 
 George III. of England, in his war with the American 
 colonies. At the close of the war young Seybert 
 refused to be " redeemed" by the British government, 
 preferring to try his fortunes in the new Republic 
 which had achieved so brilliant a victory over one of 
 the foremost nations of the world, rather than to return 
 to Europe. The result was that the lad was thrown 
 into prison at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from which a 
 philanthrophic gentleman, named Schaffner, released 
 him, by the payment of one hundred dollars as a ran- 
 som price. He served his benefactor three years for 
 his liberty, working at his trade as a tailor. It was in 
 this way that the father of a future American bishop 
 earned his personal liberty, and attained to citizenship 
 in the United States. 
 
 1 1 
 
12 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 Soon after this he became acquainted with Miss 
 Susan Kreuzer, a poor, industrious orphan and a native 
 of the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, to whom he was 
 married Sept. 5, 1790, the marriage ceremony being 
 performed by the Rev. Henry Muehlenberg, a dis- 
 tinguished minister of the Lutheran Church. The 
 young bride had, at the age of four years, lost her 
 father in the deep Atlantic. The young couple were 
 thus emphatically thrown upon their own resources, 
 but German economy, industry and energy enabled 
 them soon to acquire a reasonable competency, so 
 that at the untimely death of Mr. Seybert, in 1806, 
 the family was in possession of a respectable property. 
 
 John Seybert, the subject of this biography, was 
 their first child, and was born July 7th, 1 79 1, at 
 Manheim, Pennsylvania. He was followed by three 
 brothers, Henry, Christian and David. Daughters 
 there were none. 
 
 When John was about thirteen years old, an im- 
 portant change occurred in the religious life of Henry 
 and Susan Seybert. The mother was the first to 
 realize the need of a change of heart. For though 
 both she and her husband were accepted communi- 
 cants in the German Lutheran Church, they became 
 conscious that all was not right in their hearts. The 
 Holy Spirit wrought powerfully upon their minds, and 
 they were thoroughly awakened from their previous 
 false security. They began to hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness. But since their unconverted spiritual 
 advisers of those times could give them no relief, they 
 began to look about for other means of grace. They 
 
Parentage, — Early Training, — Conversion. i$ 
 
 accordingly attended the meetings of a company of 
 pious, converted people, in the vicinity, and were 
 soon rejoicing in the saving power of Christ. They 
 now had prayer-meetings in their own house, which, 
 though it caused them sore persecution, served greatly 
 to strengthen them in the faith of the Gospel. This 
 also became the means of the first religious impres- 
 sions upon the mind of their eldest son John. He 
 heard the voice of the Spirit calling him, frequently 
 and earnestly, but youthful pleasures held for a while 
 complete control over him. He says of himself: "I 
 was a bad boy ; my life, from youth up was one of 
 wickedness, though my parents tried every possible 
 means to check and control me. Neither coaxing 
 nor scolding, neither kindness nor sternness availed. 
 They did not spare the rod, but I was incorrigible, I 
 loved sin." 
 
 Henry Seybert was a man of impetuous spirit, 
 whose temper sometimes overcame his judgment ; he 
 frequently became exceedingly angry, and at such 
 times did what he afterwards regretted with great 
 sorrow. He possessed the choleric temperament, 
 which sometimes led him to punish his children with 
 such severity as to rouse their anger, make them vin- 
 dictive, and increase their stubbornness. " My father," 
 says the Bishop, " would have succeeded much better, 
 had he understood the wholesome art of first moisten- 
 ing the rod with his own tears." Mrs. Seybert was 
 the opposite of her husband. She was a gentle spirit, 
 in whom the melancholic temperament predominated, 
 and of a serious, quiet, sedate disposition. She had 
 
14 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 great self-possession, and sought to rule her children 
 by the persuasive power of love, rather than with the 
 iron sceptre of physical force. Says the Bishop, 
 speaking of his mother : " She frequently prayed with 
 and for her little ones, but she had to wait a long 
 time before she was permitted to see any fruit of her 
 labor in me. My parents often remarked afterwards, 
 that I was worse than all other boys of the same age, 
 and worse than any of my own brothers. They 
 declared that wickedness manifested itself in me at 
 an unusually early age and increased in virulence 
 with added years. The weakening of the carnal 
 nature, in fact, is not to be thought of so long as sin 
 reigns within us, but it rather grows constantly by 
 means of the very wickedness which it produces." 
 
 When young Seybert was about seven years old, 
 he was sent to school where he soon learned to read 
 and write in both German and English. At the same 
 time he was sent to his parents' pastor for catechetical 
 instruction, with a view to the rite of " confirmation," 
 as it is called. "But," says he, "we candidates for 
 confirmation were a set of godless sinners, practicing 
 all manner of wickedness, in the intervals between 
 our lessons." At length, however, a circumstance 
 occurred which resulted in preventing him from being 
 confirmed. Mr. Seyberts father, namely, meanwhile 
 lost all confidence in the minister, because of his un- 
 christian conduct, and therefore objected to the con- 
 firmation of his son. It was well. Perhaps, if John 
 Seybert had been allowed to finish his catechetical 
 education, and to be "confirmed," in his unregenerate 
 
Parentage, — Early Training, — Conversion. 1 5 
 
 state of heart, he might have lived and died a deluded 
 man, having the form of godliness, but denying the 
 power thereof. Nothing can be more baneful than to 
 be declared a Christian by a mere ceremonial ordin- 
 ance of a lifeless church, when the subject has not 
 the consciousness of Divine pardon. This is a "strong 
 delusion." Mr. Seybert, we are entitled to believe, 
 escaped this delusion by Providential interference. 
 Otherwise he might never have been converted, and 
 as a result would, undoubtedly, have lived a common- 
 place life, if not a life of vastly pernicious influence. 
 It is hardly to be supposed, however, that such a man 
 could have lived without exerting a great influence, 
 either for good or evil. At the same time there is no 
 doubt that the quickening and renewing grace of God 
 lifted him out of comparative social obscurity, extended 
 the sphere of his life, enlarged his capacities, and 
 widened immeasurably the horizon of his actual in- 
 fluence. John Seybert, like Saul of Tarsus, had 
 naturally too much positive strength of character, and 
 too great natural endowments, not to have become a 
 leader among men. It was, therefore, specially for- 
 tunate that the grace of God rescued him. He him- 
 self expressed the following conviction: "Had I been 
 confirmed by the Church in my unregenerate state, 
 and admitted to the Holy Communion, perhaps I 
 should not have been converted for a long time as 
 yet. As it was, through the influence of my comrades 
 I fell deeper and deeper into sin, and the evil passions 
 grew in power in my soul, so that I felt a positive 
 hunger and a burning desire for the delights of sin. 
 
1 6 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 I practiced evil with alacrity, while I felt a strong 
 aversion to that which is holy and virtuous. I was 
 now thirteen years of age, and desperately wicked." 
 
 He began to recognize the awakening influence of 
 the Holy Spirit in his fourteenth year, as the result of 
 the conversion of his parents and the consequent 
 change of life which this effected in them. Mr. Sey- 
 bert gives the following account of this experience. 
 "It frequently occurred to me that I also ought to 
 lead a better life and to follow the pious example of 
 my parents. But alas ! this was all that came of it. 
 The devil led me to believe that it was much too 
 soon for me to be converted, and thus taught me the 
 dangerous habit of procrastination. True, I promised 
 myself to seek religion sometime, and so went on in 
 the road that is truthfully said to be ' paved with good 
 intentions.' Oh, procrastination is the weapon which 
 the ' strong man armed' employs to guard the palace 
 of the human heart against the 'Stronger' lest he be 
 robbed of his armor and the spoil be taken from him. 
 
 (t Nevertheless my poor heart was melted more 
 than once, and that at times in public places. The 
 influence of the Spirit of God became occasionally 
 irrisistible. I remember especially a certain 'big meet- 
 ing' where the preaching affected me so powerfully, 
 that, on the way home, I lingered behind our company, 
 so that I might weep over my miserable and sinful 
 condition, unseen by mortals, and that I might have 
 opportunity to meditate, undisturbed, on the patience 
 and longsufTering of God, in bearing with me so long. 
 On another occasion at a meeting of the United 
 
Parentage, — Early 1 raining, — Conversion, 17 
 
 Brethren, I was so mightily wrought upon, that I 
 wept loudly enough to be heard, and friends came to 
 me, urging me to enter into the conflict for my soul's 
 salvation, immediately. And I did pray, and entreat 
 God to give me peace. But my will would not yield 
 fully. However, I became willing, upon this, to at- 
 tend public services and prayer-meetings. I also felt 
 at this time a strong inclination towards those things 
 which are pure and of good report. Virtue and sin 
 had begun a struggle upon the battle field of my soul. 
 It was a desperate conflict. Whenever I attended 
 the meetings of God's people, my good resolutions 
 were greatly strengthened, my convictions deepened, 
 and like Peter I wept bitterly on such occasions. At 
 other times I was overcome by the power of evil, 
 which still maintained dominion in me, for I was not 
 yet born again. I was not made free by the Son of 
 God. After these seasons of sinful abandonment I 
 suffered terrible compunctions of conscience, for I 
 knew better than I acted." Such was the religious 
 experience and inner life of John Seybert, when a lad 
 of but fourteen years. 
 
 Two of his brothers died in infancy. He says 
 beautifully concerning this: "The Lord took these 
 children out of the polluting companionship of sinful 
 men, into the fellowship of the redeemed in heaven, 
 because he loved them." 
 
 When he was not yet fifteen years of age, the Lord 
 also called away his father, in March 1806, at the 
 early age of forty-five. The death of Henry Seybert 
 was the occasion of important events. Within one 
 2 
 
1 8 Life and Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 year of her husband's demise, the widow, who was 
 now the only support of the two remaining sons, John 
 and David — the eldest and the youngest — fell into 
 bad hands, which doubtless would not have been 
 possible, had Mr. Seybert remained living. The 
 representations of that religious enthusiast, George- 
 Rapp, would have made but little impression upon 
 Henry Seybert's firm and settled character, whereas 
 the gentle nature of his wife, softened still more by 
 her recent severe bereavement, was very easily im- 
 pressed by Rapp's deceptive Pietism. — But to be 
 explicit. 
 
 A society had come from Germany to this country, 
 who professed to be Divinely commissioned, and 
 specially and specifically sent to this western Republic, 
 to establish here the Millennium. Their founder and 
 leader was George Rapp. He had selected a stretch 
 of land about twenty-five miles north-west of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., for his home. Here he built a village 
 and established his society. The village and the 
 society were named " Harmony." One of the families 
 of this society obtained a home in Mrs. Seybert's 
 house, through her kind-heartedness and hospitality. 
 This occasioned frequent visits from other members 
 of the society. No sooner, however, had these chili- 
 asts — for such they were — become acquainted with 
 the Seyberts, than they began to display a strong 
 disposition to secure them as new adherents to their 
 scheme. They succeeded in misleading Mrs. Seybert, 
 so that she became confused in her religious concep- 
 tions. The Harmonists represented that they alone 
 
Parentage, — Early Training, — Conversion. 19 
 
 in all the wide world of Christendom, were on the 
 right way, and claimed to be the special favorites of 
 God. They proclaimed that God would now speedily 
 gather all His scattered sheep together into their 
 particular society, and the village of Harmony was 
 destined to become the new Jerusalem. They urged 
 immediate and literal separation from all worldly 
 society and occupations, and union with themselves ; 
 just as Lot left Sodom and as the disciples had fled 
 to the mountains at the destruction of Jerusalem. In 
 the society of the Harmonists alone, was there abso- 
 lute security, etc. 
 
 By these, and similar representations, these people 
 finally persuaded the mother to forsake her already 
 fatherless children. About thirteen months after her 
 husband's death, she left her two boys, — the youngest 
 but eight years of age — left everything the family 
 had, regardless of the dying instructions of her 
 husband, in his last will and testament, according to 
 which she was to have remained upon the family 
 estate until the eldest son, John, should reach his 
 majority, — and followed these people into their 
 settlement west of Pittsburgh. Nothing could pre- 
 vent her from taking this step. She disregarded 
 all the entreaties of relatives, and the advice of 
 friends, steeled her heart against the helpless orphan- 
 age of her boys, and went to Harmony. Such is 
 the power of fanaticism, and such the unnatural in- 
 fluence and tendency of erroneous religious teaching. 
 When men wrest the Scriptures, they do it to their 
 own hurt ; when they supersede God's word, by the 
 
20 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 teachings of conceited human wisdom, they ruin 
 themselves and all who follow them. False doctrine 
 has always been inimical to the best interests of 
 humanity ; truth alone always works well, and is 
 followed by humane and elevating tendencies. 
 
 Some account of the life of George Rapp and his 
 colony may be in place here. George Rapp was a 
 native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born in 1770, who, 
 already in early life, believed himself to be favored 
 with revelations from God. These pretences grad- 
 ually developed into the conviction that he was called 
 to restore the Christian religion to purity. In the 
 course of time he withdrew himself from civil and also 
 ecclesiastical obligations, and labored to construct a 
 civil and ecclesiastical organization of his own with a 
 community of possessions, pretendedly modeled after 
 the apostolic church. Being prevented by the civil 
 government from carrying out his scheme, he emi- 
 grated to the United States in 1803, with his followers, 
 and at the close of 1804 founded a colony, called 
 Harmony, as stated above. Its members were sup- 
 posed to live in perfect harmony, and complete equal- 
 ity of possessions, rights and duties was to prevail. 
 Later, Rapp sold this colony, and emigrated to Indi- 
 ana. Among these Harmonists, about 1809, at a 
 time of high religious excitement, the principle and 
 practice of continence or marital abstinence was in- 
 troduced. In Indiana they settled in the valley of the 
 Wabash, in Posey Co., but suffered so terribly from 
 the malarial fevers which were prevalent in that 
 country, which was at that time the far west and un- 
 
Parentage, — Early Training, — Conversion. 21 
 
 cultivated, that they turned their steps eastward again. 
 At that time, it is believed, that the organization 
 already possessed property worth half a million 
 dollars. Rapp returned with the faithful to a point 
 within eighteen miles of Pittsburgh, on the right 
 side of the Ohio river, in Beaver county, where the 
 colony of "Economy" was founded, which soon be- 
 came the head-quarters for the Harmonists, and 
 which exists to the present day, as a wealthy 
 community. They cultivated the soil, constructed 
 respectable buildings along an avenue of green trees, 
 and caused the desert to blossom abundantly. 
 
 Mr. Rapp acted as leader, high-priest and preacher, 
 and, demanding implicit faith in his teachings, he 
 exacted unconditional obedience to his legislation. 
 He controlled all the common property of the colony 
 in the corporate name, and regulated and prescribed 
 all their social customs as well as their religious rites, 
 and even made marriage contracts dependent upon 
 his consent. He exacted a novitiate of four weeks' 
 duration, and the transfer of all property of all can- 
 didates for membership in the community. 
 
 The Harmonists suffered, however, a considerable 
 loss in 183 1, through an impostor named Bernhard 
 Miller, alias Proli, who, under the pretence of being 
 of princely ancestry, introduced himself as Count 
 Maximilian of Leon. He settled in Pittsburgh, an- 
 nounced himself as the Lord's anointed, and claimed 
 to be called to judge the world and to inaugurate the 
 Millennium by the organization of the society of the 
 New Jerusalem. The " Count " joined himself to 
 
22 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Rapp and his society, in the capacity of a prophet. 
 Rapp guaranteed to him and his younger associates 
 the privilege of matrimony, and true community of 
 goods. The Count, however, soon withdrew from the 
 colony with three hundred adherents, and compelled 
 Rapp to pay over to him the respectable sum of 
 I $105,000.00 as his share of the common property. 
 This sum he squandered like a prodigal, eventually 
 cheated his followers, separated himself from them 
 and settled in Arkansas. He at last perished miser- 
 ably. Rapp, whose colony is practically a Protestant 
 conventicle that has not increased in members, died 
 in 1847. A Mr. Baker became his successor. 
 
 These were the people who so sadly interfered 
 with the family life of the Seyberts, by deceiving the 
 widowed mother. Notwithstanding the conduct of 
 his mother towards himself and his brother, Mr. Sey- 
 bert never in his life allowed himself to think of or 
 treat her otherwise than kindly and respectfully. His 
 journal shows that he never failed to visit her to the 
 end of life, whenever possible, and always enjoyed it. 
 He believed that she was sincere, though strangely 
 misguided. She really believed that to be the way 
 to save her soul, and she was specially deceived by 
 the semblance of asceticism which was involved in 
 the doctrine and organization of the Harmonists. 
 
 The Bishop's remaining brother David, however, 
 was very differently affected. The affair created in 
 him a life-long, bitter and inextinguishable hatred 
 towards his mother. He never wanted to hear any- 
 thing about her after that. His youthful heart received 
 
Parentage, — Early Training, — Conversion, 23 
 
 too severe a shock ever to recover from it. John, on 
 the other hand, continued to the end of life to respect 
 and love her, especially after his conversion in his 
 twentieth year. He frequently visited her at the 
 colony, during his ministerial career, and invariably 
 spoke affectionately of her. She died, only about a 
 year before he himself passed away, at the ripe age 
 of ninety-two years, and after her death he frequently 
 alluded to her in his sermons, stating that he expected 
 to meet her in heaven. 
 
 John Seybert exhibited great firmness and an ad- 
 mirable adherence to his religious convictions. After 
 his mother had forsaken him, he proceeded forthwith 
 to take the place of a parent to his yet tender 
 brother David, and labored hard with his hands to 
 sustain himself and his brother on the paternal estate. 
 He was industrious, and avoided extravagance and 
 loaferism. Though not yet converted, he firmly be- 
 lieved in God and in the Bible, and though at times 
 he was led into sinful indulgences by evil companions, 
 yet he maintained his integrity of character. This 
 trait also manifested itself quite positively in his sub- 
 sequent bearing towards the Harmonists. His mother 
 with her associates tried every possible means to in- 
 duce him to join them. At the early age of sixteen 
 and seventeen he firmly withstood all their efforts to 
 entangle him in their delusion. Neither entreaties, 
 threats, nor blandishments availed. His mother wrote 
 letter after letter ; her efforts were reinforced by the 
 ablest apostles of the society, but all to no purpose. 
 As long as she followed the directions of his father's 
 
24 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 testament, he treated her wishes like the edicts of a 
 king, but after her abandonment, he did what he 
 believed to be right, while listening patiently and 
 respectfully to all she had to say. And all her efforts 
 were necessarily directed to him, since his brothers 
 heart was closed against her forever. When bland- 
 ishments and flatteries failed, the Harmonists began 
 to hurl anathemas. They declared that all outside of 
 their community would be the victims of unspeakable 
 calamities and awful destruction. But John replied 
 with manly firmness, and emphatically refused to have 
 anything whatever to do with them. As a last resort, 
 they sent special emissaries to him, who tried to 
 picture the peculiar delights and beauties of their 
 conventicle, in glowing colors, in the hope of enticing 
 him. They evidently judged, and rightly too, that 
 John Seybert would make a valuable addition to their 
 number. But, though he was himself a decidedly ec- 
 centric personality, yet he never took any stock in the 
 eccentricity of monkdom. Its seclusion accorded ill 
 with his practical view of life and of the Christian 
 religion. 
 
 These occurrences, and sad changes in the family 
 life, had the effect to dampen Mr. Seybert's religious 
 zeal, and temporarily obliterated the pungent convic- 
 tions he had previously experienced. His advance- 
 ment towards the kingdom of grace was severely 
 checked, and for the space of three years his religious 
 life was indeed "A barren waste, and howling wilder- 
 ness." 
 
 He might have adopted the language of Carlyle 
 
Parentage, — Early Training, — Conversion. 25 
 
 during this period: "A nameless unrest urged me 
 forward. Whither should I go ? My loadstars were 
 blotted out ; in that canopy of grim fire shone no star. 
 Yet forward I must ; the ground burnt under me ; 
 there was no rest for the sole of my foot. I was alone, 
 alone ! A feeling I had that, for my fever-thirst, there 
 was and must be somewhere a healing fountain." He 
 ceased to attend the meetings of the people of God, 
 and came near yielding to the boisterous public voice 
 that "these praying people" — meaning the Evan- 
 gelicals, principally, — are the false prophets and 
 deceivers, of whom the Scriptures gave warning. At 
 length, however, in his nineteenth year, he agreed 
 with an associate to go on a certain occasion, to hear 
 one of these reputed "deceivers" preach. The service 
 was to be held in a private house. When they arrived 
 at the house, his companion hesitated, but Seybert led 
 the way and the other followed. It so happened that 
 young Seybert sat upon the end of a bench which 
 extended to the table behind which the preacher sat. 
 As people kept coming in he was crowded nearer and 
 nearer to the preacher, until at last he could get no 
 nearer. The preacher was Rev. Matthias Betz, a 
 mighty preacher, who was at that time serving Lan- 
 caster circuit with Rev. John Dreisbach, of precious 
 memory. The Bishop frequently declared that Betz 
 gave him "the finishing stroke" that night. While 
 young Seybert sat there waiting for the service to 
 begin, he keenly observed everything about him in 
 the room. During Bro. Betz's opening prayer the 
 Spirit of God got an overpowering hold upon his 
 
26 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 heart. He afterwards related, that during this prayer 
 he shuddered convulsively and that new and strange 
 feelings possessed his soul. This experience during 
 prayer, well nigh cured him of the suspicion that the 
 preachers of the Evangelical Association were false 
 prophets. Here is his own account of what followed: 
 " After prayer the preacher rose, stood behind the 
 table, read a text of Scripture, and began to preach. 
 Before he was half-way through, I was thoroughly 
 convinced that he was a true servant of Jesus Christ. 
 I was also convinced that I was no Christian, but a 
 sinner who richly deserved the wrath of God. Then 
 and there I received a wound from the sword of the 
 Spirit, and a stroke from the hammer of the Word, 
 from which I never recovered, and the effects of 
 which will continue with me through all eternity. 
 Praise the Lord for it H 
 
 That sermon and that prayer broke the long slum- 
 ber of his conscience, and John Seybert was no longer 
 able to delay seeking Christ. His associate was 
 similarly affected, and both went home buried so 
 deeply in thought, that scarcely any conversation 
 passed between them. It was the beginning of a new 
 life for Seybert. The next morning he rose early, in 
 a contrite frame of mind, and about six o'clock formed 
 the resolution to consecrate himself from that hour 
 wholly to the Lord, soul and body, and with all that 
 he had for time and for eternity. He had coolly 
 counted the cost, and deliberately determined upon 
 this course, regardless of consequences. With stream- 
 ing eyes he prayed the prayer of the Publican, as he 
 
Parentage, — Early Training, — Conversion. 27 
 
 rose from his knees : " God be merciful to me a 
 sinner"! Then he repeated stanzas of hymns which 
 expressed the burning desire of his heart to be free 
 from sin. He continued his struggle of soul all that 
 day, by repeating some of the penitential Psalms, until 
 his tear-stained eyes were too dim to read. His asso- 
 ciate pursued for a while the same course, but grew 
 weary and gave up the struggle. Seybert went on. 
 He soon became more courageous, and willing to take 
 up the cross; he attended public services, eager to hear 
 the hated " preachers of repentance," sought the Lord 
 publicly as well as privately, separated himself from 
 the world, and devoted himself with energy to the 
 salvation of his soul. Withal he had to suffer perse- 
 cution. In those days, whoever espoused the cause 
 of Christ had to expect that, and no one became a 
 member of the Evangelical Association for the fashion 
 of it. Such a step was anything but fashionable. 
 John Seybert, however, was too sin-sick to care for 
 persecution ; besides, he had taken it into the reckon- 
 ing beforehand, for he knew what the step he took 
 involved. Accordingly he sought consolation and 
 counsel among the "praying people." He sought to 
 grasp the idea of faith in the sufficient merit of Jesus, 
 and continued to wrestle day and night in prayer and 
 entreaty, in strong crying and tears, with unabated 
 earnestness, until, in his own favorite phrase, he was 
 "converted deep into eternal life" (tief ins ewige Le- 
 ben hinein bekehrt). He knew the time and place of 
 his conversion very definitely. It was June 21, 1810, 
 when the awful struggle finally ended in victory, and 
 
28 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 rest came to his tried and weary soul, after two -ong 
 months of incessant striving to enter in at the strait 
 gate. In harmony with the man himself and every- 
 thing connected with his person, this important occur- 
 rence was also somewhat singular. He awoke early 
 on the twenty-first of June, feeling unusually depressed 
 and sad. The burden of his sin became at length 
 unbearable. Everything about him had assumed a 
 sombre aspect, himself the centre of sadness, and in 
 his own estimation the most miserable being on earth. 
 As he walked out of the house that morning, he again 
 and again groaned his oft repeated prayer: "God be 
 merciful to me, a sinner, for Jesus' sake !" Meanwhile 
 he had reached the well, the trough of which the 
 members of the family were accustomed to use for 
 the purpose of washing themselves. He stooped to 
 bathe his tear-stained face in the clear water, when 
 instantly he became conscious that the load of guilt 
 had been rolled from his soul, and that the blood of 
 Jesus was applied to his heart. He realized at that 
 moment that he was washed with the washing of 
 regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
 The fashion of his countenance was altered, and 
 prayer was changed to praise. Old things had passed 
 away, and behold, all things had become new. He 
 had received "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
 mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of 
 heaviness." He was "a new creature in Christ Jesus." 
 Thenceforth John Seybert was a Christian. Thence- 
 forward he served the Lord with almost unexampled 
 ardour to the end of his days, a blessing to his day 
 
Parent age, —Early Training, — Conversion. 29 
 
 and generation. He was a burning and a shining 
 light. He became a great winner of souls, and turned 
 many to righteousness. To many a seeker of religion 
 he afterwards gratefully related how the Lord had 
 saved him while washing his natural face in a trough 
 by the well. "There by that well," he exclaimed, 
 "the Lord converted me deep into eternal life ; there 
 he blessed me for the first time, and I will not forget 
 it to all eternity. My heavy load was suddenly gone, 
 my sorrowful spirit was made instantly happy, and I 
 was full of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah !" 
 
 Such a conversion is the greatest possible event in 
 a man's life, and such it proved to be in John Seybert's 
 case. The whole course of his life was changed by it. 
 
3° 
 
 Life and Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HIS CALL THE MINISTRY, AND THE BEGINNING 
 OF HIS WORK. 
 
 Immediately upon his conversion, Mr. Seybert 
 united with the Evangelical Association. For a while 
 he continued at his trade as a cooper. The society 
 to which he belonged, however, soon urged his ap- 
 pointment as exhorter, and in accordance with their 
 wishes Rev. J. Dreisbach, the first Presiding Elder of 
 the Evangelical Association, licensed him as such. 
 This was his first office in the church, the functions 
 of which he discharged with great zeal and exemplary 
 faithfulness. Soon afterwards he was elected class- 
 leader. He keenly felt his unworthiness and unfit- 
 ness, as he expressed it, for such public service in the 
 church ; but, yielding to the importunity of the 
 preachers, he accepted the position, serving in this 
 capacity for a while in two classes, one in Manheim 
 and the other in Mt. Joy, seven or eight miles distant. 
 The Lord blessed him and his classes greatly ; their 
 prayer-meetings were seasons of great spiritual power 
 and rejoicing, and sinners were convicted and con- 
 verted in them. 
 
 With his accustomed modesty he speaks of his call 
 to the ministry in his Journal: " For sometime I had 
 felt a deep inward constraint to preach the Gospel, 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 3* 
 
 but on account of my sense of unfitness, I was very 
 careful not to mention it to anyone, and went on 
 quietly in the discharge of my duties as class-leader, 
 when, without any solicitation on my part, the breth- 
 ren received me into the ministry as a local proba- 
 tioner. This was in 18 19, and I made my first at- 
 tempt to preach with 1 John 3:8, 9, for a text." 
 
 Bishop Seybert's call to the ministry was never 
 doubted by the people of God, nor by the devoted 
 servants of Jesus Christ. Ke was himself the only 
 one who ever was troubled with any misgivings on 
 that subject. It soon became clear to all that he was 
 indeed called of God, for his ministrations had a 
 powerful effect upon his hearers, and produced pro- 
 found impressions, often setting everything in com- 
 motion. It was no uncommon thing for sinners to 
 break down in bitter tears of penitence, under the 
 fervent appeals of the youthful class-leader, while the 
 saints were greatly edified and quickened by his 
 stirring exhortations. He was evidently endued with 
 the Holy Ghost. Of course, his sermons at the first 
 were not in themselves remarkably excellent ; indeed 
 sometimes they were rather inferior productions. He 
 was no intellectual prodigy. But it was clear that he 
 was deeply in earnest, had the salvation of souls at 
 heart, and was a chosen vessel of God's mercy. Be- 
 sides, he was assiduous in the study of the Scriptures, 
 instant in prayer, active in pastoral visitation, and 
 constantly devising means and methods to rescue the 
 perishing. His great self-denial, his modest bearing, 
 his affable manners, his philanthropic disposition, and 
 
3 2 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 withal his eminently Christian walk and conversation, 
 secured for him, without his seeking it, the universal 
 confidence and respect of mankind. 
 
 In respect of his special equipment for the work of 
 the Gospel ministry, it was from above. He had at 
 the outset but limited literary attainments, owing to 
 the general want of educational facilities within his 
 reach at that time. Schools and colleges were as 
 yet comparatively scarce, and those that did exist 
 were little adapted to fit a man for the work of a 
 preacher in the Evangelical Association. His spiritual 
 equipment was, from the beginning, excellent. He 
 had but one purpose in preaching, and that was to 
 save sinners. In this purpose he was so earnest that 
 he frequently forgot his text, while being led out to 
 plead with sinners to be reconciled to God. His 
 commission was Divine, and he cared more to please 
 his Master than to achieve a finished literary style, in 
 order to gain the applause of men. But he improved 
 rapidly. From the beginning he took great pains to 
 educate himself, and certainly attained a very high 
 degree of literary knowledge. It must not be sup- 
 posed that Bishop Seybert undervalued education. 
 On the contrary, he was a widely read, versatile and 
 a highly self-educated man. 
 
 The Spirit of wisdom and of grace was upon him. 
 In a few years he attained eloquence of speech, and 
 soon became renowned as a man mighty in the 
 Scriptures. He could have adopted Isaiah's words : 
 "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the 
 learned, that I should know how to speak a word in 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 33 
 
 season to him that is weary." He has seldom been 
 excelled in the facility with which he learned to ex- 
 plain and defend the great doctrines of salvation. In 
 a short time he had acquired the reputation of being 
 deeply learned in divinity. However, he sought 
 more to speak in the demonstration of the Spirit and 
 of power, than in the wisdom of men. As a result, 
 opponents were never able to withstand him. Their 
 classical learning availed them nothing. Already in 
 his first years he vanquished hardened and embittered 
 opposers, so that they fled tremblingly and confused, 
 or fell smitten down by the power of God. God him- 
 self had equipped him by nature, as well as by graces 
 and gifts of the Spirit. To this he added stores of 
 knowledge and strength of intellect by close applica- 
 tion to the study of all the sources of information to 
 which he could obtain access, especially the Holy 
 Bible. 
 
 At the age of twenty-nine years, ten years after 
 his conversion, John Seybert started out as an Evan- 
 gelical itinerant. From that day to the end of his 
 life, he was prominently and actively identified with 
 the conflicts and triumphs, the labors and successes, 
 the sufferings and joys of the church in whose service 
 he was engaged. He saw the Evangelical Associa- 
 tion enjoy a period of wonderful growth in his life- 
 time, and himself performed no small part of the work 
 which led to that success. When he first joined the 
 Evangelical Association, it had about four hundred 
 members, seven itinerant preachers, and ten local 
 preachers ; when he entered the ministry, the church 
 
34 Life and Labors of fohn Seybert. 
 
 had not quite two thousand members, twenty itinerant 
 and forty local preachers ; when he died, it had forty 
 thousand members, and five hundred and eighty-eight 
 itinerant and local preachers. 
 
 Concerning the important step of entering the min- 
 istry, he writes in his Journal as follows: 
 
 ; 'I started out as an itinerant, September 12, 1820, 
 and at first served in stead of Rev. John Klinefelter, 
 who was sick at that time. The second day I felt 
 greatly encouraged, and fully determined, if it be 
 God's will, to labor in His vineyard with my Evan- 
 gelical brethren. I should have gone sooner, had I 
 been certain that the Lord wanted me to go. How- 
 ever, I had no rest at my cooperage, and concluded 
 that the only way to get into the clear, concerning 
 this matter, was to make an effort. If the Lord blesses 
 my labor with the awakening and conversion of sin- 
 ners, and the edification and encouragement of saints, 
 I determined I would serve Him in this way with all 
 my ability, wherever I might have to go, whatever 
 crosses I might have to bear, and however long the 
 task might last. 
 
 " With this sentiment I set out for my first appoint- 
 ment. I had laid aside my worldly affairs, was sound 
 in mind and body, and had but one desire, and that 
 was, to do whatever God required of me. The third 
 night after leaving home, I had a remarkable dream. 
 I thought I was in my brother's meadow at Lancaster, 
 Pa., and saw springs of water flowing from the south, 
 and turning their streams toward the east. I then 
 went under an overhanging rock that is in this mead- 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 35 
 
 ow, and saw other springs of water, one of which was 
 much stronger than the rest, and had exceedingly 
 sparkling water — indeed it seemed to be literally 
 'living water'! — I felt greatly strengthened by this 
 dream, but had a terrible conflict with the devil next 
 day. A few evenings later I dreamed I was preach- 
 ing, and that a sinner was converted under the sermon." 
 
 Though he gives no explanation of these dreams, 
 he evidently regarded them as omens of goud. He 
 afterwards became quite an adept in interpreting his 
 dreams, and certainly experienced some remarkable 
 realizations of his premonitions. 
 
 About a week after this, Bro. Seybert had a re- 
 markable time. At this time he felt with peculiar 
 weight his unfitness for the work, and endured a 
 severe temptation. That evening, notwithstanding 
 his miserable state of mind, he was to preach. 
 The congregation gathered, and he took Rom. 2: 4, 5, 
 for his text, and began to speak. Then he realized 
 the truth of the saying: "My strength is made perfect 
 in weakness." God blessed him so that he was able 
 to preach with great unction and much feeling. A 
 sick woman in the house, during the closing prayer 
 began to cry out in terror, "Lost! lost! lost!" and 
 entreated the company to pray for her. Her very 
 weakness lent pathos to her touching appeal, and 
 every one in the congregation fell to weeping. She 
 was soon converted, and after that lived for God. 
 
 From the time of his entrance upon the public ser- 
 vice of the church, he kept a journal, in which his per- 
 sonal experiences are related in very simple language. 
 
36 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 His style of composition was a copy of himself — sim- 
 ple, direct, inornate and quaint. We only regret that 
 extracts from the journal must necessarily lose much 
 of their original flavor and idiom in the translation. 
 In the original it fairly "holds the mirror up to nature." 
 This journal is the principal source of information in 
 many particulars, and we shall follow its guidance. 
 
 On the way to an appointment at Bro. Lehn's, he 
 was obliged to stop in the city of Lancaster, to dis- 
 pose of some temporal business matters which, he 
 complains, caused him much distraction of mind. 
 That evening his text was Eph. 5: 14. He remarks: 
 "I felt wonderfully weak and empty. Still the meet- 
 ing was not quite without blessing, for two brethren 
 exhorted afterwards." 
 
 Next day he set out for Manheim, his native place, 
 where he preached at sister Krahl's. He says, many 
 people ran together, some of whom "behaved very 
 badly, yea worse than brutish — devilish. Preaching 
 was very difficult under such circumstances. Every- 
 thing was fearfully dark and locked up. Fortun- 
 ately there was present a talented young preacher, 
 a stranger, who followed with a powerful exhortation, 
 so that Israel got the victory anyway." 
 
 From here he went to Bro. Breidenstein's, where 
 he met the brethren Zimmerman and Peters. The 
 former preached, the latter exhorted, and Seybert 
 closed the meeting. The meeting was blessed. Then 
 he remarks : " Saturday, 30th, my meeting was at Bro. 
 Eby's. Here God had mercy on me once more and 
 blessed me. Praise the Lord!" 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 37 
 
 October ist, he preached at J. Walter's, from St. 
 John, i ! ii, 12. At this place there were many people, 
 and preaching "went hard". But the Lord refreshed 
 the people from another source. 
 
 Monday he preached from Rev. 3: 20, to eight at- 
 tentive auditors, one of whom fell into great distress 
 of soul. She was so wrought upon by the Holy 
 Spirit, that she wept aloud, and began to pray. This 
 gave Seybert courage to go on in the work. 
 
 On Tuesday his appointment was at Bro. Stroh's. 
 During the day he felt sad and depressed in spirit. 
 With this feelingf he went into a wood; as he himself 
 tells us, fell down upon his knees, and made his com- 
 plaint unto God, entreating His help in this time of 
 need, and, he adds: "the Lord heard me. In the 
 evening preaching went well, beyond all expectation 
 in fact. It was a glorious time. The Lord be praised 
 forever ! Next evening, however, I felt empty and 
 forsaken again, and it was hard to preach. And then, 
 to make the matter worse, two very large dogs came 
 into the assembly, and began to fight most savagely 
 right in the midst of the congregation of worshippers." 
 It is easy to imagine what disturbance such an inci- 
 dent would occasion, under such circumstances. 
 
 Mr. Seybert then gives a characteristic account of 
 a "big meeting", which was held Oct. 6th, near Wash- 
 ington, Pa., as follows : 
 
 "Bro. Zimmerman preached the word with life and 
 power ; Bro. Barber also spoke with great unction. 
 The preaching of these brethren was not like that of 
 the pharisaical hypocrites and of the college fledg- 
 
38 
 
 Life a7td Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 lings, who filled most of the pulpits of the day. It 
 seemed as if the gates of hell must tremble. On 
 Saturday night we had a glorious time ; some struggled 
 for liberty, while others leaped for joy and shouted 
 victory. Sunday morning at eight o'clock there was 
 an experience meeting, during which the excellent 
 experiences, related by the people of God, so moved 
 the unconverted that they wept freely and became 
 penitent. Then followed a sermon by Bro. Erb, on 
 "leprosy", which occasioned much sobbing and weep- 
 ing even among the votaries of fashion, who had 
 ornamented their necks with 'ruffles'. In the after- 
 noon the power of God came upon the people in a 
 still more wonderful manner. Many were moved to 
 repentance, among others a little girl of ten years 
 began to pray most piteously for mercy, and ceased 
 not until she had entered in at the strait gate. There 
 was great rejoicing in Israel over this affecting inci- 
 dent. The holy fire was still aglow on Monday 
 morning, breaking out afresh during family prayers at 
 Bro. Herr's. I know of at least six persons who were 
 converted at that meeting, and several others con- 
 tinued earnestly to seek the Lord after the meeting 
 closed. One family in particular experienced a won- 
 derful change. First the mother was converted, then 
 a son-in-law, at a camp-meeting which he ventured to 
 attend ; soon afterwards his wife yielded ; upon this a 
 son became concerned for his soul ; then the rest of 
 the children, and last of all the father was also saved 
 — all in about two months." 
 
 On the fifteenth of October Mr. Seybert, while orn 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 39 
 
 a journey, was caught in a cold rain. It rained so long 
 and so hard that he was completely drenched, even 
 his shoes filled with water. It should be explained 
 that he never wore boots, and always rode on horse- 
 back, until age compelled him to change to a more 
 comfortable mode of travel. — But he declares this ex- 
 perience did not in the least discourage him. He 
 went about his Master's business in all kinds of 
 weather. 
 
 Here Mr. Seybert also makes note of the suicide of 
 a wealthy cattle-dealer, which occurred about that 
 time in Lancaster, Pa. Commenting on it he ex- 
 claims : "This man was a poor wretch, and ended his 
 own life in terror, though he had two thousand dollars 
 in his pocket ! " 
 
 At a certain meeting, Nov. 15th, a great commotion 
 was caused by a sister who, after the service had 
 closed, made a wonderfully pathetic appeal to the 
 unconverted. She wept so exceedingly in her agony 
 for souls, that she might well be called a sister of the 
 prophet Jeremiah of old, who once exclaimed: "Oh, 
 that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain 
 of tears, that I might weep day and night for the 
 slain of the daughter of my people !" 
 
 During the early part of his ministerial career, Sey- 
 bert had many tribulations to endure. Like all God's 
 saints he had to be tried as by fire. Neither did he 
 overcome the sinfulness of his nature without severe 
 struggles. Scattered through his journal, such sen- 
 tences as these afford some glimpses of his inner life: 
 
 " To-day Satan tried me sorely. I realized strong 
 
40 
 
 Life a?id Labors of yohn Seybert. 
 
 feelings of envy and anger within me, which pained 
 me deeply." 
 Again : 
 
 "This was for me a hard day. My temptations 
 were of such weight and force, as to be well-nigh un- 
 endurable. It seemed as though all the pollution of 
 the pit of hell was being poured over my poor soul." 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 " To-day my wanderings were again full of sadness, 
 I was troubled all day with uprisings of anger and of 
 impatience. This was miserable company." 
 
 During this year (1820) he experienced his last 
 difficulty with the Harmonites, who had so unfortu- 
 nately victimized his mother. Upon certain grounds 
 which do not appear, Mrs. Seybert laid claim to part 
 of the estate of her late husband, and sent several 
 members of the society to negotiate with her sons. 
 The younger son emphatically objected to giving her 
 a single cent. The elder, however, desirous of peace, 
 and anxious to have done with this disagreeable affair 
 forever, was disposed to give their mother more even 
 than he felt it really his duty to allow her. His wish 
 finally prevailed, and a sum of money was accordingly 
 given the Harmonites, who had all things in common, 
 and the account finally closed. 
 
 Through December of that year, Mr. Seybert re- 
 ports " good times." He enjoyed bodily health, was 
 in good spirits, and had great delight in the Lord's 
 service. Of a sermon which he preached on the 14th, 
 he has this to say : 
 
 " At the beginning my heart was fearful and diffi- 
 
His Call to the Ministry, 
 
 4i 
 
 dent. But, blessed be the Lord, the man-fearing 
 spirit soon left me, and I began to realize a deep con- 
 cern for my hearers. Eternity in all its vast sweep 
 opened to my view, and it was as if I saw heaven 
 opened, and caught glimpses of its ineffable blessed- 
 ness and glory. The vision thrilled me with unspeak- 
 able rapture, so that I felt moved to praise the Lord 
 with shouts of joy. The people of God, full of the 
 Holy Ghost, shouted God's praises. The dark power 
 of Satan was broken, and Israel had a glorious vic- 
 tory." 
 
 On one of these days he attended a specially power- 
 ful experience meeting. A class-leader complained 
 at this meeting that something was yet lacking in 
 him; in fact, he confessed that he did not have religion 
 enough. Seybert encouraged him to seek that which 
 was lacking in his spiritual condition, immediately. 
 This, the brother at once resolved to do, and that 
 with fasting and prayer. Then the grace of God 
 poured like a river into his soul until he was so filled 
 that for a time he was unconscious, or, rather, en- 
 tranced, while the rest of the company were so filled 
 with the love of God, that they gave vent to their 
 emotions with shouts and jubilations. There were 
 also some ' dry bones ' in the congregation, which 
 were stirred by the mighty movings of the Holy 
 Spirit, and began, as it were, to gasp for life. One 
 sister was so inspired with zeal, that afterwards w T ith 
 fastings and prayer she struggled against Satan for 
 days, and obtained so grand a victory that, under the 
 powerful effusion of God's Spirit, she lay entranced 
 
42 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 for thirty-two hours, and awoke feeling unspeakably 
 happy. 
 
 Such occurrences were frequent in those days 
 among God's really spiritual people. The contrast 
 between God's true people, and the dead, cold, heart- 
 less, spiritless formalism which prevailed in the old 
 churches, was on this account the more marked and 
 convincing, especially when these demonstrations 
 were followed by purity of life and rectitude of moral 
 character. These peculiar demonstrations and mani- 
 festations were unmistakably the work of the Spirit 
 of God, and were adapted to the social and religious 
 condition of the times in which they occurred. They 
 had a convincing effect upon the thoughtful as well as 
 upon the thoughtless, proved the supernatural char- 
 acter of true religion, and were the means of many 
 conversions. The general spiritual apathy was so 
 great, especially in those circles among whom the 
 Evangelical Association was called upon to labor ; 
 the belief in experimental religion and spiritual life 
 had become so nearly crushed and obliterated by the 
 semi-rationalism imported by the clergy from the 
 universities of Germany ; the standard of morality 
 was so low among the masses of nominal Christians, 
 that, unless the work of reformation, in which the 
 Evangelical Association was engaged, and to which 
 she was undoubtedly called, had been accompanied 
 by such mighty demonstrations of the Spirit and of 
 power, as would brush away the scales from the eyes 
 of deluded thousands, and stir as with an earthquake 
 of moral power the public religious consciousness, the 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 43 
 
 effort must be futile and abortive. Such a work, a 
 work namely of reformation for the restoration of 
 Spiritual life, was and is the mission of the Evan- 
 gelical Association, and in the providence of God, 
 Jacob Albright was the Luther of German religious 
 life in America. God makes no mistakes, and these, 
 to our times peculiar manifestations, that developed 
 in the earlier stages of that religious awakening which 
 was the result of the preaching and labors of the 
 Evangelical ministry, need no apology. 
 
 After Bro. Klinefelter had recovered from his sick- 
 ness, and was again able to fill his own appointments, 
 Seybert, at the beginning of 1821, was sent to York 
 circuit with Bro. Barber. His first sermon was on the 
 occasion of a watch-night, Jan. 12th. Such all-night 
 meetings were often held, and not only on New 
 Year's eve. He preached from Rev. 22: 17. This 
 was a favorite text of his throughout his life. Bro. 
 Seybert describes the service as follows : 
 
 " I was still in the first part of my discourse, and 
 had just been speaking of how God calls sinners to 
 repentance by his Spirit, and was explaining that the 
 ' bride', spoken of in the text, meant God's true 
 Church, and was showing how the Church says ' come', 
 when a woman in the congregation suddenly began 
 to cry out, Lost ! Lost ! Lost ! and instantly fell to 
 weeping and praying aloud. Now that another 
 preacher, namely Jesus, had begun to preach, I 
 stopped ; and, since two more souls began to cry for 
 mercy, we at once prayed with these penitents. 
 Before the meeting closed, all three were saved." 
 
44 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 This was the beginning of a work of grace in 
 which forty souls were brought into the marvellous 
 light and liberty of the people of God. This was a 
 great encouragement to the young preacher, and 
 from that time on, Seybert was satisfied that his call 
 to the ministry was genuine. 
 
 Feb. ioth, he had a meeting at Mr. Reber's, where 
 the people were fearfully wicked. They behaved in 
 a most heathenish manner, talking aloud and laughing 
 in the preacher's face, and carousing about the house. 
 These people certainly served their father — the devil, 
 with all their might ; but Seybert says he also 
 preached to them with all his might, concerning the 
 awful damnation of the wicked, taking a German 
 hymn for a text. However, they closed the service 
 early, and all became quiet as though all were over. 
 In this way they got rid of the mob about midnight. 
 Thinking that the meeting was closed, the rabble 
 left with horrible roarings and shameful bellowings. 
 After the mob was gone, they engaged in further 
 exercises, and the Lord blessed them so gloriously 
 that the meeting ended with a shout. This was 
 " stealing a march " on the devil. The stratagem 
 succeeded, the servants of Satan were foiled, and 
 God's people had a feast of fat things besides, even 
 though they had to wait until after midnight for it. 
 In those days, however, the people were not as 
 anxious to have short services and an early close, as 
 many are in more modern times. It was not unusual 
 to keep up services all night, even until at the break 
 of day the rising sun gave the flaming signal for part- 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 45 
 
 ing. Many instances of this are recorded in Bishop 
 Seybert's journal. 
 
 Bro. Seybert loved to have conversions during his 
 meetings, and took great delight in seeing them "get 
 through 
 
 At a meeting, Feb. 14th, a woman was so mightily 
 wrought upon by the Holy Spirit of God, during 
 preaching, that she came near fainting away. She 
 fled to an adjoining room, threw herself on a bed, 
 and would not permit the arrow of conviction to enter 
 her soul deeper. She resisted the grace of God. 
 Seybert remarks: "This fish, though already caught 
 in the Gospel net, and even already pulled ashore, 
 yet fell back, I fear, into destruction. Still, she is cer- 
 tainly severely wounded, and at least a few arrows 
 of conviction are fast in that soul, and for this reason 
 I am not without hope that on some future occasion, 
 if the Lord spares her life, she may yet be rescued. 
 I pray God to give this woman no rest until she turns 
 unto Him." 
 
 Bro. Seybert was at this time greatly encouraged, 
 because his labor was not in vain in the Lord. Sin- 
 ners were being saved. This only increased his 
 earnestness. His soul was eager to wrest spoil from 
 Satan. This was the passion that nerved him for toil, 
 and moved his soul with deep agonies. Like Rachel 
 of old, his cry was, "Give me children, or I die." He 
 would quickly have resigned his office as a minister of 
 the Gospel, had not the Lord given him spiritual sons 
 and daughters. However, the success of the work 
 provoked great opposition from certain quarters. 
 
46 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Under date of Feb. 21st, 18 21, he writes: 
 
 "While the work of conversion in this benighted 
 community is progressing irresistibly, and a soul is 
 being saved here and another there, Satan also has 
 his emissaries abroad. These are Protestant clergy, — 
 hirelings, — men whose god is their belly — whom he 
 has stirred up to oppose the work of the Lord. They 
 are wolves in sheep's-clothing, and in their rage the 
 wolf nature very clearly appears. They set up a fear- 
 ful howl, because we (whom they call false prophets) 
 have invaded the land to deceive the people." Won- 
 der why they have suddenly become so concerned 
 for the souls of the people! But they care not for the 
 sheep, only for their wool. These are the very 
 scoundrels of whom Isaiah says: ' His watchmen 
 are blind; they are all ignorant; they are all dumb 
 dogs, they can not bark; sleeping, lying down, loving 
 to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can 
 never have enough, and they are shepherds that can 
 not understand: they all look to their own way, 
 every one for his gain, from his quarter. They say, 
 * Come ye, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves 
 with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this 
 day, and more abundant.' (Isa. 56: 10, 12.) 
 
 "Accursed generation of Balaam ! And these delect- 
 able gentlemen warn the public against us, when we 
 are endeavoring to rescue souls from the Devil, and 
 are trying to bring them to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 in order to save them from their horrible vices! 
 
 M But the vulvar mob, which interferes with our 
 services, belongs to these accursed shepherds, and is 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 47 
 
 led on by them. Though consisting nominally of 
 Christians, they are adepts at profanity, and lying, 
 habitual drunkards, bold sabbath-breakers, and in 
 every respect perfect disciples of Satan, following 
 closely in his footsteps, and sometimes even growing 
 impatient because the fiend himself does not go fast 
 and far enough. They fairly out-devil the Devil I 
 With their preachers, who are ungodly belly-servants, 
 they oppose those who want to serve the Lord. 
 They set themselves, and these rulers take counsel 
 together against the Lord and against his Anointed. 
 But 'He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the 
 Lord shall have them in derision; He will mock at 
 their calamity; He will laugh when their fear cometh/ 
 Meanwhile His work goes gloriously on. Hallelujah! 
 
 " But this is not enough. After the people have 
 been saved, this Christian (?) mob does all in its 
 power to recapture the escaped birds, for which they 
 employ all sorts of means. One tempts them with 
 the brandy bottle ; another comes with a deck of 
 cards ; another invites them to a dance, and so on„ 
 almost ad infinitum. If by any means they are suc- 
 cessful in luring any one away again from Christ, this 
 Philistine brood tear their mouths open and fairly 
 scream with delight. 'O yes!' they exclaim vaunt- 
 ingly, 'didn't we tell you they are all hypocrites?' 
 The outcry becomes general ; young and old, poor 
 and rich, great and small — in short all sorts of sin- 
 cripples, pastors included, join in the chorus, 'Our 
 prediction has come true: this movement will soon 
 collapse; before long you can pen all the Albrights 
 
48 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 together in a corn-crib. Perhaps some lying old wise 
 acre among them will yet add his opinion, saying, ' I 
 for my part never could have any confidence in these 
 praying people! ' 
 
 ''They are very much opposed to our 'evening 
 meetings ' and to all that they are pleased to call 
 religion enthusiasm. But when they hold 'evening 
 meetings' at the beer saloon or in the ball room — 
 that is perfectly justifiable. 
 
 " According to their notion, it is only necessary to 
 say that John was a little tipsy on election day, to 
 prove that he is ' all right again '. That is a demon- 
 stration that he has been ' restored ' and has left the 
 'Albrights \ — Elizabeth was not at the meeting last 
 Sunday, because she had been at the ball all night 
 Saturday. That shows that she is no longer among 
 the 'deceivers The leader cries out, ' That will do 
 for Elizabeth, but these Albrights wont go to dances.' 
 To this mob, the only proof necessary that e persons 
 are ' all right is that they swear and drink and dance 
 and fight. — But this is enough for us too. We also 
 understand these signs. Such is the manner in this 
 land of moral midnight, when any are truly converted 
 to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 '• After the mob has in this way done all it can. it 
 then begins to peddle out innumerable lies concerning 
 us. One asks another, whether he has also heard 
 that the preacher is an adulterer, — when he himself 
 may be guilty of it. — But then such a thing does not 
 unfit him to be even an elder or a deacon in his 
 church. If he prayed,\\o, would soon be unfit, and 
 
His Call to the Ministry, 
 
 49 
 
 would be expelled. Another, who has already been 
 in jail for stealing, tells his associates that the Gospel 
 preacher has more than once been guilty of horse- 
 stealing, and is known at home only as ' the ignorant 
 horse thief! 'Humph !' says an old card-player, 'the 
 whole thing (meaning the Evangelical Association) is 
 going down — faster than it came up. Our parson 
 told us last Sunday we should be careful, may be 
 they give the people some kind of poison so as to 
 deceive them the easier ! ' Thus they belie and slan- 
 der the true servants of God. They carry about with 
 them a perfect 'Pandora's box' of filthy epistles. — 
 And yet, in spite of all, the Lord's people are the 
 light of the world and a salt to the earth." 
 
 This is a severe arraignment, but it is no exagger- 
 ation. In fact, it was evidently impossible to exagger- 
 ate the condition of things among the nominal 
 German church-members of Pennsylvania in those 
 days, and Bro. Seybert felt perfectly justified in his 
 satirical, vigorous and severe attacks upon them. 
 Some of these localities were perfect hot-beds of 
 iniquity, and their parsons strained every nerve to 
 prevent the early success of the Evangelical Asso- 
 ciation, for if the Evangelical Association were 
 successful in its work, their occupation would soon be 
 gone, and they opposed Seybert and his compeers 
 much in the same spirit and with the same motives, 
 that actuated Demetrius the silversmith and his fellow- 
 craftsmen, in the Ephesian uproar against Paul. Had 
 it not been for the prevalence of religious liberty 
 protected by civil law, the Evangelical itinerants 
 4 
 
53 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 would have been shot from their horses, or burnt at 
 the stake, as late as 1840. It is unpleasant to be 
 obliged to make such statements, but we could not 
 otherwise be true to the facts of history. Whatever 
 may be the moral status of those religious organi- 
 zations to-day, we would fain throw a covering over 
 their past in this country, if we could do so, and still 
 write an intelligent life of Bishop Seybert. 
 
 Need enough, one should say, for the preaching of 
 the pure Gospel to those people. The degenerate 
 condition of morality, and the deplorable religious life 
 of the German people of America, made the work of 
 Jacob Albright, and the organization of the Evan- 
 gelical Association, an imperative necessity. It 
 was this that inspired the ministry of that great and 
 good man, and resulted in the organization of this 
 branch of the Christian church, which was not only 
 the first to do anything, but which has done as much 
 as, if not more than any other single organization or 
 agency for the religious reformation of the German 
 population of the United States, Canada, and even 
 Europe. 
 
 About this time, Bro. Seybert lost his voice in 
 consequence of over-exertion. Under this affliction 
 he felt "tempted to labor more moderately." This 
 "temptation", however, he soon overcame, and he 
 began earnestly to pray for the restoration of his 
 voice. Upon this he made an attempt to preach, 
 and behold, the Lord so blessed him that a sinner 
 was convicted. 
 
 Some time in February (182 1) Seybert purchased 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 51 
 
 Godfrey Arnold's "Portraits of the first Christians," 
 and read it so diligently that he nearly committed the 
 entire work to memory, for he was a great and careful 
 reader. 
 
 Soon afterwards he records this in his journal : 
 (i To-day I had a dispute with an unconverted man, 
 who asserted that our people were as false as Satan 
 himself. In vain did I challenge him to name or 
 point out a single drunkard, swearer or Sabbath 
 breaker among us. I furthermore told him that in 
 his church no hypocrisy was necessary, since godli- 
 ness itself was at a discount among them. This he 
 admitted to be possibly at least correct. I succeeded 
 so far in convincing him of the error of his ways, 
 that he promised he would never again partake of 
 the Holy Communion in his present state of heart. 
 He further confessed that he was unsaved, and that 
 his church was really in a state of decay." 
 
 March 4th he says he preached to three hearers, 
 which was followed with excellent results, but up- 
 braids himself, because at first the idea of preaching 
 to so small a congregation was repugnant to him, 
 until he thoughtfully considered the worth of one im- 
 mortal soul, when he was enabled to address himself 
 to the task with energy and courage. 
 
 On the same date he wrote of this place : 
 " Here the saying of Jesus is realized, when he 
 said, ' I am not come to send peace, but a sword.' A 
 Roman Catholic lived here, whose wife and two 
 daughters were converted. He himself was a drunk- 
 ard, and abused his wife barbarously after her conver- 
 
52 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 sion. One day when the husband was engaged in the 
 brutal act of beating his wife again, she began to praise 
 the Lord aloud, manifesting great joy in her sufferings. 
 The genuineness of this extrordinary manifestation 
 was so apparent that he became alarmed. But, in an 
 enraged manner he turned to his eldest daughter, and 
 peremptorily ordered her out of house and home, if 
 she did not at once quit this 'foolishness', as he called 
 the true service of God. However, she was ready 
 for him, and promptly told him she would go without 
 being driven away, which she immediately proceeded 
 to do. Upon this he fell to beating the youngest 
 daughter most unmercifully with the ramrod of his 
 gun, until a splinter struck her near the eye, causing 
 the blood to flow in streams. But the monster pro- 
 cured another stick and continued beating the child 
 still more, simply because she prayed!" 
 
 About the time when Bro. Seybert was to leave 
 York circuit, he says the devil set some of his faith- 
 ful ones at work to besmirch his reputation, if possible 
 ruin his character, and so counteract, if not destroy, his 
 influence for good. This they attempted to do by 
 circulating" a series of scurrilous lies about him. One 
 story ran to the effect that he had a wife near Balti- 
 more, Md., who could not live with him on account 
 of his quarrelsome disposition. Another story was, 
 that he had behaved himself indiscreetly towards 
 persons of the other sex, and that police detectives 
 were after him. This, they said, was the reason why 
 he wanted to leave York circuit. This class of stories 
 were circulated with special alacrity, because Bro. 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 53 
 
 Seybert was a celibate. He was never married. He 
 says: " These very things only proved that my call 
 to the ministry is divine, since I knew they were false, 
 and I was conscious of living a life of chastity, sobri- 
 ety and integrity. I rejoiced that I was permitted to 
 suffer persecution for righteousness' sake." 
 
 Soon after this he deplored the fact that he did not 
 realize the solemn importance of eternal things as he 
 ought, in his ministerial office. He had to fight 
 against lethargy, and the devil seemed determined to 
 ruin him, he thought. " I am tried by lusts of the 
 flesh", he says, " which, though they never get the 
 victory over me, yet cause me much trouble, and I 
 have a strong desire to be saved from these things — 
 the sooner the better. God certainly must hear my 
 ardent prayers, and He will surely deliver me from 
 this buffeting of Satan's messenger, this thorn in 
 the flesh. I do ask the Heavenly Father to do this 
 speedily for the sake of the Redeemer's bitter suffer- 
 ings. Amen! Amen." 
 
 May 31, 1 82 1, Seybert preached his first sermon at 
 a camp-meeting. The meeting was held at Philip 
 Breidenstein's in Lebanon Co., Pa. God blessed the 
 young preacher and gave him power and life, so that 
 he was enabled to tell the people the truth with effect. 
 Among other incidents a fashionably dressed young 
 lady fell into distress of soul; she was so wrought 
 upon that she became disgusted with her stylish arti- 
 cles of ornament, and tearing them off, she fell upon 
 her knees and began to cry for mercy and salvation. 
 This enraged the wicked, so they made an attempt to 
 
54 Life and Labors of jfohn Seybert, 
 
 get the poor penitent away from the place of prayer, 
 but the people succeeded in preventing this. The 
 young lady was praying in a tent, and they prayed 
 with her and for her until she was filled with light and 
 life from above, and was translated into the kingdom 
 of God's dear Son. The people of God, who had 
 wept with her, now rejoiced with her. 
 
 At this meeting, Seybert remarks, Rev. H. Niebel 
 preached in great power, and with wonderful unction, 
 for two hours, and Bro. Erb preached a sermon of 
 similar power, of two hours and three quarters in 
 length. 
 
 In June, 1821, John Seybert attended his first con- 
 ference session, and was regularly received into the 
 itinerancy. Up to that time, since Sept. 1820, he had 
 served "under the Presiding Elder". He says they 
 had glorious times during that conference session, 
 which convened in New Berlin, Pa. Bro. Seybert, 
 however, demurred because he was given charge 
 of a work so soon, as he felt himself entirely unfit 
 for such a grave responsibility. He was given 
 charge of Union circuit, with Rev. F. Hassler, a 
 young probationer, as his colleague, But since ''the 
 brethren " had so ordered it, he meekly submitted, 
 and the Lord blessed him. 
 
 Soon after conference, he happened into a meeting, 
 where he did not like the preacher very well. He 
 says: "The preacher belonged to that class who 'live 
 in kings' houses' (to judge from the 'soft raiment' 
 which he wore), rather than to the humble followers 
 of Jesus. He was dressed like a worldling, and by 
 
His Call to the Ministry. 
 
 55 
 
 no means looked as if he could 4 endure hardness as a 
 good soldier of Jesus Christ'. In explaining his text, 
 he came near reasoning away the history of Creation, 
 and jumbled together a wonderful conglomeration of 
 astronomical guesswork and astrological dreamings, 
 far beyond his own ability to comprehend, and much 
 more that of his congregation. It was indeed a cold 
 meeting. One could detect no life nor fire in the 
 people, and alas! none flashed from the preacher 
 either." 
 
 Sometime in July, he preached twice at a new place. 
 In the morning he had good success, but in the after- 
 noon "it went hard". There was a large congregation 
 present, among whom were many proud, vain, puffed 
 up people. Somehow he had not the gift of explain- 
 ing the Scripture that particular afternoon, and the 
 power of speech itself was almost gone. There sat 
 before him such a mass of "children of darkness", that 
 their spiritual coldness chilled him and he "had a 
 hard time breaking the ice". Seeing at length, that 
 all exegetical skill was gone from him, he abandoned 
 his text altogether, and began to reason of righteous- 
 ness and judgment to come. In this he persevered 
 until at least some icy hearts began to melt, and tears 
 flowed down some cheeks, then Seybert exclaimed, 
 "Thank God for victory any w r ay!" 
 
56 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybett. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DIVERS EXPERIENCES. 
 
 The first Bishop of the Evangelical Association was 
 now fairly launched upon his ministerial career. He 
 already enjoyed the confidence and respect of his 
 co-laborers, and had many seals to his ministry. He 
 persevered in the same spirit in which he began. He 
 grew in ability, increased in usefulness and power, 
 and if possible in zeal and devotion. He was indeed 
 a burning and a shining light. Here follows the 
 record of his varied experiences as culled from his 
 Journals. 
 
 Dec. 5th, 1 82 1, he had a very remarkable dream: 
 He thought he was told of a pit that was very 
 deep, and had water in it. He was informed further- 
 more that several persons had fallen into it. With 
 his companions he decided at once to visit the spot. 
 On their arrival his companions were afraid to 
 approach the pit, as they were made aware that the 
 earth around it was undermined, so that only a frail, 
 thin crust remained, which could not bear their 
 weight. At this moment a strong feeling of sym- 
 pathy possessed Seybert for the unfortunate people 
 who had fallen into the pit. Hastily seizing a stick 
 of wood, he began to knock off the loose earth around 
 it, until he found solid ground. He then obtained a 
 windlass, of the kind used in old-fashioned wells, with 
 which he drew two men and one woman out of the 
 
Divers Experiences, 
 
 57 
 
 pit by means of a rope. They were in a forlorn and 
 pitiable plight indeed, for the pit was a place of great 
 misery. After this he beheld the pit utterly destroyed, 
 and to the astonishment of all, a bright stream of 
 water gushing from it. This dream awakened in him 
 confident expectations of conversions. 
 
 Bro. Seybert regards the following incident as 
 authentic, which he relates in his journal. An 
 extremely wicked man was converted to God. 
 His name was Kashar. Upon his conversion his 
 wife began to persecute him terribly. She swore at, 
 scolded and blackguarded him shockingly. Suddenly, 
 one morning, she appeared entirely composed and 
 peaceable. All who knew of her conduct were 
 amazed at the transformation. After repeated efforts 
 to secure an explanation, she finally became more 
 talkative and told them the cause. She related 
 that in the previous night a form in gray appeared 
 before her. She believed it was a spirit. The appa- 
 rition offered her a bag full of gold and silver, if she 
 would only continue to persecute and abuse her 
 husband. This dream so shocked her, that she 
 resolved to cease from her shameful conduct. She 
 soon afterward requested religions services in their 
 house, and sought the Lord without delay. 
 
 From the remarks of Bro. Seybert, recorded at 
 some length in the previous chapter, concerning the 
 parsons and members of certain churches, the reader 
 might come to the conclusion that he was bigoted, 
 and of the opinion that none were right except his 
 own church. But this is far from the truth. He 
 
58 Life and Labors of yohn Seybert. 
 
 acknowledged merit wherever he chanced to find it, 
 nor did he forbid any man to cast out devils because 
 he followed not his company. He says: "Jan. 26th I 
 visited a Reformed minister named Felix, who lived 
 on Union circuit, where I was preaching that year. 
 This man treated me with the greatest courtesy and 
 consideration. When he saw me coming he hastened 
 out to meet me, without either his hat or his coat on, 
 and grasped my hand in a friendly manner. But not 
 knowing at first who I was, he shook my hand with 
 great heartiness a second time upon learning my name. 
 I have never found another such friendly, benevolent, 
 humble-looking Protestant preacher, possessing withal 
 such a Christ-like spirit as this man. His dress, 
 manners, conversation and disposition indicated a 
 humble, sincere Christian and true embassador of 
 Jesus Christ. We had a good time together, exchang- 
 ing our views on the great, vital truths of our holy 
 religion. He would under no consideration allow me 
 to leave before dinner. His wife also was exceed- 
 ingly hospitable and accommodating. Mr. Felix then 
 saddled his horse, and rode a piece ways with me, that 
 I might not lose my way." 
 
 One night he thought he went fishing, and also 
 caught some fish, but neither with a hook nor with a 
 net, but with his bare hands. Afterwards he thought 
 he also captured a beautiful dove, and then a very 
 cross young bear. His dream awakened his curiosity, 
 and expectation. 
 
 The next day he called upon a newly awakened 
 family, on the way to his appointment. After they 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 59 
 
 had conversed a while on divine things, he asked the 
 brother whether they would not unite with our church. 
 At first the brother thought they were unworthy, but 
 the woman said, 44 O yes, let us do it." After consid- 
 eration the man consented. Seybert remarks confi- 
 dently: " Here I had now caught my fish or my dove, 
 in reality. I was now on the lookout for the bear." 
 For this he had not long to wait. A few evenings 
 later he was preaching in a private house, when some 
 malicious person threw a brickbat through the win- 
 dow at the preacher with such violence and such well- 
 directed aim, that the pieces of glass flew into his face. 
 44 This was the cross bear," he says. 
 
 Bro. Seybert, as the reader is aware, was a German 
 by birth, by training and by practice. True, he could 
 speak in English, and even read and write, but it was 
 in an exceedingly broken manner. No one who knew 
 his acquirements in this respect, would for a moment 
 suppose that he would ever undertake to preach in 
 the English language. But with him,, souls were 
 everything and reputation nothing. He would at- 
 tempt anything to save a soul. 
 
 It was March 23d (182 1), that he undertook to 
 preach in English for the first time in his life. He 
 had a congregation almost exclusively English. How 
 could he serve them in their own language, much as 
 he desired to do so, was the question. After talking 
 a while in German, he ventured to say a few words 
 in English. No sooner had he begun this, than the 
 power of God came upon the people, and the effort 
 was as blessed as it was stammering and imperfect. 
 
6o Life and Labors of Jokn Seybert. 
 
 And really, it "went" better than he imagined it 
 would. An English brother afterwards came up and 
 gave him some money for salary. He seemed very 
 well pleased, and encouraged him. He thanked God 
 and took courage. 
 
 May 1 2th, in Marietta, he had a North American 
 Indian in his congregation, which pleased him, for he 
 had often been told of the Indian's reverence for God 
 and His house, and was delighted to find it true in 
 this case. He bluntly remarks, "A great many, who 
 have all their religion in their mouth, could learn 
 from this Indian how to behave in the house of 
 God, in a manner becoming a civilized and enlight- 
 ened race." 
 
 May 20th he came home to his brother and preached 
 to his neighbors and acquaintances in his old cooper- 
 shop. When he first saw the people he felt some- 
 what diffident. But he began to pity their souls, and 
 upon this he "broke through" and everthing "broke 
 through wonderfully", and tears flowed freely. He 
 however, hastened to praise the Lord for the success- 
 ful issue of the meeting, and ascribed all to his 
 Divine Master. 
 
 In June, 1822, the Annual conference met again in 
 New Berlin, to hold its fifteenth session. At this 
 time there was as yet but one conference. At this 
 session Joseph Long, the second Bishop of the Evan- 
 gelical Association, was received into the itinerancy 
 on trial, and John Seybert, the first Bishop, received 
 his ordination as Deacon. Bro. Seybert makes the 
 folio wine observations on this event: 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 61 
 
 "It caused me great depression of spirit and a 
 severe mental struggle, when it was reported that I 
 had been elected to the office of a Deacon. Could I 
 have chosen, I would have greatly preferred to be re- 
 tained a while longer as a probationer, for I felt that 
 I was not fit for anything else. Nevertheless I sub- 
 mitted as cheerfully as I could to the decision of my 
 brethren, and will seek to do the best I can by the 
 help of God." 
 
 He was appointed to Canton circuit, Ohio. 
 
 On his trip to his new charge in the West, Bro. 
 Seybert attended a camp-meeting in Fayette Co., Pa., 
 where a very sad event occurred. Sunday afternoon, 
 under deep and solemn emotions the Lord's Supper 
 was celebrated. On this occasion a brother named 
 Bernd had been specially happy in seeing his own 
 children participating in this great ordinance of God's 
 house. At about five o'clock, while he was sitting by 
 his tent in quiet and sweet contemplation, he suddenly 
 fainted, and falling into the arms of his wife who was 
 near him, he immediately expired, without being able 
 to utter a word. Eleven of his children were on the 
 encampment at the time. The sorrow into which the 
 family were plunged was indescribable, while the 
 alarm on the camp-ground was something awful. 
 Bernd was a man greatly beloved by his family, and 
 highly respected in the community. The corpse was 
 left on the camp-ground, and prepared in a tent for 
 burial. The funeral services, held in the auditorium, 
 were exceedingly solemn, and made a most profound 
 impression. 
 
62 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 On Canton circuit, that year, Bro. Seybert labored 
 with great success. Many were converted. He also 
 got rid, more and more fully, of his harassing doubts 
 concerning his call to the ministry, though even yet 
 he was occasionally troubled with them. 
 
 July 19th he heard a sermon on Col. 3:3. The 
 first part of the sermon was good enough, but the 
 latter part greatly disgusted Seybert, " because he 
 discussed matters not germain to the subject at all. 
 When he spoke of infant baptism, he asserted that 
 not all who die in infancy are saved, and that mother 
 Eve would instruct the innocents in heaven." "Such 
 trash was not edifying." 
 
 Two days later he heard another preacher, who 
 preached "a very dry, cold and powerless" funeral 
 sermon. Indeed, it was more of a tirade against 
 heretics than anything else, utterly devoid of any- 
 thing that could comfort the afflicted friends, or en- 
 courage the congregation in Christian living. The 
 hearers had a very tedious time. " He is one of 
 those of whom the Lord complained of old that they 
 ' temper with untempered mortar.'" 
 
 Under date of Aug. 12th (1822) Bro. Seybert refers 
 to the barbarous conduct of the people about Lan- 
 caster (Fairfield Co.), O., relating an instance where, 
 at a meeting of United Brethren, a brother was so 
 cruelly beaten that he died a few days afterwards. 
 
 August 15th he was overtaken by the darkness of 
 night in one of the great primitive forests of Ohio. 
 It was impossible to find his way out again. At 
 length, he found a log hut in an opening, where, for 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 63 
 
 money, he was shown the way. It was his purpose 
 to reach his destination, if it took all night, which it 
 came very near doing, for he arrived very late in- 
 deed. 
 
 Meanwhile his colleague, Bro. Wagner, had already 
 been attacked with malarial fever, so prevalent in 
 Ohio in those days, so that he could not keep up 
 with his appointments, and on the 25th Seybert him- 
 self was attacked. But he stoutly refused to succumb, 
 lest the circuit be "neglected". Still it often became 
 simply impossible for him to reach his appointments. 
 In this to him unwonted experience he was sorely 
 tried in spirit, so that at times it seemed as though 
 his little craft [Glaubensschifflein) should sink beneath 
 the troublous waves. He however wept and prayed 
 much; often stopping on his journey in the shadowy 
 depths of those great forests to plead with God, 
 wrestling until he was blessed. 
 
 Near Lisbon, about this time, a wicked man died a 
 terrible death. In his last hours he blasphemed so 
 terribly, that it became impossible for anyone to re- 
 main in the room. In his despair and rage the mis- 
 erable man tore pieces of plaster from the wall and 
 hurled them at his poor children, acting like a demo- 
 niac. In this condition he went into eternity. At 
 his funeral the most barbarous scenes were transacted. 
 The father of the dead man was so drunken, that he 
 was hauled in the funeral procession like a dead 
 swine, and one of the brothers was so intoxicated 
 that he was left at the house, unable to go to the 
 burial. Though it must be confessed that there was 
 
6 4 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 a certain savage fitness in all this, yet, who can fail to 
 shudder while contemplating it. "My God y " he ex- 
 claims, "what scenes in Babel!" 
 
 Nov. 15th, when he preached at Bro. Rausch's, a 
 drunkard came into the service to create disturbance. 
 He had first exchanged clothes with an 4 Amish' man. 
 With this singular outfit he came in, causing great 
 merriment, for his attire was really comical. But 
 the merriment did not last long. " The almighty 
 word of God got hold of him," so to speak, "by the 
 nape of the neck" so that he began to weep violently. 
 It was the end of his foolish conduct. From that 
 hour he was a different man. "O that God would 
 thus graciously save every disturber," Seybert fer- 
 vently prays. 
 
 January 18th (1823) Bro. Seybert preached a ser- 
 mon with which he was, it seems, very well pleased. 
 He says of it : 
 
 " Last evening my preaching was blessed." Song 
 of Solomon 6:9 was his text. He felt that great 
 grace was given him, and when he came to the words, 
 'terrible as an army with banners, he finally applied 
 them to the coming of Jesus Christ to judgment, 
 when He shall come with a shout, and a great noise 
 as of a trumpet, with ten thousand of his saints, and 
 all the holy angels with him, on the day that shall 
 burn as an oven, when consuming fire shall go out 
 before him, which shall destroy all the wicked, root 
 and branch, 
 
 " When the sun is cold, 
 And the stars are old, 
 And the leaves of the Judgment book unfold." 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 65 
 
 During this application the audience broke out in 
 sobbing, weeping, shouting and praising. A young 
 lady became penitent, with whom they afterwards 
 prayed until she found pardon and peace. She after- 
 wards united with our church. 
 
