"©©HE AIM© TAKE OTD16
OF ALIL AY ILJISRAIRY
AIM© S© BE&im& THY

SYLVESTER SMITH

>Y^ILIE°¥JMII¥EIES2irYo • ILIlIBIBAIHSr •

DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF

Dr. Edward Sylvester Smith

Eng."- V-fl-H-Eiwliia.

c-c-e^

bcshop oj' 'ist: mxtmqvj&t fi.'isoq.p./sl church

THE PIONEER BISHOP:

OR,

®|t fift aiitt Sinus

FRANCIS ASBURY.

W. P. STRICKLAND.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION
By NATHAN BANGS, D.D.

SIXTH THOUSiSD,

PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PORTER,

200 MULBKBRY-STREET.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by
OARLTON & PORTER,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of
New-York.

PREFATORY LETTER.

A teuthful Life of Bishop Asbury will
prove a rich contribution to the moral wealth
of religious literature. It will be a voice of one
dead, yet speaking with the tenderest pathos
and deepest solemnity to the Church and the
world, earnestly summoning them to duty and
devotion. It will be a beautiful and blessed
exhibition of the great, and permanent, and
constantly-augmenting results of faithful minis
terial services. It will also be an impressive
exemplification of the truth, that while a minis
ter should be " a man of one work," he should
be equally devoted to every department of
that work. Bishop Asbury was not merely a
preacher, but he took the oversight of the flock.

4 PEEEATOEY LETTEE.
He visited pastorally, he distributed tracts, he
aided in building houses of worship, he encour
aged religious education, he raised means to
send ministers to destitute places, and was
ready to every good word and work.
His agency in planting, and his influence in
promoting the progress and perpetuity of the
Methodist Episcopal Church in the United
States were primary. I doubt whether it will
be contended that any other man has contrib
uted so much to the weal of Methodism in
America. If men who lay the foundations of empires,
who contribute largely to the prosperity and
glory of nations, may be properly and usefully
represented to succeeding generations as worthy
examples of political sagacity and patriotic
devotion, may not the eminent servants of God
who by their wisdom, their labors, their suffer
ings, and their piety, planted in this country
that branch of the Church of Christ which now
is equal, at least in numbers, in moral forces,
and religious usefulness, to any denomination in

PEEFATOEY LETTEE. 5
the glorious confederacy of Christianity, be
presented to after generations of Christians,
in their spirit, their sacrifices, their untiring
activities, and their heroic achievements, with
edification. Surely no biographer ever had a more
admirable character to delineate, or a higher
sphere of activities to describe, or more blessed
results to record.
One of the renowned ancients is reported to
have said that he would rather posterity should
inquire why a monument was not erected to
him, than to ask why one had been erected to
him. In my early acquaintance with the
history of our Church I was led involuntarily
and frequently to inquire, Why has no biogra
phy of Bishop Asbury been furnished to the
Church ? I have often heard brethren, both in
the ministry and in the laity, express deep
regret at this omission. My time did not per
mit me to examine the manuscript of this work
sufficiently to justify me in analyzing and
describing it; but I know that the author

b PEEFATOEY LETTEE.
has the intellectual and literary ability, and I
believe he has the persevering industry, the
Christian candor, and the religious sympathy
to execute the work with fidelity; and when
thoroughly executed it will place another star
of first magnitude and of richest effulgence in
the biographical galaxy of the Church. E. S. Janes.

INTRODUCTION.

A Life of Bishop Asbuet has long been a desidera
tum among the biographies of the Church ; I say the
Church, meaning to comprehend the entire Christian
community. For though he was a ministes of a sect,
and a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
yet his labors made a most salutary impression upon
the Christian community at large, and tended to mold
the minds and hearts of all that came or shall come
within their influence into the image of Christ. He
may therefore be presented as an exemplar of every
minister of the Lord Jesus, as exhibiting that spirit
of catholicity which ought to possess and actuate the
hearts and heads, of all who are inducted into the
sacred office. Such a biography, well written, cannot
do otherwise than exert a hallowing influence on all
who examine its pages with a right spirit, in leading
them forward in the path of obedience, faith, and love,
and inducing them to make the sacrifice needful to
enable them to fulfill their ministry with persevering

8 INTEODUOTION.
diligence, that they may finally finish their " course
with joy."
One fault of many biographers is the mingling up
of every incident, however remotely connected with
the person concerned, that may have occurred during
his lifetime, interweaving into his biography events
and things with which he had little or nothing to do,
thus making him responsible for things and events
over which he had little or no control. This method
belongs more properly to general history, instead of
the history of an individual. It has been adopted, I
have often thought, to make up for the barrenness
of the subject by the introduction of matters quite
foreign to, or at least but remotely connected with, the
person whose character and conduct are delineated.
There are, to be sure, certain great characters which
have appeared upon the stage of human existence and
action, which have stamped their character upon the
world — such as Alexander, Bonaparte, and Washing
ton among warriors and statesmen, Luther, Armin-
ius, and Wesley among Christian ministers and re
formers — with whose lives are linked cotemporaneous
events and characters that must be noticed, in order
to give a full and comprehensive view of what they
did, and of the influence they exerted on society.
And if an apology could rightfully be made for this *
kind of biography for any public man, it might be
made for Bishop Asbury, for certainly he stood up

INTEODUCTION. 9
before the community as a giant in intellect, and
as a saint of the first magnitude, having pro
fessed and exemplified the "heights and depths"
of " perfect love," and displayed tlie zeal and
diligence of an apostle in the work of the Christian
ministry. Dr. Strickland, however, has not availed himself
of this privilege, but has confined himself strictly to
the life and labors of Bishop Asbury, calling him,
very appropriately, the "pioneer bishop." Such
indeed he was, for he was the first Protestant bishop
that ever trod the American soil, and he was the only
bishop that followed the example of the apostles and'
primitive evangelists by itinerating through the
length and breadth of the land, visiting alternately
the cities and villages, the older settlements, and
traversing the wilderness in search of the lost sheep
of the house of Israel, carrying with him the light of
truth and the love of God and man wherever he went.
I say the biographer confines himself strictly to the
life and labors of Bishop Asbury, but nevertheless
embracing those cotemporaneous events which neces
sarily connected themselves with him, or which were
produced by his active and energetic labors. This
was necessary to make the portrait complete ; for,
wherever the bishop moved he moved others, and
they others, and thus his circle of influence was con
tinually enlarged, so that the little one " soon became

10 INTEODUCTION.
a thousand, and a small one a strong nation." The
work of reformation spread in every direction;
ministers and people were raised up, through his in
strumentality, to praise the Lord. A man thus dis
tinguished as a leader of " God's sacramental host"
must necessarily cluster around him many others,
some of them nearly equal to himself, others of an
inferior grade, all of whom must be noticed with
greater or lesser particularity, in order to render the
portraiture full and perfect in all its parts.
Dr. Strickland has already evinced his competency
to the task of writing the life of Bishop Asbury, in
other departments of literature, such as the History
of the American Bible Society, History of the Mis
sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and other works of equal merit, and it is hoped and
believed that his reputation as an author will suffer
nothing in the present undertaking. His plan is
calculated to insure success, by bringing the facts
into as small a compass as the subject would permit,
and thus presenting the life of Bishop Asbury full
and complete, in a style of popular eloquence, to
readers of all classes, tastes, and attainments.
Those who were acquainted with Asbury, as was the
writer of this Introduction, cannot but remember his
dignified appearance, his manly eloquence, and the
solemn and commanding manner in which he admin
istered the sacred ordinance to those on whom he

INTEODUCTION. 11
laid his hands, while he said, "Receive the Holy
Ghost for the office of an elder in the Church of God,
now committed unto thee by my hands and prayer."
Generally this impressive act and these solemn words
were attended with an " unction of the Holy One,"
wliich rested upon the recipients of this holy office,
and ran through the assembly of God's people like
electricity. Though I can well remember those
seasons of solemn grandeur and holy delight, yet I
find it difficult to describe them, there being a secret
something arising from a consciousness of the Divine
presence which renders it indescribable, or, as St.
Paul expresses it, " unspeakable and full of glory."
We felt indeed that Christ spoke through his servant,
and realized " The solemn awe which dares not move,
And all the silent heaven of love."
The influence of the life of such a man, with its
prominent features fully brought out, upon those who
read it with attention, with faith and prayer, must
be great and salutary. Some biographies, to be
sure, possess nothing interesting, being made up of
common-place remarks, possessing no traits of char
acter, experience, or conduct but what may be
found in every individual of their class, and there
fore are dull and prosing, and soon pall upon the
mental appetite. Not so the life of Bishop Asbury.

12 INTEODUCTION.
He possessed strong points of character. His expe
rience of Divine things was deep and genuine, glory
ing in naught but " Jesus Christ, and him crucified,"
saying, " I rejoice continually in the perfect love of
God." His labors were great, his travels extensive,
and his constant moving from place to place brought
him into all sorts of company, the rich and the poor,
the learned and unlearned, so that in reading a faith
ful record of those things we have a panorama spread
out before us filled with a variety of figures, all of
an interesting character, all instructive and edifying.
I could write much upon these topics, but I will
not anticipate the biography before me. Let it be
circulated and read, and then the reader will be
fully acquainted with the birth, education, conver
sion, and sanctification of Francis Asbuey, and will,
I doubt not, praise God for raising up and qualifying
him for the work of the ministry, and then putting
him into the bishopric of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, in which office he exemplified, in an emi
nent degree, the graces of humility and firmness, of
patience and perseverance, and those commanding
talents which enabled him rightly to divide the word
of truth, and give to every one his " portion of meat
in due season."
N. Bangs.
Nkw-Yoek, Aug. 26, 1858.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
The Eelation of Childhood to Manhood — Provinoe of Education — Di
versity of Mind — Basis of Distinction — Asbury's Birth — Parentage
— Native Character— Influence of Eeligion — Death of his Sister — Its
Effeot on his youthful Mind — His early Conversion — School Days —
Cruel Treatment — Change of Eesidenee — An Irreligious Family —
Trials — Eeturns Home — Learns a Trade — Course of Beading — -Im
portance of right Kind — Pernicious Principle — Hears of the Method
ists through his Mother — Attends their Freaohing — .His Impressions
— Eeligious Enjoyment — Holds Prayer Meetings — Opposition — Meet
ings for Prayer and Exhortation in his Father's House — Extends his
Sphere of Labor — Souls converted — Licensed to Preach — Early La
bors — Appointed to a Circuit — Conference at Bristol in 1771 — Vol
unteers as a Missionary to America, and is accepted  Page 25
CHAPTER II.
tsbury returns Home — Encounters Trials — His Mother — Visits the
Scenes of his early Labors — Parting "with Parents — Bristol Outfit —
Eichard Wright — Embarkation— Sickness — Preaching on board by
Wright — Self-examination — Motives — Eeflections — His first Sermon
at Sea — Advantage of Trials — Books read on the Voyage — Study of
the Bible — His Heart bound to America — Personal Eeligion — Full
Consecration to his Mission — Last Sermon on Shipboard — Gale —
Sight of Land —Voyage ended — Eeceptionin Philadelphia — Preach
ing by Pilmoor — Progress of Methodism — Encouragement — The
Soldier Preacher  42

14 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
Commercial Intercourse between England and the United States — Mer
chants of New York— Philadelphia Merchants — Students at Prince
ton— Keception of New York Merchants' Letter in Boston— Patriots
ofthe South— Colony of Massachusetts put under Martial Law— Har
bor of Boston and Castle William— Mediation of Franklin — Valley of
the Mississippi— Six Nations— Western Explorations — Washington
selects Lands for Soldiers— Boone the Pioneer Hunter— Eegulators
— Their Eepresentative imprisoned — Battle — Proclamation — Cen
tralization of Power— Unjust Taxation— Protest of Samuel Adams-
Franklin's Prediction— Vessels of War in Boston Harbor — Ministers
of Boston refuse to read the Governor's Thanksgiving Proclamation —
Evils of Slavery in Virginia — Proclamation of the King — Jefferson —
Lee — Henry — Appeal to the King — Franklin — First Eeligious Sects
in the Country — Queen Elizabeth's Grant — Grant of Charles II. —
Puritans — Lutherans — Baptists — Eeformed Dutch — Presbyterians
— Eoman Catholics  Page 51
CHAPTER IV.
Colonial Period — Colonists in a State of Eebellion — Church and State —
Eeligious Denominations — Persecutions — The " Great Awakening " —
Decline in Eeligion — The Wesleys — Their Labors in America — Method
ist Emigrants — Philip Embury in New York — First Meeting — Subse
quent Meetings — Incidental Eemarks in relation to Local Preachers —
The Value of their Labors in early Times — First Methodist Preaching
in America — The little Band in Barrack-street Workshop — Secret of
the Success of the early Preachers — Embury as a Preacher — Conversion
of an English Officer — Becomes a Local Preacher — Ordered to America
and stationed at Albany — Visits New York and preaches for the Meth
odists — Multitudes attracted — Place too small — Larger Eoom obtained —
Opposition — First Methodist Church built — Eeinforcement of Preach
ers sent over by Wesley — Pilmoor's Letter to Wesley — Strawbridge in
Maryland — Boardman in Philadelphia — Letter to Wesley  69
CHAPTER V.
Keception in Philadelphia — Pilmoor — Asbury'sfirst Sermon in America —
Visit to Staten Island — New York — Boardman — Asbury's Opinion of

CONTENTS. 1 5
the Amerioans — Visit to the Country — Pilmoor — Asbury in Philadel
phia — Appointed Superintendent — Criticism of a Book — An officious
Priest — Quarterly Meetings — Baltimore — New York — Church Wor
shipers — Philadelphia — Eankin — St. Paul's Churoh — Eankin's Op
position to Eevivals — First Conference — Baltimore — Quarterly Con
ference — Otterbein — Second Conference — Desire to be sent to Balti
more — Disappointed — Norfolk — Ee vival inVirginia — Asbury' s Opin
ion of the English Preachers who left the Country — Eumors of War —
Warm Sulphur Springs — Wesley and Polities — Conference at Deer
Creek — Declaration of Independence — Difficulties about the Sacra
ments — Eetires to Judge White's in Delaware — Trials — Action of
Southern Preachers — Asbury's Efforts at Union — Plan proposed—
Eejected — Delegates sent to Southern Conference — Successful Re
sult  Page 83

CHAPTER VI.
Visit to the Churches in Virginia — Description of his Journey — Con
ference of 1781 held in Baltimore — Concurrence of the Southern
Preachers in the Plan of Union — Eesolve of the Preachers — Regula
tions in regard to Local Preachers — Letter to WeBley — Close of Con
ference — Itinerant Superintendency — Hard Fare — Congregation on
the Mountain — Hanging Ebek Castle — South Branch of the Potomac
— Settlement of Germans — Inspiring Scenes — Fork Mountain — Large
Spring — Caves — Banks of Lost Eiver — Drafted Soldiers — Benighted
on the Mountains — Leesburg — New York — Conference — Numbers
received — Interchange of Preachers — Conference confirm Asbury's
Appointment as Superintendent — Coadjutancy of Eev. Mr. Jarratt—
State ofthe Church — Eevivals in Virginia and Maryland — Adjourned
to Baltimore — Asbury's Travels — Friendly Quakers at Salem — Prep
arations for Conference — Statistics — A .disaffected Preacher — Wes
ley's Letter — Crossing the Mountains — Capture of Mr. Williams by
the Indians — Quarterly Meeting at Philadelphia — New York —
Opinion of Methodists in these Places — First Interview with Dr. Coke
after his Arrival— Eichard Whatcoat — Surprise — Question as to an
Independent Organization discussed — Determination to call a General
Conference— Freeborn Garrettson sent to the South — Vasey — Poyth-
ress — Interview with Mr. Weems — Eeflections  121

16 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.
Length of Time in America— His Age— An nnordained Preacher
— Number of Preachers and Members — Character of the Preachers
associated with him— Marsden's Description of Asbury — " Christmas
General Conference " — Dr. Coke— Wesley's Letter— An important
Occasion— A distinct and separate Organization — Title of Church —
Office of Bishop elective — Coke and Asbury elected Bishops — Or
dination of Asbury — Ordination Sermon — Ordination of Deacons —
Power exercised by Asbury as an Assistant Superintendent under
Wesley — Conference defines the Duty of a Bishop — Abuse of Power
— Character of the present Episcopacy — Short Obituaries — Asbury's
first Sermon as a Bishop — Change in his Journal — Effect of Adminis
tration of the Ordinances by Asbury on other Churches — Charleston,
South Carolina — Lee — Willis — Conferences — New Circuits — Great
Eevivals — York — Surrender of Lord Cornwallis — Alexandria — Visit
to George Washington — Bath Springs — Preaches in a Theater — Balti
more — Philadelphia "-New York — Heavy Labors — Liberality of New
York Methodists— i_Jbury's first Wagon— Last Wagon  Page 138

CHAPTER VIII.
John Dickins — Description of, by Asbury — Subscription for "Kings-
wood High School in America" — Claims of, presented by Asbury —
Dr. Coke's Sympathy with the Enterprise — Suggests the Propriety of
founding a College — Adopted by the Conference — Plan drawn up ac
cordingly — Eules and Eegulations — Abingdon selected as the Site —
Beauty of Situation— Laying the Corner-Stone of Cokesbury College
— Asbury's Sermon on the Occasion — Dedication— An ominous Text
— First Faculty of the College — Eules and Eegulations — Asbury and
College Finances — Its Management a source of great Anxiety — Its His
tory — Destruction by Fire — The Subject of Rebuilding agitated by
Dr. Coke— A Building suited to the Purpose purchased in Baltimore
— College reopened — Faculty — Eegulations and Course of Study —
Destroyed by Fire — School for Charity Boys in Georgia — Bethel
Academy— Seminary in New York — Progress of Education in the
Church — Eemarks of Hon. Edward Everett  161

CONTENTS. IT
CHAPTER IX.
Dismal Swamp — Perilous Journey — Meets Dr. Coke at Charleston —
Conference — Preaching — Asbury's Travels— Description of Dr. Coke's
Sermon at New York — Hempstead Harbor — Preaches in a Paper-Mill
— Eeturns to New York — Trouble in the Church about Congregational
Singing — Journey up the Hudson — Description of West Point — New
burgh — Bath — Delivers a Course of Lectures on the Prophecies —
Dejection of Mind — First Ordination in the Mississippi Valley — As
bury in Gown and Bands — Rearranges the Discipline — When First
Edition was printed — New Edition — Questions and Answers omitted —
Revised Edition — Fifth Edition — New Sections — Notes on the Disci
pline — General Conference at Charleston, South Carolina, 1788 —
Georgia — Crossing the Mountains — -Hard Fare — A stubborn Horse —
An Incident — Character of Early Settlers — Letter to a Quaker in Del
aware — Tour to the Western Wilderness — Horses stolen by Indians —
Perils ofthe Journey — Conference in Lexington — Return through the
Wilderness — Conference at Petorsburgh — Bishop's Council — Threat
ening Letter from O'Kelly — Asbury's Reply— Asbury vindicates
himself — Jesse Lee in New England— His Character — First Sermon
in Boston — Letter to Asbury — Letter from Poythress  Page 174
CHAPTER X.
Doctrine of Celibacy — Apostolic Injunction — Asbury's Reasons for Celi
bacy — Other Reasons — His Opinion of Dr. Coke's Marriage — Singu
lar Eemark about the Women and the Devil — Dialogue on Marriage —
Asbury and the Young Lady — Devotion to Ms Mother — Beautiful
Tribute to her Memory  206
CHAPTER XI.
Previous Eeference to Institutions of Learning — Asbury lays the Foun
dation of the Book Concern — Founder of the Methodist Missions to
Frontier Settlements — Founder of the Chartered Fund — Founder of
American Sabbath Schools — Benevolent Institutions the Outgrowth 'of
the Church — Asbury a Bible Distributer — The Sunday School System
incorporated with the Discipline — Asbury's Comments — Preached on
the Subject of Education — Name of Francis Asbury given to Children
2

18 CONTENTS.
— Eemembered in his Will— Affectionate Regard for the Young— Or
ganization of District Schools — His Plan — Its Importance — An inter
esting Sketch  Page 215
CHAPTER XII.
Asbury's Attachment to America when his Associates in the Ministry
fled the Country — Writes a Complimentary Letter to an Advo
cate of American Principles — Admonition to the Conference in
relation to the Employment of an English Preacher — His unbounded
Admiration for Washington— Proposition to the New York Con
ference in 1789 — Asbury and Ms Associates introduced to WasMng-
ton in his Official Capacity — Address of the Bishop — Washington's
Reply — The Methodist Episcopal Church the first to recognize the
Government of the United States — With other Churches an after
thought — No Umon of Church and State, but Government Protection
— The Government CMistian — Obedience to Government an Article
of Religion — Reflections — Asbury's Example — Tribute to WasMng-
ton — Thoughts on Religious Liberty — Connecticut and Massachusetts
Priest-ridden — View of the United States — Continental Officers . . 230
CHAPTER XIII.
Asbury and Coke at Port Eoyal, South Carolina — Sad Intelligence of
the Death of Wesley— Tribute — Coke left for Baltimore to take
Passage to England — Preaches a Funeral Sermon in Baltimore — Con
ference — Conference at Duck Creek and Trenton — New York 
Asbury preaches before the Conference on the Occasion of Wesley's
Death — New Haven — President of Yale College and Professors — Col
lege Chapel — Uneourteous Treatment — Providence — Boston — Dis
couraged— Lynn— Prophecy— Fulfillment— Letter to a young Minis
ter—Visits various Places in New England— Eeturns to New York-
Journey West and South — Tennessee — Indian Depredations — Crosses
the Wilderness— Kentucky— Boone, the Pioneer Hunter — Paradise
for the Poor Man— Eock Castle Station— Conference at Bethel — Prep
arations for Return— Alarm —Incidents of Travel — Watching the Sen
tinels— Land-marks of Travel— Conference at Lynn— Pittsfield—
Grand Meeting House^New Divinity Preacher— Character of Eastern
People — Medicinal Waters of Lebanon — Devil's Tents — Conference

CONTENTS. 19
at Albany — Questions of Theology discussed — Hudson and Rhine-
beck — Conference in New York — Love-Feast — Dr. L.'s PreacMng—
Hospitality of Friends — Sermon on the Lord's Supper — Dr. Langdon
on Revelations — Judge White's — Milford — Jefferson's Notes on Vir
ginia — Incident at Judge WMte's — Tribute to Ms Memory. .Page 240
CHAPTER XIV.
Coke's Return from England — A Crisis in the History of the Church —
Statistics in 1792 — Friction in the MacMnery of Methodism — Power
of the Episcopacy — Causes which led to the Formation of the General
Conference — Plan of a Counoil — Plan Adopted — Minutes ofthe First
Council — Members present — Constitution ¦ — Resolutions — Second
Council — Members present — O'Kelly — Opposition of Lee — Last
Council held — Call for a General Conference — Duly organized — By
laws adopted — Review of the Discipline — Episcopal Power — O'Kel-
ly's Resolution — Asbury withdraws from the Conference Eoom— His
Letter to the Conference — Discussion — Episcopacy sustained — Sub
sequent Eevival of the Question — Methodist Protestant Church — Lee's
History — Questions pertaining to the Election, Ordination, and Trial
of a Bishop — Presiding Elder Question — Duties defined — Provision
for Traveling Preachers' Wives — Salary — John Dickins appointed
Agent of Book Concern — Fee for performing Marriage Ceremony —
Money to be given to the Conference — Presents to be accounted for —
Certificate of Eemoval — Rule of Arbitration adopted — Chapter on
Public Worship — Asbury's Reflections on the General Conference —
Opinion of O'Kelly — Eevision of the Discipline — End of the Session
— Another General Conference agreed upon  258
CHAPTER XV.
Second Decade of Methodism passed — Eesults of Twenty-six Years —
Position of the Church — Southern Tour — WMtefield's Orphan Honse
in Georgia — Melancholy Eeflections — Asbury crosses the Wilderness
— Sick — Continental Tour — Great Sickness in New York — Few
Preachers at Conference — Yellow Fever in PhiladelpMa — Day of Fast
ing, Humiliation, and Prayer — Pestilence in Maryland — Pass from a
Health Officer — Preaches in Baltimore — Takes up Winter Quarters at
Charleston — Midnight Journey — Father Harper's Plantation — As-

20 CONTENTS.
bury at Baltimore June, 1794— Portrait taken at request of Preachers
— Original Picture in possession of Baltimore Methodist Historical So
ciety — Travels to Boston — Eemarks — New York Conference— Preach
ing— Yellow Fever at Baltimore— WMsky Insurrection in the West
— Charleston— Eough Treatment— Leaves the South— Trip North
ward—At New York Fourth of July— Eev. Mr. Ogden' s Work on
Eevealed Religion— New England — Grave of Embury at Ashgrove —
Eesidence of Garrettson — Governor Van Cortlandt — At the Mansion
of Ms friend Wells in Charleston— His Slaves — Asbury's Labors in
Charleston — "Ben," the Half-blood Indian Warrior— Thrilling Ac
count of Mrs. Dickenson — Constitution for a Belief Fund — Asbury in
New York — Explains the Discipline to the Leaders — His Definition
of Schism — New England Conferenoe — Eumors of Yellow Fever —
Crossing the Bay in a Storm — Conference at PhiladelpMa — Short
Sketch of Benjamin Abbott  Page 277
CHAPTER XVI.
General Conference in Baltimore in 1796 — Number of Preachers present
— Cradle of Southern Methodism— Quadrennial Greetings — Address
of British Conferenoe — Number of Conferences — Boundaries — Deed
of Settlement — Candidates for Deacon's and Elder's Orders — -Arrange
ments for Publication of Books — MontMy Magazine — Eules for
Seminaries of Learmng — Charter Fund — Preacher's Fund merged —
Eegulations in regard to Marriage — Use and Sale of Ardent Spirits —
Subject of African Slavery — Declaration — Address to the British
Conference — Southern Tour — Attack of Fever — Coke and Whatooat
— Unpleasant Incident — Mr. Wesley displeased — Asbury's Love of
American Methodism — Light-street Church and Asbury College de
stroyed by Fire — Dangerous Hlness of Mr. Wells — Death — Tribute
to Ms Memory — Dr. Coke's Oration — Notes on the Discipline — Spring
— Gap in the Mountain — Widow Sherwood's — Dumb Sabbaths — Re
view of Labors — Jesse Lee in Maine — Noble Band of New England
Itinerants — The eccentric Father Moodie — Conference at Readfield —
Preaches in Portland — Returns — Yellow Fever in New York — Death
of John Dickins — Testimonial — Conference in PhiladelpMa and New
York— Accompamed by Lee to the South — Intelligence of Wash
ington's Death — Sermon on the Occasion — Snethen — A great Fa
vorite  297

CONTENTS. 21

CHAPTER XVII.
General Conference in Baltimore in 1800 — Address1 of the British Con
ference — Explanation of Dr. Coke — Address of Asbury to the Brit
ish Conference — His Determination to resign his Office — Resolution
of the Conference — Election of Richard Whatcoat to the Episcopacy —
Asbury and Whatcoat at Perry Hall — Abingdon — Ruins of the Col
lege — New York Conference — ¦ Revival in the Bowery Church — Wid
ow Sherwood's — ¦ Boston — Bishops preach in the Tabernacle —
Mother Livingston — Her Conversion — Hospitality — Garrettson's — ¦
Crossing the Wilderness — Conference at Bethel — Preachers present —
Nashville — Origin of Camp-meetings — Asbury confined at Philadel
phia — Western Conference in Tennessee — Poythress — Recrosses tho
Mountains — Spends the Winter in South Carolina — Baltimore — Maine
— A charming Spot — -His Mother's Death — Tribute to her Memory —
Death of Eev. Devereux Jarratt — Memorial — ¦ Funeral Sermon — New
York Conference — Fredericktown — Natural Bridge — Eevival at Hol-
stein — Conference — At Station Camp — Night Encampment — Mount
ain Dew — No Tent — Opinion of Southern Planters — Baltimore —
Compliment to — Peny Hall — Miss De Peyster's Legaoy — Sermon in
John street — Ordains Joshua Soule— Ashgrove — Pittsburgh — Zane's
Trace — Lancaster — -Western Conference in Kentucky — Visit to Dr.
Hinde — Interesting Incident — Illness — Depression — Legacy — Ten
nessee — Virgima  Page 318
CHAPTER XVIII.
General Conference of 1804 — Conferences represented — Eatio of Eepre-
Bentation — Composition of — Eevision ofthe Discipline — Boundaries
— Presiding Elder Question — Resolution of Garrettson on the Subject
of Slavery — Dr. Coke granted Leave to return to England — Perry
Hall — PhiladelpMa and New York — New Haven— Middletown —
Conference at Buxton — Remarkable Camp-meetings — Quakers in
Massachusetts — Rhinebeok — The Congregations in New York — Ad
dress to Quarterly Conferences — Secessionists return— O'Kelly's Zeal
— The Methodist People independent — Railers — Conferenoe in Balti
more — Camp-meeting at Musquito Cove on Long Island — Brooklyn —
Regular Succession — Asbury's short Way— Camp-meeting — New York

22 CONTENTS.
Conference— New England Conference— Yellow Fever at New Haven
— ProMbited from entering New York and PhiladelpMa— The Alle-
ghames — Ohio River — Wheeling — Zanesville — Chillicothe — Lost
in the Woods — First Visit to Cincinnati— Reply to Dr. Coke's Letter
— Resolution in regard to a Delegated General Conference — Danger
ous Illness of Bishop Whatcoat — Camp-meeting at Philip's Manor —
New York Conference — Establishing the Episcopacy— Mountains of
Western Virginia — Camp-meeting — Tour among the Log Cabins of
the West — Encouragement  Page 353
CHAPTER XIX.
Mountains of Western Virginia — Camp-meeting Scenes — Asbury's Visit
— Eev. Henry Boehm — Reese Wolf — Hockhocking — Preaching —
TourtMough OMo — Pioneer Settlers — Log Cabins — Hospitable but
.hard Fare — Asbury's Lecture — Interesting Incident — Love-feast —
One of Asbury's Converts — Virginia Hospitality — Social Gathering —
Description of Guests — Subjects of Conversation  370

CHAPTER XX.
Asbury in the far South — Conference at Newbern, North Carolina —
Baltimore Conference — Virginia — Delaware — Philadelphia — Green
Mountains, Vermont — Conference in Boston — Lakes — Moravians at
BetMehem, Pennsylvania — First Conference northwest of the Ohio —
Indian Invasion — Shakers at Lebanon, OMo — Philip Gateh's — Cin
cinnati — Camp-meeting — Additions to the Hymn Book — Charleston
— Western Conference — Conference at Alexandria — Perry Hall in
Mourning — General Conferenoe in Baltimore — -New Churehin Eutaw-
street dedicated — Portrait of Asbury taken by Order of the General
Conference — Whatcoat — Coke's Proposal to divide the Continent into
Two separate Dioceses — Bishop WMte Affair — M'Kendree elected
Bishop — Western Pioneer — Memorial of New York Conferenoe — Re
strictive Eules — Subject of Slavery — Proposal to strike the Section
from the Discipline — First Two Paragraphs retained — Asbury's Mo
tion — Asbury and Boehm — Western Travels — Indiana — Eegulation
on Slavery — Crosses the Wilderness —Asbury and M'Kendree in a
Thirty Dollar Chaise — Kembert's Chapel — Virginia Conference —

CONTENTS. 2 S
Attempt to prejudice Slaveholders against the Methodists — New York
and New England Presbyterians — Cincinnati — Camp-meeting — " Old
Stone " — Conference —Baltimore Hospitality — Pittsfield — " Perpet
ual Hills" — Boston — South called on to assist Boston Methodists —
Lee's History — Comments — Eeview — Life in the Mountains — Awful
Wilderness — Discipline translated into German — West — Governor
Worthington — Virgima — Great Fire in New York — Genesee Confer
ence — Wise Men of New York Conference — Mad River — Dayton,
OMo — South Carolina  Page 893

CHAPTER XXI.
General Conference in New York, May, 1812 — Adoption of Eules — Let
ter from Dr. Coke — Bishop M'Kendree's Address — Genesee Confer
ence recogmzed — Asbury's Address to the Conference — M'Kendree's
Eeply — Asbury's Desire to return to England — Collection of Materials
for a History of the Church — Dr. Bangs's History — Division of the
Western Conference — Missionary Society — Subject of Slavery — Last
General Conference he attended — Sherwood Vale — Governor Van
Cortlandt — Blness — Conferenoe at Albany — Conference at Lynn —
War declared — Secession — Genesee Conferenoe — West — Beauti
ful Country of the Wyoming — Eemarks on the War — Judge Van
Meter — WMte Brown's — OMo Conference — Cincinnati — Frankfort,
Kentucky — Louisville — Labors in Nashville — Charleston — General
Lee — Carried into Church — -Invitation from British Conference — Bal
timore Conference — PhiladelpMa — New York Conference — M'Ken
dree — Valedictory Address to — Writes Ms last Will — Eemarks
about New England — New York Conference — Tomb of Henry Willis
— The poor Africans — Dr. Hinde — Tennessee Conference — Valedic
tory Address to Presiding Elders — Funeral Sermon on the Death
of Otterbein — Sick at Perry Hall — John Wesley Bond — OMo Con
ference — Gloomy Tidings of War — Conference — Illness — Baltimore
— Last Visit to Perry Hall — New York Conference — Preached the
Funeral Sermon of Dr. Coke — Tribute — Massachusetts — Last Ser
mon in Boston — New York — PhiladelpMa — Crosses the Mountains
— David Young — Chillicothe — Eleanor Worthington — Eeflections on
the Overthrow of Buonaparte — Ohio Conference — Bishop M'Kendree
— Conference at Lexington, Kentucky — Funeral Sermon  432

24 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXII.
Educational Advantages — His Devotion to Study— His Knowledge of
the Languages — Thorough Course of Reading — Hebrew Bible and
Greek Testament Ms constant Companions — Critical Exegesis — Power
of Discrimination — Style of Writing — Imagination and Wit — Speci
mens—Gracefulness of Style — Specimens— An Appreciative Sense
of the Beautiful— A Man of Sympathy— Notices of Books in Ms
Course of Beading — Criticisms — His Skeletons of Sermons — Secret
of his success as a Student — Method of Study — His Library — Prep
arations for the Pulpit — Obituaries in the early Minutes written by
Asbury — Epistolary Correspondence — Letters  Page 470
CHAPTER XXIII.
His last Round — Unceasing Toil — The ruling Passion — Entry in Ms
Journal — Journey through North and South Carolina — Arrival at
Richmond, Virginia — Dissuaded from Preaching —Determined to
preach once more — Is carried into the Church — Beautiful Morning —
His Text on the Occasion — His Audience — An impressive Scene —
Close ofthe Discourse — Anxiety to reach Baltimore — Farewell — Ar
rives at the Residence of Mg old Friend, Mr. George Arnold — Illness
increased— -Unable to proceed further — His Sufferings — Sabbath —
Family oalled together for Eeligious Service — Bond, Ms traveling Com-
panion, reads and expounds the Scriptures — Conclusion of Services —
While Bitting in Ms Chair the Spirit of Asbury passed away — His
Funeral — Burial— Bequest of the Citizens of Baltimore made to the
General Conference — His Remains removed to Eutaw-street Church —
Vast Procession — Funeral Oration pronounced by Bishop M'Kendree —
Epitaph— Eesolutions of the Baltimore Conference in 1856 in relation
to the Erection of a Monument in Mount Olivet Cemetery — Eeflec-
tionB  486

LIFE AND TIMES

FRANCIS ASBURY.

