m ic;-;'c •w aS?^' ii?t:x^' rS^^:'- ^n?? Columbia ©niUf m'tp mtI)eCitpof3^mgork THE LIBRARIES Bequest of Frederic Bancroft 1860-1945 HISTORY OF Methodism in Arkansas BY HORACE JEWELL. little rock, ark.: Printed and Bound bv Press Printing Company., 1892. CONTENTS, Chapter I 1-4 The Methodism of Arkansas. The Type of Preachers. The Difficulties. Similar to the Older States. Agreeable Coincidence. The Original Territor/. Methodist Organizations in the State. History of the Church a Part of the History of the State. Chapter II 5-9 The Geography of the Country. Character of the People. A Definition of Methodism. v^ Chapter III 10-18 Origin of Methodism John Wesley. At Ox- ford. His Conversion. Organizationjof Soci- eties. Lay Helpers. Chapter IV 19-27 Introduction of Methodism in America. Robert Strawbridge. Philip Embury. Capt. Webb. Richard Boardman. Joseph Pilmore. First Annual Conference. Dr. Coke. The Forma- tion of Conferences. Western Conference. Earthquakes. Chapter V 28-36 Introduction of Methodism in Arkansas. Wm. Patterson. Kentucky Colony. John Patterson. Helena. Eli Lindsay. Spring River. First Circuit. Wm. Stephenson. John Henry. Chapter VI 37-44 Local Preachers. Alexander. Maxwell. Eli Lindsay. Jacob Shook. Daniel Propps. Henry's Chapel. Charles Seay. Dr. Briggs. iv CONTENTS. John M. Carr, Joseph Renfroe. William G. Guise. G. W. Sorrells. Chapter VII 45-59 Arkansas Admitted as a Territory. Gov. Miller. Arkansas Post. Gazette. Washington Orr. Thomas Tennant. Isaac Brookfield. John Scripps. Gilbert Clark. W. W. Redman. Rucker Tanner. District Conference. Green Orr. Jesse Haile. Chapter VIII 60-79 William Stephenson. John Harris. Thomas Tennant. James Lowery. Henry Stephen- son. John Scripps. Dennis Wiley. Thomas Johnson. John Kelly. William Sliores. Ed- ward Perry. Jerome C, Berryman. Answer to Prayer. Uriel Haw. Nelson R. Bewley. George W. Bewley. Chapter IX 80-96 An Increase of Laborers. New Fields Opening. New Districts. Transfers. Indian Work. Burwell Lee. Conference at Cane Hill. Ar- kansas Church Paper. Church Music. Con- ference of 1835. Chapter X 97-123 Arkan.sas Admitted as a State. The Organiza- tion of the Arkansas Conference. Batesville. List of Members. Statistics. Transfers. Rob- ert Gregory. William H. Bump. Jerome B. Annis. Peter McGowan. John L. Irwin. A. W.Simmons. John B. Denton. Uriah Whate- ley. John C. Parker. Jacob Custer. John M. Steele. Letters from Bishop Andrew. Hiram Geering. Charles T. Ramsey. Wil- liam Mulkey. CONTENTS. V Chapter XI 124-127 An Eventful Period. Admissions. Transfers. John J. Roberts. A. S. Bell. J. Wayland. C. H. Edwards. J. H. Biggs. G. W. Cot- tingham. W. H. Goode. S. G. Patterson. Great Floods, Chapter XII . . .' 128-137 Division of the Church. A Decline. Slavery . Agitation. Bishop Andrew. Louisville Con- vention. Thomas D. Stroud. Jacob Shook. Chapter XIII 138-143 Wm. Moores. R. H. Carter. G. N. Boyd. J. J. Crouch. T. Q. C. House. Marcus Manly. John Revill. John S. McCarver. J. D. An- drews. Wm. B. Mason. Juba Eastabrook. D. L G. McKenzie. Jerome B. Annis Jordan Banks. Geo. A. Dannelly. Thomas Hunt. A. L. P. Green. John M. Bradley. A. B. Winfield. H. O. Perry. Benton Williams. Chapter XIV 144-153 Tulip Ridge, Bishop Andrew. Jesse Griffin. Casting Out Devils. James E. Caldwell. W. J. Scott. C. M. McGuire. Whipping the Blacksmith. Bishop Early. Bishop Kava- naugh. Division of the Conference. Bishop Pierce. Winbourne. Gaddie. Eppes. Crouzon. Travis. Owen. James E. Cobb, Chapter XV 154-185 Bishop Kavanaugh. A Great Sermon. Dr. Henderson. H. Perry. J. W. Owen. J. A. Stanley. Simeon Walker. R. C. Atchley. W. C. Haislip. James E. Cobb. Ouachita Con- ference. Arkansas Conference Transfers. M. C. Morris. H. M. Granide. Joseph Andrews. VI CONTENTS. Stephen Carlisle. Benjamin Kellogg. Jacob Whitesides. Chapter XVI 186-191 Conference Sessions of 1865. Admissions on Trial. Thomas Howard. S. G. Colburn. John H. Riggin. Geo. Butler. Transfers. Obituary Notice. Conference Roll. Chapter XVII 192-210 General Conference of 1866. New Departure. Changes Wrought by the War. Lay Delega- tion. District Conferences. Election of Bish- ops Wightman, Daggett, McTyiere, Marvin. Chapter XVIII . 211-272 Review of Decade 1860-70. Statistics of 1860-70. Reminiscence. Changed Conditions. General Conference of 1870. Bisliop Keener. Organ- ization of White River Conference. Lewis Garrett. Julius A. Stanley. Elijah McNabb. Marcus Manley. Richard P. Davies. Arthur Davis. Isaac Ebbert. Letter from Bishop Wightman. John Harris. Chapter XIX 273-296 Eli C.Jones. George A. Schaeffer. M. J. F. Beas- ley. William P. Laney. Julius Stanley. Opti- mus C. Robinson. James A. Anderson. Alfred P. Melton. Elijah Dickens. Thomas J. Smith. Statistics of Conferences. W. J. Dodson. Semi-Ccntennial. The Conferences. Chapter XX 297-329 Conferences of 1887, James F, Hall. Augustus R. Winfield. Samuel Parker. Towns and Cities. Little Rock. Early Settlement. First Preaching. List of Pasiors. The Ames- Stanton Order. Church on Spring Street and CONTENTS. VII Winfield Memorial. Asbury Chapel. Lay- men. Elect Ladies. Other Methodists. Chapter XXI , 330-357 Monticello. The Churches. Circuit Preachers. Organized as a Station. List of Pastors. Mount Pleasant Circuit. Prominent Local Preachers. Laymen. Magnolia. Introduction of Methodism. Lists of Pastors. Adjacent Circuits. Towns. Batesville. First Settle- ment. Early Days. List of Pastors. Type of Inhabitants. Quitman. First Settlers. The College. Adjacent Charges. Fayette- ville. The University. The Pastors. The Type of People. Arkadelphia. The First Settlers. Mary Dixon. The Colleges. Wal- dron. The Fourch LeFevre. Chapter XXII 358-373 History of Methodist Schools. Methodism the Friend of Education. Kingswood -School. Cokesbury. Mission Schools. Conference of 1844. Ratcliffe, Agent. Washington Semi- nary. Soulesbury. Bluff Spring. Camden Female College. Quitman College. Wash- ington High School. Arkansas Female Col- lege. Altus College. Hendrix College. Gal- loway College. Arkadelphia College. Chapter XXIII 374-379 Other Methodisms. Protestant Methodist Church in Arkansas. M. E. Church. African Metho- dists. African Zion Church. Colored M. E. Church. Chapter XXIV 380-382 Methodism Among the Negroes. The Friend of the Negroes. Wesley's Visit to Charleston. Vlli CONTENTS. Chapter XXV 383-384 Arkansas Tribes. Pierre Francois Charlevoix. The Indian Forms of Worship. Chapter XXVI 385-395 Methodism Among the Indians. Treatment by the Whites. Old French Missions. Presby- terian Mission. Rev. Cephas Washburn. Original Boundary. Capers. Removal West. Chapter XXVII 396-400 Conclusion. The Annual Conferences. First Things in Arkansas. Appendix A 401-410 Conference Sessions from 1820 to 1840. Appendix B , 4 11-419 Conference Roll for 1891. Date, Place of Meet- ing and President of Conferences in Arkansas from Organization Until 1891. Appendix C 420-43 1 A List of Traveling Preachers from 1816 to 1886, with the Manner of Their Disconnection with the Conference. Addenda 432-445 An Account of Bishop Bascom, Bishop Capers, Bishop Andrew. PREFACE. For a number of years I have greatly desired to see a •well-written history of Methodism in Arkansas, and sincerely hoped that some one thoroughly qualified for the work would undertake the task. In 1869, the Little Rock Annual Conference passed this resolution : " Resolved, That the Presiding Elders be, and are hereby constituted, a Committee on the History of Methodism in Arkansas, to collect items of interest connected therewith." If anything ever came of this action of the Conference I have never heard of it. In 1878, or near that time, the White River Conference requested Rev. John M. Steele to undertake the work of preparing a history of Methodism in Arkansas. He immediately began the collection of ma- terial for the work, and had succeeded in collecting much ■valuable information, but was called away by death before it was completed. It was left in such condition that no one else could properly arrange the material he had collected. I have undertaken to gather up the material that has been preserved in the minutes of the Annual Conferences, in District and Quarterly Conference records ; in manuscripts written by some of our old pioneer preachers, in articles written for our Church papers; in memoirs of our deceased preachers ; in letters from brethren and friends ; in inci- dental allusion found in books, and in conversation with old residents of the State. From the information gathered from all these sources, I have endeavored to present a connected history of Methodism in Arkansas. In many instances where I had to depend upon the personal recollection of brethren, I found the dates to be conflicting, and in such cases I have reconciled the dates as best I could. In the acknowledgment of obligations to others for help in the X PREFACE. preparation of this work, I am more indebted to the mate- rial collected by Brother Steele than any other one source. I am largely indebted to Dr. Hunter for the privilege of using material furnished by him in a series of articles to the Ar- kansas Methodist. Valuable aid was received from manu- scripts left by that faithful old pioneer, Rev. John Harris. I am under obligations to a number of brethren whose names will appear in the body of the work for letters of informa- tion and valuable suggestions in the preparation of this work. In this connection I must publicly return my thanks to Mr. Fay Hempstead for his kindness in permitting me to make use of his very excellent History of Arkansas, in gath- ering material for this history of Methodism. It has been my purpose to give proper credit in every instance to the au- thors from whom I have made quotations ; if in any instance I have failed, I desire in as public a manner as possible to correct the mistake. The practiced reader will no doubt find missing links in the narrative ; in many instances I found it impossible to obtain the information I needed to complete the chain. It has been my design to give the reader a book of relia- ble facts, and great pains has been taken to verify all the quotations made from other authors. Whatever faults there may be in the style of the book, I believe the reader can trust the accuracy of the facts given, and rely upon the cor- rectness of dates and numbers as found in the body of the work. If the study of the History of Methodism in Ar- kansas should inspire our people with a greater love for the Church and to greater zeal for Christ, by recounting the noble deeds of those who planted the Church in the early days of the State, I shall feel that my labors have been richly repaid. Horace Jewell. INTRODUCTION The author lays no claim to literary merit in the following pages, liowever desirable this might be in a history of this kind. If he can only present the record of the past in a clear and consistent way so that the reader can gain an accurate knowledge of the history of Methodism from the time that it was first planted in Arkansas until the present date, he will be perfectly satisfied with his effort. If he can only rescue from oblivion the names of the noble men that dared the privations and dangers incident to a pioneer ministry, and so successfully laid the foundations of the Church in the Territory of Arkansas, he will feel that he has been more than repaid for all the labor and trouble incident to the preparation of such a work. He feels that such a work, if successful, will meet the approval of all his brethren throughout the State. The following glowing tribute to the memory of the pioneers who laid the foundations of Methodism in the West is from the pen of Bishop Paine : " The Methodism planted by the heroic and holy pioneers in this region was truly Wesleyan; no wild or spurious* offshoot of the original stock, producing fanaticism and de- grading its disciples, but a genuine root of the true vine which Paul planted, ApoUos watered, which Luther pruned, and Wesley nourished, and whose fruitful foliage was now rapidly spreading over England, the West Indies and the great Western continent. Its fruit was healing the chronic ulcers of the nations. It introduced order, social and moral ; it subdued the vices, restrained the passions and vitiated appetites; refined the taste, enlightened the minds of men, and spread peace and happiness through society. It insti- tuted an unequaled system of propagandism, the very plan. "Xll INTRODUCTION. introduced by the great Master himself, and called forth the moral heroism of martyrs in its ministers. Its doctrines were scriptural, its forms and ceremonies simple and signifi- cant, its spirit catholic, its discipline strictly evangelical and its system of government subordinated to the great cardinal object of spreading scriptural holiness over all lands by an itinerant ministry. No wonder it succeeded ; it would have been far more wonderful if it had not. Every attribute of the God-head was on its side, and every intercession of the world's Redeemer was virtually a prayer and a pledge of its triumph. The highest interests of humanity were involved in its efforts, and some of the purest and noblest of earth sacrificed their earthly all in its behalf." This picture is not overdrawn. The planting of Method- ism in this country did indeed cost the "all" of many of the noblest men. While we know something of the hard- ships and privations to which they were exposed, we can never know the half they suffered. Even the patient, heroic Asbury, with all his powers of endurance and sublime faith, was made to exclaim : "Sure I am that nothing short of the welfare of immortal souls and my sense of duty could be inducement enough for me to visit the West so often. Oh ! the roads, the hills, ^the rocks, the rivers, the want of water even to drink, the time for secret prayer hardly to be stolen, and the place scarcely to be had." When he saw the destitution among the preachers at the Conference of 1806, he wrote: "The preachers weie in great want, and to help them so far as I could I parted with my watch, my coat and my shirt." While this language was applied to the laborers in other fields, it was just as applicable to the early preachers, who planted Methodism in the wilds of Arkansas. It is equally true of such men as Stephenson, Harris, the Tennants, the Orrs, Scripps, Medford, Whitesides, Henry, Ratcliffe, Hun- INTRODUCTION. XIU ter, Steele, and others of equal fidelity to the work of Christ. The time has come for us to gather up the incidents con- nected with the early history of Methodism in Arkansas be- fore they are irrecoverably lost to the Church. A few of the old veterans who were conversant with the scenes of early Methodism in the State are still living ; but in a very short time they will have passed away, and much of inter- esting information in their possession will be buried with them, unless the pen of the historian shall preserve it for the edification of the Church. It will be the purpose of the writer to gather up as much possible of the unwritten his- tory of early Methodism in Arkansas. Doubtless there are many incidents and names that should find a place in the history of the Church, but they are lost beyond recovery. There are saints and heroes who sleep in unknown graves, but their record is on high. It is a sacred duty we owe their memory to rescue, as far as we can, their honored names from oblivion. As an illustration of the fact that the mem- bers of other communions regard the Methodist Church as the great pioneer organization, in supplying the new countries and outlying districts with the gospel, and that they are expected to be the first to enter new fields and prepare the way for others, the following incident is related : Some years ago the writer was traveling one of the large districts in Arkansas, and holding a Quarterly Conference in a rather sparsely settled neighborhood, when a gentleman of another denomination — a man of more than ordinary in- telligence — complained bitterly of being somewhat neglected by the Methodist Conference in not being as prompt in sending them a preacher as he thought they ought to have been. The writer asked him what his own denomination were doing for the community. The answer was, nothing at all ; he said it had not occurred to him that anybody but the Methodists could supply them. This man voiced the feel- ing of many others, that the Methodists were the only ones XIV INTRODUCTION. who could successfully enter new and sparsely settled por- tions of the country. It is just as true in regard to communities as it is in re- gard to individuals, that the after-life is largely influenced by the training and culture they receive in the early forma- tive period of their existence. Whatever of success the Church has achieved in Arkansas, has been in a very large degree the result of the labors of these old pioneer preachers. We of a later generation have entered into their labors, and we are now reaping a harvest from their patient labor in sowing. They often went forth sowing in tears ; we who have entered in, reap in joy. If the author succeeds in doing nothing more than to rescue the names of these noble men from oblivion, he will have performed a lasting service to the Church in Arkansas. Horace Jewell. ERRATA. On page 142, seventeenth line from top, read one of the tnost instead of the most widely known. On page 174, eleventh line from bottom, read to jmite in- stead of to zvrite. On page 189 there is a repetition of a paragraph on page 181. On page 239, fourth line from top, read for 1874. instead of for this year. On page 276 read William Manley instead of William Mavely. On page 348, where the name of William L. King appears, read Wilbur L. King ; also in the list of preachers for the White River Conference read Wilbur L. King instead of William L. King. CHAPTER I. The Methodism of Arkansas — The Type of Preachers — The Difficulties — Similar to the Older States — Agreeable Coincidence — The Original Territory — Methodist Organizations in the State — History of the Church a Part of the History of State. The history of Methodism in Arkansas will necessarily resemble the history of Methodism in every other Southern and Western State. The great similarity in the class of people who first settled, and the character of the preachers who first planted Methodism, in these States, would neces- sarily produce similar results. To write the history of one is in a large degree to write the history of every other one. There existed in all these States the same natural difficul- ties, connected with a sparse population, spattered over a new country, which required the same methods to reach and gain access to them. There were first a few scattered set- tlements of very poor people, and then a pioneer Methodist preacher following closely upon the advance guard of these hardy settlers. Then came the first religious services, which were usually held in the rude cabins of these plain people, or, when the weather would permit, in the open air. As the population increased, these pioneer preachers would preach in school houses, and rude churches built in the most primi- tive. style. Then came the formation of societies and the organization of circuits, districts and conferences. As the wealth of the country increased, and the popula- tion became more densely settled, the plain and small houses of worship would give place to better and more commodious ones, better suited to the altered condition of the country. New circuits and stations would be formed, and older con- 2 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ferences would be divided and new ones formed, to meet the growing demands of the Church and country. There were, in all these States, similar examples of self- denial, and heroism in meeting difficulties and surmounting obstacles. There were similar examples of devotion to Christian duty, followed by similar success in winning souls to Christ. But while there was this general resemblance in the Meth- odism of all these States, there were some peculiarities in the condition of each that caused it to differ from every other. While these early preachers belonged to the same general class, and very greatly resembled each other, a more independent body of men never lived so that each preacher had something about him peculiar to himself. Within these clearly-defined limits of general resemblance, there was a wonderful variety of character and incident. The fact that each community was widely separated from every other com- munity, and each preacher was left to develop any peculiar- ity of talent that might belong to himself, would necessarily produce a greater variety of character than can be found in older communities, that are constantly being brought into contact with each other. It does not follow that because the history of Methodism in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Missouri and Texas, has been written by such able writers as Redford, McFerrin, Bennett, Smith, McAnally and Thrall, that the necessity does not exist for some one to write the history of Methodism in Arkansas. The dauntless heroism, the untir- ing devotion, the burning zeal, and the fervent piety, of the pioneers of Methodism in Arkansas, were not surpassed by the early preachers of any of the older States. It is a sacred duty to rescue from oblivion the names of these men, whose labors have so enriched the Church of God. If we should delay this work much longer, the materials from which the history could have been written will have forever perished. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 3 It is only here and there that an old inhabitant remains, in whose memory are stored the recollections of many of the most important events in the history of early Methodism in Arkansas, from the planting of the first societies until the present time. In our researches into the history of the Church in Ar- kansas, and into the civil history of the State, we will find a singular and agreeable coincidence between the principal epochs in the growth and development of each. The State was originally a part of the Louisiana Territory. The Church in Arkansas was embraced in the Missouri Con- ference. The Territory of Arkansas was formed in 1819, and organized into a territorial government. The Arkansas District of the Missouri Conference was formed in 18 18. It was called the Black River District, but lay entirely within the Territory of Arkansas. Arkansas was admitted into the Union, as a State, in 1836 ; and the Arkan- sas Conference of the M. E. Church was organized the same year. From that time until the present time the Church in Arkansas has kept pace with the growth of the State. There are more members in the M. E. Church, South, alonein proportion to population than there were in 1836 in the M. E. Church, to say nothing of the other Methodist organ- izations within the State. In addition to the M. E. Church, South, there are the M. E. Church, the Protestant Methodist Church, and various colored Methodist churches ; and taking all these into the account, there are many more Methodists now in propor- tion to population than there were at the organization of the Arkansas Conference in 1836. Methodism is a recognized factor in the civilization of America. Men of every religious creed, and of no creed, whatever may be their opinions about the system of doc- trine, ecclesiastical polity or customs of the Methodist Church, readily admit that it has had great influence in 4 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. moulding the social and religious habits of the country; whether they approve or condemn, they readily grant that it has had a large influence in moulding the habits and relig- ious faith of other communions. It is one of the largest,, if not the largest, religious denomination in the United States, and is more universally diffused throughout the country than any other body of Christians, There is scarcely a community to be found in which the Methodist Church is not represented. No one can be said to be well informed in regard to the history of the country in which he lives, who is ignorant of the history of so large, active and aggressive body of Christians. His opinions about them or his feelings toward them can have nothing to do with his lack of information about their history and influence. The student of secular history must necessarily feel an in- terest in the ecclesiastical history of the country. There is such a close connection between the civil and religious condition of the country, and their interests are so closely blended, that we cannot properly understand the one with- out some knowledge of the other. This fact has been so well understood by all the great writers of history, that they have invariably studied with great care the religions of the countries whose histories they would write. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is largely a history of the early Christian Church. Macauley's History of England contains in a large degree the history of the English Church, together with an account of the various sects that arose from time to time in England. CHAPTER II. The Geography of the Country — Character of the People — A Definition of Methodism. In order to understand the nature of, and appreciate the results of any great moral and religious force in its operation upon society; we must know something of its theater of action — the geography of the country where the recorded events transpired, the nature and character of the people among whom these moral forces were at work, the instru- mentalities employed, together with the results that were ac- complished by them. In writing a history of Methodism in Arkansas, it will be necessary to define and briefly describe the terms employed. METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. The separate existence of different ecclesiastical organiza- tions is not of necessity an evil. Each one of the great ecclesiastical bodies of the country may have a mission to fill and a work to do that no other organization can so well accomplish. Needless divisions and sub-divisions should be avoided, so that every separate organization should stand for some distinct idea, and clearly represent some great prin- ciple. Methodism is such an organization. It stands for and represents a system of doctrines and polity peculiar to itself. Its methods of work are different from all other bodies. In doctrine it is a modified system of Arminianism, as distinguished from Galvanism. It lays peculiar stress upon the doctrine of the universality of the atonement, made by Christ. While there are some minor bodies of Christians who hold the same views of the atonement, to the Methodist Church belongs the credit of laying special emphasis upon this great central truth of religion. 6 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. As a system of spiritual teaching, it lays special emphasis on the doctrine of spiritual regeneration, and the witness of the spirit to our adoption into the family of God. As a system of church polity it stands equally removed from the assumptions of High Churchism on the one hand and Congregationalism on the other. As to its methods of Church work, they are peculiar to itself in its plan of supplying the people with regular preach- ing by the system of an itinerant pastorate. Methodism is a growth and not a system of ecclesiastical machinery devised by human skill. The different parts of the system were introduced as the necessities of the work demanded, and as a result of this fact it is adapted to every condition of society. When properly understood and ad- justed, it meets the conditions of society as they exist in the largest cities, and in the most sparsely settled portions of the country. It meets the demands and makes provisions for the most cultured communities and the most illiterate of our population. It is equally at home in the elegant city church and in the rude log meeting-house on the Western frontier. American Methodism is something distinct from every other form of organized Christianity, and has its dis- tinct work to perform and its sublime mission to fill in the development of the spiritual resources of the country. TOPOGRAPHY OF ARKANSAS AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS. Arkansas is situated between the parallels of 33° and 36^^, north latitude, and nearly midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its area is 53,850 square miles, and its ex- tent from north to south is 240 miles, and from east to west 250 miles. It is bounded on the north by Missouri, east by Tennessee and Mississippi, from which it is separated by the Mississippi River, south by Louisiana and west by Texas and the Indian Territory. Our historians inform us that the celebrated Spanish ex- plorer, Hernando DeSoto, crossed the Mississippi River in HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. / 1 541. The authorities are not agreed as to the place where he crossed the river. Some say the lowest " Chickasaw Bluff" (Memphis), some a little above the mouth of White River. Others claim that it was below the mouth of the Arkansas River. He was the first white man to enter this territory. He is said to have traveled west of the high lands of White River and thence south by way of the Hot Springs to the Indian village of Autamque on the Ouachita River. He then followed that stream to its confluence with the Red River, and thence down that stream to where it empties into the Mississippi River. The first white settlement was made in 1686, by a com- pany who formed a colony near or at the Arkansas Post. The celebrated John Law obtained a grant of four leagues of land lying on the Arkansas River, and settled a body of French and Germans upon it as a part of a colony of 800. Some authorities date this settlement in 1721. All agree, however, that the first white settlement in Arkansas was at the Arkansas Post. Arkansas was originally a part of that vast tract of country known as the Province of Louisiana, which was purchased from the French in 1803. From the first settlement of this territory until it was purchased by the United States it was under French and Spanish control, and was exclusively occu- pied by French and Spanish settlers. The Roman Catholic Church was the only form of religion that was tolerated by law during this period. Among other regulations for the government of this territory we find the following : " They shall not be molested in matters of reli- gion, but the Apostolic Roman Catholic worship shall alone be publicly permitted." As it is the boast of this Church that it never changes, it is pertinent to ask, if it had the power, would any other form of worship be tolerated in this State at the present time ? As the Territory of Louisiana was at different times under 8 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. the dominion of France and Spain, the first white settlers were of*these nationahties. The following description of the early French settlers in Missouri will equally apply to these settlers in Arkansas, for they were the same type of people : " In their intercourse with the Indians, by whom they were surrounded, the early French settlers were peculiarly fortunate. While other colonists were almost continually involved in mutually destructive hostilities with the red men, they possessed a gentleness and adaptability which never failed to win and preserve the confidence and friendship of these children of nature. In all their explorations to the remotest rivers and hunting grounds they associated with the Indians as the common children of the Great Spirit, adopted many of their customs, and often amalgamated with them in blood. It is doubtful if history gives the record of a people who in modern times were more plain and simple in their manners, more cheerful in their dispositions, or better ad- ministered individually to their own wants than did the early French settlers. They lived mainly in villages, which were usually laid off in long, narrow streets ; the houses simple, plain, uniform, and partly or wholly surrounded by sheds or galleries." Such is a brief description of the habits and customs of the early settlers of Arkansas. The descendants of these old French families are still to be found in some parts of the State. Such names as Pyeatte and LaFevre, of Pulaski County ; Barraque and Vaugine, of Jefferson County ; Fabre, of Ouachita County ; Notrebe and Roderique, of Arkansas County, and many others that might be named, indicate their descent from the old French settlers. Among the early settlers of the State we must not forget another class of men of Anglo-Saxon origin. To quote from the same author : " There was yet another class ; one that loved the silent woods and the unmarred face of nature, with a deep and HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 9 passionate devotion that led them far beyond the sound of the woodman's axe, or the sight of cultivated fields. They were the grandest type of the old frontiersman. Learned in the science of the woods, and altogether superior to the savage on his own ground, and with his own weapons, they loved to contend single-handed with difficulty and danger, and to feel in the depth of the forest that they were the dreaded masters of all its wild forces. Passionately fond of hunting and trapping, they loved peace because it allowed them the undisturbed gratification of their tastes, yet they were not averse to war. The whoop of the savage stirred their wild, fierce blood to its depths and gave them a stern pleasure. These were the protectors and defenders of the more quiet class." (" Methodism in Missouri : " McAnally.) From these quotations the reader can have a very fair idea of the class of people to whom the early Methodist preachers brought the messages of the gospel. It will readily be seen that a population having so little affinity for each other as these French and Spanish settlers, with all their attachments for the Roman Catholic Church, and their opposition to every form of Protestantism on the one hand, and the rough, bold hunters, trappers and miners scattered over a large extent of territory on the other hand ; and when we further consider the great differences in nationality, religion, man- ners and customs, we will more fully understand the diffi- cult task that confronted these early pioneers of Methodism. A study of the men and the peculiarity of the work they were called to do, will give us more enlarged conceptions of the wisdom of the plan of itinerancy, that enabled the Church to so admirably adapt the agencies at command to the great work to be accomplished by their labors. CHAPTER III. Origin of Methodism — John Wesley — At Oxford — His Conversion — Organization of Societies — Lay Helpers. In writing the history of any movement it is impossible to obtain a clear insight into its nature without some knowl- edge of its origin. If we would fully understand the history of Methodism in Arkansas, we must know something of its origin and previous history. What is Methodism? What are some of its distinguishing features ? In what does it agree and wherein does it differ from other existing forms of Christianity ? An answer to these questions would give us some idea of the nature of Methodism. It is usual for our writers on Methodism to say that the Rev. John Wesley was under God the founder of Methodism. John Wesley was the second son of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth in Lincolnshire, June 17, 1703. His father was a learned and pious minister of the Established Church of England. His mother was one of the most remarkable women of any age of the Church, and was peculiarily quali- fied for the proper training and education of her children. At the age of eleven he was placed at the Charter House under the able tuition of Dr. Walker. He entered college at the Oxford University at the age of 16, and soon gave evidence by his progress in his studies of that acute- ness of intellect and sternness of virtue by which he was afterwards so eminently distinguished. He was ordainecf Deacon in September, 1725. He took his degree in Xa,27, and in 1728 was ordained a Presbyter in the Church of Eng- land. In 1729 he attended the meetings of a small society which had been formed at Oxford, in which were included HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. II his brother Charles and Mr. Morgan, for the purpose of assisting each other in their studies, and consulting how they might employ their time to the best advantage. The order and regularity which they observed in their studies and efforts to do good to others caused some of the wits at Oxford to give them the nickname, by way of ridicule, of Methodists, a name by which Mr. Wesley and his followers have ever since been distinguished. They were also called, in derision, the Holy Club, and finally they were called Sacramentarians, on account of the frequency with which they commemorated the sufferings of their divine Master. Such was the origin of the term Methodist. It was not until May 26, 1738, that John Wesley found perfect peace by trusting in Christ for salvation. He says that " in the evening he went very unwillingly to a society in Aidersgate street, where a layman was reading Luther's preface to the Romans, and while listening to Luther's de- scription of the change which the spirit works through faith in Jesus Christ, 'I felt my heart strangely warmed.' " From that time he began to preach with great zeal and earnestness the doctrines that had brought so much peace and comfort to his own heart. His brother Charles and Mr. Whitfield^ and others began to preach the same doctrines, until they were expelled from the pulpits of the Established Church. They then went to the societies they had organized, and to the hospitals and prisons, and preached wherever a congrega- tion could be assernbled to hear them. Societies were formed in London and various other places in England, and continued to multiply so rapidly that Mr. Wesley had to or- ganize a band of helpers. There were a few clergymen of the Church of England associated with Mr. Wesley in his work. These with his lay helpers were assembled together for counsel to review the work of the past, and lay their plans for the future. Thus originated what is known in Methodism as the Con- 12 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ference, and out of which has grown the system of confer- ences that has proven to be such an effective agency in the promotion of the kingdom of Christ. It will be seen from this brief statement of the origin of Methodism that it was a growth rather than a formal organ- ization. Nothing could have been further from Mr. Wesley's intention at the beginning of his labors then to organize a separate ecclesiastical organization. He was led step by step to adopt the various measures that characterized his work, until it had grown into a great ecclesiastical body. Unlike the great majority of other ecclesiastical bodies that have been organized, there was no violent breaking away from older churches. There never was any formal separa- tion from any other body of Christians. Methodism was neither a doctrinal nor ecclesiastical reformation, except as these were incidental to the great spiritual reformation that was effected by its agency. Mr. Wesley never did repudiate the thirty-nine articles of the Church of England, and to the day of his death was loyal to the ecclesiastical order of that Church. Method- ism, as it exists in its system of doctrines, government, cus- toms and forms, is a growth, and not a formal, fixed structure. A growth under the guiding hand of God, being led by the Holy Spirit. It was a great spiritual movement, a revival of spiritual religion in the Church, as contrasted with a dead, cold formalism. As one has very aptly expressed it, " Methodism is Christianity in earnest." The doctrines upon which Mr. Wesley and his co-laborers laid so much stress, were not new or novel discoveries ; they were old doctrines which he claimed were taught in the hom- ilies of the Church of England. He only claimed to lay stress upon doctrines that had been neglected and in too many instances forgotten and even denied by those who had solemnly promised to teach them. In the great Lutheran reformation of the sixteenth century, the emphasis was laid HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 3, on the doctrine of justification by faith. In the great Wes- leyan reformation of the eighteenth century, the emphasis was laid on the doctrine of the witness of the Holy Spirit as a privilege of the children of God. An excellent writer has truly said that " the strong feat- ures of Methodism were Bible study and Bible experience, and Christian activity." Methodism was a revival of Bible study. The early Methodist preachers were the most in- tense Bible students of that age. "To fit themselves for this work they read the Bible daily, thoroughly and many of them on their knees imploring Divine light. To help them, Mr. Wesley published outlines of Greek and Hebrew grammars and notes on the New Testament ; but his emphatic decla- ration was, 'Have a Bible always about you.' As these men were of the masses, their spirit spread to those around them, and hence promoted Bible study. The institution of the class-meeting, had a direct tendency to promote the study of the Holy Scriptures. As it was the duty of the class- leader to converse freely with the members of his class, and give spiritual advice to such as had need of correction, reproof or encouragement, he must study the Scriptures to do this successfully. Hence many of these old class-lead- ers were remarkably apt in quotations from the Bible." The opposition which Methodism encountered compelled its early members to study the Bible in self-defense. Their doctrines were bitterly assailed. Antinomianism had taken possession of a large portion of the pulpits, and of the public mind, and its votaries opposed with great earnestness, the doctrines of a full and free salvation. Believing, as these early Methodists did, that a full atonement had been made for all men, they felt constrained by the love of Christ to study the Bible so as to be able to present its truths in the clearest manner, to save the souls of their hearers. Methodism was a revival of Bible experience. With them it was more than a system of doctrines for the enlighten- 14 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ment of the intellect; it was a conscious experience of par- don, peace, and approval of God. Although this doctrine of the conscious witness of the Holy Spirit had been clearly taught by the early reformers and founders of the English Church, it had in a large measure been obscured by the spirit of worldliness, and scepticism, that had entered the Church ; so that when Wesley and his co-laborers revived this scriptural doctrine, they were branded as enthusiasts and fanatics, and denounced as disturbers of the peace, and quiet of society. That the moral and spiritual condition of England de- manded such a revival of spiritual godliness, is the universal testimony of divines, statesmen, and historians. " The higher classes laughed at piety, and prided themselves on being above what they called fanaticism ; the lower classes were grossly ignorant and abandoned to vice, while the Church enervated by a universal decline was unable longer to give countenance to the downfallen cause of truth." (Stephens). Bishop Burnett, of the English Church, is quoted as saying: " I cannot look on without the deepest concern when I see the imminent ruin hangmg over this Church, and by conse- quence, over the whole Reformation. The outward state of things is black enough, God knows ; but that which heightens my fears rises chiefly from the inward state into which we are unhappily fallen." Archbishop Seeker said : " In this we cannot be mistaken that an open and professed disregard is become through a variety of causes the distinguishing characteristic of the present age.'' Cardinal Manning, of the Roman Catholic Church, said in his sermon on the anniversary of the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England : " Had it not been for John Wesley, and his preaching of justification by faith, no man could tell to what a depth of degradation England would have sunk." (Bishop Simpson.) HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 5 Methodism was a revival of Christian activities. Mr. Wes- ley himself set the example of an intense activity in the ser- vice of Christ. But few men have been able to perform the amount of labor that he did. If we think of him simply as a preacher we are amazed at the number of sermons he was able to preach, and when we read of the books, tracts, pam- phlets and sermons that he published, we wonder that any man could perform such a prodigious amount of work ; and then, in addition to this, the amount of travel that he did was as much labor as an ordinary man could have per- formed ; and this intense activity was continued to the end of life. The example of Wesley was followed by his helpers to such a degree that one of the causes of the bitter oppo- sition from many of the Established Clergy was that their in- difference and slothfulness was put to shame by the superior zeal of these Methodist preachers. Some of them actually, complained that the preaching of the Methodists had sent such vast numbers to the Communion that their labors were greatly increased to wait upon them at the Communion table. This intense activity upon the part of the preachers had its effect upon the membership of the Church, and resulted in the establishment of a number of agencies for the promo- tion of personal piety, and the salvation of the masses. Out of this grew all those peculiar agen'cies of Methodism, such as the class-meeting, the love-feast, the conferences, quar- terly, annual and general ; the local and itinerant ministry that have contributed so largely to the success of Method- ism, both in England and America. ECCLESIASTICAL TERMS IN METHODISM. While many of the terms employed by Methodists to des- ignate the ministry and other officers of the Church, are used in the same sense and with the same meaning, attached to them by other denominations, there are some terms that have a meaning peculiar to Methodism. The term Deacon, for instance, designates an order in the ministry, while the l6 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. same term among the Baptists and Presbyterians designates a lay officer in the Church. While every Methodist is sup- posed to be perfectly familiar with all the terms employed, there may be some of our readers who are not familiar with the different shades of meaning which Methodists attach to these terms, and for their benefit the following explanations are gfven : THE MINISTRY, The ministry of the Methodist Church is divided into two classes — the traveling and local, or as sometimes expressed, the itinerant and local. A traveling preacher is one who holds his membership in some Annual Conference, and is subject to removal from one pastoral charge to another, and is amenable to the Annual Conference for his Christian character, and the faithful performance of his duties. Local preachers are not subject to removal, but choose their own field of labor. Secular pursuits are not incom- patible with the amount of service they are expected to render. They are responsible to the Quarterly Conference for the faithful performance of their duties. There are three orders in the Methodist Ministry — Bish- ops, Elders and Deacons. The more generally received idea, however, is to say that there are but two orders — Eld- ers and Deacons — the Bfshop's position being of the nature of an office rather than a distinct order in the ministry. This division prevails among all Episcopal Methodists. The Bishops are elected by the General Conference, and hold their office for life. The Elders are elected by the Annual Conference, and ordained by the Bishop and Elders, and by virtue of their ordination are invested with all the rights and privileges of the ministry. The term Elder is synonymous with the term Presbyter. The Deacons are elected by the Annual Conference and ordained by the Bishop, and are invested with all the rights HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1/ of the ministry, except the administration of the Lord's Supper, in which they may assist the Elder. A licentiate is one who has received a license to preach from a Quarterly Conference. A Presiding Elder is an Elder who has been placed in charge of a district. A preacher in charge is the pastor of a circuit, station *or mission by appointment by the constituted authority. He may be a traveling Elder or Deacon, an ordained or unor- dained preacher on trial, or a local preacher as a supply. Where two preachers are appointed to the same pastoral charge, one of them is called the senior preacher, and the other is called the Junior preacher. The junior preacher was formerly called the " helper." An exhorter is one who has been licensed to exhort. His business is not to sermonize. It is less formal. He may read a scripture lesson, and make a practical application of its leading sentiments to the congregation. The stewards have charge of the financial affairs of the congregation. A pastoral charge may be either a station, circuit or mis- sion. A station is a single congregation constituting a pastoral charge. A circuit is a pastoral charge composed of a number of congregations. A mission is a pastoral charge receiving aid from the missionary board. A preacher "on trial " is a probationer who has not been received into full connection in the Conference. A preacher " in full connection " is one who has passed his probation, and has been formally received into the mem- bership of an Annual Conference. An effective preacher is one who is able to do full pastoral] service. 2— M l8 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, A supernumerary preacher is one who is partially disabled by personal affliction from doing the work of the ministry. A superannuated preacher is one who is thoroughly dis- abled by age or affliction from doing any pastoral work. THE CONFERENCES. The term conference is peculiar to Methodism as a desig- nation of the official and business meetings of the Church. A Church Conference is composed of all the members of the Church in one place, together with the resident mem- bers of the Annual Conference. The Quarterly Conference is composed of all the official members of a pastoral charge. The District Conference is composed of representatives from each of the pastoral charges within the Presiding Elder's district. The Annual Conference is composed of all the traveling preachers within the Conference, and a certain number of lay delegates from each district. The General Conference is composed of a certain number of clerical and lay delegates from the Annual Conferences, and convenes once in every four years. CHAPTER IV. Introduction of Methodism in America — Robert Straw- bridge, Philip Embury, Capt. Webb, Richard Board- man, Joseph Pilmore — First Annual Conference — Dji. Coke — The Formation of Conferences — Western Conference — Earthquakes. Our Methodist authorities are not agreed as to the exact time when Methodism was introduced into America. By some it is claimed that it was first introduced into Maryland by a local preacher, Robert Strawbridge. It is said of him that he emigrated to America in 1759 or 1760, and settled on Sam's Creek, Frederic County, Maryland. He began to preach to his neighbors soon after he came into the neighbor- hood, and as a result of his labors a society was soon or- ganized and a log church was built on Sam's Creek, which is claimed by some to have been the first Methodist church built in America. The precise date of this, however, is not exactly known. About this time Philip Embury, another local preacher, emigrated to America and settled in New York. The first sermon was preached in his own house in New York to six persons. The first class was organized in 1766. As this organization of Methodism has been greatly mis represented by the enemies of Methodism, a plain statement of the circumstances will be of interest to the readers who may not have access to the true histories of the introduction of Methodism into the City of New York. A few Irish Methodists came from Ireland to New York, and among these was Philip Embury, a local preacher. De- prived of their regular services they grew indifferent, and somewhat backslidden, and engaged in worldly amusements, 20 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. such amusements as could not be taken in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mrs. Barbara Hicks, " a mother in Israel," came upon a number of these one evening who were engaged in playing cards for amusement (not gambling as some have asserted). She seized the cards and threw them into the fire, and administered a severe rebuke to them. Philip Embury was not in this company, as some have asserted. Mrs. Hicks then went to the house of Philip Em- bury, and reproved him for his neglect of duty in not preaching to them, saying to him, "Bro. Embury, you must preach to us, or we shall all go to hell, and God will require our blood at your hands." He replied, "How can I preachy for I have neither a house nor a congregation." She then said, " Preach in your own house and to your own company first." To this he agreed. A congregation of six persons were collected together in his own house, to whom he preached the first Methodist sermon in New York. This was Mr. Embury's account of the affair, as given in " Lost Chapters in Methodism," by J. B. Wakely, who was stationed at one time in New York City, and was perfectly familiar with its history. This account of Mr. Embury, and the or- ganization of the first Methodist society in New York, is a complete vindication of their character against the frequent aspersions of the enemies of Methodism. Philip Embury was soon joined by Capt. Webb, who ren- dered efificient service to the infant cause in New York City. He preached for some time in a hired room, near the bar- racks. We next find these Methodists occupying a rigging loft, where Philip Embury and Capt. Thomas Webb preached to the little company of worshipers. It is said, " In this humble place twice on Sunday, and on Thursday evening, Philip Embury or Capt. Webb preached a full, free and present salvation, and here the worshiping assemblies were fed with the sincere milk of the Word, and they grew there- by. Here they wept, and prayed, rejoiced, and praised." HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 21 When we think of this humble beginning of Methodism in America, and then trace its wonderful history to the present time, we are made to exclaim, *' What hath God wrought." From this feeble beginning, Methodism has multiplied until it numbers its millions of adherents. In 1769, Mr. Wesley sent Richard Boardman and Joseph Pillmore over to America to assist in the work already be- gun by the labors of Strawbridge in Maryland, and Embury and Webb in New York. Boardman and Pillmore were the first regular itinerant Methodist preachers sent to America. The first annual Conference held in America met in the City of Philadelphia July 6, 1773. At this Conference the minutes show that there were ten preachers representing a membership of 1 160. The year 1784 was an eventful one in the history of Methodism in America. Previous to this time no one was authorized to administer the sacraments, as none of the preachers had ever received ordination. The Methodists of America were desirous of receiving the sacra- ments from the hands of their own preachers, and conse- quently requested Mr. Wesley to make some provision for them to receive the sacraments. According to this request, Mr. Wesley set apart Thomas Coke, a Presbyter of the Church of England, as a general superintendent of the societies in America, with full power to set apart Francis Asbury to the same office. Thomas Vassey and Richard Whatcoat were set apart at the same time to act as Elders among them by administering baptism and the Lord's Sup- per. The Conference for 1874 recognized the action of Mr. Wesley in setting apart Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury as joint superintendents of the Church in America, which adopted the name of " Methodist Episcopal Church." The subsequent history of the Church has fully justified the wisdom of the plan of organization. The statistics for the year 1784 show a membership of 14,986, and preachers 83. Methodism in America was now a regularly organized 22 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. church, fully empowered to transact all the business pertain- ing to an independent church of Christ. The happy effect of this action upon the growth of Methodism is seen in the increased gain in membership. The total membership for the year was i8,000 members and lo6 preachers, a gain of 3012 members and 21 preachers. The Conferences for this year were held at Saulsbury, North Carolina; Lane's Chapel, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. From this time the Church began to work its way south and west with the ad- vancing tide of immigration. In 1788 a Conference was held in Holston. In 1 790 there were Conferences held in Holston and in Kentucky. In 1792 the first General Conference was held in the City of Baltimore. The second General Conference was held in the City of Baltimore in ^g6. Up to this period in the history of the Church the Bishops exercised discretionary power in appointing as many Annual Conferences as they judged expedient for the convenience of the preachers and people, but as the General Conference possessed the legis- lative power to make rules and regulations, it was deemed best at this session to settle definitely the question in re- gard to their number, and also to define the respective boundaries of each. Accordingly the number of Confer- ences agreed upon was six, with the proviso that if it should be considered essential to the demands of the work in New England the Bishop might organize an additional Conference in the province of Maine. The following were the Confer- ences organized : The New England Conference, the Philadelphia Confer- ence, the Baltimore Conference, the Virginia Conference, the South Carolina Conference, and the Western Conference. The latter embraced the States of Kentucky and Tennessee, and subsequently all the territory lying west of these States. In 1806, the Western Conference embraced the Holston District, Cumberland District, Kentucky District, Ohio HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 23 District and the Mississippi District. The Mississippi District embraced two appointments in Louisiana — Claiborne and Opelousas. In 1808, the Ouachita Circuit had been added to the district. In 1809, we have the Indiana District, with four appointments in Missouri : Maramec Circuit, Missouri Circuit, Cold Water Circuit and Cape Girardeau Circuit. It is probable that the preacher on the Cape Girardeau Cir- cuit penetrated as far south as the upper part of Arkansas, though of this we have no positive information. It is also probable that the preacher in the Ouachita Circuit, in the Mississippi District, penetrated as far north as the southern boundary of Arkansas. We know that at this early date the circuit lines were not very clearly defined, and as these circuits lay near the boundary lines of this territory, they may have crossed over and preached to the scattering set- tlements that had been formed at that early date. While we have no positive evidence that any Methodist preacher had ever preached within the Territory at this early date, from facts in our possession we incline to the opinion that there had been Methodist services in a few places. The year 1811 is noted in the annals of Missouri and Ar- kansas as the period of the great earthquakes, which occurred at New Madrid, in the Territory of Louisiana, and which reached into the upper part of what is now the State of Ar- kansas. It began in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Ohio River, and extended southward along the valley of the Mississippi River for 300 miles. The celebrated naturalist. Von Humboldt, in describing this earthquake, says that " it presents one of the few examples of incessant quaking of the ground for several successive months far away from any volcano. The ground rose and sunk in great undulations, and lakes were formed and drained again. The surface burst open in great fissures, which extended northeast and southwest, and were sometimes more than a half-mile long, and from these fissures mud and water were thrown as high 24 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. as the tops of the trees. The disturbances continued until March 26, 1812, when they ceased. "This was the most extended earthquake ever felt in the United States, and the effect of it was to leave a large por- portion of the country near New Madrid sunk and sub- merged. It has since been called ' the sunk country.' In Craighead County, Ark., is to be found a portion of country called the ' sunk lands,' which were submerged by this earthquake February 6, 1812. The St. Francis River altered its course and followed the lowest places, leaving its former bed dryj and lakes formed in places where it used to run. At the time this earthquake was in progress the steamer New Orleans, the first steamboat on the Western waters, was on her first trip from Pittsburg, the place of her building, to New Orleans, the place of her destination, under charge of Mr. Nicholas J. Roosevelt, her builder and projector. After passing the falls of the Ohio the existence of the earth- quake began to be manifest. "At New Madrid, a great portion of which had been en- gulphed, as the earth opened in great chasms and swallowed up houses and their inhabitants, terror-stricken people begged to be taken on board, while others, dreading the steamboat more than the earthquake, hid themselves as the boat approached. One of the most uncomfortable things of the voyage was the confusion of the pilot, who became alarmed, and declared that he was lost, so great had been the changes in the channel caused by the earthquake. Where he had expected to find deep water, roots and stumps projected above the surface. Tall trees that had been their guides, had disappeared. Islands had changed their shapes, cut-offs had been made through what was forest land, when he last saw it." (See Claiborne's History of Mississippi, Vol. I, P- 537-) In another description of this event we have this state- ment : " The people of the Little Prairie had their little set- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 25 tlement which consisted of lOO families entirely broken up — only two families remained. The whole region was covered with sand to the depth of two or three feet. The surface was red with oxydized pyrites of iron, and pieces of pit coal. The country was filled with chasms running from northeast to southwest, at intervals, sometimes as close as half a mile apart, and sufficiently large to swallow up not only men but houses. To save themselves the inhabitants cut down large trees at right angles to the chasms and stationed themselves thereon. The great Prairie settlement, one of the most flourishing on the west bank of the Mississippi, and New Madrid, dwindled into insignificance, and decay, the people trembling in their miserable hovels at the distant and mel- ancholy rumbling of the approaching shocks." The Rev. John M. Steele has left us a very vivid descrip- tion of these earthquakes, which he obtained from eye-wit- nesses of the scenes described. The first and severest shock came at night. The afternoon preceding this shock was bright and clear without any signs of the terrible scenes that were fast approaching the quiet and seemingly secure population of these communities. The greater part of the shipping of those days was carried in flatboats, and upon this particular occasion the river near New Madrid was lined with flatboats loaded with produce of all kinds for the markets. An eye-witness who was on one of the boats, ;says that about lO or ii o'clock at night a sheet of flame and burning coals seemed to come from the bed of the river, shooting up to the height of several hundred feet into the air. The shock was attended by a low rumbling sound like distant thunder. The rushing of the fire and coals through the water produced a wave that carried the water up stream for the distance of several miles. An eye-witness states that the flatboat he was on was carried up the river about four miles. There are some rather amusing incidents related of the 26 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. effect that the great earthquakes of i8ii had upon the peo- ple. Rucker Tanner, who afterwards became a travelings preacher in the Conference, and his father who was a local preacher in the Methodist Church, were living at that time in the New Madrid country. A certain man, whom we shall call Mr. R., became greatly alarmed and thought the Great Day of Judgment had come. He sent in great haste for the Elder Tanner to come and take up his case at once, for it was the worst case in all the country ; that it was the most difficult of any, as he had been a very bad man. The following is from a writer who was only ten years old at the time of the earthquake : " It was Sunday, and I had gone out in the woods and gathered hazel-nuts. James Dennis had just built a log house, and in digging up earth to fill the hearth-place had come upon the skeleton of what he supposed to be an Indian. Captain Oatwell and my father were sleeping together at the house of Mr. Dennis. That same Sunday night, while we were all asleep in bed, the earthquake came. It awoke the Captain, who remarked to my father that he thought ' the Indian must be turning over.' At home, my mother, in the alarm of the shaking, thought that the Indians were attempting to break into the house ; and she arose in bed and took down a sword that hung over it. Then the frightened negroes came to my mother to know what they must do. She said to them : * Pray with all your might ; it is an earthquake.' My own thoughts- were that the cause of the earthquake was my gathering nuts on .the Sabbath ; and as soon as daylight appeared I took my load of nuts and emptied them out behind a stump a little way from the house." Referring to the excitement that prevailed in consequence of the earthquakes. Bishop Paine says: " In many instances the excitement assumed a religious aspect, and a wide-spread and glorious revival extended throughout the greater part of tjie Western work ; insomuch that the two Conferences,. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 2/ Ohio and Tennessee, into which the Western was divided by the General Conference, reported in the fall of 1812 a net gain of more than 50 per centum. So that the Lord had not only terribly shaken the earth, but had also mercifully shaken the hearts of the people." To the same effect, John Scripps says : " This year the Lord shook terribly the earth, particularly the circuits of Brother McFarland's chars^e. The people became alarmed and fled, many to Christ, but more into the Church, for refuge." The reformations produced by this excitement were in many instances of the most permanent character. CHAPTER V. Introduction ok Methodism in Arkansas — Wm. Patter- son — Kentucky Colony — John Patterson — Helena — Eli Lindsay — Spring River — First Circuit — William Stephenson — John Henry. There is some little difficulty in ascertaining who were the first Methodist preachers to enter the territory that now forms the State of Arkansas. There is the same difficulty in regard to the place and time when the first preaching was had and the first societies were organized. Our authorities are a little obscure, both in their dates and the persons who were prominent in these beginnings of Methodism. In the early part of the year i8oo William Patterson, Sylvanus Philips and Abraham Philips moved from Kentucky to Ark- ansas and settled three miles south of the St. Francis River, at a point known as the Little Prairie, on the bank of the Mississippi River. John Patterson was born at this place during this year. He was the first white child born in this part of the State, and probably the first child born of Amer- ican parents in the State. In the summer of 1800, William Patterson cut the large cane where the City of Helena now stands, and built a rude warehouse for storing goods and provisions for the accommodation of barge shipping, as there were no steamboats at that day. From the minutes we learn that Wilham Patterson was admitted into the Western Conference in 1804, and was ap- pointed to the Scioto Circuit. In 1806, he was appointed to Claiborne Circuit, and Elisha M. W. Bowman to Opelousas Circuit, Louisiana. This was the first appearance of organ- ized Methodism west of the Mississippi River. While we have no positive evidence that William Patterson ever HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 29 preached near Helena before his admission into the travel- ing connection in 1804, it is highly probable that he did preach there as a local preacher. The success of the first preachers indicates that some Methodist families had pre- ceded the organised forces of the Church into these new fields of labor. We have already had occasion to notice the fact that John Travis was appointed to the Missouri Circuit in 1807. At the Tennessee Conference, which met at Bethlehem, Wilson County, Tennessee, October 20, 181 5, Spring River Circuit was made a part of the Missouri District and left to be supplied. This was the first regular work laid off by the Conference in the Territory of Arkansas. While there had been occasional preaching by the preachers from the Mis- souri District within this territory, this was the first regular appointment. As the work was left by the Conference to be supplied, this was done by Eli Lindsay, a local preacher who lived on the Strawberry River, near the mouth of Big Creek. Rev. John M. Steele, from whose manuscript I am in- debted for this information, says: " Col. Magness stated to me that their first preacher was named Lindsay, and that he preached on White River and Little Red River, and thence to Strawberry and Spring River. That his visits were ir- regular, and that he would attend all the house-raisings, log- rollings, quiltings, marriages and frolics of all kinds where he could get the people together, and that when the young folks got tired of their fun the preacher would propose a song and prayers and a talk to them, and in this way secure their attention. His course was approved both by the Con- ference and the people." At the close of the year he re- ported a circuit of ninety-five members, a most excellent re- port for such a new and sparsely settled country. As Spring River was thought to be of sufficient import- ance to designate the name of the first circuit in Arkansas,. 