 Under date of Feb. 9th he finds fault, both with 
 himself and with the people. He mourns over his 
 infirmities and imperfections and shortcomings. He 
 felt a great lack of ability to perform the duties of his 
 office ; while he was to preach to others he felt him- 
 self so far below the mark. With the people he found 
 fault, because they praised him and told him he could 
 preach grand sermons, and so forth. He wished 
 they knew how poverty-stricken and miserable he 
 really was, then they would no longer flatter him, 
 and so occasion temptation in his depressed and 
 feeble state of soul. 
 
 One day in March he had a meeting, where his 
 effort seemed specially to please a certain pedagogue 
 in the community. After the service had closed he 
 sat down beside Seybert and began to "sing his siren 
 song" to him. This, Seybert did not want to hear. 
 Then the stranger began to abuse the other Christian 
 denominations of the neighborhood in a very indis- 
 creet fashion, which so angered an old gentleman 
 who was present and overheard the conversation, that 
 he uttered some hard words, seized his hat and 
 hastened to leave the house. Seybert, however, 
 hurried after him, spoke kindly to him, and tried to 
 subdue his passion. Next morning he returned quite 
 early, to see Seybert ; they had a long, earnest con- 
 5 
 
66 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 versation, and finally parted in peace. "This trouble", 
 says Seybert, " was occasioned by the indiscreet 
 school-master." 
 
 About the middle of May (1823), Bro. Seybert 
 closed his labors on Canton circuit, Ohio, and after 
 a year of faithful toil, prepared to return to annual 
 conference. During - this conference-year he endured 
 all the hardships of a pioneer circuit rider on the 
 frontier. His horse frequently became saddle-galled, 
 owing to the long journeys over the unbroken, muddy 
 roads of Ohio at that time. In fact, his route often 
 lay through trackless forests, where the paths (not 
 roads) were hard to find. Besides, the intrepid itin- 
 erant was often sick. But still he says, " The Lord 
 gave us good times. Blessed be His name!" 
 
 On his way home, when he reached the eastern 
 boundary line of Ohio, he alighted from his horse, 
 fell upon his knees, and devoutly thanked God for 
 Divine assistance, guidance and protection on his 
 circuit during the past year. The soil of Ohio had 
 become sacred to him, and on that consecrated ground 
 he would once more praise the Lord, and there he 
 would raise his Ebenezer. 
 
 That year in Ohio was a memorable one. To fol- 
 low him in all his journeys, and relate all his expe- 
 riences, would make a volume itself. His colleague 
 was sick with fever nearly the entire year, and Sey- 
 bert had to work alone over a territory nearly as large 
 as that occupied by the Ohio conference now. Once 
 we find him at a camp-meeting near Lancaster, then 
 lodging with a family at Painesville, and then looking 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 6 7 
 
 for new appointments in the valley of Sugar Creek. 
 During the Summer he had the ague until he was. 
 prostrated; the Winter was unusually severe, and in 
 the Spring the roads were unspeakably hard to travel.. 
 His trouble was increased by the fact that his horse 
 became severely saddle-galled. There was not a 
 single church of our denomination in the State at that, 
 time. They preached mostly in private houses, and 
 they were miserable huts, without stoves. But the 
 foundations were being laid for a great future. The 
 membership of the circuit increased forty-five during 
 the year. 
 
 O for the spirit of the fathers, to come upon us r . 
 their sons! Let us be thankful that things have 
 changed for the better; that the work is less exposed 
 and less laborious; that salaries are better. But 
 under God we owe it to the men who braved the 
 perils of a new country, and by their toil have caused 
 the desert to blossom abundantly with joy and sing- 
 ing. We are reaping where they sowed. Let us. 
 honor their courage and emulate their zeal. 
 
 Sitting in his brother's house at home, May 27th, 
 Bro. Seybert was talking earnestly, as usual, concern- 
 ing the affairs of the kingdom of God, making special 
 allusion to the sufferings of God's people from of old, 
 and to the self-denial involved in following Jesus, 
 when a neighbor's wife, who was listening with rapt 
 attention to his conversation, suddenly became peni- 
 tent, and interrupted the preacher's conversation with 
 loud cries for mercy. Seybert said, " I guess we 
 ought to pray." This they at once proceeded to do,. 
 
68 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 and continued till late in the night, and the woman 
 was converted. 
 
 At the conference session in 1823, held June 2d in 
 Shrewsberry, York Co., Pa., Bro. Seybert was sta- 
 tioned on Schuylkill circuit, in Pennsylvania. The 
 conference session lasted but three days. Ten 
 preachers of the already small conference located, 
 and consequently the remaining preachers were com- 
 pelled to take large fields of labor without help. 
 Seybert was obliged to serve his extensive circuit 
 without a colleague. It had been served formerly 
 with two preachers. Notwithstanding the extent of 
 his charge, the indefatigable Seybert sought for new 
 appointments, and with this purpose, soon after con- 
 ference visited for the first time the city of Philadel- 
 phia. Here he w r as entertained by a gentleman 
 named John Mann, at whose house he held a prayer- 
 meeting, the first evening of his stay in the city of 
 Brotherly Love. The second evening he preached 
 to them. The third day he spent in visiting from 
 house to house, meanwhile getting into a dispute with 
 a couple of young theological students, concerning 
 the sad decay of the Protestant churches of the land. 
 They also differed in reference to the nature of the 
 preparation necessary for the ministry of the Gospel. 
 Seybert, of course, insisted on the necessity of a change 
 of heart and the gift of the Holy Ghost, while these 
 young students contemplated only literary and scien- 
 tific education and intellectual training. That night 
 he preached again. Next day he left the city to fol- 
 low his regular appointments, This was the first 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 6 9 
 
 effort of the Evangelical Association in the Quaker 
 City, where we now have a large and influential 
 membership, and a number of beautiful and commo- 
 dious church edifices. 
 
 In June he had an appointment at a place bearing 
 the rather startling cognomen of "Devil's Hole". On 
 the way to this appointment he was obliged to stop 
 at a tavern along the road, to feed his horse, where 
 he says he "encountered the Devil's people before he 
 got to Devil's Hole!' The tavern people were just at 
 dinner, when he rode up. They behaved in a most 
 frivolous manner at the dinner table. Seybert sat 
 down quietly on the piazza, where these "sons of 
 Belial " afterwards began a flippant conversation with 
 him. Upon this he reproved them for their wicked- 
 ness in very plain terms. But they confidently as- 
 serted that no one could be good, and that there are 
 no longer any upright people in the world. Seybert 
 relates: "However, I soon drew my spiritual sword 
 (the Bible) out of its sheath in my saddle-bags, and 
 began to assault the rabble vigorously with it. I ex- 
 plained to them what true religion is. But there was 
 one particularly devilish individual among them, who 
 became so angry under my assault, that he could not 
 conceal his irritation, but his rage was evident to all. 
 I, however, gave them solid blows in quick succes- 
 sion, so that one by one they slunk away like beasts 
 of prey who had lost their spoil; and after I had con- 
 quered the whole swarm I yet administered an earnest 
 exhortation to the landlord and his family, represent- 
 ing to them the temporal and eternal consequences 
 
70 . Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 of such a life. Before I left, the worst one of the 
 crowd came back and apologized for his rudeness." 
 
 On July 1 3th he tells of a remarkable prayer-meeting 
 at the house of Bro. Cook, near McKeansburg. As 
 it was in harvest, Bro. Cook had a large number of 
 laborers in his employ, mostly converted people, who 
 also attended the prayer-meeting. Bro. Seybert read 
 a part of the 1 8th chapter of St. Luke, and gave an 
 encouraging exhortation on prayer. He showed the 
 true characteristics of prayer both as to its spirit and 
 its form. During his remarks the power of God 
 already became manifested in the meeting. When 
 they began to sing, after the exhortation the mani- 
 festation of the Divine presence became still more 
 glorious, and soon they experienced such a mighty 
 outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that there was not 
 room enough to receive it. It was as if the flood 
 gates of heaven had been lifted. The South wind 
 breathed into the garden until the spices thereof 
 flowed out. There began an unusual demonstration 
 of shouting, leaping and rejoicing, and many of the 
 friends seemed quite overwhelmed in the sea of eter- 
 nal love. One could no longer distinguish the voices, 
 for the outpouring of the Spirit had been in accord- 
 ance with Joel's prophecy. Sons and daughters, old 
 men and maidens, and all flesh seemed to be filled. 
 So great was Seybert's enjoyment of this mid-harvest 
 prayer-meeting, that he records this desire: 
 
 "O, I wish that, during the remainder of my earthly- 
 life, I could have a vivid realization of this wonderful 
 prayer-meeting at least three times daily! I know it 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 71 
 
 would nerve me for the battle, and would be an in- 
 centive to faithfulness in the midst of tribulation. 
 Blessed art Thou, eternal King and Saviour of the 
 world, that through Thy holy blood Thou hast 
 triumphed over the might of hell, and hast delivered 
 us from Satan's power, and hast pardoned our trans- 
 gressions, and hast overcome principalities and 
 powers, and divided unto us the spoil ! We praise 
 Thee both now and forever! Hallelujah!" 
 
 During a sermon of great plainness and power 
 about this time on Rev. 3 : 20 at a new appointment, 
 a young lady suddenly began to cry out, "I am lost! 
 I am lost!" Her outcries were so terrible that it was 
 impossible for Bro. Seybert to continue his sermon. 
 They prayed with the penitent lady until she was 
 saved. 
 
 At a certain place Bro. Seybert asked for permis- 
 sion to preach in the school-house. At first there 
 was little objection; but when the authorities came 
 together, they began to look upon him with suspicion, 
 and promptly declared that they would much rather 
 have it to do with a rabid dog than with a 'shouting 
 preacher.' Seybert could endure this very well ; still 
 it grieved him that these people thus despised 
 God's word and God's servants to their own damna- 
 tion. 
 
 However, to repeat all similar occurrences recorded 
 in Bishop Seybert's journals, would make this work 
 monotonous, for such things frequently took place. 
 It is certainly remarkable that the efforts of this plain, 
 simple, unassuming man w^ere crowned with such 
 
72 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 signal success and powerful effects. From a worldly 
 stand-point his preaching was by no means extra- 
 ordinary, except for simplicity and disingenuousness. 
 There was no display of classical lore, nor parade of 
 high sounding phrases. There was no appearance of 
 formal theological erudition, for in that he had not 
 been systematically trained. Nevertheless, in God's 
 hands he was mighty to the pulling down of strong- 
 holds. Not many preachers of any age can point to 
 more signal demonstrations of power under their 
 preaching than occurred under the preaching of John 
 Seybert. Few sermons are interrupted by the cries 
 of penitents. — Has the salt lost its savor, or the sword 
 of the Spirit its edge?' Nay, verily, but those who 
 wield the sword are too often better used to carnal 
 weapons. The feats of modern eloquence and pol- 
 ished speech, are feeble, compared with the spiritual 
 power of this great and good man. John Seybert 
 belongs to the age of spiritual giants, and, "take him 
 for all in all, we shall not look upon his like again.'* 
 The Lord made but one Seybert, and then broke the 
 mold. 
 
 On a certain occasion Bro. Seybert had to hasten 
 very much in order to reach his appointment in the 
 evening, but arrived late. He rode directly to the 
 church, and immediately rushed into the crowded 
 and expectant congregation, taking with him, as was 
 his custom, his Bible and hymn-book, hastily snatched 
 out of the saddle-bag. The sermon proved effective. 
 Sinners began to weep and pray, and several were 
 happily converted before the meeting closed that 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 73 
 
 night. In his journal of that day there appears the 
 following devout acknowledgment: "O God, how 
 good Thou art unto Thy servants! For even when 
 they are obliged to drive ' like the driving of Jehu/ 
 in order not to reach their appointments too late, and 
 therefore have no time to prepare themselves to 
 preach, Thou givest them on such occasions that mes- 
 sage which is best for the people, and also pourest 
 out Thy rich blessing. Amen." 
 
 Malarial fever, which had given him so much 
 trouble the previous year in Ohio, again attacked him 
 this Fall. Oct. ioth he was subject to a very severe 
 attack of it, while riding through a long stretch of 
 woods. Compelled to stop and lie down, he un- 
 saddled his horse, turned him loose, and, using his 
 horse-blanket for a bed, and his saddle for a pillow, 
 the weary itinerant lay down in excessive feeble- 
 ness. Before doing so, he tried to pray, but fainted 
 in the attempt, and sank down on his improvised 
 couch utterly exhausted, mentally committing himself 
 to God's faithful care. There lay the zealous, sincere, 
 faithful, ever-restless servant of God, far from human 
 hel^» or sympathy, in the autumnal shadow of an 
 ancient wood, under the canopy of the sky, in pathetic 
 and helpless solitude, burning with fever. He re- 
 minds one of Elijah, faint and ready to die, lying 
 under the Juniper tree, save that he was more re- 
 signed than the prophet. After lying there for some 
 time, the fever subsided ; he suddenly felt new 
 strength and life thrilling his whole frame, as if an 
 angel — one of those ministering spirits who are sent 
 
74 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 to minister unto the heirs of salvation — had come on 
 silent wing to bring him a Divine strengthening. 
 He immediately arose, saddled his horse, and went 
 on his way. 
 
 During this conference year, the historical revival 
 at Orwigsburg broke out under the labors of Bro. 
 Seybert. This was one of the most remarkable re- 
 vivals in the history of the Evangelical Association, 
 not so much for the number, but for the character 
 and subsequent usefulness of the converts. Seybert 
 was closely identified with it, and some of the most 
 extraordinary effects that ever followed his preaching 
 occurred there. 
 
 The revival began in the Fall of 1823, when Seybert 
 served Schuylkill circuit, but it proved to be more 
 than a merely transient excitement; it lasted without 
 serious interruption for several years. The way for 
 it was paved by Rev. Adam Kleinfelter, who, as early 
 as 1818, preached at the residence of Daniel Focht, 
 Esq., the proprietor of extensive iron works and a 
 gentleman of great prominence and respectability. 
 Mr. Focht was soundly converted, besides several of 
 his neighbors. No sooner had these few begun 
 earnestly to serve the Lord, than persecution broke 
 out. Parents persecuted their children, and children 
 persecuted their parents. But the work could not be 
 hindered in this way, for it was a genuine work of 
 grace. God blessed His people wonderfully both in 
 secret and in public, with the joy of the Lord which 
 was their strength. Besides, they were pious, and 
 led a chaste, quiet, holy life. Mr. Focht was elected 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 75 
 
 class-leader, and in later years became useful in the 
 church as a local preacher. 
 
 Seybert preached his first sermon there July 15th, 
 soon after his appointment to Schuylkill circuit. His 
 text was Ezekiel 33: 11, and the service was held in 
 the Court-house, Orwigsburg being at that time the 
 County seat of Schuylkill Co., Penna. The preacher 
 was somewhat embarrassed by the novelty of his 
 surroundings. August 17th he preached in a grove 
 near the city from Rom. 2 : 4-6. His experience w T as 
 peculiar. For some reason, he felt tempted to stand 
 during the opening prayer. But, u breaking through" 
 as he called it, he fell upon his knees to pray, and 
 instantly a wonderful baptism of power came upon 
 him. The Divine effusion was so powerful, that Sey- 
 bert afterward asserted his belief that this was the 
 real beginning of the Orwigsburg revival. The mul- 
 titude melted down, and the Word of the Lord had 
 free course and was glorified. Seybert hereupon 
 erected a stone on the spot, called it Ebenezer, and 
 with his own hand engraved the date upon it for a 
 memorial, a spiritual landmark. 
 
 The conversion of Bro. Focht was the first breach 
 in the wall. He frequently preached to the people, 
 and in 1822 obtained permission to preach in the 
 Court-house. Many were awakened in that Court- 
 house. Rev. J. Breidenstein also preached there. On 
 one occasion the Court-house was closed against him, 
 but nothing daunted, he went to the School-house, 
 where many heard him gladly. " But as usual", says 
 our Church historian, Rev. W. W. Orwig, "the 
 
j6 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 pastors of the German churches were his principal 
 opposers. By slanders upon his personal character, 
 and by assailing his doctrine, they endeavored to 
 alienate the people from the preacher, and to shake 
 the public confidence in him ; but they failed." 
 Breidenstein preached Jesus as a perfect Saviour; God 
 blessed His own Word, and, like the Bereans, many 
 began to search the Scriptures daily whether these 
 things were so. This was in 1822. Then came Sey- 
 bert in 1823, who set the ball rolling. September 
 14th, after again preaching in the Court-house, he 
 was to have spoken in the evening at a School-house, 
 some three miles from the city. But it was closed 
 against him at the instigation of the parson. A much 
 despised citizen now offered Seybert his house, where 
 he preached from St. John 1:11, 12. God wrought 
 so mightily that there also the walls of Satan's king- 
 dom began to quake. "This", says Seybert, "was on 
 the east side, whereas that powerful meeting in the 
 grove was on the west side, and now there was trem- 
 bling in Satan's ranks all around." 
 
 October 30th, after preaching in the morning at the 
 court-house, he visited a condemned murderer in 
 prison in the afternoon, whom he earnestly sought to 
 lead to repentance. In the evening of that day he 
 had an appointment in a large tavern some distance 
 east of the city. He was greatly concerned for his 
 evening service. Accordingly, some time before ser- 
 vice he went out into the woods on a mountain, and 
 spent the time until service in meditation and prayer. 
 Thus he went directly from the lonely mountain sum- 
 
Divers Experiences, 
 
 7T 
 
 mit into the crowded congregation. His text was 
 Acts 3:22, 23. He began to speak with feelings of 
 hope and faith mingled with fear and trembling, yet 
 believing that God would help. During the sermon 
 the power of God was manifested in His word. Sin- 
 ners began to tremble and quake, and there was a 
 general inquiry, what to do to be saved. Now, as 
 Seybert used to say, " the ice was broken". The 
 work of conversion soon spread, and the slain of the 
 Lord were so many that Seybert sent for Bro. Focht 
 to assist him. Focht continued the meeting success- 
 fully in Seybert's enforced absence on his extensive 
 circuit. December 7th seven souls were saved in 
 one of Bro. Focht's meetings. In January (1824) 
 Seybert was again on the ground. Three future 
 ministers of the Gospel were soon after converted, as 
 young men. They were Samuel Rickert, and Joseph 
 M. and Jacob Saylor. A class was now organized. 
 The work progressed gloriously. — Some wonderful 
 meetings were held. All classes of persons were 
 converted, — "drunkards, swearers, card-players, 
 fiddlers and drummers". 
 
 May 2 1 st Seybert held his first communion service 
 at Orwigsburg. He says: 
 
 " I had glorious times seeing sinners coming home 
 to God in crowds from all directions. Within six 
 months forty souls were happily saved, and I was 
 enabled to report to conference seventy-five newly 
 converted, while at Orwigsburg especially a good 
 foundation has been laid for the future work of the 
 Evangelical Association." 
 
78 
 
 Life and Labors of fohn Seybert, 
 
 The revival continued without abatement for 
 several years. Some of the most influential families 
 of the denomination, such as the Orwigs and the 
 Hammers were converted here. In 1826 a church 
 was built, and the society has continued strong and 
 flourishing ever since. 
 
 In connection with this revival Bro. Seybert was 
 the hero of a hazardous undertaking, in which he came 
 near losing his life. He had to cross the Schuylkill 
 river near Orwigsburg at a time when the river was 
 much swollen. He was warned not to attempt the 
 ford. But he said, " I have an appointment across 
 the river, and in the name of the Lord I am going to 
 ride in. The Lord can help me through." He was 
 on horseback. Getting upon the saddle with his 
 knees, the intrepid circuit rider ventured boldly into 
 the mad torrent. The horse soon got beyond his 
 depth, and was compelled to swim with his rider on 
 his back. The noble beast, to the astonishment of 
 the spectators, bore him safely to the opposite bank, 
 .and Seybert filled his appointment that evening in 
 spite of storm and flood. 
 
 Seybert was not easily scared. " I have an ap- 
 pointment," — that was the irresistible argument of his 
 conscience. He would not miss an appointment if he 
 risked his life to reach it. 
 
 Jan. 25th he had a meeting at the "Church of the 
 Blue Mountains ", where the people behaved in a 
 brutal manner, throwing clubs through the windows 
 with such force that manv of the audience were 
 seriously injured by the flying splinters of glass. In 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 79 
 
 fact, the floor was stained with blood. This occurred 
 in a community where there was a church, and 
 among - citizens who boast of their freedom of con- 
 
 o 
 
 science. 
 
 Feb. 14th, just before preaching, some one brought 
 Seybert a book which he had bought a long time 
 previous, but which he no longer expected to get. 
 So it happened that he had not just then the neces- 
 sary amount of money to pay for it, which was one 
 dollar. This awkward circumstance, however, did not 
 embarrass him. He thought, "Well, I must preach 
 now, and afterwards I will find some way to arrange 
 this matter." After the service, a man who had been 
 greatly moved by the sermon and had become deeply 
 interested in the preacher, crowded his way through 
 the throng, grasped Seybert's hand warmly, and 
 upon withdrawing it, left a round dollar in the 
 preacher's palm. This was promptly used to pay for 
 the book. The generous friend, however, knew noth- 
 ing of Seybert's special need. 
 
 One day in March he was called upon to baptize 
 the infant child of unconverted parents. The child 
 was sick unto death. He therefore first addressed an 
 earnest w 7 ord to the parents, endeavoring to impress 
 them with the importance of saving their souls, upon 
 which they promised, by the help of God to prepare 
 for eternity. The child was then baptized, and the 
 remarkable fact is noted in the journal that immedi- 
 ately upon its baptism the child suddenly became 
 well. 
 
 Under date of April 18th, 1824, he writes: "The 
 
8o 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 people here in Berks County are awfully benighted. 
 They call themselves church-members, but they are 
 unspeakably wicked. In one of these churches they 
 had the communion of the Lord's Supper last Friday, 
 being Good Friday, and then on the following Easter 
 Monday they had a big dance, in a tavern near the 
 self same church. Here they employed ten musicians, 
 and served the Devil with all their power, by swear- 
 ing, drinking and fighting. This Christian (?) rabble 
 howled so loudly that they were actually heard two 
 miles away. These are the people who can not bear 
 the least noise, not even a stifled sob in Divine ser- 
 vice. But I have not heard that they thought their 
 shameful frolic too noisy! O consistency!" 
 
 Conference time again approached, and Seybert 
 started on his way thither. When crossing the Sus- 
 quehanna bridge, he encountered a young man who 
 was in great trouble, just returning from the Lan- 
 caster Fair, where, he said, his money had been 
 stolen. But the toll-keeper would not let him pass 
 over the bridge without paying his toll. During their 
 parley Seybert came up, and, learning the difficulty, 
 said to the youth: "1 will pay your toll for you, if 
 you will promise me never to go to another Fair." 
 The young man replied, " But I might have business 
 that would compel me to go.' ; u You can go where 
 your calling takes you," Seybert explained. " Well, 
 then," said the youth, " I will promise never to go to 
 Lancaster Fair again." " You shall not go to any" 
 Seybert insisted; "if you do, you may look out for 
 yourself how to get over the river." Driven so 
 
Divers Experiences. 
 
 81 
 
 closely, the youth sincerely promised never to go to 
 another Fair. Seybert thereupon paid the toll, and 
 the two rode together over the bridge. During the 
 ride Seybert took occasion to point out more ex- 
 plicitly the perils to which the young expose them- 
 selves in attending these County and State Fairs. 
 He used to call them "The Devil's camp-meetings". 
 And if he were living now, he would have no reason 
 to change his opinion. 
 
 Soon afterwards, as he was riding along one day, 
 a group of ungodly young men accosted him with: 
 " I believe you are a ' strabler* parson!" "No sir!" 
 Seybert replied, as he stopped his horse a moment 
 and faced the rabble, tC I was a. 'strabler' once; the 
 people on the dancing floor are the ' strablers. " With 
 that sally he turned his horse and rode away, leaving 
 the rabble to bear as best they could their chagrin. 
 — This word ' strabler is a word belonging to the 
 Pennsylvania German dialect. It is untranslatable, 
 and was applied in derision to the early Evangelicals, 
 because of their lively demonstrations in religious 
 service. 
 
 Speaking of the spirit of persecution which 
 manifested itself at that time in that part of Penn- 
 sylvania, Bro. Seybert relates many incidents, and 
 states among other things that the members of a 
 certain church had proposed to join the militia, if that 
 organization were summoned to murder the "praying 
 people", and then remarks: "These are some of the 
 so-called "good Christians" of the modern University 
 educated preachers!" This shows, furthermore, how 
 6 
 
82 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 the beast of Rev. 13:11, which arises out of the earth, 
 represents certain denominations of nominal Chris- 
 tians who, like the dragon, have the spirit of murder, 
 and utter voices of Satanic malice. It also shows 
 what this dragon would do if it had the power, and 
 if our excellent civil government did not put a bit 
 into its blasphemous mouth." 
 
 At Orwigsburg he had trouble with a sister who 
 had set a bad example. She had fallen from grace 
 through the practice of backbiting. Seybert threat- 
 ened and pleaded with her, but apparently in vain. 
 "O", he exclaimed, "when will the earth be delivered 
 wholly from this terrible evil." 
 
 During that year in Schuylkill circuit, Seybert had 
 seventy accessions, and the membership of the charge 
 increased fifty-nine, numbering nearly two hundred 
 at the end of the year. Among those whom he re- 
 ports as newly received, occurs the name of Francis 
 Hoffman, who afterwards became a useful preacher in 
 the Evangelical Association. 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 83 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ORDINATION AGAIN. ELECTED PRESIDING ELDER. 
 
 Bishop Seybert was ordained as an Elder in the 
 church, at the seventeenth session of the conference, 
 being the fourth which he attended. At the same 
 session of conference, Bishop Joseph Long was 
 elected to the office of a Deacon. His second ordi- 
 nation caused Seybert a severe conflict of soul. He 
 feared conference was making" a mistake, to commit 
 this solemn trust to him so soon. True, he had 
 served the full length of time according to Discipline, 
 but, he said, "It is plain enough that I am not worthy 
 of this high office." He earnestly desired to make 
 further proof of his ministry, and would have served 
 joyfully as a deacon for a third year. It was even 
 proposed at the same conference session to elect him 
 to the office of a Presiding Elder, which, however, was 
 not done. 
 
 He was stationed on York circuit that year, with 
 J. Bixler as his colleague. This was the charge upon 
 which he had labored so successfully during the first 
 year of his ministry. They had one day's respite 
 after conference, and then immediately began their 
 appointments. 
 
 One day in June, 1824, as he was riding through a 
 strange country, he happened to meet a farmer, of 
 whom he enquired the way to his destination. The 
 
84 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 farmer was just bringing in his horses from the field, 
 but directed Seybert in a very civil manner. However, 
 immediately he began to question the latter, whom 
 he surmised from his dress to be an Evangelical 
 
 o 
 
 preacher, concerning the manner of our public wor- 
 ship, — the earnest exercises — the camp-meetings, etc., 
 expressing promptly his doubts as to the Scriptural 
 warrant for such proceedings, and then added, with 
 some vehemence, 'And you also anathematize all 
 others.' This brought Seybert from his horse in a 
 hurry. Taking his Bible out of the saddle-bag, he 
 began to substantiate our position and methods, both 
 from the Old and the New Testament. As to loud 
 praying he read Psalm 50:15, and the fourth verse 
 of the sixty-eighth Psalm. To this the farmer 
 objected, that it applied to the ancients only and had 
 no reference to modern times, but Seybert told him 
 the same God still lives, that the nature of His work 
 has not changed, human nature is the same in all 
 generations, — sinful and corrupt and in danger of 
 eternal death. If it was proper for the ancients to 
 cry aloud whether in distress or in joy, then it is 
 proper for us too. He reminded him that the Lord 
 Jesus himself prayed "with strong crying and tears". 
 Our camp-meetings he justified on the ground of the 
 Feasts of Tabernacles celebrated among God's people 
 of old, and showed from St. John 7, that our Saviour 
 himself preached at one of these Tabernacle meetings. 
 As to cursing other people, he said it simply was not 
 true, which he invited the farmer to test to his own 
 satisfaction, if he would attend our services and hear 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 85 
 
 for himself. The farmer was unable to reply, and 
 seemed quite overcome. Before riding on, the faith- 
 ful Seybert sought to convince him of the necessity 
 of his own conversion, and they parted as friends. 
 Seybert thought, as he rode away, the man was not 
 far from the Kingdom of God, for which he was glad. 
 
 A few days later he heard a preacher deliver a 
 funeral discourse from John 3:3. It was an instruc- 
 tive and edifying sermon. The preacher, he says, 
 was orthodox, taught both the necessity and the 
 possibility of perfect cleansing from all sin in the 
 blood of Christ, and demonstrated that all who desire 
 to enter Heaven, must seek after holiness with all their 
 hearts. Then he adds, significantly, " He may have 
 been a messenger of God, but he lacked one thing: 
 an unction from the Holy One" 
 
 In July of that year he wrote of his experience, as 
 follows: — I am enjoying a most delightful and bles- 
 sed experience after the inner man. I am fully trans- 
 lated into the marvellous light and liberty of the 
 people of God. The enemies of my soul seem over- 
 come and driven from the field, and the everlasting 
 arm of Jesus Christ is around me, as He presses me 
 to his comforting bosom. I am therefore enabled to 
 enjoy my travels, possessing as I do a healthy body, 
 a contented mind and a quiet conscience, especially 
 in this halcyon period of the year, when bright sun- 
 shine and gentle winds mingle the perfume of the 
 flowers with the golden glory of the harvest fields. 
 My heart is filled with peace." 
 
 During the month of August of that year, a "big 
 
86 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 meeting" was held near the village of Marietta on 
 the Susquehanna river, at which Bro. Seybert was 
 instrumental in the awakening, among others, of John 
 Sensel, a blacksmith, who, after a profound penitential 
 experience was gloriously saved. Sensel afterwards 
 became a successful minister of the Gospel. He was 
 one of the most effective preachers of repentance of 
 his time. His rich, sonorous voice woke many a sin- 
 ner from the slumber of sin, and won many to the 
 feet of the Crucified One. One of his favorite senti- 
 ments was, "Without grace, no sermon." And indeed, 
 Sensel was exceptionally helpless when he did not 
 realize the unction of the Holy One, but when filled 
 with the Spirit, he was a power. Sometimes the 
 place seemed literally shaken when he preached. 
 But he was a man of unceasing prayer. He would 
 rather miss three meals than neglect secret devotions 
 once. 
 
 At a glorious camp-meeting in August (1824) near 
 Orwigsburg, among others, Chas. Hammer and 
 Richard Rickert were converted, who afterwards be- 
 came eminently useful in the service of God and the 
 church. 
 
 One day in December Bro. Seybert entered a store 
 to purchase some stationary. But he was refused. 
 The proprietor would not sell any paper to a "strabler" 
 preacher. 
 
 He frequently makes mention in his journal of 
 specially blessed seasons experienced during family 
 worship with various families. For instance: 
 
 In January, 1825, at Bro. Alspaugh's, they were so 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 8 7 
 
 blessed while engaged in family prayers, that they 
 were constrained to praise the Lord aloud before they 
 could eat breakfast or before they could even prepare 
 the meal." 
 
 On another occasion about that time, the people 
 were so filled with "the joy of the Lord which is our 
 strength" at family prayers, that they did not care to 
 eat at all. In that community he says, "the Devil 
 and wicked people try in every way to hinder the 
 Lord's work : but it is useless, as long as the fire of 
 God's Spirit burns like that on the family altars" 
 
 On the 9th of January, 1825, Bro Seybert visited 
 an uncle and his family for the purpose of seeking an 
 opening to preach. The privilege was given him, 
 and he preached to them and their neighbors. His 
 relatives were deeply impressed, and when he left 
 them next morning they were greatly moved. One 
 of the sons had been converted, but acknowledged 
 that he had back-slidden to a certain extent, and did 
 not live as consistently as he should, and conse- 
 quently was rather a hindrance than a blessing to the 
 family in their efforts to seek religion. Bro. Seybert 
 very pertinently remarks: " How necessary it is that 
 professors of religion demonstrate that which they 
 orally profess, by living and acting in conformity with 
 the word of God, lest the name of God be blasphemed 
 both among the baptized and unbaptized heathen of 
 the land. The unchristian conduct of those who have 
 been enlightened, always was a greater obstacle to 
 the progress of Christ's cause than all the bloody per- 
 secutions that have ever raged, and more detrimental 
 
88 
 
 Life a,7id Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 to the religion of Jesus, than all the malicious literary 
 attacks of skeptics and atheists." 
 
 Barbara Eckert, one of the most devoted and pious 
 members of the church, was bitterly hated and perse- 
 cuted, by her father and relatives, because of her 
 earnestness and zeal in the service of God, At the 
 time of her conversion she was a domestic in the 
 service of an intelligent Christian family. After she 
 had found the pearl of great price, she went home to 
 visit her parents. However, her father was enraged 
 over the matter, so that he refused to allow her to 
 finish her term of service, and kept her at home to 
 keep her from the " pernicious" influence of her Chris- 
 tian employers, in the hope of diverting her from her 
 religious purposes. "But she was firm in her purpose, 
 and had the moral courage to erect a family altar at 
 home. While she prayed, her father raved and swore 
 like a mad man. Nothing daunted, Barbara persisted 
 until her mother herself was brought under conviction 
 through her godly life. Upon this, her father, seeing 
 he could not induce her to give up her religion, and 
 enraged because even his wife was following the same 
 way, drove his daughter from home. 
 
 After being driven from home she was more de- 
 voted than ever, and seemed to be wholly charmed 
 by the love of God. She enjoyed in a remarkable 
 degree the life and power of God. Soon after her 
 banishment from home a "big meeting" was held at 
 the house of Bro. Young. The persecuted saint was 
 there. She was said to have spent the whole week 
 previously in fasting. She left Young's to go to a. 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 8 9 
 
 neighbor's house, and never returned. She was never 
 seen again after leaving Young's. Many of course 
 conjectured that a secret murder had been committed. 
 But, Seybert concludes, those who knew her most 
 intimately whispered with significant mien, "God can 
 do to-day what He did in Enoch's day." 
 
 Bro. Seybert's young colleague could not endure 
 the fatigue of preaching and the exposure of travel, 
 consequently rendered him but feeble assistance, 
 notwithstanding his willingness and devotion. To 
 make matters still worse, Seybert himself got sick 
 and had to take to his bed, where he remained for 
 four weeks. This was a sore trial, because, as he 
 felt, the circuit was suffering from neglect. But a 
 certain young brother (Joseph M. Saylor), whom he 
 had been instrumental in saving the previous Winter, 
 was able to supply the work, to Seybert's great relief. 
 He remarks that this spell of sickness, which he con- 
 sidered a loving visitation of Providence, taught him 
 two things: First, the value of good health, and, 
 second, to be joyful in affliction; and he regarded it a 
 great blessing. 
 
 At Steintown Bro. Seybert baptized several chil- 
 dren March 16th, one of which was remarkable, 
 the daughter of a Justice of the Peace named 
 McCrary. This child displayed unusually strong 
 religious inclinations for one so young. Soon after 
 her baptism, which rite she had earnestly requested, 
 she realized the saving grace of God, though she was 
 only a little more than four years of age. She became 
 sick, and did not desire any medicine, but wished to 
 
go 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 be baptized, die and then go to heaven. At her 
 death, which occurred soon after, she admonished her 
 parents very earnestly to prepare for eternity, and 
 died in great peace. 
 
 May 29th, 1825, a tent-meeting was begun at Bro. 
 Ernst's, which deserves a place in our Church annals, 
 chiefly because it was the occasion of the severest and 
 most serious persecution ever experienced at any 
 camp-meeting of the Evangelical Association, so far as 
 known. On Wednesday and Thursday a wonderful 
 awakening took place among the multitude. Among 
 others a poor cripple was converted, who confessed 
 publicly, that before the meeting he had been hired 
 by the mob to stone those engaged in the services. 
 He had come into the congregation with his pockets 
 full of stones for this diabolical purpose. The Word 
 of God, however, got such a hold upon him immedi- 
 ately, that he sank to the ground with his stony 
 weight. He was made spiritually whole. The 
 preaching was marvelously powerful. Several sin- 
 ners literally fell to the earth unconscious, under the 
 hammer-strokes of the truth of God. This power, so 
 strange and mysterious to the blind masses of people, 
 occasioned such a terrible rage among the rabble, that 
 they fell upon these profoundly awakened and quak- 
 ing penitents like bloodthirsty tigers fall upon their 
 prey, and dragged them violently away to a neigh- 
 boring house, where they had an ungodly doctor, 
 who undertook to restore these sin-sick and spiritu- 
 ally zvounded souls by bleeding (phlebotomizing) and 
 by dashing cold water upon them. Unlike Shake- 
 
Presiding Elder 
 
 91 
 
 speare's physician in " Macbeth," this fellow could or 
 thought he could, 
 
 " Minister to a mind diseased, 
 Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, 
 Raze out the written troubles of the soul." 
 
 They also had a preacher, there named Boyer, one 
 of the many blind guides of the day, who sought to 
 console these awakened and smitten souls in their 
 sinful condition, and to quiet their fears by applying 
 his untempered mortar. An insolent rabble gathered 
 around this ungodly spiritual adviser, with clubs, 
 pitch-forks and such other murderous weapons as 
 were at hand. They prowled about the woods like 
 hyenas. This pack of howling wolves Parson Boyer 
 called "his sheep", for whose spiritual, or rather eccle- 
 siastical safety he attended the meeting. At the same 
 time he kept continually threatening to ' whistle for 
 his hounds', to chase the 'foxes' into their holes! 
 
 Seybert sarcastically remarks: "By his own mouth 
 these church- members were both his 'sheep' and his 
 ' hounds '." 
 
 On Thursday afternoon and evening the devilish 
 brood was greatly augmented in number. That was 
 a sad and fearful night. The Satanic rabble was well 
 equipped with clubs and pitch-forks, for their hellish 
 work, and well drilled by their commander-in-chief, 
 who kept himself in the back-ground, having great 
 confidence in the obedience and desperate character 
 of his hosts. They lay in ambush about the encamp- 
 ment, under cover of the darkness, waiting for a 
 signal from their wily leader. 
 
92 Life and Labors of yohn Seybert. 
 
 Rev. D. Manwiller was preaching, when the club- 
 armed rabble came in and be ran to tear off the 
 
 o 
 
 boards from the preacher's stand, and to fling clubs 
 and stones among the worshippers in a very reckless 
 manner. No one's life was any longer safe. Their 
 brutal actions were made more terrible by awful pro- 
 fanity and cursing. The service was broken up, and 
 the devil took possession of the place, in the person 
 of Rev. Boyer and his mob. To restore order was 
 out of the question. The rabble had torn down the 
 fire-places with which the encampment was lighted, 
 and raged frightfully. Remonstrance only made 
 them worse. The hellish performance was kept up 
 all through that hideous night. Their howling and 
 screaming was more terrible than that of wild beasts. 
 At times they would bawl like calves or cattle, then 
 crow like cocks, swearing meanwhile and cursing one 
 another and the worshippers promiscuously: These 
 people were mostly so called church-members. 
 
 Oh, how that persecuted 'company wished for the 
 day! they cried more than once during that night, 
 " Watchman, what of the night ? Watchman what of 
 the night ? — Still there were also some decent people 
 on the grounds, who, though they were not converted, 
 yet stood by the people of God. On Friday some of 
 the rowdies left the ground and the confusion was 
 somewhat diminished. 
 
 As to casualities, Bro. Ernst, on whose premises 
 the meeting was held, was beaten unmercifully with 
 a club, during the night. Bro. D. Loos was danger- 
 ously wounded with a pitchfork, while many were 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 93 
 
 bruised and stunned by flying stones and other 
 missiles. No one was killed, however, which, under 
 the circumstances, was a 'veritable miracle, and must 
 be attributed to the merciful intervention of our 
 Heavenly Father. 
 
 Many of the friends were now in favor of closing 
 the meeting at once, but others wanted to have at 
 least one more service held. The latter was accord- 
 ingly done. Amid the ghastly ruins of their tem- 
 porary sanctuary, and amid the continued howling of 
 the rabble, Bro. Seybert preached from Psalm 43:3, 
 and God's Spirit wrought mightily through the word. 
 They broke up the meeting on Friday noon, how- 
 ever, one day sooner than they had originally con- 
 templated. 
 
 Such occurrences are a dark blot upon the history 
 of this land of religious liberty, sad mementoes of the 
 unhappy past, and an eternal disgrace to the old 
 German churches in America. It would be impos- 
 sible to-day to believe such things, but for the indubit- 
 able evidence of the most trustworthy witnesses. 
 Should any member of those churches scan these 
 pages, let him be thankful to Almighty God that he 
 lives in a brighter day. Neither let him ever again 
 think or say that the Church of Jacob Albright had no 
 mission in this country, no occasion for its existence. 
 
 The annual conference which met June 6th, 1825, 
 elected Bro. Seybert to the office of Presiding Elder 
 for the first time. This was a surprise to him and by 
 no means an agreeable one. He thought the breth- 
 ren greatly over-estimated him and knew nothing of 
 
94 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 his great deficiencies, or they would not have en- 
 trusted to him this important position. However, he 
 determined to seek more grace, and live nearer to 
 x God, in the hope that perhaps he could get along at 
 any rate. He was assigned to Canaan District, em- 
 bracing Schuylkill, Lancaster, York and Franklin 
 circuits. One of these circuits was alone greater than 
 an entire District is at the present time, in most of 
 our conferences. Bro. Seybert was no less success- 
 ful in his new position, than he had been in his former 
 one. Awakenings and conversions continued to 
 occur under his labors. He was a Presiding Elder 
 who saved souls. 
 
 He relates that in October he preached in a hotel 
 to an attentive audience. He also lodged there. 
 When he awoke in the morning he was somewhat 
 perplexed concerning family worship in this 'public 
 house, and felt inclined to shrink from suggesting it 
 to the landlord. After coming down stairs, and 
 breakfast being ready, he was quite agreeably sur- 
 prised to find the landlord coming into the room he 
 occupied, and, after the usual morning salutation, 
 accosting Seybert with " I suppose the minister will 
 pray with us this morning before breakfast?" "O, 
 yes," he replied, " I consider it my duty, where I 
 lodge at night to hold family worship with the family, 
 when it is permitted." — But that morning he had 
 almost determined not to venture to suggest it him- 
 self. He now conducted service with much delight, 
 but afterwards felt heartily ashamed of his "lack of 
 moral courage". 
 
Presiding Elder, 
 
 95 
 
 Nov. 14th Seybert visited a penitent man who was 
 extremely timid, fearing persecution if he should 
 espouse the cause of Christ openly. He specially 
 feared a brother of his, who had in some way learned 
 his state of mind and threatened to shoot him if he 
 went with these "knee- crawlers" (knie-rutscher) . 
 
 This menace scared the timid soul, but the Lord 
 opened his way by a terrible visitation of Providence. 
 On his way home from his errand of intimidation 
 the wicked brother was suddenly taken violently ill. 
 In a few hours he became speechless, and was never 
 able to utter another word. He finally died in great 
 agony. In this way the Lord opened the way for 
 the brother, and took away an unprofitable servant. 
 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked. For what- 
 soever a man soweth that shall he also reap." 
 
 In his old home, during this year, Bro. Seybert 
 was also called upon one day by a police officer. 
 However, his offense was nothing grave. When he 
 was yet in business there, he had become security on 
 a note for one of his neighbors, who had proved 
 unfaithful, leaving Seybert to pay the note, and for 
 this the officer of the law came to see Seybert. But 
 he immediately paid the note and so escaped arrest. 
 Seybert lost a great sum of money in just this way, 
 during his life. 
 
 Following is a letter which Bro. Seybert wrote to a 
 life-long intimate friend, in Reading, Pa., who was 
 however a member of another denomination. This 
 letter gives further glimpses into the life and work of 
 Seybert at this time: 
 
g6 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 York County, Pa., March 2d, 1826. 
 Dear Friend and Brother in Jesus! 
 
 ''Your letter to your friends in Manheim I 
 delivered in person. The man seems, however, un- 
 concerned as regards things ol eternity; still, in a 
 general way there is an improvement in spiritual 
 matters in the town, for during the last five weeks 
 there have gradually been some conversions. I am 
 well in soul and body, and earnestly desire the same 
 blessing for you and yours. 
 
 "Since I left you I have had many a severe con- 
 flict and trial to endure, and have been assailed from 
 within and without, by Satan and by the world. 
 But the Almighty is my faithful and ever present 
 Helper, and He helps me through. Blessed be his 
 dear name! In order to look up new preaching- 
 places I have ventured north, even into the land of 
 midnight (Jer. 3:12) and preached the Word there, 
 where I had blessed and melting seasons. There is 
 hope for that region, especially in the Mahanoy 
 valley. In the vicinity of Orwigsburg it still goes 
 well. Usually in our services there great weeping 
 occurs among the unconverted, while the people 
 of God engage in shouting and praising the Lord, 
 end weeping. Conversions are still going on, for the 
 Lord is at work in spite of all the opposition and 
 persecution on the part of the ungodly parsons. Not 
 long ago one was converted whom Babylon the Great 
 regarded as a strong pillar. He also united with the 
 people of God, which caused no little crashing and 
 cracking in the old Babylonian edifice. The founda- 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 97 
 
 tion, which is built on the sand, and the roof which 
 rests upon dangerously rotten reasoning — in short r 
 the whole hellish building trembles. Several strong 
 posts have been shaken loose by the fall of the great 
 pillar aforesaid, besides many beams and joists have- 
 been lifted out of their places, and the whole structure 
 is crazy and out of shape. Unless Babel's builders 
 quickly fasten the broken parts and loose pillars and, 
 beams, they will soon fall out also. 
 
 "But to return to Manheim, my birth-place. Only 
 recently I had a meeting there, in which the power 
 of God became marvellously manifest while I was 
 preaching from Rev. 22:17. A general power of 
 repentance came upon the people, and the slain of the 
 Lord were of all ages, from the child of twelve to the 
 man of fifty. There are still seeking souls there even 
 now, while many have obtained pardon in the blood 
 of Christ. Since the Lord works so mightily in 
 Manheim, there is great uneasiness in the kingdom 
 of darkness. The fact that the sons of Belial are doing 
 their utmost to hinder the work is proof enough of this. 
 In several cases, parents have beaten their children 
 unmercifully, because they wished to lead a godly life 
 and desired to abandon the prayerless ways of their 
 parents. But this has been of old the characterestic of 
 the Babylonians to persecute and oppress God's people. 
 However, the work of the Lord is not hindered. 
 
 "You also know something of the Reformed min- 
 ister, John Winebrenner, do you not? The same is 
 earnestly engaged in the Lord's work, labors with 
 great success and God is with him. This can not be 
 7 
 
98 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 denied, by the ungodly and even all the Egyptian 
 sorcerers can not gain say it. Winebrenner preaches 
 in a certain locality, in Cumberland county, where the 
 people are boundlessly wicked. But since he is 
 preaching there, a work of grace has broken out, and 
 it is asserted that the people of Lisbon and vicinity 
 are nearly all awakened and converted. This man 
 manifests great zeal, and is no respecter of persons or 
 station. He preaches to the wicked and the good, 
 among the high and the low, the rich and the poor, 
 Methodists, white or black. He is loved by the good, 
 and by the false teachers he is hated and persecuted. 
 
 On last Tuesday evening I had a meeting in York 
 county, during which such distress of soul seized the 
 unconverted, that I could not continue my remarks. 
 The people wept and began to cry for mercy so loudly, 
 that I could not be understood. 
 
 Now, dear Bro. Rein, I wish you God's blessing 
 a thousand-fold, so that you may be enabled to con- 
 tinue faithful to a happy end in the well begun work. 
 Your wife also shall pray earnestly, live a holy life, and 
 continue to seek that which is good through suffering 
 and in patience, as her purpose also is. Tell your 
 daughter to consecrate her youthful years to the ser- 
 vice of God; above all let her follow Jesus in humility, 
 avoid pride, and God will bless her. Greet G's. for 
 me. They are to remember me in prayer, for they 
 are my friends beloved in the Lord. It would greatly 
 delight me, if you would write to me as to how the 
 work of the Lord prospers in your city. 
 
 Your Brother in Christ, John Seybert." 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 99 
 
 At the conference session of 1820 Seybert was 
 chosen President. There was as yet no Bishop in 
 the Evangelical x^ssociation. Though the Discipline 
 provided for the office, it had not been filled. Until 
 a Bishop was elected, the Presiding Elders were the 
 highest functionaries in the church. 
 
 In June of this year Seybert visited John Wine- 
 brenner, the founder of the society calling itself 
 <l Church of God," also commonly known as 4< Wine- 
 brennarians". Bro. Seybert says they had a very 
 edifying interview, and mutually obligated themselves 
 to pray for one another, and also agreed that Seybert 
 should be welcome to preach at Winebrenner's 
 appointments, and Winebrenner should be equally 
 welcome at Seybert' s appointments. At the close of 
 the interview they knelt together in prayer, and the 
 above covenant was practically observed by both of 
 these brethren, until Winebrenner assumed an inde- 
 pendent attitude, began to promulgate some singular 
 notions and prepared the way for the organization 
 of the "Church of God", as a separate branch of the 
 Christian Church, when further fraternization became 
 impracticable. 
 
 In 1826 Bro. Seybert broke the fallow ground for 
 the work of the Evangelical Association in the valleys 
 of Likens, Mahantango, Mahanoy, Pauls, Armstrong 
 and Deep Creek. In this enterprise, however, the 
 Presiding Elder of Canaan district subjected himself 
 to great persecution. Already on his first tour over 
 the lofty Mount Mahantango, his preaching resulted 
 in awakening sinners, and many inquired what must 
 
i oo Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 be done to be saved. This aroused the spirit of per- 
 secution at once, which was at first directed against 
 the preacher himself. One man distinguished him- 
 self above all others for his insolence and an^er. He 
 sought to ascertain the time when Seybert would 
 again cross the mountain, loaded his gun, and an- 
 nounced that he was going out to shoot "this Sey- 
 bert". No one doubted the desperation of this moun- 
 tain terror, for all knew he was vicious enough to 
 execute his threat. He went out to the mountain 
 early in the morning of the day designated for Sey- 
 bert's return, and waited and watched the entire day 
 for his harmless, unsuspecting victim. But no Sey- 
 bert appeared; he had crossed the mountain early in 
 the morning, and while the would-be-assassin was 
 lurking there, his intended victim was innocently en- 
 gaged in visiting one family after another of awakened 
 souls, in the valley below, who were hungering and 
 thirsting after righteousness. The ruffian with others 
 like himself would no doubt have been at the services 
 in the valley that evening, but so certain were they 
 that Seybert had not passed over, the Mahantango, 
 that they made no effort to go to the services. After 
 discovering that his game had eluded him, the ruffian 
 swore that he would shoot Seybert from his horse be- 
 fore he should ever again reach his appointments. He 
 was no doubt in earnest, and would have accomplished 
 his diabolical purpose had not Providence interfered. 
 Before the faithful itinerant returned, the would-be- 
 assassin was dead and buried. Surely, as Luther has 
 written in his great hymn of the Reformation, 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 101 
 
 "A might}' fortress in our God." 
 
 Though no one informed the * l Governor" of the 
 plot, as in the case of Paul, yet God knew it and de- 
 feated the purpose of Hell by sending the death angel 
 to palsy the murderous heart and hand. 
 
 Bro. Seybert was a good prophet in regard to the 
 progress of the work of the Evangelical Association. 
 There are instances in which his predictions were 
 minutely realized. In 1827 he made the following 
 prediction, concerning the above named valleys: 
 
 "There is at present much excitement about salva- 
 tion, and many inquiries after the way or life. The 
 people are uneasy in their sins, and eager throngs 
 assemble at our services. This uneasiness of the pub- 
 lic mind, is destined to become general, for the morn- 
 ing twilight of the day of grace is breaking upon the 
 midnight of these valleys and mountains: 
 
 The clouds are lifting, 
 The shadows shifting. 
 
 It will soon be daylight, for the day-star has arisen, 
 and the Sun of Righteousness will speedily burst 
 upon the scene with his glory, and darkness will flee 
 away. All the efforts of Satan to prevent it will be 
 in vain. A great change is imminent here, and a 
 mighty spiritual revolution will be enacted on this 
 romantic arena. These valleys will be redeemed. 
 This desert will yet rejoice and blossom as the rose; 
 it will blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and 
 singing. All flesh shall see the salvation of our 
 God," 
 
102 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 This glorious prediction, like many other similar 
 ones, was strikingly fulfilled. He was endowed with 
 a remarkable prophetic ken. He stood upon the 
 mountain summits, and his acute intellect saw with 
 precision what the outcome would be, for he had a 
 just appreciation of the power of the Gospel, which 
 is the power of God unto salvation unto everyone 
 that believeth. 
 
 The conference session of 1827 was held in Or- 
 wigsburg. During the conference session the people 
 streamed to the services in great and eager crowds, 
 among them many newly converted, The work here 
 was now well established. A society of one hundred 
 and forty zealous and active members was already 
 organized. 
 
 Seybert started on a Saturday in September from 
 a camp-meeting in Virginia, to visit his mother, and 
 rode fifty miles that day. Sunday he crossed the 
 Alleghany mountains, for he had an appointment to 
 preach that evening. He reached his mother's home 
 at Economy on the following Friday. The visit of 
 her son caused her much joy. The next day he spent 
 in visiting from house to house among the Harmon- 
 ites. — They had meanwhile changed the name of 
 their society and town, however, calling it 'Economy' 
 latterly. On Sunday he went to church with them in 
 the morning, when Rapp preached. The evening 
 they spent in playing on musical instruments. Wed- 
 nesday evening Rapp held a church trial with a 
 member who was found guilty of stealing apples from 
 a neighboring orchard. Rapp asked the society what 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 103 
 
 should be done with the offender. No one spoke. 
 After waiting in silence for a while he exclaimed im- 
 patiently, "Is there no one here who has a familiar 
 spirit?" At last a young man arose, and suggested 
 that the thief should be prohibited from attending 
 public meetings for two weeks. This was accordingly 
 done, Rapp adding to the punishment that during the 
 two weeks he should live on bread and water, and no 
 one should eive him a welcome. 
 
 On Friday Seybert left to go to Ohio. After 
 preaching a number of times and visiting Bro. Erb, 
 he returned to Economy before the second Sunday. 
 The Lord's day was spent similar to the one described. 
 He remained another week, taking a much needed 
 rest, meanwhile applying remedies to cure a trouble- 
 some cough which had settled upon his lungs. 
 Among these Economists he says no one is in want, a 
 consequence of the community of goods. Their 
 domestic habits are simple, cleanly and economical. 
 The same is true of their dress. They seem to love 
 each other sincerely. Those who are married prac- 
 tice continence, hoping in this way to present them- 
 selves to Christ as a Bride without spot or wrinkle, or 
 any such thing. They seldom, if ever, have prayer- 
 meetings, never saying grace at table, nor holding 
 family worships contending that one must "pray in- 
 wardly". They consider baptism unnecessary, and 
 disregard feet-washing, but they esteem the Sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's Supper very highly. They pro- 
 fess that Christ will soon come and establish his king- 
 dom among them and by them. It may be remarked 
 
1 04 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 here, that Seybert always spoke favorably of this 
 institution. 
 
 January 30th, 1828, he went to Harrisburgh on his 
 way east. Here he visited Rev. J. Dreisbach, who 
 was at the time a member of the House of Represen- 
 tatives of Pennsylvania. Dreisbach showed Seybert 
 the hall of the Representatives and the imposing 
 Capitol buildings, the arrangements of which the latter 
 thought very excellent. He was glad to see his 
 ministerial brother there, and hoped he would also do 
 his duty in his present position to the glory of his 
 Lord and the welfare of his country. "But", he ex- 
 claimed, "how much greater is the dignity and honor 
 of a minister of the Gospel which I am permitted to 
 hold! O thou eternal Jehovah! Who am I poor 
 worm, that Thou hast counted me worthy of a place 
 among Thy children? Though I were a thousand 
 times better than I am, I would by no means be 
 worthy of this dignity. I could not even claim merit 
 enough to be a door-keeper in Thy house. How can 
 I be worthy of such an office as the Gospel ministry ! 
 Nevertheless I praise Thee with all my soul, that 
 Thou hast counted me worthy, putting me into the 
 ministry, through Jesus Christ. Amen." 
 
 Seybert not only engaged in pioneer work in rural 
 districts and villages, but also opened the way for 
 the Evangelical Association in large cities. He 
 visited the cities of Reading and Philadelphia for 
 years, occasionally, and was greatly esteemed by the 
 honest Germans of those places, for his simplicity of 
 manners, his disingenuousness of mind, his self- 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 denial, his condescending interest in the common 
 people, and his industry. During the current year 
 (1828) he made some progress in laying the founda- 
 tion for our work in those cities, which has now as- 
 sumed large proportions. 
 
 In April he visited one of the German clergy in 
 Womelsdorf. Seybert, during their conversation, 
 asked him as to the state of religious matters there, 
 and the parson replied that everything is "all right". 
 But Seybert did not agree. "This preacher," he says, 
 "calls everything all right, while at the same time 
 the masses of the people there live like veritable 
 heathen. For instance: Just about that time two 
 church-members had a heated quarrel at a dance. 
 The quarrel ended in a fight, but in a few minutes 
 they professed to make peace. One of the belliger- 
 ents, who was the fiddler, began to play again, and the 
 dance went on. Meanwhile the other went out, 
 procured a knife, came back and stabbed the fiddler, 
 killing him instantly. At the funeral of the murdered 
 fiddler the parson aforesaid declared, the brother had 
 fallen asleep in Jesus; that he is in heaven, and has 
 no sin to account for. The murderer was alone the 
 sinner. This preacher calls this getting along well in 
 religion! Surely, this is the prosperity of the wicked, 
 the security of the sons of Belial. And no wonder 
 that such a state of affairs exists when the spiritual 
 leaders cry "peace, peace' when there is no peace!' 
 
 The conference of 1828 met in June, at New Berlin. 
 On account of increasing interests and more business 
 complications its session lasted an entire day longer 
 
io6 Life and Labors of Jo Jin Seybert. 
 
 than heretofore. Up to the previous year there was 
 but one conference in the Evangelical Association, 
 and that conference had to transact the business and 
 govern the affairs of the entire Church. 
 
 In 1827 the Western conference was formed, — 
 which afterwards became the Ohio conference, but 
 for several years the most important business was 
 still transacted in the Eastern conference. This 
 made the session of 1828 unusually lengthy. At this 
 session Joseph Long, (afterwards Bishop) was for the 
 first time chosen as Presiding Elder and placed in 
 charge of the one district composing the new 
 Western conference. Long was thus the first 
 Presiding Elder, regularly serving in the Western 
 or Ohio conference. Seybert remained on Canaan 
 district. 
 
 During this year a sort of union camp- meeting was 
 held in Cumberland Co., Penna., originated by Rev. 
 John Winebrenner, at that time as yet a minister in 
 the Reformed Church. It was to be purely non- 
 sectarian, and ministers of four different denomina- 
 tions were present and participated, besides even 
 some who belonged to no branch of the Christian 
 Church. Bro. Seybert, who, as we have seen, was 
 very favorably impressed with the character of Wine- 
 brenner's work, was also present and preached. The 
 meeting was very largely attended, and no less than 
 sixty-two tents were erected. The meeting produced 
 an extraordinary spiritual commotion, and the close is 
 said to have been very affecting. 
 
 The only serious objection Seybert had at that time 
 
Presiding Elder. 
 
 to Winebrenner's work as a spiritual reformer, was 
 that in his opinion he did not lay stress enough upon 
 the virtue of self-denial and non-conformity to worldly 
 pleasures and fashions. — Of course, later on, when 
 Winebrenner began to drift away from the beaten 
 track of orthodoxy, and announced his extreme views 
 on baptism and insisted upon feet washing as an ordi- 
 nance, Seybert could no longer endorse the course 
 of his former friend. — Accordingly he took the oppor- 
 tunity at this camp-meeting to preach on this subject 
 of self-denial, for he thought the people were dressed 
 in a very vain and worldly fashion, entirely unbecom- 
 ing for Christians. Seybert was thoroughly at home 
 on this theme, and his preaching was often startling 
 in its immediate effects. 
 
 On this occasion he made a profound impression. 
 Some of the "haughty ones in Zion", as he called 
 them, threw into the straw useless articles of orna- 
 mentation, or rushed excitedly into their tents to 
 divest themselves of articles of dress which their 
 aroused consciences condemned. This was preach- 
 ing with effect upon a subject which is undoubtedly 
 neglected too much in our day, by Evangelical 
 preachers. Seybert, however, never prescribed any 
 particular mode of dress; he only insisted upon pro- 
 priety, simplicity, plainness and economy. He op- 
 posed fashionable apparel chiefly on the ground of 
 the boundless extravagance to which it leads, and 
 because, to his mind, it was indicative of conformity 
 at heart to the world. To him personal apparel was 
 an important index of the state of the heart. He 
 
1 08 Life and Labors of John Seybert 
 
 thought a Christian ought to dress like a Christian, 
 and not with the vanity and display of a peacock. 
 Was he wrong? 
 
 In September he was taken very sick, so that he 
 was confined to bed for twelve days. He stayed 
 with a family named Wise, whose kind hospitality he 
 gratefully acknowledged, and whose sterling piety he 
 greatly admired. His sickness was so severe that it 
 was feared his career would end. He experienced 
 no fear of death or eternity, and expressed himself 
 prepared for the mortal change. Contrary to all 
 expectations however, he recovered, and before he 
 had sufficiently recuperated, he was again in the 
 saddle. Occasionally he was compelled to stop and 
 lie abed for several days. Frequently he lay down 
 by the road- side in the woods. In the evening, if he 
 was too feeble to preach, he exhorted or held class 
 and prayer-meetings. Thus the intrepid pioneer kept 
 on, and actually recovered in the midst of his labors. 
 It was almost impossible for Seybert to adjust him- 
 self to the idleness which sickness imposed. How- 
 ever, on a certain occasion in a conversation, he as- 
 serted that he had learned through sickness to serve 
 the Lord in a new way. Upon being asked for an 
 explanation, he said: ''Not long ago, when I had to 
 succumb to severe sickness, I had a very hard con- 
 flict with myself, because I could not be contented 
 with doing nothing. Suddenly it flashed upon my 
 mind that we must not only labor according to the 
 will of God, but also suffer according to the will of 
 God." 
 
Presiding Elder. 109 
 
 Near the city limits of Lebanon, Pa., there stood 
 an old one-story brick church, built upon a great, 
 solid limestone-bedrock for a foundation, and there- 
 fore a very firm and substantial building*. It was 
 owned by a defunct society of Mennonites, the few 
 remaining members of which, however, generously 
 opened their house for the use of other preachers. 
 Seybert was always welcome to use it and frequently 
 preached there. In April, 1829, he with several other 
 ministers held a special meeting there. This meet- 
 ing was evidently characterized by considerable lively 
 demonstration, upon which several of those who had 
 control of the property, sent word to Seybert that he 
 could not be permitted to hold any more of that kind 
 of meetings in the old brick, for, they said, "it would 
 not stand the jumping and shouting!" But Seybert 
 gave it as his opinion, that the building was perfectly 
 safe, standing as it did upon the great limestone 
 rock; he thought there was much more likelihood that 
 "certain cold and formal Christians could not endure 
 such lively meetings." 
 
 About this time, while on a prospecting tour 
 through Lehigh county, he visited a venerable gentle- 
 man, eighty-five years of age, belonging to the 
 "Schwenkfelders", otherwise known as Tunkers, who 
 had long cherished an ardent desire to see another 
 preacher of the Evangelical Association before he 
 died. His delight, therefore, at seeing Bro. Seybert, 
 was very great, and he treated him very effection- 
 ately. 
 
 Seybert says: 
 
1 10 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 "I also attended a meeting of the Schwenkfelders, 
 where a man named Schultz preached. These 
 people seemed to be a very sociable, virtuous 
 society, outwardly humble, and simple in their dress. 
 But it seemed to me that in respect of the inner 
 spiritual life they were far below the mark. I gave 
 my host several tracts on the subject of conversion 
 and salvation from sin. I found four classes of people 
 in this vicinity: 
 
 First, the rough and extremely wicked. 
 
 Second, the respectable and moral, who have never 
 been awakened. 
 
 Third, those who were struggling with conviction. 
 
 Fourth, some who may have had some knowledge 
 of a genuine Evangelical experience." 
 
 Our sainted Bishop never failed to chronicle in his 
 journals an appreciative reference to the beauties 
 and delights of Spring. In his strictly itinerant mode 
 of life, too, he had abundant opportunities to witness 
 and enjoy the annual resurrection of nature. He was 
 blessed in this respect above modern pastors, who 
 find themselves mostly shut up within the brown, dull 
 walls of the library, or tramping with weary feet the 
 sombre pavements of the city — that sacrilege in 
 God's beautiful temple of nature. Scarcely a blade 
 of grass helps to soften their footsepts ; scarcely a 
 flower greets their languid eyes, as they pace the 
 tread-mill beat of their daily round of duties. Some 
 of them would, we think, gladly bear the hardships 
 of the glorious old-time itinerants, for the exuberant 
 joys and exquisite pleasures which blessed them. 
 
Presiding Elder. 1 1 r 
 
 Give us green fields, shadowy wildwood, meander- 
 ing brook, fleecy clouds flecking a soft blue sky visible 
 from horizon line to horizon line, pure air perfumed 
 from the tinted chalices of God's flowers, and sunshine 
 that comes clear and straight from heaven, not filtered 
 into shadow through clouds of smoke and dust and 
 soot from a thousand impudent fire throats! — But we 
 started to copy an entry from Seybert's journal, writ- 
 ten in the Spring of '29: 
 
 "At this season of the year traveling is pleasant. 
 Everything is beautiful ; the weather is delightful ; 
 the earth is carpeted with green; a glorious wealth of 
 flowers is displayed in meadow and on hillside, and the 
 very air is full of the most pleasant odors. In the 
 soft evening the trill of the frog is heard, and in the 
 morning the feathery tribes sing their choruses of 
 praise, while the cooing of the turtle-dove lends its 
 subduing enchantment to the song. One can now 
 drink in the delights of nature and the glory and 
 a-oodness of the Creator, with all the five senses." 
 
 During this Spring he went to Dauphin county, to 
 look up a new field of operation, and was invited to 
 the house of a man named Henn. But w T hen he 
 began to arrrange for family prayers, the housewife 
 became angry, and began to curse, scold and sw r ear, 
 though Mr. Henn himself was pleased to have his 
 guest pray. Seybert prayed in spite of the angry 
 woman, and continued praying until she became 
 quiet. But seeing that the prayer had touched' her 
 husband's heart, set her to raving anew, and she 
 finally threatened to scald Seybert with boiling water. 
 
ii2 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Upon this he spoke gently and kindly to the woman, 
 and was permitted to remain all night; but he left 
 early next morning without breakfast, though he was 
 obliged to make a long journey fasting. 
 
 On the last day of May, 1829, he concluded his 
 labors on Canaan district, where he had now labored 
 for four years with great zeal, faithfulness and accept- 
 ability. He had many spiritual sons and daughters 
 there, for whose welfare and spiritual advancement 
 he was greatly concerned. He writes: 
 
 " To-day I must leave my dear Canaan district. 
 My heart is filled with sadness at having to give 
 the parting hand to so many warm friends, to 
 whom I have become so closely attached. And 
 yet, my soul is moved to grateful praise unto 
 God, for his unspeakable goodness to me during 
 these four years. With such feelings and thoughts 
 in my heart, I could not do otherwise to-day than 
 stay behind my traveling companions, on the way to 
 conference, to commune with my heavenly Father 
 about these things." 
 
Further Experiences. 1 13 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FURTHER EXPERIENCES AND DEEDS AS A PRESIDING 
 
 ELDER. 
 
 t 
 
 The session of his conference, for 1829. met on the 
 first of June in New Berlin, elected Bro. Seybert 
 a second time to the office of Presiding Elder, and 
 assigned him to duty on Salem district, embracing 
 Union. Centre and Somerset charges in the State 
 of Pennsylvania, and Lake circuit, in the State of 
 New York. He was also elected Trustee of the fund 
 created by legacies bequeathed to the Evangelical 
 Association, whereupon he prayed for a special wis- 
 dom to perform the duties of this new trust to the 
 best interests of the Church. 
 
 During- this conference session a somewhat amus- 
 ing incident occurred. Sevbert with several other 
 ministers was sitting one evening on the piazza of 
 Mr. Maize's house, where they were being entertained, 
 quietly conversing on religious topics among them- 
 selves and with the family, when a vicious neighbor, 
 named Maurer, came up Penn's creek, on the banks 
 of which Michael Maize's house was situated, for the 
 purpose of annoying the brethren. He was a fiddler, 
 and stationing himself near where they were sitting, 
 began to play some giddy dancing airs. This he 
 knew would annoy these plain gentlemen, but they 
 were not long in divining his purpose. Accordingly, 
 8 
 
ii4 
 
 Life and Labors of Joint Scybert. 
 
 while he was vigorously engaged in playing his dan- 
 cing airs, they began to sing in a hearty manner, "Our 
 dying day is coming on". They sang so lustily that 
 the violin could no longer be heard, and the discon- 
 certed musician, with a chop-fallen scowl, thrust his 
 fiddle under his arm and trudged angrily away, 
 muttering some harmless imprecations upon the men 
 who had so signally defeated him. They fairly sang 
 him down. He must have been a miserable creature. 
 He committed suicide soon afterwards. 
 
 After conference, on account of some business, 
 Bro. Seybert returned once more to Liken's Valley. 
 Arriving there he found that in his absence, the devil, 
 through his willing creatures, had scattered a whole 
 pack of lies about him. One story ran that Seybert 
 had a wife and children somewhere, whom he did not 
 support, and that he was in communication with bad 
 characters. Another was to the effect that he had 
 stolen a horse and saddle from his father. Seybert 
 remarks: 
 
 " These lies would never have been circulated 
 about me, had not a genuine work of grace broken 
 out in that section, wherein many sinners were 
 snatched as brands from the burnings and happily 
 converted deep into eternal life. This is what made 
 the old father of lies scatter these stories concerning 
 the poor itinerant." 
 
 During this trip Bro. Seybert fell into an earnest 
 dispute with a Lutheran woman, who was rather bold, 
 and unceremoniously attacked the Presiding Elder on 
 various points, expressing her dissent in very positive 
 
Further Experiences. 
 
 "5 
 
 terms. She seemed specially intent on establishing 
 the assertion that there were no saints living in that 
 day, and that none ever lived who were "not afraid 
 of thunder". Bro. Seybert tried to show her from 
 Scripture, that the true Christian has no occasion to 
 fear, or to live in constant trepidation and anxiety. 
 Pefect love casteth out all fear that hath torment. 
 The loud thunders may momentarily frighten timid 
 souls, or startle nervous people, but they still have no 
 actual fear, if they are true children of God, who trust 
 in their Heavenly Father as they should. He was 
 however, apparently making no impression upon her. 
 At last he happened to espy an old Lutheran hymn- 
 book, lying near him, which he quickly seized and 
 began to read to her from its pages: — 
 
 ''Roll, ye dread thunders, in majesty rumble, 
 Shake, in your wrath, the dark clouds over head : 
 Smite with your might, 
 'Till quaketh the earth, neath the shock — 
 Still standeth my faith on the Rock." 
 
 The woman thought, her "faith" would stand firm 
 too: she agreed with the poet. Then Seybert read 
 on: — 
 
 " Darken the heavens, ye storm-clouds, with blackness ; 
 
 Terrify earth with the hurricane's roar : 
 
 Rush, }-e mad floods ; 
 
 Break o'er thy bounds, 0 wild sea, 
 
 Your power alarmeth not me ! " 
 
 The woman said, what she dreaded about a storm 
 wasn't the thunder so much as the frightful lightning. 
 He read again: — 
 
1 1 6 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 " Flash, ye quick lightnings, like a sword from its scabbard! 
 
 Pour your hot fires from the vials of wrath 
 
 On the doomed world ; 
 
 Shoot from the bow the swift dart : 
 
 Yet shall peace dwell in my heart ! " 
 
 "Oh yes," she interrupted again, " if a person hadn't 
 any sins anymore, — but who that is not free from sin, 
 can witness such a scene without fear?" 
 
 "Why, listen!" says Seybert, and reads on: — 
 
 " Jesus the mighty, hath pardoned my sinnings ! 
 I am saved from all sin by the blood of the Lamb ! 
 
 He is my Friend, 
 Holds o'er me his banner, beneath me his arm, 
 So nought can my spirit alarm ! " 
 
 The woman admitted that probably such a defiance 
 of a thunder-storm might be possible, if one is in 
 such a state of grace as the poet here describes and 
 professes to enjoy, but such people are scarce now- 
 a-days. Bro. Seybert, however, confidently assured 
 her that there were already quite a number right 
 there in Liken's valley, who were gloriously and 
 consciously saved in Jesus, and that their number 
 was rapidly increasing. He was right. Gradually 
 that valley became a truly Christian community. 
 The old lady could not resist the double argument of 
 her own hymn-book and of the logic of facts around 
 her, and was silent. 
 
 July 7th, 1829, was his thirty-eighth birth-day, on 
 which he visited an aged saint, seventy-five years old. 
 The brother was so feeble as to be almost helpless. 
 While relating his Christian experience, he was so 
 
Further Experiences. 
 
 117 
 
 powerful!}- blessed that he sank from his chair under 
 the weight of glory that tilled his soul. 
 
 In September, during* a blessed camp-meeting, 
 Bro. Seybert was one day engaged in baptizing a 
 number of persons, immediately before celebrating 
 the Lord's Supper. While engaged in this solemn 
 ceremony, a woman came into the meeting terribly 
 enraged, because the evening before her husband 
 had been converted. Just as Seybert was about to 
 offer the prayer in the ordinance of baptism, she 
 came in, picked up a stone and attempted to pound 
 her kneeling spouse, who was one of the candidates 
 for baptism, upon the head. Several brethren inter- 
 fered and prevented her from executing her brutal 
 purpose, when she began to pound the altar, and 
 screamed like a demoniac, cursing and swearing in a 
 most blasphemous manner, in the midst of solemn 
 worship. Finally, finding that she failed to break 
 up the service in this way, this feminine demon drew 
 from the folds of her clothes, where she had concealed 
 it, a large, murderous butcher-knife, wrapped in rags. 
 While she was unwrapping it, some one dexterously 
 snatched it out of her hands. This made her fairly 
 wild. She charged that her husband had been 
 seduced from his "faith" by these people, and now 
 the whole family would go to hell! She was going 
 to kill herself. At length the friends succeeded in 
 removing her from the grounds. 
 
 Bro. Seybert later reports the following happy 
 sequel : 
 
 Several years afterwards this woman came to 
 
1 1 8 Life and Labors of yohn Seybert. 
 
 another camp-meeting on the same grounds. She 
 came in just as he was preaching. She took a seat, 
 and stared hard at the preacher, while he in turn 
 looked upon her with pity. The Lord blessed His 
 word. The woman fell into great distress of soul, 
 began to plead for pardon, and was saved. The 
 change in life and manner was remarkable. "The 
 Lord hath done this. Hallelujah!" he exclaimed. 
 
 The following incident throws a curious side-light 
 upon the morals of the German ecclesiastics of that 
 time: 
 
 On a certain occasion our Evangelical people at a 
 certain place had a meeting where the schoolmaster 
 and organist of the church partook of the communion 
 of the Lord's Supper with them, and otherwise par- 
 ticipated actively in the services. This created a 
 great furore among his brethren. They accordingly 
 met with their minister at a tavern or liquor house to 
 hold a church trial. It was, by the way, a most suit- 
 able and congenial place, since the church was made 
 up of swearers and beer-guzzlers. After drinking 
 deep draughts of the distilled nectar of death, they 
 summoned the aforesaid organist before them, to call 
 him to account for his conduct. When the culprit 
 appeared, they charged him with the crime of having 
 prayed on his knees at one of these Evangelical 
 prayer-meetings, and partaking of the Lord's Sup- 
 per with them. As he manifested no sorrow, and 
 would not promise to "do better", the parson solemnly 
 declared him to be a fanatic, a heretic and a reprobate. 
 The church expelled him, and, declaring him un- 
 
Further Experiences. 
 