CHAPTEE I.
The Eelation of CMldhood to Manhood — Province of Education — Di
versity of Mind — ¦ Basis of Distinction — Asbury's Birth — Parentage
— Native Character — Influence of Religion — Death of Ms Sister — Its
Effect on his youthful Mind — His early Conversion — School Days —
Cruel Treatment — Change of Residence — An Irreligious Family—.
Trials— Beturns Home — Learns a Trade — Course of Beading — Im
portance of right Kind — Pernicious Principle — Hears of the Method
ists through Ms Mother — Attends their Preaching — -His Impressions
— Eeligious Enj oyment — Holds Prayer Meetings — Opposition — Meet
ings for Prayer and Exhortation in Ms Father's House — Extends Ms
Sphere of Labor — Souls converted — Licensed to Preach — Early La
bors — Appointed to a Circmt — Conference at Bristol in 1771 — Vol
unteers as a Missionary to America, and is accepted.
"The child is father to the man." Perhaps, more
properly speaking, it may be said the child is the
model of the man. Rarely does it happen that dis
tinguishing traits of character are found to exist in
persons whose early life and training have not been
marked with distinctive peculiarities. The practised
eye of the botanist can detect in the germ of the
acorn the quality and size of the future oak, and the

26 LIFE AND TIMES OF
laws of nature are not more invariable in their ope
ration than are the laws of mind. Inspiration gives
prominence to the fact that there is an important
relation between right training and character, and
has assumed it as an axiom in human development,
and the experience and history of the world most
clearly attest its truth.
That the child stands related in a most important
and significant sense to the future man, is a natural
fact current and patent to all nations, and recognized
in all religions and forms of instruction. We readily
admit that education sustains an important place in
the formation or cultivation of the mind, but it can
not impart a quality to mind. Quality is native and
inborn ; and to affirm that all minds possess the same
type, is to affirm what is not true, and what is
contradicted by all history and experience. To be
sure, mind is mind, just as marble is marble ; but
there are different casts in the former, just as
there are different qualities and shades in the latter.
Endless variety characterizes all the works of crea
tion, and this variety pervades the world of mind as
well as the world of matter. What wonderful vari
eties of mind are found in children even of the same
parents, and how strikingly is the fact illustrated!
Were all minds alike, then it is perfectly obvious
that the same training under the same circumstances
would produce the same results. Every day's ex-

EEANCIS ASBUEY. 2?
perience, however, shows that this is very far from
being the case.
It is a common remark, made in relation to a por
tion of mankind, that they are " cast in nature's
finest mold ;" and we hear the equally common re
mark of others, that " they are rough specimens of
humanity." Why this diversity exists, it is not our
province to know. God, who "has made of one
blood all nations of men upon the earth," and has
" fixed the bounds of their habitation," has made us to
differ; but the reasons for this diversity are among
the mysteries of his works, which are beyond the
reach of man.
Whatever is essential to mind, however, is com
mon to all minds, just as what is essential to matter
is common to all matter ; but the possession of these
essential attributes is compatible with the most end
less variety in formations, orders, and classes. We
assign to rocks certain formations ; to animals, cer
tain orders ; to plants, certain species ; and to minds,
certain classes. Nothing is more common than to
speak of a class of minds, and to assign them a place
in the world of intellect. This latter remark, how
ever, is predicated of quality, and not of anything
acquired. Education only develops the latent pow
ers of the mind, and disciplines the native forces of
the intellect to action. Perception, imagination,
judgment, and consciousness are no more the product

28 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of education than the mind itself, and where either
of these are absent or defective in the original
quality no education can impart them.
We have pursued this train of thought further
than we intended, and yet we think it is worthy of
more consideration than has generally been given to
it. What we designed in our preliminary remarks
was simply to reiterate the generally acknowledged
fact, that great eminence and distinction in the world
come not from chance, nor yet from any particu
larly favorable circumstances, though these must, to
some extent, exist, but from an original quality
inhering in the mind itself as the basis thereof.
Francis Asbury was born on the 20th of August,
1745, near the foot of Hempstead Bridge in Stafford
shire, a short distance from Birmingham. His
father's Christian name was Joseph, and his mother's
Elizabeth. His parents, we are told, were " amiable
and respectable." How much is embraced in these
two words! With the parents of young Asbury
amiability was not a feigned but real possession.
The basis of their gentleness was in their hearts, and
added to it were the genial influences of religion.
Grace has wonderful power to soften and refine the
manners, as whatsoever is "lovely and of good
report " is produced by its operation.
But what is more, the parents belonged to the bet
ter class of England's population. By this we do not

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 29
mean that they were allied to the nobility, but they
were of what we would consider the real aristocracy
of England, occupying a middle position between the
idle, effeminate, and vicious of the upper classes, and
the ignorant, degraded, and sunken ofthe lower. Vir
tue, morality, and religion, as well as patriotism. and
true loyalty, in every country enlightened and refined,
have always been found among the middle classes to
a far greater extent than among the higher. It was
from this class young Asbury sprung. But what is
more than all this, and what in the language of Addi
son constitutes the highest style of humanity, they
were Christians. From such a parentage we may
well look for cliildren of the right stamp. These
godly parents were blessed with but two children,
Francis and a lovely daughter, who, like a fair
and beauteous flower, bloomed a few short summers
by their side, and was transplanted in a more genial
clime. The transit from earth to heaven of the loved
one preyed heavily upon the youthful heart of the
bereaved brother, and gave to his ardent affections
a heavenly turn ; and thus to the many examples of
youthful piety furnished in sacred and profane
history, was added another prominent one in the
conversion of Francis at the early age of seven.
The father of young Asbury, though not wealthy,
was in comfortable circumstances; and .being de
sirous of giving his son all the advantages of

30 LIFE AND TIMES OF
education, he placed him early in school to one
Auther Taylor, at Sneal's Green, in the vicinity of
Barr, whither he had removed. When between the
age of six and seven Francis commenced reading the
Bible, and he says, in his short biography of himself,
that- he " was greatly delighted in the historical part
of it." At this school another kind of discipline
awaited him, different from that of a mental char
acter. His teacher, he informs us, was cruel and
tyrannical, and vented his spleen upon the children
committed to his care. Being a child of God, even
such a discipline was made to work for young
Asbury's good. The sufferings he endured from this
pedagogue of "brief anthority" were borne submis
sively by the child and carried to a throne of grace.
In his own expressive language, " God was very near
to him," and proved " a very present help in time of
trouble." He knew his father's anxiety about his ed
ucation, and this, doubtless, had its effect in prompt
ing him to bear longer than he otherwise would the
unkind treatment he received. The very presence of
such meekness and submission in the child, instead
of assuaging the wrath 'of the tyrant, seemed only to
whet his tigerlike appetite, and his cruelty became
so great that it was no longer endurable. The result
was that Francis was taken from school, and thus
snatched from the clutches of the teacher as the
prey from the mouth of the destroyer.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 31
It was evident that God was preparing him for a
great and important work in the world, and as the
Israelites were not allowed to enter Canaan until after
forty years' suffering in the desert had prepared them
for the promised inheritance, and as our divine Lord
himself entered not into glory until he passed through
the severe discipline of a sorrowful life and an igno
minious death, and as his followers generally are
" made perfect through suffering," so the future zeal
ous, self-sacrificing, and devoted preacher was called
to the trial of his faith. From school he was removed
to another part of the parish, and became an inmate
of one of the wealthy and fashionable families of that
neighborhood. In this house God was not known,
as it seems its inmates were of those who " called not
upon his name."
We may stop here to ask what is wealth, position,
and influence among those who are denominated
" the first families," and who move in the highest
circles of genteel society, and claim an alliance with
the nobility of the land, if the blessing of God rests
not upon them ? As that nation in the highest sense
is a " royal nation," and that people "a peculiar peo
ple," who are allied to Jehovah as their King, so that
family rises in dignity and importance which walks in
the fear of the Lord and the light of his countenance.
His stay with this family, surrounded as he was with
the blandishments of fashionable society, and the con-

32 LIFE AND TIMES OF
stant example of a vain and frivolous course of life
proved a much sorer trial of his faith than any through
which he had passed. The afflictions he endured at
school drove him near to God, and kept him humble;
but the circumstances by which he was surrounded
in this irreligious family had a tendency to draw him
from the Lord. His faith, however, though severely
tried, proved adequate to the test, and though, to
use his own language, he " became somewhat vain,"
having naturally a light and joyous disposition, "he
did not become openly wicked."
After remaining some months with this family he
returned to the paternal roof. He was now in his
fourteenth year, and it became necessary for him to
make choice of some branch of business. Having
made a selection of a trade suited to his judgment
and taste, he entered upon it and prosecuted it with
all diligence. While engaged in this business he
became the inmate of a kind family, who, he says,
treated him like a son. His religious feelings, which
had met with a temporary interruption, very soon
returned to him, and he recommenced prayer morn
ing and evening, being, as he says, "drawn by the
cords of love as with the bands of a man." His faith
was strengthened and his enjoyments heightened by
frequent attendance at Bromwich church, where he
heard Eyland, Stillingfleet, Talbott, Bagnall, Mans
field, Hawes, and Venn, some of whom were anions

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 33
the most distinguished ministers and ornaments of
the English pulpit.
At this time he devoted himself more particularly
to reading and study. Among the books he read
was Whitefield's Sermons. The course of reading
in which he took most delight was of a religious char
acter, and the department under this head embraced
mostly those books of a practical and experimental
description. How important in the formation of a
religious character is it that the right kind of books
be read ; for, whatever may be the experience in after
life, the religious faith will take its tone and coloring
in a great degree from the mental aliment. Those
who in early life are indoctrinated in the Westminster
Confession of Faith, the Augsburg Confession, or the
Thirty-nine Articles, and works which fall in the line
of these doctrines, no matter what may afterward be
their Church relations, will find it difficult to divest
themselves entirely of their early impressions. Hence
it is of the greatest importance that our youth have
the right kind of books brought in contact with their
minds in the forming stage of their religious character.
The principle adopted by some parents is of the most
latitudinary character. They say, Let the children
alone in their choice of books, and also in their
choice of a Church, until they grow up and are able
to judge for themselves. Such advice we regard as
infidel, and pernicious in a high ^rgree.; If it b0;

34 LIFE AND TIMES OF
right to act upon this principle in regard to a ques
tion of such vital moment, and one involving happi
ness for time and eternity, as the question of a right
faith does, then is it equally right, nay, more so, to
allow them the largest liberty in regard to all their
choices. Fortunately for young Asbury, his religious tastes
led him to seek the right kind of spiritual food, and
those books only were read which were adapted to
his religious habitudes and feelings. The opportu
nity which he enjoyed of hearing sermons from pious
and distinguished divines, and of reading books of a
religious character, greatly sharpened his appetite
for spiritual things, and it is not to be wondered
at that he was on the alert for anything of interest
that might come up in the religious world around
him. Until now he had not heard of the Methodists.
Like Fletcher, who in the early part of his religious
career was ignorant of them, the sect everywhere de
nounced as the wildest fanatics was to him unknown.
He had, however, tasted of the spirit of Methodism,
for the piety which still lingered in the old Church
of the Reformation was baptized by that name
wherever it was found. If any were suspected, either
among Churchmen or Dissenters, of being more
than ordinarily prayerful or devotional in spirit or
practice, they were at once branded as Methodists.
It may have been that young Asbury's studious and

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 35
prayerful habits first introduced him to the name.
But be that as it may, it came to his ears, and as soon
as the opportunity presented itself he asked his pious
mother who the Methodists were, and where they
could be found. He doubtless felt a desire kindred
to that of Fletcher to behold this strange religious
sect, whose zeal for God and religion had given them
notoriety. From his mother he received a most
favorable account, and besides, she directed him to a
person who could give him all the information he de
sired about them. That person he soon found, and it
was not long before he availed himself of the opportu
nity of accompanying him to a neighboring town to
hear them for himself. When they arrived at the
place of meeting he was surprised to find that it was
not a church. The service was probably held in a
private house, or a barn, or perhaps in the open
field ; as regards this Asbury does not inform us ; but
he does enter minutely into a description of the
people and their exercises, the latter of which were
different from anything he had ever witnessed before,
and made an impression which was never erased.
Though the people had not assembled in a church,
with its tower, and bell, and organ,
'' And storied windows, richly dight,
That cast a dim religions light,"
yet he entered where the congregation " sat together

36 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in heavenly places," and "worshiped at the very
gate of heaven." To use his own simple, nervous
language, " It was better than a church, the people
were so devout; men and women kneeling, and all
saying amen." After prayer, " with the spirit and
understanding, they all united in singing a hymn of
praise." The soul of the worshipers was in the
sound, and it was more sweet and entrancing than
any that had ever fallen upon the young stranger's
ear. But how was his astonishment increased to find
that the prayer which had been offered was not dic
tated by a prayer-book. Could it be possible that so
wonderful a prayer could come out of untaught lips.
Wonders began, but wonders were not to cease with
his first introduction to the Methodists; stranger
sights were to be presented to his eyes, and stranger
sounds were to fall upon his ears than he had yet seen
or heard. The preacher rose and took his text, but he
had no manuscript before him ; and if he had, there
would have been no velvet-cushioned pulpit on which
to place it. The sermon was plain, practical, pointed,
full of unction, and attended with the demonstration
of the Spirit and power to the hearts and consciences
of all.
Prepared as was young Asbury for the scenes he
witnessed, notwithstanding the astonishment they cre
ated, he soon partook of their spirit, and commenced,
" after the way others called heresy, to worship the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 37
God of his fathers." Several times he attended these
meetings, and at every time with increasing interest,
and in " the fellowship of kindred minds " he made
rapid progress in spiritual life. Though his joy was
not so full as that of some others, who would becloud
his faith by telling him that "a believer was as
happy as if he were in heaven," yet he " was happy,
free from guilt and fear, and had power over sin,
with the possession of great inward joy."
Feeling that it was his duty to hold prayer-meet
ings in the neighborhood, he united as many with
him as he could of like faith, and commenced relig
ious services in the house of a friend. These meet
ings were largely attended. Multitudes, attracted
by the voice of praise and prayer in places where
these sounds were before unknown, came to the
meetings ; many from idle curiosity, but more were
prompted by a spirit of opposition, as appears from
the fact that the friends at whose houses the meet
ings were held, fearing an outbreak, were unwilling
to have them continued. Opposition, however, could
not daunt or damp the zeal of the young soldier of
the cross ; and though obliged to desist from holding
meetings at these places, he was favored with an
other sanctuary, and that was home. In his father's
house he resumed the meetings for prayer, and,
unmolested, exhorted, with fervency and power,
the multitudes who came there, to flee the wrath

38 LIFE AND TIMES OF
to come and be saved from their sins. He also
extended the sphere of his labors to Sutton-Cofields,
where he was greatly encouraged and strengthened
in his work by witnessing the conversion of several
souls. He went to Bromwich-Heath several times
for the purpose of attending class-meeting, a means
of grace which he much enjoyed, and which he ever
after availed himself of when opportunity presented.
He also attended band-meeting at Wednesbury, the
place where he first heard Methodist preaching, as
above described. These last means of grace formed
distinctive peculiarities in the Wesleyan connection,
though the latter has been abandoned in America,
more, however, on account of their disuse than from
any want of confidence in their importance in pro
moting the piety of those who attended them ; and
class-meetings are perhaps more effectual in keeping
up the life and power of religion, and advancing
personal holiness, than any other prudential means
devised by the Church. It is a matter of general
observation that attendance on class-meetings in any
particular charge is perhaps the surest indication of
the tone of piety.
The fervency and eloquence which characterized
his prayers and exhortations excited the wonder of
all, and ,when he first appeared and took part in
Methodist meetings, the preachers, as well as the
people, were surprised at his wonderful gifts. The

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 39
question was, Where did he acquire such self-pos
session, such readiness of utterance, such fluency and
appropriateness of language ? Had they known how
faithfully he read his Bible, and with what avidity
he devoured the sermons and religious books within
his reach, but, above all, the fact that his mother
was accustomed to take him with her regularly to a
female meeting for the purpose of reading and ex
pounding the Scriptures and giving out the hymns,
they would not have been at a loss to conjecture
from whence the youth obtained his furniture of
mind and his facility in religious exercises. It was
not long before the society became convinced that
one who had such gifts and grace, and whose labors
had been blessed to the awakening and conver
sion of souls, was called of God to enter upon the
work of the ministry proper. He was impressed
not only with a sense of its importance, and the
duty of giving himself wholly to the work, but
the voice of the Church, as the voice of God, con
curring therewith, deepened and strengthened that
impression, and determined his future course. From
the preacher in charge of the circuit he received
license as a local preacher, and he was accordingly
soon introduced to Methodist chapels, in which he
held forth the word of life to " wondering, weeping
thousands." Multitudes were attracted by his ex
treme youth, not being more than seventeen years of

40 LIFE AND TIMES OF
age. He sustained a local relation for several years,
though, in fact, he was a traveling preacher; and
visiting various places in Derbyshire, Staffordshire,
Warwickshire, and Worcestershire, he preached the
Gospel to the crowds who attended his ministry.
Besides his Sabbath labors, he preached during the
week three or four times, and often five times. Thus
he continued, in season and out of season, preaching
far and near until he was twenty-one years of age,
when he was received into the Wesleyan Conference,
and appointed to labor on a circuit, according to the
Wesleyan form. He was now engaged in the work
to which he was called, and he gave himself up ex
clusively to it, and as an obedient son in the Gospel
he went from appointment to appointment. After
traveling circuits for about five years he attended the
Conference held at Bristol on the 7th of August, 1771.
He was now in the twenty-sixth year of his age, and
had been engaged in the work of the ministry for
nine or ten years ; studious, devoted, self-sacrificing,
and faithful in the discharge of all his duties, he had
acquired a standing in the Conference which com
mended him to the confidence and esteem of all his
brethren, both senior and junior. He not only had
made himself acquainted with the doctrines and dis
cipline of Methodism, but he cherished for them the
warmest affection, and conscientiously reduced them
to every-day practice.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 41
Asbury went to this Conference with peculiar feel
ings. He had for some time been strongly impressed
with a desire to go as a missionary to America. The
more he thought and prayed about it, the more deep
and powerful became the impression. The difficulties
and dangers attending the voyage were great, and the
increasing conviction that it was his duty to volunteer
his services for that then distant land preyed heavily
upon his mind. He was subjected to sore trials, and
called to pass through a severer discipline of affliction
than he had experienced before in his ministerial
life. The Lord was evidently preparing him by this
discipline for the great undertaking he had in con
templation. The Wesleys and Whitefield had been in
America years before. A few Methodist emigrants
had settled in New Tork, Philadelphia, and parts of
Maryland, and Wesley had sent over missionaries in
the persons of Richard Boardman and Joseph Pil-
moor but two years before. These missionaries had
entered upon their work of feeding the flock of Christ
in the New World. When at this Conference Mr.
Wesley called for volunteers for the work in
America, among the first that responded was As
bury. He had prayerfully considered the matter,
and being satisfied that it was the will of God he
should enter upon the work, he " conferred not with
flesh and blood," but accepted the call, and from that
moment his heart was in America.

42 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER II.
Asbury returns Home — Encounters Trials — His Mother — Visits the
Scenes of Ms early Labors — Parting with Parents — Bristol Outfit —
Eichard Wright — Embarkation — Sickness — PreacMng on board by
Wright — Self-examination — Motives — Eeflections — His first Sermon
at Sea — Advantage of Trials — Books read on the Voyage — Study of
the Bible — His Heart bound to America — Personal Eeligion — Full
Consecration to Ms Mission — Last Sermon on Shipboard — Gale —
Sight of Land — Voyage ended — Eeceptionin PhiladelpMa — Preach
ing by Pilmoor — Progress of Methodism — Encouragement — The
Soldier Preacher.
Having consecrated all upon the altar of American
missions, Asbury left the seat of the Conference and
turned his face homeward. Already he had passed
through severe conflicts, which served as a discipline
to prepare him for the great work to which he had
devoted himself; but other and yet severer trials
awaited him. How he should communicate the intel
ligence to his kind and gentle-hearted mother, that
he had entered into an engagement to leave the home
of his youth, perhaps never to return, was a question
that greatly perplexed him. Difficult and trying as
was the task, he was enabled, however, to accomplish
it, and she who had trained him for God and his
cause in a spirit of genuine self-sacrifice, not only
calmly, but heroically gave him up. Like the
mother of the Wesleys, who, when asked if she was

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 43
willing to give up her son John to go to the wilds of
America as a missionary among the savages of
Georgia, replied, "If I had twenty sons I would
cheerfully give them all to God as missionaries," so
the mother of Asbury gave up her only son with
Christian resignation, and cheerful acquiescence in
the leadings of Providence.
Prior to taking farewell of his parents, and bidding
a final adieu to home and friends, he started out on
an itinerant tour for the purpose of visiting the scenes
of his early labors. He preached in Staffordshire,
Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire, and enjoyed much
life and power in his ministrations. Wherever he
went he announced his determination to go out as a
missionary, and excited no little wonder among his
friends, though none of them attempted to dissuade
him from so noble and glorious an undertaking.
Some were so impressed with its importance that
they were constrained to speak in warm terms of the
purpose he had formed, and regretted that they could
not accompany him.
At length the hour arrived when he was to take his
leave of fond parents and make preparations for his
departure. Tears were shed, but they were the tears
of sanctified affection and hopeful trust in God, who
had called the parents to give up their son, and the
son to go to a land of strangers to preach the Gospel.
He arrived at Bristol, near which he was to take

44 LIFE AND TIMES OF
shipping for America, in the latter part of August.
His outfit was of the slenderest kind, consisting of a
few pounds and a small amount of clothing. At
Bristol he met Richard Wright, a young man who
had been in the itinerant connection but one Year,
but who, impressed with the importance of the mis
sionary work, had volunteered to accompany him.
On the 4th of September they embarked and were
soon fairly out at sea. That vexatious accompaniment
of a voyage, seasickness, Asbury did not escape, and
such sickness, to use his own language, as was un-
equaled by any he had ever experienced. When the
Sabbath came his colleague preached on deck to the
crew, who were attentive listeners to the word of
life. After recovering from his illness, in a calm
and thoughtful mood he went into a thorough self-
examination in regard to the motives that prompted
him to engage in the missionary work. As if mis
trustful and afraid of the deceitfulness of the human
heart, he instituted a most searching analysis, and
was enabled to arrive at the following result :
namely, that his visit to the New World was not to
gain honor or emolument, but clearly and simply to
devote himself to the service of God, and incite others
to the same hallowed consecration.
He was by no means ignorant of the religious con
dition of the people among whom he was going to
labor, but had acquainted himself with the state of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 45
the Churches, and all the religious movements of the
country. He had studied the means connected with
the revivals in America, and also the causes of their
decline, as they had been exhibited in the reports
which came to England ; and from what he knew of
the effects attending the preaching of the Gospel by
the Methodists, and the disciphne as administered by
them, he felt impressed with the fact that, as well in
America as in England, these agencies were peculi
arly adapted to the awakening and conversion of
souls, and the training of the Church to a holy life.
The signal success which had crowned the labors of
Wesley and his coadjutors in England, he felt as
sured would attend the labors of the missionaries
in America, if faithful to their high and responsible
trust. He had determined, in this view of the case,
if God did not own and bless his labors after having
made a full and fair trial, that he would not remain
in America, but return to England.
The second Sabbath at sea having arrived, Asbury
preached his first sermon to the sailors from Acts
xvii, 30 : " But now God commandeth all men every
where to repent." He had a strong and irrepressi
ble desire that the hardy sons of the ocean might be
brought to repentance, and that before he reached his
destination he might behold some fruit of the labors
bestowed. He felt willing to do or suffer anything
if he could only be instrumental in saving souls,

46 LIFE AND TIMES OF
hence he bore cheerfully the privations and hard
ships of the voyage. Having no beds, and being
obliged, with his colleague, to sleep on hard boards,
he realized the importance of possessing much courage
and patience, and was not a little comforted by the
thought that if others could undergo hardships for
mere temporal interests, he surely should not com
plain where eternal interests were involved. His
trials had a tendency to increase and fasten the im
pression that he was, to use his own words, not run
ning before he was sent ; and hence, as these trials in
creased, he became more and more convinced that he
was acting in accordance with the Divine will.
Regularly as the Sabbath returned he preached to
the ship's company. His subjects were adapted to
his audience, and were treated in the most plain and
pointed manner. The sailors all seemed to give great
attention to the word, but whether any were con
verted during the voyage was not known to him who
labored with all zeal and fidelity to bring them to a
saving knowledge of the truth. During the passage
he spent much of his time in reading, meditation, and
prayer. The books which he read were Sellon's An
swer to Elisha Cole, which he thought no one could
read and be a Calvinist; De Renty's Life, Norris's
Works, Edwards on the Work of God in New En
gland, Wesley's Sermons, and the Pilgrim's Progress.
The Bible, however, was his constant companion, and

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 47
this he studied with increasing interest, pouring out
his soul in prayer to the Father of lights that he
miglit have a clear vision of those wondrous truths
which it contains, and be able to interpret it in such
a manner that all who heard might receive a portion
adapted to their condition.
While shut up in his cabin he felt his heart
strangely drawn out for America, and he realized a
wonderful sympathy and union of spirit with those
who to him as yet were strangers. The spirit of sym
pathy which exists in all who realize a love for souls,
and which constrains them to encounter toil, priva
tion, and hardships for their salvation, was felt by
Asbury in an extraordinary degree. As a true evan
gelical preacher, he was not a stranger to that love
which prompted the Saviour to give his life a ransom
for man ; and now that it no longer remained a ques
tion in regard to his call to preach the Gospel in
America, the people to whom he was going to minis
ter, and for whose salvation he was about to labor,
became endeared to him by the strongest and tender-
est ties. Associated with this was a deep and earnest
desire, accompanied by incessant prayer, that he
might be " complete in all the will of God, and holy
in all manner of conversation, as He that had called
him was holy." Every day he realized an increasing
singleness of purpose in regard to the object of his
mission ; and as the vessel approached the American

48 LIFE AND TIMES OF
shore, he was conscious of a consecration to God and
his cause more full and satisfactory than he ever ex
perienced before.
On the 13th of October he preached his fifth and
last sermon on board. The wind was high, and the
ship tossed exceedingly, rendering it difficult for one
to stand on deck. Determined, however, to lose no
opportunity of preaching to the sailors, he fixed him
self against the mast, and discoursed with warmth and
freedom from 2 Corinthians, v, 20 : " Now then we
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech
you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye recon
ciled to God." In alluding to this, his last sermon on
board, he says " he felt the power of truth in his own
soul, though he saw no visible fruit of his labors."
After a voyage of eight weeks, during which many
privations were encountered and hardships endured,
the joyous intelligence that they were in sight of
land was received gratefully by the missionaries.
Though another Sabbath intervened between his last
sermon and their entry into port at Philadelphia,
yet Asbury gives no account of the manner in which
it was spent. The tedious voyage at length was
brought to a close, and it was with emotions of pro
found gratitude to God for that providence which
had guided them safely through the deep, that he
and his colleague placed their feet on the American
shore. How was that gratitude increased when on