30 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. a brief description of the stream may be of some interest to the reader. Spring River is a branch of the celebrated Mammoth Spring, which Hes directly on the line between Missouri and Arkansas. The issue is about one hundred yards south of the line, and flows in a southeasterly direc- tion forty miles to its mouth, near Powhatan on Black River, The following incident is related of Mr. Lindsay's first visit to the place where Batesville now stands. It was in i8i6. A Mr, Reid had ascended the White River with a keelboat, which was loaded with a few dry goods and gro- ceries, and stopped at the mouth of Polk Bayou. As there were some scattered settlements near, and Mr. Lindsay thinking it a good place for an appointment, obtained per- mission from Mr. Reid to preach there on Sunday. Mr. Reid had built a small rough cabin, and cleared away some of the heavy cane that covered that rich bottom soil. The house was small, but it was sufficient to accommodate the small congregation that would assemble. Sunday came, and as the day was fair there was a good congregation for the community. As was the custom in those days, the men brought their rifles and bear dogs with them to church. After the rifles were all stacked against the house and the salutations had been passed, the preacher began the services of the hour. After the singing and prayer, and the preacher had fairly began his sermon, the bear dogs, which in the meantime had found a bear in the cane near by, and as he ran out into an open space near the house, the men sprang to their guns and ran out after the bear, leaving the preacher and the women in the house to conclude the services as best they could. Services, however, were suspended for awhile, and the bear was soon killed, when the men returned and stacked their guns against the wall, and the preacher fin- ished his sermon without any further interruption. This was the introduction of Methodism into the neigh- borhood of Batesville several years before the town was lo- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 3 1 cated. Rev. John M. Steele informs us that he had this in- cident from an eye-witness of the scene. That portion of the Tennessee Conference lying west of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers was organized into the Mis- souri Conference in 1816. At this session of the Conference there were two circuits in the Arkansas Territory. The ap- pointments for Arkansas were : Spring River Circuit, Philip Davis; Hot Springs Circuit, William Stephenson. These two circuits embraced the whole of the Territory of Arkan- sas. At the close of this year there were reported from the circuits lying within the Arkansas Territory 190 members. The second session of the Missouri Conference met at Bethel, Illinois Territory, October 6, 1817, Bishop Roberts presiding. The preachers for Arkansas were : Spring River, Alex- ander McAlisfer ; Hot Springs, Williarm Stephenson and John Harris. This was an eventful year in the history of Methodism in Arkansas. Two men, William Stephenson and John Harris, men who in after life made their impress upon the Church, and by their zeal and labors won the appellation of apostles of Methodism in Arkansas, were appointed to the same cir- cuit. At this time the Hot Springs Circuit embraced a large part of the Territory of Arkansas. It included all settlements south of the Arkansas River. Mr. Stephenson whose name will frequently occur in the course of this his- tory, has been described as being in personal appearance, a man of about five feet ten inches in height, of a round mus- cular form, with auburn hair, and a very expressive brown eye, and of a nervous, sanguine temperament. He is described as being a man of great personal courage, which gave him wonderful success among the people. At this date Hot Springs had a mixed population of French, Spaniards and Indians, together with a few Americans, There were small groups of settlements formed along the Ouachita and Saline 32 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. and Red Rivers ; and the work of these devoted preachers was expected to include all these settlements south of the Arkansas River. From the nature of the case this was a very difficult and important charge. The great majority of the population were either Catholics or inclined toward that religion, and consequently would not listen to the teaching of the Protestant ministry. To add to the difficulties under which these ministers labored there was but little per- manence in society ; the people were so migratory in their habits that permanent churches could not be established; yet in the face of all these difficulties, these undaunted ser- vants of Christ, by their apostolic zeal, laid securely the foun- dations of success seldom surpassed in the history of the Church. Of these devoted men we will have frequent occa- sion to speak in the future progress of this work. In our account of the honored men who laid the founda- tions of the Church in Arkansas, we cannot omit the name of John Henry. He is supposed by some to have been the first Methodist preacher to enter the Territory of Arkansas, and to preach the first Methodist sermon. There is some confusion of dates as to the exact time when he entered the Territory. From the best information in possession of the writer, Mr. Lindsay preceded Mr. Henry a short time. Mr. Henry, however, occupies the same relation to the southern part of the State that Mr. Lindsay does to the northern part. They were both pioneers in their respective fields of labor. Father Henry, as he was familiarly called, lived to the great age of 93 j^ears, honored, respected and beloved by all who knew him. The following notice of this vener- able man from the pen of his old friend, Dr. J. Custer, will be greatly appreciated : "The Rev. John Henry departed this life at his residence near Centre Point, Ark., September 17, 1872, in his ninety- third year. He was a native of North Carolina, and was reared and received strict moral culture by pious Presbyte- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 35 rian parents. He arrived at manhood a stranger to spirit- uality or spiritual enjoyment, but in early life he was awakened under the preaching of the Rev. Thomas Logan Douglass, and was induced to seek the spiritual life that he felt he so much needed. He became very serious, and sought for about two years without finding comfort. At length he determined to renew his efforts by entering upon the discharge of every Christian duty. The first that came up in order was family prayer, as he was the head of a family. He unfolded his plan to his wife, who was a pious lady, and very cordially agreed to co-operate with him with all her heart, and in his very first effort to lead his family to a throne of grace, God most mercifully and powerfully con- verted his soul. A sacred flame was then kindled in his heart that never burnt dimly through the course of his long and useful life. He left his native State at an early day and settled on Duck River, near Columbia, Tenn., when it was comparatively a wilderness, where some of his family still reside. He remained in that section about ten years, then removed to the Missouri Territory, where he remained until the autumn of i8i8, when he made his final move to the wilderness Territory of Arkansas, and settled near Mount Prairie, Hempstead County, within twenty-five miles of which point he spent the remainder of his life. I have no data by which I can arrive at the precise date when he, received his license from the Church to preach. It was prior to the year i8iO, probably as early as 1805. He was elected by the Missouri Conference to Deacon's orders years before the Arkansas was set off from that Conference, but it was not until 1841 that an opportunity was afforded by Bishop Thomas A. Morris passing through this country for him to receive ordination. He became identified with the Methodist Church in Arkansas in her infancy, and was. an active and indefatigable co-laborer v/ith the noble and sweet-spirited William Stephenson, who was the Apostle of 3— M 34 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Methodism in Arkansas. He made many sacrifices, and labored extensively with that man of God in building up the Church in this wilderness country. Although he never belonged to the itmerancy, yet, in the days of vigorous man- hood, he was abundant in labors, and had a wide-extended sphere of usefulness. His great soul filled to overflowing with love to God and mankind ; he was ever alive to the in- terests of the Redeemer's kingdom, and from his warm heart flowed perpetual streams of beneficence for the weal of the fallen sons of want. And doubtless hundreds, and per- haps thousands, in the day of eternity, will hail him as the blessed instrumentality, either directly or indirectly, of their conversion to God. His life in the Church and in his in- tercourse with the world, most beautifully exemplified the doctrine and spirit of our holy Christianity. Such was his meekness, gentleness, patient forbearance, charity and sympa- thy with the unfortunate and suffering of his race, his can- dor and strict integrity in all the relations of' life, that in the estimation of the Church and world he has stood almost without a peer in the Church of God in Arkansas for the last half a century, and to love him was but to know him, by all who had the least appreciation of a virtuous and useful life. God's ministers, especially those in the itinerant ranks, have ever found in him a faithful and reliable friend, and among the vast numbers who have been associated with him in the last half century, perhaps not one could be found who would not readily acknowledge the material aid received from him in the work of forwarding the benevolent enterprises of the gospel. Especially the young and inex- perienced in the ministry ever found in him a sympathizing friend, who watched over them in love, administered godly admonitions, and poured into their desponding hearts sweet comfort and encouragement, and ever followed them up with his mighty prayers. Of late years I have seen some of those who have been the beneficiaries of his godly counsels HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 35 probably a quarter of a century in the past wending their way from distant parts of this field of labor to the humble and retired domicil to interview once more this venerable friend and servant of God, And, O, what a blessed privi- lege to hear the religious experience of one so holy and so ripe for the kingdom of heaven ! They felt that God was there, and that they were at the very gate of heaven. But those privileges are past. Father Henry is gone ; the loss of his counsel and prayers to us is a aserious one. He has been infirm for many years ; has not attempted to preach probably for the last twenty years. For the last six or eight years he has not been able to get out to church regularly, but his heart was there. He felt a deep and abiding interest for her prosperity. When taken to church, though unable to exhort, he would arise to his feet, supported by a friend, and relate his experience and magnify the love and amazing mercy of God in his salvation. He would speak of his firm hope and ever-brightening prospects of heaven, and would strongly admonish the Church to faithfulness, and urge them, in the language of the apostle, to brotherly love : ' Little children, love one another.' He was confined in his last sickness about two months. He bore it without murmur or complaint, but in patient submission he could say, 'Thy will be done,' and in the midst of his deepest affliction the great purpose of his life, to magnify God and to do good, was fully exemphfied, and it was a matter of small concern whether this was done by life or by death." The first "meeting-house" built in Hempstead County was called Henry's Chapel, in honor of John Henry. Rev. John M. Steele says of him, in reference to his re- moval to Arkansas : " This move brought Mr. Henry in contact with Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Harris, both of whom were laboring in the neighborhood of Mr. Henry's new set- tlement. Their religious views, sentiments and style of labor were in full accord. They introduced the camp-meet- 36 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ing into that part of the country, and the people would attend them from a distance of twenty-five to an hundred miles. As the chief speaker on such occasions, Mr. Stephen- son was called the Apostle of Methodism for Arkansas." We have had occasion to speak of a colony of Kentuck- ians, that settled on the west bank of the Mississippi, where Helena now stands. During the year 1818 there was a valu- able addition to that colony in the person of William Harri- son Bailey, who, with his family, came down from Nelson County, Ky,, in a flatboat and settled at Helena. His earnest, consistent Christian life soon made an impression upon his neighbors. He opened his house for prayer meet ings for his neighbors, and finally organized a society of Methodists in Helena, which was the beginning of Methodism in Helena. In 1818 the tribes of Indians that inhabited the Territory of Arkansas, began, according to treaty stipulations, to re- move to the West, but as they were not hurried by the influx of the whites into the Territory, they did not all remove for a number of years. From this date, as the original inhabitants began to decline in numbers, and the white population to increase, there was more freedom felt in Church and State, in laying plans for the future growth and development of the country. The statistical reports for the year show a white membership of 447, and colored membership of thirty-five. CHAPTER VI. Local Preachers — Alexander — Maxwell — Eli Lindsay — Jacob Shook — Daniel Propps — Henry's Chapel — Charles Seay — Dr. Biggs — John M. Carr — Joseph P.ENFROE — William G. Guise — G. W. Sorrells. Among the first settlers in Arkansas there were many- Methodists from the older States, and among these were some local preachers, and before any regular circuits had been formed or any preachers had been appointed by the Con- ferences to take the pastoral oversight of the flock, these local preachers had collected a few scattering congregations, preaching to them in private houses, and in the open air and under brush arbors, and in this way laid the foundations of Methodism in the State. It is somewhat difficult for us at this day, when the de- mands for regular preaching are so fully met by the itinerant ministry, to fully appreciate the labors of these early local preachers. Methodism owes a debt of gratitude to the local ministry of the Church. We can never forget that the first Methodist sermon ever preached in the United States was by a local preacher, Robert Strawbridge, in his own house, on Sam's Creek, then in the backwoods of Maryland. Philip Embury, another local preacher, delivered the first Methodist sermon in the City of New York, in his own hired house, to a congregation of six persons. Then came Thomas Webb, another local preacher, who preached to a congregation gathered in a rigging loft, in the City of New York. Similar instances of the usefulness of the local ministry might be given from the history of the Church in every State in the Union. In speaking of the labors of Alexander 38 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. in the early days of Methodism in Texas, Bishop McTyiere says : " He had the co-operation of a few faithful local preachers who had gathered a score of members of whom a goodly number were present at this camp-meeting west of Brazos." The wisdom of the Church in recognizing the labors of the local preachers is clearly seen in its adaptation to the necessities of the Church in all new countries. From the time that Mr. Wesley was led to recognize the valuable services of Thomas Maxwell, until the present day, the local ministry has been an essential factor in the success and prosperity of Methodism. An eloquent writer has said : " In many districts in England, laymen — local preachers — prepared the way for Mr. Wesley, and his regular helpers. In some places they broke up the hard soil, planted the first gospel seed, and reaped the first fruit before Wesley came." This history was constantly repeated in America, where the local preachers were not only the first Methodist preachers, but in many instances they were the first Protestant preachers to enter the new Territories. Dr. McAnally says: "It is worthy of note that the earliest pioneer of Methodism in Missouri came from the ranks of the local ministry. It was a local preacher who broke and blazed the way for the first itinerant who, but for these pioneer labors, must have much longer delayed his entrance into this field and achieved when he came a greatly inferior measure of success. Nor was this a solitary instance, but to a large extent it was the case throughout the southwestern and western parts of the country generally." In common with the history of Methodism in other places, the first Methodist organizations in Arkansas were effected through the labors of local preachers. It was a local preacher, Eli Lindsay, who organized the first societies in the northern part of the State in the early settlements along the Spring and White Rivers, while another local preacher, John Henry, organized the first societies in the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 2)9 southern part of the State. He came to Arkansas in i8i8, and settled at Mount Prairie, in Hempstead County, where a house of worship was soon built, known as Henry's Chapel. In a short time after this, the brothers Alexander, Jacob Shook, and Daniel Propps, moved into the Territory and settled near Mount Prairie. These all became familiar names in the history of Arkan- sas Methodism. Some of their descendants afterward en- tered the itinerant ministry, and of them we will have frequent occasion to speak in the course of this history. Another pioneer of Methodism from the local ranks was Charles Seay, who settled in an early day near Warren, in Bradley County, and John M. Carr, who came in an early day to Drew County, and Joseph Renfroe, and William G. Guise, and Dr. Jacob Custer, who at an early day were in the itinerant ranks, but having located did valuable service for many years as local preachers. The name of Dr. Biggs deserves especial notice in this connection. He vvas for many years engaged in the practice of medicine, and was eminent in his profession. He was a local preacher of marked ability. He located at an early date in the south- western part of the State, and preached extensively in Hempstead, Howard, and the adjacent counties. He has two sons in the itinerant ministry, W. H. H. Biggs and Joseph Biggs. The following notice of prominent local preachers in the northwestern part of the State will be of interest r " The name of George W. Sorrells deserves a place amoug the pioneers of Methodism in the northwestern part of Ar- kansas. The first society of Methodists organized within the territory embraced by the Fort Smith District was in his house, and was principally composed of his family. The nearest appointment to this society was seventy miles, to which place Mr. Sorrells went and reported the organization of this society to the missionary, who placed it on the plan of 40' HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. his work. Soon after this he was licensed to preach the gospel. Possessing a strong and vigorous intellect, and of studious habits, he soon became a very able and successful preacher in the local ranks. His services were sought by the people throughout that region of the State. His house was the itinerant preacher's home, and his counsels were greatly prized by his brethren in the traveling ministry, who ever found in him a loyal and sympathizing friend. He was directly instrumental in the conversion of many who attended upon his ministry. "Among the first teachers to whom I was sent was Rev. William Atchley Maples. He was converted and licensed to preach near Cleveland, Tenn.; came to Carroll County, Ark., in 1850; joined the Arkansas Conference in 1852; was ap- pointed to work in or near the Saline Valley, but by the advice of Rev. Thomas Stanford never took charge of it. Feeble health prevented. He was efficient in helping his pastor. Beyond this his itinerancy never extended, though his heart was in it. He married Mrs. Elizabeth R. Slover, daughter of Binks Lafferty. The Laffertys were famous for their attachment to Methodism, and Rev. Henderson Lafferty was mighty in word and deed, both in Arkan- sas and Texas. Brother Maples was a devout man, complete master of himself, and those who know him most intimately said he never surrendered to his tongue or temper. He was seized and carried away quickly by con- sumption. He was joyful in death — ended his race August 18, 1855, and his body awaits the coming of Christ, in the Carrollton cemetery. We know his two sons and their mother well. It is a pleasure to minister to them in holy things. " Rev. John Fletcher Seaman was a New York Yankee ; came to Arkansas as a traveling preacher at an early day ; did several years of hard work in Northwest Arkansas, and in the Indian Territory; married Miss Sophia Kenner; located HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 4I about 1834, and turned his attention to the practice of medi- cine, and then to merchandising. He hung northward at the division of the Church in 1844, ^^'^ labored hard to have a following. Failing in this he held his intense abolitionism in abeyance, went into the Church South until the war, and then found congenial company in the Methodist Episcopal Church near Marionville, Mo. He fell in his tracks lifeless on a Sunday evening in 1871. I spent six months once in his family. He v/as a money-maker, and commanded the confidence and patronage in business of many of the very best citizens. I called at his home in Missouri, in July, 1865, just from a two-years imprisonment, sick, worn, weary and whipped. He nursed me, fed me, doctored me, kept me a week, sent me half-a-day's ride on my way, and gave me a written pass through a vicious neighborhood. But he in- quired of me when I first felt compunction for fighting against the ' best government the world ever saw ? ' He saw instantly the question was too much, and pressed it not. His kindness had been at work, and he looked for immediate results. If they did not appear on the surface he probed for them. He would have been immensely pleased to have known I was sorry for my part of the fight. I could have told him I had not done much of it, but conscience would have replied that I had been an uncompromising well-wisher. I held him up three years for a counter-question. I got my chance, I asked the doctor how he could without solicita- tion take the Confederate oath, and then afterwards by Missouri's iron-clad oath swear he had never sympathized with, or aided the Southerners? He said, on the command, * Be subject to the powers that be.' When the South changed hands he changed his allegiance. We subsided into a day's talk on religious experience and the work of the ministry. " Rev. Martin Trentham, of Berryville, was the most re- markable of my local preacher acquaintances. He was con- 42 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. verted in a most powerful manner. His conviction for sin were pungent and all-pervading. They ran through some years. Finally, he was made vividly to feel that conviction had come to him for the last time, and if he did not turn effectually to God the spirit would abandom him. He sought God vigorously, his case became desperate, all his efforts and prayers failed him. So he determined to settle the matter. In his desperation he left his house to seek only once more. Completely overcome he fell at the road- side, but staggered to the woods only to fall again. In intense anguish of the soul he begged God for mercy, and thrillingly it came, and he arose a new man. He said he felt like he had never committed a sin, and in the glad innocence of his forgiven soul he shouted, ' Lord, I want to live forty years to tell it.' How he could tell it ! God would seem to come into your soul when he told it, and for nearly fifty years he never tired in telling it. He was licensed to preach in Tennessee, came to Arakansas and traveled as a supply for several years." In an old copy of the Minutes of the Third Quarterly Conference for 1844, for the Harrison Circuit, Washington District, Arkansas Conference, occurs this note : " The certificate of John Milton Carr, a local preacher from the bounds of the Memphis Conference, was presented and received by this Conference.'' This introduces us to one of the most saintly men that ever adorned the ranks of the local ministry in our State. But few men have wielded a greater influence for good in their immediate communities. Some men may have sur- passed him in some special traits of character, but few have equaled him in the possession of so many traits of excel- lence. There was in his mental and moral character a happy combination of virtues that made him one of the most amiable characters in all the community in which he lived. He was a man of great humility of character, com- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 45 bined with undaunted courage and unflinching integrity ; a remarkably sound judgment to perceive the right, and firmness of purpose to pursue it. He was a fast friend of the itinerant preacher, always ready to aid him by his wise counsel and to defend his good name and character when aspersed ; and as a steward (which office he held for many years) he was one of the best collectors, looking carefully after the wants of his preacher, and in his person showing a good example of liberality to others. The following notice of him from the pen of his son, the Rev. John F. Carr, of the Little Rock Conference, will be greatly appreciated by all who ever had the pleasure of his acquaintance, as a just and loving tribute from a dutiful son to an honored father: " Rev. John Milton Carr was born in South Carolina, July .20, 1803. While my father was an infant my grandfather moved to Tennessee, where he was raised, and where he and my sainted mother, who survived him only a few months, were married. He was converted in his twentieth year and joined the M. E. Church. Soon after this, he was made a steward, and was licensed to preach in 1840. He moved to Arkansas in January, 1844, and settled in Bradley County (now Drew County), about sixteen miles northwest of Monti- cello. From the day he landed in Arkansas, until the 7th day of August, 1875, he was an important factor in. the growth of Methodism and Christianity in that part of the State. All the varied relations of a local preacher, and ^ther trusts of the Church, he filled with Christian fidelity, loved and respected by all, and died in the faith, with the appellation by all who knew him as the ' peace-maker.' I often think of an incident in my father's life with pleasure, as it shows his love for the Church. I have referred to his long service as a steward, in the early d^ys in Arkansas, when the country was sparsely settled, and stewards would sometimes have to ride several days to see the membership before each quarterly meeting. When the Quarterly Con- 44 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ference met at its fourth session several stewards requested to be excused, as the sacrifices were so great. My father listened and in his meek and gentle way asked to be con- tinued ; and he was, until he went up to give an account of his stewardship, which account was no doubt accepted, for he did his work well. A purer character I do not think ever lived. I studied his life from my childhood to my man- hood, and I look over that life with pleasure, and gratitude to God for giving us such a father and mother." His name is represented by two sons, Rev. John F. Carr, of the Little Rock Conference, and Jasper M. Carr, an hon- ored and useful layman, who now lives at the old homestead in Drew County. Of the name of John Milton Carr, it may be truly said : " The memory of the just is blessed." The names of other local preachers will frequently occur in the progress of this work. * CHAPTER VII. Arkansas Admitted as a Territory — Gov. Miller — Arkansas Post — Gazette — Washington Orr — Thomas. Tennant — Isaac Brookfield — John Scripps — Gilbert Clark — W. W. Redman — Rucker Tanner — District Conference — Green Orr — Jesse Haile. The year 1819 was an eventful one in the history of Ar- kansas. By an act of Congress, March 2, 1819, it was en- acted that after July 4, 1819, all that portion of Missouri Territory which lies south of a line beginning on the Mis- sissippi River at 36° north latitude, running thence west to the St. Francis River, thence up the said St. Francis to 36° 30' north latitude, thence to the western territorial boundary line of the Missouri Territory, should be erected into a sep- arate territory, called the Arkansas Territory, until other- wise provided by the Legislature of the Territory. The seat of government was directed to be at the Post of Arkansas, on the Arkansas River. James Miller, of New Hampshire, was appointed Governor by President Monroe, and Robert Crittenden, of Kentucky, was appointed Secretary. The Arkansas country now be- came a separate and distinct sovereignty not embraced or bound up with any other province or State, and hence hav- ing control of its own internal affairs. The population of the Territory was estimated at about 14,000. Gov. Miller entered upon the duties of his office Decem- ber 26, 1 8 19. The Governor's arrival at the Arkansas Post to take possession of his office is thus described by an eye- witness : " He came up the river in a splendidly fitted up barge, with a large and well-finished cabin, having most of the 46 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. conveniences of modern steamboats. This boat had been fitted up and manned and furnished by the United States Government expressly for his use. On the after part of the cabin on both sides, her name ' Arkansaw ' was inscribed in large gilt letters. She had a tall mast from which floated a magnificent national banner with the word 'Arkansaw' in large letters in the center, and the words, ' I'll try, sir! ' the motto of the regiment he commanded at Lundy's Lane, in- terspersed in several places. The Governor had with him some of his old army friends as well as several young gen- tlemen, principally from the North, who were disposed to try their fortunes in the wilds of Arkansaw. ■" On the last day of October, 1819, William E. Wood- ruff arrived at the Post of Arkansas and began the publica- tion of the first newspaper in the Territory, the fifth one to be established west of the Mississippi River. The first num- ber of his paper was issued Saturday, November *20, 1819. It was called The Arkansas Gazette, and it is still in exist- ence, published at the capital, and is one of the leading journals of the State. Mr. Woodruff started without a sin- gle subscriber. Among the advertisements in the first issue were Robert C. Oden, lawyer, Little Rock ; Lewis & Thomas, merchants; Stokely H. Coulter, tailor. In size the paper was not more than eighteen inches square, but was correctly and exceedingly well executed as to type, printing and punctuation. It was the only paper published in the Terri- tory until 1830." We have had occasion to notice the close connection be- tween the progress of the State and the Methodist Church. At the session of the Missouri Conference held at Bethel meeting-house, Vincennes Circuit, Illinois Territory, Sep- tember 5, 1818, the first Presiding Elder's District was formed in Arkansas. Previous to this time the circuits in Arkansas formed a part of the Missouri District. At this Conference the Black River District was formed. The ap- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 47 pointments were, Black River District, William Stephenson, Presiding Elder; Spring River, John Shroeder ; Arkansas, Thomas Tennant ; Hot Springs, Washington Orr; Mount Prairie and Pecan Point, William Stephenson, James Lowry. The reported increase of membership during the year was 163. The entire membership reported within the Territory was 475. It will be seen that the entire membership in Ar- kansas was not as large as some of our present circuits. There is some difficulty in ascertaining the exact number of members in Arkansas, as the circuit lines did not always exactly conform to the State lines. Some of the circuits that lay principally in Missouri extended down some dis- tance into the Territory of Arkansas. The numbers given, however, are substantially correct. The fourth session of the Missouri Conference met at McKendree's Chapel, Cape Girardeau Circuit, September 14, 1819. Bishop George presided. The appointments for Arkansas were : Black River Dis- trict, William Stephenson, Presiding Elder; Spring River Cir- cuit, William Medford ; Arkansas, Washington Orr ; Hot Springs, William Harned ; Mount Prairie, William Stephen- son ; Pecan Point, Thomas Tennant. The statistics for the year show that there were 444 whites and 31 colored members within the whole Territory of Arkan- sas, showing a gain of 132 white members during the year. The entire population of the State for this year was esti- mated at 14,000. It will be seen by these figures that the proportion of Methodists in the State to the entire popula- tion was about i in 30. In 1880 the population of South- ern Methodists alone was about i in 9 of the entire popula- tion of the State, showing that the Church has grown much more rapidly than the State. The reader can form some idea of the extent of the work in those days by a description of the Arkansas Circuit, to ^which Mr. Orr was appointed. Commencing at the Arkan- 48 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. sas Post, it took in all the settlements on both sides of the Arkansas River until it reached the point where Fort Smith now stands. These settlements were often small and widely- separated, from ten to thirty miles apart. It required from six to eight weeks for the preacher to make one round upon these immense circuits. The custom was for the preacher to stop and preach in a settlement at night, for several nights, until all the people for miles around had an opportunity of hearing the word. The first Legislature for the Territorial Government of Arkansas convened at the Post of Arkansas February 7, 1820. It continued in session only a few days, and ad- journed to meet in Little Rock, October 12th, when Little Rock was chosen as the capital of the Territory. Rev. William Stephenson was elected as a Representative from Hempstead County, and was elected Speaker of the House, but resigned on account of indisposition. The first steamboat to enter the Arkansas River was the Comet, which arrived at the Post of Arkansas, March 13, 1820, after atrip of eight days from New Orleans. The ar- rival of this boat caused quite a sensation among the in- habitants, as many of them had never seen a steamboat be- fore this one. The fifth session of the Missouri Conference met at Shi- loh meeting-house, Illinois Territory, September 13, 1820. Bishop R. R. Roberts presided. The appointments for Arkansas were : Spring River, Isaac Brookfield ; White River, William W. Redman. These appointments in Arkansas were connected with the Mis- souri District. Arkansas District, William Stephenson, Presiding Elder ; Pecan Point Circuit, Washington Orr ; Hot Springs, Henry- Stephenson ; Mount Prairie, Gilbert Clark ; Arkansas Cir- cuit, WiUiam Townsend. Membership reported at the close of this year was 683 whites and 34 colored. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 49 The sixth session of the Missouri Conference met at McKendree's Chapel, Cape Girardeau Circuit, October 17, 1 82 1. Bishop Roberts presided. The appointments for Arkansas were : Arkansas District, John Scripps, Presiding Elder; Arkansas Circuit, Dennis Wiley ; Hot Springs, Isaac Brookfield ; Mount Prairie, John Harris; Pecan Point, William Townsend ; Spring River, Abraham Epler; White River, James Bankson . Spring and White. River Circuits were included in the Cape Girar- deau District. The name of John Scripps appears for the first time in connection with the work in Arkansas as the Presiding Elder of the Arkansas District, which he traveled for two years in succession. "John Scripps was par ejninence the preacher of the Conference of this period. He was an En- glishman by birth and education, and had been here long enough to be regarded as one of the pioneers of Methodism in Missouri. He was not prepossessing in personal ap- perance, below the medium height, of dark complexion, and his face deeply pitted by the small-pox. He had great and acknowledged pulpit ability. He rarely failed, in preaching, to surpass the expectation of strangers. His health was so feeble that he was forced into the superannu- ated relation, where he continued preaching all he could for a number of years. He finally settled in Rushville, 111., went into business, reared a large family, located and died, loved and regretted by all who knew him." (" Methodism in Missouri." McAnally.) Dennis Wiley remained but one year in Arkansas, and on the organization of the Illinois Confer- ence became a member of that body. The seventh session of the Conference met in St. Louis, October 24, 1822. Bishop Roberts presided. Arkansas District, John Scripps, Presiding Elder ; Ar- kansas Circuit, John Harris ; Hot Springs, Samuel Bassett» 4— M 50 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Gilbert Clark ; Pecan Point, William Bryant ; Spring River, Isaac Brookfield. The name of Isaac Brookfield appears for the first time in the minutes of the Missouri Conference for 1821. He was born in Newark, N. J., and came to Missouri in 18 19. He was admitted on trial in the Missouri Conference in 1821, and was appointed to the Spring River Circuit, which was then a mission to whites and Indians. In 1822 he was appointed to the Hot Springs Circuit. He traveled four years, and, owing to his failing health, was compelled to locate. He was married to Miss Nancy Campbell, daughter of Judge James Campbell, of Lawrence County, Ark. He died in 1844. His descendants are to be found in the north- eastern part of the State, and are known as excellent people, occupying prominent position in social and Church circles. One of the sons, Asbury, became a preacher, and two of his daughters married preachers. Another of his sons, G. N. Brookfield, is a well-to-do farmer near Gainesville, Texas, and another son, J. C. Brookfield, is a prominent lawyer in Jonesboro, Ark. The minutes for this year show that William W. Red- man was appointed to the White River Circuit, The Rev. Andrew Monroe, in biographical sketches, says of him: Brother Redman's first appointment was to the White River Circuit, Arkansas Territory, in the Black River Dis- trict, Brother Wright, Presiding Elder. To reach this distant field must have cost him a journey of at least 500 miles. His route lay through a newly-settled country, and a part of the way through a wilderness. Settlements were then few and far between ; accommodations were rough, and the difficul- ties and dangers of the way were greatly augmented by the entire absence of bridges and roads. So far as the writer is advised, the young preacher made the journey solitary and alone to his new field of labor. It is likely that he formed the circuit, as it does not appear on the minutes of that HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. $1 year ; if so, this greatly increased his responsibility and per- plexity. "The great distance between his appointments sometimes compelled him to lodge in the wilderness, with the canopy of heaven as his covering, his horse as his only companion, and his saddle-bags for his pillow. On such occasions the bear, the wolf, and the panther were about his path. On one occasion, as he related to me, he was greatly alarmed iii the darkness of the night, when compelled to lodge in the open wilderness. Having secured his horse for the night, he laid himself down, with his saddle-bags for his pillow. He had lain but a few minutes when the sudden, terrific scream of a panther brought him to his feet ; with great difficulty he held his horse, and for awhile he expected the blood-thirsty animal would rend him in pieces ; but without any assigna- ble cause, the dangerous foe retired, his affrighted horse became quiet, and he passed the remainder of the night in safety. In the morning he paid his devotions to the God of Daniel, who had delivered him from so great danger, and soon found his way to the cabin of the pioneer settler, who cor- dially entertained him with his simple fare, and then he went on his way rejoicing. "As to the result of his labors on this circuit we know noth- ing except what we gather from the printed minutes. These show that he returned a regular circuit, with a membership of 138 white and 18 colored members — a good year's work, considering the sparseness of the population and the condi- tion of the country. " That section of the work was considered a very sickly one, and nearly all the preachers who labored there suffered seriously, and some never recovered entirely from the effects of climate and exposure; but I believe Brother Redman was an exception, and came out unscathed." The eighth session of the Conference met in St, Louis, October 24, 1823, Bishop McKendree, President. The ap- 52 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. pointments for Arkansas were : Arkansas District, William Stephenson; Arkansas Circuit, Andrew Lopp ; Hot Springs and Mount Prairie, John Blasdell ; Pecan Point, Rucker Tanner; Spring and White River, James E. Johnson. The names of Andrew Lopp and Rucker Tanner appear for the first time in connection with the work in Arkansas. Andrew Lopp traveled four years and located. From all that we have been able to learn, he was a faithful and efficient preacher, but like a great many others of that early day, he was not able to endure the privations and toils incident to the work. Rucker Tanner located in 1829. Rucker Tan- ner and his father, who was a local preacher, formerly lived in the New Madrid country, and came out to Hempstead County about the time John Henry and others settled near Mount Prairie. In an old District record we find the names of Gilbert Clark, William Harned and Thomas Tennant, all of whom became traveling preachers. ARKANSAS DISTRICT CONFERENCE. When the General Conference of the M. E. Church, South, which met at New Orleans in 1866, adopted the pres- ent plan of District Conferences, it was regarded by many as an innovation upon Methodism. By consulting the rec- ords, however, we find that as early as 1822 there was held a District Conference for the Arkansas District (which in- cluded the whole State of Arkansas), at Ebenezer camp- ground, in Hempstead County. The following extracts from the minutes will be of interest to the reader: " Ebenezer Camp-Ground, 1 "Ebenezer Prairie Circuit, September 6, 1822. j " This brings the day appointed for the first sitting of the Arkansas District Conference. Those who had attended, agreeably to appointment, convened at a place near the camp-ground, when the business of the Conference being HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 53 opened by singing and prayer, it was found that the follow- ing persons were members: '■ Licensed Preachers — Benjamin Ogden, Joseph Reid, Gil- bert Clark, Salmon Ruggles, Daniel Rawles, John ToUett, Wm. Harned, Thos. Tennant, James Blackburn. ^'Deacons — John Harris, Henry Stephenson. '^Elders — Wm. Stephenson, Francis Travis, John Henry. "John Scripps, P. E., in the chair. "The Conference then proceeded to the election by ballot of a Secretary, and, on counting the votes, it was found that Gilbert Clark was elected by a unanimous voice. " Tt was then moved by Bro. Reid, seconded and carried, that one of the circuit preachers be elected to co-operate with the committee appointed to superintend divine service on the camp-ground, and John Harris was elected. Among the items of business for the Conference, was *' a recommendation from the Mount Prairie Quarterl}^ Con- ference for Green Orr to preach was read, his character ex- amined, and he was licensed. * * * * "John Scripps, P. E." The District Conference for 1823 was held at the same plac?, Thursday, Sept. Ii, 1823. " This brings the day appointed for the second sitting of the Arkansas District Conference. The following persons were present : " Licensed Preachers — John Tollett, James Blackburn, Henry Stephenson, Gilbert Clark, Wm. Harned, Benjamin Ogden, John Sexton, John Henry, Joseph Reid, Salmon Ruggles, Friend McMahan, Samuel Laird, Daniel Rawles, Thos. Tennant." The following item of business shows that the brethren, at that early day, were troubled by the slavery agitations of the day : " Bro. J. Reid's case was then taken up again by the Con- ference. Bro. Reid stated that he would give up the slave 54 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Jeffrey, to the Conference, provided they would not bring him in any obligation with which he could not possibly comply. " After some desultory remarks on the subject, a motion was made, seconded and carried, that Bro. Reid retain the slave; and his license was accordingly renewed. * * * "John Scripps, P. E," For 1824, we have this extract from the minutes : " Hempstead CauRT House, Ark. Ter., ) "September 6, 1824, J " Wm. Stephenson, P. E., in the chair. " Green Orr was recommended by this Conference as a proper person to ride the circuit. Gilbert Clark likewise. " Wm. Stephenson, P. E. " Gilbert Clark, Sec'y." The Tanners, in connection with other local preachers, greatly aided the itinerant preachers in planting the Church in Southwest Arkansas. The colony of Methodists located near Henry's Chapel became a center of influence for the surrounding country that has been felt to the present day. A healthy, vigorous type of Methodism was developed, that has left its impress for good upon the whole country. The printed minutes show a decrease in the membership of the Church in Arkansas for this year ; in fact, there was a decrease in the entire membership of the Conference. At this distant day we have no means of ascertaining the causes that produced this decline in the numbers of the Church. Washington and Green Orr were twin brothers, who la- bored successfully in Southern Arkansas, and along the border of Texas, at an early date, and are favorably men- tioned by Thrall in his " History of Methodism in Texas," as co-laborers with William and Henry Stephenson in plant- ing Methodism in the border counties of Texas. Washington Orr was admitted into the Missouri Confer- ence in 1818, and appointed to the Hot Springs Circuit. He HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 55 continued to travel in Arkansas until 1823 when he located, in which relation he continued until his death, in 1853. He was a devoted, useful, local preacher. Green Orr was admitted into the traveling connection in 1824, and was appointed to the Hot Springs Circuit; in 1825 to the Mount Prairie Circuit. At the close of this year he located, and settled on the south side of Red River, in Lamar County. He died in 1863, greatly beloved by all who knew him. The tenth session of the Conference met at New Tennes- see, August 4, 1825; Bishop Roberts, President. The appointments for Arkansas were : Arkansas District — Jesse Haile, P. E. Arkansas Circuit, to be supplied; Hot Springs, Gilbert Clench; Mount Prairie, Green Orr and Rucker Tanner ; Natchitoches, William Ste- phenson. The name of Jesse Haile appears for the first time in con- nection with the work in Arkansas. He remained upon the District from 1825 to 1829. The administration of Jesse Haile was very unfortunate for the Church in Arkansas, for while he was an excellent preacher, and no doubt a truly devoted and pious man, he was a violent partisan. He was an original and outspoken abolitionist, and by his imprudent conduct alienated a great many from the Church, so that large numbers left the Church and joined the Cumberland Presbyterians. His administration in Arkansas was by some called the "hail storm" in Arkansas. Col. John Miller, father of ex-Gov. Wm. R. Miller, has given us a description of Jesse Haile : "The Rev. Jesse Haile was a man of about 5 feet 11 inches in height; large, heavy-built muscular frame; fair complexion, with light hair and eyes. He was a man of great physical courage, and very resolute in carrying out his purposes. He was violently opposed to all display in dress and jewelry ; to dram-drinking, arid all irregularities of every 56 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. kind. When he took a matter in hand he never ceased until he had either effected a reformation or the expulsion of the offender from the Church." So violent was his opposition to slavery that he expelled quite a number from the Church because of their refusal to emancipate their slaves. One of his young preachers, Rev. Thos. Tennant, was induced by him to emancipate his slaves, a step which he afterward greatly regretted, when he was reduced to a condition of want and suffering. Haile's administration was a striking instance of well-meant but mistaken zeal in a doubtful cause. Fortunately for the Church he was succeeded by Uriel Haw and Jesse Greene, whose firm and prudent course tended in a large degree to the restoration of quiet and har- mony in the Church. Jesse Haile transferred to the Illinois Conference in 1830, and traveled for a number of years with great acceptability to that people, as they were in harmony with his views upon the slavery question. The Church in Arkansas had now completed the first decade of its history as an organized body in this new Ter- ritory. The first statistical report, made at the close of the year 1815, showed that there were 88 whites and 4 colored mem- bers in the Territory of Arkansas. After the labors of ten years, we find a membership of 664 whites and 48 col- ored. To us, at this day, this appears to be a very small increase for the time and labor • expended. But we must remember that they labored among a sparse population, many of whom were unfriendly to every form of Protestant- ism. We must also take into consideration the migratory habits of these early settlers of the country. The apparent success of one year in a given place would frequently be lost by the next year, on account of the frequent removals of the people. We can well conceive how exceedingly dif- ficult it would be under such circumst .nces to build up per- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. S7 manent congregations, and how severely the faith of these old pioneers must hav& been tried. It is comparatively an easy thing to labor, and suffer, when we can see results that we feel are somewhat adequate to the labor and suffering expended ; but when the most meager results are seen, and frequently positive loss sustained, at the close of the year, it required the highest type of Christian courage, and the most unwavering faith in the promises of Christ, to continue in the work of the Church. Fortunately for the Church in Arkansas many of these old pioneers were men of the most sublime courage and unwavering faith, united with great powers of physical endurance, which enabled them to suc- ceed where weaker men would have fallen in the attempt. While the Church was laying the foundation for the future workmen to build upon, events of an important character were being enacted in the civil government of the country. We have already had occasion to notice the fact, that the territorial government of Arkansas was organized in 1819, and James Miller was appointed Governor of the Territory. The first Legislature for the Territory convened in the early part of February, 1820, at the Post of Arkansas. It was organized by the election of Edward McDonald as Presi- dent of the Council, corresponding to the Senate, in State Legislatures. Rev. William Stephenson, from Hempstead, was elected Speaker of the lower House, but resigned the Speakership on account of ill health. We find him subse- quently, however, acting as a member froin Hempstead County. At an adjourned session of the Legislature in October, 1820, the seat of government was removed from the Post of Arkansas to Little Rock, where it has remained until the present time. At this session of the Legislature four new counties were formed : Miller, Phillips, Crawford and Independence. These, added to the five counties already existing, made nine counties in the Territory of Arkansas. The county seats of 58 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. these counties will indicate the centers of population at that early day. There was an old settlement at the Post of Ar- kansas, around which quite a number of people, had settled. It was perhaps the most important place within the Terri- tory. There was a settlement in Lawrence County as early as 1817, near where Powhatan now stands. Pulaski County was the third county formed, and the county seat was estab- lished at Little Rock. At several points in Clark County settlements had been formed at a very early date. We have already had occasion to notice the flourishing settle- ment that had been made at Mount Prairie, in Hempstead County, as early as 1816. Among the earliest settlements in the State, we have had occasion to notice the one near where Helena now stands. We must, however, remember that between these settlements there were vast stretches of wilderness without a single inhabitant, and that in passing from one to the other the traveler had nothing but dim trails to guide him on his way. Often he would have to camp out at night with no shelter but the trees of the forest to protect him. As there were no bridges and but few fer- ries, the itinerants of that day were frequently compelled to swim the swollen streams in the coldest weather, and then to ride for miles without a change of garments. While the Methodists of that day were planting the Church in these centers of influence and population, others were assisting in the good work of sowing the seeds of the gospel truth, that has borne fruit in the flourishing Churches that exist in many parts of the State. The Baptists came to the State at a very early day and organized churches in nearly every one of these pioneer settlements. In many communities they divide the honors with the Methodist as the pioneer church, and have the Master's commendation in that through them "the poor have the gospel preached to them." To the Baptists belong HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 59 the honor of having built the first church-house in the City of Little Rock, in 1825. The Rev. Silas T. Toncray was the pastor. This was known as the " Baptist meeting.-house," and was a mere log house, and stood on Third street, between Main and Scott streets. The Methodists and Presbyterians had regular services previous to this time, but had built no house of worship. Both the Old School Presbyterians and the Cumberland Presbyterians entered the State at an early day. It is claimed that the first Protestant sermon preached in Arkan- sas was by Rev. John P. Carnahan, a Cumberland Presby- terian minister, at the Post of Arkansas, in 1811. The Presbyterians organized a Mission Station in 1821, at Dwight's Station, near where Russellville, in Pope County, now stands. It will be seen that while the Methodists were active leaders in the great work of giving the gospel to this scattered population, they had earnest and faithful co- workers in the good cause. CHAPTER VIII. Wm. Stephenson — John Harris — Thomas Tennant — James Lowery — Henry Stephenson — John Scripps — Dennis Wiley — Thomas Johnson — John Kelly — Wil- liam Shores — Edward Peevy — Jerome C. Berryman — Answer to Prayer — Uriel Haw — Nelson R. Bewley — George W. Bewley. The eleventh session of the Missouri Conference met at McKendree Chapel, Cape Girardeau, September 14, 1826, Bishop Roberts presiding. The appointments for Arkansas were : Arkansas District, Jesse Haile, Presiding Elder; Arkansas Circuit, John Cure- ton ; Hot Springs, Parker Snedecor ; Mount Prairie, Thomas Johnson ; Spring and White River, to be supplied. The statistics for Arkansas were 730 white members and 68 colored members. At this Conference the Church in Arkansas lost the valuable services of William Stephenson, who was transferred to the Mississippi Conference, and stationed at Natchitoches. We have now completed the ihistory of the first decade of organized Methodism in Ark- ansas. We have witnessed its growth from the time that Eli Lindsay organized the Spring River Circuit, and John Henry, the devoted local preacher, entered the Territory, and began his labors at Mount Prairie, and the heroic Wil- liam Stephenson received his appointment in 1816 to the Hot Spring Circuit ; until the close of the tenth year, when the entire State was embraced in one Presiding Elder's dis- trict. At the first report made to the Conference in 18 16, there were ninety white members and five colored members. At the close of the first decade of organized Methodism, there HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 6l were 730 white members and seventy-one colored member^, showing a total increase of 640 members. This may seem a small increase for ten years' labor. It has sometimes oc- curred that a single preacher would be able to report as large an increase in a single year, but we must remember that the country was very sparsely settled, the congregations were necessarily very small, and there could be no very great number of members received at any one time or place. There were no large towns and populous communities from which to draw large accessions to the Church. During this period the following preachers labored in the Territory of Arkansas: William Stephenson, John Harris, Thomas Tennant, Washington Orr, James Lowery, William Harned, Henry Stephenson, Gilbert Clark, William Town- send, John Scripps, Isaac Brookfield, Dennis Wiley, Samuel Bassett, William Bryant, Andrew Lopp, John Blasdell, Rucker Tanner, Green Orr, Jesse Haile, Gilbert Clench^ John Cureton, Parker Snedecor, Thomas Johnson — 23. For several years the Missouri Conference had embraced a portion of the territory of North Louisiana, and at this Conference that territory was transferred to the Mississippi Conference. William Stephenson, being in that territory,, was transferred to that Conference. The student of Arkansas Methodism will not be satisfied with a mere roll of the names of the preachers who, by their heroic labors and patient endurance, planted Method- ism in Arkansas, and made it possible for us to enter in and enjoy the fruits of their toil. We want to know all we can of their history, of their labor, and the methods by which they accomplished the great work intrusted to their care. While we have made diligent search into every source of information at our command, in no case is our knowledge of these men as complete as we could desire. In a few in- stances our information is confined to the roll of names pub- lished in our general minutes. In a few instances a name '62 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. would appear in the minutes without any information as to how it came there, and then disappear as strangely as it came without any statement as to its manner of disposal. As we have already seen the name of William Stephenson appears on the minutes of the Conference as the first travel- ing Methodist preacher to enter the Territory of Arkansas, and remained in connection with the work in Arkansas for ten years, when he was transferred to the Mississippi Con- ference. William Stephenson was born in South Caro- lina, near a station called Ninety-Six (at that time a frontier settlement), October 4, 1768, His parents belonged to the Preebyterian Church, in which he was baptized in infancy. He was the subject of religious impressions at a very early age — before reaching his eighth year — which he attributed to the instructions and influence of his pious mother. At the age of 24 he emigrated to Tennessee, and at the age of 32 he was converted and joined the Methodist Church. Soon after this he was licensed to preach, and labored with a good degree of success in the great revival in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, which commenced about that time. He joined the traveling con- nection in the Tennessee Conference in 18 15, and was ap- pointed to the Bellevue Circuit in the Missouri District. In 1816 and 1817 he was appointed to the Hot Springs Circuit in Arkansas. At the Conference in 1818 and 18 19 he was appointed to the Black River District. In 1820 and 1821 to the Arkansas District. In 1823 and 1824 he was again appointed to the Arkansas District. In 1825 he was ap- pointed to the Natchitoches Station, and in 1826 he was transferred to the Mississippi Conference. He continued in the active ministry until 184O, when he was placed on the superannuated list, in which relation he remained until the time of his death, in 1857, in the eighty-ninth year of his age, and the forty-fourth of his ministry. He was a good man, and if abundant usefulness can constitute a great man, HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 63 he was a great man. He died in great peace at his home in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. It is said, " The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance." William Stephenson has the distinguished honor of being the leader in the mighty- army of itinerants who have carried the gospel into every part of the State, and who have done more to elevate the moral condition of society than all other agencies combined. The name of John Harris appears on the minutes as the second itinerant preaeher to enter this new field of labor. His name appears in connection with the name of William Stephenson for Hot Springs for the year 1817-18. His en- tire ministerial life was given to the Church in Arkansas. His name will again appear in the course of this volume, Thomas Tennant, Washington Orr and James Lowery were all admitted on trial September 5, 18 1 8. Thomas Tennant located in 1823, Washington Orr in 1824, and James Lowery in 1821. William Harned was discontinued in 1821. Henry Stephenson was admitted on trial in 1820, and was discontinued the next year. The following sketch of him is taken from "Thrall's History of Methodism in Texas": " He was of Presbyterian parentage; born in 1772. His parents were poor and he enjoyed the privilege of going to school only three months in his life. The first year of the present century his family emigrated to Kentucky, and in a few years after to Missouri, and settled near St. Charles. In 1804 he was converted and joined the Pviethodist Church. He was licensed to preach by Jesse Walker in 1813. In 1817 he settled in Hempstead County, Arkansas, where he was very useful as a local preacher. In 1820 he took work under the Presiding Elder. He was admitted on trial in the traveling connection in 1820, but owing to the size of his family he was unwilling to continue in the traveling connec- tion. He removed to Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, in 1828, and was placed in charge of that circuit. In 1835 he moved 64 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. to Jasper County, Texas. Having been a pioneer all his life, he continued to hunt up destitute neighborhoods. As late as 1840 no preacher had ever visited Jefferson County, on the Sabine River. Henry Stephenson went there and preached several sermons and created quite an interest, and organized a Church. His mental endowments were not extraordinary; his education was limited. He married young and raised a large family. His whole life was spent upon the frontier amid its perils and privations, and yet he accomplished an immense amount of good. He preached along the whole western boundary of settlements from the Missouri River to the Colorado, and left a name which is as ointment poured forth through all this vast region. It is hard to fathom the secret of his success. He was neither learned nor eloquent, in the ordinary acceptation of the terms, but he was a good man and cherished a single pur- pose, to glorify God and do all the good in his power. He was of a meek and quiet spirit, winning friends by his gentle manners. In one respect nature had favored him. He possessed a most musical voice, a voice which, ringing out upon a camp ground, charmed into silent and attentive listeners all classes of people." Gilbert Clark was discontinued in 1823, and William Townsend in 1824. John Scripps was admitted on trial in the Tennessee Con- ference in 18 14, and appointed to the Patoca Circuit, Illinois District. Upon the organization of the Missouri Conference in 1816, he became a member of that body He was Pre- siding Elder of the Arkansas District in 1822 and in 1823. The Church in Arkansas enjoyed a good degree of pros- perity under his administration, and the mmutes show that there was a good increase in the membership of the Church. He appears to have been a man of fine administrative ability, and of great order and system in the transaction of the business of the Church, and peculiarly qualified to give HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 6$ stability to the work by laying well the foundations for fu- ture success. One of his cotemporaries and fellow-itinerants, says of him : " I have been acquainted with him many years. I have traveled several circuits that had been traveled long before by him, and the recollections of him by all the peo- ple were very vivid and pleasant. He was very strict and par- ticular in all the minutiae of a Methodist preacher's duty. I have often been shown as a relic treasured by the old class- leaders, the class papers, prepared by Brother Scripps, How singularly neat they were. He wrote a beautiful plain hand. In his day there were no public roads, and in most places not even a pathway from one settlement to another. Some- times the preachers traveled by the use of the pocket com- pass. Sometimes they took along a little hatchet, and be- ing shown the way blazed or notched the trees to point out the road, or rather course, afterwards. John Scripps had a sharp iron with which he would scratch the trees in the course he was to pursue in going from one appointment to another," (Rev. John Hogan in SL Louis Advocate.) Dennis Wiley was admitted on trial in 1822, and Samuel Bassell in 1823. Upon the formation of the Illinois Con- ference, in 1826, they transferred to that Conference. Wil- liam Bryant, was discontinued at the close of his first year. Andrew Lopp was admitted on trial in 1823, and John Blasdell in 1822, and located in 1828. Rucker Tanner was admitted on trial in 1818, and died in 1830, while trav- eling the Hot Springs Circuit. He was a good man, and was regarded as a good, faithful and successful preacher. Jesse Haile first appears in connection with the work in Arkansas as the Presiding Elder of the Arkansas District. He remained on the district four years, 1825-1828. We will have occasion to speak of his administration in our next chapter. John Cureton was discontinued at the close of his first year. 5— M 66 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Parker Snedecor was admitted on trial in 1826; traveled for six years and located in 1832. The only notice we have of him is that he was a good man and a faithful preacher. Thomas Johnson was admitted on trial in the Missouri Conference, September 14, 1826, and appointed to the Mount Prairie Circuit, which he traveled for two years. In the fall of 1830, he was appointed to labor among the In- dians, in which work he continued until his death, which oc- curred April 8, 1842. One who knew him intimately said of him : " Of William Johnson I remember to have heard a competent judge say he was the best man he had known, and I, after years of experience side by side with him in missionary work, and having closed his eyes when he died, am prepared to bear similar testimony. I have known none that was better in all that goes to make up the true Christian gentleman and faithful minister." The name of John Kelly appears in the list of appoint- ments for this year. The following from the pen of his son, Dr. David C. Kelly, will be read with interest : " John Kelly was born in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the year 1802, Dennis Kelly, his father, having a large family of children, of whom he was the youngest. The father was chiefly remarkable for his great industry and almost un- equaled energy. Two of the brothers, George and Dennis studied, the one law, the other medicine. George died young. Dennis lived to gain a large reputation as a practi- tioner. John was at school at what was then the best acad- emy west of the Cumberland Mountains, near the Town of Lebanon, when Lebanon was visited by the great orator and revivalist. Sterling Brown. Brown preached in the court- house. On Sunday morning without a friend to advise or encourage, the young student accepted the invitation of the preacher when calling for persons to join the Church as seekers. As he advanced toward the preacher, one other, a young lady, joined him ; and these were the first persons HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 6/ who ever joined the M. E. Church in the town. His family urged him to remain at school, but influenced by the advice so common at that day from preachers, immediately after his conversion, recognizing a call to the ministry, he sought admission into the Conference. This haste in leav- ing school was a matter of life-long regret with him, and he became early an earnest advocate for education in the ministry. Years after, when he had become a married man, he boarded one or more young men preparing for the ministry in his house, and sent them to school, though re- ceiving less than ;^200 on an average on his own work. He was admitted on trial into the Tennessee Conference in 1821, with a class of twenty-six, three of whom survive ; was ap- pointed junior preacher on Knox Circuit with Samuel Har- well, 1823 ; in charge of Beech River with Ed. T. Peevy. Placing a young preacher, his second year, in charge shows how soon his character and judgment matured; 1824 ad- mitted into full connection and ordained Deacon ; appointed in charge of Carter's Valley Circuit with the celebrated Creed Fulton as junior preacher. He fell into the Holston Conference at the division in 1825, and was sent successively to Giles, Green and Hiawassee. In 1828, transferred with Ed. T. Peevy and John Trotter to Missouri Conference, and appointed in charge of White River and Spring River Cir- cuit with his friend, Ed. T. Peevy; 1829, Hot Springs and Mount Prairie Circuit; 1830, White River Circuit; 1831, Cape Girardeau. A memorandum shows 200 additions to the Church on this Circuit, which he served alone; 1832, Washington. " Transferred during that year to the Tennessee Confer- ence and appointed to Smith Fork Circuit ; was placed in charge of Caney P'ork Circuit the next year. What little memorandum he made of his earlier ministry has been lost. In looking through some old papers the following pleasant little memorandum of an event in his first Arkansas work 68 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. was found, written in fair hand and scholarly form, evidently preserved by him with pleasure : " Batesville, July 9, 1828. " We, the undersigned, entertaining a high respect for the Rev. Mr. Kelly, as an individual, and having received much gratification and pleasure from hearing him as a preacher, beg leave, on his departure from amongst us, to express our re- gret and contribute our mite to the support of one who is so worthy of the good cause he has undertaken to promul- gate and defend, and not being members of his Church, give this as a donation for his own individual benefit and use : John Ringgold $ i GO J. Boswell.. $ 50 H. K. Hynson i GO R. Bates 50 James Hegner.. i 00 P.H.Johnson 25 J. Whitney i gg Charles Kelley i GO Charles McArthur i GO Jesse McKee 25 C. F. M. Noland I GO Aaron Gillet 50 John Davis 50 John Kyler 50 Thomas S. Carter 50 Richard Lear i go John Redmon i oo H. Boswell i 00 C. S. Manly 100 James Porter... 