 119 
 
 worthy to serve it any longer, he was then and there 
 deposed from his positions as schoolmaster and or- 
 ganist! — And this in Christian America in the nine- 
 teenth century! 
 
 Some days after the conference session of 1830, 
 which returned Bro. Seybert to Salem district, he was 
 troubled with a remarkable feeling of spiritual poverty. 
 Under this feeling he withdrew from all society and 
 sought solitude in a forest, where he wrestled all day 
 until the sun set. Even then, only the fact that he 
 had to preach, drove the weary wrestler back to the 
 dwellings of men. Trembling with fear he appeared 
 before his congregation, and began in great weakness 
 to speak. Soon, however, "the Lord sent the light 
 from the glory world into his soul", and he spoke with 
 such demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that a 
 young man in the congregation fell upon his knees in 
 deep conviction, and began to cry for mercy. In a few 
 minutes more an old sinner in his ninetieth year also 
 broke down, and pleaded for mercy. These were the 
 trophies he had wrung from the enemy, during the long, 
 single-handed struggle in the woods that afternoon. 
 
 The fourth General Conference was held in Novem- 
 ber of 1830. in Centre Co., Penna. There were but 
 eight members composing that body. Joseph Long 
 acted as Chairman, and John Seybert as Secretary. 
 Very important business was transacted, especially in 
 regard to the Discipline and the articles of faith of 
 our Church. 
 
 He closed the year 1830 with this retrospective 
 remark : 
 
120 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 "Dec. 31, 1830. This day closed the year A. D. 
 1830, which has been full of labors and experiences. 
 I have traveled three thousand nine hundred and 
 twenty-four miles during the past year (on horseback), 
 and the Lord has been very good to me. I feel 
 moved to prayer and adoration in deep humility 
 before God, because He has been so kind, good and 
 merciful unto me, and has frequently permitted me 
 to preach the Word with great liberty. I have 
 had good health, and all things necessary thereto. 
 Blessed, adored and praised be His glorious Name in 
 time and in eternity!" 
 
 On March 8th, 1831 he accidentally came into a 
 meeting of English speaking people. Unexpectedly 
 their preacher failed to come, and they wanted Bro. 
 Seybert to preach. But to preach in German was out 
 of the question. Seeing there was here a case of 
 necessity, he concluded that under such circumstances 
 a stammering and imperfect English would answer. 
 Accordingly he undertook it, and preached his second 
 English sermon. During this broken effort he pres- 
 ently began to feel the blessing of God mightily 
 upon his soul, and God's children were blessed. 
 Before he closed a youth fell into distress of soul, 
 which did much to encourage him to try the English 
 again under similar circumstances: for this was his 
 chief concern, that sinners be converted. 
 
 In April one day, he visited a sister eighty-four 
 -years of age, who had served the Lord for many 
 years. He prayed with her, and was delighted to 
 find that, though she was very feeble physically, yet 
 
Further Experiences. 
 
 121 
 
 she was very strong in faith, in love and in the power 
 of God. She became truly happy during- the inter- 
 view, and he found her familiar with the Word of God, 
 and deeply experienced in divine things. " When 
 the Lord blessed her. she expressed herself with holy 
 laughter, such as is mentioned in the one hundred 
 and twenty-sixth Psalm. She is a pious widow, wait- 
 ing for her release, as Hannah and Simeon of old 
 waited for the consolation of Israel." 
 
 Here is a characteristic incident : 
 
 Some time in September, Bro. Seybert came to 
 Brush Valley, where he learned that the officers of 
 the law were about to sell the home of a certain poor 
 widow, in payment of a debt her late husband had 
 left. Seybert, who was of a very benevolent disposi- 
 tion, thought the matter all over carefully, secured all 
 the information concerning the case possible, and 
 determined within himself to relieve the unfortunate 
 woman. 
 
 On the day of sale he promptly appeared in the 
 crowd, and bid for the house, until he was declared 
 the buyer. Upon this he said to the Sheriff, ''Please 
 deed the property back to the widow", which the 
 astonished officer proceeded to do, and Seybert paid 
 the debt in cash, so that the house belonged hence- 
 forth to the widow without encumbrance. The sur- 
 prised and overjoyed woman was anxious to know 
 how she should repay her clerical benefactor, who 
 had indeed proved himself a friend in need, though a 
 stranger. His reply was, " I want you to lead a pious, 
 godly life now, avoid luxury, extravagance and every 
 
122 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 evil forbidden in the Word of God, and if you think 
 you can pay me back in small annual instalments, all 
 right." She stated how much she thought she could 
 pay every year. He replied, " If you can do that, it's 
 all right, and if you can't, it's all right anyhow." She 
 paid him back in small annual instalments, without 
 interest, and he was satisfied. He had lent it to the 
 Lord. 
 
 In October of this year (1831) his official duties 
 brought him for the first time to Niagara. He stopped 
 to view this great natural wonder, was deeply 
 impressed with it, and was led to contemplate the 
 majesty and power of the great God. 
 
 In the same month he had a remarkably powerful 
 Quarterly meeting on the Mohawk river in the State 
 of New York, during which he received twenty-five 
 persons into the church. Seventeen members from 
 the class near Niagara Falls, had come sixty miles to 
 attend this meeting, and one sister had come ninety - 
 two miles. The sister, he says, was specially blessed 
 of God during the meeting. No wonder they had 
 glorious Quarterly meetings in the days of yore, 
 when the people went such distances, underwent such 
 sacrifices, and came together in such numbers and in 
 such zeal. Is it not worthy of modern imitation? 
 
 During this year Seybert traveled four thousand 
 three hundred and fifty-six miles, preached two 
 hundred and seventy-one times, and baptized thirty- 
 eight persons. 
 
 Saturday, April 21st, 1832, was begun the first 
 'big meeting' in Log House, Lycoming Co., Pa. On 
 
Further Experiences. 
 
 123 
 
 Saturday the services were held in Bro. Sindlineer's 
 house, but on Sunday the}- met in a church. Many 
 people were present, and James Barber preached from 
 i. Cor. 5:7, 8. There was much weeping. They 
 then celebrated the Lord's Supper after baptizing 
 three children and one adult. This was the first 
 Evangelical communion service in those parts. On 
 Sunday night Seybert preached and gave an invita- 
 tion, when sixteen persons joined the church. He 
 organized them into a class, and they elected Bro. 
 J. M. Sindlinger as their class leader.* He remained 
 five days, baptized a number of children, preached 
 nine times, held two prayer-meetings, married one 
 couple, and received in all twenty-one members into 
 church fellowship, besides leaving many in the com- 
 munity who were serious and thoughtful. 
 
 About this time Seybert began to urge the need 
 of parsonages, and was successful in having them 
 erected upon the various charges of his district. He 
 was a pioneer also in this matter, though he never 
 expected to be under the necessity of using a par- 
 sonage himself, for it was his firm resolve to remain a 
 celibate at least so long as lie should continue in the 
 itinerancy. He was unalterably opposed, as is well 
 known, to all extravagance, but he advocated sub- 
 stantial and comfortable living for the ministry, and 
 was anxious that everything, the temporalities of the 
 church not excepted, be conducted decently and in 
 order. He believed the ministry of the Evangelical 
 
 * Bro. Sindlinger afterwards became a prominent and successful 
 minister of the Gospel, who died in October, 1883. 
 
124 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Association would be the more efficient if their tem- 
 poral wants were adequately provided for. 
 
 Nov. 27th he preached in the northern part of New 
 York, on the Mohawk, in a school-house, to a con- 
 gregation of Methodists and enlightened Lutherans. 
 He was kindly entertained, during his stay, by Mr. J. 
 Dunkel, a member of the M. E. church. Mr. Dunkel 
 was a very wealthy man, who, before his conversion, 
 had been the possessor of slaves. However, when 
 the Lord delivered him and his family from the 
 slavery of sin, and translated them into the marvellous 
 light and liberty of the people of God, he forthwith 
 also liberated his slaves. 
 
 They had an extraordinary 'big meeting' in this 
 vicinity about this time. The friends had come a 
 distance of eighty-five miles from the north, fifty 
 miles from the east, and similar distances from other 
 directions. 
 
 Bro. Seybert was a born missionary. Whenever 
 he found intervals of respite between his regular ap- 
 pointments, he spent them in explorations. Accord- 
 ingly, in the Spring of 1833, he made a prospecting 
 tour to Luzerne Co., Pa., in which he nearly froze. 
 But of his experience among the people he makes the 
 following observation: "The people were to some 
 degree attracted by my labors, but they are an atro- 
 ciously wicked set, being a new demonstration of the 
 well known proverb: 'Like preacher like people'. 
 For some of them complained to me concerning their 
 preacher, that he is dissolute and unspeakably wicked. 
 They said, he was so passionate that on the least pro- 
 
Further Experiences. 
 
 vocation he would stamp his feet and swear horribly 
 to vent his rage. Besides he often became beastly 
 drunk! Surely a worthless preacher." 
 
 Here is another letter, which details many interest- 
 ing experiences, which we give therefore in full: 
 
 " Lewisburg, Union Co., Pa., March 9th, 1833. 
 
 Dear Bro. Rein: — Beloved in the Lord! — I write 
 to let you know that since I left you in Reading last, 
 I have been well, and am firmly resolved to serve the 
 Lord while I live. 
 
 "We are having good times generally in our meet- 
 ings on my district, especially in Centre county^ 
 where a great revival of religion has begun among 
 the Lutherans and Reformed. It has been spiritually 
 dark beyond description in these parts. On Sundays 
 before their divine service — rather idol worship — it 
 has been their custom to visit the saloons, drink a 
 goodly draught of brandy, and then, after the trifling 
 pastime, they call the worship of God, was over, they 
 would return to the saloon. The rest of the Lord's 
 day was then spent in barbarous carousals, sometimes 
 deliberately breaking in the head of a whiskey barrel, 
 so that they might drink more freely. Often the 
 bacchanal ended in some brutal fight until some were 
 half dead. Many of their pastors were no better; 
 they called these abominable wretches 'good Christians', 
 comforting them in their sins, and vehemently warn- 
 ing them to beware of the influence of the 'Meth- 
 odists' and 'Albrights'. But the Lord has blessed 
 His Word proclaimed by us, and our services have 
 been a great blessing to this benighted people. We 
 
126 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 have also introduced camp- meetings, greatly to the 
 benefit of this region. First we obtained access to a 
 school-house in Brush Valley. Soon a number of 
 neighbors opened their houses, and a great work 
 began there. In Sugar Valley we have had two 
 camp-meetings, at which many have been saved. 
 From there the fire got unto Nittany Valley, and set 
 the Philistines' corn-fields on fire, and in Penn's Valley 
 the fire is likewise burning gloriously. The ' dumb 
 dogs', of whom Isaiah speaks, barked furiously and 
 growled savagely too, at our preachers and our pray- 
 ing people. But they have already changed their 
 tune. Since the senseless black-guarding did not 
 help their cause, they began to preach repentance too! 
 They publicly admitted that their churches were in a 
 state of disintegration and decline, because of internal, 
 moral and spiritual corruption, and they avowed their 
 purpose to begin a reformation themselves at once. 
 To make the matter still more plausible, they sent for 
 some of their preachers from a distance, who played 
 the role of evangelists, begging the people passion- 
 ately not to leave 'the church', for it will now be 
 cleansed. This was a trick of the devil, by which it 
 was hoped to rock the awakened ones to sleep again. 
 Still one by one they are leaving Babylon, and the 
 redeemed are coming to Zion. They throw away 
 their fashionable regalia of the devil's uniform, 'laying 
 aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily 
 beset them'. They walk by the faith of Jesus Christ, 
 shouting Hosanna's and Hallelujah's as they go with 
 Israel through the wilderness. It will not do to yoke 
 
Further Experiences, 
 
 127 
 
 believers with unbelievers, and therefore they are 
 comma- out from among- them. 
 
 "Near Buffalo, New York, I also had abundant 
 success. Fifteen sinners were converted in one of 
 our meetings, and many others are seeking- the Lord. 
 O what a time of weeping and wailing and woe- 
 begone crying for mercy! We have two preachers 
 at work there now, and the work of the Lord is pros- 
 pering in their hands. 
 
 (i Last Fall I made a tour through that State as far 
 as Albany, where a great work of conversion is going 
 on amone the Lutherans and Reformed. Of course, 
 the devil got mad there too, just as he always does 
 where people are being converted. I was greatly 
 blessed in preaching among these people, and realized 
 the power of God to such a degree, that I felt lifted 
 up above all earthly things, and my soul was basking 
 in the glory of the New Jerusalem. While I was 
 preaching, many became spiritually drunken; some 
 began to prophesy, praising God aloud, while peni- 
 tents wept freely. I also found here a class of humble 
 Methodists. I had never before found their equal for 
 simplicity of manner and plainness of attire. I 
 preached for them and we had a blessed time. I 
 inquired of them, how they had managed so effectu- 
 ally to keep the fashions of the world out of their 
 society, and was told, they were under a mutual 
 agreement not to permit fashion to obtain a foot-hold 
 among them. 
 
 " With greeting for yourself and family, I am 
 
 Your friend and brother, John Seybert." 
 
128 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 April 6th, he came to Womelsdorf, where, a very 
 few years ago, pious people were extremely scarce. 
 But, by the help of the Lord, our preachers have 
 gained an entrance, and a revival of religion has 
 resulted. The persecutors tried clubs and stones on 
 God's children, but the more the sons of Belial raved, 
 the firmer the converted people became, and the 
 more the little flock increased.— 
 
 In May, 1833, Bro. Seybert took his departure 
 from Salem district, preaching a farewell sermon on 
 his last round, in which he exhorted the people to be 
 faithful, to abhor all evil, to have the fear of God 
 before their eyes continually, and above all, to avoid 
 pride and vanity of life — particularly in dress, and to 
 serve the Lord in humility of heart and appearance. 
 During the delivery of this sermon on various occa- 
 sions, the power of God was so mightily manifested, 
 that, as he himself bluntly expressed it, "pride got 
 sick"/ and many were the useless ornaments of 
 gayety that were thrown off. Whereupon he shouts, 
 "Hallelujah" ! 
 
The First Missionary, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FIRST MISSIONARY OF THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 At the session of the Eastern conference, in 1833,. 
 after having served two consecutive terms as Presid- 
 ing Elder, Bro. Seybert offered himself to the confer- 
 ence as a missionary, provided the conference thought 
 it proper to send him in that capacity. It was 
 accordingly ordered that he should spend the ensuing 
 conference year in explorations and pioneer work in 
 the north-western portion of Pennsylvania, and open 
 up new fields of operation. It was thus, that Bishop 
 Seybert became the first regularly appointed mission- 
 ary of the Evangelical Association. It was indeed 
 true, that he had never been anything but a mission- 
 ary, from the time he entered the ministry. That 
 was the character of the man and of his work, whether 
 in charge of a circuit, administering the affairs of a 
 district, or laboring as a formally appointed and regu- 
 larly sent missionary. That was, indeed, and is yet 
 the character of the work of the Evangelical Associa- 
 tion. It is a missionary church; its work is mission- 
 ary work. It cannot be anything else and fulfill its 
 calling. Its constitution forbids a merely conservative 
 attitude; its circumstances preclude dependence upon 
 wealth and popularity. It must be aggressive, or die 
 spiritually and ecclesiastically. It is made to push 
 "into the regions beyond". Otherwise there is 
 clearly no room and no occasion for the Evangelical 
 JPi 9 • 
 
130 Life and Labors of John Seybert 
 
 Association among the ecclesiastical "Establish- 
 ments ". Should we ever lose the spirit of Paul 
 and of our own church-fathers — the spirit of the 
 Master's "last and great command" the Evangelicar 
 Association is doomed to become effete and corrupt. 
 
 John Seybert was the typical Evangelical preacher, 
 alias missionary. Not a year of his public life passed 
 that he did not seek new fields for Evangelical culti- 
 vation. He was not, he could not be content to 
 merely serve the regular appointments which he had 
 received from his predecessors. Nor were his efforts 
 unsuccessful. Each year he brougth the light of the 
 truth to some benighted regions, and added them to 
 his circuit or district. — A ^ station " was unknown in 
 those days, in the Evangelical Association, and Bro. 
 Seybert never had the privilege of serving one in his 
 life. — He cared nothing for hardships nor exposure; 
 the threatenings of the opposition did not alarm him; 
 he was not deterred by the great moral darkness in 
 any city or rural community; obstacles did not dis- 
 courage him. In his peculiarly quiet way, with a 
 composed manner that came from an all-conquering 
 faith in God, he went forward with dauntless courage, 
 preaching Christ and Him crucified, from house to 
 house, and to the gathered throngs, and it proved a 
 savor of life unto life to many. 
 
 But this year his work was formally and officially a 
 missionary enterprise. Since, however, our church at 
 that time had no organized missionary society, and 
 had not as yet established any nominal missions, his 
 charge was called "Erie circuit". 
 
 o 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 On leaving conference on this occasion, he wrote 
 under elate of June 12th: 
 
 44 To-day I set out for my appointed mission-field 
 in the north-western part of my native State. I go 
 in the name of the Lord, and shall preach a pure 
 Gospel to the baptized German heathen there, by the 
 help of God." 
 
 On account of a necessary business trip to the 
 State of Xew York, he did not reach the territory 
 assigned him until July 12th. He was kindly re- 
 ceived by a gentleman named Gingrich, near the city 
 of Erie, Pa., and entertained with generous hospi- 
 tality. This encouraged him. He began his work 
 immediately after arriving. He spent Saturday visit- 
 ing from house to house, and thus effectually prepared 
 the way for his efforts on Sunday. Sunday he 
 preached in the morning in a private house, and 
 twice in the afternoon in two different school-houses, 
 — at 1 o'clock and at 4. By this time he had open 
 doors in abundance. His visitations on Saturday, 
 from early morning till late at night, conversing on 
 religion and praying with the people wherever suit- 
 able, paved the way, and gave him such read}- access 
 to the people. Three days more were now spent in 
 this community in a similar manner. He inquired 
 personally and closely into the spiritual condition of 
 the people, and specially won their good-will by 
 speaking kindly to every child in the household. 
 After preaching on Wednesday night, and securing 
 permanently a place to hold their services, he de- 
 parted into Mercer county, but soon returned to the 
 
* 
 
 132 Life and Laboi's of "John Seybert, 
 
 work near Erie, where he preached four times on one 
 Sunday, and then could not meet all the demands that 
 were made upon him. 
 
 He had to suffer a little persecution one day in 
 October, from a wicked man, who abused Seybert, 
 without the latter knowing, or being able to discover 
 why. It had the effect, however, to draw him closer 
 to God, and he was enabled to pray for his unreason- 
 able enemy. In the evening there was still another 
 enemy to trouble him. At first he blackguarded 
 him, and when he knew of nothing more to say, he 
 reproached him with being a 'bachelor . Seybert 
 says: "I presume, he meant to insinuate that I was 
 single because I could not get a wife, in which he 
 was, however, greatly mistaken. I quietly replied, 
 'St. Paul was the foremost among the Apostles, and 
 one of the holiest of men, and he was not married 
 either, being thus enabled to do the more in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord. My tormentor now referred to 
 Solomon, w r ho was reputed the wisest man that ever 
 lived, and he had even more than one wife! I inter- 
 posed that while Solomon was supposed to have 
 been a very wise man, it was not his polygamy that 
 gave him this reputation. Solomon became a back- 
 slider and a fool — for all backsliders are fools; but 
 Paul remained faithful unto death without a wife, and 
 certainly behaved more wisely than Solomon. This 
 ended the discussion." ■ 
 
 He had, in the course of time, obtained a foot-hold 
 near Lake Conneaut, Crawford Co., Pa., where he 
 preached in a certain school-house that belonged to 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 V33 
 
 two different parties. The edifice was well arranged 
 for preaching services, being provided with a pulpit 
 and convenient seats. The first time he preached 
 there a leading man of one of the parties concerned, 
 was deeply affected, and began to talk to his neigh- 
 bors about living a better life. This caused uneasi- 
 ness in the community, but the opposition became 
 more pronounced when this man with several others 
 undertook to hold prayer-meetings, and it was forth- 
 with declared that Seybert should not have the use 
 of the school-house any longer. 
 
 When the missionary arrived there again Sunday 
 morning, he found a great crowd of people gathered 
 in front of the building, quarreling excitedly about 
 his preaching there. A majority of the one party 
 claiming ownership were in favor of letting him in, 
 but of the other party a majority were opposed to it. 
 However, in this opposition party the most influential 
 men belonged to the minority, who were in favor of 
 admitting Seybert. Fearing he should be admitted, 
 one man had run in and closed the pulpit door, when 
 another as quickly tore it open again, determined to 
 get him into the pulpit. Upon this the opposition 
 declared with fearful imprecations they would cut the 
 house in two, and roll their half away, and the others 
 might do with their half what they chose. At this 
 juncture Bro. Seybert interposed, and, turning to 
 those who had been awakened, counselled peace, 
 urged them to yield, and suggested to hold the meet- 
 ing elsewhere, which was accordingly done and the 
 meeting was held in a private house. 
 
134 Life and Labors of John Scybert. 
 
 The night following this occurrence, he dreamed he- 
 had lent his horse to a boy to harrow a ploughed 
 field with, and thought the beast became truant and 
 ran off with the harrow. Upon awakening he said to 
 himself, "Look out! these enlightened people will 
 not be faithful; they will serve me as my horse served 
 the boy in my dream, they will run away." This fear 
 was partially realized. About one-half of them be- 
 came the hangers-on of another preacher, who inter- 
 fered with Bro. Seybert's work and robbed him of part 
 of the results. Still, he had the satisfaction of or- 
 ganizing a respectable class before the year closed. 
 
 On one of his trips to Mercer county he dreamed 
 of being in a very splendid palace, in which, however, 
 a few window lights in the upper story were broken. 
 Through these openings some evil-disposed persons 
 attempted to throw stones and water upon him, fail- 
 ing, however, to hit him. He went out and reproved 
 them sharply, upon which they looked at him in a 
 mocking, scornful manner, without, however, saying 
 anything. Then he saw himself suddenly trans- 
 planted into a lovely flower-garden, full of the most 
 beautiful flower-buds, just ready to open. But he 
 soon perceived another person in the garden, who 
 was breaking off some of those delightful buds, for 
 which he promptly reproved him, saying, " Do let 
 these buds alone until they open of themselves, and 
 do not pluck them prematurely." From this dream 
 he expected that he would find opposition in his 
 work, and that it would suffer in its most promising 
 condition, from hasty inter-meddlers. He also learned 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 135 
 
 by it, that "we should never comfort seekers of re- 
 ligion too soon, but let them experience the grace of 
 God for themselves. Comforting seekers prematurely 
 is like plucking rose-buds before they are open. Let 
 them open!" 
 
 During this eventful year, the tireless missionary 
 did a deed one night, which is probably without a 
 parallel in the annals of Christian work. 
 
 Weary with a long and laborious journey on horse- 
 back, Seybert arrived one evening at a house where 
 he expected to lodge and rest. He soon discovered, 
 however, that the family were going to a prayer- 
 meeting on foot, four miles distant, that evening. 
 Nothing daunted, the w T eary itinerant declared him- 
 self determined to accompany them. They w T ent; 
 Seybert was induced to lead the meeting, which be- 
 came so interesting that it did not close until eleven 
 o'clock. The meeting over, they trudged the four 
 miles back again, along the tortuous windings of a 
 primitive forest path-way. Undoubtedly the walk 
 was lightened by songs of praise that rang out on the 
 stillness of the night and re-echoed amid the solemn 
 arches of the wijd wood temple, and was enlivened 
 by the recital of experience by the vivacious mission- 
 ary. On arriving, Seybert sat down by the stove, 
 manifesting great weariness. It was after midnight. 
 He soon laid away his heavy, broad-rimmed felt hat 
 on a bench beside him, took off his coat, which he 
 hung upon a wooden pin in the wall of the rude 
 mountain cabin, and began slowly to untie his shoes, 
 preparatory to retiring. Suddenly, with a half- 
 
1 36 Life and Labors oj John Seybert. 
 
 startled look upon his face, he sprang up, exclaiming: 
 "Just think!" In a moment his shoe was retied and 
 the other as quickly pulled on again, and before the 
 family who were sitting by and watching him could 
 recover sufficiently from their amazement to enquire 
 what was the matter, he seized his hat, explaining, 
 "Why, I had promised to visit this penitent man 
 up on the hill, last evening, and now I had for- 
 gotten it!" The man he spoke of lived a mile away 
 in a miserable hut on the summit of a steep mountain 
 that was covered with briers and underbrush. The 
 family sought to detain him, saying, "it is now too 
 late, you are tired, and the man is in bed asleep," etc., 
 but the restless shepherd of souls would not be de- 
 terred from his purpose by any such considerations. 
 
 Though it was one o'clock in the night, and though 
 he was almost intolerably weary, this man must be 
 visited for his soul's sake. Reaching for the door- 
 latch, Seybert hastened out into the dreary darkness 
 of the lonesome night, to seek one of the lost sheep 
 of the house of Israel, — 
 
 ''Away on the mountains wild and bare, 
 Aw a}' from the tender Shepherd's care." 
 
 With hurried steps the intrepid missionary climbed 
 the steep and rugged mountain side, through under- 
 brush and thorns. Arriving at the low, one story 
 log-hut, he knocked at the humble door, waked the 
 man up and remarked upon greeting him, "I could 
 hardly keep my promise, but I thought, better late, 
 than break it". It must have been a startling sum- 
 mons to the sleeping sinner. Entering the house 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 1.37 
 
 Seybert began immediately to talk with the man 
 about the salvation of his soul. Presently he began 
 to weep under the strong appeal of the humble mis- 
 sionary. Then the two knelt together in prayer, 
 praying earnestly until day-break. A little before 
 sunrise, the penitent found peace in believing, and 
 began to praise the Lord. Seybert — after rejoicing 
 in the new trophy of redeeming grace — now left and 
 started down the hill. Light-footed as a deer, he 
 fairly ran down, his face beaming with joy. and every- 
 thing in his manner full of animation, for he had saved 
 a soul. As soon as he got near enough to his in- 
 tended lodging-place to be understood, he shouted 
 at the top of his voice, ''What do you think! TJiat 
 man has been born into eternal life this morning!" 
 They now all hastened in their glad surprise to see 
 for themselves what the Lord had done. There was 
 the new convert, walking about the door-yard, prais- 
 ing the Lord with a loud voice, while the sun poured 
 the virgin light of the morning over the landscape, 
 and the birds sang their morning anthem to the God 
 who made them. 41 Why!" exclaimed the happy con- 
 vert, "the whole earth has become new!" 
 
 "And all through the mountain, thunder-riven, 
 And up from the rocky steep, 
 There rose a cry to the gate of Heaven : 
 1 Rejoice ! I have found my sheep !' 
 And the angels echoed around the throne, 
 Rejoice ! for the Lord brings back His own ! " 
 
 At the close of this eventful conference-year, Sey- 
 bert prepared the following report of Erie mission, 
 
138 Life a7id Labors of John Seybert 
 
 from which it appears that like his great prototype, 
 St. Paul, he belonged to that choice realm of high 
 moral heroes who "turn the world upside down". He 
 created a stir wherever he went, and Satan's kingdom 
 always got a troublesome shaking up, when this 
 simple, intrepid herald of the Cross began to preach. 
 A mere selection from his report is here added: 
 
 "The families who first received me in Erie county, 
 were Hershey's, Long's, Miller's, Gimber's, Metzler's, 
 Brown's, Ripply's, Kurtz's and others. The Germans 
 in those parts were divided among Catholics, Luther- 
 ans, Reformed, Dunkards and Mennonites, among 
 whom, at the most, a very few were living a Christian 
 life, while the masses were unconverted. In Warren 
 county the German people were sunken in vice, but 
 according to their profession, either Catholics or 
 Lutherans. The former pastor of the church was 
 said to have been a regular^.) drunkard, and their 
 organist, a German who had served in the army of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, led them in dancing oftener 
 than in worship. 
 
 "On my second visit to Warren, during preaching, 
 one day, a respectable man by the name of Gross, 
 fell to the ground as if struck by lightning, but it was 
 the lightning of the Word. He began to pray and 
 struggle, and ceased not till he had found peace and 
 pardon in Jesus, and received the life of God. I 
 made it my duty to visit rich and poor, and all classes 
 and conditions alike, and consequently had plenty of 
 visitors at my preaching services. At these services 
 many were convicted. It seems to me that my per- 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 139 
 
 sonal visitation contributed more to that glorious re- 
 vival than all my preaching." 
 
 "When I visited Warren the fourth time, I re- 
 mained six days, preached nine times, and held four 
 prayer-meetings. Upon this a glorious work of the 
 Lord took place. Scoffers, persecutors, and despisers 
 of God, broke down together under the Word of 
 God, like trees in a cyclone. But there were also re- 
 spectable moral characters among the penitents, rang- 
 ing from men and women sixty years old down to 
 children of ten years. The drunken parson could 
 not accomplish anything against us, and so the Ger- 
 man fiddler got his chums together to dance and 
 carouse and drink, whenever the penitent souls met 
 for prayer. This was done to prevent others from 
 becoming concerned for their souls, and to disturb 
 religious worship. The fiddler, who was the leader 
 of the opposition, at length ventured into my meeting 
 one day, and listened to the preaching of the Word 
 for a while. He was arrested on the spot by the 
 Spirit of God, and the great deep of his soul was 
 broken up. He awoke suddenly from the long sleep 
 of sin, and in agony cried out in the midst of the 
 congregation, 'O Seybert, pray for me!' 
 
 "This naturally made a profound impression upon 
 those present. It occurred to all that piping and 
 dancing would soon be at an end now, for the ring- 
 leader himself lay on his knees, pleading for mere)'. 
 In consternation his whilom comrades whispered one 
 to another, 'Behold, he prayeth.' He soon obtained 
 pardon. Hallelujah! 
 
1 40 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 " On another occasion, one of the most highly re- 
 spected men in the community came to my services 
 to make disturbance. I preached with much liberty 
 of the eternal love and compassion of God in Christ 
 Jesus, and our moral persecutor was struck by the 
 Word of the Lord, and began to melt like wax. At 
 the next service he came as a penitent, and in the 
 presence of a large congregation, fell upon his knees 
 in great distress of soul. He cried mightily unto 
 God for salvation, and obtained it, being followed 
 soon thereafter by his whole family. Two of his sons 
 afterwards became ministers of the Gospel in the 
 Evangelical Association. [This was Jacob Esher. 
 One of the sons of whom Bishop Seybert here speaks, 
 is Bishop J. J. Esher, who was then and there con- 
 verted at the early age of eight years.] For all this 
 we give everlasting praise to the King of kings. 
 
 "During this blessed year, the wicked world and 
 the devil did not treat me very civilly either. The 
 boldest falsehoods were circulated about me again, 
 to awaken suspicions and prejudices among the peo- 
 ple against me, and to destroy my influence upon my 
 field of labor. They brought up the most shameful 
 slanders, charging me with being not even virtuous 
 and chaste. Several times things came to such a 
 pass, that I thought it necessary to confront them 
 with living witnesses in my favor, thus putting the 
 adversary to shame. After this, certain sons of Belial 
 started the tale that I had cheated my brother out of 
 a sum of money. But I was not slow in writing to 
 my brother three hundred miles distant, and soon re- 
 
The First Missionary . 
 
 ceived in reply a perfect vindication in writing.. 
 Then these Philistine busy-bodies said I had left a 
 wife and children somewhere between Philadelphia 
 and Lancaster, Pa., whereas I represented myself as a 
 single man here in Warren and Erie counties. Upon 
 this I wrote home again without delay, in answer to 
 which a document was prepared, stamped with the 
 county seal, and sent to me signed by twelve of my 
 former neighbors and by a Justice of the Peace. 
 This paper declared me to be an honorable citizen, 
 and so the mouths of my persecutors were also 
 stopped on that matter. The people were now ready 
 themselves to defend me from these attacks. A so- 
 called Reformed preacher had circulated the above 
 falsehood with great industry, and it w r as necessary 
 for the cause and the church which I represented, to 
 vindicate the integrity of my character in this strange 
 land. Thank God, that I was enabled to do it! At 
 another place my enemies said I was a drunkard. 
 This I thought may prove itself. They also asserted 
 that I professed to be entirely pure and hoi)-, and 
 had not committed a single sin in eight years! In 
 short, the pack of lies was too great to repeat them 
 all, and too ridiculous to deserve attention. In spite 
 of all, the Lord's work prospered most gloriously 
 under the hand of his poor servant. For I wanted 
 only to please and honor God and help my fellowmen. 
 
 " I have now served one year as a missionary on 
 Erie mission, and have succeeded, by the help of God 
 and in spite of the devil and all opposers, in opening" 
 twenty new preaching places, and have received one 
 
142 Life and Labor's of John Seybert. 
 
 hundred and twenty-one members into the church, 
 of whom at least one hundred were soundly con- 
 verted during the year. I traveled on horseback a 
 distance of three thousand and eleven miles, preached 
 two hundred and eighteen times, and founded seven 
 societies in which the Lord is worshipped in Spirit 
 and in truth. To God alone be all the honor! 
 
 "I am happy on my way to conference. It is the 
 last of May, and nature has donned her brightest 
 robes. The fields are carpeted with green and 
 decked with flowers of lovliest hue; the air is laden 
 with odors sweet and trembles with the melodies of 
 feathered choirs. It being locust year, locusts by the 
 million join in repeating with trembling voices their 
 'Pharao'! O how unspeakably great is our God. 
 How brightly His wisdom shines, His beauty and 
 His power in all His works. Therefore praise Him, 
 ye heavens, and, thou earth, bend in worship at Jeho- 
 vah's feet! Amen." 
 
 Such is in brief the history of the first regular 
 missionary enterprise of the Evangelical Association. 
 It epitomizes our experience everywhere — the oppo- 
 sition of dead and formal churches leagued with that 
 of the ungodly sons of Belial. It also augured the 
 general success and prosperity that we now see 
 attending our missionary efforts both at home and 
 abroad. And what an inspiring as well as instructive 
 example Bro. Seybert left his successors, the hun- 
 dreds of missionaries who have gone out since and 
 will yet go out under the auspices of the Evangelical 
 Association! 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 1 45 
 
 In connection with this revival at Warren, Bro. 
 Seybert in his subsequent travels frequently related 
 the following alleged incident, when engaged in 
 animated conversation in some domestic circle. We 
 give it as he related it, leaving the gentle reader to 
 form his own opinion of the matter. The date of the 
 occurrence is Warren, Pa., April 1834. 
 
 One evening while the families Arnet and Gross 
 were absent at prayer-meeting, their children, six in 
 number, engaged in a childish prayer-meeting at 
 home. The eldest of the group was 13 years of age, 
 one was 12 and the youngest was 7. After their 
 exercises had continued for some time, the youngest 
 of the group, in some unaccountable way, became 
 offended, and instead of praying, it mocked the 
 others, finally going under the table in a sulking 
 manner. What was the astonishment of the others, 
 when, looking under the table, they saw an immense 
 black dog, with unusually large, yellow, glaring eyes, 
 sitting by the sulking child. They were certain that 
 no clog was anywhere in the house. Presently one 
 of the children said, "This is the devil!" The beast 
 now walked around the little group, about the room, 
 and pulled their clothes, and leaped upon the table. 
 It also went into the cupboard and rattled the dishes. 
 With all this the children experienced no terror nor 
 alarm. One of them w T as unable to see the appari- 
 tion. They continued their devotions. The father 
 of the family, named Conrad Gross, soon returned, 
 but noticed nothing unusual upon entering the room, 
 except the vehemence and positive manner with 
 
144 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 which the children asserted that the devil was in the 
 house. "Oh, pshaw!" he exclaimed, "away with 
 such nonsense! what would the devil want in our 
 house? — How does he look?" "Yes, yes," they 
 cried, " he is certainly in the house — and it is a dog 
 with great yellow eyes." But Mr. Gross could see 
 nothing, though the children described the dog, and 
 his movements, and pointed to where they saw him. 
 Unable to silence the children, Mr. Gross finally said, 
 "Let us pray," fell upon his knees and undertook 
 to pray. Suddenly a thick, dark mist, — an impene- 
 trable film, gathered before his eyes. Upon this he 
 arose, opened the door, and in an imperative tone 
 •exclaimed: "Satan, I adjure thee in the name of 
 Jesus Christ, depart from my house!" The children 
 declared that they now saw the dog walk out at 
 the door, and then slowly leave the house. Mr. 
 Gross himself, however, saw nothing extraordinary, 
 •save the mysterious darkness that seemed to hold 
 his eyes. 
 
 On Bro. Seybert's return from this missionary 
 •exploit, the conference, which met in New Berlin, 
 June 2d, 1834, elected him Presiding Elder for the 
 third time, and assigned him to duty on Canaan" 
 district. His circuits were Schuylkill, Lebanon and 
 Lancaster. At this session he served as Secretary 
 and also preached the ordination sermon. He began 
 his work this time with great delight. He had pleas- 
 ing anticipations of again meeting many of his spirit- 
 ual children whom he found it so hard to leave on 
 the expiration of his first term of service on that 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 145 
 
 district five years before. He was also anxious to 
 learn how faithful they had been in the cause of 
 Christ. Though he never had much occasion for 
 grief on account of dDostasies amono- his converts, 
 yet isolated cases of this kind also occurred in his 
 experience. And every minister of the Gospel knows 
 what a deep, poignant grief it causes the heart, to see s 
 the souls whom we have wrested from Satan's grasp, 
 falling away again to the weak and beggarly elements 
 of the world. At all events, Seybert was glad for 
 the privilege of taking care for a while of his own 
 gathered sheaves. 
 
 On Sunday, June 1 5th, he preached at the house 
 of Mr. Henry Mertz, a man prominent among his 
 fellow citizens, both in State and Church. Mr. Merz 
 and his family had been soundly converted and had 
 joined the Evangelical Association, together with 
 some other families. The little flock had to suffer 
 persecution, however. 
 
 Monday Seybert came to Upper Milford, Lehigh 
 county, where he preached at Andrew Yeakel's,* 
 who had formerly been a Schwenkfelder preacher, 
 but had joined our Church, after his conversion. 
 The power of God came down upon the people at 
 this service, already during the opening prayer, in 
 such a measure as to cause a tremendous commotion. 
 A vigorous revival had been in progress for some 
 time there, but also vigorous persecution. Wives 
 forsook their husbands, solely because the latter 
 began to pray, and parents drove their children from 
 
 * Uncle of Ex-Bishop K Yeakel. 
 IO 
 
146 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 home, for serving the Lord and becoming religious. 
 Public worship was frequently disturbed and violently 
 interrupted, utterly regardless of the religious liberty 
 which the laws of the land vouchsafed to us. Evan- 
 gelical preachers were often shamefully treated on 
 the street. Their life was openly threatened, if they 
 would not leave the country. The rabble threatened 
 to stone them, to club them, and even to shoot them* 
 But the early preachers of the Evangelical Associa- 
 tion, had the material in them that makes martyrs. 
 They cared but little for the threatenings of Satan's 
 vassals, and went bravely on, in the name of the 
 Lord. And no one was killed. There was much 
 more bravado in the enemies of the cause,' than cour- 
 age. 
 
 His forty-third birthday Bro. Seybert noted in the 
 journal as follows: 
 
 "July 7th, 1834. To-day I am forty-three years 
 old. Through the mercy and grace of God alone I 
 have reached this age, and I am therefore resolved to 
 serve my dear Lord with soul and body as long as I 
 am permitted to live. But one thought occurs to me 
 to-day which saddens me, and that is, that I lived in 
 an impenitent state until I was nineteen years of age. 
 
 "This evening I had services near Lebanon, Pa., 
 and we were blessed with a marvellous manifestation 
 of the eternal life of God. The friends from town 
 are still shouting on their way home — I hear their 
 voices now praising God on the highway, while I am 
 writing this journal entry. The air is so clear and 
 still this evening too. I guess the Lord has bidden 
 
The First Missionary, 
 
 147 
 
 the wind to be still, so that his praise may be heard 
 afar!" 
 
 July 20th, Bro. Seybert arrived at a Pennsylvanian 
 village called Nazareth — a name, forever linked with 
 the name and fame of Jesus, in the provincial sobri- 
 quet which derision gave him. The village had been 
 founded by the Moravians, and had formerly been in 
 good repute for the industry of its citizens, their good 
 behavior, and an educational institution which they 
 maintained in their midst. But at the time Presiding 
 Elder Seybert visited the place, it had degenerated 
 both socially and industrially, as a result of moral 
 decay and a decline in religious interest. He was 
 served there much as his Divine Master was served 
 at Bethlehem: "there was no room for him in the 
 inn". However, a gentleman named Werner, resid- 
 ing near, received him, and through his mediation 
 Seybert gained access to the people and was enabled 
 to lay the foundation of a good work. 
 
 In the Summer of 1834, a remarkable camp-meeting 
 was held in Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania, of which 
 Bro. Seybert writes: 
 
 " During this meeting Bro. Henry Fisher (at one 
 time editor of the Evangelical Messenger, the English 
 organ of the Evangelical Association, in which posi- 
 tion he died), preached one afternoon in such power 
 that a general commotion took place over the entire 
 encampment, and the convicting energy of the Spirit 
 and of the Word was manifested to an extraordinary 
 degree, especially when the invitation to come to the 
 altar of prayer was given. The people cried out in 
 
t 48 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 loud lamentations, fairly staggering toward the altar, 
 pleading for mercy in their helpless distress. Even im 
 the outskirts of the audience, the spiritually wounded 
 began to tremble and quake, and cry out. They 
 wrung their hands in agony, or smote upon their 
 breast, wailing, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner'., In 
 the . multitude sat a woman with a child in her arm, 
 who trembled and wept so sorely in her appalling 
 spiritual grief, that by-standers relieved her of the 
 child while she tottered toward the altar. The sisters 
 encouraged her all they could, until she found peace 
 in the Redeemer. She was wondrously changed. 
 The very fashion of her countenance was altered. 
 So signally was the power of God displayed, that 
 many sensible persons who were cool enough to 
 observe, declared that the earth trembled, especially 
 on Friday night." And why not? Do we not read 
 in the sacred records, that on a certain day the dis- 
 ciples of the Lord were assembled together in prayer, 
 and "the place was shaken where they were as- 
 sembled"? If then, why not now? Is the Lord's 
 hand shortened? It is certain that human spirits are 
 often made to tremble under the influence of the Holy 
 Spirit of God. — Is it harder, or more miraculous for 
 God, to shake the earth? 
 
 During this year Bro. Seybert held seven "big 
 meetings", and five camp-meetings; traveled four 
 thousand four hundred and six miles; visited very 
 many families and prayed with them; christened 
 many children and baptized many adults, besides 
 preaching nearly three hundred times, and admin- 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 149 
 
 istering the Holy Supper of the Lord to many 
 saints. 
 
 It was his privilege also, again to visit the Mahan- 
 tango and adjacent valleys, where he had such 
 memorable experiences on his first visits during his 
 former term on this district, and witnessed with his 
 own eyes the fulfillment of the prediction he made to 
 the old German lady five years ago. There was 
 such a change in the moral and social state of affairs, 
 that the very angels of God must needs have rejoiced 
 over it. He now had so many seals to his ministry, 
 that the last lingering shadow of doubt upon that sub- 
 ject vanished from his soul. 
 
 On this trip he made the acquaintance of three 
 European Catholics, of whom one was already con- 
 verted. He speaks of him as "a talented man, not 
 only learned, but converted", (gelehrt unci bekehrt.) 
 who also united with the Evangelical Association. 
 The second of the three was in distress of soul and 
 was seeking the Saviour. The third was also touched 
 by the grace of Ciod, and is convinced of the need of 
 conversion. 
 
 Beyond the Blue Mountains in Pennsylvania, there 
 was a place called "Paradise", which Bro. Seybert 
 visited during one of his bold exploring expeditions 
 in March, 1835. Like all earthly Edens, since the 
 first one was destroyed, this w T as a Paradise but in 
 name. The spiritual darkness was something awful, k 
 when Seybert first came there. There was no need 
 to wish for the night to perpetrate deeds of darkness; 
 the day was as the night, and both alike inky black. 
 
Life and Labors of John Seybcrt. 
 
 Seybert planted the banner of the Cross there, and 
 before its light the idols fell, the darkness fled, and 
 vice crawled into caves to hide for shame. To his 
 efforts under the blessing of God, it is due that 
 ''Paradise" was "regained". 
 
 The General Conference assembled May 25th, 
 1835, in Orwigsburg, Pa. All the Elders of the 
 Evangelical Association were members. The dele- 
 gate system was not introduced until the General 
 Conference of 1843. The present session transacted 
 very important business. It arranged for the publi- 
 cation of the " Christliche Botschafter\ the first peri- 
 odical of our church, and now the oldest, largest and 
 most w r idely circulated German religious weekly 
 newspaper in the world, having a circulation of nearly 
 twenty-five thousand subscribers, at this writing. 
 The influence of this paper in the development of our 
 denominational interests is second to that of no other 
 agency in the church. This General Conference also 
 ordered the establishment of Sunday-schools. This 
 order was executed forthwith in very many places. 
 Before the close of that year, Sunday-schools were 
 organized in the cities of Lebanon, New Berlin, 
 Orwigsburg and Philadelphia. It has been a dis- 
 puted point, as to where the first Sunday-school of 
 the Evangelical Association was really organized. 
 The school at Philadelphia was the first to publish a 
 report, but the evidence seems to give priority to the 
 school at Lebanon, where a Sunday-school had 
 already been organized in 1832. 
 
 The chief matter to be chronicled here, however, is 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 the discussion in this General Conference, as to 
 whether these Sunday-schools should be exclusively 
 German, or whether the English language should be 
 allowed to be introduced in them. In the debate 
 Bro. Seybert strongly favored exclusively German 
 Sunday-schools, principally on the ground that "the 
 English speaking people were already amply provided 
 for in this particular, by other churches. The Ger- 
 mans are in special need. Our church should work 
 among them, and for their benefit. If the Evangelical 
 Association does not help the Germans in the United 
 States, nobody else will. God has commissioned the 
 ministry of the Evangelical Association for the very 
 purpose of bringing the Gospel with its light and life 
 to the neglected German population of this country." 
 
 The Eastern annual conference met June ist, 1835, 
 in Lebanon. There were forty-five itinerants present. 
 Seybert says it was the most blessed session he had 
 ever attended. 
 
 One evening soon after, Bro. Seybert had an 
 appointment at the house of a brother whose wife 
 was opposed to having religious services there, 
 having once even forsaken her family on that 
 account. But seeing her husband w r ould not yield 
 to her wishes, she presently returned. On this, 
 particular occasion, Seybert arrived there sometime 
 before dark, his horse was stabled and fed and he 
 invited to the house. He shook hands with his cus- 
 tomary cheerfulness with all the family, but the 
 woman of the house acted very coolly toward him, 
 and by no means welcomed him. One of the 
 
152 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 daughters was sick in bed, and the father and 
 Seybert sat in the sick room conversing on the things 
 of God. In the midst of conversation the wife and 
 mother abruptly entered the room and began to 
 abuse her husband in a most shameful manner, in 
 the presence of her sick and feeble daughter. She 
 I precipitated a perfect torrent of abusive slander on 
 " these converted people", and employed unrepeat- 
 able expressions regarding the preachers, asserting 
 that she was determined not to tolerate their visits 
 to her house any longer. Seybert said nothing. 
 Her husband began to weep bitterly under her dis- 
 graceful attack, when she retired from the onslaught, 
 but in a few minutes returned, scolding because these 
 meetings caused her so much trouble. Upon this, 
 Seybert arose and went to the house of a neighbor, 
 who was also converted, where he got supper. 
 Evening came at last, and in the gloaming he walked 
 alone into a retired nook in a near field, asking God 
 to stand by him in the performance of duty. The 
 woman had appointed her neighbors, who were like- 
 minded with herself, for the purpose of helping her 
 to create disturbance in the service. But God's 
 people met in a prayerful spirit, and the Lord blessed 
 His Word mightily. Bro. Seybert preached from the 
 words: "The Lord hath done great things for us, 
 whereof we are glad ". It seemed as though Satan 
 were bound with chains, he says, and the ungodly 
 w r ere quiet; the Lord had thrown a spell upon them, 
 and the 4i little flock", to whom is promised the 
 inheritance of the Kingdom, had a most precious 
 
The First Missionary. 
 
 T 53 
 
 waiting before the Lord. Next morning the woman 
 was in a better frame of mind. 
 
 During this Summer, Bro. Seybert attended a 
 number of successful camp-meetings. 
 
 August ioth, 1835, he began a camp-meeting at 
 Jacob Eby's, three miles south of Lebanon, Pa. Bro. 
 Seybert preached the first sermon on Monday even- 
 ing, and the Lord so blessed his people during the 
 preaching of the Word, that to the right and left, 
 there arose a great demonstration of shouting and 
 weeping for joy. This became so general and so 
 loud, that he finally ceased preaching and sat down 
 himself, quite oppressed with the weight of glory. 
 His heart was too full for utterance, and his voice 
 could not be heard. He thought, Let the children 
 of God, w T ho suffer so much persecution for righteous- 
 ness' sake, rejoice; then let those who have been led 
 to Gethsemane and Calvary, march down Olivet 
 with shouts, and songs and hosannas to their King". 
 — There was a just recompense accorded these 
 people in these extraordinary out-pourings of joy, 
 which they experienced in the midst of their fiery 
 trials. 
 
 On Tuesday, Bro. Charles Hesser preached, and 
 God's Spirit wrought wonders in the deep conviction 
 of sinners. The saints were overcome with holy joy, 
 and sinners cried for mercy with loud lamentations. 
 
 Wednesday it rained, but the work went on. 
 Prayer-meetings were held in various tents all day, 
 in which sinners were converted, and ever and anon 
 shouts of victory went up. 
 
154 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Friday morning Bro. Seybert was to preach a 
 sacramental sermon, but he says it was hard work. 
 He seemed to lack the "inflowings of the power 
 of the eternal world of light and felt, oh, so poor in 
 spiritual power. Still, with all the misery, the Lord 
 so blessed His Word, that among the throng, several 
 persons began during the sermon to weep over their 
 sins. Afterwards nearly two hundred joined in the 
 communion of the Lord's Supper. During the after- 
 noon and evening of that day, there were such touch- 
 ing demonstrations of godly sorrow as are seldom 
 witnessed. There were many conversions during 
 this camp-meeting. Sixteen preachers were in 
 attendance, and thirty-eight tents w 7 ere occupied. 
 
 August 17th, he began another camp-meeting near 
 Orwigsburg. It again fell to his lot to begin the 
 meeting, and the altar was crowded with seekers of 
 salvation, already at the first service, many of whom 
 received pardon the same night. Upon this he ex- 
 claims: " What do you think of that? " 
 
 On Tuesday also the slain of the Lord were many. 
 
 Wednesday morning they were obliged to abandon 
 preaching altogether, and labor with seekers. But in 
 the afternoon Bro. Hesser preached a most convin- 
 cing sermon on repentance, in consequence of which 
 the number of the convicted was greatly increased. 
 
 Friday they had such a wonderful time,' and the 
 throng of seekers was so great, that Bro. Seybert 
 says, "one might almost be led to think the strait 
 gate might be over-crowded". For this reason this 
 meeting was continued over Sunday. 
 
The First Missionary . 
 
 155 
 
 Sunday morning he preached from Jer. 8, 21:22 — 
 one of his favorite texts. The gracious Spirit con- 
 tinued to work all day mightily. The spiritual tide 
 did not ebb and flow, but remained high. The meet- 
 ing that evening had to continue all night, until the 
 morning dawned. It was so impressive and powerful, 
 that Seybert never forgot it. 
 
 Monday, August 31st, he held the third camp- 
 meeting for this season at Bro. H. Heppler's in 
 Mahantango Valley. Twenty-four tents were in the 
 circle, one of which was occupied by a Lutheran 
 minister and his family, whose wife was a member 
 of our church. Things have greatly changed since 
 the time Seybert was to have been shot dead for the 
 preaching of the Gospel there! 
 
 Wednesday afternoon of this meeting, the number 
 of penitents was so great, that the service continued 
 uninterruptedly until next morning. Many professed 
 to have been saved, and the shout of victory w r as 
 great. 
 
 In the Fall Seybert w T as taken sick with a fever. 
 His physician was successful in restoring him speed- 
 ily, under the blessing of God, but peremptorily for- 
 bade his patient to exert himself for some time, which 
 he felt unable to observe. Seybert says of this: 
 
 4 T am not to preach as yet. The doctor scolds me 
 for it. But God in heaven has blessed my sermon, 
 in spite of the doctor's grumbling. I havn't suffered 
 any harm, either. The fact is, I must work while it 
 is day, for the night cometh when I can no longer 
 work. When I once get within the gates of the New 
 
156 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Jerusalem, then 1 will rest. But so long as I sojourn 
 in Mesech and dwell in the tents of Kedar, I have no 
 rest, for it is written, 'work out your own salvation, 
 with fear and trembling ever.' " 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 
 
 157 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SELF-DENIAL AND INTREPIDITY. 
 
 In November, 1835, being in Philadelphia, Bro. 
 Seybert heard of a number of German families living 
 near the glass works at Waterford, New Jersey, who 
 were without a preacher, and resolved to visit them. 
 He was warmly received among them, preached 
 several times, and baptized their children. His 
 preaching affected these people profoundly, and he 
 had reason to believe that his visit was not in vain. 
 Then, leaving his horse in Waterford on account of 
 the expense of its maintenance in Philadelphia, he 
 returned on foot to the latter city. The distance was 
 twent-eight miles, the roads were muddy and the 
 weather rainy and stormy, but nothing of this kind 
 deterred him from meeting his announced appoint- 
 ments. He arrived in the evening very tired. The 
 next day he visited a large number of families, 
 preached, and walked back to Waterford. 
 
 January 14th, 1836, he had an appointment in 
 Mahantango Valley. To reach it, he was obliged 
 to cross Mahantango mountain, which is hard to 
 cross at any season of the year, and in any direc- 
 tion you may take. This time, when a deep snow 
 covered it, the undertaking was really a formidable 
 one. But he was determined not to miss his appoint- 
 ment, if there was any way to reach it. Finding 
 his horse unable to carry him through, he alighted 
 
158 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 and walked ahead of him, slowly pushing his way 
 through the white masses of the snow. Over and 
 over again he was obliged to gather up all his 
 strength, and then only slowly could he go on, step 
 by step. When he finally reached the summit of the 
 mountain, however, he saw at once the impossibility 
 of getting through by the road. He had come up 
 from the south, and the snow was much deeper on 
 the north side of the mountain, besides being much 
 more drifted. He called a halt. What was to be 
 done now? He looked about, but there was none to 
 help. Finally he hit upon a plan. Turning his face 
 straight in the direction of his destination in the 
 valley below, he started down through the woods, 
 walking ahead of his horse. By that sheltered route 
 the snow was not so deep and less drifted, but it led 
 over rocks, logs and ravines, all concealed by the 
 snow. Seybert and his horse toiled through under- 
 brush and thorns, and stumbled over obstructions in 
 great weariness. The remembrance of that trip made 
 him shudder whenever he recalled it. But he finally 
 reached the valley in safety, where he turned into the 
 road again. Exhausted beyond measure, and tired 
 enough to die, he reached the appointment, and a 
 soul became penitent in the meeting that night. 
 
 The same month he again preached in Manheim, 
 his native town. While there, he spent an evening 
 with his life-long friends, Bro. F. Danner and family. 
 There was also another friend and his wife there 
 visiting. While talking with these friends, a neigh- 
 bor came in, who was once converted, but had since 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 
 
 159 
 
 backslidden, and had become very worldly. As soon 
 as Bro. Seybert saw him, he felt a peculiar interest in 
 him; and took pains in trying to bring him back 
 again, into the Kingdom of God. He pointed out 
 the dangerous situation in which he was, and asserted 
 that the Lord would have mercy even upon apostates, 
 if they repent and return to Him in sincerity and 
 truth. After a few moments of silence, Seybert be- 
 o-an to sin ^ a hymn, and the friends joined him. 
 They knelt in prayer, and he was enabled to pray 
 with much fervor for the poor backslider. Rising, 
 they sang another hymn, and, glancing at the man, 
 Seybert saw he was deeply moved. Upon this he 
 suggested prayer once more, and prayed for him still 
 more fervently. This broke the man down, and he 
 began to weep bitterly, and also began to pray for 
 himself again. This brought the visitors upon their 
 knees in great distress of soul, so that Bro. Seybert 
 now had three penitents on their knees, with whom 
 Bro. Danner and he labored until two of them 
 found peace and pardon. This gave him great relief. 
 All day he had been severely tried, while sojourning 
 in his native place, because he thought it impossible 
 for him to do any good there. For had not the 
 Master himself said, a prophet is not without honor, 
 except in his own home, and among his kindred? 
 
 Feb. 20th, Bro. Seybert began a two days' meeting 
 in a newly erected meeting house in Lancaster Co , Pa. 
 There were still some shavings and other loose pieces 
 of lumber lying under the floor. Two vicious persons 
 set this on fire during; divine service, and while the 
 
160 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 house was filled with people. They had evidently 
 hoped to accomplish a double purpose; namely, to 
 disturb the service, and also to destroy the building. 
 Whether accidentally or providentially, two brethren 
 went out during service and thus discovered the fire. 
 Without giving any alarm, these brethren with great 
 prudence quietly put out the dangerous fire, without 
 in the least disturbing the devout congregation of 
 worshippers, who remained unconscious of the peril 
 through which they passed. Bro. Seybert remarked: 
 "Thus the devil's fire tinder the building was put out 
 by the brethren, but the fire of the Lord burned 
 mightily inside. Hallelujah!" 
 
 The Eastern conference had, up to this time, held 
 its sessions about the first of June each year, but the 
 last session of the General Conference changed the 
 time to the last of March. This change made that 
 conference year only ten months long. Seybert says: 
 
 "Through the mercy of God I have completed 
 another conference year, which, though it was only 
 of ten months duration, has resulted in more fruit than 
 many longer years. Our Church, despised by men 
 and hated by the devil, has taken a long step forward. 
 On my district, the Lord has blessed us marvel- 
 lously, bringing many sinners to repentance, under 
 the preaching of His Word, which is a light to shine, 
 and the power of God unto salvation, unto ever}- one 
 that believeth. It has pleased the Lord also to bless 
 greatly my own feeble service, to the good of the 
 Church and of the world." . 
 
 In July, he visited Doylestown, the county seat of 
 
^ elf- Den ial a n d Intrep id ity. 1 6 r 
 
 Bucks Co., Pa., for purposes of exploration. He 
 called on a Reformed minister, who received him 
 kindly, but no door seemed to open for him, to 
 preach in the place. He therefore started out 
 through the country, in a north-westerly direction, 
 and found entertainment at the home of a man 
 named Albright, about eight miles from Doyles- 
 town. Next day being- Sunday, Albright and his 
 guest attended a meeting of the Mennonites. It was 
 soon conjectured that the latter was a preacher, and 
 accordingly the minister of the congregation asked 
 him to preach for him "Certainly," he replied, "if it 
 is agreeable to you," "O yes," said the preacher, 
 " bi^t will you also feel free to preach in our meet- 
 ing?" " Under such circumstances I shall feel easy," 
 was the response. The minister opened the service 
 with some introductory remarks and prayer, and 
 Seybert afterwards preached. It was a very solemn 
 hour. He was enabled to speak with great freedom, 
 and the people were deeply moved, so that they 
 declared that they had never witnessed such a scene 
 as that which followed. The Mennonite preacher 
 then kindly announced Bro. Seybert's appointment in 
 a neighboring school-house for that afternoon, took 
 him along home with him for dinner, and accompanied 
 him to the afternoon service. They afterwards visited 
 a member of the Mennonite society, who was sick,, 
 where he was permitted to do the work of a pastor. 
 He was now obliged to stay all night with his newly 
 found friend and next morning they parted in great 
 peace." 
 
 1 1 
 
1 62 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 September 18th, he baptized seven persons, "three 
 of whom were baptized under water, and the other 
 four with water. The baptism of the Holy Ghost 
 came down upon all the subjects of baptism on this 
 occasion, both upon those who were baptized with 
 water and upon those who were put under the water. 
 The Lord made no difference between them, nor 
 showed any special favor to those who were 
 immersed. The saints who were present were also 
 greatly blessed." 
 
 Among the subjects baptized was a woman who, 
 before her conversion, was noted for her fondness 
 for display. But already during her penitential 
 struggle she broke away from this vice and threw 
 off her articles of useless adornment, burning them 
 in the fire. One of the brethren whom he baptized 
 that day, had been for fifteen years a very wicked 
 man; an auctioneer by trade. He was very proud 
 and vain, but since his conversion he had been remark- 
 ably humble, bore a modest demeanor and led a 
 sober life. 
 
 About this time the work of the Evangelical Asso- 
 ciation in the Quaker City began to obtain a solid 
 foot hold and to enjoy remarkable prosperity. The 
 difficulties with which it had to contend, however, 
 were very great indeed. The attacks of its enemies 
 were not vulgar and barbarous, like those in rural 
 •communities, but insidious and polite and for that 
 very reason the more dangerous. The enemy 
 appeared in the garb of refinement, civilization and 
 culture, charming the public mind into carnal security. 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 
 
 163. 
 
 And yet the Lord prospered Zion. Within two 
 months above twenty-five persons joined the church, 
 and the Spirit of the Lord continued to awaken the 
 people. 
 
 The chapel became too small now, and it was 
 found necessary to erect a more commodious house. 
 The newly organized Sunday-school, which met 
 twice each Sunday, numbered a hundred pupils. 
 Not long before this, Bro. Seybert held a five days' 
 meeting there, during which from twelve to twenty 
 penitents were at the altar of prayer at every evening 
 service, and every evening five or six found peace in 
 Jesus. At one of these services it was very rainy 
 and dark, and but few were present. But among the 
 number was a lady ninety-four years old, who had to 
 gather up all her feeble strength to get to the house 
 of God. She listened very attentively to the preach- 
 ing of the Word, which smote her with deep convic- 
 tion, so that she tottered forward to the altar of 
 prayer. The friends prayed with and for her, and 
 pointed her to the promises of God, encouraging her 
 to believe. Presently her faith laid hold of Jesus, 
 and she obtained peace. This was indeed coming at 
 the eleventh hour. This woman had spent almost a 
 century in the service of sin, without God and with- 
 out hope in the world, and now that the portals of 
 another century or of another world were almost ready 
 to swing open, she sought and found mercy at the foot 
 of the Cross. Life's setting sun, after a long and 
 weary day, is already gilding with twilight glories the 
 horizon's western rim. but now the Sun of Righteous- 
 
164 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 ness suddenly rises in splendor on her soul. Thank 
 God. Eternal day begins before eternal night could 
 settle upon the spirit. 
 
 Incidents like this were by no means unfrequent 
 in Seybert's ministry, and gave him much delight. 
 
 In 1836 he held a most successful camp-meeting 
 near the city of Lebanon, Pa. 
 
 The friends prepared themselves for this camp- 
 meeting by fasting and prayer, and came together in 
 the fear of the Lord. There was accordingly no 
 foolish jesting nor trifling conversation. Even while 
 the tents were being pitched, an impressive solemnity 
 pervaded the encampment. 
 
 There was no unseemly disputing for the best loca- 
 tions, as is sometimes the case on these occasions. 
 Every one felt that they were on holy ground; that 
 this was the house of God and the gate of heaven. 
 Already at the first service in the evening a number 
 of "backsliders and other sinners" came to the altar, 
 and many were troubled. Bro. Seybert preached 
 from Rev. 2: 7, and the cries of penitents became so 
 tumultuous that the sermon was interrupted, and they 
 began to labor with seekers. Finally there was a 
 general "breaking through into eternal life", which 
 -occasioned such rejoicing among God's children, that 
 their shouts and songs were heard afar ; the hills 
 caught the echoes, and "Lebanon shook with praise". 
 Many were so "utterly filled with the eternal love of 
 God", that they fell overwhelmed with an exceeding 
 weight of glory, as though they had been dead men. 
 
 Sunday a great throng was present, and the even- 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 1 65 
 
 ing service, which lasted until midnight, was blessed 
 with many conversions. 
 
 Monday he baptized a number of persons in the 
 Quitapahilla creek, at which time the blessing of God 
 came in showers upon the various candidates, but 
 most especially upon the witnessing multitude who 
 lined the banks of the stream. 
 
 Tuesday the interest of the meeting reached its 
 climax. The solemnity of the occasion was such that 
 the thousands who had come into the congregation 
 simultaneously fell upon their knees, and devoutly 
 joined in worshipping God. It was an impressive 
 and overpowering scene. It was as when Israel on 
 Mt. Carmel, at the sight of Elijah's fire signal, fell 
 upon their faces and cried, 'The Lord is God! the 
 Lord is God!' In the evening of that day the number 
 of penitents was so great, says Seybert, that they could 
 not find benches enough to accommodate them, and 
 were under the necessity of turning the whole audi- 
 torium into an altar of prayer. The outcries and 
 groans of poor sinners, mingled with the shouts of 
 God's people over their deliverance rose to an ex- 
 traordinary height, and continued until the dawn of 
 the next morning. Wednesday forenoon this glori- 
 ous meeting closed, but to many it will be memorable 
 forever. 
 
 Up to this time the Eastern conference had deter- 
 mined the sessions of the General conference when- 
 ever the circumstances in their judgment made it 
 advisable or necessary, and it did not meet therefore 
 at regular quadrennial intervals, as is now the case. 
 
1 66 Life and Laboi's of John Seybert. 
 
 The establishment of a publishing house and other 
 important business made a session necessary at this 
 time. Thus it was that only eighteen months elapsed 
 between the last General conference and this. The 
 General conference met in the house of Bro. J. Ferner 
 in Somerset Co., Pa., Nov. 14. Bro. Seybert was 
 present, and preached an ordination sermon on 
 1 Tim. 4:16. 
 
 About this time the custom of holding protracted 
 meetings came in vogue in the Evangelical Asso- 
 ciation. Previously, the only special meetings that 
 were held were camp-meetings, all-night services, 
 and the so-called "big" meetings, which usually 
 lasted two days. In 1835 Bro. Seybert held a meet- 
 ing of five days duration in Philadelphia, which 
 proved very successful. This induced him to hold 
 other similar meetings, and he also advised his sub- 
 ordinates to introduce the practice on their charges.. 
 Almost simultaneously other ministers of our church 
 began to hold protracted meetings. This method 
 soon found universal favor, and was greatly blessed 
 of God. Protracted meetings have ever since been 
 one of the chief means of revival work. 
 
 At the close of 1836 Bro. Seybert penned the fol- 
 lowing grateful retrospect : 
 
 " I am profoundly moved when I consider how 
 God has helped me during the past year in preaching 
 and in all the duties of official administration. The 
 Lord has also greatly blessed me while attending 
 prayer-meetings, in laboring with seekers, in house- 
 visiting when I prayed with families, and often in the 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 167 
 
 secret closet. I am determined to be more faithful 
 than ever. It is my intention to labor on until at 
 evening the Master shall say, 'Call him home and give 
 him his hire.'" 
 
 This resolution, frequently repeated, Bro. Seybert 
 faithfully kept. With the last lingering doubt con- 
 cerning his call to the office of a minister, which had 
 troubled his conscientious soul, behind him, he was 
 now fully launched upon the high seas of his stormy 
 but useful life, steering boldly into the future. Like 
 his great prototype St. Paul, he could look with 
 consecrated scorn upon all the perils and troubles 
 that awaited him, and say, "None of these things 
 move me" 
 
 Early in 1837 Bro. Seybert held a meeting near 
 Easton, Northampton Co., Pa., at a place he had 
 visited occasionally since 1835. At first progress 
 was very slow, but about eighteen months after he 
 first visited the community and established the first 
 appointment, a "glorious little class" was formed of 
 some twenty genuine Christians. Among others a 
 tavern-keeper who belonged to the Church, was 
 soundly converted. Immediately after he had ob- 
 tained eternal life, however, he dug out his sign post 
 and took down his liquor sign. His conscience pre- 
 vailed, and he would no long-er consent to sell his 
 neighbors liquid fire, and stopped the iniquitous busi- 
 ness at once and forever. 
 
 Everywhere Bro. Sevbert was amono- the foremost 
 to penetrate into "the regions beyond", and to open 
 new fields of operation for his church. Like Henry 
 
1 68 
 
 Life and Labors of fohn Seybert, 
 
 of Navarre his plume was always found tossing in the 
 battle smoke at the front of the line. About this 
 time the thrill of a general missionary enthusiasm was 
 felt in the Evangelical Association; the missionary 
 society of which Seybert was the first President, was 
 formed in 1839; and with this organization a new im- 
 petus was given to the work. The work was accord- 
 ingly vigorously pushed forward in every direction. 
 
 The ministry of that day was a hardy race of men. 
 They were men of a high order, men for the times. 
 And even among those grand men Seybert stood far 
 up in the ranks. Though his district extended over 
 ten large counties, yet he was constantly finding new 
 paths, besides meeting all his regular appointments 
 with scrupulous punctuality. He observed with de- 
 light the growing aggressiveness of the ministry. 
 With his accustomed imperturbability he said: 
 
 " But, according to all appearances, I must bestir 
 myself now, lest I should fall behind. Take notice, 
 however, that I am not to be looked for in the rear 
 ranks in this race. If any one wishes to see me, let 
 him look for me pretty well in the front, wliere they are 
 still breaking ice" 
 
 These are the words of a hero. Here again we 
 find the striking resemblance of our bishop to the 
 apostle, elsewhere referred to. Like Paul, Seybert 
 did not want to build on other men's foundations, or 
 enter into their labors. He preferred to "break the 
 ice" himself, to use a favorite and charmingly charac- 
 teristic phrase of his. He would rather "plant", and 
 leave some Apollos to "water". 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 
 
 About the time the work in Northampton county, 
 mentioned above, began, Bro. Seybert had a some- 
 what singular dream, one night, while lodging in the 
 vicinity of Springtown. He dreamed of coming to a 
 place which appeared so dark and forbidding, that he 
 came to the conclusion it must be a "place where 
 Satan's seat is". Presently the dreamer espied a 
 dilapidated saw mill. Under the broken wheel was a 
 very dark pit. The thought occurred to him that 
 this must certainly be the "nest" of the evil spirits. 
 Happening to find a leather strap, he grasped it with 
 both hands and struck into the supposed demoniacal 
 rendezvous. The effort to exorcise the demons was 
 in vain. In his dream he however thought, 44 I will 
 try it again, for the devil certainly is there". He 
 therefore smote into the dark hole with all his force, 
 stroke upon stroke, until at last the "old demon" 
 came rushing out and left the saw mill. The place 
 upon this became somewhat brighter. Seybert then 
 watched this dragon's pit until it became quite bright, 
 and a stream of clear water flowed out of it, in which 
 there were many fishes, of which he began to catch 
 some; when he suddenly awoke. 
 
 Next day he rode farther with his traveling com- 
 panion, a circuit-preacher. After they had ridden 
 several miles, Seybert suddenly exclaimed with 
 startled surprise, "See! there is the old sawmill!" 
 By way of explanation he proceeded to relate his 
 dream, and what surprised him was, that he had 
 never seen that identical saw mill until he first saw it 
 in his dream the previous night, closing his narrative 
 
170 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 with the remark that a work of grace may be ex- 
 pected in that vicinity, but not without severe con- 
 flicts. 
 
 Now note the following facts. The circuit preach- 
 ers, after preaching in that vicinity for a while, be- 
 came discouraged, because the people's hearts were 
 so hard, resisted the Word, and persecuted the ser- 
 vants of God. When Bro. Seybert, at that time 
 Presiding Elder on that district, heard of this, he. 
 promptly and vehemently urged the preachers there, 
 to continue, and insisted they must by no means stop 
 preaching in the vicinity of Springtown. He de- 
 clared, the Lord certainly had a work for them to do 
 there, which would certainly be fruitful, though they 
 would meet with opposition in its performance. In 
 compliance with his wish they accordingly continued, 
 and as a result many precious souls were saved, a 
 number of respectable people were brought to Christ, 
 and a glorious reformation took place. The event 
 proved that Seybert's dream was a prophecy, and 
 was fulfilled. This is another illustration of the re- 
 markable prescience with which he was endowed. 
 His faith in his dreams of this character amounted to 
 conviction, and he was seldom, if ever, disappointed 
 in his sanguinary expectations aroused by these 
 dreams. 
 
 This Spring the Ohio conference met March 6th 
 in Stark county, and the Eastern conference met on 
 the 27th in New Berlin, Pa. Three preachers located, 
 and five were received into the itinerancy. The 
 salary of an unmarried preacher was #56.40. At this 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity . 
 
 171 
 
 conference Bro. Seybert preached the ordination ser- 
 mon. This he considered a very great task, "for on 
 such an occasion one must preach to the preachers", 
 he said. 
 
 In the Eastern conference there were four districts, 
 and the Presiding Elders were John Seybert, J. P. 
 Leib, Philip Wagner and Charles Hammer. The 
 Presiding Elders of the Ohio conference were Henry 
 Niebel, Samuel Baumgardner and John G. Zinser. 
 Of the traveling preachers of the Ohio conference, 
 Daniel Swartz, Louis Einsel, John J. Kopp and Henry 
 Bucks remain among us to this day, but all the rest 
 have "fallen asleep". 
 
 The next incident of note we find is the following: 
 The wife of a certain drunkard attended divine ser- 
 vice on the camp-ground near Upper Milford, Pa. 
 On her return home her brutal husband maltreated 
 her most outrageously on account of it. About mid- 
 night the poor woman came to a neighbor's house in 
 such a condition, that it was feared she would die im- 
 mediately. 
 
 Such cases, where wives were maltreated by their 
 husbands for attending the meetings of the Evan- 
 gelical Association, were not rare. The strength of 
 character which the women of this region displayed, 
 however, was something remarkable. Some of them 
 were extraordinarily vicious, and unconquerable. 
 They rose up like Amazons, as furious and despotic 
 persecutors of their husbands, if the latter dared to 
 serve the Lord. On the other hand it is to be re- 
 marked, that in this same region, after these wives 
 
172 Life and Labors of fohn Seybert. 
 
 saw their folly, they were equally firm on the side of 
 righteousness. They were stubborn on the side of 
 the devil, and immovable when once on the side of 
 the Lord. 
 
 Under date of July 7th, 1837, he relates an incident 
 which occurred in Old Berks county, Pa. 
 
 Finding his horse was lame, he took him to a 
 blacksmith to have him examined. While he was 
 engaged with the smith, a crowd of ruffians came up, 
 who were profane and in every way all that Satan 
 could wish. One of them was far worse than the 
 rest, and distinguished himself by quite out-doing the 
 rest of the crowd in extraordinary profanity and vul- 
 garity. Seybert addressed him specially, and kindly 
 requested him not to swear so, saying that it was a 
 most abominable vice, and expressed the hope that 
 he would learn to see his sin in all its hideousness. 
 But this well-meant admonition only served to en- 
 rage him, and the fellow blasphemed still more. 
 Finally Seybert remarked, "You will get over your 
 swearing when you come to die". Upon this he 
 asked eagerly: 
 
 " What's your name?" 
 
 " Seybert", was the laconic answer. 
 
 "I just thought you were this Seybert," shouted 
 the bully. 
 
 Seybert said, "Yes, and I suspect you have been 
 swearing so horribly for my special benefit; but such 
 conduct only reflects on you, not on me." 
 