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 49
landing they were received with the utmost kindness,
and introduced to the largest hospitality ! In refer
ring to their reception, Asbury says: "The people
looked on us with pleasure, hardly knowing how to
show their love sufficiently, bidding us welcome with
fervent affection, and receiving us as the angels of
God." The first evening spent in Philadelphia was at the
old St. George's Church, where they listened to a dis
course from Joseph Pilmoor, who came to America
with Boardman in 1769, the first missionaries sent
over by Wesley. The arrival of Asbury and Wright
as a re-enforcement to the clerical ranks of the infant
Church in America was hailed with joy, and the
large congregation assembled were greatly quick
ened and refreshed in their spirits by their presence.
Though but five years had elapsed since the intro
duction of Methodism into the country through the
labors of Embury, Webb, and Strawbridge, yet con
siderable societies had been formed in New York
aud Philadelphia, and in different parts of New Jer
sey, Maryland, and Virginia. In that short space
" the little one had become a thousand ;" and so
wonderfully did the word of God grow and prevail
through the instrumentality of these pioneers of
Methodism, that the highest hopes were encouraged
of the most abundant success.
To Captain Webb, the soldier-preacher, is perhaps
4

50 LIFE AND TIMES OF'
to be ascribed the honor of introducing Methodism
into Philadelphia. After he had removed from
Albany to Long Island he extended his labors to
Philadelphia, where he preached with success, and
was the first to write to Mr. Wesley urging him to
send preachers to America. Be this as it may, one
thing is certain, that in New York and Philadelphia,
as well as several points on Long Island, the captain,
by his zeal and devotion to the cause of God, and the
material aid which he afforded to the infant societies,
was of vast service to the Church, and deserves to be
ranked among its pioneer worthies.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 51

CHAPTER III.
Commercial Intercourse between England and the United States — Mer
chants of New York — Philadelphia Merchants — Students at Prince
ton — Eeeeption of New York Merchants' Letter in Boston — Patriots
ofthe South— Colony of Massachusetts put under Martial Law — Har
bor of Boston and Castle William — Mediation of Franklin — Valley of
the Mississippi — Six Nations — Western Explorations — WasMngton
selects Lands for Soldiers — Boone the Pioneer Hunter — Eegulators
• — Their Eepresentative imprisoned — Battle — Proclamation — Cen
tralization of Power — Unjust Taxation — Protest of Samuel Adams —
Franklin's Prediction — Vessels of War in Boston Harbor — Ministers
of Boston refuse to read the Governor's Thanksgiving Proclamation —
Evils of Slavery in Virginia — Proclamation ofthe King — Jefferson —
Lee — Henry — Appeal to the King — Franklin — First Rehgious Sects
in the Country — Queen Elizabeth's Grant — Grant of Charles II. —
Puritans — Lutherans — Baptists — Reformed Dutch — Presbyterians
— Roman Catholics.
Before resuming the thread of personal narrative in
the biography of Asbury, it may not be amiss, as we
contemplate a sketch of the times as well as the life
of that remarkable man, to call the attention of the
reader to the condition and circumstances of the
American colonies at the time of his arrival in this
country. But one year before the landing of Asbury
great joy prevailed in London on the reception of
the intelligence that commercial intercourse was
about to be resumed between England and the
United States. Merchants of New York consulted
those of Philadelphia on agreeing to a general im
portation of all articles, tea only excepted. The

52 LIFE AND TIMES OF
proposition was favorably received by the Phila-
delphians, and would doubtless have been agreed
to but for the reception of a letter from Franklin,
urging them to persevere on their original plan.
Some leading merchants in New York, however,
resisted concession; but others went from ward to
ward to take the opinions of the people, and it was
ascertained that a large majority were disposed to
confine the restrictions to tea alone. The Phila-
delphians were incensed at this decision, and when
the packet sailed with orders for all kinds of mer
chandise except tea, they said to the New Yorkers :
"Send us your old Liberty Pole, as you can have
no further use for it." The students at Princeton
burned the letter of the New York merchants by
the hands of the common hangman. Boston tore it'
to pieces, and threw it to the winds ; South Carolina,
whose patriots had just raised the statue to Chatham,
read it with scorn.
It was not long, however, before the colony of
Massachusetts was proclaimed by the king to be
under martial law. The harbor of Boston was made
a rendezvous for all ships stationed in North America,
and the fortress which commanded it was given up
to be garrisoned by regular troops. Castle William
was taken from the governor, and remained in pos
session of England for upward of five years. Frank
lin, who then held the office of deputy postmaster

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 53
general under the crown, was selected as the agent
of the assembly to redress their grievances, and be
their mediator with the mother country. He was
now in the sixty-fourth year of his age. The author
ities of the king took care to negative all appropria
tions for his salary, and determined not to recognize
him as an agent.
Such being the condition of things in the East, we
now turn to the West. The inchoate title of all that
vast territory in the Mississippi valley had been re
ceived from the Six Nations. The people of Vir
ginia and others were exploring and surveying the
richest lands on the waters of the Redstone, Monon
gahela, Ohio, and Kanawha, and each year they
were penetrating further south and west. Washing
ton had descended the Ohio in a canoe, and made
selections of the richest lands for the soldiers and
officers who had served with him in the French
war. At the same time Boone, the pioneer hunter,
was exploring Kentucky, and the " Long Hunters "
had found their way down the Cumberland to Lime
stone Bluff, where Nashville now stands. Trappers
and restless emigrants had crossed the country from
Carolina to the Mississippi, while others descended
from Pittsburg to Natchez ; and James Robertson,
from the home of the Regulators in North Carolina,
had explored Tennessee. He was followed by others
from the same region, and became their guide and

54 LIFE AND TIMES OF
protector. The Regulators had become a formidable
body, and when they were not allowed peaceably to
possess their lands, which they explored, but were
oppressed by lawyers, proprietors, and landjobbers,
they resolved on seeking redress. They accordingly
appeared at court, determined to have justice done,
and that without the interference of any attorney
save the king's. They elected a representative to
the House, but he was voted a disturber of the
peace, and put in prison. A riot act was gotten up,
declaring it illegal for more than ten men to remain
assembled together after it was read, and if any were
found guilty of its violation they were tried in the
Superior Court, and if condemned forfeited their
lives, with all their property.
The Regulators gathered together in the woods on
hearing that their representative was expelled and
imprisoned and they themselves threatened with
death as outlaws. Their number had increased to
five hundred, and they demanded his release, which
was reluctantly granted. A battle afterward oc
curred between them and the king's troops on the
Alamance River, in which twenty of them were
killed and several wounded. Of the king's troops,
nine were killed and sixty-one wounded. One of
the Regulators who was taken prisoner was hanged
on a tree; then followed a proclamation excepting
from mercy outlaws and prisoners, and promising it

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 55
to none but such as would take the oath of allegi
ance, pay taxes, submit to the laws, and deliver up
their arms. Six more of them were afterward taken
and hung. At length they sought the far-off wilder
ness, where no lawyers could follow them or govern
ors lord it over them, and there they took up their
abode on the romantic banks of the Nolichucky.
Before them spread away an immense forest abound
ing in game, and possessed of a rich and fertile soil.
In 1771, the year that Asbury landed in America,
Great Britain commenced the work of centering
in itself power over the colonies, by the double
process of making all civil officers dependent for sup
port solely upon the king, and giving to arbritrary in
structions an authority paramount to the charter and
laws. Taxation unjust and unequal was forced upon
the colonists until forbearance ceased any longer to be
a virtue. Samuel Adams protested in the House
against this unrighteous usurpation in the following
words: "We know of no commissioners of his majes
ty's customs, nor of any revenue his majesty has a
right to establish in North America ; we know and
feel a tribute levied and extorted from those who if
they have property have a right to the disposal of it."
Wise men saw the event that was approaching, but
knew not that it was so near. " Out of the eater came
forth meat," said Cooper, the clergyman ; and Franklin
foretold a bloody struggle, in which America, grow-

56 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ing in strength and magnitude, would obtain the vic
tory. Instructions were drawn up by Samuel Adams
to the agent of the House, avowing broadly the prin
ciple that colonial legislation was free of Parliament
and of royal instructions. That sturdy patriot had
declared long before at a town meeting : " Independ
ent we are and independent we will be." Things
were approaching a crisis. In August Boston saw
drawn up in her harbor twelve vessels of war, carrying
more than two hundred and sixty guns. In the West
the same resistance showed itself against the concen
tration of colonial power in England, and the rights
of freemen were as loudly demanded on the prairies
of Illinois as on the heights of Boston.
The governor, in his annual proclamation for the
festival of thanksgiving, which was customary to be
read from every pulpit, sought to ensnare the clergy
of Boston by enumerating as a cause for thanksgiving
that " civil and religious liberties were continued,"
and " trade enlarged." The deception was too trans
parent, and all the ministers, except Pemberton of the
Old South Church, refused to read it ; and when he,
of whose Church the governor was a member, began
confusedly to do so, the patriots of the congregation
turned their backs on him, and marched out of the
church with intense disgust and indignation. Nearly
all the clergy agreed on Thanksgiving Day to implore
of Almighty God the restoration of their lost liberty.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 57
This last event occurred just one month after As
bury put his foot in the streets of Philadelphia, and
the reader will see what was the precise condition of
the country synchronical with the advent of him who
was to take so large a share in its ecclesiastical as
well as general history. The rough and rapid outline
which we have given of the colonial history at that
time is important, more from the light which it will
throw upon the subsequent life, character, and acts
of Asbury than from any design to present it as a
part of the history of the times. There are other
matters, however, deserving attention, and which
must not be omitted.
The inhabitants of Virginia were oppressed by the
central authority on a subject of still more vital inter
est to them and their posterity. Their halls of legis
lation had resounded with eloquent denunciations
against the terrible evil of slavery. Again and again
had they passed laws restraining the importation of
negroes from Africa, but all their enactments on this
subject were disregarded. How to prevent the Vir
ginians from protecting themselves against the increase
of this evil was debated by King George in council,
and on the 10th of December, 1770, he issued a proc
lamation under his own hand, commanding the gov
ernor " upon pain of the highest displeasure to assent
to no law by which the importation of slaves should
be in any respect prohibited or obstructed." This

58 LIFE AND TIMES OF
rigorous order was solemnly debated in the Assem
bly of Virginia. They felt the necessity of an act to
restrain the introduction of a race, the number of
which already in the colony gave them just cause to
apprehend the most alarming consequences, and they
felt impelled by the circumstances of the case to seek
some means by which not only their increase would
be prevented but diminished. The interest of the
country they declared "manifestly required their
total expulsion." Jefferson, like Richard Henry Lee,
had begun his legislative career by resisting the slave-
trade. To the mind of Patrick Henry, the thought
of slavery darkened the picture of the future, even
while he cherished faith in the ultimate abolition of
an evil which was opposed to the welfare of the
country. Instead of laying their grievances before
Parliament, they presented their appeal directly to
the king. Their language was : " The importation of
slaves into the colonies from the coast of Africa hath
long been considered a trade of great inhumanity, and
under its present encouragement we have too much
reason to fear it will endanger the very existence
of your majesty's American dominions. We are sen
sible that some of your majesty's subjects in Great
Britain may reap emoluments from this sort of
traffic ; but when we consider that it greatly retards
the settlement of the colonies with more useful in
habitants, and may in time have the most destructive

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 59
influence, we presume to hope that the interest of a
few will be disregarded when placed in competition
with the security and happiness of such numbers of
your majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects. Deeply
impressed with these sentiments, we most humbly
beseech your majesty to remove all those restraints
on your majesty's governors of this colony which in
hibit their assenting to such laws as might check so
pernicious a commerce."
In this manner Virginia led the way in the con
demnation of the slave-trade. Thousands in Mary
land and New Jersey were ready to adopt a similar
petition, and so also were the Legislatures of North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachu
setts. There was no conflict of opinion on this sub
ject in the colonies. Virginia harmonized all opin
ions, and represented the moral sentiment and policy
of all. Franklin roused the attention of the people and
ministers to the subject through the press. The king,
however, was inexorable ; and while the courts of law
adopted the axiom that as soon as a slave sets his foot
on EngUsh ground he is free, the nlonarch stood in
the path of humanity, and made himself the pillar of
the colonial slave-trade.
Having glanced at the pohtical and civil condition
of the country, it may be considered of equal, and per
haps of greater importance, that allusion be made to
its religious condition. This we have as yet but

60 LIFE AND TIMES OF
barely hinted at, and shall, as far as the materials at
our command will /allow, present the reader with an
outline sketch of the condition and circumstances of
the various denominations in the land.
The first religious sects that came to this country
were the Episcopalians, the Puritans, and the Luther
ans. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was the first who direct
ed his attention to this country from religious con
siderations, if we except the Jesuit missionaries, who
had, with a courage and constancy so characteristic of
that order, braved the dangers of the ocean, and pen
etrating the far-off wildernesses of the north, and
west, and south, planted the cross and established
missions among the native inhabitants. Among the
motives presented to Queen Elizabeth by Sir Hum
phrey, for founding religious settlements, were
"honor for God, compassion on poor infidels cap
tivated by the devil, and the relief of sundry
people within that realm distressed." The letters
patent received from the queen proceed upon the
supposition, that " the spread of the Christian faith
among the natives justified such settlements," and he
was " granted full power and liberty to discover all
such heathen lands as were* not actually possessed by
any Christian prince or people." He was authorized
to enact laws over two hundred leagues of settlement,
provided they did not conflict with the laws and
policy of England, and were not against the true

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 61
Christian faith professed in the Church of England."
Associating with himself his relative, Sir Walter
Raleigh, an expedition was sent out in 1584, and the
glowing description of the country made to the
queen induced her to bestow upon the whole coun
try the name of Virginia. The following year one
hundred more colonists were sent out. In 1606 a
new company applied for and obtained from James I.
a charter for the settling of Virginia. The charter
expressly provided that the colonists should " secure
the true service and preaching of the word of God,
and that it should be planted and used according to
the rites and doctrines of the Church of England, not
only in the said colonies, but among the savages
bordering upon them, and that all persons should
kindlytreat the savage and heathen people in those
parts, and use all proper means to draw them to the
true service and knowledge of God." The expe
dition sailed in December, 1606, and landed at Cape
Henry, in Virginia, April, 1607. It was accompanied
by the Rev. Robert Hunt, their minister, who admin
istered the holy sacrament on their arrival on the
shores of James River. Rev. Mr. Whitaker followed
soon after and joined the Colonial Church, and was
denominated the Apostle of Virginia. This minister
was the first Protestant who baptized an Indian con
vert, and that first convert was Pocahontas. Subse
quently, in 1679, a grant was given by Charles II. for

62 LIFE AND TIMES OF
erecting a church in Boston, which was called the
King's Chapel. In 1784 the Episcopal Church became
independent of the English, and assumed the name of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States,
and Rev. Drs. White, of Philadelphia, and Provoost,
of New York, were consecrated by the Archbishop
of Canterbury the bishops of that Church in 1787.
The next denomination in the order of time that
was introduced into the country was the Puritans,
or Congregationalists. This people sought these
shores as an asylum for conscience. A large num
ber, after braving the dangers and rigors of a wintry
ocean, landed at Plymouth, in Massachusetts. On
the Sabbath of the 22d of December, 1620, they
went on shore, and held Divine service. In 1629 a
Church was organized at Salem ; one in Charles
town in 1630 ; one in Duxbury in 1632 ; and others
soon after in Connecticut. Emigrants who arrived
from England from time to time, differed from them
in their theological views and polity; but as they
wished to have Church matters consolidated, after
several councils an arrangement was made tp unite
them in the general principles of Congregationalism.
Their early efforts in the cause of learning are
worthy of all praise. They founded Harvard Col
lege, at Cambridge, in 1635.
The Rev. John Eliot, one of their early ministers,
became the pastor ofthe church in Roxbury in 1640,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 63
and was the first Protestant missionary to the In
dians. His whole life was spent in labors for
their conversion. He was emphatically the apostle
to the Indians, and many were converted through
his instrumentality. He translated the Bible into
native Indian, and it was the first Bible printed
in this country — the New Testament in 1661, and
the Old in 1663. Churches were organized in
New Hampshire, New York, and other parts of
the country. To Harvard has been added Yale
and other colleges, the pride of the land. No
Church has ever been blessed with more learned or
pious ministers than has the Congregational. The
number of churches gathered in Massachusetts from
1670 to 1680 was twenty.
Next we notice the Lutherans. The earliest set
tlement of this denomination in this country was
made by emigrants from Holland to New York, soon
after the first establishment of the Dutch in that city
in 1621. The cause of this emigration was the in
tolerant decrees of the Synod of Dort in 1648.
While the territory yet belonged to Holland, the
few Low Dutch Lutherans were compelled to hold
their worship in private ; but after it passed into the
hands' of the British, in 1664, liberty was granted them
by all the successive governors to conduct their pub
lic worship ¦ without any obstruction. Thus we see
that the establishment of the Lutherans in New York

64 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was but a short time after that of the Puritans in
Massachusetts. The Rev. Jacob Fabricus was their
first minister, and was very successful. Though they
spread and increased in various parts of the country,
yet it is somewhat remarkable that they never made
much progress in New York, where they com
menced. In 1748 there were eleven Lutheran
ministers in the United States ; the number of con
gregations was about forty, and the Lutheran popula
tion was estimated at sixty thousand.
The Associated Baptists next claim our attention.
Some of the first emigrants who planted New England
were Baptists. Roger Williams arrived at Nantasket
in 1631, and from his energetic piety was soon
invited to become assistant minister at Salem. Not
long after he was accused of " embracing principles
which tended to Anabaptism," and was at length
driven from the colony, and sought refuge among
the Indians in Rhode Island. In 1638 he was bap
tized, with ten others, and they unitedly formed the
first Baptist Church at Providence. A few years
previous to his baptism, though unknown to him, a
distinguished Baptist minister from London arrived in
Boston, where he remained some time, diffusing
Baptist principles. He subsequently took charge of
the church in Dover. The attempt to organize a
Baptist Church in Weymouth was resisted by the
court of Boston. Several of the members were

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 65
fined, imprisoned, and disfranchised by the Puritans.
In 1644 a poor man became a Baptist, and was
complained of to the court for not having his child
baptized, and because he refused was tied up and
whipped. Three men of Lynn were complained of
for being Anabaptists, and were fined. In 1761 a
Church was organized in Ashfield, Massachusetts,
and the Rev. Ebenezer Smith was ordained over
them. The Baptists were taxed for the support
of the Puritan Church, and their lands were sold
to pay the taxes. A Church was organized in
Swansey, R. I., in 1663 ; another at Welsh Tract, in
Delaware, in 1701 ; another in Prince George County,
Virginia, in 1714; and still another in New York
in 1762. Subsequently Churches were organized in
other states, and the Baptists spread rapidly.
In 1664 the Sabbatarian, or Seventh-Day Baptists
organized Churches in Rhode Island. In 1708 the
Seventh-Day German Baptists organized a Church
in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.
The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church was
among the earliest organized in the country. The
Dutch from Holland first discovered the rivers Hud
son and Connecticut in 1609, and shortly after they
erected cabins on Manhattan Island, where New
York now stands. The town, which was called New
Amsterdam, increased in size and importance from
year to year as fresh emigrants arrived. Educated
5

66 LIFE AND TIMES OF
as the inhabitants were in the national Church, they'
brought with them strong religious prejudices. A
Church was gathered in New York in 1619, and
there was one at Albany at an earlier period. The
first regular minister of the Gospel settled at New
York was Rev. Everardus Bogardus, and the Dutch
language was exclusively used in the churches until
1764, when Rev. Mr. Laidlie, a Scotch minister from
Flushing, in Holland, connected himself with the
Dutch Church, and was invited to New York to
commence service in the English language. The
Dutch Church extended to New Jersey, Connecticut,
and elsewhere ; but though it acquired strength and
influence in New York, it made little progress in
other places.
We have not space in this chapter to enumerate
all the denominations that had an existence in this
country prior to the introduction of Methodism ; but
we cannot close without noticing the Presbyterian
Church, which dates back to an early day. Scotch
and Irish Presbyterians came to this country as early
as 1640, and according to Cotton Mather four thou
sand Presbyterians arrived in New England. At a
later period Londonderry, in New Hampshire, was
founded by a hundred families of Irish Presbyterians,
who brought their pastor with them and organized a
Church. Another Church was formed in Boston in
1729, and it remained such until 1786, when it became

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 67
Congregational. In the year 1737 five hundred ar
rived from Scotland and settled in New York, and
subsequently Scotch and Irish colonists settled in
Ulster county, and also at Orange and Albany. New
Jersey, and particularly the eastern part of it, became
the home and possession of the Presbyterians, and
they maintain it to a considerable extent to this day.
The largest emigration, however, was to Pennsylvania,
where, it is said, in 1729 nearly six thousand arrived,
and from that time up to the middle of the century .
as many as twelve thousand came over every year.
From Pennsylvania they emigrated in large numbers
to Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, and in
1773 no fewer than sixteen hundred from the north
of Ireland settled in South Carolina. Georgia too
was partly colonized by Scotch and Irish Presbyte
rians. Maryland was largely settled by English Roman
Catholic families brought over by Lord Baltimore,
and the Roman religion for many years exerted a
predominant influence upon the population. This
state has been regarded as the stronghold of Roman
ism, and had that Church possessed the vitality of
Protestant Churches, it might have spread more ex
tensively than it has in the United States. Roman
Catholic voyagers and priests were the first to cast
eyes upon this vast inheritance, the first to explore
ita mighty rivers and broad prairies, and the first to

68 LIFE AND TIMES OF
plant the cross and break the silence of the wilderness
with the voice of prayer and praise. It was doubtless
reserved under God to be the fortress and stronghold
of a Protestant Christianity, offering an asylum to the
oppressed of every clime, and holding up, by the ex
ample of freedom of conscience, a beacon of hope to
the persecuted of all lands.
A report was sent to 'the Bishop of London in the
year 1761, which presents the numbers of the different
religious denominations, embracing the Jews and
Catholics. The number given amounted in all to one
million eighty-four thousand, only sixty thousand
short of the entire population. Where was ever such
an exhibit presented to the world in modern times ?
This, however, was merely a nominal membership.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 69

CHAPTER IT.
Colonial Period — Colonists in a State of Rebellion — Church and State —
Eeligious Denominations — Persecutions — The " Great Awakemng " —
Decline in Eeligion — The Wesleys — Their Labors in America — Method
ist Emigrants — Philip Embury in New York — First Meeting — Subse
quent Meetings — Incidental Eemarks in relation to Local Preachers —
The Value of their Labors in early Times — First Methodist Preaching
in America — The little Band in Barrack-street Workshop — Secret of
the Success ofthe early Preachers — Embury as a Preacher — Conversion
of an English Officer — Becomes a Local Preacher — Ordered to America
and stationed at Albany — Visits New York and preaches for the Meth
odists — Multitudes attracted — Place too small — Larger Eoom obtained —
Opposition — First Methodist Church built — Eeinforcement of Preach
ers sent over by Wesley — Pilmoor's Letter to Wesley — Strawbridge in
Maryland — Boardman in PMladelpMa — Letter to Wesley.
The period about which we have been writing,
denominated the Colonial Period, was peculiarly
marked. Many events of a striking and interesting
character had transpired which cast their significant
shadows into the future, indicating a crisis which
could not long be delayed. It required not the ken
of a prophet to see that the great privations, toils, and
sufferings of the colonists would serve as a discipline,
in the exercise of which they would be enabled to
work out their salvation. The oppression by the
government of Great Britain, which sought by its
unrighteous exactions to crush out the spirit of liberty
and independence, had evidently reached that point
in human endurance when patience exhausted would

70 LIFE AND TIMES OF
give place to resistance, and when, instead of feeling
it to be a duty to obey the reigning power, the sub
jects would be as strongly impressed with a sentiment
if not quite as loyal, at least as patriotic and right,
that "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."
At the time our sketch of Asbury's arrival in
America commences, the colonists were in a state of
rebellion, and just on the eve of a revolution. Up to
this period there was a union of Church and state,
as well as a union with the British government.
They had yet to learn the practicability of a Church
without a politico-ecclesiastical government, and also
that of a state without a king. We have already
seen that the denominations of the Old World were
pretty thoroughly represented in the provinces of the
New. It must, however, always be an occasion of
regret, that while most of them had been driven to
this land, or at least exiled themselves on account of
the persecutions which they suffered, they should so
soon forget the rock from whence they were hewn,
and the bondage from which they had been delivered,
as to bear away with them to the land of their exile
the spirit of their oppressors. It may have beeu
that, in consequence of being so long under the
influence of oppression at home, they had caught
the contagion and brought it to this land. Cer
tain it is, whatever may have been the cause, the
oppressed were not long in the enjoyment of the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 71
rights of conscience before they became oppressors
themselves. The very Puritans, of whom it is said
by the poet, " They left unstained what here they found,
Freedom to worship God,"
were not exactly what the poet represented. If it
could be said that they left all men to the enjoyment
of freedom of opinion and the rights of conscience,
they were particularly careful to have that freedom
of opinion to quadrate with their own notions in re
spect to religion. In other words, every man was
perfectly free to think as they should dictate. His
thoughts might flow freely, but it must be in the
channel which the Puritans had excavated. Their
persecutions of the Baptists and the inoffending
Quakers must ever constitute a sad and melancholy
passage in their history. Nor were they alone in
manifesting a persecuting spirit. The Episcopalians
in the southern provinces persecuted the Presby
terians, and a rivalry and hostility existed among the
sects in all parts of the country to a greater extent, if
not more rancorous, than has been exhibited since
that day.
The revival of religion which spread over the
country, denominated " The Great Awakening," and
which was brought about by the faithful labors of
Edwards, Prince, Frelinghuysen, Dickinson, Finley,

72 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and the Tennents in the northern and middle states,
and of Davies and others in Virginia, and the Wes-
leys in Georgia, together with those of Whitefield,
who traversed the continent with heart of fire and
tongue of flame calling sinners to repentance, had
from various causes, but particularly from the unset
tled and distracted state of the country, gone into
a sad decline. The Churches were in a dead state,
and the Spirit of peace, which flies from scenes
of strife and confusion, had at least for a season
departed. The Wesleys had returned to England, but still the
heart of John lingered on these shores. The love
which prompted him to come to this country more
than a quarter of a century before, and labor for the
perishing in the wilderness, when his mission was
looked upon by his fellow-ministers of the Established
Church as a wild, fanatical, Quixotic undertaking,
had not died within him, and when among the emi
grants were members of his own societies, his attach
ments were increased instead of lessened. Of this
number, as before remarked, a few had taken up
their residence in New York. Becoming acquainted
with each other, they soon sought an opportunity
of uniting together in religious worship. Their
first place of meeting was in the private house of
Philip Embury, who had been converted in Ire
land, and had heard Wesley preach in that coun-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 73
try. His place of residence was in Barrack-street,
near the site of the present City Hall. Embury
was not only a Methodist, but he sustained the rela
tion of a local preacher in the Wesleyan Connection
in Ireland. Being urged to give out an appointment
for preaching, he was at length induced to do so, and
accordingly a meeting was subsequently appointed in
his workshop.
We may dwell here a moment to remark, that
local preachers have been of eminent service to the
Methodist Church, both in Europe and America.
They proved valuable assistants to Wesley, and went
everywhere, sharing his labors and reproaches in
preaching to the destitute in town and country.
Itinerant as was the economy of Methodism, and ex
tensively as did the regular preachers travel from
place to place, yet they could not visit all places,
and many a section of the country was prepared,
through the labors of the local preachers, for the
visits of Wesley and his itinerant helpers, as in the
case of the labors of Nelson at Birstal and other
places. But more especially have their services
been valuable in this widely extended country, par
ticularly in early times. When the history of the
Church shall have been written up, it will be found
that in many of our large cities and towns, and popu
lous neighborhoods where Methodism flourishes, and
is first for numbers and influence among the sister

74 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Churches of these places, the seed was sown first
by the hand of the local clergy, who labored in the
vineyard of their Master without the hope of fee or
reward, except what they looked for in heaven. Un
aided and alone, in the midst of sacrifice, toil, hard
ships, aye, and not unfrequently of bitter persecu
tion, such as would dampen the zeal and slacken the
energies of the most of us who have entered into
their labors, have they gone up to the high places of
sin with the handful of corn whose spreading and
multiplying products now " shake like Lebanon."
All honor to those noble men who braved the toils
and hardships incident to the planting of Methodism
in this country ! Their " testimony is in heaven, and
their record on high;" and when they who sowed
and they who reaped shall come together at the
angel shout of harvest home, may we all rejoice
together. As we write, a host come thronging on
our memory. It may be said of many of them, as
was said of an earthly warrior :
" They sleep their last sleep,
They have fought their last battle ;"
and the sound that shall wake them will be the voice
of Him who called them into the field of conflict, and
whose Spirit nerved them for the fight. Faithful
men, ye " have fought a good fight, have finished
your course," and have entered into the rest and
blessedness of heaven.