50 Total $15 oo " He was married soon after his return to Tennessee to Margaret Lavinia Campbell, daughter of Col. David Camp- bell, of Campbell's Station. She, with an older sister, had been brought into the Church during his earlier ministry in East Tennessee. Col. Campbell had now removed to Wil- son County, in Middle Tennessee. He was a staunch Old Presbyterian. " One year only his wife was removed from her paternal home. From that time he made every sacrifice and per- formed marvelous feats of travel to do his work as an itin- erant preacher, and yet give to his family a home. He never asked an appointment, never neglected his work, and yet made his home attractive. Here his wife heartily joined HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 69 him in efforts to aid and bless in every way the traveling preacher. The home was named ' Itinerants' Rest.' Many and many a hard-riding, war-worn veteran rejoiced beneath its shelter. Many were the young men who found it a home while seeking education, and its inmates friends, counselors, and often teachers. He never repined or fretted at any event of his lot in life, yet sometimes to his wife spoke of his inexperienced, uneducated, youthful beginning. Ener- gy, great energy, characterized his course from first to last. None ever saw him casl down or irresolute, but always cheer- ful and active, from beardless boyhood to three-score years. " As indicative of the times when his career commenced, we find in his first circuit in East Tennessee five county towns and twenty-eight preaching places all to be compassed each month. His second year at the opposite end of the State was far more trying. He often had to carry flour 150 miles to make bread for the sacrament, so liitle was this luxury known in some parts of the werk. The meal was pounded and sieved through a raw hide with holes punched through it ; eaten warm, was palatable to the hearty back- woodsman ; when cold, could be masticated by no jaw less powerful than the hog's. Much of his Arkansas life was of the rudest character, but of this period he ever spoke with great pleasure, as it had been signal in successes for his Master's cause. As a preacher he was eminently practical ; his manner, always dignified, often became exceedingly im- passioned, and his exhortations were of an exceedingly powerful character. He fully understood Methodist the- ology, and was rich in texts of scripture, which he quoted fluently in support of its doctrines. His conclusions were almost unerring ; his statement of the logical process by which the conclusion had been reached was not always free from mist. Short scripture exposition, command of apt scripture quotations, pungent application and occasional im- passioned exhortations were his marked points as a preacher* /O HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. During the last years of his Hfe, hindered by a physical ail- ment from active work, he was a supernumerary, and so gained on the confidence of the people among whom he lived, that he was not only at the bedside of all the sick and the funerals of the dead, but was overtaxed by the numbers of estates he was induced to manage for the benefit of the widow and orphan. He died in 1864 from the effects of the first illness which had ever confined him to his bed for a day. Died as he lived, a faithful Christian. The only regret he had was to leave his family tinprotected while war was devastating the country. His life was a blessing in every sphere he occupied. He was a man of great influ- ence ; his integrity of character was a power wherever he went. His widow, son and six grandchildren live to bless his memory on the earthly side. How many brought to Christ by his instrumentality rejoice to meet him on the eternal shore ! " The names of William Shores and Edward T. Peevy ap- pear in connection with the appointments in Arkansas. Wil- liam Shores located in 1829. Edward Peevy was appointed to one of the Indian schools, where he labored for several years. He continued in the traveling connection until 1836, when he located. He was regarded as an efficient and faith- ful preacher of the gospel. James Bankson was appointed to the Arkansas Circuit in 1829. He appears to have done an excellent work on this circuit, as there was a very large increase in the member- ship of the Church during this year. He transferred in 1830 to the Illinois Conference. At the session of the Conference which met at Potosi, September 10, 1829, Will Haw was appointed Presiding El- der of the Arkansas District; White River Circuit, John Kelly; Arkansas Circuit, John Henry and Pleasant Tackett; Hot Springs and Mount Prairie, Rucker Tanner, and Jerome C. Berryman ; Helena, John Harris. Helena, appears for the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 7I first time on the list of appointments as a distinct pastoral charge, with that veteran John Harris as the preacher in charge. We have already had occasion to speak of the col- ony of Kentuckians who settled in 1811 near where Helena now stands, and of the valuable labors of Harrison Bailey at that early day. We have already noticed the great injury done to the Church by the violent measures of Jesse Haile, whose extreme abolition sentiments had driven so many from the Methodist Church. Uriel Haw was the opposite of Jesse Haile, and by his mild, pacific measures, did much to allay the excitement caused by Jesse Haile's violent course, and to restore har- mony to the Church. During Haw's administration the Church enjoyed great prosperity, and there was a very large increase in the membership. Jerome Berryman, who traveled the Hot Springs and Mount Prairie Circuit in connection with Rucker Tanner, was a young man in his second year. In Dr. McAnally's " Methodism in Missouri," we have an account of the labors of Berryman in Arkansas, quoted from "'Recollections of J. C. Berryman," which will be of much interest to the reader as casting much light upon the condition of the Church at that time : " Among the preachers whom Berryman saw and noted at the Potosi Conference were Jesse Greene, Andrew Monroe, Benjamin S. Ashley, Joseph Edmondson, Uriel Haw, Cassell Harrison, Thomas Johnson, William Heath, Nathaniel Talbott, Parker Snedecor and John Kelly. Most of these were able preachers, and all of them ' Holy men of God,* who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. " At this Conference, Berryman was assigned to the Hot Springs and Mount Prairie Circuit in the extreme southern part of the Territory of Arkansas. Rucker Tanner, whose home was in the bounds of the Circuit in Hempstead Count}-, was the preacher in charge. Berryman traveled 500 miles on horseback t]\rough a sparsely settled country to find his 72 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. colleague prostrate on a bed of sickness with malarial fever, and unable to render him any assistance. But he was a young man, his heart full of the love of God, and thoroughly imbued with the spirit of his work. He therefore attacked the great six weeks' circuit with an energy and devotion which carried all before them, so long as his physical strength endured. He made two complete and successful rounds on his work ; but in doing this he had to sustain much unac- customed hardship and exposure. Heat and cold, rain and wind, and high waters, sometimes crossed in a canoe, but more frequently by swimming on horseback, the whole coun- try being low and subject to inundation. These things brought on an attack of malignant typhus fever, in the delir- ium of which he was for five weeks unconscious, only waking to learn that his colleague who had Hngered all this while, had just expired. During this sickness of youn^ Ber- ryman an incident occurred which is worth preserving as a new contribution to the already vast treasury of religious psychology. " It is given in his own words, as follows : ' I had been suffering for a week with premonitory symptoms of my disease before reaching the Mount Prairie settle- ment, filling my week-day appointments meanwhile, and was barely able to sit on my horse the day of reaching this settlement. I felt that my situation v/as dangerous in the extreme, and my thoughts were much occupied about death. I was not afraid to die ; but I was among strangers and far away from all the loved ones at home. Besides I had en- tered upon the ministerial work with large desires and pur- poses of usefulness. I did not want to die then and there; And as I lay upon my bed soon after arriving at Bro. Shooks', with my face turned to the back of the bed, I was in an ag- ony of prayer, when there appeared to me the figure of a man upon the wall, just above my bed, and very near me. He spoke to me to the effect that though my sickness would HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 73 be protracted and severe, it was not unto death ; I should recover. John Henry, a local preacher of that neighbor- hood was sitting in the room at that time ; I turned my- self as I lay in bed, and told him I was going to have a hard time, but should not die then, for God had appeared to me on the wall, and told me so. This was not dream. What was it? And yet about four weeks after this my nurses thought I was dead, and held a consultation about my burial. When I recovered from this sickness, I was to- totally blind, but regained my sight gradually, as I was re- stored to health and strength. For a long time after I got up from that sick-bed my mind was more clear and my communion with God more constant than ever before. I was all the time happy.' " Speaking of the difficulties that arose out of Jesse Haile's administration in Arkansas, Berryman says : " Jesse Haile had been Presiding Elder on the Arkansas District for several years prior to 1829. He was an aboli- tionist of the Garrison type, and did not hesitate to preach against slavery publicly as well as privately ;'and as there were some in the bounds of the Hot Springs and Mount Prairie Cir- cuits who were of his way of thinking, he did not fail to bring about much controversy and hard feeling among the mem- bership, which had resulted in the expulsion or withdraVvaV of not a few from our Church. Under these circumstances it required much prudence upon the part of those who fol- lowed Haile to keep our people from going off to the Cum- berland Presbyterians, who had seized upon this opportu- nity and were building themselves up at our expense. But Uriel Haw, who was Presiding Elder this year, was a man just suited to the emergency. Possessed of a large amount of practical sense and judgment, a good tartician, full of love, always ready in every good word and work, logical and eloquent in presenting divine truth, whether in the adminis- tration of discipline, or in his pulpit performances, he drew 74 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. everybody to him, and to one another ; so that after all we enjoyed great prosperity on the circuit this year, and left it with a large increase of membership, and in possession of peace and good will among themselves. " Uriel Haw, at the time of which I write, was about 40 years of age, and had been preaching twelve or fifteen years. In person he was tall, but slenderly built, and car- ried himself erect, with quick, elastic step. His features were not handsome, but very expressive. In particular he had the most sparkling eyes that were ever set in a man's head ; not large, but sparkling with an unusual fire of intel- lect and heart. His literary attainments were respectable, though not scholastic ; but his knowledge of divine things made him one of God's mighty men. And yet this great and good man finished his work while comparatively young. And no wonder that he died young. He acted as one who had adopted as the rule of his life whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. The year he was my Presiding Elder he had for his district the entire Territory of Arkansas, while his family lived in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. My circuit was about 500 miles from his home ; and yet I do not think he failed to attend any of the quarterly meetings of his district during the year ; and he was abundant in labors wherever he went. He died and was buried in Mississippi County among as good people as can be found anywhere ; and his name is like sweet incense in their memory to this day." By the death of Rucker Tanner, Berryman was left alone on the Mount Prairie and Hot Springs Circuit, but the Pre- siding Elder soon employed a local preacher to help him in the work, in the person of Nelson R. Bewley, who with his brother George W., had recently come to Missouri. Of these brothers, George W., although a member of the Con- ference, was the younger. They were both men of good preaching talents, though George was superior and above the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 75 average. Berryman and Nelson R. Bewley worked together harmoniously and successful during the remainder of the year. On one occasion, at the solicitation of a pious young man who was teaching school in a settlement about twenty miles distant from their circuit, on Red River, and on the border of the Choctaw Nation, Berryman visited the settlement and held a meeting at the house of a Mr. Bradshaw, The meet- ing lasted two days. It was the first preaching they had had for years, and with the exception of the young teacher above mentioned, there was not a professor of religion among them. A few of them had been Church members in their former homes, but all had fallen into a state of deplor- able immorality since their arrival on the frontier. Berry- man was encouraged by the appearance of things, and left an appointment for his colleague, which was afterwards filled, and resulted in the conversion of some fifty souls. As an illustration of the manners of the times, it may be men- tioned that the hostess at Berryman's first meeting, immedi- ately after the close of dinner service, and while the audi- tors — those in the house were all females — were still seated, presented a bottle of liquor, and everyone of the ladies turned it up to her lips. The lady did not slight the preacher, but when she offered him the bottle he declined, saying: "I do not drink." She replied : "Well, I do," accompanying the word with the act. At the same time the men out of doors were doing the same thing until they seemed very happy, if not over-joyful. After closing up his year's work, Berry- man started with his Presiding Elder for St. Louis, the seat of the Conference. One of the company, John Henry, who had been traveling as a supply on the Arkansas Circuit, fell sick at Batesville with malarial fever, and died within a few days after the others had left him. The fifteenth session of the Missouri Conference was held in St. Louis, commencing September i6, 1830, Bishop Rob- 76 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. erts in the chair. The appointments for Arkansas were : Arkansas District, Jesse Greene, Presiding Elder ; Helena Circuit, John Harris; Hot Springs and Mount Prairie, Nel- son R. Bewley ; Arkansas Circuit, Mahlon Bewley; Mount Pleasant, Pleasant Tackett; James Fork, to be supplied; Spring River, James H. Slavens. The statistical returns show that this was a prosperous year for Methodism in the Territory of Arkansas. A com- parison of the increase of the membership of the Church with the increase in the population of the Territory will show a healthy growth upon the part of the Church. The census for 1820 showed a population of 14,255. In 1830 the population was 30,388, showing that the population had been a little more than doubled during this decade. The membership of the Church in 1820 was 536, in 1830 it was 1334 ; showing that the membership had been considerably more than doubled during the decade. The year 1830 was one of great immigation to Arkansas. Several steamboats were now plying the rivers, and these were constantly loaded with immigrants coming from Ten- nessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Missouri. In the southwestern part of the State there was considerable immigration from Virginia and South Carolina. In March of this year there was a new paper established at Little Rock, by Charles P. Bertrand, called the Arkansas Advocate. We sometimes hear unfavorable comparisons made between the politics of this day and the politics of that early period, to the great disparagement of the present. A comparison of the files of the Gazette and the Arkansas Advocate will show that there is nothing in the journalism of the present that will compare in bitterness to the person- alities of that period. There is nothing in the hatred of the parties of the present that can equal the hatred of the old parties of that period. The caution of the wise man will apply in this as well as in other questions of interest : " Say HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. // not thou, ' What is the cause that the former days were better than these ?' for thou dost not inquire wisely concern- ing this." The former days were not equal in any sense to the present. A candid comparison will show that there has been great improvement in every respect, both in Church and in State. During this decade seventeen new counties were formed, making in all twenty-three counties within the Territory. At the Conference of 1830 the names of Nelson R. Bew- ley and Mahlon Bewley appear in the list of appointments for Arkansas. To the Rev. Mahlon Bewley, and his sons Nelson R. Bewley and Robert R. Bewley, belong the honor of planting Methodism in the western part of the State. Robert Bewley came to Arkansas in 1828, and located on Illinois Bayou in what is now Pope County. In all the country west of Point Remove, previous to this time, there had been no Methodist preaching from any one. The Rev. J. B. Hickman has kindly furnished us with the following facts in reference to the organization of Method- ism in Pope County, which at that time embraced a large part of the western portion of the State. On the first Sun- day in January, 1829, Robert S. Bewley preached at the old Dwight Mission Station. At the conclusion of the ser- vice, the Rev. Cephas Washburn said to the preacher : " You have the honor of preaching the first Methodist ser- mon in Pope County." Brother Bewley built a log cabin, which answered the double purpose of a residence and a chapel for preaching. His father, Rev. Mahlon" Bewley, came to his assistance in 1830. At the Conference in 1830 the elder Bewley was appointed to the Arkansas Circuit, and his son. Nelson R. Bewley, to the Hot Springs and Mount Prairie Circuit. The elder Bewley broke down during the year, and his place on the work was filled by his son, Robert Bewley. That we may have some idea of the extent of the circuits of that day, we y8 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. must remember that the Arkansas Circuit reached from the western border of civilization, where Fort Smith now stands, to Little Rock on the east, thence thirty miles south, to a Bro. Lindsay's, and all the territory between these points. Of Little Rock, in 1831, Bro. Bewley says : "The only church in the place was a log cabin belonging to the Pres- byterians. It was in this house that the first Methodist so- ciety was organized, and worshiped for a long time." Robert Bewley never joined the Conference, but contin- ued to travel as a supply for a number of years. He lived to the great age of four-score years, and died in peace at his Tiome in Pope County, in 1883. Nelson R. Bewley died of consumption in 1836. He was a faithful and efficient preacher, and was held in esteem by all who knew him, as a deeply pious man. The approach of death had no terrors for him. His last hours were peace- ful, and his end triumphant. As an illustration of the difficulties under which our preachers of that day labored and the sparsely settled con- dition of the country, the following quotations from the " Recollections of Berryman" is given : "The first night (from Cane Hill, Ark.) we spent at the house of a Mr. Locke. Bro. Green had a hard chill, and was very sick all that night. The Bishop also was unwell. We had a cold rain all the forenoon of the next day, and did not resume our journey until the afternoon. It was fifteen miles to the next house on our route, which was reached about sunset. We found the improvements about the place to consist of a stock pen or corral, and a cabin, built of small, round logs, which Mr. Renfroe, the proprietor, said he had put up with no assist- ance, except what his wife gave him. The height of the cabin was just sufficient for the door to come under the first rib on which the board roof rested, the cracks of the wall were chinked, but not daubed, the cat and clay chimney oc- cupied the space of nearly one end, and the sixteen or HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 79 eighteen feet square of Mother Earth on which the building stood served all the purposes of a floor. In each corner of the end opposite the fire-place there was a board scaffold bed which, with a few rough stools, a square table of similar make and a few cooking utensils, constituted the inventory of household furniture. And did we, seven travelers, in- cluding a Bishop, lodge there that night ? What else could we do? It was seventeen miles to the next human habita- tation. Of course we turned in, with a hearty welcome from Mr. and Mrs. Renfroe and their six children." CHAPTER IX. An Increase of Laborers — New Fields Opening — New Districts — Transfers — Indian Work — Burwell Lee — Conference at Cane Hill — Arkansas Church Paper — Church Music — Conference of 1835. At the session of the Missouri Conference which met at McKendree's Chapel September, 183 1, the appointments for Arkansas were : Arkansas District, A. D. Smith ; Helena Circuit, Fountain Brown ; Pine Bluff, William R. Boyce ; Chicot, John Harris ; Hot Springs and Mount Prairie, H. G. Joplin, W, Duke; Arkansas, John N. Hamill, Richard Overby; Washington Circuit. John Kelly; Creek Mission, Alvin Baird; Washington and Cherokee Mission, John Har- rell, Allen M. Scott; White and Spring River, Nelson R. Bewley. It will be seen from this list of appointments that there were ten new preachers for the field in Arkansas. In fact, every/ appointment in Arkansas was filled by a new man, with the exception of Spring River, which was supplied by Nelson R. Bewley. Eight of these were transfers from that old Mother of Conferences, the Tennessee Conference. Fountain Brown was transferred the year before. Several of these names became very prominent in after years, and they will frequently appear in the course of this history as leaders in the work of the Church in Arkansas. It will be seen that the Towns of Helena, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs and Washington begin to stand out prominently on the list of appointments as centers of influence in the State. The faithful labors of the pioneers were beginning to bear rich fruit in the permanent organizations that were being established. The labors of the faithful band of workmen who culti- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 51 vated the field in Arkansas was richly repaid by a large in- crease in the membership of the Church. The statistics show 1 5 12 whites; 222 colored, and 308 Indian members. The Rev. John Harrell, for many years Superintendent of the Indian Mission Conference, has given us in " McFerrin's History of Methodism in Tennessee," the following account of the call made by Bishop Roberts for volunteers for the work in Arkansas in 1831 : " In the year 183 1, the Missouri Conference was attended by Bishop Roberts, and at that time included the Arkansas Territory, which was left mainly to be supplied. When the Bishop reached Paris, the seat of the Tennessee Conference, he began to beat for volunteers to fill the Arkansas District, and the following preachers consented to go to that Vv'ild and sparsely settled field of labor, viz.: A. D. Smith, Presid- ing Elder; Harris G. Joplin, Alvin Baird, William G. Duke, John N. Hamill, William A Boyce, Allen M. Scott and John Harrell. We were to meet in Memphis by Christmas day. At the appointed time we were all present, and ready for the march west of the Father of Waters.' The weather, however, had been extremely cold, so that the swamp directly in the route to Little Rock was considered impass- able. Brother Smith suggested the plan of purchasing a flatboat and .going down to Helena, believing that to be a better route than the other way. A boat was purchased^ each preacher bearing his part of the price, and after adjust- ing our horses, saddles and saddle-bags, we unloosed our moorings. A stranger was taken in with us, the company then consisting of nine in all. We left Memphis on the 25th of December, 1831. The scene was new to most of us; sometimes we pulled with the oars, and then again we would let our boat drift for awhile. When night came we would land, tie our boat to a tree, make us a big fire, cut an armfuli of cane to make us a bed, and after praying together we retired to sleep, using our saddle-blankets for a covering. 82 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, We arrived at Helena on the evening of the third day. The river had fallen suddenly, making it very difficult to gain the bank with our horses ; but we finally succeeded and reached the hotel. After breakfast next day, our bills paid, Brother Smith asked the landlord to let him pray with his family. The answer was, * I do my own praying.' This was our in- troduction to our new field of labor. " Traveling west a few miles, we reached the house of a Brother Burriss, a good and useful local preacher who had settled in the cane-brake with a large family, most of whom were daughters ; but they were cheerful and happy, and their hospitality was truly pleasant to enjoy. Here we met Brother Fountain Brown, who had been sent over to cultivate this wild and unsettled land. Brother Brown lived to travel extensively through the State, both as a circuit preacher and Presiding Elder, and has left scores of seals to his min- istry. He was taken prisoner during the war, and after suf- fering nearly two years up North, was released from prison and started to his family, but died within a few miles of his home. After parting with the kind family above mentioned, and leaving Brother Smith to hold a quarterly meeting on that circuit, we set out for our places of destination. After traveling two days Brother Boyce left us for Pine Bluff, Brothers Joplin and Duke for Mount Prairie, Brother Ham- ill to the Little Rock Circuit. The remaining three had a long ride to the northwestern part of the country. Brother Baird went to the Creek Nation, J. M. Hamill to the Cher- okee Nation, and A. M. Scott to the Washington Circuit. During the year we had several camp-meetings, in the Indian Country, and a revival of religion through the whole Arkansas District. The next Conference was held at Pilot Grove, in the State of Missouri, and several of the preachers had to travel 500 miles on horseback to reach the seat of the Conference. These were days of labor and sufferings. In this year, 1832, the first circuit was formed in the Cherokee HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 83 T^ation, West, by the writer, and a school commenced in the Creek Nation, with several preaching places by Brother Baird. " I believe all the men that were there in the field have passed away except two. Brother Duke lives in Texas, and is a good and faithful local preacher; Brothers Baird and Hamill, I have learned, died in Texas ; Brother Joplin, in Missouri ; Brother Boyce was drowned in the Ouachita River; Brother Smith died in Arkansas since the war closed; he had been for many years a useful local preacher. Rumor says A. M. Scott was killed, perhaps about the close of the war, in Tennessee. It is rather a sad reflection that none of these brethren died in the itinerant ranks save J. N. Hamill. " In reviewing the labors of that year, it is wonderful to know that four Annual Conferences now exist in what was then the Arkansas District ; and the writer of this sketch is spared to see these wonderful changes during the space of thirty-nine years. Most of the preachers of that day have passed away. Many of them were burning and shining lights, and we trust are gone where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. " Your brother in Christ, "John Harrell." At the session of the Missouri Conference for 1832, there were two districts formed in Arkansas. The Arkansas Dis- trict embraced the southern part of the State, and the Little Rock District the northern part of the State. The appoint- ments were: Arkansas District, to be supplied; Helena Circuit, Micah Casteel ; Pine Bluff, William A. Boyce ; Chicot and Ouachita, to be supplied ; Hot Springs, Henry Cornelius; Mount Prairie, Fountain Brown, Lemuel Wake- lee ; Red River, to be supplied ; Little Rock District, An- drew Smith ; Little Rock Circuit, to be supplied ; Arkansas Circuit, to be supplied ; Washington, William G. Duke. Harris G. Joplin, John N. Hamill, Allen Baird, Henry 84 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Perryman, John Harrell, Burwell Lee, Thomas Bertholf and Richard Overby were appointed to labor in the schools and missions among the Indians. It will be seen that the Methodist Church at an early day placed some of the most efficient men of the Conference in charge of the work among the Indians. As we propose de- voting a chapter to this subject, there will be but little more than a bare reference to it until we come to treat of the subject in a separate chapter. At this Conference John P. Neil, Burwell Lee, Lemuel Wakelee, Henry Cornelius and Henry Perryman were re- ceived on trial. While all of these proved to be faithful, de- voted preachers, the name of Burwell Lee deserves especial notice on account of the long and faithtul service he ren- dered the Church. His name was closely identified with the history of the Church for many years. The eighteenth session of the Missouri Conference was held at Mountain Spring Camp-ground, in Arkansas, Sep- tember 4, 1833. Bishop Joshua Soule presided and William Redman was chosen Secretary. This was the first Annual Conference ever held on Arkansas Territory, and marks an era in the history of Arkansas Methodism. The minutes of the Conference for that year show that " Mr. C. P. Bertrand, of Little Rock, Arkansas Territory, having proposed to publish at that point a weekly newspa- per under the patronage of the Conference, the matter was referred to a committee, who reported unfavorably to the project, and the Conference took occasion to resolve on this subject that, whereas, it is in contemplation to publish a pa- per at Cincinnati, Ohio, bearing the same relation to the Book Concern as the Christian Advocate and Journal does, this Conference highly approves of this measure and will patronize the paper." By another resolution the Conference memorialized the United States Secretary of War to clothe our missionaries HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 85 with proper authority to enter the Indian country, which was done, and the mission work there was entered upon and carried on with gratifying success. That the brethren of that day were troubled over the music question in the Church, is evident from the following resolution on the subject : "Resolved, That we consider the singing of fugue tunes, and light and unmeaning choruses a departure from the true spirit and solemnity of divine worship, and a departure from the letter and spirit of our Church discipline." The appointments for Arkansas this year were : Arkan- sas District, Martin Wells ; Helena Circuit, John P. Neil ; Pine Bluff Circuit, to be supplied; Ouachita, Henry Cor- nelius; Hot Springs, Fountain Brown ; Mount Prairie, Rich- ard Overby, J. B. Denton ; Red River, to be supplied. Little Rock District, Andrew D Smith, Presiding Elder. Little Rock Circuit, William Duke ; Arkansas, John H. Rives; Washington, Alvin Baij-d ; White River, John H. Ruble; Spring River, Valentine P. Fink. Missions and Schools, Pleasant Tackett, Learner B. Stateler, John N. Hamill, Pleasant Berryhill, John Harrell, Thomas Bertholf, Richard W. Owen, Burvvell Lee, J. Brewston, Harris G. Joplin. The Church in Arkansas received this year three valuable accessions from the Tennessee Conference — Charles T. Ram- sey, Joseph L. Gould and William P. Ratcliffe. The follow- ing were admitted on trial and received appointments in Arkansas : Pleasant Tackett, John H. Rives, Pleasant Ber- ryhill and John B. Denton. William P. Ratcliffe was ap- pointed to Pine Bluff Circuit, and C. T. Ramsey to Red River Circuit. One of these, William P. Ratcliffe, was one of the most remarkable men that ever labored in Arkansas. During the whole period of his life he was closely connected with every interest of the Church, and he left the impress of his labors upon the State as but few men have been found 86 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. able to do. From this date until his death, which occurred in 1868, he was one of the principal actors in the history of the Church until his death in 1868. The nineteenth session of the Conference met at Bellevue, Washington County, Mo., September 10, 1834. Bishop Roberts presided. The appointments for Arkansas were : Arkansas District, C. T. Ramsey ; Helena Circuit, S. Wakelee ; Pine Bluff, W. P. Ratcliffe ; Ouachita, N. Keith ; Hot Springs, William G. Duke ; Mount Prairie, H. Cornelius ; Franklin, F. Brown ; Rolling Fork, W. Sorrels ; Little Rock District, J. K. Lacy ; Little Rock Circuit, Martin Wells ; Arkansas Circuit, J. H. Rives; Washington, H. J. Joplin ; Greene, J. P. Neil; King's River Mission, J. G. Duke; Seneca Circuit, J. L. Gould; White River Circuit, Andrew Peace; Spring River to be supplied ; Indian Schools and Missions, A. O. Smith, J. Home, B. Lee, Thomas Bertiiolf, P. Berryhill, John Harreli, J. N. HamiU. The locations were Uriel Haw, Richard Overby, James V. Watson, James H. Slavens. The membership of the Church was 2306 whites, 343 colored and 509 Indians, " Charles P. Ramsey, Presiding Elder on the Arkansas District, was a transfer from Tennessee Conference. He was trained under Arthur Davis in the Western District. Davis in his day was the great revivalist of the Conference. Young Ramsey, full of zeal for his Master, labored under him for a year or two and was transferred west of the river. He was a burning and shining light. His great fort was in exhorta- tion; while he preached acceptably, in exhortation he was a wonderful success. The old Methodists told marvelous stories of Ramsey's power on camp-meeting occasions, when after some one had preached he would sing one of the old- time songs, and then starting in on one of his rousing ex- hortations, warming as he went, carrying his hearers with him until the whole audience surrendered to Christ. What HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 8/ was the secret of his power? It was much more common in the days of which I write than now. These men had none of the advantages afforded young ministers of today, and yet they were more successful in their pulpit ministra- tions. Is it not true that they were men of one Book more than we of the present day, and realizing their own weak- ness they depended on the Holy Spirit, and as they believed so it was unto them. It is a fact that many of these early preachers, with very little education, such as is stressed and emphasized at the present day, were mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. I would not under- value education, but I would value the baptism of the Holy Ghost more than all else as a means of certain success in the work of the ministry. Saving souls is our work, and that which will fit us for doing that, is what we should seek and pray for ; nor should we rest until we possess the grace to preach the gospel successfully. Charles T. Ramsey was a preacher of this sort. He swept around his district like a flaming comet. His zeal was contagious. The preachers caught it. His quarterly meetings were times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. He traveled two years as Presiding Elder, and went up to Batesville in the fall of 1836, where Bishop Morris organized the Arkansas Conference. At its close Brother Ramsey was sick — too sick to attempt the journey home. His brethren had left him for their fields of labor, and he, restive under the restraints imposed, awaited results. His disease developed into pneumonia. All that could be done by skilled physicians and kind friends was done. In a few days he breathed his last at the home of Isaac Fulsom at Batesville. In the graveyard these good men laid him away to await the resurrection of the just. " Andrew Boyd, who gave two sons to the ministry in Ar- kansas — a faithful local preacher — is buried there. John Henry, the most promising young man that had entered the ministry in the early days of Methodism and had died 88 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. in the same town, is buried there. Side by side this trio sleep in that cemetery. They sleep their last sleep; the battle fought and victory won, they have entered the Master's joy. " The names of Burwell Lee and Thomas Bertholf appear on the roll of the Missouri Conference for 1834. Bertholf s ministry was altogether in the Indian country. By marriage he was connected with the Cherokees. In 1836 when I first knew him he was spare-made, light hair, inclined to be curly, light blue eyes, and in the social circle a most pleasant and companionable man. He preached acceptably and was one of the weeping prophets. When I last knew him his home was on the Illinois Creek in the Cherokee Nation, near the present Town of Tahlequah. In returning from Washing- ton County, Arkansas, in the early days of 1837, I was be- lated and lost my way, but at last reached the home of young Wolf, a good brother of the Cherokee Nation, and a faithful local preacher. At his house that night I met Bro. Bertholf. He was filling an appointment at Bro. Wolf's that night and I came on them a little while before he closed his sermon. He was preaching about the well of living water springing up unto everlasting life. He was talking in a fine mellow strain, and as usual he was crying and the rest were enjoy- ing it to the full. It was a regular old-fashioned Methodist meeting. Except Bro. Bertholf I have not met any of that company since, but when God makes up his jewels they will be of them; for they are worthy. In the fall of 1837 he accompanied Bro. Harrell to the last quarterly meeting in the Choctaw Nation, and we journeyed from there to the Conference at Little Rock together, where we parted to meet again in the future. My company has gone before. Young Wolf was converted in the old Nation, came West as a local preacher and was a great stay and support to the first missionaries in the West. He interpreted the first sermon I attempted to preach to the Cherokees. He was a large man, not tall but ' wide around.' My recollection is, that his HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 89 weight was about 300. He spoke English very well and in his own tongue was said to be a good speaker and an able preacher. Long since he has been gathered to his fathers. Doubtless his children and his grandchildren remain to this day. The family of Bro. Bertholf remain citizens of the Cherokee Nation. The times and scenes of long ago are brought to my remembrance by these sketches. Thank God we shall not be strangers in the next world. Our friends are waiting and watching at the gates ready to welcome us to the Master's joy. " Burwell Lee's name appears first on the roll in 1834. He taught school at Adairs. He was then a young man and this was his last appointment in the Nation. He did valua- ble work among the whites, mostly as a Presiding Elder. He traveled a District that embraced Helena on the Missis- sippi River and Fayetteville in the West, with various ap- pointments between. With the exception of a few years he gave a long life to the itinerancy in Arkansas. He always preached well. He had the courage of a Christian minister, and never compromised that character. In the social circle he was always pleasant and genial. The last years of his life he was a superannuate, his home being at Batesville, where he had lived for many years, I know nothing of the particulars of his death, which happened a few years since. Doubtless he died as he lived, trusting in his Savior. In the great day many a brother in red as well as white, will greet him where congregations do not break up and Sabbaths do not end. All over North Arkansas Burwell Lee is remem- bered by the old Methodists with great affection." (Sketches from Dr. Hunter in Arkansas Methodist.) The name of Martin Wells appears for the first time in connection with the work in Arkansas, as a transfer from the Tennessee Conference, and appointed to the Arkansas District in 1832 and 1833. In 1834 he was supernumerary at Little Rock, where he died during the year. He was ad- 90 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. mitted on trial in the Tennessee Conference in 1828, and filled some important and difficult stations in the service of the Church. He was for several years a missionary among the Cherokee Indians in troublous times. Such was the state of feeling among the Indians about this time that it re- quired great prudence upon the part of our preachers to en- able them to gain access to them. In many instances they had been cruelly treated by the whites, and were wrought up to such a pitch of desperation that it required more than ordinary skill to enable our preachers to retain the hold they had gained upon the affections of the Indians. The influence of these godly men in restraining the violence of these poor savages has never been fully appreciated by the government. The twentieth session of the Conference met at Arrow Rock Camp-ground, September 10, 1835. Bishop Roberts presided. Several of the preachers admitted on trial at this session labored in the State for a number of years in con- nection with the Arkansas Conference. Thomas Ashby^ Samuel Calhoun, John Powell, John H. Carr, James M. Gore, Joseph Renfroe. Among the locations were Joseph L. Gould. The deaths were John P. Neil and Martin Wells. The following obituary notices of these brethren appear in general minutes : "John P. Neil. We have no certain information concern- ing the early history of Bro. Neil. In 1832 he was admitted on trial in the Missouri Conference, and appointed to Spring River Circuit. In 1833 ^^ ^^is appointed to the Helena circuit. At the Conference of 1834 he was ordained deacon and appointed to Greene Circuit. During this year his health failed and after lingering for a few months he passed away in great peace." Martin Wells, who was appointed as a supernumerary preacher on the Little Rock Circuit, died during the present year, of influenza. Bro. Wells filled some important and HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. QI difficult stations in the Church. He was a missionary for several years to the Cherokee Indians in troublous times, and suffered in common with his brethren. He served two years as Presiding Elder on the Arkansas District, and dis- charged the duties of that relation with fidelity and useful- ness, and in a way to endear himself to the people of that district. The statistics show that the district was prosperous during his administration. In a letter to the Arkansas Methodist the venerable An- drew Hunter, D. D., gives an interesting account of the ses- sion of the Missouri Conference in 1835, " The only representative from the Arkansas part of the Conference was William P. Ratcliffe, a young man who had been transferred from Tennessee and who had just closed his first year west of the river. His Presiding Elder had intrusted him with all his papers and he made the journey of between three and four hundred miles on horseback and discharged the duties imposed upon him as well as if he had been a veteran of a score of years. That was the last time Arkansas was represented by any one on the floor of the Missouri Conference. The General Conference that met in Cincinnati the following May formed the Arkansas Con- ference. In the new Conference was included all Arkansas, North Louisiana, the Indian Territory and the * Sulphur Fork ' country, in what is now Texas. "The division gave the Choctaws to the new Conference. Before this they were in the Mississippi Conference, which covered all North Louisiana. The Chickasaws, in the latter part of 1836, or the first of 1837, sent over a delegation and negotiated with the Choctaws for a part of their territory, which they now occupy, and which has proven to be a bountiful field for missionary labor. The Conference at Arrow Rock made two districts in Arkansas Territory and the Indian Missionary District. Batesville District had Bur- well Lee as Presiding Elder. This district covered all the 92 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. territory of North Arkansas, from Helena on the east to Washington County, in the west, with Upper Arkansas Valley. There were four places to be supplied. Charles T. Ramsey was on the Little Rock District ; Pine Bluff Cir- cuit, F. Brown ; Hot Springs, H. Cornelius ; Mount Prairie, J.N. Hamill ; Sulphur Fork, J. H. Carr; Chicot, Joseph Renfroe ; Bartholomew, J. M. Gore ; Little Rock Circuit, William P. Ratcliffe. There were seventeen appointments in the Territory, with twelve preachers besides the two Pre- siding Elders, leaving five places to be supplied. "Peter M. McGowan was appointed Superintendent of the South Indian Missionary District in the fall of 1835. It was a letter written by McGowan and published in one of the Church papers that influenced this writer to offer him- self as a missionary among his red brethren. I was teach- ing school in the vicinity of Manchester, twenty miles west of St. Louis ; was prayerfully asking God to direct me in my life-work. I did not know whether I was called to preach or not, but I did feel a desire to be useful to my fellow-men. When McGowan's call ^for teachers for the Indian schools reached me I felt I could enter that field, and if I could not preach I could at least teach one of these schools. It was a relief to my mind when the open- ing was presented. Accordingly, in the last weeks of De- cember, 1835, I closed my school and made arrangements to start on my journey of 300 and more miles. Fortunately I had a very pleasant traveling companion in the person of a Mr. Bartlett, a merchant of Fort Towson, who had been to New York and was returning by way of St. Louis, and was making his way to Towson on horseback. We made the trip from Manchester to Fayetteville together. He was a most genial traveling companion. To this day it is pleas- ant to think of him. We parted at Fayetteville, he toward Red River and I toward Fort Gibson. I spent the night on Cane Hill with Gen. Campbell, who had been an Indian HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 93 agent, and who gave me much valuable information as to my route and the Indians among whom I expected to labor. Sunday was spent with this kind family ; part of the day at church, where I heard the Presbyterian minister who had been pastor of the church at Cane Hill preach his farewell sermon, he having been called to another field. Monday morning I started alone into the Indian country, Fort Gibson being the objective point. The second night was spent there, and the following day crossed the Grand River and then the Verdigris in search of the Superintendent of Indian Missions. Pleasant Berryhill lived on the south bank of the Verdigris; he was a half-breed and a Methodist, and from him I obtained information that I supposed would bring me into the presence of the Superintendent, but after riding for hours I had to return to Berryhill's and spend the night. The next morning I found my man at the house of James Perryman in the vicinity of the Hawkins school. Bro. McGowan received me as a messenger sent in answer to prayer. He had been asking for help and help had come so he believed. After resting a day or twt) it was decided that I should be placed at Mr. Lott's, south of the Arkansas, in the Creek Nation, to teach school. This is not far from where the Town of Muskogee now stands. Equipped with blankets, a buffalo robe and a new bed-tick, which was to be filled with new cut hay chopped up fine with an axe, Bro. McGowan and I started across the Arkansas River, and in a few days I was inaugurated school master at ' Hichity Town,' ' monarch of all I surveyed.' I would like to know what became of my pupils there ; doubtless some of them are citizens of the Creek Nation. How happy I would be if I knew that anything said or done by me had influenced any life for the better ! There in that little log school house I preached my first sermon. It was through an interpreter; twenty or thirty persons were present and heard my dis- course on the conversion of Cornelius, the Roman centurion. 94 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I have preached the same subject many times since, but I have never preached it when I was happier than I was that day. "'There is a divinity that shapes our ends.' God cares for sparrows, and we are of more value than many sparrows. The longer I live the more I believe in a special providence. It was not in my plans to come South. Andrew Monroe, Presiding Elder of the St. Louis District, had arranged to put me on a circuit in North Missouri with Lerner B. State- ler, and I was to accompany him on his next round to the field, but before he came McGowan's letter had fallen into my hands, and that decided the question of my work for life. God moves in mysterious ways, carrying on his de- signs for his own glory. It never was my intention to re- main south of Missouri, but the way never was open for my return to a northern climate. More than half a century has passed away since I reported to P. C. McGowan, on the first of January, 1836, and here I am still, the companions of my early ministry all gone; not one left, and I, like some lone tree of the forest with its companions all swept away by the breath of the storm, am still standing a monument of God's preserving mercy. 'Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come. His grace has brought me safe thus far. His grace will lead me home.' And now as I survey the past I say to my brethren of the itinerancy, take it all in all I liave had a good time. Fifty-three years I have trusted God in the ranks, and I have no complaints to make- The ^ iron xvheeV has never crushed me. Old and gray- headed I wait my appointed time, saying with old Jacob : ' I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.' " That the reader may have a clearer idea of the extent of the work at that day we will give the list of appointments for that year, for the districts in the Arkansas Territory: Batesville District, Burwell Lee, Presiding Elder. — Helena, to be supplied. Franklin, to be supplied. Big Creek, L. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 95 Wakelee, Jackson J. Powell. White River, A. Baird. Clin- ton, to be supplied. Arkansas, to be supplied. Washing- ton, J. Harrell. Little Rock District, C. Ramsey, Presiding Elder. — Pine Blufif, Fountain Brown. Ouachita, to be supplied. Hot Springs, H. Cornelius. Mount Prairie, J. N. Hamill, W. G. Duke. Rolling Fork, to be supplied. Sulphur Fork, John H. Carr. Chicot, Joseph Renfroe. Bartholomew, J. M. Gore. Little Rock Circuit, William P. Ratcliffe. South Indian Mission, P. M. McGowan, Superintendent. — Cherokee Circuit, Thomas Bertholf. Schools — S. K.Waldron, J. Home, J. L. Irwin, A. D. Smith, P. Berryhill. J. H. Rives. From the introduction of Methodism in the Territory, the appointments in Arkansas, were connected with the Mis- souri Conference. It will therefore be proper for us to review the history of the fifteen years this field was supplied by that Conference. We have seen that the Spring River Circuit, which was formed in 1815, and supplied by Eli Lindsay, reported a membership of eighty-eight white and four colored. At the Conference of 1835 the membership was 2326 whites, 373 colored and 467 Indians, making a total membership of 3164. During this period there had been at different times seventy-two itinerant preachers laboring within the Arkan- sas Territory. Many of these, however, had remained but one year within the Territory. At the close of this period there were three Presiding Elders' Districts, two for the whites and one for the Indians. There were eighteen pas- toral charges for the whites and twelve for the Indians. These charges were served by thirty-three pastors. Method- ism had been planted in all the principal towns of the State, and while none of these town had become large enough to support a separate pastor, several of them had become cen- ters of influence for the surrounding country and tended largely to ijiould the sentiment of the people. 96 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Little Rock, Batesville, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs, Washing- ton and Helena were considered of sufficient importance to give the name to the pastoral charges of which they formed a part. The circuits of that day were as large as two or three of the Presiding Elders' Districts of the present day. The Lit- tle Rock District embraced all the territory south of the Arkansas River, and the Batesville District all the territory north of that river. The writer has an old Quarterly Conference Record lying before him for the year 1835. " The Fourth Quarterly Meeting Conference held at Bar- tholomew Camp-ground, in Chicot Circuit, on the 20th of July, 1835. The following members present: Charles T. Ramsey, Presiding Elder; A. L S. Harris, P. L C; James C. Gore, L. P.; Joseph Renfroe, Ex.; Solomon Hopkins, C. L.; William Harris, L. P. James C. Gore was recom- mended as a suitable person to travel and preach. At the Fourth Quarterly Meeting Conference for 1836 we have Charles T. Ramsey, Presiding Elder ; James M. Gore, P. L C; Charles H. Seay, L. P.; Joseph Renfroe, L. P.; James L. Newman, C. L; Alfred D. Galloway, Ex. In this list of members we have several names that are perfectly familiar to the people of the present day in the southeastern portion of the State. The name of Charles H. Seay was for many years a household word in all that coun- try. He settled in what is now called Bradley County, near Warren, at a very early date, when the country was a com- parative wilderness. He was a man of sterling worth and great integrity of character. While to strangers he often appeared plain to rudeness ; his friends knew that behind that stern exterior there beat one of the kindest hearts that ever throbbed in a human breast. He did much toward the planting and formation of the Church in that portion of the State. CHAPTER X. Arkansas Admitted as a State — The Organization of THE Arkansas Conference — Batesville — List of Mem- bers — Statistics — Transfers — Robert Gregory — William H. Bump — Jerome B. Annis — Peter McGowan — John L. Irwin — A. W. Simmons — John B. Denton — Uriah Whateley — John C. Parker — Jacob Custer — John M. Steele — Letters from Bishop Andrew — Hiram Geering — Charles T. Ramsey — William Mul- key. The year 1836 was memorable in the history of Arkansas as" the date of its admission as a State into the Union. Pre- vious to this time, it had been under the jurisdiction first of the French, from 1669 to 1766. It then passed under the jurisdiction of the Spanish, until 1803, when it again passed under the jurisdiction of the French, who the same year sold the entire territory to the United States. From 1804 until 18 12 it was a part of the Louisiana Ter- ritory. From 18 1 2 to 18 19, it was a part of the Missouri Territory. From 1819 until 1836, it was known as the Arkan- sas Territory, since which time it has been a sovereign State of the Union. James S. Conway was elected the first Gov- ernor of the State. While these important changes were taking place in the civil affairs of the State, corresponding changes were taking place in the Church. During this year the General Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church authorized the or- ganization of a new Conference to be called the Arkansas. Conference, the first session of which met at Batesville^ Arkansas. Bishop Morris presided. The following is a list of the members of the Conference 98 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. at its organization : Charles T. Ramsey, William Ratcliffe, Henry Cornelius, Erastus B. Duncan, Jacob Whitesides, Lemuel Wakelee, Burwell Lee, John L, Irwin, Robert Gregory, Charles J. Karney, Fountain Brown, John H. Rives, W, H. Turnley, Richmond Randle, Winfree B. Scott, John N. Hamill, Jesse A. Guice, William Stephenson, John A. Cotton, Sidney Squires, John Harrell, Thomas Bertholf, Moses Perry, A. D. Smythe, 27. Who remain on trial, John R. Mcintosh, John Powell, John H. Carr, James Gore, Ansel Webber, Arthur W. Sim- mons, Benjamin Jones, 7. Who are admitted on trial ? Andrew Hunter, James Essex, James L. Newman, Enoch Whateley, Thomas Benn, William H. Bump, Philip Asborne, J. W. P. McKenzie, 8. The Arkansas Conference at this time embraced two dis- tricts in North Louisiana. The territory of the Conference was divided into six dis- tricts: The Little Rock District, Batesville District, Arkan- sas District, Alexandria District, Monroe District and the South Indian Mission District, There were twenty pastoral charges in Arkansas and eleven in Louisiana, and nine pas- toral charges and schools among the Indians. The statistical reports show that there were 2733 white, 599 colored, and 1225 Indian members within the territory embraced by the Conference. Of these, 2042 whites and 423 colored were embraced within the State of Arkansas ; the remainder of the number were in the Louisiana districts and in the Indian Territory. The Little Rock District embraced all the territory south ■of the Arkansas River to the Louisiana state line, and bounded on the east by the Bayou Bartholomew. The Batesville District all the territory north of the Arkansas River, except the teritory lying within the Mississippi River bottom. The Arkansas District all the Mississippi River bot- tom country from the Louisiana to the Missouri State lines. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 99 At this session of the Conference Peter M. McGowan transferred to the Pittsburg Conference, Alvin Baird.to the Missouri Conference, and Levi Pearce to the Mississippi Conference. A number of valuable transfers were received at this Con- ference from the older Conferences — Cotman Methrin and Henry B. Price from the Mississippi Conference. Cotman Methrin located in 1837. Henry B. Price traveled in North Louisiana until these districts were incorporated in the Mis- sissippi Conference, when he became a member of that Con- ference. At the session of the Tennessee Conference, held at Co- lumbia, a call was made by Bishop Morris for preachers to transfer to the Arkansas Conference ; and in response to that call Robert Gregory, Richmond Randle, Arthur W. Sim- mons, Erastus B. Duncan and J, W. P. McKenzie were transferred to that new field of labor, and in company with Bishop Morris started immediately for Arkansas. The entire distance from Columbia, Tenn., to Batesville, Ark., was traveled on horseback by the Bishop and these young transfers. The entire road west of the Mississippi was through a new and sparsely settled country, the greater portion of which was a dense swamp, and at this season of the year was filled with water and mud. After a long and fatiguing trip, the Bishop and his company of young preach- ers reached the seat of the Annual Conference about the 6th of November, 1836. These young men all proved to be valuable acquisitions to the Conference, and in a very short time became thoroughly identified with the work in the State. We will have occasion to speak of them again in the course of this work. We will again quote from the articles of Dr. Hunter as they appeared in the Arkansas Methodist : '* There are a few more names that should be noticed as being present at the first Arkansas Conference. William lOO HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. H. Bump was transferred from the Erie Conference and re- ceived an appointment to the Washington Circuit, which then meant Washington County, and the appointments which were in Benton County. He was a young man of fine personal appearance, a good scholar and scrupulously neat in his dress — rather too much so for that day, some thought. He preached well and made progress — came to Conference in the fall of 1837, made a good report of his work and was heartily indorsed by his Presiding Elder. His next ap- pointment was in the south part of North Louisiana, viz. : Franklin and Newtown. From Fayettevile, Ark , to New- town was at least 500 miles. How some of the preachers of this day would wince if they were read out to an ap- pointment 500 miles away ! The young man went out and came back in the fall delighted with his work. Ever after when he spoke of his work in Louisiana, he always referred to Franklin and Newtown in terms of commendation. The following year he was stationed in Little Rock and did the work acceptably. At the close of the year he thought it necessary to return to Ohio, and he asked and obtained a location. He never joined the Conference again, but re- turned after a year or so to Little Rock, where he married a most estimable lady. After this he engaged in secular business of various kinds. At last he was clerk on a small steamboat on the Arkansas River. Sometime in the spring of 1847, passing down the steps from the cabin to the lower deck, he made a misstep and was unable to recover himself,, fell overboad and was drowned. That occurred somewhere between Little Rock and Van Buren. It was a long time before his body was found, but it was finally recovered lodged on a sand-bar, and cared for as it should have been. Brother Bump was a good man and a good preacher, but fearing he would not be supported by the Church of that day chose to take the matter of support in his own hands. The result was as stated above. My observation after years HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. lOI of experience is that it is a risky business in any preacher to forsake his high and holy calHng to engage in anything outside of his legitimate work as a minister of Christ. I have known several who were in possession of a reasonable amount of property to have carried them safely through an itinerant career of many years, who to better their condi- tion financially have invested in some secular calling and the result has been failure, failure. A man who has been a traveling preacher for any length of time is not fit for much .else. If he prays and preaches he will be too religious to take much pleasure in secular things, and if he gets cold and backslides the Lord gives him over to his heart's lusts and he is a man with the livery of the Church upon him, serving the world. Such an one never hears one of his brethren of the itinerancy preach, that he does not remem- ber the ' peaceful hours he once enjoyed.' I have known them after years spent in secular pursuits, when money was gone, and reputation too, in a measure, to come back and knock at the Conference door and plead piteously to be per- mitted to have a name and place in the ranks once deserted. May all my brethren shun the rock on which not a few have split. A feeling of sadness comes over me as these memories come rushing up from the past, as I think of my brother who left the ranks of the itinerancy when there were such white harvest fields ready for his sickle. Wesley says there is a sin unto death — of the body; many I fear sin that way and do not live out their alloted time. Brother Bump left two children, a son and a daughter. The daughter is the wife of one of our most useful traveling preachers in the Little Rock Conference, Rev. John R. Sanders. She is one of that noble band of godly women raised up in the last days to be helpers of the sterner sex who are pushing the battle to the gates of the enemy, ' At this Conference another man put in an appearance. We must not pass him without mention. Jerome B. Annis 102 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. came to the first Arkansas Conference a local preacher. He was from Western New York. He had a wife and two children. Burwell Lee, who was appointed Presiding Elder on the Batesville District, employed Annis to travel the Car- rollton Circuit. That circuit then covered the territory now embraced in three or more counties inNorth Arkansas. By some means he reached his circuit, took up his work and did it well. The support, it is true, was meager, but his good wife supplemented his salary by teaching school, and altogether he had a prosperous year. My recollection is. he was returned to the same work after being received on trial at the second session of the Arkansas Conference held at Little Rock in the fall of 1837. After this he traveled the Washington Circuit, and then two years on Clarksville, which at that time covered all the settlements in Johnson, Pope and Franklin Counties. Brother Annis located some- time in the forties, and when the gold excitement in Cali^ fornia broke out, he like many, tried his fortune there. He was a shifty man, and although he did not succeed in mak- ing a ' pile,' he did not lose. In the fall of 1852, having returned, he was readmitted and stationed at Camden, in South Arkansas, He continued in the regular work, serving circuits and stations, and at the time the war broke out was Presiding Elder on one of the districts. When the Federal troops took possession of Arkansas, he went to Texas with his family, where he continued to work until God gave him a release and took him to himself. His wife has since joined him in the bright beyond. His only son who has his father's name, is a worthy member of the Northwest Texas Conference, and a good representative of his honored father. His brethren honored him by giving him a place in the del- egation to the last General Conference, at Richmond, Va. I love the son for the father's sake. May he honor the name he inherits." Of Peter McGowan, who transferred to the Pittsburg HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. IO3 Conference in 1836, his friend Dr. Hunter, who was inti- mately acquainted with him, says : "At this session of 1835 Peter M. McGowan was assigned to the South Indian Missionary District, which included the Cherokee and Creek Nations, and John L. Erwin, was ap- pointed to the Creek Circuit. They were transfers from the Pittsburg Conference. Bro. McGowan was one of the most holy men it was ever my privilege to know. He ' prayed without ceasing.' I have occupied the same bed with him and have been waked in the silent hours of the night by him as he talked to God in whispers by my side. I have heard him for half hours at a time as he has lain by my side in the stillness of the night offering fervent prayers to God for the preachers and people of his district. I am thankful that it was my privilege to be with him in the beginning of my ministry. He presided in the Quarterly Conference, where I was licensed to preach. He kept the affairs of his district well in hand and did everything in his power to for- ward the good work in the two Nations. He was a plain scriptural preacher — was very familiar with' the good Book and knew how to simplify Bible stories and Bible history so as to bring it within the reach of the most illiterate. He was only one year with the Indians. He had a severe attack of sickness in the latter part of the summer, and believing that he was completely broken down in health he returned to his old Conference, where for a number of years he did effective work. I met him in Pittsburg in the summer of 1854,. where we held sweet counsel together. I presume ere this he has joined the companions who had gone before." Dr. Hunter has given us an interesting sketch of another one of these old pioneers that deserves to be preserved from oblivion : " John L, Irwin, who came with McGowan from Pitts- burgh, was a young man of superior preaching ability. He was appointed to the Creek Circuit, and by the advice of the I04 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Superintendent he took charge of a school also. Irwin was a man of fine social qualities and was at one time by far the most popular preacher in the Creek Nation. He won the hearts of all with whom he came in contact. In the fall there were rumors in circulation reflecting on his moral and ministerial character. These were investigated in the regular way according to the discipline, and he was acquitted, but still there was a cloud over him and it was very plain that he had lost caste with the red man. He was shorn of his strength like Samson, and it was very evident that his use- fulness was at an end in the Nation. A Christian and espec- ially a minister must be a clean man ; yea, he must be above suspicion. Irwin did good work for two years among the whites in Lawrence and Independence Counties and re- turned to the West Virginia Conference, where for many years he did the work of a Methodist preacher. The last years of his life he served the American Bible Society, in which work he died loved and honored by the ministry and membership of all the churches in that region. Irwin was a man capable of doing effective work any where; I have known but few men that were his equal in the pulpit. He was of medium height, well formed, a handsome face and a master of eloquence. He never had a peer west of the Mississippi as a pulpit orator except John B. Denton, of whom I wrote in a former communication. I love to think of these men ; friends of my youth, from whom I received at a time when I needed it most, and to none am I more in- debted than to John L. Irwin. The last year he was in Ar- kansas we traveled adjoining circuits ; we arranged to meet once in four weeks; we heard each other preach, we roomed together and were as intimate as David and Jonathan. My judgment is that he was a good man. He was modest, chaste in language, and I have no recollection of ever having heard him use any words that would not have been proper in the society of the most refined ladies. If any one should HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. IO5 ever write the history of Methodism in Arkansas the name of my early friend should have a place there." Of the first Arkansas Conference, held at Batesville, Ark., Rev. Arthur W. Simmons has this to say : •' Well do I remember the effort made by Bishop Morris, in the fall of 1836, at Columbia, Tenn., to get volunteers to transfer to the Arkansas Conference, to be held in Batesville. Four of us gave our consent, viz.: E. B. Duncan, R. Randle, A. W. Simmons and R. Gregory. Three of us accompanied the Bishop from Columbia, Tenn., to Batesville, Ark., viz.: R. Randle, E. B. Duncan and the writer. We had a hard time in getting through the mud and water. But being well mounted, we landed safely at Batesville, sometime about the last of November. There the first Conference in Ar- kansas was to be held. It was then a large Conference, em- bracing the whole of Arkansas and North Louisiana. We met with a hearty welcome, and after a pleasant session, we were all assigned to our fields of labor for the next year. All left but one. The Rev. Rev. Charles T. Ramsey preached his last sermon on the last night of the Conference with power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost. In three days he was dead. Since that time the brethren have been pass- ing away, until, as far as I know, I am the only one living who attended the first Conference held in the State. I feel very lonely when I think of a Duncan, a Randle, a Smith, the sweet-spirited Ratcliffe, and many others that could be mentioned ; but thank God, although they have crossed the river, I believe they have landed safely in the City of God. I am still here, worn out, and often feel that it will not be long until I shall see them again," The writer of the above was mistaken in the supposition that he was the only one living who attended that first ses- sion of the Arkansas Conference. Andrew Hunter, who -was received on trial at that Conference, is still living. The second session of the Arkansas Conference met in I06 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. the City of Little Rock, November I, 1,837, Bishop Andrew presiding. At this session of the Conference there was a class of ten admitted into the Conference on trial, viz.: Lewis C. Props, John B. Denton, Jerome B. Annis, Moses Spear, Uriah Whateley, Samuel Allen, James Graham, James E, Grace, George W. Turnley and John F, Seaman. The Conference at this session received some very valu- able accessions by transfer from the older Conferences. John C. Parker, Alexander Avery, Jacob Custer and John M. Steele, from the Tennessee Conference ; and Turtle Fields, from the Holston Conference. Several of these became intimately identified with the work for many years, and their names will frequently appear in the course of this history. Two of these, Alexander Avery and Jacob Custer, are still living to bless the Church by their presence and labors. Alexander Avery is at present a superannuated preacher in the Little Rock Conference, and in ripe old age enjoys the confidence and respect of his brethren. Jacob Custer traveled for ten years in the Arkansas Con- ference, from 1836 to 1846, and filled with great acceptability some of the most important charges in the Conference. He then located and engaged in the practice of medicine, in which profession he enjoys the reputation of being one of the most successful physicians in the community in which he lives. He is at the same time an honor to the local ministry, and preaches with great acceptability to the people. He has been a tower of strength to Methodism in Southwestern Arkansas. He has always been the devoted friend of the itinerant preachers, and has by his personal labors and judicious counsels greatly aided them in their pastoral work. Of his labors we may have occasion to again refer in the progress of this work. The Rev. Alexander Avery has furnished a brief sketch HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. lO/ of his life, from which the following facts are gathered. He was born in Johnson County, North Carolina, August il, 1809, and was converted August 29, 1829, and was licensed to exhort in 1833, and was licensed to preach in 1836. He was admitted on trial in the Tennessee Conference the same year, and appointed to the Sandy Circuit with Arthur Davis as P. C, and Thomas Joiner, Presiding Elder. In the fall of 1837 he was transferred to the Arkansas Conference and appointed to the Marion Circuit, John C. Parker, Presiding Elder. This was a hard year for the young preacher, as the circuit had only been formed the previous year, and there were but few religious people in that portion of the country. There was no one in the bounds of the circuit that would pray in public. The young preacher became so much discouraged that he requested the Presiding Elder to remove him to another charge, but the Presiding Elder told him to remain a little longer until he could find a suitable place for him. In a few months the prospects were so en- couraging that he requested the Presiding Elder to permit him to remain the balance of the year. The next year he was appointed to the Mount Prairie Circuit, where he had a gracious revival of religion, in which there were about one hundred conversions and additions to the Church. He was then appointed to the Choctaw Nation as a missionary, where he remained for three years. As an illustration of the difficulties encountered in that early day, Bro. Avery relates that during the last year of his stay among the In- dians, he went to a camp-meeting in Texas. On Friday night there was a rumor that the wild Indians were within twenty miles of the place, and on Sunday morning there was a report that a man had been shot by them within eight miles of the camp-ground. He says when his time came to preach he " tried to preach easy, but could not." For a number of years Bro. Avery traveled circuits and districts to the great acceptability of the people. In 1870 his health I08 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. became so much impaired that he was compelled to ask for a superannuated relation, which he has held until the present time. In summing up his labors he says : " I have received about 1500 persons into the Church, baptized about 800, performed the marriage ceremony for 125 couples, and preached about 3500 times, held many class and prayer meetings, have frequently been sick, shared with his brethren the privations and hardships of itinerant life in a new country, and now feel that I have been an unworthy servant, and my need of a Savior. The old soldier remains with us a little longer, full of years, and looking forward with pleasing an- ticipation to the time when the Master will say, ' Well done, thou good and faithful servant.' " The name of John B. Denton appears for the first time in connection with the Mount Prairie Circuit in 1833. The following year he was discontinued. In 1837 ^^ ^^^ ^^' admitted into the traveling connection, and appointed to the Sulphur Fork Circuit. "John B. Denton was a native of Clark County, Arkan- sas. While yet an infant he had the misfortune to lose both his parents. It was the further misfortune of this doubly- orphaned boy to be thrown into a family destitute of moral culture, and who hardly observed the decencies of life. Until twelve years old he had never enjoyed the luxury of hat or shoes. Disgusted with this degraded kind of life he ran away in hopes of bettering his condition, without form- ing any definite plans for the future ; and while scarcely out of his teens he married. Soon after this he professed relig- ion, and with this change in his moral nature came a yearn- ing for mental culture. Fortunately his young wife encour- aged him, and taught him letters at night by the light of blazing pine-knots. It was not long until he was licensed to preach, when his wonderful powers began to develop. The people of Virginia were not more surprised at the masterly HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. IO9 eloquence displayed by Patrick Henry in the celebrated tithe suit, than were the Arkansians at the oratorical powers of this unlettered and uncultivated frontier boy. This furnishes another illustration of the fact that orators, like poets, are born, not made. Young Denton had a fine personal appear- ance and musical voice. His language rose with the grand- eur of his theme, until it would remind the classical scholar of Cicero. His action was like that of Roscius ; his use of figures most appropriate. We have read an apostrophe to water, in one of his temperance speeches, which for impas- sioned eloquence is equal to almost anything foimd in the language. His mastery over the human passions was com- plete. He could touch them as the skilled musician touches the chords of his instrument. When he addressed the mul- titudes that flocked to hear him preach upon the sublime themes of the gospel, his appeals were all but irresistible." This young and brilliant preacher was cut off in 1839, in the midst of his usefulness, in the most distressing manner. A company of Indians had made a raid upon the white set- tlements, when a company of citizens led by Denton were in pursuit of them. The Indians fired upon them from am- bush with too deadly an aim, when Denton fell mortally wounded, and was buried upon the banks of the stream that bears his name. The following letter from Bishop Andrew to Dr. Wm. H.. Browning, of the Little Rock Conference, will be read with interest : " SuMMERFiELD, Ala., January 8, 1868. "My Dear Brother Browning — I did not know what had become of my old friend, but often thought of you, and of other days. Well, the other day I got a letter from the office and found on opening it that it was from my old friend, W. H. Browning. And so you have strayed over into Arkansas, a land which I have visited frequently, and I would like to do so again, but I am growing old so no HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. fast that I doubt whether I shall ever be able to realize my wish. * * * " My mind goes back to the time when I first visited the Arkansas Conference. The session was held at Little Rock, and was the second session of that body. The first, I think, was held at Batesville, and Bishop Morris presided. It was a small body, even after the half dozen which I car- ried with me were added, yet they were men of the right stamp ; men of true hearts and determined purpose. I think that but few of the men that met me there are now living and in the work. I stayed at the home of Brother Ratcliffe, who, with his excellent wife, showed me much kindness. He I see is living, and yet in the work, and still a faithful, zealous leader in the hosts of Israel ; God bless him and his. I remember Fountain Brown, whom I used to meet at Conference many years after, but I believe he has crossed the flood and gone to his reward. Arkansas about this time had a very unenviable reputation. It was regarded, even in the neighboring States, as the home of robbers and murderers And when it was understood that I was going to hold that Conference, many of my friends seemed quite astonished when they learned that I intended to go. 'You must certainly,' said they, 'arm yourself as a defense against the outlaws you will be sure to encounter.' ' No, said I, I will trust in God and go in his name. If these characters see me without any preparation for defense they will think I have nothing worth fighting for; but if they see me armed to the teeth they will conclude I have booty, and will be more apt to attack me.' "Well, I went to Arkansas, and mingled with all classes of its population, and no one offered me any violence in all my route. And usually when they ascertained that I was a minister, they treated me with respect; so I carried up a better report from Arkansas than many others would have done. The only weapons I carried with me were my Bible HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Ill and hymn-book, and above all a firm confidence in God. I have visited the Conference several times since then, and have marked its steady increase in population and material prosperity; and that now, instead of the little band of 1837, that met in Little Rock, two respectable Conferences with many thousands of members occupy that country. "J. O. Andrew." During this year the Conference suffered the loss of one of its most effective preachers : "Rev. Charles T. Ramsey was born in North Carolina in the year 1794. His parents moved to East Tennessee, where he was reared up to manhood. He then removed with his parents to New Madrid County, Mo,, where he lived until about the 27th year of his age, when he became awakened to a sense of his danger under the labors of the Methodist min- istry. He joined the Church, was converted, and removed to the Western District of Tennessee, where he was an ex- horter, afterward a local preacher, and in the fall of 1829 was admitted on trial in the traveling connection, Tennessee Conference. He traveled various circuits in the Western District, with acceptability and great usefulness. His zeal seemed to increase with his years, and finding there was a great call for ministers in Arkansas, he took a transfer to the Missouri Conference, which then included that country, and was appointed on the Mount Prairie Circuit, where he was useful. At the next Conference he was appointed to the Little Rock District, but was arrested by disease in that place, which ended his sufferings in three days. During his illness he expressed the most perfect resignation to the will of God, and died as he had lived, strong in the faith giving glory to God. He was an itinerant seven years, and finished his course on the lOth of November, 1836." In answer to the question, "Who have located this year?" there were six : W. H. Turnley, Charles J. Carney, Cot- 112 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. man Methrin, John H. Rives, Lemuel Wakelee and Jesse A. Guice. Philip Asborne was discontinued. The third session of the Arkansas Conference met at Washington, Hempstead County, November 7, 1838. Peter German, B. B. Weir, Samuel Clarke and Daniel Adams were admitted on trial. George W. Morris, William Mulkey, M. S. Ford, S. Walters and S. Holford were received by transfer from the Tennessee Conference, and Juba Easter- brook from the Ohio Conference. The reported increase in membership for the year was 415 whites and 91 colored. The locations for the year were Ansel Webber, Henry Cornelius, Winfree B. Scott, Thomas Bertholf and Jeptha Hughes. The third session of the Arkansas Conference met in the Town of Washington, Hempstead County, Novembef, 7, 1838. As none of the Bishops were present, John Harrell was elected to preside. He discharged the responsible duties of this office to the satisfaction of his brethren. The statistics showed that progress had been made every- where except in the Creek Nation, where there was consider- able decrease. The following were admitted on trial : Peter Gorman, B. C. Weir, Samuel Clark and Daniel Adams. The Conference received by transfer from the Holston Conference, D. B. Gumming, John F. Boot, A. Campbell and Weelocker; and from the Tennessee Conference, George W. Morris, William Mulkey, M. S. Ford, S. Walters and S. Holford. As there were thirteen additions by admission on trial and by transfer, and five locations, and one death, and three were discontinued, it will be seen that there was only a gain of four to the working force of the Church at this Confer- ence. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. II3 There was one death during this year, Hiram Geering, of whom Dr. Hunter says: "In the fall of 1837 a young man came to us from Michi- gan. He stood full six feet in his boots, was square-built, black hair and dark eyes ; would weigh about 180 pounds — physically a model man. That was Hiram Geering. He was appointed to Washington Circuit in Northwest Arkan- sas. He entered upon his work with great spirit and did most effective service in the vineyard of his Lord. In the fall he was taken sick, and although he had the best of med- ical attention, he never recovered. At the home of Dr. Bedford, on Cane Hill, he breathed his last, leaving this message : ' Tell my brethren that I died at my post in sight of heaven.' When this writer traveled that circuit in 1840, his name was on the lips of all the good people. They took mournful pleasure in speaking of the young preacher whose memory was so dear to them. Dr. and Sister Bed- ford, as long as they lived, took pleasure in recounting his many virtues, and considered themselves highly honored in being permitted to minister to him in his last illness. At the next Conference John M. Harrell preached a funeral sermon occasioned by his death that made a profound im- pression on the audience, and especially on the preachers. We all resolved to go forward, and if need be, ' die at our posts ' like our departed brother. The body of our brother rests at Cane Hill, waiting the call of the last trump. Bless the Lord for the Christian religion. " At this Conference two new districts were formed; the Red River and the Fayetteville. The Cherokee and Creek work were connected with the latter under J. Harrell as Pre- siding Elder, and the Choctaw and Chickasaw were in the Red River District, under Robert Gregory. Brother Gregory will be remembered by those who were young at that time. He was a handsome little man; would weigh 150 pounds when in good health. At times he preached 8— M 114 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. with great acceptability, both to whites and Indians. But he was subject to spells of melancholy. Then he was blue; more so than any one I have ever known. When himself he sang sweetly and was a great worker in the altar at the camp-meetings, and was a popular man with preachers and people. He came to us from Tennessee, and at the or- ganization of the Conference was appointed to a circuit. Charles T. Ramsey, who was placed on the Little Rock Dis- trict, having died, Gregory was put in charge of that work. The district then included all the country from the Arkan- sas River south, and including the ' Sulphur Fork ' country on the other side of Big Red River, now included in the Counties of Bowie, Red River, Lamar and Fannin, in what is now Texas. After doing good work in Arkansas for a num- ber of years he was transferred to the Memphis Conference, where he traveled a district for four years and was then placed on the superannuated list. I met him several sum- mers in succession at the Hot Springs in our State. His melancholy fits had become more common, and at times his friends discovered that his mind was considerably im- paired. Returning from one of his visits to the Springs he stopped off the train at Bryant Station to visit a distant relative ; while there his bodily ailment increased with so much violence that in a few days the weary wheels of life stood still, and it was my mournful pleasure to attend his funeral and see my former Presiding Elder laid away in Wesley Cemetery, near Bryant, in Saline County, Arkansas, to await the resiirrection of the just. I regard it to this day as a singular providence that permitted me to attend the funeral rites of my old friend. To us God moves fre- quently in ' mysterious ways,' carrying on his designs, not always bright, however; but dark as his designs may ap- pear to us, faith looks through the cloud and sees a smiling face. " At the third session of the Conference there came to us, HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I 15 by transfer from Tennessee, one whose name should be pre- served from oblivion. That was William Mulkey. He was a unique character. He was one of the best English scholars I have ever known. He had lectured on orthoepy in many of the colleges North and South, and could give each letter in its exact sound. In bodily make he was of the medium size, carried no surplus flesh and was as near all nerve and muscle as any other man. His first appoint- ment was in the Choctaw Nation, as the colleague of Mc- Kenzie. Knowing Mulkey as we knew him afterwards, it was a great mistake to send him to preach to Indians through an interpreter. It was like putting a steam engine to a common road wagon. Mulkey ran away from the in- terpreter and left him wondering where he would take up. In the fall of the year the Presiding Elder brought him down into the white settlements in Sevier and Hempstead Counties, where, after the novelty growing out of the preacher's man- ner passed away, he did most effective work. He was all action in the pulpit. Hands, arms, eyes and the muscles of his face, all were brought into service, and while it was odd and amusing, it was all natural, and when once you were used to him you enjoyed it hugely and didn't care to hear any one else. There was so much quaintness and originality about him that he had the attention of his audience from first to last. ' His word was with power.' When passing on by wagon from Little Rock with his family, making his way to the Indian Nation, he stopped for the night with a Cumberland Presbyterian family. When the brother found he had a preacher for a guest, he sent out and invited his neighbors in to hear preaching. They came, fifteen or twenty, among them a man by the name of Montgomery, who scarcely ever went to church. He was noted for his carelessness to the subject of religion. Mulkey's manner arrested him from the start, and the matter of the discourse — though the same old gospel — was presented in such an Il6 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. original way that at the close of the sermon, Montgomery- was under deep conviction, which ended in a sound conver- sion at the camp-meeting the following summer. His wife and children also followed the example of the husband and father, and that became one of the most pious families of that community. There are a great variety of gifts. Paul, Apollos, and Cephas. There are sons of consolation and sons of thunder, all called to the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Bro. Mulkey served the Church for a number of years as a missionary to the colored people on the Red River plantations, the owners giving him a good support. He located afterwards and for several years lived in the vicinity of what is now Center Point, in Howard County, where he was very useful. He afterwards went to Nashville, Tenn., and from there to Texas. My recollection is that he took to the lecturing field again, and in traveling in a stage coach at one time, he became very sick and was left at a house by the roadside, where he died. He left several children, sons and daughters. One of his sons is in the evangelistic work in Texas and his praise is in all the churches. He has nephews and nieces in the vicinity of Nashville, in Howard County, Arkansas. So passed away this friend of my early ministry. His home was the resting place of many a weary itinerant, this writer among the number. His good wife was a help-meet indeed, and joined her husband cheerfully in making her guests com- fortable. Thank God we shall not be strangers when we cross the last river. In closing I wish to mention a remi- niscence. We were sitting together conversing on various subjects. The question was raised as to how much it was a Christian man's duty to bear from the wicked without re- sistance. I remember asking him the question direct: ' Bro. Mulkey, suppose a wicked fellow should come up to you and say, " Mr. Mulkey, I am going to whip you !" ' What would you do?' 'I would say to him, sir; if the Lord gives HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. II/ me grace I will bear it, but if he don't, woe be to your hide.* Nothing but the grace of God would have saved the hide of the fellow that attempted to chastise him. He was all activity and had been a practiced boxer in his younger days. Adieu, my old friend; I shall never see your like again in every respect." The fourth session of the Arkansas Conference met at Fayetteville, Washington County, November, 1839. This was a year of great prosperity to the Church, as the minutes show a healthy increase in the membership. The increase for the entire Conference was 1340, which was a gain of about 40 per cent. The increase for the Arkansas portion of the Conference territory was 809. There were three admissions on trial at this Conference : George Standford, Stephen Carlisle and William Stanley. The additions by transfer were : R. B. Hester, Edwin Yancey, W. B. Mason, James Morris, R. W. Cole and W. A. Cobb. Although the Conference received such a large addition to its working force by transfer from other Conferences, its numerical strength, was no greater than it, was the previous year, as the Conferefice lost heavily by the location of some of its most efficient preachers. The year 1839 was a memorable epoch in the history of Methodism. It had completed the first century of its exist- ence as an ecclesiastical organization. For several years the various Methodist bodies had anticipated this event with no little interest. As it was regarded by Methodists as the introduction of a new era in Protestantism, it was thought proper to celebrate the centennial with such ex- pressions of gratitude and praise to God as would be com- mensurate with the blessings received. Dr. Stephens says in his " History of Methodism : " " In the ensuing October the whole Methodist world united in the celebration. It was an occasion which had never been Il8 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. equaled by any Protestant body in the extent and interest of its observance, or in the munificence of its liberaHty. The aggregate sum contributed by the various Methodist bodies was more than seventeen hundred thousand dollars, and without interfering with their stated collections. Some of the most important financial foundations and public edifices of Wesleyan Methodism were erected and endowed forever by it. But these were secondary results ; the moral influ- ence of the occasion was incalculably more important. The almost incredible liberality of the denomination, during a year of almost unparalleled commercial depression, demon- strated its resources. The affection of the people for their great cause was shown to be profound and universal, A salutary religious feeling attended generally their religious ceremonies ; their surprising donations, pouring into the treasury from all parts of the world, v^^ere in thousands of instances accompanied by significant and touching senti- ments. Some were in honor of long-deceased veterans who had fought the battles of the early itinerancy ; others, in memory of parents or children, brothers or sisters, who had been led to a religious life, and into heaven, by the agency of Methodism ; others, in commemoration of old class- mates or class-leaders, or old pastors, who had long since gone to their rest, but could never die in the memories of the donors ; some in grateful acknowledgment of special spiritual blessings, of redemption from vice, of deliverance, or sanctification in great trials, of prosperity in business, of the moral rescue of kindred and friends. Never did Method- ism receive more emphatic moral testimonials than in these acts of pecuniary liberality; never were there more ser- mons and addresses delivered or printed respecting it than during this year; never more discussions about it in public journals ; never was its history more generally read, or its practical system more fully reviewed ; never had it received a more thorough appreciation. Beyond as well as within HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. II9 the denomination the extraordinary demonstration could not fail to produce a profound impression, for the whole Chris- tian world saw more distinctly than ever, that after a hun- dred years of struggles and triumphs, the great movement was more demonstrative and more prospective than ever it had been. Nor was the Christian world disposed to deny that the commemorative demonstration was justified by the historical results of Methodism. It was seen that most of the great religious and philanthropic institutions which now chiefly embody the moral power of Protestantism, the Bible society, the tract society, the modern missionary society, the Sunday-school, as an agency of the Church, sprung directly or indirectly from the influence of the movement, that in the language of a churchman, ' never before in the British Islands was there such a scene; there were no Bible, tract or missionary societies before to employ the Church's powers and indicate its path of duty, but Wesley started them all ; the Church and the world were alike asleep ; he sounded the trumpet and awoke the Church to work.' "Wesley died at the head of a thoroughly organized host of 550 itinerant preachers and 140,000 members of his so- cieties in the United Kingdom, in British North America, in the United States, and in the West Indies. Such were some of the facts, astonishing to the most sober contempla- tion which its history presented at the time of its centenary jubilee ; but even with such facts to stimulate the general joy> gratitude and hope of its people, they could hardly have dared to anticipate the results which about twenty addi- tional years were to present to us in confirmation of the providential mission of their cause — its 18,000 itinerant Methodist preachers, 2,800,000 communicants and 10,000,000 hearers. The sectarian partialities of our modern Protest- antism render the task of the historian apparently invidious in the citation of such facts, but they are the legitimate, be- cause the most significant, historic data ; as here presented 120 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. they are assuredly within the limits of the actual truth, and may well justify the common gratitude and congratulation of the friends of our common faith." We have had occasion to notice the fact that many of the most faithful and devoted preachers of that day were com- pelled to locate on account of the meager support received by them. The demands of their families for the bare ne- cessities of life compelled them to engage in secular pur- suits, but their services were not lost to the Church, Their experience as traveling preachers enabled them to fully sym- pathize with their itinerant brethren, and as local preachers to render most efficient aid to them in their work in the several communities where they lived. From this date the name of Stephen Carlisle becomes prominently identified with the history of Arkansas Meth- odism as one of the leaders in the development of the Church, and by his labors contributing very largely to its growth and prosperity. His name will frequently appear as we trace the history of the Church. The fifth session of the Arkansas Conference met in the City of Little Rock, November 4, 1840, Bishop Beverly Waugh, President. Benjamin F. Harris, Ethan E. Bryson, Green Woods and Richard W. Cardwell were admitted on trial. Mason B. Lowry, S. W. Moreland and Samuel Robbins was received by transfer from the Tennessee Conference. There were 34 preachers in full connection and 8 on trial. There were 81 local preachers, 4228 white members and 725 colored mem- bers, and 1524 Indian members. The two districts in Louis- iana were reported this year in the Mississippi Conference. Counting only those reported from the Arkansas districts, there was a gain of 81 1 whites and 117 colored. A com- parison of the growth of the Church during the decade from 1830 to 1840, will show that the growth of the Church was HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 121 much more rapid than the increase in the population of the State. The population of the State in 1830 was 30,388. The population of the State in 1840 was 97,574. The member- ship of the Church in 1830 was 1334. In 1840 it was 5034. If 3.2 represent the increase in the growth of the State, then 3.7 will represent the Church. An examination of the list of appointments for 1830 will reveal the fact that only a small part of the State was actu- ally occupied by the Church, although it was laid off into circuits and districts. The greater part of these circuits had no well defined boundaries; an appointment to a certain work simply meant to occupy the region of coun- try in that direction. As late as 1840 many of the circuits were larger than the present districts are. Take as an illus- tration, the Pine Bluff Circuit embraced the territory occu- pied by the present Pine Bluff District, and a part of the Monticello District. The Little Rock District embraced all the territory within the State lying south and east of Little Rock. It will be remembered that there were no railroads at that time, and but few roads of any kind. There were but few bridges across the streams, and often the itinerants' way was only marked by a dim trail through almost impenetrable forests. In many instances they would travel for hours, or even a whole day without coming in sight of any human habitation. There are men now living who distinctly re- member the time when the itinerant preachers, in passing from one appointment to another, would have to camp out in the forests, frequently tying the horse out to graze during the night, while the preacher slept under the shelter of some friendly tree. As there were but few bridges in the country it was nothing uncommon for the preacher to swim the creeks and bayous for a long distance. Many are the thrill- ing experiences told of the hair-breadth escapes of these old veterans as they made the round of their immense circuits. 122 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Of the Rev. Andrew Smyth, who came to the State in 183 1, and did such faithful work for a number of years the venerable Dr. Abbey has furnished the following sketch : " I knew him about 1816 or 1817, and I saw him last in 1823. He was the third and youngest son of a widowed mother, living on the left bank of the Mississippi River, about thirty miles above the mouth of the Ohio,* in Alexander County, Illinois, where the three brothers kept a ferry on the Missis- sippi. John, the oldest brother, was married, and was once Sheriff of that county. Larkin and Andrew were boys nearly grown. The mother was religious, a very rare thing then in that country. Society was very wild and unculti- vated. Andrew was a mechanical genius and invented a tread-wheel ferryboat, which far surpassed other crude modes of propulsion. In the spring of 1823 the family, or rather the two families, left Illinois, and removed to the wilds of West Tennessee, and settled about one mile or two south of the Hatchie River, six miles below where Bolivar now stands, in Hardeman County. I went with the Smyths from Illinois to Tennessee and remained there until late in 1823, when I left there and located in Natchez, Miss. While there some Methodist preacher — in later years I have not been able to learn who — visited that neighborhood and preached on two monthly occasions, taking his text both times from Revelation. This was the first preaching of any sort in that settlement, the first Methodist preaching I ever heard, and I think likely the first the Smyth boys ever heard. It was then called the Clear Creek Settlement. When I left there was no religion in the Smyth family except the old lady. They were clever, respectable, industrious people of more than ordinary intelligence for that country and those times. Somewhere about 1830 I saw in a newspaper the name of Andrew Smyth as a Methodist preacher, and wrote to him to know if it was my old friend, and was rejoiced to know that it was. Our correspondence continued occasionally for a HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 25 few years. He was then in Arkansas. He was a man of strong mind, large force of character, much will-power and self-reliance." We have had occasion to notice the fact that there was a gratifying increase in the membership of the Church during this year. The church in the capital city of the State reported a membership of 62 whites and 50 colored. The station had been organized in 183 1, with William Ratcliffe as the pastor. At the date of the organization there were only 36 whites and 45 colored members. Within the four years the Church had nearly doubled the membership. An examination of these figures will give us an idea of the difficulties under which those who laid the foundations of our Church labored at that early day. How great the sacrifices of the preachers must have been when the only station in the State had a membership of only 62 whites. How small the number when compared with the stations of the present day, all over the State, that number their members by the hundreds. Comparing the Church of the present with the Church of that day, we are made to ex- claim, " What hath God wrought !" CHAPTER XL An Eventful Period — Admissions — Transfers — John J. Roberts — A. S. Bell — J. Wayland — C, H. Edwards — J. H. Biggs — G. W. Cottingham — W. H. Goode — S. G. Patterson — Great Floods. The Conference for 1841 met at Batesville, November 10. Bishop Waugh presided. We are now about to enter upon an eventful period in the history of the Church, and trace its progress through the years that immediately preceded the great separation in the Methodist Church in the United States. For a number of years the Church had been greatly disturbed by the anti- slavery agitation, and every year witnessed a greater inten- sity of feeling upon this question. Good men upon both sides of this controversy labored to avert as long as possi- ble the dangers that threatened the peace of the Church. The minutes of the Arkansas Conference show that there was a very healthy growth in every department of Church work. There was a net increase of 860 in the membership of the Church, and an unusually large number of admissions into the traveling connection, some of whom became prominent in after years. They were George Benedict, John Cowle, Henry Hubbard, L. C. Adams, Jefferson Shook, Isaac F. Collins, Nathan Taylor, Wm. Mcintosh, Thompson C. Tin- der. The Conference was reinforced by Thomas D. Strout and Alvin Baird, transfers from other Conferences. The Conference for 1842 met at Helena. Bishop Andrew presided. The net increase for this year was greater than for any previous year; total membership being 6']6iZ, with a net in- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 12$ crease of 1854. T. G. T. Steele, A. L. Kavanagh, W. H. Howke, D. L. Bell, John Boston, Calvin Slover, Walter D. Collins, James D. Mason, Thos. Standford, J. C. Kelly, Louis Atkinson. The Conference was further reinforced by transfers from the Memphis, Indiana and Mississippi Conferences. Isaac McElroy, J. F. Truslow, David Crawford and J. F. Ran- dolph, from the Indiana Conference ; R. B. Bents, J. Ste- phens, S. Freeman, R. Martin, J. H. Blakeley and W. A. Hammill, from the Memphis Conference ; Hezekiah Boyers^ Henry H. Kern and John J. Roberts, from the Pittsburg Conference. While all of these proved to be valuable acquisitions to the Conference, there was one that was prominent in the Church for many years. John J. Roberts was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, in 1817, and converted in 1835 He was licensed to preach in 1842, and admitted on trial in the Pittsburg Conference, and immediately trans- ferred to the Arkansas Conference. He filled in succession the following charges: Mount Vernon Circuit, Fort Smith and Van Buren Station, Batesville, Canaan and Washington Circuits, Helena Station, Helena and Walnut Bend Circuits, Jacksonport District, Helena District, Helena Station in 1865. This will give us an idea of the character of work filled by our brother, and the estimation in which he was held by his brethren. For more than forty years he preached in Arkansas, and one has said that "during this time he had the joy of seeing more than six thousand souls led to God." He closed his labors March 14, 1883, in great peace. A few minutes before his death his face became aglow with light, and he exclaimed : " Light ! light! Hght !" This was one of the most prosperous years the Church in Arkansas had ever enjoyed. There was a larger number of preachers stationed and a larger field cultivated by the Conference than had ever been attempted before this time by^ 126 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, the Church. The reported increase in membership for the year was 1591 white members and 263 colored, and 455 Indians, Among the preachers that received appointments at this Conference were many whose names are famiHar to the Church of the present day. As an evidence that the Church is making some progress in the benevolent work of giving the 'gospel to the perishing millions, the following comparison will show. The entire amount contributed for missions that year was only ;^I93. In 1840 it was only $76. While the Church at the present day is far below the scrip- tural standard, it has made wonderful progress. The Conference for 1843 met at Clarksville, in Johnson County, November 15, Bishop Roberts presiding. At this session of the Conference Aaron S. Bell, Jonathan Wayland, Charles H, Edwards, Joab H. Biggs, Gideon W. Cotting- ham and Tussawalita were admitted on trial. William H. Goode was received by transfer from the Indiana Confer- ence and Samuel G. Patterson was received from the Mis- souri Conference. This year was noted for the highest and most destructive flood that ever occurred in Red River. So sudden was the rise that people retired to bed apprehending no danger, and at midnight had to beat a retreat to save their lives. At Fort Towson the water rose fifteen feet higher than was ever known before. Lost Prairie, and other points lower down, which had never before been under water, were inundated to the depth of several feet. The flood caught the people along the river totally unprepared, and swept resistlessly down in one wide and general ruin every vestige of human industry, houses, fences, stables, cotton presses, cotton bales, cattle, hogs, etc. The loss of human life constitutes the painful feature of this great calamity. Over a hundred people were drowned between Jonesboro and Fulton. Six families of Indians were drowned near the former place. Amid the general distress Capt. Crooks, of the steamer HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 12/ Hunter, rendered the sufferers every possible succor in his power. He steamed from place to place picking up survi- vors from house-tops and tree-tops, and rescued from a v/atery grave over a hundred persons. Some v/ere neces- sarily left to perish in the cane and timber, as it was im- possible to reach them. The distressing cries of those thus situated were often heard above the noise of the elements. The steamer Napoleon, during a trip up the river, also res- cued a number of lives. At Lost Prairie two people were drowned At this point a man named Anderson underwent a thrilling experience. He was caught in the bottom by the rising waters and climbed a tree to save himself. Four days and nights he remained perched in the tree without a mouthful of food. The late Capt. Richard H. Finn was paddling about through the river bottom looking after stock. Having his gun along, he shot a turkey, and at the crack of the gun he heard a mournful voice a short distance away, which cried out in feeble accents : " Save me, for God's sake !" Paddling in the direction from whence came the sounds, Anderson was discovered sitting in' the very top of a gum-sapling, not more than six inches in diameter at the butt. With black-jack vines he had lashed himself so firmly to the tree that, had he been so disposed, he could not, in his then exhausted condition, have broken himself loose. By this means he was enabled to take a little sleep occa- sionally without danger of falling into the water, which roared and bubbled like a cataract beneath him. Capt. Finn rescued the unfortunate man and carried him to his house. The extent and severity of this flood surpassed any- thing that had ever been known to occur in that river. CHAPTER XII. Division of the Church — A Decline — Slavery Agita- tion — Bishop Andrew — Louisiville Convention — Thomas D. Stroud — Jacob Shook. The year 1844 marks an epoch in the history of Ameri can Methodism. From its organization at Philadelphia, in 1773, when the first Conference of Methodist preachers was held, until this date, no great division of the Church had oc- curred. While it is true that there had been some small separations from the main body they were new organiza- tions, of separate and distinct bodies, and not divisions of the main body. This was the last year that Episcopal Meth- odism remained intact as one ecclesiastical body. If we except the civil war of 1861-5, nothing else has ever created such intensity of feeling and was attended with such grave consequences to Methodism, to the cause of religion in America and to the entire country as the divis- ion of the Methodist Episcopal Church into two distinct bodies with separate ecclesiastical jurisdiction. It was impossible for such a large body of Christians so widely diffused over the whole territory of the United States, and occupying so commanding an influence in all the great centers of population, to divide without creating a profound impression upon all classes of society. Men of every re- ligious creed, and those of no special faith, were profoundly moved with grave apprehensions for the safety of the coun- try. It was felt that if so large and devoted a body of Christians, bound together by such ties — a body of men with such a glorious history of common suffering, labors and tri- umphs, could not resist the agitations of the slavery ques- tion, that other organizations and the country itself were in HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 29 great peril. It was regarded as the entering wedge to sepa- rate other bodies and the nation itself. Subsequent events only showed how much cause there was for these grave ap- prehensions. It would have been unnatural and impossible for the Church in Arkansas to have escaped the general ex- citement that pervaded the entire Church. While the Ar- kansas Conference did not suffer so greatly as the border Conferences from the slavery agitation and consequent di- vision of the Church, the minutes show that it temporarily arrested the growth of the Church, and instead of the in- crease that had so regularly marked its past history for a number of years, that there was during this year an actual decline in the number of Church members. As far back as 1825-8, when Jesse Haile was the Presiding Elder of the Arkansas District, the Church in Arkansas suffered very greatly from the anti-slavery agitation caused by his intem- perate speeches. He had been the Presiding Elder of the district for four years, aad was a violent abolitionist of the Garrison type. He frequently preached against slavery, both publicly and privately, and as there were some within the district of his way of thinking, he had some following, and as a result there was much controversy and bitterness of feeling among the membership. There were a number of expulsions and withdrawals from our Church. About this time the Cumberland Presbyterians began to establish themselves in the country about Mount Prairie^ and quite a number of excellent people went off to them,, and were entirely lost to our Church. Happily for the Methodist Church, Haile was succeeded by Uriel Haw, a man of very different views and methods, and who was just exactly adapted to the condition of things as they existed within the district. Jesse Haile transferred to the Illinois Conference in 1829, and as the sentiment of the people in that country was favorable to his views, he was successful in his ministry until his death, which occurred in 18 — .. 9— M 130 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Although he was a very imprudent man in his methods of advocating his views, there is no doubt but that he was a good man. His last hours were peaceful and his end was tri- umphant. The history of the division of the Church into two ecclesi- astical bodies in 1844 is well known to every Methodist who has read the history of the Church by McTyiere, or any of the several histories of the division. It may be that a brief statement of the causes that led to the division in 1844, and the facts connected with it, will be agreeable to those of our readers who do not have access to these valuable works. In 1843 Bishop James O. Andrew, one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, became connected with shivery by his marriage to a lady who was the owner of slaves. Ac- cording to the laws of Georgia, the State in which he lived, it was impossible for him to set them free. He had no legal claim upon these slaves. He had violated no law of the Church in marrying a lady who happened to be the owner of slaves. The fact, however, that he had become in this way connected with slavery, caused the most intense excitement throughout the North. When the General Conference of 1844 assembled in New York the delegates from the Northern Conferences demanded that Bishop Andrew should cease to travel as a Bishop. It was admitted that he had violated no moral or ecclesiastical law of the Church. The whole matter was placed on the ground of expediency. It was contended that Bishop An- drew's connection with slavery would render him very un- acceptable to the great body of the Church in the Northern Conferences. With the Northern Conferences it was not a question of law and moral right, but of expediency. The Southern delegates felt that Church membership and official relation to the Church was too sacred a right to be made to depend upon a question of expediency. What the majority would regard as expedient at one time, might not be re- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I3I garded as expedient at another time. The delegates from the Southern Conferences protested against the arbitrary measures adopted by the General Conference. Many of the delegates from the Northern Conferences believed that the best interests of the Church required a division. Accordingly a "plan of separation" was adopted by a very large majority of the Conference. In accordance with this plan, adopted by the General Conference of the united Church, the Southern delegates called a convention to meet in the City of Louisville, Ky., in May, 1845. This convention with perfect unanimity proceeded to organize the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, as an in- dependent, separate ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the first Gen- eral Conferance of which met in the City of Petersburg, Va., in May, 1845. The delegates to the General Conference of 1844, from the Arkansas Conference were William P. Ratcliffe, Andrew Hunter and J. C. Parker. The action of the Southern dele- gates in the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was warmly and unanimously approved by the mem- bership of the Arkansas Conference, who resolved to stand by their brethren of the other Southern Conferences in the main- tenance of what they regarded as their vested rights as mem- bers of the Church. There were a few disaffected members in certain parts of the State who were not satisfied with the action of the Conference, and who made the attempt to organize societies and pastoral charges under the supervision of the Northern Church. The only thing, however, that was effected by these Churches, was to maintain a sickly exist- ence for a short time, to the annoyance of the communities in which they were located, and then to pass away until the close of the war between the States. A few of the disaf- fected members removed to the Northern States, and a few others went to other communions, but the great body of 132 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. these became reconciled and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, The Annual Conference for the year 1845 met at Camden, Ark., Bishop Soule presiding. The following preachers were received on trial : James W. Loyd, Jonathan D. Stockton, Gabriel E. Hays, Jacob W. Shook, John D. Alexander, James J. Cowant, H. A. Sugg and Samuel D. Aikin. The superannuated preachers were Jacob Whitesides and John Harris. One death was reported: "Thomas D. Stroud was re- ceived on trial in the Memphis Conference in 1840, and was transferred to the Arkansas Conference the following year, and appointed to the Montgomery Circuit. In 1842 he traveled the Greene Circuit; in 1843, the White River Mis- sion ; in 1843, Blue Bayou Circuit. He was present at the Conference in Little Rock in 1844, and was taken violently ill during the session. After a brief illness of only a few days, he was released from earthly suffering and labor, to enter his eternal rest. He was a plain, practical and useful preacher, of deep solid piety. He died in great peace, calmly trusting in Christ." The minutes for the year 1845 show a decrease of 336 in the number of Church members. This decrease was no doubt occasioned by the excitement attendant upon the di- vision of the Church. Men who were ordinarily indifferent to the affairs of the Church, felt that there was much more involved in the movement than the simple organization of another ecclesiastical body. It was regarded as one of a series of divisions that would ultimately terminate in the di- vision of the country. Five districts were formed at this Conference — Little Rock, Fayetteville, Washington, Pine Bluff and Helena. These were divided into forty-two pastoral charges, and forty-four preachers received appointments from the Conference. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 33 The statistical reports show that the total membership was 7370 white and 1724 colored members. The Church had survived the shock occasioned by the division, and was becoming adjusted to the change. The preachers being released from a cause of embarrassment, be- gan to prepare for greater conquests for Christ than had ever been witnessed in the State. The position of the M. E. Church, South, was more clearly defined, and better un- derstood than it had ever been before. It had the perfect confidence and sympathy of all the Southern people. Every obstacle arising out of the slavery question was now re- moved, and nothing remained but to faithfully cultivate the field before them. Among these received on trial at this Conference were some who became prominent in the work of the Church in after years. Among these was Jacob Shook. The reader will remember the names of the Shooks and Alexanders, who settled at an early day in Hempstead County, and did so much toward planting Methodism in that county. Rev. Jacob Shook was born in Madison County, Missouri, in 1823, moved with his parents to Hempstead County in 1830. He was converted and joined the Methodist Church in 1837, and joined the Arkansas Annual Conference in 1845. His health failing, he went to Florida in 1882, hoping by the change to regain his health, but grew worse, and died in a few weeks. His ministry extended through a period of nearly thirty-seven years, during which time he was recog- nized by all who knew him as an humble, devoted man of God, true to the Church, and full of faith and the Holy Ghost. During his ministry he filled a number of important appointments, to the great satisfaction of the people. James W. Loyd traveled for three years in the Arkansas Conference, and then transferred to the Texas Conference, where he continued to travel until 1852, when he located. John G. Alexander and Jonathan Stockton located in 134 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1848. S. D. Aikin transferred to the Indian Mission Con- ference in 1846. H. A. Sugg traveled for a number of years and located in 1853. Thomas D. Stroud died during the last week in Novem- ber, 1844, in the City of Little Rock. Of this brother but little is known. From the minutes we learn that he was re- ceived on trial in the Memphis Conference in 1840. In 1841 he was transferred to the Arkansas Conference, where he traveled until the time of his death. In his memoir, pre- pared by William P. Ratclifife and Andrew Hunter, it is stated that he was a plain, practical preacher, and that his life was a true comment upon the principles he proclaimed. His end was peaceful. The eleventh session of the Arkansas Conference met at Van Buren, November 25, 1846. Bishop Payne presided. The following preachers were admitted on trial : John Stephenson, Walter Thornberry, William L. Guthrey, Wil- liam G. Bell, James M. Rogers. By transfer from the Ala- bama Conference, William Moores ; from the Tennessee Con- ference, James Rice, Charles P. Turrentine, Robert M. Kirby, Joseph Tinnan, and Abram D. Overall ; from the Memphis Conference, Lewis P. Lively. John Stephenson traveled for a few years and located in 1850. Walter Thornberry traveled in the Arkansas Con- ference until 1859, when he was transferred to the Texas Conference. James Rice transferred to the Texas Confer- ence in 1856. Charles Turrentine located in 1858. R. M. Kirby transferred to the Texas Conference in 1865. Joseph Tinnan located in 1849. Lewis P. Lively transferred to the Texas Conference in 1865. The twelfth session of the Arkansas Conference met at Washington, Hempstead County, November 17, 1847, Bishop Capers presiding. Jesse M. Boyd, Russell M. Morgan, Joseph Rentfroe, and Elijah F. McNabb were admitted on trial. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 35 Abraham D. Overall and William G. Bell, young men of promise, in their first year on trial, died during the year in great peace. The statistics for the year indicate that this was a year of prosperity. The numbers reported were 8134 whites and 1750 colored, showing a net gain during the year of 624 whites and 48 colored members ; 43 traveling preachers re- ceived appointments from the Conference. Russell Morgan continued in the traveling connection un- til 1859, when he retired to the local ranks. Joseph Rent- froe traveled but one year and was discontinued at his own request. In an old Quarterly Conference journal for the Bartholomew Circuit, the name of Joseph Rentfroe appears in the minutes of the Fourth Quarterly Conference for 1835 as an exhorter. At the fourth Quarterly Conference for 1836 his name appears as a local preacher, which relation he sustained until 1847, when he 'was admitted in the travel- ing connection in the Arkansas Conference. As we have seen, he was discontinued at the end of the first year and returned to the ranks of the local ministry, where he re- mained until his death, v.hich occurred at his home in Cleveland County in 18 — . Joseph Rentfroe was recog- nized as a useful and faithful local preacher, and was greatly instrumental in that early day in laying the foundations for the future development of the Church. His two sons, Thomas and Finis Rentfroe, are now living, the first at Searcy, in White County, the other at Pine Bluff They are both honored and respected citizens in the communities where they reside, and are known as zealous, consistent members of the Methodist Church. The thirteenth session of the Arkansas Conference met at Pine Bluff, November, 1848, Bishop Andrew, President. Benoni Harris, W. J. Stafford, James B. Thetford, Walter T. Thornberry, James M. Jones, Robert G. Britton, Samuel Morris, James E. Cobb, David H. Caruthers, Richard Mar- 136 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. tin, James S. Kemp and H. G. Garden were received on trial. The reader will notice in this list a number of names that in after years became prominent in the Gonference, and to whom we will again have occasion to refer. This was a year of great prosperity to the Ghurch and was character- ized by a large increase in the membership. John J. Pitt- man and Young Ewing were received by transfer from the Tennessee Gonference. The fourteenth session of the Antiual Conference was held at Batesville, November 8, 1849. There being no Bishop present, Andrew Hunter was elected to preside over the Gonference. Silas Spurrier, D. L. G. McKenzie, Thomas Hunt, P. Basham, B. S. Cardow, J. H. Rice, J. M. Rogers, G. G. Jones and G. F. Thompson were admitted on trial. Of this number P. Basham was transferred to the Indian Mission Conference in 1856, and George F. Thompson was trans- ferred to the Mississippi Gonference in 1852. C. G. Jones was discontinued after traveling one year. Of the others we will have occasion to speak again in the progress of this work. The Gonference received at this session two valuable addi- tions by transfer, Jesse McAllister and A. R. Winfield. Jesse McAllister did faithful and efficient work as a teacher for many years, while the name of A. R. Winfield was for many years a household word in hundreds of homes ii Arkansas. From this time until his death he was prominently connected with every enterprise of the Ghurch in the State, and was doubtless more widely known than any man in the State. In the appointments for this year we have : Batesville District, Andrew Hunter; Batesville Station, A. R. Win- field. During this year an intimacy was formed between these two leaders in our Methodism that continued without interruption until death. The statistics show a very healthy improvement in the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 3/ condition of the Church during the year. The districts for this year were Little Rock, Batesville, Fayetteville, Wash- ington, Pine Bluff and Helena. There were 55 pastoral charges, 60 traveling preachers, and 10,485 white members and 18 19 colored members. The total gain was'887 mem- bers. CHAPTER XIII. Wm. Moores — R. H. Carter — G. N. Boyd — J. J. Crouch: — T. Q. C. House — Marcus Manly — John Revill — John S. McCarver — J. D. Andrews — Wm. B. Mason — Juba Eastabrook — D. L. G. McKenzie — Jerome B. Annis— Jordan Banks — Geo. A. Dannelly— Thos. Hunt — A. L. P. Green — John M. Bradley — A. B. Winfield — H. O. Perry — Benton Williams. The Conference for 1850 met at Fayetteville, October 23, 1850, William Moores, President. The admissions on trial were Rollin H. Carter, Green N. Boyd, J. J. Crouch, T. Q. C. House, Marcus Manly, John Revill, John S. McCarver, James D. Andrews. A review of the progress of the Church during the decade from 1840 to 1850 will show the most gratifying results. In 1840 the statistics show that there were 422S white mem- bers and 725 colored members, 41 traveling preachers and 81 local preachers. In 1850 there were 11,299 white mem- bers, 1769 colored members, ^"j traveling preachers and 166 local preachers ; showing that the membership of the Church had been nearly trebled during the decade. In the meantime there had been a wonderful growth in the popula- tion of the State. In 1840 the population of the State was 97,574. In 1850 it was 209,897. Comparing this with the growth of the Church, it will be seen that the Church had grown a little more rapidly than the State ; for if we repre- sent the growth of the population of the State by 2.1, the increase in the membership of the Church will be 2.6. In 1840 there were but 28 pastoral charges in the State; in 1850 there were 62 pastoral charges. In 1840 there was but one town of sufficient size to sup- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I39> port a station ; in 1850 there were five towns that had in- creased in membership so as to be raised to the position of stations. In the matter of finance the im- provement was much greater than in the increase in membership. In 1840 the total amount raised for mis- sions, Bible cause, Sunday-schools and the worn-out preachers, widows and orphans of deceased preachers, was only $304.30. In 1850 for the same purpose it was $1628. While this amount was far below what it ought to have been, it shows that there was some improvement. A Church is always in a healthy condition that is making some pro- gress along the lines of true church-work. If the tendency is upward, there is hope for the future, and while the pres- ent may be far below what it ought to be, and what we de- sire it to be, if it is moving in the right direction it inspires hope for the future. It is not so much where are we now, as in what direction are we moving. We may not be mov- ing as rapidly as we ought, but if we are moving in the right direction with an increasing velocity, the momentum that we gather will carry us onward to the highest degree of success to the Church. To compare our present position with what it ought to be, will produce humility and stimulate to re- newed effort to reach the demands of duty. To compare the present attainments with the past and find any real pro- gress, inspires hope and courage. The Church in Arkan- sas in 1850 was far below the standard of privilege and duty, but the progress of the past decade inspired the preachers and people with hope and caused them to devise larger plans of usefulness for the future. The Church had passed through the trying ordeal of 1844, and had survived the shock and become more thor- oughly adjusted to its work than ever before. We have seen that for the years 1844 and 1845, that there was a decrease in the number of Church members in Arkansas. In 1844 the decrease was 965 whites, and 1845 the decrease was 336 I40 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. whites. This decrease was not caused by any withdrawal of membership from the Church, or by any lack of sympa- thy with the action of the Southern delegates in the organi- zation of the M. E. Church, South, but was the result of the intense feeling that existed, which for the time absorbed the attention of the Church, preventing direct aggressive work. In 1846 there was a slight increase in numbers, and in 1847 there was a larger increase, and in 1848 a much larger increase. An examination of statistics will give an idea of the effect of the agitation upon the Church. In 1842 the increase was 1591. In 1843 it was 2113. In 1844 a decrease of 965. In 1845 a decrease of 336. In 1846 an increase of 15, In 1847 an increase of 624. In 1848 an increase of 1 147. Periods of great excitement are not favorable to suc- cessful Church work. The sixteenth session of the Conference met at Camden, October 5, 185 1, Bishop Capers presiding. There was an unusually large class of admissions into the Conference at this session. Hugh A. Barnett, John D. Cole- man, Richard W. Hammett, Thomas B. Hillburn, James P. Hulse, William A. Maples, John Mosely, Robert H. Neely, John Rhyne, Elijah Smoot, David M. Webster. Hugh A. Barnett was a faithful, good preacher, and did effective work as an itinerant until i860, when he located. Coleman and Webster traveled two }'ears and discontinued. Maples and Smoot traveled one year and discontinued. John Rhyne has long been a faithful preacher, and we will have occasion to refer to his name again. During the year the Conference lost by death two faith- ful and effective preachers — William B. Mason and Juba Eastabrook. William B. Mason was born in Roberson County, North Carolina rch 24, 1808; was converted in 1833, and ^^~ mitted on i.aal in the Tennessee Conference in 1837, and transferred to the Arkansas Conference in 1839, and traveled HISTOKY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I4I in the order named — Helena, Warren, Marion, Mount Ver- non and Harrison Circuits and the Red River African Mis- sion. He was regarded as a man of great purity, fidelity and zeal. He was a faithful and successful preacher of the gospel. A few hours before his death, he said to his wife : "I go home tonight. It was the night of December 13, 1850. Juba Eastabrook was born in Vermont, and moved to Ohio, where he was converted and began his ministry. He was transferred to the Arkansas Conference in 1838. His first circuit was Litchfield ; then Batesville for two years ; Clarksville, Washington and Union Circuits, in the order named ; then Pine Bluff District for four years ; El Dorado Circuit, Van Buren and Fort Smith. While he was stationed at Fort Smith the town was visited with that fearful plague the cholera. As a faithful pastor he exerted himself to the utmost of his strength in visiting the sick and administering comfort to the dying, until his strength gave way before the inroads of the disease that was hurrying so many to the grave. His death occurred July 21, 185 1. Among his last utterances he said he was going home. He was an excel- lent pastor and good preacher, and greatly beloved by all who knew him. The seventeenth session of the Conference met at Clarks- ville, in Johnson County, November 10, 1852. Bishop Paine presiding. This was a session of more than usual interest on account of the large number of preachers who were received on trial and by transfer, who afterwards became prominent in the Church as preachers and pastors. Duncan L. G. McKenzie, Jesse W. Owen, Jordan Banks, Jacob W. Moore, Jerome B. Annis, Burton Williams, George A. Dannelly, Thomas Hunt, A. L. P. Green and John M. Bradley, were admitted on trial. Joseph Turrentine, by transfer from the Tennessee Con- 142 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ference,and Alexander B. Winfield, W, H. Gillespie, Sanford W. Jones, H. O. Perry, W. H. Wood, R. R. Roberts and F. W. Thacker, from the Memphis Conference. Of this number Burton Williams, George A. Dannelly, Joseph Turrentine, A. B. Winfield and A. L. P. Green are still living and in connection with the itinerant ministry. Of the others, the greater part, after a number of years of great usefulness, have gone to their reward. Some located after a few years, and as far as we know were faithful in that relation to the Church. Of those who are still living and in connection with the Conference, Burton Williams is a member of the Arkansas Conference, and enjoys the confidence of his brethren as a devoted, faithful preacher. George A. Dannelly is an hon- ored member of the White River Conference, and enjoys the love and confidence of his brethren in a very remakable degree, and is perhaps the most widely known and univer- sally respected of any preacher in the State. His great ability as a Masonic lecturer has brought him in contact with the people in every part of the State. A. B. Winfield is a member of the Little Rock Conference, and has for many years filled with great acceptability circuits, stations and districts to which he has been appointed. A. L P. Green is a member of one of the Texas Conferences, and has been faithful through all these years of service. Joseph Turren- tine is a superannuated member of the Little Rock Confer- ence, and in old age enjoys the love and confidence of his brethren. Of the others who entered the Conference at the same time, proper mention will be made as we proceed with the history of their labors in the Church. We can form some better idea of the growth of the Church by remembering that in 1845 there were only five Presiding Elders' districts in the State, and in 1852 there were eight districts. In 1845 there were forty-one pastoral charges, HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I43 while in 1852 there were sixty-seven pastoral charges. The total membership in 1845 was 7370, while in 1852 it was 13,093- The names of the districts and pastoral charges indicate that the work was beginning to assume a more definite form than at any previous time in its history. CHAPTER XIV. Tulip Ridge — Bishop Andrew — Jesse Griffin — Casting Out Devils — James E. Caldwell — W. J. Scott — C. M. McGuiRE — Whipping the Blacksmith — Bishop Early — Bishop Kavanaugh — Division of the Conference — Bishop Pierce — Winbourne — Gaddie — Eppes — Crou- zoN — Travis — Owen — James E. Cobb. The Arkansas Conference for the year 1853 met at TuHp, in Dallas County, Bishop Andrew presiding. The Town of Tulip was at that time the center of one of the most pleasant and prosperous communities in the State, and was noted throughout the State for its intelligence, re- finement and religious culture. It was for many years the home of a large number of prominent Methodist families — the Somervilles, Smiths, Taylors, Butlers, and a number of others of- equal prominence (old Methodist families that have contributed so largely to the growth and prosperity of the State), lived at the place known as Tulip Ridge. They were a fine type of Methodists ; the greater part of them had, at an earlier day, moved from Tennessee, where they Jiad enjoyed the ministry of such men as Harris, Bos- well, McFarland, McFerrin, Blackwell, Brooks, Sullivan, McMahon and others of equal note. Trained under the leadership of such men they were prepared to perpetuate a vigorous type of Methodism in that part of the State. It was for many years the home of Dr. Andrew Hunter, Rev. James Caldwell, Rev. Jesse McAlister, Dr. Richard Colburn and others, all of whom contributed largely to the success of Methodism in the State. The Princeton Circuit, within the bounds of which Tulip was situated was one of the most HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I45 prosperous charges in the Coaterence. The reported mem- bership for this year was 646 whites and 146 colored. A few years before this there had been a most wonderful revival of religion on the circuit, under the leadership of Rev. A. R. Winfield, resulting in the conversion of several hundred souls. At the close of the year in which he trav- eled there was a reported net gain of 521 members. Some of the old people of the present day, who were living at that time, speak with glowing enthusiasm of the wonderful re- vival under the ministry of the gifted and popular young preacher. At this session of the Conference there was an unusually large class of admissions into the Conference. The minutes read Richard H. Dodson, John H. Mathis, James Mackay, William H. Gillam, Jesse Griffin, B. C. Weir, William J. Scott, James E, Caldwell, John F, Carr, Richard F. Withers, Harlston R. Withers, H. N. Hawkins, David N. Bowles, James D. Adney and H. J. Newell. Of this number the larger part have either died, located or transferred to other Conferences. John S. Mathis transferred to the East Texas Conference in 1856; James Mackay transferred in 1875 ^ Jesse Griffin located in 1859. CASTING OUT DEVILS. Jesse Grifffn was regarded by those who knew him in his early days as a man of great courage and decision, and as a very acceptable preacher among the people. A number of rather amusing anecdotes have been told of his ministry among the people of that day. He is described as having been a very large, compactly built man, and of great phys- ical strength. Although he was known to be a very gentle and sweet-spirited man, yet when he was thoroughly aroused he was a terror to evil-doers. It is said of him that upon one occasion he was holding a meeting in a very rude and wicked neighborhood, where the roughs thought it looked 10— M 146 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. bold and manly to disturb religious worship. A rough spec- imen of humanity, who was partly intoxicated, staggered up to the preacher and said he had heard that this was the place where they worked miracles. The preacher replied, " No, we. cannot work miracles, but we sometimes cast out devils," and suiting the action to the word, seized the man and threw him out of the house. These old preachers regarded it as a religious duty to de- fend themselves and their congregations from the assaults of wicked, irresponsible men. Of the large number of preachers received at that Con- ference we have seen that the greater part have passed from the itinerant ranks. James E. Caldwell is an honored member of the Little Rock Conference, and has by reason of affliction been on the superannuated list for several years. He is greatly be- loved by his brethren. John F. Carr is on the effective Ifst, and doing faithful service in the Little Rock Conference. Harlston R. Withers is justly regarded as one of the ablest preachers in the State. For a number of years he was local, and engaged in the practice of law, and won con- siderable distinction as a lawyer. A few years ago, how- ever, he returned to the itinerancy, and although very feeble in health, has done most valuable service for the Master. William J. Scott has been on the supernumerary list for many years — a pure, good man. Two of his sons are in the itinerant ministry, and doing faithful service for the Church. The name of Cornelius McGuire appears for the first time in the minutes of the Tennessee Conference fof 1835, when he was admitted on trial, in a class of twenty-three. He traveled in that Conference for eighteen years, and then transferred to the Arkansas Conference in 1853. -^^ amus- ing incident is related of him, which illustrates the character of work that had to be done at that early day by many of HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I47 our preachers, and the courageous type of preachers re- quired for that work. The incident I am about to relate has been published several times and located in several different places. It has also been attributed to two or three other preachers. Whether it occurred in Tennessee or Arkansas the writer is not mformed. The version that I have was received from a most excellent brother, who had the inci- dent from McGuire himself. On one of the circuits traveled by him there lived a blacksmith who professed to be an infi- del, and being a man of great physical strength and courage had threatened to whip every Methodist preacher that came that way. He had become such a terror to the preachers of that country that but few of them were willing to pass along the road upon which he lived. McGuire was appointed to the circuit within the bounds of which the blacksmith lived. He had heard of the threats of the blacksmith, and had learned about the place where he lived. Coming into the neighborhood he had to pass the blacksmith shop, and as he approached the place he was singing some old Methodist hymn, and the smith, supposing from his appearance that he must be the preacher, ran out and stopped him in the road, and told him that no preacher was ever permitted to pass that shop without receiving a whipping from him. McGuire remonstrated with the man, but it was all to no purpose. McGuire told him that as a man of peace he did not want to have any difficulty, but the smith was unyielding in his purpose to whip the preacher. Finally McGuire dismounted, and the smith rushed upon him confident of an easy victory; but to his utter surprise McGuire knocked him down at a single blow, and jumping upon him began to pound him severely. The smith begged for quarter, but McGuire told him he would not let him up until he promised to go with him to his appointment for preaching. The smith refused to promise, and McGuire •continued to beat him until he agreed to go. Then McGuire 148 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. demanded of him that he would agree to seek religion ; he refused at first to make the promise, but McGuire continued his blows until he agreed that he would try to seek religion. The man made good his promise, and in a few weeks was happily converted and united with the Church. In after years, in his talks in class-meetings and love-feasts, he would frequently say that he had religion whipped into him. He remained a consistent Christian until death. C. M. McGuire was transferred to the Northwest Texas Conference in 1870. The General Conference for 1854, which met at Columbus, Ga., elected three additional Bishops, George Foster Pierce, of Georgia; John Early, of Virginia; and Hubbard Hinde Kavanaugh, of Kentucky. George Foster Pierce was universally regarded as one of the brightest lights in the American pulpit. He was born in Green County, Georgia, February 3, 1811 ; licensed to preach in 1830, and admitted on trial in the Georgia Con- ference. From that day until his death no man was ever more thoroughly identified with the history of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, John Early was born in Bedford County, Virginia, Janu- ary I, 1786, and died in the City of Lynchburg, Virginia, November 5, 1873. His parents were Baptists, but he united with the Methodist Church, He was licensed to preach in 1806. He was a preacher of great power, and was noted as a man of great executive ability. As an illustration of his great power as a revival preacher, it is said of him : " On the Greenville Circuit he received 500 members into the Church, and at the ever memorable camp-meeting held at Prospect, in Prince Edward County, Virginia, it is said 1000 persons were converted," Such were the type of men who were elected at the same time with Bishop Kava- naugh. In the plan of Episcopal visitation the Ouachita Confer- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I49 ence fell to Bishop Kavanaugh and at this first visit he greatly endeared himself to the preachers and people of the State, with whom he was always a great favorite. Many interesting incidents have been told of Bishop Kav anaugh's power as an orator. Dr. Redford relates that upon one occasion the Rev. Mr. Dibrell, of Virginia, was sitting by him when the Bishop was preaching one of his grand sermons, and ever and anon, as the preacher ascended higher and higher he would touch him and ask, " Can he do that again ? " The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which met at Columbus, Ga,, in 1854, di- vided the Arkansas Conference into two Annual Conferences, by a line running east and west across the State. The Northern Conference retained the name of the old Confer- ence and was called the Arkansas Conference, while the Southern Conference was called the Ouachita Conference. These Conferences were divided by a line commencing at the mouth of White River, and running thence up said river to the mouth of Des Arc Bayou, thence up said bayou to the mouth of Cypress Bayou, thence up said bayou to its head, thence down the Palarm Creek to the Ar- kansas River, thence up said river to the mouth of the Petit Jean, thence along the line between Yell and Perry Counties to the southwest corner of Perry, thence in a direct line to the southwest corner of Yell County, and thence due west to the western line of the State. During the year there was a very small increase in the membership of the Arkansas Conference and a large increase in the Ouachita Conference. Taking the entire State there was a very healthy growth of the Church, and it inspired the preachers with renewed zeal to cultivate the fields assigned them by their Conferences. Doubtless the student of Arkansas Methodism would like to see something of the division of the Conferences at that 150 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. early day. In the Arkansas Conference the districts were : Helena District, Stephen Carlisle, Presiding Elder ; Jack- sonport District, John M. Steel, Presiding Elder; Batesville District, John Cowle, Presiding Elder; Clarksville District Thomas Stanford, Presiding Elder ; Fayetteville District^ Lewis P. Lively, Presiding Elders. In the Ouachita Conference the districts were : Little Rock District, A. R. Winfield, Presiding Elder; Washington District, T. E. Garrett, Presiding Elder; Camden District, William P. Ratcliffe, Presiding Elder ; Pine Bluff District, William Moores, Presiding Elder ; Monticello District, Wil- liam Morgan, Presiding Elder. The Conference met in the City of Helena in 1854, Bishop Paine, President. The preceding year had been one of great prosperity. The admissions on trial at this Confer- ence were John B. Brown, Alfred M. Chadwick, Edward T. Jones, Wilson N. Pankey, Absalom H. Kennedy, and Hiram G. Garden. By transfer, Calvin H. Brooks, Isaac L. Hicks, and John C. Reed, from the Memphis Conference. The Ouachita Conference for this year met at Washing- ton, Arkansas, Bishop Kavanaugh, presiding. William Winbourn, Enoch L. Gaddie, Littleton Johnson, David W. Eppes, and Elijah Crowson were admitted on trial. The success that attended the Church during this year fully demonstrated the wisdom of the General Conference, in dividing the State into two Conferences, and clearly dem- onstrated the fact that the time had fully come when the work could be better accomplished by two than by one Annual Conference. The Arkansas Conference for 1855 met at Fort Smith, and the Ouachita Conference met at El Dorado. Bishop Pierce presided at both of these Conferences There was great anxiety upon the part of the preachers and people of Arkansas to hear this peerless pulpit orator, who was at this time in the zenith of his power as a preacher. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 151 To speak of Bishop Pierce as an orator, does not convey a full idea of him as a preacher. He was more than an orator — he was a wise teacher, he was a preacher of the gospel. He was one of the tew men that combined in himself so many of the elements of a great preacher. He possessed a form of almost perfect symmetry, his every movement was graceful, and his voice was full, strong and musical. His every movement charmed the eye. and his voice delighted the ear, placing the hearer in perfect harmony with the speaker. His language was plain and simple in style, his most profound thoughts were clothed in language easily understood by the- plainest hearers. It was not only as a preacher that Bishop Pierce excelled; as a presiding officer, his accurate knowledge of Methodist polity and usages, and his insight into human character, peculiarly qualified him for the presidency of an Annual Conference. There was a large increase in both the Conferences during the year. The net increase of members in the Arkansas Conference was 1223, and in the Ouachita Conference it was 904. There was one death in the Arkansas Conference during the year, the Rev. Travis Owen, who was born in New- berg, South Carolina, in 1790, professed religion and joined the Church in early life. He was admitted on trial in the South Carolina Conference in 1814. In 1828 he removed to Tennessee, and in 1843 he moved to Arkansas. In 1848, his health failing, he was granted a superannuated relation, which he sustained until his death, in 1855. He was known and recognized as a good man by all who knew him. The Arkansas Conference for 1856 met at Batesville, and the Ouachita Conference met at Princeton. These Confer ences were again embraced in the Episcopal District of Bishop Pierce, who presided at both of these sessions. While there was not a very large increase in the member- ship during this year, the reports indicated that there had been an encouraging improvement in every part of Church 152 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. work. There was a steady, solid growth in all the principal charges in the Conferences. The itinerant force was strengthened by the addition of a number of valuable men, both by admission on trial and by transfer. It was one of those periods in the history of the Church when it appears to be gathering strength, and pre- paring for new conquests and greater triumphs The centers of religious influence were becoming strong enough to do aggressive work, and the leaders of the Conference were obtaining a larger influence over the people of the State, and a stronger hold upon their affections. The additions to the Arkansas Conference were, William R. Foster, Marion D. Steel, James M. Rogers, John M. Dea- son, James L. Denton, John P. Maxwell, Wiley C. Pershall, James C. Beckham and John A. Roach, by admission on trial. The following were received on trial into the Ouachita Con- ference : John W. Mann, Franklin F. Bond, Benjamin Kel- logg, Anderson Putman, Archelaus Turrentine, James M. Goodwin, Thomas B. Attebury, Malcolm Turner, Robert L. Jones, Elijah Smoot. By transfer, W. J. McFarland. As an indication of the strength of the Church in the towns of the State at this time, the following list of stations is given : Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Camden, Washington, Helena, Batesville and Jacksonport. The numerical strength of these stations was very small compared to the majority of our present stations. The membership of Little Rock was only 109 whites ; Pine Bluff, 130; Camden, 115; Washington, 88 ; Helena, 60; Jackson- port, 21 ; Batesville, 30. As we progress in our history of the Church we meet with names that are familiar to the present generation of Metho- dists Some of the preachers of that day are yet in the active service of the Church, either as traveling preachers or in the local ranks; while the names of others who have passed away are still fresh in the memory of the membership of the Church. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 153 The following were received on trial in the Arkansas Con- ference : Josiah A. Williams, Peter A. Moses, Jesse Glas- cow, William Carter, William T. Noe, Samuel E. Thornton, Cornelius Sykes. By transfer, John W. Pearson. The Ouachita Conference was strengthened by the admis- sion on trial of George H. Warring, John Dixon, Augustus •Chamberlain, George W. Livingston, Horace E. Bickers, Cal- vin M. Gentry, Thomas A. Graham. By transfer, Columbus Steele, Josiah R. Greer, T. M. Rhodes and James E Cobb. Of these, Josiah Williams did faithful service in the Con- ference until 1870, when he retired to the local ranks. George H. Warring continued in the itinerant ranks until 1873, when he located. Peter A. Moses was a faithful, earnest preacher in every position he occupied, whether as pastor of a church, chaplain in the army, or principal of a church school. He was for a number of years identified with the educational interests of the Church in Arkansas ; first, as the President of Wallace Institute, and afterwards as the President of Quitman College. James E. Cobb came to Arkansas as a transfer from the St. Louis Conference, and was for many years intimately connected with the publishing interests of the Church, as the editor of the Memphis Chtistian Advocate, and afterwards of the Arkansas Christian Advocate, published in Little Rock. In 1870 he was transferred to the Louisiana Confer- ence to take charge of the Homer College, where he re- mained as President of the College until 1873, when he was appointed to the Opelousas District. He continued to travel until his death. James E. Cobb was recognized as a man of ripe scholarship, a writer of marked ability, and a most excellent preacher of the gospel, and of singular purity of character. During hi.T entire connection with the Con- ference in Arkansas he was recognized as one of the leaders in every movement for the advancement of the best interests of the Church. CHAPTER XV. Bishop Kavanaugh — A Great Sermon — Dr. Henderson — H. Perry — J. W. Owen — J. A. Stanley — Simeon Wal- ker — R. C. Atchley — W. C. Haislip — James E. Cobb — Ouachita Conference — Arkansas Conference Trans- fers — M. C. Morris — H. M. Granade — Joseph An- drews — Stephen Carlisle — Benjamin Kellogg — Jacob Whitesides. The Arkansas Conferences for 1857 were placed in the Episcopal District of Bishop Kavanaugh, and as this was his first Episcopal visit to Arkansas, there was considerable anxiety upon the part, both of the preachers and people, to hear him, for his fame as a pulpit orator had gone out over the Church. The Bishop appears to have been in his happiest moods at both sessions of the Conferences — in Little Rock and Jacksonport — and fully met the expectations of the people. The old preachers who were present at these Con- ferences delight in giving a description of his sermons on these occasions, especially one of his efforts at Jacksonport. This was at that time a small town, and the Conference ses- sion was very much like a protracted meeting, at which the entire surrounding country came out to attend the services and especially to enjoy the preaching. From the descrip- tions given, the people were fully satisfied with the minis- trations of the Bishop. Dr. Howard Henderson, who was Bishop Kavanaugh's traveling companion during his tour of the Arkansas Conferences, gives this graphic description of the Bishop's preaching during this Conference session : " The Arkansas Conference met at Jacksonport, then a struggling frontier village where primitive simplicity had HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 155 residence, and pioneer hospitality hung its latch-string, like the Percys of Northumberland, their banners, on the outer walls. " On Tuesday evening he preached again, and almost from the first sentence captured every heart, continuing to ascend in a series of thrilling climaxes, piliiig Chimborazian peaks upon Himalayan heights, Appenines upon Alps, until it seemed as if he might have pushed ajar the gates of glory. "At this remote day it seems as though my pencil would melt, did I attempt to drive it to the task of writing the ar- dent climaxes and peroration, the greatest piece of eloquence I ever heard breathed in words. I have never since, from any man, in senate or hustings, on platform or in pulpit, heard such oratory. It was more than Miltonic — it was an- gelic. The Bishop never transcended this effort. The feel- ing was too intense for utterance; all were silent, and every person seemed statuesque before this Niagara of eloquence. The pent-up emotions of the crowded congregations found vent in song, which rolled in ocean surges. I would travel 500 miles to hear the like again. And when the good man returned to his room he seemed as simple as a child and per- fectly unconscious of the mighty spell with which he had entranced his hearers. I have heard the Bishop often since, when he delighted vast congregations, but such an effort can scarcely be possible to a man more than once in a life- time. I saw him bend the knee, and as he prayed I sat in silent awe as with mental petition he claimed and caught the ear of God. I would not at that moment have been much surprised to have seen the flaming chariot and fiery steeds that alighted at Elijah's feet come sweeping down to claim the great preacher as a passenger." Those who have had the pleasure of hearing Bishop Kav- anaugh in his happiest moods, can appreciate this glowing description of tliat sermon. There were two deaths during this year among the Ar- 156 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. kansas preachers, Horatio Perry of the Arkansas Confer- ence and Jesse W. Owen of the Ouachita Conference. " Horatio Perry was a native of Tennessee, but in early life moved to Mississippi, where he was converted and joined the Methodist Church. He w^as licensed to preach in T852, and in the fall of the same year received on trial and transferred to the Arkansas Conference and appointed to the Mississippi Mission. He filled, in the order named, the following pastoral charges: Batesville Station, Jackson- port Station and Searcy Circuit. " On his v/ay from the seat of the Conference in 1856 he was taken violently ill, and after three vveeks of suffering passed away. He was represented as being amiable in his disposition, gentlemanly in his manners, studious in his hab- its, and devoted in his attachments to the Church of his choice." "Jesse W. Owen was converted in Hickman County, Kentucky, when in his seventeenth year, licensed to preach in 1842, and remained in the local ranks until 1852, when he was received into the traveling connection in the Arkansas Conference, and traveled the following circuits : Jackson- port, Benton and Lapile. " While on the latter circuit towards the close of the year he was seized by disease which terminated his life. " He was a faithful and useful preacher of the gospel, and was noted for his zeal and strong faith. His death was tri- umphant, and added another witness to the long list of those who have testified of the power of God to sustain in the dying hour." While this was a year of general prosperity, the increase of membership was not so great as it was the preceding year. Every preacher, however, of large experience, has learned that while large accessions to the Church are desirable, that it does not always mark the real progress of the Church. There are times of sowing as well as times of reaping. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 5/ In the plan of Episcopal visitations for 1858, the Arkan- sas Conferences were assigned to Bishop Early, The Ar- kansas Conference met at Dardanelle, and the Ouachita Conference met at Arkadelphia. For the Arkansas Conference the admissions were George Emmett, Leonidas Dobson, Biby B. Canady, Benjamin F. Benefield, David P. Armstrong. For the Ouachita Confer- ence, Julius A. Stanley and Robert C. Atchley. The transfers were George A, Shaffer and John F. Pear- son to the Arkansas Conference, and Wm. C. Haislip, Simeon R. Walker, Elam A. Stephenson, James E. Cobb, William R. Davis and Cyrus P. Swinney, to the Ouachita Conference. There was one death during this year. Edwin W. Ware was born in 1829; professed religion in 1842; was received into the traveling connection at the Conference held at El Dorado, November, 1855 ; ordained deacon at Little Rock,. in 1857, and appointed to the Bayou Meto Circuit. During this year he was stricken down by disease, which terminated fatally. His end was in great peace. The Arkansas Conference for 1859 met at Searcy, with Bishop Paine as the presiding officer. The Ouachita Conference, which met at Monticello, hav- ing no Bishop present, elected Andrew Hunter as the Pres- ident of the Conference. James Grant, Moses E. Morris, Harvey M. Granade, D. W. Evans, Wm. M. Mathis, S. R. Warwick and W. M. Mal- low were admitted on trial in the Arkansas Conference. The transfers were Pleasant Basham, Lewis C. Woods, Franklin W. Phillips, Geo. W. Dungan, M. B. Pearsoii and Henry J. Hulsey. The admissions into the Ouachita Conference were Eze- kiel N. Watson, Wm. C. Adams, Joseph W. Tumley, Wil- liam J. Davis, Hugh P. Robinson and James R. Harvey. The transfers were Wm. D. Shea, Cadesman Pope, James Y. Brice and Horace Jewell. ICS HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Of this number, E. N. Watson, Wm. C, Adams, W. J. Davis and James R. Harvey are active members of the Lit- tle Rock Conference. Cadesman Pope is the honored Pres- ident of the Millersburg Female College. William D. Shea transferred to the Louisiana Confcence the same year. James Y. Brice transferred to the Texas Conference in 1862. Pleasant Basham died in 1862. James Grant and W. M. Mathis transferred to the Texas Conference in 1863. Colum- bus Steele traveled in the Little Rock Conference, filling with accepability the various circuits, stations and districts to which he was appointed, until his transfer to the Pacific Conference in 1879. He is at this time an honored member of that body. William T. Noe continued in the traveling connection until his death in 1875. Thomas A. Graham is still living and is an honored member of the Arkansas Con- ference, John Dixon and Calvin Gentry are local preachers within the bounds of the Little Rock Conference. Josiah B. Greer located, and was for many years a useful preacher in the local ranks, near Arkadelphia. Augustus Chamberlain went into the Confederate army, and was a faithful soldier until the close of the war. He located in a few years, and during the remainder of his life did faithful service as a local preacher. The Rev. H. M. Granade paid this tribute to the memory of his friend and fellow-laborer : " Rev. Moses C. Morris has passed on to his glorious re- ward. He was born in Lawrence County, Ark., in 1830; became religious at 18 years of age, married Miss Nancy Johnson, who died years ago, as also did two of their four children. In 1881 he married Miss C. Jennie Brownlee, who now grieves in lonely but trusting widowhood. Bro. Morris joined the Arkansas Conference with the writer and four others in 1859; ^^^^ always been a faithful, humble, prudent man of God and servant of the Church. Though a good preacher and a holy man he was never put forward, nor did HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 59 he urge himself into prominence. He has been in the White River Conference since its formation, going willingly to dif- ficult fields and toiling patiently to build up the cause of our Master. Last year his health was so bad that he labored for months in great weakness and pain to keep up his ap- pointments. He often preached when he had to hold to the pulpit for support and then lie down on a bench for a little rest ; then go home and lie m bed until duty called him out again. Still on the walls of Zion his clear, ringing voice was heard until his last enemy claimed him as his victim. " Seeing that he must die he closed up his temporal affairs, gave directions concerning his funeral and burial, told Sister Morris and his son Frank how to live so as to meet him in heaven and calmly awaited the end. Frank, he always thought, would be his preacher son, and so he told him, if God called, not to refuse the duty. " Among his dying words were : ' I love everybody ; I hate none; some have not treated me well, but I forgive; tell all the preachers good-bye ; tell Bro. Granade to write my obituary; we joined Conference together nearly thirty years ago, and of our class we alone are left in the work. I am happy! happy ! ! HAPPY ! ! ! ' Then after three hours sleep he awoke and with uplifted hand and bounding spirit he exclaimed ; ' Another world ! ' Sister Morris asked : ' Is it the heavenly world ?' He replied : ' Yes, happy! happy! ! HAPPY!! ! I am so happy! been happy all the time.' Thus this dear man of God triumphed until his tongue was stiff in death, and his enraptured spirit arose to God and eternal life. He died in Beebe, Ark., March 2, 1889, aged 59 years. The funeral services were held in the Church at Beebe by Rev. C, H. Gregory, and our brother's body was buried in the cemetery at Searcy by the side of his former wife, as he requested. ' Let us live the life of the righteous and let my last end be like his.' " Henry M. Granade was born in Tennessee, December 22, l60 HI^^TORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1836. He was converted and joined the Methodist Church in early life ; was licensed to preach and admitted on trial in the Arkansas Conference in 1859, and appointed to the Ozark Circuit, where he greatly impressed himself upon the esteem of that people, so that many of the older families of that community cherish many precious recollections of his labors among them. This was the beginning of his itinerant life that continued for thirty years, during which time he filled circuits, stations and districts in the Arkansas, White River and Indian Mission Conferences, to the great accepta- bility of the people. As a preacher, he was bold and zeal- ous in declaring ihe message that he felt had been com- mitted into his hands. While he was often severe in his denunciations of sin, which sometimes gave him the ap- pearance of a harsh and austere man, he was known to his friends as a man of great tenderness of heart. He was a dear lover of children, who readily recognized in him a de- voted and sympathetic friend, and gave him their confidence as they did few men. Another trait in our brother's charac- ter was his great sympathy for the poor, and among his last acts was- the raising of a sum of money to build a house for a poor widow. About a year before his death he discovered that a tumor was growing in his arm-pit, which the physi- cians pronounced incurable, but the announcement did not alarm him. He died however, of another disease, suddenly and unexpectedly, March ii, 1890. Such was the purity of his life that no one doubted his integrity; even those who condemned his plainness of speech believed that he was an honest and sincere Christian. The Ouachita Conference was called to mourn the loss of two good men during the year — Simeon R. Walker and John J. Kennedy. Simeon R. Walker was a native of Tennessee. He pro- fessed religion, and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1849. Licensed to preach, and received into the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. l6l Memphis Conference in 1854. He was transferred to the Ouachita Conference in 1857, and appointed to the Hamp- ton Circuit. During the month of May, while on his way to visit his brother in Hempstead County, he was taken sud- denly ill in Camden, and died after an illness of three days. The testimony ot all who knew him was that he was a deeply pious, zealous and faithful preacher. Joshua T. Kennedy, at the age of ten years, came with his parents from Tennessee to Arkansas in 1846. He. was licensed to preach in 1854; joined the Ouachita Conference in 1 85 5. His appointments were Dallas Mission, Mount Ida Circuit, Warren Circuit, Mount Ida Mission. On the 26th of March, 1859, the good man and faithful young preacher fell in the field of conflict, rejoicing in God. He died talking of heaven. Among the many advantages which the polity of the Methodist Church has in the successful prosecution of its work, not among the least is the facility it affords to study the progress of the work, and the men who have it in charge. The annual statistical reports give us a clear view of the progress of each charge, while it is possible to trace each preacher through the whole course of his ministerial life,^ and note his successes, and his failures, and in that way form a fair estimate of his ability as a preacher and pastor. A study of the statistics tor this year will reveal the fact that commendable progress was made in every department of Church work, and is a testimony to the fidelity of the preachers in Arkansas. The centers of influence were grow- ing stronger, and the circuits and missions were reaching out into hitherto unoccupied fields, and new pastoral charges were being formed to meet the increasing demands for labor. At this Conference twelve new pastoral charges were formed, and the Towns of Monticello, in the Ouachita Con- ference, and Searcy, in the Arkansas Conference, were formed into stations. 11— M l62 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. The twenty-fifth session of the Arkansas Conference met at Van Buren, November 7, i860, Bishop Kavanaugh, President. John M. Clayton, Abel C. Ray, Joseph W. Bissell, Wil- liam Shepherd and John B. Brown were admitted on trial. A. W. C. Drake, C. M. Slover and William Wilson were re- ceived by transfer. The Ouachita Conference for this year met at Pine Bluff, Bishop Pierce, President. The following were received on trial : William O. Lanier, James M. Lee, Obadiah Burnett, Buckner Abernathy, John L. Partin, Jarrett W. Brandon, John L. Emmerson, Robert C. Atchley, Jonathan A. Clover and William W. Echols. The transfers to the Conference were Joseph G. Ward, James H. Warfield, Henry D. McKennon, W. R. J. Hus- bands and Britton G. Johnson. Of these, Britton G. Johnson, H. D. McKennon and Rob- ert C. Atchley are at this time honored members of the Little Rock Conference. Abel C. Ray located in 1874; Joseph W. Bissell died in 1865; William Shepherd transferred in 1868; James Lee died in 1864; Jarrett W. Brandon died in 1867; Jonathan A. Clover transferred in 1870; Joseph G. Ward, James H. Warfield and William R. J. Husbands traveled for a number of years, doing most faithful service. We will have occa- sion to refer to these honored names again in the progress of this work. The statistics show that this was a year of great pros- perity, in which many of the pastoral charges were blessed with gracious revivals of religion. The reports show that there were 8952 white members and 2787 probationers in the Ouachita Conference ; and 11,177 white members and 2367 probationers in the Arkan- sas Conference. Total in the State, 25,283 white members and 4518 colored members. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 163 The Church sustained the loss of four most valuable preachers from the itinerant ranks by death during this year. Stephen Carlisle and Joseph Andrews from the Arkansas Conference, and Benjamin Kellogg and Jacob Whitesides from the Ouachita Conference. " Joseph Andrews was born in Giles County, Tennessee. He was licensed to preach in 1849, and admitted into -the traveling connection and transferred to the Arkansas Con- ference the same year. He traveled the following circuits in the order named : Harrison, Lapile, Dardanelle, Clarks- ville, Dover, Augusta, Richland and Carrollton. He was regarded as a sweet-spirited, amiable and useful Christian minister. He departed this life in great peace." Stephen Carlisle occupied a prominent position in the Church for many years, and was justly regarded as one of the most useful and devoted preachers within the Confer- ence. He was a native of Arkansas, and was thoroughly identified with every interest of the Church in the State, and enjoyed in a very large degree the confidence of all the people. He was born in 1818 ; was converted under the ministry of Rev. John Harris in the summer of 1837, and joined the Methodist Church, He was licensed to preach in 1839, and was received the same year on trial in the Ar- kansas Conference. He filled the following appointments : Elizabeth Circuit, Little Rock Circuit, Pine Bluff Circuit, Fayetteville Circuit, Huntsville Circuit. Washington Circuit, Lafayette Circuit, Benton Circuit, Elizabeth Circuit, Bates- ville Station, Little Rock District, Batesville District, Helena District and Searcy District, where he remained until his death, which occurred April 14, i860. It will be seen that during his long and eventful life he filled some of the most important positions in the Church. He was twice elected to the General Conference — in 1854 and 1858. When told that his end was near, he replied that he was ready, and committing his wife and children into the hands of God he 164 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. died in peace. His widow still lives in Searcy, and by her quiet, Christian life, illustrates the beauty of holiness to all who witness her daily walk. Of Benjamin Kellogg we have been able to learn but little. From the records we learn that he was licensed to preach in 1856, and received the same year on trial in the Ouachita Conference, and appointed to the El Dorado Circuit ; in 1857,. Camden Circuit ; in 1858, Magnolia Circuit; in 1859, Lib- erty and Mound Circuit, but was taken sick and died before reaching his field of labor. He was a young man of great piety, and was an earnest, faithful preacher of the Word. The venerable Jacob Whitesides, after a pilgrimage of more than four-score years, departed this life at his home in Hempstead County, Arkansas. He was for more than fifty years a minister of the gospel. In the early part of his ministry, from 18 14 to 1S22, he was a member of the Ten- nessee and Missouri Conferences. He then moved to the Territory of Arkansas, and settled in Hempstead County. He was readmitted into the Arkansas Conference at its organization in 1836. For many years before his death he sustained a superannuated relation to the Church, and although unable to do much active service on account of feeble health, his consistent life and purity of character gave him great influence in the community where he lived. His descendants are now living in the southwestern part of the State, and are known as most excellent people. His grandson, the Rev, Jacob Whitesides, is a useful and very devoted preacher and member of the Little Rock Annual Conference — a worthy descendant of a noble and venerable pioneer in Arkansas Methodism. The statistical reports for i860 show that there had been a healthy growth in both of the Annual Conlerences. The itinerant force had been strengthened by some valuable ad- ditions by admission on trial and by transfer. The pastoral charges were growing stronger, and new ones were being HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. l6$ formed, so that the entire territory embraced by these Con- ferences \Vci< being occupied by the traveling ministry of the Church. In the early and formative period of the Church the preachers were able to give but little attention to missionary and educational interests. The struggle for existence was so great that it required the full measure of their strength to sup- ply and support the work at home. The Conferences were now, however, beginning to lay their plans for greater devel- opments in every department of Church work. There was an increased liberality in missionary contributions, and plans were being devised and measures taken for the establishment of schools and colleges of such grade as to meet the demands of the rapidly growing population of the State. At this Conference the Rev. Samuel Morris was appointed agent to solicit funds for the building of a male college. Notwithstanding this was a year of great political excite- ment, there were a large number of gracious revivals, in which there were many conversions and additions to the Church. The statistics for this year show that there had been marked improvement along every line of Church work. The principal charges had been greatly strengthened, and all the benevolent enterprises of the Church had been better supported than they had ever been before. The preachers were greatly encouraged by these splendid reports and en- tertained the most glowing hopes of the future. The Con- ferences had been strengthened by the large number of addi- tions, both by admission on trial and bj'' transfer. When the preachers received their appointments for the next year they little dreamed of the terrible ordeal through which the country was so soon to pass. It is true that some of the most far-seeing among both the statesmen of the country and the ministry of the Church had gloomy forebodings in reference to the future calamities that were so soon to come upon the country. l66 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, It was but a few weeks after the sessions of the Confer- ences that the result of the Presidential election was made known. It was a great surprise to the people of Arkansas. No one dreamed of such a result. As soon as it became known that Mr. Lincoln was elected the wildest excitement prevailed all over the country ; every- thing else was forgotten in the intense feeling that was pro- duced by the talk of war and secession. It was the theme of conversation in every gathering of the people. It was in the midst of this tempest of feeling that the preachers entered upon the work of the year. In looking back over the period it is remarkable with what prudence the great body of the preachers conducted them- selves in reference to the movements that were in progress. For while, as Southern men, they were necessarily in sym- pathy with the great body of the people, there were very few acts of indiscretion. The ministry of that day conducted themselves with such prudence as never to lose the confi- dence of the people. While intensely loyal to what they regarded as the right, their devotion to the country was always subordinate to their loyalty to Christ and His Church. The act of secession was passed May 6, i86i, which dis- solved the relation existing between the State of Arkansas and the Federal Union. "The wildest excitement prevailed. Companies, regiments, batteries of artillery and other com- mands were formed all over the State, and arming them- selves as best they could, hurried to the front to take part in active operations. The Military Board issued a proclama- tion that sounded like a trumpet call, headed, ' To arms ! To arms ! ' Calling for 10,000 volunteers, in addition to those already in the field, and these regiments, with many others, were speedily raised and took part in the struggle. In short it may be said that out of a voting population of 61,198 in i860, fully five-sixths of the number, or 50,000 men, entered the Confederate service during the progress of the conflict.'* HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, 1 6/ Large numbers of the membership of the Church enUsted in the army, and to that extent weakened the Church at home. Among those who went into the service were a large num- ber of local preachers, who not only did good service as soldiers in the field, but in addition to this contributed in a very large degree to the moral and spiritual welfare of the army. In the absence of regular chaplains they held prayer meetings in the camps, and frequently preached in their commands, and in this manner kept alive the devotion of the soldiers. A goodly number of the traveling preachers of the two Conferences entered the army, some as soldiers and others as chaplains. Among those who entered as soldiers were C. N. McGuire, John T. Partin, William C. Adams, Thomas S. Tyson, William A. Chamberlain, Thomas B. At- terbury, Buckner Abernathy, James W. Turnley, William J. Davis, F. F. Bond, John M. Bradley, William C. Haislip, William R. Davis, John F. Carr, James R. Harvey and Benoni Harris. Some of these afterwards became chap- lains in the Confederate service. The chaplains were R. R. Roberts, James Mackay, J. A. WilUams, William P. Ratcliffe, A. R. Winfield, M. H. Wells, Burnwell Lee, J. A. Williams, Peter A. Moses, Horace Jewell, William A. Chamberlain, James R. Harvey, Thomas S. Tyson, William J. Davis, L. H. Johnson, John H. Rice, W. M. Robbins, E. R. Harrison, B. G. Johnson, George W. Evans and H. D. McKennon. In this enumeration of preachers in the army the writer has followed the printed minutes. There may be some mis- takes in the list, though it is believed to be correct. There were a number of local preachers whose names the writer has been unable to obtain, who were appointed to the chap- laincy of regiments of Arkansas troops. Notwithstanding the large number of preachers and members of the Church that had entered the army during the year, the statistics show l68 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. that there was an increase in the membership of the Church, both in the Arkansas and Ouachita Conferences, during this year. Nothing but wide-spread and powerful revivals of religion could have replenished the losses sustained by the Churches in the departure of so many men for the army. In addition to these Methodist chaplains there were quite a number of Baptist and Presbyterian chaplains who did valuable service for the cause of Christ among the soldiers of the army. Among those that deserve to be held in grate- ful remembrance by the people of Arkansas were Dr. J. B. Searcy and S. Cochran, of the Baptist Church; and J. M. Brown of the Presbyterian Church; and Dr. S. H. Buchanan, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The writer was intimately associated with Rev. S. Cochran, as a chaplain in the same brigade, and had ample opportunity of learning something of his character, and can bear testimony to his devotion, and fidelity to the trust committed to his hands. The writer's information is that he was foully murdered soon after the close of the war. Dr. Searcy still lives, and is an honored minister in the Baptist Church in the State, and is justly recognized as one of the ablest ministers of the de- nomination in the State. Rev. J. M. Brown was one of the best chaplains of the service, and is today one of the purest and best men in the State. Dr. Buchanan was a faithful chaplain, and after the close of the war became pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, which position he filled for many years. He is regarded as one of the most schol- arly men in the State, and is held in great esteem by all classes of people. The writer regards it as an honor to have been associated with such men as Cochran, Searcy, Brown, and Buchanan^ men whose names call up the tenderest recollections of the past. The earnest lives and labors of such men, show us that the Church of Christ is larger than any one denomination of people. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. IC9 The twenty-sixth session of the Arkansas Conference met at Dover, October 23, 1861. No Bishop being present, John M. Steele was chosen to preside over the Conference. Hilary Y. Gareson, Henry B. McCowan, William R. Knowl- ton, Joel T. Hamby, John W. Patton, Isaac T. Rice and Francis Moore were received on trial. R. R. Roberts and Jesse Griffin were readmitted into the Conference. C. W. Corsey was received by transfer from the Louisiana Con- ference, and J. M. P. Hickerson from the Tennessee Con- ference. The locations were Jonathan D. Stockton and Jordan Banks. There was one death during the year. Thomas B. Hilburn came from Alabama to Poinsett County, Arkansas, in 1849 ^s ^ local preacher. In the spring of 185 1 he was employed as a supply on the Mount Vernon Circuit, and in the autumn of the same year was admitted into the Confer- ence on trial, and appointed to Gainesville Mission, where he labored faithfully for two years. In 1854 he was appointed to the Smithville Circuit, in 1855 to the Pocahontas Circuit, in 1856 to the Jacksonport Circuit, in 1857 to the Huntsville Circuit, in 1858 and 1859 ^o the White River Mission, in i860 to the Newton Mission, where he finished his work in great peace in the month of June. He filled all the ap- pointments assigned him with credit to himself and honor to the Church. As a preacher, he was zealous, practical, and highly efficient. He was strongly attached to the doc- trines of our Church, yet he was courteous, charitable, and gentle in his intercourse with members of all religious de- nominations. His many virtues will ever be cherished by his fellow-laborers. The Ouachita Conference for this year met at Camden, October 23, 1861, Bishop Paine, President. John G. Rat- clifTe, Moses Hill, Edmund R. Harrison, and C. C. McCrary were received on trial. Thomas Hayes, John P. Holmes, and John P. Standfield were received by transfer. There 170 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. was one death. Lewis Sylvester Marshall was born in Arundel County, Maryland, April 22, 1789. His father, Joseph Marshal, of France, left his native country during the revolutionary struggles. He left this country in 1800 to return to France to arrange his worldly affairs, but was never heard from afterward. Thus at four years of age the son was left an orphan. After a few years he was taken by his grandmother and sent to a school in Light Street Balti- more, taught by Rev. Daniel E. Reese. He was converted at the age of fifteen, under the ministry of the Rev. Ezra Groover. He began to preach at the early age of seven- teen. He was admitted on trial in the Tennessee Conference in 1818. He was of the same class with Robert Paine, (Bishop), Hartwell H. Brown, Joshua Butcher, Thomas Madden, and others of like note. His first circuit was Rich- land. In 1833 h^ wss appointed Presiding Elder of the Greenville District in the Holston Conference. In 1836 he was appointed to the Knoxville District. He located in 1837, ^"^ w^s readmitted into the East Texas Conference in 1845. In 1847 he was transferred to the Arkansas Confer- ence, and appointed agent for Washington Seminary. He was supernumerary in 1849 and 1850. He traveled in suc- cession the following circuits : Pine Bluff, Mill Creek, Ben- ton, Warren, Richmond, Lewisville, and Ouachita. During the year 1861, while traveling the Ouachita Circuit, this faithful servant of Christ was called to his reward. Such was the confusion attending the first year of the war that the Conference failed to obtain a memoir of this vener- able and devoted soldier of Christ. While the country was engaged in deadly strife, he too was called to encounter the last enemy, and though he fell in the contest the shout of victory was on his lips, for he triumphed in the name of Christ — the Captain of his salvation. The Conference year of 1862-3 opened with the dark clouds of war hanging heavily over the country. Nothing HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I/I was heard on every side but the noise of war. The terrible slaughter of the battle-fields made it necessary to make still heavier drafts upon tl;ie country to supply the place of those who had fallen in battle or died in camp. The Arkansas Conference for this year met at Searcy^ November 5, 1862. There being no Bishop present, John M. Steele was elected President of the Conference. The fearful effect of the war upon the Church was seen in the fact that there were no admissions on trial at this session of the Conference. There were two deaths during the year. Pleasant Basham and C. W. Corsey. We have but little information in reference to these breth- ren, as there were no memoirs furnished for the Conference. Pleasant Basham was received on trial in the Arkansas Con- ference in 1849, ^^^ w^s regularly engaged in the work until the time of his death in 1862. C. W. Corsey was received on trial in i860, and had traveled but two years at the time of his death. The Ouachita Conference for this year met at Tulip, An- drew Hunter, President. John N. Doyle and Jonathan A. Clower were admitted on trial. Such was the terrible condition of the country during this year that the preachers could do but little else than try to hold their scattered congregations together. In the majority of neighborhoods all the able-bodied men had been called into the army, and none were left to sustain the churches at home except a few old men, the women and the children. The churches at home were passing through a most trying ordeal, and many of them were entirely destroyed by the ravages of the war. It required as high an order of patriotism and fidelity to Christ to fill the Conference ap- pointments and labor to hold the churches together as it did to enter the army as chaplains. The army chaplain had this advantage over the circuit preacher of that day. The chaplain was in the midst of the most intense excitement. 1/2 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. and was sustained by a public opinion that surrounded his name with a kind of military glory that was very gratifying to human nature, while the circuit preacher labored in com- parative obscurity, and patiently bore the privations to v/hich he was constantly exposed. All honor to the faithful men, who preserved the integrity of the churches at home and maintained the sacredness of the home churches, which offered such an asylum to weary soldiers as they returned from the terrible scenes of the camp and field at the close of the war. The Conference year of 1863 opened with the clouds of war growing thicker and darker over the country, and the sufferings of the people every day growing more inteise. The constant depletion in the ranks of the army had its ef- fect upon the churches at home. The Arkansas Conference for this year met at Batesville, October 21, 1863. John M. Steele was chosen President, and E. T. Jones, Secretary. Such was the disturbed condi- tion of the country that the Conference was in session but three days. The reports were necessarily very imperfect. The only wonder is that the preachers were able to approach such accuracy as they did. The fact that they were able to preserve their organization and pass through even the forms of business was a tribute to their devotion to their work, and illustrates the efficiency of the system that enables it to adapt itself to every emergency of society. There was only one admission on trial, Marion E. Griffin. The Ouachita Conference met at Lewisville. There were two admissions on trial, James F. Hall and Richard P. Davies. One readmission, Richard F. Colburn. The chaplains in the army in Arkansas received a very strong reinforcement during the year in the addition to their number of Dr. B. T. Kavanaugh, a brother of Bishop Kavanaugh, and Enoch M. Marvin, afterwards Bishop Marvin, The chaplains and Christian men of the army had felt for HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1/3 some time the necessity for a more perfect union and con- cert of action among themselves. There was such a large proportion of the membership of the Church in the army th,.t it became necessary to have some general oversight of them in order that they might have the advantages of regular religious services. During the year 1863 the atten- tion of Bishop Paine was called to the condition of affairs in the Church. As a part of the history of the times, the commission under which Dr. Kavanaugh undertook his work is given just as Bishop Paine wrote it: "Aberdeen, Miss.. June 29, 1863. " Dr. B. T. Kavanaugh : " Dear Bro. — Yours of the 24th inst is received, in which you express a preference for a missionary chap- laincy in Gen. Price's army corps. This meets my approba- tion, and I hereby appoint you to that work. Your duty is to visit and preach to the soldiers in your corps; to visit the sick and wounded ; to ascertain the moral necessities of the army and recommend suitable persons as chaplains where they are wanted. In a word, you are expected to devote your whole time and energies to the welfare of the corps. You will report to me the acceptance of this appointment, and from the date of your beginning the service in your corps you may draw upon Rev. E. H. Myers, Assistant Treasurer, Augusta, monthly, for ^250, until relieved from this appointment by me, or by another appointment from the President of your Conference. " You express a desire that Brother Marvin should have a similar appointment, and there is no man to whom I would sooner give it, but I understand I can give it only to those who act for an army corps. If he wishes it and will operate under Kirby Smith, Magruder, or any other corps to which no other general missionary is appointed, I will gladly give it, and if you can communicate with him you. 174 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. may say to him that he may select his corps, go to work immediately and report to me. "Yours truly, " R. Paine." It will be seen from this that these eminent servants of the Church received their appointments as missionaries to the army directly from the appointing power of the Church. The writer very well remembers the first time he ever saw Dr. Kavanaugh. The division to which he (the writer) be- longed was stationed near Camden, and being in town, was holding the Wednesday evening prayer meeting. During the service a venerable looking old man walked in and took his seat. His very appearance indicated that he was no ordinary man. At the conclusion of the service he intro- duced himself to the writer and stated his mission. The writer, as a chaplain in the command of which Dr. Kava- naugh was appointed superintendent, was rejoiced to meet him. In a short time we had the pleasure of hearing him preach in the camps to hundreds of delighted hearers. Whenever it was known that Dr. Kavanaugh was to preach in the camps, the soldiers came by the hundreds to hear him. I doubt not that some of the finest efforts of his life were made in the camps preaching to the soldiers. ' But great as were the results of his personal labors, his ability to write and direct the labors of the chaplains was even greater in permanent good to the soldiers. The first appearance of Rev. E. M. Marvin in Arkansas was in the spring of 1863. He was at that time connected with the command of Major General Price at Little Rock. While at Little Rock he was the guest of Rev. T. R. Welch, D. D., pastor of the Presbyterian Church. At the solicita- tion of Dr. Welch he continued to preach in Little Rock for several months with great power and acceptability to large and interested congregations of citizens and soldiers. The profound impression made by Marvin upon the. officers HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1/5 and soldiers gave him a wonderful influence over them, and was very helpful to the army chaplains in the prosecution of their work. He possessed the faculty of organization in a remarkable degree, and by his counsel enabled the chap- lains to so nearly perfect their organization that their influ- ence was greatly increased among the soldiers. It will be seen from the list of chaplains in the army that the soldiers were well supplied with religious services dur- ing the whole period of the war. Whatever may be said of the ordinary army and navy chaplain, whose whole idea of the duties of a chaplain consists in a perfunctory perform- ance of a round of mere official duties, the chaplains of the Confederate army were a body of earnest, devoted men, whose single aim was to administer to the spiritual wants of the soldiers committed to their care. Many of these chap- lains have testified that some of the best results of their whole ministerial lives were during their labors among the soldiers of the army. Speaking of the labors of Marvin and others, Dr. B. T. Kavanaugh says : " These services were not fruitless. Under the faithful ministry of gospel truth by Marvin and other faithful chaplains and missionaries very extensive revivals of religion occurred in the army, especially during the winter encampment in Arkansas during the winter of 1863 and 1864. At Little Rock, Camden, Camp Bragg and Three Creeks, revivals continued for months. I kept an estimate for two years of the number of conversions actually re- ported, and whose names were reported as belonging to the Array Church, and in two years they amounted to more than 2000. Before these revivals commenced it was a common remark among many who professed to be Christians that they 'could not see how a man could live a religious life while in the army,' but after the revivals had extended their salutary influence through all our camps, then I often heard it remarked that they did not see how a man could pre- 176 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. serve his religious character unless he belonged to the army." It was during the summer of 1864 that a portion of the army under General Price were encamped at Camp Yell, six miles south of Camden, where one of the most gracious revivals occurred that it was ever the privilege of the writer to witness. An immense arbor was built by the soldiers, which, in connection with a large grove, formed a beautiful place for worship. There were four chaplains present — Thompson, S. Cochran, J. B. Searcy and Horace Jewell. These alternated in conducting the services, and were sometimes assisted by Rev. A. R. Winfield, who at that time was Post Chaplain for the garrison at Camden. Two of these chaplains were Baptists and two of them were Methodists; yet it would have been very difficult for a stranger to have discovered any difference from their preaching and the instructions given to those who pre- sented themselves for prayers. The writer has counted more than two hundred penitents present at one service for prayers. The number of conversions at that meeting could not be accurately obtained. Several hundred are known to have joined the Army Church. The only times when anything like denominational distinctions were drawn were during the reception of members into the Army Church. By agreement of the chaplains it was the duty of Brother Cochran (who was a Baptist) and the writer to attend to their reception and baptism. It was our cus- tom to designate certain seats for those who expected to be Baptists when they returned to their homes after the war, and other seats for those who desired to be Methodists or Presbyterians, or any other Church that could recognize the baptism performed by the writer as valid baptism. Brother Cochran would receive all those who expected to be Bap- tists according to the forms of that Church, while the writer would receive the others according to the forms of the Methodist Church. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I// There was a beautiful pool near by, which had been built by the Primitive Baptists for the purpose of immersion. It was our custom to take all our candidates for baptism down to this pool because it was convenient. It was frequently the case that a number of the candidates to be baptized by the writer desired the ordinance by immersion, while the remainder would receive it by affusion. We would first baptize those who received it by affusion, kneeling at the water's edge ; after which we would immerse the others in the pool. While nothing was said, it was observed with some degree of amusement that the good brother would meet our immersed candidates at the water's edge and give them a vigorous shake of the hand ; but he did not notice our candidates who received the ordinance by affusion. It is due him to say, however, that he was one of the purest men we ever knew. We have learned that some years after the war he was foully murdered by a half-breed Indian for what little money he was supposed to have about his person. Dr. J. B. Searcy, whose valuable services in the acmy will never be forgotten, still lives, and is an honor'ed and useful minister in the Baptist Church. Frequent mention has been made in these pages of the "Army Church." This was intended to be, and was, as real a church as any that ever existed in Christendom. It may be of some interest to the reader to know something of its origin and nature. The chaplains had all felt the necessity for some sort of organization to enable them to preserve the results of their labors. One day the Rev. E. M. Marvin and the writer were sitting alone in the old Second Street Methodist Church, in Little Rock, and lamenting our lack of organization to con- serve the fruit of our labors, when the writer suggested the propriety of organizing a church — a real church in the army. He suggested that to do this we would lose our identity with our own church at home. The writer maintained that 12— M 1/8 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. there was no impropriety in belonging to two churches at the same time. Finally Marvin decided to call a meeting of chaplains, who appointed E. M. Marvin and Thomas Welch, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, as a com- mittee to prepare a Constitution and Articles of Faith for the new Church. There were nine ministers present at the organization of the "Army Church ; " six were of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, viz.: E. M. Marvin, Horace Jewell, Peter A. Moses, C. F. Dryden, N. M. Talbott and M. C. Manly. The other three were Thomas Welch, pastor of the Presby- terian Church at Little Rock; J. M. Brown, of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and chaplain in the army ; and Rev. F. R. Earle, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and a military officer of the rank of major. Mar- vin was chairman, and Horace Jewell was secretary of the meeting. Marvin and Welch as a committee reported the following plan of organization. The report is copied from the minutes now in the possession of the writer : ARTICLES OF FAITH AND CONSTITUTION. " The Christian men of the army, believing that the habita- tion of God by his spirit constitutes the Church, agree, for their edification and for the conversion of their fellow-men, to organize the Church of the Army, with the following Articles of Faith and Constitution: " Article i. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God; the only rule of faith and obedience. " Article 2. We beUeve in one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. " Article ^. We believe in the fall in Adam, the redemption by Christ, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. " Article ^. We believe in justification by faith alone, and therefore receive and rest upon Christ alone as our only hope. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I79 " Article 5. We believe in the communion of saints and the doctrine of eternal rewards and punishments. CONSTITUTION. " The Christian men who have been baptized, adopting these * Articles of Faith,' in the regiment, shall constitute one church, who shall choose ten officers to take the spirit- ual oversight of the same. Of the officers so selected the chaplains, or one selected by themselves, shall act as mode- rator. The officers shall meet once a month, or oftener if necessary, and in the exercise of discipline will be governed by the teachings of Christ. They will keep a record of the names and the manner in which their ecclesiastical connec- tion is dissolved." This movement was criticised by some at the time, but the vast good accomplished by it was a full vindication of the wisdom of the movement. Soon after the organization of these army churches in the various regiments, we were visited by a gracious revival, in which hundreds of souls were converted and gathered into these army churches. The writer has traveled four large districts as Presiding Elder, and can state from large observation his deliberate conviction that a much larger per cent of the converts in these army churches remained faithful than is usual in our ordinary revival meetings. It was the custom for the chaplain to give a certificate of church membership in the Army Church, and so far as the writer knows, these certificates were duly recognized by the churches at home when presented for membership. The writer speaks from personal knowledge when he says that the type of piety exhibited by the members of these army churches was equal to the best he has ever known in our regular pastoral charges. The history of the world, so far as the writer knows, does not furnish a parallel to the disbanding of the Confederate armies. It is a well-known fact that the usual effect of great l80 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. wars is to thoroughly demoralize the soldiers engaged in the contest. Soon after the revolutioary war a wave of infidel- ity swept over the United States that threatened to deluge theland with French infidelity, but no such disastrous effects followed the civil war between the States. While some few may have lost their faith during the great contest, the great body of the Christian men of the army returned to their homes with as vigorous a type of piety as they carried into the army, and thousands who left as unconverted young men returned to their homes to gladden the hearts of their friends by taking their places as faithful, devoted Christians. The Ouachita Conference during this year lost two very valuable members by death, Duncan L. G. McKenzie and William Winborne. D. L. G. McKenzie was received on trial in the Arkansas Conference in 1853, and appointed to the Little Rock Cir- cuit ; in 1853, to the Camden Circuit; in 1854, to the Brownsville Circuit ; in 1855, Little Rock Circuit ; in 1856, Washington Station ; in 1857, Little Rock Station; in 1858^ Little Rock Station; in 1859, i860, Little Rock District ; in 1 861, 1862, Little Rock Station. This was the last appoint- ment he received from the Conference. Soon after his ap- pointment in 1862 to Little Rock, he was taken seriously ill and continued to grow worse until his death, which occurred about the last days of December, at his home in Little Rock. He was regarded as one of the most faithful and devoted preachers in the Conference, and was greatly beloved by all who knew him. His ability as a preacher was of a very high order. His pleasant manners, ardent piety and clear, sound preaching enabled him to command the attention of all classes of the people, who received his ministrations with delight. William Winborne. — In the absence of any information in reference to this devoted servant of Christ, other than can be obtained from the minutes, we are confined to these. At HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. lOl this session of the Conference there were no meinoirs fur- nished for insertion in the minutes. The minutes show that he was received on trial in the Ouachita Conference in 1854 and appointed to the Hampton Circuit; in 1856, to the War- ren Circuit; in 1857, Ouachita Circuit; in 1858, Ouachita Circuit; in 1859, Center Point Circuit; in i860, 1861, Clark Circuit; in 1862, Clark African Mission. He was a faithful, devoted minister of the gospel. I have been informed by one who knew him well that he was a preacher of great zeal and boldness, and fearless in his reproof of sin. His cour- agewas so tempered by gentleness and love that it won the hearts of those who heard him. His son, Finch Winborne, now a member of the Texas Conference, was for several years a member of the Little Rock Conference. A couple of incidents occurred at the session of the Oua- chita Conference for this year that shows the intensely con- servative spirit of the body at that time. On account of the disturbed coj;idition of the country the Conference had not been favored with the presence of a Bishop for several years, and in consequence there were a number ofyoung men who had been elected to deacons and elders' orders who had not received ordination. A resolution was introduced to re- quest the President of the Conference to proceed to the ordi- nation of these young men. It was argued at length by some of the members of the body, who claimed that the ex- igencies of the case demanded it, and that it was in full ac- cord with the spirit of Methodism, but the proposition was promptly voted down by the Conference as a violation of the law of the Church, which must be obeyed as long as the Conference remained a part of the Methodist Church. The other case was where a young preacher within the Federal lines had taken the oath of allegiance to the Fed- eral government. A resolution of censure was introduced, but was voted down, upon the ground that this was purely a political question with which the Conference had no juris- 1 82 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. diction; that it did not involve moral character. It is cer- tainly a matter of gratitude to us at this day to know that in the darkest hour of the country's history, the Church was able to maintain its attitude of a non-political Church; that while its membership were true to their country as citizens, that as a Church they were equally faithful to the teachings of our Divine Lord, The Arkansas Conference for 1864 met at Jacksonport, October 26 and 27. It will be seen from the disturbed con- dition of the country that the Conference remained in session but two days, and a large number of the preachers were « unable to be present. No Bishop being present, John Cowle was elected Presi- dent of the Conference. There were no admissions on trial and no transfers to the Conference. W. M. Robins, Josiah Williams and Benoni Harris were chaplains in the Confederate States army, Lewis P. Lively, George Shaeffer and Green Boyd were transferred to the Texas Conference. There was one death during the year, which occurred under the most painful and distressing circumstances : John H. Rice was born in Middle Tennessee, December 26, 1828; professed religion and joined the Methodist Church in 1839. He was licensed to preach on the Hickory Creek Circuit, Tennessee Conference, June 10, 1848. He was admitted on trial in the Arkansas Conference, at Bates- ville, Ark., November 9, 1849. He was ordained Deacon in 1851^ and was ordained an Elder in 1853. He traveled the following circuits in the order named : Benton, Ouachita, Smithville, Lewisburg, Benton, Helena Station, Lawrence- ville, Batesville Station. In 1863 he was appointed chaplain to Col. Shaver's regi- ment in the Confederate service, and did faithful service in that position until his death, which occurred March 25,. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I83 1864 The following is the account given of his cruel and untimely death : Brother Rice by some means had been cut off from his own command, and had been with Major Rutherford's bat- talion in the capacity of chaplain. A detachment had been sent to reconnoiter the Federal camp at Batesville. On their return their camp was surprised by a detachment of seventy-five men from companies B and C, of the Second Arkan-as United States Volunteers, Col. Phelps. Brother Rice attempted to escape, but having his horse shot from under him, immediately surrendered. The captain command- ing rushed upon him, and with bitter oaths refused to recog- nize his surrender, and told him he had to die. Brother Rice asked him for time to pray. The fiendish answer was, ** It is too late to pray now." Rice fell upon his knees, and raising both hands made a Masonic appeal to him, and commenced praying, at which time the Captain shot him twice through the head with a navy pistol; one ball entering a little behind the corner of the mouth, and coming out directly on the other side. He was then robbed and strip- ped and left in the woods to rot. Brother Rice was an unarmed Confederate chaplain, in the regular performance of his duties as such. For many years he had been a faithful minister of the gospel in the Arkansas Conference, and was held in high esteem by his brethren. The fact that he was appointed to some of the most prominent charges in the Conference was an evidence of the confidence that was reposed in his ability and fidelity to the Church of Christ. The Ouachita Conference for 1864 was held at Columbia camp-ground, William P. Ratcliffe, President, and James E. Cobb, Secretary. The following were admitted on trial in the Conference : Edward R. Barcus, Charles A. Williams and George Evans. Of this number, Edward R. Barcus remained in the Confer- 184 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ence until 1 871, when he transferred to one of the Texas Conferences, where he is now a useful and honored member. Charles A. Williams located in 1868, and is now a useful local preacher within the bounds of the Pine Bluff l^istrict. George W. Evans transferred in 1870 to the Western Con- ference. There were three deaths during this year, Jesse S. Mc- Allister, James M. Lee and Littleton H. Johnson. Jesse S. McAllister was received on trial in the Indian Mission Conference, in 1847, and appointed to the New Hope Female School and Station. In 1849 he was trans- ferred to the Arkansas Conference, and appointed to Elm Springs Academy, where he remained until 1854, when he was appointed Superintendent of Crawford Institute. In 1856 he was transferred to the Ouachita Conference, and appointed to a professorship in Tulip Female College, which position he held until the school was broken up by the war. His health failing, he was granted a superannuated relation in 1863, when his health continued to decline until his death, which occurred during the year 1864. Jesse McAllister was a preacher of very superior ability, and was noted for his amiable disposition and fine social qualities. He was eve- rywhere recognized as a refined, cultivated. Christian minis- ter, and superior educator. The growing popularity of Tu- lip Female College was largely due to the presence of Jesse McAllister as one of the teachers in the institution. James M. Lee was admitted on trial in i860, and was re- garded as a young preacher of very superior promise. Littleton Johnson was received on trial in the Ouachita Conference in 1854, and appointed to Perryville Mission; in 1855, Napoleon Mission; in 1856, Saline Mission; in 1857, Perryville Circuit; in 1858, Rockport Circuit; in 1859, DeWitt Circuit; in i860, Oakland Grove Circuit; in 1861, Old River. In 1862 he was appointed chaplain of a regi- ment in the Confederate army, which position he retained HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 185 until the time of his death. He was a plain, practical and useful preacher, one who enjoyed the esteem of his breth- ren. The year 1864 closed with the dark clouds of despair resting upon the country. All hope of success had been abandoned by all except a very few sanguine persons. Nothing but a sense of honor kept the soldiers to their places in the field. The leaders were without any definite plan, simply waiting for something to transpire that might possibly avert the doom that seemed to be hanging over the country. Every available soldier had been called to the field, and none were left at home except a few old and feeble men, and boys who were too young to go into the army. Many of the appointments for this year were merely nominal, for such was the disturbed condition of the coun- try that many of the preachers, especially in the northern part of the State, were unable to reach their appointments. The minutes for the Arkansas Conference show that there were no reports from the charges ; while the reports from the Ouachita Conference were very imperfect. The minutes show the following chaplains in the Confed- erate army for this year : Benoni Harris, W. M. Robbins, Josiah Williams, A. R. Winfield, Horace Jewell, E. R. Har- rison, W. A. Chamberlain, M. H. Wells, J. R. Harvey, B. G. Johnson, W. J. Davis, Geo. W. Evans, H. D. McKennon, James E. Cobb. CHAPTER XVI. Conference Sessions of 1865 — Admissions on Trial — Thomas Howard — S. G. Colburn — John H. Riggin — George Butler — Transfers — Obituary Notice — Con- ference Roll. In the spring of 1865 the great war between the States came to a close. The armies of Lee and Johnson had al- ready been surrendered, when Gen. Kirby Smith surren- dered the armies of the Trans-Mississippi Department April 26th. " The troops who were surrendered by these com- mands set out to make their way homeward by whatever means they could, many of them being long distances from home and without a cent of money to aid them in their re- turn, but walking or riding — singly or in squads — as they had done when soldiers, and being assisted by the usual hospitality of the country through which they passed, a people who made it a practice to divide the last loaf with a Confederate soldier, they eventually came to their journey's end. " The restoration of peace found the people of Arkansas almost broken in fortune. In the progress of the war farms had been ruined, barns, fences and houses destroyed, stock carried off or killed ; for such of them as had con- ducted mercantile or other business, all business connections had long ago terminated; slaves which had constituted the chief element of property had been liberated, and there was Hterally nothing left them in the way of their former pos- sessions ; but thoroughly accepting the situation, they set to work wherever they could with resolute purpose to the grave task of rebuilding their private fortunes. Turning their hands to whatever occupation presented itself, men ad- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 187 dressed themselves everywhere to the pressing subject of earning a livelihood." The Church had suffered in common with the country in the loss of men and property. Not only had all improvements and aggressive movements been suspended, but there had been great destruction of Church property, and in its impoverished condition the Church was not able to supply the loss. The thirtieth session of 'the Arkansas Conference met at Jonesboro, October 4, 1865, John M. Steele, President. There was one admission on trial, Thomas H. Howard. The Ouachita Conference for this year met at El Dorado, Andrew Hunter, President. There were six admissions on trial, Samuel G. Colburn, John H. Riggin, Benjamin O. Davis, James Stincil, George E. Butler and William C. Adams. George W. Primrose was received by transfer from the Missouri Conference. There was one death during the year in the Arkansas Conference — Joseph W. Bissell. He was born in Nash County, North Carolina, about the year 1835. He was licensed to preach in 1858 and admitted on trial in the Ar- kansas Conference at Van Buren, Ark., November, i860, and appointed to the Rowesville Circuit ; in 1861, to the Dardanelle Circuit; in 1862 and 1863, to the Gainesville Circuit; in 1864, to the Big Creek Circuit, where he died August 25, 1865. Such was his fidelity to the Church and his acceptability on all the fields where he had labored that he commanded the esteem of all who knew him. The returns for this year are so imperfect that it is im- possible to give a satisfactory report of the numbers within the Church. There were thirty-nine traveHng preachers in connection with the Conference. In i860 there were fifty traveling preachers in the Conference, showing a loss of eleven traveling preachers during the five years of the war. The Ouachita Conference in i860 reported eighty-one traveling preachers, showing a loss of twenty-three travehng l88 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. preachers during this time. As there are no reported sta- tistics for this year it is impossible to ascertain the number of members within the State at this time. Enough is known however, to ascertain that there had been a great decrease during ihe four years that the war was raging throughout the State. All the charges had been greatly depleted and impoverished, and in some instances they had been totally destroyed. In many instances it was like the complete re- organization of the Church, and in a few instances the so- cieties were completely blotted out of existence. When the preachers met at Conference it was with mingled feelings of joy and sadness. They were rejoiced to meet each other again in Conference after the desolations of the past, and to praise the good Providence of God, that had brought tiiem safely through the terrible ordeal, but they were filled with sadness at the desolations that had come upon the Church, and at the recollections of the losses they had sustained during the four years of conflict — there were so many friendly voices that had been hushed in death. The Methodist Church was not alone in the losses sus- tained ; every other denomination suffered as greatly from the same causes. The peculiar organization of the Metho- dist Church enabled it to reorganize more rapidly than some others. In a very short time the entire machinery of the Church was in successful operation. The districts, circuits, and stations were being filled by earnest, devoted men ; the scat- tered membership of the Church were being gathered together and reorganized into societies. The hundreds of converts that had united with the Army Church during the war, united with the home churches and contributed largely to the es- tablishment of the Church upon a firm base for future work. Many of these converts in the Army Church proved to be very valuable acquisitions to the Church in time of peace. During this year there were quite a number of revivals HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1 89 throughout the State, that greatly strengthened and encour- aged the Church. The Church had been without the presence of a Bi.sliop in the State for four years, and in consequence there were a number of the preachers who were entitled to ordination, and had not received it, and in consequence, in some in- stances the Church had suffered for lack of ministers, au- thorized to administer the sacraments. At the Conference in 1863 the necessity for the ordination of the younger preachers was felt to be so great that a num- ber of the most influential preachers of the Ouachita Con- ference supported a resolution to the effect that the Presi- dent of the Conference, in the absence of the Bishop, be re- quested to ordain the candidates for deacons' and elders' orders. At one time it was thought that the motion would prevail, but better counsels finally prevailed, and the motion was defeated. . An incident occurred at that same Conference that shows how intensely conservative the Conference of that day was on all questions of mere civil policy. One of the young preachers who had been within the Federal lines took the oath of allgiance to the Federal government. A resolution of censure was introduced and warmly supported by a num- ber of the brethren, but was finally defeated by the Confer- ence, on the ground that however improper the act might have been, as a political action, it was one of those questions with which the Church had no jurisdiction, and therefore the Conference, as a religious body, had no right to deliver an opinion. It is a matter of profound gratitude to God that in the midst of the most intense excitement the Church was able to maintain its high position on all merely political and civil questions, and that its record as a non-political Church has never been broken. However intensely the individual members of the Church may feel on any political question* IQO HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. this feeling is never carried info tlie Conferences of the Church. As this was the beginning of a new era in the history of the Church in Arkansas, a list of the two Conferences will be of interest to many. The roll for the Arkansas Confer- ence reads for the year 1865 : John M. Steele, William A. Cobb, Burwell Lee, Robert J. Brittain, William T. Noe, George A. Dannelly, John Rhyne, Ed. T. Jones, John J. Roberts, James C. Beckham, Hy. Y. Garrison, Thomas H. Howard, James Mackey, William Shepherd, M. H. McMur- try, John Cowle, Benoni Harris, Daniel W, Evans, John W. Patton, Richard H. Dodson, Moses C. Morris, W. R. Foster, F. W. Thacker, Benjamin F. Hall, H. A. Barnett, C. N. McGuire, John M. Clayton, H. M. Granade, Isaac L. Hicks, William R. Knowlton, Mortimer B. Pearson, Rus- sell Reneau, Richard W. Hammett, William Wilson, Francis M. Moore, Jacob W. Shook, William M. Robbins, A. W. C. Drake, Jesse Griffin. The roll for the Ouachita Conference was: William P. RatcHffe, Andrew Hunter, A. R. Winfield, A. B. Winfield, John H. Blakeley, John Harris, Alexander Avery, Robert L. Jones, Jerome B. Annis, A. H. Kennedy, James E. Cald- well, Lewis Garrett, Richard F. Colburn, E. N. Watson, J. W. Brandon, H. D. McKennon, C. M. Slover, Britton G. Johnson, W. R. J. Husbands, Cadesman Pope, E. L. Gaddie, C. M. Gentry, B. C. Weir, George W. Primrose, Elijah Crowson, John N. Doyle, T. B. Atterbury, James R. Har- vey, E. R. Barcus, William C. Adams, B. O. Davis, Josiah Greer, Horace Jewell, Samuel Moore, Burton Williams, J, C. L. Aikin, M. C. Manley, C. O. Steele, William Moore, James P. Hulse, John H. Blakely, Thomas Hunt, William J. Scott, Joseph G. Ward, M. Turner, John P. Holmes, Thomas W. Hayes, James F. Hall, George W. Evans, F. M. Rhodes, J. M. Stephenson. R. P. Davies, John Pryor, E. R. Harrison, John F. Riggin, J. A. Glower, James A. Stincil, Charles A. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. IQI Williams, John Dickson, William A. Chamberlain, Samuel G. Colburn, J. A. Stanley, George E. Butler. An examination of the roll of the Conferences now will show that a very large part of those whose names were on the roll in 1865 have passed away. Of the sixty-two preachers of the Little Rock Conference who received ap- pointments at the Conference of 1865, only eleven are at this date (1892) members of that body. Of the remainder, fifteen have either transferred to other Conferences or located, while thirty-six have gone to their final reward. The statistics of the Arkansas and White River Confer- ences will show a similar condition of change. Of those that remain the larger part have grown old, and have in a measure retired from the active work of the Church, and a new generation have come upon the stage of action. " God buries his workmen," but his work goes forward with in- creased interest in the hands of younger and stronger men. CHAPTER XVIT. General Conference of 1866 — New Departure — Changes Wrought by the War — Lay Delegation — District Conferences — Election of Bishops Wight- man, Daggett, McTyere, Marvin. The great changes through which the country passed dur- ing the civil war from 1861 to 1865, must of necessity leave their impress upon all the institutions of the Church. The immediate and unconditional emancipation of 4,000,000 of slaves was an event of no ordinary magnitude. It disorgan- ized for the time being the whole labor system of the South, and as our Church was principally confined to this portion of the country it was more seriously affected by the disas- ters of the war than other Church organizations. There had been no session of the General Conference since 1858; the Conference cf 1862 failed to meet on account of the dis- tuibed condition of the country. It was thought by many that the changed condition of the country would demand a change in the organization of the Church. Many sugges- tions were made, and many outsiders, especially political editors, were anxious to see a reunion of the Churches North and South. It was in the midst of this confusion and uncertainty that the General Conference of 1866 met in the City of New Orleans. The delegates from Arkansas were, for the Ouachita Conference, William P. Ratcliffe, Andrew Hunter, A. R. Winfield and James E. Cobb ; for the Arkansas Conference, John M. Steele, J. M. P. Hicker- son and Ed. T. Jones. In their opening address to the Conference the Bishops said : " If we are to judge of the tone of the religious press and HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I93 the action of many of our Conferences, great concern is felt in respect to certain changes in our economy. It is obvi- ously unbecoming in us as Bishops to occupy any other than an impartial relation to these matters. But we take this occasion to urge upon you the importance of giving these subjects your sober and prayerful consideration. From our extensive observation of the state and wants of the Church, we hesitate not to say, that some improvement in our econ- omy may be wisely undertaken at this time. Well for us if we can happily avoid extremes, and do neither too little nor too much. Let us remember that while innovations are not necessarily improvements, wisdom may demand, in the de- partment of ecclesiastical expediency, new applications and developments of fundamental principles." The Conference appointed a new Committee on Changes of Economy com- posed of one member from each one of the Annual Confer- ences. This of itself was a departure from the old methods. A large number of petitions, memorials and resolutions were sent to this committee, and for a time it looked as though the most radical changes would be made in the economy of the Church ; but such was the conservative spirit of the Con- ference that no changes were made except such as the changed condition of the country seemed to demand. One of the changes proposed was the name of the Church from Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to Episcopal Methodist Church. It passed by a large majority in the Conference, but it failed to receive the three-fourths majority in the Annual Conferences to which it was referred. Previous to this Conference, attendance upon the class meeting was by law a test of membership, but at this Confer- ence this test of membership was removed and attendance upon the class-meeting was left to the voluntary action of the individual. This, however, was no very great change, as the law making it a test of membership had been a dead letter for many years. 