 But now he was enraged! He vauntingly chal- 
 lenged Seybert to a fight, but for this the latter had 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 
 
 173 
 
 no relish. Then he began to curse our members, 
 using every vile epithet he could think of, adding 
 with vicious, over-boiling vexation, "and you are the 
 worst wretch of all. You ought to be flayed alive 
 like an eel, and torn to pieces." Seeing it was use- 
 less to take any pains with such a fellow, and as it 
 would be casting pearls before a swine to say any- 
 thing more, Seybert was silent. But he raved on for 
 quite a while, and finally left with his disgraceful 
 rabble. 
 
 Bro. Seybert was now ' 'curious to know whether 
 such a desperado was a member of any church." / 
 The by-standers informed him that he was a 
 "Reformed" . — 
 
 "Reformed" , exclaimed Seybert, " surely he has 
 been through the devil's 'reforms chool', else he would 
 be a better man. For God does not reform people 
 like that!" 
 
 Near New Holland, Lancaster Co., Pa., a two day's 
 meeting was held May 6th and 7th, where there was 
 a great throng, and good attention to the Word. 
 Deep impressions were made. It was a gracious 
 time. But a rabble of the sons of Belial disturbed 
 the meeting by screaming, yelling, threatening im- 
 precations and throwing stones and other missiles. 
 However, the Lord sent his angel to encamp round 
 about his people, and no harm befell the little flock. 
 Bro. Seybert exclaims: 
 
 "Oh, that the teachers of these people cared more 
 for their real w T elfare! We could then better enjoy 
 the religious liberty which the laws of the land 
 
i 74 Ltfe and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 guarantee to us. Nevertheless, there are good pros- 
 pects of better days. One infallible proof of this is 
 that the whisky distilleries (poison machines) and 
 beer breweries are growing less, and liquor drinking 
 is on the decline. This I call one of 'the signs of the 
 .times 
 
 May 13th, being Pentecost, he had a meeting in 
 Washington, Pa., and had a pentecostal time. The 
 people here were almost Gospel-hardened. They had 
 heard the Gospel so often and resisted the truth so 
 long and so stubbornly, that nothing seemed to move 
 them. 
 
 But there were also other hindrances to the work. 
 The love of many waxed cold. There were also 
 those who were slaves to fashion, and conformed to 
 this world. Others strove about " non-essential doc- 
 trines, things to no profit, such as water-baptism and 
 other forms and figures." "To what profit", asks 
 Seybert, "is such disputing? Formalists and hypo- 
 crites should consider that the essential thing about 
 religion is the kernel and not the shell!' 
 
 o 
 
 At Upper Milford an early camp-meeting was held, 
 which continued over Sunday. Some of the friends 
 were concerned lest the meeting should be disturbed 
 by persecutors. But in Lehigh county matters seemeu 
 to have progressed to such an extent that they were 
 enabled to hold divine services without being sub- 
 jected to unlawful molestations. They had fought 
 the battle through. 
 
 June 5th he began a camp-meeting in Stone Val- 
 ley, Northumberland Co. Already the first evening 
 
Self -Denial and Intrepidity. 
 
 175 
 
 there were conversions. The meeting grew better 
 every day, and on the last two days there was a 
 "sound as of a rushing mighty wind", and there was 
 a great commotion among the "dry bones \ Many 
 were filled with life from God, and could shout: 
 "Life! Life! Eternal life! Hallelujah!" 
 
 During this Summer Seybert also held a camp- 
 meeting near Orwigsburg. At first he " could not 
 break throttgli fully." Finally, however, people began 
 to throw off their "silken vanities", and other unbe- 
 coming articles of apparel which belong to a life of 
 haughty worldliness, but which have no consistency 
 with a spirit of Christian self-denial. Then the spirit- 
 ual atmosphere became purer, victory resulted, and a 
 goodly number of sinners were converted. 
 
 Of the six camp-meetings which he held, the last 
 one was held in Mahantango Valley. The quick and 
 powerful Word of God "cut deep wounds into many 
 hearts, which only Jesus Christ could heal with the 
 Blood of His atonement". And indeed the Great 
 Physician healed many. The behavior of the people 
 was so excellent as to excite some surprise. No one 
 had a loaded weapon to "shoot this Seybert", as was 
 the case ten years ago. 
 
 From these extracts it appears that civilization and 
 the elevation of public morals and the increase of in- 
 telligence alw 7 ays follow the preaching of the Gospel. 
 Thank God! The Evangelical Association has never 
 done any community any harm, but the results of her 
 efforts have always been beneficient. If only all her 
 enemies and opposers in ecclesiastical garb could say 
 
i j6 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 as much for themselves. Diluted or perverted 
 Christianity is next to Paganism itself, ' the greatest 
 curse that can befall a nation. 
 
 In the Winter of 1836 he had a blessed meeting of 
 five days duration in Lebanon, Pa. A number of 
 penitents were soundly converted. Among others a 
 somewhat notorious character was converted, known 
 as the "great drunkard of Lebanon". For about 
 twenty years this man had led a most dissolute life, 
 so that his family was thrown into extreme distress 
 and poverty, in fact became dependent upon the 
 benevolence of their neighbors. Meanwhile the wife 
 had been genuinely converted, and began to pray 
 most earnestly for the salvation of the wretched man, 
 continuing night and day in unwearying importunity. 
 Besides this she deported herself with great gentle- 
 ness and exhibited much patience in the sad, distress- 
 ful lot into which her husband's debauchery had 
 plunged her. The Rum-devil had dragged him to 
 the very portals of hell. But the Holy Spirit reached 
 and awakened him, and granted him repentance unto 
 life. He saw his condition, resolved to cease from 
 his bestial habit, to forsake his besotted companions, 
 and become a Christian. His companions made 
 every effort to tempt the poor wretch back to his 
 cups again, but in vain. He stood firm by the grace 
 of God. Some who professed to be his friends urged 
 him to "break off gradually, for fear it might kill him 
 to quit too abruptly!" But he acted the man, boldly 
 declaring he would rather die than take another drop 
 of the sorcerous poison of hell. He would no longer 
 
Self- Denial and Intrepidity. 
 
 177 
 
 walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the 
 way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. 
 He began to associate with God's people, attended 
 their meetings and prayed publicly and privately for 
 deliverance. His penitential struggle was protracted 
 and severe, but God's children wept tears of deep 
 sympathy with the unfortunate man, and ceased not^ 
 day nor night to pray for his salvation. At last he 
 was gloriously saved and filled with peace and 
 heavenly joy. From this time on he lived a godly, 
 pious life, treated his wife with becoming respect and 
 sincere affection, and provided for his own household 
 like a true believer. He became a remarkable ex- 
 ample of what God's grace can do for the deeply 
 fallen. 
 
 At last he approached death as a Christian. On 
 his death-bed he was so full of spiritual life and 
 power, that visitors were profoundly moved by his 
 earnest and godly admonitions. Many were led to 
 repentance by this means. When at last his hour 
 came to die, he called his wife and children around 
 his bedside, gave them his parting admonition and 
 benediction, never letting go the hand until each had 
 solemnly promised to meet him in heaven, and then 
 passed peacefully away. Bro. Seybert concludes: 
 "Now, ye drunkards, read, hear and consider this! 
 Remember that though you are on the way to dam- 
 nation, yet you can to-day be saved as well as this 
 man, if you will quit your drinking, and turn to the 
 Lord. The Lord help you to this end. Amen." 
 12 
 
1 78 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 LAST YEARS AS PRESIDING ELDER. 
 
 The work of the Evangelical Association in the 
 city of Allentown began in 1837. The brethren Sey- 
 bert and Altimos were the first to effect an entrance 
 there. At that time it was a notoriously wicked city. 
 The two missionaries could only secure the cold and 
 inconvenient market house in which to preach the 
 Gospel, while the authorities granted the use of the 
 court house to an infidel for a lecture against Chris- 
 tianity the same day. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs in Allentown in 1837. 
 The heralds of the Cross were left out in the cold, 
 but the county hall was opened to a blasphemer of 
 the name of the World's Redeemer. But they sub- 
 mitted patiently, and went to the market place at 
 about ten o'clock, where Bro. Altimos preached from 
 Heb. 13: 12-14. At about two o'clock they went 
 again, and Bro. Seybert preached from St. John 
 1:11-12. It happened to be election day. Con- 
 sequently the city was unusually full of people, and 
 there was much disorder. Several of the crowd who 
 gathered in the services attempted to disturb them 
 by loud talking, others by boisterous laughter and all 
 sorts of confusion. However, no attention was paid 
 to this, it was patiently endured, and the preachers 
 were exceedingly glad that some decent people were 
 present, who gave close and respectful attention to 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder, 179 
 
 the Word, and upon whom it seemed to have had a 
 great effect. 
 
 In January 1838 Seybert preached at the funeral of 
 a young lady, who had lived, up to the time of her 
 sickness, without God and without hope in the world. 
 She was the only daughter of a pious mother. There 
 was much weeping on her funeral occasion, as the 
 young lady had a large circle of acquaintances, and 
 her spiritual condition was well known. On her 
 death-ded she lamented her folly, in having neglected 
 to seek the salvation of her soul In the days of health, 
 and bitterly bemoaned her sad condition. Oh, had 
 she heeded her good mother's fervent admonitions, 
 she might have died in peace! 
 
 When at length her disease reached a very danger- 
 ous stage, and eternity seemed to be casting its 
 shadows over her, she got out of bed, despite her 
 great weakness, fell upon her knees, and in a strong 
 agony of fear cried unto God for mercy and grace. 
 Hell seemed moved to meet her at her coming, and 
 the pains of death got hold upon her. The effort 
 exhausted her; she sank to the floor, and was lifted 
 into bed for the last time. In this excited condition 
 she went into eternity. Whether she obtained mercy 
 in those last hours, God alone knows. 
 
 At Manheim, the following sad incident occurred 
 about that time: 
 
 Here lived a man, who in his youth had been 
 addicted to strong drink, and through excessive dissi- 
 pations had contracted a disease in one of his legs 
 which was pronounced incurable. Thinking he would 
 
1 80 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 have to die, he stopped his habits of intoxication, 
 began to pray, and after a time professed conversion, 
 upon which he led a pious and upright life. 
 
 The young man loved a devoted, virtuous maiden 
 of the neighborhood, who was also well-to-do tempor- 
 ally. As every one entertained confidence that he 
 was saved from his vices, and thought he gave 
 promise of faithfulness and prosperity, they were 
 married. On account of his blameless life the class 
 elected him as their leader, and finally, as he evinced 
 talents of no mean order, he became a preacher, was 
 received into the itinerancy, and in due time was 
 ordained as Deacon. 
 
 But he began to decline, soon after, both in 
 temporal and spiritual things. His love waxed cold, 
 and his zeal for the cause of Christ visibly declined. 
 Now and then he was also known to taste of the 
 sorcerous cup again. The conference was obliged 
 to depose him from the ministry and expel him from 
 the church. All efforts to save him were futile. If 
 he did occasionally promise amendment and appear 
 penitent, it was only the mood of the hour and 
 passed away like a shadow. Soon he sank back 
 into the terrible coils of the serpent of the still. In 
 short, he became the chief of drunkards, and one of 
 the most desperate and malicious men in the world. 
 Once he tried to kill a man, but fortunately failed. 
 At another time he attempted to set a house and 
 barn on fire, but was prevented by being discovered. 
 Thus he continued. 
 
 He had formerly been a successful school-teacher. 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder. 
 
 181 
 
 Some one asked him during the Summer of 1837. 
 whether he would teach school the coming Winter, 
 to which he replied, "By next Christmas I shall teach 
 school in hell, conquer the devil, and refute the 
 Almiofhtv with mv concordance". Shortly before 
 Christmas he began once more to teach school. 
 What a shame, by the way, to entrust the education 
 of tender youth to such an outcast! But this used to 
 be the custom in those parts, to employ drunkards 
 and all sorts of street loafers for school-teachers. — 
 Soon afterwards one of his neighbors found him lying 
 helplessly intoxicated on the street, loaded the 
 drunken schoolmaster on his waeon, and dragged 
 him to his door, like a dead brute. In the attempt 
 to walk the few steps to his house, he fell, injuring 
 one of his limbs, but as soon as it seemed sufficiently 
 healed, he returned to the school room. On the way 
 he became very sick, with a disease which in a few 
 days sent him into eternity. On Christmas he lay 
 in his winding sheet. Be not deceived; God is not 
 mocked. 
 
 During the last night of his life, his chamber was 
 a scene of horror. It was almost impossible to keep 
 him in his room. He declared it full of demons. 
 But he was compelled to take the fearful journey, 
 which without doubt ended in a place of eternal tor- 
 ment where there is no peace nor rest. 
 
 At the close of his term of service on Canaan 
 district, Seybert wrote a report, of which we give a 
 brief extract: 
 
 "As the time of my departure from Canaan district 
 
1 82 Life and Labors of "John Seybert, 
 
 has now come for the second time, I feel inwardly 
 constrained to write something of what God has done 
 for us, during these last four years. 
 
 "When I came to this district four years ago, I 
 found but three circuits, namely, Schuylkill, Lebanon 
 .'and Lancaster. In the city of Philadelphia, a feeble 
 beginning had been made in converting the Germans. 
 Schuykill and Lebanon circuits I found in a prosper- 
 ous condition, but on Lancaster circuit a sad state of 
 affairs prevailed. As my district was small (extend- 
 ing only over seven counties), I spent part of my time, 
 during the first two years of my term, in looking up 
 new appointments, and that in dark regions eastward.. 
 The Lord blessed my efforts, and the boundaries 
 of my district were extended about sixty miles farther 
 in that direction. 
 
 " We now all united upon the whole district, to 
 extend its bounds in all directions. By Divine 
 assistance we were successful, so that we now have 
 six charges instead of three; in Philadelphia there is 
 a flourishing society and Sunday-school; fourteen 
 preachers now man the field, instead of seven. Thus 
 hath the Lord helped us." 
 
 March 28th, 1838, the Eastern conference elected 
 Seybert for the fourth and last time to the office of 
 Presiding Elder. For the second time he was placed 
 in charge of Salem district, comprising Union, Centre, 
 Columbia and Lycoming circuits. As always, this 
 re-election was only an occasion for renewed humilia- 
 tion. He sought grace anew for his duties. There 
 was no pride of official station in him, neither was he 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder. 183 
 
 ambitious for promotion. When work was to be done 
 he knew not himself, as Presiding Elder, but only as 
 the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ecclesiastical 
 power had no attractions for him. All his life time 
 he studied the task of the Greek philosopher, "Know 
 Thyself". And his modest manner showed that he 
 had made progress in that fundamental branch of 
 knowledge. The real greatness of distinguished men 
 is that they do not feel their greatness. The strength 
 of spiritual giants is explained by their consciousness 
 of weakness. Humility is a mark of worth. 
 
 Hardly had he arrived on his new district, before 
 he was already exploring new territories. On one 
 of his exploring trips in the valley of the Catawissa, 
 Seybert was overtaken in the month of April by a 
 fearful storm. He did not observe its approach long 
 before it overtook him. Riding listlessly along 
 through the mountain-passes, buried in a deep reverie, 
 he was suddenly awakened from his musings by the 
 low muttering of distant thunder. Looking upward 
 with his calm blue eyes, he saw the massive clouds 
 gathering overhead, black as night and angry, amid 
 the wildest commotion. Fierce lightnings leaping 
 from its sombre folds, lit up the ancient mountain 
 heights, as with the gleam of Jehovah's " glittering 
 sword". The mad howl of the approaching tempest 
 was distinctly heard, and a dismal, hollow roar, as of 
 heavens artillery, crept along the valleys and rushed 
 through the ravines. The sky looked inky black, as 
 the lightnings leaped from their ebony sheaths, and 
 crossed swords above the smoking altar-summits of 
 
I B4 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 the everlasting hills. The heaped-up folds of the 
 storm cloud threatened every moment to let go its 
 torrents. Seybert rode calmly on in the fearless 
 simplicity which a clear conscience imparts. He 
 reached a human dwelling just as the rain began. 
 : I Riding under a shed, he fastened his horse, took 
 I down his saddle bags and hurried to the house, where 
 he was permitted to enter. By this time the storm 
 was raging in full fury, and he was at first pleased 
 with this timely shelter. He supposed he had found 
 a Christian family, for he had noticed that one of the 
 daughters was reading aloud from a prayer book as 
 he entered. Presently, however, the man of the 
 house became suspicious that his uninvited guest 
 might be one of those hated preachers of repentance, 
 of whom so much was said in those times. And 
 thereupon his face wore a forbidding scowl. Seybert 
 sat at a window, quietly watching the war of the 
 elements without. His contemplative mind saw in 
 the storm the evidence of the majesty and power of 
 his God. To every thunderbolt that came crashing 
 down through the agitated scene, and that sent its 
 echoes rolling along the mountain sides, he inwardly 
 responded "Amen". It was to him a delight to 
 hear how 
 
 " Loud and long 
 The thunder shouts 
 His battle song". 
 
 After the storm had somewhat subsided, the host, 
 who seemed to have been driven like a wild beast 
 into his lair, by the storm, ventured to question 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder. 185 
 
 Seybert. (It is notorious that the greatest sinners 
 are the greatest cowards.) He began: "Well, where 
 do you come from? " 
 
 " 1 come from the lower counties and am on my 
 way farther northward to Catawissa", replied Seybert 
 calmly. 
 
 " What are you after, anyhow? " was further asked 
 gruffly. 
 
 u Why," was the answer, " I am an itinerant 
 preacher, and my business is to proclaim the Word 
 of God, to all who will hear it." 
 
 Upon receiving this interesting piece of informa- 
 tion, the host, whose horrible suspicions were thereby 
 more than justified, became enraged at once, and 
 began to scold terribly: 
 
 " You don't need to come to our neighborhood; 
 we have preachers and churches too. You needn't 
 think we are heathens here. Such cursed tramps as 
 you are, may just keep out of our houses. You are 
 a Methodist, and nothing else." 
 
 Seybert here interposed: "I would not be ashamed 
 of being a Methodist, if I were one; but I am not a 
 Methodist" — By this time the man was so angry that 
 Seybert thought it best to leave at once, as he did 
 not consider himself safe in that house. Politely 
 thanking the family for their friendly shelter, which 
 he had temporarily received, he mounted and rode 
 away before the storm was over. He concluded he 
 would rather endure the wrath of the elements, than 
 the storm of anger that was brewing in this man. 
 As he rode away, the monster watched him from the 
 
1 86" Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 window, grinning savagely, because he was so 
 successful in driving the preacher out into the storm. 
 
 At a certain camp-meeting in 1838, a female 
 drunkard, in the most loathsome depths of degrada- 
 tion, was converted. She could gulp down incredible 
 quantities of brandy, and was sunken far below the 
 brutes in excessive dissipation. Her husband was 
 already buried in a drunkard's grave, and her two 
 daughters were accomplished worshippers at the 
 shrine of Bacchus. During the meeting this female 
 sot happened to arrive on the encampment in a com- 
 paratively sober condition. In all her repulsiveness 
 of person, she took a seat among the assembled wor- 
 shippers. This brought her under the sound of the 
 Gospel, and she almost immediately fell under con- 
 viction. The truth flashed into her benighted soul, 
 and she cried out, "O Lord, save me!" God had 
 mercy upon her. He took her feet out of the horrible 
 pit, placed them upon a Rock and established her 
 goings. She is indeed a miracle of grace. 
 
 "Jesus the prisoner's fetters breaks, 
 And bruises Satan's head ; 
 Power into strengthless souls he speaks, 
 And life into the dead. 
 
 Hear Hiin, ye deaf, His praise, ye dumb, 
 Your loosened tongues employ, 
 Ye blind, behold your Saviour come, 
 And leap, ye lame, for joy." 
 
 From a report which Bro. Seybert wrote, after his 
 second round on his district was completed, the fol- 
 lowing incident is of interest: 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder. 187 
 
 July 2d he held a camp-meeting in Tioga county, 
 Pa., which was richly blessed of God. 
 
 Wednesday was Independence Day, and a volun- 
 teer company of militia came upon the grounds in 
 uniform, with martial music and in all the glory of 
 war, to hear a sermon. Bro. Seybert preached a ser- 
 mon appropriate to the occasion, in which he showed 
 in what civil as well as religious liberty consists, and 
 sought to describe the prerogatives of both. In the 
 evening" one of the soldiers fell into distress of soul, 
 cried mightily unto God for the pardon of his sins, 
 until he was translated into the marvellous light and 
 liberty of the people of God, and was fully enlisted in 
 the army of the Lord. Quite a number united with 
 the Association as a result of this meeting. Speak- 
 ing of the condition of the people in a certain com- 
 munity in Tioga county, he wrote the following some- 
 time during the Summer of 1838: 
 
 " When we began our work a few years ago in this 
 region, the religious aspect of society was sad indeed. 
 False teachers and the devil had confused and des- 
 olated everything, so that profanity, gluttony, intoxi- 
 cation, Sabbath-breaking and all sorts of vices were 
 terribly prevalent. The passion for drink was so 
 great, that brandy was lugged on their shoulders a 
 distance of twenty miles, over the Alleghany moun- 
 tains, rather than be deprived of it. 
 
 u Soon, however, some of the worst swearers be- 
 gan to pray, and some of the worst drunkards became 
 sober, while some of the most quarrelsome received 
 peace from God and became decent, peaceable citizens. 
 
l88 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying: 'The wilder- 
 ness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, 
 and the desert shall blossom as the rose; it shall 
 blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and sing- 
 ing.' 
 
 " Behold, what the Lord by His Word and Spirit 
 hath wrought here! O, ye anointed men and youths, 
 who have been called of God to preach, will ye not 
 go out with us into the field against the Philistines 
 which are towards evening and towards midnight! 
 And ye, who have been blessed of the Lord with 
 worldly goods, will ye not open your hands with 
 benevolent deeds and gifts to support the Gospel and 
 for the spread of pure doctrine, when ye see how 
 much good the Lord does through this means! And 
 ye poor, who would be glad to contribute, if you had 
 the means, you can contribute by your prayers. — But 
 let all pray the Lord of the harvest, that He may send 
 laborers into His vineyard. For truly the harvest is 
 great, but the laborers are few* On the contrary, 
 there are many hirelings and horrible wolves who do 
 not spare the flock." 
 
 August i ith and 12th he dedicated a new sanctuary 
 in Union county, Pa., to the service of Almighty God. 
 A large concourse of people was in attendance, and a 
 considerable number of the friends on the district. 
 The Word was preached in power, and made an irre- 
 sistible impression upon the hearers. Believers were 
 edified, instructed and encouraged, while many be- 
 came convinced of the need of living a holy life, and 
 were led to repentance. Sunday evening, a wonder- 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder, 189 
 
 ful commotion occurred; many wept, not a few praised 
 the Lord, and Bro. Seybert rejoiced that not only had 
 the house been dedicated, but also the hearts of many 
 of those present. 
 
 August 20th Seybert began a camp-meeting, during 
 which they were favored with good weather and a large 
 attendance. "Already on the first evening," he says,, 
 "we had a good time, but not until Tuesday did we 
 have a perfect victory (vollkommenen Durchbrnch), when 
 many tears were shed by penitents who wrestled for 
 salvation." The spiritual interest increased to the end 
 of the meeting. On the last night there was much 
 feeling, but on account of the throng, it was im- 
 possible to labor with satisfaction with the penitents. 
 In this night several wicked persons undertook to 
 drag from the altar and from the encampment a 
 woman, who, in profound penitential grief, was plead- 
 ing for mercy. When Bro. Seybert became aware 
 that they were determined to execute their diabolical 
 purpose, he remonstrated, and asked them at least to 
 take the poor soul away in a decent manner. But in 
 vain. They laid ruthless hands upon her, and literally 
 tore her away in a most brutal manner and dragged 
 her off. He remarks: 
 
 Here was an opportunity of observing the malice 
 and bitter enmity of Satan and his serpent brood 
 against the Kingdom of God. And this serpent 
 brood are the rulers in Babel and in the kingdom 
 of Anti-Christ. Had they the power, they would 
 tear pilgrims away from the very gates of Heaven 
 and dra^ them down into hell itself. 
 
190 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 This incident occurred in September, 1838, at a 
 camp-meeting in George's Valley, Centre Co., Pa.: 
 
 On Friday afternoon, Brother Berger preached on 
 Heb. 2:3. His sermon produced a powerful effect; 
 many people were awakened, and among others a 
 certain woman was so wrought upon by the Spirit of 
 the Lord, that for her there was no alternative but to 
 seek the Lord. She began to tremble and weep. 
 Her husband, who sat opposite her, soon observed 
 this, and, fearing she would go to the altar of prayer, 
 to which he was bitterly opposed, he promptly arose, 
 went over to where his wife was, and took hold of 
 her to detain her. She was just in the act of going 
 forward, when he prevented her. He was not at all 
 violent, but firm. There they both stood, the wife 
 wanting to go to the altar of prayer, the husband 
 keeping her back. In her distress, the poor, sin-sick 
 woman now attempted to get upon her knees, right 
 among the people where they were. But he also 
 prevented this. Upon this, she began in her desper- 
 ation, to pray standing, leaning upon her husband's 
 arm. Most affectingly did she plead for mercy and 
 for salvation, weeping so bitterly that it became a 
 matter of astonishment how her husband could 
 endure it, especially since he did not seem to be 
 excited nor angry. But there the determined man 
 stood, in the presence of a multitude, holding his peni- 
 tent wife in his arms, unwilling to let her kneel down 
 even. At last the light of salvation burst in upon the 
 distressed and agonizing soul, and she found the 
 Pearl of Great Price. By this time, however, the 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder. 
 
 191 
 
 stubborn captor himself began to quake; he trembled 
 like an aspen leaf, and tears involuntarily rolled down 
 his hardened face, and it seemed certain that he 
 would have to surrender himself. The probability 
 was that he would sink down with his burden. But 
 he held out. It was observed, however, that as they 
 went home together, he was of sadder countenance 
 than his wife, who was full of joy. 
 
 The camp-meetings this year were all blessed with 
 revivals and many conversions. He who walketh in 
 the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, and 
 holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, had not 
 yet forsaken his people. 
 
 At the above meeting above fifty were converted, 
 nearly all of whom joined the Evangelical Associa- 
 tion, notwithstanding that Bro. Seybert, as related 
 by an eye-witness, urged very strongly and solemnly, 
 that those who did so were called upon forever to 
 deny themselves of worldliness and everything sinful, 
 and must solemnly obligate themselves, to live godly 
 lives according to the Word of God. This same 
 witness relates how one day during this meeting, 
 after the sons of Belial had vainly tried to break up 
 the meeting by setting fire to the dry forests, and 
 their fire always went out again, Seybert came upon 
 the preacher's stand in that peculiar, animated hust- 
 ling way of his exclaiming: "Now the devil's brush- 
 fire is already out again, but God's holy, heavenly 
 converting fire shoots its fervid flames higher and 
 higher with every hour." 
 
 For some time he had been urging the various 
 
192 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 charges to procure parsonages for their preachers, 
 and he was pleased to see that his good advice was 
 being followed. 
 
 During the year Bro. Seybert traveled three thou- 
 sand one hundred and seventy-one miles, preached 
 two hundred and fifty times, and held six successful 
 camp-meetings. 
 
 New Year's day, 1839, he had the joy of seeing 
 a "Cripple converted", referring namely to a man 
 by that name. That day he also held a temper- 
 ance meeting, in company with a Presbyterian and 
 a Reformed preacher. It was somewhere in the 
 Muncy mountains, where, he says, "there was a 
 terrible state of drunkenness. The state of affairs 
 was in fact almost unparalleled. But I am glad that 
 right here five drunkards have been converted, and 
 now live temperate, upright lives. But the number 
 of drunkards is so vast, that I know of no similar 
 locality. Among the many, however, there is one 
 extraordinary drinker, who one Winter was so badly 
 frozen while intoxicated, that both his feet had to be 
 amputated. But it made no difference. Though he 
 is without feet, he continues to drink. This demon- 
 strates the awful power Satan exercises over those 
 who yield to the slavery of drink." 
 
 About this time Bro. Seybert was permitted to see 
 some of the glorious fruits of his pioneer labors 
 among the crags of the Loyalsock mountains. It 
 was indeed a wretched region, being- almost inacces- 
 sible on account of the rocks and mountains. And 
 the people were as rough as the country. But these 
 
Last Years as Presiding Elder. 
 
 193' 
 
 were no obstacles to him. It seemed as if he 
 delighted in taking the hardest routes and attacking- 
 the hardest places, where no one else would go. 
 These places, too, were most in need of Gospel work. 
 Their very wickedness seemed to be an inducement 
 to him. He had great faith in the elevating influence 
 of the pure Gospel, and afterwards it was a great 
 pleasure to him to visit these places and notice the 
 beneficient effects of his labors and of those who 
 followed him. 
 
 On a certain tour over the mountains in 1840, in 
 company with the late Rev. Solomon Neitz, his, 
 German biographer, and Rev. J. Sensel of blessed 
 memory, Bro. Seybert led them over a long tedious 
 mountain road, through snow three or four feet deep.. 
 His companions protested, for they could have taken 
 a much more convenient and comfortable route. 
 "No", he said firmly, "we will go by way of Lo)/al- 
 sock, for there the people are glad when they see 
 traveling preachers". He had many seals to his 
 ministry there, and took a parental delight in visiting- 
 his spiritual children. He had "broken down some 
 of the walls of Babylon " there, and he was going to 
 see the ruins. The work was truly a success. One 
 of the landlords, for instance, complained that he 
 4 'could not sell one keg of whiskey now, where he: 
 used to sell five 
 
 13 
 
194 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE EPISCOPACY, ETC. 
 
 The General Conference began its seventh session, 
 March 25th, 1839, at a place three miles south-west 
 of Muehlheim, Centre Co., Pa., in Mosser's church. 
 The work of the church was divided into three 
 Annual Conference territories, called, respectively, the 
 "East Pennsylvania," "West Pennsylvania" and 
 Ohio ". These conferences represented work in 
 the States of Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, 
 Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Upper Canada. 
 Such was the extent of the field of operations. The 
 Evangelical Association had at that time in all eighty 
 itinerant preachers, thirty-six circuits, two stations 
 and four missions. The total membership was about 
 eieht thousand. 
 
 Thirty-nine Elders, composing this body, were 
 present. Rev. Thomas Buck was President of the 
 Conference, and Rev. Geo. Brickley was its Secre- 
 tary. 
 
 Following are the names of the delegates: 
 Thomas Buck, George Brickley, John Seybert, 
 Joseph Long, Francis Hoffman, Charles Hammer, 
 Michael F. Mees, Daniel Berger, James Barber, 
 Daniel Kehr, John M. Sindlinger, Charles Hesser, 
 Solomon G. Miller, Samuel von Gundy, John Lutz, 
 Peter Wist, Henry Niebel, John G. Zinser, John 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 !95 
 
 Sensel, Philip Wagner, Joseph Harlacher, John 
 Young, John P. Leib, William W. Orwig, Henry 
 Bucks, Elias Stover, Jacob Boas, John J. Kopp,. 
 Absalom B. Shafer, Peter Getz, Aaron Yambert. 
 
 On the third day of the session, being March 27th, 
 1839, the General Conference decided to elect a 
 General Superintendent, or Bishop, and their choice 
 unanimously fell upon John Seybert. This election 
 was a great surprise to him, and of course came to 
 him entirely unsought. It caused him great distress 
 of mind. During the first few months after his eleva- 
 tion to the highest office in the gift of the church, he 
 was known to weep almost constantly. He prayed 
 much in secret, and several times burst out into a 
 flood of tears in public. The more he contemplated 
 the matter, the more crushing his new responsibility 
 became to him. At first he could not endure the 
 thought that he should be charged with the ecclesi- 
 astical superintendency over eighty preachers, three 
 conferences and eight thousand members. Fre- 
 quently he exclaimed: " Why in the world did they 
 not choose a man who is more suitable?" True, he 
 was perfectly willing to devote all his talents to the 
 work, but he considered them far too insignificant for 
 this great office. The agitation of his mind, during 
 the first few weeks, caused loss of sleep and appetite. 
 Often he lay weeping for hours through the solemn 
 vigils of the night. 
 
 It is needless to say that John Seybert did not 
 seek the office. He had "greatness thrust upon 
 him". 
 
1 96 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 Following is the simple journal entry, on the even- 
 ing of the day when he was so unexpectedly elevated 
 to the episcopal dignity: 
 
 "Wednesday being the third day of the session, a 
 Bishop was elected at about five o'clock in the after- 
 noon. This important office unexpectedly fell to my 
 lot, which oppressed me, and on account of the im- 
 portance of the office, caused me to shed tears. My 
 appetite failed, and sleep left me for a season. Grad- 
 ually I felt relieved again, and felt disposed to submit 
 myself to God and to my brethren, and formed the 
 determination to serve the church in the faithful per- 
 formance of the important duties of the office, and to 
 labor for the glory of God and the welfare of my fel- 
 low pilgrims to eternity." 
 
 It has been a mooted question, whether the distinc- 
 tion of being the first Bishop of the Evangelical 
 Association belonged to John Seybert, or to Jacob 
 Albright. We present below the principal views 
 which have been formally expressed by various 
 authorities in the church. 
 
 The late Rev. Solomon Neitz, Bishop Seybert's 
 German biographer, has the following to say: 
 
 "According to trustworthy accounts, the honored 
 founder of the Evangelical Association was likewise 
 elected Bishop of the little flock, shortly before his 
 death. Neither is it to be gainsaid that the sainted 
 Albright exercised all the powers of the Episcopal 
 office in the Evangelical Association, from the time 
 of its organization until his untimely death. He 
 changed the appointments of the preachers as he 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 197 
 
 pleased, and arranged everything in the Association 
 according to his own best judgment. However, in 
 important affairs he took counsel of his ministerial 
 brethren. In the proper sense he was really Bishop 
 of the Evangelical Association, from its organization 
 to the end of his natural life, because he used all the 
 powers and exercised all the authority of the office 
 durinof that time, and did this to a decree of absolute- 
 ness, which none of our regular Bishops have had the 
 right to do. But Albright's formal election took 
 place only shortly before his death, and that too be- 
 fore the introduction of a Discipline, and therefore he 
 can hardly be numbered as one of the Bishops within 
 the meaning of the Discipline of our Church, which 
 instrument alone defines the powers of the office. 
 On the contrary, however, Bro. Seybert was the first 
 to be elected under the laws and provisions of our 
 ecclesiastical government, and therefore is rightfully 
 called the first Bishop of the Evangelical Association." 
 
 Rev. W. W. Orwiof, a member of the General con- 
 ference of 1839, and author of Volume I. of the 
 "History of the Evangelical Association", says: 
 
 " Bro. Seybert became the first regular Bishop of 
 the Association, according to the rules of the Dis- 
 cipline. As to Mr. Albright, he w r as elected to this 
 office before the Doctrines and the Discipline had 
 been adopted, for which reason he can hardly be con- 
 sidered one of our Bishops. His case was in every 
 respect an extraordinary one; for even before his 
 elevation to the Superintendency of the Church, 
 which happened but a short time before his death, he 
 
198 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 exercised, from the very organization of the Associa- 
 tion till his death, all episcopal power, transferring 
 preachers at will, and arranging everything in the 
 Association as it seemed best to him, yet not always 
 without consulting his brethren. He was, therefore, 
 in the full sense of the word, the Bishop of the Asso- 
 ciation, exerting a power and influence upon it, such as 
 no Bishop has done after him, and probably never will," 
 
 Rev. R. Yeakel, author of the "Life of Albright and 
 his co-laborers", has this to say: 
 
 "The first conference, which met in 1807, elected 
 Jacob Albright Bishop. The record of that con- 
 ference is literally as follows: '4th. Jacob Albright 
 was elected Bishop by a majority of votes, and George 
 Miller was elected Elder.' The 'council' of 1803 
 already declared Albright to be an Elder, and he was 
 ordained as such at that time. The conference of 
 1807 elected him Bishop. It is clear, from the fact 
 that in doctrine and usage the conference was Meth- 
 odistical, that they had a Methodistical conception of 
 the word 'Bishop'. Side by side with her the M. E. 
 Church was laboring zealously, with the godly and 
 highly esteemed Bishop Asbury at its head. Yea, on 
 the preacher's License which this conference issued, it 
 named itself 'The Newly Formed Methodist Con- 
 ference'. Who can doubt that this conference elected 
 Albright Bishop in the Methodist sense? It was not 
 looked upon as a mere title of honor or distinction. 
 Jacoo Albright was elected Bishop, and, according^ 
 to the action of the conference and the terms of the 
 record, is the first Bishop of the Evangelical Asso- 
 
The Episcopacy, 
 
 199 
 
 ciation, even though she did not at that time bear the 
 present name." 
 
 It seems plain from the statements of facts in which 
 all three authorities agree (and they are the only 
 authorities at this time, who have expressed them- 
 selves on the subject), that, while Jacob Albright, the 
 sainted founder of the Evangelical Association, was 
 the first Bishop de facto, John Seybert was the first 
 Bishop de jitre. If it is without dispute that our dis- 
 ciplinary episcopacy is intended to be essentially 
 Methodistic in its nature and functions, then Albright 
 was in the full sense of the word the first Bishop of 
 our Church. — But if there are any fundamental differ- 
 ences between the episcopacy of the Evangelical 
 Association and that of the M. E. Church, then un- 
 doubtedly that distinction belongs to Bishop Seybert. 
 And that important differences exist between the 
 office as Albright and the Methodist bishops admin- 
 istered and the latter still administer it on the one 
 hand, and as administered bv the bishops of the 
 Evangelical Association under the Discipline, seems 
 conceded by all the authorities quoted. It seems 
 evident furthermore, upon the testimony of trust- 
 worthy historical accounts, that Mr. Albright's admin- 
 istration of the episcopal office was practically much 
 nearer akin to the episcopate of the M. E. Church, 
 than to our own regular episcopacy as defined and 
 limited by the Discipline. We repeat then, that 
 Jacob Albright was the first Bishop of our Church 
 according to the facts, and John Seybert was the first 
 Bishop according to the law. 
 
200 Life and Labors of fo/in Seybert. 
 
 April ioth, two weeks after his election, the new 
 bishop presided over the sessions of his mother con- 
 ference. In this conference he had been converted, 
 and by it received into the itinerancy. In its employ 
 he had preached for a period of nineteen years. 
 Now he was its presiding officer and belonged to all 
 the conferences in the whole Church. 
 
 After this conference had been successfully held, 
 Bro. Seybert began to feel more reconciled to his new 
 position. It is, however, not to be wondered at, that 
 he was at first oppressed by the responsibilities of his 
 high and untried office. He had no precedent for his 
 guidance, but had himself to make precedents for all 
 time to come, and upon his conception and practical 
 application of an untried law depended in all proba- 
 bility the permanence of the law, and the interpreta- 
 tions of his successors. Besides, he had to travel 
 over an enormous stretch of territory, from Canada to 
 Virginia, from Staten Island (New York City) to the 
 Mississippi River, and this in an age when steam had 
 not been generally introduced as the power of loco- 
 motion. It was an herculean undertaking. 
 
 Bro. Seybert mentions this first conference session 
 as specially peaceable, and gratefully acknowledges 
 the love and sympathy of the brethren. But when 
 Sunday came, the Bishop shrank from the task of 
 preaching the ordination sermon, and pressed another 
 brother into service to perform that duty. 
 
 On the first day of this conference session, the first 
 annual meeting of the missionary society of the East 
 Pennsylvania conference was held. This society 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 201 
 
 was organized in 1838, and was the first of its kind 
 in the Evangelical Association. The General Con- 
 ference which elected Seybert Bishop, in 1839, 
 organized the Parent Missionary Society, and Bishop 
 Seybert was chosen as its first president. He was 
 in fact the chief mover in the introduction of organ- 
 ized missionary enterprises among us. He exerted a 
 powerful influence in this matter in various ways. 
 First, by his example in zealous missionary activity 
 every year of his ministerial life. Second, by import- 
 ing- and introducing- missionary literature. He 
 imported the celebrated "Basle Missionary Magazine \ 
 and presented the Publishing House with a very large 
 number of these magazines. In this way the editor 
 of the " Christliche Botschafter" had access to the 
 best information to be obtained on the subject at that 
 time, and consequently that organ of the Church 
 presented the great subject in an intelligent and 
 earnest manner. The Bishop also urged the 
 preachers to inform themselves diligently on the 
 subject. These exertions were chiefly influential 
 in leading to the organization of the Missionary 
 Society. This movement, in which Bishop Seybert 
 was the master-spirit, resulted already in the first 
 year in the organization of local auxiliary societies 
 in many places. A considerable sum of money was 
 raised by this means, and the missionary spirit was 
 awakened in many of the young men of the Church. 
 
 At the same time, the first regular missions were 
 started. They were four in number: New York City 
 mission, Mohawk mission, Waterloo mission and 
 
202 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Black Creek mission. The two former were in the 
 State of New York, and the two latter in Upper 
 Canada. The East Pennsylvania conference, at its 
 session in 1839, supplied these missions. It is thus 
 seen in what a striking manner Bishop John Seybert 
 was identified with the early missionary plans and 
 enterprises of our Church. It is not too much to say 
 that he was the father of our missionary societies, as well 
 as the first missionary of the Church. Soon after his 
 election to the episcopacy, he issued the following 
 circular letter: 
 
 "An Appeal to the Ministry of the Evangelical 
 Association. 
 
 " Dearly beloved! Inasmuch as the cause of the 
 Lord rests heavily on my heart, and as I feel 
 inwardly stirred and constrained, to devote myself 
 to His work by day and night without ceasing, 
 with soul and body, therefore I desire, through the 
 Christliche Botschafter, to encourage our Evangelical 
 friends, and in general all who love God, in this 
 important cause, which also has been done by other 
 brethren, and not without good effect upon sincere 
 souls. 
 
 " But, as hitherto appeals have been made princi- 
 pally to the lay-members, I would at this time speak 
 a word to their leaders, and communicate my 
 thoughts and convictions to them in a simple and 
 upright manner, especially since at the present time 
 there seems to be a greater lack of active ministers in 
 our Association, than ever before. 
 
 "The question first arises: Where lies the fault? 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 203 
 
 Certainly not on the side of God, who would that all 
 men should be saved and come to the knowledge 
 of the truth. The fault, then, must be with us. 
 Evidently there is a lack of love to God and to our 
 fellow-men in the hearts of many, as also a lack of 
 the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Great Head of the 
 Church, our adorable Lord, who gave His life for us 
 when we were yet enemies. 
 
 "There is an especial want among us of the 
 following qualities, which the Master possessed: 
 
 "First: We lack the spirit of humility, which He 
 displayed in the voluntary acceptance of the poverty 
 and obscurity that marked the circumstances of His 
 birth and early career. 
 
 "Second: That voluntary submission to the shame 
 of the cross; w T e are not willing to bear the derision 
 of every fool and devil's imp. 
 
 "Third: That willingness to suffer afflictions and 
 tribulations without number, even unto death. 
 Behold the love of Him, who was constrained by 
 his very agonies to pray for His merciless tormentors. 
 
 " If there were more of the Spirit and qualities 
 of Jesus among us in general, there would be less 
 of the cares of the world to absorb our time, en^aee 
 our attention and exhaust our energies; we would 
 deny ourselves of all earthly things, and, without fear 
 of want, without making provision for the flesh, in 
 confidence in Him who upholds the sparrow and 
 hears the young ravens when they cry, and clothes 
 the lilies of the field with inimitable glory, we would 
 surmount all difficulties, in order to execute the 
 
204 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 command of Christ, to bring to the world the glad 
 message of her crucified Redeemer. There would 
 not be so many unanswered Macedonian calls from 
 Upper Canada and other localities, where they are 
 in need of true shepherds and true preachers of the 
 Gospel. The thousands of poor Germans in the 
 States of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, etc., who 
 wander amid perils in the moral desert in great 
 throngs, like sheep without a shepherd, would in 
 that case soon be fed with the bread of life. 
 
 "If the Spirit of Christ were dominant in us, there 
 would not be so many who, in their best years, 
 excuse themselves from active work, and locate, for 
 the purpose of pursuing worldly objects. And many 
 others would forthwith extricate themselves from their 
 temporal complications to enter the Gospel ministry. 
 Oh, it is to be feared, that many bury the pound 
 which has been entrusted to them, and will eventually 
 be adjudged slothful and wicked servants. 
 
 "As for myself, I am deeply grieved, because I 
 hesitated until my thirtieth year, before I ventured 
 out into the Gospel field, and because 1 did not begin 
 earlier to blow the Gospel trumpet. However, with 
 me it was not worldly greed, nor domestic affairs, 
 that kept me back, but natural diffidence and a keen 
 sense of my inability caused me to doubt my call and 
 shrink from the magnitude of the undertaking. But 
 I cautiously avoided temporal entanglements, which 
 might at any time prevent me from going, and waited 
 for a more positive Divine call and better fitness for 
 the office, just as a sea-captain, with sails spread, 
 
The Episcopacy, 
 
 205; 
 
 watches for a favorable wind. Finally, however, my 
 unrest became intolerable; I could no longer contain 
 myself at home, and therefore, with Christ ventured 
 out upon the stormy and tempestuous voyage which, 
 my career has proved to be. 
 
 tf But now, many have located before they reach 
 their thirtieth year. Just when by reason of practice 
 and experience they are properly fitted for this 
 important office, and when, by reason of physical 
 strength and intellectual maturity, they could be 
 eminently useful to the Church in defending and 
 proclaiming her doctrines with ability and manly 
 courage, they take the hand from the plough and 
 lookback. — Is not this a marvellous thing? Were 
 these men really sent of the Lord, and have they 
 turned back and become unfaithful? Or did they 
 run without being commissioned from above? Let 
 each examine himself — and the innocent shall be 
 free ! 
 
 "What then? Who will go into the battle-field 
 where the fight is fiercest, and maintain his position 
 under the banner of Jesus unto death? Who is 
 willing and ready to die in the field? Reader, what 
 think you? Do you know of one such? /know of 
 one! Up, ye laggards! The harvest truly is great, 
 but the laborers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the 
 Lord of the harvest, that He may send laborers into 
 His vineyard." 
 
 Bishop Seybert was a most diligent pastor. He 
 improved every moment he could spare for the pur- 
 pose of pastoral visitation. Nor did it take him long 
 
Life and Labors of jfohn Seybert. 
 
 to visit a family and pray with them. He was known 
 to make three or four such calls in a neighborhood 
 before breakfast, and a number of instances are known 
 where he visited twelve or fifteen families and then 
 walked twenty-five or thirty miles to an appointment 
 the same day. In connection with this subject we 
 subjoin an incident, taken from his journal, which 
 illustrates his sagacity and also his success in this 
 kind of work: 
 
 When he was Presiding Elder on Salem district, 
 he made a trip to the State of New York on a certain 
 •occasion to hold a quarterly meeting in Alleghany 
 Co., N. Y. There was quite a society there, the 
 majority of the members hailing from Pennsylvania. 
 The remaining German population of the vicinity 
 were Europeans, who were strangers to experimental 
 religion. 
 
 Bro. Seybert arrived a few days before the begin- 
 ning of the quarterly meeting, and, disliking to be 
 idle, determined to improve these days in visiting the 
 members and their German neighbors, in the interests 
 •of the cause of Christ. Being a stranger in the vicin- 
 ity, he enquired of the class-leader concerning the con- 
 dition of Christianity among the people, and found the 
 latter had little hope of seeing his neighbors con- 
 verted; stating that they were extremely self-righteous, 
 and to make the matter worse, a foreigner lived 
 among them well versed in Scripture, who was their 
 leader, and to whom they looked for guidance and 
 example. "This man's influence," the class-leader 
 said, "is powerful among them, for they believe 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 207 
 
 his words." Seybert inquired the man's name, and 
 also his residence, and visited him without delay.. 
 He found him engaged in cobbling. Seybert greeted 
 him cheerfully upon meeting him, and entered into 
 conversation, which of course he very soon turned 
 into the direction of religion. As the cobbler be- 
 haved very affably and seemed quite approachable, 
 Seybert suggested: 44 You have here a very com- 
 modious room, which would be admirably suitable 
 for religious meetings." To this he assented in a 
 friendly manner, and consented that Seybert should 
 begin. 
 
 Accordingly Seybert promptly fixed an appoint- 
 ment at his house, and at the appointed time many 
 devout, attentive auditors gathered, upon whom the 
 Word of the Lord had an emphatic effect. His text 
 was Ezekiel 37:14, "And I shall put my Spirit in you, 
 and ye shall liver After the sermon the man of the 
 house arose and said to all present: "My house is 
 open for such meetings. You may make appoint- 
 ments to preach here if you want to, and even if I 
 should not be present always." 
 
 Meanwhile, the time appointed for the "big meet- 
 ing" had come, and this gentleman attended the ser- 
 vices. He was powerfully moved, fell upon his knees 
 there, and plead fervently with the Lord for the 
 pardon of his sins. The people of God prayed long 
 with him, but he did not on this occasion as yet 
 u break through fully " into the glorious liberty of the 
 children of God. But he continued day and night in 
 prayer and pleadings, in faith in the sacrificial death 
 
2o8 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 of Jesus, and presently obtained the pardon of his 
 sins, and was blessed with an overwhelming measure 
 of "Divine power from heaven". Afterwards he 
 wrote Seybert a very agreeable letter, recounting 
 what God had done for him, and averring the certain 
 .assurance which God's Spirit gave him that he was a 
 child of God. This gave Seybert great joy, being 
 permitted to see that his well-meant visit had 
 resulted in a glorious fruitage. He fondly hoped 
 a sheaf had been garnered for eternal life. This 
 brother was subsequently received into our ministry 
 and labored blessedly. 
 
 The conversion of this prominent and influential 
 man, and his testimony to the truth, caused a great 
 ■sensation among his German neighbors, so that in a 
 short time nearly all were convinced of the necessity 
 of conversion and true Evangelical repentance. 
 Soon there were penitents and new converts in 
 almost every family in the entire community. The 
 aeed mother of the aforesaid leading- man became 
 deeply penitent and was soundly converted. His wife 
 was converted; his brother and wife were also saved. 
 So that hurried pastoral visit became the cause of a 
 genuine work of grace in which a whole communir 
 was brought to Christ. 
 
 Bro. Seybert related this under the constraint ol 
 love for his brethren in the Gospel, knowing from 
 extended experience that " preachers can do much 
 good for eternity by pastoral visitation". However, 
 it was his conviction that on such calls "they must 
 not forbear to speak to the people of the Lord and 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 209 
 
 His work, praise the ways of the Lord, and admonish 
 the people to be converted and to live godly lives. 
 They must also pray with them, else no fruit will 
 follow. By these means persons are attracted, con- 
 fidence in the preacher is awakened and strengthened, 
 so that they will be inclined to attend the preaching 
 services, and the attentive hearing of the Word 
 results in enlightenment. And what impressions 
 the words of the servant of God produce sometimes, 
 when, full of the Holy Ghost and of love for souls, he 
 converses in the privacy of the family circle on the 
 great truths of the Gospel, and then seals the con- 
 versation by fervent prayer with outspread hands! 
 Often where this is done in the right manner, there 
 occurs a convulsive sobbing and violent weeping, and 
 the newly sown truth takes root in the mellow, tender 
 hearts, which will bring forth fruit unto eternal life. 
 It may well be said of preachers who perform this 
 duty aright: " How beautiful upon the mountains are 
 the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that 
 publishes peace; that saith unto Zion: Thy God 
 reiometh." 
 
 "But," the Bishop remarks, "it is greatly to be 
 feared that we have done far too little in this partic- 
 ular. There is no doubt that we could be much more 
 useful in our generation, were we at all times fully 
 devoted to this sacred duty. The Lord bless us with 
 zeal and love to prosecute His work as it should be! 
 This is the earnest prayer of your co-laborer in the 
 vineyard of the Lord." 
 
 The Bishop assiduously admonished his brethren 
 14 
 
2IO 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybe7i. 
 
 at every opportunity, to be faithful in this duty. In 
 his ordination sermons he strongly urged the pastoral 
 obligation upon the young ministers. He once 
 remarked: "The old preachers are hard to convert 
 from laziness" . 
 
 Leter-writing was but one of a hundred different 
 methods he employed to enforce his views on this 
 subject in the church. The following letter he wrote 
 to a young minister. 
 
 "Beloved Brother in Christ! — When I was with 
 you last, I greatly rejoiced at what I saw and heard; 
 and for what my heart felt I rejoice even yet. 
 
 " See well to it, both in your public preaching and 
 in private conversation among the people, that the 
 newly converted, and all professors of religion, are 
 encouraged to growth in grace, to be separate from 
 the world and its enjoyments, to deny themselves, 
 and that they learn to avoid everything sinful. 
 Strive to induce them by precept and example, to 
 seek holiness and to obtain complete victory over 
 indwelling sin, and that they be zealous in the exer- 
 cise of godliness. 
 
 " See well to it also, that you keep everything in 
 good order in your society, so that your successor on 
 the charge may find delight in the excellent condition 
 of things in the church, which you commit to him, 
 and he will thus be enabled to beo;in and continue his 
 labor with pleasure. It is always hard, if a preacher, 
 immediately upon the beginning of a pastorate on a 
 new charge, is obliged to institute investigations, hold 
 rhurch-trials, adjust difficulties and differences, and 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 211 
 
 reconcile quarreling parties, that should have been 
 attended to by his predecessor. 
 
 "Take heed, however, unto yourself, that you lose 
 none of your diligence in house-visiting. Do not be- 
 come a lazy preacher, who is satisfied if he has only 
 preached and afterwards had a good dinner. Ex- 
 perience has taught me that we can at times do more 
 good among converted and unconverted by visiting, 
 than by all our preaching. A preacher with but two 
 talents, who is an industrious pastor, accomplishes 
 more in the vineyard of the Lord, than he who has 
 five talents and is indolent, slothful and frivolous in 
 pastoral work — provided always that the former does 
 not visit for the sake of gratifying a gluttonous pro- 
 pensity, rather than with a desire to pray and labor 
 for the salvation of souls. I tell you, a very feeble 
 instrument faithful and devoted, will accomplish three- 
 fold more than a man w T ho on the pulpit makes a 
 great noise, but otherwise is too lazy to feed his flock. 
 
 "Another thing, dear Brother in Christ! See to it 
 also, that you do not become a careless, indifferent 
 servant in the service of the Gospel, who neglects his 
 appointments. Oh what a vicious habit that is! I 
 have never known one yet, who ever overcame this 
 sin, after having become addicted to it. Still I be- 
 lieve it to be possible, though difficult to be delivered 
 from this evil. Yes, it is possible, but it will require 
 a deep and thorough co?iversion. What think you? 
 I tell you the truth, mark it well. I also have this 
 confidence in you, that you will take pains to be an 
 industrious, sincere and unblamable workman in the 
 
2 1 2 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 vineyard; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 
 rightly dividing the Word of truth. Therefore have I 
 written thus to you. 
 
 "I heartily greet you and all who may inquire after 
 me, also especially the beloved and affectionate Bro. 
 J. D., who is now afflicted, but who, by his powerful 
 preaching, often richly encouraged me a poor, diffident 
 and weak brother that I was, at the beginning of my 
 Christian experience. 
 
 Remember me in your prayers before God. 
 
 John Seybert." 
 
 Is not this high ideal of an efficient ministry, as 
 outlined by the first Bishop of our Church, worth 
 pondering by the present generation? Is not his ex- 
 ample worth imitating? 
 
 Soon after the Spring conferences the Bishop vis- 
 ited the great metropolis, on his first episcopal tour 
 of the East Pennsylvania conference, to inspect the 
 newly established mission there. 
 
 May 6th, 1839, Bishop Seybert reached the pop- 
 ulous and wicked city of New York, by means of 
 railroads and steamboats from Philadelphia. Our 
 Church had established a mission there that Spring, 
 in the interests of the neglected German population. 
 He found the missionary well and in good spirits. 
 He had rented a capacious hall in the northern part 
 of the city, for one hundred dollars per annum, well 
 located amidst a large German population. " These 
 Germans," he remarked, "are partly Roman Catholic, 
 partly Lutheran and Reformed, and partly unbelievers. 
 Indeed a large number were infidels. Rationalism 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 213 
 
 and skepticism were very prevalent, and the vo- 
 taries of these isms were immeasurably sunken and 
 depraved. Rationalism was entrenched there. These 
 God-haters and Christ-despisers deride the faith of 
 patriarch and prophet, and pretend to regard the 
 prophets, Jesus Christ and his apostles as deceivers 
 and seducers. For the most part these unbelievers 
 are accordingly profane, slaves to drunkenness and in 
 other respects vicious and depraved. O how the 
 devil has despoiled the vineyard by letting loose the 
 wild boars of false doctrine! What fruit these damn- 
 able inventions of so-called culture bring forth!" It 
 is easily seen that the presence and influence of holy 
 and zealous missionaries of the Cross was necessary 
 in such a place. The establishment of our mission 
 there was therefore indeed timely and important. 
 In spite of the depraved and hardened condition of 
 these people, quite a number had already been 
 awakened and enlightened through the efforts of the 
 missionary. Among them some extremely "hard 
 cases", who, the Bishop thinks, might well join in 
 Martin Luther's doggerel: 
 
 " Ich bin ein wahres Siindenaas, 
 Ein reenter Sundenkniippel, 
 Der seine Siinden in sick frass, 
 G-leick wie das Ross die Zippel. 
 0 Jesu ! pack mick Hund bei'm Okr, 
 Wirf mir die Gnadenbrocken vor, 
 Und sckmeiss mick Siindenliimmel 
 In deinen Gnadenkimmel ! " * 
 
 * This I believe to be untranslatable, and therefore simply give it in 
 the original romanized.— S. P. S. 
 
2 1 4 Life and Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 From New York Bishop Seybert returned to Phil- 
 adelphia, where, he says, one hundred and fifty-two 
 brethren and sisters participated in the celebration of 
 the Holy Communion. 
 
 Quite recently there had been another extensive 
 revival there, and it gave him much joy to observe 
 the good work the Lord has already enabled us to do. 
 The influence pf the meetings extended from the 
 centre of the city, in all directions, out to the flourish- 
 ing suburb of Kensington. 
 
 In New York and Philadelphia he had purchased 
 some thirty volumes of books, which, besides some 
 other baggage, he was obliged to carry, per pedes, 
 a distance of twenty miles, to Lexington, where his 
 horse was. He reached Lexington in an exhausted 
 condition; but through the night he enjoyed a most 
 refreshing slumber. 
 
 From here he went to Bucks county, where three 
 years before he had spent such a pleasant Sunday 
 in company with a certain Mennonite preacher. 
 Since that time the work of conversion had spread 
 there, which resulted in persecutions. 
 
 One day in May he went to a certain school-house 
 in the afternoon to preach. But the building was 
 locked, and the authorities refused to surrender the 
 keys. In a grove near by, however, stood a large 
 hickory tree, under which he took his stand, gathered 
 his audience around it, and preached to them from 
 the words: "And the door was shut!' It was an 
 affecting season. Many wept greatly. Three years 
 before he had been treated very hospitably here, and 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 215 
 
 was even permitted to preach in the Mennonite 
 church; now even the school-house was locked 
 against him. But the cause of this change lay in the 
 fact that a revival of religion had since taken place, 
 which reached some of the members of that church. 
 One of their most prominent men had been converted, 
 whose father, and grandfather on both sides, had 
 been Mennonite preachers. This circumstance 
 roused the ire of those who have the form of 
 godliness, but deny the power thereof. They began 
 to bestir themselves, and there was some lively 
 running, riding and fighting, from house to house, 
 to counteract Seybert's influence. It was in vain, 
 however. The man whose conversion had occa- 
 sioned all this commotion, was a diligent Bible 
 student, remained firm, and became an efficient 
 class-leader. 
 
 At Emmaus, Lehigh Co., Pa., which he called a 
 modern Sodom, he was "egged" while preaching. 
 
 On the last Sunday in May they had a great day 
 in Allentown. The synod was assembled, and "the 
 devil sent one of his servants up in a balloon." There 
 was much drinking, dancing and carousing. How- 
 ever, a spacious house of worship had already been 
 erected by the Evangelical Association and a revival 
 was in progress, and Seybert preached to a large 
 and attentive congregation. 
 
 Many people were convinced of the necessity 
 of conversion, through the earnest and persistent 
 preaching of repentance by our preachers. But they 
 were not willing to " bear the reproach of Christ, 
 
2 1 6 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 and though they became aware of the decay of their 
 churches, and though practical Christianity was 
 unknown among them, they were not willing to come 
 out from among the world for Jesus' sake. But when 
 a rationalistic freethinker invaded the town, they left 
 their churches to follow after him. This is the 
 natural result, when persons stifle their best convic- 
 tions, and refuse to obey the truth, they are easily led 
 into the folly of atheism." 
 
 Rejectors of vital godliness become practical infi- 
 dels. Those who are called and will not hear, who 
 have the light, but will not see, are given over to the 
 strong delusions, that they should believe a lie, that 
 they all might be damned, who obey not the truth. 
 Ultimately God abandons those who hold the truth 
 in unrighteousness, and woe to that one who is 
 forsaken of God. The wrath of unrequited love is 
 awful wrath. 
 
 In June, 1839, the Bishop stayed all night with 
 some of his spiritual children. Nineteen years ago 
 these people were converted and declare that, as the 
 instrument of their conversion, he was their spiritual 
 father. He was indeed glad to meet them again, 
 and greatly rejoiced that during these nineteen years 
 they had kept themselves from the ''idol of fashion". 
 Upon this he exclaims: 
 
 "Oh, how indescribably great is the goodness of 
 my God, who has chosen me, unworthy as I am, as 
 an instrument in his service to lead sinners to repent- 
 ance. Forever and ever will I adore Him for this 
 unspeakable mercy." 
 
The Episcopacy. 
 
 217 
 
 July 4th he preached in Womelsdorf, on Col. 
 1:12-14. The ungodly, however, celebrated the day 
 "quite in their fashion, just as their father, the devil, 
 would have them keep Independence Day. They 
 fired guns, they swore, they drank to excess, and 
 amid hilarity offered unto devils the sacrifice of 
 pagans." 
 
 During the Summer of 1839, Bishop Seybert visited 
 the work in Upper Canada. Leaving his horse in 
 Seneca Co., N. Y., he made the trip to Victoria's 
 dominions on foot and per canal-boat; though the 
 Bishop rode one day with a man named Rothschild, 
 whom he describes as a truly converted, pious, useful 
 man. The visit necessitated a journey of three 
 hundred miles, and he completed it with a total 
 expense of two dollars and eighty-three and a half 
 cents ($2.83*^). This bill is itemized as follows: 
 
 Board going, 15 cts. 
 
 " returning, 12 " 
 Fare per canal, $2.56^- " 
 
 Total, £2.83£ 
 (Rothschild charged nothing.) 
 
 This small board-bill was not caused by "sponging", 
 but Seybert actually lived three days on a diet of 
 biscuits and water that cost fifteen cents, and on the 
 return trip twelve cents. Of course it is to be per- 
 sumed, he did not pay for his victuals at the rates 
 which are charged at a modern railroad restaurant. 
 If he did, his feat would be one of starvation rather 
 than economy. This is the way the first Bishop of 
 the Evangelical Association traveled in 1839. 
 
2l8 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 His traveling company on the canal-boats was 
 anything but agreeable. Joking, fiddling, laughing, 
 gambling, profanity and drinking, were the order of 
 the day. Oh, how heavily the time dragged for 
 this child of God in such surroundings. But when 
 he left the canal-route again and traveled alone on 
 foot, he soon forgot his misery, and became absorbed 
 in contemplating the goodness and love of God, 
 while his eye rested on verdant fields, and zephyrs 
 caressingly cooled his cheeks and wafted to him the 
 perfume of flowers, so that he was made to praise 
 God in joyful songs. 
 
 At Galen, New York, he found a glorious revival 
 in progress, chiefly among the Europeans. Recently 
 four Catholics had been converted there. Seybert 
 preached for these people from the words: "When 
 the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, then 
 were we like them that dream; then was our mouth 
 filled with laughter and our tongue with singing. 
 Then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath 
 done great things for them. The Lord hath done 
 great things for us, whereof we are glad!" During 
 the sermon there was a great commotion. Weeping, 
 praising, shouting were the order. There was a live 
 society of glorious Christians there! "Hallelujah!" 
 
 August 19th in company with six brethren from 
 the State of New York, he crossed the line, and 
 notes the fact that exactly eight minutes before 
 noon his "American feet stood for the first time on 
 British soil," and he was in the dominions of the 
 Queen of England. Standing there, he fervently 
 
The Episcopacy, 
 
 119 
 
 and devoutly prayed God to accompany him in his 
 journeys in Canada, and to make him an instrument 
 for the awakening and conversion of sinners also 
 here. That evening he preached his first sermon in 
 Canada, at the house of Moses Bayers, from Rev. 
 3:17, 18. 
 
220 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 VARIED EXPERIENCES. 
 
 The year 1840 was spent in traveling over the 
 extensive and sparsely settled territory occupied by 
 the Evangelical Association. The new Bishop held 
 the annual conferences, of which there were for the 
 first time three, and visited quite generally the various 
 charges. 
 
 At Warren, Pa., where he had many spiritual 
 children, whom God rave him as the result of his 
 labors among them six years before when, as mission- 
 ary he first brought them the bread of life, his arrival 
 among them was the occasion of mutual rejoicing. 
 
 From here he went to Columbiana district, Ohio 
 conference, and traversed the district, preaching as 
 he went. 
 
 Then he went to Wayne Co., and preached at 
 Christopher Felger's, six miles west of Wooster. 
 Then he preached in an unfinished church near 
 Lattasburg or Jefferson. They had a "melting time". 
 Many wept, and others praised the Lord. 
 
 Friday, October 25th, he reached Ohio district, 
 the last on his round. Though he did not reach 
 every appointment on the various districts visited, 
 yet he made quite a thorough canvass of the work. 
 
 On Sandusky district he attended a three day's 
 meeting, which was specially blessed, for sinners were 
 
Varied Experiences, 
 
 221 
 
 converted and God's people strengthened in the faith. 
 On Ohio district he found the members engaged with 
 alacrity in the service of the Lord. The newly 
 opened Miami circuit, where the brethren had such 
 great difficulties and were nearly discouraged, was 
 now in a flourishing condition, and extended into the 
 State of Indiana. 
 
 The Ohio conference, at its last (and first) session, 
 organized a Conference Missionary Society, and at 
 once sent a missionary to the State of Illinois. 
 Tabor district suffered considerably during the year 
 on account of sickness and through the death of 
 several preachers, creating great gaps in the working 
 force, making it necessary to abandon several new 
 and promising appointments, and resulting in a con- 
 traction of the field of operation. However, these 
 gaps were at least partially supplied by the entrance 
 into the conference of a number of young men. Bro. 
 Seybert prayed the Lord would give these young 
 brethren grace, wisdom and unction, so that they 
 may be steadfast messengers of His Word, and not 
 soon quit the field in a demoralized condition, or 
 perhaps with Demas, love this present world and 
 locate from worldly considerations, as had so often 
 been the case heretofore. 
 
 This first session of the Ohio conference was held 
 at Emanuel church, in Walnut Township, Pickaway 
 county, six miles north-east of Circleville, on what is 
 now Cedar Hill circuit, beginning May 13th, 1840. 
 
 November 29th he crossed for the first time the 
 State line into Indiana, and on the 30th preached in a 
 
222 Life and Labors of fohn Seybert, 
 
 school-house near Germantown. This was an un- 
 satisfactory service. The crying of children, the 
 howling and barking of dogs, together with the loud 
 talking of scoffers and "sons of Belial", were very em- 
 barrassing to the Bishop in attempting to preach, nor 
 could anyone listen with devotion. 
 
 Next morning he preached at the same school- 
 house again, with better results. <c The devil's imps 
 and the dogs" were absent. He had an attentive and 
 devout congregation, and was enabled to preach with 
 liberty. 
 
 Bishop Seybert always repudiated the use of 
 tobacco in any form, and frequently in his sermons 
 at camp-meetings and ordination sermons expressed 
 his disapproval of its use with characteristic severity. 
 Especially at camp-meetings, where professors often 
 were seen standing in the woods smoking cigars and 
 pipes, when they ought to have been in the altar or 
 elsewhere engaged in prayer, the Bishop spoke with 
 vehemence and force on this subject. And when re- 
 ceiving preachers, he frequently asked, additional to 
 the Disciplinary questions, the question: "Are you 
 also free from the use of tobacco?" This he did, long 
 before any conference adopted the rule and made it 
 obligatory upon the presiding Bishop to ask this 
 question.^ 
 
 From his journal we further learn that at the West 
 Pennsylvania conference there was a notable lack of 
 preachers in 1840, because some went to the East Pa. 
 conference, some to the Ohio, and some located. A 
 pastoral letter was therefore issued at the conference 
 
Varied Experiences, 
 
 223 
 
 session, summoning the membership of that conference 
 to more earnest prayer and sacrifice, so that the want 
 might be supplied. 
 
 During the year 1840, the society at Philadelphia 
 passed through a severe ordeal. The pastor, the 
 Rev. J. Vogelbach, saw fit to forsake the little flock 
 and join another denomination. This was an occasion 
 of much distress to the good Bishop. Nothing gave 
 him so much anxiety, as when irregularities and de- 
 fections occurred in the ministerial ranks, through 
 which the cause of God or the church should suffer 
 harm. He was obliged, accordingly, as general 
 superintendent, to hasten to Philadelphia in the in- 
 terests of the work. Leaving his horse in the country, 
 the Bishop walked into the city, where he arrived 
 very weary, the roads being dusty and the heat in- 
 tense. In the evening he preached to the distracted 
 society from Matt. 8:22-27, on the presence of Jesus 
 with his disciples in the storm. He mentions it as 
 something remarkable, that his great weariness all 
 left him by the time the sermon was over. He had 
 enjoyed great liberty in preaching, and undoubtedly 
 proved a son of consolation to the people. He aimed 
 to effect peace, but Vogelbach withdrew, and with 
 him his parents and a few others, giving as his rea- 
 sons for this step the insufficiency of his salary, and 
 the dissatisfaction that prevailed in the society be- 
 cause he protested against fanaticism in public wor- 
 ship. About this time the following incident oc- 
 curred: 
 
 In one of the South-eastern counties of Pennsyl- 
 
224 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 vania lived a family of seventeen children, only two 
 of whom could even read, while the rest were as 
 illiterate as if they had been raised in the interior of 
 the dark continent. One of the sons-in-law was oc- 
 casionally seen at our services, at which his wife be- 
 came enraged, and did everything in her power to 
 prevent his attendance. Several times this untamed 
 fury tore the clothes off his back after he was dressed 
 and about to go. Sometimes she hid his clothes; at 
 other times she set about demolishing their house- 
 hold furniture to keep him at home. At length it oc- 
 curred that this furious woman herself came to a ser- 
 vice at a camp-meeting. At first she stared like a 
 wild beast that had suddenly and for the first time 
 come among the habitations of civilized men, ready 
 at any moment to run like a hunted deer. A hearty 
 song was being sung, however, which seemed to have 
 a subduing influence upon her. Nature's greatest 
 poetic interpreter has said: 
 
 " Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," 
 and so it proved in this case, for finally she took a 
 seat, but far on the outskirts of the auditorium, 
 though near enough to be severely wounded by the 
 arrows of truth from the Gospel bow. The bow 
 seems to have been drawn taut that day, and it soon 
 became evident that the woman was touched. As 
 she listened with close attention to the preacher, her 
 eyes became moist, tears coursed down her hardened 
 face, and it was not long until, with a broken heart 
 and a contrite spirit, she fell upon her knees, pleading 
 for salvation. She was saved. Ever afterwards she 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 225 
 
 proved herself a decent, meek, civilized and pious 
 woman, a light to the world and a salt to the earth. 
 
 Throughout his life-time, Bishop Seybert had 
 occasion to complain of the bad behavior of the 
 people of his native county at camp-meetings.. 
 Amono- other incidents the following" occurred in 
 1840, at a camp-meeting in that count}': 
 
 The meeting" was richlv blessed in the conver- 
 sion of sinners. But outside the tent circle, there 
 was a perpetual, beastly howling among the ungodly 
 clans. There was a rabble present, who must have 
 been possessed by a legion of devils. These creatures 
 did not conduct themselves like human beings, and 
 in reality "they were only human brutes ( Tiiicrmen- 
 schen), who either never had any reason, or if 
 they ever had any, bequeathed it to their cattle,, 
 before they came to the meeting. They ran about 
 in the woods with apparently brainless pates. They 
 knocked one another about like oxen in a pen, 
 screamed, swore and cursed each the other into the 
 lowest hell". Such were the terms in which the 
 indignant and outraged Bishop characterized the 
 un chivalrous conduct of the people near his native 
 heath in that day. 
 
 On Mohawk mission, New York, in the town of 
 Rome, a sister died in great peace, having been 
 brought to Jesus by the efforts of our missionary. 
 On her funeral occasion Bro. Seybert exclaimed: 
 "The new Mohawk mission now has its first sheaf in 
 God's heavenly garner. Hallelujah! " 
 
 In the vicinity of New Hamburg, in Upper Canada, 
 15 
 
226 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 lived a great drunkard, whose wife was obliged to 
 leave him on account of his brutality. Upon this he 
 announced his intention of drinking himself to death; 
 but this process of suicide proved too slow, so in 
 desperation the wretch lanced an artery in order to 
 bleed to death, and so released (?) the crazed spirit. 
 Accidently some neighbors came upon the scene, 
 who stopped the bleeding artery and prevented his 
 death. This seemed to bring him to his senses, 
 causing him to reflect soberly. He quit his excesses, 
 was converted to God, and truly led a sober, moral, 
 godly life, free from drink. His wife returned to his 
 home, and they conducted a happy Christian family 
 life. "Is not this," asks Seybert, "a brand plucked 
 from the burning?" 
 
 Friday, February 5th, 1841, he came to the city of 
 Baltimore, Md., where he found the brethren engaged 
 in holding a love-feast, in the midst of protracted 
 meetings which had already continued ten days. 
 
 The Bishop remained until the nth, during which 
 time they had glorious meetings, for many souls were 
 converted. Some sixty persons, of all classes, were 
 converted during this revival, among them were 
 several Catholics, of whom one lady, after she found 
 pardon, immediately tore off her needless fineries of 
 dress and trampled them under her feet. The society 
 now numbered one hundred and fifty members, divided 
 into seven classes. The meeting-house recently 
 purchased, had already become too small to contain 
 the multitudes who attended the services, and the 
 erection of a new church edifice at a more suitable 
 
Varied Experie7ices. 
 
 227 
 
 location, near the center of the city, was already 
 under contemplation. During his stay he was spe- 
 cially delighted that the friends there have such lively 
 public services, and that there are "no long, frowning 
 faces visible when any are so filled with the joy of 
 the Lord, that they break out into shouting". He 
 also observed with pleasure, that the new converts 
 divest themselves of their fashionable flippery". 
 "Oh," he exclaims "ye friends of Zion, deny your- 
 selves of the world's vain display, and put on the 
 beauty of holiness! " 
 
 This year the East Pennsylvania conference met 
 March 17th, in Seneca Co., N. Y., the West Pennsyl- 
 vania, April 7th, in New Berlin, Pa., and the Ohio, 
 May 1 2th, in Lafayette, Wayne Co. (now Ashland 
 Co.), Ohio. Seybert presided at each. He enjoyed 
 at this time the best physical health, and was enabled 
 to do his work with alacrity. 
 
 His journey from New Berlin, Pa., where the Pub- 
 lishing House was situated, to Ohio, was on this occa- 
 sion a very severe one, on account of the immense 
 number of books which he took with him. Before 
 leaving for the Ohio conference, the Bishop ordered 
 one of the largest consignments of books ever issued 
 from the Publishing House at one time. And this in 
 1 841, in a Church that has been accused time and 
 again of being indifferent, if not opposed, to matters 
 of culture and education. Seybert's order called for 
 twenty-three thousand seven hundred and twenty- 
 five volumes, which he intended to take with him on 
 his trip to the Ohio conference. Their weight was 
 
228 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 twenty-five hundred pounds, and their cost, including" 
 a small quantity for Illinois, amounted to $4,306.25. 
 Of course, many of these were small Sabbath-school 
 books. In closing- his order, he remarked: "You will 
 probably think I have entirely overshot the mark, in 
 ordering so many books; but if you were as well 
 acquainted with the scarcity of books in the West as 
 I am, you would judge differently." Rev. Charles 
 Hammer, at that time General Book Agent, said: 
 " Should such a large order be sent us again, we 
 ought to have it a year before the books are wanted, 
 in order to get them ready." The scarcity of books 
 in the Western States was at that time so great, that 
 some Sabbath-schools used the Christliche Botschafter 
 and the Hymn-book as text books. 
 