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 75
Embury, as we have already said, was a local
preacher, and we left him with our readers while we
made a short digression to allude to his brethren of
the same class in the ministry. His congregation,
small in numbers, assembled in his shop and listened
to his sermons. These were the first Methodist ser
mons preached in New York, and the members con
stituted in 1766 the first Methodist society formed in
America. What a theme for reflection 'is suggested
by these last two sentences ! The first sermons in
New York to the first Methodist society in America.
Not a century has passed away, and what results
from this beginning! Now the generic name
" Methodist " covers a membership of a million and
a half, all springing from the parent stock. For each
and every one of that first little band there are now two
hundred and fifty thousand. When from the top of
the rocks we behold the plains below whitened with
the tents of our Israel, well may we exclaim, " What
hath God wrought !" and how vain and foolish would
be the attempt of any crazy prophet to curse whom
God has so signally blessed.
The little band in Barrack-street workshop assem
bled from Sabbath to Sabbath, their numbers
continually increasing. Their meetings were re
garded by the regular clergy of New York as ir
regular and fanatical proceedings, but they were not
of sufficient importance to attract any particular

76 LIFE AND TIMES OF
notice. Thus they continued their worship unmo
lested, and it was not a great while until the shop
became too small to hold the people, and they were
obliged to seek for a larger place. Embury labored
with his hands during the week for the support of
his family, and on the Sabbath "labored in word
and doctrine" with the little flock which had com
mitted itself to his care. In this he imitated the
Apostle Paul, who wrought at his trade a year and
a half at Corinth. We wonder not that some of our
early local preachers did not preach better ; the won
der is that they were able to preach at all. Their
abilities were limited, and their facilities for theolog
ical attainments were less. The success which at
tended their ministry was to be attributed to their
deep experience in the things of God. They were
like Carvosso, men of faith and prayer ; and though
they could not deliver nicely-adjusted, systematic,
elaborate, and eloquent discourses, according to the
homiletic model, yet they came before the people
with hearts full of love to God and love for perishing
souls, and their exhortations went burning to the
hearts of their hearers, who realized that the " excel
lency of the power was of God and not of man." No
knowledge of the Bible, however critical, no acquaint
ance with theology and Church history and govern
ment, however extensive, can atone for the want of a
personal, deep, and thorough experience in religion.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 77
There are some things in religion that hermeneutics
cannot interpret nor exegesis unfold. " The natural
man knoweth not the things of the Spirit, because they
are spiritually discerned/' " The Spirit searcheth all
things, even the deep things of God," and it is only
in this transparent medium that they can be seen.
Without this Divine teacher and his illumination,
spiritual things can neither be apprehended nor ap
preciated. That which in its operations is sublime
and glorious as God, is often to the unregenerate eye
but confusion and folly.
Embury preached "not in words of man's wis
dom," but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power. Coming before the people from time to
time with a heart full of the love of Christ, and a
fresh experience in religious attainment, his word
was attended with a divine unction, and commended
itself to the consciences of all who heard. Those
who came within the reach of the means of grace
were graciously benefited by the labors of this local
preacher; but few, however, comparatively speak
ing, were induced to attend his ministry. The
Wesleyans had secured but little respect as yet in
England, and if they were even known in this coun
try, it was not to be expected that they would excite
enough attention to bring many of those who were
in the habit of going to church to visit so irregular
and unauthorized a meeting. This state of things,

78 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in the providence of God, was . not permitted long
to remain.
A year before the time of which we are writing,
an English officer was induced, in the town of Bristol,'
England, to follow the crowd which was wending
its way to hear Wesley preach. His fame as a
preacher had spread far and wide among the masses,
and notwithstanding the opposition excited against :
him by the regular clergy, the multitude were anx
ious to hear him, and gladly availed themselves of
the opportunity to do so. We would not have the
reader entertain the idea for a moment that Wesley
or Whitefield, who called out the masses in their
day, were anything like some of the popular preach
ers of the present day in England and America.
The novelty connected with their preaching did not
consist in letting down the language of the pulpit to
the slang of the stump, and merging, the preacher
into the politician. Every truth they uttered was
grave and solemn, attended with no lightness of
manner, foppish swagger, or artistic air, more befitting
the clown or the stage-player than embassadors of
Christ. " The love of Christ constrained them," and
their earnest declaration of the truth " commended
them to every man's conscience." They carried the
Gospel to the uncared-for masses, and it was this con
cern for neglected souls which characterized all
their labors, that won upon the hearts of the masses, ¦

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 79"
and brought thousands of the destitute to listen to
their ministrations.
The English officer, more perhaps out of curiosity
than from any religious motive, found himself in the
midst of a crowd of earnest, zealous worshipers. The
word of truth, plainly presented and calmly enunci
ated, was attended with a power which reached his
heart. The result was the conversion of Captain
Webb, the officer alluded to, and his subsequent
enlistment in the army of Immanuel as a local
preacher. He was soon after ordered by his gov
ernment to America, and subsequently to the post
at Albany, New York, where he took up his quar
ters as barrack-master. It was not long before he
heard of the small society of his brethren in New
York, and seizing the first opportunity, he descended
the Hudson and appeared in their midst in military
dress. The suddenness of his appearance, and the
strangeness of his costume in their meeting, attracted
general attention ; but when they learned he was a
Wesleyan Methodist preacher the interest was in
creased a hundred fold. When it was rumored
abroad that a British officer would preach in full
military dress, the new room which the society had
obtained was by no means capacious enough to con
tain the crowds that flocked to hear him. Those
who were permitted, heard the Gospel from his lips
in demonstration of the Spirit and power.

80 LIFE AND TIMES OF
It soon became necessary to seek accommodations
adapted to the increasing multitudes, who came
out from all parts of the city to hear him. The
society accordingly hired a large rigging loft in
William-street; but this did not answer the pur
pose long, as it was found the place was not commo
dious enough to accommodate the people. Unmis-
takeable were the effects of Gospel truth on the
hearts of the hearers, and a religious excitement,
which always adds interest to a meeting* and in
creases the number of hearers, was manifested.
Until now, as we have already remarked, the Meth
odists were too few and insignificant to excite at
tention or much opposition, except to elicit from
grave and orthodox divines the admonition to their
people to avoid their meetings. But now the oppo
sition became more apparent, and if the regular
clergy could well have accomplished it, they would
have put a stop to these irregular proceedings. It
was all, however, of no avail ; the people would come
to meeting, and many were awakened and converted.
To accommodate the society and congregation, as
well as to obtain " a local habitation and a name,"
it was determined to select a suitable site and erect
a church. A lot was accordingly obtained on John-
street, and a plain, unpretending house of worship
erected thereon, which, on the 30th of October,
1768, was dedicated by Embury with appropriate

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 81
religious services. This was the first Methodist
church in America, and a thousand hallowed asso
ciations gather around the spot where it stood.
Wesley having heard of the movements of this
infant society, addressed them a letter of encourage
ment, accompanying it with a subscription of two
hundred and fifty dollars, and at the same time send
ing them two preachers in the persons of Richard
Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor. These missionaries
landed in Philadelphia in 1769, and Boardman pro
ceeded immediately to New York, where, in the
city and surrounding country, he entered upon his
labors. Captain Webb, in the mean time, like a
true evangelist, visited Long Island, preaching the
Gospel in several places, and extended his labors as
far as Philadelphia, and for the first time many were
privileged to hear Methodist preaching. In 1769
Pilmoor addressed a letter to Wesley containing the
following : " I have preached several times, and the
people flock to hear in multitudes. Sunday evening
I went out upon the Common. I had the stage ap
pointed for the horse-race for my pulpit, and I think
between four and five thousand people, who heard
with an attention still as night. Blessed be God for
field preaching !"
About this time Robert Strawbridge, from Ireland,
a local preacher of considerable eminence, settled
in Frederick County, Maryland, and commenced
6

82 LIFE AND TLMES OF
preaching in his own house with an earnestness and
power characteristic of the sons of the Emerald Isle.
He was enabled soon to erect a log church, and or
ganize a small society. The companion of Board-
man, Mr. Pilmoor, having ministered the word of
life to the society at Philadelphia, which numbered
one hundred, directed his course to Maryland, and
entered into the labors of Strawbridge, greatly to
the spiritual edification and comfort of the little
flock. He also visited Virginia and North Carolina.
In April, 1771, Boardman addressed a letter from
New York to Wesley, giving an account of a revival
in which thirty were added to the society, five of
whom were converted. He speaks highly of the
attainments of the clergy of the English and Dutch
Churches of the city of New York, and regarded
them as the best in America. His letter concludes
by expressing an earnest desire that Mr. Wesley
would visit America.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 83

CHAPTER V.
Eeception in PhiladelpMa — Pilmoor — Asbury'sflrst Sermon in America —
Visit to Staten Island — New York — Boardman — Asbury's Opinion of
the Americans — Visit to the Country — Pilmoor — Asbury in Philadel
pMa — Appointed Superintendent — Criticism of a Book — An officious
Priest — Quarterly Meetings — Baltimore — New York — Church Wor-
sMpers — PhiladelpMa —Rankin — St. Paul's Church — Rankin's Op
position to Revivals — First Conferenoe — Baltimore — Quarterly Con
ference — Otterbine — Second Conference — Desire to be sent to Balti
more — Disappointed — Norfolk — Revival inVirginia — Asbury's Opin
ion of the Enghsh Preachers who left the Country — Rumors of War —
Warm Sulphur Springs — Wesley and Polities — Conference at Deer
Creek — Declaration of Independence — Difficulties about the Sacra
ments — Eetires to Judge WMte's in Delaware — Trials — Action of
Southern Preachers — Asbury's Efforts at Union — Plan proposed —
Eejected — Delegates sent to Southern Conference — Successful Eesult.
Asbtjey opened his mission in Philadelphia. We
have already alluded to the cordial greeting given to
him and his colleague by the members of the society
in that city. His elevation of spirits, resulting from
such an expression of Christian sympathy in his be
half, was remarkable, and he says in referring to it,
" My mind is drawn heavenward ; the Lord hath
helped me by his power, and my soul is in a para
dise." His first meeting with the society, as we have
already seen, was on the first evening after his arrival,
when he listened, in the old St. George's Church, to a
sermon from Joseph Pilmoor, who was then stationed
in that city, and interchanged with Boardman of

84 LIFE AND TIMES OF
New York. The next meeting he attended was a
watch-night meeting, which began at eight o'clock
and lasted till midnight. Pilmoor again preached,
and the services were continued by a religious con
ference, during which a large number related their
Christian experience. Toward the close of the meet
ing, Asbury says, "a plain man from the country
spoke, and his words went with great power to the
souls of the people, so that we may say, ' Who hath
despised the day of small things V Not the Lord our
God ; then why should self-important man ?" We find
him the next day engaged in personal labors with in
dividuals who were awakened, and anxiously inquir
ing what they should do to be saved. His conversa
tion with them and his prayers in their behalf were
attended with a blessing not only to them but to him
self, and he felt more than ever convinced that in obey
ing the call which summoned him from his home and
kindred to brave the dangers of the ocean, and bear
the messages of the Gospel to the inhabitants of
this New World, he was in the line and order of
Providence. The first sermon which he preached, though he
makes no mention of it in his Journal, was one in
which he enjoyed much freedom. He remarked that
in speaking to the people he " felt his mind opened
and his tongue unloosed." His last sermon during
his stay in Philadelphia was preached on the 6th of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 85
November, from the text, " He that spared not his
own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all things?" The ser
mon was delivered in the evening, and in describing
the occasion he says, " It was a night of power to my
own soul and to many others." His first ministra
tions impressed the Church in that city that he was a
minister of no ordinary stamp, evincing by the man
ner in which he treated his subjects, and the depth
and fervor of his feeling, that he was a workman emi
nently qualified by training and experience to divide
the word of truth, and give to saint and sinner their
portion in due season.
After remaining ten days in Philadelphia he went
to Burlington, where he preached in the court-house
to a large and attentive congregation. From thence
he directed his course to New York. Having met
on the road a gentleman by the name of Van Pelt,
who resided on Staten Island, and being accom
panied by him on his journey, he was induced
to go to Staten Island, and spend a short time
in that, place before going to New York. After
three days' journey they reached the hospitable
mansion of Mr. Van Pelt, where Asbury ever after
found a home. As he had made no engagement to
be in New York at any particular time he remained
a few days on the Island, and preached in the even
ing at the house of his friend. The kind recep-

86 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tion which he met from the people, and the religious
enjoyment, which he experienced, still further en
couraged him in the belief that his mission was in ac
cordance with the ordination of God. On the Sab
bath he discoursed in the morning to a large congre
gation in the house of his friend, and in the afternoon
to a much larger one. He preached also in the
evening to a large congregation assembled at the
house of Justice Wright. On Monday he left for
New York, where he met Richard Boardman, who
was stationed in the city. In him he found a genial
spirit, and was so favorably impressed with the man
that he makes the following record in his Journal :
"My friend Boardman is a kind, loving, worthy
man, truly amiable and entertaining, and of a child
like temper." Boardman, as we have already seen,
was Pilmoor's colleague, and between them they had
for their field of labor New York and Philadelphia,
as well as other points accessible in the country.
Boardman, having left his colleague, Pilmoor, in
Philadelphia, the place of their landing, proceeded
to New York. On his way he stopped at a large
town where a company of soldiers were stationed,
through whose influence he procured the use of the
Presbyterian Church, where he preached to them
and a large number of the citizens. When he ar
rived at New York he was cordially received. Re
ferring to the congregations that then attended

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 87
his ministry, he said, "so great was the crowd that
attended meeting only a third part were able to get
into the house." He thought the Americans excelled
all the people he ever saw in their desire to hear the
word. The year that Asbury arrived the society in New
York was blessed with a revival, and such was its ex
tent that Boardman, in his letter to Wesley, describes
it as a " great awakening." His zeal in the cause of
religion, connected with great urbanity of manners,
endeared him to the people, and it was not to be
wondered that Asbury found in him a loving com
panion. He only remained in this country a few
years. After his return he labored as an itinerant in
England and Ireland during a period of eight years.
He died in great peace at Cork, having preached the
night before his death. Mr. Wesley says of him:
"He was a pious, good-natured, sensible man, greatly
beloved by all who knew him." As though the old
adage proved true, " like priest like people," so As
bury found among the New York Methodists a
kindred spirit to that of their beloved pastor. He
describes them as "loving and serious," and re
marked that "there appeared also among them a
love of discipline."
His introduction into New York being thus auspi
cious, he opened his mission with encouraging pros
pects. His first sermon was preached in the old

88 LIFE AND TIMES OF
John-street Church, on Tuesday, the 13th of Novem
ber, to a large and attentive congregation. His text
was well selected, being 1 Corinthians ii, 2: "I de
termined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified." The text is illus
trative of his settled purpose of mind in entering
upon his work in America, and his whole subsequent
life gave evidence of the manner in which he ad
hered to that purpose. If ever, since the days of the
apostles, there were any ministers who gave themselves
up with exclusive devotion to their work, Asbury
was most certainly of that number. His next sermon
was on the following day; during its delivery he
felt his heart greatly enlarged, and he was convinced
that the membership enjoyed the "life and power
of rehgion."
When the Sabbath came he preached again to a
large concourse of people, and was much refreshed in
spirit at witnessing their zeal and devotion, and felt
more strongly attached to them than ever, expressing
his belief that the Americans were more ready to re
ceive the word than the English. He was particu
larly impressed with the sight of so many sable sons
and daughters of Africa, who were in the congrega
tion, and who united with the people in cheerful
melody to sing the Redeemer's praise.
Unwilling to confine his labors to the city, he re
solved on visiting what Boardman in his letter to

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 89
Wesley called the " back settlements," and accord
ingly he went to Westchester. At this place his
friends waited on the mayor for the use of the court
house to preach in, there being no church, and it was
readily granted. On Sabbath morning a congrega
tion assembled, and he discoursed from the text,
"Now he commandeth all men everywhere to re
pent." In the afternoon his congregation increased ;
many of the chief men of the town were present,
among whom was the mayor. At both these meet
ings he realized the Divine presence and power. In
the evening he preached at West Farms, and the
next day again at Westchester, where he was a guest
of the mayor. The next Sabbath he preached in
New York, and returned to the country, preaching at
New Rochelle, Rye, East Chester, and Mamaroneck.
Returning to New York he visited Staten Island, and
then again we find him on his former round, preach
ing through the week, and on Sabbaths, as he had
opportunity and could obtain places and congrega
tions. We have been thus particular in our description,
because these were the first regular labors of this
true-hearted missionary in this country.
To him must be awarded the honor of initiating
the first regular circuit work in America. He evi
dently saw a disposition on the part of the preachers
to confine their labors to the cities, and had resolved

90 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that he would be an itinerant in every sense of the
term. He had thoroughly imbibed the doctrine of
Wesley, to "go where the people wanted him the
most," and this demand for his services was not to
be determined by any particular desire on his part
to preach to such as prized his ministrations, nor yet
by the desire of the people to hear him, but where
there was the greatest need of Gospel preaching, and
where the people were in greatest danger of perish
ing without it. Such are truly evangelical calls ; and
wherever the minister heeds them, if he have to pass
through persecution like Peter, or even through
death like Stephen, he will prove himself a true suc
cessor of the apostles of our Lord.
He seemed to consider it improper for him to re
main in New York while Boardman was there, and
hence he says in his Journal : " I remain in York,
though unsatisfied with our being both in town to
gether. I have not yet the thing which I seek, a
circulation of the preachers to avoid partiality and
popularity. However, I am fixed to the Methodist
plan, and do what I do faithfully as unto God. I
expect trouble is at hand. This I expected when I
left England, and I am willing to suffer, yea, to die,
rather than betray so good a cause by any means. It
will be a hard matter to stand against all opposition
'As an iron pillar strong,
And steadfast as a wall of brass ;'

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 91
but through Christ strengthening me I can do all
things. My brethren seem unwilling to leave the
cities, but I will show them the way. I have noth
ing to seek but the glory of God, nothing to fear but
his displeasure. I have come to this country with
an upright intention, and through the grace of God
I will make it appear. I am determined that no
man shall bias me with soft words and fair speeches ;
nor will I ever fear the face of man, or know any
man after the flesh, if I beg my bread from door to
door ; but, whomsoever I please or displease, I will
be faithful to God, to the people, and to my own
soul." The population of New York was at that time
about twenty-five thousand, and was embraced with
in the limits of that part of the present city bounded
by Beekman-street on the north, and the Battery on
the south. There were then seventeen churches on
the island, of which the Reformed Dutch and the
Episcopal had three each, the Lutherans two, the
German Reformed one, the Presbyterians two, and
the Seceders, Baptists, Moravians, Jews, French
Protestants, and Methodists one each. In describing
some of the preachers in New York, Boardman, in
his letter to Wesley, says: "We have in this city
some of the best preachers, both in the English and
Dutch Churches, that are in America."
While on his last round before leaving for Phila-

92 LIFE AND TIMES OF
delphia, Asbury was taken sick at City Island, and,
notwithstanding the kind Mends with whom he
stopped insisted on his remaining until his health
was recruited, he left for his appointments, and so
determined was he in filling them that, though he
was quite ill, and part of the time in great pain, he
preached at all of them before he returned to New
York. When he arrived he found Pilmoor, who
had exchanged with Boardman; but the former being
ill, he occupied the pulpit in the morning. Pilmoor
was quite popular in the city, and attracted large
crowds whenever he came. On one occasion he
went out, by request, to the race-course. It was
Sabbath evening, and the judge's stand was convert
ed into a pulpit. From this he preached to between
four and five thousand people, who listened with
great attention.
After visiting Staten Island, and preaching at his
friend Van Pelt's, Justice Wright's, and at the ferry,
Asbury returned to New York, and from thence
started for Philadelphia, preaching on the way at
Amboy, Burlington, and New Mills.
The preachers having all met in Philadelphia for
the purpose of arranging the work for the year 1772,
it was agreed among them that Boardman should go
to Boston, Pilmoor to Virginia, Wright to New York,
and Asbury to Philadelphia. This was his first ap
pointment proper in America, and he expressed him-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 93
self much pleased with it. The impression which he
made on his first arrival was so favorable that the
people were equally well pleased with the appoint
ment, and large congregations attended his ministry.
Faithful to his purpose not to spend all his time in
the city, he went out into the country and preached
at Bohemia, Chester, and other places, returning to
Philadelphia and preaching on Sabbaths and meet
ing the society. He also visited Burlington, Wil
mington, Greenwich, Trenton, Gloucester, and other
points. After remaining four months on his Philadelphia
circuit he was summoned to New York. On his ar
rival he found that Wright had preached his farewell
sermon, and informed the people that he did not ex
pect to see them any more. Asbury thought they
had spoiled him by gifts, and he discovered that
those very persons who had exerted such a perni
cious influence upon him, were among the first to
condemn him. At this his spirit was stirred, and he
felt grieved somewhat both at preacher and people.
Being opposed by some of the members for meeting
the society at the same time the classes were held,
he complained of a party spirit which he thought
prevailed. At a meeting held for the purpose of
arranging the temporal affairs of the society, and
also for considering whatever related to its spiritual
interests, sixteen questions were discussed. There

94 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was not that harmony among the membership that
Asbury desired, and some considerable disaffection
existed in regard to what he considered the re
quirements of the discipline, but he resolved that
with calm and determined energy he would carry
out the rules and regulations of the Church. In
the meanjtime he extended his labors to Staten Island,
Kingsbridge, and elsewhere. Alluding to the " sharp
debates" held in the leaders' meeting in New York,
he says a member had charged him with ill usage
in saying he opposed his meeting the society, and
intimated that he had preached the people away,
and that he would destroy the work. In the midst
of all these trials he, however, swerved not from
what he conscientiously believed to be the path of
duty, and preserved a conscience void of offense
toward God and man.
On the 10th of October, 1772, he received a letter
from Wesley, appointing him Superintendent of the
societies in America. Among other instructions con
tained in this communication was one strictly enjoin
ing that none of his books should be reprinted with
out his consent. It seems that Robert Williams had
engaged in the republication of some of Wesley's
works. This he did from the purest motives, but
from some cause or other Wesley prohibited him
from any further publication. Williams came over
as a local preacher, and in all probability commenced

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 95
preaching in New York before the arrival of Board-
man. He was afterward admitted into the traveling
connection, and was the first to visit some sections in
Maryland and Virginia, extending his labors to North
Carolina. He was a man of faith and prayer, and
his labors were abundantly blessed.
Receiving intelligence that he was expected to
spend the winter in Maryland, Asbury proceeded to
Philadelphia, stopping on his way at Princeton, a
place he had "long wished to see for the sake of the
pious Mr. Davies, late president of the college there."
After remaining a short time he left for Maryland,
stopping at a place where a work on the non-eternity
of future punishment fell into his hands. This he
read and criticised after the following manner : " By
his arguments," alluding to the author of the work,
" we may as well prove the non-eternity of heavenly
joys, for if, as he calls it, a far) aiuviog of the right
eous arises from a principle of spiritual life derived
from Christ, then the KoXaaig aluvtog of the wicked
arises from a principle of spiritual death in them, and
the one will come to an end as soon as the other."
While engaged in preaching in Kent county,
Maryland, an officious preacher of the Episcopal
Church came to one of his appointments, demand
ing by what authority he preached. Asbury calmly
met the insolent demand by telling him who he was.
To this the priest of the Church pompously replied :

96 LIFE AND TIMES OF
"I have the sole authority over this people and
the care of their souls, and you cannot and shall
not preach ; and if you do I will proceed against you
according to law."
Asbury gave him to understand that he had no
respect whatever for his assumed authority ; that he
came there to preach, and preach he would.
" But," said the divine, " you will create a schism,
and draw the people from their work."
" Do not fairs and horse-races hinder the people ?"
asked Asbury.
At this the clergyman wished to know what was
the object of his coming.
To which he replied : " To turn sinners to God."
" Cannot I do this as well as you ?" said the parson.
Asbury then said : " I have authority from God."
At this the parson laughed and said : " You are a
fine fellow, indeed;" but it was not long before he
changed his tone and became enraged.
Not in the least terrified at the threats of the
Episcopal parson, he preached and had him for a
hearer. No conferences having as yet been held, all the busi
ness pertaining to the spiritual and temporal econ
omy of the Church was transacted at quarterly meet
ings. One of these meetings was held during his
visit to Maryland. After preaching a discourse on
the duties of the ministry, the Quarterly Conference

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 97
proceeded to business. Among the matters discussed
were questions relating to week-day preaching, the
administration of the Sacrament, and some other
items of minor importance. The preachers were
stationed, and each one started to his field of labor
for the year. By this arrangement Asbury was
stationed in Baltimore; but he did not confine his
labors exclusively to that place, as we find him trav
ersing the country, and preaching at all points where
Providence opened his way. His course in this re
spect, so persistently followed, had its effect upon his
brethren in the ministry, and the result was that the
work of the Lord spread and prevailed in all parts of
the itinerant field. On the 3d of January, 1773, he
entered fully upon his work in Baltimore, preaching
to a large congregation at the house of Captain Pat
ten, at the Point, in the morning, and in the evening
in the city. His religious experience at this time
may be described in his own words: "Holiness is
the element of my soul. My earnest prayer is, that
nothing contrary to holiness may live in me."
He had been offered the use of the court-house in
the town, but it being judged unfit as a place for
religious meeting it was declined, and he preached
in a private house, in which he formed a class con
sisting of male members. The next day he organized
a female class. He continued preaching at the Point
and in town during the Sabbaths, and through the
1

98 LIFE AND TIMES OF
week extended his labors into the various parts of the
surrounding country.
In March, 1773, he attended a quarterly meeting
conference on the Susquehanna, which he opened by
a discourse. It was a time of peace and harmony
among the preachers, and at its close they went out
to their respective fields greatly encouraged to work for
God. Having received a letter requesting him to
visit 'New York, as his presence was required, he
repaired thither at the close of the quarterly meeting.
While in New York, in accordance with instructions
from Wesley, enjoined on all preachers in connection
with him, he attended the Episcopal Church for the
purpose of receiving the sacrament. He had, how
ever, but a poor opinion of the spirituality of the
Church worshipers, describing them as the most gay
and undevout he had ever seen.
On his return to Philadelphia Asbury for the first
time met Rankin. He came over in company with
Messrs. Shadford and Yearbry and Captain Webb,
through whose solicitation mainly Mr. Wesley was
induced to reinforce the itinerant corps in America.
Rankin was considered by Wesley as possessing pe
culiar gifts for governing the Church, and as he was
Asbury's senior by several years, he constituted him
General Superintendent of the societies in America.
His arrival was a source of considerable comfort tc
Asbury, and he was very favorably impressed with

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 99
the man. After hearing him preach a discourse from
the text, "I have set before thee an open door, and no
man can shut it," he thought perhaps he would not
be much admired as a preacher, but as a disciplinarian
he believed he would be qualified for the place as
signed him.
The next day they started for New York, where
they arrived on the 12th, and were received by a
large company of Methodists at the dock where they
landed. Asbury preached on Sabbath morning, and
in the afternoon, in company with Rankin, Webb,
and Wright, went to St. Paul's Church and received
the sacrament. In the evening Rankin preached his
first sermon in New York. Alluding to his sermon
Asbury says : " He dispensed the word of truth
with power ; it reached the hearts of many, and they
appeared to be much quickened."
Being anxious to know how the societies were pros
pering in the country, Asbury went to New Rochelle
and preached. On his return he found, to his great
satisfaction, that Rankin had been successful in set
tling some of the difficulties which existed in the
society. At this time there was a considerable revi
val in the society at New York, and some of the
exercises witnessed by Rankin were not at all pleas
ing to him.
Rankin had not long been in possession of the
government of the Church until it was found that

100 LIFE AND TIMES OF
there was an incompatibility existing between his
views and opinions and those of the Methodists of
this country. Unlike Asbury, who, on identifying
himself with America, left all his prejudices and pre
possessions behind, he came, however sincere his
purpose and aim to promote the cause of Methodism,
with all his English ideas of loyalty and government.
He sought to effect by authority what Asbury so
happily secured by conciliation and moral suasion.
What was remarkable in a Methodist preacher, it
appears that Rankin manifested an opposition to the
spirit of revivals, asserting that they tended to dis
grace religion by the destruction of order. In this
he was promptly met by Asbury, who, although he
conceded that some enthusiasm and extravagance
might occasionally exist in time of revival, yet deemed
it injudicious to animadvert with severity on those
exhibitions of passionate excitement which more or
less accompany deep and lasting revivals of religion.
The friends of order, he thought, might well allow a
poor and guilty mortal to tremble before his God,
under deep conviction for sin, and the people of God
to sing and shout when the Holy One of Israel
appears in power and grace among them. To be
hasty in plucking the tares might endanger the wheat.
We should not venture to reach forth our hand to
touch the ark lest we be smitten for sacrilege. In
consequence of this an unpleasant state of feeling

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 101
sprang up between Asbury and Rankin, and the lat
ter was unwise enough to communicate it to Wesley,
who became somewhat prejudiced against Asbury on
that account. These differences, however, did not
separate these good men in heart, and they finally
gave way after more mature reflection.
On the 14th of July, 1773, the first Conference
proper met in Philadelphia. At this Conference it
was determined to enforce the rules and regulations
of the Wesleyan Conference throughout the connec
tion in America. As we have already seen, the
sacraments were not to be administered by the
preachers, and the people were earnestly advised to
receive baptism and the Lord's supper from the hands
of the Episcopal clergy. The number of preachers
stationed at this Conference was ten, and as it was
the first regular Conference held, we think it of suffi
cient interest to give their names and appointments:
New York and Philadelphia, Thomas Rankin and
George Shadford ; New Jersey, John King and Wil
liam Watters; Baltimore, Francis Asbury, Robert
Strawbridge, Abraham Whitworth, and Joseph Year
bry ; Norfolk, Richard Wright ; Petersburg, Robert
Williams. The numbers reported in society were
one thousand one hundred and sixteen.
Asbury's labors in Baltimore were much blessed,
and as he continued the sphere of his operations he
began to realize his heart's desire iu seeing the people

102 LIFE AND TIMES OF
turned to the Lord. He was greatly cheered in re
ceiving intelligence of a wonderful revival in Virginia.
About this time he drew up a subscription, and car
ried it from place to place, with a view of raising
funds for building a church in Baltimore. He re
ceived considerable assistance from Mr. Moore, who
zealously co-operated with him in the work, and was
enabled to report the sum raised by subscription to
be more than a hundred pounds. Two lots had been
selected as eligible sites for the building, and Asbury
was greatly encouraged. This enterprise proved in
the end successful, and Light-street Church was in
process of time dedicated to the service of God.
In July a quarterly conference was held at
Owings's, in Maryland. In referring to this meet
ing Asbury says : " All the preachers appeared
to have their hearts fixed on promoting the work
of God the ensuing quarter, and we consulted
together with much freedom and love. On the
first day I inquired into the moral character of the
local preachers, appointed them their work, and
gave them written licenses to officiate. The preach
ers who spoke at this meeting manifested great earn
estness and zeal for the salvation of souls, and many
of the people were much affected ; all was harmony
and love. For the next quarter we had our stations
as follows: P. Eberd, E. Drumgoole, and Richard
Owings in Frederic Circuit; Brother Yearbry and

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 103
Brother Rawlings in Kent Circuit; Henry Watters
and Brother Wright in Baltimore Circuit; and myself
in Baltimore town."
About this time he received intelligence of a power
ful revival in Virginia, in which between five and six
hundred souls were converted, the result of which was
the formation of five or six new circuits. Having
written to Otterbein, a distinguished German minister,
in relation to his settlement in Baltimore, he united in
a true catholic spirit with some friends of the German
Reformed Church in drawing up a plan for his settle
ment. A short time after he met with Otterbein and
another minister of the same Church, and was favor
ably impressed with their true Christian spirit.
At the second Conference, which was held in Phila
delphia on the 25th of May, 1774, quite a number
were added to the itinerant ranks, and the increase
in the membership was upward of nine hundred,
nearly double what it was the previous year. In al
luding to this Conference, Asbury says : " It was at
tended with great power, and all things were con
sidered in peace and harmony. We agreed to send
Mr. W. to England, and all acquiesced in the stations
of the preachers. My lot was to go to York."
When he reached his appointment he was again
greeted by his friends, but he lamented that there
were some remaining roots of prejudice in the hearts
of a few. Subsequently he felt much aggrieved at

104 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the acrimony of a certain individual, who did all he
could to injure him, but he patiently submitted his
cause to God. Notwithstanding the efforts of what
he calls dissatisfied, restless spirits, he was enabled to
keep up a close communion with God, and realized
that the fire of Divine love glowed in his heart, that
his soul was peace, and his affections pure and with
drawn from earthly objects.
During this year he suffered much from sickness,
and for many days was closely confined ; but notwith
standing his illness, he preached three hundred times,
and rode two thousand miles on horseback. At the
close of his year in New York, in consequence of his
feeble health, he began to feel some solicitude about
his appointment the ensuing year. Rankin had the
power of appointing the preachers, and he expressed
a desire that he might be saved from going into what
he called the " low country." When he went to
Philadelphia, in December, he fell in company with
Rankin, and opened his mind fully to him on
the subject; but he found that they disagreed in
judgment entirely, and he remarked that it appeared
to him that to make any attempt to be stationed in
Baltimore would be all in vain. "It is somewhat
grievous," says Asbury, " that he should prevent my
going to Baltimore, after being acquainted with my
engagements, and the importunities of my friends
there." Several of the preachers, among whom were