13— M 194 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. The Conference also abolished the six months probation for membership in the Church. The system of District Conferences was established and made a part of the Church polity. This was not exactly a new feature in the polity of the Church, as District Confer- ences were held from 1820 to 1836. Another very important feature in the economy of the Church was the introduction of laymen into the various Conferences of the Church. Twenty-six years have now passed since these changes were made, and they have stood the test of time, and the wisdom of the Conference in their adoption has been fully vindicated. Great fear was expressed by many of the more conservative of the member- ship of the Church that the lay delegates in the Conferences would imperil the stability of the organization by extreme radical measures upon many questions ; but it has been fre- quently remarked that as a class they are more conservative than the ministry and less inclined to changes of polity. The Episcopacy had been greatly weakened by the death of Bishop Soule, and the great feebleness on account of age in Bishops Early and Andrew, so that the election of four new Bishops was regarded as a necessity for the welfare of the Church. Holland N. McTyiere, William M. Wightman, David S. Daggett and Enoch M, Marvin were elected to the Episcopacy. A better selection could not have been made. The name of the Ouachita Conference was changed at this session to Little Rock Conference, as being more ex- pressive of its geographical position. The Little Rock Conference for 1866 met at Arkadelphia, Bishop Pierce, presiding. The following were admitted on trial : James Stincil and Jonathan Clower. By transfer, W. H. Browning. The Arkansas Conference for this year met at Searcy. There was one admission on trial, Thomas Howard. This was the first time in a number of years that the Con- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. IQS ferences in Arkansas had received an official visit from one of the Bishops of the Church. The Church from this time began to take courage, and to adjust itself to the changed condition of the country. The various interests of the Church began to receive more attention at the hands of the preachers and people. The Little Rock Conference for the year 1867 met at Des Arc, Bishop Marvin presiding. This was his first visit to the State since his election to the Episcopacy. His visit to the Arkansas Conference was hailed with delight by hun- dreds who had heard him during the war. V/e have had occasion to speak of his earnest and successful labors among the soldiers and of the great esteem in which he was held by them. When the news of his election to the Episcopacy reached the Church in Arkansas there was a great desire upon the part of the preachers and people to see and hear him again. During this visit to the Arkansas Conference the expectations of the people were fully met both in the pulpit and in the chair. The admissions on trial were R. W. Massey and William O. Lanier. R. W. Massey traveled for a few years and lo- cated. William O. Lanier discontinued in 1870. At this session an incident occurred that shows that the Conferences of the present day are much more rigid in the enforcement of discipline than the Conferences of that day. At the Conference of 1866 Horace Jewell was appointed to the Monticello Station and refused to go to his work, but immediately went to Louisiana and was appointed to Mon- roe. When the Conference met in Des Arc his name was called and a vote of censure was had, after which his char- acter was passed, and he was transferred to the Louisiana Conference. Within recent years several members of differ- ent Annual Conferences have been suspended for the same offense. Some allowance perhaps was made for the peculiar circumstances that existed at that time. 196 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. This was the first time in the history of the Church in Arkansas that lay delegates had been admitted to seats in the Conference, There were some who entertained grave doubts as to the propriety of the measure, but the most timid soon became convinced of the wisdom of the plan,, and our lay brethren by their wise and conservative coun- sels have fully justified the wisdom of their admission into the Conferences of the Church. Upon several occasions their wise conservatism has saved the Church from hasty and inconsiderate action. A little more than twenty-five years have passed and our lay brethren are everywhere recognized as important factors in all our Conferences, and' have largely aided in the growth and development of every interest of the Church, At this session of this Conference there arose considerable discussion in reference to the use of tobacco. The foUow-^ ing resolution was finally adopted : "Seeing the tendency of the Church to needless self- indulgence and softness, we say to clergy and laity that at this time there is a great evil in the Church, in the use of snuff and tobacco, and that there is now more money spent in that needless self-indulgence than is raised for all the be- nevolent charities of the Church ; therefore, be it " Resolved^ That we will use all means in our power to dissuade our members from the use of the same, and that the moral influence of the Church be against it." At the same session of the Conference there was quite a spirited discussion about the use of organs and choirs in the Church. The Conference finally adopted this resolution : " That we disapprove of the use of choirs and instruments of music in our churches, believing that they tend to formality in worship, and the destruction of congregational singing." Pending the discussion of the question the following ques- tion of law was propounded to the Bishop for an Episcopal decision : HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. IQ/ " Is it not in accordance with the discipHne of the Church for any individual society that may see proper to have an organ and choir ?" Answer : " There is no specific law of the discipline de- priving individual societies of the right to regulate their own church music ; but the spirit of the discipline, chap. 3, sec. 4, ques. 2, ans. 4-7, is against the introduction of choirs and organs. [Signed] E. M. Marvin." Both parties regarded the decision as favorable to their views, so the decision had no effect upon the question in any manner whatever. In the meantime, the custom of using the organ in the ser- vices of the Church has grown until they have been placed in all our churches in the cities and towns and in a great many of our country places. The opposition to the organ has well-nigh ceased, and the controversy over its introduc- tion into the Church will have been forgotten, or remem- bered only as a thing of the past. The Arkansas Conference for this year met at Searcy, Bishop Marvin presiding. The admissions on trial were Robert A. Allison, William W. Gillispie, W. M. Watson, G. W. Stewart, William R. Young, Van Buren Tate, Stephen P. Hicks, John H. Dye, A. Mathis, R. H. Young, A. C. Ray, David Sturdy, C. S. Floyd. Of this number several have become prominent in the work of the Church in Arkansas. Robert A. Allison traveled for several years, doing faithful service, and located in 1872. W. W. Gillispie died in 1872, after a few years of faithful service. W. M. Watson is a faithful and devoted member of the White River Conference, and enjoys the es- teem and confidence of his brethren. G. W. Stewart was discontinued in 1869. Van Buren Tate located in 1873. Stephen P. Hicks transferred to the Indian Mission Confer- ence. John H. Dye is an honored member of the White River Conference, and is at this time President of Galloway 198 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Female College. Dr. Dye has filled a number of very im- portant positions in the Church, and has been for a number of years the Superintendent of the State School for the Blind. A. C. Ray located in 1874, after eight years of faithful service. The statistical report for this year shows a membership of 13,056 white members for the Arkansas Conference, and 8412 white members for the Little Rock Conference. The Arkansas Conference for 1868 met at Jacksonport, Bishop Pierce presiding. The following preachers were received on trial at this Conference : Henry P. Clay, N. E. Fair, F. A. Ellis, George F. Fair, C. H. Ford, WiUiam H. Martin, C. S. Floyd, J. H. Porter, A. H. Goodloe, B. H. Young, W. R. Young. Of this number there is not one in the traveling connection in Arkansas. They have either transferred to other Confer- ences or they have located, or they have been removed by death. A. T. Goodloe transferred to the Tennessee Confer- ence in 1869. H. P. Clay was discontinued in 1870. F. A. Ellis located in 1873. C. H. Ford located in 1891. N. E. Fair and W. R. Young located in 1870, The Little Rock Conference for this year met in the Town of Warren. Bishop Pierce presided at this Conference again to the great pleasure of the preachers and people. The admissions on trial were James A. Anderson, Am- brose D. Jenkins, William O. Lanier, Thomas H. Ware, W. H. H. Biggs, r.. S. Burnett, George Hare, Leonard M. Chandler and William R. Bayliss. The transfers to the Conference were William C. Hearn, William J. Davis and Henry B. Frazee. Of this number A. D. Jenkins, William J. Davis and Thomas H. Ware are members of the Little Rock Conference ; William O. Lanier discontinued in 1870; George Hare located in 1880, and en- gaged in the practice of medicine ; Leonard M. Chandler died in 1871 ; W. H. H. Biggs transferred to one of the Texas HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. I99 Conferences in 1874; Henry B. Frazee transferred to the Florida Conference in 1875; William C. Hearn transferred to the Denver Conference in 1874; James A. Anderson trans- ferred to the White River Conference in 1882, and continued in that Conference until his death in 1885. The minutes of the White River Conference for 1885 con- tained the following memoir : "James A. Anderson was admitted on trial in the Little Rock Conference in 1868 and appointed to the Brownsville Circuit; ordained Deacon in 1870 and Elder in 1872. In 1882 he was transferred to the White River Conference, where he continued to travel until his death, June 5, 1885, He was a deeply pious and useful preacher, and was greatly esteemed by all who knew him as a man of great moral worth. To one who visited him during his last illness ' he said his heart was in the work of saving souls, and if it was God's will he would like to be restored so that he could call sinners to repentance, but he was resigned to the will of God.' He was never married, and at the time of his death was 54 years old. He belonged to that honored class of plain, humble, faithful men whose record is in the hearts of those who knew him best, and in the book of life to be revealed in the last day." NECROLOGY. There are periods in the history of church and commu- nity when the death of a prominent citizen or an honored and efficient minister marks an era in the history of that community and church. The year 1868 was such a period in the history of Methodism in Arkansas, when one of the most noted, honored and talented preachers in the State passed to his reward. At such periods we do well to pause for the time and study the lives of such men, and learn something of the great secret of their power, and note the impress that they have left upon society. 200 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. To write the life of William P. Ratclifife would be in a large measure to write the history of the Church in Arkan- sas from 1834, the date of his entrance into the Conference, until his death in 1868. At the session of the Tennessee Conference, which met at Pulaski, Tennessee, November 6, 1833, a young preacher was received on trial, and transferred to the Missouri Conference, who was destined to exert as great an influence upon the destinies of Methodism in Arkan- sas as any one man that ever labored in the State. William P. Ratcliffe possessed in a very large degree many of the qualities that should enter into a successful itinerant Methodist preacher. His physical, mental and spiritual qualifications were of the highest order. He was a man of great physical endurance and commanding personal appearance. In social life there was a happy combination of dignity of character and affability of manners that won the respect of all with whom he came in contact. His scholastic attainments were very good for that early day. and being a close student and possessing a strong, vigorous intellect he amassed a large fund of valuable information. He was a close, accurate thinker, and his sound practical judgment made him a valuable and safe counsellor on all difficult questions. His preaching was very practical ; the theories upon which he delighted to dwell were the plain, practical duties of religion, which he enforced with great spiritual power. Upon occasion, however, he could defend the great doctrines of the Church. Such was his accurate knowledge of the doctrines of the Church, and such was the logical order of his mind, that he was able to present them with great clearness. . His rule was to make careful prepa- ration for the pulpit. But few men relied as implicitly upon the help of the Holy Spirit in preaching the Word ; but with him this did not preclude the necessity of careful prepara- tion. Upon one occasion he was unexpectedly called upon to preach, and after having preached what the congregation HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 20I thought was a very good sermon, he apologized for its length by stating that if he had had more time for preparation he would have been able to condense it into smaller space. Although he was not an orator in the usual sense of that term, he- was an attractive preacher. His easy, dignified manner in the pulpit, clear, strong voice, his ready command of the purest English language, and close logical reasoning, made him an attractive and pleasant speaker. Then his great earnestness, pathos and tenderness, brought his hearers into closest sympathy with himself. He spent much of his time in prayer, and was a firm be- liever and strong advocate of the doctrine of Christian per- fection. At times his faith would rise to such sublime heights that his preaching, and the force of his example, would carry conviction to the hearts of all who came within the circle of his influence. The following obituary notices were furnished for insertion in the minutes : " William P. Ratcliffe. — The subject of this memoir was born in Williamsburg, Va., February i8, i8iO. His parents were pious and in early life instilled religious principles into their son. His earthly father he claimed as his spiritual father. He was converted to God in Obion County, Ten- nessee, in 1832, and was admitted into the traveling con- nection in the fall of 1834. He was transferred to the Mis- souri Conference, which at that time embraced the Territory of Arkansas ; he was admitted into full connection at the Arkansas Conference, which held its first session at Bates- ville in 1836. He was happily married to Miss Mary Cum- mins at Little Rock, where he was stationed that year. For more than thirty years he labored faithfully to build up all the interests of Methodism in Arkansas, nearly all the while in regular work, filling circuits, stations and districts. Always promptly at his post and faithful to his work, suc- cess attended his labors wherever he went. A plain, prac- 202 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. tical, earnest preacher, a zealous and devoted adherent to all the doctrines of Methodism, he fully subscribed to all our laws and regulations. He was a man of strong faith, nour- ished by constant, earnest prayer. Of him it may be truly said, ' He went about doing good.' He was apptjinted Bible agent in 1866 at our Conference at Arkadelphia, and none ever had a better. Truly it may be said of him . ' He died at his post.' He closed his earthly career in tiie Vil- lage of Mount Ida, Montgomery County, May i, 1868, while engaged in his work as agent of the American Bible So- ciety." William P. Ratcliffe filled so large a space in the history of our Church in Arkansas that justice to his memory and fidelity to the truth of history, requires a more extended no- tice of this eminent servant of Christ and the Church. His old friend and companion in toil. Dr. Hunter, has furnished the following tribute to the memory of this eminent man : " From the time William P. Ratcliffe entered upon the work of the ministry in Arkansas, no man among us occu- pied a more prominent place. The first Conference it was my privilege to attend was in the fall of 1837 in Little Rock; Bishop Andrew was President, Brother Ratcliffe was Secre- tary, and he continued to occupy that place as long as he lived, with a few exceptions. He attained perfection almost as a secretary of an Annual Conference. When I first knew him he was a handsome young man, standing nearly six feet in his boots, dark hair, carrying himself as straight as an: Indian, with a carriage and gait that would make him in any company a gentleman. He had just closed his first year as a station preacher, and was almost idolized by the church people of all denominations. He and Rev. Mr. Moore, the first pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, worked together in perfect harmony and a life-time friendship sprang up between them, which has been re- newed in the bright world beyond, where " friend holds fel- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 2O3 lowship with friend." During the year of which I speak he married Miss Mary Cummins, who proved to be a helpmeet indeed. No preacher was ever more fortunate in the se- lection of a companion for life ; no husband and wife were ever better mated. Bishop Andrew at that Conference placed him on the Helena District. For four years he la- bored in that field. The district extended from the mouth of White River on the Mississippi to the Missouri line, and as far west as to include all the settlements on ' Crowley's Ridge.' The Mississippi River was not leveed then, nor were the bayous bridged then as now, and preachers had all sorts of difficulty in keeping up their appointments. It re- quired a man with a lion heart to keep the ranks of the itin- erancy unbroken in such a country as that. They went to their appointments in skiffs and canoes, crossed the bayous on the backs of their horses, or if that was too hazardous they got a few logs together, tied them with grape vines and went over. None of these difficulties were considered too great to be encountered and overcome for the privilege of preaching the gospel to those denizens of the swamps of Eastern Arkansas. There is unwritten history here that cannot be known by the preachers of the present day. The heroes of the earlier days may repeat this history to us, when we have joined them and are resting under the spread- ing branches of the tree of life. Ratcliffe, Brown, Steele, Avery and many others were the ' swamp angels ' of that day, having the everlasting gospel to preach to the inhabi- tants of this wilderness, and right well did they do it. Re- vival after revival resulted from their labors ; churches were organized in what were considered the most unpromising communities. Several preachers were raised up who ranked with the best, and the Church was established that under the impulse received has continued to grow and flourish as the garden of the Lord ; and in the day when results are traced to causes, it will be seen that to William P. Ratcliffe 204 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. more than any other is due the honor of establishing Meth- odism in that difficult field. More than half a Conference rest securely under God on the territory over which Rat- cliffe traveled as a Presiding Elder. The preachers there today, dwelling under their own vine and fig tree, may boldly say to the enemies of Methodism : ' Walk about Zion ; tell the towers thereof ; mark ye well her bulwarks ; consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generations following.' ' This God is our God for ever and ever ; he will be our guide even unto death.' "As a practical preacher Ratcliffe had no superior. He never preached any sky-scraping sermons, that left his hearers gaping and wondering. He hid behind the cross and always tried to make the impression that he was deliver- ing a message from the God of heaven. Many a sinner that had gone to church out of mere idle curiosity, or as a matter of course, has under his preaching remained to pray. Hun- dreds in eternity will call him blessed. He was a born captain of the Lord's host. Had he drifted into military life, he would have won renown on every battlefield. Under the first Napoleon he would have been a Marshal Ney. But his natural impetuo'sity was chastened by the sanctifying power of the spirit of God, so that all he was was on the altar of sacrifice. He could not live without daily communion with his Lord ; hence, he prayed much. I have never been asso- ciated with any one who prayed more. Such was his con- stitutional temperament, that to use his own language he could not ' get along on a little religion.' He read his Bible with prayer, he prepared his sermons with prayer, and he could get the marrow out of a text with more aptness than any man of his day. He was strong in the Lord ; he did not know fear. I have seen him at camp-meeting when ' lewd fellows of the baser sort,' who came for fun and frolic, were trampling the rules of order under their feet. I have seen him meet such men, and with his hand clasped in theirs, he HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 20^ told them of their wickedness and meanness in such loving words as wholly disarmed them ; and then he would call them to their knees, and with his hand on their heads he would tell God how bad they were, and then refer to a mother's prayers and teachings in such a way as to conquer the most obdurate. A braver Christian man never stood up for Christ. He could have stood toe to toe with Satan him- self contending for God and right. In God's estimation he was a wise man; he turned many to righteousness. I never knew anyone so successful with penitents. He always knew exactly what to say to a mourner. If he could get one to talking and answering his questions, such an one was sure to find Christ, the Savior, I have seen many a chronic mourner — a regular set-fast — lifted right out of the ' mire and the clay ' by Ratclifife's pointed questions. " The last work he did was for the American Bible Society. He made a tour to the mountain districts of our Conference — reached Mount Ida in Montgomery County, took a violent cold which developed into pneumonia and ended his useful life. He felt himself that his work was at an end. It would have gratified him if he could have died at home, surrounded by the members of his own family ; but he was resigned — said it was as near heaven from where he then was as if he were at his own house. Judge Willoby, at whose home he died, considers himself and family highly honored in being permitted to minister to this servant of the Lord in his last illness. His end was peace and holy joy. They buried him at Mount Ida, but in a fev/ months his remains were removed to Camden and reinterred. Dr. Winfield preached his funeral sermon. All business houses were closed out of re- spect to his memory. There was mourning in almost every home, chiefly for that they would see him no more. They felt that they were in a state of orphanage. At the next session of the Conference it was difificult to be reconciled to his absence. He had been a counselor and leader so long; 206 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. but we kissed the hand that smote us and bowed submis- sively to His will, looking to the future meeting, where sor- row is unknown, singing " ' Servant of God, well done ; Rest from thy loved employ ; The battle fought, and victory won, Enter the Master's joy.' " Among the companions of my early ministry none were dearer to me than he whose name is the subject of this notice. I have a picture of him in the gallery of memory, that stands like a column of crystal." The follow memoir of Elijah L. Crowson was furnished for insertion in the minutes of the Conference : Elijah L. Crowson. — In the death of Elijah L. Crowson the Church had sustained the loss of a faithful and devoted ser- vant. He was converted in his twentieth year, and united with the Church and shortly afterwards licensed to preach. He remained in the local ranks for many years, but feeling it to be his duty to enter the itinerancy, he felt constrained to offer his services to the Little Rock Conference (then Oua- chita Conference), and was admitted on trial at its first ses- sion in 1854. He continued to do efficient service until the Conference of 1867, when he was granted a superannuated relation. He continued in this relation but a short time, as he died January 3, 1868. He was an humble, faithful, un- pretending preacher of the gospel, exceedingly modest — even timid. The world never knew half the value of the man. Mrs. Dora Watson, the wife of E. N. Watson, of the Lit- tle Rock Conference, is a daughter, and Rev. Wm. M. Crow- son, of the same Conference, is a grandson. During this year the Arkansas Conference lost a very effective and useful preacher an account of which is taken from the minutes of the Conference. James C. Beckham. — The subject of this sketch was born HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 20/ in Orange County, N. C, November 15, 1833, and removed with his father to Maury County, Tenn,, in 1836. He re- moved with his widowed mother to Marion County, Ark., in 1844. He was converted and joined the Church in 1846; licensed to exhort in 1854, and to preach in 1856. He was received on trial, in the Arkansas Conference, the same year, and appointed junior preacher on the Helena Circuit. He located in i860, and was readmitted into the Conference in 1865. He continued in the itinerant ministry until his death which occurred March 8, 1868. He was regarded by those who knew him as a good and useful preacher, and was highly esteemed in the charges which he filled. He died in peace. An examination of the minutes will show that this was a year of great prosperity within the territory embraced within the Little Rock Conference. The net increase of member- ship in this Conference was 2437, ^^^ there was a corres- ponding improvement in other departments of Church work. The Arkansas Conference suffered a small decrease in the membership of the Church. This loss, no doubt, was more apparent than real, as there were seven white charges from which no reports were received, and the greater part of the loss was in the colored charges, which were being largely absorbed by colored Methodist organizations. As the loss in the white membership was very small, there is no doubt if the numbers had been received from the charges that failed to report, there would have been a large increase in this Conference. The Arkansas Conferences were again placed in the Epis- copal District of Bishop Pierce. The Arkansas Conference met at Fayetteville, October 20-25, 1869. The Little Rock Conference met at Magnolia, November 24-29. The admissions on trial in the Arkansas Conference were : Leroy D. Webb, George Debose, Jesse M. King, Francis A, Taff. William G. Hilton, George R. Brice, William E. Whit- tenburg, Robert N. Francis, John H. Hall, James A. Walden, 208 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Dudley D. Reed, W. H. H. Oyler. The following was re- ceived by transfer: J. L. Denton, T. C. Ellis, A. R. Bennick, Isham L. Burrow, Thomas Wainwright, Sidney Babcock, H. M. Youngblood, Thomas A. Graham, John W. Walkup. Of these, L. D. Webb, Francis A. Taff, James A. Walden, Dudley D, Reed, Sidney Babcock, Thomas A. Graham, are now members of one of the Conferences in Arkansas. Of the others, some have located, others have transferred to other Conferences and some have passed to their reward. The additions to the Little Rock Conference were : Har- vey H. Watson, F. M. Monk, John W. Johnson, Bascom Ward, T. Q. C. House, John M. G. Douglass, Isaac N. Pace. The transfers to the Conference were ; William C. Hearn, and H. B. Frazee. Of these, H. H. Watson and J. M. G. DouCTlas are on the effective list in the Little Rock Con- ference, and through all these years they have enjoyed the respect and confidence of their brethren. William C. Hearn transferred to the Denver Conference in 1874, and H. B. Frazee transferred to the Florida Conference in 1875. While the Conferences in Arkansas received some valuable accessions by transfer, they also lost by transfer a number of valuable men. From the Arkansas Conference, C. N. McGuire, who transferred to the Northwest Texas, M. Ar- rington, to the St. Louis, E. B. Plummer, to the Memphis, A. T. Goodloe, to the Tennessee, J. H. Porter and S. P'. Hicks to the Indian Conference. From the Little Rock Conference Marcus C. Manley trans- ferred to the Louisiana Conference, and Samuel Morris trans- ferred to the East Texas Conference. Marcus C. Manley was admitted into the traveling con- nection in 1850, and soon after his admission into the Con- ference his eyesight began to fail, but notwithstanding this, affliction he continued to travel and do effective work. In a few years he became totally blind. When his sight failed the loss was greatly supplied by his faithful and devoted HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 2O9 wife, whose time was wholly given to her husband in read- ing and writing for him. In this way he became a man of large and varied infor- mation. His knowledge of theology was accurate and ex- tensive and he was a preacher of m.arked ability. Samuel Morris was received on trial in the Arkansas Con- ference in 1848, and continued to travel on circuits, stations and districts until he was transferred to the East Texas Con- ference. Whether on circuit, station or district work, he was the same true and faithful man, everywhere enjoying in a large degree the respect and confidence of his brethren. The Little Rock Conference was called this year to mourn the loss of two most excellent and worthy members of the body, Lewis Garrett and Julius A. Stanley. Lewis A. Garrett was a native of Kentucky, and was born in 1793 ; joined the Methodist Church in 1809, and was licensed to preach in 1815, and the same year was admitted into the Tennessee Conference, and appointed to the Stone River Circuit. His health failing, he was compelled to locate in 1824. He remained local until 1859, when he was readmitted into the traveling connection in the Liitle Rock Conference, and continued in this relation until his death^ which occurred in 1869. During the whole course of his ministry, whether in the local or itinerant ranks, he was re- garded as a faithful and devoted minister of the gospel. A life of such faith and zeal was closed in great peace and joy. Julius A. Stanley was a native of LaGrange, Ga. At the time of his death he was 35 years old. He was converted in early life and united with the Methodist Church. His educational advantages were of the most excellent character,, and had been well improved. He was licensed to preach in the City of Camden, in 1858, and received on trial in the Ouachita Conference the same year. His first appointment was to the Tulip Circuit; in 1859, Washington Station; in i860, Little Rock Station; in 1861, Washington Station; 14— M 210 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, in 1862, Arkadelphia Station; in 1863, Lewisville Circuit; in 1864, Walnut Hills Circuit; in 1865, Washington Sta- tion. His health failing, he was placed on the superannu- ated list in 1867, and remained in that relation until his death. Julius A. Stanley was one of nature's gifted sons, and possessed in a large degree many of the essential quali- fications for the Christian ministry. He was a modest, re- fined, intellectual, spiritual and faithful preacher, faithful in all the relations of life. He lived well, and died in per- fect triumph. This was a very successful year for the Church in Arkan- sas. There was an increase of 554 in the membership of the Church in the Arkansas Conference, and of 1555 in the Lit- tle Rock Conference, making an increase of 15 per cent in the two Conferences. There was a corresponding increase in all the benevolent enterprises of the Church, while the principal charges were growing in numbers and becoming more firmly established and better prepared for aggressive work. CHAPTER XVIII. Review of Decade 1860-70 — Statistics of iS6o-y<. Reminiscence — Changed Conditions — General Con- ference OF 1870 — Bishop Keener — Organization of White River Conference — Lewis Garrett — Julius A. Stanley — Elijah McNabb — Marcus Manley — Richard P. Davies — Arthur Davis — Isaac Ebbert — Letter from Bishop Wightman — John Harris. The period embraced in the decade from 1 860-1 870 was fraught with more thrilling interest than any other period of the same length in the whole history of the Church. The M. E. Church, South, not only suffered in common with the other churches of the South, but there were many things in connection with the trouble of that period that were pecu- liar to the Southern Methodist Churcli. It was regarded by the Northern people as being more intensely Southern than any other Church, and its ministers and members were treated with greater severity than any other people, and were the objects of peculiar hatred upon the part of their enemies. Their history and the peculiar relation they sus- tained to the question of slavery during the exciting period of 1844 brought them more prominently before the country than any other religious denomination. Although the mem- bers of the Southern Methodist Church were not more in- tensely Southern than their Southern neighbors and breth- ren of other churches, their history and their great numer- ical strength gave them an importance in the public estima- tion both North and South that did not attach to any other people. The Presidential campaign of i860 was the most exciting one through which the country had ever passed. The 212 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. wisest and most patriotic statesmen, both North and Souths looked forward to the coming election with great anxiety and apprehension. It was felt that the country was passing through a great crisis in its history. While the M. E. Church, South, has always been a non- ' political Church, and as an ecclesiastical organization has never taken part in any manner in any political controversy, the individual members of the Church, in their capacity as citizens, did take an active part in common with other citi- zens in the exciting political events of that time. And as the human mind cannot be intensely excited upon more than one subject at a time, we would naturally expect the exciting political events of the year to have a depressing effect upon the various interests of the Church. An exami- nation of the minutes of the Conferences, however, show that during this year there was a very healthy growth in the membership of the Church. The total increase in the membership for i860 was, for the entire Southern Methodist Church, 36,182, as against 21,852 for the year 1859. The gain for 1858 was 43,388. These figures show that the in- tense excitement that prevailed did not destroy the vitality of the Church or impede its onward progress. The Church in the Arkansas Conferences for this year kept pace with the Conferences in the older States. The Arkansas Conference reported a total membership in i860 of 15,109, with an increase of 33 members. The Ouachita Conference reported a total membership of 11,739 white members and 2714 colored members. The Arkansas Conference reported 50 traveling preachers and the Ouachita Conference reported 81. The minutes for 1870 show a total membership of the Church in Arkansas of 29,176 white members, divided as follows : Arkansas Conference, 7853; White River Confer- ence, 8249; Little Rock Conference, 13,074. These figures show a gain of 2277 white members during this decade. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 213 The census reports show that the entire population of the State for i860 was 435,450, and in 1870 it was 484,471. An examination of these figures will show that there was a little larger per cent of gain upon the part of the population of the State than in the membership of the Church during this decade. The following reminiscence of these years by one of the Arkansas Conference preachers will be of interest, as it de- scribes the condition of a large number of our people at that time : " It is an old story of civil war that the disruption of life- long social and religious associations follows. Many bitter and terrible forces expended themselves on the whole of Northwest Arkansas from '6i to '65. The struggle began in foolish utterances. Puerile deeds abounded. Political alien- ations rent the churches. Friendships and brotherly love were immolated in the fires of hate. Ministers were in- volved. The tests of Christian character were the severest, the ordeal terrific. Breach upon breach was made, some never to be healed. Social ties became nothing, patriotism lost itself in passion, religious brotherhood with its safe- guards went down quickly. To many who loved church and country came intense, prolonged darkness. The holiest of men and women could not see the solution. Families were scattered and the young had sorry guides. Ere long the robber and assassin held full sway. What was once home soon exhibited the scenes of want, distress, loneliness and foreboding. Would the end never come ? Oh ! the long years of suspense and agony of that dark period ! But peace came at last. Slowly the exiles from North and from South returned to their desolated homes. Each vied with the other in rebuilding the wastes. I remember when the news came that Rev. J. W. Shook, P. E., was at Bluff Springs, in Marion County, holding a meeting; that he was come to gather the churches into the fold again, and to restore our 214 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. long-lost and fearfully-rent communion. It was in August^ 1865. The promise of success seemed small. Our brother beloved said it was useless. His mind appeared bewildered by the long night. He said that God had but little to do with us; that he had created us, made us subject to suitable laws, and left us to take care of ourselves. Nevertheless, the work of re-establishment had begun. The field was large, the laborers were few, the difficulties many. Eighteen months passed before the Elder reached us, and the preacher in charge no sooner. In the meantime we heard Uncle Isaac Whitney tell of being a new ' critter' in Christ Jesus, and congratulate the people that they were permitted to meet again in a congregational ' campacity ' and to build again the ' disolit ' places. This Free Will Baptist brother was innocent of any correct knowledge of the English lan- guage as contained in the grammars and dictionaries, yet he was thoroughly conversant with an experience of God's love shed abroad in the heart, and could point sinners to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Ar- rested by the Spirit amid a dreadful career in sin and igno- rance, at about thirty years of age, he passed the ordeal of a genuine repentance and regeneration, and gave himself to the work of the ministry in the Free Will Baptist Church, as it was generally called. Not having any standard of educa- tion in that body, it was the work of but few days to start him in the ministry. Many through these fifty years past could testify to the efficiency of his work in bringing them to Christ. His fearless devotion to Christ during the civil war showed the true martyr spirit. Whc;n at the muzzle of a cocked pistol in the hands of a brutal robber he was or- dered to dance or die, he calmly chose the latter, and plainly told the sinner of the deed he was about to commit. He would not dance, and God saw that he did not die. I know not that this dear old friend lingers on earth, or that he has gone to a blessed reward on high; but I know that his zeal. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 21$ faith, piety, love to God and man, have been an inspiration to me." In nothing was the vitality of the Church more clearly seen than in its power to adapt itself to the changed order of things, and begin its work anew. The terrible revolution had no sooner closed than the whole machinery was put in motion, and the work of the Church continued as though there had never been any interruption. Annual Conferences met at the appointed time, the Bish- ops were present to superintend the affairs of the Church, districts, circuits and stations were reorganized, and Presid- ing Elders, preacher in charge, and official boards were regularly appointed to every field of labor. The marvel- ous growth of the Church in the years that followed is we believe without a parallel in modern times. The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met in the City of Memphis, May 4, 1870. The clerical dele- gates from the Little Rock Conference were Andrew Hun- ter, Augustus R. Winfield and Horace Jewell; lay dele- gates, William Leake, J. L. De Yampert and William Crouch. The delegates from the Arkansas Conference were James Mackey, John M. Steele and George A. Dannelly. It was at this Conference that an effort was made to abolish the time limit in the appointment of the pastors to their fields of labor. The movement was led by the gifted Dr. John E. Edwards, of Virginia, ably supported by Dr. J. B. Cottrell and others. During the discussion the strong- est possible reasons were presented in favor of the change, but the strong conservative feeling of the Conference pre- vailed, and the Church appears to have settled down to the conviction that the best interests of the Church do not re- quire any changes in the law of the Church on this subject. The Committee on Episcopacy at this Conference reported that in their judgment it was necessary to strengthen the Episcopacy by the election of one Bishop. The infirmities 2l6 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. age made it necessary for Bishop Andrew to continue in the superannuated relation to the Church. The choice of the Conference fell on John Christian Keener, of the Lou- isiana Conference. Dr. Keener, at the time of his election, was editor of the New Orleans Christian Advocate, and had, by his writings, become well and favorably known through- out the entire connection. An event of more than ordinary interest occurred at this Conference in the official visit of Bishop Janes and Dr. Wil- liam L. Harris, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, It will be remembered that since the rejection of Dr. Lovick Pierce, by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1848, as a delegate from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, that there had been no attempt upon the part of either body to establish fraternal relations between the two Methodisms. Upon the arrival of Bishop Janes and Dr. Harris in the City of Memphis, they dispatched a note to the General Conference informing that body of their presence in the city. A committee was at once appointed to wait upon the deputation and accompany them to the Conference, where they explained to that body the object and purpose of their mission. While the object, the union of the churches, was not accomplished by this deputation, it was the beginning of a series of fraternal visits that has resulted in drawing the two bodies into much closer fraternal rela- tions. The Arkansas Conference for 1870 met at Clarksville, October 12. Bishop John C. Keener presided at all of the Conferences in Arkansas this year. This was his first official visit to these Conferences since his election to the Epis- copacy. There was a good deal of anxiety upon the part of the preachers to see and hear the new Bishop. Many of them were familiar with his writings, and some few of them had heard him at the sessions of the General Conference HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 21/ and in the army, and had been favorably impressed with his ability, both as a preacher and administrative officer of the Church. These impressions were confirmed at this visitation of the Conferences. The Conferences were soon convinced that he possessed administrative ability of the highest ord^r, and that his pulpit power was equal to that possessed by his gifted colleagues. The minutes show that Nathaniel Futrell, Thomas J. Rey nolds and Edward J. Doune were received on trial in the Arkansas Conference. Jerome Haraldson, Wm. H. Conley, William J. Dodson, B. F. Hall, J. H. Hall, John F. Hall, Charles H. Gregory and H, A. Barnett were received by transfer. Of these H. A. Barnett located in 1871 ; W. H. Conley is a member of the Arkansas Conference ; B. F. Hall died in 1879, and John F. Hall died in 1875. Charles H. Gregory is a member of the White River Conference, and enjoys the confidence of his brethren as a faithful, devoted servant of the Church. The White River Conference was formed out of the east- ern portion of the Arkansas Conference, in 1870, and held its first session at Mount Zion Church, in Cross County, Sep- tember, 1870, Bishop John C. Keener was the President, and James Wickersham, a layman, was Secretary. The following were members of the Conference at its or- ganization : John M. Steele, George A. Dannelly, James Mackey, John Rhyne, William A, Cobb, C. H. Gregory, E. T. Jones, Burwell Lee, William Gillispie, E. W. Coleman, Benoni Harris, J. H. Cox, J. P. Webb, James L. Denton, H. A. Barnett, A. R. Bennick, Josiah Williams, R. N. Francis, John W. Patton, B. F. Hall, John H. Dye, E. M. Baker, T. H. Howard, J. W. Walkup, W. M. Watson, Henry T. Gregory, William T. Noe, C. H. Ellis, M. C. Morris, George A. Shaeffer, R. G. Brittain, J.H. Hall— 32. The lay dele- gates at this Conference were : J. M. Hanks, W. F. Sale, H. T. Blythe, J. F. Smith, Josiah Roberts, James Wicker- 2l8 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. sham, M. H. McMurtry, Alex Miller, J. A. Barnett, R. C, Sherrell, J. H. McFerren, William N. Allen, A. T. Holliman, R. S. Bryant, Lewis Williams, I. C. Brookfield. The Little Rock Conference met at Washington. Bishop Keener, President, William C. Hearn, Secretary. The ad- missions on trial were Walter W. Weir, Josephus Loving^ James L. Nabors, Francis D. Van Valkenburg, R. H. Saun- ders. Of these, Josephus Loving and R. H. Saunders are members of the Little Rock and Arkansas Conferences. F. D. Van Valkenburg is a member of the Louisiana Confer- ence. J. L. Nabors discontinued in 1871. P. W. Archer, J. A. Parker, George W. Mathews, H. Townsend, M. H. Fielding, W. R. Gardner, T. B. Atter- bury, L. W. Piggott, F. Pearson, were received by transfer from other Conferences. The total membership reported in the State for this year was 23,689. There were two deaths during the year, both from the White River Conference — Elijah F. McNabb and John Cowle. Of Elijah F. McNabb, we have been able to learn nothing beyond the facts stated in a very brief memoir re- corded in the minutes. From these we learn that he was a Kentuckian by birth, and came to Arkansas when quite young, and settled in Phillips County. He was received on trial in 1847, and appointed to Greene Mission. His health failing, he took a superannuated relation in 185 1, which he retained until the time of his death. During the whole of his ministry he maintained the integrity of his Christian character, and was greatly esteemed by all who knew him. John Cowle was born in Huntingdonshire, England, in January, 181 5, and came with his parents to America in 1822, and settled in Vanberberg County, Indiana, where he continued until 1838, when he came to Arkansas. He was received on trial by the Arkansas Conference at Batesville in 1841, and appointed to Bayou Bartholomew Circuit. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 219 During this year his labors resulted in a gracious revival. In 1853 ^^ ^^s appointed to the Helena Station. In 1854 he was appointed to the Batesville District. He continued on district work for sixteen consecutive years. His health failing, he was granted a superannuated relation, which he sustained until his death, which occurred at the home of his brother-in-law, Hon. Isa Iglehart, at Evansville, Ind. His death was triumphant. His last words were, " Oh, blessed Jesus, glory ! " It is said of him that he was a close student, and made rapid progress in all his studies. The appoint- ments that he received indicated the esteem in which he was held by his brethren. He was honored with a seat in the General Conference of 1854. The Arkansas Conference convened in Van Buren, Octo- ber 18, 1871 ; the White River Conference at Batesville, November 15, 1871, and the Little Rock Conference at Lit- tle Rock, November i, 1871. Bishop McTyeire presided at all these Conferences. This was a year of prosperity in all the Conferences. While there was a healthy increase in the membership of the Church in all the Conferences, the largest gain was in the Arkansas Conference. The total gain for this year was 3124 members. The total membership was 32,979. The Conferences were reinforced by a large class of young preachers who were received on trial. In the Arkansas Conference, James L. Hays, E. M. Col- lum, James C. Daily and Samuel McCurdy were received on trial. R. N. Frances, Hastings Puget and S. D. Gaines were received by transfer. In the White River Conference, Thomas A. Craig, John J. Alexander, James M. Falkington, James Denton and Joseph Short were received on trial. Robert Blassingame, M. B. Pearson, R. W. Massey, Robert G. Britton, John J. Prather, John F. Armstrong, Benjamin F. Hall and Arthur Davis were received by transfer. 220 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. In the Little Rock Conference, William W. vVilson, George W. Duncan, James R. Sherwood, Finch M. Winburn, Charles D. McSwain, C. A. Bayliss and Phil. W. Archer were received on trial, and John M. Pirtle was readmitted ; Anslem Minor and D. H. Linebaugh were received by trans- fer. There were three deaths in the Little Rock Conference : Richard P. Davies, W. R. J. Husbands and L. M. Chandler, The following memoirs were furnished the Conference for publication : Richard P. Davies. — He was born in England, March 12, 1833. When 12 years old, he removed with his parents to Canada. His parents were primitive Methodists in England, and his father was a local preacher among them ; but on his removal to Canada he united with the Wesleyan Methodist. Brother Davies was converted in early life, and united with the Wesleyan Church. Upon his removal to Louisiana he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was licensed in 1858, and came to Lewisville, Ark., in i860, and labored as a local preacher until 1863, when he was re- ceived on trial in the Little Rock Annual Conference. He was afterwards ordained Deacon and Elder. He was recog- nized as a useful and acceptable preacher in the various fields of labor to which he was assigned. Being a man of fine personal appearance, and always pleasant and agreeable in social life, and possessing more than ordinary ability, he bid fair to become one of the most useful men in the Con- ference. But in the midst of his usefulness, and with such fair prospects lying before him, he came to a sudden close of his useful life. He fell by the hand of an assassin, who, under the guise of friendship, sought opportunity to take his life. The sad event occurred February 24, 187 1, at 2 o'clock p. m., but he lingered until 2 o'clock at night. Dur- ing this interval he spoke kindly to those about him, and tried to comfort his disconsolate wife by giving her assur- ances of the favor of God. He sent messages of love to his HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 221 bretl^ren of the Conference, and then peacefully fell on sleep. " Leonard M. Chandler. — The information furnished the Conference in reference to this brother was to the effect that he was born in 1841, in the State of Mississippi. He was converted in 1868, and was soon afterwards licensed to preach, and the same year was admitted on trial in the Little Rock Annual Conference. His last appointment was the Eudora Circuit, where he died of swamp fever, October 11^ Those who knew his personal worth regarded him as a man of great consecration to duty. He was very successful in his ministry, under which many souls were converted. His singularly pure and devoted life was closed in great peace." The name of Arthur Davis appears for the iirst time in 1 87 1 in connection with the work in Arkansas. He was a prominent member of the Tennessee and Memphis Confer- ences for many years, filling many important charges in those Conferences. He transferred to Arkansas in the fall of 1870 and remained in Arkansas until his death, which occurred January, 1879. The following notice of him is from the pen of his old friend, Dr. T. L. Boswell : " Brother Davis had a long and useful career among us as a traveling preacher. There is before the writer a list of thirty- four appointments filled by him, including circuit, mission, district and station work ; and well filled, too, as all can testify who witnessed his success in the work of the Master. No doubt scores and hundreds will rise up to bless him as the instrument of their salvation in that day when 'the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father' — when those who 'turn many to righteousness shall be as the stars forever and forever.' In all his going in and out among us there never was the shadow of a complaint against him ; he was not only ' blameless in life and official administra- tion,' but highly commended for his work's sake. As a preacher he was strong, clear, religious and effective in an 222 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. eminent degree. He was an indefatigable worker himself and knew how to get others to work — hence the secret of his great success in the work of soul-saving. Brother Davis was a man of good proportions — of medium stature, strong and active, sandy complexion, keen, piercing eye, quite pre- possessing in his person and manners. He possessed a strong and vigorous mind, and though he had but little cul- ture in early life, he acquired a large amount of knowledge of men and things by reading and observation. He had a good collection of books, and used them as occasion re- quired, but the great book of Nature was his study. He developed a rare degree of originality in strong ideas and modes of expression and illustration. He borrowed but little from human sources ; the individuality of Arthur Davis was more or less stamped upon everything he said and did. He was, moreover, of a bold and princely spirit; he scorned to think of a little, low or mean thing; ' in his eye a vile person was contemned.' In the sense of the Psalmist if he swore to his own hurt he changed not ; what he promised he would perform at any cost ; his word was as good as his bond ; he was an honest man. It was not necessary to convert Arthur Davis to make him honest ; he was that by nature, and conversion only refined and elevated that noble element in his nature to a higher plane of action." " W. R. J. Husbands was a native of Lincoln County, Tennessee, and at the time of his death was 50 years of age. He was converted in 1840 and licensed to preach in 1842, and was received on trial in the Tennessee Conference the same year and appointed to the Bellefonte Mission. In i860 he was transferred to the Little Rock Conference, where he filled the Tulip Circuit, Clark Circuit, Arkadelphia District and Pine Bluff District. He was everywhere recognized as a faithful, devoted and very useful minister of the gospel. A life of such devotion and purity was closed in peace and /holy triumph. His last words were, 'All is bright.' " HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 223 The Arkansas Conferences for 1872 were placed in the Episcopal District of Bishop Wightman. This was his first official visit to Arkansas, and he succeeded by his wonderful power in the pulpit and great administrative ability, com- bined with his elegance of manner and gentleness of spirit, in capturing completely the hearts of both preachers and people, which he continued to hold until the day of his death. The Arkansas Conference met at Bentonville, October i6, 1872. The following were admitted on trial : J. B. Hickman, T. M. C. Birmingham, J. R. N. Bell and W. L. Derrick. J. W. Shook and F. M. Paine were readmitted. B. Williams, R. McTydings, W. T. Boiling, T. F. Brewer and George W. Evans were received by transfer. The White River Conference met at Augusta, October 30, 1872. The following were admitted on trial: James B. Mc- Kamy, Moses C. Clark, John A. Cooper, David J. Hare, Albert H. Woodward, Francis M. Petty. There was one death in this Conference during the year. Of W. W. Gillispie we have no information except that fur- nished by the minutes of the Conference. From these we learn that he was received on trial in the Arkansas Confer- ence in 1866. He traveled successively the Jacksonport Circuit, Walnut Bend Circuit and Clarendon Station, in all of which he had a fair degree of success. The Little Rock Conference met at Pine Bluff, December 4, 1872. The admissions on trial were: Alonzo Monk, William H. Hagan, R. M. Traylor. W. H. H. Biggs, F. M. Jones, C. C. Godden, Z. T. McCann. The transfers from other Conferences were: H. D. Howell, S. N. Burns, J. A. Clower. Of these Alonzo Monk is at this time an honored member of the Memphis Conference. W. H. Hagan died in 1879 ; he was regarded as being one of the most faithful and devoted young preachers of the Conference. W. H. H. 224 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Biggs, transferred to one of the Texas Conferences in 1874^ faithful and true to every interest of the Church. H. D. Howell transferred to the Memphis Conference in 1873. S. N. Burns is a member of the Conference, and enjoys the love and confidence of the people on every pastoral charge he has filled. J. A. Clower transferred to one of the Texas Conferences in 1870. R. M. Tray lor is a member of the Arkansas Conference, faithful and true to every interest committed to his hands. C. C. Godden is a member of the Little Rock Conference, beloved, honored and trusted by his brethren. Z. T. McCann is now a member of the Mis- souri Conference, and for these twenty years he has proven himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him. There was one death reported at the Conference. Rev. Isaac Ebbert was born near Baltimore, Md., March 2, 18 17. Graduated at Augusta College in 1840. Professed conversion and joined the M. E. Church in early life. Re- ceived on trial in the Ohio Conference in 1840. At the di- vision of the Church in 1843 came Sonth and joined the Kentucky Conference. Located in 1850. In the fall of 1858 readmitted into the Memphis Conference, and trans- ferred to the Little Rock Conference in 1871. He went to Paducah, Ky., in 1872, where he was taken violently ill with typhoid pneumonia, and died in great peace. Among his last utterances were ; " the way is clear — all clear." Dr. Ebbert did no active work in Arkansas, but the records show that in other Conferences he did much valuable service for the Church. He was recognized as a preacher of a very high order of ability, and an educated and refined Christian minister. During this year a death occurred in the East Texas Conference, which demands a notice at our hands on account of his former connection with the Arkansas Con- ference. : "Jefferson Shook was born in, Madison County, Mo., May HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 225 20, 1820. He was converted October 15, 1838. Joined the Methodist Church November 2d, of the same year, in Ar- kansas. He was licensed to preach September 18, i84i,and admitted on trial the same year in the Arkansas Conference and appointed to the DeKalb Circuit in the then Republic of Texas. He was ordained Deacon in 1843, ^^^ '^ 1846 was ordained Elder. For a number of years he traveled various circuits and districts in the Texas Conference with great acceptability. He served the Church in various ca- pacities, in all of which he was a faithful servant of the Church. His capacities were above mediocrity, both as a preacher and writer. His pulpit style was rather polemic in its nature. He investigated his subject closely, de- fended the doctrines of the Church sternly, and clung to what he believed with tenacity. As a writer he rather ex- celled, wielding a vigorous pen in vindication of truth and in the expulsion of error. He died December 20, 1872, in great peace." The published minutes for this year show a very large in- crease in the membership of the Church. It was a year of great prosperity in every branch of Church work. The total increase for the three Conferences was 2870 members. The following letter from Bishop Wightman to the West- ern Methodist will no doubt be read with interest by the older class of Methodists, who remember his visit to the State in 1872 : " You insisted, my dear friend, as I was on my way west- ward, that I should write you my impressions of the midways frontier work of the Southern M. E. Church. I regret that the incessant demands on my time have allowed me hitherta no opportunity to comply with your request. The statistical information connected with the three Conferences I have just held has been furnished you in the minutes, which were promptly forwarded, and the communications of my pleas- ant traveling companion, Dr. McFerrin and others. The 15— M 226 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ground I was called to go over was to me entirely new. I was notified in advance that my 500 miles of travel, in pri- vate conveyances, might leave some recollections of the In- dian country and of Arkansas more forcible than agreea- ble. But let me say frankly, that, all in all, I have had very few tours of official visitation which were so full of interest and have left reminiscences so entirely satisfactory. '' It was a new thing in my experience to see a large con- gregation of Indians ; but I shall not soon forget the im- pression made upon me by the decorum and solemnity which marked that congregation — men and women — chief and members of the National Council, at a Sunday camp- meeting service. It had all the excitement of a nevy ex- perience, to address such an assembly, in aphoristic sen- tences, each followed by the interlude of the interpreter's voice. It was getting decidedly into a new groove of public speaking, and I am satisfied with having tried it once. Yet you must not suppose that I broke down at all; while I am free to admit that Bro. Harrell and Dr. McFerrin awakened my admiration at the ease and facility with which — old, practiced hands as they are — they worked in that sort of harness. The words of the interpreters had a musical ring ; yet they seemed to Lack the directness and percussive force of the English. Sometimes the interpreter, who stands to the left of the preacher, would catch the glow of a strong sentence, and show the effect in the flash of the eye, and the rhetorical movement of the hand, as well as in the swell of the voice. The Indian listener, however, is apt to maintain his composure. ' Nil adniirari ' seems to describe pretty accurately his habitual temper. " The Chief of the Creek Nation received us with great courtesy. Though he speaks English fluently, yet, accord- ing to court etiquette, I presume, he welcomed and con- versed with us through his interpreter. In the run of the conversation, ' Ask the Chief,' said 1, ' how old he is.' The HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 22/ question was put in the Creek language, and the reply was in the same tongue, 'About fifty years old.* 'Tell him,' I answered, ' if he will pardon the liberty of my saying it, that he is the finest-looking man I have seen west of the Mississippi River.' The ear of royalty is accustomed to pleasant words, and Chicote quietly but graciously acknowl- edged the compliment with a smile and a bow. He is a man of high principle, well versed in affairs, of fine adminis- trative ability, and very popular. He dresses and looks like an American gentleman. The proceedings of the National Council, which is held annually, in conformity with a written constitution, were conducted with propriety, and showed a growing advancement in the knowledge and application of the principles of government which protect life, person and property. The Clierokees, Creeks, Choctaws and Chicka- saws, have more than 150 schools in operation, attended by more than 5000 children, for the support of which ^165,000 is annually appropriated from the interest received on the ^4,000,000 the United States government holds in trust for these Nations. The Conference has two seminaries — one among the Cherokees, the other among the Choctaws — which are well managed, well patronized and popular. The pressure of my engagements did not allow me to visit them, as otherwise I should have gladly done. The number of Indians in these four Nations is reckoned, I think, at some 60,000. They are agriculturalists and stock-raisers — not hunters — and live in houses and cultivate farms. As a gen- eral thing, they lack the energy and push of the white man. This is not at all surprising. Time is required, and their ad- vancement toward the higher planes of civilization is, of course, gradual. The Methodist Church has long had its evangelizing agencies at work among these Nations. A Presiding Elder's district covers each one of them. A band of devoted, self-sacrificing men, both whites and Indians, carry on the work of the ministry in these districts. The 228 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ;^i 2,000 allowed by the General Mission Board for the sup- port of this work was drawn on to the last dime, and felt to be ;^500 too little to meet the ur^^ent wants of the field. The presence of the Missionary Secretary was highly appre- ciated, and he was 'utilized' to the full extent. When the Conference closed I was sorry to lose his company ; and, particularly, as I found appointments strung along, day and night, £71 route to Bentonville, it being supposed he would ac- company me through Arkansas. "The drive from Fort Gibson to Ocmulgee and back, was in the double-seated buggy of my old friend, Brother Ewing, to whose kind attentions and skilful driving I am under special obligations. The drive from Park Hill, near Tahle- quah, to the Arkansas line, was rough and hard, as we were out of the prairies, and the roads in the Indian coun- try are seldom worked. I was struck with the singular dis- integration of the quartz rocks on the mountain ridges all along this road. It seems as though volcanic or chem- ical action had broken up into small fragments innumerable the masses of rock. These lie on the slopes of the ridges, a level and smooth coating of stone, multitudinous as the sands of the sea-shore. They evidently have never been subjected to the grinding action of the sea. " I found an appointment waiting for me at Boonsboro, the night after reaching Arkansas. In this pleasant little town there is a new brick Methodist Church, and a good female academy under the charge of Prof. Welch, a local preacher and an accomplished instructor. The Cumberland Presby- terian Church was politely tendered by its pastor, as it was supposed that ours would hardly hold the congregation. There I preached to an assembly the size of which surprised me. But the weather was delightful, the moon at the full, and the surrounding country populous. I preached the next day at Viney Grove, some ten miles on. These two appointments formed the pastoral charge of my young friend, the Rev,. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 229 Jerome Haralson, whose acquaintance I formed at Boons- boro, and the quahty and metal of whose horses I tried then as the prelude to the 350 miles of subsequent travel along which they were to carry us. I was now in Washington County, far up in the northwest of Arkansas. But this county, and its neighbor, Benton, I found to be very choice bits of the grand far-off West. A heavy population, indus- trious, stirring, thriving, covers the soil, which is highly pro- ductive. No cotton grows there, and consequently fences and outbuildings are in fine repair; houses are painted, corn and oats are plentiful, stock fat, and the apple orchards are magnificent. The apple grown in these two counties is the boast of everybody. *' The next Sunday I spent in the bright, picturesque Town of Fayetteville, finding a pleasant home in the house of Brother Stone. A handsome brick church had just been completed — seats and pulpit excepted. These were extem- porized for the occasion, and I preached in the new church, but did not dedicate it. On Monday night and Tuesday there were of course appointments strung along my road to Bentonville, the seat of the Arkansas Conference. They understand in that country how to get out of a Bishop all that is in him. We dined on Tuesday with Gen. Pierce, after I preached near by. The General took me over his apple orchard, and pointed out twenty varieties of that fruit, each in highest perfection. At his table I found the only game I tasted in the whole trip: — wild ducks. I had been rather hoping I should see bear meat and venison, and wild turkey in abundance, here and there. But I was mistaken ; and what difference does it make now? The fare every- where was good and well-cooked ; constant riding in the open air gives one a fine edge of appetite, and your friends are glad to see you eat heartily. And now on to Benton- ville. The country is as level as a plain ; but we are on a mountain plateau, not very far from the termination of the 230 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. grand Ozark range. My quarters are at the house of Judge Ellis, and the session is held in the Methodist Church, a new and handsome brick building, which, by the way, I dedicated on Sunday. The religious exercise of the occa- sion were full of interest. Several persons found peace with God the first night of the Conference; and throughout crowds hung with profound attention upon the word •preached. The business of the session went on without hindrance, and in the spirit of work and love. Three or four valuable men were received by transfer. The independ- ence of one of these I admired; he had come from the Western Conference in his own wagon, bringing his wife and children and household goods with him, camping out at night, and ready for the work assigned him. He drove up to the church while the Conference was in seshion» and took up his quarters in the rear of the building. With entire unanimity, and even enthusiasm, the Conference ap- proved the design and plan of the Central University and selected four Trustees to represent them in the Board. They also contributed liberally to the support of the institution. "The business of the Conference all completed, at the close of a powerful sermon by Brother W. the appointments were read out. " ' Look out for Boston Mountain !' had been said to me time and again. I had been forewarned that in crossing the State of Arkansas, from its northwest extremity to Augusta on White River, I should have abundance of rough work I But what is the use of crossing rivers, or mountains either, until you come to them ? The seat which I occupied along- side of my friend Haralson, and behind his superb horses, for the next eight days, not counting Sunday, was just as pleasant as the one I had three years ago by the side of my friend Veal in West Texas. Both were delightful drives. We had no accident, no detention, no solicitude. The weather, a few hours excepted, was bright and enjoyable. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 23! The grand forests of Arkansas had put on their gorgeous autumnal livery. Mountain peaks were in view most of the time. We stopped with pleasant people in comfortable houses at night. And what more could a traveler want ? As for the dreaded Boston Mountain, I had got to the top of the pass, supposing we were just beginning the ascent. But then we were on the Cove creek route, the lowest and best crossing of the Ozark range. At Clarksville, on Thurs- day night, I dedicated another brick church, large and hand- some, with spire and bell. The full amount to meet the re- maining debt was subscribed during the day and at the dedication service at night. Here one of the newly-ap- pointed trustees of the Central University, Judge Floyd, was our host. Saturday afternoon brought us up to Lewis- burg, where another church was to be dedicated. I found it a gem — carpeted, pulpit supplied with sofas, everything just as it should be in a house set apart for God's worship. After the sermon on Sunday morning, my worthy host. Brother Burrow, led off in a subscription to pay the debt remaining on the church, and in less than fifteen minutes the whole amount necessary, and more, was pledged ; and the church was solemnly presented to God. May it be the birthplace of many a soul ! "The next night came down upon us yet on the road. The distance to the point we were aiming at was six or eight miles greater than had been supposed. After two unsuc- cessful attempts to obtain lodgings, we completed our fiftieth mile at the house of Mr. Key, whose cordial reception and ample accommodations made us quickly forget the fatigues of this hard day's work. A pleasanter evening I have sel- dom spent anywhere. On Tuesday morning we drove through a beautiful country, with fine cotton plantations and handsome houses, to Searcy, where we made no stop, and on to White River bottom, six miles wide — a vast solitude, covered with cane, which got higher and higher as we ad- 232 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. vanced, until it nearly overarched the road. At length, we caught a glimpse of White River, and presently saw, re- flected on its clear waters the white houses of Augusta. Here, then, we were at the terminus, ad quern — with three hours to spare — with the team in as good condition as when we set out, and the buggy as sound as if its wheels had never struck root or rock. If duty should call me again to cross the State of Arkansas, commend me once more to Brother Jerome and his steeds, to his pleasant companion- ship and skilful driving, and brotherly care. I shall not soon forget my obligations to him. " In company with the genial editor of the Western Metho- dist, Brother W. C. Johnson, I was placed under the care of Mr. John Penn and his accomplished wife, during the session of the Conference, and was never more comfortable. The business of the Conference went forward with dispatch, so that when Drs. Green and Winfield arrived there was abund- ance of time to hear them — one in behalf of the highest scholastic culture of young men, the other, of young women. A scholarly address in behalf of female education was also delivered by the Rev. Dr. Collins, President of the State Female College, near Memphis. The Conference, with not a dissenting voice, gave its co-operation, with the other Conferences, to the Central University. It also pledged its support to the institution of Dr. Collins, and ap- pointed a committee, at Dr.Winfield's instance, to co-operate with that of the Little Rock Conference, in behalf of the projected Female College at Little Rock. For the Publish- ing House ;^490 was subscribed for the fitting up of the Mission Rooms in the new building. Besides, a very fine missionary collection was raised, under the persuasive elo- quence of the distinguished visitors. "Among the preachers of the White River Conference, I found the Rev. H. T. Gregory, whose friends in South HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 233 Carolina will be pleased to learn that he is an honored and useful minister of the gospel." The Arkansas Conference for 1873 met at Dardanelle, November 5, Bishop Pierce, President. The admissions on trial were : Richard S. Cole, Joseph P. Callaway, James T. Leard, John W. Powell, Benjamin H. Greathouse, Ambrose H. Williams, Rufus F. Beasley, James E. Martin. Received by transfer: O. P. Thomas, R. G. Porter and A. K. Miller. The White River Conference for this year met at Forrest City, Bishop Pierce, President. Joseph W. Ross, David D. McCutchen, John D. Brewster, Pleasant C. Oliver, William C. Malone, Thomas P. Hare, Milton R. Umstead and William B. Foster were admitted on trial. Thomas A. Brickwell was received from the Congregational Church, and C. H. Ford by transfer. During this year the Conference lost by death one of its most faithful and useful members — William M. M. Cobb, who was born September 2, 1817, in Granville County, N. C. He removed to Tennessee with his father about the year 1833, and settled in LaGrange. He was licensed to preach and admitted on trial in' the Tennessee Conference in 1838, and appointed to the Marshall Mission. In 1839 he was transferred to the Arkansas Conference, and appointed to the Fayetteville Circuit. In 1843 he was mar- ried to Miss Susan M. Brodie of Washington County, Ark. His last work was on the Harrisburg District, in 1870-71. In 1872 he was attacked by a cancer, from which he suffered until released by death, January 20, 1873. The early advan- tages of Bro. Cobb were not very good, but by close appli- cation and severe study he made considerable proficiency in scholarship, and in a large degree supplied the lack of an early education, by studying literature and languages. He was recognized as a preacher of more than ordinary ability, and was greatly respected by all who knew him. As would have been expected of such a man, his end was peaceful 234 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. and his death triumphant. His remains were placed in Mount Zion Cemetery, Cross County, Ark. The Little Rock Conference for this year was held at Camden, November 26, 1873, Bishop Pierce presiding. Weems Wooten, John McLaughlin, W. J. Rogers, James C. Rhodes, John W. Haskew, Amariah C. Biggs and Wil- liam C. Dunn were admitted on trial. B. H. Malone, L. D. Webb and C. O. Jones were received by transfer. Of the preachers received into the Conferences during this year, were some who have proven to be very valuable ac- quisitions to the ministry of Arkansas. Of those admitted into the Arkansas Conference, there were B. H. Greathousee, A. H. Williams and J. E. Martin, who are still on the effect- ive list, and doing most excellent service for the Church M. B. Umstead and William R. Foster, of the White River Conference, have filled some of the most important positions in the Conference and enjoy the confidence and esteem of their brethren. In the Little Rock Conference John McLaughlin, William J. Rogers and James C. Rhodes are still on the effective list and doing faithful service for the Church, honored and re- spected by their brethren. The total membership of the Church was 36,490, showing a gain of 998 members during the year. While this was not a very large increase, it shows that there was sufficient vitality in the Church to make some aggressive movements and to lay the foundation for future success. The Conferences in Arkansas lost some valuable preach- ers by transfer during this year. J. Y. Brice transferred to the Trinity Conference, and G. R. Brice, to the Northwest Texas Conference, J. W. Johnson to the Trinity Conference and J. W. Walkup to the Northwest Texas Conference. During this year the Church was called to mourn the loss of one of her chief pastors. The venerable Bishop Early died at his home in Lynch- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 235 burg, Va., on the morning of November 5, 1873. His biog- rapher says of him : " John Early was born in Bedford County, Va., January i, 1786, and was at the advanced age of 87 years, lO months and 4 days. He was converted April 22, 1804, under the ministry of the Rev. Stith Mead. His parents were Baptists, but he united with the Methodists,, and gave early promise of his devotion to the Master's cause. In 1806 he was licensed to preach. Among those who received the benefit of his first labors were the slaves of President Jefferson. He began his ministry by preach- ing the gospel to the poor and doing the duty that lay next to him. After a few rounds on the Bedford Circuit, under the direction of the Presiding Elder, he was recommended for the work of the itinerant ministry, and admitted on trial into the Virginia Conference, February, 1 807. From the date of his admission into the Conference until 1813, he traveled on circuits, the four last years as the senior preacher. In 1815 he appears as the Presiding Elder on the Meherrin District. During these years his ministry was attended with great revival power. On the Greenville Circuit he received 500 members into the Church, and at the ever memorable camp-meeting held at Prospect, in Prince Edward County, Va., it is said lOOO persons were converted. From 1833 to 1840 he was agent for Randolph Macon College. He was a member of the General Conferences of 1 828-32-36-40-44. He was General Book Agent from 1846 until his election to the Episcopacy in 1854. For twelve years, from the time of his election to the Conference of 1866, he continued in the active discharge of the duties of his office. At the Con- ference of 1866 he was, with Bishops Soule and Andrew, granted a superannuated relation. Bishop Early was uni- versally recognized as a man of very superior ability. Presidents of the United States, Governors of his own State, politicians and citizens had time and again invoked his superior practical wisdom for the management of import- 236 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ant civil trusts, but he yielded to none except in an inci- dental way. When he died public sentiment testified that a great and good man had fallen. His funeral obsequies furnished another evidence of the high esteem in which he was held." The Conferences for 1874 were placed in the Episcopal District of Bishop Kavanaugh, The Arkansas Conference met at Fort Smith, October 28. The admissions on trial were George A. Bugg, Benja- min L. Ferguson, George E. Jamison, H. C. JoUey, Thomas E. Sewell, William J. Stone and Lucius I. Lasley. The Conference was strengthened this year by the fol- lowing transfers : Stephen P. Hicks, Henry W. Abbott, James A. Peebles, R. S. Hunter and G. P. Vanzant. The following memoir was furnished the Conference, and should have appeared in the history of 1873 • "Stephen Farish was born in Virginia in 1816, and im- migrated to Alabama in early life, and in 1844 to South Arkansas, where he served for a short time as junior preacher with the Rev. J. Esterbrook, on the Union Circuit. He was admitted on trial into the Arkansas Conference, at its session in Little Rock in 1844. He came to this Confer- ence under circumstances of much promise — in good health, physically strong, a large, athletic and well-formed man, a good heart, a sound and well-balanced mind, with a large measure of spirit, always cheerful and ever ready to adapt himself to the circumstances surrounding him, ardent in tem- perament and highly social in his character. These qualities of manhood, head and heart, made him the man for the times in this new country. He traveled twelve or fourteen years in the regular work, mostly in the region of country lying between Little Rock and Little Red River, and under circumstances of extreme hardship and many privations ; but nobly did he battle on and on, without a murmur or complaint, until 1857 ^^ 1858, when his health failed, and he HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 237 became a great sufferer from that much-dreaded disease, bronchitis, which terminated his itinerant work as an effect- ive preacher in the Conference. He was placed on the su- pernumerary hst, and continued in that relation until 1871, when he was superannuated, and continued in that relation until his death, which occurred December 5, 1872, at his residence, near Lewisburg, Ark. He suffered greatly the last two years of his life with consumption, and was the moit of his time confined to his room ; but in all he was patient and resigned to the will of God. As his end grew near he grew stronger in faith and hope of a blessed immor- tality. He died only as a good man can die — full of joy and peace, beloved and respected by his brethren in the Conference, and in good report among his neighbors. He was a good, practical and sound preacher. He shunned no cross, dreaded no dangers, but was a firm defender of our beloved Methodism. His example was good in his family. He reared six noble sons, who, together with the wife of his youth, are left to mourn their loss." The White River Conference was held at Searcy, Novem- ber 1 1, 1874. There was a very large class of admissions this year. Z. T. Bennett, Henry E. Robertson, George M. Hill, A. P. Saffold, S. L. Cochran, Thomas J. Franks, James F. Jernigan, Richard Moon, William A. Pendergrass, James G. Miller, A. Walkup, F. M. Munns, Frank Ritter, Samuel Bay- liss, William H. Paschall, John A. Corbitt. Received by transfer, George A. Schaeffer. Of these, Z, T. Bennett, S. L. Cochran, James F. Jernigan, William A. Pendergrass, Frank Ritter, are still on the effective list in the White River Conference. George M. Hill is a member of the Little Rock Conference. This great gain of ministerial force in Arkansas was some- what reduced by the transfer of a number of very efficient preachers. George E. Jamison transferred to the Los An- geles Conference ; W. T. Boiling transferred to the Memphis 238 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Conference, and Peter A. Moses transferred to the Columbia Conference. Peter A. Moses was for a number of years connected with the educational interests of Arkansas, and rendered valuable aid in developing an interest in the educa- tional work of the Church. The Little Rock Conference for this year met at Monti- cello, December 9, 1874. The admissions on trial were Bar- ney E. Mitchell, M. M. Baker, Jacob D. Whitesides, Dejalma Leake, Robert W. Evans, W. H. Vaughn, John R. Cason, Wade Preston and John M. Bradley. By transfer, L M. Lewis. Of these, Jacob D. Whitesides, John R. Cason, Wade Preston and M. M. Baker are members of the Little Rock Conference. Dejalma Leake is a member of the White River Conference. B. E. Mitchell and John M. Brad- ley located after traveling a few years. Robert W. Evans died in 1887. W. H. Vaughn transferred in 1879 to the Northwest Texas Conference. The Church in Arkansas lost several very excellent preachers by transfer during this year. M. H. Wells and E R. Barcus transferred to the Northwest Texas Conference; W. H. H. Briggs and I. Z. T. Morris transferred to the Texas Conference, and William C. Hearn transferred to the Denver Conference. Of these, M. H. Wells is a member of the Louisville Conference. He has filled a number of very im- portant charges in the Northwest Texas Conference, the Alabama and Louisville Conferences, to the great satisfaction of the people whom he served. E. R. Barcus was for many years a teacher of music in our colleges, and was regarded as one of the best teachers in the Southwest. He is an ex- cellent preacher, and thoroughly devoted to the work of the Church. W. H. H. Briggs and I. Z. T. Morris are held in high esteem by their brethren in the Texas Conference. W. C. Hearn remained in Denver but one year, when he was compelled by ill health to transfer to the North Alabama Conference. He was a good preacher and polished Christian HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 239 gentleman. Tiie statistics show a good healthy growth of the Church in all the Arkansas Conferences. The largest increase, however, was in the White River Conference. The Arkansas Conference for this year met at Lewisburg; the White River at Helena, and the Little Rock at Mineral Springs. Bishop Wightman presided at the Arkansas and Little Rock Conferences, and Bishop Doggett presided at the White River Conference. Judging from the statistical reports this was not a prosperous year. The Arkansas Con- ference suffered a loss of 1 161 members, and the Little Rock Conference a loss of 987 members. There was a small in- ■crease of members in the White River Conference of 513. The total loss in the State, as will be seen, was 1635 mem- bers. A decrease in the statistical report, however, does not always indicate a real loss; it may result from, a more pains- taking and careful enumeration of the membership, or from a correction of the mistakes of former pastors who had not been careful in keeping the roll of Church members. The loss for this year, however, cannot be accounted for in this way, for it is not probable that so great a loss would occur from this source. The revival power in the Church this year was not sufficient to replace the loss by death and removals. There was a goodly number of admissions on trial, and trans- fers to the Arkansas Conferences this year, but these gains were very nearly counterbalanced by the deaths, locations and transfers from the Conferences. The loss of ministerial force in the Arkansas Conference was just equal to the gain; in the White River Conference the gain lacked one of being equal to the loss ; in the Little Rock Conference there was a gain of three preachers. The admissions on trial in the Arkansas Conference were George Pleager, Ambrose H. Williams, James N. Coker, David C. Simmons, P. B. Summers and James Caldwell. The transfers to the Conference were J. W. Bryant, J. E. Walker and F. H. Thacker. 240 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. The additions to the White River Conference were T. W» Morton, R. M. McAllaster, Alonzo C. Griffin and James M. Clark. Those received by transfer were Elam A. Stephen- son, Clarence J. Nugent and J. H. Priddy. The additions to the itinerant force of the Little Rock Conference were Houston Armstrong, William F. Clark^ John Jenkins, Euphrates Garrett, Willis Jones, T. P. Minor and Edward M. Whitmore. There was one addition by transfer, James Atkins. Of these, Houston Armstrong trav- eled for several years in the Little Rock Conference, and transferred to the Louisiana Conference of which he is now a member ; William F. Clark, after a few years, transferred to one of the Texas Conferences; Euphrates Garrett is a mem- ber of the Little Rock Conference ; Willis Jones discon- tinued ; T. P. Minor located in 1878; John J. Jenkins died in 1889. The following memoir was presented to the Con- ference for that year : "Rev. John J. Jenkins was born at Woodlawn, Ouachita County, Arkansas, August 15, 1852; was converted and re- ceived into the Church in 1869 by Rev. Wm. Moores ; was licensed to preach September 26, 1874, by the Quarterly Conference of Ouachita Circuit, Rev. J. A. Parker, P. E.; Rev. E. R. Barcus, P. C; was admitted on trial in the Little Rock Conference at Mineral Springs, December ic, 1875 ; ordained Deacon by Bishop Kavanaugh in 1877, Elder by Bishop Pierce, at Camden, 1879. He gave fourteen years of faithful work to the Conference, eight of them to various pastoral charges in the Monticello District, one to Malvern Station, four to the Camden District, and one on a bed of sickness, showing his brethren how to suffer the will of the Lord. " Deprived of early educational advantages, he became a student from his admission into the Conference, and his pro- gress was wonderful. When informed of an error, he cor- rected it immediately, and his use of language became varied HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 24I and judicious. His powers of application were of the finest order. He did not merely read ; he studied, digested and assimilated. He drew ideas from any and all sources, but only ideas. He took no man's words. He dressed up the ideas according to his own taste. He bought books and read them, and his acquaintance with theology was very re- spectable. Had he lived to old age, he would have been a champion of Arminianism. "As a preacher he was unusually effective. Argumenta- tive, logical, tender, fearless, he gained access to the hearts of his hearers. He could preach on eternal punishment and not chill the hearts of Christians. In his preaching there were variety, thought, power, and that nameless unction that draws and holds an audience. There was sweetness in his voice, grace in his manners, love in his heart, and fire in his soul. He was popular as a preacher. He was in demand. Large congregations waited on him. He was courted, praised and flattered, yet he was singularly free from vanity. He was himself; he aped nobody. His individuality was marked; yet few men used the word / less than he. There was a manly independence in all he said and did, which was equally removed from arrogance and cowardice. He had religion. It permeated all his sermons, formed the atmosphere of his life, sparkled in his eye, glowed in his countenance, spoke in his voice, renewed his heart, and made beautiful his life. "As a pastor he was wise, firm, judicious and sympathetic. He was born a Presiding Elder, and in this office he was the peer of any. Well versed in the law of his Church, brave^ loving, having the courage of his convictions, well poised, he controlled men with no apparent effort. He possessed the rare faculty of projecting his spirit upon others. It was im- possible to be with him and not catch the tone of his lofty enthusiasm. Broad-gauged and liberal himself, penurious- ness blushed into liberality under his gracious words or wise rebukes. His strong faith reproved and helped the weak and 16— M 242 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. despairing. A worker himself, wherever he went preachers and people caught his spirit, and his district blossomed like the Garden of God. " He was happily married to Miss Ida M. Garner, by Rev. H. D. McKinnon, November 24, 1881. As a husband and father he was the embodiment of tenderness, patience and firmness. In his home his life and character were trans- parent. " He died well. He passed away on Sunday night, Sep- tember 16, 1889, as peacefully and as easily as an infant go- ing to sleep. He knew his condition, bade his family good- by, and exhorted them to meet him in heaven, and died praising that blessed Jesus who redeemed and saved him. On Saturday before his death Bro. H. H. Watson visited him, and talked with him an hour. He asked Bro. Watson to sing, ' There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood.' While the hymn was being sung, he exclaimed : 'O, precious Savior! O, thou immaculate Son of God! What a precious Savior you have been to me.' Bro. Watson asked him if he had any message for the brethren. 'Nothing,' he said, 'only I am trusting in Jesus, and I leave my family in the hands of the good Lord and the Little Rock Conference.' " He was my friend. I loved him as Jonathan loved David, and my heart is sad. I place this tribute to his memory, in the belief that it is not overdrawn, and in the hope that our friendship will be renewed and perpetuated in Heaven. "J. R. Moore." The White River Conference sustained the loss of four members of the traveling connection during this year — Wil- liam T. Noe, John H. Hall, Andrew Conley and J. W. Ross. William T. Noe was a native of Kentucky, and was born in 1834. He professed religion at a camp-meeting held in Graves County, Ky., in 1854. The writer had the pleasure of being present at the time. He was licensed to preach in 1856, and was admitted on trial in the Arkansas Conference HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 243 in 1857, and was appointed to the Jacksonport Circuit. He was ordained Deacon by Bishop Paine in 1859, ^^^ Elder by Bishop Pierce in 1866. From the time of his admission into the Conference until his death he filled, with ^reat ac- ceptability to the people and usefulness to the Church, the various circuits, stations and districts to which he was ap- pointed. His father, dying when he was quite a child, he was raised by his mother and grandparents, who were peo- ple of great devotion to Christian duty. As a result of this careful training, young Noe was saved from many of the dangers into which too many youths are led by the allure- ments and temptations of the world. Before his conver- sion he was known as a young man of most excellent char- acter, which only needed the purifying and refining power of religion to mould it into a beautiful and consistent life. From childhood he labored under the disadvantage of a feeble constitution and frail body that prevented him from doing much that he otherwise would have accomplished. In all his appointments he labored to the extent of his phys- ical strength and to the satisfaction of the Church. A man of such excellent character and sweet spirit would neces- sarily have many warm and devoted personal friends. His death, which was caused by pneumonia, occurred at his home, in Forrest City, November 6, 1875. William T. Noe was a warm personal friend of the writer. We were school- mates. I was present at his conversion, and at the Quarterly Conference, where he was licensed to preach, and from per- sonal knowledge can testify of the excellence and purity of his character. Such a life was closed in great peace, as he gave his friends in the last hours the most satisfactory evi- dences of his clear prospects of future bliss. John Hall was born in Williamson County, Tenn., in 1832, and moved to Arkansas in 1849. He professed conversion, and joined the Church in 1850, and was licensed to preach in J 868, and was admitted on trial, in the Arkansas Conference, 244 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. in 1869, and was appointed to the Salem Mission. In 1871-2 he traveled the Fleetwood Circuit; in 1873, Salem Circuit; in 1874, Evening Shade Circuit; in 1875, Bennett's River Mission until his death, which occurred September 26, 1875. His end was in peace. Andrew Conley was born in 1818, in Williamson County, Tenn. Was converted in early life, and joined the Methodist Church. He was admitted on trial in the Tennessee Con- ference in 1845, and appointed to Short Mountain Circuit. In 1847, he was ordained Deacon, and in 1849 he was or- dained Elder. He located 1850, and continued in that re- lation until 1872, when he was readmitted into the White River Conference, and appointed to the Marion Circuit. He continued in the traveling connection until the time of his death in 1875. John W. Ross was born in North Carolina, and while very young his parents moved to Arkansas. When he was con- verted he joined the M. E. Church, South, although he had been reared in the seceder faith. He was licensed to preach and admitted into the White River Conference in 1873, and appointed to the Marion Circuit, where he was very success- ful. In 1875 he was appointed to the Walnut Bend Station, where he labored with great acceptability until his death in 1875. A life of devotion to Christ was followed by a tran- quil death. The Arkansas Conference for 1876 met at Yellville. The Little Rock Conference met at Arkadelphia, and the White River Conference at Batesville. Bishop Keener presided at all these. The admissions on trial for the Arkansas Conference were Peter H. Throne, James L. Keener and William H. Matheny. Received by transfer, John M. Haynes, Thomas R. Nichols and Carroll W. Myatt. The admissions in the Little Rock Conference were Louis B. Hawley, Thomas N. Naike, James C. Biglow, W. W. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 245 Henderson, R. M. Hamilton, R. M.Traylor and L. M. Keith. Of these Louis B. Hawley is a member of the Little Rock Conference. He has proven himself to be a man of earnest purpose and true devotion, faithful and uniformly successful in his ministry. Thomas Naike discontinued at th'~ °nd of his first year. James C. Biglow traveled for several years in the Little Rock Conference and transferred in 1881. R. Hamilton discontinued in 1877. Richard Traylor is a mem- ber of the Little Rock Conference, trusted and honored by his brethren. Louis M. Keith traveled until 1889, when his valuable labors were terminated by death. The following notice of his life and labors is taken from the minutes of the Little Rock Conference : " Louis Martin Keith was a native of Alabama. He was converted and admitted to membership in the M. E. Church, South, in 1870. He was licensed to preach and admitted on trial in the Little Rock Annual Conference in 1876. He filled the following pastoral charges in the order named : Mazerne Mission, Maumelle Circuit, Collegeville Circuit, two years ; Washington Station, two years ; Malvern Sta- tion, one year ; Hamburg Station, two years, and Carlisle Circuit, three years. Owing to the protracted illness of his wife, he was granted a supernumerary relation in 1888. Taking his wife to Missouri, her health so improved that he was placed in charge of Warrensburg Station, in the South- west Missouri Conference. The next year he was placed in charge of the Fordyce Station, Little Rock Conference. While here in the midst of the most active, and successful year of his ministry, he was suddenly called from labor to rest. He was a diligent student, and possessed a fine memory, and selecting his books with care, his mind was well stored with useful information. His sermons were en- riched by his mental stores, and were delivered with the energy born of strong convictions. He was recognized as 246 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. a preacher of marked ability with large promise of in- creased usefulness." The Church in Arkansas lost three very effective and faithful preachers during this year by death, one from each of the Conferences. James Taylor Stockton was born in Kentucky, June 12, 1813 ; was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, about the year 1846. Soon after he was licensed to preach the gospel and was received on trial in the itinerant work in the Florida Annual Conference about the year 1854. He was ordained Deacon by Bishop Andrew at Alligator Fla., December 28, 1856, and Elder by the same in 1858. He was married to Miss Harriet P. Bake, May 17, 1859. He moved to Arkansas in 1874 and traveled the Marshall Circuit as a supply. He was readmitted into the Arkansas Annual Conference at Fort Smith, October 31, 1874, and was appointed to the Huntsville Circuit, and in 1875 was appointed to the Hinds- ville Circuit, which charge he, reached December 25, 1875, and in two days was stricken down with flux and spinal af- fection, and died January 9, 1876. The grace of God sus- tained him in a wonderful degree during his whole sickness. He was patient and resigned, calm and happy with sweetest joy of hope and rest. James B. McKamey was born in Lauderdale County, Alabama, February 10, 1823, was converted in 1843 and licensed to preach by William McFerrin in 1847, He was ordained Deacon by Bishop Andrew in Brownsville in 1852, and Elder by Bishop Paine, in Jackson, Tenn., in 1861. He removed to Arkansas and was admitted on trial in the White River Conference in 1872. He was a plain, useful man, and was known as a good and faithful preacher. As death approached he was strong in faith, and while his brother was repeating the Seventy-third Psalm he fell asleep to wake no more until the angel trump shall wake the sleeping dead. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 24/ Richard Colburn, at the time of his death was a member of the Little Rock Conference, but he had been for many- years a member of the Arkansas Conference. One who was so long identified with the Church in Arkansas should receive more than a passing notice at our hands. The fol- lowing sketch of his life is taken partly from the memoir given in the minutes and partly from other sources of infor- mation : Richard F. Colburn was born in North Carolina in 1814. He first studied medicine, and was admitted to practice, but after his conversion, feeling that it was his duty to preach the gospel, he was licensed to preach and admitted into the traveling connection in the Missouri Conference in 1840. In consequence of an attack of rheumatism he had to seek a more southern climate, and was transferred to the Memphis Conference, where he filled the following appointments : Oxford, Hernando, Grenada and Trenton Stations, all of which he filled with great acceptability and usefulness. He transferred to the Arkansas Conference in 1855, and was stationed at Fort Smith. In 1856-57 he was' at Van Buren. Here follows a brief period in his life to which he always alluded with regret. In order to support his family he felt compelled to locate, and being an excellent physician, he engaged in the practice of medicine for a number of years. In 1863 he was readmitted into the traveling connection in the Little Rock Conference. In 1863-64-65 he was stationed in Little Rock. But few men have been required to endure as great affliction in the discharge of ministerial duties. He came to the station during the war when the Church was greatly reduced in membership, and was suffering from the consequences of this loss. To add to his troubles, when the City of Little Rock fell into the hands of the Federal troops, the authorities of the M. E. Church availed them- selves of the power given them by the celebrated Ames- Stanton order, and compelled Dr. Colburn to vacate the 248 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. church, which was seized and occupied by the preachers of the M. E. Church. That this procedure was directed against the M. E. Church, South, and not against Dr. Col- burn personally, was shown by the fact that Dr. Colburn was permitted to preach in the Christian Church without molestation from the authorities. The intention of the rep- resentatives of the M. E. Church was to secure the property that belonged to the M. E. Church, South. This property was not surrendered to its rightful owners until after the close of the war, when an order was obtained from President Johnson commanding them to surrender the property to its rightful owners. During the troubles of this period Dr. Colburn preserved the Church at Little Rock from dissolu- tion, and upon the return of peace it was ready to resume its great work of sustaining the cause of religion in the cap- ital city of the State. He continued in the active work of the ministry until 1868, when his health failed, and he was granted a superannuated relation, which he sustained until his death. For about ten years he was a great sufferer, but he endured his sufferings with a patience and resignation that nothing but the grace of God could have produced. He was made perfect through sufferings. His death was a glorious triumph of the power of God to sustain his servants. His dying message was .' " Tell my brethren that I die in the faith." He died at his residence in Little Rock, Decem- ber, 1876. Dr. Colburn was a preacher of very marked ability. His fine personal appearance, polished manners, and chaste language made him a very attractive preacher. He was the father of Samuel G. Colburn, for a number of years one of the honored members of the Little Rock Con- ference. His widow still lives in Little Rock, and is greatly venerated as a woman of devoted attachment to the Church, of which her husband and son were honored ministers. One of his sons. Dr. John Colburn, is a practicing physician in California ; another, Jesse Colburn, is a prominent druggist HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 249 in Little Rock. One of his daughters is the wife of Rev. Thomas H. Ware; of the Little Rock Conference, another daughter is the wife of Charles Butler, of California. These are all highly respected in the communities where they re- side. There were several transfers from the Conferences this year. Orlando P. Thomas and James E. Walker, of the Arkansas Conference, transferred to the North Texas Con- ference. James Mackey, of the Little Rock Conference, transferred to the Northwest Texas Conference, and James A. Parker transferred to the Louisiana Conference, A. R. Bennicks, of the White River Conference, transferred to the Northwest Texas Conference, and C. L Nugent transferred to the Memphis Conference. The Arkansas Conferences for the year 1877 were in the Episcopal District assigned to Bishop Kavanaugh. The Arkansas Conference convened in Fayetteville, the Little Rock Conference in Monticello and the White River in Augusta. The ministerial force of the Conferences was strengthened by the addition of a number of valuable accessions. In the Arkansas Conference Martin L. Williams, John E. Duna- way, Jesse L. Massey, Henry W. Brooks, John L. Wytche, H. W. Burns, William C. Brodie, Michael Martz. By transfer, Vincent V. Harlan, W. J. Wood, J. Handlin and John T. McLaughlin. The Little Rock Conference received the following addi- tions on trial: Bascom Monk, James R. Moore, William M. Crowson, Richard P. Wilson, Josephus A. Biggs and John R. Cason, The White River Conference : H. B. Neil, N. E. Skinner, Z. T. Griffin, Isaac T. Morris, John L. Watson, M. M. Smith, Z. W. Lindsay, A. S. Blackwood, W. A. Lindsay, and Samuel Bayliss. The reader will recognize in this list of accessions an unusually large number who have remained 250 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. in the traveling connection until the present time, and oc- cupy prominent positions in their respective Conferences. The entire class from the Little Rock Conference are in the traveling connection in some of the Conferences at the pres- ent time, and the greater part of those in the other two classes are in the traveling connection in some of the Con- ferences. W. C. Brodie, of the Arkansas Conference, transferred to the Northwest Texas Conference. John A. Corbitt, of the White River Conference, transferred to the Memphis Conference, and Edward Orgain transferred to the Western Virginia Conference. The Church in Arkansas lost by death one of the old, faithful veteran pioneer preachers, one whose memory is re- vered by many throughout the State. Burrell Lee was born in Davidson County, Tenn., October 20, 1809, and died at his home in Batesville, Ark., May 28, 1877. He was converted in his sixteenth year, and though raised by Baptist parents, he cast his lot with " the people called Methodists." No sooner had he united with the Church than he felt called to preach, and forthwith he com- menced, receiving license, first to exhort, at the hands of Bishop Morris, on the Old Red River Circuit, in Kentucky, then in the bounds of the Tennessee Conference. He was licensed to preach by Bishop Paine July 28, 1828. The fol- lowing fall he was received on trial into the Tennessee Con- ference, and was discontinued at the end of one year. In the autumn of 1830 he came to Arkansas, and was immedi- ately employed by the Presiding Elder and put in charge of two circuits — the White River and the Spring River. In 1 83 1 he obtained a recommendation to the Annual Conference again, but being unable to get to Conference on account of sickness, he had the recommendation withheld. He renewed the application, and joining Conference in 1833, was 'stem of missions to the colored people sprang up all over the South, and many of the best preachers of the Conferences gave their whole time in going from one plantation to another instructing and catechising the slaves. These old mission preachers were not only held in great esteem by the negroes, but they had the highest esteem of the white people as well. It was no uncommon thing for the owner of the slaves to be a deeply interested hearer of the instructions .given to the slaves. CHAPTER XXV. Arkansas Tribes — Pierre Francois Charlevoix — The Indian Forms of Worship. The territory of which the present State of Arkansas con- sists was a part of the original Louisiana purchase, made by the United States in 1803, and for which the French received fifteen miUion dollars. It comprises about 52,198 square miles, or about 33,406,720 acres of land. It lies on the west side of the Mississippi River, which separates it on the east from the States of Tennessee and Mississippi. It is boun.^'ed on the south by Louisiana, and on the west by Texas and the Indian Territory, and on the north by Missouri. When first discovered by whitS men, the whole country was in the possession of the Indians. The tribes that principally occu- pied this territory were the Osages and the Quapaws. The Ozarks were identified with the Quapaws,' both of these being of the Arkansas tribe. The names of Arkansas and Ozark have both become extinct, while the Osage and the Quapaw still remain. The Osage tribes were composed of the Great and Little Osages, who occupied the land north of the Arkansas River and into Missouri to the Missouri River. The Arkansas Indians had villages at the mouth of the Arkansas River and on the Mississippi River, south of the Arkansas. The United States obtained the land from these tribes, the Osages and Quapaws, by treaties made in 1818 with the Osages, and in 18 18 and 1824 with the Quapaws. An account of the Arkansas Indians is given by Father Pierre Francois de Charlevoix in his exploration among them in 1821. The following are extracts from the narrative as found in Hempstead's " History of Arkansas" : '•'The Arkansas Nation, next to the Natches, was probably 384 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. the most civilized of all the aborigines of our country. At the time of DeSoto's visit they lived in mud-walled towns, fortified with high circular towers. They worshiped a great spirit, which they called Coyocophil ; and when it thundered they said it was the Lord of Life which spoke to them. They also worshiped both the sun and the moon. From the peculiar structure of their language and the ter- mination of their words, it must be mferred that they were the descendants of the Aztec race. The Natches, Houmis and other Mississippi tribes worshiped the sun and kept up a continual fire in their temples, and at one time in the his- tory of the Southwest Indians the worship of the sun was not less common among them than it was among the prim- itive tribes of the Old World ; and who then can doubt for one moment that most of our Southern tribes were the descend- ants of the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru? For like them they built mounds and temples and perforated sacrifices. The best writers on Indian antiquity now admit that they are at least analogous to those of Mexico. The Indian mounds of Louisiana and Mississippi, of which so little is known and much less has been written, are among the most extensive and interesting of any on the continent." In the progress of our history we will again have occasion to speak of these and other tribes of Indians in Arkansas. CHAPTER XXVI. Methodism Among the Indians — Treatment by the Whites — Old French Missions — Presbyterian Mis- sion — Rev. Cephas Washburn — Original Boundary — Capers — Removal West. Our history of Methodism would be incomplete without some reference to the labors of our missionaries among the Indian tribes of our country. No one, acquainted with the treatment of the Indians by the whites, can justify the course that has usually been pursued towards them by the people and the government of the United States. The fact that the Indians were savages did not justify the systematic cru- elty with which they have been too frequently treated. Much of the savage cruelty that has been charged upon the Indians was caused by the oppression of the whites. Driven to des- peration and despair, they have sometimes turned upon their oppressors with a terrible and indiscriminate slaughter of men, women and children ; but for every outrage of this kind perpetrated by them, they could point to similar out- rages upon the part of the whites. The history of Pennsyl- vania shows that whenever the whites have dealt kindly and justly toward the Indians they have been quiet and peace- able. Had the example of William Penn been followed by the other colonies there would have been much less trouble in our dealings with these children of the forests. While the Methodist Church may have been somewhat remiss in its efforts to Christianize these aboriginal tribes of our country, it is nevertheless a source of pleasure to know that some efforts have been made, and that some success has been achieved in winning them to Christ, and that many have been Christianized, civilized and thoroughly educated^ 25- M 386 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. When the. whites first entered the Territory of Arkansas it was occupied by the Quapaws, Ozarks and Osages. The old French and Spanish Roman CathoHc missionaries had estabhshed mission posts among them at a very early day, and had succeeded in making some converts among them while the Territory was under French and Spanish control. The first Protestant mission among the Indians in Arkan- sas of which we have any mention, was organized by Rev. Cephas Washburn, a Presbyterian minister, in the fall of 1820. It was known as Dwight's Mission among the Cher- okees. These Cherokees had recently been brought from t'^e older States east of the Mississippi, and settled in the western part of Arkansas. Dwight's Mission Station was near where the Town of Russellville now stands. ^ To obtain a clear idear of the work of the Church among the Indians we must remember that at one time the dividing line between the Indian Territory and Arkansas was con- siderably east of the present dividing line. At that time the line began at a point on Red River, near the Town of Ful- ton, and ran nearly north to the mouth of Point Remove Creek, on the Arkansas River, thence in a direct line to a point on White River near Shield's Ferry. The Choctaws occupied the Territory south of the Arkansas River, and west of the line commencing at Fulton, on Red River, and running north to Point Remove on the Arkansas River. The remainder of the Territory north and west of these tribes was occupied by the Osages, Quapaws and some other smaller tribes. The Choctaws, Chickasaws, Chero- kees and Creeks had all formerly been located east of the Mississippi River, and had made considerable progress in civilization, and many of them had acquired considerable property. Much progress had been made by our mission- aries in giving the gospel to these tribes. As early as 1821. a mission was established among the Creek Indians, at tjiat time occupying lands in Georgia and HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 38/ Alabama, east and west of the Chattahoochee River. Dr. Capers was selected by Bishop McKendree for the purpose of planting this mission. He set out on horseback on an extensive tour of appointments, for the purpose of awakening public attention to the moral and religious im- provement of this tribe of Indians, who occupied the west- ern frontier of the Conference. Contributions were solicited for the purpose of erecting mission premises and establish- ing a school ; and the project in the hands of so eloquent an advocate met with general favor. He visited the Creek agency, and had an interview with the celebrated half-breed Chief, Mcintosh, who, according to stately etiquette, though he understood English, would communicate with Dr. Capers only through an interpreter. Asbury Manual Labor School was located at Fort Mitch- ell, near the present City of Columbus, and Dr. Capers, that he might the better superintend it, was, for 1823 and 1824, stationed at Milledgeville. This mission was discontinued in 1830, but the labor expended was not fruitless, since niany of these Indians after their removal west of the Mississippi River were gathered into the fold of Christ, and traced thpir first impressions to the faithful missionaries who had in- structed them in their home east of the Mississippi River. Bishop McTyeire says of the work among the Choctaws and Chickasaws and kindred adjoining tribes, " their evan- gelization was like a nation born in a day." Rev. Alexander Talley was appointed as missionary to the Indians in North Mississippi in 1827, and taking with him a tent and an in- terpreter, began the good work among these Indians that resulted in the conversion of many of them. The Roman Catholics did some missionary work among the Arkansas Indians while the Territory was under the French and Spanish control. The first notice that we have of any regular appointments for the Indians is found in the minutes for 1830. We have 388 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, in connection with the Arkansas District the Creek Mission and the Cherokee Mission. The statistics for 183 1 are not reported. The statistics for 1832 show within the Arkansas District an Indian membership of 308. At that Conference there were reported six schools among the Creeks and five schools among the Cherokees. It will be remembered that for a number of years the western boundary of the Arkansas Territory was a line beginning near Fulton, on the Red River, and running in a northeasterly direction to the mouth of Point Remove Creek, on the Arkansas River; thence to a place on the White River near Batesville. All west of that line belonged to the Indians. By consulting the minutes it will be seen that some of the most efficient preachers of the Missouri and Arkansas Conferences were appointed to labor among the Indians. Such men as Alvin Beard, John Harrel, A. M. Scott, H. G. Jophn, John N. Hammill, Henry Perry- man, Burwell Lee, Pleasant Tackett, Richard W. Owen, William Johnson, N. M. Talbot, Jerome C. Berryman, J. W. P, McKenzie, Andrew Hunter and others. Whatever else the Indians may have against the whites as a matter of just complaint, it cannot be said that the Indians committed to the care of the Methodist Church were neglected by the Conference. An examination of statistics will show that the labors of the Methodists have been crowned with a reason able degree of success. A comparison of the condition of the Indians who have been brought under the influence of the Methodist Church will compare favorably with their condition in any other part of the country. So great was the increase of the Indian membership of the Church that they were organized into a separate Conference in 1844, with a membership of 2292 Indians, 85 whites, and 133 colored. As a result of the labors of our missionaries in the Indian Territory, the Indians, under our influence, have advanced in civilization until a large number of them are the equals of their white brethren in intelligence and piety. Many of the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 389 native preachers are as devoted and earnest laborers for the cause of Christ as can be found among their white brethren. The schools that have been established among them have been under the control of experienced teachers, whose in- fluence in moulding the character of these Indians has developed the highest type of character that has ever existed among them. In the early days of Methodism in Arkansas there was a small remnant of the Seneca tribe of Indians in the northern part of the State. Jacob Lanius, who traveled among them, said of them : " I then entered the Seneca Nation. They own about twelve square miles ot land, number about 192, and are fast decreasing. They have a missionary, Bro. Daniel Adams, a native Mohawk. His house is a neat little cabin, better than many in the State, and pretty well furnished. He speaks the Seneca and some other languages very fluently. His wife is a native Stockbridge Indian, very well educated in common English literature, and upon the whole one of the most intelligent ladies I have seen for many days. They have a fine little son that they wish to qualify for the work of a missionary. A more pious family than this, I presume, cannot be found in the country. Here we have a ' living epistle ' that speaks loudly in favor of missionary operations. Bro. Adams is a member of the Arkansas Conference, and this is the second year he has been appointed to labor among the Senecas. I spent a night with Bro. Adams, and was most hospitably entertained. He is very comfortably situated in a little cabin, has twenty acres of good wheat and seven of corn, with everything else necessary. His wigwam is furnished with two beds, a table, trunks, plenty of queensware, and the best library I have seen on the dis- trict, save one." — [^Methodism in Missouri. Whatever may be the fate of the Indian tribes of the West, whether it is to be gradually absorbed by the white race, or whether to perish in the presence of a superior civ- 390 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ilization, or whether they will continue to exist in a state of comparative separation from the whites, their past history- demonstrates the fact that they are susceptible to religious impressions, and that the best solution of the Indian problem is to give them the gospel. When they have received the gospel, they will see that the cruelties they have endured were not the result of the Christianity of the whites, but arose from a lack of the spirit of the gospel. They will see that their enemies have been the enemies of the religion of Christ. Tile following from the pen of Dr. Hunter, will be read with interest : "As early as 1815 Methodism was introduced to the In- dians. The gospel reached the Wyandottes through the in- strumentality of John Stewart, a negro, who won many of them to Christ. In 18 19 the Ohio Conference sent preach- ers to his assistance. In 1820 converted Wyandottes, under the influence of the missionary spirit, bore the news of their conversion to a kindred tribe — the Ojibways in Canada. Two Indian preachers went there, and twelve years after there were ten Indian missionary stations in Upper Canada, with nearly 2000 adult Indian members, and 400 youths were receiving instruction ie eleven schools. Methodism is a missionary system. A church that is not missionary, lacks the essential features of a church of Christ. She can point today to her thousands of converts among the various In- dian tribes in vindication of her claim to be a part of the Lord's militant host. The truth is God has no use for a church only to be used as an aggressive force against the powers of darkness, that Je.«?us may be crowned,' Lord of all.' And the man who professes to be the follower of Christ and is opposed to missions has need to examine him- self to see whether the spirit of Christ is in him, ' If any man has not the spirit of Christ he is none of his.' The HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 39I spirit of Methodism has always been in accord with this sentiment. ** Bishops McKendree and Soule visited these missions among the Wyandottes in 1824, and were delighted with what they saw and heard. In 182 1, Dr. William Capers was selected to set on foot a mission among the Creeks. He traveled extensively on horseback on a tour of appointments for the purpose of awakening an interest among the whites in this tribe of Indians, who occupied the western frontier ,( the then South Carolina Conference. Contributions were solicited for the purpose of erecting mission premises and establishing a school, and the project met great favor. The doctor visited the Creek agency, and had an interview with Chief Mcintosh, who assented to the doctor's proposition. Asbury Manual Labor School was located at Fort Mitchell near the present City of Columbus, and Dr. Capers, that he might better superintend it, was for 1823-24 sta- tioned at Milledgeville. Isaac Smith in his 6ist year con- sented to teach the * brother in red.' Smith won the affec- tions of the red man and in 1829 there were reported 71 members at the Asbury Station, and the school consisted of 50 scholars. In 1830, the mission was discontinued. The labor was not lost, however, for many of them was gathered into the fold in their new home west of the Mississippi, who traced their religious impressions to Father Smith and his associates. Of this number was ' Sam ' Checote, who died but a few years since a useful member of the Indian Mission Conference. He was one of Smith's pupils at the Asbury school. McTyiere's History says ' the evangeliza- tion of the Choctaws, kindred and adjoining tribes, was like a nation being born in a day.' " In 1827 Dr. Alexander Talley was appointed missionary to the Indians in North Mississippi, and with a tent and an interpreter he set himself to work. The interpreter, who was an Indian, shrank from appearing before large congre- 392 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. grations and this confined the missionary to mere groups. He pitched his tent among small settlements and invited them to come and hear the " good talk " and he taught the groups that gathered and passed oa. Before he got round in detail the Chief, Leflore, sent for him and courteously en- treated him and made the teacher welcome at headquarters. Greenwood Leflore was the son of a French trader, who had married in the nation and had a numerous progeny of sons and daughters. Greenwood, the eldest son, had been well educated among the whites, was principal Chief of the na- tion and Talley's interpreter upon certain occasions ; and a better one no preacher ever had. One of the first reform movements was to suppress the whisky traffic. The ordinance passed in council was duly guarded by penalty. " The of- fender was to be struck a hard lick on the head with a stick and his whisky poured out on the ground." A self-willed brave — Offa homa — had defied the law and met the penalty, for they were in earnest. A. camp-meeting was held and Capt. Offa-homa with scar unhealed on his scalp was the first to appear. The Leflore family, the most intelligent and influential, and the common people, were brought under re- ligious influence and a spiritual power pervaded the whole nation. The venerable Isaac Smith came up from the Mus- kogee school and his word and manner emphasized by his gray hair made an uncommon impression. As he uttered paragraphs of Bible truth, Leflore, standing by his side, would interpret to the multitude seated and standing around. The interpreter enlarged on the text and wept ; the people wept also. Dr. Talley took a delegation of In- dian converts with him to Annual Conference, which met at Tuscaloosa in 1828. After his report was read the Confer- ence requested that one of the Indians might give an ac- count of the work of grace and the prospects of the nation. Capt. Washington responded through an interpreter. The Conference was po^verfully moved. Bishop Soule rose HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 393 from the chair, shook the hand of the speaker and welcomed him and his people to the Church and exclaimed, " Breth- ren, the Choctaw Nation is ours. No, I mistake, the Choc- taw Nation is Jesus Christ's." The Rev. R. D. Smith and Moses Perry were sent to Talley's help. The Indian work spread and prevailed and was divided into circuits. Moses Perry married into the tribe and accompanied them to their country west of the Mississippi. " The work of the spirit," say our historian, "was deep." We have witnessed among ■no people more marked awakenings, conversions and subse- •quent developments of Christian experience that we have found among the Choctaws, and to this day they and the Chickasaws remain true to the faith of their fathers. In 1822 the Rev. Richard Neely of the Tennessee Conference com- menced to preach to the Cherokees in North Alabama, and under his preaching a class of thirty-three members was formed. At the following session of the Conference, Rev. A. Crawford was appointed missionary to the Cherokees and with the approval of head men in that part of the nation, opened a school which met with favor. The work continued to grow until in 1830 there were 855 members of the Church and five sehools with about one hundred pupils. Here are the appointments for 1827 : William McMahan, superin- tendent ; Wells Valley, Greenberry Garrett ; Oos-tan a-la. Turtle Fields ; Ecoto, James J. Trott ; Creek Path, John B. McFerrin ; Chat-ooga, A. F. Scruggs ; Sal-a-kowa, D. C. McLeod. John B. McFerrin traveled among the Cherokees two years. His second circuit was 400 miles around. John Blackbird was his interpreter. He says " this was one of the hardest years of my itineracy, but in many respects it was pleasant." We saw many Indians converted to God and took a number into the Church. I baptized at one time the mother, her daughter and grandchildren. Often did the wild woods ring with praise to Jesus for his pardoning mercy. The remarkable men converted among the Chero- 394 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. kees and added to the Methodist Church during our mis- sionary labors among that people, were Richard Riley, the Gunters, Turtle Field, Young Wolf, Arch Campbell, John F. Boot, John Ross. During my stay there I preached the gospel to some of the natives who had never heard the tid- ings of salvation. Among the converts was an Indian woman nearly lOO years old. I was the first preacher who ever visited the celebrated " Dirt Town Valley.," Here the Indians built a log church and we established a congrega- tion. In after years it became celebrated as a camp-ground among the whites, who succeeded the Cherokees. Alto- gether I trust my two years were profitably spent among the red men of the forest. " In reviewing these two years I feel thankful to God that it was my privilege to preach the gospel to the poor Indians." — [See " Life of McFer rin " by Dr. Fitzgerald. Speaking u( the great change that had taken place in the condition of the Indians, Dr. Hunter says: "At the time when I was in the Creek Nation the principal interpreter was James Ferryman. At his house near the Hawkins school, after a long search, I found McGowan and Irwin. That was on the first day of January, 1836, more than fifty-three years ago. As I retrospect the past and think of the improvemet in church and state, both in the Indian Nations and in Ar- kansas, I am ready to exclaim, " What hath God wrought ! "" The most vivid imagination could not have anticipated the half that has been accomplished since that day. Then there was one circuit in each of the nations, Creek and Cherokee ; now several districts in each of the Indian Nations and an Annual Conference of half a hundred preachers. There is Harrell Institute, besides other academies and schools, among the Creeks, Choctaws and Chickasaws, and before long Galloway College, in the Cherokee Nation, will open its hall for the reception of pupils. In Arkansas the im- provement in every particular has been wonderful. Insti- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 395 tutions of learning have sprung up in various places, patron- ized and sustained by the different churches. Railroads with iron bands hold the different sections together in indis soluble bonds, prophesying of greater prosperity in the near future. * With my staff I went over the Jordan and now I am become two bands.' So said Jacob when he returned from Padan-Aram to look after the stone he had set up for a pillar, and on whose top he had poured the oil that morn- ing after seeing the mystic ladder with the angels of God ascending and descending Bechel, house of God, wis the name of that place ever after. ' Two bands ! ' Six Annual Conferences rest securely on the territory of the origin^.l Arkansas Conference. Near five hundred traveling preach- ers are heard now every Sabbath where fifty-three years ago forty-three published the gospel message in Arkansas, Indian Territory, Louisiana and North Texas. Fifty-three years ago if any one had ventured to predict that the time would come when a railroad would pass through the entire length of the Indian Territory from Missouri to Texas, what was said would have been considered the baseless fabric of a vision ; yet so it is today." CHAPTER XXVII. Conclusion — The Annual Conferences — First Things IN Arkansas. My work is nearly completed I have taken my readers from the introduction of Methodism into Arkansas in i8i6, and followed it in its course through all these years to the present time. We have seen it in its feeble beginnings on Spring River Circuit, under the leadership of Eli Lindsay, and near Mount Prairie in the southern part of the State, under the leadership of John Henry, two local preachers whose names should be preserved in the annals of Arkansas Methodism. We have seen that apostle of Methodism, William Stephenson, the , first itinerant to enter the State, and take for his circuit the whole of South Arkansas from the Arkansas River to the Louisiana State line. Then we have seen that remarkable man, John Harris, coming as the second itinerant, to travel for years across the trackless wilderness, enduring hardships and privations that remind us of the heroic days of the Church. These were heroic days, and the men that met these dangers, and overcame these difficulties were heroes worthy to take their place beside the martyr-crowned men of old. We have seen the circuit expand into a district that embraced within its bounds the territory of the State. We have traced the organiza- tion of new circuits and districts until it became necessary to organize the Arkansas Conference in 1836. This was a joyous day for such old veterans as William Stephenson, , John Harris, Burwell Lee, Henry Cornelius, Jacob White- sides, E. B. Duncan and John Harrell. And there stood on that Conference floor, in the vigor of a young manhood, such brave young spirits, so full of hope and enthusiasm, as HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 397 William P. Ratcliffe, Andrew Hunter, J, W. P. McKenzie, James Essex, Fountain Brown, ready at the Master's bid- ding to go anywhere, do any work, and endure any hard- ship for the sake of Christ ! Then we have at a more re- cent date such men as Stephen Carlisle, John Cowle, John H. Blakely, Jacob Whitesides, John M. Steele, John J. Roberts, and following close upon them came such men as James E. Cobb, A. R. Winfield, George A. Dannelly, Wil- liam Moores, A. B. Winfield, Jesse McAhster, Robert Brit- tain, Benoni Harris and others of equal note, some of whom have passed away, and others remain with us a little while longer as a benediction to the Church they have served so well. We have lived to see a large body of active, vigorous and consecrated young men take the place of these old men who are rapidly passing away — men into whose hands we can safely entrust the future of the Church. We have seen the one Annual Conference of 1836 divided into three Annual Conferences, either one of which is larger than the original Conference. We have traced the progress of education from the humble Male and Female Academy, at Washington, the Elm Spring School, at Elm Spring, and Soulesbury Academy at Bates- ville, to the splendid colleges of the present : The Galloway Female College, at Searcy, the Hendrix Male College, at Conway, the Arkadelphia Male and Female School, at Arkadelphia, and the Quitman College, at Quitman, all the property of the Church, and having buildings, grounds, equipments, furniture, facilities and patronage that will com- pare favorably with the best in the Eastern schools. Methodism in Arkansas had a small beginning, but like the grain of mustard seed, it has become a great tree. The Methodists are the most numerous of all the Churches of Ar- kansas. In every portion of the State their preachers travel, their houses of worship are built, and their Sunday-schools are filling the land. It has reached all classes of society. •398 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. the rich and the poor meet together. In city and in the country, in the den.sely populated region, and in sparse set- tlements, the members of the Church are found. They fill the learned professions, they are engaged in merchandise, in trade, in agriculture, and in mechanics. In the social re- lations of life they occupy a circle equal to the most elevated in the land. I now leave this work in the hands of the readers. If they shall reap anything like the pleasure in reading that I have found in writing this History of Methodism in Arkansas, and placing on record the worthy 'deeds of the noble men who laid the foundations upon which we have built, I shall feel more than repaid for any time and labor I may have spent in gathering these facts and placing them in form. THE ANNUAL CONFERENCES There are three Annual Conferences included within the State of Arkansas, with the following boundaries : THE ARKANSAS CONFERENCE shall include that part of the State of Arkansas inclosed by the following boundary line : Beginning at the point where the North Fork of White River crosses the Missouri State line ; thence down North Fork to its mouth ; thence down White River to the mouth of Sillamore ; thence up South Sillamore to line on range twelve ; thence south with range line to Little Red River ; thence down Little Red River to Miller's Ferry ; thence to the mouth of Palarm Creek, on the Arkansas River, so as to include all the present boundary lines of Quitman and Mount Vernon Circuits; thence to the southeast corner of Perry County ; thence west by the south boundary lines of Perry, Yell, and Scott Counties to the State line ; thence with the State line to the beginning. THE WHITE RIVER CONFERENCE shall be bounded on the east by the Mississippi River; on the north by the Missouri State line ; on the west by the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 399 Arkansas Conference ; on the south by a line running from the head of Palarm Creek to the head of Cypress Bayou ; thence down said bayou to Des Arc Bayou ; thence down that bayou to White River, and down said river to its mouth. THE LITTLE ROCK CONFERENCE shall embrace all that portion of the State not embraced in the Arkansas and White River Conferences. When the Spring River Circuit was formed, in 181 5, this territory was a part of the Tennessee Conference. • The Missouri Conference was formed in 18 16, and the Ter- ritory of Arkansas was included within that Conference. It remained in connection with that Conference until 1836, when the Arkansas Conference was formed. The Ouachita (now Little Rock) Conference was formed in 1854. The White River Conference was formed in 1870. In 1816 there were 88 white and 4 colored members; in 1836 there were 2065 white and 451 colored members; in 1854 there were 16,482 white and 2808 colored members; in 1870 there were 29,855 white and 13,263 colored members; in 1890 there were 70,086 white members. FIRST THINGS IN ARKANSAS. The first white man to enter the territory embraced by the State of Arkansas was Hernando DeSoto, in 1541. The first white settlement in Arkansas was made in the year 1686, at the Post of Arkansas. The fi7%t Governor of the Province of Louisiana, which included the Territory of Arkansas, was Savlolle (pronounced Sovul), appoi"nted in the year 1699. The first American Governor oi the Province of Louisiana was William C. Claiborne. • The first Protestant sermon preached in Arkansas was by Rev. John P. Carnahan, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in iSii, at the Post of Arkansas. 400 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. The first Methodist preacher to enter the State was Joha Henry, a local preacher, in 1815. The first Protestant house of worship was built at Mount Prairie, in Hempstead County, by the Methodists, in 1816, and was called Henry's Chapel. The first itinerant Methodist preacher to enter the State was William Stephenson, in 1816. The first Annual Conference held in the Territory was at Mountain Spring camp-ground, in 1833. The first session of the Arkansas Conference was held at Batesville, in 1836. APPENDIX A. 1820-21. Fifth session at Shiloh, Illinois Territory, September 13, 1820, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — William Stephenson, Presiding Elder ; Pecan Point Circuit, Washington Orr; Hot Springs Circuit, Henry Stephenson ; Mount Prairie, Gilbert Clark ; Arkansas Circuit, William Townsend ; Spring River, Isaac Brookfield ; White River, William W. Redman. Number in society, 511 whites, 25 colored. , 1821-22. Sixth session at McKendree's Chapel, Cape Girardeau, October 21, 1821, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — John Scripps, Presiding Elder ; Ar- kansas Circuit, Dennis Wiley; Hot Springs, Isaac Brook- field ; Mount Prairie, John Harris ; Pecan Point, William Townsend; Spring River, Isaac Brookfield; White River, William W. Redman. 2. umber in society, 683 whites, 34 colored. 1822-23. Seventh session at St. Louis, October 24, 1822, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — John Scripps, Presiding Elder; Ar- kansas Circuit, John Harris ; Hot Springs and Mount Prai- rie, Samuel Bassett, Gilbert Clark; Pecan Point, William Bryant; Arkansas Mission, William Stephenson; Spring River, Isaac Brookfield. Number in society, 916 whites, 48. colored. 1823-24. Eighth session at St. Louis, October 23, 1823, Bishop McKendree, President. Arkansas District — William Stephenson, Presiding Elder; 402 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Arkansas Circuit, Andrew Lopp ; Hot Springs and Mount Prairie, Joh Blasdell ; Pecan Point, Rucker Tanner; Spring River, James E. Johnson. Number in society, 852 whites, 80 colored. 1824-25. Ninth session at the house of William Padfield, St. Clair County, 111., October 23, 1824, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — William Stephsnson, Presiding Elder ; Arkansas Circuit, to be supplied; Hot Springs, Green Orr; Mount Prairie, Gilbert Clark; Pecan Point, Rucker Tanner; Spring River, Frederick Leach and William Shores. Num- ber in society, 80 whites, 68 colored. 1825-26. Tenth session at Tennessee, Mo., August 4, 1825, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — Jesse Haile, Presiding Elder; Arkan- sas Circuit, to be supplied ; Hot Springs, Gilbert Clark ; Mount Prairie, Green Orr, Rucker Tanner ; Natchitoches, William Stephenson; White River, Cassel Harrison. Num- ber in society, 664 whites, 40 colored. 1826-27. Eleventh session at McKendree Chapel, Cape Girardeau, September 14, 1826, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — Jesse Haile, Presiding Elder; Arkan- sas Circuit, John Cureton ; Hot Springs, Parker Snedecor ; Mount Prairie, Thomas Johnson; Spring River and White River, to be supplied. Number in society, 830 whites, 71 colored. 1827-28. Twelfth session at St. Louis, September 6, 1827, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — Jesse Haile, Presiding Elder; Arkan- sas Circuit, William Shores; Hot Springs, to be supplied; Mount Prairie, Thomas Johnson ; White River and Spring HISTORY OK METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 4O3 River, John Kelly, Edward T, Perry. Number in society, 661 whites, 58 colored. 1828-29. Thirteenth session at Fayette Camp-ground, Howard County, September 12, 1828. Arkansas District — Jesse Haile, Presiding Elder ; Hot Springs, John Kelly; Arkansas Circuit, James Bankson ; White River, Parker Snedecor. Number in society, 724 whites, 68 colored. 1829-30. Fourteenth session, at Potosi, Washington County, Sep- tember 10, T829, Bishop Soule, President. Arkansas District — Uriel Haw, Presiding Elder; White River, ■ Kelly ; Arkansas Circuit, John A. Henry, Pleasant Tackett ; Hot Springs and Mount Prairie, Rucker Tanner, Jerome C. Berryman ; Helena, John Harris. Num- ber in society, 894 whites, 89 colored. 1830-31. Fifteenth session, at St. Louis, Bishop Roberts, Presi- dent. Arkansas District — Jesse Green, Presiding Elder. Hel- ena, John Harris ; Hot Springs and Mount Prairie, Nelson R. Bewley ; Arkansas Circuit, Mahlon Bewley ; Mount Pleasant, Pleasant Tackett ; James' Fork, to be supplied ; Cherokee and Creek Mission, to be supplied ; Spring River and White River, James H. Slavens. Num.ber in society, 1260 whites, 72 colored. 1831-32. Sixteenth sessiop, at McKendree's Chapel, Bishop Rob- erts, President. Arkansas District — A. D. Smith, Presiding Elder. Hele- na Circuit, Fountain Brown ; Pine Bluff Circuit, W. A. Boyce ; Chicot Circuit, John Harris ; Hot Springs and 404 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Mount Prairie, H. C. Jopiin, William Duke; Arkansas Cir- cuit, John Hammil, Richard Overby ; Washington Circuit, John Kelly; Creek Mission, Alvan Baird ; Washington and Cherokee Mission, John Harrell, A. M. Scott; White River and Spring River, Nelson R. Bewley. Number in society, no returns. 1832-33- Seventeenth session, Pilot Grove, September 17, 1832. Arkansas District — Martin Wells, Presiding Elder. Hel- ena Circuit, Micah Casteel ; Pine Bluff Circuit, William A. Boyce ; Chicot, to be supplied ; Ouachita Circuit, to be sup- plied ; Hot Springs, Henry Cornelius; Mount Prairie, Foun- tain Brown, Lemuel Wakelee; Red River, to be supplied. Little Rock District — A. D. Smith, Presiding Elder. Little Rock Circuit, to be supplied ; Arkansas Circuit, to be supplied; Washington Circuit, W. G. Duke; Mcintosh, Harris G, Jopiin ; Wyans School, John N. Hammil ; Haw- kins School, Alvin Baird ; Hardridges School, Henry Per- ryman ; Cherokee Circuit, John Harrell ; Adairs School, Burwell Lee, Thomas Bertholf ; Chism's, Richard Overby. Number in society, 15 12 whites, 222 colored, 308 Indians. 1833-34- Eighteenth session, at Mountain Spring Camp-ground, Arkansas, September 4, 1833, Bishop Soule, President. Arkansas District — Martin Wells, Presiding Elder. Hel- ena Circuit, John Neil ; Pine Bluff, to be supplied; Ouachi- ta, Henry Cornelius; Hot Springs, Fountain Brown ; Mount Prairie, Richard Overby, J. B. Denton ; Red River, to be supplied. Little Rock District — Andrew D. Smith, Presiding Elder. Little Rock Circuit, Wm. G. Duke ; Arkansas, John H. Rives; Washington, Alvin Biird. Mission Schools among the Indians — John Harrell, Pleas- ant Tackett, Learner B. Stateler, John N. Hammil, Pleasant HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 4O5 Berryliill, Thomas Bertholf, Richarl W. Oven, Burwell Lee, J. Brewton, Harris G. Joplin. Number in society, 1779 whites, 237 colored, 494 Indians. 1834-35. Nineteenth session at Bellview, Washington County, Sep- tember 10, 1834, Bishop Roberts, President. Arkansas District — Charles T. Ramsey, Presiding Elder. Helena, L. Wakelee ; Pine Bluff Circuit, William P. Ratcliffe, Ouachita, N. Keith ; Hot Springs, Wm. G. Duke ; Mount Prairie, N. Cornelius, Franklin F. Brown ; Roiling Fork, W. Sorrells. Little Rock District — M. K. Lacy, Presiding Elder. Lit- tle Rock, M. Wells; Arkansas, John H. Rives ; Washing- ton, H. G, Joplin ; Greene, J. P. Neil ; Kings River, J. G. Duke ; Seneca Circuit, J. L. Gould ; White River, Andrew Peace. Indian Missions and Schools — A. D. Smith, J. Home, B. Lee, T. Bertholf, P. Berryhill, John Harrell, J. N. Hammil. Number in society, 2406 whites, 386 colored, 509 Indians. ^ 1835-36. The twentieth session, at Arrow Rock Camp-ground, Sep- tember 10, 1835, Bishop Roberts, President. Batesville District — Burwell Lee, Presiding Elder; Helena, to be supplied ; Franklin, to be supplied ; Big Creek, L. Wakelee, Jackson J. Powell; White River, A. Baird ; Clin- ton, to be supplied ; Arkansas, to be supplied ; Carrolton, to be supplied ; Washington, John Harrell. Little Rock District — C. T. Ramsey, Pine Bluff, F. Brown ; Ouachita, to be supplied ; Hot Springs, H. Cornelius ; Mount Prairie, John Hammil, W. G. Duke ; Sulphur Fork, J. H. Carr; Chicot, Joseph Rentfro ; Bartholomew, J. M. Gore ; Little Rock Circuit. William P. Ratcliffe. Indian Schools and Missions — P. M. McGowan, S. K. 406 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Waldron, J. Home, J. H. Rives, A. D. Smith. Number in society, 2334 whites, 373 colored, 467 Indians. The first session of the Arkansas Conference met at Batesville, November, 1836, Bishop Morris, President. At the formation of the Arkansas Conference there were two districts in Louisiana included, the Monroe District and the Alexander District. Previous to this time they were in- cluded in the Mississippi Conference. The following were admitted on trial at this first session ; Andrew Hunter, James Essex, James L, Newman, Enoch Whately, Thom.as Benn, William H, Bump, Philip Asborne, J. W. P. McKenzie. Admitted in full connection : John H. Rives, Henry Cornelius, Winfree B. Scott. Located : Wil- liam G. Duke and Daniel Sears : Transferred to other Con- ferences : Peter McGowan, Alvin Baird and Levi Pearce. Appointments. — Little Rock District — C. T. Ramsey, Presiding Elder ; Little Rock Station, W. P. Ratcliffe ; Little Rock Circuit, Henry Cornelius; Hot Springs Circuit, Arthur Simmons ; Mount Prairie, E. B. Duncan, Jacob Wbitesides; Rollins: Fork, J. H. Carr; Sulphur Fork, L. Wakelee ; Pine Bluff, Tames Essex. Batesville District — Burwell Lee, Presiding Elder; Bates- ville, Ansell Webber and Philip Asborne; Jackson Circuit, John L. Irwin ; Litchfield, Enoch Whateley ; Carrolton, to be supplied ; Washington, W. H. Bump ; Ozark, Thomas Benn ; Lewisburg, Robert Gregory. Arkansas District — William H. Turnley, Presiding Elder; Alexander Station, Richmond Randle ; Champagnolle Cir- cuit, to be supplied ; Opelousas, Winfree B. Scott; Frank- lin, John L. Hammil ; Lower Vermillion, John R. Mcintosh; Natchitoches, Jesse A. Guice ; William Stephenson, super- numerary. Monroe District — John A, Cotton, Presiding Elder; Mon- roe Circuit, Benjamin A. Jones ; Claiborne Circuit, Sidney Squires; Maronge, John A. Cotton. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 4O7 South Indian Mission and Schools — John Harrell, Super- intendent; Thomas Bertholf, Andrew Hunter, J. W. P. Mc- Kenzie, Moses Perry and A. D. Smith. Number in society, whites, 2733; colored, 599; Indians, 1225. Number in the Arkansas portion of the Conference, whites, 2065 ; colored, 451. There were 39 preachers who received appointments, 26 in full connection, 7 remaining on trial, and 8 admitted on trial. The second session of the Little Rock Conference met at Little Rock, November I, 1837. Lewis C. Propps, John B. Denton, Jerome B. Annis, Moses Speer, Uriah Whateley, Samuel Allen, James Graham, James E. Groce, George W. Turnley, John F. Seaman (10) were admitted on trial. Appointments. — Little Rock District — Robert Gregory, Presiding Elder; Little Rock, Benjamin Jones; Benton, Henry Cornelius ; Greenville, Jacob Custer; Mount Prairie, Jacob Whitesides; Pine Bluff, William P. Ratcliffe ; Red River, Moses Speer. Batesville District — Burwell Lee, Presiding' Elder ; Bates- ville, John Irvin ; Jackson, Ansel Webber; Litchfield Mission, Andrew Hunter ; Carrolton Mission, Jerome B, Annis ; Wash- ington, Hiram Gering ; Ozark, Joseph L. Gold ; Lewisburg, John M. Steele; Boonville, Mission, to be supplied. Arkansas District — J.C. Parker, Presiding Elder; Ouachita, Enoch Whatelej/'; Chicot, James E. Groce; Bartholomew, Fountain Brown; Helena, James S. Newman; Franklin, John Powell; Marion, Alexander Avery; Mississippi Mis- sion, to be supplied; Montgomery's Point, to be supplied. Alexandria District — Richmond Randle, Presiding Elder; Alexandria, Winfree B. Scott ; Cheneyville, L. C. Propps ; Opelousas, H. B. Price; Franklin, W. H. Bump; Natchi- toches, John R. Mcintosh. Monroe District — John H. Haminil, Presiding Elder; Monroe, Uriah Whateley; Claiborne, Thomas Benn ; Little 408 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. River, Sidney Squires; Trinity, G. W. Turnley; Harrison- burg, Arthur W. Simmons. South Indian District — John Harrell, Presiding Elder ; Sulphur Fork, John B. Denton, E. B. Duncan; Cherokee Circuit, Thomas Bertholf, Johnson Field, John Boston; School No, I, James Graham ; School No. 2, to be supplied ; School No. 3, James Essex; Scnool No. 4, to be supplied; Choctaw Circuit, J. W. P. McKenzie ; School No. i, Moses Perry; School No. 2, S. Allen ; Seneca Circuit, Andrew D. Smith. White members, 3056;' colored members, 592; Indians, 960 — total, 4606. The third session of the Arkansas Conference met at Washington, Hempstead County, November 7, 1838. Peter German, B. C. Weir, Samuel Clark and Daniel Adams were admitted on trial. Appointments — Little Rock District — J. C. Parker, Presid- ing Elder ; Little Rock Station, Wm. H. Bump ; Benton Circuit, Andrew Hunter ; Pine Bluff Circuit, Jacob Custer; Columbia Circuit, Peter German ; Bartholomew Mission, Fountain Brown ; Pulaski Circuit, C. Groce. Batesville District — G. W. Morris, Presiding Elder ; Bates- ville Circuit, J. L. Irwin, B. Lee, supernumerary ; Litchfield Mission, Juba Eastabrook ; Jackson Circuit, John M. Steele; Yellville Mission, James Graham ; Ozark Circuit, J. L. Gould ; Boonville Mission, to be supplied ; Lewisburg Circuit, Arthur W. Simmons. Helena District — William P. Ratcliffe, Presiding Elder ; Helena Circuit, Spencer Walters ; Madison Circuit, Markley L. Ford; Marion Circuit, Thomas Benn ; White River Cir- cuit, J. R. Mcintosh; Mississippi Mission, to be supplied; Green Mission, Samuel Clarke ; Montgomery's Point, to be supplied. Fayetteville District — John Harrell, Presiding Elder; Washington Circuit, Jerome B. Annis ; Carrolton Circuit, Solomon Holford ; Upper Cherokee, A. D. Smith, J. Fields; HISTORY OF MITHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 4O9 Lower Cherokee, J. F. Seaman, J. Boston ; School No. 3, James Essex; Seneca Circuit, Daniel Adams. Monroe District — J. N. Hamil, Presiding Elder; Monroe Circuit, Sidney Squires; Claiborne Circuit, David Fellows; Ouachita Circuit, E. B. Duncan; Little River Circuit, B. C. Weir ; Harrisonburg Circuit, Uriah Whateley ; Trinity Cir- cuit, Samuel Walker. Red River District — Robert Gregory, Presiding Elder; Mount Prairie Circuit, Alexander Avery ; Greenville Circuit, James L. Newman ; Sulphur Fork Circuit, Jacob Whitesides ; Sevier Mission, Samuel Allen ; Choctaw Circuit, J. W. P. McKenzie, W. Mulkey ; School No. i, Mos'is Perry. 1839-40. Conference met at Fayetteville, Washington County. George Stanford, Stephen Carlisle, and William Stanley were admitted on trial. Appointments. — Little Rock District — John C. Parker; Little Rock Station, B. H. Hester ; Little Rock Circuit, Fountain Brown ; Benton Circuit, Jacob Custer ; Pine Bluff Circuit, R. W. Cole and J. C. Groce ; Ouachita Circuit, W. A. Cobb ; Columbia Circuit, to be supplied ; Agent Sunday- schools, W. H. Bump. Batesville District — G. W. Morris, Presiding Elder ; Bates- ville Circuit, Juba Eastabrook ; Litchfield Circuit, Stephen Carlisle ; Jackson Circuit, James Graham ; Yellville Mission, to be supplied; Ozark Circuit, Jerome B. Annis ; Boonville Mission, J. Harris ; Lewisburg Circuit. James T. Sawrie. Helena District — William P. Ratcliffe, Presiding Elder Helena Circuit, W. B. Mason ; Madison Circuit, G. Stanford Marion Circuit, John M. Steele ; Green Mission, M. S. Ford Montgomery's Point, J. R. Mcintosh. Red River District — Robert Gregory, Presiding Elder ; Mount Prairie Circuit, William Mulkey ; Greenville Mission, Samuel Allen ; Sulphur Fork Circuit, J. W. P. McKenzie ; 4IO HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Blue Bayou Mission, to be supplied ; DeKalb Circuit, S. Clarke ; Choctaw Circuit, A. Avery, M. Perry. Fayetteville District — John Harrell, Presiding Elder; Washington Circuit, A. Hunter, James Morris ; Carrolton Circuit, John F. Seaman ; Upper Cherokee, D. B. Cumming; Lower Cherokee, E. B. Duncan, J. F. Boot ; School No. I, James Essex; Seneca Circuit, Daniel Adams. Alexander District — R. Randle, Presiding Elder; Opelou- sas Circuit, Benjamin Jones; Claiborne Circuit, Uriah Whateley, S. Holford ; Natchitoches Circuit, H. B. Price ; Cheneyville Circuit, J. Powell ; Franklin and Newton, James L. Newman ; Caddo Circuit, B, C. Weir ; Vermillion Circuit, to be supplied. Monroe District — J. N. Hammil, Presiding Elder ; Monroe Circuit, C. Methvin ; Rapides Circuit, William Stephenson; Little River Circuit, E. W. Yancey ; Harrisburg Circuit, Thomas Benn ; Trinity Circuit, Spencer Walters ; Mason Hills Mission, William Stanley. The General Conference of 1840 placed the Alexander and Monroe Districts in the Mississippi Conference. The Arkansas Conference for this year embraced the State of Arkansas. APPENDIX B. The following roll contains a list of all the preachers in the traveling connection in Arkansas as reported in the minutes for 1891. Abbreviations, eff. for effective ; sitp. for supernumerary, and sup'd. for superannuated : ARKANSAS CONFERENCE. Anderson, James A., eff. Astor, B. W., eff. Bagwell, J. T., eff. Bristow, W. S., eff. Babcock, S. H., eff. Boyies, G. W.. eff. Biggs, W. K. Crews, B. T., eff. Corley, W. H., sup'd. Cantrell, J. M., eff. Culpepper, C. H., eff. Daman, G. W,, eff. Davis, G. O., eff. Deshazo, J. W., eff. Evans, G. W., sup'd. Futrell. N., eff. Godard, S. F., eff. Gilmore, Y. A., eff. Gilmore, W. H. H., eff. Godbey, S. M., eff. Hopkins. P. B., eff. Harris J. F., eff. Humphreys, J. P., eff. Hatfield, W. H., eff Hiveley, J. M , eff. Hackley, J. S.. eff Hooker, J. C, eff. Anderson, Stonewall, eff. Armstrong, S. A., eff. Brunor, J. L., eff. Benson, R. D., eff. Burns, W. H. H., eff. Burke, P. P., eff. Cullum, A. J., eff. Cox, James, sup'd. Cummings, J. H., eff Corley, H., eff. Dyer, W. H., eff. Dykes, S. F., eff. Dunaway, J. E., eff. Griffin, J. W., eff Griffin. G. P., eff. Groover, D. H., eff. Gardner, W. R., sup'd. Hamilton, W. P., eff Havner, M. B., eff. Hamilton, J. M. C, eff Hays, J. L., eff Hill, George M., eff. Harlan V. V.. eff. Hopkins, P. B. 412 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Johnson, F. S. H., efT. Key, S. S., eff. Lindsay, Z. W., efif. McAnally, J. M., eff. Metheny, W. H., eff. Myers, J. H., eff. Martin, J. E., eff. Mathis. A., sup'd. Massey, J. L., eff. Miller. A. C, eff. Mosley, C. B., eff. Mathews, B. C, eff. Reed, D., eff. Reynolds, T. J., eff. Stephenson, J. B , eff. Stone. W. J., eff. Smith, J. H.. eff. Sutton, J. E., eff. Shinn, H. R., eff Taylor, R. M., eff. Taylor, Wm. M., eff. Tucker, O. H., eff. Vanzandt, K. S., eff. Winsett. J. B., eff. Weems. D. J., eff. Williams, Jesse, eff. Weaver, J. C, eff. Williams, Burton, eff. Johnsey, M. B.. eff. Loving, Josephus, sup'd. Massey, E. L., eff. Melvin, W. A., eff, Marston, A., eff. Maxwell, J. R., eff. Merrill, Pierce, eff. Monk, Bascom, eff. McDcnald. J. B., eff. Mclver. Jesse A , eff. McCHntock. C. E. Ross, D. Z., eff. Ray, A. C, eff. Shipp, J. E., eff. Sherman, William, eff. Summers, B. B., eff. Sturdy, J. H.. eff. Simmons, J. S., eff. Tabor, E. A., eff. Taff, F. A, sup'd. Villenes, J. N., eff. Williams, A. H., eff. Waldon, J. A., eff. Watts, J. H.. eff. Wade, J. H., eff. Welsh, J. H , eff. WHITE RIVER CONFERENCE. Alexander, Jeff. J., eff. Anderson, John H., eff. Anderson, William, W., eff. Armstrong, John F., eff. Adams, Wm. C, eff. Bennett, Z. T., eff. Bishop, Wm. E., eff. Brittain, Robt. G., eff. Barrett, Frank, eff. Eranson, Alex. M. R., eff. Bugg, H. L., eff. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 413; Brooke, Joseph S., eff. Brown, Julien C, eff. Brown, S. F., eff. Cochran, S. L., eff. Craig, Thomas A., eff. Craig, Luther C, eff. Dannelly, George A., eff. Dye, John H., eff. Evans, Stephen D., sup. Eddison, John, eff. Foster, William R., eff. Gregory, Henry T., eff. Griffin, Alonzo C, eff. Grissett, Robert H., eff. Harris, Benoni, sup. Hendrix, Wilson W., eff. Hays, W. B., eff. Jernigan, James F., eff. Jeffett, Francis A., eff. Kelly, Lewis, eff. King, William L., eff. Leake, De Jalma, eff. Maynard, John L, eff. Miller, James G., eff. Manly, Richard M., eff. Morehead, R. C, eff. Noe, Franklin, R., eff. Peebles, James A., eff. Preston, Wade, eff. Rhyne, John, sup. Ritter, Frank, eff. Ritter, John, eff. Smith. M. M., rff. Settle, Thonicis J., eff. Sterling, Fay C, eff. Barker, Silas B., eff. Bowen, Thomas A., eff. Cryer, Hardy M., eff. Corrigan, M, B., eff. Castleberry, Edm. C, eff.. Deener, Richard S., eff. Davis, Ellison M., eff. Edwards, James R., eff. Ford, Coleman H., eff. Gregory, C. H., sup. Graham, A. C, eff. Gardner, N. E., eff. Hooks, J., eff. Holly, Benj. D., eff. Jewell, Horace, eff. Kelley, William D., eff. MiUis, J. v., eff. Manly, L B., eff. May, E., eff. Patton, Jchn M. Pendergrass, W. A., sup.. Rutledge, James D., eff. Reid, Dudley W., eff. Register, Stephen W. Smith, Francis M., eff Southworth, W. S. Stone, S. C, sup. 414 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Smith, George W., eff. Skinner, N. E. Talkington, J. M., eff. Taylor, Francis E., eff. Umpstead, M. B., eff. Vick, W. J., eff. Watson, William M., eff. Watson, John S., eff. Whittaker, Thomas, eff. LITTLE ROCK Avery, Alexander, sup'd. Atchley, Robert, eff. Blakeley, John H., sup'd. Browning, William H., eff. Burns, Samuel, eff. Beard, E. L., eff. Berry. J. W., eff Brooks, H. W., eff. Caldwell, James E., sup'd. Carr, John F., eff. Cline, James M., eff. Cason, John R., eff. Douglass, J. M. G., eff. Davis, William J., eff. Doak, F. P., ^ff. Evans, E. N., eff. Evans, A. O., eff. Few, B. A., eff. Godden, Charles C, eff. Gold, J. H., eff. Garrett, Euphrates, eff. Hunter, Andrew, sup'd. Harvey, James R., eff. Hawley. L. B.. eff. Storey, Harvey A., eff. Troy, J. F., eff. Watson, J. W.. eff. Williamson, Thos. B., eff. Wallace, P. B. CONFERENCE. Adams, Charles L., eff. Brinkley, Charley B., eff. Brewer, F. N., eff. Bolding, T. E., eff. Bayliss, Calvin A., eff. Bradford, J. H., eff. Clower, J, S., eff, Crowson, William M., eff. Christmas, J. Y., eff. Colson, J. J., eff. Dodson, K. W., eff. Dean, S. C, eff. Drake, G. W., eff. Evans, W. F., eff. Follen, J. F., eff. Galloway, E. B., eff. Galloway, A. T., eff. Hearon, W. J., eff. Harrison, W. R., eff. Hill, George M., eff. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 415 Henderson, J. A., eff. Hilliard, W. C, eff. Johnson, B. G., efif. Jenkins, A. D., efif. Keith, C. M., eff. Keeton, Boone, efF. Logan, G. W., eff. McKinnon, H. D., eff. McSwain, C. D., eff. McLaughlin, John, eff. Moore, James R., eff. Moore, R. R., eff. Mennefee, J. J., eff. Nicholson, J. S., eff. Pinnell, J. M..eff. Parsons, G. E., eff. Riggin, John H., eff. Rogers, William J., eff. Rhodes, James C., eff. Raiford, R. J., eff. Rice, G. W., eff. Rushing, Edward, eff Saunders, R. H.. eff. Sanders, J. R., eff. Simmons. A, W., sup'd. Smart, R. D., eff. Steele, William A., eff. Scott, William J., sup'd. Scott, Thomas D., eff. Scott, J. W. F., eff Sturgis, J. M. G., eff Thomas James, eff. Thweatt, H. D., eff. Turrentine, Josep,su'd. Hill, S. A., eff. Jones, G. C, eff. Keadle, O. H.. eff Kelly, A. C, eff. Locke, Wm, F. Mathews, George W., eff. Mills, W. W., eff. McKay, R. W., eff. McCarty, G. W., eff. Montgomery, C. R., eff. Manville, M. W.. eff. Powell, L. M., eff. Riley, R. T., eff. Rushing, J. R., eff. Rowland, R. G., eff. Rainey, S. W., eff. Roberts, A. M., eff. Robertson, A. M. Scott, B. F., eff. Sherwood, J. R., eff. Scruggs. H. B., eff. Shaw, F. J., eff. Sexton, G. S., eff. Sage, J. A., eff Scott, E. R., eff Steele, Edward R., eff. Scott, A. S. Turrentine, G, S., eff. Tarlton, J. J., eff. Townsend, H., sup. 4l6 HI3TORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Turrentine, A., eff. Taylor, J. F., eff. Thomas, James eff. Vantreace, J. W., eff. Withers, H. R., sup. Winfield, A. B., sup'd. Wilson, L. C, eff. Watson, E. N., sup'd. Wilson, E. F., eff. Watson, H. H., eff. Ware, Thomas A., eff. . WhaHng, H. M., eff. Williams, J. B., eff. Wilson, Luther C, eff. Whitesides, J. D. White, B. A. The date, place of meeting, Secretary and President of the several Annual Conferences trom the date of their or- ganization to the present time : HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 417 ARKANSAS CONFERENCE. Place. Secretary. William P. Ratcliffe.. Unknown , Unknown , Unknown Unknown Unknown | Bishop Waugh. Unknown j Bishop Andrew. Unknown , Bishop Roberts Bishop Soule. Bishop Soule. President. Bishop Morris. Bishop Andrew. John Harrell. Bishop Waugh. 1836'Batesville l837|Little Rock 1838; Washington 1839 FayetteviUe 1840 Little Rock i84lJBatesville - 1842, Helena 1843 Clarksville 1844 Camden 'Unknown 1845 Camden 'Unknown. 1846 Van Buren Unknown Bishop Payne. 18471 Washington ■ • • • | Unknown Bishop Capers. 1848 Pine Bluff -. Unknown Bishop Andrew. l849|Batesville Unknown Andrew Hunter. 1850 FayetteviUe Unknown William Moores. 1851 Camden Unknown Bishop Capers. 1 852 Clarksville Unknown Bishop Paine. l853jTulip Unknown Bishop Andrew. 1854 Helena Unknown Bishop Paine. 1855 Fort Smith Jesse McAlister Bishop Pierce. 1856 Batesville John S. McCarver Bishop Pierce. i857iLittle Rock Jesse McAlister Bishop Kavanaugh. 1858 Dardanelle Lewis P. Liveley Bishop Early. 1859 Searcy John M. Steele Bishop Paine. i860 Van Buren John M. Steele i Bishop Kavanaugh. 1861 Dover George A. Schaeffer. . John M. Steele. 1862 Searcy 1863 Balesvilie 1864 Jacksonport . . . 1865 Jonesboro 1866 Searcy 1867 Dover 1868 Jacksonport . . . 1869 FayetteviUe. . . . 1870 Clarksville 1 87 1 Van Buren . . . . 1872 Bentonville . . . . 1873 Dardanelle • ■ • • 1874 Fort Smith 1875'Lewisburg 1876 Yellville l877|FayettevilIe. . .. 1878 Russellville 1879 Ozark 1 88o| Harrison 1881 [Dardanelle i882|Bentonville . . . . 1883 Clarksville 1884 Van Buren 1885 Morrilton 1886 Ozark 1887 FayetteviUe 1888 Fort Smith 1889 Conway 1890 Eureka Springs. 1 891 Russellville . . . . 27— M S. R. Trawick John M. Steele. E. T. Jones |John M. Steele. J. M. P. Hickerson. . ijohn Cowle. J. M. P. Hickerson. . jjohn Steele. Unknown Bishop Pierce. J. M. P. Hickerson. . I Bishop Marvin- J. M. P. Hickerson . . Bishop Pierce. James Wickersham. . . Bishop Pierce. H. R. Withers Bishop Keener. C. H. Gregory [Bishop McTyiere- I. L. Burrow ; Bishop Wightman. L L. Burrow I. L. Burrow I. L. Burrow Jerome Haraldson . L L. Burrow W. H. Matheny . . . W. H. Matheny. .. W. H. Matheny. . . W. H. Matheny . , . George W.Hill..,. John W. Boswell. .. John W. Boswell., John W. Boswell . , John W. Boswell ., John W. Boswell . VV. H. Matheny . . , \V. II. Matheny . ., [, A. Walden J. A. Walden Bishop Pierce. Bishop Kavanaugh. Bishop Wightman. Bishop Keener. Bishop Kavanaugh. Bishop McTyiere. Bishop Pierce. Bishop McTyiere. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Cranberry. Bishop Cranberry. Bishop Hargrove. Bishop Cranberry. Bishop Galloway. Bishop Galloway.. Bishop Key. Bishop Hendrix. Bishop Fitzgerald'. Bishop Duncan. 4i8 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. From the date of organization until 1866 this was called the Ouachita Conference, when the name was changed to the Little Rock Conference. 1854 1855 1856 Secretary. Washington Unknown El Dorado William C. Young. Princeton Jesse McAlister . . . President. 1 857; Little Rock Jesse McAlister. Arkadelphia Jesse McAlister . . . Monticello Jesse McAlister .. Pine Bluff Jesse McAlister . . . Camden Jesse McAlister . . . Tulip Jesse McAlister Lewisville James E. Cobb , . . Columbia Camp-Ground . . . James E. Cobb , . . El Dorado ... James E. Cobb . . . Arkadelphia James E. Cobb Des Arc i James E. Cobb . . . James E. Cobb . . James E. Cobb . . William C. Hearn. I85» 1859 i860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 Warren 1869 Magnolia 1870 Washington . . 1 87 1 [Little Rock 1872 Pine Bluff 1873 Camden 1874 Monticello . . . . 1875 Mineral Springs 1876 Arkadelphia . . . 1877 Monticello 1878 Hot Springs. . 1879 Camden 1880 Prescott 1881 Pine Bluff 1882 Hope 1883 Malvern 1884 Little Rock 1885 Arkadelphia William C. Hearn . . , William C. Hearn. . William C. Hearn . . Samuel G. Colburn . Samuel G. Colburn. Colburn . Colburn . Colburn. Colburn . 1886 Hot Springs 1887 Little Rock J. R 1888 Camden. J. R 1889 Pine Bluff J. R 1890 Monticello J. R. 1 89 1 1 Arkadelphia J . R Samuel G. Samuel G. Samuel G. Samuel G. Samuel G. Colburn. Samuel G. Colburn . Samuel G. Colburn. Samuel G. Colburn. J. R. Moore , J. R. Moore J. R. Moore Moore Moore. Moore Moore , Moore Bishop Kavanaugh. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Kavanaugh. Bishop Early. Andrew Hunter. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Paine. Andrew Hunter. Andrew Hunter. William P. Ratcliffe. Andrew Hunter. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Marvin. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Keener. Bishop McTyeire. Bishop Wightman. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Kavanaugh. Bishop Wightman. Bishop Keener. Bishop Kavanaugh. Bishop Doggett. Bishop Pierce. Bishop Pierce. Bishop McTyeire. Bishop Wilson. Bishop Cranberry. Bishop Hargrove. Bishop Cranberry. ! Bishop Galloway. I Bishop Galloway. Bishop Key. Bishop Hendrix. Bishop Fitzgerald. Bishop Duncan. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 419 The White River Conference was organized in 1870, at Mount Zion Church, in Cross County : Place. Secretary. President. 1870 Mount Zion James Wickersham. . 187 1 Batesville James Wickersham. . 1872 Augusta James Wickersham . . I S73 Forrest City John H. Dye 1874 Searcy John H. Dye 1S75 Helena John H. Dye 1 876 Batesville John H. Dye 1877 Augusta John W. Boswell. . . . I S78 Searcy John H. Dye 1 8791 Jacksonport John W. Boswell . 1880 Helena iGeorge Thornburgh . 1881 Beebe jGeorge Thornburgh. 1882 Forrest City [George Thornburgh.. 1883 Newport George Thornburgh. 1884 Batesville j George Thornburgh. 1885 Helena George Thornburgh. 1886 Jonesboro George Thornburgh. 1887 Searcy George Thornbnrgh . 1888 Paragould George Thornburgh. 1 889 Searcy ' A. L. Malone 1890 Marianna I A. L, Malone I S9 1 Newport R. S. Deener. . , ,.., Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Bishop Keener, McTyeire. Wightman. Pierce. Kavanaugh. Doggett. Keener. Kavanaugh. Doggett. Pierce. Pierce. McTyiere. Wilson. Cranberry. Hargrove. Granberry. Galloway. Galloway. Key. Hendrix. Fitzgerald. Duncan. APPENDIX C. The following is believed to contain a complete list of all' the preachers who have been connected with the itineracy in Arkansas to i8S6. The figures on the left indicate the year they commenced traveling ; those at the right the pe- riod at which they died, or located, or transferred, or with- drew from the Church or were expelled. If there are no figures to the right the preacher is still in' one of the Arkan- sas Conferences, and his appointment may be found in Ap- pendix D. The following abbreviations are used : " d^ for dead, " /." for located, " /r." for transferred, " dis^ for discontinued, *^ exy for expelled and *' iin." for unknown. There area few instances in which, from some defect in the minutes, the writer couid not ascertain the exact date or manner of dis- posal, and in that case has used the abbreviation " ti^i." for unknown. 1836 Asborne, Philip, dis. 1837. 1837 Avery, Alexander. 1837 Annis, Jerome, tr. 1866. 1837 Allen, Samuel D., tr. 1846. 1837 Adams, Daniel, tr. 1843. 1841 Adams, Levi C , 1. 1853. 1841 Anderson, W. T., ex. 1842 Atkinson, Lewis, dis. 1843. 1845 Alexander, John, 1. 1848. 1845 Aikin, S. D., tr. 1847. 1850 Andrews, James, d. i860. 1853 Adney, James, tr. i860. 1856 Atterbury, T. B., tr. 1866. 1858 Armstrong, D. P., dis. 1859. 1858 Atchley, Robert. 1859 Adams, W. C, 1. 1869. i860 Abernathy, Buckner, dis. 1862. 1868 Anderson, James, d. 1885. 1867 Allison, Robert A., 1. 1872. 1 87 1 Alexander, J. J. 1 87 1 Armstrong, John F. 1871 Alston, R. B., d. 1874 Abbott, H. W., tr. 1875. 1875 Armstrong, Houston, tr. li 1875 Atkins, James, tr. 1880. 1876 Anderson, Josephus, tr. 18 1878 Anderson, Will. 1879 Anderson, James A. 1879 Austin, W. B. 1 88 1 Atkins, G. W., tr. 1883. 1882 Avery, W. M., d. 1883. 18S3 Anderson, W., A. 1883 Astor, B. W. 1884 Arnold, Wilson. 1885 Adams, Wm. C. 1885 Arnold, L. W. 1886 Adams, Charles L. 1886 Armstrong, Hugh A.. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 421 1870 Archer, Philmer W., tr. 187 1. 1871 Archer, Philmer C, tr. 1872. J821 Bankston, James, tr. 1S30. 1821 Brookfield, Isaac, I. 1822. 1822 Bassett, Samuel, tr. 1826. 1823 Berryman, Jerome, tr. 1836. 1830 Bewley, Nelson R., d. 1836. 1830 Bewley, Mahlon, d. 1831. 1830 Brown Fountain, d. 1865. 1831 Boyce, Wm. R., 1. 1832. 1 831 Baird, Alvin, tr. 1836. 1832 Berthoff, Thomas, 1. 1838. 1833 Berryhill, Pleasant, 1. 1834. 1836 Benn, Thomas, tr. 1840. 1836 Bump. Wm. H., 1. 1840. 1839 Boot, John F., tr. 1844. 1840 Byron, Ethan, 1. 1842. 1841 Baird, Alvin, 1. 1843. 1842 Bell, D. C.,tr. 1844. 1842 Boston, John, tr. 1844. 1842 Blakeley, John H. 1842 Boyers, H. C, 1. 1843. 1842 Benedict, George, 1. 1844. 1843 Burts, R. B., dis. 1844. 1843 Bell, Aaron, 1. 1846. 1843 Biggs, Joab H., tr. 1847. 1843 Balch, H. W.,1. 1871. 1843 Benson, H. C, dis. 1844. 1844 Barrington, A. M., 1. 1856. 1844 Brookfield, Moses A , 1. 1846 Bell, William G., d, 1847. 1847 Boyd, Jesse M., tr. 1848 Brittain, R. G. ■1850 Boyd, Green M., tr. 1864. 1852 Barnett, Hugh A., 1. i860. 1853 Banks, Jordan, 1. 1869. 1853 Bradley, John, 1. 1867. 1854 Brown, John B., 1. 1859. 1854 Bowles, D. N., 1. 1858. 1855 Burkhart, James M., 1. 1862. 1856 Beckham, James C, d. 1869. 1856 Bond, Franklin F., d. 1867. .1856 Baxter, William B., dis. 1858. 1886 Anderson, Stonewall. i860 Bissell, Joseph W., d. 1865. 1863 Bechan, James E., d. 1869. 1863 Barcus, E. R., tr. 1871. 1865 Butler, George E., tr, 1870. 1866 Browning, William H. 1865 Bewley, John M., d. 1880. 1868 Baker, E. M„ d. 1891. 1868 Biggs, W. H. H., tr. 1S74. 1868 Bayliss, W. R., dis. 1870. 1868 Burnett, N. S., ex. 1874. 1869 Babcock, Sidney, 1875. 1869 Bryce, George R., 1. 1872. 1869 Bennick, A. R., tr. 1876. 1869 Burrow, I. L. 1870 Barnett, H. A., 1. 1871. 1870 Blassamgame, Robert, 1. 1871, 1 87 1 Bayliss, C. A. 1872 Bell, J. R.N. 1872 Birmingham, T. M., 1. 1890. 1872 Boswell, John, tr. 1890. 1872 Boiling, W. T., tr. 1874. I S72 Brewer, T. F, 1872 Biggs, \\\ H. H., tr. 1874. 1872 Burns, S. N. 1873 Beasley, R. F., tr. 18S5. 1873 Brewster, John D., dis. 1874. 1873 Brickell, Thomas J., 1. 1878. 1873 Biggs, A. C, tr. 1879. 1874 Bugg, George B. 1874 Bennett, Z. T. 1874 Bayliss, Samuel, dis. 1877. 1874 Baker, M. M. 1874 Bradley, John M., dis. 1876. 1875 Bryant, J. W., tr. 1879. 1876 Biglow, James C., tr. 1876 Beasley, M. F., d. 1884. 1877 Burns, W. H. 1877 Brooks, H. W., tr. 1S91. 1877 Brodie, W. C, tr. 1877. 1877 Biggs, Joseph A., tr. 1890. 1877 Blackwood, Asa S. 422 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1857 Bickers, Horace, dis. 1858. 1877 1858 Benefield, B. T. dis, 1859. 1878 1859 Brice, J. Y., tr. 1862. 1879 1859 Bassam, Pleasant, d. 1862. 1879 i860 Burnett, Obadiali, 1872. 1879 i860 Brandon, J. W,, d. 1867. 1880 1880 Blakeley, H. P., dis. 1881. 1884 1880 Brooks, J. J., dis. 1882. 1884 1880 Brooks, Joseph S. 1884 1880 Baskerville, G. R., tr. 1882. 1885 1 88 1 Boyls, G. W. 1885 1882 Butt, Moses E. 1885 1882 Bryant, J. W. 1886 1882 Beard, Edwin L 1886 18S2 Bragg, Nathan E. 1887 1883 Bird, L. S., tr. 1883. 1824 Clark, Gilbert, 1. 1825. i860 1826 Cureton, John, dis. 1827. i860 1832 Casteel, Micah, 1. 1834. 1864 1832 Cornelius, Henry, 1. 1838. 1865 1835 Carr, John H., 1. 1837. 1867 1836 Carney, Charles J., 1. 1837. 1868 1836 Cardwell, Richard, un. 1868 1836 Cotton, John, ex. 1870 1837 Custer, Jacob, 1. 1847. 1871 1838 Cummings, , tr. 1846. 1871 1838 Cambeil, A., un. 1872 1838 Clarke, Samuel, 1. 1847. 1872 1839 Carlisle, Stephen, d. i860. 1872 1839 Cole, Robert, tr. 1841. 1872 1839 Cobb, WilHam A., 1. 1843. 1873 1841 Cowle, John, d. 1870. 1873 1 841 Collins, Isaac F., un. 1S74 1842 Collins, Walter D. 1874 1842 Colly, J. C, un.> 1874 1843 Cottingham, G. W., tr. 1854. 1875 1845 Cowart, James, dis. 1846. 1875 1848 Cobb, James E., tr. 1870. 1875 1848 Caruthers, David, tr. 1870. 1875 1848 Garden, H. G., tr. 1854. 1877 1849 Garden, B. S., tr. 1854. 1877 1850 Carter, R. H., un. 1878 1850 Crouch, J. J., 1. 1858. 1878 Best, James S., 1. 1884. Baldwin, William M., 1. 1884^ Butler, M. L. Burnett, George W.. tr. 1 883. Brown, Julien C. Bradford, Joseph H. Baker, Joseph A. Burke, P. P. Branson, A. M. R. Bland, R. C. Bashan, William O. Burns, S. N, Biinkley, C. B. Ball, Few. Brown, H. J. Clower, Jonathan, tr. 1S70. Cowsey, C. W. Cobb, William A., d. 1873. Colburn, Samuel G., d. 1884. Colman, E. W., 1. 1871. Chandler, Leonard M., d. 1871. Clay, Henry, dis. 1870. Conley, W. H. Collum, E. M., 1. 1874. Craig, Thomas A. Clark, Moses C, dis. 1S74. Carter, J. E. Cooper, John A., dis. 1873. Conley, Andrew, d. 1875. Cole, R. S., dis., 1874. Calloway, Joseph P., 1. 1876. Cochran, S. L. Corbitt, John A. Cason, John R. Coker, James N., dis. 1876. Caldwell, James P. Clark, James M. Clark, William F. Crowson, Wm. M., tr., 1883. Calloway, J. P. Crews, B. T., 1. 1886. Crow, R. F., dis. 1880. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 423 1851 '853 ■853 ■853 1854 [854 [854 [857 '857 1858 1858 [859 i860 1831 ■833 1834 [836 1852 t853 [856 1S56 1857 1838 [858 ■859 i860 1862 [862 1863 [865 1867 [868 [869 (836 [838 1843 [848 1854 [860 [860 [864 Coleman, John D. Caldwell, James E. Carr, John F. Chadwick, A. M., 1. Chase, P. W. D., tr. 1855. Colburn, R. F., d. 1876. Crowson, Elijah L., d. 1868. Carter, William, un. Chamberlain, W, A., 1. 1869. Canady, Ruby, un. Culpepper, James E., 1. i860. Corbett, J. Y., tr. 1877. Clayton, John M., 1. 1884. Duke, W. G., 1. 1836. Denton, John B., tr. 1838. Duke, J. C, dis. 1835. Duncan, E. B., tr. 1851. Dannelly, George A. Dodson, R. M. Deason, W. M. Denton, James L., 1. 1859. Dixon, John, 1. 1861. Deason, Leonidas. Davis, \Vm. R., u. 1861. Davis, Wm. J. Drake, A. W. C. Duncan, George W., 1. 1877. Doyle, John N. Davies, Richard P., d. 1871. Davis, B. O., tr. 1871. Dye, John H. Davis, Wm. C. DeBose, George, dis., 1870. Essex, James. Eastabrook, Juba, d. 185 1. Edwards, Charles, 1. 1846. Ewing, Young, tr. 1855. Epps, David, d. Emmett, George. Evans, D. W^, 1. 1872. Echols, Wm. M. Emmerson, John L. Evans, George W., tr. 1870. 1878 Castleberry, E.G. 1879 Cavnar, John T. 1879 Clark, WilHam J. 1880 Carl, F. L. 1881 Christian, T. J., tr. 1883. 1 881 Cummings, James H. 1882 Cary, C. H. 1882 Cantrell, John M. 1883 Christmas, James Y. 1883 Calloway, John H., tr. 1888 1885 Colson, A. M. 1885 Cajul, W. A., dis, 1887. 1886 Cryer, Hardy M. 1870 Dodson, Wm. J., d. 1886. 1870 Daune, Ed J., tr. 1872. 1870 Douglass, J. M. G. 1870 Daily, James C, 1. 1873. 1871 Denton, James, 1. 1871 Davis Arthur, d. 1880. 1872 Derrick, W. S., tr. 1872. 1873 Dunn, W. C, tr. 1877 Dunnaway, John E. 1879 Derrick, W. A. 1879 Davis, Henry C, dis. 1880. 1880 Damon, George W. 1882 Dickens, Elijah. 1883 Dodson, James B. 1884 Davis, E. M. 1885 Deener, R. S. 1885 Denizen, J. M, 1886 Dodson, Stonewall. 1886 Davis, G. W. O. 1S69 Ellis, Cyrus H., tr., 1874. 1870 Evans, S. D. 1871 Elbert Isaac, d. 1872. 1874 Evans, Robert W., d. 1882. 1879 Evans, Elisha N. 1882 Elam, A. M. 1883 Edwards, James R. 1883 Evans, A. O. 1884 Ewing, Young. 1885 England, John M. 424 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1868 Ellis, F. A., 1. 1873. 1836 Fields, Turtle, 1. 1839. 1838 Ford, M. S., 1. 1S41. 1838 Fellows, David,]. 1839. 1842 Fields, Johnson, d. 1846. 1844 Ferguson, James, tr. 1847. 1844 Farrish, Stephen, d. 1873. 1845 Finn, William. 1856 Foster, William R. i860 Frost, Wade H., tr. l86i. 1866 Floyd, C. S. 1868 Ford, C. H. 1868 Fair, George F. 1868 Fair, N. E. 1869 Frazee, H. B., tr. 1875. 1830 Green, Jesse, d. 1847. 1834 Gould, J. L., 1. 1835. 1835 Gore, J. M., tr. 1837. 1836 Gregory, Robert, tr. 1844. 1836 Guise, Jesse A., 1. 1837. 1837 Graham, James, 1. 1843. 1837 Groce James C, 1., 1841. 1837 German, Peter, dis. 1838. 1837 Gehring, H., d. 1838. 1843 Goode, W. H. 1844 Gresham, William. 1844 Garrett, Theophilus, tr. 1855. 1846 Guthrey, William L. 1850 Gillispie, W. H.,tr. 1854. 1852 Green, A. L. P., tr. 1865. 1853 Gillam, W. H., tr, 1863. 1853 Griffin, Jesse, 1. 1859. 1S54 Gaddie, Enoch, d. 1854 Gordon, J. D. 1S56 Goodwin, James, 1. 1863. 1857 Glascow, Jesse 1857 Graham, Thomas A. 1859 Grant, James, tr., 1873. 1859 Granade, H. M., d. 1890. i860 Garrett, Louis, d. 1869. 181 7 Harris, John, 1. 1832. 181 8 Harned, William, d. 1820. 1825 Haile, Jesse, tr. 1829. 1887 Edwards, John D. 1870 Futrell, Nathan. 1870 Fielding, M. H., L 1871. 1 87 1 Francis, R. N. 1873 Foster, William R. 1874 Ferguson, B. L., d. 1880. 1876 Franks. 1876 Freeman, C. L. 1876 Fizer, N. B., 1. 1891. 1880 Floyd, Joseph M. 1880 Fleming, H. E., 1. 1883. 1882 Few, Amos P. 1882 Fulton, J. J. 1883 Futrell, Nathaniel 1884 Freeman, W. A. 1861 Garrison, H. V., tr. 1862 Greer, Josiah, 1. 1865. 1863 Griffin, M. C. 1866 Gregory, Henry T. 1866 Gillispie, W. W., d., 1872. 1868 Goodloe, A.T., tr. 1869. 1868 Griffin, Taylor. 1870 Garrison, E. A., tr. 1887. 1870 Gregory, C. H., tr. 1890. 1870 Gardner, W. R. 1 87 1 Gaines, S. D„ tr. 1872. 1872 Godden, C. C. 1873 Greathouse, Benjamin H. 1875 Garrett, Euphrates. 1877 Griffin, Z. T. 1878 Goudelock, R. W., dis. 1879. 1879 Greenwood, James C, d. 1883. 1880 Galloway, Thomas G. 1880 Graham, W. 1880 Gay, James C., tr. 1882. 1 881 Gold, John H. 1882 Gardner, W. R. • 1882 Graham Charles. 1886 Grissett, R. H. 1886 Guffey, Joshua H., dis. 1888. 1869 Hilton, William G., dis. 1870. 1869 Hall, John H. 1869 Hearn, William C, tr. 1874. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 425 1829 Haw, Uriel, 1. 1834. 1829 Henry, John A., d. 1830. 1831 Hamill, John N., 1. 1837. •1831 Harrell, John, tr. 1850. 1834 Horn, John, 1. 1835. 1836 Hunter, Andrew. 1836 Hughes, Jeptha, 1. 1838. 1838 Holford, S., d. 1844. 1839 Hester, B. R., I. 1844. 1840 Harris, Benjamin F. 1841 Hubbard, Henry. 1842 Hamill, William A. 1842 Houke, William H. •1844 Holbe, John Ct, tr. 1845. 1845 Hays, G. E. 1848 Harris, Benoni, d. 1892. ■1849 Hunt, Thomas, d. 1882. 1850 House, T. Q. 1850 Haskew, Peter, 1. 1858. 1851 Hammett, R. W., 1851 Helbrun, Thomas B., d. 1861. 1 85 1 Hulse, James P., tr. 1872. 1853 Hawkins, H. H., 1. 1859. 1854 Hicks, Marion. 1855 Hall, B. F., d. 1878. 1858 Haislip, W. C, tr. 1865. 1859 Harvey, James R. i860 Hulsey, Henry J., tr. i860. i860 Husbands, W. R. J. 1860 Hamley, Joel T. 1861 Hickerson, J. M. P. 1861 Hill, Moses. 1861 Hays, Thomas W., 1. 1878. 1861 Harrison, E. R. 1 86 1 Holmes, John P. 1862 Hankins, Henry. 1863 Hall, James F., d. 1887. 1865 Howard, Thomas. 1866 Hunter, R. S., tr. 1881. 1867 Hicks, Stephen P., tr. 1869. 1868 Hare, George, 1. 1880. 1836 Irwin, John L. 1823 Johson, James E., 1. 1825. 1870 Harroldson, Jerome. 1870 Hall, B.T., d. 1879. 1870 Hall, John F., died 1875. 1871 Hays, J. L. 1872 Hickman, J. B. 1872 Hare, David J., 1. 1877. 1872 Hagan, William H., d. 1879. 1872 Howell, H. D. 1873 Henderson, J. F., dis. 1874. 1873 Haskew, John W., d. 1879. 1873 Hare, Thomas P., 1. 1877. 1873 Hicks, Stephen P., 1. 1875. 1874 Hill, George M. 1876 Haynes, John M., dis. 1875. 1876 Hawley, Lewis B. 1876 Henderson, W. M. 1876 Hamilton, R. M., dis. 1S77. 1876 Hunton, C. B. 1877 Harlan, V. V. 1877 Hanlin, John N. 1877 Hagan, W. H., d. 1879. 1877 Hopkins, P. H. 1879 Hudgins, B. H., dis. 1820. 1879 Hartin, F..L. 1879 Hays, H. C, dis. 1880. 1880 Hill, George W. 1880 Harrison, L. W. 1880 Hilburn, Thomas B., 1. 1883. 1880 Harwood, R. P. 1881 Hamilton, J. M. C. 1881 Harrison, E. R. 1 881 Harrison, L. W. 1882 Holcomb, Nathan T. 1882 Hearn, Thomas A. 1882 Hill, Moses B. 1883 House, L. W. 1884 Harrison, W, R. 18S5 Hiveley, M. J. 1885 Hill, S.A. 1886 Harris, Irvin. 1886 Head, John W. 1872 Jores, F. M. 426 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1831 Joplin, H. G., tr, 1836. 1836 Jones, Benjamin, tr. 1840. 1836 Jones, James L., 1. 1853. 1849 Jones, C. C. 1852 Jones, S. W. 1854 Jones, Ed T. 1854 Jones, James N., 1. 1854. 1854 Johnson, L. H., d. 1864. 1856 Jones, R. L. i860 Johnson, B. G. i860 Jewell, Horace. i860 Jones, Guilford, tr. 1865. 1868 Jenkins, Ambrose, d. 1869 Johnson, John W. 1828 Kelly, John, tr. 1831. 1834 Keith, Nicholas, dis. 1835. 1836 Karney, C. J., 1. 1837. 1 841 Kavanaugh, A. L., dis. 1842. 1842 Kolly, John C, tr. 1845. 1842 Kein, Henry H., tr. 1844. 1847 Kirby, Robert M., tr. 1865. 1848 Kemp, James S., dis. 1849. 1854 Kennedy, A. H., tr. 1866. 1855 Kennedy, J. J., d. 1859. 1856 Kellogg, Benjamin, d. i860 1857 Kennedy, John T., dis. 1858. 1 81 8 Lowery, James, 1. 1820. 1823 Lopp, Andrew, 1. 1826. 1824 Leach, Thomas B., 1. 1829. 1834 Lacy, J. K. 1 835 Lee, Burwell, d. 1841 Lowry, Mason B., 1. 1851. 1844 Leach, Thomas J., tr. 1847. 1845 Loyd, James W., tr. 1848. 1847 Lively, Lewis P., tr. 1864. 1857 Livingston, George W. 1858 Littleton, Wm. E., tr. 1859. 1868 Lanier, Wm. O., dis. 1870. 1817 McAlister, Alexander,). 1823. 1819 Medford, William, tr. 1825. 1835 McGowan, P. M., tr. 1S36. 1836 McKenzie, J. W. P., 1. 1841. 1836 Mcintosh, John R., tr. 1840. 1836 Methvin, Cotmon, 1. 1837. 1873 Jones, C. O. 1874 Jamison, George E., tr. 1874.. 1874 Jolly, H. C. 1875 Jenkins, John J., d. 1889. 1875 Jones. Wiley, dis. 1877. 1875 Jernigan, J. F. 1878 Jeffett, F. A. 1878 Jones, Enoch. 1879 Johnson, F. S. H. 1880 Jones, J. R. 1 881 Johnson, Luke G. 1882 Jamieson, II. L. 1884 Johnson, A. L. 1885 Jenkins, William. 1861 Knowlton, W. R., 1. 1881. 1866 Key, Sidney A. 1869 King, Jesse M., dis. 1871. 1876 Keith, L. M., d. 1890. 1876 Keener, James L., dis. 1879.. 1879 Kaigler, John W. 1879 Kelly, E. B. 1880 Keith, William L. 1880 Kelly, Lewis. 1881 Kei'.h, W. T. 1 88 1 Keith, Charles M. 1883 Kirby, Henry C. 1870 Loving, Josephus. 1871 Linebaugh, D. H., tr. 1871. 1873 Laird, James T., dis. 1874. 1874 Lasley, Lewis J., I. 1879. 1874 Leake, Dejalma.) 1874 Lewis, L. M., tr. 1878. 1876 Lindsay, W. A.,1. 1880. 1877 Lindsay, Z. W., 1. 1880. 1878 Laney, William P. 1882 Logan, George W, 1884 Lundy, William W- 1872 McCann, Z. T., tr. 1891. 1873 Martin, James E. 1873 McCutcheon, D. M.,dis. 1874.. 1873 Miller, A. K., tr. 1874. 1873 Malone, W. C, 1. 1878. 1873 McLaughlin, John. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 427- 1838 Morris, G. W., 1. 1S43. 1S73 1838 Mulky, William, 1. 1840. 1S73 1839 Mason, William B., d. 1851. 1874 1839 Morris, James, 1. 1841. 1874 1841 Mcintosh, William, dis. 1842. 1874 1841 Moreland, S, W., 1. 1843. 1874 1842 Moreland, L. W., 1. 1844. 1874 1842 Martin, James. 1875 1847 Morgan, Russell. 1875 1847 McNabb, Elijah. 1875 1848 Morris, Samuel, tr. 1S70 1875 1848 Martin, Richard, dis. 1850. 1876 1849 McKenzie. D. L. G., d. 1863. 1876 1850 Manly, Marcus, tr. 1869. 1877 1850 McCarver, John, tr. 1863. 1877 1850 McAlister, Jesse S., d. 1864. 1877 1850 Marshall, L. S., d., 1862. 1877 1850 Moores, William, tr. 1870. 1877 1851 Mosely, John, 1. 1854. 1877 1851 Mc\lister, W. L., t. 1852. 1877 1852 Moore, Jacob M. 1878 1853 Mathis, John S. 1878 1853 Mackey, James, tr. 1876. 1878 1853 McGuire, Cornelius, tr. 1876. 1878 1856 Maxwell, John P., 1. 1858. 1879 1856 Mann, John H., 1. 1858. 1879 1857 Moses, Peter A., 1. 1874. 1879 1859 Morris, M. C, d. 1889. 1880 1859 Mathis, William M., tr. 1863. 1S80 1859 Malloy, William M., tr. 1859. 1880 i860 McMurtry, Moses. 1880 i860 r.IcKennon, H. D. 1880 1861 McGowan, H. B. 1881 1 861 Moore, F, M. 1883 1 861 McCrary, C. C. 1883 1862 Moore, F. M. 1883 1866 Mizell, A., tr. 1868. 1883 1867 Massey, R. W., 1. 1883 1868 Martin, W. J. H. 1884 1869 Monk, F. M., dis. 1870. 1885 1870 Murphy, N. G. 1885 1870 Malone, W. L. 1885 1870 Mathews, George W. 1885 1870 Malone, W. C., dis. 1872. 1885 Meador, C. V., 1. 1874. Malone, B. H., tr. 1878. Moore, F. M., 1. 1873. Moon, Richard. Miller, James G., 1. 1879. Munns, F. A. Mitchell. B. E. Mason, S. A., 1. 1877. Morton, T. W., dis. 1876. McAlister, R. M. Minor, T. P., 1. 1878. Metheney, W. H. Myatt, C. W., tr. 1878. Massey, Jesse L. Martz, Mitchell, dis. 1878. McLaughlin, John T., dis. l878^ Moore, James R. Monk, Bascom. McNeil, H. B., 1. 1880. Morris, J. T., 1. 1883. Melton, A. P., d. 1885. Martin, J. E. Methis, A. McGleason, Gerge W.,1. 1881. Moore, Jasper N. McCurry, B. C. Mathews, W. D., tr. 1 891. Martyn, William. Moore, John. McCurry, B. C. Mathews, W. D. Martin, William. Mathews, Benjamin C. Maynard, John I. Massey, E. I-. ' Moore, R. R. Maxwell, J. B. Mills, W. W. Mclver, W. A. Manley, William. Martz, M. McKay, R. W. McCraw, B. B. Miller. W. G. 428 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1871 McCurdy, Samuel. 1871 McSwain, Charles D. 1871 Minor, Anslem 1872 McKarmy, James B., d. 1876. 1872 Monk, Alonzo, tr. 1883. 1832 Neil, John P., d. 1835. 1836 Newman, James L. 1851 Neely, Robert H., ex. 1856. 1853 Newell, H. J., 1. 1856. 1857 Noe, William T., d. 1875. 1870 Nabors, J. L., dis. 1871. .1875 Nugent. C. J., tr. 1876. 1818 Orr, Washington, 1. 1822. 1824 Orr, Green, 1. 1826. 1831 Overly, Richard, 1. 1834. ^835 Owen, Richard VV., tr. 1840. 1832 Ferryman, Henry, tr. 1836. 1834 Peace, Andrew, tr. 1836. 1835 Powell, John, tr. 1850. 1835 Pearce, Levi, tr. 1836. 1836 Perry, Moses, 1. 1841. 1837 Propps, L. C. 1837 Price, H. B. 1837 Parker. J. C, 1. 1S45. 1842 Page, John. 1843 Patterson, Samuel. 1845 Poage, George B. 1848 Pittman, John J„ tr. 1852. 1851 Perry, H. O., d. 1857. 1854 Pankey, Wilson N. 1856 Putman, Andrew. 1856 Pershall, W. D. 1856 Pryor, John, d. 1883. 1858 Pearson, John F., tr. 1859. 1858 Pope, Cadesman, tr. 1878, 1859 Phillips, F. W., tr. i860. 1859 Pearson, M. B., d. 1880. i860 Partin, John J. 1 86 1 Patton, John W. 1865 Primrose, George, tr. 1871. 1866 Panin, Robert, tr. 1870. i868 Porter, John H., tr. 1869. 1868 Plummer, E. B., tr. 1869. 1868 Parker, Joseph A,, 1. 1877. 1886 Mann, George A. 1886 McAnally, Jesse M. 1886 Marshall, J. C- A. 1886 Manly, R. M. 1876 Nichols, Thomas R. 1876 Naike, Thomas N., dis. 1877. 1878 Nabors, R. T. 1879 Noe, F. R. 1881 Nicholson, Joseph. 1882 Nailor, Frank. 1885 Nabors. R. T. 1845 Owen, Travis, d. 1855. 1846 Overall, Abram, d. 1847. 1852 Owen, Jesse W., d. 1857. 1873 Oliver, Pleasant C, dis. 1874. 1869 Pace, I. N., 1. 1872. 1870 Parker, James A., tr. 1876. 1870 Piggott, L. W., dis. 1 87 1. 1870 Pearson, F. C, 1. 1871. 1 87 1 Puckett, Hastings. 1871 Prather, John J., tr. 1874. 1871 Firtle, John M., 1. 1875. 1872 Paine, F. M., 1. 1877. 1872 Petty, Francis M. 1873 Powell, John W., dis. 1875. 1873 Porter, R. G., tr. 1874. 1874 Peebles, James A. 1874 Pendergrass, W. A. 1874 Paschal, W. H., 1. 1877. 1874 Preston, Wade. 1875 Pledges, George. 1877 Priddy, I. H., 1. 1876. 1877 Phipps, W. H., dis. 1878. 1878 Powers, A. S., dis. 1879. 1879 Pugh, W. K. 1879 Poynter, R. H., dis. 1881. 1880 Pipkins, Edgar M. 1 881 Pugh, W. K. 1881 Pendergrass, William A. 1882 Parker, S. H. 1884 Powell, William D. 1885 Peck, William A. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 429. 1833 Rivers. John H., 1. 1844. 1834 Ramsey, Charles, d. 1843. 1834 Ratcliffe, William P., d. 1867. 1835 Renlfro, Joseph, I. 1848. 1840 Robbins, Samuel, 1. 1S42. 1842 Roberts, John J., d. 1883. 1846 Rogers, James M., 1. 1859. 1849 Rice. J. H., tr., 1855. 1850 Revel, John. 1 85 1 Rhyme, John, 1. 1864. 1854 Reed, John C, ir. 1855. 1856 Roach, John A., 1. i860. 1859 Renneau, Russell. 1859 Robinson, Hugh P. 1859 Rhodes. F. M., 1. 1866. 1859 Reynolds, Perry G. i860 Ray, Abel C, 1. 1874. 1861 Rice, Isaac C. i86t Ratcliff-, John G., 1. 1863. 1863 Rice, John H., d. 1864. 1865 Riggin, John H. 1867 Rhodes, S. C, dis. 1868. 1869 Reid, D. W., dis. 187 1. 1870 Reynolds, Thomas J., 1873. 1816 Stephenson, William, tr. 1826, 1818 Shroeder, John, 1. 1821. 1820 Stephenson, Henry, tr. 1835. 1821 Scripps, John, d. 1826 Snedecor, Parker, 1. 1831. 1827 Shores, William, 1. 1830. 1830 Slavens, James, 1. 1834. 1832 Smith, A. D., 1. 1840. 1831 Scott, Allen M., 1. 1832. 1834 Sorrells, W., dis. 1835. 1835 Simmons, Arthur W., 1. 1839. 1836 Scott, Wmfree, 1. 183S. 1836 Stephenson, John M., 1. 186J 1836 Squires, Sidney, 1. 1 839. 1837 Steele, John M., d. 1882. 1837 Spears, Moses, tr. 1839. 1837 Seaman, John F., 1. 1844. 1838 Sawrie, James T., 1. 1840. 1839 Sandford, George, dis. 1840. 1839 Stanley, William, dis. 1840, 1859 See, James, d. 1846. 1870 Ross, William J., dis. 1871. 1873 Rogers, W. J. 1873 Rhodes, James C. 1873 Ross, Joseph W., d. 1875. 1874 Robertson, H. E , dis. 1876. 1874 Ritter, Frank. 1875 Rayner. B. S., tr. 1882. 1876 Rogers, L G., tr. 1882. 1878 Ross, David C. 1879 Robertson, O. C. 1879 Richardson, Geo. W., dis. 1 881. 1880 Ritter, John C. 1880 Register, S. W. x88o Richardson, Z. W., 1. 1882. 1881 Raymond, R. R. 1882 Robinson, Alonzo. 1883 Rutledge, William. 1883 Rutledge, James D. 1883 Roscoe, John T. 1884 Rook, C. W. 1885 Ready, W.T. 18S5 Reid, D. W. 1885 Robertson, J. R. 1885 Rutledge, 1 861 Sweeney, C. P., 1. 1S60. 1861 Stanfield, John P., tr., 1861. 1865 Stincil, James, 1. 1871. 1866 Smith, T. J., d. 1885. 1867 Stewart, G. W., dis. 1869. 1867 Sturdy, David, 1. 1884. 1868 Sanford, James, d. 188— 1869 Saunders, Robert H. 1870 Settles, Thomas J., 1. 1883. 1 87 1 Sherwood, James. 1874 Sewell, Thomas E., d. 1881. 1874 Stone, William J. 1875 Saffold, Albert P., tr. 1S90. 1875 Shaeffer, George A. 1875 Simmons, David C. 1875 Stephenson, Elam A. 1875 Slover, Calvin M. 1875 Summers, Basham. 1876 Shaw, Samuel G., tr. 1883. 430 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 1840 Stroud, T. D., d. 1845. 1841 Shook, Jefferson, tr. 1841. 1842 Stephens, J., 1. 1843. 1842 Steele, T. G. T.,1. 1849. 1842 Slover, Calvin, d. 1842 Stanford, Thomas, tr. 1863. 1844 Shipman, James W., tr. 1850. 1844 Stanford, John B., 1. 1847. 1845 Stockton, Jonathan, 1. 1858. 1845 Shook, Jacob W., 1. 1857. 1845 Sugg, H. A., 1. 1853. 1846 Stephenson, James M., 1. 1850. 1848 Stafford, William J., 1. 1854. 1849 Spurier, Silas, tr. 1868. 1857 Smoot, Elijah, 1. 1861. 1853 Scott, W. J., tr. 1880. 1855 Sutherland, Littleton, 1. 1858. 1855 Stephens, Elisha. 1857 Steele, C. O., tr., 1879. 1858 Shaffer, George A., d. 1884. 1859 Stanley, Julius A., d. 1869. 1859 Stephenson, Elam A., tr., 1861. 1859 Shea, W. D., tr., 1859 Shep, William, tr. 1868. 1818 Tennant, Thomas, dis. 1820. 1820 Townsend, William, 1. 1S24. 1823 Tanner, Rucker, 1. 1825. 1829 Tackett, Pleasant, dis. 1830. 1836 Tumley, W. H., 1. 1837. 1836 Tumley, G. W., dis. 1838. 0841 Tinder, Thomas C, 1. 1845. 1846 Taylor, Nathan, 1. 1847. 1846 Tinman, Joseph, 1. 1849. 1847 Turrentine, J., 1. 1858. 1847 Truslow, J. F., tr, 1850. 1848 Thornberry, W. T., 1. 1859. 1849 Thweat, W. C, tr. 1851. 1850 Thompson, George F., tr. 1852. 1854 Thetford, J. B., 1. 1854. 1854 Truly, R. R., 1. 1856. 1854 Thacker, F. M., 1. 1869. 1856 Turrentine, A. J 856 Turner, Malcolm, d. 1 861. 1876 Steele, John R. 1877 Smith, M. M. 1877 Skinner, N. E. 1878 Smith, Dexter. 1878 Setzer, Thomas A. 1879 Shangle, Joseph S., 1. 1886, 1879 Stanley, Julius, d. 1879 Smith, Robert L. 1 88 1 Steele, William A. 1881 Sanders, John R. 1882 Sutton, J. E. 1882 Steel, J. R. 1 883 -Stephenson, J. B., tr. 1SS9. 1883 Scott, Soule, tr. 1886. 1883 Stone, W. J. 1883 Scott, W. S., 1. 1886. 1883 Smith, William B. 1884 Spense, Charles C. 1884 Story, H. A. 1884 Scott, J. W. F. 1885 South worth, W. S. 1885 Scott, Thomas D. 1886 Sterling, T. C. 1886 Smith, George W. 1862 Tyson, T. S., 1. 1864. 1867 Tate, Van Buren, I. 1S73. 1869 Turrentine, Joseph. 1869 Taff, F. A. 1870 Townsend, Hilliard. 1871 Talkington, James A. 1872 Taylor, R. M. 1873 Thomas, O. P., tr. 1876. 1875 Thacker, F. H., 1. 1875. 1876 Thorne, Peter H. 1876 Traylor, R. M. 1878 Troy, John F. 1879 Traylor, C, M. 1879 Turrentine, Archelaus. 1880 Taylor, Thomas J. 1880 Townsend, F. C. 1880 Thornton, J. T. 1 88 1 Tucker, Owen H. 1882 Thomas, J. B. HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 431 1859 Travvick, Sidney R , tr. 1863. 1859 Turner, Joseph. 1 88 1 Vaughn, D'Arcy. 1821 Wiley, Dennis,]. 1825. 1 83 1 Wakely, Lemuel, 1. 1825. 1833 Wells, Martin, d. 1835. 1834 Wakelee, S., 1. 1S37. 1836 Webber, Ansel, 1. 1851. 1838 Whateley, Enoch, 1. 1S38. 1837 Whateley, Uriah, 1. 1840. 1838 Walters, Spencer, 1. 1841. 1838 Walker, Samuel, 1. 1839. 1838 Whitesides, Jacob, d. i860. 1839 Wyer, B. C. 1839 Weelooker, ., tr. 1841. 1839 Walters, Spenser, 1. 1841. 1840 Woods, Green, 1. 1859. 1847 Williams, Wm. O., tr. 1849. 1849 Winfield, A. R., d. 1889. 1 85 1 Webster, Daniel M., dis. 1853 1852 Withers, H. R. 1852 Williams, Burton 1853 Withers, Richards, 1. 1858. 1853 Winfield, A. B. 1854 Winbourne, William, d. 1863. 1869 Ward, Bascom. 1869 Watson, H. H. 1870 Weir, Walter W., 1. 1 87 1 Wilson, Wm. W. 1871 Winburn, French M., tr., 1879. 1872 Woodward, A. H. 1873 Wooten, Weems. 1873 Williams, Ambrose H., d. 1874. 1874 Whitesides, Jacob D. 1875 Whitmore, E. M., d. 1879. 1875 Walker, James E., tr. 1876. 1877 Watson, John S. 1877 Wilson, R. A.,tr. 1880. 1878 Ward, Jason T., d. 1880. 1878 Wood, John W. 1878 Warren, Ezra. 1878 Woolen, Julius M. 1878 Williams, Martin L. 1853 Young, Wm. C, tr. 1S60. 1886 Turner, R. G. 1 88 1 Venable, W. T. 1855 Walton, William H., 1858. 1S55 Wood, Frederick, 1. 185^-. 1855 Wood, Wm. H., 1. 1859. 1855 Ware, Edwin, d. 1858. 1855 Wells, Marshall, tr. — 1855 Weir, B. C, d. 1856 Watson, Benjamin, d. 1891. 1857 Williams, J. A., 1. 1870. 1S58 Walker, Simeon, d. 1859. 1859 Watson, Ezekiel N. 1859 Woods, Louis G. i860 Ward, Joseph G., d. — 1 86c Warfield, James H., tr. 1863. 1864 Williams, Charles A., 1. 1868 1S67 Watson, W. M. 1868 Warren, G. H. 1868 Ware, Thomas H. 1868 Webb, L. D. 1869 Wittenberg, W. E. 1869 Walden, James A. 1869 Walker John W., tr. 1873. 1869 Whitehead, Wesley M. 1878 Wytche, J. L., dis. 1879. 1879 Wheat, Thomas H. 1 881 Whitesides, Wm. B, 1 88 1 Wilson, Wm. E. 1 88 1 Weems, D. J. 1882 Williams, Geo. W. 1883 Williams, J. N. 1884 Watts, John H. 1884 Walden, Tames N. 1884 Wright, E. M, 1S84 Walker, W. F. 1 854 Whittaker, T. B. 1885 Williamson, Thos. 1885 Williams, James B. 1855 Willbanks, John S. 1886 Wallace, P. B. 1886 Wright, Wilbur F. 1884 Yarborough. ADDENDA. BISHOP BASCOM. The following account of this wonderfully gifted man is taken from a memoir published by Bishop Kavanaugh at the request of his colleagues : Henry Bidleman Basconi was the son of Alpheus and Hannah Bascom, and was born on the east bank of the east branch of the Delaware River, in the Town of Hancock, Delaware County, New York. His father was of a French Huguenot family, and his mother a German of the Bidleman family, of New Jersey. He was the second child and first son of his parents, and in childhood was a sportive, sprightly boy, apt to learn and fond of thoughtful solitude. At the age of five years he was placed at the school of a maiden lady. Here he soon learned to read so as to take great de- light in juvenile books. When he was about eight and a half years old his relative, Mr. Bidleman, took him to his home and sent him to school until he was about twelve years old, after which he was never at school again. His parents moved first to Alleghany Valley, on the Alleghany River, in Western New York, in 1808. In 18 12 they moved to Mays- ville, Kentucky, and finally to Ripley, Ohio, where they were permanently settled. In this neighborhood young Bascom soon became a class-leader. To get to his class he had to cross Eagle Creek, which is a large stream of the sort, and with characteristic perseverance he has been known to wade it in the wintertime when the ice was running, leaping along between the floating pieces of ice, rather than disappoint his class. He was converted at about fourteen years of age. It seems that young Bascom was greatly assisted by a young preacher named Gilmore, who took him into his secular em- ploy. Bishop Kavanagh says that young Bascom received HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 433 the first horse upon which he traveled his circuits for service in digging a cellar. He was licensed to preach on Bush Creek Circuit, in the State of Ohio, in i8i3,and in the same autumn was received on trial in the Ohio Conference, and appointed to Deer Creek Circuit, with Alexander Cummings for his colleague. As a traveling preacher he traveled in succession the fol- lowing circuits : Deer Creek, Guyandotte and Mad River, He v/as then transferred to the Tennessee Conference. In 18 18 he was stationed in Louisville, Ky., which was for the first time made a station. In 1823 he was stationed at Steu- benville, Ohio, and during this year he was elected chaplain of the lower house of Congress. It was during this year that he visited. Baltimore, and by his preaching produced such a wonderful effect upon the city and surrounding coun- try. His preaching has been described as having surpassing eloquence and astounding power. He was next stationed in Pittsburg. He was elected to the presidency of Madison College in 1827. In 1832 he waselected Professor of Moral Science and Belles Lettres in Austa College, where he re- mained for about ten years. After this he was elected to the presidency of Transylvania University. In the year 1840 the honorary degree of D. D. was con- ferred upon him by two colleges and universities. In 1845 he received the title of LL. D. from LaGrange College, Alabama. He was a delegate to the memorable General Conference of 1844, and of the Convention of 1845, and of the General Conference of 1846. In 1850 he was elected one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the dis- tribution of Episcopal labors he was appointed to the St. Louis Conference, which Conference he held at the appointed time. At this, the only Conference he ever attended as Bishop, he performed his various duties so generally to the satisfaction of the Conference, the following commendatory resolution was passed : 28— M 434 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. " Resolved, By the St. Louis Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, that we take great pleasure in bearing testimony to the ability, impartiality and urbanity with which Bishop Bascom has presided over the deliberations of this Conference, and to the dignified and affectionate intercourse which he has maintained with its members, endearing him to us as one of our chief ministers. While we record with peculiar satisfaction that ours is the first Conference over which he has presided since his elec- tion to the office of Bishop in the Church of God, we con- gratulate the whole Southern Church on this acquisition to the general superintendency, and confidently predict that the distinguished ability which has characterized his services in the several spheres of labor heretofore assigned him by the Church will be eminently displayed in the new and higher one to which she has now called him." After the adjournment of the Conference the Bishop visited the Indian Manual Labor School at Fort Leavenworth, "with which," hfs biographer says, " he was greatly pleased." He also visited and preached on his tour at Weston, Booneville, Lexington and St. Louis. His last discourse was preached in St. Louis in the afternoon of the last Sabbath in July, 1850. It was an effort of great power, and of two hours' continuance. His text was Heb. i., I. He is reported as arriving at Louisville on the 2d of Au- gust, much debilitated from sickness and from traveling and toil, but appeared pleasantly excited in meeting his breth- ren at the book-room, where he remained nearly all day, de- clining his dinner for the want of an appetite. Having en- tered his passage for his home at Lexington in the stage for the next day, on invitation he lodged with his old friend, the Rev. Dr. Stevenson. He attempted to take his supper, but for want of appetite had to decline it. He retired to bed, hoping to be better by morning, and be enabled to reach his home. Dr. Stevenson and wife, deeply sympathizing HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS, 435 with him, gave him all possible attention, affectionately re- monstrating against his attempt to go home, but deep solici- tude urged him to make the trial. At 3 o'clock the next morning he entered the stage coach, but ere he had passed the city limits he was so sick as to be convinced that he could not succeed in his attempt to reach home. His sick- ness so affected his stomach as to induce vomiting, which much alarmed some of the passengers, who supposed it a case of cholera, and believing it contagious, were very anx- ious that he should get out of the coach and let it proceed. The driver's attention being called to the case, he was asked what he would do. He averred that at the risk of his life Tie would return Bishop Bascom to his lodgings whence he had taken him. This was promptly done, so that in an hour after' he left his friend he was again at the door. Being kindly received and restored to his bed, Dr. Stevenson con- sulted with him as to what physician he would have, and he authorized him to call in Drs. Bright and Pirtle, his personal friends and brethren. Late in the evening of that day, feel- ing much better, he proposed starting home on the next day, but his physicians objecting, he said no more in regard to it. After being confined about a week, he asked Dr. Steven- son to be seated by him, affirming that he was no better — ■ that the remedies had not touched the disease — that the symptoms were as before. He remarked to Dr. S.: "The truth is, I have been strangely brought to believe that I must die ! My temporal matters are not as I could wish, though I will try to be resigned to the will of Providence." At the suggestion of Dr. Stevenson two other eminent physicians, Drs. Bell and Rogers, were called in. All of his physicians manifested a very deep interest in his case. His numerous friends watched with eagerness and deep solicitude over him. In regard to them, Dr. Stevenson informs us in his notice of his afflictions and death, he exclaimed : " My friends, O, my friends ! if they could but cure me by kind- 43^ HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. ness, I should soon be well; but they cannot do it." Dr. S. informs us of several instances of his expressing his im- pressions that he would die. On one of these occasions he replied to him, " Do you really think so ? " He answered, " Yes, I have thought so all the while, when able to think for myself." And says the doctor, " He spoke with much con- fidence in relation to his future happiness, and professed the most satisfactory assurance of his acceptance with God." On another occasion he remarked to Dr. S : " On the near approach to death, as in all my past life, I can discover no rock of hope on which to rest my weary spirit but Jesus Christ as revealed in the gospel; and should I ever be so- happy as to obtain some humble seat in heaven, it will never cease to be true of me that I am but a sinner saved by grace." A solemn pause ensued, after which he said : " True, true ! how true it is that all our help and hope is of God, through the infinite merits of Jesus Christ." Dr. Steven- son announced to the Bishop that he was writing to Bishop Andrew, and asked him if he had any communications that he wished made to the Bishop. " He looked at me with much earnestness and said, ' Yes ; say to Bishop Andrew that I am utterly prostrate, with but little, if any, hope of . recovery ; that I am wholly incapable of thinking or acting correctly on any subject; but tell him from me that my whole trust and confidence is in Almighty goodness, as re- vealed in the cross of Christ,' " When all hope of his recovery was relinquished, it was proposed that Dr. Bright, who was his oldest physician and a local minister, should announce to the Bishop that his end was nigh, and learn from him an expression of his prospects. The doctor asked him directly " if his confidence in God, his Savior, was still strong and unshaken ? " to which he promptly replied with great earnestness and self-possession, " Yes, yes, yes ! " With this strong affirmation of his final hope in a single HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 437 word, thrice repeated, in an earnest and emphatic manner, did this eminent man and earnest minister close his com- munications with the world. Dr. Stevenson says: " He was evidently in the full pos- session of all his mental faculties. Never did his noble brow and full-orbed eye evince a higher degree of intellectual strength. There was a sublimity and loftiness of bearing in the whole contour of his face ; an indescribable brightness gleamed out in every expression of his face ; the scene was overwhelming. Perceiving (says Dr. S.) that the momentous •crisis had come, as if moved by some invisible power we all at once bowed around his dying bed, and while we were thus engaged in solemn, silent prayer to Almighty God, without a struggle or a groan, he passed away." The funeral services took place at the Fourth Street Methodist Church in the City of Louisville. The remains of the deceased were conveyed to the Eastern Cemetery, a Methodist burying-ground, attended by a very extensive procession of friends and acquaintances, in public and pri- vate carriages. Before the body was committed to the tomb, the burial service of the Church was read by Dr. Stevenson, followed by the singing of Bishop Heber's funeral hymn by the choir. Thus passed away one of the most remarkable men of the age. Through life he was alone in his career. His concep- tions and phraseology ; his emphatic, earnest and impressive utterance; his eager and intelligent look; his impressive and appropriate gestures, were all his own, not to be imitated by others. His imagination was inconceivably rich. His se - mons displayed this unrivaled power in the sublimest con- ceptions, clothed in the most forcible and gorgeous language, and this part of the performance seemed of all others the most easy and natural to him. As his mind soared off, it seemed to use its wings with unlabored ease and grace until it reached a culminating point that seemed to leave all 43^ HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. else below. At such times his voice would take a richer and deeper tone and fully chime with the visions that were bewildering and entrancing you. When he saw proper, he could conduct an argument with immense power and con- vincing force. BISHOP CAPERS. The following memoir of Bishop Capers was prepared for the minutes by Bishop Pierce, at the request of his col- leagues in the episcopacy: This brief memoir of William Capers, one of the Bish- ops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is prepared in conformity to a long-established custom of the Church ins relation to her deceased ministers. It is well to embalm in the recollections of his surviving brethren the virtues of a departed servant of God, especially when he has been great as well as good. We decline to enter into details as to the birth, education, conversion, induction to the ministry, and successive appointments of Bishop Capers, inasmuch as an extended biography will soon appear. We present only those points which, while they characterized and distin- guished him during a long, eventful and laborious life, can- not well be too often or too strongly urged upon his fellow- laborers in the gospel. To appreciate the integrity, humility, and self-denial of Bishop Capers, it must be remembered that when he com- menced his career Methodism was not as now a recognized power in the land, but feeble and despised, working out her glorious mission amid the scorn of the world and the wither- ing contempt of other Christian sects. To be a Methodist was to " count all things lost for Christ," and to be numbered " with the ofifscouring of the earth." To be a Methodist traveling preacher was to renounce every fond ambition,, forego fortune and ease, and often the respect and sympa- thy of one's own household. To do this when a man's ori- gin was humble, and hig family obscure, and his earthly pros- HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 439 pects bounded by ignorance and poverty, demanded high moral courage and a most Christian subordination of will and plan of hope to duty and to God. The task grew heavier and harder still for the heir of wealth, proud of ancestral titles, himself decked with the honors of the academy and the col- lege, conscious, too, of rare powers of thought and speech, which, developed on another theater, might win money and fame, place and power. Such were the circumstances, gifts and prospects of our beloved brother. But, true to the heav- enly instincts of a sound conversion, he left all to follow Christ. Settling the great question of duty on its true basis, he was running his furrow straight for the kingdom when death ar- rested him. He never looked back. His life beautifully ex- emplified the integrity of his heart and the entireness of his consecration. As a member of an Annual Conference, he never sought accommodation, but surrendered himself and family to the workings of the itinerant system, with all its uncertainties, inconveniences and privations. He traveled circuits and districts; filled stations; was transferred from one Confer- ence to another ; served the missions in South Carolina, which he inaugurated, and the Missionary Society when the duties of his office called him to wander over half the Union ; was superintendent of Indian Missio.ns, and was finally a Bishop of the Church, bearing meekly and without complaint the burdens of an office which has no parallel even in our self- denying system. The great elements of Bishop Capers' religious charac- ter were great simplicity, unpretending humility, a zeal that knew no ebb and a self-denial that hesitated at no sacrifice of time or earthly interest, all energized and sustained by a faith in Providence and divine promise always equal to the emergencies of his laborious calling and his checkered his- tory. He never secularized himself; a man of one work, he sought to fulfil the ministry which he had received of the 440 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Lord Jesus and to finish his course with joy. In this respect to say nothing of other striking excellencies, he was a model for his brethren. As a preacher, he had few equals in the long line of Methodist history. Original without novelty and peculiar without eccentricity, he was certainly no imitator, and is not likely to have a successor. Grave, reverent, devout in man- ner at the family altar and in the sanctuary, he was always scrupulously observant of the proprieties of time and place and performed the various functions of the ministry with an easy grace at once attractive and impressive. He lives in the memory of thousands who often hung with delight upon his ministrations, and in the hearts of thousands more who re- pented and believed under his persuasive eloquence, or were cheered and strengthened by his consolatory discourses. Having returned home from one of his Episcopal tours, he was suddenly attacked with disease, and was soon speechless in death. A piety, demonstrated as to its origin and aim by a life of labor and devotion, before silence sealed the lip of this Christian soldier and conqueror, articulated a testimony prec- ious, satisfactory, triumphant. The religion which he honored in youth, manhood, and age, made his death-chamber illus- trious and his grave a treasury of hope and heaven. Bishop Capers was born January 26, 1790, in the Parish of St. Thomas, South Carolina, some twenty miles from Charleston. He was admitted on trial in the South Carolina Conference, December, 1808, before he had been six months on trial as a member of the Church. He was ordained Bishop in Petersburg, Va., May, 1846. He died at his resi- dence at Anderson Court House, S. C, January 29, 1855. MEMOIR OF BISHOP ANDREW. James Osgood Andrew was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, May 3, 1794. His father was the Rev. John An- drew, formerly an itinerant and afterward a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and teacher of a country HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 44I ■school. His mother's maiden name was Cosby. She was a woman of strong intellect, fine taste and deep piety. Her son derived many of his sterling elements of character from this excellent woman. He was fond of reading when a child, and read nearly all the books in his father's library. His father taught him irregularly for three or four years, and he went to two other teachers, under whom he studied for a short period. He was admitted to the communion of the Church when he was 13 years of age, by the Rev. Gabriel Christian. He filled the office of assistant class-leader at Asbury Chapel, Broad River Circuit, in Elbert County, Georgia. He was licensed to preach when he was 18 years of age. His first attempts to preach were among the ne- groes, and his labors were not without success. In his first attempt to preach before his neighbors and friends he was much embarrassed. His uncle. Dr. Moses Andrew, gave him the text : " We have forsaken all, and followed thee ; what shall we have therefore?" He was much mortified with what he considered a failure — and so were some of his friends. One of the most influential members, James Marks, said to him, " 'W&W, Jeems, I voted the other day for you to be a preacher, but if 1 had heard that sermon first I never would have done it." He was so discouraged that he con- cluded never to try preach again ; but he soon overcame that temptation. Dr. Moses Andrew, his father's cousin, was the preacher in charge, and Dr. Loveick Pierce was Presid- ing Elder, in the Quarterly Conference by which he was li- censed. Dr. Pierce carried his recommendation to the South Carolina Conference, which met in Charleston, S. C, December 12, 18 12, where he was received into the itiner- ant connection. He was appointed to the Saltketcher Cir- cuit, as assistant preacher. William M. Kennedy was his Presiding Elder. The next year he was sent as preacher in charge to Bladen Circuit. At the next Conference he was •ordained Deacon by Bishop McKendree, and sent to Warren 442 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. Circuit. The next year he was stationed in Charleston. At the next Conference he was ordained Elder, and sent to Wil- mington, N. C, where he remained two years, and was very successful in his ministry. Shortly before his death he re- ceived a check for ;^iooo from a gentleman in New Jersey^ the son of one who was converted under his ministry when stationed in Wilmington. He was stationed in 1820, 1821, in Augusta, in 1822-3, in Savannah, where he passed through the yellow fever. In 1824, he was Presiding Elder on the Edisto District ; 1825-26, on the Charleston District. In 1827-28, he was stationed in Charleston; 1829, Athens,^ Greensboro, Ga.; 1830, Athens and Madison, Ga. The next year the Georgia Conference was set off, and he was stationed in Augusta. In 1832, he was elected and ordained Bishop, and continued in the faithful discharge of his high and re- sponsible duties till the General Conference which met in New York in 1844. He entered upon his work as a Bishop with great reluctance, fear and trembling. He frequently said that he was greatly encouraged by a remark of Bishop McKendree after his election, when he said to that apostolic man, " The Conference has laid on me a work for which I am not prepared, and for which I have no experience what- ever. Please give me some advice." The venerable Bishop replied : " James, I have not much to say ; but I will say, never shrink from responsibility ; for remember that by this you assume the most fearful of all responsibihties." He never forgot this opportune and judicious advice. Bishop Andrew was thrice married. He was united to his second wife, an excellent Christian lady of Georgia, a little while before the session of the General Conference of 1844, Mrs. An"drew was the owner of slaves, and though the Bishop had no pecuniary interest in them, and could not have lib- erated them had he wished to do, yet the Northern majority in the General Conference virtually deposed him from his office as Bishop, against the earnest protestations of the HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 443: Southern delegates, the Southern Church, and many in the North. He would gladly have resigned his office to pre- serve the union and peace of the Church; but as such a step would have been fatal to Methodism in the South, and. would have sanctioned a false, fanatical, and unconstitu- tional principle, he maintained his position with dignity hu- mility and patience ; though the trial through which he passed was exceedingly severe. A Plan of Separation was- agreed upon between the Northern and Southern sections of the Church; a convention was held at Louisville, Ky., at which Bishop Soule and Andrew presided, when the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, was organized ; and at the first General Conference, held in Petersburg, Va., May, 1846, they were recognized as Bishops in the Southern Church,, and William Capers and Robert Paine were added to them by election and consecration at that session. Bishop An- drew continued to exercise the functions of his office, with great ability and success till the session of the General Con- ference at New Orleans, in 1866, when, at his request, he was granted a superannuated relation. He continued, how- ever, to visit the Churches, preaching and counseling, warn- ing and encouraging the brethren, until the weary wheels of life at last stood still. The last Annual Conference which he attended was the Alabama, at its session in Montgomery, December, 1870. He had a peculiar affection for that Con- ference, as he had resided within its bounds at Summerfield after his marriage with his third wife in 1854. He took an affectionate leave of the Conference, predicting truly that he would never attend another session. He vis- ited the brethren in New Orleans in February, 1871. His last sermon was preached in the Felicity Street Church the Sunday night before his death, after addressing the Sunday- school. He preached with much of his former power, but it was too much for his little remaining strength, and on Tuesday morning at 4 o'clock he received the warning 444 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. stroke. It assumed the form of hemiplegia, affecting the left side. He received all possible attentions from Dr. Moss, at whose house he was staying, but human science, and love, and care, could not stay the bolt of death. He was taken to Mobile, where at the house of his daughter and son-in- law, the Rev. John W. Rush, his latest hours were soothed with the kindest care. He lay, quiet and serene, a iew days on the margin of the river, showing his numerous sympa- thizing friends with what ease a Christian can die. He had the " gay remembrance of a life well spent " — " the peace of God which passeth all understanding " — and a good hope through grace of soon entering into the joy of his Lord — and of ob- taining an abundant entrance, too ! He spoke words of cheer to his sorrowing wife, and children, and friend — talked much about the Church, which he loved as his own soul, and of his colleagues in the episcopacy, to whom he was devotedly attached. He sent them as his dying message, through Bishop McTyeire, these words : " Tell them I would like to meet them in May, but cannot ; for I am fully persuaded my time to go is near at hand — that in them all I have the fullest confidence, and die rejoicmg that God has put the Church in their care and superintend - ency ; and that they must always live in peace and har- mony ! " In this frame he continued till he passed through the gates into the city. Among his last words were these to his children and grandchildren, and the preachers present: "God bless you all!" "VictorjM victory!" He died March 2, 1871 — the month and day on which the immortal Wesley, eighty years before, ascended to the skies. Ap- propriate obsequies were performed at the Franklin Street Church by Bishop Keener, Dr. Andrews, and the Rev. J. A. Spence. His remains were then taken to Oxford, Ga., where he had so long resided, and laid with kindred dead. He left word that Bishop Pierce should preach his funeral sermon ; and when asked what hymn .should be sung, he HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS. 445 said he had especial fondness for that beginning, "God of my life, whose gracious power " — which is very much in the vein of the Bishop's experience. In the meridian of life Bishop Andrew was a noble-looking man. He was somewhat under six feet in height — well proportioned, sallow of countenance — the prevailing type of his region ; his features were chis- eled with marked outlines, expressive (especially the eyes) if not particularly handsome. His voice was one of great compass and power, and it was heard pleasantly in song as well as in speech — for he was a dear lover of the songs of Zion. He was not fastidious in his dress and manner, nor was there anything formal or frigid in his intercourse with so- ciety. He was warm and devoted in his friendships, liberal in his benefactions, sympathizing in his spirit, playful with children — whom he dearly loved, and to whom he gave the kindest counsels and encouragements ; and he was emi- nently condescending to men of low estate, especially the colored people, by whom he was greatly revered. He prized highly the means of grace, public, social, family, and private. He was fond of reading, and read to purpose. He wrote a great deal — principally communications to Church papers, addresses, journals, letters to friends, and the like. The last communication which he wrote for the press was for the Christian Index, the organ of the Colored Methodist Episco- pal Church in America — the ruling passion being strong in death ; tor the Bishop was ever a lover of the colored people, pleaded powerfully for their interests, and labored long and faithfully for their good. He published a valuable work on Family Government, and a volume of Miscellanies, both of which have had a wide circulation, and are entitled to a wider. ilffSfS -' «!) 1^ • G J547 BRIHLE DO NOT PHOTOCOPY ■m iprti, m'- m. ^m^ Ph' t.'er^- ."■,!ir. ^Mit ,'rji:it:t:f pifi^ »:y.9'X :?^^i: iiiliiiii3i W'iW^ ^:'^^HfS^ ru. ;i'-?-*U iC tT 'ir-3J' .f::^.]!:; t .:r «ix' wm :t:;jf a^' i^ C'l;!' ■;!jrc;;i;»n