 So great was Bishop Seybert's anxiety to have the 
 families, schools and churches supplied with proper 
 literature, that he undertook to forward these books 
 and distribute them himself, mostly in Ohio, and also 
 in Indiana and Illinois. He shipped them to the W T est 
 per canal, and then distributed and sold them to the 
 ministers and laity, taking all the financial risks him- 
 self. Though he lost no money in the operation, 
 neither did he gain any. It was done solely in the 
 interests of the Church. He was a far-seeing man, 
 who fully appreciated the value and importance of 
 education and intelligence. He not only wanted the 
 preachers to be studious, but also the laity, and he 
 provided for the children a liberal assortment of 
 juvenile literature. All impressions to the contrary 
 notwithstanding, Seybert thoroughly believed that 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 229 
 
 intelligence should be fostered by the Church. He 
 was a man of advanced thought and broad ideas. 
 His plans were comprehensive. He thought of the 
 $ future, and plainly foresaw that under the American 
 system of free schools an era of general education 
 was sure to come, and he wanted the Church to be 
 abreast of the times. If any sentiment adverse to 
 educational interests did prevail in the Church, the 
 first Bishop did all in his power to counteract and 
 dispel that sentiment. The great abuse of learning 
 in higher literary institutions in Europe and America, 
 had filled man)/ of our members not only with in- 
 difference towards it, but with prejudice against it. 
 But Seybert saw that the results of the abuse of any- 
 thing were no argument against its proper utility, 
 and he accordingly manifested a particular zeal in 
 creating a healthy public sentiment on this question, 
 believing that it was not too late to rescue learning 
 from the vandal hands of the Philistines, and to create 
 and spread a literature whose motto should be, "Holi- 
 ness unto the Lord". 
 
 The Bishop's journey from New Berlin, Pa., the 
 place of the West Pennsylvania conference session, 
 to Lafayette, Ohio, the place where the Ohio con- 
 ference met, was accordingly a most laborious out. 
 Instead of riding on horseback, as he had always 
 done, he employed a new conveyance, which he took 
 to Ohio for a brqther. Despite bad roads he reached 
 Lafayette in due time. 
 
 After conference the Bishop visited a number of 
 appointments in Southern Ohio, attended a successful 
 
230 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 camp-meeting at John Bright's in Fairfield Co., Ohio, 
 and then started to visit the Fort Wayne mission? 
 Indiana, going through Portland and Alexandria. 
 After traveling a very long distance without finding a 
 single house where he might feed his horse, not even 
 a tavern, and the people along the road being very 
 poor, he finally encamped in a wood, and while his 
 horse was grazing, he engaged in reading the Bible, 
 prayer and quiet contemplation. Meanwhile his 
 horse played truant and ran away in the direction it 
 had come. He started after it in great haste, and did 
 not overtake it until it had gone a number of miles 
 from the place of rendezvous. The race greatly ex- 
 hausted the Bishop. It was night before he reached 
 Alexandria. To make the matter worse, he got into 
 a large, primitive forest, through the labyrinths of 
 which he wandered for many miles in the dark, before 
 finding his way out again. Next morning he passed 
 through another forest, eighteen miles in length, and 
 almost pathless, but had the good fortune to ride 
 with the post man. The latter was a noisy fellow, 
 however, blowing his horn so vehemently, that its 
 shrill sound echoed and rolled almost continuously 
 through the great woods. Only a few people lived 
 alone the road in this forest, in miserable huts. 
 
 Bro. Seybert reached Fort Wayne July 3d, and 
 preached at Bro. Keim's in the evening. Next day, 
 being Independence day, he traveled further west, 
 while the people celebrated the day as usual with 
 shooting, swearing, carousing, dancing and drinking. 
 He remarks: "This is the way our western nominal 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 231 
 
 Christians give thanks to Almighty God for national 
 independence and personal liberty of conscience. — 
 Still, fortunately, it is not the God of Heaven, whom 
 these people serve and at whose altars they offer 
 their sacrifice of fools, but Bacchus, the god of de- 
 bauchery, gluttony and dissipation. Yea, the devil 
 gets thanks for these blessings, and surely they are 
 not his due." 
 
 July 7th, 1 84 1, Bro. Seybert celebrated his fiftieth 
 birthday with this journal entry: 
 
 ' 'To-day I am fifty years old. Oh, I would dis- 
 solve in tears of gratitude and praise to God, and 
 appear in deepest humility before His throne of grace 
 for the love with which He has crowned my days. I 
 have now lived through half a century, in which 
 millions not so old as I, have passed into eternity. 
 O God! O God! O God! what shall I render unto 
 Thee, because Thou hast borne me with so much 
 patience until this day? I will present unto Thee my 
 soul and body as a sacrifice, and devote' all my future 
 days to Thy service. Oh, do Thou qualify me, to be 
 of some service to the praise of Thy excellent 
 strength, and the benefit of mankind, through Jesus 
 Christ!" 
 
 The Bishop, as one would suppose, believed in the 
 special providence of God, and took refuge in prayer, 
 even in small matters, with Him who counts the hairs 
 of our head, clothes the lilies of the field, and sees 
 the sparrow's helpless fall. 
 
 August 13th, 1 84 1, he reached South Bend, Ind., 
 where his horse became sick. He led it out of the 
 
232 Life and Labors of jfohn Seybert. 
 
 city into a grove near by, and tried every means 
 known to him to relieve it, but in vain. The baffled 
 Bishop saw his faithful beast lying on the ground in a 
 condition which gave no hope of recovery. He now 
 turned from the creature to the creature's God in 
 prayer. On his knees, with upturned face and tear- 
 ful eyes, he pleaded with God to have mercy on him 
 and restore his horse, so that he might not lose him, 
 because he needed him to fill his appointments. He 
 said, "Thou hast often helped me in marvellous ways* 
 and Thou canst help me also in this time of need!' 
 Upon this he arose, turned his eyes in the direction 
 of his horse, — and to his great joy the beast was on 
 its feet and stood demurely behind its master, quietly 
 grazing" as if nothing had occurred. He led it back 
 to the city, fed it, and was soon ready again for 
 travel. 
 
 On his way to the West, he mentions among other 
 things that one Sunday he heard two preachers, one 
 in German and another in English, whose preaching 
 was "so superficial that the services were perfectly 
 quiet.** He does not mention who they were, but 
 he was evidently displeased with their preaching. 
 
 Thursday, July 15th, the first camp-meeting of 
 the Flvangelical Association, in the State of Illinois ) 
 began. This meeting took place on the farm of Bro. 
 J. Esher (father of Bishop J. J. Esher). Already 
 on the first evening the friends were happy and the 
 service full of life. There were also penitents at the 
 altar. On Sunday the people thronged to the 
 
 * "Wo es so leicht daruber herging, dass alles ruing blieb." 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 233 
 
 encampment from near and far, and there were many 
 attentive listeners, upon whom the Word made deep 
 impressions. On Monday and Tuesday many came 
 out from Chicago, of whom some had hardly arrived 
 on the ground before they were convicted and 
 became penitent. They came to the altar, and cried 
 to God until He had mercy upon them. On Monday 
 they had a most glorious communion season. In the 
 last two nights the demonstrations of Divine power 
 were indeed extraordinary. 
 
 There were eighteen tents, in some of which two 
 or three families sojourned together. Several of the 
 friends had come a distance of thirty miles with ox- 
 teams, and that through bridgeless rivers and creeks, 
 so deep that in fording them the water filled their 
 w T agons and spoiled their provisions. It may be well 
 to mention this for the benefit of those in our time, 
 who with good conveyances and generally good 
 roads, often can scarcely be persuaded to go ten or 
 fifteen miles to tent at a camp-meeting. 
 
 The order was so excellent that no police was 
 needed, which was something unusual in those days. 
 At this meeting they also received the first brother 
 as a preacher on probation into our ministry. 
 
 At this camp-meeting there were miracles of nature 
 as well as of grace. Many declared that the power 
 and presence of Jehovah could be both, felt and seen, 
 especially during a notable storm one evening. A 
 thunderstorm is always dreaded at a camp-meeting. 
 On this particular evening a lowering storm sent 
 black battalions of clouds over the sky, charged with 
 
234 Life and Labors of John Seybert 
 
 angry, muttering thunders on every side of the 
 encampment. In all its terror the storm approached, 
 apparently driving in full force directly upon the 
 white semi-circle of tents. The enemies of the cause 
 were already exulting in the belief that Divine service 
 would be effectually disturbed and that the meeting 
 would be broken up. But lo! just as the storm 
 reached the encampment, its hurrying ranks parted 
 and rushed past, close on either side, with fearful 
 fury and destructive power, leaving the spot chosen 
 for Divine worship absolutely untouched and unharmed. 
 The phenomenon was so striking and so unaccount- 
 able, that even persons who made no profession of 
 religion saw the finger of God. Bishop Seybert 
 made no hesitation in declaring that the Lord had 
 wrought a miracle there. 
 
 Accordingly, then, the first Bishop of our Church, 
 on the occassion of his first episcopal visit to the 
 State of Illinois, himself conducted the first camp- 
 meeting of the Evangelical Association in that State, 
 and received Rev. Christian Ebinger as the first 
 preacher on probation there. Seybert was assisted 
 in the meeting by Revs. J. Hoffert, A. Stroh and 
 C. H. Lindner. 
 
 It is noticeable that from this time forward, Bishop 
 Seybert's interest in the great West was enthusiastic 
 and permanent. He took in at a glance its vast 
 natural resources, and its consequent importance as a 
 field of labor for his Church. So impressed was he 
 with this, that his praise of the West was in the East 
 deemed extravagant, and it subjected him to censure 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 235 
 
 for partiality. But he had in view only the interests 
 of the Church and of the cause of Christ, 
 
 After the camp-meeting near Chicago he continued 
 his trip westward, preaching in Naperville, now the 
 seat of North- Western College, and finally reached 
 Illinois mission, in Stephenson Co. On the way he 
 had a sad experience. 
 
 July 25th namely, he stayed all night at Bro. 
 George Esher's. In this vicinity a sad condition of 
 things prevailed among the friends. A bitter quarrel 
 had raged among them for years, until the society 
 became a total wreck and was hopelessly divided. 
 This pained him the more deeply, because these 
 people were mostly his own spiritual children, whom 
 the Lord gfave him vears a 0-0 on Erie mission. 
 
 He preached on Illinois mission, and held a blessed 
 two days meeting at Bro. John Falget's. Bro. Hoffer, 
 the missionary, was pushing farther westward, and 
 extending the field of operations across the Missis- 
 sippi river into Iowa. The prospects were very 
 favorable, but on account of Bro. H offers rather 
 feeble health, not much could as yet be accomplished. 
 He was also obliged to leave his charge to attend a 
 camp-meeting, a distance of one hundred and twenty 
 five miles away, as preachers were scarce out there 
 as yet. 
 
 At Milwaukee, Wis., a glorious revival had begun. - 
 A goodly number had already been converted and 
 added to our church. The Germans were emigrating 
 from New York and Buffalo and settling in this new 
 commercial centre of the North- West in large numbers. 
 
236 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 There was, therefore, a large and fruitful field of labor 
 there for our Church. 
 
 In Chicago a fine society already existed, who 
 worshiped God in Spirit and truth. Many Germans 
 lived there also, among whom, the Bishop predicted, 
 our efforts will yet bring glorious fruit. 
 
 In August his malarial troubles finally left him, and 
 though sometimes he felt feeble, and traveling 
 seemed laborious, yet he grew better and was in a 
 cheerful state of mind. 
 
 At that time the Church was reaching out with 
 gigantic strides, displaying wonderful enterprise 
 in following on the very heels of immigration, and 
 with commendable sagacity planting her banner so 
 timely in the young giant cities of the upper lakes. 
 In both of these cities, accordingly, the Evangelical 
 Association has enjoyed a degree of prosperity, com- 
 mensurate with the development of the population. 
 
 After this visit to the extensive frontier line of the 
 Church, Bishop Seybert retraced his steps and started 
 towards his native East, preaching through Indiana 
 and Ohio as he went, and attending camp-meetings. 
 
 From August 31st to September 4th, he attended 
 a blessed camp-meeting on the farm of Rev. Adam 
 Haney (Hennig), near West Salem, Ohio, a few 
 miles north of the site of the present permanent 
 camp-ground of Cleveland district. There were 38 
 tents, occupied in many instances by several families, 
 and there were sometimes 25 seekers at the altar at 
 one time. From there he went to another camp- 
 meeting in Stark county, which was very largely 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 attended. One hundred and forty-six participated in 
 the communion service. 
 
 Then he attended another camp-meeting farther 
 east where, while God's people rejoiced greatly, 
 there was terrible carousing on the part of the 
 ungodly rabble in the grove. 
 
 He also preached in Summit Co., Ohio, at the 
 house of a brother who was once a hard drinker. 
 He had been a "kind of Mennonite", but his wicked- 
 ness knew no bounds. He was a powerful man, the 
 terror of his community, and addicted to every form 
 of vice. For eighteen years he was a toper, drinking 
 rum as an ox drinks water, until he could devour 
 three quarts of brandy daily. This wretch was 
 however awakened through the preaching of the 
 Gospel by our preachers, and being soundly con- 
 verted, was delivered from his loathsome vices, and 
 ever afterwards zealous in the Lord's service, for 
 which, Bro. Seybert says, "let every one give glory, 
 not unto us, but unto God." 
 
 In 1842, the East Pennsylvania conference was 
 held March 2d, in Allentown, the West Pennsylvania 
 conference April 6th, in New Berlin, and the Ohio 
 conference May nth, in Pickaway Co., Ohio. 
 Though there were in all seventeen accessions to 
 the ranks of the itinerancy at these conference 
 sessions, yet the good Bishop was grieved over the 
 fact that nine others located. While welcoming the 
 new men, he wished to retain all the old ones, for 
 only in this way could he realize his desire for the 
 constant extension of the boundaries of the Associa- 
 
2 3 8 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 tion, for which he labored day and night. Still 
 the current year was a prosperous one in this regard. 
 
 After the conference, Bro. Seybert delivered a 
 temperance lecture in the public hall, Allentown, to a 
 large audience. His address was applauded, and 
 some twenty signed the pledge. 
 
 Bishop Seybert took another large quantity of 
 books with him from New Berlin to the West, this 
 year. This time he sold his horse before starting, 
 and traveled with his books per canal-boats, steam- 
 boats and railroads. This was with him a labor of 
 love. He paid the expenses of transportation, sold 
 them to preachers and people for cash where he 
 could, on credit where it was necessary, and gave 
 them to the poor gratuitously. So desirous was he 
 to awaken a taste for study and reading among the 
 people, that he cheerfully suffered the loss of a 
 hundred dollars or more, annually, in this way. He 
 believed that Christians ought to be reading people, 
 and did all in his power to foster intelligence among 
 them. In fact, Bishop Seybert voluntarily assumed 
 the laborious duties of a practical colporteur, in addi- 
 tion to his legitimate official duties. This fact is the 
 more striking in a period when especially the German 
 population of this country was uneducated, and was 
 without taste for learning or appreciation of its value. 
 Besides, it is a very practical refutation of the hack- 
 neyed charge that the early preachers of our Church 
 were opposed to education. This was undoubtedly 
 true respecting some of them, whose sentiments 
 seemed especially, however, to militate against an 
 
Va ried Experiences. 239 
 
 ''educated ministry'. But this sentiment was not 
 universally entertained, though, even had it been the 
 case, it would not have been strange. The clergy of 
 the German churches were, as has been seen, any- 
 thing but pious. They were a godless set of men, 
 and at the same time undeniably "educated" accord- 
 ing to the standards of those times. In this way 
 education and ungodliness became associated to- 
 gether, and the public mind attributed the wickedness 
 of the clergy to their education. And the inference 
 was correct, too, so far as these clergymen were 
 educated in the skeptical and rationalistic universities 
 of Europe. But sagacious men, like Bishop Seybert, 
 saw well enough that education per se was not at 
 fault, but the insidious scientific rationalism of the 
 German schools, both in Europe and America, and 
 rightly insisted that a Christian education is a great 
 blessing. Bishop Seybert himself specially emphasized 
 the idea that all educational systems must be thoroughly 
 imbued with the Christian Spirit. That is a truth that 
 will bear practical application to the end of time. 
 
 But we have unequivocal proof that Bishop John 
 Seybert was a true and sincere friend of scientific 
 culture. The story having gained currency that he 
 was opposed to it, one of the financial agents of 
 Union Seminary encountered great difficulty in secur- 
 ing financial support for that institution among the 
 sturdy Pennsylvanians. The good Bishop upon this 
 wrote the following remarkable document, the auto- 
 graph of which Bishop R. Dubs discovered some 
 years ago and has translated literally as follows: 
 
240 Ltfe and Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 "At the request of Daniel Kreamer, the collector 
 of Union Seminary in New Berlin, the undersigned 
 certifies that he is not against good schools, and that 
 he also purposes to do something for the support of 
 scientific culture, in case his circumstances will better 
 warrant it. John Seybert." 
 
 " March 15, 18—." 
 
 His trip to the West with his books was laborious 
 and eventful. 
 
 April 20th he helped Bro. Hammer, the Book 
 Agent, pack the books to take along to the West. 
 He had "made up his mind to take a good lot along 
 this time, so as to relieve for once the great want of 
 books in the West." 
 
 Next day he set out early, as he had a long journey 
 to make per pedes, from New Berlin to the canal, 
 having hired a teamster to haul the books to that 
 thoroughfare. In the evening of the first day he 
 preached, and God's blessing came upon the people 
 in such a manner, that there was a great commotion. 
 One sister was so overwhelmed by the power of God, 
 that she sank down in a rapturous entrancement, from 
 which she did not awaken until at family worship 
 next morning. 
 
 Next evening his literary cargo was transferred to 
 a canal-boat, in which he traveled on that whole night. 
 The weather was fine. Garden and field and meadow 
 were already covered with grass and flowers, and the 
 forests were putting on their resurrection robes again. 
 The good man was enabled to praise the Lord with 
 all his heart, on this account. 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 241 
 
 At Holidaysburgh he transferred his books to the 
 railroad, and crossed the Alleghany Mountains per 
 railway, and then resumed the canal for Pittsburgh. 
 The captain and crew of this boat were awfully 
 wicked, and the trip was therefore by no means an 
 agreeable one. 
 
 At Pittsburgh he took the steamer Gloucester and 
 sailed down the Ohio River to Portsmouth, landing 
 at the latter port Sunday evening at five o'clock. 
 On the steamer he fell in with a most ungodly rabble. 
 Soon after sailing from Pittsburgh they searched for 
 a liquor bar, which they found on board. They 
 "drank down a heavy dose of liquid fire, and then be- 
 gan the revel". Amid frightful profanity they entered 
 into "the Devil's service at the card table". Seeing 
 this, he commended the boat, its crew and himself 
 into the hand of God, and laid down to rest. He 
 slept softly and awoke next morning happy in God. 
 From Portsmouth he started northward along the 
 Scioto River, and finally reached Circleville, May 6th, 
 near which place the Ohio conference met. How 
 glad he was to be among friends again and converse 
 with them about the things of God, after being so 
 lonof a time among- "the sons of Belial". 
 
 After the session of the Ohio conference had been 
 held, and the books had been disposed of, the Bishop 
 purchased another horse, and started westward in 
 company with Rev. J. G. Zinser. They went by way 
 of Elkhart and Fort Wayne, Ind., and reached 
 Chicago July 6th. 
 
 July 7th, 1842. "O God! what shall I render unto 
 16 
 
/ 
 
 242 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 Thee, or what offering shall I bring, for all the good- 
 ness which Thou hast shown me! Thou hast caused 
 me to experience Thy great love, all the years,, 
 months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds of 
 my life. O God! I am pained at the thought of hav- 
 ing done so little for Thy glory and for Thy kingdom. 
 Oh, give grace and strength that I may dedicate my 
 future life wholly to Thee, and that I may spend all 
 my future days joyfully in Thy service, through Jesus 
 Christ. Amen." 
 
 That day he began the second camp-meeting in 
 Illinois, on the same ground where a year ago he 
 had held the first German camp-meeting which was 
 ever held in that State. They could have no preach- 
 ing, however, the first evening, on account of a heavy 
 rain and thunderstorm. But there was weeping and 
 praying among penitents here and there in various 
 tents.* 
 
 Next morning, Seybert was to have preached, but 
 as there were so many penitents at the altar of prayer 
 crying for mercy, the idea of preaching had to be 
 abandoned again, and they went on laboring with the 
 seekers. Before noon nearly all were gloriously 
 saved. This caused such rejoicing among the saints, 
 
 * Readers may wonder how it was brought about, that there were peni- 
 tents in distress of soul already on the first evening, and that before even a 
 public service had been held. This is accounted for by the fact that in 
 those days the people of God had the commendable custom of persuading 
 as many of their unconverted friends as possible, to go with them to camp- 
 meeting. These unconverted friends had been made the subjects of special 
 prayers, and had been pleaded with, perhaps, for months. Some of them 
 were serious or even penitent before they started to camp-meeting, and 
 went with the purpose of seeking religion. Their Christian friends kept 
 them in tow, and the result was, they were converted. 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 2 43 
 
 that shouting became the order of the day. Some of 
 the new converts were overwhelmed with holy joy. 
 
 Thus they had a mighty victory at the very onset 
 of the meeting, almost before they were fully aware 
 of the fact, and had attained results before a single 
 sermon had been preached. The meeting was 
 equally good to the close. 
 
 A hundred and thirty-seven guests participated 
 in the holy communion. It was a blessed time. At 
 this camp-meeting the forests as a rule were vocal 
 with prayer and praise before day-break. It 
 reminded Bro. Seybert of those delectable times 
 when Albright, Miller and Walter were yet among 
 us and blew the Gospel trumpet. On the last two 
 days of this meeting, which were the best of the feast, 
 there were sudden and powerful conversions. Aged 
 sinners sixty and seventy years old were moved to 
 repentance and soundly converted. Men and women 
 came sixty miles on foot to this meeting, with the 
 purpose of seeking the Lord, and went home rejoicing. 
 
 Twenty-three tents graced the circle, and the 
 conduct of the people was respectable, "for in this 
 region the wicked parsons had not yet incited them 
 against the children of God ". This saved our people 
 from molestation at these meetings. " It will further- 
 more be very difficult", the Bishop thought, "for an 
 uncircumcised teacher to gain a foothold here now, 
 because the light of truth is too great, and the pros- 
 pect for a great religious revival is too apparent. 
 On this account let us praise the name of the Lord." 
 
 In September (1842), while traveling in the State 
 
244 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 of New York, the Bishop came up one evening, a 
 while before dark, to a temperance hotel. He could 
 have gone farther, but seeing the "temperance sign" 
 he concluded to patronize the place and stay there for 
 the night. After the Bishop's horse had been put 
 away and he had been shown to a quiet room, he 
 soon sought an opportunity to express his delight at 
 finding such public houses where no intoxicants are 
 sold, and where "no drunkards are made". The 
 landlord, however, was not long in informing his 
 guest, that it had already cost him much persecution 
 to conduct his business on temperance principles. 
 He said the whiskey rabble had often treated him 
 very rudely. On one occasion a crowd of these 
 disciples of Bacchus overcame him, and so maltreated 
 him that he barely escaped with his life. He declared, 
 however, that notwithstanding these persecutions he 
 was determined to carry his temperance enterprise 
 through, let it cost what it will. 
 
 This aroused the Bishop. Shrugging his shoulders 
 and nodding his head in that nervous manner so 
 peculiar to him, he told the landlord that this was 
 a good resolution, exhorted him to carry it out, and 
 even if ''the living devil's of hell" should attack him. 
 "The cause," said he, "is a good one, and God will 
 support you and give you victory and success. The 
 devil and wicked people always will oppose a good 
 undertaking, but with the help of the Lord it will 
 nevertheless succeed." 
 
 On his return from the West, the Bishop often 
 related the following story: 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 ^45 
 
 In Wisconsin a fiddler was converted. After his 
 conversion he did not wish any longer to use an 
 instrument that had so often been the means of lead- 
 ing" him into dissipation and vice, and therefore traded 
 the fiddle off for a pig. "This brother did wisely", the 
 Bishop thought; "the fiddle could be of no possible 
 use to him, because a converted man does not play at 
 dances, whereas the swine could be of some use to 
 his family." 
 
 The closing days of the year he spent in New York. 
 In this greatest and most flourishing city of the 
 United States the German citizens lived in frightful 
 wickedness; they were sunken in vice and ungodli- 
 ness, error and ignorance were their masters. In 
 their so-called religious exercises barbarous scenes 
 occurred. It was nqt unfrequently the case that the 
 worshippers fell to quarreling and fighting in the 
 house ostensibly dedicated to the worship of God. 
 Rationalism, blasphemous deism' and flippant univer- 
 salism combined to work the temporal and eternal 
 ruin of these people. Intoxication at every opportun- 
 ity was their foremost vice. They were addicted to 
 this sin in a frightful measure. For instance, at the 
 festivities connected with the christening of a child, 
 they indulged in singing Satan's songs, and ate and 
 drank to such excess that twenty flasks of wine were 
 emptied, and this at the house of a poor man. This is 
 a sample of a German christening in New York City at 
 that time. He found an earnest society of some fifty 
 members there, however, and hoped it would yet prove 
 a great blessing to the Germans of this wicked city. 
 
246 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 During this year Bishop Seybert traveled five 
 thousand six hundred and eleven miles, — more than 
 in any previous year. 
 
 Bishop Seybert's life-long watchword was, " Not 
 unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name be 
 the glory". Following is a remarkable occurrence, 
 which he frequently related to warn preachers and 
 others against seeking the honors of the world and 
 the applause of men: 
 
 "A minister, weary with his Sunday forenoon 
 service, retired to a quiet chamber to rest. Hardly 
 had he lain down on the sofa, before he fell asleep 
 and dreamed. He thought he was walking in a 
 garden, amid flowers and shrubbery, and sat down 
 under a shady arbor to read and meditate. It now 
 seemed to him as if he heard the sound of footsteps, 
 as of some one coming into the garden, and he at 
 once arose to go in the direction whence the sound 
 proceeded. Directly he was met by a particular 
 friend of his, also a minister, a man of great gifts 
 and splendid talents, and who was highly honored on 
 account of his zeal in the public service. He noticed 
 a singular expression of distress, anxiety and fear in 
 his friend's countenance, but the two ministers greeted 
 one another with the usual cordiality. The new 
 comer inquired the time of day. Twenty-five minutes 
 past four d clock' was the laconic reply. Said the 
 other, Lt is now exactly one hoiir since I am in the 
 spirit world, and I am damned!' 'What! damned? 
 Why?' exclaimed the shocked dreamer. Solemnly, 
 sadly, but deliberately the answer came: 'Not,' said 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 247 
 
 the unfortunate man, ' because I have not preached 
 the Word of God, not that I have not been useful; 
 for I have many seals to my ministry; there are many 
 in glory to-day who can testify that I was the instru- 
 ment of their salvation. But it is because I sought the 
 praise of men and the honor and fame of the world, 
 rather than the glory of God. 1 have my just reward!' 
 The minister awoke. The dream made a singular 
 impression upon his mind. He started towards his 
 church for the evening service, musingly and in a 
 strangely solemn mood. On the way he met a 
 friend, who asked him at once whether he had been 
 apprised of the great loss the church had that day 
 sustained, and that the celebrated and talented 
 
 Rev. was dead? ' No,' said he with surprise 
 
 and amazement. Tremblingly he ventured to inquire 
 at what time he had died, and the startling, laconic 
 reply was, At twenty-five minutes past three d clock 
 this afternoon /'" 
 
248 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 VARIED EXPERIENCES — CONTINUED. 
 
 In February, 1843, one day Bro. Seybert preached 
 at the house of a converted tavern-keeper in the 
 valley of the Mahanoy. This man, before his con- 
 version, manufactured brandy and kept a bar, but 
 since his conversion he had learned to see his wrong. 
 He broke his brandy flasks and poured their liquid 
 poison into the streets. At the same time he ordered 
 one of his employes to cut down the sign, and looked 
 on with great delight until the Satanic banner came 
 down with a crash. 44 Now the liquor traffic is at an 
 end there", Seybert says, "and the place has been 
 consecrated to the Lord's service. The tavern has 
 become a house of prayer and a genial home for the 
 preachers of the Gospel. Hallelujah to the Lamb 
 that was slain! Praise the Lord!" 
 
 The same month the Bishop dedicated the first 
 church in our Association which was furnished with 
 a tower and bell. The church was built at Millheim, 
 Pa., in 1842. 
 
 About this time a revival took place at Manhein, 
 where wonders of grace occurred. Some of the 
 worst men in the place were converted. One of 
 them was a drunkard, who, while he yet held to his 
 ancient faith, was often full of wine to overflowing. 
 On one occasion he fell on the street in a drunken 
 stupor during a severe hail storm, and lay there until 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 249 
 
 he was stiff with cold, and his neighbors had to take 
 him home, and only restored him to life and con- 
 sciousness with much labor. They will have no 
 trouble of that kind with him now, the Bishop 
 thought, for he can go home alone, though he is "not 
 always exactly sober, but full of the ancient wine of 
 Pentecost! 1 "Another was saved at this meeting, who 
 was so depraved and so deeply fallen, that no person 
 could live with him, but after his conversion he was a 
 real pleasure to his neighbors. Another man was 
 converted who had often signed the total abstinence 
 pledge, but always broke it again, being utterly un- 
 able to overcome his terrible appetite. It is very 
 different now that the love of God is shed abroad 
 in his heart. He is very devoted, and being a good 
 singer, a very useful member of the society. His 
 wife, and children have also started on the narrow 
 way, and are working out their salvation. Still an- 
 other, who was known as a brutal prize-fighter, has 
 also been brought to Jesus. Since his conversion, 
 which, however, occurred already two years before, 
 he has been fighting against sin and the devil. This 
 man died in peace, having overcome by the Blood of 
 the Lamb and by the word of his testimony, and 
 already enjoys the fruitions of grace in the world of 
 spirits." "O my brethren," the Bishop cries, "give 
 God the glory for such triumphs of grace!" During- 
 this revival the Bishop delivered a powerful temper- 
 ance lecture there, which resulted in much good. 
 
 This year the East Pennsylvania conference was 
 held in Lebanon, March 2 2d, and the West Pennsyl- 
 
250 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 vania conference near Carlisle, April 5th. Afterthese 
 conference sessions were over, the Bishop, in com- 
 pany with Rev. J. Heis, went to New Berlin, where 
 he had business at the Publishing House which 
 occupied several days. During his stay he also 
 attended the annual meeting of the Parent Mission- 
 ary Society, and at its request preached a missionary 
 sermon. 
 
 After transacting necessary business and visiting 
 a considerable number of friends, besides preaching 
 several times and delivering a temperance lecture, 
 he set out for the session of the Ohio conference. 
 Under Divine protection he crossed the Alleghanies 
 in safety, and arrived at Pittsburgh April 28th, where 
 he was kindly received and hospitably entertained by 
 Bro. Herr. While stopping here he also visited a 
 number of German Methodist families together with 
 their preacher, who greatly desired that the Bishop 
 should tarry and preach for him. 
 
 April 30th he rode through bad roads and inclem- 
 ent weather to Economy, to visit his mother, and 
 found her in a good state of health for a woman 
 seventy-five years of age. The visit gave her much 
 pleasure. Two days later he reached the State of 
 Ohio, and visited a few friends at Freedom. "I could 
 hardly get away from them; they urged me so hard 
 to remain and preach to them. There is a good 
 prospect for conversions there." 
 
 Thursday he reached Greensburg, where he deliv- 
 ered a missionary address to a large congreation. 
 This holy cause was handsomely supported there. 
 
/ r aried Experiences. 
 
 On Saturday he reached a "big meeting'' in progress 
 at Henry Meyer's in Wayne Co.. Ohio. On Sunday 
 afternoon, for the encouragement of the local auxili- 
 ary missionary society, a missionary sermon was 
 preached and a collection taken, amounting to 
 seventy-five dollars. 
 
 The Bishop arrived at Flat Rock. Seneca count}-, 
 the seat of the Ohio conference, in good time. 
 
 There was a great deal of business, but it was 
 transacted with dispatch, in a brotherly and harmoni- 
 ous manner. The boundaries of the work were 
 greatly extended in the West during the last few 
 years. So remarkably had the work increased that 
 the conference was under the necessity of forming 
 two new districts. A great field was open for 
 faithful laborers. • 
 
 During the Summer of 1843 Bishop Seybert was 
 physically quite indisposed. He had contracted a 
 violent cough, besides exhausting his strength by 
 over- work. 
 
 We have now reached the end of Bishop Seybert's 
 first term of office in the episcopacy — the General 
 conference of 1843. His last regular meeting was 
 held in August in Illinois. He then traveled south- 
 ward, spending several days among the Germans of 
 Peoria, 111., and from there he went to St. Louis, Mo. 
 At the very urgent invitation of the pastor of the 
 German Methodist society, he assisted in holding- 
 communion service and administered the rite of 
 baptism among them. He observed that at that 
 time fully one -third of the 30.000 population of 
 
25- Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 St. Louis were Germans. From here he retraced 
 his steps and started for Dayton, Ohio. On the way- 
 he was troubled with attacks of chills and fever. To 
 his delight he found the work prospering, especially 
 at Mt. Carmel, 111., Germantown, Ind., and Dayton, 
 Ohio. Thence he made a flying trip through 
 Sandusky district, Ohio conference, and Mohawk 
 district in the State of New York, and finally, after 
 a long and toilsome journey, he returned to Greens- 
 burg, Summit Co., O., which had been his objective 
 point during all this circuitous tour. At this place 
 the General conference met in October. The Bishop 
 arrived October 20th, a few days before that body 
 convened. 
 
 The chief business transacted by this General 
 conference, with' which we are properly concerned 
 in this narrative, was the re-election of Bro. John . 
 Seybert to the episcopal office. Episcopacy in the 
 Evangelical Association is not an order, but an office. 
 Consistently with this conception, bishops are not 
 elected for life, nor ordained as such by the laying on 
 of hands, but are elected simply and lincensed for a 
 term of four years. They are however eligible to 
 re-election during life or " good behaviour " and 
 satisfactory administration. 
 
 Bishop Seybert, it appears, considered himself in 
 office, until on the ninth day of the session, the 
 episcopal question was brought up. It was then 
 declared that the Evangelical Association was with- 
 out a bishop at that moment. Upon this the feasi- 
 bility of electing two bishops, was taken into con- 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 253 
 
 sideration. It was finally determined to elect two, 
 on account of the rapid extension of the work. After 
 discussing the merits of a number of candidates, who 
 were sent out of the room during the discussion, the 
 conference proceeded to an election. The result was 
 that John Seybert was re-elected, and Joseph Long- 
 newly elected, to the episcopal office. Seybert made 
 the following entry in his journal that evening: 
 
 "To-day I was for tzvo hours and fourteen minutes 
 relieved of the office of bishop, that being the exact 
 time from the moment when my term of service was 
 declared to have expired, to the moment when I was 
 declared re-elected. I now feel more than ever the 
 high importance of the position, and realize an inward 
 constraint to devote myself with renewed energy and 
 consecrated zeal to the work committed to my hands, 
 to journey to all points of the compass, to execute my 
 commission. The Lord give unto me and unto my 
 colleague grace to do our duty, so that we may edify 
 the Church and bless the world! Amen." 
 
 The religious services during this General con- 
 ference were blessed from day to day with conver- 
 sions. 
 
 At this General conference it was also resolved to 
 labor more in the English language. An English con- 
 ference was to be formed, if sufficient English preachers 
 were together to warrant it; and if 800 subscribers 
 could be secured, an English periodical should be 
 published. 
 
 In April, after the East Pennsylvania conference 
 had been held, he started, in company with Rev. Levi 
 
254 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 Eberhard, for La Fayette, the seat of the Ohio con- 
 ference. At John Herr's, near Harmony, Butler Co., 
 Pa., they found a society of devoted Christians, who 
 had been tried, however, as by fire. Seven families 
 had been driven out of their houses by their landlord, 
 for the Gospel's sake. But the Lord also drove out 
 the wicked landlord, calling him into eternity. 
 
 In the Spring of 1844, Seybert was again present 
 at each of the conferences. At the session of the 
 Ohio conference, in La Fayette, Ashland Co., O., the 
 Illinois conference was formed in accordance with the 
 order of the General conference. The new conference, 
 however, did not hold its first regular session until 
 the Spring of 1845. Bishop Seybert was greatly 
 pleased with the fact that the General conference had 
 given him a colleague in the work, because it would 
 enable him to take counsel in important matters, and 
 would enable them to guard the flock and superintend 
 the work more thoroughly. 
 
 On account of the poor state of Seybert' s health, 
 Bishop Long kindly relieved him of the chairmanship 
 of the Ohio conference. 
 
 He was pleased that there was an addition of nine- 
 teen young men to the itinerant ranks, but he also 
 censured severely the spirit which prevailed upon 
 eight others to locate. One conference, however, 
 was free from this evil; none of its members located. 
 
 After the conferences were over, the two bishops, 
 Seybert and Long, divided the work into two Epis- 
 copal districts, Bishop Long taking the two eastern, 
 and Bishop Seybert the two western conferences. 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 255 
 
 They separated May 16th, 1844, with mutual wishes 
 of success and many expressions of affection. 
 
 There was a great contrast between these two men. 
 One supplied indeed, what the other lacked. Both 
 were perhaps equally pious, but Long, though less is 
 known of him, was the greater preacher. Seybert 
 was practical and spiritual in his preaching; Long 
 was profound, and overwhelmingly powerful. When 
 once Bishop Long was fully launched in his discourse, 
 he swept his congregations along like a veritable 
 cyclone. There was the element of majesty in his 
 preaching, and few equalled him in the force and 
 eloquence of his delivery. Seybert was a son of con- 
 solation; Long a son of thunder. Seybert had the 
 advantage in the geniality of his disposition; Long 
 being- often morose and sometimes even acrid in his 
 
 o 
 
 demeanor. The two bishops were mutual friends, 
 entertaining sentiments of affection and profound 
 respect for each other. The thought of jealousy 
 never found any room in them. Each believed 
 thoroughly in the other's sincerity, and they mutually 
 confided in each other's judgment in matters of ad- 
 ministration. The Church was safe in the hands of 
 two such men. 
 
 Immediately after General conference, Bishop Sey- 
 bert started on an extensive preaching tour. In 
 Stark county, Ohio, he attended a "big meeting" in 
 a new, unfinished meeting-house, which to his know- 
 ledge was the first of our churches in Ohio to be 
 ornamented with a tower. On one occasion during 
 this meeting he preached in such power and with 
 
256 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 such eloquence, that he was unable to finish his ser- 
 mon, for the tumultuous out-bursts of holy enthusiasm 
 and joy in the audience quite drowned the preacher's 
 voice, and he was obliged to "sit down in a storm". 
 
 After traveling extensively through Ohio, he went 
 back to Pennsylvania, through. New York, preaching, 
 of course, as he went. In February, one day, he and 
 Bishop Long together visited the grave of Jacob 
 Albright, the venerated founder of the Evangelical 
 Association, which filled these great spirits with pro- 
 found emotions. It would be w T orth something to 
 prosterity, to have a picture of that scene and know 
 what were their thoughts and conversation. 
 
 Samuel Baumgardner accompanied Seybert west- 
 ward, and in eight days they rode a distance of three 
 hundred and eighty miles, which brought him to 
 Des Plaines circuit, Illinois. This was a difficult trip. 
 It rained a great part of the time, and high winds 
 prevailed. On account of freshets, broken bridges, 
 driftwood, the debris of demolished houses and barns, 
 and the trunks of fallen trees in some places filling 
 the roads so as to make them almost impassable, 
 traveling was both perilous and wearying. At the 
 same time he was also weakened by rheumatic and 
 neuralgic pains, so that he greatly felt the need of 
 rest; nevertheless, he averaged 47 miles per day, and 
 preached during the next two days, being Pentecost, 
 in Chicago, Des Plaines and Dutchman's Point, and 
 "had glorious times". 
 
 Afterwards he attended a camp-meeting near 
 Wheeling, Cook Co., 111., where fifty-two families 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 257 
 
 tented. At this meeting at one time, the slain of the 
 Lord, who were on their knees and on their faces 
 crying for mercy, were no less than thirty, most of 
 whom obtained pardon before they ceased to pray. 
 
 There had been some fears, that on account of the 
 heavy rains and the freshets the friends would not 
 be able to come together with their tents. However, 
 in the over-ruling providence of God, a cool wind 
 soon began to sweep over the land, that scattered 
 the clouds and dried somewhat the freshets, so that 
 on the day of meeting the tents could be promptly 
 pitched, and not a single sermon or prayer-meeting 
 was hindered by rain. Immediately, however, after 
 the close of the meeting there occurred such terrific 
 torrents of rain that the inhabitants declared it unpre- 
 cedented. 
 
 At a point called Long Grove, six miles west of 
 Wheeling, our people had succeeded, by means of the 
 truth, in gaining a solid foot-hold among the Ger- 
 mans. A few had already been converted. But the 
 false teachers and their followers became excited and 
 embittered, and gave vent to their anger and malice 
 by scoffing, railing, blaspheming and lying against 
 God's people and His work. They spared no pains 
 to hinder the progress of the truth, even persecuting 
 the dead. The Bishop says: "Certainly this is the 
 place to look for religious zealots. The antiquated 
 slanderous inventions that the sainted Jacob Albright 
 had been a horse-thief and the like, have emigrated 
 westward and have been industriously circulated here. 
 But when one ol their orthodox (?) preachers commits 
 17 
 
258 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 adultery, or gets drunk, or cuts up other capers, he is 
 quickly forgiven. I rather suspect if these faithful 
 watchmeii (?) had lived thirty or forty years ago in 
 Pennsylvania, no horse-thief would have been allowed 
 freely to preach in churches, school-houses, govern- 
 ment buildings and market-places, in cities and 
 villages, and in the forests, to thronging thousands, 
 until the holy fire of God had set half the United 
 States in a blaze of religious fervor, — until the work 
 of the hated Albright and his Church had gained 
 such a foot hold that the devil with all his brood of 
 hell could never put it down again. Yes, these brave 
 watchmen (?) would have promptly imprisoned or 
 murdered Albright and nipped the movement in the 
 bud, had they actually believed their own statements 
 concerning him. O ye shameless, disgraceful false- 
 hood peddlers ( Luegenkrcemer ) , who show that you 
 are children of the devil by the fact that ye love 
 falsehood rather than truth, be ashamed of yourselves! 
 And be converted from the old father of lies to the 
 true and living God, before you receive your portion 
 with all liars, hypocrites and unbelievers, where 
 the smoke of their torment ascendeth forever and 
 ever. 
 
 " Notwithstanding all their efforts to the contrary, 
 these beautiful groves with their wealth of flowers, 
 and their grassy slopes, shall no longer belong to the 
 father of lies, but to the Lord Jesus, to whom belong 
 the riches of the Gentiles. Let these groves and 
 prairies be consecrated unto Him, for the truth has 
 already triumphed." 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 Thence he crossed the Mississippi into Iowa, and 
 across the Wisconsin river, where many Indians were 
 still living. The German settlers whom he found on 
 the outskirts of civilization, "where twilight struggles 
 with gloom", were morally in a deplorable condition. 
 Many were skeptical and nearly all extremely wicked.. 
 This mission is a very difficult held of labor and 
 involves a heavy outlay of money. 
 
 After spending seventeen days on this rough 
 mission field, he went to the Milwaukee mission, 
 going by way of Madison, Wisconsin. The trip 
 was very hard, as the streams w r ere much swollen, 
 and the roads frightfully muddy. Five miles west 
 of Milwaukee he dedicated our first sanctuary in the 
 State of Wisconsin. The boundaries were at that 
 time extending mightily in the North-west, and the 
 prospects for conversions good. Bishop Seybert 
 remained in this vicinity six days, and then traveled 
 southward to Des Plaines circuit, where he organized 
 an auxiliary missionary society, on which occasion 
 the members, despite their poverty and privations in 
 this yet untamed wilderness, subscribed over one 
 hundred dollars for the holy missionary cause. 
 
 At Peoria he helped in a protracted meeting, 
 which was "especially lovely, because our members 
 and the German Methodists were united in love, 
 labored and shouted and wept together, glorifying 
 God by their unanimity." 
 
 On the way to Peoria, Seybert also found entrance 
 in a society of the Amish communion, to whom he 
 preached from Matt. 5: 1-12, with great liberty. He 
 
260 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 found them a very devout and attentive congregation. 
 Evidently they were greatly delighted with this plain 
 and simple messenger of grace, for they strongly 
 urged him to tarry among them for a time, but he 
 was obliged to hasten on. 
 
 He finally reached Naperville, 111., again in Sep- 
 tember. Here he was much refreshed in being 
 permitted to spend a few days among brethren whom 
 he had learned to know years ago at Warren, and 
 in Schuylkill and Lancaster counties, Penn'a. 
 
 During this year an unwarranted attempt was 
 made by Rev. L. S. Jacoby, a German Methodist 
 preacher, to smirch the fair and honorable reputation 
 of our honest and artless Bishop, by writing an article 
 for the " Christliche Apologete" the organ of the 
 German Methodists, and edited by Dr. W. Nast, in 
 which he charged Bishop Seybert with making an 
 unfair attempt to rob the German Methodist preacher 
 of the results of a revival near Peoria, 111. Jacoby 
 charged the bishop with having taken advantage of 
 the Methodist pastor's absence, to raise his " Evan- 
 gelical banner " and seeking to draw the people over 
 into his own Church. To sum up the article briefly, 
 Seybert was charged with proselyting in a surrepti- 
 tious manner, and causing a sore division among the 
 people there. 
 
 The publication of this paper caused some excite- 
 ment and uneasiness among the membership of the 
 Evangelical Association and others who knew Bishop 
 Seybert. The universal belief was, that nothing could 
 be farther from Seybert than such conduct. His 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 261 
 
 ambition was to "break the ice" for his Church in 
 new regions; like St. Paul he was loth to enter into 
 other men's labors, or build on another man's founda- 
 tion. Upon all sides, therefore, it was clamorously 
 demanded that the Bishop should defend himself in 
 the public prints against the accusations of Jacoby. 
 This he finally did in a straight-forward account of 
 the whole affair, through the columns of the Christ- 
 liche Botschafter. Previously, however, a refutation 
 appeared from the pen of Rev. L. Heis, who, it was 
 alleged, had been sent as Seybert's tool to steal the 
 M. E. Society, at Peoria, in which Jacoby's misrepre- 
 sentations were indignantly exposed. Thereupon 
 the society at Peoria itself published a communication, 
 fully exonerating Bishop Seybert from the base 
 charges made by Jacoby. 
 
 Finally the Bishop, who had intended to treat the 
 attack with the contempt of silence, yielded to the 
 demand, and wrote for the Botchafter a strong article, 
 in which he plainly showed that Jacoby had entirely 
 misrepresented the matter. The three independent 
 statements corroborated each other, and Jacoby's 
 attack was so completely refuted, that nothing was 
 ever heard from him on that subject thereafter. 
 Bishop Seybert was vindicated and his innocence 
 established. 
 
 Seybert's elevation to the highest office in the 
 Church did not put him above doing the hardest 
 and humblest service. He was born to break the 
 way. In his episcopal journeys he not only visited 
 the churches and established societies, but went even 
 
262 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 beyond the circuits of the preachers, keenly watching 
 for new openings, and planting the Gospel banner 
 "in the regions beyond." This was his occupation in 
 the Spring of 1845, while Bishop Long was holding 
 the Pennsylvania conferences. For the first time in 
 a quarter of a century he was absent from the session 
 of the East Pennsylvania conference. 
 
 He also presided in 1845 at the first session of the 
 Illinois conference. This conference session in the 
 "far West" (as it was then designated) was richly 
 blessed. It had seventeen itinerants and a number 
 of local preachers. The conference was held in 
 Des Plaines, Cook Co. At noon of the fourth day 
 the business was all disposed of. The examination 
 of the preachers closed already before noon of the 
 first day, for there were no charges against any; no 
 preacher was expelled, nor deposed from office, nor 
 put back on probation, nor otherwise punished. 
 Neither did they hear any one say, "I want to stop 
 itinerating," nor complain of his hard appointment, 
 Though some of them had very difficult and severely 
 laborious fields of labor, yet all seemed satisfied and 
 determined to work together in love. 
 
 The Lord seemed to look with special favor upon 
 our work in the great West, for the boundaries 
 extended astonishingly and already covered Indiana, 
 Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Often Bishop Seybert 
 used to wish, that before he was called home he 
 might see this "hind-most, untempered wall broken 
 through ". He wanted to see our Church out-step 
 the westward march of the formalist teachers, and his 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 263 
 
 desire had now been fulfilled. He said, "we are now 
 proclaiming the Gospel beyond the ramparts of our 
 principal enemies, and our 'little banner' waves on the 
 frontiers of civilization, amid the tents of the savages. 
 It is not likely either, that the wolves in sheep's cloth- 
 ing will trouble us much here, for the pa)- is too small. 
 These diletante do not care to expose themselves 
 to the hardships and perils of this waste howling 
 desert. Besides, the call for them is not so urgent as 
 formerly. Since these people have become enlight- 
 ened by the Gospel and see that the men, who like 
 the apostles of Jesus, volunteer for no earthly reward 
 to undergo the privations of life among frontier sett- 
 lers, are best calculated to do them good. These 
 settlers in their primitive huts could not accommo- 
 date the clerical aristocracy to satisfaction at any 
 rate." At this conference session, J. J. Esher, he says, 
 was received into the itinerancy. 
 
 After the session of the Illinois conference Seybert 
 tarried several days longer in that State, and then 
 started eastward. 
 
 June 26th he reached Indiana, and preached on 
 the 29th at South Bend. Upon urgent request he 
 spoke in the Methodist church to the German citizens. 
 Here he also became acquainted with Captain Price, 
 the celebrated temperance orator, who, by his great 
 industry and extraordinary energy, had extended his 
 influence over North America, England, Scotland 
 and Ireland, and by his eloquence, under God's bless- 
 ing, had persuaded more than ninety thousand people 
 to sign the pledge and enlist in the temperance cause. 
 
264 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 The pastor of the M. E. church at South Bend 
 invited Captain Price and the Bishop to dine at his 
 house, and the two temperance apostles had great 
 pleasure in conversing upon the temperance cause and 
 the work of the Lord generally. 
 
 Captain Price was greatly interested in Bishop 
 Seybert, for he found in this plain and disingenuous 
 German church dignitary a warm and zealous advo- 
 cate of total abstinence. For the Bishop was indeed 
 a noted apostle of temperance, and frequently delivered 
 addresses of thrilling interest on the subject to his 
 German fellow-countrymen. 
 
 Bishop Seybert next went to Ann Arbor mission, 
 in Michigan, where more than fifteen hundred Ger- 
 mans, mostly foreign immigrants, lived closely 
 huddled together. He spent nearly a week visiting 
 the sick and the well, together a large number, and 
 preaching daily. The people were hospitable and 
 received the servant of the Lord gladly. Many 
 attended the preaching services, among them a num- 
 ber of Catholics, upon which he said: " If therefore 
 the 'Friend of Truth 1 (a German Roman Catholic 
 newspaper) should feel itself prompted again to ridi- 
 cule 1 Bro. Seybert's melting meetings in the West', 
 he may also add in a vein of seriousness, that some 
 of his Catholic brethren have actually attended some 
 of those meetings, and have themselves been wonder- 
 fully melted, and it appears that some of them are not 
 far from the Kingdom of heaven." 
 
 On July 31st he visited Bishop Long at his home 
 near New Lisbon, Ohio. Next day, after they had 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 265 
 
 arranged their affairs, they again parted with mutual 
 good wishes, Long going to the West, and Seybert 
 to the East. 
 
 August 19th he crossed the Niagara River at a 
 point three miles below Buffalo, and landed in Upper 
 Canada. In company with the Presiding Elder, he 
 visited in twenty days nearly all our societies there 
 and attended several ''big meetings", which were 
 blessed with awakenings and conversions. At Ham- 
 burg a sad state of affairs had prevailed a few years 
 before this. The people were wicked beyond meas- 
 ure, and no wonder, for their pastors were drunkards! 
 But since the truth is being preached in power, many 
 vicious characters, and also formalists have been con- 
 verted. Our society had erected an excellent brick 
 church, which was to be dedicated soon. 
 
 The people were quite enthusiastic in their admira- 
 tion of Bishop Seybert. They had never seen a 
 bishop before, and had imagined such an official as 
 being a very exalted and extraordinary personage, 
 who would at least be very dignified and unapproach- 
 able. How agreeably they were surprised when 
 their eyes fell upon the slight, nervous, simply clad 
 form of Seybert, and they were told "This is the 
 bishop 1" And they were still more curious to know, 
 how a man so tortured with rheumatism could en- 
 dure such protracted journeys, and preach with such 
 power. 
 
 In September he had a blessed meeting north of 
 Toronto, in a Lutheran church. On Sunday they 
 celebrated Holy Communion, and all were greatly 
 
266 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 blessed. In the morning he preached an ordination 
 sermon, upon which Bro. W. Schmitt was ordained as 
 a Deacon in our Church. On Saturday evening he 
 was unable to be present, on account of severe 
 rheumatic pains. During this visit he also preached 
 for the Stony Creek society, who gave him quite a 
 sum of money for Pittsburgh mission. The fact that 
 this donation was unsolicited, and came from a strange 
 country, and that from a people who have a debt on 
 their own church, made it specially praiseworthy in 
 his estimation. 
 
 In October he reached Albany, the capital of the 
 State of New York. He spent three days with this 
 people, and preached three times on Sunday. In the 
 evening they labored with penitents, and the prayers 
 of the saints at this place, in behalf of seekers, were, 
 he says, "peculiarly touching and impressive". 
 Above all, there were several Sunday-school scholars 
 here, who prayed with wonderful pathos for the con- 
 version of relatives and the extension of the Re- 
 deemer's Kingdom, which moved the bishop deeply. 
 
 Apropos to the surprise of the citizens of Ham- 
 burg, at the unpretentious appearance of Bishop 
 Seybert, mentioned in this chapter, the following 
 similar incident occurred in no less a place than 
 Cleveland, Ohio: 
 
 Bishop Seybert having been announced to preach, 
 an honest German informed his still unconverted 
 wife, as he started to the church, that he intended to 
 bring the bishop along home to dinner. The good 
 housewife was quite amazed at the idea, but reluc- 
 
/ aried Experiences. 
 
 267 
 
 tantly consented. Accordingly she set her house in 
 order, and exhausted her culinary art to prepare a 
 dinner, which she thought would be fit for a bishop. 
 She even called in a neighbor to assist her. Finally 
 the dinner hour arrived, and with fluttering: heart the 
 poor soul awaited the arrival of her husband with 
 their distinguished guest. After waiting for some 
 time, she presently espied her husband coming up 
 the street, — but no bishop! A poorly clad little man, 
 with a heavy, broad brimmed hat, leather shoes, 
 short, round, well worn coat, ornamented with a 
 heavy row of large brass buttons, was walking beside 
 him. On seeing this, the woman's countenance fell 
 in disappointment. "Now I've gone to all this work 
 and trouble for nothing." she said; "Instead of the 
 bishop, he's got nobody but some common old man." 
 Angrily she went back into the house, not knowing 
 what to do. Soon the party arrived and went into the 
 parlor. Then the husband went out to his wife, who 
 greeted him with: "I thought you were going to 
 bring Bishop Seybert; what did you bring this fellow 
 tor?" "Why it is the bishop, my dear," was the 
 demure reply. "This a bishop? This is no bishop!" 
 That was settled with her. But he insisted. She 
 finally put the dinner on the table, but in no pleasant 
 mood, and not until she was compelled to, did she 
 believe that her guest was indeed none other than the 
 famous and powerful preacher, whose name she had 
 so often heard. If she had known his character, she 
 would have prepared a plain, common dinner, with- 
 out much ado. 
 
268 Life mid Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 Seybert's indifference in the matter of clothes was 
 well known. With him clothes were for protection, 
 not for display. It is probable, however, if he had 
 not been a homeless bachelor who had no one to 
 look after his wardrobe but himself, he would have 
 been a little more prim. He thought nothing of a 
 patch on the knees of his pantaloons, or on the 
 elbows of his coat sleeve. Fortunately for him, too, 
 he lived in an age in which this sort of thing did not 
 give so much offense, especially as the Bishop was 
 otherwise an affable and entertaining guest. He was 
 much more concerned to have on his soul the beauty 
 of holiness. 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 269 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 VARIED EXPERIENCES CONTINUED. 
 
 In the Spring of 1846, Bishop Seybert presided at 
 both the Pennsylvania conferences, was present at the 
 session of the Ohio conference over which Bishop 
 Long presided, and, on account of the sickness of 
 Bishop Long, presided for him at the Illinois confer- 
 ence. 
 
 During his visit among the churches in Wayne 
 county, in Ohio, Seybert was greatly annoyed by a 
 traveling show of some twenty wagons. He ex- 
 pressed his disgust that the people of this country 
 spend their time and their money to witness the 
 barbarous performances of such outcasts as usually 
 constitute a circus troupe or a theatrical company. 
 " Such practices," he said, "must demoralize society 
 and injure public morals. Government ought to 
 prohibit these worthless and indecent exhibitions as 
 inimical to the public good." — What would the good 
 Bishop say in our day, when many church members 
 and professors of religion, both old and young, 
 patronize these circus shows? Surely there are 
 better ways for a Christian to spend his time and 
 money. 
 
 May 25th (1846) he reached Columbus, Ohio, 
 just as the news of General Zacharia Taylor's dicisive 
 victory at Buena Vista in the Mexican war had 
 
270 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 arrived. The city was already making" preparations 
 to celebrate the victory. All the bells of the city 
 rang. This would have been all right in itself, the 
 Bishop thought, but it was only the signal for a gen- 
 eral and excessively dissipating uproar. As night 
 came on, the carousal began. " There was shooting 
 of fire-arms and sky-rockets; there was drumming 
 and piping; there was shouting and cheering; there 
 was drinking and drunkenness, which turned the 
 festivities into a disgraceful fiasco. A great bonfire 
 was kindled, which illuminated the city and burned all 
 night, and around it the rabble behaved as if they 
 were imitating the barbaric orgies of some pagan idol 
 worship. Instead of giving God the glory due unto 
 His name, for the good fortune which attended our 
 arms in battle, they gave the honor to the devil in 
 heathenish disorder." 
 
 Intending to return to Cincinnati, Ohio, per canal, 
 on official business after the Illinois conference had 
 been held, he started for Cambridge, but reached that 
 place too late for the boat. He was therefore obliged 
 to follow along the tow-path. The tow-path was 
 rough, besides he had his saddle-bags to carry, so 
 that he became foot-sore and weary, until at eleven 
 o'clock in the night he finally overtook the boat. 
 Rest was sweet that night. Next day his soul was 
 vexed and grieved by the frivolous conduct of the 
 crew and passengers. 
 
 At Cincinnati Bishop Seybert visited Dr. W. Nast, 
 the editor of the Apologete, and enjoyed his visit 
 greatly in the growing metropolis on the Ohio. 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 271 
 
 From Cincinnati he started back again to Mt. 
 Carmel, 111. On the way he was accompanied by 
 Rev. J. Drometer of the Illinois conference, who was 
 stationed at Mt. Carmel. From June 27th to 30th, 
 three days, they were detained in the vicinity of 
 Drometer's home, by incessant torrents of rain. 
 Meanwhile Drometer became dangerously ill with 
 a fever that threatened his life. This greatly in- 
 creased the Bishop's concern. He also noticed that 
 the family were very sad and depressed. On visiting 
 him one day, the Bishop felt a mighty inward con- 
 straint to pray. Accordingly he fell upon his knees 
 by the bed-side, and in earnestness and simplicity 
 besought the Lord to restore the sick brother, if it 
 were in accordance with His will. After prayer 
 Seybert departed, leaving his benediction upon the 
 family. Presently Drometer arose from his bed, and 
 with Seybert resumed the journey to Mt. Carmel, 
 riding thirty miles that same day. He was thoroughly 
 restored, in an instant, in answer to prayer. For this 
 bishop Seybert gave glory to God. 
 
 Arriving at Mt. Carmel, the Bishop and the mission- 
 ary were received very joyfully. The bells were rung 
 and the people invited to services. It was July 4th. 
 
 The popular manner of celebrating the birth-day of 
 the Republic was anything but agreeable to Seybert. 
 On this particular day he was specially annoyed at 
 the demonstrations quite early in the day, and prompt- 
 ly determined for once to show the world how God's 
 servants can put in a full day at their work on that 
 day; he says: 
 
272 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 "The ungodly celebrated that day with gluttony, 
 drinking, swearing, shooting, and howling, besides 
 other Satanic exercises, I, however, was on my feet 
 betimes, hastily visited nine families in the morning, 
 shaved, bathed, greased my shoes, and put on clean 
 clothes and rode thirty miles the same day." 
 
 Traveling through Illinois in company with Bro. J. 
 G. Miller, they came upon a number of our members, 
 living in Macon Co., eight miles east of Decatur, who 
 had come from York Co., Pa., and had neither seen 
 nor heard an Evangelical preacher for seven years. 
 Their joy at the appearance of these two preachers 
 among them is more easily imagined than described. 
 Miller remained with them to preach for them and 
 their neighbors, and Seybert continued on his way to 
 Peoria circuit. 
 
 On this tour he traveled quite extensively through 
 Illinois, and had many interesting experiences. At 
 one place he was obliged to stay all night in a very 
 miserable hut, sleeping on a buffalo robe on the floor. 
 But for such hardships he in common with the 
 pioneer preachers of those days cared little, only so 
 that they found the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 
 
 Near Decatur he found friends, formerly Pennsyl- 
 vanians, who had not seen an Evangelical preacher 
 since they settled there. Their joy knew no bounds, 
 when Bishop Seybert unexpectedly came among 
 them. He was received as an angel from heaven. 
 He remained several days visiting and preaching. 
 It is easy to imagine that he also must have enjoyed 
 liis labor among them. On departing he was loaded 
 
Varied Experiences, 273 
 
 with provender for his horse and provision for him- 
 self, and one of the brethren rode quite a distance 
 with him. 
 
 At Dr. Nothwagel's he preached to a congregation 
 of six hearers, with much pleasure. Dr. Nothwagel 
 was a converted drunkard, who had been delivered 
 by Divine grace from the appetite for liquor. 
 
 September 5th he attended a two day's meeting 
 with Bro. Blank on Racine mission. The people 
 were very attentive to the Word, and a number came 
 unsolicited and joined our Church. "At least these 
 were certainly not deceived nor seduced by us," he 
 adds. 
 
 The work in the West was prospering at this time. 
 The boundaries of the Illinois conference had been 
 greatly extended. It was impossible for the Presid- 
 ing Elders to do their districts justice. After stub- 
 born resistance a firm hold had been gained in north- 
 ern Indiana, and ,the truth began to triumph in many 
 parts of the great West. The seed that was sown in 
 tears was now bringing glorious fruit. The missions 
 had been so extended that there was a Jack of 
 preachers to supply the territory properly. The 
 Evangelical Association had carried the banner of 
 truth forward across the Wisconsin River, and planted 
 it among the tents of the red man. The German 
 settlements were open beyond Green Bay. 
 
 During his somewhat protracted stay in the West, 
 Bishop Seybert was greatly troubled with ague. 
 After the fever had somewhat subsided, he left 
 
 Bloomington, Iowa, and started eastward in great 
 18 
 
274 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 weakness. He traveled a distance of over 500 miles, 
 through disagreeable weather and bad roads, cross- 
 ing the State of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, 
 reaching Greensburg, Ohio, near the end of Septem- 
 ber. Here he found a protracted meeting in prog- 
 ress, which was blessed with conversions and revival- 
 
 The Bishop stopped at Greensburg, simply because 
 he could not proceed any further, and left again as 
 soon as he could walk, notwithstanding the bad state 
 of weather which prevailed at that season of the year. 
 He traveled throughout the eastern portion of the 
 Ohio conference, and despite his enfeebled health 
 and the bad roads and stormy weather, he attended 
 five special or protracted meetings. The Bishop was 
 highly pleased with the missionary zeal manifested by 
 the people at that time, and commended the liberality 
 with which they supported this sacred cause. 
 
 On a cold Winter day, during one of his horse-back 
 trips through Ohio, Seybert fell in with some one 
 hauling a weaver's loom on a sled. Seybert was a 
 man of sociable habits, and was always interested in 
 artisans and the laboring classes in general, and at 
 once began a conversation. A few direct questions 
 revealed the fact that the man was a constable, who 
 was about to sell the loom, which had been attached 
 by law to pay a debt; and that the unfortunate 
 weaver, to whom the loom belonged, was a poor man 
 with a large family, who had no other means of sup- 
 port. On inquiry he also learned the amount of the 
 debt. The fact that the loom was the man's only 
 means of securing a livelihood, awakened Seybert's 
 
Varied Experiences, 
 
 2/5 
 
 sympathy, and he exclaimed with earnestness, "This 
 is hard!" The officer remarked, " Well, you see, as a 
 constable I must do it, hard as it is, and I confess it 
 is hard for me to perform my official duties in cases 
 of this kind." After a brief pause the Bishop asked 
 the officer, "Would you mind taking the loom back 
 to its owner again, if I pay you the amount of the 
 debt?" "I will gladly do it," replied the constable, 
 "all I want is the money to pay the debt." Upon 
 this Seybert reined up his horse and ordered a "halt". 
 "Turn", said he, "go with me and we will bring the 
 man his loom. I will pay the debt." The officer 
 obeyed. 
 
 As they came up to the house, the man, his wife 
 and the children all came out, curious to know what 
 had happened that the constable brought the loom 
 back again. Seybert spoke up at once, saying, "I 
 told the constable it is too hard that a man with a 
 family should lose the instrument by which he earned 
 their support, and concluded I would pay the debt, 
 and give you back your loom." While saying this 
 he had alighted from his horse and thrown the rein 
 loosely over a fence post. He immediately reached 
 into his pocket and counted out the exact amount to 
 the officer of the law. "You may write me a receipt," 
 he said. This done the constable rode away. The 
 Bishop stopped to speak a few words to the family, 
 who were embarrassed with surprise and perplexity, 
 and stared with open wonder at their strange and 
 eccentric benefactor. They wanted to know who he 
 was. "My name is John Seybert," he modestly re- 
 
276 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 plied. On their inquiry as to where he lived, he said, 
 "My native place is Manheim, Pennsylvania, but I 
 am a traveling preacher, who hardly knows that he 
 has a home except the heavenly home, where all the 
 saints shall rest forever." 
 
 He then gave them a little admonition, briefly tell- 
 ing them what to do to inherit eternal life, and then 
 started for his horse. The family, however, objected 
 to his going, put his horse into a dilapidated barn, 
 gave it the best fodder they could find, and prepared 
 a meal for their guest. The interval he employed in 
 conversation on the subject of religion, and the weaver 
 and his wife were both much affected. The weaver 
 now wanted his benefactor to preach for them. 
 Seybert hereupon left an appointment for the time 
 when he expected to come by that way again. 
 
 At the appointed time he was on the spot and 
 preached in the weaver's house, to a large number 
 of people who were deeply moved by the Word. 
 The result was, that the weaver and his family were 
 soon converted to God, and henceforth received the 
 preachers of the Evangelical Association with joy. 
 A work of grace began in the community and a good 
 class was organized of which the weaver became the 
 class-leader, and a church was afterwards built. He 
 had a good income, lived a pious life with his family, 
 was useful in the church and was soon enabled to pay 
 back the money again which Bro. Seybert had given 
 him. Seybert finally accepted the principal, but 
 declined the interest. This was characteristic. In 
 whatever he did, he had in view the salvation of souls 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 277 
 
 and the interests of his Church. He knew how to 
 turn circumstances into account for this purpose. 
 
 During the latter part of 1846, he labored under 
 great bodily weakness. He had not reached his aim 
 at all, on account of physical infirmities, having trav- 
 eled "only four thousand seven hundred and. five 
 miles and preached only one hundred and sixty-seven 
 times". 
 
 During the Winter and Spring of 1847 ne contin- 
 ued to endure great pain, and his debility was a great 
 hindrance, so that he only preached nine times and 
 traveled a hundred and fifty-eight miles in April. 
 "Lord" he exclaimed, "do make me well again! if it 
 be Thy will; but if not, give me grace to be patient 
 and to quietly resign myself to my lot, and to suffer 
 according to Thy righteous will, for the sake of Jesus 
 Christ, Thy dear Son. Arnen." 
 
 In this condition he held the Ohio conference, May 
 1 2th, and afterwards, in spite of his great weakness, 
 started westward to attend the Illinois conference. 
 He rode through Indiana and Michigan to Joliet, 111., 
 through terrible roads. On the way he had repeated 
 attacks of fever, and his rheumatic affection was also 
 greatly aggravated. Most men would have suc- 
 cumbed. But Seybert fought his way through, and 
 reached Naperville, the place of the Illinois confer- 
 ence session, one day before the conference began. 
 This session; was a blessed one; especially were the 
 communion and ordination services accompanied with 
 visitations of Divine power. 
 
 On this great journey he was greatly troubled on 
 
278 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 account of a lack of preachers, which he anticipated. 
 But he was agreeably disappointed, as a number of 
 applicants appeared, and the wants of the conference 
 were amply supplied. This made him glad, and his 
 anxiety was allayed. He says: "But a few years ago 
 we had a single mission in the great West, and now 
 we have a whole conference of three extensive 
 Presiding Elder districts. The Lord hath done this. 
 Praise Him!" 
 
 During the Summer of '47 he attended two camp- 
 meetings in Illinois, one at Wheeling, the other at 
 Naperville, where at times a score and more lay at 
 the altar of prayer, who obtained pardon one after 
 another. "Some of these had just arrived, fresh from 
 Germany, and had been warned against us before 
 coming, by their relatives, who called us deceivers 
 and liars. Notwithstanding this, they came to the 
 meetings to see for themselves, were convinced that 
 it was the Lord's work, yielded, were converted, and 
 became members of our Church." 
 
 At Naperville the flower-decked meadows sur- 
 rounding the encampment, the dark green grove, 
 hedged in as holy ground by a beautiful circle of 
 large white tents, the spiritual singing, the touching 
 pleadings of penitents, altogether stirred his soul to 
 its depths as he arrived. The scene made a deep 
 impression on his mind. There was beauty and 
 grandeur of nature hallowed by the influences of 
 heavenly grace. 
 
 After these meetings the bishop started for the 
 East. The eastern people began to charge him with 
 
Varied Experiences. 
 
 279 
 
 unfairness, and thought he paid more attention to the 
 West than to the East. And so he did. But he 
 justified himself with the assertion that it was more 
 needed in the West. In the East the work went on 
 in its usual manner, as there was no lack of experi- 
 enced men, while in the West the battle was much 
 more severe, and in his opinion it was his calling to 
 stand where the fight is hottest. This could not be gain- 
 said. He had helped to storm the enemy's castles 
 in Pennsylvania and planted the banner on the most 
 perilous ramparts, and then concluded that they could 
 help themselves without him, while he wanted to be 
 among the pioneers in the West. As the line of 
 battle and conquest moved westward, the old hero on 
 his white horse rode bravely ahead, and kept pace 
 with the westward sweep of the star of empire. In his 
 hand he brandished no gold-hilted sword, but a tried 
 Damascus blade, the two-edged sword of the Spirit, 
 which in his hand was never allowed to rust or grow 
 dull. Small of stature, and quick of movement, he 
 rushed hither and thither, managing a longer line of 
 battle from the Atlantic to the Mississippi than the 
 greatest general ever did, his keen eye always detect- 
 ing where the heaviest fighting was needed, his 
 countenance beaming with enthusiasm and holy 
 courage, and his voice of encouragement ringing out 
 like a clarion, thrilling the wavering lines with the 
 inspirations of hope and victory! The Church could 
 not grow indolent while a man of such fiery enthusiasm 
 and indomitable heroism stood at the head. Where- 
 ever he went, fresh courage filled the hearts. Like 
 
280 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 Bonaparte, Seybert's presence was worth an army, 
 and for many years his name was a terror to the 
 black battalions of sin. This man never was fully 
 appreciated. Had he lived under more popular sur- 
 roundings, his fame would rank with the greatest of 
 his generation. 
 
 Leaving Illinois he went through Indiana, Michigan, 
 Ohio and Pennsylvania, visiting, preaching and doing 
 an incredible amount of work in a very short time, 
 and reached New Berlin, Pa., just a day before the 
 General conference convened at that place, Septem- 
 ber 29th, 1847. This body elected Seybert to the 
 episcopacy for the third term. He made the follow- 
 ing entry in his journal: "To-day, October 22d, 1847, 
 the conferences attended to the election of General 
 Superintendents and again elected two for the four 
 ensuing years, namely, Joseph Long and John 
 Seybert. Thus this to me unspeakable important 
 office has been imposed upon me again. O Lord, 
 help! O Lord, give success! Amen." 
 
I r i dories. 
 
 281 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 VICTORIES. 
 
 After the General conference in the Fall of 1847, 
 Bishop Seybert traveled quite extensively through 
 both the Pennsylvania conferences, and "had ofood 
 times" amoncr his eastern friends, witnessing much 
 shouting and rejoicing. In the East Pennsylvania, 
 there had been a great drought all Summer and 
 Autumn, but in the Winter the Lord had mercy, and 
 visited this part of our Evangelical Zion with a graci- 
 ous rain, and times of refreshing came from the pres- 
 ence of the Lord. There were many conversions and 
 many revivals among the members. Especially had 
 the work increased in Lancaster. Lebanon and other 
 counties, in the cities of Reading. Philadelphia. 
 Orwigsburg, Lebanon and Xew York. The brethren 
 had also pushed into new regions of darkness; the 
 conference lengthened her cord, and strengthened 
 her stakes, and widened the place of her tent. The 
 conversions, he observed, were genuine, which 
 "enraged the devil and his servants'". This was 
 the Ion of looked-for result of twenty years of faithful 
 and seemingly useless effort. Ever and again the 
 Lord's captains were repulsed, but at last their 
 preaching began to tell, and the Lord made a way 
 for His truth. 
 
, 282 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 In the Spring of 1848, Seybert held the two Penn- 
 sylvania conferences, and soon after started for the 
 West. His health was good, and his soul was full 
 of courage to "drive the work of the Lord." That 
 was a suggestive phrase of his, thoroughly character- 
 istic of the man. He anticipated much pleasure in 
 soon again riding through the green groves and over 
 the broad prairies of the West, decked with their 
 unrivaled wealth and beauty of flowers, and there to 
 sing of victory in the humble dwellings of the saints. 
 It is not to be denied that Seybert was in love with 
 the West. He was in spirit, enterprise and pluck a 
 western man by nature. 
 
 On his way to the West he spent forty days in 
 Ohio, and attended the session of the Ohio con- 
 ference. May 29th he reached the State of Michigan 
 and spent Ascension Day on Ann Arbor mission, 
 preaching three times on that day. In the morning 
 his theme was "The Incarnation of Christ in the 
 Flesh"; in the afternoon "The Ascension", and in 
 the evening "Christ's Future Coming to the General 
 Judgment". He says it was a blessed day, and they 
 realized the gentle breathings of the Holy Spirit. 
 After spending seven days in Michigan, he reached 
 Mishawaka, Indiana, where he preached the closing 
 sermon of a protracted meeting, from Matt. 7:13, 14. 
 This was undoubtedly a remarkable effort, for two 
 souls were converted during the sermon, and the 
 demonstrations of the congregation were so great 
 that the Bishop was obliged to cut his sermon short 
 and sit down, unable to proceed. 
 