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 105
Webb and Drumgoole, were of the same opinion
with the people in regard to this matter. While As
bury was in Philadelphia he was taken quite ill, and
for some time was confined to his room under medi
cal treatment. When he recovered he went to Balti
more, and was greatly refreshed in spirit in meeting
his old friends. Large congregations in town and at
the Point, as well as in the country where he
preached, attended his ministry.
The next Conference was held in Philadelphia in
May, 1775. The Church had increased in numbers
astonishingly during the past year, and the member
ship rose to upward of three thousand. Great peace
and harmony prevailed. The subject of war was then
a prevailing one, and such was the agitated state of the
public mind, Conference deemed it proper to appoint
a general fast for the prosperity ofthe work and for the
peace of America. Nineteen preachers were stationed.
Asbury, as the Minutes show, was stationed, contrary
to his wishes, at Norfolk, but he uttered no word of
complaint, going with all cheerfulness to his field of
labor. After a somewhat disagreeable voyage he
arrived at Norfolk, where he found no place for
preaching but an old dilapidated house, which had
been formerly used as a theater. There were but
thirty members in society, and they were in a some
what disorganized state, having no class-meetings.
After laboring a few days alternately in Norfolk and

106 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Portsmouth, he persuaded the brethren to issue a
subscription paper for building a house of worship,
which, however, went tardily on for the present. As
usual, Mr. Asbury omitted no opportunity of doing
good to the souls of the people ; and for this purpose
he made frequent excursions into the country, where
he generally found a people willing to hear the word
of reconciliation. Having been invited to visit
Brunswick Circuit, where the Lord was pouring out
his Spirit upon the labors of Mr. Shadford, he arrived
there, and says : " God is at work in this part of the
country, and my soul catches the holy fire." On
meeting with Mr. Shadford, he says : " My spirit is
much united to him, and our meeting was like that
of David and Jonathan." A remarkable revival of
the work of God was then prevailing in that part of
the country, chiefly through the instrumentality of Mr.
Shadford. Trembling and shaking would seize upon
sinners under the word, and in some instances they were
so affected as to fall helpless upon the floor or upon
the ground. These were strange appearances in this
country, and some, of course, looked on with aston
ishment at the manifest displays of the power and
grace of God. The consequence of this great and
extensive revival was an addition to the societies of
upward of eighteen hundred members. Asbury
entered into this revival with great spirit, and gives
an extended account of it in his Journal.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 107
Mr. Robert Williams, who was among the first
Methodist preachers that visited Virginia, had mar
ried, and located at a place between Norfolk and
Suffolk, where he ended his days in peace on the
26th of September, 1775. His funeral sermon was
preached by Mr. Asbury, who says of him that he
had been " a very useful man, and the Lord gave him
many seals to his ministry. Perhaps no man in
America has been an instrument of awakening so
many souls as God has awakened by him."
Rankin, finding it impossible to reconcile the
war spirit which pervaded the country, with his
views of loyalty, and especially the instructions of
Wesley on the subject, resolved to return to En
gland, and in a letter to Asbury informed him of that
determination. In his reply, indicative of his own
views and feelings on the subject, Asbury speaks as
follows : " I can by no means leave such a field for
gathering souls to Christ as we have in America. It
would be an everlasting dishonor to the Methodists
that we should all leave three thousand souls who de
sire to commit themselves to our care ; neither is it
the part of a good shepherd to leave his flock in
time of danger ; therefore I am determined by the
grace of God not to leave them, let the consequence
be what it may."
While absent on one of his itinerant excursions he
heard of a dreadful slaughter at Norfolk and Great

108 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Bridge, which, added to the war demonstrations
which had already been made in the country, gave
pretty strong evidence that troublous times were
coming, such as would try men's souls. When he
returned to Baltimore, which he did in the spring,
so great was the consternation arising from the exis
tence of the war that the congregations were small.
The presence of a man-of-war in the river excited the
greatest commotion. Alluding to this state of things,
he makes the following appropriate and beautiful
reflections : " I know the Lord governeth the world,
therefore these things shall not trouble me. I will
endeavor to be ready for life or death, so that if death
should come my soul may joyfully quit this land of
sorrow and go to rest in the embraces of the blessed
Jesus. O delightful felicity! There is no din of
war ; no unfriendly persecutors of piety ; no enchant
ing world with concealed destruction ; no malevolent
spirit to disturb our peace : but all is purity, peace,
and joy. Adapting my discourse to the occasion, I
preached this evening from Isaiah i, 19, 20 : ' If ye
be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the
land : but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured
with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it.' "
After remaining in Baltimore a short time he went
to Philadelphia, and visited Trenton and other places.
At Philadelphia also the people were alarmed by the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 109
rumors of war, tidings having arrived of a battle off
Christiana between thirteen row-galleys and the Roe
buck man-of-war. Being sick he was unable to at
tend the Conference, which was held in May, 1776,
in Baltimore, but he received notice from Rankin of
his appointment to that city. When his health ad
mitted he went to his charge and entered upon his
labors, but he was so much debilitated that he deemed
it advisable to visit the Warm Sulphur Springs in Vir
ginia. That his time might be properly occupied
while there, he adopted the following plan : " To read
one hundred pages a day, to pray in public five times
a day, to preach in the open air every other day, and
to lecture in prayer-meeting every other evening."
Such recreation as this, at a watering-place, by a min
ister of the present day, would be considered among
the strangest of strange things. While at the Springs
he met a man who had come eighteen miles for the
purpose of seeing and hearing a Methodist preacher.
His quarters were not the most comfortable, as will be
seen by the following description : " The size of the
house in which we live is twenty feet by sixteen, and
there are seven beds and sixteen persons, besides
some noisy children." After remaining there about
five weeks he left, greatly grieved and disgusted
at the practices of the many thoughtless visitors.
On the day of his leaving he made the following
entry in his Journal : " I this day turn my back

110 LIFE AND TIMES OF
on the Springs as the best and worst place I ever was
in — good for health, but most injurious for religion."
At this time he received a letter from Wesley, and
regretted much that this great man had interfered
in American politics. He, however, says that the
course of that distinguished man manifested his
conscientious attachment to the government under
which he lived. He thought if Wesley had been
in America he would have been a zealous advocate
of the American cause.
Alarms of war reached him, and accounts of blood
shed and slaughter in different parts of the country.
This was a grief to his soul, and he earnestly prayed
that the Lord might disperse those who delighted in
war and thirsted for human blood. "It is well,"
said he, " that this is not the home of the righteous.
They are blessed with a pacific spirit, and are bound
for a kingdom of peace, where
"No horrid alarum of war
Shall break our eternal repose ;
No sound of the trumpet is there
Where the spirit of Jesus o'erflows.
Appeased by the charms of Thy grace,
We all shall in amity join,
And kindly each other embrace,
And love with a passion like thine."
The next Conference was held at Deer Creek, Har
ford county, Maryland, in May, 1777, and the num-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. Ill
ber of the preachers had increased to twenty-seven,
twenty of whom were present. Since the last Con
ference, which was held in Baltimore, the patriots
of the Revolution had assembled in Philadelphia,
and declared the colonies free and independent
states, thereby throwing off all allegiance to the
British crown. The lines were now distinctly drawn,
and no loyalist could possibly hope to find any sym
pathy among the Americans. Some of the English
preachers were ill at ease, and being unwilling to
enter into the revolutionary spirit, or embrace the
American cause, began to make arrangements for
returning to England.
But there were other difficulties existing in rela
tion to the Church. The people began to ask for the
ordinances, and as they could see no reason why
those who ministered to them the word of life
should not also administer the sacraments of baptism
and the Lord's supper, they became more and more
earnest in their demands. That their ministers, as
well as themselves, should be obliged to go to the
Episcopal clergy and receive the sacrament at their
hands, was something they could not, with their
knowledge of the authority drawn from the "reg
ular succession," understand. Nor were the people
alone in these views and feelings. The preach
ers at the south pressed the matter upon the
attention of the Conference, and there were strong

112 LIFE AND TIMES OF
indications of a separation unless the demand was
met. This feeling was held in abeyance for several
years, and did not imbody itself in any action until
1779. Asbury, like Wesley, was a true son of the
Church, and though he had become thoroughly
American in his views and feelings, and, as his
subsequent history shows, a republican of the Wash
ington stamp, still his love for Wesley, and his de
sire to remain in connection with him, was such
that he labored hard to allay the feelings of his
brethren. While Asbury was engaged in his work in Balti
more and vicinity, in 1777, he was required to take
the oath of allegiance to the state of Maryland. Its
form, however, was such that he could not conscien
tiously take it, and the result was that he was obliged
to leave the state and go to Delaware, where the
state oath was not required of clergymen. He
sought an asylum at the hospitable mansion of
Judge White, in Kent county, Delaware. He
soon found, however, that his retreat was no
place of safety. Scarcely had he been a month at
the Judge's before he was obliged to leave, and he
went out not knowing whither. He had not trav
eled many miles when he came to a house, where he
stopped and found the neighbors assembled for a fu
neral. There being no minister, he hesitated not to

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 113
improve the occasion by an address full of Christian
sympathy. He then pursued his weary way until
late at night, when he found shelter. Here he in
tended to rest till Providence should direct his way ;
but the next evening he heard of circumstances
which induced him to think it prudent to move the
next day. Deeply depressed was his spirit. He was
three thousand miles from his native home and kin
dred. All his countrymen associated with him had
left him to his fate. He was considered by most
persons, who knew not his heart and his motives,
as an enemy to the country, and he was, accord
ingly, liable any hour to be apprehended and
abused. Leaving his resting-place, he went into a wild and
dismal swamp, where he lay concealed till night,
when a friend kindly took him in and protected him.
Under these circumstances of trial he was sustained
by the consciousness that he was in the way of duty.
He was seeking neither riches nor honor. He was
laboring only for the spiritual good, for the salvation
of his fellow-men. He trusted in Providence, being
confident the God of the prophets and of the apostles
would protect and relieve him.
In his seclusion he heard that his friend and broth
er, Rev. Joseph Hartley, had been apprehended and
imprisoned in the county of Queen Anne, and that
the amiable Freeborn Garrettson had been assault-
8

114 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ed, abused, and nearly murdered by his perse
cutors. After about a month spent in seclusion,
he ventured to return to his old home at Judge
White's,' where he remained till the troubles were
past. It was with the utmost difficulty he' could main
tain contentment and resignation in his restricted cir
cumstances. Pent up in the little state of Delaware,
he felt straitened and repressed in his very soul. He
says his mind was twisted and tortured; he knew
not whether to fight or run ; he was worried by temp
tations; everything appeared under a cloud; and
often he was ready to choose death rather than such
a life. ' Yet he had an agreeable home, he was in no
immediate danger, and he had the whole state of
Delaware for his prison-bounds. Yet he was unhap
py. Nor could it be otherwise, since God had made
him for an itinerant, and called him to travel, and
designed the whole country, from the Atlantic to the
Mississippi, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the St.
Lawrence, for his circuit. Had you placed him in a
palace in Delaware, and given him an Eden for his
rambles, and a magnificent cathedral for his preach
ing-place, and ten thousand souls for his audience,
he still would have been uneasy. He would have
pined for the freedom of the whole continent. He
would have longed to climb the mountains, and swim
the rivers, and face the bleak winds of the plains.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 115
His soul would have yearned to carry the Gospel to
the frontier settler in his rude cabin, and to gather
into the fold of his Master the lost and wandering
sons of neglect and the daughters of destitution. The
offer of eligible settlements, of desirable alliances, of
wealth, of ease, of ambitious promotion, would have
been an insult to such a man. But give him enough
of Gospel work to do, and room enough to work,
and then, and then only, you insure him content
and happiness.
He made his home at Judge White's about two
years. The first year he went out but short distances
from home", and preached but little. In April, 1779,
he held a Conference in his secluded place of exile.
The preachers of the northern stations were all pres
ent, and great harmony prevailed. So unhappy had
Mr. Asbury been under his cramped and straitened
circumstances through the year, that he determined,
at whatever risk, to venture out from his seclusion
and perform regular circuit work. Delaware was
accordingly made a circuit, and Asbury appointed
in charge. No sooner had he left home for some
distant part of the state than his spirits began to re
vive. He still, however, made his head-quarters at
Judge White's, though he was most of the time ab
sent on some part of his circuit. After having spent
two years in Delaware, he went to Baltimore to at
tend the Conference of 1780. He had become a cit-

116 LIFE AND TIMES OF
izen of Delaware, and returned to Maryland under
the recommendation and protection of the governor
of Delaware. By this means he avoided all further
interruption, and was permitted to prosecute his work
without hinderance.
A judicious and conciliatory letter was adopted
and sent to the south, in order, if possible, to prevent
the threatened division. The letter, however, failed
to produce any material effect. At the Conference
held in Virginia, a few weeks after the session of
the Northern Conference in Delaware, the southern
preachers resolved to proceed in the work they
deemed so necessary. They accordingly appointed
a committee of the most respectable and elderly
men among them to ordain the preachers. The
committee first ordained themselves and then the
other members of the Conference. They then
went forth to administer the ordinances among
their people.
Mr. Asbury could by no means approve these
measures. The proceeding was altogether a viola
tion of Methodist economy. His heart, and in
tellect at once became devoted to unremitting efforts
to reclaim the dissenting brethren. He wrote them
a long, an able, and an affectionate letter. He en
deavored to persuade the dissenters to be content to
receive the ordinances from the hands of the Episco
pal clergy. They replied that the Methodist people

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 117
would not receive the ordinances from the hands of
ministers who were confessedly unconverted men,
and many of them notoriously immoral in their con
duct. Asbury could but acknowledge the force of
the objections ; yet still he could not permit a course
so irregular as the southern preachers had taken.
Fearing a separation inevitable, he yet determined
to rescue as many as possible from the disastrous
effects of the schism.
A few days before the session of the Northern Con
ference for 1780, he received a letter from one of the
Virginia preachers, encouraging him to hope for
effecting a reconciliation by conciliatory and pru
dent measures. When the Conference assembled, the
Virginia difficulties became matter of earnest debate.
Some were for disowning, at once, all who had pre
sumed to administer the ordinances contrary to the
order of the Church of England. Asbury proposed a
union, on condition that the dissentients should or
dain no more ; that they should not presume to ad
minister the ordinances where there was a decent
Episcopal minister ; and that they should consent to
hold, with the north, a union Conference. The con
sent of the Conference could not be obtained to these
terms of union, and there seemed no alternative but
a final separation. In this extremity Asbury made
one effort more. He moved that a committee be
appointed to proceed to the Southern Conference,

118 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and to propose a suspension of all proceedings re
specting the ordinances for one year. He hoped
that, through communication with Mr. Wesley, some
plan might, in the mean time, be devised to prevent
the disastrous results of a separation. To this plan
the Conference assented. Asbury, William Watters,
the oldest native preacher in the connection, and the
amiable and accomplished Freeborn Garrettson, were
appointed the committee. With much anxiety, and
many fears for the result, the committee proceeded
to Virginia.
The Conference met. Asbury, on being desired
by the members to open the case, read Wesley's
"Thoughts against Separation" from the Church, ex
hibited his own private letters and instructions from
Wesley, and explained to them the sentiments of tho
Conferences held at Delaware and at Baltimore.
He then preached a public discourse, in which he
prudently omitted all allusion to existing difficul
ties, presenting only a plain exhibition of Gospel
truth, accompanied by a warm and affectionate
exhortation. The morning session of Conference thus closed with
the prospect of satisfactory adjustment of all difficul
ties. In the afternoon when they met it seemed
there was little disposition to compromise. Asbury,
with his colleagues, explicitly stated the conditions
of union, mildly expostulating with the dissenters,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 119
and firmly insisting on the terms of compromise
as the basis on which he and the Northern Confer
ence could agree. He then left them to deliberate
on the matter. After an hour the Conference in
formed him thej' could not accept the terms of
union. On receiving intelligence of their decision
Asbury was overwhelmed with such a cloud of sor
row as never before had settled on his soul. He
wept, his associates wept, and the committee ap
pointed by the Conference to announce their decis
ion wept. All hope of preventing a final division
among the Methodists vanished. Henceforth the
people, who ought to be united in sentiment and
in practice, harmoniously laboring to spread Scrip
tural holiness over the land, would be distracted by
dissension, and driven by rivalry into measures of
hostile aggression on each other. With a sorrowful
spirit and desponding heart, Asbury kneeled alone
in his chamber before the Lord, and poured out
his full soul in fervent prayer. He then called at the
Conference room to bid them farewell. Great was
the joy of his heart on learning at the door that the
Conference had yielded. The terms of compromise
were adopted, the conditions of union accepted, and
the Methodists were one again. After mutual con
gratulations, the eloquent William Watters delivered
a sermon on that appropriate text, " Come thou with
us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath

120 LIFE AND TIMES OF
spoken good concerning Israel." After preaching
they held a love-feast. It was an affecting, a glori
ous time. Preachers and people talked, and wept,
and sung, and shouted. The spirit of dissension
was effectually laid. The Methodist community
throughout America was yet one and inseparable.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 121

CHAPTER VI.
Visit to the Churches in Virginia— Description of Ms Journey — Con
ference of 1781 held in Baltimore — Concurrence of the Southern
Preachers in the Plan of Union — Eesolve of the Preachers — Eegula
tions in regard to Local Preachers — Letter to Wesley — Close of Con
ference — Itinerant Superintendency — Hard Fare — Congregation on
the Mountain — Hanging Rook Castle — South Branch of the Potomac
— Settlement of Germans — Inspiring Scenes — Fork Mountain — Large
Spring — Caves — Banks of Lost Eiver — Drafted Soldiers — Bemghted
on the Mountains — Leesburg — New York — Conference — Numbers
received — Interchange of Preachers — Conference confirm Asbury's
Appointment as Superintendent — Coadjutanoy of Eev. Mr. Jarratt —
State ofthe Church — Eevivals in Virginia and Maryland — Adjourned
to Baltimore — Asbury's Travels — Friendly Quakers at Salem — Prep
arations for Conference — Statistics — A disaffected Preacher — Wes
ley's Letter— Crossing the Mountains — Capture of Mr. Williams by
the Indians— Quarterly Meeting at PhiladelpMa — New York —
Opinion of Methodists in these Places — First Interview with Dr. Coke
after Ms Arrival — Richard Whatcoat — Surprise — Question as to an
Independent Orgamzation discussed — Determination to call a General
Conference — Freeborn Garrettson sent to the South — Vasey — Poyth-
resB — Interview with Mr. Weems — Reflections.
The gloomy clouds which hung bodingly over the
horizon of the infant Church having been dispersed,
Asbury started from the Conference with a light and
joyous heart. His first visit was to Petersburg, and
from thence he passed through the country, preach
ing from house to house everywhere, spreading
abroad the savor of peace and union. There were
then but few churches in the country, and he held
forth the word of life in barns and cabins, and in the
woods wherever a congregation could be collected.

122 LIFE AND TIMES OF
An extract or two from his Journal will show how
hard was his service and how poor his fare : " We
set out," he says, " for Crump's, over rocks, hills.
creeks, and pathless woods. The young man with
me was heartless before we had traveled a mile ; but
when he saw how I could bush it, and sometimes
force my way through a thicket and make the young
saplings bend before me, and twist and turn out of
the way or path, for there was no road, he took
courage. With great difficulty we came into the
settlement about two o'clock, after traveling eight or
nine hours, the people looking almost as wild as the
deer in the woods. I have only time to pray and
write in my Journal ; always upon the wing ; as the
rides are so long and the roads so bad, it takes me
many hours, as in general I walk my horse. I
crossed Rocky River about ten miles from Haw River.
It was rocky sure enough. I can see little else but
cabins in these parts built with poles. I crossed
Deep River in a ferry boat, and the poor ferryman
swore because I had not a shilling to give him."
These were every-day occurrences, experienced in
many sections of the country visited by this indefati
gable man. From Virginia and North Carolina he
•traveled to Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New
Jersey. On the 24th of May, 1781, Conference convened in
Baltimore. The preachers from the South -were

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 123
present, and all but one of them concurred in the
action of the preceding Conference in suspending the
administration of the ordinances. Great unanimity
prevailed among all the ministers, and they were of
one heart and one mind, possessing the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The large ma
jority of the preachers set their names to a resolu
tion, that they would preach the doctrines of primi
tive Methodism contained in the standards of the
Church, and that they would faithfully enforce the
discipline. At this Conference regulations were
adopted relating to local preachers, and certain mat
ters pertaining to the duty of traveling preachers in
reference to the exercise of discipline. Among the
preachers who located at this Conference, was John
Dickins, who, just one year before, according to As
bury's Journal, drew up the subscription for a Kings-
wood school in America, which afterward assumed
the more imposing name of Cokesbury College.
About this more hereafter.
Soon after this Conference Asbury wrote to Wes
ley, and laid before him in detail the exact condition
of affairs in the Methodist Church. Having settled
all matters pertaining to his superintendency, he 'set
out to travel through the bounds of his work. He
directed his course for the south branch of the Poto
mac, and traveled through a wild romantic region.
After 'swimming his horse over the Great Capon

124 LIFE AND TIMES OF
river, fatigued and weary he found rest in the cabin
of a friendly settler. His resting place, however;
was on the top of a chest, and his clothes his only
covering. This, however, was better fare than he
often had. Frequently, when benighted in the wil
derness, he has slept on the ground, or on rocks, or on
some boards in a deserted cabin, with nothing to eat.
Being unable to cross the South Branch, he was
obliged, as the explorers express it, to strike for the
mountains. On the summit of one of these ranges he
found a congregation as wild as the wilderness
around them. Here he remained over Sabbath, and
the mountain settlers were summoned far and near
to listen to the word. When the hour for preaching
came about two hundred persons were collected, and
the voice of prayer and praise waked the echoes of the
mountain. From hence he went to another appoint
ment. On his route he had a view of what is called
Hanging Rock Castle. The walls of this wonderful
structure rise up three hundred feet high, and seem
as if built With square slate stones. At his last
preaching place he had three hundred hearers.
Crossing the South Branch he entered a settlement of
Germans, and as he could not preach in that lan
guage he expressed a wish that the Methodist Church
had German preachers, as he could see by the spirit
of the people that a great work might be wrought
among them. What Asbury sighed for has" since

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 125
been fully realized, and the Methodist Church em
braces in its fold thousands of German members and
whole districts of German preachers.
Anon we find Asbury in the valley. Above and
around him rose up in their grandeur the Alle-
ghanies, furnishing themes of thought for the loftiest
contemplation, and inspiring a mind like his with
profound emotions of reverence and love for the
hand that had reared them, and covered their sum
mits with living verdure. In crossing the Fork
Mountain he found another German settlement, and
was much comforted in spirit in striving to preach to
them. Near the preaching place was a large spring
of great depth and clearness. Within two hundred
yards from its source, the quantity of water dis
charged was sufficient in volume to turn a mill.
About half a mile distant was another natural curi
osity. Two caves were to be seen about two hun
dred yards apart. The entrances to both are nar
row, but grow wider and deeper as they are entered,
until the explorer finds himself in the midst of wide
and lofty chambers, supported by curiously formed
pillars. In one of these chambers Asbury, inspired
by the scene, sung,
"Still out ofthe deepest abyss
Of trouble I mournfully cry."
The stalactites, to the mind of the preacher, resem
bled the pipes of an immense organ, and when struck

126 LIFE AND TIMES OF
emitted a melodious sound, the intonations varying
according to the size of the stalactites. The walls,
which rose up in gloomy grandeur around him, and
from which projected galleries, very much resembled
an old cathedral. To a mind more romantic in its
cast than that of Asbury the scenery in this wonderful
chamber might have seemed more grand and magnif
icent, but it could not have excited profounder love
and adoration for the wonderful and beautiful in the
creations of God.
Interesting as were the scenes around him, and
much as they invited to study, the Master called and
he must away on his errand. Some nights after we
find him on the banks of Lost River, sympathizing
with and praying for the men who had been drafted
for the army. Again we find him benighted in the
mountains, sleeping among the rocks, with nothing
for his covering but the vaulted sky. Thus on he
traveled until he reached Leesburg, where he held a
quarterly meeting, and from thence he pursued his
way, preaching from place to place, through Mary
land and Pennsylvania.
The next Conference was held at Ellis's, in Virginia,
on the 17th of April, 1782, and adjourned from thence
to Baltimore, May 21. The number of preachers
received on trial and into full connection during the
sessions of this Conference was twenty, and the whole
number sixty-six. The numbers in society had in-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 127
creased to eleven thousand seven hundred and eighty-
five. The interchange of the preachers after six
months on the different stations, a regulation early
adopted, was kept up at this Conference. The appoint
ment of Asbury by Wesley as General Superintend
ent of the Methodist Church in America was unan
imously confirmed by the Conference. The difficulty
under which they labored as unordained ministers,
and hence unable according to the canons of the
Episcopal Church to administer the sacraments of
baptism and the Lord's supper, still continued, and
proved a serious embarrassment to them in their
labors. They found, however, in the person of the
Rev. Mr. Jarratt, a minister of the Established Church,
of unquestioned piety and greatly esteemed by all, a
friendly coadjutor, and one who was ever ready, as
far as possible, to attend the quarterly meetings and
administer the sacraments. Impressed , with the
value of his services, the Conference passed a unani
mous resolution expressive of their gratitude for his
kind offices, so cheerfully rendered.
Had all the ministers of that Church possessed the
same probity and virtue, and the same enlarged
Christian benevolence as this man, much unhappy
excitement would have been prevented, and much
discontent quieted. As it was, the disaffection which
existed, as we have seen, was of such a nature as
seriously to threaten the disruption of the Church,

128 LIFE AND TIMES OF *
but through the influence of Asbury's master spirit it
was so far allayed as to produce no manifest disturb
ance or outbreak in the Conference, and the preachers
resolved to wait the openings of Providence in rela
tion to their duty in this regard. The Churches
under the jurisdiction of the Conference were gene
rally in a prosperous condition, and revivals of con
siderable interest prevailed in various portions of
Virginia and Maryland.
Asbury started out on his eleventh tour refreshed
in spirit. He had separated from his brother minis
ters in all probability never again to see them all in
this world, but his benediction rested upon all of them,
and his prayers followed them to their different and
distant fields of itinerant toil. The first day he rode
upward of thirty miles without taking a morsel of
food, but, like his houseless and homeless Master, he
murmured not. The following day, which was the
Sabbath, he preached at Boisseau's Chapel, and in the
afternoon in the barn of the beloved Jarratt. This
devoted man, like the sainted Fletcher, (whose timely
assistance was of great service to Wesley in the
early days of Methodism,) had fully partaken of the
Methodist spirit, and without fear or reluctance had
identified himself with the American itinerants. From
hence he rode to Amelia, again without food during
the whole of the journey. The next day he rode forty
miles, and preached in the Broken-backed church on

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 129
the Fluvanna circuit. Thus he kept on preaching at
various places in Virginia until he reached Baltimore,
where the Conference was to continue its session as
above mentioned. Great harmony prevailed among
all the preachers. Tlie character of each was exam
ined and passed in regular order. At this Conference
a plan for publishing books was proposed, but as it
was thought the time had not arrived for engaging in
this enterprise it was suspended until a future period.
During the two weeks succeeding Conference, Asbury
traveled through Maryland and Pennsylvania, a dis
tance of between two and three hundred miles, cross
ing the mountains on foot and preaching seventeen
times in the woods and cabins to the widely scattered
inhabitants. From hence he went into Delaware and
Virginia, and on the 25th of August, 1783, we find
him in New York. From New York he went to
New England, and in his travels visited the town of
Salem, where the Methodists received liberal assist
ance from the Quakers in building a house of worship.
Finishing his tour in this region, he bent his course
southward, and went to North Carolina, and after
preaching at different points returned to Virginia.
As the Conference was approaching, he directed his
course toward the place of its meeting, which was
Ellis's, in Sussex county, from which place, according
to a resolution at the previous Conference, it was to be
adjourned to Baltimore. 9

130 LIFE AND TIMES OF
As usual on the approach of the Conference, the
mind of Asbury was intensely exercised in relation to
the general interests of the Church. What perhaps
occasioned him greater anxiety than anything else.
was the arrangement for the work in the appoint
ments of the preachers. To place himself in the
position and stead of all his brethren, and act toward
each as he would have them act toward him under
similar circumstanjces, was a work that required a
vast amount of thoughtful deliberation, self-examina
tion, and prayer. The still solemn hour of night
often witnessed his deep agonizing prayer for that
wisdom which was " pure, peaceable, easy to be en
treated," and which was "without partiality and
without hypocrisy," that he might administer the
affairs of the Church with "a conscience void of
offense toward God and man." The Conference at
Ellis's having lasted two days, closed in peace and
harmony, and was afterward resumed in Baltimore.
At this Conference there were reported eighty-two
preachers, and thirteen thousand seven hundred and
forty members, a large increase over the former year.
It seems from Asbury's Journal that a preacher,
named William Glendenning, had been devising a
scheme to deprive him of the general superintend
ency, or at least to curtail his powers and prerogatives.
Tlie letter, however, which had been received from
Mr. Wesley was so clear and decisive on that point

FEANCIS ASBURY. 131
that an end was put to all controversy. The letter
is dated Bristol, October 3, 1783, and is as follows :
" 1. Let all of you be determined to abide by the
Methodist doctrine and discipline published in the
four volumes of Sermons, and the Notes upon the
New Testament, together with the Large Minutes of
Conference. " 2. Beware of preachers coming from Great Brit
ain or Ireland without a full recommendation from
me. Three of our traveling preachers have eagerly
desired to go to America, but I could not approve of
it by any means, because I am not satisfied that they
thoroughly like either our discipline or our doctrine.
I think they differ from our judgment in one or both.
Therefore, if these or any other come without my
recommendation take care how you receive them.
" 3. Neither should you receive any preachers,
however recommended, who will not be subject
to the American Conference, and cheerfully conform
to the Minutes both of the American and English
Conferences. " 4. I do not wish our American brethren to receive
any who make any difficulty on receiving Francis
Asbury as the general assistant. Undoubtedly the
greatest danger to the work of God in America is
likely to arise either from preachers coming from
Europe, or from such as will arise from among your
selves speaking perverse things, or bringing in among

132 LIFE AND TIMES OF
you new doctrines, particularly Calvinism. You
should guard against this with all possible care, for it
is easier to keep them out than to thrust them out.
I commend you all to the grace of God, and am your
affectionate friend and brother,
"J. Wesley."
This was a timely letter, full of that kind of counsel
most needed at that time. Had Wesley been a
prophet he could not have uttered sayings more
truthful, and the subsequent history of the Church
shows most conclusively that his predictions were
founded in a wise and truthful foresight.
From Ellis's, Asbury started out on his tour, and
crossed the mountains, directing his course toward
Redstone. Passing Little Meadows he took the
Braddock road, a rough and dangerous way. Find
ing no accommodations, and being much exhausted
by the journey, he was attacked by a fever and
suffered much, but still rode on, preaching the next
day. Thus he continued his journey until he reached
Pennsylvania, and thence proceeded to Maryland.
While at Worley's, where he preached to a hundred
and fifty people, he heard of the capture of Richard
Williams, who was taken by the Indians on the
north branch of the Potomac. A few days before
Braddock's defeat, it seems that nineteen Indians
attacked his father's house, killing both his father
and mother and one of his nephews. Williams and

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 133
his child were taken as prisoners, and carried to Fort
Pitt, now Pittsburgh. They tied his hands to a tree
every night to prevent his escape. At the fort he
was deprived of his child. On the day of Brad-
dock's defeat he was taken across the Ohio river, and
sent under guard to Detroit. After remaining there
some time he stole a Frenchman's gun and some am
munition, and made his escape, travehng most of the
time through the woods. He was pursued by the
Indians, who succeeded in heading him, which
obliged him to turn out of his course. In crossing a
stream the water went over his head and wet his
powder. For three days he traveled on without any
food, except some roots which he dug as he passed
along. Journeying on he came to a river, in the
middle of which he saw two canoe loads of Indians.
After they passed out of sight he made a raft of logs
and crossed over. During all this time he subsisted
on what he could pick up by the way. At length he
reached the Ohio river, where he was surprised by
an Indian who threw a tomahawk at him, but he es
caped, and succeeded in crossing the river. He was
pursued and recaptured by two Frenchmen and five
Indians. By these he was again taken to Fort Pitt.
Being known as a deserter, a council was held, and
he was condemned to be shot. He, however, feigned
derangement, and seemed not to understand what
was said to him. Again he made his escape, was

134 LIFE AND TIMES OF
pursued, seven guns were fired at him in succession
by his pursuers, but still he eluded them. Again he
was overtaken and fired upon, but again he made his
escape. For five days he lived on acorns. One day,
while picking some wild cherries, an Indian rushed
upon him with a whoop and seized him, when pres
ently others joined him, and he was again a prisoner.
After being in their possession a long time he at length
made his escape and reached home, where he found
his wife who had been praying for him constantly.
Both were faithful members of the Methodist Church,
and subsequently preaching was held at their house.
We. have related this to show what was the state
of the western country, and what the trials of its
inhabitants, when Asbury and his fellow-laborers
penetrated the wilderness to preach the Gospel to its
destitute population.
The next place at which we find Asbury was at
quarterly meeting in Philadelphia, whence he went
to Burlington, New Jersey, and thence on to New
York. Of New York he says : " We found the peo
ple alive to God. There are about one hundred in
society, and with those in Philadelphia, to my mind,
they appear more like Methodists than I have ever
yet seen them." He was greatly comforted by this
visit, and the members manifested their regard for
him by supplying all his necessities. After visiting
several contiguous places and preaching, he returned

FRANCIS ASBURY. 135
to New Jersey and Maryland. On Sunday, Novem
ber 14, 1784, at Barratt's Chapel, he met Dr. Coke
and Richard Whatcoat. This was his first interview
since their arrival in the country. When they made
known to him the object of their visit and the pow
ers with which they were intrusted by Wesley, he
was perfectly astounded. The idea of his not only
having the superintendency, but of his being or
dained to that office, was more than he could think
of assuming in connection with Wesleyan Method
ism ; and he had, to use his own language, come
to the determination that if his brethren should
unanimously choose him to that office, he would
not accept it in the capacity he had hitherto done
under Wesley's appointment.
Before the departure of Coke and Whatcoat from
England, Wesley had abridged the Book of Common
Prayer, and with the assistance of Dr. Coke and
Rev. Mr. Creighton, of the Church of England, he
set apart by solemn ordination Richard Whatcoat
and Thomas Vasey as elders for the Church in Amer
ica. After this he ordained Dr. Coke as superinten
dent of the Methodist Church in America, and gave
him letters of ordination under his hand and seal, ac
companied by a letter, in which he appointed Dr.
Coke and Francis Asbury joint superintendents over
the Church in America.
The country having declared itself independent of

136 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Great Britain, peace having been obtained and com
mercial relations restored, the question of an inde
pendent Church was considerably discussed by the
preachers. The prevalent opinion was that the time
had arrived for the organization of a separate and
distinct Church, free from all ecclesiastical alliance
with the British Conference or the Established
Church. On the arrival of Dr. Coke with his pow
ers the subject was renewed with greater interest
than ever. As the result of a mutual discussion and
interchange of opinion among several of the more
aged preachers, it was determined to call a General
Conference, to meet in Baltimore on the 25th of
December, 1784. The Rev. Freeborn Garrettson,
who had been early identified with the preachers,
and who was a native American, was deputed to go
to Virginia and the South and notify the preachers
of the intended Conference. As Asbury was desirous
of making Dr. Coke acquainted with the preachers
and their work, he took him out on a tour from cir
cuit to circuit. At Bohemia they met Vasey, and in
company they passed on to quarterly meeting at
Deer Creek. Their next appointment was at Gough's.
After remaining in this place near a week they rode
to Frederick and held a quarterly meeting, and from
thence went to Calvert quarterly meeting. Here
Asbury met with Poythress, with whom he had a
long and intimate conversation in regard to the con-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 137
templated Conference and the new matters which
should come before it. The love-feast which was
held here was one of great interest and power. The
work of religion among the colored people excited
the attention of Asbury much. ---__
It was now within one month of the meeting of
Conference, and as the time approached Asbury be
came more and more absorbed in regard to the
momentous questions which would be discussed.
He set apart seasons for fasting and special prayer,
that he miglit know the divine will in relation to
that point in which he was particularly interested.
The preachers and people generally, so far as his
knowledge extended, seemed to look upon the con
templated arrangement with favor, and from this he
was led to infer the Divine approval. But he was
in no way elated with the prospect of advancement
to the episcopal office. He was "not high-minded,
but feared," as his clear and sagacious foresight as
sured him that the position would be attended with
difficulty and danger. Soon after this he had an in
teresting conversation with the Rev. Mr. Weems, the
subsequent biographer of Washington, on the subject
of episcopal Church government. On the fourth
of December he preached in Baltimore, and subse
quently at the Point, and from that time he devoted
himself almost entirely to preparation for the coming
Conference.

138 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER VII.
Length of Time in America — His Age — An unordained Preacher
— Number of Preachers and Members — Character of the Preachers
associated with Mm — Marsden's Description of Asbury — "Christmas
General Conference" — Dr. Coke — Wesley's Letter — An important
Occasion — A distinct and separate Organization — Title of Church-
Office of Bishop elective — Coke and Asbury elected Bishops — Or
dination of Asbury — Ordination Sermon — Ordination of Deacons —
Power exercised by Asbury as an Assistant Superintendent under
Wesley — Conference defines the Duty of a Bishop — Abuse of Power
— Character of the present Episcopacy— Short Obituaries — Asbury's
first Sermon as a Bishop — Change in Ms Journal — Effect of Adminis
tration of the Ordinances by Asbury on other ChurcheB — Charleston,
South Carolina — Lee — Willis — Conferences — New Circuits — Great
Revivals — York — Surrender of Lord Cornwallis — Alexandria — Visit
to George Washington — Bath Springs — Preaches in a Theater— Bal
timore — PhiladelpMa — New York — Heavy Labors — Liberality of
New York Methodists — Asbury's first Wagon — Last Wagon.
Fifteen years had elapsed since Asbury commenced
preaching in America. He was now forty years of
age, and more than half of his life had been spent in
preaching the Gospel, yet up to this time he was an
unordained man. No ordinances of the Church had
ever yet been administered by his hands, and he con
sented with the rest of his brethren in the ministry to
receive the sacrament at the hands of the Episcopal
priesthood. He had witnessed the progress of the
Church in America from a feeble beginning, and had
watched over it with the tenderest solicitude. When

FEANCIS ASBURY. 139
he entered upon the work there were but eight
preachers, and a membership of only about six hun
dred ; now the number of preachers was one hundred
and four, and the membership had risen to fifteen
thousand. The preachers associated with him were
all men of character, remarkably adapted to the
times, and some of them were not a whit behind min
isters of other denominations for eloquence and
scholarly attainment. If Methodism in England
could boast of its Wesley and Fletcher, American
Methodism could boast of its Asbury and Coke.
They act neither wisely nor justly who in speaking
of our fathers offer disparaging hints as to their want
of education, and their inefficiency on that account.
They were not all learned in the schools, perhaps, be
cause such facilities were not afforded them. Nor
did they need such learning. They were not as a
general thing brought into contact with the learned,
but with that stern and sturdy manhood which is
the result of an every-day battle with the realities
of life. Deep students they were in the things of
nature and the mysteries of God. Shut up to their
Bibles and communion with the Father of spirits,
they obtained an insight into the operations of
the human mind and a knowledge of spiritual
things which gave them a power over men, and a
power with God, such as the closeted theologian, sur
rounded by his tomes of speculative divinity, never

140 LIFE AND TIMES OF
could attain. Often has the remark been made of
Asbury that " he could read men," an acquisition, for
one whose mission was among the masses, vastly
superior to that of an ability to read Sanscrit, or any
or all of the languages living or dead. The following,
as an illustration of his remarkable penetration and
ability to look beneath the exterior, and judge of
human character, is related in Cartwright's Autobi
ography. The incident occurred at one of the West
ern Conferences : " The Conference had been pre
ceded by glorious revivals of religion, and many of
the wealthy, and some of the learned, had joined the
Methodist Episcopal Church, among whom were two
very learned young men ; one of them the son of a
very distinguished, learned teacher, the other the son
of a general — a distinguished, wealthy man. Both
of these young men professed to have a call to the
ministry, and came with a recommendation to the
Conference to be received on trial in the traveling
connection. They were both present, and Bishop As
bury had narrowly observed their conduct and conver
sation. At the proper time Brother Learner Black-
man, their presiding elder, presented their recommen
dations. He spoke of them in the highest terms, and
considered them a great acquisition to the ministry
and the Church. The Conference received them
with great unanimity. Bishop Asbury had sat with
his eyes nearly shut. After they were received he

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 141
seemed to wake up. " Yes, yes !" he exclaimed ;
" in all probability they both will disgrace you and
themselves before the year is out." And sure
enough, in six months one was riding the circuit with
a loaded pistol and a dirk, threatening to shoot and
stab the rowdies; the other was guilty of a misde
meanor, and in less than nine months they were both
out of the Church." Asbury was gifted with a won
derful power of discernment, and rarely failed in his
judgment of human character.
The Rev. Joshua Marsden thus describes him :
"Bishop Asbury was one of those very few men
whom nature forms in no ordinary mold. His mind
was stamped with a certain greatness and originality
which lifted him far above the merely learned man,
and fitted him to be great without science, and ven
erable without titles. His knowledge of men was1
profound and penetrating; hence he looked into
character as one looks into a clear stream in order to
discover the bottom ; yet he did not use this penetra
tion to compass any unworthy purposes ; the policy of
knowing men in order to make the most of them, was
a littleness to which he never stooped. He had only
one end in view, and that was worthy the dignity of
an angel ; from this nothing ever warped him aside.
He seemed conscious that God had designed him for
a great work, and nothing was wanting on his part to
fulfill the intention of Providence. The niche was

142 LIFE AND TIMES OF
cut in the great temple of usefulness, and he stretched
himself to fill it up in all its dimensions. To him
the widest career of labor and duty presented no ob
stacle. Like a moral Csesar, he thought nothing done
while anything remained to do. His penetrating
eye measured the ground over which he intended to
sow the seeds of eternal life, while his courageous and
active mind cheerfully embraced all the difficulties
engrafted upon his labors. He worshiped no god of
the name of Terminus, but stretched 'his line of
things ' far beyond the bounds of ordinary minds. An
annual journey of six thousand miles through a wil
derness would have sunk a feebler mind into despond
ency ; but nothing retarded his progress, or once
moved him from the line of duty. He pursued the
most difficult and laborious course as most men do
their pleasures ; and although for many years he was
enfeebled by sickness, and worn with age and infirm
ity, two hundred thousand persons saw with astonish
ment the hoary veteran 'still standing in his lot,'
or ' pressing his vast line ' of duty with undiminished
zeal. The Methodist connection in united- America
gloried in having such a man to preside at their
head, and few of the preachers ever spoke of his in
tegrity, diligence, and zeal, without imputing to
themselves some worth in having him as their bishop.
To all that bore the appearance of polished and pleas
ing life he was dead ; and both from habit and divine

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 143
grace had acquired such a true greatness of mind,
that he seemed to estimate nothing as excellent but
what tended to the glory of God. Flattery, of which
many great minds are highly susceptible, found him
fortified behind a double guard of humility, and op
position but served to awaken those energies of mind
which rise with difficulties and surmount the greatest.
He knew nothing about pleasing the flesh at the ex
pense of duty ; flesh and blood were enemies with
whom he never took counsel ; he took a high stand
ing upon the rugged Alps of labor, and to all that
lagged behind, he said, ' Come up hither.' He was
a rigid enemy to ease ; hence the pleasures of study
and the charms of recreation he alike sacrificed to
the more sublime work of saving souls. His faith
was a ' constant evidence of things not seen,' for he
lived as a man totally blind to all worldly attractions,
It is true that his self-denial savored of austerity, and
yet he could sympathize with another's weakness.
Some great and good men have had their sportive
moments, and without committing ' half a sin,' have
both smiled themselves, and been amused with
others. But, although I have been in his company
upon a variety of occasions, I never saw him indulge
in even innocent pleasantry ; his was the solemnity of
an apostle ; it was so interwoven with his conduct
that he could not put off the gravity of the bishop
either in the parlor or dining-room. What, on ac-

144 LIFE AND TIMES OF
count of levity, was once said of a popular preacher,
that he should either never go in, or never come out
of a pulpit, could never be applied to him. Wisdom
is not more distant from folly than his conduct was
from anything akin to trifling. He had stated hours
of retirement and prayer, upon which he let neither
business nor company break in. Prayer was the
seasoning of all his avocations ; he never suffered the
cloth to be removed from the table until he had
kneeled down to address the Almighty ; it was the
preface to all business, and often the link that con
nected opposite duties, and the conclusion of what
ever he took in hand. Divine wisdom seemed to
direct all his undertakings, for he sought its counsels
upon all occasions ; no part of his conduct was the
result of accident ; the plan by which he transacted
all his affairs was as regular as the movements of a
time-piece, hence he had no idle moments, no frag
ments of time broken and scattered up and down ; no
cause to say with Titus, ' my friends, I have lost a
day.' Pleading with God in secret, settling the
various affairs of the body over which he presided,
or speaking ' to men for their edification' in the pul
pit, occupied all time.
"As a preacher, although not an orator, he was dig
nified, eloquent, and impressive ; his sermons were the
result of good sense and sound wisdom, delivered
with great authority and gravity, and often attended

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 145
with Divine unction, which made them as refreshing
as the dew of heaven. One of the last subjects I
heard him preach upon was union and brotherly
love; it was the greatest I ever heard upon that
subject." One who was intimately acquainted with him said
to the writer : " Asbury was the only preacher I ever
heard who preached to his text. He never preached
from it, as many do who select a passage as the mere
theme of a discourse, the discussion of which would
be as applicable to an axiom of Coleridge as to the
text, but he would start a proposition, and in its
elaboration would come directly to the text. With
him, proposition, argument, illustration, incident,
everything was either immediately drawn from or
directly connected with the subject of discourse."
The Rev. Joseph Travis, of the Memphis Confer
ence, says of him : " Any one of discernment and judg
ment who has heard Bishop Asbury preach could not
but notice his chaste though plain style, his gram
matical correctness, without the redundancy of rhe
torical figures. In argumentation he abounded in
enthymemes without the circumlocution of logical
propositions. Indeed, he was a learned man, and
in the science of theology had but few equals if any
superiors." The 25th of December, 1784, at length arrived,
and Baltimore witnessed the gathering of sixty out of
10

146 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the whole number of preachers to the annual convo
cation. Dr. Coke was present at the Conference,
and gave great satisfaction by his urbanity, and the
impartial manner in which he presided.
The first thing brought before the body was the
letter of Wesley, which was subjected to a calm
and thorough deliberation. As this letter presents
Wesley's reason for acting as he did, and at the
same time is an unanswerable defense of the
subsequent action of the Conference, we give it
entire. " Beistol, September 10, 1784.
"To Dr. Coke, Mr. Francis Asbury, and our
Brethren in North America :
"1. By a very uncommon train of providences
many of the provinces of North America are totally
disjoined from the British empire, and erected into
independent states. The English government has no
authority over them, either civil or ecclesiastical, any
more than over the states of Holland. A civil
authority is exercised over them partly by the Con
gress, and partly by the state assemblies. But no one
either exercises or claims any ecclesiastical authority
at all. In this peculiar situation some thousands of
the inhabitants of these states desire my advice, and
in compliance with their desire I have drawn up a
little sketch.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 147
" 2. Lord King's Account of the Primitive Church
convinced me many years ago that bishops and pres
byters are the same order, and consequently have the
same right to ordain. For many years I have been
importuned from time to time to exercise this right
by ordaining part of our traveling preachers, but I
have still refused, not only for peace' sake, but be
cause I was determined as little as possible to violate
the established order of the national Church to
which I belong.
" 3. But the case is widely different between En
gland and North America. Here there are bishops
who, have a legal jurisdiction. In America there are
none, and but few parish ministers, so that for some
hundred miles together there is none either to bap
tize or to administer the Lord's Supper. Here,. there
fore, my scruples are at an end, and I conceive my
self at full liberty, as I violate no order and invade
no man's right by appointing and sending laborers
into the harvest.
" 4. I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr.
Francis Asbury to be joint Superintendents over our
brethren in North America, as also Richard Whatcoat
and Thomas Vasey to act as elders among them by
administering baptism and the Lord's supper.
" 5. If any one will point out a more rational and
Scriptural way of feeding and guiding those poor
sheep in the wilderness, I will gladly embrace it.

148 LIFE AND TIMES OF
At present I cannot see any better method than that
I have taken.
"6. It has, indeed, been proposed to desire the
English bishops to ordain part of our preachers for
America. But to this I object, (1.) I desired the
Bishop of London to ordain one only, but could not
prevail. (2.) If they consented, we know the slow
ness of their proceedings ; but the matter admits of
no delay. (3.) If they would ordain them now they
would likewise expect to govern them, and how
grievously would this entangle us. (4.) As our
American brethren are now totally disentangled
both from the state and the English hierarchy, we
dare not entangle them again either with the one or
the other. They are now at full liberty simply to
follow the Scriptures and the primitive Church. And
we judge it best they should stand fast in that liberty
wherewith God has so strangely made them free.
"John Wesley."
Never before had the preachers met on so import
ant and solemn an occasion. Fifteen years had
passed away since Wesley's first missionaries, Board-
man and Pilmoor, arrived in America. Fourteen
Conferences had been held, and again the toiling
itinerants had assembled from their, different and
distant fields of labor and conquest to congratulate
each other on the success which had attended theii

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 149
ministrations. After the necessary action had been
taken by which they constituted themselves and fel
low-members a distinct and separate Church, the
question came up in regard to the title by which
they should be designated. At this crisis John
Dickins, a man of varied learning, sound sense, and
sterling piety, than whom none of the entire Confer
ence commanded greater respect, rose and proposed
The Methodist Episcopal Church, which was adopted
without a dissenting voice.
The first act of the Conference, therefore, was to
adopt a declaration that the Methodist societies are
free and independent, and organize them into a body
ever after to be known as The Methodist Episco
pal Church in the United States. The next act was
to declare the office of bishop elective, after which
a unanimous vote was cast in favor of Dr. Thomas
Coke and Francis Asbury as bishops of this Church.
Asbury, being up to his election unordained, was
first ordained a deacon and then an elder. • After
this ceremony of consecration, Dr. Coke, assisted by
several elders, set him apart by the imposition of
hands as Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The following is the certificate of his ordination :
" Know all men by these presents, That I, Thomas
Coke, Doctor of Civil Law, late of Jesus Col
lege, in the University of Oxford, Presbyter of the
Church of England and Superintendent of the Meth-

150 LIFE AND TIMES OF
odist Episcopal Church in America, under the protec
tion of Almighty God, and with a single eye to his
glory, by the imposition of my hands and prayer,
(being assisted by two ordained elders,) did, on the
twenty-fifth day of this month (December) set apart
Francis Asbury for the office of a deacon in the
aforesaid Methodist Episcopal Church. And also on
the twenty-sixth day of the said month did, by the
imposition of my hands and prayer, (being assisted
by the said elders,) set apart the said Francis Asbury
for the office of elder in the said Methodist Episcopal
Church. And on this twenty-seventh day of the said
month, being the day of the date hereof, have, by
the imposition of my hands and prayer, (being as
sisted by the said elders,) set apart Francis Asbury
for the office of Superintendent in the said Methodist
Episcopal Church, a man whom I judge to be well
qualified for the great work. And I do hereby
recommend him to all whom it may concern as a fit
person to preside over the flock of Christ.
"In testimony hereof, I have hereunto set my hand
and seal this twenty-seventh day of December, in the
year of our Lord 1784. Thomas Coke."
A sermon was preached by Dr. Coke on the occa
sion from Rev. iii, 7-11. The sermon was vindica
tory of the action of the Conference in its assumption
of an episcopal form of government, and entered

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 151
somewhat elaborately into the argument of succes
sion, concluding with the qualifications necessary for
a Christian bishop.
The office of deacon and elder being made elective
as well as that of bishop, the following twelve were
elected and ordained elders: Freeborn Garrettson,
William Gill, Le Roy Cole, John Haggerty, James O.
Cromwell, John Tunnel, Nelson ~Reed, Jeremiah Lam
bert, Reuben Ellis, James O'Kelly, Richard Ivey,
Beverly Allen, and Henry Willis. One of these was
ordained for the Island of Antigua and two for Nova
Scotia. John Dickins, Caleb Boyer, and Ignatius
Pigman were elected and ordained deacons.
The ordination of Asbury to the office of bishop,
though it conferred upon him a new title, did not
increase his power or his usefulness. His determina
tion to submit to the will of a majority, and his un
willingness to exercise any power not delegated to
him by his brother preachers, deprived him of the
power he exercised under the appointment of Wes
ley as General Superintendent or assistant. Acting
as he did in Wesley's stead, his power was almost, if
not quite, absolute in the Conference, and the right
was conceded to him at any time to stop discussion
on any subject, and decide the question when in his
judgment enough had been said on both sides. From.
this decision there was no appeal. His acts in decid
ing questions, as well as in stationing the preachers,

152 LIFE AND TIMES OF
were peremptory and final. At this Conference,
however, under the question, " What is the duty of a
bishop ?" the following answer is given : " To preside
as moderator in our Conferences, fix the appointments
of the preachers for the several circuits, and in the
interval of the Conference to change, receive, or sus
pend preachers as necessity may require; to travel
through as many circuits as he can, and to direct in
the spiritual business of the societies, as also to
ordain bishops, elders, and deacons." In 1789 was
added: "The bishop has obtained liberty by the suf
frages of the Conference to ordain local preachers to
the office of deacons, provided they obtain a testi
monial from the society to which they belong, and
from the stewards of the circuit, signed by three
traveling preachers, three deacons, and three elders,
(one of them being presiding elder,) the names of
those nominated being read in the Conference pre
vious to their ordination."
It was doubtless an abuse of the power exercised
by Rankin as superintendent which brought him in
collision with the preachers, and induced him at one
time to complain of Asbury to Wesley ; and it was
doubtless the experience of Asbury in regard to the
operation of this part of the machinery of Church
government, that prompted him to take the course he
did in refusing the episcopate without the unanimous
concurrence of his brother preachers, and also, no

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 153
doubt, to him is to be ascribed the moderate episco
pacy which has ever since characterized the Church.
Our bishops now rarely, if ever, speak in Conference
on any subject not immediately connected with
their office, and never advance an opinion unless
solicited by the action of the Conference, much less
presume to decide questions of debate. We have
even known them voted down when in the exercise
of the only right they have in deciding questions of
order. Their decisions of law are subject to quadren
nial revision, and may be wholly set aside by the
General Conference. They have not even the right
which is allowed to every president and moderator
of any and every ecclesiastical assembly with which
we are acquainted, to vote on any question, no matter
how vital to Methodism. They have never in any
instance transcended their powers, but, as those who
have been placed by the Holy Spirit in the position
of overseers, have always commended themselves by
their holy lives, and their zeal and self-sacrificing
devotion to all the interests of the Church.
We find in the Minutes of this memorable
Conference two short obituaries under the question
" Who have died this year ?" This was the first time
this question appeared in the Minutes. Death had
not before invaded the ranks of the regular itiner
ancy, and hence no memorials of his doings were to
be found on the records of the previous Conferences.

154 LIFE AND TIMES OF
We transcribe these memoirs because of their remark
able brevity and point, and as admirable specimens
of biography. The first answer to the question,
"Who have died this year ?" reads : " Caleb B. Ped
icord— a man' of sorrows, and, like his Master, ac
quainted with grief; but a man dead to the world,
and much devoted to God."
A writer, in describing Pedicord, says: "There
was one for whom Asbury looked in vain, one who
had been his companion in many a long and dreary .
journey, one whose eloquent voice had often made
the hearts of listening thousands
' Thrill as if an angel spoke,
Or Ariel's finger touch'd the string.'
Pedicord, the gentle spirited, the generous minded,'
the noble souled, the silver-tongued Pedicord, had
fallen, had fallen in his youth, fallen in his opening
glory and abundant promise. Asbury looked for him
and he was not. The grave had closed over his body,
and his spirit had passed to the land where only
spirits so refined, so sensitive, so ethereal as his find
congenial sympathy and rest."
The second answer is as follows : " George Mair —
a man of affliction, but of great patience and resigna
tion, and of excellent understanding."
These brief, comprehensive memoirs are more ex
pressive than lengthened eulogy. There is something
so remarkable in these obituaries that the reader will

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 155
pardon us if we add a few more, as they are found in
succeeding Minutes of the Conferences.
"Jeremiah Lambert — an elder, six years in the
work; a man of sound judgment, clear understanding,
good gifts, genuine piety, and very useful, humble,
and holy; diligent in life and resigned in death;
much esteemed in the connection, and justly la
mented. We do not sorrow as men without hope,
but expect shortly to join him and all those who rest
from their labors."
" James Thomas — a pious young man of good gifts,
useful and acceptable, blameless in his life, and much
resigned in his death."
" Henry Bingham — a native of Virginia, four years
a laborer in the vineyard, serious, faithful, zealous,
humble and teachable, and during part of the last
year more than commonly successful ; fervent in ex
hortation during his sickness, and resigned in death."
"William Gill — a native of .Delaware, an elder in
the Church, and a laborer in it for about twelve
years; blameless in life, of quick and solid parts,
sound in the faith, clear in his judgment, meek in
his spirit, resigned and solemnly happy in his death."
"John Cooper — fifteen years in the work; quiet,
inoffensive, and blameless; a son of affliction, subject
to dejection, sorrow, and sufferings, often in want,
but too modest to complain till observed and relieved
by his friends. He died in peace."