Victories. 
 
 283 
 
 At Cold Water, Michigan, he chanced to be pres- 
 ent at an M. E. conference session, where he heard 
 Bishop Hamline preach. But Seybert remained in- 
 cognito, not even revealing his official station to the 
 preachers with whom he stayed at the hotel. 
 
 Pentecost found him in Cook Co., 111., at a camp- 
 meeting. The Bishop says it was a genuine Pente- 
 cost, as the Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon 
 them. Two hundred and eighty-six communicants 
 participated in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, 
 and penitents crowded to the altar in throngs and 
 sought and found pardon. 
 
 Soon afterwards, the conference met at the same 
 place, and the session was a great blessing to the 
 community. The reports showed that the work had 
 increased on their hands during the year, and the 
 membership had enlarged considerably. There was 
 also a goodly number of young recruits to the itin- 
 erant ranks, which pleased the bishop. He said, if 
 these men all seek the equipment from above, and 
 continue in the work, they can be a great blessing to 
 the West. 
 
 At this session of the Illinois conference, the first 
 steps were taken towards sending a missionary to 
 Europe, to labor among the Germans in the father- 
 land. Bishop Seybert was appointed as a steward to 
 receive and manage the moneys that should be con- 
 tributed for this purpose. 
 
 From here, after attending another camp-meeting v 
 he went to Racine, Wisconsin, to dedicate a new 
 church edifice. This was an occasion of joy to him, 
 
284 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 as the building was substantially built of brick, well 
 arranged and commodious, situated in a large and 
 growing city of the great Northwest, and the work 
 gave promise of permanent growth and success. 
 
 October 13th found him in Indiana. Here some- 
 where the friends had erected a large log church, 
 which pleased him. Presumably it was just such a 
 plain, unpretentious structure as suited him. He says, 
 the work began there three years before. Two years 
 before conversions took place, but the devil rose up 
 in wrath, and would not let the brethren into the 
 school-house. However, a society of three classes 
 was formed, and they built the log church, con- 
 sequently they were no longer dependent upon 
 others. Seybert preached to them from Psalm 126, 
 and the Lord blessed the friends so powerfully 
 that some of them w r ere, so to speak, "spiritually 
 drunken". It has been noticed, that he often took 
 that text on such occasions, when he intended to 
 pour out the "best of the wine". In connection with 
 this text, it is said, he seldom used a hymn from the 
 hymn-book of the Church, but recited from memory, 
 and with the greatest accuracy, a poetical composition 
 of Schiller. 
 
 In the Autumn of 1848 he attended a camp-meeting 
 on Dubois circuit, of which he says: "Our people at 
 this place have a well arranged camp-ground, with 
 permanent log tents and preacher's stand, close by 
 the church, which is a refuge in rainy weather. The 
 whole institution stands on a forty acre strip of wood- 
 land, which is dedicated to Almighty God as Church 
 
Victories. 
 
 285 
 
 property, and that by poor German people, who but 
 recently came to this country. Where will you find 
 a similar arrangement among our well-to-do Amer- 
 ican brethren ? — But these latter need more for their 
 devotion to the fashions and the luxuries of the day!' 
 
 About this time the first important revival took 
 place in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, which has since 
 become the official headquarters of the Church. 
 We had the privilege a few years ago to hear, from 
 the lips of the first member of the Evangelical Asso- 
 ciation in that city, the story of its small beginnings. 
 This was old "Mother Schnuerer",, who but recently 
 entered into rest. 
 
 The Schnuerers had been converted in Buffalo, 
 N. Y., and now lived by the lake in the small city 
 of Cleveland. One day Mrs. Schnuerer saw a man 
 riding along the street dressed unmistakably in 
 the garb of an Evangelical itinerant. She could 
 hardly believe for joy, for it had been years since 
 they had seen any of the preachers of their Church. 
 Mrs. Schnuerer hailed him, and asked him if he were 
 not a preacher of the Evangelical Association. He 
 affirmed that he was. The joy was mutual. Arrange- 
 ments were promptly made to have preaching at 
 Schnuerers, and Cleveland became a regular appoint- 
 ment of one of the pioneer circuits of Ohio. This 
 was in 1840, and the preacher was either A. Stroh or 
 John Holl, who traveled on Lake circuit that year. 
 For an account of this beeinnine, the reader is re- 
 ferred to Orwig's " History of the Evangelical Asso- 
 ciation", p. 310 et seq., English edition. 
 
286 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 February 2 2d, 1849, Seybert says: "At last our 
 desire concerning Cleveland is being realized. Dur- 
 ing a recent protracted meeting, both old and young 
 were converted. Yesterday I preached twice there. 
 It was a profitable day. A goodly number of prom- 
 ising people have been converted and added to our 
 number, while many others are certainly under deep 
 conviction. It has long been our wish to witness 
 such a season on Cleveland mission, and the time has 
 come. The Lord has heard our prayers and sent us 
 help. Blessed be His holy Name!" 
 
 During this year Bishop Seybert again presided at 
 the Ohio and Illinois conferences. From the session 
 of the former conference, which was held in Emanuel 
 church, Pickaway county, he proceeded northward. 
 After spending Pentecost, and having a real Pente- 
 cost at Gideon Falk's in Hancock Co. (probably now 
 Mt. Cory), he went by way of Perrysburg, Ohio, and 
 Adrian, Michigan, to Ann Arbor, where he labored 
 several days, preaching and visiting from house to 
 house. The work there was prosperous, and a 
 church edifice had been begun. 
 
 The Illinois conference met June 20th in Naper- 
 ville, Illinois. The session lasted nine days. The 
 religious services were richly blessed and largely 
 attended. 
 
 At Freeport, Illinois, Seybert's horse ran away with 
 the wagon, and finally leaped over a heap of lumber, 
 breaking harness and conveyance, to the great 
 annoyance of the Bishop. He naively asks: "Was 
 this of the devil, or did it simply occur accidentally?" 
 
Victories. 
 
 287 
 
 Towards the end of July he hastened through 
 Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Upper Canada and New 
 York, to Pennsylvania. He calls attention to the fact, 
 that though he was nearly a broken down man he 
 was yet able to travel through cities and communities, 
 where the cholera and other epidemics were at that 
 time raging with fatal fury, without being himself 
 harmed, and could preach two and three times daily, 
 as necessity might require. 
 
 On this trip he was forced at one place in Indiana, 
 by a great rain and flood, to stop at a hotel. This 
 was in a place popularly called Centre of Hell. 
 
 Its real name was Centre ville, but on account of its 
 wickedness was o-iven this suggestive cognomen. It 
 was Seybert's custom, if he caught a glimpse of the 
 hostler, to ride directly to the barn, so as to give his 
 personal care to his horse. He says: "When I 
 reached the barn I found myself at once among the 
 Belialites. They were on the hay-loft in large groups, 
 playing cards and carousing at a terrible rate. Then 
 1 went to the house and found it worse yet. Here 
 they were engaged in worse than bestial intoxication 
 and debauchery. A few yards from the hotel was a 
 saloon, in which a Democratic office seeker was 
 haranguing the crowd. Here was 
 
 " Confusion worse confounded." 
 
 It was the Bishop's judgment that this ugly cogno- 
 men was as appropriate as could well be, "for here 
 certainly is the devil's nest, an open gate of hell. The 
 veritable devil lives here." 
 
 During the journey described above the Bishop 
 
288 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 lodged with a family in the State of Michigan, with 
 whom he had already been acquainted for nearly 
 thirty years. The visit was the occasion of mutual 
 pleasure. After supper and family worship had been 
 concluded, Seybert united in matrimony an estimable 
 pair of young people in the presence of the family. 
 The evening was spent in earnest religious conversa- 
 tion. "This", says the Bishop, "was a genuine 
 Christian wedding, free from drunkenness, gluttony 
 and carousal, and without display, frivolity and 
 extravagance of any kind." 
 
 After he had traveled through part of the New 
 York conference, he crossed Niagara and invaded the 
 Queen's dominions again. He spent some days at 
 Stony Creek, preached at Puslinch and on Black 
 Creek and Home circuits, and in the towns of Ham- 
 burg, Waterloo and Berlin. He was permitted to 
 see the work of the Lord prospering in all these 
 places, and witnessed conversions almost every- 
 where. In one of his meetings on Black Creek, the 
 Bishop had among his auditors a Mennonite bishop 
 and a woman ninety-five years old. At this place a 
 glorious work of grace was in progress, which had 
 begun in the Sunday-school. Afterwards at a meet- 
 ing in Sodom Bush many Mennonites "broke through 
 into spiritual life", and joined our people at the Lord's 
 table. They had to suffer derision and persecution, 
 however, from the unconverted. The Lord was with 
 His own. The converted Mennonites now received 
 the Evangelical preachers, and the prospects for still 
 greater success were good. The Bishop spent three 
 
Victories. 289 
 
 weeks in Canada. At his meetings in Waterloo, 
 Berlin and Hamburg, the people came to the services 
 in such throngs that it was impossible for the churches 
 to hold them. The Bishop had great pleasure among^ 
 the plain zealous friends there, and found them alive 
 unto good works, upright in life and "hating the 
 fashions". He gave this as a reason for expecting 
 many conversions. 
 
 Then he returned to the State of New York,, 
 preaching at Buffalo, Lyons, Rochester and Syracuse. 
 At Oswego, where we had no church, he intended 
 to remain till next day. He quickly inquired 
 after the Germans of the place, visited them, and 
 preached to them that same evening. He had a 
 good meeting. These Germans were without a 
 preacher, and greatly desired our preachers to come 
 among them. The Bishop spent sixty-three days in 
 this conference, traveling sixteen hundred miles, and 
 then crossed over into East Pennsylvania, the scene 
 of his early labors, sufferings and successes. He was 
 much pleased to find a spirit of enterprise here, which 
 manifested itself in building church edifices and sup- 
 porting the missionary cause. Learning that a pro- 
 ject was on foot to build a Memorial church at the 
 grave of the sainted Jacob Albright in Lebanon Co., 
 Pa., Seybert expressed his unqualified approval. It 
 had long been his fervent wish. He hoped the 
 enterprise would be liberally supported by the friends 
 near and far. 
 
 In that unusually benighted vicinity called " Devil's 
 Hole " the work of the Lord was spreading. At this 
 19 
 
290 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 place, which owed its ugly name to its ugly character, 
 a church was built soon after the Bishop's visit, to 
 which then eighbors, not belonging to the society, 
 contributed from fifty to a hundred dollars a piece. 
 As a great reformation took place, the name of the 
 locality was then changed to the more euphonious 
 Lewistown Valley. 
 
 At the close of the year of 1849 he recorded the 
 fact, that his health had been preserved, while thous- 
 ands, less exposed, died of cholera, fevers and other 
 scourges. On the whole, he traveled five thousand 
 six hundred and ninety miles, preached about three 
 hundred times, besides visiting many hundreds of 
 families, praying with the well and the sick. But to 
 the Lord he gave all the praise* 
 
 The year 1850 was celebrated in the Evangelical 
 Association as a year of jubilee, it being the comple- 
 tion of a half century since the first organization of 
 the Church by Jacob Albright. Bishop Seybert 
 wrote at the beginning of the year: "In all probability 
 this will be a prosperous year in our Church. I am 
 expecting a glorious year of jubilee, for all the indi- 
 cations are favorable. I hope it will bring abundant 
 fruit to our little Zion." 
 
 Bishop Seybert celebrated this event in his own 
 peculiar manner. He refused to receive any salary 
 whatever, and absolutely insisted on paying all his 
 expenses out of his own private purse. In fact, from 
 that time he never accepted traveling expenses at all, 
 and would not have accepted his salary, had he not 
 been severely censured by the brethren for such a 
 
Victories, 
 
 291 
 
 course. They insisted he should receive his salary,, 
 and then, if he desired, he might dispose of it for 
 oenevolent purposes, according to his own judgment. 
 i his advice he followed. Though he accepted his 
 salary, he never thereafter used any of it for private 
 purposes, but devoted it all to the funds and enter- 
 prises of the Church, paying his personal expenditures 
 out of his own private purse. He thus not only 
 preached liberality, but practiced it on a truly mag- 
 nificent scale. 
 
292 Life and Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 IN PERILS OFT. 
 
 P 
 
 In 1850 Seybert had to hold both the Pennsylvania 
 conferences and the New York conference. On his 
 trip to the New York conference session he had 
 much pleasure in his intercourse with the friends, who 
 received him everywhere as an angel of God, es- 
 pecially in Clinton, Centre and Lycoming circuits, 
 Penn'a. On his way he made numerous calls and 
 preached nearly every evening. About this time he 
 began to ride in a conveyance, as he could not endure 
 horseback riding any longer. His conveyance, how- 
 ever, was a very primitive affair, in which the Bishops 
 of the High Church of England, or the lordly pre- 
 lates of the Roman Church would hardly consent to 
 ride. He was humble and economical in this respect 
 also. His rig was in fact only an old-fashioned, rural 
 one-horse "dandy wagon", without springs, having a 
 broad and deep seat, upon which he laid a sheep 
 skin, in lieu of a cushion. He always carried a chest 
 of books with him, and the inevitable saddle-bag — 
 a double leathern pouch, made to be strapped across 
 the saddle when riding on horse-back. It took the 
 place of the modern "grip sack" of the itinerant. 
 With this out-fit the Bishop started northward into 
 the State of New York, in the month of April. Near 
 Williamsport, Pa., south of the Alleghanies, he came 
 
In Perils Oft. 
 
 293 
 
 to Lycoming creek, above the city, a swift and 
 powerful stream, large enough to be called a river. 
 It flows down from the Alleghany mountains, and 
 hence has a tremendous fall, besides being quite deep 
 and wide. Just at this time the snows were melting 
 on the mountains, 4 causing an extensive freshet. 
 
 It was April 5th. He found the stream reaching 
 far beyond its natural channel, and saw at once that 
 great care would be necessary in crossing, as there 
 was no bridge, but only a ford. He stopped, sur- 
 veyed the wild and dangerous scene, and thought to 
 himself, "I am familiar with this ford, and I have 
 often crossed it at flood tide; my animal is a good 
 swimmer; I have appointments on the other side and 
 must hasten on; in the name of the Lord I will vent- 
 ure in." He accordingly drove in. He soon realized, 
 however, that his famous swimmer would have all he 
 could do to get its rider through. He headed up 
 stream, and for a while made good headway. But 
 when he got into the central current, the flood lifted 
 his conveyance up, and forcing it down stream, upset 
 it finally, and spilled out bishop, books and saddle- 
 bags. This greatly hindered the horse in swimming, 
 and also began to float down with the mad current. 
 But for this, the faithful beast would have landed 
 everything safely. As it was, horse, conveyance, 
 Bishop, book-chest, saddle-bags and all, lay scattered 
 about on the resistless tide of the river. The Bishop 
 now let go the lines, so'as to give the horse all the 
 liberty possible, to land the wagon and itself. The 
 horse succeeded after a brave struggle. Seybert him- 
 
294 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 self fought the flood, swam and struggled as best he 
 could, and succeeded in reaching the shore in safety. 
 Horse and bishop reached the dry ground about the 
 same time. Some men who were near, then came to 
 his assistance, and recovered his saddle-bags and 
 bookchest, which were floating rapidly down the tide. 
 His loss he estimated at about fifteen dollars. The 
 current volume of his journal also fell into the water, 
 but he dried its soaked leaves again and used it for 
 his daily entries for two years after that. Only the 
 last few pages were too wrinkled to write upon. The 
 book still shows the effect of this adventure in every 
 page.^ 
 
 This perilous adventure and narrow escape had the 
 effect to make him far less venturesome than formerly. 
 Until that time he had scarcely known fear, and made 
 many dangerous ventures in his extensive pioneer 
 travels through the wild and unimproved regions of 
 the new continent. But after this he frequently hired 
 conductors and guides where there was no real 
 danger. 
 
 April nth he reached the New York conference 
 district, and called a halt in the vicinity of Seneca 
 Falls. He found it necessary to "rest a little", but: 
 as usual his resting was done by visiting numerous, 
 families through the day and preaching at night. 
 This is what he called " resting", or ''having a vaca- 
 tion", or "recuperating from the fatigue of a journey". 
 
 In spite of perils and hardships Bishop Seybert 
 reached Syracuse, N. Y., April 15th, where the 
 session of the conference began on the 17th. The 
 
In Perils Oft. 
 
 295 
 
 business of the conference was transacted with 
 unusual dispatch, and the preaching services were 
 instructive and powerful. The ordination service 
 was exceedingly impressive, and at the missionary 
 meeting on Sunday afternoon the friends manifested 
 special liberality in the good cause. In the British 
 dominions — Upper Canada — the prospects were 
 reported good, and the conference established 
 another mission there. The missionary zeal was 
 alive and the Bishop thought, "so long as we are 
 active in this, there is hope that the Lord's work 
 among us will flourish, as well in the established 
 societies as in the mission fields. Should we lose 
 the missionary spirit, however, there must necessarily 
 be retrogression among us in efforts for the glory 
 of God and the salvation of the world. " 
 
 For a short time after this conference session, the 
 Bishop had business to transact in New York in the 
 interests of the " Benevolent Society of the Evangel- 
 ical Association". Meanwhile he also preached here 
 and there, especially on Lake circuit, where he says 
 he had "good times". He also visited many sick, 
 and learned that "our members were resigned to 
 their lot, and satisfied, whether the Lord let them live 
 or die". 
 
 After his special business affairs had been adjusted 
 in the State of New York, he went to Canada, where 
 he enjoyed himself hugely and felt at home. He 
 always seemed pleased with the character of the 
 work in the Dominion, and this time praised it in 
 his journal as follows: " In this part of our large field 
 
296 Life and Labors of jfohn Seybert. 
 
 of operations there exist several good and decidedly 
 praiseworthy features, namely: First. A thorough and 
 most healthful kind of conversions. Second. A lively 
 worship in Spirit and in the truth. Third. A spirit of 
 self-denial which abhors ungodly pride and the 
 worldly fashions. 
 
 On his return from Canada Bro. Seybert crossed 
 Niagara at Buffalo, from where, in company with a 
 brother, he made a visit to a settlement or colony 
 of Germans who were known as the "Inspired", but 
 who called their organization "Ebenezer". This soci- 
 ety owned eight thousand acres of land six miles 
 south of Buffalo, and numbered about a thousand 
 members. Within a space of three miles they laid 
 out three villages, and made great progress during 
 the six years of their settlement in the cultivation 
 of the soil, and in the erection of mills and manufac- 
 tories. They also built a large meeting-house, in 
 which their teacher or prophet, Mr. Christian Metz, 
 preached and enforced their doctrines. This man' 
 sometimes became 'inspired'. On such occasions he 
 employed certain scribes, who acted as his amanuenses 
 and recorded his words. His utterances at such times, 
 served as the rule of conduct for these people there- 
 after, as well as the Holy Scriptures. This 'prophet', 
 however, seemed to Seybert to be a very estimable 
 man. 
 
 These people led a temperate life in eating and 
 drinking, and were very plain in their dress. The 
 " devilish pride" and fashionable display did not exist 
 among them, neither conformity to the world, there- 
 
In Perils Oft. 
 
 297 
 
 fore, the Bishop remarked, "they do not suffer from 
 that loss of time and sinful extravagance in expendi- 
 tures which are required by vanity. They also prefer 
 the celibate state of life, and lay great stress upon 
 virtue and continence". The genial Bishop wished 
 them God's blessing. 
 
 On his way west he preached extensively in Ohio. ■ 
 At the home of Bishop Long in Columbiana county 
 he waited two days, which he considered a long time, 
 for the return of Long, who was to meet him there 
 by appointment. The two bishops appointed Sep- 
 tember 9th for the meeting of the Board of Missions 
 at Pittsburgh, which was to select and send a mission- 
 ary to Germany. This was in 1850, as per Seybert's 
 journal. 
 
 At Ann Arbor, Michigan, he says: 
 
 "Recently a 'spiritual guide' (?) here re-christened 
 a child which our missionary had already baptized. 
 On this occasion he also let loose upon us as the 
 'deceivers' and 'false teachers'. But if this person 
 wanted to re-baptize all the children that have been 
 baptized by heretics and unconverted ministers — 
 especially by such as teach baptismal regeneration, 
 — he will have his hands full for a while. How can 
 such men re-baptize children, who pledge themselves 
 at their ordination into the sacred office, to follow 
 and defend the Augsburg confession? And espe- 
 cially where children have heen baptized by regularly 
 ordained ministers? Does not the Augsburg confes- 
 sion in the original unchanged edition say, in the 
 article on Baptism, that 'all re-baptizers are accursed'? 
 
298 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 According to that dictum this man is accursed. — Or 
 is that article in the Augsburg confession a heresy? 
 But they now want to justify this re-baptizer by 
 reporting that our missionary baptized the child in 
 question in his own name, instead of the name of 
 God. Such liars and lie-peddlers ought to read the 
 Bible diligently, so that they might learn into what 
 an awful place all liars are consigned; perhaps they 
 would then be persuaded to be converted to God and 
 inherit eternal life — a consummation devoutly 'to be 
 wished for." 
 
 Early on the morning of July 4th he "felt a most 
 blessed influence from the world of light", and sud- 
 denly had a great enlightening on Rom. 13:12: "The 
 night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore 
 cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the 
 armour of light!" He felt God's gracious presence 
 early and had a blessed day. The heat was great, 
 and he was now traveling in real pilgrim fashion, with 
 the staff in his hand, as his horse was lame; but it 
 made him tired. 
 
 Bishop Seybert was now in his sixtieth year. He 
 says of himself: "I am well and hearty, and still 
 able to endure hard journeys, and to preach daily. 
 If necessary, I could preach three and even four times 
 m one day, a thing I could do to-day. But I am ad- 
 monished that the night cometh when no man can 
 work, and I am therefore determined to help all I can 
 to gather sheaves into the Lord's garner before sun- 
 set." Leaving Michigan he turned his face westward, 
 and went through Indiana to Illinois. 
 
In Perils Oft, 
 
 299 
 
 His journey through Indiana was very exhausting. 
 In the northern part of the State his route lay through 
 dense, dark and extensive forests, where the roads 
 were bad, but the spiritual meetings encouraged him. 
 These gatherings of the saints were to him like so 
 many Elims in the desert. The months of September 
 and October he spent on the grassy meads and in the 
 proves of Illinois and Wisconsin. His programme 
 was to spend the Autumn in the far West; Christmas 
 lie wanted to spend in Dayton, Ohio. From Sep- 
 tember 14th to 1 6th he was at a camp-meeting at 
 Naperville, 111. The meeting was blessed with great 
 power and life, with convictions and conversions. 
 The sons of Belial carried on a terrible, devilish up- 
 roar at night around the camp, but, says Seybert, — 
 "There we have a solid foot-hold — let Satan rage!" 
 
 He found a state of universal prosperity on the 
 mission fields of the West. On Sauk mission there 
 were many penitents and conversions when he was 
 there. On the day of the Jubilee celebration he 
 attended two good meetings, and the benevolent con- 
 tributions on that day were liberal. n Stephenson 
 Co., 111., he had much pleasure among old friends, 
 who had removed thither from Pennsylvania. In the 
 city of Freeport arrangements were being made to 
 build a house of worship. The Bishop thought it was 
 high time, as the many Germans there, were much in 
 need of a place in which to worship God in Spirit and 
 in truth. In North Grove, Illinois, he helped at a 
 meeting held in a hall which had formerly been a 
 sanctuary of Bacchus. But when the owner and his 
 
300 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 wife were converted, they dedicated the room to the 
 service of God. Thus this portal of hell was changed 
 into a gate of Heaven. 
 
 Towards the end of November he beean to turn 
 his face eastward, so as to reach Dayton, Ohio, by 
 Christmas. His purpose was accomplished. He 
 spent the closing days of 1850 in that city. In his 
 journal entry for the close of the year, which is dated 
 Dayton, O., he says: 
 
 " In this year I have received much good from the 
 hand of the Lord. The year is now almost gone, 
 and I am thankful for its blessings. Under God's 
 blessing my travels have been as follows: In Penn- 
 sylvania, one hundred and six days; in New York, 
 fifty days; in Ohio, sixty days; in Michigan, eleven 
 days; in Indiana, thirty-four days; in Illinois, eighty- 
 one days; in Canada, only three days; in Wisconsin, 
 fourteen days; in Maryland, six days; total: three 
 hundred and sixty-five days. According to con- 
 ference districts, the time was divided as follows: 
 East Penn., forty-six days; West Penn., fifty-four 
 days; New York, fifty-one days; Ohio, one hundred 
 and one days; Illinois, one hundred and thirteen 
 days. Total, three hundred and sixty-five days. My 
 journey was five thousand one hundred and sixty- 
 nine miles long." 
 
 Thus the restless preacher traveled through eight 
 different States of the Union, besides Canada, — a ter- 
 ritory extending from the Atlantic coast to the Mis- 
 sissippi river, in one year. When one remembers 
 that he seldom, if ever, employed the swift iron horse, 
 
In Perils Oft. 
 
 301 
 
 but only a private conveyance, and even part of the 
 time went on foot, it will be seen what a herculean 
 activity Bishop Seybert manifested in his sixtieth 
 year. It appears also that there was not an idle day 
 in the year. Few men observe such system, or are 
 able to give such accurate account of themselves. 
 
 January 8th, 1851, Seybert came to Columbus, 
 Ohio. As he wanted to stay all night, he inquired 
 for a German hotel, where he could stay -"all night in 
 a decent manner". He was shown one, to which he 
 went, supposing he had found a decent place. 
 Hardly, however, had his horse been put away, be- 
 fore he discovered that he had made a mistake. One 
 of the servants, intending to tell the stranger good 
 news, said, " This evening we have a ball here!" "So!" 
 said Seybert with a sigh, while his blue-gray eyes 
 opened widely. He had a mind not to stay now, but 
 his horse was already unhitched, and it was getting 
 dark. 
 
 After supper he started off to take a stroll through 
 the city. But at leaving, he was strongly urged to 
 take part in the dance, which he abruptly refused, 
 and went on. He soon learned that the German 
 Methodists had a protracted meeting in progress in 
 the city. He sought their place of assembling, and 
 entered the church, softly and unnoticed, where the 
 congregation was on its knees, engaged in earnest 
 prayer, and in laboring with penitents. Here the un- 
 observed and unrecognized Bishop felt at home. The 
 cry of penitents, mingled with the hearty spiritual 
 German singing, made a pleasing impression upon 
 
302 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 his weary mind. It was to him the house of God 
 and the gate of heaven. But alas! all too soon for 
 him did the young pastor close the services. It was 
 the signal for the distressed Seybert to go back to 
 his hotel, which was a perfect hell to him. Unknown 
 he left the church and went to the hotel, where the 
 children of the devil were assembled in large numbers 
 in a capacious hall, in the rear of the building. Their 
 meeting was not over yet, in fact it was just fairly 
 beginning. They were just getting into the stream 
 and excitement of the occasion. The Bishop declares 
 that such fearful raging, howling, stamping and 
 carousing he had never heard in all his life — and we 
 know that he had seen and heard much in those 
 barbarous days. The devilish carousal continued 
 until daylight. In vain did the weary prophet try to 
 sleep. He says; " Here I was in hell, in which we 
 are told there is no rest. O that the spiritual advisers 
 of these deluded people would take pains to put an 
 end to such disorder!" — And this was a night in a 
 "decent" German hotel in the city of Columbus, Ohio, 
 in 1 85 1. 
 
 Seybert spent the Winter and Spring of '51 in 
 Ohio. From Columbus he went northward, in the 
 midst of very severe weather, and reached Mohican 
 district Feb. 1st. Near Big Prairie, Wayne Co., he 
 preached at a place where the friends were building a 
 new church. A revival broke out in a large settlement 
 of European Germans, mostly drunkards and Sab- 
 bath-breakers. The work of the Evangelical preach- 
 ers had resulted in changing this benighted people 
 
In Perils Oft, 303 
 
 into a company of true children of God. This was 
 what afterwards became the well-known Hope church, 
 in the vicinity of the Sprengs. The establishment of 
 that society was indeed a wonderful work of grace, 
 and resulted in sending out no less than four ministers 
 of the Gospel in later years. Bishop Seybert, when 
 he saw the grace of God here, was glad. He remained 
 several days. 
 
 The dedication of this church in March, 185 1, as 
 Seybert records it in his journal, was a memorable 
 occasion. There was great rejoicing among the 
 people of God, and many sinners were converted. 
 The meeting was continued several days, and, as 
 was his custom, the Bishop organized at once an 
 auxiliary missionary society. These, in fact were 
 notable features of the dedicatory occasions of those 
 times. 
 
 After the session of the Ohio conference in May, 
 Seybert started for the Illinois conference, taking his 
 route through Michigan and Indiana, where, on 
 account of much rain, the streams were everywhere 
 swollen, bridges swept away and the roads almost 
 impassable. In Indiana, however, he was joined by 
 other brethren, who also were going to conference. 
 Their company greatly alleviated the toil of the 
 journey for the sociable and friendly Bishop. June 
 3d they reached, Illinois, and enjoyed rich spiritual 
 feasts in the meetings they attended in Chicago, 
 Des Plaines, Dutchman's Point and other places. 
 
 Three days he spent in the vicinity of Wheeling. 
 He says: "In these three days I had great pleasure 
 
304 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 among my spiritual sons and daughters. I visited 
 above thirty families, and was permitted to rejoice in 
 spirit at the Christian courage and pious zeal of these 
 my spiritual children, whom I have begotten in the 
 Gospel. God gave me these children as seals to my 
 ministry during the last eighteen years. God hath 
 done it, — and love receives the gift devoutly. To 
 Him be all the praise." 
 
 On the ninth the company reached a camp-meeting 
 at Naperville, which was blessed with notable dis- 
 plays of Divine saving power. Penitents great and 
 small, young and old lay at the altar in great numbers, 
 and their cries for mercy continued through the entire 
 night. 
 
 On his way back to the approaching session of the 
 General conference, Seybert had the pleasure of 
 traveling three hundred and fifty miles in company 
 with his colleague, Bishop Joseph Long. They en- 
 joyed themselves greatly in the religious services 
 they attended. As usual, however, Seybert took a 
 long, round-about way to his destination. Though 
 he started in Illinois, and the conference was in Ohio, 
 he went all the way to the cities of New York, Phila- 
 delphia and Reading, and attended camp-meetings in 
 Pennsylvania before returning. 
 
 Of the close of his third term of office he writes: 
 " I am happy, healthy and of good courage to prose- 
 cute the work of the Lord. Still, my old almost broken- 
 down body sometimes becomes very faint through 
 these long journeys in the great heat. I am also 
 at the close of my term of service again. General 
 
In Perils Oft, 
 
 conference is at the door, to which I must now 
 hasten westward." 
 
 This General conference met in the old stone 
 church at Flat Rock, Seneca Co., Ohio, where 
 Seybert's body found its last resting place afterwards, 
 and now awaits the glory of the resurrection morning. 
 
 He was here elected to his fourth term as bishop. 
 This was but another occasion of humiliation before 
 God, and he resolved to strive still to become more 
 perfect in the love toward God and his fellow-men, 
 and to dedicate the rest of his life entirely to the 
 Lord. 
 
 At this session also it was resolved to remove the 
 Publishing House of the Evangelical Association 
 from New Berlin, Pa., to Cleveland, Ohio, where it 
 now is, as soon as nine thousand dollars should be 
 subscribed for such purpose. 
 
 John Nieolai, of the Ohio conference, was appointed 
 as a missionary to Germany. 
 
 After the tenth session of the General conference 
 was over, Seybert again started eastward. 
 
 October 18th and 19th he spent in Pittsburgh, and 
 was greatly edified in the meetings there. He says 
 that after great trials and severe conflicts, at last a 
 better time had come there, and a friendly "star of 
 hope" beamed upon our work in that important city. 
 
 During the Winter of 1851 — 1852 there were many 
 conversions in the Pennsylvania conferences, and 
 Bishop Seybert published the following manifesto in 
 the "Botsckafter": 
 
 "My retrospect of the work in the two Pennsyl- 
 20 
 
306 Life and Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 vania conferences in the past Winter moves me to 
 heart-felt thankfulness for the love and kindness 
 which the dear friends have shown me. But I would 
 specially remind the friends in the East, of what the 
 Lord has done during the last conference year, in the 
 moral elevation and spiritual reformation of some of 
 the most benighted regions. Genuine conversions 
 have taken place there in a manner that is not often 
 witnessed. The newly converted, however, who, at 
 these revivals, have found the priceless pearl of a 
 change of heart, I would admonish, as an humble co- 
 laborer in the vineyard of the Lord, to adopt the sen- 
 timent of the holy David: 1 Bless the Lord, O my 
 soul, and let all that is within me bless his holy name. 
 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his 
 benefits. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who 
 healeth alf thy diseases', etc. I beg also, that you die 
 unto self, unto the world and unto all wickedness, by 
 exercising Christian self-denial, by daily taking up 
 the Cross, and following the Lord Jesus in a holy life 
 and walk. Yea, that you may wrestle with tears and 
 prayers, with all the heart, until you are purified from 
 all sin, delivered from all evil, fully healed, and trans- 
 formed by divine truth; that like Enoch of old you 
 may walk with God, 1 that is, lead a godly, chaste, 
 righteous and devoted life in this wicked world. 
 
 "But this is a strange and despised doctrine in our 
 enlightened and very corrupt age, and among the 
 thousands of new-style converts. To become free 
 from all sin, to purify one's self, 'even as He is pure', 
 and then to be enabled to live without sinning 
 
In Perils Oft. 
 
 307 
 
 (1 John 3:3, 9), is carrying the matter entirely too far 
 for the majority of our modern Christians. They 
 hope to get to heaven without this. This also is the 
 cause that among many so-called converted people 
 fruits unto holiness appear so sparsely, and that the 
 church swarms with such miserable, worldly minded, 
 backslidden professors of religion. These people 
 are only a stumbling block to the world, and probably 
 are the chief cause that Deism, Atheism, Universalism 
 and other damnable isms are gaining such prevalence 
 in many places. 
 
 "It is, therefore, in my opinion, highly necessary, 
 that all faithful teachers and disciples of Jesus, who 
 are aware of this destruction, should with redoubled 
 earnestness emphasize the doctrines of growth in 
 grace and Christian perfection. — But let them also 
 exemplify and demonstrate these doctrines by their 
 own life and conduct, then it will have weight when 
 they speak." 
 
 After the session of the East Pennsylvania confer- 
 ence in 1852, in Pinegrove, Pa., the Bishop delivered 
 a brilliant temperance address in the evening, and 
 next day started on an extensive tour over bad 
 roads. He first went to New Berlin, Pa., on business 
 with the Publishing House, and then went four hun- 
 dred miles northward to Berlin, Upper Canada. 
 This was a laborious trip. The weather was cold, 
 stormy and inclement. Great hail storms occurred, 
 and immense quantities of snow and rain fell, together 
 making the roads almost impassable. At Lyons, 
 New York, he was joined by several ministerial 
 
308 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 brethren, whose company relieved greatly the fatigue 
 of the journey. The New York conference session 
 was held in Berlin, Canada, April 14th. The con- 
 ference was a rich spiritual feast for preachers and 
 people. The religious services and the preaching 
 were accompanied with great power from on high. 
 
 April 2 1 st he again crossed the Niagara by means 
 of that marvel of human engineering skill and enter- 
 prise, the Suspension Bridge. His objective point 
 was Bristol (now Marshallville), Wayne Co., O., where 
 the Ohio conference met May 12th. Seybert reached 
 Bristol on the nth. Bishop Long was also present, 
 and was to have presided, but was sick, and Seybert 
 took his place. The conference closed, leaving the 
 sick Bishop behind. Seybert expressed the con- 
 fidence that the Lord would restore his colleague 
 again, and spare him to long usefulness in the Church.. 
 
 The next point was Naperville, Illinois, the place 
 where the Illinois conference was to meet. The 
 Bishop calls the distance five hundred miles, which 
 was undoubtedly the case, the way he went. On the 
 way he attended two glorious camp-meetings, the one 
 at Elkhart, Ind., the other at Wheeling, 111. Both 
 were seasons of power. The trip was otherwise also 
 pleasant on account of the fine Spring weather and 
 good roads. 
 
 The session of the Illinois conference was an im- 
 portant one. There was much business, as the 
 Indiana conference had to be formed. The business 
 was also difficult on account of the extensive fields of 
 labor that had to be supplied. The religious services 
 
In Perils Oft. 
 
 309 
 
 were also richly blessed here. As the church proved 
 too small for the congregation, the ordination sermon 
 was preached on the adjacent camp-ground. An 
 immense congregation assembled, and listened with 
 devout attention to the sermon of the Bishop. As 
 the brethren of the conference separated into two 
 conferences, the formal parting of the brethren was 
 signalized by the celebration of the Love Feast, at 
 which they had a touching time and a precious wait- 
 ing before the Lord. 
 
 July 7th, 1852. " To-day I am sixty-one years old. 
 
 O Thou eternal and marvellously good God! 
 How much goodness I have received in these sixty- 
 one years of my life! Daily, hourly, yea momenta- 
 rily have I been blessed temporally and spiritually. 
 Where shall I get the feelings, and who will represent 
 me with words fit to praise Thee, O God, as I ought 
 for this! Eternity will be too short." 
 
 " Come, O my soul, in sacred lays. 
 And sing thy great Creator's praise : 
 But oh! what tongue can speak His fame ? 
 What mortal verse can reach the theme ? " 
 
 In July the Bishop crossed the Mississippi, and spent 
 ten days in the State of Iowa, hunting up old friends 
 from Pennsylvania, preaching in new communities 
 and prospecting for the Church. He crossed the 
 " Father of Waters" at Rock Island, and visited old 
 members in Louisa Co., held a quarterly meeting 
 west of Iowa city, and preached in a United Brethren 
 church at Lisbon, Linn Co. Here, he says, the people 
 were so happy that they sang aloud while on the way 
 
3io Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 home. The work in those regions was at that time 
 weak as yet, the appointments few and far between, 
 and the hardships of travel greatly increased by the 
 crossing of many unbridged streams. But the pros- 
 pects for success among the Germans there he thought 
 good, as immigration to this large, beautiful, healthy 
 and wealthy State was setting in very strongly. He 
 wished, however, for men working here who had the 
 spirit of love for men in a sufficient degree to adopt 
 the sentiment of Paul when he said, "I could wish that 
 myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, 
 my kinsmen according to the flesh." 
 
 After ten days in Iowa he took a tour through 
 southern Wisconsin. There the work had hard 
 struggling against superstition and infidelity, and 
 was also opposed by those who claim to be orthodox, 
 but live in wickedness and are decidedly the enemies 
 of Christ's disciples. And yet the work had made 
 great progress, souls were saved and the Lord was 
 glorified. The prospects were good and the opportun- 
 ities great, but means and men were wanting. There 
 also the harvest was great and the laborers were few. 
 
 July 30th (1852) he reached Sauk City, Wisconsin. 
 Though he had traveled thirty-nine miles that day, 
 he afterwards walked four miles to a prayer-meeting, 
 talked on Luke i8:i-8 3 and walked three miles with a 
 brother afterwards to stay all night. In the vicinity 
 of Ragatz's a society had grown up very rapidly. 
 Seybert himself preached there in 1844, before there 
 had been any organization whatever. The Germans 
 were without preaching, and the community was in 
 
In Perils Oft. 3 1 1 
 
 great darkness. "But the Spirit of the Lord brooded 
 with His light-creating influences over the moral 
 darkness, the brethren labored on in faith, and the 
 people became convinced of the necessity of conver- 
 sion. In 1 85 1 a fine church was dedicated there. 
 In 1852 the society erected a parsonage, though 
 many of the people were themselves living in poor 
 huts. One brother deeded six acres of land for the 
 purpose. The society was large enough to be divided 
 into five classes." 
 
 There was a place, however, east of Wheeling, 
 Illinois, where the Church had not been so prosperous 
 and fortunate. True, the Lord had done great 
 things, there, but Satan sowed tares. The seed of 
 dissension was planted through several hypocritical 
 members. For several years the leaven of evil 
 worked on, and finally resulted in a permanent 
 schism. This gave another denomination opportun- 
 ity to reap, and they sent a preacher into the place, 
 who happened to be one who had formerly been 
 among us, but had recently left us. This man sought 
 to gain adherents among the disaffected, making 
 matters still worse. The new branch attempted to 
 build a church for themselves, but also got a quarrel- 
 ing. — Thus, the Bishop concluded, one might para- 
 phrase the Scripture, "Behold, how terrible it is when 
 brethren dwell together in wrath. It is not like the 
 oil that ran down Aaron's beard. There hath the 
 Lord not promised the blessing", etc. 
 
 November 23d, Bishop Seybert had a narrow 
 escape from imminent peril. He was riding along,. 
 
312 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 it seems, somewhere near Springfield, Ohio, in his 
 " dandy wagon" and with his faithful horse; his broad 
 rimmed hat was pulled down over his eyes, the reins 
 were but loosely held, and he was quietly musing 
 as the old gray jogged along. "As he came near 
 Lake Gundy, a teamster's horses ran away with 
 a wagon. They came down the road at a tearing 
 rate, maddened by fright, and bore directly down 
 upon Seybert. The wagon caught his conveyance 
 and jerked it hither and thither, and his horse became 
 frightened, broke loose from him and ran off. Seybert 
 got out of the danger in a manner that remained a 
 mystery to him. His hat, of course, received several 
 holes, but, so far as he knew he escaped without the 
 loss of a drop of blood. How it all happened he did 
 not know. His conveyance was badly damaged, but 
 that was soon repaired. Thus the Lord preserved 
 him from misfortune in the midst of misfortune. 
 Praise to His faithfulness! 
 
 From early in the Spring, all through the Summer 
 and Autumn the Bishop had labored hard in the great 
 North-west. He now felt the need of rest, and longed 
 for the milder climate of southern Ohio. On his 
 return tour through northern Illinois and Indiana, he 
 found the membership generally, earnestly engaged 
 in working out their salvation. At Evansville he was 
 saddened, because the work had to be suspended on 
 account of the missionary's sickness. "O", the Bishop 
 prayed, "that the Lord would awaken faithful shep- 
 herds and teachers and send them to reinforce the 
 young and weak Indiana conference." In Ohio he 
 
In Perils Oft 
 
 313 
 
 found conversion going on everywhere. But on 
 account of a severe cough and pain in the chest, 
 Seybert was scarcely able to preach at all. Decem- 
 ber 2d he reached the home of Rev. John Dreisbach 
 in Pickaway county, about five miles southeast of 
 Circleville, where he "felt at home and intended to 
 recuperate a little." 
 
 One would think that the society and hospitality 
 of his venerable host would certainly be charming- 
 enough to detain him several weeks at least. And 
 what a privilege it would have been to hear John 
 Dreisbach, the first Presiding Elder of the Church, 
 and the first to receive a preacher's license, signed 
 officially by Jacob Albright himself, to relate to his 
 episcopal guest the story of his eventful and useful 
 life. What memories these old veterans could recall, 
 — what thrilling episodes, what pitched battles, what 
 triumphs, what struggles between hope and fear! 
 But how long did Seybert tarry and rest? One whole 
 night and part of two days! — Then he went on again. 
 On the first evening after his departure he was not 
 even able to preach, but on the second evening he 
 succeeded. Day and night he hurried on with a 
 speed that would have done credit to Jehu. With 
 him the " King's business required haste". He trav- 
 eled northward via Wooster and Lisbon to Cleve- 
 land, and then via Erie to Pittsburgh, and so on. 
 Before December was over he had distanced two 
 hundred miles and preached twelve times. 
 
 This is the manner in which Bishop Seybert 
 "rested". It would be no calamity if men of his 
 
314 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 stamp would in our time take the place of the dili- 
 tante clergy who bask in the sunshine of public favor, 
 whose inspiration is popular applause, and whose 
 only concern is to get large salaries. And then if the 
 congregation will once in a while donate several 
 thousand dollars, and send the " overworked" manu- 
 script reader abroad for the Summer months, to some 
 fashionable resort, the heart of such pampered idlers 
 has nothing more to desire. Their " cup runneth 
 over." 
 
Growing Old, 
 
 315 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 GROWING OLD. 
 
 In the Spring of 1853 Bishop Seybert held the 
 Pittsburgh and New York conferences. The latter 
 met in Buffalo N. Y. At this session he mentions as 
 something remarkable the brief period occupied by 
 the examination of the members of the conference. 
 He says it took exactly one hundred minutes — Seven 
 minutes for Canaan district, six for Albany, and eighty- 
 seven for Buffalo. Whether by reason of more 
 scrupulous strictness in the enforcement of discipline, 
 or more frequent aberrations of moral or official conduct, 
 we cannot say — but investigations were more frequent 
 then, it would appear, than now. Certain it is that in 
 those days examinations were by no means a mere 
 formality. 
 
 From this conference session the Bishop started to 
 fill a series of appointments stretching over a thou- 
 sand miles in length. These appointments were 
 principally in New York and Canada. He began 
 May 1st, and June 19th the work was done. After 
 attending several protracted meetings in the cities 
 of Rome, Albany and Rochester, N. Y., he crossed 
 Suspension Bridge and invaded Canada June 8th. 
 In forty days he filled as many appointments. This 
 extended beyond the limits of the original series. 
 June 20th he attended a camp-meeting near Ham- 
 burg, Canada, which was one of the best he ever 
 
316 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 saw. There were from twenty to forty penitents at 
 the altar daily, and that without any urging. The 
 communion service was a season of mighty commo- 
 tion. Four hundred and seventy-nine participated in 
 the celebration of the Lord's Supper. July ioth and 
 iith he dedicated the new church edifice at King's 
 Bush. Already during the first prayer a marvellous 
 Divine power came upon the congregation. Sinners 
 were awakened and converted at this church dedica- 
 tion. On this occasion also a Sunday-school Union 
 was organized. "Thus", says Bishop Seybert, "we 
 had a right glorious dedicatory feast in our plain 
 house of worship there — an edifice without a tower, 
 without a bell, and without debts, erected by poor 
 people. To God alone be all the glory!" — These 
 items he mentioned in his journal in a similar tone 
 wherever it occurred. 
 
 The last three months of the year he spent in the 
 East, attending camp-meetings, church dedications, 
 protracted meetings, overseeing the work, and help- 
 ing where it was weak. In New York City, Phila- 
 delphia and Baltimore he found the society greatly 
 improved. But it is suggestive that Bishop Seybert 
 always reports conversions, while accessions or in- 
 crease in popular influence is seldom mentioned. In 
 his view the work prospered wherever there were 
 conversions going on, otherwise not. The conversion 
 of sinners was with him the Church's reward for her 
 effort and outlay. And in the nature of the case, 
 persons in those days seldom joined the Evangelical 
 Association unless they were soundly converted. 
 
Growing Old, 
 
 317 
 
 In connection with his visit to the metropolis that 
 year, the Bishop relates that a certain sister, whose 
 husband drove her out of the house for Jesus' sake, 
 took refuge with a neighbors family who were mem- 
 bers of our Church. At the same time an incendiary 
 had set fire to a row of buildings on the same street. 
 The fire approached the house where the persecuted 
 sister was. Upon seeing the danger, she fell upon her 
 knees and pleaded most earnestly that the house might 
 be protected from the fury of the advancing flames. 
 Instantly the wind veered to the north and drove the 
 fire in another direction, and so the Lord protected 
 his own. The house was saved. 
 
 At Baltimore he notes that "the membership was 
 united in love, which is always the case where it goes 
 well." At Baltimore station he preached a mission- 
 ary sermon, and the contribution amounted to one 
 hundred dollars. He says: "Several made an 
 offering of their jewelry, such as finger-rings and 
 other ornaments, for the good cause." 
 
 He notes the fact that during this year not so much 
 was accomplished in the Eastern conferences as in 
 many earlier years. What the reason is He knows 
 best, who knows all things. 
 
 In the Spring of 1854 Bishop Seybert presided at 
 the East Pennsylvania conference, and was also pres- 
 ent at the session of the West Pennsylvania confer- 
 ence. Then he started for the West. 
 
 The session of the Ohio conference was held in 
 Dayton, and was a tedious one, on account of much 
 business. The Indiana conference session was pleas- 
 
3 1 8 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 ant, and the business was dispatched with unusual 
 rapidity. But there was a lack of preachers. It was 
 impossible to supply all the fields of labor. "The 
 harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few." 
 "True," says Seybert, "there are many belly servants 
 and hirelings; but these, of course, gather no sheaves 
 into the Lord's garner — nothing, only money into 
 their own pockets. 
 
 The Illinois conference also had a blessed session. 
 A goodly number of promising young men were re- 
 ceived into the conference, besides several expe- 
 rienced men from the East Penna. conference. And 
 yet here also there was a lack of preachers, so that 
 the work could not be sufficiently manned. 
 
 On his tour through the mission-fields in Iowa he 
 had enjoyable hours, especially at a quarterly meet- 
 ing in Linn county. There the Lord manifested him- 
 self mightily, and many tears, both of joy and of pen- 
 itence, flowed simultaneously, as seekers were con- 
 verted happily into eternal life. He says: " In this 
 new region our friends have no desire as yet to serve 
 the god of this world and the god of luxurious 
 fashions. Nor can they spare time and money for 
 this extravagance. They are much more inclined to 
 spare the little they have for the service of the God 
 of Heaven. The Lord grant that it may always re- 
 main so! Here again the benefit of our missionary 
 institutions is manifest." 
 
 July 28th he was present at a quarterly meeting in 
 Freeport, 111., at which he deplores that no conver- 
 sions occurred. This city was being visited with the 
 
Growing Old. 
 
 319 
 
 cholera, but "the inhabitants do not seem to be con- 
 cerned about it. The spirit of speculation is too 
 prevalent. In this place the speculators — among 
 whom are many professors of religion — are content 
 to let the children of God have Heaven and God, if 
 they only succeed in gaining large fortunes. The 
 lament of Jeremiah is confirmed upon them: 'Thou 
 smitest them, but they feel it not; Thou tormentest 
 them, but they will not repent. Their face is like a 
 flint, and they will not be converted.' These fools 
 will some day lament their folly with the rich volupt- 
 uary of the parable in Hell. It will some time be 
 said to them, 'Thou fool! this night thy soul shall be 
 required of thee, and whose will those things be which 
 thou hast gathered ?' " 
 
 In the vicinity of Freeport the Bishop owned a 
 good farm, on which he that year built a house, which 
 he "dedicated" in September, 1854, by preaching in 
 it a dedicatory sermon from Gen. 28:17: "This is 
 none other than the house of God, and the gate of 
 heaven." What a suggestive incident! Here this 
 restless, practically homeless itinerant preacher, dedi- 
 cates the house he built as a private residence, to the 
 Lord. It contained a "prophet's chamber", where 
 every preacher was to be at home. The tenant was 
 under contract to entertain God's servants, for which 
 the Bishop allowed him a stipulated consideration. 
 In this way Bishop Seybert exercised the virtue of 
 hospitality. 
 
 During 1854 an accusation was circulated that the 
 Bishop last Spring, in a private conversation in 
 
320 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 Centre Co., Pa., had expressed himself in opposition 
 to High schools and Colleges. Upon this he wrote an 
 article in self-defense,' which, however, was never 
 published, undoubtedly because he never put it into 
 the hands of the editor. It was not his custom to 
 concern himself greatly about the stories that were 
 forever following his heels. He suffered in this re- 
 spect like all great men. There are everywhere little 
 puppets, whose life consists in barking at the heels of 
 greatness. It was only when the interests of God's 
 cause required, that he ever said anything at all. The 
 following was found among his documents, and was 
 evidently intended for the public, though for some 
 reason it never appeared: 
 
 " I have been requested by several ministerial 
 brethren to defend myself against the accusation, that 
 I had, in a private conversation, spoken unfavorably 
 of High schools and culture, and that in a certain 
 sermon I had not dealt fairly with the subject. I 
 therefore take the pen in self-defense: 
 
 " Neither in private nor public have I ever ex- 
 pressed myself against higher institutions of learning. 
 I am not opposed to good schools. Everybody 
 must know that. In April I visited and preached 
 among our friends in Centre Co., Pa., and some of 
 our members there expressed their fears and anxieties 
 on account of the fact that now also high schools are 
 being established among us, especially referring to 
 Union Seminary, New Berlin, Pa. They even 
 thought the East Penn'a Conference had resolved to 
 form a theological seminary, where consequently 
 
Growing Old. 
 
 321 
 
 wicked and unconverted men would receive their 
 equipment for the ministry among us also. I then 
 explained, as best I could, to these honest souls, what 
 the object and aim of the New Berlin institution was, 
 and assured them that there was no occasion for 
 alarm. I told them there was no danger that we 
 would now start "preacher manufactories" after the 
 manner of the carnally minded and ungodly churches 
 and sects, where thieves and robbers without con- 
 version and without grace can become ministers of 
 the Gospel, if they only have money and talents. In 
 spite of all, some declared they would give nothing 
 towards the school; upon which I begged them, at 
 least not to do anything against the cause. 
 
 "As to my sermon at Millheim, I admit that it 
 thundered a little there. I went through swiftly and 
 sharply. But the subject on that occasion was not 
 exactly ungodly high schools or theological training 
 institutions, but rather the ordination to the ministry. 
 Some overwise, scornful school theologian had em- 
 boldened himself to speak disparagingly of the sainted 
 Jacob Albright, and to scandalize the so-called 
 'Albrights', by ridiculing our ordination. This was 
 too much for me, and it was my place to speak. I 
 therefore went through the matter in an orthodox- 
 manner, which I suppose aggravated some who were 
 present. But I could not help that. The truth may 
 contend for her own rights. Among other things I 
 said that if I found as much in the ceremony of ordi- 
 nation as these fellows, and my ordination had no 
 better basis than theirs, I would have myself re- 
 21 
 
322 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 ordained, and would try to have holy hands laid upon 
 me, that could be lifted up without wrath or doubting." 
 
 The Bishop praises the general condition of the 
 work in the great West. He traveled two thousand 
 miles there, and saw and heard much that was good. 
 He says, however: 
 
 "In the State of Wisconsin we have it to do with 
 a powerful host of darkness, which has a centre and 
 two wings. The centre consists of Rationalists and 
 Infidels; the one wing of popularity Christians, the 
 other of superstitious bigots. As against the truth 
 and the Lord's work, these all blow through one 
 horn, and unitedly go into the field against the serv- 
 ants of God. However, in spite of all the opposi- 
 tion of the devil, we are constantly gaining ground, 
 and have already brought many souls to Christ. In 
 Milwaukee our church is attended by a multitude of 
 respectable people, and the star of hope beams more 
 brightly than ever there." 
 
 The first two months of 1855 Bishop Seybert spent 
 in Ohio. First of March he visited Cleveland, and 
 then started eastward to his old field of labor at Erie 
 and Warren. This trip he made per pedes, with the 
 "pilgrim's staff". The weather was unusually raw 
 and cold, and old Boreas, swept down from Lake 
 Erie upon the itinerant messenger of the Cross with 
 savage fury. April 1st he reached Buffalo, where he 
 preached and visited. In good time he arrived at the 
 "Conrad Settlement" in Oneida Co., N. Y., at which 
 place the New York conference assembled April 25th. 
 His trip from the interior of Ohio to New York was 
 
Growing Old, 
 
 323 
 
 hard on the old veteran. The weather was inclement 
 and rough, and the roads were muddy. 
 
 The business of the New York conference, he says, 
 was transacted with such dispatch, that everything 
 was finished Saturday afternoon at three o'clock. He 
 also mentions that the poor membership had sup- 
 ported their ministers so well, that, when the pro rata 
 division was made, every man had his full disciplin- 
 ary salary, and a balance of eighty-four dollars was 
 left in the treasury. This the Bishop praised. 
 
 For the benefit of the uninitiated it should be ex- 
 plained, that formerly the Discipline fixed the amount 
 of salary of the preachers, both married and single. 
 The disciplinary amount was understood to be the 
 maximum allowed, and not the minimum tolerated. 
 Every preacher had to report all the money received 
 as salary. This was then aggregated, and the whole 
 amount divided by the number of preachers; the re- 
 sult was the average salary, and that was what each 
 man received. It frequently occurred that they re- 
 ceived much less than the disciplinary allowance. 
 If, however, as in the case above, the average was 
 above the disciplinary allowance, the amount re- 
 mained in the treasury to cover future deficiencies. 
 In this way the matter was equalized. The good 
 preacher received no more than the poor one, the 
 faithful had to suffer for the unfaithfulness and in- 
 competence of others. This element of unfairness 
 was undoubtedly one reason why the plan was abol- 
 ished years ago. On the other hand, there was this 
 element, also of fitness, that the wealthier charges 
 
324 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 helped the poorer ones. However, the whole 
 -arrangement is now a thing of the past. 
 
 May 20th he attended the Ohio conference, which 
 met at Hope church, Wayne Co., Ohio. Bishop 
 Long presided, and Bishop Seybert did not arrive 
 until the fifth day of the session. May 30th he pre- 
 sided at the Indiana conference, and then attended 
 also the session of the Illinois conference; at which, 
 however, his colleague presided. Then he made a 
 tour through northern Illinois. July 7th, his sixty- 
 fourth birth-day, he walked quite a distance through 
 heat and dust to Freeport, where he renewed his life- 
 long resolution to serve the Lord with all his powers 
 of soul and body. 
 
 Turning eastward again, as Autumn approached, 
 he reached Economy, the residence of his aged 
 mother, September 1st. But he only stayed two 
 days with her, and then hastened on to the General 
 conference which was to meet on the 12th at 
 Lebanon, Pa. He reached this point a couple of 
 days before the General conference began. 
 
 On this tour from the extreme West to the East, 
 Seybert wrote as follows concerning a camp-meeting 
 which he attended in Sandusky Co., Ohio: "The 
 Lord wrought mightily, but the ungodly raged fear- 
 fully. They howled worse than wild animals. So it 
 is. When the Lord works powerfully, the devil rages 
 horribly. Where the devil and the world remain 
 quiet, there the religion of Jesus is not genuine, nor 
 the preaching of the Word in power. Where Jesus 
 Christ, Peter and John are, there are also Herod, 
 
Or owing Old. 
 
 325 
 
 Pilate, Caiaphas, the Pope, Ceasar and the devil, 
 together with the whole serpent brood of unbelievers, 
 thieves, liars, swearers and murderers, who make 
 common cause in persecution." 
 
 About this time he wrote a letter to a young 
 preacher of the East Pennsylvania conference, in 
 which he says: 
 
 "I wish you the blessing from above, and the full 
 equipment for your work, for it requires a great deal 
 in order to perform the work of the ministry accord- 
 ing to the will and order of God, and for the welfare 
 of the Church and the world. Even anions converted 
 preachers there is in our day far too great a lack of 
 Divine power. We are now much more learned and 
 have a much larger vocabulary of words than our 
 preachers in the days of Albright and Walter, but we 
 are also far more conformed to this world in our 
 preaching, worship and entire bearing. This is the 
 reason that we have already everywhere so many 
 members, who have only the name that they live, 
 but before God are nothing- but a carcass of stench. 
 O Lord, look in mercy down upon our ministry, and 
 forbid this evil. The Lord bless thee and me and 
 all the brethren, that the Evangelical Association be 
 not ruined through us! There is certainly danger 
 threatening her from this direction; let no one doubt 
 
 it." 
 
 He had now completed sixteen years of continuous 
 service in the highest office the Church has to give. 
 The reader of these pages will not doubt this service 
 had been faithfully rendered, and that his great 
 
326 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 interest in "our little Zion ", as he was wont to call 
 the Evangelical Association, caused him to devote 
 himself with remarkable self-denial to the service of 
 the Church and of her Lord. 
 
 At the eleventh General conference, in Lebanon, 
 Pa., Bishop Seybert was elected to his fifth term 
 as a Bishop of the Evangelical Association, Septem- 
 ber 24th, 1855. Instead of this making him vain, it 
 humbled him greatly. It is safe to say, he could have 
 stepped "down and out" with consummate graceful- 
 ness, and without the least feeling of injury. The 
 Gospel ministry itself was in his estimation the highest 
 office in the Church and in the world, and, whether 
 in the regular rank and file of the itinerancy, in the 
 Presiding Eldership, or in the episcopacy, he was 
 always first a preacher of the Gospel — the election 
 to these positions he regarded only as adding certain 
 administrative duties and responsibilities to the legiti- 
 mate work of preaching, which he also faithfully and 
 punctually performed as an obedient son of the 
 Church. 
 
 Soon after General conference Bishop Seybert 
 attended a church dedication, October 21st, at 
 Brownstown, Pa. This house was dedicated in the 
 proper way, for several sinners were converted before 
 the services closed. At Reamstown, Pa., there was 
 another church dedication November 4th. The meet- 
 ing was protracted and in a few days there were also 
 conversions in the new house of worship. At this 
 place, he says, the "sons of Belial" behaved barbar- 
 ously in the night time, and demolished the windows 
 
Growing Old, 
 
 of the new church. ''Here one can see", he remarks, 
 "what the devil would do by means of his Cain's- 
 trash, if he could break his chain, and if the Pope 
 could introduce his power and authority into our 
 blessed western land. As long as no conversions 
 occurred, all was well, but as soon as the Word 
 became effective, persecution began." November 
 24th and 25th he attended still another church-dedi- 
 cation at Eaton, Pa., where Rev. S. Neitz — that 
 greatest of German pulpit orators in the State of 
 Pennsylvania at that time — preached the dedicatory 
 sermon. Here also the dedicatory feast was sealed 
 by the conversion of a sinner in the Sunday evening 
 service. 
 
 In Eastern Pennsylvania somewhere, an economical * 
 sister handed Seybert $20 for benevolent purposes; 
 but she did not want her name published; the left 
 hand shall not know what the right hand doth. 
 Seybert remarks further: "This sister is a good 
 housekeeper, and does not waste any money for 
 vain display and luxury. If she were addicted to 
 the fashions and to modern extravagance in dress, 
 like many of our so called sisters in the Church are 
 nowadays, (God save the mark!) she would have 
 nothing left for benevolent purposes. Worldliness 
 makes us poor in benevolence." — [It is impossible to 
 give an adequate translation of the above. The zeal 
 of our fathers against fashionable dress, and their 
 constant reference to it produce a peculiar, idiomatic 
 vocabulary on that subject. Bishop Seybert had a 
 number of untranslatable words on this subject that 
 
328 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 he used with a peculiarly unctuous emphasis, not 
 unmixed with a certain tinge of satire. Such words as 
 "modeputz" "Luxus" "modesucht" were the peculiar 
 possession of these plain men. Their zeal against 
 fashionable extavagance has gone quite out of fashion, 
 and, indeed, has not been followed up by their suc- 
 cessors. Hence our poverty of words on the subject.] 
 
 In the Spring of 1856, Bishop Seybert held the 
 East and Central Pennsylvania conferences. At the 
 session of the former that famous, eccentric and 
 powerful preacher, Moses Dissinger, was one of a 
 class of eleven who were ordained deacons. From 
 there he went to the session of the West Pennsyl- 
 vania conference. He was at both conferences 
 unusually brilliant and powerful in his ordination 
 sermons. The sermon before the East Pennsylvania 
 conference was on 2 Tim. 2:15, and will be found in 
 its proper place, or so much of it as has been pre- 
 served. The sermon before the Central Pennsylvania 
 can be reported only in a general way. His text on 
 this occasion was: "See, I have this day set thee 
 over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out, 
 and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, 
 to build, and to plant." — Jeremiah 1:10. Old preach- 
 ers, who heard this effort, declared it was one of the 
 very best sermons the Bishop ever preached. 
 
 The points of this celebrated sermon were briefly 
 stated of follows: 
 
 First, The calling. Second, The qualification. 
 Third, The duties. Fourth, The results of the 
 Gospel ministry. His treatment of these points was 
 
Growing Old. 
 
 329 
 
 clear and forcible throughout, especially the second 
 and third. In speaking of the qualification to the 
 holy ministry, he, of course, emphasized grace and 
 unction as the principal thing. But never before was 
 the Bishop heard to speak so strongly on the neces- 
 sity of learning and intellectual training. But with 
 the proviso that human learning be the hand maid 
 and not the mistress in the house. In that case he 
 declared that the study, investigation and scientific 
 learning were not only useful, but desirable and 
 necessary adjuncts of ministerial qualification. He 
 referred to the false report that had been circulated 
 as to his position on this matter, namely that he was 
 opposed to learning, schools and useful books. He 
 branded it as a vile slander, and resented it as an 
 insult, with some impatience. He declared himself 
 opposed only to the abuse of learning, and to ungodly 
 and corrupt institutions of learning, where preachers 
 are manufactured out of unconverted men by 
 " machinery". Such schools he termed "nests of 
 serpents and holes of basilicks ". 
 
 In speaking of the duties of the ministerial office, 
 he insisted upon frequent pastoral visitation as a 
 principal means of leading souls to Christ. He also 
 urged in the same line the searching out of new 
 appointments, and extending the borders. Those who 
 were careless in these matters the Bishop castigated 
 with vehement severity. He declared them to be 
 lazy and unworthy of their high office. And such as 
 " located " without sufficient cause he also gave some 
 hard blows. The only sufficient cause for leaving the 
 
330 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 field, in his opinion, is, when it is utterly impossible to 
 preach. Said he, "I am determined to die on the 
 field. When I can't preach every day any more, I'll 
 preach four times a week; if that is too much, I will 
 preach twice, and if that won't go, I will preach once 
 yet, — I am bound to die on the walls of Zionf" 
 
 This sermon lasted an hour and a half, and riveted 
 the attention and interest of the large audience to the 
 last. With breathless interest they followed the 
 burning utterances of the speaker, and the effect 
 upon the entire audience was profound. 
 
 Bishop Seybert was now in his sixty-fifth year, and 
 in the Spring of 1856 he made one of the most labo- 
 rious, extensive and fatiguing journeys of his life. 
 One stands amazed at the aged Bishop's courage, 
 fortitude and indomitable enterprise. Though the 
 weather that Winter was unusually cold, he traveled 
 daily. It is hard to understand how it was possible 
 for him to endure so much exposure, especially 
 because, as we are told by those who know, he did 
 not wear warm clothing. He never wore an over- 
 coat in his life, but at this time wore a sort of a cape 
 or mantle worn thin by time and use. 
 
 He presided in March at the East Pennsylvania 
 conference, and though a deep snow fell, he crossed 
 on his way westward three tall, high, cloud-mantled 
 mountains with his conveyance. For lodging he 
 stopped at a hotel in Bedford Co., where a crowd 
 of drunken rowdies came in, drank liquor, smoked 
 tobacco, and caroused in a fearful manner. Later 
 at night three other rowdies came, who wanted 
 
Growing Old. 
 
 331 
 
 lodgings, but had no money. The landlord refused 
 to keep them. One of them, however, begged so 
 hard, that he was finally permitted to stay. In the 
 morning the wretch went out to the barn, sold his 
 shirt to the colored hostler for ten cents, bought with 
 it a dram of whiskay, which he gulped down, and then 
 trudged off without breakfast. 
 
 On the 20th he was at the foot of the Alleghanies. 
 Here he again lodged in a hotel, and next morning 
 wanted to proceed. But it was impossible to go any 
 further with the conveyance. A farmer then loaded 
 his conveyance on a sled and took him up the moun- 
 tain. He also made him a sled upon which to take 
 his regular vehicle along. On the 23d he only made 
 ten miles. By this time it was Easter, and the 
 Bishop was obliged again to lodge in a tavern among 
 a lot of ungodly rowdies. On Easter Monday the 
 Lord sent him some good friends, old acquaintances, 
 who brought him over Laurel Hill, as his temporary 
 sled was already broken down. The arrival of these 
 friends was providential, for he was at his wit's end 
 at this point in his journey. The snow on the mount- 
 ains was said to have an average depth of five feet, 
 and in some places it lay fifteen feet deep; it was 
 very cold, there was much ice, and the sky had that 
 dull leaden hue, that casts a gloomy, sombre, cheer- 
 less forbidding shadow over the landscape and over 
 the lonely traveler's mind. Withal a biting "nor'- 
 wester" blew fiercely through the ravines, and chilled 
 to the bone the weary old man. On the 26th he 
 reached Pittsburgh, greatly fatigued, but preached in 
 
33 2 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 the evening from i Cor. 15:58, and the Word was 
 with power. 
 
 March 27th he encountered a severe snow storm 
 and intense cold, but he reached Economy, and spent 
 the night with his mother, who was still living, though 
 feeble, at the age of ninety years. Next day he 
 crossed the line into Ohio, and on the 29th reached 
 the residence of his colleague, Bishop Joseph Long, 
 at Greensburgh, Summit Co., O. Here he was 
 happy, but could not stop long. He had still to cross 
 Ohio and Indiana, before reaching the Illinois con- 
 ference session, which was his objective point. His 
 route lay through Cleveland, Sandusky City, Bellevue 
 and Perrysburg, O. April 16th he reached Freeport, 
 111., where the conference met on the 17th. 
 
 Here the Wisconsin conference was organized. 
 After spending forty days in the territory of the new 
 conference, the Bishop said: 
 
 " There is nothing to fear for this new conference. 
 I have examined closely into the circumstances, and 
 have come to this conclusion: In the prosperous 
 condition, and with the noble liberality of our mem- 
 bership there, and the courage and zeal of their 
 preachers, this conference will, under the blessing of 
 God, which has hitherto attended it, conquer glori- 
 ously. She has already sent a missionary into Min- 
 nesota, even before holding a session of her own. 
 Blessed be the eternal God for this enterprise." 
 
 Quite a large number of young brethren, — promis- 
 ing men, entered the itinerancy. At their reception 
 Bishop Seybert asked them in the presence of the 
 
Growing Old. 
 
 333 
 
 conference and all in the church, whether they were 
 free from the use of tobacco; which they all were en- 
 abled to answer affirmatively. The younger ministry 
 in the West he found generally studious, diligently 
 engaged in searching the Scriptures and other good 
 books — -a fact which greatly pleased him. "For," 
 he remarks, "it is to be hoped that the vacancies 
 which will occur by our death, will be filled by 
 thorough and capable successors, who by God's grace 
 will be able to carry forward the work which we have 
 begun." 
 
 September nth, 1856, a severe accident befell the 
 Bishop at Lincoln, Stark Co., 111. His horse became 
 frightened, upset the conveyance, throwing him 
 violently to the ground, and breaking its harness into 
 fragments. The Bishop w T as very dangerously in- 
 jured. He says: "Here my old, dilapidated, storm- 
 beaten tabernacle of clay, in which 1 had, during the 
 last thirty-five years, preached about ten thousand 
 sermons, came very near being totally demolished; 
 for my hardships on the long and perilous journeys 
 of my itinerant life have at last made me weak. But 
 the Lord again watched over me in this accident. 
 Blessed be His Name!" 
 
 In his modesty he makes no mention of the many 
 thousand private calls he had made, which added 
 much to the fatigue of his ministry. He now had to 
 spend two days in a hotel in Lincoln, 111., among 
 strangers and ungodly people. He could neither eat 
 nor sleep, suffered great pain, and it was a matter of 
 doubt whether he would recover at all. He was, 
 
334 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 however, resigned and patient, only complaining that 
 he was far away from brethren and sisters, and was 
 among a rough crowd of "Satan's people". After 
 this he stayed for three days with a converted 
 Lutheran, named Daniel Altendorfer. This brother 
 took him into his house, and took good care of him, 
 all gratis. 
 
 Several days after this, Rev. Dengel, one of our 
 missionaries, came through Lincoln, and took the sick 
 Bishop along to Pulaski, where he was hospitably 
 entertained. In great weakness he left here and 
 went a hundred and thirty-four miles to Marshall, 111., 
 where he was compelled to halt again for ten days. 
 He was "almost finished" when he got there. And 
 no wonder, for he traveled fifty miles in a day. On 
 the eighth day after his arrival at Marshall, he tot- 
 tered out with a walking stick and visited a penitent 
 family. On the eleventh day he traveled fifty miles 
 with his conveyance. He had to "hurry", lest he get 
 "too far behind in his journey". 
 
 At the beginning of October he writes: "When I 
 first attempted again to make a beginning in travel- 
 ing, preaching and visiting, after the accident, it was 
 in a very feeble manner, but soon I improved daily, so 
 that, in the course of some ten weeks, I was quite 
 restored from my injuries, and was enabled to con- 
 tinue my journey as usual through cold and heat, 
 through snow-storms and other inclemencies." 
 
 When he was yet quite weak he arrived at Warren- 
 town, Indiana, where he was to preach in a church 
 called Tabor, built on Mount Tabor. Weary with a 
 
Growing Old, 
 
 335 
 
 long day's journey, he arrived late. The congrega- 
 tion was already assembled and waiting. He says: 
 "There was no time left to eat — only to pray. I 
 accordingly went out upon the church yard in the 
 darkness, fell upon my knees, pleaded fervently with 
 God for His help and his blessing. He also heard 
 my cry and blessed His Word powerfully. His 
 blessings descended upon the assembly like showers 
 of rain, and there was a degree of joy in the camp 
 that is seldom seen.'' — No time to eat, only time to 
 pray, is a rare sentiment in such an emergency. It 
 was a scene for an artist. The travel stained, weather 
 beaten, aged itinerant, upon his knees, amid the 
 marble monuments of the dead, under the shadow of 
 night pleading with God for his waiting congregation 
 in the temple of Jehovah. 
 
 In December the Bishop dedicated a church edifice 
 at New Portage, Summit county, Ohio. After 
 several days of service there were still no conversions, 
 and Bishop Seybert gave as a reason, that "the old 
 people are hard-hearted, and the young people are 
 vain and wicked, have had poor training, and some 
 of them behave worse than heathens." 
 
336 Life mid Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 TIRELESS ZEAL. 
 
 January 9th, (1857) Seybert had come as far east as 
 Economy, and found his aged mother so feeble that 
 she had to be cared for like a child. She was in her 
 ninety-first year. It afforded both the son and the 
 mother mutual joy to meet once more on earth. On 
 the 10th, as his horse was lame he walked to Freedom, 
 and preached there. This was a cold day. The 
 thermometer registered 14 0 below Zero. On the 
 13th he bade his feeble mother adieu, with the 
 thought that he would never see her face again until 
 they met in heaven. 
 
 The Bishop now retraced his steps; he could go 
 no farther eastward, as he had to hold the Illinois 
 conference, which would meet April 2 2d. He spent 
 the Winter in Ohio, preaching and visiting. He 
 arrived in Illinois April 14th, when he complains, it 
 was very cold, and a terrible snow-storm hindered his 
 journey. From this conference he went to Jefferson 
 City, Wisconsin, to preside at the first session of the 
 newly formed Wisconsin conference, May 6th, 1857. 
 The business of the young conference was soon dis- 
 patched, and the report of the stationing committee 
 was already read on the second day. No sour faces 
 were to be seen among the preachers. They were 
 all happy, whatever their appointment. The Bishop 
 
Tireless Zeal. 
 
 337 
 
 expressed himself confident of a glorious future for 
 this conference, on account of the liberality of the 
 membership and the fiery zeal of the preachers. 
 Then he remarks: " One thing more deserves men- 
 tion, which affords me much pleasure, and is an 
 honor to the conference, and that is, that with but 
 few exceptions, all the preachers, especially the 
 younger ones, are entirely free from the use of 
 tobacco in any of its forms; they neither chew, smoke 
 nor snuff." 
 
 Alexander Stephens, I believe, once had the privi- 
 lege of reading in the papers, a journalistic history 
 of his life, and eulogies upon his character, the report 
 having been falsely telegraphed that he had departed 
 this life. Bishop John Seybert, came near having a 
 similar experience in 1857. Several times the report 
 became current that he was dead and buried, and it 
 finally also reached his own ears. Upon this he 
 wrote to the " Christliche Botsch after" to inform his 
 friends that he was still among the living. The article 
 ran somewhat as follows: 
 
 ''Inasmuch as the report has become current in 
 different States of the Union that I have departed 
 this life and am already buried, I would inform our 
 friends through this communication, that, during the 
 past Winter, notwithstanding the great snow-storms, 
 intense cold, and bad roads, I have enjoyed good 
 health, and got along well, reaching the thirteenth 
 session of the Illinois conference in good time. This 
 was a good session. The bounds have been extended 
 again, so that we were obliged to form a new district 
 22 
 
338 Life and Labors of Jolm Seybert. 
 
 west of the Mississippi. The membership exercised 
 great liberality in supporting the Gospel. The preach- 
 ing, during this session was powerful. Hallelujah! 
 