156 LIFE AND TIMES OF
James White — a native of Maryland, about eight
years in the work; a simple-hearted man and a
lively preacher; -afflicted, yet active and laborious;
soft and kind in his affections, patient in suffering,
well received and much esteemed, successful in the
work of God, resigned in his death."
"Francis Spry — a pious man, skillful and lively in
his preaching, sound in judgment, holy in his life,
placid in his mind, of unshaken confidence and
patience in his death ; four years a laborer in the
vineyard." " John Tunnell, who died of a consumption at the
Sweet Springs in July. He was about thirteen
years in the work of the ministry, a man of solid
piety, great simplicity, and godly sincerity; well
known, and much esteemed both by ministers and
people. He had traveled extensively through the
states, and declined in sweet peace."
After the session of Conference on Monday, As
bury preached his first sermon since his ordination.
It was very evident that the imposition of hands
communicated no new grace or gift, for according to
his own experience he " was unsettled in mind and
low in his own testimony." The next day he
traveled on horseback fifty miles through frost and
snow to Fairfax, Virginia. The day following he
rode forty miles further, and thus continued until the
Sabbath, when he halted for labor not for rest.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 157
We now discover a change in the entries made in
Asbury's Journal. Previously he gave a simple
statement of his preaching, associated with the exer
cises of his mind, and the incidents connected with
his traveling. Now, in addition to these, he records
his acts in administering the ordinances. Hence, at
his Sabbath appointment he writes : " We read
prayers, preached, ordained Brother Willis, deacon,
and baptized some children." As a part of his ex
perience, he adds : " I am sometimes afraid of being
led to think something more of myself in my new
station than formerly." From Virginia he went to
North Carolina. In, his journey he records the usual
incidents of long fatiguing rides over rough roads,
crossing rivers and rugged mountains, sleeping in
comfortless quarters, frequently three in a bed, and
hard fare. He remarks in one place where he ad
ministered the ordinances, that " nothing could have
better suited the old Church folks than the late step
the Conference had taken in regard to ordination ; to
the catholic Presbyterians it also gave satisfaction ;
but the Baptists were not at all pleased with the
movement, and in some instances they presented
difficulties in the way of infant baptism, unsettling the
minds of some." From hence he went to South
Carolina, preaching at every place on the route
where congregations could be collected. In refer
ence to Charleston he says: "The Calvinists are the

158 LIFE AND TIMES OF
only people here who appear to have any sense of re
ligion, and they are much alarmed. Yesterday (Sun
day) we had small congregations in the morning and
at noon, but at night we were crowded. In the
evening, while Brother Lee preached, the people were
a little moved." After remaining in Charleston dur
ing another week, preaching frequently through
•opposition from the ministers of the place, who mis
represented the doctrines of Methodism to the people,
he departed on his journey. Willis, who had been
ordained an elder, and accompanied Asbury and Lee
to Charleston, was left to labor in the place, and, if
possible, raise up a Methodist society.
During this year Asbury attended three Confer
ences, at which all the important business of a local
nature was transacted. Five new circuits were add
ed : Santee and Pedee in North Carolina, Newark
in New Jersey, and Kentucky in the State of Ken
tucky. The stations in Antigua (in the West Indies)
and Nova Scotia were placed on the Minutes.
Great revivals prevailed in Maryland and other parts
of the country, and upward of five hundred had been
converted and joined the Church on Talbot Circuit
alone. The membership rose to eighteen thousand,
and the number of traveling preachers to one hun
dred and four, being an increase, in round numbers,
of three thousand in the former, and of twenty-one in
the latter.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 159
On May 12 he was at Yorktown. The inhabit
ants, he says, "are dissolute and careless. I preached
to a few serious women at one o'clock, and at the de
sire of the ladies at four. I lodged in the poorhouse."
After visiting other places in Virginia and Maryland,
he reached Alexandria on the 25th, and on the follow
ing day, in company with Dr. Coke, dined, by invita
tion, with Gen. Washington, who treated them with
great courtesy and respect, and expressed his concur
rence in their views against slavery. For Washington,
Asbury ever had the greatest regard and admiration,
as will be seen in the subsequent pages of this book.
While on a visit to the Bath Springs, Virginia, he
preached in the theater, and lodged under the same
roof with the play-actors. Some who would not hear
him preach at their respective homes, made in this
new and strange place a part of his audience. His
spirit was much grieved while beholding the vanity
displayed by the fashionable frequenters of this
watering-place. From Bath he went to Baltimore,
and from thence to Philadelphia, where he had a
large congregation. From Philadelphia he rode to
New York, and preached on three successive days.
We note his labors in this city for one Sabbath.
He says : " Notwithstanding I was very unwell I
preached three times, read prayers twice, and
held a love-feast." Such labors would have been
abundant for a well man, but Asbury often preached

100 LIFE AND TIMES OF
while laboring under various forms of disease. Such
were the necessities of the case that " his zeal con
sumed him." The society in New York had in
creased in numbers and in grace since his last
visit, and the congregations were also much larger.
Again was he refreshed in spirit, and comforted by
the liberality ofthe New York Methodists in supply
ing his temporal wants. The next Sabbath we find
him at a quarterly meeting on Morris river. In this
neighborhood he purchased what he called his first
wagon, for which he gave forty pounds, but antici
pated trouble in traveling and getting horses.
While the writer was stationed in Marietta in
1838, he visited a friend on Duck Creek, in Wash
ington County, who took him into his yard and ex
hibited some of the remains of Asbury's "last
wagon." Though he is no worshiper of relics, such
was his respect and reverence for the pioneer bishop
of Methodism, that he asked for and obtained a por
tion of this wagon from which he had a cane manu
factured. This carriage had borne the bishop around
the continent again and again, but here it reached
the end of its journey, and " its weary wheels at last
stood still." What a biography could be written
of that wagon! How precious has been its freight!
what adventures, incidents, and accidents could it
relate ! Enough to fill a volume.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 161

IS
CHAPTER VHI.
John Dickins —Description of, by Asbury — Subscription for "Kings-
wood High School in America" — Claims of, presented by Asbury—
Dr. Coke's Sympathy with the Enterprise — Suggests the Propriety of
founding a College — Adopted by the Conference — Plan drawn up ac
cordingly — Eules and Regulations — Abingdon selected as the Site —
Beauty of Situation — Laying the Corner-Stone of CokeBbury College
— Asbury's Sermon on the Occasion — Dedication — An ominous Text
— First Faculty of the College— Rules and Regulations — Asburj; and
College Finances — • Its Management a source of great Anxiety — Its His
tory—Destruction by Fire — The Subject of Rebuilding agitated by.
¦ Dr. Coke — A Building suited to the Purpose purchased in Baltimore
— College reopened — Faculty — Regulations and Course of Study —
Destroyed by Fire — School for Charity Boys in Georgia —Bethel
Academy — Seminary in New York — Progress of Education in the
Church — RemarkB of Hon. Edward Everett.
The name of John Dickins is early associated with
education in the Methodist Episcopal Church. While
Asbury was traveling in North Carolina in the spring
of 1780, Dickins was his companion. He occasion
ally preached, but labored under a bronchial affec
tion to such an extent that he almost entirely lost his
voice. In describing him Asbury says : " He is a
man of great piety, but he reasons too much. He
has great skill in learning, drinks in Greek and Latin
swiftly, yet prays much and walks close with God.
He is a gloomy countryman of mine, and Arery diffi
dent of himself." At this time Dickins drew up a
subscription for what Asbury called " a Kingswood
11

162 LIFE AND TIMES OF
School in America," and which he " hoped would be
for the glory of God and the good of thousands."
Thus the first movement toward education in the
Methodist Episcopal Church took its origin in the
minds of Asbury and Dickins upward of seventy
years ago. The mind of Asbury became wholly ab
sorbed in the enterprise, and in his intercourse with
the people and preachers in different parts of the
country he urged its importance and presented its
claims. As soon as he met Dr. Coke, after his arri
val in this country, he made him acquainted with his
plans. With the doctor, of course, the views and
purposes of Asbury found sympathy. The design
of Asbury was, however, simply the founding of a
school similar to that of Kingswood, the idea of an
institution having collegiate powers never having
entered his mind.
When the subject was brought before the Confer
ence, in 1785, Dr. Coke advocated the propriety of
founding a college, and succeeded in securing the
adoption of a resolution favoring that view, and pro
viding the incipient measures for the establishment
of such an institution.
After due consultation and deliberation the site
for the college was selected in the town of Abing
don, about twenty-five miles distant from the city of
Baltimore. The spot commanded a magnificent
view, extending for twenty and even fifty miles:

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 163
The valley of the Susquehanna spread out in
beauty on either side of the river, forming a most
charming landscape. In the distance was to be seen
the broad and beautiful bay of the Chesapeake,
stretching away as far as the eye could reach. The
eminence upon which it was proposed to erect the
college buildings seemed to have been formed by
the God of nature as a place for the erection of a
temple of science.
Through the labors of Coke and Asbury nearly
five thousand dollars had been raised by donations
and subscriptions for the purpose of erecting the
buildings ; and at length the workmen laid out the
grounds, and commenced laying the foundation of
an edifice one hundred and eight feet in length and
forty in breadth. On Sabbath, the fifth day of June,
1785, a large concourse of people were assembled on
the eminence to witness the ceremonies connected
with the laying of the corner-stone of Cokesbury
College, for such was the name given it by the Con
ference in honor of its founders. Asbury had been
selected as the speaker for the occasion. Attired in
his long silk gown, and with his flowing bands, the
pioneer bishop of America took his position on the
walls of the college and announced for his text the
following: "The sayings which we have heard and
known, and our fathers have told us. We will
not hide them from their children, showing to the

164 LIFE AND TIMES OF
generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his
strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
For he established a testimony in Jacob, and ap
pointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our
fathers, that they should make them known to their
children : that the generation to come might know
them, even the children which should be born : who
should arise and declare them to their children : that
they might set their hope in God, and not forget the
works of God, but keep his commandments." The
Spirit of the Lord was with him as with Elijah at the
school of the prophets at Bethel. As he dwelt
upon the importance of a thorough religious educa
tion, and looked forward to the effects which would
result to the generations to come from the streams
which should spring from this opening fountain of
sanctified learning, his soul enlarged and swelled
with rapturous emotion.
The work thus auspiciously begun was carried for
ward to a successful completion, and those who wit
nessed the laying of the corner-stone also witnessed
the raising of the capstone to its place with the
shouts of triumphant success. On the 8th, 9th, and
10th days of December, 1787, the college was opened
by religious exercises, Bishop Asbury preaching each
day in the college building. The dedication sermon
proper was preached on Sabbath from those singular,
and what afterward proved to be ominous words,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 165
and it would seem premonitory of the fate of the col
lege : " 0 man of God, there is death in the pot."
The institution began with twenty-five students. The
Rev. Mr. Heath was called to the presidency of the
college, and his assistants in the faculty were Jacob
Hall, A. M., Patrick M'Closkey, and Charles Tite.
A plan of education was adopted embracing not
only a course of study, but rules and regulations for
the internal arrangement which, though they might
be regarded as somewhat singular at the present day,
are worthy of consideration, and some of which might
be wisely adopted by our colleges. The design of
the institution was to educate the sons of the elders
and preachers of the Methodist Church, as well as
poor orphans, and the sons of its patrons and other
friends, the latter of whom were expected to pay a
"moderate sum for tuition and board," while the
former were to be educated, boarded, and clothed
gratuitously. It was also designed for the benefit of
young men who were called to preach, in furnishing
them facilities for prosecuting a course of study pre
paratory to their entering upon the work of the min
istry. From the Life of Valentine Cook, written by
Dr. Stevenson, and recently published, it appears that
this early pioneer of the West and South, whose fer
vid eloquence startled many a sinner in his career
of wickedness, and whose persuasive power brought
many a wanderer to the fold, was instructed here.

166 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Bishop Asbury was ex officio president of the college,
and we may claim for him the honor of being the first
president of a Methodist college in America, as well
as the pioneer bishop of the Church. In regard to
the Church, it may be said no man ever lived who
projected himself further into the future of all that
pertains to her genius,' government, and institutions
than did Asbury.
But to return to the college. The course of study
embraced the various English branches, the Latin
and Greek languages, together with Hebrew, Ger
man, and French, a curriculum whose scope is not
excelled by any of our institutions of the present day.
Founded as it was in religion, and designed to be
the ¦ alma mater of a correct faith as well as sound
morals, the most careful provision was made for
securing these ends. Hence we find the following
in the published plan :
" Our first object shall be to answer the design of
Christian education, by forming the minds of the
youth, through divine aid, to wisdom and holiness,
by instilling into their tender minds the principles
of true religion, speculative, experimental, and prac
tical, and training them in the ancient way, that they
may be rational, Scriptural Christians. For this pur
pose we shall expect and enjoin it, not only on the
president and tutors, but also upon our elders, dea
cons, and preachers, to embrace every opportunity

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 167
of instructing the students in the great branches of
the Christian religion.
" And this is one principal reason why we do not
admit students indiscriminately into our college, for
we are persuaded that the promiscuous admission of
all sorts of youth into a seminary of learning is preg
nant with many bad consequences. Nor are the
students likely (suppose they possessed it) to retain
much religion in a college where all that offer are
admitted, however corrupted already in principle as
well as in practice? And what wonder, when (as
too frequently it happens) the parents themselves
have no more religion than their offspring."
Who has not been struck with the wisdom of the
founders of this college in their regulations in regard
to the study of the classics, a wisdom which has since
been acted upon in furnishing expurgated editions of
the classics for our colleges. The whole plan shows
conclusively that they were far in advance of the
age in which they lived. In regard to this subject
the plan says :
" In teaching the languages care shall be taken to
read those authors, and those only, who join together
the purity, the strength, and the elegance'of their sev
eral tongues. And the utmost caution shall be used
that nothing immodest be found in any of our books.
" But this is not all. We shall take care that our
books be not only inoffensive but useful ; that they

168 LIFE AND TIMES OF
contain as much strong sense and as much genuine
morality as possible. As far, therefore, as is consist
ent with the foregoing observations, a choice and
universal library shall be provided for the use of the
students." For the recreation of the students they say: "The
employments which we have chosen are such as are
of the greatest pubhc utility, agriculture and archi
tecture — studies more especially necessary for a new
settled country ; and of consequence the instructing
of our youth in all the practical branches of those
important arts will be an effectual method of render
ing them more useful to their country. Agreeably
to this idea, the greatest statesman that perhaps ever
shone in the annals of history, Peter, the Russian
emperor, who was deservedly styled the Great, dis
dained not to stoop to the employment of a ship car
penter. Nor was it rare, during the purest times of
the Roman republic, to see the conquerors of nations
and deliverers of their country return with all sim
plicity and cheerfulness to the exercise of the plow.
In conformity to this sentiment, one of the completest
poetic pieces of antiquity (the Georgics of Virgil) is
written on the subject of husbandry."
The rules for the government of the students in
regard to time of rising, hours of study, recreation,
and religious services, were of the most wholesome,
disciplinary character.

FEANCIS !asbuey. 169
The financial business of the college, embracing the
raising of funds and their disbursement, as well as
the business of the Book Concern, and the raising of
funds for the support of western missionaries, all fell
upon Asbury. His self-sacrificing devotion to the
interests of the Church was of the purest and intensest
character. His salary was only sixty-four dollars a
year and traveling expenses, about as much as one of
our city preachers at the present day would get for
delivering a lecture in an adjoining town. Often have
the clothes of Asbury been worn threadbare and
become shabby in appearance, and he obliged to de
prive himself of some of the comforts of life ; but
uncomplainingly, unless in behalf of his poor preach
ers, he went on his way, living not for himself, but
consecrating all to God and the Church.
The college was to Asbury a source of constant
anxiety, and sometimes gave him trouble. In 1788
the following was entered in his Journal : " I have
received heavy tidings from the college; both our
teachers have left, one for incompetency, and the other
to pursue riches and honor. Had they cost us noth
ing, the mistake we made in employing them might
be the less regretted."
Cokesbury College had been in existence a period
of ten years, and had gained the sympathy and confi
dence of the Church in all parts of the country. It
was watched over by Asbury with the care and solie-

170 LIFE AND TIMES OF
itude with which a father would watch over an only
child. But alas ! like many a bright and beautiful ob
ject of hope and promise, it was doomed to an early
grave. The sad intelligence came to Asbury's ears one
morning that the beloved Cokesbury was no more. A
heap of smoldering ruins was all that marked the
lovely site where it reared its walls. To none were
the tidings of its sad fate more melancholy than to him
who was in the most emphatic sense its founder, and
the labors of whose head and hands and heart were
constantly devoted to its support. The following
entry is made in his Journal: "Charleston, South Car
olina, Tuesday, January the 5th, 1796. Continued
our business in Conference. We have great peace
and love, see eye to eye and heart to heart. We have
now a second and confirmed account that Cokesbury
College is consumed to ashes, a sacrifice of £10,000
in about ten years. If any man should give me
£10,000 per year to do and suffer again what I
have done for that house, I would not do it. The
Lord called not Mr. Whitefield nor the Methodists to
build colleges. I wished only for schools — Dr. Coke
wanted a college. I feel distressed at the loss! of the
library." Though Asbury was entirely discouraged,
, looking upon this calamity as an indication of Provi
dence, that if the Methodists were to engage in the
, work of collegiate education the present was not the
time for embarking in that enterprise, it was not so

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 171
with Dr. Coke. He immediately agitated the subject
of rebuilding, and obtained from the citizens of Ab
ingdon a liberal subscription for that purpose. A
number of friends in Baltimore, after consulting to
gether, also gave a subscription amounting to between
four and five thousand dollars. It was subsequently
ascertained that a building every way suited to the
purpose could be obtained in Baltimore for the sum
of twenty-two thousand dollars, and after due delibe
ration the purchase was made.
As there was a considerable lot of ground in con
nection with the building, it was determined to erect
a church thereon, which was accordingly done. In
due course of time the college was opened under the
most favorable auspices. The friends of education
in the Methodist Church were greatly encouraged
by a prospect of success even more promising than
that connected, with the commencement of the
original Cokesbury.
It was not long, however, that Asbury College was
permitted to stand. The fate that attended Cokes
bury seemed to hang over it, and like that institution
it was consumed by fire. Though these successive
cross dispensations suspended for a while the efforts
of the Church in the cause of education, it was only a
suspension. In Asbury's Journal for 1789 we find the
following entry in regard to a Methodist school in

172 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Georgia: " The school for the charity boys in Georgia
greatly occupies my mind. Our annual expenditures
will amount to one thousand dollars, and the aid
we get is but trifling; the poverty of the people,
and the general scarcity of money, is the great
source of our difficulties ; the support of our preach
ers who have families absorbs our collections, so
that neither do our elders nor the charity school
get much. We have the poor, but they have no
money, and the wicked rich we do not choose
to ask." The Conference appointed a committee
to procure five hundred acres of land for the
establishment of this school.
In 1790, during Asbury's visit to the West, he
originated the plan of an academy, which was de
nominated The Bethel Academy. A gentleman by
the name of Lewis made a donation of one hundred
acres of land. A spacious building was erected,
eighty by forty feet, and three stories high. The
design was to accommodate the students in the house
with boarding, etc. The first and second stories were
principally finished, and a spacious hall in the center.
The building of this house rendered the pecuniary
means of the preachers very uncertain, for they
were continually employed in begging for Bethel.
The people were very liberal, but they could not do
more than they did. The country was new, and
the unsettled state of the people, in consequence

FEANCIS ASBUEY. ¦ 173
of the Indian wars and depredations, kept it in a
continual state of agitation. The Legislature at
an early period made a donation of six thousand
acres of land to Bethel Academy. The land was
located in Christian county, south of Green River;
it remained a long time unproductive, and proved
rather a bill of expense than otherwise.
In the Methodist Magazine for 1819 we find an in
teresting description of a seminary of learning in
New York, under the patronage, of the New York ,
Conference. This institution was divided into male
and female departments, and the course of study em
braced not only the English branches,- but the ancient
classics. Mr. N. Morris was president, and Miss
Caroline Matilda Thayer preceptress of the female
department. The Conference visitor reported the in
stitution as in a high state of prosperity. We cannot
trace the history of this seminary, as we have not the
necessary items of information. Since that time
seminaries and colleges have sprung up under Meth
odist patronage in all parts of the land, from Maine
to Texas, on the shores of the Pacific, among the In
dians, and also in South America and Africa, and, in
the language of Edward Everett, there is no Church
in the country so successfully engaged in the cause of
education as the Methodist Church, nor one that dur
ing the last twenty-five years has done more for the
advancement of the cause.

174 *LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER IX.
Dismal Swamp — Perilous Journey — Meets Dr. Coke at Charleston-
Conference — PreacMng — Asbury's Travels— Description of Dr. Coke's
Sermon at New York — Hempstead Harbor— Preaches in a Paper-Mill
— Returns to New York — Trouble in the Church about Congregational
Singing — Journey up the Hudson — Description of West Point — New
burgh — Bath — Delivers^ a Course of Lectures on the Prophecies--,
Dejection of Mind — First Ordination in the Mississippi Valley — As
bury in Gown and Bands — Rearranges the Discipline — When First
Edition was printed — New Edition — Questions and Answers omitted—
Revised Edition — Fifth Edition — New Sections — Notes on the Disci
pline — General Conference at Charleston, South Carolina, 1788 —
Georgia — Crossing the Mountains — Hard Fare — A stubborn Horse— '
An Incident — Character of Early Settters — Letter to a Quaker in Del
aware — Tour to the Western Wilderness — Horses stolen by Indians —
Perils ofthe Journey — Conference in Lexington — Return through the
Wilderness — Conference at Petcrsburgh — Bishop's Council — Threat
ening Letter from O'Kelly — Asbury's Reply— Asbury vindicates
himself — Jesse Lee in New England — His Character — First Sermon
in Boston — Letter to Asbury — Letter from Poythress.
On his round in 1787 Asbury was not a little
startled and his courage put to the test by being in
formed by Poythress that the great Dismal Swamp,
which lay directly in his path, could not be crossed
but with great danger. To travel round it would re
quire a ride of sixty miles. For this he had not
time, and he resolved to trust in God and push
through, and with a courage which never failed him
he entered the dismal waters. He was everywhere
surrounded with a wide sweep of waters and deep

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 175
morasses. "O," exclaimed the pioneer bishop, "what
a world of swamps, and rivers, and islands !" After
he had passed the swamp he writes : " Three miles on
the water and three more on roads under water made
our jaunt unpleasant."
Meeting Dr. Coke at Charleston, his spirit was re
freshed. On the 25th of March the Conference for the
South commenced its session. On Sabbath morning
he preached from the text, " I had rather be a door
keeper in the house of God than to dwell in the
tents of wickedness." In the evening he preached
from the passage, " For I will rise up against them,
saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon
the name and remnant, and son and nephew, saith
the Lord." During the business of Conference all
matters pertaining to the temporal and spiritual in
terests of the Church were fully and freely discussed.
On Wednesday Dr. Coke preached a sermon on the
qualifications and duties of deacons. On the suc
ceeding day the appointments were announced and
the Conference closed.
We find the tireless Asbury frequently riding
thirty and forty and sometimes fifty miles a day,
and preaching once or- twice, often swimming
the rivers, and exposed to all kinds of hardships.
From Saturday to Saturday he and Dr. Coke rode
three hundred miles and preached alternately every
day. On his return from the South, taking Balti-

176 LIFE AND TIMES OF
more and Philadelphia in his route as usual, he
arrived at New York. Of Dr. Coke Asbury says :
"He preached on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and
Monday with great energy and acceptance." On
Tuesday he himself preached from the text, "For
Zion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jeru
salem's sake I will not rest until her righteousness go
forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a
lamp that burnetii." From New York he crossed
over to Long Island, and rode twenty miles to Hemp
stead Harbor, where he preached in the evening.
The next day he preached in the paper-mill from the
text, " If any man will do his will, he shall know the
doctrine whether it be of God." On Monday he re
turned to New York, and preached in the evening
from, " They shall come from the East, and from the
West, and from the North, and from the South, and
sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob," etc.
His division was as follows : " 1. A Scriptural view
of the kingdom of heaven. 2. The subjects or
citizens thereof. 3. Sit down with Abraham, fa
mous for faith; Isaac, for justice, truth, medita
tion, and walking with God; and Jacob, mighty
in prayer."
This visit was during a time of trouble in the
Church, and occasioned a great trial to Asbury, who
spent half the night in prayer for patience and resig
nation. Even at that early day, as we find from

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 177
Asbury's Journal, the Methodists had trouble about
congregational singing. This has been a fruit
ful theme of difficulty and often of discord in the
Church from the beginning, and is likely to remain
so until, as with the Germans, singing becomes a
part of our education, and all our members learn
and love to sing. Until this is the case, all efforts to
bring about congregational singing will prove to a
great extent abortive. Tune hymn-books may be
multiplied like the leaves of the summer forest, but
they will fall as a dead letter without the knowledge
and the love of song.
From New York he went up the Hudson, preach
ing at different points on his route. Saturday, the
16th of June, 1787, he crossed the mountains,
and, to use his own language, "was gratified with
the sight of a remarkable recess for the Americans
during the last war. The names of Andre and
Arnold, with which misfortune and treachery are so
unhappily and intimately blended, will give celeb
rity to West Point had it been less deserving of
notice than its wonderful appearance really makes it.
It is commanded by mountains rising behind, and
appears to be impregnable. On the east are block
houses, and on the west are stores, barracks, and
fortifications." From West Point he crossed what
he calls a high mountain, (Storm King,) and went to
Newburgh. Four weeks from this time we find him,
12

178 LIFE AND TIMES OF
after traveling through New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
and Virginia, at his favorite retreat, Bath. He
visited the springs at this place for the purpose of
availing himself of the medicinal virtue of the waters.
During his stay there he delivered a course of lect
ures on the prophecies.
Asbury was subject at times to great dejection of
mind, and his spirit would often sink within him.
He rarely had much elevation of feeling, and though
he frequently preached with ease and comfort to
himself, and had occasionally considerable liberty,
yet his seasons of gloom, especially after preaching,
were sometimes terrific. On one occasion, at Bath,
he became completely discouraged at the indiffer
ence of the people, and entered the following in his
Journal : " I had few to hear me, so I gave them up.
I will return to my own studies. If the people are
determined to go to hell, I am clear of their blood."
Notwithstanding all this, there were occasions when
he enjoyed remarkable manifestations. Once, while
preaching at Burton's, in Virginia, from the text,
" Behold what manner of love the Father hath be
stowed upon us that we should be called the sons of
God," he says : " It seems as if I was let into heaven
while enlarging upon this passage."
At the annual Conference held in Uniontown,
Pennsylvania, in 1788, the first ordination took place
in the great valley of the Mississippi. The solemn

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 179
and impressive ceremonies connected with the rite
of ordination had never been witnessed before in
that vast region extending from the Alleghanies to
the Father of Waters. One of the pioneer preachers,
then but a mere youth, thus describes the scene :
"Mr. Asbury officiated, not in the costume of the
lawn-robed prelate, but as the plain presbyter in
gown and band, assisted by Richard Whatcoat, elder,
in the same clerical habit. The person ordained was
Michael Leard, of whom it was said that he could re
peat nearly the whole of the New Testament from
memory, and also large portions of the Old. The
scenes of that day looked well in the eyes of the
Church people, for not only did the preachers appear
in sacerdotal robes, but the morning service was read
as abridged by Mr. Wesley. The priestly robes and
prayer-book were, however, soon laid aside at the
same time, for I never saw the one nor heard the
other since." The presumption is, as we have no
data from which to form an opinion, that the period
of robes and reading prayers extended from the time
of Asbury's ordination to the episcopacy until the
year 1787 or 1788.
About this time Asbury set himself to work to re
arrange the Discipline, and reduce it to a more sys
tematic form. The first edition of the Discipline was
printed in Philadelphia in 1785, and is found bound
up with the " Sunday Service and the Collection of

180 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Psalms and Hymns," which had been sent over to
America in sheets. In 1786 a new edition of the
whole was printed in London. In this the following
questions, contained in the first edition, with their an
swers, are omitted :
" Question 23. May our ministers or travehng
preachers drink spirituous liquors ?
"Answer. By no means, unless it be medicinally.
" Question 42. What methods can we take to ex
tirpate slavery?
"Answer. We are deeply conscious of the impro
priety of making new terms of communion for a re
ligious society already established, excepting on the
most pressing occasion, and such we esteem the
practice of holding our fellow-creatures in slavery.
We view it as contrary to the golden law of God, on
which hang all the law and the prophets, and the
unalienable rights of mankind, as well as every
principle of the Revolution, to hold in the deep
est debasement, in a more abject slavery than is per
haps to be found in any part of the world except
America, so many souls that are all capable of the
image of God.
" We therefore think it our most bounden duty to
take immediately some effectual method to extirpate
this abomination from among us, and for that pur
pose we add the following to the rules of our society,
namely :

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 181
" 1. Every member of our society who has slaves
in his possession, shall, within twelve months after
notice given to him by the assistant, (which notice
the assistants are required immediately, and without
any delay, to give in their respective circuits,) legally
execute and record an instrument whereby he eman
cipates and sets free every slave in his possession
who is between the ages of forty and forty-five imme
diately, or at farthest when they arrive at the age of
forty-five. "And every slave who is between the ages of
twenty-five and forty immediately, or at farthest
at the expiration of five years from the date of the
said instrument.
"And every slave who is between the ages of
twenty and twenty-five immediately, or at farthest
when they arrive at the age of thirty.
" And every slave under the age of twenty, as soon
as they arrive at the age of twenty-five at farthest.
" And every infant born in slavery after the above-
mentioned rules are complied with, immediately on
its birth.
" 2. Every assistant shall keep a journal, in which
lie shall regularly minute down the names and ages
of all the slaves belonging to all the masters in his
respective circuit, and also the date of every instru
ment executed and recorded for the manumission of
the slaves, with the name of the court, book, and

182 LIFE AND TIMES OF
folio, in which the said instruments respectively
shall have been recorded : which journal shall be
handed down in each circuit to the succeeding
assistants. " 3. In consideration that these rules form a new
term of communion, every person concerned, who
will not comply with them, shall have liberty quietly
to withdraw himself from our society within the
twelve months succeeding the notice given as afore
said : otherwise the assistant shall exclude him in the
society. " 4. No person so voluntarily withdrawn, or so ex
cluded, shall ever partake of the supper of the Lord
with the Methodists, till he complies with the above
requisitions. " 5. No person holding slaves shall, in future, be
admitted into society or to the Lord's Supper, till he
previously complies with these rules concerning
slavery. " N. B. These rules are to affect the members of
our society no farther than as they are consistent
with the laws of the states in which they reside.
"And respecting our brethren in Virginia that are
concerned, and after due consideration of their pecu
liar circumstances, we allow them two years from the
notice given, to consider the expediency of compli
ance or non-compliance with these rules."
Question 63 was also omitted. It reads as follows :

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 183
"Are there any further directions needful for the
preservation of good order among the preachers ?
"Answer. In the absence of a superintendent, a
traveling preacher or three leaders shall have power
to lodge a complaint against any preacher in their
circuit, whether elder, assistant, deacon, or helper,
before three neighboring assistants ; who shall meet
at an appointed time, (proper notice being given to
the parties,) hear, and decide the case." And au
thority is given them to change or suspend a
preacher, if they see it necessary, and to appoint
another in his place, during the absence of the super
intendents. Also Question 64. "If there happen to be a va
cancy in a circuit by the death of a preacher, by his
withdrawing himself from the work, or otherwise, in
the absence of a superintendent, who are to fill up
the vacancy ?
" Answer. Three neighboring assistants, called and
assembled according to the preceding minute."
This was the last edition of the Discipline contain
ing the Sunday Service with the Psalms and Hymns.
Asbury, assisted by Dickins, in the year 1787, as
above-mentioned, made an entire revision of the Dis
cipline, by which he changed its form materially.
Up to this time it was made up wholly of question
and answer, with very little regard to method, but now
it was divided into sections under their appropriate

184 LIFE AND TIMES OF
headings. This revised edition was submitted to Dr.
Coke after his return from Europe, and meeting his
approval it was sent to press. Mr. Wesley's name
was left out of this edition of the Discipline, and for
the first time the term bishop was employed in the
place of superintendent. No changes having been
made the succeeding year a new edition was not
necessary, but in the year 1789 the fifth edition ap
peared. It seems, however, that during the previous
year Asbury had been employed in elaborating two
new sections, namely, the thirty-first and thirty-second.
To the new edition an address by the bishops was pre
fixed. To it were also added the Articles of Religion
and certain doctrinal tracts. These, however, were
not embodied, but printed separate and apart from
the form of Discipline. It was not until 1796 that
Asbury and Coke, in compliance with a resolution of
the General Conference, prepared notes on all parts
of the Discipline. In these notes everything is
proved or illustrated by appropriate passages of
Scripture. It must have cost great labor, and vthe
manner in which the work was accomplished evinced
a biblical research and a logical acumen rarely
surpassed. It may be said with great truth and pro
priety, that the mind of Asbury was stamped upon
the genius and institutions of American Methodism
as effectually as was that of Wesley upon English
Methodism. From Charleston, South Carolina,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 185
where Conference was held in 1788, Asbury pro
ceeded on his tour to Georgia, where another Confer
ence was to be held. It was on this last route that
he compiled the two sections of Discipline above
alluded to. After attending Conference at the Forks
of Broad River, he pursued his way to North Carolina.
The hardships he encountered in this journey were
great. The reader may form some idea of the
bishop's toils from the following : " After getting our
horses shod we made a move for Holstein, and en
tered upon the mountains, the first of which I called
Steel, the second Stone, and the third Iron mountain.
They are rough and difficult to climb. We were
spoken to on our way by most awful thunder and
lightning, accompanied by heavy rain. We crept
for shelter into a little dirty house, where the filth
might have been taken from the floor with a spade.
We felt the want of fire, but could get little wood to
make it, and what we did get was wet. At the head
of Wautawga we fed, and reached Ward's that night.
Coming to the river next day we hired a young man
to swim over for the canoe, in which we crossed,
while our horses swam to the other shore. The
waters being up, we were compelled to travel an old
road over the mountains. Night came on. I was
ready to faint with a violent headache, the mountain
was so steep on both sides. I prayed to the Lord for
help. Presently a profuse sweat broke out upon me^'

186 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and my fever entirely subsided. About nine o'clock
we came to Grear's. After taking a little rest here
we set out next morning for Cox's, on Holstein River.
I had trouble enough. Our route lay through the
woods, and my pack-horse would neither follow, lead,
nor drive, so fond was he of stopping to feed on the
green herbage. I tried the lead and he pulled back.
I tied his head up to prevent his grazing and he ran
back. As the weather was excessively warm I was
much fatigued, and my temper not a little tried.
Arriving at the river I was at a loss what to do, but
providentially a man came along who conducted me
across." This, adds the bishop, "has been an awful
journey to me, and this a tiresome day ; and now after
riding seventy-five miles I have thirty-five more to
travel before I can rest a day."
After this journey he grieved considerably, on
reviewing it, that he was not able to pray more on
the road. The toils and hardships of Asbury in trav
eling round the continent can never be fully known.
But a short time after the journey above described
we find an entry in his Journal of another quite as
full of incident. He says : " We had to cross the
Alleghany Mountains again at a bad passage. Our
course lay over mountains and through valleys, and
the mud and mire was such as might scarcely be ex
pected even in December. We came to an old for
saken habitation in Tygart's Valley. Here our horses