 " So much for this time. Remember me in your 
 prayers, ye friends of Zion, so that I may be enabled 
 to discharge the office of a teacher to the good of the 
 Church and the salvation of the world, through grace. 
 Amen." 
 
 This time he seems to have forgotten his birth-day. 
 For the first time no mention of it is traceable in his 
 journal. In July he visited Kankakee, Illinois, a 
 city of three thousand inhabitants, which three years 
 before, was only a wilderness of thickets and under- 
 brush. Our Church had already established itself in 
 the place, built a good church, and had a promising 
 Sunday-school. 
 
 After this he spent sixty-three days in the bounds 
 of the Indiana conference, presiding at the conference 
 session in September. 
 
 He praised very greatly the arrangement he found 
 at a camp-ground in Marshall Co., Ind. This en- 
 campment was enclosed, and the twenty-four tents 
 were of lumber with doors that could be locked, so that 
 the ground could be locked in during the year. It 
 was so arranged that after service at night, every- 
 thing could be locked out that was objectionable. 
 This was a new arrangement at that time, which now 
 is in more general vogue. The Bishop saw at a 
 glance the utility of the plan, and commended it 
 highly. 
 
 October 9th, 1857, Bishop Seybert visited one of 
 
Tireless Zeal. 
 
 339 
 
 the old itinerants of our church, Rev. John Erb, near 
 Flat Rock, Seneca Co., O., who was near his end. 
 This brother had to suffer severely, from a cancer in 
 the face. ''But", Seybert says, "he is comforted in 
 his God, and seems to have a comfortable hope, and 
 a strong inward desire to be present with the Lord. 
 The prospect of a speedy departure fills him with 
 peace." 
 
 For more than forty years Erb was a faithful, dili- 
 gent, humble and spiritual preacher. 
 
 Soon afterward this aged sufferer was released, 
 and died full of patience and hope. He was one of 
 the old pioneers of our church in Pennsylvania and 
 Ohio. 
 
 On the thirteenth of October, at Bro. Kerns, near 
 Lindsey, Ohio, the Bishop again hitched to his con- 
 veyance, after having ridden 2,500 miles on horse- 
 back since March 26th. 
 
 On the 24th and 25th of that month he attended 
 the dedication of the Peace Church near Blatchleys- 
 ville, Wayne Co., Ohio, (Felgers). The services on 
 Sunday evening were blessed with a number of con- 
 versions. Upon which he remarks: "So then this 
 house was dedicated indeed." 
 
 Thence he went on east, and made his last tour in 
 his native State and conference. 
 
 In the Moravian town of Bethlehem, Pa., a charac- 
 teristic incident occurred. One afternoon in the be- 
 ginning of Winter, he came into Bethlehem from the 
 North, walking along by the side of, or rather ahead 
 of his conveyance, occasionally casting a glanceat 
 
340 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 the houses on either side as he passed along, and 
 then turning his eyes upward toward the sky, or 
 backward towards his horse. A sister happened to 
 espy him, and, supposing him to be searching for 
 some one, she called out to him, " Why, Brother 
 Seybert! is it possible that you are here? — Whom 
 are you looking for, anyway?" " I am not looking 
 for anyone here, sister," was the reply, "but I'm 
 going down here to Texas, — there's a revival of re- 
 ligion down there!" With this the Bishop trudged 
 on, turning his blue gray eyes toward the westering 
 sun, to see how much time he yet had to get through 
 thirteen miles, to his destination. 
 
 How absorbed this man was in the business of 
 soul saving! He had not been among his friends 
 at Bethlehem for several years, but he will not even 
 stop to exchange greetings, etc., or rest. He has 
 heard that at Texas the Lord is saving sinners, and 
 there he wanted to be. That was the absorbing 
 thought of his soul. Nothing else was worth con- 
 sideration. — " I'm going down here to Texas, — the 
 Lord's saving sinners there!" That was enough! 
 John Seybert wanted nothing better. 
 
 In 1858 Bishop Seybert presided at the New York, 
 Pittsburgh, Central and East Pennsylvania con- 
 ferences. The latter was his original conference; in 
 it he was converted, and began to preach; in it he 
 served the Church until his election to the episcopal 
 office. He always felt at home there, and naturally 
 felt a peculiar attachment toward its members, many 
 of whom had shared with him the hardships, priva- 
 
Tireless Zeal. 
 
 34* 
 
 tions and difficulties of the days of small things. The 
 session of 1858 was the last of that conference he 
 ever attended. In less than two years he was called 
 home, his work being done. 
 
 The parting scene on this occasion was most affect- 
 ing. The aged Bishop seemed to have a presenti- 
 ment that it was his last meeting with these brethren 
 on earth. And evidently many of the brethren had 
 similar feelings. When the business was finished, 
 and the time for the usual farewell ceremonies had 
 arrived, the Bishop seemed embarrassed and agitated. 
 He was loath to conduct the solemn ceremony him- 
 self, and sought to induce two other brethren to re- 
 lieve him of this duty, but they refused. Seeing 
 that he could not escape, he cast a glance at his chair 
 in the altar, and crept with timid steps to his place. 
 With deep and labored breathing, as if very weary, 
 he addressed the conference, admonishing them to 
 faithfulness, steadfastness, love ? humility and all 
 Christian virtues. Upon this he announced a hymn, 
 and offered a most touching prayer, during which 
 there was much weeping. Seybert then left the altar, 
 and, in a hesitating manner began to give each 
 brother personally the parting hand. A feeling of 
 indescribable sorrow filled all hearts, and the scene 
 impressed itself indelibly upon all who were present. 
 Some wept, some praised God, arid others sang 
 solemnly a parting hymn. Meanwhile the patriarchal 
 Bishop had spoken to all, and had disappeared from 
 view. Upon looking for him he was seen hidden 
 behind the pulpit and lamp pillars, where he sat 
 
34 2 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 weeping convulsively! Never had Seybert been 
 seen so agitated. His forebodings were correct. 
 His sun was sinking low in the horizon, and he 
 never saw these men again, except as, one by one, he 
 has greeted them in the city above. He had climbed 
 
 u Where Moses stood " 
 
 And viewed the landscape o'er. 
 
 Thence he went to the West Pennsylvania confer- 
 ence, and thence to the Pittsburgh conference, and 
 thence to the New York conference. At the latter 
 place, after mentioning the names of those whom the 
 conference lost — some five or six in number, while 
 only one was newly received, he exclaims: "Lord, 
 help!" 
 
 While visiting one day in June, in Canada, he 
 called among others upon an aged sister of the 
 Mennonites, 86 years of age, who had recently been 
 converted. During the fifteen years of her widow- 
 hood, she had read the Bible through several times, 
 and the New Testament twenty-four times. The 
 Bishop was astonished at her profound insight into 
 God s Word, and expressed his opinion that she was 
 "possessed of a deeper knowledge of the Scriptures 
 than most of the preachers of that day." 
 
 July 7th, 1858, being his sixty-seventh birth-day, 
 he wrote, "O God, how much goodness I have enjoyed 
 during my past life ! My sixty-eighth year shall also 
 be consecrated to Thee. And grant Thou that my 
 long life may have been useful to the Church and 
 to the world, and contribute to Thy honor for the 
 sake of Jesus and His sufferings. Amen." 
 
Tireless Zeal. 
 
 343 
 
 Two days later the following: 
 
 "What a fortunate man I am in my sixty-eighth 
 year! My health is at present good, and I am of 
 good courage. Eighteen years I lived without God, 
 and without religion; in my nineteenth I found the 
 Lord. I have now served Him forty and eight years, 
 thirty-seven of this time in the ministry. In this 
 time I have preached more than nine thousand times, 
 and traveled over a hundred and fifty thousand miles, 
 mostly on horseback. My hearing is yet acute, I 
 can read without spectacles, which I frequently do, 
 and if it were necessary, I would undertake to preach 
 three times a day. To God alone be all the praise." 
 
 The bishops, Seybert and Long, were neither of 
 them of literary propensities, and seldom wrote for 
 the public. They were often censured for this, and 
 in 1858 public communications appeared in the 
 Christliche Botschafter, complaining that the bishops 
 were so seldom heard from. This induced Bishop 
 Seybert to publicly explain himself. He wrote the 
 following: 
 
 "As a brother, in Botschafter No. 17, accuses the 
 over-seers of the Church of not having any desire to 
 write, I would offer some excuses for myself in the 
 spirit of love and meekness. 
 
 " First, I have a very large field of labor, upon 
 which I have to make many extended journeys, being- 
 obliged to preach almost every evening, however 
 weary I may be. 
 
 " Second, It is also a proper official duty to visit the 
 members of the Church, the sick and the pentitent, to 
 
344 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 instruct them all in the Kingdom of God, and to pray 
 with them. This takes away much time. 
 
 " Third, Besides, I have many important matters 
 to look after, incident to my office, which must be 
 done, if I am to be found faithful. 
 
 "Fourth, I have very many letters to write, of 
 which, for lack of time, I can not even write the half. 
 
 " Fifth, We have many industrious, able writers 
 for our periodicals, by whom the doctrines of the 
 Christian religion are clearly and emphatically dis- 
 cussed. 
 
 "Sixth, I have placed my large and valuable 
 library, including more than twenty thousand pages 
 of missionary intelligence at the disposal of the 
 Publishing House, and of the editors, both during 
 my life and after my death which will soon come. 
 
 " Seventh, I do not know that God has specially 
 called or fitted me for literary work, as also the holy 
 apostle Paul was not specially sent to baptize, but to 
 preach the Gospel. 
 
 "Still, I am thankful to my critic for his remark, 
 and will endeavor in the future to write more for the 
 Botschafter. John Seybert." 
 
 Near Hamburg, Canada, a camp-meeting was held, 
 at which there were from twenty to forty seekers at 
 the altar daily. Among them was a man who came 
 sixty miles for the purpose of seeking religion. 
 Nearly five hundred guests appeared at the Lord's 
 Table. The Bishop spent twenty-eight days in 
 Canada. At Buffalo, N. Y., he mentions that a phi- 
 lanthropist presented our people with a large building 
 
Tireless Zeal. 
 
 345 
 
 lot, on condition that they build a church on it, which 
 was done. He spent in all one hundred and five days 
 in the New York conference, and then labored forty- 
 nine days in the Ohio conference, after which he 
 crossed over to Indiana. At Bainbridge in the latter 
 State, he mentions another of those church dedica- 
 tions which were blessed with the conversion of 
 sinners. Here the Bishop had the pleasure of baptiz- 
 ing a converted Jewess. This place was wonderfully 
 revolutionized as a result of our work. Seybert 
 specially rejoices over the remarkable progress which 
 the conference had made, exclaiming, " Hitherto the 
 Lord hath helped us!" 
 
 Early in November he reached Illinios, and spent 
 the Winter in the northern part of that conference. 
 On account of increasing" infirmities and the bad 
 western roads he did not venture farther west. At 
 Naperville he mentions the dedication of the large 
 brick church edifice which was followed by a gracious 
 revival, lasting five or six weeks, during which many 
 sinners were saved. Seybert says he was surprised 
 that this protracted exercise had not exhausted the 
 friends there. 
 
 During this tour he traveled more than a hundred 
 miles over "majestic icefields", where he endured 
 fearfully cold weather. 
 
 At Aurora he also had a blessed church dedica- 
 tion, remarking: "Aurora signifies 1 the dawning 
 light\ and now the morning light has also dawned 
 here in the ecclesiastical heavens, — the light of the 
 knowledge of God and of the truth." 
 
346 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 Then his report proceeds: "In Hampshire, Kane 
 county, on the urgent request of friends, I remained 
 three days to rest, preaching one evening to a 
 crowded house. Our friends here, though mostly 
 living in poor huts, have builded a good, plain house 
 of worship, without tower or bell, and without leaving 
 any debts. At the dedication about thirty souls were 
 converted, — promising people, too. He remarks: 
 " Here it seems the poor can do more than in many 
 places the rich. Does anyone ask how this can be? 
 I answer, for three reasons. First, these people have 
 a warm love for God and perishing humanity. 
 Second, they are not stingy. Third, they are not 
 captives to the fearful, world and church ruining 
 fashion-god. That is why they can accomplish such 
 things." 
 
 Among Bro. Seybert s documents was found an in- 
 teresting history of the work of the Evangelical 
 Association in Upper Canada, written about this time. 
 The account really does not belong here, but to the 
 History of the Evangelical Association. We there- 
 fore only give such portions as seem pertinent to this 
 biography. In the main it is historical rather than 
 biographical. 
 
 The Bishop first describes the terrible condition of 
 the Germans of Victorias realm. They were most 
 deplorably depraved and demoralized. Denomina- 
 tionally they were divided into Catholics, Lutherans, 
 Reformed, Mennonites and Tunkers. The United 
 Brethren had at one time made an effort to convert 
 these Germans, but were unfortunate on account of 
 
Tireless Zeal. 347 
 
 the bad conduct of their missionary. He was de- 
 posed and expelled for immorality, and the Campbel- 
 lites picked him up. Sad indeed is the Bishop's pen- 
 picture of the churches there. A few examples will 
 illustrate the condition of things. At Puslinch, on the 
 occasion of a christening, the parson got so drunk that 
 he fell from his chair. When some of those present 
 picked him up, the lady of the house remarked in 
 disgust, "Why don't you let him lie on the floor?" 
 
 Near Hamburg, a pastor had announced the cele- 
 bration of the Lord's Supper, but on arriving in 
 the town for this purpose at the appointed time, 
 he was met by a procession of his parishioners, on 
 their way to a dance. One was carrying a beer keg 
 on his shoulder, and another had a fiddle under his 
 arm. They requested the "Pfarrer" to postpone the 
 Sacrament as they had appointed a dance, which he 
 did! The dance went on. 
 
 This parson came near having a serious adventure 
 that night. He stayed all night with a member of 
 his church, named Smith. After retiring late at night, 
 one of the aforesaid parishioners called, and declared 
 he came to pommel the pastor, because he had never 
 given his people anything in return for the money he 
 received as salary. The host, Mr. Smith, was obliged 
 to interfere, to prevent the parson from getting a 
 severe castigation. This Mr. Smith, who was a 
 rationalist, afterwards was converted and became a 
 minister of the Gospel in the Evangelical Association, 
 and served for years as a Presiding Elder in the New 
 York conference. 
 
348 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 A Catholic priest, near Puslinch, refused Catholic 
 burial to a child whose father would not permit 
 anointing it at death. But the burial took place at 
 night on the Catholic cemetery. The enraged priest 
 then had the body exhumed and sold it to a physician. 
 
 A Lutheran church dedication degenerated into a 
 veritable drunken carnival. 
 
 This is enouofh to show the need of evangelization. 
 Into such benighted regions the preachers of the 
 Evangelical Association always delighted to go with 
 the blessed tidings of salvation. The Evangelical 
 Association has often gone where she was not wanted, 
 but never where she was not needed. In gfoingf into 
 Canada, however, she followed earnest and pressing 
 invitations from the people there. The first efforts in 
 Canada were simultaneous with the organization of 
 the Missionary Society of our Church. In the Winter 
 of 1837. the Rev's. Hammer, Harlacher and Bel- 
 li no-er made visits there. Michael Eis was the first 
 to achieve success. At Waterloo, in 1839 an un- 
 parallelled undertaking was carried to a successful 
 execution: A camp-meeting was held before there 
 was a single member of our church there. The mis- 
 sionary invited Bishop Seybert to attend his meet- 
 ing, which he did. The Bishop was persuaded to go 
 by the fact that preachers were scarce there, and the 
 work certainly needed help. He accordingly made a 
 forced trip, per horse-back, of three hundred and 
 eighty miles. At Buffalo he was taken sick, but still 
 rode fifty miles that day. " There were fifteen tents 
 on the ground, before we had a single member in all 
 
Tireless Zeal, 
 
 249 
 
 Canada." The meeting was wonderful. Many people 
 were converted. The result was the organization of 
 the first class in Canada. 
 
 Several influential citizens of Waterloo now assisted 
 the work. One of these was a Methodist preacher, 
 who attended this camp-meeting, and said that it was 
 "old fashioned Methodism." This man supported the 
 cause liberally and remembered it in his last will and 
 testament. He also was instrumental in securing the 
 recognition of our Church by the government. 
 
 In short, the work prospered so that in three years, 
 Bishop Seybert declared we had a solid foot-hold in 
 British territory. Near Niagara a revival broke out 
 in a large Mennonite society, in which one of their 
 Bishops was converted. He was, however, soon cast 
 over-board by his unconverted brethren. ''This" 
 says Seybert, "caused an earthquake in their society, 
 and a great schism." 
 
35° 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 SUNSET. 
 
 After the Illinois and Wisconsin conference sessions 
 in 1859, the Bishop, during the Spring, traveled over 
 the Wisconsin conference district and attended several 
 camp-meetings there. One of these was held at 
 Honey Creek, Sauk Co. While the two hundred 
 and ten guests knelt at the Lord's table, there was a 
 complete triumph of grace. On that day also a 
 missionary auxiliary was formed, at which two 
 hundred and thirty-one dollars were subscribed. 
 The Bishop expressed his astonishment at this, as 
 the people were very poor. But, he explains, " these 
 people were truly Evangelical, industrious, economical, 
 liberal, and not stingy. They were Swiss emigrants, 
 and were no slaves to the American fashion craze. 
 If they were guilty of following the devilish vanity of 
 the day, they could not have raised twenty dollars for 
 the missionary cause." 
 
 Speaking of the young Wisconsin conference in 
 general, the Bishop remarks: "This conference has 
 made splendid progress. In the three years of its 
 existence it has extended its borders three hundred 
 miles beyond the Mississippi, away up into Minnesota, 
 where already a Presiding Elder district has been 
 formed. The delegates to the last General confer- 
 ence would hardly have believed this to be possible 
 if it had been predicted, and to the brethren here 
 
Sunset, 
 
 351 
 
 themselves it would have seemed incredible. And 
 yet it has been done. Behold, the Lord hath done 
 this." 
 
 During the Summer — the last of his life, on his 
 trip through Illinois — he unexpectedly found his 
 colleague, Bishop Long, ensconced in the " prophets 
 chamber" in his house near Freeport. This pleased 
 him greatly. Unfortunately, however, the circum- 
 stances were such that the two bishops could only 
 spend two hours together at that time. They accord- 
 ingly dispatched their official business and then gave 
 each other the parting hand again. This was an 
 informal meeting of the episcopal board. Bishop 
 Long was obliged to leave, and Seybert himself could 
 not even tarry all night on his own premises. Long 
 went westward to Iowa, Seybert eastward to Indiana 
 and ad in finitum. 
 
 During a tour through Wisconsin, he on one occa- 
 sion served as substitute for a Presiding Elder who 
 could not be present. On Monday morning, learning 
 that an encampment was to be selected, the aged but 
 agile Bishop offered his services, which were gladly 
 accepted. He cut himself a stick for a measuring 
 rod, and in a very short time he had selected and 
 staked off a first-class piece of ground in the most 
 appropriate manner. 
 
 Apropos to this incident we relate here a sugges- 
 tive anecdote. 
 
 At one of these camp-meetings in Wisconsin, while 
 assisting in setting the encampment in order, he 
 asked a boy who stood by, to go with him to bring 
 
352 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 up some poles from the woods. The boy willingly 
 obeyed, and, in childish enthusiasm seized hold of the 
 heavy end of the pole. But the Bishop interfered. 
 " No, no," he said, "you take this end; I will take the 
 heavy end!" How faithfully he always took "the 
 heavy end", the reader of these pages, can very easily 
 understand. That was characteristic of the man. 
 That boy has since become a prominent minister 
 in our Church, and already for sixteen years a General 
 conference officer. 
 
 In one of his sermons at the above quarterly meet- 
 ing he stated that his beloved mother had passed 
 away, and was now with the blessed in Paradise, 
 adding, " Methinks she expects soon to see her son 
 John with her in heaven." His presentiments, which 
 he casually expressed on several occasions during the 
 last year of his life, did not at this time impress his 
 auditors very seriously, as he seemed to be hale and 
 hearty. 
 
 During his stay at the above place, a Sunday-school 
 festival was held in the vicinity, at which about three 
 hundred children were assembled, and the Order of 
 Good Templars participated in the ceremonies and 
 festivities of the day. Several temperance speeches 
 were made, and of course, the Bishop being present, 
 he could not escape. His remarkably quaint and 
 severely plain appearance was in striking contrast to 
 the gaily festooned platform, on which flags fluttered 
 and banners waved, and uniforms glittered. It was 
 the fifth of July. His was the closing speech. His 
 text was: "Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin 
 
Sunset. 
 
 353 
 
 is a reproach to any people." After expressing his 
 delight in the institution of the Sunday-school, and 
 the blessing the children assembled there enjoyed on 
 its account, he went on to amplify and illustrate the 
 assertion of his text. Among other things he also 
 spoke of the virtue of economy and the vice of ex- 
 travagance, eulogizing the former greatly in its bear- 
 ing upon domestic happiness and social prosperity. 
 This he declared belongs to temperance, and is a 
 splendid piece of abstinence. The Bishop became 
 quite earnest and let loose in a lively manner on the 
 sin of extravagance and luxurious indulgence. At 
 this point some fellow sang out from the audience, 
 " Well, what are we to do with the money?" Un- 
 doubtedly this rude interruption would have exas- 
 perated the audience, carried away as they were by 
 the magnetic eloquence of the speaker, had not the 
 Bishop been ready. Scarcely had the rude question 
 been heard, before the answer crashed through the 
 ranks, 44 Why pay your debts with it!" This sensible, 
 prompt reply was rewarded with a storm of applause, 
 especially because the audience knew that the Inter- 
 locutor needed that particular advice. This was very 
 likely Seybert's last temperance speech. 
 
 About four miles from this place he passed his last 
 birth-day anniversary on earth, which he spent in 
 visiting from house to house, reading his Bible and 
 in making a short journey, being specially charmed 
 with the delightful scenery of the season. In the 
 evening he wrote in his journal: 
 
 44 Oh how thankful I feel toward God, when I look 
 23 
 
354 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 back over the sixty and eight years of my life! My 
 God, what shall I render unto Thee for the great 
 goodness Thou hast shown towards me? I have 
 nothing but myself, and willingly do I consecrate my 
 all to Thee. Oh that my entire life may be wholly 
 consecrated to God, through Jesus Christ my Lord 
 and my Redeemer. Amen." 
 
 Whenever a proposition was brought before 
 General conference to change or amend the Dis- 
 cipline, Bishop Seybert was concerned, lest the 
 amendment prove to be in the wrong direction. He 
 was particularly opposed to several measures which 
 were proposed from time to time. Among these was 
 one to increase the power of the Bishops, making the 
 office more like that of the Methodists. Another was 
 to abolish the office of Presiding Elder. Then there 
 was also a proposition made, to regard the children 
 of our own members, if they were baptized by us, 
 as members of our Church, and inscribe their names 
 on the Church Records. Upon this he wrote to a 
 brother in the East, in 1859, pending the General 
 conference: 
 
 " I rejoice that the preachers of the East Penn'a 
 conference are not so easily persuaded to approve 
 and support the many new propositions to improve 
 and change our Book of Discipline, especially that 
 your conference does not approve of the proposal to 
 take children into the Church simply by virtue of their 
 having been baptized. Such a step I say would be 
 to lay the foundation for a heap of dead bones among 
 us. But I am comforted with the confidence that 
 
Sunset. 
 
 355 
 
 there is too much salt among us to allow such a mo- 
 tion to prevail. But you must be wide awake in the 
 East, or else it might succeed. I have talked with 
 the author of the proposition; he defended himself 
 earnestly, but I withstood him to the face, and think 
 it will fortunately fail." 
 
 In another letter, written just before the General 
 Conference convened, which should be his last, he 
 said: 
 
 " There are forty recommendations to the General 
 Conference, — what will become of them all? If these 
 recommendations for improvements — rather changes 
 — keep multiplying at this rate, we will soon have 
 them by hundreds. But it is to be seriously ques- 
 tioned, whether our Discipline, which in my opinion 
 is one of the best in the world, will be improved in 
 this way. Time will tell. The power of the epis- 
 copacy is also to be discussed again; and another 
 perverse proposition is on foot, touching the abolition 
 of the Presiding Eldership. This would be a wild, 
 inconsiderate leap. In all probability, this measure 
 will burst like a soap-bubble, before it does us any 
 harm. My advice is, let us stick fast to the good 
 arrangements which we have, and I am of the opinion 
 that it is much better to observe and obey the laws 
 we have, than to be constantly changing them. But 
 we will pray the Lord to give us wisdom not to do 
 anything detrimental to His cause." 
 
 September 7th, 1859, the Indiana conference con- 
 vened in Indianapolis, which was the last annual 
 conference session over which Bishop Seybert pre- 
 
356 Life and Labors of John Seybert 
 
 sided. During this session he was attacked by a 
 fever. Sunday, however, was a great and precious 
 day. 
 
 Notwithstanding his fever, he hastened westward 
 toward Naperville, Illinois, where the General Confer- 
 ence was to begin October 13th. He arrived a day 
 before it began weak, and weary. This was the last 
 General Conference he ever attended. He had now 
 served the Church in the highest office for twenty 
 years, and this General Conference elected him for 
 the sixth time. But, since he was really growing old, 
 and was manifestly debilitated, three bishops were 
 elected, with the purpose of lifting some of the burden 
 from the shoulders of the old veteran, and to give 
 him better opportunity to spare himself in his declin- 
 ing years. John Seybert and Joseph Long were 
 unanimously re-elected, and W. W. Orwig was 
 newly elected to the episcopacy. 
 
 During this General Conference he was extremely 
 feeble, and was sometimes hardly able to ascend the 
 stairway to the auditorium of the church, where the 
 conference assembled. It was observed that he 
 would go a few steps and then sit down to rest, and 
 after getting to the top of the stairs, he would sit 
 down in the back seat, before he felt strength enough 
 to go forward to the chancel. His demeanor was 
 reserved and quiet, and he took but little part in the 
 deliberations and debates, except that he seemed very 
 attentive to what was said and done. He seemed to 
 be communing with his own thoughts, and had the 
 air of one who was wrapped up in profound medita- 
 
Sunset. 
 
 357 
 
 tions. This was attributed, however, to his " severe 
 K cold" as he called his indisposition, and the hope was 
 entertained that he would soon recover again. Still 
 some of the delegates expressed grave apprehensions, 
 lest some indiscretion should speedily lead to fatal 
 results. But the intrepid veteran replied: "O breth- 
 ren, you see I just had an attack of fever in Indiana, 
 and then contracted a cold too which has aggravated 
 the pain in my chest and my cough. I have been 
 weak like this before; besides the weather is now 
 unfavorable. I will soon be better again." He had 
 not strength enough to make an exhortation at this 
 time. 
 
 Bishop Seybert approached his end with an almost 
 unequalled calmness and composure. He had 
 resolved to "look death right in the eyes" as he 
 expressed himself, believing that the pale king of 
 terrors would quail, if met bravely. 
 
 On the last evening of General Conference, the 
 Lord's Supper was celebrated by the delegates. 
 During this solemn service, he was particularly 
 observed. With folded hands he knelt at the table 
 in the chancel, beside the other bishops, and received 
 the elements with an innocence that seemed hardly 
 of this world. One of the delegates present says: "I 
 had quite forgotten myself, so intensly did I observe 
 Bishop Seybert's manner and appearance. And I 
 thought, ' Bro. Seybert you are undoubtedly near the 
 end of your earthly career, and are approaching the 
 boundaries of the spirit world, for out of your counte- 
 nance there shimmers already the innocence and 
 
358 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 purity of a glorified one through the pale integument, 
 as you sit here under the dim glare of the lamps. I 
 shall never forget that face until I see him in the 
 transcendent lustre of the resurrection morning. His 
 great spirit of self-denial, the marks of his sufferings, 
 his sacrificing love, his sincerity, his simplicity and 
 humility and his benevolence toward his fellowmen 
 together with his great zeal against all wrong — all 
 this seemed to me to be shining in his almost trans- 
 figured face, and made an impression upon my mind 
 that I cannot now describe, though I fully realized it 
 at the time. He seemed so near heaven, that the 
 possibilty dawned upon me that, should his spirit at 
 that moment depart and step over, his body might 
 remain kneeling at the chancel just as he was, with 
 folded hands, until some one should carry him away." 
 
 Irresistibly we are reminded of a paragraph by a 
 brilliant lecturer: "It is recorded that in an eastern 
 city a martyr was once tried, and as all they who sat 
 in the council looked steadfastly on him they beheld 
 his face, as it were the face of an angel. Is it possible 
 that the light present in this case and in approxi- 
 mately similar cases in our day is the same thing in 
 each? It is recorded also, as we remember, now that 
 we allow our minds to sweep through the vistas of 
 historical examples, that a law-giver who yet rules 
 the centuries, once had, as he came down from a 
 certain mount, a face that shone. ... Is it possible 
 that the look which comes into the countenance when- 
 ever the loftier zones of feeling are in full action is of 
 the same sort with that which appeared in the face of 
 
Sunset. 
 
 359 
 
 Dante's Beatrice delighted to do good; and in the 
 face of him whose countenance was like that of an 
 angel; and in the face of Moses; and in the unfath- 
 omed symbolisms of the transfiguration? Is it of the 
 same sort with that light which fills the world of those 
 who have no need of the sun, because the face of the 
 Lamb doth lighten them, and the glory of God is the 
 lamp of their tabernacle ? " . 
 
 It remains only to record such events concerning 
 Bishop Seybert as occurred between the General 
 Conference in October and his death in January 
 following. He visited many of his old battle-grounds 
 in Illinois such as Wheeling, Dutchman's Point, 
 Dunkley's Grove and other places. Some of these 
 places gave him special invitations, as the impression 
 was current that the Bishop would never see the 
 West again. At Esher's, near Wheeling, a solemn 
 baptismal service was arranged for. The people 
 came together in throngs to see and hear the old 
 veteran once more. On seeing the multitude he 
 resolved to try to preach, which he did, and in a 
 most powerful manner. His theme was, u Dying and 
 living with Christ", and he laid great stress on the 
 total extinction of "all evil members", and the rooting 
 out of all sinful passions and desires, and urged the 
 people to sink away utterly in the merit of the great 
 Mediator, and to be entirely resigned to God's will. 
 
 After the sermon he baptized sixteen children in 
 the most impressive manner. He was so strength- 
 ened during this inspiring service, that at its close he 
 felt better than at its beginning. 
 
360 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 November 7th he started eastward, visiting the 
 churches on his way, and preaching occasionally. In 
 Indiana he attended a quarterly meeting, where, he 
 says, J.J. Esher, the P. E., preached with great power. 
 As he was obliged to recuperate, he remained a few 
 days, attending the services as often as his strength 
 allowed. 
 
 On Sunday morning he undertook to preach, and 
 to conduct the sacramental service. His text was 
 Rom. 0: 19-23, and the sermon was a great effort. 
 He proclaimed with great force and plainness the 
 doctrine of "entire freedom". He always defended 
 the doctrine of holiness with great zeal, and insisted 
 not only upon instantaneous conversion through faith 
 in Jesus, but also upon instantaneous sanctification 
 through faith in Jesus. He believed in the possibility 
 of living without sin through grace and sanctification 
 of the Spirit. He labored with special earnestness 
 to advance true purity of heart and life in the Church. 
 
 Nor did he insist on either outward form or inward 
 condition alone, but both together, and that consist- 
 ently. True, Seybert thought much of external sim- 
 plicity, and was a special enemy of extravagance and 
 vain display, but he was far from seeking to force 
 upon anyone a particular cut of the coat or anything 
 of that sort. A stingy or dishonest professor got no 
 credit from him, were he dressed never so plainly. 
 
 Bishop J. J. Esher, Bishop Seybert's spiritual son, 
 says : 
 
 " It was my high privilege to spend six weeks of 
 the last year of Bishop Seybert's life in his company. 
 
Sunset, 
 
 361 
 
 He assisted me in holding a number of quarterly and 
 protracted meetings on my extended district. (Bishop 
 Esher was then a Presiding Elder.) Seybert was so 
 afflicted most of the time, that I could not resist the 
 conviction that he would not tarry with us long. I 
 also expressed this conviction in his presence. Still 
 he took an active part in the services, and not in vain. 
 We had glorious revivals. His discourses were more 
 than ordinarily unctuous, instructive and powerful. 
 Some of them were decidedly master -pieces. Espe- 
 cially is this true of the sermon near Wheeling, on 
 Isa. 55:6, 7. His remarks on the phrase, "And he 
 will abundantly pardon", will never be forgotten by 
 those who heard them. In all his discourses he urged 
 the experience and practice of heart purity. When 
 he spoke of conversion he emphasized the necessity 
 of thorouofhlv breaking through from death into life, 
 and then upon this well-laid ground to complete the 
 edifice of holiness. It often struck me as remark- 
 able with what ardor and solemn earnestness he taught 
 this. 
 
 " Though he was often so feeble that he could 
 scarcely get from his lodgings to the church, yet he 
 took the most active part, in laboring with seekers, 
 and never wanted to see a service close, so long as a 
 seeker was yet unblessed at the altar. When a soul 
 was blessed, and sprang up like the lame man at the 
 beautiful gate, thrilled with the power of a new life, 
 the Bishop was ready to sing one of his animated 
 choruses, — such as, "O happy life" (" O seliges Leben"), 
 or, "O yonder is joy" ("O droben ist Freude"). . 
 
362 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 "It is well known how he delighted to be present 
 where there was loud shouting and animated praise, 
 but it is a mistake to suppose that he ever accepted 
 this commotion in lieu of the real substance of re- 
 ligion. 
 
 "Feeble as he was he did not cease to visit the 
 people, and so to be useful in private as well as in 
 public. 
 
 " Feeling that Bishop Seybert would not long be 
 with us, I observed with keen scrutiny, his entire 
 conduct, for I wanted to improve well my opportunity.. 
 I must say that the longer I was with him, the more 
 deeply was I impressed that he lived alone for God, 
 and cultivated a deeper and more intimate communion 
 with the Redeemer, than even appeared from his 
 public labors and success. If there were any differ- 
 ence between his teaching and his life, his life was 
 superior to his teachings; he lived even better than 
 he taught. 
 
 "At the time when he wanted to start eastward, a 
 cold Autumn storm was raging and an icy rain was 
 pouring down. I admonished him to spare himself, 
 and to go per railroad to Greensburgh, Ohio, where 
 he intended to spend the Winter, and offered to care 
 for his horse until orders from him. His reply was, 
 1 That would of course be much pleasanter to go by 
 rail; but in that way I could not visit the friends on 
 the way.' 
 
 "This explains why Bishop Seybert persisted in en- 
 during the hardships of traveling with a horse long 
 after the swift iron horse was in general use. — He 
 
Sunset 
 
 3^3 
 
 could not look after the work in detail so well, nor 
 get among the smaller rural societies by personal 
 visitation. 
 
 " 'My time is short, and I want to improve it as 
 well as possible, and I guess God will help me 
 through.' Giving me his paternal blessing, and the 
 parting hand, he went on. In a few weeks it was an- 
 nounced that Bishop Seybert had gone home." 
 
 December 4th he reached the State of Ohio, 
 through Indiana and Michigan. December 16th he 
 came to Bro. Loos, at Tiffin, Ohio, a local preacher, 
 and tarried several days. The weather was cold. 
 December 18th he preached his last sermon at Bro. 
 Kerns, near Lindsey, Ohio, using one of his favorite 
 texts: " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His 
 righteousness, and all these things shall be added 
 unto you.'' Christmas he attended the dedication of 
 a church at Kern's, near Lindsay, Ohio. But Bishop 
 Long preached the dedicatory sermon, 
 
 December 29th, 1859, was the last day he spent on 
 the road. He arrived on that day from Kern's at the 
 residence of Bro, Isaac Parker, four miles west of 
 Bellevue, Ohio, and nearly the same distance north- 
 west of Flat Rock. Here for the last time he alighted 
 from his conveyance. Throwing the reins of his horse 
 over a fence-post, and taking his saddle bags on his 
 arm, he entered the home of Bro. Parker greatly 
 exhausted. He never went any further in his travels. 
 His long pilgrimage should close under that roof; his 
 extensive travels ceased; the door of heaven opened 
 there; he was not, for God took him. On the day 
 
364 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 previous — the 28th — he had already written his last 
 journal entry.* His intention, however, was to rest 
 here only a few days. 
 
 The day was now far spent. The burden of life 
 was heavy. But he complained only of a severe 
 cold. However, fears were entertained that it might 
 prove fatal, and medical assistance was called, but in 
 vain. It was observed that he was sublimely com- 
 posed, and everything indicated that he was deeply 
 conscious of his approaching end. It was only a few 
 days thus. These days he spent in reading; occa- 
 sionally he would converse in low tones, of God and 
 His work. He never missed reading his usual morn- 
 ing lesson in the Scripture, and his pocket Bible lay 
 by his side on a chair after his death. It was the 
 last book he read. Besides this his favorite authors 
 were Hiller, Thomas a'Kempis, and Tauler. 
 
 The last night he slept tolerably well, rose in the 
 morning, dressed without assistance, and joined the 
 family at breakfast, eating quite heartily. At about 
 eight o'clock he sat in the family circle, and related a 
 remarkable dream he had during the night. He said 
 he dreamed of being at a place where a large number 
 of preachers were together, who appeared greatly 
 delighted at his arrival. Upon this he undertook to 
 shake hands with them all, but the number was so 
 great that it seemed he could not get through with it. 
 
 After relating" this dream he was assisted to the 
 lounge upon which he loved to recline through the 
 day. He was very feeble, but did not lie down. He 
 
 * This was, suggestively enough, the laconic phrase :— u <me ioul sawed." 
 
Sunset. 
 
 365 
 
 sat, folding his hands with the innocent grace of a 
 child. Mr. 3 ark^, somewhat, apprehensive, hastened 
 out to call in neighbors, that the family might not be 
 alone in the event of the Bishop's demise. Mr. Parker's 
 son remained with the Bishop. Suddenly Seybert 
 began to speak. Said he: "How terrible death must 
 be to a wicked man!" After a pause he remarked, 
 "death begins at the extremities" (pointing down- 
 ward with his hands), "then it comes further up, and 
 when it gets here " (laying his hand upon his heart), 
 "then it is over. So I too will fall asleep." They 
 were his last words. His voice choked. He sank 
 over upon the lounge, and in a moment more the 
 great spirit plumed its wings for everlasting flight. 
 Bishop John Seybert was dead, It was January 4th, 
 i860. His dream had become reality. In an hour 
 after relating it, he was on "mount Zion, and in the 
 city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and 
 in the innumerable company of angels," and had 
 come "to the general assembly of the first-born, and to 
 the spirits of just men made perfect." This occurred 
 at nine o'clock a. M. He had lived sixty-eight years ; 
 five months and twenty-eight days. He had served 
 well his day and generation, had brought in many 
 sons unto o-lorv, and was gathered into the eternal 
 mansions in peace. The homeless wanderer had 
 reached home at last 
 
 " How sweet the hour of closing day v 
 When all is peaceful and serene, 
 And when the sun, with cloudless ray. 
 Sheds mellow lustre o'er the scene. 
 
366 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 " Such is the Christian's parting hour ; 
 
 So peacefully he sinks to rest ; 
 
 When faith, endued from heaven with power, 
 
 Sustains and cheers his languid breast. 
 
 " Mark but the radiance of his eye, 
 That smile upon his wasted cheek ; 
 They tell us of His glory nigh, 
 In language that no tongue can speak. 
 
 I 
 
 " A beam of heaven is sent to cheer 
 The pilgrim on his gloomy road ; 
 And angels are attending near^ 
 To bear him to their bright abode." 
 
 Bishop Seybert's remains were buried at Flat Rock 
 cemetery, January 6th. The day was cold, and the 
 long funeral cortege followed the hearse in sleighs to 
 the old stone church at Flat Rock, Seneca Co., Ohio, 
 where Bishop Joseph Long preached an eloquent 
 funeral sermon in the presence of a vast assemblage 
 of people from near and far. The text was Dan. 12:3, 
 "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness 
 of the firmament; and they that turn many to right- 
 eousness, as the stars forever and ever." 
 
 The Bishop was so affected that at first, in the 
 struggle with his emotions, he could speak but very 
 slowly. He spoke: First, of the work of the Christ- 
 ian teacher. (The German translation has "teacher" 
 instead of the "wise".) Secondly, Of the Christian 
 teachers' glory and reward. He said, such a teacher 
 as Seybert shines as the brightness of the firmament 
 already on earth, in the kingdom of grace. In his 
 doctrine he thunders, in his life he shines. But in the 
 
Sunset 
 
 367 
 
 world to come such an one will shine like the stars in 
 heaven. 
 
 Rev. Charles Hammer and Rev. C. G. Koch par- 
 ticipated in the services. A Lutheran minister 
 offered the closing prayer. Owing to the secluded 
 location and the shortness of the time, not as many 
 ministers were present as would have seen fitting and 
 desirable. After the services, an opportunity was 
 given to look once more upon the face of the honored 
 dead. There he lay as if asleep. The face that so 
 often had shone with the lustre of holy joy, was pale 
 in death; the eyes that had so often flashed with the 
 fire of inspiration were closed; the lips that had been 
 so eloquent, when the message of salvation burned 
 upon them, were silent. The remains were laid 
 away in the adjacent city of the dead, where he now 
 awaits the trumpet call of the first resurrection, not 
 far from where stands Ebenezer Orphan Institute. A 
 simple, but appropriate monument marks the place of 
 his rest, and is the chief adornment of that humble 
 enclosure. To it pilgrimages have been made, and 
 many an itinerant of a later generation has stood by 
 that mound with uncovered head, and prayed that the 
 mantle of this hero might fall upon him. 
 
 Slowly and sadly the mourners retired from the 
 spot that henceforth would be hallowed ground, feel- 
 ing that a mighty man of valor had fallen in Israel. 
 The Church for a while felt orphaned. 
 
 There were no human relatives present to mourn 
 over his departure, but thousands of spiritual-kindred 
 brethren, sisters and sons and daughters, — wept for 
 
368 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seydert. 
 
 one who had been to them a minister of good. Over 
 the length and breadth of the land, from the Atlantic 
 ocean to the Mississippi river and beyond, in thou- 
 sands of homes, the people mourned for this simple, 
 unassuming minister of Jesus Christ. At Indianapolis, 
 Naperville, and other places, impressive funeral ser- 
 vices were held, churches were draped in mourning, 
 and the people wept as for a father. 
 
 Three months after his obsequies, the Ohio confer- 
 ence assembled in the Flat Rock church, to hold its 
 annual session. During the session, formal memorial 
 services were held. The conference marched in pro- 
 cession to the grave, followed by a long procession 
 of citizens and laymen. Forming a circle around the 
 mound of the buried Bishop, the presiding Bishop, 
 W. W. Orwig, conducted a funeral service and de- 
 livered a eulogy. The scene was affecting, and the 
 conference was glad for the opportunity of giving 
 this unique but fitting tribute of honor to one so 
 worthy. 
 
 At a public sale of Bishop Seybert's personal 
 effects, the members of the church and other citizens 
 bought the different articles of his dress, etc., as 
 mementoes of this remarkable man. Father Weiker 
 of Bellevue bought his horse and buggy. Bro. John 
 Orwig of Bellevue bought his peculiarly made coat, 
 and this was cut up into shreds and given away to 
 importunate friends. Another bought his broad- 
 rimned hat, etc. This indicates the interest with 
 which this great and good man was regarded. 
 
 Several years before his death, Bishop Seybert 
 
Sunset. 
 
 369 
 
 made his last will and testament, in which he made 
 the Evangelical Association and her Institutions his 
 exclusive hjir, save a few hundred dollars bequeathed 
 to friends. Bishop Long was named as his executor. 
 During his life he made large donations to. the Church, 
 and practiced a singular economy, solely for the 
 financial benefit of the Church. Besides ha lost more 
 than four thousand dollars, because parties whom he 
 trusted and befriended, proved unfaithful and de- 
 frauded him of his possessions. His philanthropy 
 was often poorly rewarded, and perhaps sometimes 
 bestowed upon unworthy objects. Yet he had, by 
 his great simplicity and economy, accumulated quite 
 a respectable estate, which fell to the benefit of the 
 Church he loved. One of the stipulations of his, 
 testament was, that none of his money should be em- 
 ployed in vain display. He once remarked: "I 
 have declared life-long war upon fashions and extrav- 
 agance, and even after my death I want the war to 
 continue," It must not be forgotten to mention 
 either, that in his will he remembered his mother, 
 who was then living as yet, who, however, died but 
 a short time before him. 
 
 Bishop Seybert served the Church a period of forty 
 years in the holy ministry. From the time of his 
 entering upon this work in 1820, to the time of his 
 death in i860, he never turned aside from the ministry 
 for a moment. He died in the harness, at his post. 
 In these forty years he traveled, per horse, one hun- 
 dred and seventy-five thousand miles, preached about 
 nine thousand eight hundred and fifty times, made 
 24 
 
37° Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 about forty-six thousand pastoral visits, held about 
 eight thousand prayer and class meetings, besides 
 visiting at least ten thousand sick and afflicted ones. 
 This seems like an herculean accomplishment, But his 
 was a busy life. 
 
Character. 
 
 371 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 CHARACTER OF BISHOP JOHN SEYBERT. 
 
 " Who builds a church to God and not to fame. 
 
 Will never mark the marble with his name/' — Alexander Pope. 
 
 John Seybert lived for the unseen world, and 
 therefore this present world has largely forgotten 
 him. Schiller's assertion that History is Judg- 
 ment",* is not always true. If history be judgment, 
 then judgment is sometimes unjust. The fact is, 
 if a man's goodness outshine his greatness, the 
 world is dazzled and blinded. Hence ordinary his- 
 tory leaves the best men to lie buried in obscurity. 
 The judgment at the end of the world will reverse 
 the verdict of history in more than one instance. 
 History, cold and heartless as it is, may be man's 
 best judgment, but it is not always God's judgment. 
 
 The man, a record of whose life is herein given to 
 the English portion of our Church and of the world, 
 is an illustration of this. No mere man ever lived a 
 nobler life for God and for humanity than Bishop John 
 Seybert, and yet, outside of the Evangelical Associa- 
 tion, he is but little known or remembered. Even in 
 his denomination, many of the present generation 
 
 * Die Weltgeschiehte ist das Weltgericht. 
 
372 
 
 Life and Labors of John SeyberL 
 
 know little or nothing of him. "Tis true, 'tis pity,, 
 and pity 'tis, 'tis true." 
 
 John Seybert belongs to the heroic age of our 
 Church. There were p^'ia^s in those days, and he 
 was one of them. 
 
 He was a typical Evangelical preacher, an embodi- 
 ment of all that is distinctively characteristic of the 
 spirit of our institutions and the general character of 
 our ministry as conceived by the sainted founder of 
 our Church, Jacob Albright. The spirit of aggression, 
 the fire of missionary zeal, the desire to carry the 
 Bible into benighted regions, and to bring the Gospel 
 where no other church would condescend to go, this 
 is characteristic of the ministry of the Evangelical 
 Association, and distinguished in an extraodinary 
 degree Bishop Seybert. We are no interlopers, nor 
 proselyters, but pioneers by nature. We break our 
 own stones from the quarry, and do not shun the toil 
 of beginning the work in the crude. We have polished 
 more stones for others, than others have for us. 
 Seybert delighted in " breaking the ice", as he called 
 it. Like the white plumed Prince of Navarre, he was 
 always seen nearest the enemy's lines, where the 
 hardest fighting was to be done, where danger and 
 need were greatest. 
 
 He was no creature of circumstances. Circum- 
 stances were creatures in his hands. It may be truth- 
 fully said that he did more to mold his Church, than 
 his Church did to mold him. He stamped his individ- 
 uality upon the Evangelical Association and infused 
 her with his spirit. His individuality was strong, 
 
Character. 
 
 373 
 
 unique and original. He won the admiration and 
 confidence of the Church tc such a degree that she 
 involuntarily or unconsciously followed his example 
 and copied his ideal. 
 
 He was one of those men who are not easily 
 molded by their surroundings, their age, or their 
 contemporaries. Seybert would have been much 
 the same man, had he lived in any other age, pro- 
 vided he had become a subject of saving grace. 
 Had he lived in the days of the apostles he would 
 have been another Paul. Our bachelor-bishop indeed 
 reminds one strikingly, in so many instances, of the 
 great bachelor-apostle. He exhibited the same rest- 
 less zeal and tireless activity ; the same absolute 
 devotion to the Lord and His cause ; the same talent 
 of adaptability ; the same quickness of movement 
 which made him almost ubiquitous; the same fearless- 
 ness in danger and intrepidity among enemies; the 
 same holy ambition not to build on other men's founda- 
 tions, but to preach the Gospel where others had not 
 been; the same simplicity in preaching; the same 
 abundance in labor; the same grand success. 
 
 In personal appearance, Bishop Seybert was not 
 prepossessing, but singular. Of ordinary height, he 
 possessed a robust frame, somewhat spare in flesh; 
 his eyes were blue, his forehead was large, his chin 
 prominent; an artless expression of deep earnestness, 
 relieved by the light of benevolence and the lustre of 
 Christian joy, played upon his features. His manner 
 was frank as his face, his movements agile and ner- 
 vous. The general effect of his physique was height- 
 
374 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 ened by his peculiarly plain and artless garb. He 
 was thoroughly a homespun man. He wore a broad- 
 rimmed, stiff felt hat after the manner of itinerants 
 fifty years ago ; his coat, closing up to the neck, was 
 adorned with a thick row of large buttons; his 
 trousers were of corduroy; his feet were covered with 
 common leather shoes tied with strings. Altogether 
 his appearance was unique, original, remarkable. But 
 it was not affected; it was part of the man, and was 
 thoroughly consistent with his radical sentiments on 
 the subject of dress. He believed gaudy, costly, 
 and fashionable dress to be inconsistent with a Christ- 
 ian profession, and incompatible with the Christian 
 spirit, but he did not ask any one to imitate the cut 
 of his coat, nor to comb his hair as he did, straight 
 down. 
 
 Bishop Seybert's intellect was acute and practical, 
 rather than massive and sentimental. Though de- 
 prived of a classical education in youth, his intellect 
 was by no means without culture. He possessed the 
 power of concentration in a remarkable degree, and 
 his analytical abilities were of a high order. The 
 ardor of his soul made his mind the stronger, and 
 enabled him to penetrate to the very heart of Scritp- 
 ure truth. His sucessful careeer, under the disadvan- 
 tages of his time and circumstances, is the best 
 evidence that his mind was one of extraordinary 
 power. Besides, during his entire life he cultivated 
 his intellectual faculties by reading the best German 
 authors. When we take into account that he neces 
 sarily spent most of his time on the back of his horse, 
 
Character. 
 
 375 
 
 it is a mystery how he managed to read so many 
 books, and master such ponderous volumes of Ger- 
 man lore. The result was, that he attained great 
 thoroughness in the treatment of themes, and great 
 versatility in Scripture exposition. 
 
 He was a man of strong, positive convictions. He 
 lived for his convictions, and maintained them with a 
 tenacity and enthusiasm which at times laid him open 
 to the charge of stubbornness. But he was not stub- 
 born. He had reached his conviction by prolonged 
 study, keen observation, and extensive experience, — 
 and convictions which a sincere mind attains in that 
 way are not easy to give up. Besides, he founded 
 his beliefs in the Scriptures and defended them by 
 an appeal to the Book of books. He rested on the 
 authority of God, and held to nothing that he did not 
 believe to be Scriptural. He was a keen observer 
 of little things, and to a modern mind appears tinged 
 at least with something of superstition. This may be 
 true, but let him who is actually innocent of the least 
 superstition, even in our day, cast the first stone. 
 
 In conversation Seybert was affable and entertain- 
 ing. He was never morose, always cheerful and 
 active. But his conversation did not take a wide 
 range of subjects, — unless it be conceded that the 
 one subject of religion is large enough for a great 
 man during his entire lifetime. God and His cause, 
 was his theme in private conversation; and his aim 
 was, in every case to advance the spiritual interests 
 of those with whom he conversed. Thus his con- 
 versation was chiefly profitable, but by no means un- 
 
376 Life and Labors of John Seybert 
 
 entertaining. Sinners he exhorted to seek God, and 
 saints he admonished to faithfulness. He was never 
 frivolous nor worldly in his conversation. Withal, 
 his deportment in the family was modest, cleanly, 
 sociable and kindly. His influence in this regard was 
 always the best. 
 
 In the pulpit Seybert was indeed a power. The 
 reader of these pages can find ample evidence of that. 
 His public ministrations were marvelous for spirit- 
 uality. That was his chief characteristic; he had an 
 unction of the Holy One; he was full of the Holy 
 Ghost and mighty in the Scriptures. This was be- 
 cause his preparation was made chiefly by prayer, 
 and the study of the Word of God. 
 
 His matter was choice, and largely original. That 
 is to say, he drew it forth himself from the Fountain 
 of the Word, rather than using the artificial helps of 
 too many commentaries. Consequently he was al- 
 ways fresh and alive. He never grew "stale, flat and 
 unprofitable". No man will, who goes to the Fount- 
 ain for his supplies. He seldom dealt in speculative 
 abstractions, but was a master in the art of making 
 Scripture truth practical, and in bringing it down to 
 the comprehension of the people. He gave the truth 
 a handle. 
 
 His manner was always animated and nervous, 
 and, when he was in the tide of impassioned speech, 
 even imposing. He swept along with electrifying 
 enthusiasm, carrying his auditors irresistibly with 
 him. It was no uncommon thing for him to electrify 
 his audience to such a degree that their demonstra- 
 
Character. 
 
 377 
 
 tions quite drowned out the speakers voice. When 
 he reproved sin, he did it with a keenness that is 
 hardly attempted in our day; when he spoke of the 
 Redeemer, he presented Him in inspiring glory and 
 grace. 
 
 His language was terse, his sentences direct and 
 incisive, his propositions comprehensive and compact. 
 He was plain in his speech, as he was plain in dress. 
 He cared nothing for ornamentation, or for the polish 
 of rhetorical grace. He had a rhetoric of his own, 
 and that, like everything else about him, was adapted 
 to practical purposes. 
 
 The same was true of his homiletical arrangement. 
 There was no far-fetched, fanciful division of points. 
 He treated his text naturally, logically and practically. 
 Judged from the effects of his preaching, he was in- 
 deed a great preacher. What pungent conviction 
 was produced! what enthusiasm was inspired! what 
 results were achieved! In this respect he has far out- 
 done many more famous preachers. 
 
 This was largely due to the fact that he was always 
 and only a soul-saver. Whatever he did, was done 
 with this in view. He prayed, he studied, he rode, 
 he talked, he preached for souls, and realized his 
 desire. 
 
 Bishop Seybert's Christian character, it is almost 
 needless to say, was irreproachable. He loved God 
 with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself. His 
 life proved this. His religion was no mere sentiment; 
 it was the living, ruling principle of his soul. He 
 was the most consistent of men. He lived not for 
 
378 Life and Labors of fohn Seybert. 
 
 himself, but for God and for humanity. He was con- 
 secrated to that. It was the only thing he did. 
 
 The Evangelical Association can be justly proud of 
 Bishop Seybert. He was a great man, who owed his 
 greatness to his goodness. His character was so 
 genuine, his disposition so serene, his life so pure and 
 consistent, his career so illustrious, and his success so 
 magnificent, that his name will prove one of the 
 brightest on our escutcheon, and, whatever the sur- 
 prises and glory of the future, the lustre of Bishop 
 Seybert's career will never be less. 
 
 " He was a man, take him for all in all, 
 We shall not look upon his like again." 
 
 In order that the reader may have some idea of the 
 opinion which Bishop Seybert's contemporaries enter- 
 tained concerning him, we subjoin a few extracts from 
 various sources. 
 
 TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF BISHOP SEYBERT. 
 
 The following appeared in the Evangelical Messen- 
 ger of February 23d, i860. It was written by T, M. 
 
 Young: 
 
 Like a lone devotee at evening kneeling 
 
 In the cold shadow of a temple dim, 
 
 Sees not the sable night shades round him falling, 
 
 Lulled by the music of the vesper hymn ; 
 
 So in the twilight still I linger 
 
 With aching heart that craA T es a healing balm. 
 
 "While memory, like a sweet-toned cherub, singing, 
 
 Soothes my sad spirit with a plaintive psalm. 
 
Character. 
 
 379 
 
 Our Father ! whom we mourn with vain affliction, 
 Thou art the theme of memory's tender strain, 
 The thought of thee is like a benediction 
 Invoking peace upon our selfish pain ; 
 For like a dove with olive branch returning 
 From life's dark waters to the sheltering ark, 
 Thy soul with holy peace was fondly yearning, 
 To fold its pinions in death's peaceful barque. 
 
 Oh ! with what bitter grief the} T saw thee, languish, 
 Like the doomed victim of the venomed asp. 
 Schooling thyself to smile at thine own anguish 
 That loved ones might not mark its deadly grasp. 
 Self-sacrificing at affection's altar, 
 Thy spirit, like the faithful carrier dove, 
 Nerved its faint pinions ne'er to droop nor falter, 
 Upon its mission of untiring love. 
 
 Ah ! memory turning o'er her written pages, 
 
 Findeth few records of a life like thine. 
 
 Thy faith was placed upon the Kock of Ages, 
 
 Meek charity, and blessed hope divine. 
 
 And Oh ! rare mind, so free from falsehood's leaven 
 
 That from false seeming did thy soul rebel. 
 
 Not with thy prayers alone didst thou seek heaven, 
 
 But through a life of faith, and love, as well. 
 
 No ! thou wast not content with life's devotion, 
 
 Nor yet with one for this sad world too nice, 
 
 Like fancy frost-work, on life's turbid ocean, 
 
 A temple wondrous fair, but made of ice ! 
 
 No! thy soul, with sympathies divinely human, 
 
 Could feel for others' woe and help their need. 
 
 Thou wast a gentle, charitable Christian, 
 
 A Christian both in thought, and word, and deed. 
 
 Though thou hast left us for } 7 on realms elysian, 
 Thy seeming presence doth my being thrill. 
 
380 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 So deeply art thou mirrored in my vision, 
 Where'er I turn I seem to see thee stili ! 
 The night-winds sigh seems like thy soft voice calling, 
 The moon-beams like the light of thy calm eyes, 
 And the twinkling stars are to my spirit singing : 
 " Thus, thus the righteous liveth : and thus the righteous 
 dies ! " 
 
 The efforts vain, to calm the pain b}' steeping 
 In many tears the wound of such a grief ; 
 For e'en the solace of ungoverned weeping, 
 Hath not the power to yield my heart relief. 
 For memory's burning pen too deeply traces, 
 The bitter moments when all hope expires. 
 Not e'en the lapsing waves of time effaces, 
 From the grieved heart those characters of fire. 
 
 The editor of the Evangelical Messenger paid this 
 tribute to the Bishop's character. 
 
 Bishop Seybert was a man of toil. Trained to 
 habits of industry from his youth, being naturally of 
 an active nature, and reared, not in the lap of luxury, 
 but amidst rigid economy, self-denial, and hardships, 
 his early life qualified him in a very great measure to 
 become, what he really was, one of the most indefatig- 
 able workers that the world ever saw. Few men, if 
 any, either on this continent or Europe, in ancient or 
 modern times, preached more sermons, visited more 
 families, and traveled more miles, than did old father 
 Seybert, and we doubt whether Paul himself would 
 be an exception. And in speaking of his travels, it 
 should here be remarked that he very seldom made 
 use of public conveniences, but always traveled by 
 his own private conveyance. . As a pattern of indus- 
 try he deserves to be held up to the imitation of all. 
 
Character. 
 
 As a preacher he was practical. He cared but 
 little for the purity of style, excellency and force of 
 delivery, clearness of diction, impressive and correct 
 language and gestures, or any of the peculiar charac- 
 teristics of the orator. But what he neglected in this, 
 was more than made up by his intense earnestness. 
 Everybody saw that the plain, unassuming, active 
 man before him, was altogether in earnest, and if he 
 could not see it, he was sometimes made to feel; for 
 a man had to know distinctly on whose side he was, if 
 he would be sure to escape the arrows of truth that 
 he flung by a muscular arm from his bow of steel. 
 His lips spoke earnest words, his eyes flashed earn- 
 estness, his countenance, and that inimitable nod of 
 his head, all declared him to be in earnest. Four 
 years ago we heard him preach in Philadelphia; and 
 in the course of his remarks he said: "I wish to have 
 it said, when I am dead, that Seybert was a practical 
 preacher." We say this of him now, not to gratify 
 his wish, but, as every one that ever heard him 
 knows, in order to adhere strictly to the truth. 
 
 But it was necessary that he should be doctrinal 
 and argumentative in order to be truly practical; for 
 it became his duty to combat error, as well as preach 
 positive Gospel truth; and in listening to him, many 
 a one of far greater pretensions to learning has been 
 astonished to perceive the evidence of a rich fund of 
 knowledge dart forth like flashes of light from his 
 discourses. 
 
 Being very plain, and somewhat eccentric in his 
 dress, he was the avowed and uncompromising enemy 
 
382 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 of the gew-gaws and fooleries of fashion. Many a 
 hard blow has he dealt, and many a conscience has 
 he made to smart, when he came to speak of this. It 
 was a subject on which he always grew warm, and if 
 his rebukes were not very chaste in style, or his zeal 
 duly tempered with discretion, yet his worst enemy 
 (if he really had any, which is doubtful,) could not 
 deny that every word he spoke bore upon it the im- 
 press of an honest heart. 
 
 His ecclesiastical statesmanship was of a very 
 respectable character, and considering the intensity 
 of his nature, his views were often remarkably broad 
 and liberal. But it was not in this that he particu- 
 larly excelled. He was no intriguer at all; slyness 
 or cunning could not have found a nook or corner in 
 his honest heart. He was always a much better 
 worker than schemer, and in administering the Dis- 
 cipline, he coupled a remarkable degree of mildness 
 with his firmness. As a presiding officer he knew 
 his place; never forgetting that he was to maintain 
 order amidst, and not participate in, the debates of a 
 conference until the time for him to speak came. He 
 has always received the credit of conducting the 
 business of a conference with dispatch. 
 
 Like Paul the apostle, and the devoted Asbury, the 
 first bishop of the American Methodist E. Church, 
 Bishop Seybert was never married. We are half in- 
 clined to believe he had no time to marry, or at least 
 preferred to spend all his time in the immediate ser- 
 vice of his Master, rather than permit the cares and 
 responsibilities of married life, to distract his atten- 
 
Character. 
 
 383 
 
 tion from the great and all absorbing- work of saving' 
 souls. Hence he has no heirs, and the few thousand 
 dollars that were left of a patrimony which was made 
 to contribute freely to the cause of Christ during life, 
 was bequeathed, in his last will, to the same purpose. 
 Three thousand dollars he willed to the Missionary 
 Society of the Evangelical Association, and two thou- 
 sand to the " Charitable Society of the Evangelical 
 Association" located at Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Co., Pa. 
 This noble example is worthy of imitation ! Minor 
 bequests he made to other parties. 
 
 He may be said to have grown up with the Church 
 over whose councils he presided for many years. He 
 joined it when she had a membership of but 426, 
 with three circuits, and but five effective intinerant 
 preachers, and the entire territory covering but a 
 few counties in eastern and central Pennsylvania. 
 He leaves it now with a membership of 40,000; 320 
 itinerant preachers, many of them his sons in the 
 Gospel, and her territories expanded over all the 
 Middle and Western States, Canada, and a branch 
 even in Germany. Well may his soul glow in raptures 
 while he contemplates the goodness of God toward 
 our little Zion, with whose spiritual and temporal 
 interests he had been identified for a life-time. 
 
 Bishop W. W. Orwig, in his eulogy at the grave 
 of Seybert, said: u Bishop Seybert was a man, a 
 Christian and a preacher of the Gospel, who has had 
 few equals in the Church, and who is unexcelled in 
 the faithfulness, zeal and industry with which he per- 
 
384 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 formed the duties of his calling. He was a man, 
 who, like Barnabas, was full of the Holy Ghost and 
 of faith, and who, wherever he was known, was 
 esteemed and loved, as has been abundantly shown 
 since his demise by the tears of the people, both with- 
 in and without the Church. May his example of 
 piety, faithfulness and activity be an undying inspira- 
 tion to the entire Evangelical Association and to her 
 ministry, and always find enthusiastic imitation, and 
 may all of us follow his faith ! " 
 
 The editor the Christliche Botschafter gave the 
 following estimate of the man: 
 
 "Thus lived and died a man whose memory will 
 survive in thousands of grateful hearts, and will con- 
 tinue even to future generations. True, he did not 
 take a place among the learned and great in the 
 earth; no title, such as " D. D." ornamented his name. 
 He passed through the world, quite plain and unpre- 
 tentious, and yet we would ask, where are the men 
 of his times who have done more good, who have led 
 more souls to the Fountain of Life, and who have been 
 a greater blessing than he? If other noble men have 
 labored successfully in their sphere, he has certainly 
 done so no less, in his sphere of operations, notwith- 
 standing that his achievements have not been appre- 
 ciatively judged by the learned world and by high 
 churchly divines. But history names One who was 
 served no better. 
 
 4< Bishop Seybert w T as an itinerant preacher in the 
 fullest sense of the term. Like Paul he chose the 
 
Character. 
 
 385 
 
 unmarried state, as presenting the fewest hindrances 
 in the service of the Gospel to which he was wholly 
 devoted. We doubt whether any preacher in our 
 Church has traveled more than he, or visited more 
 families. 
 
 "To many he was a father in Israel. Eternity alone 
 will reveal the number of souls which this man has 
 saved. 
 
 "True, he was human and had human infirmities, 
 defects and peculiarities, but we may boldly assert, 
 that no sinful infirmities or habits were to be seen in 
 his conduct. A principal feature of his tharacter was 
 his gentleness and toleration, notwithstanding the 
 severity with which, in his sermons, he attacked 
 men's sins and the vices of the times. He was a 
 childlike, harmless servant of the Master, whose 
 exalted pattern he sought to imitate. He was un- 
 selfish in his devotion to his calling. While the pre- 
 lates of the Romish church, and of other ecclesias- 
 tical hierarchies lived in luxury and splendid ease, 
 he traveled and exposed himself, and was satisfied 
 with a salary of $100, and frequently paid his frugal 
 bills from his own private purse. 
 
 "Though he was not celebrated as a pulpit orator;, 
 though he freely allowed his hearers to perceive 
 that the Pennsylvania German dialect was his native 
 tongue, yet no one could doubt that he spoke from 
 the depth of profound conviction and intelligent faith. 
 His words came from the heart and reached the heart, 
 and this especially when, as was so often the case, he 
 spoke under the overwhelming power of the Holy 
 2 5 
 
386 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seyberi. 
 
 Ghost. Whatever men may have thought of his 
 oratory, all agreed that he was a good and pious 
 man; even his strongest opposers granted this. — But 
 what need of describing a man so generally known 
 throughout the Evangelical Association, and whose 
 loss almost every member personally feels? 
 
 " But no special institution in the kingdom of God 
 was so precious to him, or so fully enlisted his sym- 
 pathies as the holy missionary cause. He was indeed 
 a whole-souled missionary; he possessed a genuine 
 missionary spirit, and lived in the cause of missions, 
 for which reason also, by far the largest portion of 
 his property was devoted to this noble institution." 
 
 A writer, whose name does not appear, in the 
 Christliche Botschafter of March 17th, i860, said: 
 
 " His simplicity and humility, his sincerity and 
 conscientiousness, his gentleness toward his fellow- 
 men, his intense opposition against unrighteousness, 
 his great talents and extensive knowledge, above all 
 his untiring and self-denying zeal for the honor of 
 God and the welfare of mankind, all this and much 
 more that is excellent, has made him loved and 
 honored, as few mortals have been loved and hon- 
 ored. 
 
 " He was a master in Israel. He possessed the 
 qualifications of a theologian and of a successful 
 preacher in a high degree. His conception of truth 
 was thorough and evangelical, and his charmed 
 listeners found many a pearl of truth in his chaste 
 and simple sermons. It is true, his discourses were 
 
Character. 
 
 387 
 
 plain, and it has been said that he was no pulpit ora- 
 tor in the usual acceptation of that term ; but it is also 
 true, that he was one among a thousand in his mastery 
 of an audience, carrying them with him with irresist- 
 ible power, and few retain their freshness and mental 
 vigor to the last, as did Bishop Seybert. Beyond all 
 this, the thousands of souls whom he was instrumental 
 in saving, who are partly on earth, and partly in 
 heaven, are the most precious proofs of his efficiency 
 and success. The children whom he has begotten in 
 the Gospel, are found in all parts of the Evangelical 
 Association, and in all the various positions in the 
 Church, from the presiding elder to the Sunday- 
 school scholar, and the fact that so large a portion 
 of his converts are found in our ministry, and that 
 perhaps each of our eight conferences numbers such 
 among its preachers, is a particular proof of his great 
 power. 
 
 "But he was especially also 'a man full of faith and 
 of the Holy Ghost'. He began his Christian life and 
 official career with a profound, thorough conversion, 
 and right here lies, at least in great part, the secret 
 of his remarkably fruitful ministry. In consequence 
 of his sound conversion and rich experience in the 
 grace of God, his life was eminently pious, his self- 
 denial positive, and his faith in God immovable. To 
 live for God and his cause was the high and single 
 purpose of his life, and few accomplished this as he 
 did. 
 
 "We are told, 4 had he spared himself more, he might 
 still be living/ Granted. But he could not spare 
 
388 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 himself; he was bound by solemn obligations to labor 
 while it was day, and not to cease until the night 
 should come, and he was conscientiously determined 
 to keep his vows. He would fulfill his commission 
 to the utmost, and feared to do less than he could. 
 
 "The Evangelical Association, which he so dearly 
 loved, bears the impress of his influence on all sides, 
 and that as deeply as she now mourns his departure. 
 In every enterprise which had for its object the 
 progress of the Lord's work and the increase of our 
 Church, Bishop Seybert was the foremost in zeal and 
 -activity." 
 
 " In conclusion — though I am by no means through, 
 — in him God gave to our Association in its infancy 
 a man who will stand to future years as an example 
 and pattern, especially for our dear brethren in the 
 ministry. We have had him with us for a long 
 time, and yet we lost him before we were ready 
 to give him up. But we thank God, that He gave 
 him to us, and pray that henceforth the spirit which 
 was in Seybert may be diffused through our Associa- 
 tion from the senior bishop to the youngest member; 
 then we shall have a future for which the circle of the 
 earth will not be too great, nor the heavens too high." 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 389 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 BEING EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS, ETC., LECTURES, 
 CONVERSATIONS AND LETTERS OF BISHOP JOHN 
 SEYBERT, ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS. 
 
 We have but very few of Bishop Seybert's sermons 
 on record, and not one of those that we have is com- 
 plete. It was a mistake on the part of his cotempo- 
 raries not to note down more of his sermons and 
 lectures. Seybert himself left no manuscript copies 
 of his sermons. He seldom, if ever, wrote sermons. 
 This is to be regretted. His sermons and lectures 
 would form a contribution to our denominational 
 literature of inestimable value. Words of such power 
 as his, should not have been permitted to die. As it 
 is, they only live in their perpetual results. We give 
 in this chapter so much as is accessible. 
 
 SERMON ON JOB. 
 
 My text is the book of Job, and from this I will 
 preach without a sketch, praying that the eternal God 
 may add His blessing, power and life! 
 
 Much has already been spoken and written about 
 Job, but right here in the first chapter I find some- 
 thing about him that no one has yet clearlv brought 
 out — namely, that Job was, at the same time, both 
 very rich and very pious! Is not that a rare case? 
 (Pause.) I guess he was entirely sanctified. Wonder 
 whether there is another Job to be found now-a-days 
 
390 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 in the Church? I doubt whether there is one in the 
 Evangelical Association. We have people who are 
 as pious as Job was, but they are not so rich. Great 
 God, how important it is that our rich professors of 
 religion should be entirely redeemed and purified 
 from all vanity, pride, avarice, and worldly-minded- 
 ness! O that the generation of Jobs might increase t 
 Here I find something in the fifth verse that each 
 father should take to heart. Job offered burnt- offer- 
 ings every day for his children, for he thought they 
 might have sinned. This wealthy and respectable 
 man was very much concerned for the salvation of 
 his children. He was not satisfied with their worldly 
 prosperity — he had great anxiety for the salvation of 
 their souls. Fathers and mothers, how is it with you? 
 Do you also pray and bring daily offerings to God in 
 behalf of your children, that they may not be over- 
 come of the world and of Satan? Or are you satisfied 
 if your son is a greedy speculator, and your uncon- 
 verted daughter struts about in such display that 
 one's horse gets frightened at her and attempts to 
 run away, when passing her on the street? O, ye 
 parents, learn from this pious man to observe your 
 family worship daily, and let the offering of living, 
 believing prayer, often ascend for your children. But 
 you must also be right, and live right before them, or 
 it will avail nothing. We next find that the children 
 of God met together, either at Job's house, or in his 
 neighborhood, verse 7. Some think these " sons of 
 God " were the holy angels. I will allow them to 
 have their opinion, but I shall take the Word just as it 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 39i 
 
 stands ; I think it must have been a meeting of real 
 live children of God — human beings who were 
 soundly converted — for if there was a Job at that 
 time, there were also, it is likely, other pious persons. 
 These held a meeting, and behold, Satan came in 
 also. And so he does to this day — but, hallelujah! the 
 eternal God was there among His children, for they 
 had come before God with prayer, hungering and 
 thirsting after righteousness. Satan was behind time. 
 (Here the Bishop described the schemes and tricks 
 of the devil in trying to hinder the Word and Work 
 of God in congregations, and then continued:) But 
 here I come to a point that could never yet be found 
 out by the wisdom of the world, but only by the 
 Spirit of God. It is too deep for me, it is such a 
 depth that one staggers in trying to look into it, and 
 that is the severe trials and great suffering of Job. 
 
 Satan being in the assembly, among the children 
 of God, was asked of the Lord, " Whence comest 
 thou?" What have you to do here? You are out of 
 place here. The Lord knew that Satan was envious 
 of Job, because he was such a light in the Lord; and' 
 he had come as an accuser of the brethren, to bring 
 something against this good man, who was as a thorn 
 in his eye. And being a "liar from the beginning," 
 he would not speak the truth even to God, but said, 
 " I have been passing to and fro in the country, after 
 my business; and hearing that there was a meeting 
 here, I thought I would come and see what is go- 
 ing on." 
 
 Although this was full of lies, there was some truth 
 
39 2 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 woven into it. The devil does pass up and down 
 in the land and has a great deal of business. He 
 must frequently go to the taverns, groggeries, gam- 
 bling pits, frolics, parties, dances, etc., and see to it 
 that everything goes on right devilish. He must help 
 the thieves, whoremongers, adulterers, fraudulent, 
 and especially the vain fashion-fools to do everything 
 according to his will. How the old fellow must 
 chase about, and order the little sub-devils around 
 right and left, and in every direction! He must help 
 the ladies before the glass to make their fool-fashions 
 set rio-ht, and must see to it that the men chase after 
 the world with the necessary earnestness. In politics, 
 in the Church, in the theatre, in the pulpit, in the 
 closet, in the ball-room, wherever men do congregate, 
 in whatever men engage, he is busy in efforts to 
 hinder the good and advance the evil. Especially 
 where there are spiritual meetings, where sinners are 
 resurrected into the life eternal, and where the chil- 
 dren of God leap for joy and praise their Redeemer, 
 there he begins to rag-e like a steam boiler, and his 
 anger is wreaked on some pious Job. 
 
 The Lord very well knew that Satan was at this 
 meeting to bring a railing accusation against Job, and 
 so He anticipated the cunning old serpent with the 
 question: " Hast thou considered my servant Job, 
 that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and 
 an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth 
 evil?" Then the devil's envy boiled over, and with 
 a hot poisonous snort, he answered: "Doth Job fear 
 God for naught? Hast Thou not made an hedge 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 393 
 
 about him, and about his house, and about all that he 
 hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of 
 his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 
 But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he 
 hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face. — Job only 
 serves Thee from self-interest, because it pays so 
 well. If Thou wouldst give and preserve everything 
 thus for me, I would also serve Thee." I suppose 
 the devil had not learned then yet that the grace of 
 God can so transform fallen men that they can serve 
 God without any motive of self-interest, but only 
 because it is the will of God; and perhaps the Lord 
 thought it was about time the devil should learn this 
 lesson, as well as mankind (herein is a very profound 
 depth), and therefore the Lord said to Satan: "Behold, 
 all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself 
 put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from 
 the presence of the Lord." 
 
 He had to confess a great truth, namely, that God 
 had "set an hedge about Job" and all his possessions, 
 and was protecting him. Hallelujah! the devil him- 
 self was compelled to acknowledge that God is like a 
 wall of fire around His people! Satan had often 
 gone prowling around Job like a savage beast, but he 
 always found him hedged securely in till now; when 
 all at once the Lord opened a door of permission, 
 and Satan enters promptly upon his work of destruc- 
 tion. "Here" thought he, "I will shew Job and all 
 the world how little there is in the service of God." 
 And he went to work quite shrewdly; Satan is no 
 fool, depend upon that. In one day he seized Job's 
 
394 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 children, cattle, and all his possessions, and destroyed 
 them; and to effect this, he, by Divine permission, 
 made use of the Chaldeans, the storm, the lightnings,, 
 etc. But mark! Satan had so arranged it that one 
 messenger after the other came to Job, bringing him 
 one terrifying message after another. While one 
 messenger was yet speaking, Satan had another on 
 the run; he so hurried him that 'he was quite out of 
 breath, when he came to Job, where the first one was 
 still speaking, and could hardly deliver his message 
 for panting. So it was with the third and fourth. 
 How these poor fellows had to hurry their feet to 
 carry the devil's messages! He still makes men who 
 serve him chase about thus till they almost die. But 
 — but there was a devilish object in all this. If Job 
 had had but one minute he would have fallen upon his 
 knees, and by prayer obtained strength immediately. 
 This Satan knew very well, and was anxious to pre- 
 vent it. It was his intention to suddenly overwhelm 
 Job, and felt quite sure of victory too. But if ever in 
 his life he was beaten, deceived, and put to shame, it 
 was now. After Job had heard it all, he fell upon 
 the earth, praying, and said, "The Lord gave and 
 the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of 
 the Lord!" His praise to God struck the devil like 
 a thunderbolt of surprise. "Ho! what is all this? 
 This is not as I expected!" he exclaimed. Full of 
 anger, shame and madness, he fled, feeling as mean 
 as only a defeated devil can feel! But he could not 
 rest yet, thinking, "if Job is possessed of such deep 
 piety, what harm will he not do my cause upon earth ? 
 
Extracts front Sermons &c. 
 
 395 
 
 I must go at him again." So he went to the assem- 
 bly of the sons of God again. Impudently he now 
 tells the Lord, if he would lay his hand upon Job's 
 body and life he would curse God; "for all that a 
 man hath will he give for his life," said Satan. Then 
 the Lord said: " Behold he is in thine hand; but 
 save his life ". . . . So went Satan forth from the 
 presence of the Lord, and smote Job with boils from 
 the sole of his foot unto his crown. Behold, as soon 
 he had permission he chased and tumbled himself 
 after the man of God, and abused him most miserably, 
 causing him to break out all over with boils, so that 
 he had to scrape the corruption off with a potsherd, 
 and sit in ashes. Now he had robbed Job of his 
 children, his cattle, his lands, his health, and almost 
 his life, leaving him only a cross and ugly wife, who 
 under the influence of the evil spirit came upon him 
 and mocked him, saying: "Dost thou still retain thine 
 integrity? Curse God and die." The old enemy 
 knows well what a great influence the wife often has 
 
 o 
 
 over the husband, and he thought, "Now I have 
 surely conquered! Job surely can't stand that!" 
 But hark! Job answered her decidedly and with 
 resignation, being fully in the light: "Thou speakest 
 as one of the foolish women speaketh. What! shall 
 we receive good at the hand of God, and not evil?" 
 
 Defeated again, Satan now turns Job's former 
 friends loose upon him, to plague him with accusa- 
 tions until it was almost intolerable. Just think how 
 this holy, pious, consecrated man was brought into 
 distress; his possessions, his children, almost his life 
 
396 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 taken away from him; persecuted by his own wife 
 and former friends; his soul enveloped in darkness! 
 Satan thought he could worry and discourage him till 
 he had him conquered; hence he listened with malig- 
 nant joy to the lamentations of Job. But suddenly 
 he heard, to his terror, a confident exclamation come 
 up from the depth of Job's soul: "I know that my 
 Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter 
 day upon the earth: And though after my skin, 
 worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see 
 God!" 
 
 No doubt the enemy now lost all hope, for he saw 
 that Job did not serve God for worldly prosperity, 
 but that he was anchored deeply in his Redeemer. 
 The end and object of this great trial had now been 
 reached. God turned again the captivity of Job, 
 removed his wretchedness, and blessed him more 
 abundantly than ever before, and the devil learned a 
 lesson that he will never forget. 
 
 The devil hates no one so much as those Christians 
 who are so entirely swallowed up in God, and so 
 dead to all the vanities of the flesh and of the world, 
 that they love God with all the heart. But he can 
 not injure them. Hallelujah! 
 
 This history gives us a clear view of the realm of 
 spirits, and into that we must look if we would rightly 
 understand it. It gives us a look behind the scenes, 
 and lays bare the hidden forces that work in our 
 lives. 
 
 Oh my brethren and sisters! whatever you do, 
 press deeply into God. Watch and pray, submit 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 39? 
 
 yourselves wholly unto the Lord, and trust him in the 
 greatest adversities. For, 
 
 u The clouds ye so much dread 
 Are big with mercy, and will break 
 In blessings on your head." 
 
 ARRAIGNMENT OF THE LIQUOR DEALERS. 
 
 Notwithstanding the misery and fearful destruction 
 that is produced daily, by the comnon use of spirituous 
 and intoxicating liquors, the murderous robber busi- 
 ness of manufacturing and selling of it, both at whole- 
 sale and retail, still goes on uninterruptedly, as if it 
 were a necessary and useful business, without which 
 the world could not go on. As soon as a man pub- 
 licly opposes this business, the brewer, the distiller,, 
 the seller, the moderate drinker and the rowdy, be- 
 come his enemies. The sellers of strong drink are 
 really the men who are responsible for the contin- 
 uance of the vice of drunkenness. They help the 
 drunkard along in his pathway of ruin, encourage 
 him in his vice, and furnish him with the implements 
 of self-destruction. 
 
 Here are a few of the innumerable examples of the 
 unspeakable miseries of drunkenness, which these 
 rum-sellers produce; 
 
 Not long since a drunkard, whom I could mention 
 by name, injured himself in one of his limbs, and the 
 poison which brandy had carried into the red tide of 
 life, produced inflammation in the wound, and it be- 
 came incurable. He died, frightfully cursing his poor 
 
398 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 soul, and went into the solemnity of eternity with 
 horrid oaths and imprecations on his dying lips. 
 Forever and forever he has to reap the fearful harvest 
 which he sowed, and . for which the rum-seller pro- 
 vided the seed. After death his poisoned mutilated 
 carcass was terrible to behold. 
 
 Come, rum-seller, see this poor inebriate in his 
 coffin! He came to his untimely end by your hands. 
 Behold the work of your hands! Look into his face 
 and you can read amid its lines and furrows your own 
 awful doom. — And what have you gained? His 
 money! For it you have brought him to an early 
 grave. 
 
 During the last year a drunkard in S pursued 
 
 his poor wife with an axe, while he was intoxicated. 
 The creature fled from her "protector" to a neighbor- 
 ing house, but he followed her and cleft her skull in 
 two, inflicting also several other ghastly wounds in 
 her breast. Before help arrived she was a corpse, 
 and her murderer, whom the rum-sellers had con- 
 verted into an incarnate devil, was in the act of cut- 
 ting his own throat with a knife. His father had 
 been a liquor dealer and kept a saloon — a gateway 
 to hell. 
 
 Another instance where the man was formerly one 
 of my personal acquaintances. I know him to have 
 been a well-meaning, kind-hearted man by nature, 
 and he had an excellent, industrious wife, and good 
 children. But through moderate drinking he became 
 an arch-drunkard. The family became a ruin. The 
 husband and father in his frenzies would pursue his 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 399- 
 
 good wife and children, with the axe, the gun, the 
 butcher-knife, or anything he happened to get, so 
 that they frequently escaped death narrowly, and 
 finally they all had to leave him. 
 
 Do you see, ye rum and brandy makers and sellers, 
 what your devilish business accomplishes and pro- 
 duces? The above mentioned facts are only examples 
 out of millions, of how you utterly ruin your victims 
 in soul and body, for time and for eternity. Cast but 
 a glance at the innumerable victims of your butchery. 
 The land swarms with them. See how many beg- 
 gars and paupers you create annually, who go in rags 
 from house to house, begging for bread and clothes — 
 or perhaps for money to buy more rum and brandy 
 of you. For when, in robber fashion, you have stolen 
 all their possessions, you send them out into the 
 world and oblige them to beg more money before you 
 give them any more to drink. Yes, when these poor- 
 wretches have squandered their last cent in your 
 establishment, and have pawned their last coat for 
 drink over your bar, you drive the naked victims 
 of your avarice from your door, and if it be the cold- 
 est Winter night. Even if they freeze, and rush into 
 the abyss of hell, you are not concerned, least of all 
 if you first got all their money. Money is your object, 
 ye accursed liquor dealers. 
 
 Lift up your eyes and see the thousands you drive 
 into infirmaries, insane asylums and prisons. On 
 your account they are suffering there. Cast a glance 
 also into the black abyss of hell, where the millions 
 of drunkards must endure the fearful tortures of the 
 
-400 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched. 
 Through drinking, these have shortened their lives, 
 and you are responsible for their lamentable fate. 
 O, listen to the thunder of their cries of anguish, their 
 moans of distress, and think of the imprecations they 
 will heap upon you when you get there too! For 
 you will get there just as sure as you do not change 
 your course and stop your nefarious trade. Then 
 those will curse you, who, deceived by you, had 
 chosen the path of vice. Then those souls whom 
 you tormented, will accuse you. And every pang 
 that you have caused, and every fortune you des- 
 troyed, will haunt you with its woe. 
 
 Better, a great deal, that you should nourish your 
 children by begging, if such a thing were necessary 
 in this country, than to be engaged in this destructive 
 business. For, were this accursed traffic banished 
 from our land and nation, we would have a gain, 
 annually, of at least one hundred millions of dollars. 
 
 BISHOP SEYBERT ON TOBACCO. 
 
 [In many things Seybert was in advance of his age. 
 This is especially noticeable in his views of the use 
 of tobacco. In an age when most Christian professors 
 and preachers used the narcotic, and few in any 
 church thought of protesting against it, he was out- 
 spoken, radical, and earnest in his condemnation of 
 the evil. Before any conference passed any resolu- 
 tions on the subject, Bishop Seybert was wont to 
 inquire of candidates for the ministry, for orders, or 
 for the Presiding Elder's office, whether they were 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 401 
 
 free from the use of tobacco. Below follow some 
 paragraphs giving his sentiments fully and clearly. S.] 
 In his journal he wrote of a certain locality: 
 "Around here the people are deeply corrupted; there 
 are many tipplers, and both among converted and 
 unconverted, the pernicious use, or rather abuse of 
 tobacco prevails. However a glorious work of grace 
 has begun, and it is to be hoped that the people will 
 be saved from the idols, and will get rid of them." 
 In a sermon he delivered himself in this fashion: 
 "The misuse of tobacco occurs ordinarily in smok- 
 ing, chewing and snuffing. The daily use of it in 
 this way can not fail to have a harmful effect upon 
 particular portions of the body. Tobacco is fit for 
 medicine, and that is the only use of the weed. But 
 whoever chews, smokes or snuffs it daily, will at last 
 suffer harm in his physical system. Among the 
 symptoms which it produces are the following: vari- 
 ous classes of headache, numbness, dizziness, nausea, 
 pain in the eyes, and watering of the same, dullness 
 of the sense of smell, smarting and blistering of the 
 tongue, unpleasant odor in the mouth, rawness in 
 the throat and irritation to cough, constant hunger, 
 accompanied with nausea and fainting, stomach 
 cramps, weakness and trembling of the limbs, palpita- 
 tion of the heart, distressing pressure on the chest, 
 gradual consumption, etc. Every slave of tobacco, if 
 he will be honest, must acknowledge that he is 
 troubled with one or more of these evils, though he 
 may not have connected his sufferings with tobacco 
 unless his attention was called to it. 
 26 
 
402 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 " If a medicine be used habitually for years to cure 
 a certain disease, it will eventually produce a disease 
 of its own, according to its properties and power, 
 especially if it be a poison, which tobacco certainly is. 
 
 "Even the demands of our physical nature should 
 prevent us from using the weed, for nature rises in 
 rebellion against it in every person who begins its 
 use, with the intention of habituating himself to its 
 use. Every tobacco slave knows by experience, how 
 unwilling his system was to receive the obnoxious 
 poison, because nature felt its harmfulness and pro- 
 tested mightily against its use. We ought to be 
 ashamed before the dumb brutes, though we are 
 endowed with reason, we do far worse than they in 
 this particular. Do not dumb creatures select the 
 vegetation that is suitable for their nourishment, 
 from among poisonous growths? As a rule, they 
 touch a harmful weed but once. Ought not we to act 
 as wisely as our cattle and sheep ? They avoid harm- 
 ful indulgences. We do not accomplish as much with 
 our reasoning faculties as these dumb creatures do 
 with their instinct! O, inconsistency, where is thy blush! 
 
 " Smoking and chewing positively impairs the diges- 
 tion, because it vitiates the salivary secretion, and 
 the gastric juice, which are necessary to the trans- 
 formation of food into the blood and material for 
 physical building and repair. Snuffing only spoils 
 what it is intended to improve, besides being a repul- 
 sive habit, which eventually destroys the sense of 
 smell, so that one feels as if he had neither head nor 
 nose, or imagines he is all nose. 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 403 
 
 "In many instances it requires grace to get rid of 
 the habitual use of the narcotic, just as stopping the 
 use of intoxicants often also requires grace. But as 
 a general thing, even good breeding and common 
 civilization without religion will keep a man from 
 using it, for this filthy habit is such a violation of good 
 morals and aesthetical delicacy, that a well bred per- 
 son will not be guilty of it. Good breeding abhors it. 
 To stop the habit, in short, costs generally nothing 
 more than that one makes up his mind never to toticli 
 the weed again, and keeps the resolution. That does 
 the business. 
 
 "The tobacco habit is also an occasion of extrav- 
 agance. If one observes the great waste of time and 
 money which is connected with the misuse of tobacco, 
 it is hard to avoid the conviction that it certainly is 
 not a proper indulgence for those who claim to be 
 followers of Christ. I have also observed that this 
 narcotic leads to indolence, and laziness knows noth- 
 ing except how to kill time. Presumably, tobacco 
 dealers and users will regard me as fanatical and 
 peculiar, but I can not reconcile such a filthy habit, 
 that costs so much money and time, with the character 
 of a Christian who is under obligations to consecrate 
 his goods and time to God. 
 
 "In our little Evangelical Association (1 841) at least 
 $7,000 are this year devoted to tobacco — much more 
 than the offerings for the holy missionary cause 
 amount to. O God, have mercy! But if all the money 
 that is paid out for tobacco in America alone for one 
 year, would be devoted to benevolent purposes, how 
 
404 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 many naked and neglected children in the land could 
 be clothed, sheltered and educated! how many for- 
 saken widows and their orphans would be relieved 
 from want, and made happy! how many missionaries 
 could be equipped and sent out to save immortal 
 souls! Yes, how many more preachers could our 
 own Church support on the field of the Gospel, with 
 the money that is consumed by its members in this 
 unrighteous way! But alas! we too must sacrifice to 
 the idols yet! 
 
 "But how is it with the servants of the Word, the 
 itinerant preachers? Are these free from this un- 
 cleanness? It is for them to leave this path of sin 
 first, for they are called of God to show the people 
 the way to heaven, and to teach them to crucify the 
 flesh with its sinful lusts, to put off the old man with 
 his works, and to keep themselves unspotted from 
 the world. But are they unspotted, if they are be- 
 daubed with tobacco juice, and infected with tobacco 
 stench, so that to a decent person they are positively 
 repulsive? I think not. They are slaves, and I ad- 
 vise them, yea beg of them to cleanse themselves 
 of this filthiness, and to use their money to a better 
 purpose, for the day of judgment comes on a pace, 
 where also the preachers must give account of their 
 stewardship. 
 
 "I appeal to the ministry to go to work to root up 
 this evil. If you will interest yourselves in it as you 
 should, the cause will make better progress. Up 
 then, ye heralds of the Cross! ye embassadors for 
 Christ! Your Master smoked no tobacco. I will 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 405 
 
 vouch for that! Up, ye watchmen of Israel! Break 
 down and tear away these idols. Lift up your voices, 
 and protest by your example against this squandering 
 of time and money. The people watch their watch- 
 men, and imitate the example of their leaders. 
 Through you a reformation can easily be effected. 
 And what a blessing this would be to our little Zion! 
 The missionary contributions could be materially 
 increased — yes, doubled. Our pulpits would be clean, 
 and our pews fit for decent and well-clad people. The 
 behavior of our preachers would be more in accord 
 with their office, and their character as ministers 
 would be in higher estimation, and they would em- 
 ploy many an hour in prayer and study, which they 
 now lose by their sinful use of tobacco." 
 
 " LOVE IS STRONG AS DEATH." A FRAGMENT. 
 
 Text: — Song of Sol. 8:5. For love is strong as 
 death. 
 
 This is an everlasting truth, which Christ demon- 
 strated when he died for us while we were yet sin- 
 ners. Rom. 5:8-10. This truth has also been 
 demonstrated by thousands and millions of people, 
 who have been constrained by love to endure trib- 
 ulation, to bear shame, to suffer the loss of all things, 
 and to submit even to the most painful death for the 
 glory of God and for the sake of the truth. 
 
 It is evident that no person in his wicked state has 
 or can have this love in him. We must therefore 
 inquire how we are to get possession of this quality 
 
4o6 Life and Labors of Jolin Seybert. 
 
 of character. I answer, by regeneration. It is not to 
 be attained in any other way, as is clear from i. John 
 5:1 : " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ 
 is born of God; and every one that loveth him that 
 begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him.'' 
 Here the holy apostle represents faith, regeneration 
 and love as being together. According to Rom. 5 : 5 
 love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost 
 who is given unto us. This is said of those who are 
 born again. 
 
 According to the commandment of God, and also 
 the example of ancient saints, we must grow and in- 
 crease in love as well as in every other grace of Jesus 
 Christ, if we are not to grow indifferent and cold, and 
 at last lose our souls. Whoever continues in love to 
 the end of life, shall be saved, but he who has for- 
 saken his first love, let him consider whence he is 
 fallen, repent, do his first works and seek his first 
 love again — seek her continually, until he is sub- 
 .merged in the ocean of everlasting love. 
 
 This love which is spoken of in the text must be 
 genuine. Let us be sincere in our love. Love is 
 not deceitful, Brotherly love should be hearty, in 
 honor preferring one another. Our love is not to be 
 "in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in 
 truth." Then all will recognize us as belonging to 
 Jesus Christ, and that we are His true disciples. 
 
 Whosoever has within him this love which comes 
 from God, loves also his foes, prays for them and 
 does them good, as the ancients said. A heavenly 
 spirit must possess those who follow Jesus, and those 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 407 
 
 who have entered the kingdom of grace can not hate 
 anyone. Love goes out after all men. 
 
 Without the love 01 God in our hearts we are unfit 
 for good works or the performance of Christian duty. 
 Though we were ever so learned, and understood all 
 tongues, and all mysteries; though we could speak 
 with the tongues of angels, and though we could 
 remove mountains by the might of our faith, yea 
 though we give our all to the poor, and our body 
 to be burned, yet all this without love would not 
 save us. 
 
 Love adorns all our actions, and makes all our 
 works acceptable to God. Love enables us to do 
 the whole will of God with oreat delight. Love is 
 an active principle in the regenerate soul, which 
 constrains him to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, 
 visit the sick and those that are in prison, and to 
 entertain hospitably the stranger and pilgrim. She 
 also constrains God's people to open benevolent 
 hands, to spread the Gospel by the help of their 
 earthly means. I know of a sister who purchased a 
 number of pocket Bibles, and distributed them among 
 the poor around her, so that these might have the 
 precious Word of God. That is practising love. 
 
 Love also persuades men sometimes to devote 
 fields and forests to the service of the living God, 
 and to dedicate houses, work-shops and business 
 places, as homes of worship and prayer. It con- 
 strains God's children to be prompt and regular in 
 the public services of God's house, and to attend 
 assiduously to family and secret devotions. Care- 
 
408 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 lessness in these particulars betrays coldness of love. 
 Love produces life and activity in those in whom she 
 dwells, so that they are at times enabled to pray with 
 great emotion and many tears for their unconverted 
 friends, that such may also be saved. Yea, love 
 constrains men who have talent and are anointed 
 from above for the purpose, to leave father and 
 mother, wife and children, to despise a comfortable 
 living and earthly possessions, and to carry "the 
 grace of God that bringeth salvation " over mountain 
 and valley, over land and rivers, through cold and 
 heat, through sunshine and storm, regardles of the 
 sacrifice they make or the hardships they encounter, 
 until the ends of the earth are full of the honor and 
 knowledge of God. Such men, however, are not 
 easily frightened off by the devil, or made timid by 
 difficulties. They do not easily leave the field. No! 
 so long as love is master in the heart of the minister 
 of Jesus, he sails boldly on. 
 
 Love also makes us patient in suffering, and 
 enables us, for God's sake, to endure with fortitude 
 all the trials, burdens, toils and cares of this life, 
 waiting calmly until our change come. 
 
 Now, beloved friends, who hear this, how is it 
 among you? How stands this matter with us all? 
 How is it in the Evangelical Association? How is 
 it with me and with you? Are you still rooted and 
 grounded in that love that is strong as death? To 
 the glory of God I can say that I feel love's fires 
 burning in my inmost soul with as much intensity 
 and fervor as ever before in my Christian experience. 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 409 
 
 And how is it in the ministry? Ye messengers of 
 the Lord, have ye this love burnig yet, or are her 
 fires gone down? Have you still the courage and 
 faith to continue in the held until evening, when the 
 Master will call the laborers home and give them 
 their reward? O, brethren, be faithful! Our work 
 in the Lord is not in vain. Possibly, in some the 
 love has grown so cold that you have determined to 
 retire from the Gospel field at the next annual confer- 
 ence, and go back to gathering earthly treasures or 
 to seek a more comfortable living, than the minister 
 has who is the servant of everybody. 
 
 Where is that youth, strong as Samson who slew 
 thousands of Philistines and set their corn fields on 
 fire? Has he, like the son of Manoah, yielded to the 
 charms of some Delilah who, as the wife of his bosom, 
 has shorn him of his strength? Oh, he went out so 
 grandly into the battle! But he has taken a wife and 
 now his strength and courage are gone. Where now 
 is his zeal for God's honor, and the love for immortal 
 souls? It is to be feared it has been extinguished. 
 In a few the impulse to preach has been lost and the 
 love of money has captured their hearts, for, without 
 good cause they have have left the work, gone home, 
 and are now engaged in worldly business. Brethren, 
 have a care! Your Lord cometh soon and inquireth 
 for the talent He entrusted to your hands. And what 
 will you say? Though the Lord has set you as 
 watchmen, you seldom blow the trumpet. Is there no 
 danger any more, or has the Lord taken the office 
 from you and given it to others ? You can not put the 
 
410 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 blame for your retirement on our friends; for they 
 are seeking year by year to make more and more 
 perfect arrangements, and yearly sacrifice their thou- 
 sands that your wants might be provided for, while 
 you are spreading the Gospel. Of course, if all our 
 friends had this perfect love that is stronger than 
 death, they would still do much more for the spread 
 of Christ's kingdom than they do. They could sup- 
 port twice the number of traveling preachers, and 
 three times the number of missionaries. What a 
 blessing that would be for the German population of 
 North America! 
 
 THE EPISCOPAL OFFICE. 
 
 The Great Head of the church has appointed vari- 
 ous offices for the good of the church, and the salva- 
 tion of the world. Already in the Apostolic church 
 the Holy Spirit anointed and appointed prophets, 
 evangelists, shepherds, teachers and apostles; there 
 were also deacons, elders and bishops in the primitive 
 Church, through whom the saints were edified, and 
 the body of Christ strengthened. Therefore it is 
 proper and beneficial to have these officers in the 
 Church to-day. 
 
 The higher the office which the Church entrusts to 
 a brother, the more humility is required, and also a 
 correspondingly greater treasure of grace and unction 
 in the heart, in order to perform the duties of the 
 office well pleasing to God, and for the good of the 
 Church. The higher the office, the nearer to God. 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 4 1 r 
 
 Jesus Christ holds the highest office in the Church 
 universal, and He, the great ''Shepherd and Bishop", 
 is in the "bosom of the Father". John was the most 
 far-seeing of the apostles, and was entrusted with the 
 greatest mysteries of the Kingdom, and he lay on 
 Jesus's breast. Paul, who took the first rank among 
 the apostles, "was caught up into the third heaven, 
 the Paradise of God", so that he constantly felt a deep 
 inward desire to depart and be with Christ. 
 
 The exalted apostle Paul could not be separated 
 from Christ, by height nor depth, nor any other 
 creature. So should a bishop be. He must not be 
 like a dried, dead reed, shaken by the wind, if he is 
 to be fit for his high position. Even every Christian 
 is to be green and flourish like a cedar of Lebanon, 
 the older the stronger, how much more necessary is 
 this for a bishop! A bishop should also be like a 
 wall of masonry, like a granite rock, so that some- 
 thing can be laid upon him and be secure. What 
 does a bishop amount to, if he is not a pillar in the 
 house of God, nor a patriarch in the family of saints? 
 
 A bishop should be distinguished for his spirit of 
 self-denial. He must not seek a life of ease, nor 
 honor from men, nor shun the Cross, nor aim at a 
 high salary, neither should he in his own person nor 
 in his family be conformed to the fashionable ways 
 and display of the world. He should have well-bred 
 children who are true Christians, so that even they 
 will demonstrate the man's fitness to preside over a 
 household. A bishop in the Evangelical Association 
 must not make a long face if he becomes all men's 
 
41 2 Life aiid Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 scape-goat. Long ago the sun has burnt me black. 
 ''The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
 world." Nor do I care to know anything, save Jesus 
 Christ, and Him crucified. A bishop must not "lord 
 it over God's heritage", but be an "ensample to the 
 flock." He must not be conspicuous for personal 
 pride and official hauteur, riding in cruel pomp over 
 the rights, the consciences and the happiness of the 
 people, like the gilded prelates of the Romish 
 hierarchy. 
 
 One of the strongest evidences that a man is not 
 fit for the episcopal dignity, is when he seeks the 
 office. Such an one misapprehends the gravity and 
 importance of this position in the Church, or over- 
 estimates his own talent and fitness. According to 
 Augustine the episcopal title is itself the name of a 
 work which he has to perform who receives the title, 
 and that work is to take care of the subordinates in 
 the Church, and to be concerned for their spiritual 
 welfare. He who has a bishop's office has a work to 
 perform through the heat and burden of the day, and 
 must not desire to be a mere idle gentleman. The 
 episcopal office is by no means a sinecure. The 
 fathers of the primitive Church feared the office and 
 its responsibilities so greatly, that some of them had 
 to be literally forced into acceptance. Among his 
 brethren in the ministry, the bishop should be the 
 least and humblest, as we are taught by the example 
 of Jesus in washing his disciple's feet. 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 413 
 
 THE SLANDERER. 
 
 The slanderer has three swords on his tongue, 
 with which he kills three persons with one stroke, 
 namely himself, the one whom he slanders, and the 
 one who listens attentively to his words. Sometimes 
 slanderers do not even let the dead alone. Lvino- 
 
 J o 
 
 and murder are inseparable, and Jesus says of the 
 devil, that he is a liar and a murderer from the be- 
 ginning. The slanderer is no better. For one thing 
 he has the devil's nature and disposition, and then he 
 is a tool of the devil. Nobody is safe from the devil, 
 and much less from the slanderer's tongue. No one 
 can tame the devil, neither can the backbiter's tongue 
 be tamed, which is set on tire of hell. Consider this, 
 you who speak bold lies against your neighbor. 
 You are a devil. The devil concealed himself already 
 in Eden in a serpent, and who does not know that a 
 serpent carries its poison in its mouth? No sword 
 cuts so keenly, no wound pains so severely, no arrow 
 pierces so deeply, as a slanderers's tongue. A scourge 
 makes furrows of blood, but a wicked tongue crushes 
 the bones and kills the marrow. Many have fallen 
 by the sword, but more by wicked tongues. Nor is 
 any wound harder to heal than that which is made by 
 the mouth of the slanderer, especially when the slan- 
 derer is influential. Herein is the greatest power 
 of this evil, when it has the authority and influence 
 of the great. 
 
414 
 
 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 THE BLESSED AND HOLY LOT. A SERMON. 
 
 [This sermon was preached by the Bishop in a 
 private house in Bucks Co. ? Pa., and was greatly 
 blessed to those who heard it. Some of his auditors 
 regarded the hearing of the sermon as an event in 
 their lives. About half an hour before the appointed 
 time to preach, the Bishop took the chair behind the 
 table upon which lay the Bible and hymn book. For 
 some time he sat with folded arms in a meditative 
 mood, occasionally casting a glance at the books 
 before him. After singing and prayer, during which 
 he seemed to enjoy no liberty whatever, he sat down 
 again, manifestly nervous and embarrassed. Finally 
 he rose' and read his text, remarking, 'T have read 
 a big text, which ought to be treated with homiletic 
 system, whoever can do it."] 
 
 Text: Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
 first resurrection; on such the second death hath no 
 power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 
 and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Rev. 20:6. 
 
 I have thought often and much about the millen- 
 nium. In studying the writings of pious and learned 
 authors, it appears that they by no means agree. 
 For myself I have come to this conclusion: I will see 
 to it that I am a child of the King, so that I may have 
 part in the first resurrection, and then in course of 
 time I shall find out what the millennium is, and shall 
 myself reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom. 
 I will first show what the "first resurrection" is, and 
 second contemplate the assertion, " Holy and blessed 
 is he " etc. 
 
Extracts from Sermons Cfc. 
 
 415 
 
 1 st. Concerning the first resurrection the learned 
 are also disagreed. But there is a resurrection which 
 at all events may be called the first, and which must 
 take place first, if we are to have part in the holy and 
 blessed lot, and that is the resurrection from spiritual 
 death, into the spiritual life with Christ in God. This 
 is the first. To be clear, however, it will be neces- 
 sary to say something here of spiritual death. Spirit- 
 ual death came into the world through the Fall, and 
 has propagated itself in Adam's race until our time. 
 It is because men are spiritually dead that they are 
 naturally hard-hearted, impenitent ungrateful, dead 
 to everything that is good, alive only to sin. O how 
 sad is the condition of humanity. To describe this 
 universal spiritual death I have a good key in Ezek. 
 37. There the Lord took the prophet into a large 
 valley, which was full of dead bones, very dry, and 
 lying about in great confusion. The feet were where 
 the head should be, and vice versa; one part lay here 
 and the other there, as if a whirlwind had brought 
 them there. Such is the condition of men in their 
 natural state; evil desires and passions rule the soul, 
 while the reason and the will, which ought to be on 
 the throne, are under the yoke. Heads of families, 
 who ought to be examples of self-control and piety, 
 are intemperate and profane, in which case the head 
 is where the feet should be. Clergymen, who assume 
 the care of souls, frequently preach the devilish 
 doctrine that men can not be made free from sin in 
 this life, instead of the glorious Gospel truth, and then 
 set their flocks a bad example in their lives. Does 
 
41 6 Life and Labors of John Seybert, 
 
 anyone want to be converted to God ? These clericals 
 say, ' 'What! you want to be converted? You are 
 good Christians. I have baptized and confirmed 
 you, and you go to the Lord's Supper. Be satisfied, 
 or you will get into fanaticism, and even may lose 
 your reason yet! Go into jolly society, read the 
 newspaper more and the Bible less, and you will feel 
 easier!" Surely, in such a case everything is wrong 
 end foremost and wrong side up, yea also everything 
 spiritually dead and very dry, as was shown the 
 prophet in the vision. 
 
 But the eternal God does not want the sinner to 
 die forever, and has made provisions to bring him to 
 life in Christ Jesus. He has also instituted the minis- 
 try. As of old He called Ezekiel, led him into the 
 valley of dry bones and commanded him to prophesy; 
 so it is to this day His plan and order to call His 
 own preachers. Nor does He call them to spend 
 first five or six years in high-schools, so as to get a 
 diploma that they are educated preachers; but when 
 God calls men, He calls them to go and prophesy unto 
 the dry bones. At times the Lord's servants are 
 severely tried, when they contemplate the hopeless 
 condition of mankind and the Lord asks, " Son of 
 man, can these bones live?" There is nothing left 
 them but to answer, "Lord, thou knowest!" Often, 
 too, they are led to feel their own weakness and 
 unfitness. 
 
 This has often been my experience. Sometimes I 
 am enabled to preach in perfect victory and grace, 
 and then I think I will keep myself in this stream; 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 417 
 
 but soon there comes a season of poverty, fainting- 
 fits and emptiness, so that I learn anew that God 
 alone is might}', that all depends upon His blessing, 
 and that He must be all in all, if the work is to 
 increase. But under such circumstances His servants 
 must work on. and not be easily discouraged. Even 
 should they become sick, or other misfortunes befall 
 them, they must not sit down in despair. Once I 
 had a series of appointments a thousand miles in 
 length, and when I began I was taken with a fever. 
 Each forenoon I had to lie in bed, but in the after- 
 noon I would bestride my horse, and until evening 
 was at my next appointment, and held my meeting. 
 At last, one day, I became so feeble that I scarcely 
 reached mv destination at all, and was obliged to go 
 to bed immediately, for I was sick almost unto death. 
 But when evening came, I heard the house filling up 
 with many people. I was too sick to preach, but I 
 thought it a pity that so many people should meet, to 
 hear God's Word, in vain. Accordingly I arose, and 
 stao-f^ered down stairs as best I could. There were 
 many strangers present, and I thought, "Why, you 
 ought to try to pray with these people anyhow." I 
 made the attempt in great weakness. During prayer,, 
 a text came to my mind, and I determined to an- 
 nounce it, perhaps I could say a word to them at least. 
 As soon as I began, the eternal power of God came 
 down from heaven, and I felt suddenly perfectly well, 
 and in the conoreo-ation there occurred a tremendous 
 
 o o 
 
 commotion. Sinners cried for mercy, and obtained 
 peace and pardon, and blessed the Lord with a loud 
 27 
 
4 1 8 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 voice, while Gods children wept and shouted at the 
 same time, because of the rushing among the dry 
 bones that were coming to life. Next day I went on 
 my way as free as a bird, and perfectly restored. W e 
 must not give up so soon. Only keep on prophesy- 
 ing, the mighty breath of the Spirit causes a rushing 
 in the valley of dry bones, and the spiritually dead 
 will be made alive; the life of God will enter into 
 them, and they will stand upon their feet, when the 
 servant of God prophesies. The noise and shaking 
 will be heard. 
 
 II. Now the Spirit saith in the Revelation, ''Blessed 
 and holy is he", — the man who has been made alive 
 spiritually, and is happily delivered from the guilt 
 and curse of sin. As the Scripture saith, ''Blessed is 
 the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity." 
 Such an one has the .forgiveness of sins, and peace 
 with God through Jesus Christ. Therefore he is 
 "blessed" . But the Holy Spirit has yet added something 
 here, namely, the word "holy" . And these two words, 
 ^'blessed" and "holy", have been bound together 
 tremendously strong by the little conjunction "and", 
 so that it hano^s together like a chain which no man 
 can break; for "what God hath joined together, let 
 no man put asunder." Thus these two things, 
 "blessed and holy", are inseparably united by divine 
 authority. One who has been resurrected spiritually, 
 has also received, in his regeneration, such a measure 
 of the divine nature, that he is enabled to reign over 
 .all actual sin, and to live a "holy" life If he will 
 watch and pray, he can also master his passions, 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 crucify the "old man", and attain Christian perfection, 
 in which state he entertains a holy hatred toward all 
 evil, and even abhors his darling sins, for he pos- 
 sesses power to love God with all his heart. By love,, 
 all envy, pride, the adulterous vanity of fashion, all 
 unbelief, avarice, backbiting and all evil will be burnt 
 out of the soul, just as a fire will burn dry stubble. 
 That Christian is perfect in love, who instantly repels 
 every temptation, and who, when Satan tempts him 
 to pride, replies, "I will go a step farther down"; if 
 tempted to avarice, reaches into the pocket-book and 
 brings an offering to God; when cursed, blesses the 
 curser. 
 
 The devil, however, has a ministry in the world 
 now-a-days, who can not abide this truth. It is in- 
 deed well understood, where the light is so clear, that: 
 a man must be converted, which is admitted by them. 
 They will also allow one to feel something of the 
 nearness of God, but there must be no stir and no 
 noise connected with it. Then it is also taught that 
 a person must always be a weak Christian, must sin 
 every day and repent daily. We can not be saved 
 from sin until we get into the grave. Sin will not 
 end with us until our bodies are dust. Those who 
 desire to become free from sin in this life are branded 
 as proud pharisees and self-righteous people. In 
 this way the devil's preachers seek to tear the "holy" 
 and the "blessed" apart. But the Lord has put the 
 "and" between them, which binds them together as 
 with a vise, so that no devil nor man can separate 
 th e m . Hallelujah / 
 
420 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 However, the Lord has a ministry in the world 
 which He himself has called and sanctified, and 
 anointed with his Holy Spirit, who are enabled to 
 preach the whole counsel of God from experience. 
 These preach the Word of God as they have learned 
 it in the school of Christ. They present holiness and 
 happiness to the people in conjunction, and tell the 
 people that "without holiness no man can see the 
 Lord." In their preaching the Word of God cuts 
 and pierces in every direction, for "the Word of God 
 is sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing to the 
 dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints 
 and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and 
 intents of the heart." That is the way to preach, and 
 so I am bound to preach until my eyelids close in 
 death, for the truth must be enthroned and the right 
 of the Lord must triumph ! 
 
 These blessed and holy ones are also priests unto 
 God and his Christ. Through their union with Christ, 
 the everlasting High-priest, they have become a spirit- 
 ual priesthood, to bring unto God a sacrifice of praise 
 continually. They often praise God with a loud voice 
 as they shout with the angels, "Glory to God in the 
 highest T or sing with David, "Bless the Lord, O my 
 soul, and forget not all his benefits." As spiritual 
 priests they intercede for a wicked world, the man, 
 as head of a family offers daily morning sacrifice at 
 family prayers. Such people are the heirs of God, and 
 obtain the Millennial kingdom in, whatever it may prove 
 to consist; yea, they inherit what is a thousand times 
 better, — the kingdom of eternal glory. Hallelujah! 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 421 
 
 NEGLECTING APPOINTMENTS. 
 (Written for "Der ChristHche Botschafter", 1852). 
 
 In the first number of the "Botschafter" for June, I 
 noticed something that pleased me greatly, namely, 
 that one of our itinerant preachers, who has traveled 
 for many years, and on heavy circuits, says, that he 
 has never missed an appointment yet. I am in- 
 formed, however, that there is another, in the Indiana 
 conference, who has traveled for seven years, of whom 
 the same can be said. But where is the third, who is 
 so fortunate as to be able to say this ? Let us hear 
 from him. There is hardly one in ten who is so 
 prompt. 
 
 In all our conferences, and in nearly all our districts 
 and circuits, I must constantly listen with grief to the 
 complaint that the preacher carelessly neglects ap- 
 pointments to preach. By this destructive evil we 
 have lost many communities, where there was good 
 prospect of success. And the evil has increased 
 terribly during the last few years. Preachers send 
 one appointment to preach after another, only to neg- 
 lect them, and so the appointments become dis- 
 appointments, and the deceived people finally send 
 for preachers who will serve them more faithfully, but 
 often get such as only comfort them in their sins. In 
 this way the hearts of the people are closed against 
 us and against the truth which saves. I would 
 urgently recommend to our young preachers who 
 were received into our conference last Spring, to 
 read, inwardly digest and observe the fourth and fifth 
 paragraphs in the Rules for the reception of preachers, 
 
422 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 and the second paragraph in the General Rules for 
 our preachers. The same advice I would also give 
 to all who in the future may be received among us. 
 
 As regards those who have already contracted the 
 pernicious habit of neglecting appointments, I would 
 affectionately advise them to be converted without 
 delay from it, and then prove the change by their 
 conduct. In this way the trouble can be obviated. 
 
 FROM AN ORDINATION SERMON AT ALLENTOWN, PA. 
 
 Text: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, 
 a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 
 dividing the word of truth." 2. Tim. 2:15. 
 
 In the first place an "approved workman" must 
 above all things be soundly converted deep into 
 eternal life. Such conversion must not only appear 
 from his outward manners and morals, but it must 
 appear from a living inward testimony by the Holy 
 Spirit, that he is a child of God. It is extremely 
 censurable and a sacrilegious assumption of authority 
 for men and youths to venture into the pulpit as 
 shepherds of souls, who have never gone through a 
 genuine evangelical repentance, and have never ex- 
 perienced a change of heart. Before my conversion 
 the thought of preaching was far from my mind. I 
 was converted while I was still a cooper. My peni- 
 tential struggle was a hard one. I had less assistance 
 too, than people have now-a-days. But after my con- 
 version the Lord laid the ministry upon me. 
 
 I care not how beautiful, smooth and polished a 
 "workman's" appearance in the pulpit may be; it 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 423 
 
 matters not how systematic his discourse, nor how 
 rhetorical his language; it is of little importance how 
 great the burden of learning he may carry with him; 
 if the man is not converted, — soundly converted, — 
 converted from pride, his work will be nothing, 
 nothing, nothing! It will be ' 'faultily faultless, icily 
 regular, splendidly null." That's the end of it. Per- 
 haps there is such a theological scholastic under the 
 sound of my voice to-day, who still maintains the 
 ancient notion, that it makes no difference how the 
 preacher's heart is, if he only preaches the Word aright; 
 the people are to do according to his words. Per- 
 haps he supposes that the doctrine of the positive 
 necessity of conversion is only our peculiar doctrine. 
 Hark! come here! I will promptly give thee a cor- 
 rective from Matt. 7, that may possibly purge you of 
 this error: "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs 
 of thistles?" with an addition from Matt. 12 th, "Either 
 make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make 
 the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt; for the tree is 
 knozvn by his fruit" Take this pill and digest it. 
 
 In the second place, an "approved workman" needs 
 the anointing of the Holy Spirit for his office. All 
 the polish of human learning avails nothing. The 
 power of God, which alone can save sinners, must be 
 in the Word. I know very well that there are those 
 , who trust in their acquired or stolen qualifications, 
 and care nothing for the one thing that drives all the 
 wheels of the evangelical ministry. Yea worse, they 
 even speak deprecatingly of those who seek this one 
 thing needful with sincerity. 
 
424 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 But some one asks, What is this one little desidera- 
 tum? It is fire! 
 
 Listen, Brethren! And ye people, listen also! 
 Let me illustrate this truth, that all display, and ex- 
 pensive and polished machinery in church work is 
 useless when the little something is lacking. I take a 
 locomotive, put it on the track, attach the passenger 
 coaches, fill their cushioned pews with elegantly 
 dressed people, put the conductor at his place, as 
 also the engineer and the fireman. The boiler has 
 been filled with water, and the furnace with the best 
 of fuel. For aught I care, the passengers may also 
 admire and be astonished at the mechanical skill dis- 
 played in the construction of the splendid locomotive. 
 They may congratulate themselves on the auspicious 
 prospects of a successful trip. At last the signal bell 
 in the depot strikes the time of departure; the con- 
 ductor pulls the bell, signalling to the engineer to 
 pull out. The engineer pulls the lever — back — 
 open again — but the machine will not move. There 
 the thing stands! What's the matter? Certainly it 
 looks as if it ought to go. No sir! Something is 
 lacking. There s no fire in the furnace, therefore no 
 steam in the boiler, no power in the wheels. The 
 mighty enginery will not draw as much as a cat. 
 
 Perhaps while the thing is standing there immov- 
 able, there comes a horridly sooty, smoked-up old 
 engine, steaming, puffing, smoking, groaning, up a 
 side track, drawing, with majestic strength, a hundred 
 loaded cars of coal. Why, what has this homely, 
 black and sooty engine got within, that enables him 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 425 
 t'I • v ' ^ ' ' ??:?"°'^ ; - 
 
 to put to shame our attractive, handsome machine, 
 possessing all latest improvements? It has fire! 
 Fire is what it has! That engine with fire represents 
 the soundly converted and divinely anointed work- 
 man, and the other represents the lifeless, spiritless 
 man, who has every qualification, save that most 
 necessary, which God's Spirit must supply. The 
 most elegant workmen are seldom the best. But 
 those who have the appearance of workmen set the 
 corn-fields of the Philistines on fire. 
 
 THREE VICES AMONG CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS. 
 
 To all sincere persons who stand in the grace of 
 God, I wish prosperity in the well begun work. But 
 it is necessary to this purpose that all the heads of the 
 Church should die unto the world and sin and all 
 temporal things, and, as ensamples of the flock of 
 Christ, live a holy life. Nor is it necessary to preach 
 repentance and regeneration alone, but also growth 
 in grace, until perfect holiness of heart be attained. 
 When this is once accomplished, there will be few if 
 any backsliders among professors of religion, and 
 fewer lame and crippled would stop along the way of 
 life and be lost. 
 
 But there are certain vices which greatly hinder 
 progress in holiness, of which I will mention three of 
 the worst. The first is avarice — the desire for money 
 and worldly treasures. In our times this evil is so 
 mighty, that many are in debt to such an extent that 
 they are not only ruining themselves, but cause many 
 of their fellow-men to lose all their possessions, and 
 
426 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 to be destroyed soul and body. Paul says: "They 
 that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and 
 into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men 
 in destruction and perdition. At no time has this 
 saying been more strikingly demonstrated than now 
 in the United States. How little many professors 
 of religion, — some preachers not excepted, — regard 
 the command of the Holy Spirit to "owe no man 
 anything, but to love one another." Money making 
 is the order of the day, but "the love of many has 
 waxed cold." 
 
 Another vice, that grows worse and worse amid all 
 our misery, is vanity, — the fashion -craze, and ex- 
 travagance in general. This occasions a fearful ex- 
 penditure of money, and many professors of religion 
 exert themselves to the utmost, not to be behind the 
 world in this regard. They even bring their infants 
 in the cradle as offerings to this all-consuming, cruel 
 Moloch. Therefore it is not hard at all for the devil 
 to pull the rising generation down to destruction by 
 this rope of iniquity. O what a curse this is for our 
 nation. This evil, which is coupled with idleness and 
 revelry, is the cause why hundreds of thousands in 
 our day annually are suffering hunger, misery and 
 want. u But who hath believed our report?'' 
 
 One other vice that prevails in nearly all societies 
 to a greater or less extent, is hatred, envy, want of 
 brotherly love. Really there are few societies wholly 
 free from this. It has even invaded the ministry, 
 though John says, "He that hateth his brother is a 
 murderer." Let him who reads this, examine him- 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 
 
 427 
 
 self, and see whether he is not infected with this evil, 
 and therefore belongs to the generation of Cain, who 
 was the first-born of the devil. 
 
 These three evils are only a few of the many that 
 prevail among professors of religion, and which hinder 
 the work of grace in the hearts of believers. If one 
 should enlarge upon all the others, it would take more 
 time and wisdom than I possess. 
 
 (USURY. FROM A PRIVATE LETTER.) 
 
 Above all, however, I desire that our membership 
 be saved from the ten and twenty per cent, interest 
 system of the robber band of Freeport, 111. and other 
 western cities; also from the American fashion craze, 
 and that they be cleansed from the uncleanness of 
 tobacco. Then one would not have occasion so 
 often to pray, " Help, Lord, for the godly man 
 ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children 
 of men." 
 
 SEYBERT ON SLAVERY. 
 
 Our Bishop was decidedly opposed to traffic in 
 human souls and bodies, and an enemy of slavery, 
 in accordance with the position of our Church, but he 
 did not live to see its abolition. He left this world, 
 just as the war cloud was gathering in the horizon of 
 our country, under whose artillery blasts this great 
 national evil was atoned for with the blood of patriots. 
 He never enjoyed laboring in a slave State, and 
 whenever he came back from an expedition below 
 Mason's and Dixon's line, he expressed himself happy 
 
428 Life and Labors of yohn Seybert. 
 
 to have got away from "the accursed ground" . Several 
 times he declared in profound earnest that he would 
 not want to stay in a slave State even if he were 
 dead, and he had carefully instructed his brethren, 
 that if it should happen that he died in a slave State, 
 they should inter his remains in a free State. He 
 boldly lifted up his voice in the pulpit against this 
 heaven-crying national sin, and declared his belief 
 that no slave-holder, and much less a slave-trader, 
 could inherit eternal life, unless he would desist from 
 his evil practice in time. 
 
 In early years Seybert belonged to the old Demo- 
 cratic party, and still defended it in later years, on 
 certain points. A western preacher took him to task 
 on one occasion on this account, and expressed his 
 surprise at the Bishop's affiliation with that party, 
 when it upheld slavery, while he (the Bishop) was so 
 radically opposed to slavery. After a pause, Seybert 
 proceeded to show that the original principles of the 
 ancient Democracy were right, but the devil, said he, 
 had sown this weed. Slavery did not belong to 
 Democracy. Then he went on, rising to his feet: 
 " Slavery is of the devil, and if I were called to it, 
 and the government would give me fifty thousand 
 armed men, I would go into the South and root out 
 this national evil tee-totally!" "Well! Well!" said 
 his auditor. "Yes sir," said the Bishop. "A rod for 
 the fool's back, hell for the devil's reward, and ab- 
 solute destruction for slavery!" 
 
 If anyone should feel disposed to ridicule the 
 Bishop's notion of destroying slavery with fifty thous- 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 429 
 
 and men, it may be enough to remind ourselves of 
 the fact that when President Lincoln and his wise 
 advisers issued the first call for men, they only wanted 
 seventy-five thousand men, and grave West Pointers 
 jocosely spoke of finishing the affair "before break- 
 fast". 
 
 SEYBERT AS A TEMPERANCE APOSTLE. 
 
 The Bishop was extensively known as a distin- 
 guished German temperance apostle. He frequently 
 delivered temperance lectures, and never failed to 
 draw a crowd. The people streamed to his meetings 
 from every direction to hear him, and all who ever 
 heard him on the subject, agreed that he was a suc- 
 cessful defender of the cause. His extensive travels 
 and habits of observation gave him a rich fund of 
 facts, figures and incidents. The use he made of 
 these, made his efforts grand and irresistible. He 
 would heap up one calamity upon another, one im- 
 poverishment upon another, one lost life upon another, 
 one brutal act upon another, one crime upon another, 
 one imprisonment upon another, and one hangman's 
 execution upon another — all caused by drunkenness. 
 It poured from his lips in a torrent of eloquence so 
 majestic that it might be said of him as the old 
 Romans were wont to say of Cicero, "Thunder and 
 lightning are on his tongue." He presented calcula- 
 tions, showing how many drunkards there are in the 
 United States, and how many moderate drinkers, 
 whom he designated "the nursery garden of drunken- 
 ness", and from which whole fleets are driven into 
 
43° Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 the glassy throat of this Maelstrom of destruction. 
 He showed how many annually sink into a drunkard's 
 grave, how many citizens are ruined by this vice and 
 get into poor-houses, hospitals and prisons; then the 
 amount of expenses the State incurs in litigations and 
 prosecutions caused by the rum traffic, the amount 
 of time and money that is squandered, the number 
 of widows and neglected orphans that in this land of 
 plenty are constantly crying and groaning in want, 
 and how many souls are lost in hell annually. This 
 was done with such emphasis and earnestness, and 
 with such divine power, that the ordinary flippancy 
 of temperance mass meetings disappeared, and his 
 large audiences melted in tears. Of course, his 
 quaintness and eccentricity which he manifested on 
 the platform as well as elsewhere, frequently excited 
 the risibles of his auditors, for his style of oratory was 
 strikingly original and inimitable. 
 
 Rev. S. Neitz relates that he once heard him de- 
 liver a temperance address before astonished thous- 
 ands in an important city of Eastern Pennsylvania. 
 There were in the audience all classes of people, 
 lawyers, magistrates, doctors, editors, theologians, 
 professors, merchants, artisans, farmers, day-laborers 
 and others. It was a popular audience in the broadest 
 sense, brought out by public desire to hear the 
 Bishop. Mr. Neitz observed a row of aristocrats, 
 who beguiled the moments of waiting in making sport 
 of the homespun little man who sat on the platform, 
 at the same time somewhat piqued that such an en- 
 thusiastic audience should assemble to hear him. 
 
Extracts from Sermons &c. 43 r 
 
 However, he had not proceeded far in his address 
 before they changed their manner, and began to be 
 ashamed of their hasty judgment, and yet still some- 
 what of the opinion that nothing eloquent could come 
 from such an ordinary source. Soon they were smil- 
 ing- audibly at his witticisms, and the next moment 
 weeping at his touching allusions. 
 
 His text was Prov. 23:29, 30. "Who hath woe, 
 who hath sorrow, who hath contention, who hath 
 babblings, who hath wounds without cause, who hath 
 redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine,"' 
 etc. This was his great temperance text. His 
 second great temperance text w T as, "Wine is a mocker, 
 and strong- drink is rapine, and whosoever is deceived 
 thereby is not wise." The Bishop described the 
 "woe", the "sorrow", the "contentions", the "bab- 
 blings", the "wounds", and the appearance and con- 
 duct of drunkards in an unequaled style. Among 
 other subjects upon which he came to speak in this 
 celebrated speech, he referred to the fact that the 
 poison of alcohol becomes hereditary, and is trans- 
 mitted from parent to child. "The inclination to 
 drink intoxicants", he said, "is inherited by the child 
 from the parent." Then he exclaimed with thrilling 
 vehemence, "it runs in the blood! it runs in the 
 blood, ye people!! I can prove it. Up there in the 
 Pennsylvania Iron Works there was a drunkard who 
 had eleven sons, and of these ten became drunkards. 
 It runs in the blood, my friends !" 
 
 Then he addressed himself to the brewers, distillers 
 and dealers in liquor in a merciless manner. "You- 
 
43 2 Life and Labors of John Seybert. 
 
 have no right to engage in a business that involves 
 your neighbor in loss both in soul and in body, there- 
 fore you ought not to sell him liquid fire to drink. 
 Alcohol may have a legitimate place in medical 
 science, and I suppose it could be dispensed with in 
 that too, if our physicians had more skill, but for this 
 one distillery would be enough for the whole United 
 States. What shall we do with the rest of them? 
 What are they good for? They are manufactories 
 where they prepare a death potion for our citizens 
 in large vats. O God, root them all out of our land! 
 
 All who sell strong drink in a promiscuous way, 
 are national poisoners and murder our citizens at 
 wholesale. Their eyes know no pity nor sparing, 
 but they drive our people in great fleets to destruc- 
 tion. And what is their profit? Why, the blood of 
 these poor sots. No need of envying them their 
 large possessions and palatial homes, for they are full 
 of blood. The curse of God rests on their lands and 
 in their palaces. The blood of their fellowmen is 
 upon them. It cleaves to the stones in their walls, 
 to the timber in their frames, to the costly furniture 
 of their rooms. The curse of the Almighty is on 
 their arbors of ease, follows them on their journeys 
 and withers their forests. It is a fire that burns on 
 down into the deepest hell. Wherever the dealers 
 and the manufacturers dwell there is blood, blood is 
 the foundation of the wall, blood is the capstone of 
 the arch, blood is the covering of the roof. The 
 floor, the walls, the ceiling are red with blood! Blood 
 everywhere! O thou bloody man, canst thou hope 
 
Extracts f rom Sermons &c. 433 
 
 that thy blood-money will reach the third or fourth 
 generation of heirs? Your fields of blood will not 
 reach the third! There lives in Heaven a righteous 
 God, and as thou dost spoil thy neighbor's soul and 
 body and family, so will God spoil thee and root out 
 thy very name from beneath the sun." 
 
 In such strains the Bishop went on, and carried his 
 audience with him on the resistless tide of his burning 
 eloquence. He was full of enthusiasm, full of sincere 
 earnestness, full of information and full of divine 
 love, and these things together made him an orator 
 whose power over his audiences was seldom excelled. 
 
 At one time, in his great interest in the cause, he 
 ordered a lithograph of a great temperance painting, 
 which portrayed in a striking manner the work of 
 alcohol from the still to the gallows. It was known 
 as "Bishop Seybert's Whisky Dragon". 
 
 One evening, on his way to an appointment, he 
 passed a distillery, and a little further on a drunken 
 wretch prostrate by the road- side in the gutter. He 
 told his congregation that on the way he had "passed 
 one of the devil's hog-pens, (meaning the distillery), 
 and a little further on, one of the devil's hogs!" 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 28 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 A 
 
 A bloody business 
 
 A brand plucked from the burn 
 
 ing 
 
 A Christian wedding 
 
 A colleague 
 
 A dollar in time of need... 
 
 A fortunate man 
 
 A hard day , 
 
 A hard trip 
 
 A modern Hannah 
 
 A night in a German hotel 
 
 A powerful sermon 
 
 A year's work 
 
 Abusive woman 
 
 Adventure in Lycoming creek... 
 Adventure in Schuylkill river... 
 
 Afraid of thunder 
 
 Aged Mennonite 
 
 Albright as Bishop ... 
 
 American feet on British soil 
 
 Among Spiritual children 
 
 Among the Amish 
 
 An appeal to the ministry 
 
 And the door was shut 
 
 An evening at Manheim 
 
 An herculean undertaking 
 
 Ann Arbor, Mich 
 
 Annoyed by circus 
 
 Another large book order 
 
 An unwelcome guest 
 
 Approaching his end 
 
 Approved" workman 
 
 Arraignment of liquor dealers .. 
 Arraignment of false prophets .. 
 As to changing the Discipline... 
 
 At Albany, N. Y 
 
 At Ann Arbor again 
 
 At the grave of Albright.. 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Avarice 
 
 page. 
 432 
 
 226 
 288 
 253 
 
 79 
 343 
 
 40 
 330 
 120 
 301 
 359 
 192 
 151 
 293 
 
 78 
 115 
 342 
 197 
 218 
 304 
 259 
 202 
 214 
 158 
 200 
 264 
 269 
 238 
 185 
 357 
 423 
 397 
 
 46 
 354 
 266 
 297 
 256 
 345 
 425 
 
 page 
 
 Bachelor....; 132 
 
 Baptized, different modes. 162 
 
 Baptizing child 79 
 
 Bad behavior.., 223 
 
 Beginning in Allentown, Pa 178 
 
 Beginning of fifth term as Bishop 326 
 
 Beginning to preach 33 
 
 Berks Countv, Pa 80- 
 
 Betz, Rev. M 25 
 
 Big meeting at Washington, Pa. 76 
 
 Bill of expenses 217 
 
 Birth 12 
 
 Born into eternal life 137 
 
 Bound to die on the walls 330 
 
 Breaking fallow ground 99 
 
 Breaking ice 168 
 
 Burial of Seybert 367 
 
 Call to the ministry 31 
 
 Camp-ground at Marshall 338 
 
 Camp-meeting at Eby's 153 
 
 Camp-meeting at Ernst's 9& 
 
 Camp-meeting at Haney's 236 
 
 Camp-meeting at Lebanon, Pa... 164 
 Camp-meeting at Orwigsburgh... 154 
 
 Canaan District 94 
 
 Canadian's surprised 265 
 
 Canton Circuit 61 
 
 Captain Price 263 
 
 Celebrating victory at Columbus 269 
 
 Centre and two wings 322 
 
 Centre of Hell 287 
 
 Chamber of horrors < 181 
 
 Character of Bishop Seybert 371 
 
 Character of work in Canada 295> 
 
 Christliche Botschafter on Sey- 
 bert 384 
 
 Class leader 30* 
 
 Class leaders complaint 41 
 
 (434) 
 
General Index. 
 
 435 
 
 page. 
 
 Close of 1830 120 
 
 Close of 1842 245 
 
 Close of 1846 277 
 
 Close of 1849 290 
 
 Clothes . 268 
 
 Cold meeting 54 
 
 Comprehensive plans 229 
 
 Conversation, Seybert in 375 
 
 Conviction, Beginning of 16 
 
 Conversion of Focht 74 
 
 Conversion of Jacob Esher 140 
 
 Conversion of Mr. Merta 145 
 
 Conversion of parents 12 
 
 Conversion of Seybert 27 
 
 Conversion of three Catholics... 149 
 
 Conversions, not accessions 316 
 
 Conversions in brother's house.. 67 
 
 Converted disturber 63 
 
 Converted tavern-keeper 248 167 
 
 Converted through a dream 57 
 
 "Couldn't stand jumping" 109 
 
 Could not visit that way 362 
 
 Cripple converted 192 
 
 Crossing Mt. Mahantango 157 
 
 Crossing the Mississippi 259 
 
 D 
 
 Dangel, Rev. 334 
 
 Dangerous adventure 293 
 
 Death of a drunkard 63 
 
 Death of Bernd 61 
 
 Death of Bishop Seybert 365 
 
 Death of his father 17 
 
 Death of his mother 352 
 
 Dedication of residence 319 
 
 Dedicated indeed 339 
 
 Dedicated properly 326 
 
 Democratic party . 428 
 
 Devil's boys 433 
 
 Devil's camp-meetings 81 
 
 Devil's hole 69 
 
 Dissinger, Moses 328 
 
 Dispute 51 
 
 "Do make me well again!" 277 
 
 Doylestown, Pa 160 
 
 Drinking rum like an ox 237 
 
 Driving like Jehu 72 
 
 Dr. Nothwagel 273 
 
 u Driving" the Lord's work 282 
 
 Dreams 34 
 
 Dreams 134 
 
 Dying in the field 205 
 
 page. 
 
 Ebenezer 66 
 
 | Eckert, Barbara 88 
 
 | Educated ministers 238 
 
 ; Egged 215 
 
 Elected presiding elder 93 
 
 I Elected Bishop 195 
 
 I End of first term 251 
 
 Enterprise 236 
 
 | Entire freedom, sermon on 360 
 
 Equipment for ministry 32 
 
 Erb, Rev. John ..... 339 
 
 Erie Circuit 130 
 
 ! Esher, J. J. received into min- 
 istry 263 
 
 Esher on Seybert 360 
 
 i Evangelical Messenger on Sey- 
 
 I bert 380 
 
 Exploring 183 
 
 P 
 
 I Female drunkard 186 
 
 ! Fever 277 
 
 j Few extracts 389 
 
 : Fiddler converted 244 
 
 Fiftieth birthday 231 
 
 Finding fault 65 
 
 Fire needed 424 
 
 Fire put out 159 
 
 j First camp-meeting in Illinois... 232 
 First church with bell and tower. 248 
 
 ! First church in Wisconsin 259 
 
 | First Conference session 54 
 
 | First missionary 129 
 
 j First missionary to Germany 305 
 
 First President of Par. Miss. Soc. 168 
 
 First regular missions... . = 201 
 
 First Resurrection 414 
 
 First revival in Cleveland, O. ... 285 
 First sheaf on Mohawk mission. 225 
 First sermon at camp-meeting... 53 
 
 First session Illinois Conf 262 
 
 First session of Ohio Conference. 221 
 
 First visit to Canada.. 218 
 
 Fishing 58 
 
 Forty days in Ohio... 282 
 
 Forty recommendations 355 
 
 Forty-third birthday 143 
 
 Four classes of people 110 
 
 Fourth election as Bishop 305 
 
 Fourth term as P. E 182 
 
 Free from tobacco 337 
 
 Friend of culture 239 
 
436 
 
 Ge?ieral Index. 
 
 From Pittsburgh to Circleville... 241 
 Funeral 366 
 
 G 
 
 Galen 218 
 
 General Conference of 1835 150 
 
 General Conference of 1839 194 
 
 General Conference of 1843 252 
 
 Georges' Valle}', Pa 190 
 
 Glorious times 243 
 
 Good times 40 
 
 Good times in Pennsylvania 281 
 
 Good prospects in Canada 295 
 
 Got well preaching 417 
 
 Great sermon 328 
 
 Great drunkard of Lebanon .. .. 176 
 
 Great day in Allentown 215 
 
 Growing old 315 
 
 H 
 
 Hamburg Conference 316 
 
 Happy 142 
 
 Hard to convert 210 
 
 Harmonites, history of 18 — 20 
 
 Harmonites, last difficulty 40 
 
 Hatred 426 
 
 Henry Seybert 12 
 
 His first Conference as Bishop... 200 
 
 History is judgment 371 
 
 History of work in Canada 347 
 
 Hope Church 303 
 
 Horse played truant 230 
 
 Horse ran away 
 
 How to celebrate July 4 271 
 
 I 
 
 "I am lost! " 71 
 
 Illinois Conference formed 254 
 
 Importance of eternal things.,. 53 
 Important converts at Orwigs- 
 
 burgh 77 
 
 Incident 224 
 
 Incident at Manheim 179 
 
 Incident in Bethlehem 339 
 
 Incident in New York 317 
 
 Independence day 1838 187 
 
 Indians 60 
 
 In Indiana 284 
 
 In New York 245 
 
 Intellect, Seyberr's 374 
 
 Interest in the West 278 
 
 Interrupted 117 
 
 Interrupted by dogs 222 
 
 page.. 
 
 Isaac Parker, home of..- ,. 321 
 
 It thundered there 364 
 
 J 
 
 Jacoby's assault 26$ 
 
 Jeremiah's sister... 39 
 
 Job, Sermon on.. 389 
 
 Journal 35 
 
 J ournal entry 196 
 
 K 
 
 Klinefelter restored.... 43 
 
 L 
 
 Laborious ride.... 256 
 
 Lacked unction 85 
 
 Lack of ministers... 202. 
 
 Lack of qualifications. 203 
 
 Lancaster, O 62 
 
 Large book order 227 
 
 Last Annual Conference 355 
 
 Last birthday 353 
 
 Last day on the road 363 
 
 Last General Conference 356. 
 
 Last leave taking of East Pa. 
 
 Conference 341 
 
 Launched 56 
 
 Learning in sickness 8$ 
 
 Leaving Canaan District 181 
 
 Let Satan rage! 299- 
 
 Letter to friend 96 
 
 Letter to young preacher.. 211 
 
 Letter to young preacher 325' 
 
 Letter writing... 211 
 
 "Life! Life!" 195. 
 
 Locating 204 
 
 Long in prophet's chamber 351 
 
 Long journey < 240 
 
 Lord's Supper, last 357 
 
 Lost in forest 62 
 
 Lost his voice 50 
 
 Lost ! Lost ! 35 
 
 Luther's doggerel 213 
 
 Love, Sermon on ........ 405 
 
 Loyal Sock 192 
 
 M 
 
 Mahantango 49 
 
 Malaria again 73 
 
 Maligned on York Circuit 52. 
 
 Manheim 36 — 97 
 
 Marriage of father 12 
 
 Meeting at Reber's 44 
 
General Index. 
 
 437 
 
 page. 
 
 Meeting of bishops. 297 
 
 Miracles 233 
 
 Missionary literature 201 
 
 Missionary sent to Illinois 221 
 
 More English 253 
 
 Mother led astray 19 
 
 Must not preach as yet 155 
 
 N 
 
 Narrow escape 311 
 
 Nazareth 147 
 
 Need of preaching by us 50 
 
 Neglecting appointments 421 
 
 New style converts 306 
 
 New York City 212 
 
 Niebel's preaching 54 
 
 No creature of circumstances... 372 
 
 No preacher for seven years 272 
 
 No time to eat, only to pray 335 
 
 Not confirmed 14 
 
 Not dead yet 337 
 
 Not opposed to schools 320 
 
 "Not peace, but a sword." 51 
 
 Not seduced 273 
 
 O 
 
 Offerings of jewelry 317 
 
 Ohio Conference session 170 
 
 Ohio Conference at Seybert's 
 
 grave 368 
 
 One distillery enough 432 
 
 One year as a missionary 141 
 
 On tobacco 400 
 
 On pastoral visiting 208 
 
 Ordained as Elder 83 
 
 Ordination Sermon 422 
 
 Organization of Miss. Society... 200 
 
 Overtaken by a storm 183 
 
 Out of office 2 hours and 14 
 
 minutes 253 
 
 P 
 
 Paradise 149 
 
 Parentage 11 
 
 Parsonages 123 
 
 Pastoral visiting 206—329 
 
 Pay your debts 353 
 
 Penitential struggle 26 
 
 Pentecost at Falk's 286 
 
 Performs a miracle 271 
 
 Per Pedes 322 
 
 Persecuting seekers 189 
 
 Persecuted wives 171 
 
 page. 
 
 Personal appearance. « 373 
 
 Personal effects, sale of 368 
 
 Philadelphia, first to visit 68 
 
 Philistine corn-fields 126 
 
 Police officer 95 
 
 "Portraits of Christians." , 51 
 
 Praising God on the way home. 146 
 
 Praying for sick horse 231 
 
 Preaching English 59 
 
 Preaching English again . 120 
 
 Preaching to three hearers 51 
 
 Preaching in cooper-shop 60 
 
 Preaching in hotel 94 
 
 President of Conference 99 
 
 Presiding Elder again 113 
 
 Prophesying 101 
 
 Profitless disputings 174 
 
 Proli 21 
 
 Prosperity in Philadelphia 162 
 
 Prosperity in the West 262 
 
 Protracted meetings begun 166 
 
 Publishing House established... 166 
 Publishing House moved to 
 
 Cleveland 305 
 
 Pulpit power 376 
 
 Pushing forward 273 
 
 Q 
 
 Quarterly meeting at Mohawk... 122 
 Quarterly meeting without con- 
 versions 318 
 
 B 
 
 Rabble at Ernst's 91 
 
 Rapp, Geo 18 
 
 Rapp, John 102 
 
 Reception at Mt. Curroll, 111 271 
 
 Re-elected Bishop 253 
 
 "Reformed!" 173 
 
 Reformation in Tioga Co., Pa.... 187 
 
 Religious zealots 257 
 
 Remarkable prayer-meeting 70 
 
 "Resting" 294 
 
 Resume of 1850 300 
 
 Rev. Felix 58 
 
 Rev. J. Drometer healed 271 
 
 Rev. 22: 17 43 
 
 Revival at Milwaukee 235 
 
 Revival at Orwigsburgh begun... 74 
 
 Revival at Upper Millford 145 
 
 Revival in Baltimore 226 
 
 Revival in Texas 340 
 
438 
 
 General Index. 
 
 page. 
 
 Sad death 179 
 
 Sad experience 235 
 
 Sang him down 113 
 
 Sartor Resartns 25 
 
 Sat down^in a storm 259 
 
 Saving the widow's home 121 
 
 Schuylkill circuit 68 
 
 Second camp-meeting in 111 242 
 
 Secret of benevolence...: 327 
 
 Self-defence against Jacoby 261 
 
 Sensel 86 
 
 Seriously ill 108 
 
 Sermon by Henry Fisher......... 147 
 
 Seven big meetings 149 
 
 Seventeen new preachers 237 
 
 Seventy accessions, 82 
 
 Severe accident 333 
 
 Seybert and Long contrasted... 255 
 
 Seybert at sixty 298 
 
 Seybert' s brother 22 
 
 Seybert's conveyance and outfit. 292 
 
 Seybert' s ^firmness 23 
 
 Seybert's sagacity 206 
 
 Shooting Seybert 100 
 
 Short year 160 
 
 Sick 63 
 
 Sign post must go 167 
 
 Signs of the times 173 
 
 Sixth election as Bishop 356 
 
 Sixty-fifth year 330 
 
 Sixty-three days in New York... 289 
 
 Slavery 427 
 
 Spiritual children 220 
 
 Spiritual poverty 119 
 
 Strange crime 118 
 
 Success in Pennsylvania 306 
 
 Suffering persecution 133 
 
 Suicide, The 39 
 
 Summary 
 
 Sundaj^-school address 352 
 
 Sunday-schools established 150 
 
 Sunset 350 
 
 T 
 
 Taking heavy end 352 
 
 Talk with farmer 84 
 
 Temperance apostle 429 
 
 Temperance hotel 244 
 
 Temperance lecture 431 
 
 Temperance meeting 192 
 
 Testament 369 
 
 The blasphemer 172 
 
 The blessed and holy lot 414 
 
 The Economists 103 
 
 The Episcopacy. 196 
 
 The Episcopal office 410 
 
 The " Inspired." 296 
 
 The midnight visit 135 
 
 The minister's dream 246 
 
 The old sawmill 169 
 
 The Pit 56 
 
 The question of salary 324 
 
 The regions beyond .... 262 
 
 The slanderer 413 
 
 The soaked journal 294 
 
 The Weaver's loom 274 
 
 Third term as Bishop 280 
 
 Third term as P. E 144 
 
 Thirty souls at dedication. 346 
 
 " This is no Bishop ! " 267 
 
 " This is the devil ! " 143 
 
 Three vices 425 
 
 Tireless zeal 326 
 
 Tobacco 222 
 
 Too late 270 
 
 Towers, bells and debts 316 
 
 Transfigured 358 
 
 Traveling in Ohio.. 67 
 
 Traveling with Long 304 
 
 Travels in Ohio 220 
 
 Trials at Philadelphia 223 
 
 Tribute, anonymous 386 
 
 Tribute to Bishop Seybert 378 
 
 Trip through Canada 265 
 
 Trustee of legacies 113 
 
 Twenty-eight days in Canada.... 344 
 
 Twenty miles on foot 214 
 
 Two camp-meetings in Illinois... 269 
 
 Two days with J. Dreisbach 312 
 
 Two new districts in Ohio Conf. 251 
 
 Two sermons 232 
 
 Typical missionary 130 
 
 U 
 
 Union camp-meeting 106 
 
 Unity in the Ev. Association.... 30 
 
 Usury 427 
 
 V 
 
 Vanity 420 
 
 Visiting his mother 102—324 
 
 Visiting Rev. J. Dreisbach in 
 
 Harrisburg, Pa 104 
 
 Visit to Bishop Long 263 
 
 Visit to Dr. Nast 270 
 
 Vogelbach's withdrawal 223 
 
General Indxz. 
 
 439 
 
 page. 
 
 Warren, Pa 138 
 
 Was Seybert^the first Bishop?. . 196 
 
 Waterford, N. J 157 
 
 Well arranged camp-ground 284 
 
 Western Conference formed 106 
 
 Western rjrosperitj 299 
 
 Wheeling", 111 311 
 
 Where the fight is hottest 279 
 
 Whisky Dragon 433 
 
 " Who are the Strablers ?" 81 
 
 Who was the first Bishop ? 196 
 
 Why he did not write more 343 
 
 Will have his hands full 295 
 
 Winebrenner, Rev. John 97 — 99 
 
 Wine of Pentecost 248 
 
 Wisconsin Conf. organized 332 
 
 Wisconsin mission 259 
 
 Womelsdorf 105 
 
 Wounded fish 45 
 
 Work in Canada 288 
 
 Work of Evangelical Assoc'n ... 175 
 
 Y 
 
 Year of jubilee 290 
 
 York circuit 83 
 
Date Doe 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Library Bureau Cat no. 1137 
 
923.69 S519S 160155