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 187
grazed about while we boiled our meat. Midnight
brought us up at Jones's, after traveling between
forty and fifty miles. The old man — our host — was
kind enough to wake us up at four o'clock in the morn
ing. We journeyed on through devious lonely wilds,
where no food might be found except what grew in
the woods or was carried with us. We met two
women, who were going to see their friends, and to
attend the quarterly meeting at Clarksburg. Near
midnight we stopped at A  's, who hissed his dogs
at us ; but the women were determined to go to quar
terly meeting ; so we journeyed on. Brothers Phoe
bus and Cook took to the woods ; old  gave up
his bed to the women ; I lay on a few deer skins on
the floor. That night our poor horses got no corn,
and next morning they had to swim across the Mo
nongahela. After a twenty miles' ride we came to
Clarksburg, and man and beast were so outdone that
it took us ten hours to accomplish the journey. I
lodged with Colonel Jackson. Our meeting was held
in a long close room belonging to the Baptists, and
our use of the house gave offense. There attended
about seven hundred people, to whom I preached
with freedom, and I believe the Lord's power reached
the hearts of some. After administering the sacrament
I was well satisfied to leave. We rode thirty miles
to father Haymond's, after three o'clock Sunday
afternoon, and made it nearly eleven before we came

188 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in. About midnight we went to rest, and rose at five
o'clock the next morning. My mind has been se
verely tried both by the fatigue endured by myself
and my horse. O how glad I should- be of a plain
clean plank to lie on as preferable to the beds ; and
where the beds are in a bad state the floors are worse.
The gnats, are almost as troublesome here as the
mosquitoes in the lowlands of the seaboard. The
people of this country are many of them of the bold
est cast of adventurers, and with some the decencies
of civilized life are scarcely regarded, two instances
of which I myself witnessed. The great landholders
who are industrious will soon show the effects of the
aristocracy of wealth by lording it over poor neigh
bors, and by securing to themselves all the offices of
profit and honor. On the one hand savage warfare
teaches them to be cruel, and on the other the preach
ing of Antinomians poisons them with error in doc
trine ; good moralists they are not, and good Christians
they cannot be unless they are better taught."
While in Virginia he wrote a letter to a Quaker
in Delaware, which is so characteristic of the man
we insert it. "Newton, Va., Seventh Month, 1790.
" My Very Dear Friend, — If I have a partiality
for any people in the world except the Methodists,
it is for the Quakers, so called. Their plainness of
dress, their love of justice and truth, their friendship

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 189
to each other, and the care they take of one another,
render them worthy of praise.
" Would it not be of use for that society that make
it a point not to come near any others, whether good
or bad, to try all means within themselves ? Would
it not be well, thinkest thou, for them to sit every
night and morning, and, if they find liberty, to go to
prayer after reading a portion of God's word? As
epistles are read from the Friends, would it not be
well to introduce the reading of some portion of the
Scriptures at public meetings? Would it not be well
to have a congregation and a society — an outward
and an inward court ? In the former let children and
servants, and unawakened people come ; in the in
ward let mourners in Zion come.
"The Presbyterians have reformed ; the Episcopali
ans and the Methodists; why should not the Friends ?
It was a dark time one hundred and fifty years back.
We are near the edge of the wilderness. If this inward
court or society were divided into small bands or
classes, and to be called together weekly by men and
women of the deepest experience, and appointed for
that work, and asked about their souls and the deal
ings of God with them, and to join in prayer, one or
two or all of them that have freedom, I think the Lord
would come upon them.
" I give this advice as the real friend of your souls,
as there are hundreds and thousands that never have

190 LIFE AND TIMES OF
nor will come near others. These might get more
religion if your people were to hear others; they
might get properly awakened, and if you had close
meetings for speaking they would not leave you.
You must not think that G. Fox and R. Barclay were
the only men in the world. I am sure there must be
a reform, if you could move it in quarterly and
yearly meetings for family and society meetings, and
adopt rules for these meetings !
" Would it not be well, thinkest thou, to preach
against covetousness ? God has blessed Friends ; they
are a temperate, industrious, and frugal people. Tell
them to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the
sick, and always feel for the spirit of prayer at such
times. Would it not be well to deliver a testimony
at other places, if Friends felt freedom, and allow
others to come into their meetings without forbidding
them? Our houses are open to any that come in a
Christian spirit.
"I wish Methodists and Friends would bear a stron
ger testimony against races, fairs, plays, and balls ; I
wish they would reprove swearing, lying, and foolish
talking; watch their young people in their companies;
instruct them in the doctrines of Christ ; call upon
them to feel after the spirit of prayer^ morning and
evening, and strive to bring them to God ! If I know
my own heart, I write from love to souls ; and although
it is the general cry, ' You can do nothing with these

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 191
people,' I wish to lay before you these things, which
I think are not contrary to the ancient principles of
Friends, and I am sure that we are taught them in
the word of Gad. Think upon them. My soul pities
and loves you. You may fight against God in not
inculcating these things.
" I am, with real friendship to thee and thy people,
" Francis Asbury."
As a true pioneer, Asbury had for some time con
templated a tour to what was then denominated the
great Western wilderness. Already following the
trail of the hunter, and the blazed path of the settler,
Asbury's missionaries had penetrated the deep, un
broken forests, and had borne the messages of salva
tion to the camps and cabins in the canebrakes of
Kentucky. Poythress, a heroic pioneer of the cross,
wrote to the bishop, entreating him to visit the
scattered sheep in the wilderness. Having got all
things in readiness, he started with his traveling com
panions upon his long and perilous journey. After
passing over the mountain they crossed Holstein
River, and following its bank down, after a fatiguing
journey reached a cabin, where they halted, and
turned out their horses to graze. Tlie owner of the
house was in quest of horses which had been stolen by
the Indians. After waiting at this point for a renewal
of their forces before entering fully upon the wilder-

192 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ness, they felt somewhat invigorated for theif future
journey. While passing through the valley of the
Holstein they preached at the different stopping
places on their route. At length they crossed Clinch
River, passing over a wild rocky road until they came
to Moccasin Gap, where the party were joined by
Massie and Clark, two noted western hunters, who
came to inform them of a Kentucky guard of eight
men waiting to escort them through the wilder
ness. At the valley station the whole number as
sembled was eighteen men with thirteen guns. Thus
armed they moved on, making from thirty- five to
fifty miles a day. Crossing Rock Castle River they
stopped at the house of a gentleman whose wife had
been taken captive by the Indians. The fatigues
connected with the journey over mountains, steep
hills, deep rivers, through interminable canebrakes
inhabited by nothing but wild beasts and savages,
attended with want of sleep and fasting for want of
food, wore heavily upon Asbury, but his tireless spirit
quailed not. On their route they passed a deserted
camp where the Indians had killed twenty-four white
men. A woman of the company, wife of one of the
victims, made her escape. On the route they were
pursued by Indians, but the members of the company
and their means of defense kept them at bay.
Finally the party reached Lexington, where Asbury
preached in a dwelling-house. The Conference was

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 193
held in a private house, and consisted of nine
preachers. Among other business transacted was
the ordination of Wilson Lee, Thomas Williamson,
and Barnabas M'Henry. After visiting several other
places in Kentucky the bishop started on his return
track. The company consisted of fifty persons,
twenty-five of whom were armed. Articles of agree
ment for the government of the company were drawn
up and signed. The first day's travel brought them
to the Hazel Patch ; the next day they discovered
signs of Indians, and they judged it best not to en
camp, but travel all night; and the following day
they reached the Cumberland Gap, at the foot of
which the company separated, Asbury's party pro
ceeding on to Grass Valley.
The next Conference was held in Petersburg, Vir
ginia, where the business was conducted with peace
and harmony, until, as Asbury remarks in his Jour
nai, the subject of the bishop's council was intro
duced, and then " the young men, who appeared to
be entirely under the influence of the elders, turned it
out of doors." The discussions on this subject were
exceedingly vexatious to Asbury, and he remarks :
" This business is to be explained to every preacher,
and then it must be carried through the Conferences
twenty-four times, that is, through all the Conferen
ces for two years." Restless spirits had arisen who
looked with envy upon Asbury, and were dissatisfied
13

194 LIFE AND TIMES OF
with his exercise of episcopal prerogative. Tlie
bishop had received a letter from O'Kelly, a pre
siding elder of Brunswick District, who made heavy
complaints, and threatened to use his influence against
him. In reply to this Asbury says : " There is not a
vote given in the Conference in which the presiding
elder has not greatly the advantage of me. All the
influence I am to gain over a company of young men
in a district must be done in three weeks ; the greater
part of them perhaps are seen by me only at Confer
ence, while the presiding elder has had them with
him all the year, and has the greatest opportunity of
gaining influence. This advantage may be abused ;
let the bishops look to it ; but who has power to lay
an embargo on me, and to make of none effect the
decision of all the Conferences of the Union ?"
To conciliate the disaffected, at one time Asbury
addressed them a letter, saying: "I will take my
seat in council as another member, and in that point
at least waive the claims of episcopacy ; yea, I will lie
down and be trodden upon rather than injure one soul."
If any man could be trusted with power safely it was
Asbury. No man exercised it with greater discre
tion. He had given form and character to American
Methodism, and had shown himself from his first
landing in the country, by all his acts as assistant,
superintendent, and bishop, an American in heart and
life, identifying himself with every interest of tbe

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 195
Church and the country, resisting stoutly every En
glish prejudice that showed itself among the preach
ers, and making every sacrifice for the welfare of the
Church. He was keenly sensitive to all attacks, and
perhaps more careful than necessary to vindicate
himself. While suffering from unjust insinuations in
relation to his motives and acts, he wrote to Dick
ins, the book steward, at Philadelphia, as follows :
"My very dear Brother, — As life with me now is
a greater uncertainty than heretofore, I am concerned
to communicate these few lines to the public, not
doubting but they will give information and satisfac
tion to the candid and conscientious. It may bo
thought by those who measure others by themselves,
that I have gained much honor, ease, power, and in
terest in my station in the Church of God. Nay, I
have lived upon the providence of God and the
charity of a few friends. My method for many years
has been to keep an account of what has been given
me without solicitation. I have also kept an account
of what I have expended annually, charging the con
nection with my salary of sixty-four dollars per year
and my travehng expenses, as another preacher.
When I have wanted a horse or carriage my friends
have provided for me. My friends in Maryland,
Delaware, Philadelphia, Jersey, and New York have
chiefly communicated this supply. As to Virginia or

196 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the Carolinas, (except in a few extraordinary cases,)
as also Georgia, and the Western and Eastern states, I
have visited them, taking nothing unless in extreme
want on my side, or in the great benevolence of my
friends on the other. As to the college, it was all
pain and no profit, but some expense and great labor.
From the Preachers' Fund the Conferences can wit
ness for me I have taken nothing. Of the book inter
est you can witness I have received nothing. Of the
Chartered Fund I am independent, and wish to keep
so. Of money brought to Conference, or collected
publicly at times, it has been appropriated with the
nicest equality to the wants and deficiencies of the
preachers, but not any to me. You have settled my
annual accounts and have the book charge. Brother
Nelson Reed will do me the justice I demand, he
having had the settling of the college books and my
accounts. Brothers T. Morrell and Philip Bruce
have had a most -intimate acquaintance with my tem
poral affairs, and the inspection of my yearly ac
counts ; yet after all I must die, to prove, by my last
will and testament, that I have not made my gain by
the Gospel of Christ. And should I die as poor as I
have lived, it will be said by suspicious, ungenerous
men that I have made appropriations in my lifetime.
I shall call upon the Conferences, John Dickins, Nel
son Reed, and Thomas Morrell, as witnesses to the
truth of what I have written, as a debt of duty and of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 197
love they owe me, who am their brother and com
panion in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.
"Francis Asbury."
The following is Dickins's reply to the above :
" As Mr. Asbury is pleased in the above letter to call
upon me, as well as a few other persons, to testify to
the truth of what he has written, it is with the great
est cheerfulness that I comply with his request.
Both from a sense of duty and respect, I now declare
in the most solemn manner that Mr. Asbury has
never received any money from the book fund, nor
ever dropped the most distant hint to my knowledge
of desiring or expecting anything either from that
fund or from the Charter Fund. And further, I have
frequently settled his book and private accounts, in
which I have always found that he has charged him
self with the donations of his friends, or whatever
money he has received, and credited himself with
nothing but twenty-four pounds a year and his travel
ing expenses, and at the close of the year the balance
has been carried to the proper side of a new account
for another year. And when he left this city last he
had not money enough to bear his expenses for one
month. I shall conclude with adding, that from my
long and intimate acquaintance with him I think I
never knew so disinterested a man as Mr. Asbury."
To those acquainted with Asbury all this was en-

198 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tirely superfluous; and yet, to put to silence the
clamors of envy and suspicion, it perhaps was proper
that he should give such an expose in detail of. his
private affairs. Asbury had nothing to conceal, for
though apparently secretive and unapproachable, he
was transparent as the calm, quiet lake that reveals
all that lies within its depths.
In the year 1789 Jesse Lee introduced Methodism
into the land of the pilgrims. It is said by one of
his cotemporaries that he possessed uncommon con
versational powers, and a pleasing, fascinating ad
dress, which at once prepossessed all with whom he
met most favorably. His wit and readiness at repar
tee were not excelled by any, and so skillfully did he
use this two-edged instrument that he often taught
those disposed to be witty at the expense of a Meth
odist preacher that this dangerous weapon was all
potent in his hands. He possessed the elements es
sential to make up a pioneer itinerant in an eminent
degree. To great moral courage was united a well-
tempered zeal, which nerved him, and impelled him
onward through the most forbidding obstacles and
the most trying labors. There was a naturalness and
consequent ease and grace about his preaching that
rendered him one of the most efficient ministers of
his day. He opened his mission in the land of the
Puritans first at Norwalk. From thence he visited
New Haven and Boston, the very seat and citadel of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 199
the Puritan faith. He had been in all parts of the
country, and had preached the Gospel in the far
South among the earliest pioneers. Not being able
to obtain a house to preach in, he went out to Boston
Common, and beneath the wide-spreading branches
of a venerable elm which stands to this day, and with
a melody for which the preachers of that day were
famous, sang together a large congregation. One
who was present on the occasion thus describes the
scene which followed : " I thought the prayer was the
best I ever heard. He then read his text, and began
in a sententious manner to address his remarks to the
understanding and consciences of the people, and I
thought all who were present must be constrained to
say ' It is good for us to be here.' All the while the
people were gathering he continued this mode of ad
dress, and presented us with such a variety of beauti
ful images that I thought he must have been at infi
nite pains to crowd so many pretty things into his
memory. But when he entered upon the subject-
matter of his text, it was with such an easy, natural
flow of expression, and in such a tone of voice, that I
could not refrain from weeping, and many others
were affected in the same way. When he had done
and we had an opportunity of expressing our views to
each other, it was agreed that such a man had not
visited New England since the days of Whitefield. I
heard him again, and thought I could follow him to

200 LIFE AND TIMES OF
\
the ends of the earth." But this was not the first
Methodist sermon that was preached in Boston.
More than a half century before Charles Wesley had
preached several times, being driven into Boston
harbor by a crazy craft commanded by a drunken
captain. One of the churches in which he preached
at that time stands to this day.
From the time that the fearless and indefati
gable Lee opened his mission on that memorable
spot until the present, his name has been a household
word in the family of New England Methodism.
We do not intend by this to be understood as de
signing to convey the impression that his labors were
of a sectional character, much less that his memory
is not equally cherished among all the branches of
the Methodist family in this country. The preachers
of those days, like their bishop, were general itiner
ants, circulating, like the life-blood of the human sys
tem, from the center to all the extremities of the land.
One year among the Puritans of the North, and the
next with the cavaliers of the South, the very sys
tem of itinerancy forbade the indulgence of any sec
tional views or prejudices. With them the whole
human family was one, but more particularly the
people composing the confederacy where they
labored. The name of Jesse Lee was dear to every
Methodist, and with those of his brave and honored
associates will go down to posterity garnered with

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 201
the most precious things of Methodist history. The
following letter from Lee to Asbury, written from
New Haven in 1790, was published recently by the
Baltimore Historical Society. It is full of interest,
especially as it relates to his labors in New England.
" My Dear Brother, — I received your letter from
Petersburgh. I was glad to hear from you that
you are safely preserved under all your troubles
and from all your enemies. I have enjoyed good
health of late, and have reason to bless God that
I have not wickedly departed from him. Though
I live to but little purpose, I must own that my
poor heart is engaged in the work of the Lord;
and I still desire to devote my whole soul and body
to his service ; and in the midst of all my troubles I
can say, ' The Lord is my portion.'
"I expect you will be glad to hear of theywork of
the Lord, and the opening prospect we have in New
England. We have formed three circuits ; one is a
four weeks' and the others two weeks' circuits, but the
latter may be enlarged as soon as preachers can be
procured. We have seven or eight societies in one
of them, and one in the next circuit. In the last one
which we formed we have no society yet, but there
are several persons who intend to cast their lot
among us. In these circuits we have large congre
gations and many real friends. Many people fall in

202 LIFE AND TIMES OF
with our doctrines about election and reprobation as
soon as they hear them ; but they do not agree with
us about the perseverance of the saints. Neverthe
less they suppose the doctrine, as we preach it, is
innocent. In most places they desire to hear our
preachers. " I have lately taken a tour as far as Portsmouth,
the metropolis of New Hampshire. I preached in
most of the large sea-ports and cities to large con
gregations, and in the most of them I was solicited
to return. I cannot tell what you may think of the
liberty I took in going so far, but I felt so much of
the power and presence of God in preaching to the
people that I believe I shall never repent that I
went. When I got to Boston I could get no house
to preach in ; but believing God had sent me, I told
the people that I would preach on the Common at
six o'clock on Sunday evening, at which time I sup
pose I had one thousand serious hearers. The next
week I went further east, preached twice in Marble-
head, three times in Salem, once in Danvers, twice
in Newburyport, where I saw the remains of Mr.
G. Whitefield, and once in Portsmouth. This week I
rode one hundred and thirty miles, made my own
appointments, preached nine times, returned tp Bos
ton, and preached on Sunday afternoon on the Com
mon to three thousand hearers. The next week I
spent in Boston. I preached in a Baptist meeting-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 203
house once, three times in private houses, and on the
Sabbath on the Common to five thousand hearers.
" I feel attached to the Bostonians. I found sev
eral who once belonged to our society. A number
pressed me to return, if possible, before our next Con
ference, when they hope and pray that a preacher
may be sent to them. Boston is a large place ; the
people are much divided in their religious senti
ments, and I have no doubt but that in three months
I could have a steady congregation. To-morrow I
expect to set out for that town again, and to spend
eight or nine days in it before I return. I shall do
all I can for the reception of a preacher, and do hope
that you will send an acceptable one from the Mary
land Conference. If possible, get a volunteer who
loves the cause of God. If he comes willingly, he
will bear his cross with greater courage. If a
preacher can be fixed there now, the way will soon
be opened in the country around there. They have
seventeen houses for public worship in the town and
eight or ten more in sight of it."
Jesse Lee was the first historian of the Methodist
Church, and was eminently fitted for the work of a
pioneer. Such were his influence and standing in the
country that for several years he served as chaplain
to Congress, commanding the respect of men of Revo
lutionary times, and sustaining throughout the dig
nity of his vocation and office.

204 LIFE AND TIMES OF
This year Asbury received the following letter
from Poythress, presiding elder of the Kentucky
District, in relation to the work in that region :
"My very Dear Brother, — I have heard many
souls cry out for mercy, and many have entered into
life ; I suppose not less than two hundred at our com
mon meetings. There is a general revival through
my district. At our last quarterly meeting we had,
it was supposed, seven hundred souls. I believe
Methodism will take root in the western country.
Upward of twenty professed to emerge out of dark
ness into the marvelous light of the Gospel, and
many more cried aloud to God for mercy. It is
remarkable that this savage land has become a land
of praise to God.
"A very remarkable circumstance happened in
Lexington circuit, namely: On the 28th of June
Brother W. Lee preached at Coleman's chapel ; there
was a great appearance of the power of God. One
of S.'s daughters was struck under conviction. It
was thought in a few days that God delivered her
from her burden of sin. As she was her father's
favorite daughter, it was thought that he would not
be willing that she should join the Methodist society.
She went with her sister to sweep out the chapel.
As soon as she went in, her sister says she went out,
and a little time after returned and went up to the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 205
pulpit, stood before it, appeared very awful, and
dropped down dead, which was exactly four weeks
from the day that she was first awakened, and it
was in the same house that she gave her soul to God.
He took her from the evil to come, and we have no
doubt but that she is now praising him in paradise.
"0 my dear father, I think that I am as willing to
suffer for my dear Master as you are. I believe that
you feel much for the rising generation in America.
May God bless you with a long and useful life, and
success in all your labors !
"The Indians are still doing mischief. Not far
from the first house you came to after you passed
through the wilderness, they killed seven men and
wounded one. They went to a house near Bourbon
court-house, ripped open the beds, and plundered
the house. The women and children happily made
their escape. 0 when will the Lord Christianize the
Bavage tribes ! May he hasten the happy moment !"
Poythress was among the noble band of Western
pioneers who planted the Gospel in the Western wil
derness. His name and memory will be cherished
as long as Methodism is known. He and his associ
ates in the ministry stamped their character upon the
wild and widely-scattered population of the West,
and through their toils it was made to "bud and
blossom like the rose."

206 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER X.
Doctrine of Celibacy — Apostolic Injunction — Asbury's Reasons for Celi
bacy — Other Reasons — His Opinion of Dr. Coke's Marriage — Singu
lar Remark about the Women and the Devil — Dialogue on Marriage—
Asbury and the Young Lady — Devotion to Ms Mother — Beautiful
Tribute to her Memory.
The doctrine of the celibacy of the clergy finds no
countenance in the inspired word. The priests of the
Jewish Church were not only not forbidden to marry
but had wives and children. The solitary instance of
Paul, who was careful to say that he spoke without
Divine authority on the subject, and was only
prompted to speak as he did on account of the neces
sities of the case, furnishes no warrant to the Chris
tian Church to prohibit its ministers from marrying.
The injunction of the apostle to the ministers of the
New Testament, sanctioned by his own example, to
form no matrimonial alliances, was specific in its na
ture, and grew out of, and was adapted to the exi
gency of the times. It was considered, on account of
" the present distress," not expedient for those whose
duty it was to " preach the Gospel to every creature,"
and who were constantly exposed to privation, per
secution, and death, to enter into the married
state. The reasons which governed Asbury in

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 207
the course he pursued in this respect are best stated
by himself :
" If I should die in celibacy, which I think quite
probable, I give the following reasons for what Can
scarcely be called my choice. I was called to preach
in my fourteenth year. I began my public' exercises
between sixteen and seventeen^ At twenty-one I en
tered the traveling connection. At twenty-six I came
to America. Thus far I had reasons enough for a
single life. It had been my intention to return to
Europe, but the war continued, and it was ten
years before we had settled, lasting peace. This was
no time to marry or be given in marriage. . At forty-
nine I was ordained Superintendent or Bishop in
America. Among the duties imposed upon me by
my office -was that of traveling extensively, and I
could hardly expect to find a woman with grace
enough to enable her to live but one week out of the
fifty-two with her husband ; besides, what right has
any man to take advantage of the affections of a
woman, make her his wife, and by voluntary absence
subvert the whole order and economy of the marriage
state by separating those whom neither God, nature,
or the requirements of civil society permit long to be
put asunder. It is neither just nor generous. I may
add to this that I had but little money, and with this
little I administered to the necessities of a beloved-
mother till I was fifty-seven. If I have done wrong

208 LIFE AND TIMES OF
I hope God and the sex will forgive me. It is my
duty now to bestow the pittance I have to spare upon
the widows and fatherless girls and poor married
men." But there were other reasons. In addition to the
support of an aged mother out of his pittance of sal
ary, amounting to sixty-four dollars, he had the Book
Concern on his shoulders, and all he could raise for
the publication fund was sent to Dickins, the book
agent at Philadelphia, to enable him to enlarge the
Concern and increase the number of Methodist books.
His interest in this establishment was lasting as life,
and in his last hours he bore it in affectionate re
membrance. Some of his friends having bequeathed
to him two thousand dollars, he made it all over to
the Book Concern in his last will and testament.
Besides, he had to look after poor preachers and the
missionaries he had sent out to the frontier settle
ments in the West. He often impoverished himself
to relieve their wants. At one time we find him
with only two dollars in the world, and his poor
preachers ragged and destitute. First his little purse
was drained, and then followed his cloak, and watch,
and shirt. Under such circumstances it is perfectly
obvious that neither he nor any of his traveling com
panions in the ministry had any need for wives.
Had they taken them they would have been " worse
than infidels," because they would have placed

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 209
themselves in a position where it would have been
impossible to " provide for them." Those who did
marry while they were in the traveling connection
did so with the full conviction that they would
not receive a support from the Church, and hence
they almost invariably located after getting married.
Many talented and useful ministers were thus lost to
the Church, at least their influence and usefulness
were greatly contracted. On receiving a letter from
Dr. Coke, communicating the intelligence of his mar
riage and the probability of his not returning to this
country only on certain conditions, Asbury said :
" Marriage is honorable in all, but to me it is a cere
mony awful as death. Well may it be so, when I
calculate we have lost the traveling labors of two
hundred of the best men in America or the world by
marriage and consequent location."
In a work recently published, containing " Sketches
of Early Times in Middle Tennessee," we find the fol
lowing :
" In Virginia there was a circuit where the preach
ers sent among the people almost always obtained
wives during their service. The bishop, supposing
the women should be blamed for this state of things,
thought to forestall them by sending to the circuit
two decrepit old men, in the belief that no one would
try to allure them into the bonds of wedlock. But,
to his surprise, both of them married during the year,
14

210 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and upon hearing the result of his experiment he re
marked, ' I am afraid the women and the devil will
get all my preachers.' "
The following dialogue occurred between Asbury
and one of his preachers stationed in Baltimore.
The preacher, in accordance with the instructions of
the Discipline requiring him to consult his brethren
before taking such a step, sought an interview with
the bishop :
" How old are you ?" said Asbury.
" Twenty-eight years."
" That is the proper age for a Methodist preacher
to take that important step. How long have you
been in the work?"
" Four years."
" Then you have elder's orders ?"
"Yes, sir."
" All this is proper. When men enter their proba
tion they have ministerial characters to form, and
ministerial talents to exhibit, to the satisfaction of the
Church. Prudence says that they ought to form
that character, and exhibit those talents, before they
take that important step. But few novices have min
isterial weight sufficient to justify them in bringing
the expense of a wife and family on the Church.
The people will feel, and they will make the men
feel; and the dear sister of sixteen will feel too.
Besides, in green age, men do not always select such

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 211
women as the apostle says the wives of deacons and
elders must be, such as may be wholesome examples
for the flock of Christ. " Well, how now ? locate ?"
" No, sir ; that is not my intention."
"Very well; I should suppose your call was not
out. Some men marry fortunes, and go to take care
of them ; some men marry wives, and go to make
fortunes for them ; and thus, when, for the time, we
should have age and experience in the ministry, we
have youth and inexperience ; and such have charge ;
this, not of choice, but necessity. We must do the
best we can."
On one of his continental tours, while stopping at
a place in the West, Asbury had an appointment
some miles distant in a portion of the country where
he had never been before, and there was danger of
his missing his way and getting lost in the woods.
One of the daughters of the gentleman at whose
house he stopped proposed to accompany him, and
pioneer him through the wilderness. He did not
positively decline the offer of the fair guide, though
it would have suited his notions better to have gone
alone if he even had missed his way. The luxury of
a carriage at that time, at least in that section, was
not known ; indeed if they had possessed them they
would have been of no use, as there were no roads,
nothing but blind or blazed paths. The only modes
of travel were on foot or on horseback.

212 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The horses were soon in readiness for the travelers.
The bishop was in his saddle, and with a celerity for
which the Western girls were famous in early times,
Mary sprang to the back of her spirited steed and
was at once by his side. Soon they entered the forest
and were lost to sight in its deep thickets. Mary
knew the route and led the way. When about half
the distance had been passed over the travelers came
to a deep but narrow ravine, whose rugged, precipi
tous banks seemed to forbid a passage. The bishop
at beholding it felt relieved, as he thought he had
arrived at a Rubicon which his fair companion could
not pass. Spurring his noble horse, whose strength
and speed had never failed him, he cleared the ravine
at a bound. Turning on his horse he congratulated
himself that he was now rid of what he felt rather an
incumbrance, as he had considerable qualms of con
science about going to the appointment, where he
was a stranger, in company with a young lady. He
was about bidding her good-by, with the exclama
tion, " Mary you can't do that," a most unhappy sug
gestion for him to make to a proud, spirited, fearless
Western girl. Her quick and familiar response was,
"I'll try, Frank," and suiting the action to the
word horse and rider were in a moment at his side.
Faithful to her task, she accompanied the bishop to
the end of his journey, and after the preaching was
over returned with him to her father's house.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 213
We never heard of any scandal resulting from this
excursion. Asbury, as we have seen, did not, like Loyola and
his followers, take the vow of celibacy, though he
lived and died an unmarried man. His deep' devo
tion to his affectionate mother, who depended upon
him for a support, and for whose sake alone he
adopted a prudence in secreting himself at Judge
White's in time of the war, which, under other cir
cumstances, would have led him to brave a martyr's
fate, perhaps prompted him to repress all those nat
ural desires which would have led him to seek a
companion and help proper for him. Beyond his
dear venerated mother he had nothing in this world
to love or live for but the Church. To be sure he
loved the latter more, as for its sake he left father,
and mother, and home, and friends, and country to
come to a land of strangers to preach the everlasting
Gospel. His beautiful and touching tribute to the
memory of his mother shows that he had a heart full
of sympathy and affection :
"For fifty years her hands, her house, and her
heart were open to receive the people of God and the
ministers' of Christ, and thus a lamp was lighted up
in a dark place. She was an afflicted yet most active
woman, of quick bodily powers and masculine under
standing nevertheless, so kindly all the elements
mixed in her. Her strong mind quickly felt the sub-

¦

214 LIFE AND TIMES OF
duing influences of that Christian sympathy which
' weeps with those who weep,' and ' rejoices with those
who rejoice.' As a woman and a wife she was re
fined, modest, and blameless ; as a mother — above all
the women in the world would I claim- her for my
own — ardently affectionate. As a mother in Israel
few of her sex have done more by personal labor to
support the Gospel and to wash the saints' feet. As
a friend, she was generous, true, and constant."

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 215

CHAPTER XI.
Previous Reference to Institutions of Learning — Asbury lays the Foun
dation of the Book Concern — Founder of the Methodist Missions to
Frontier Settlements — Founder of the Chartered Fund — Founder of
American Sabbath Schools — Benevolent Institutions the Outgrowth of
the Church — Asbury a Bible Distributer — Tho Sunday School System
incorporated with the Disciphne — Asbury's Comments — Preached on
the Subject of Education — Name of Francis Asbury given to Children
—Remembered in his Will — Affectionate Regard for the Young — Or
ganization of District Schools — His Plan — Its Importance — An inter
esting Sketch.
We have already seen the relation sustained by
Asbury to Methodist institutions of learning; how
he originated them, raised funds by personal appli
cation and effort all over the country for their foun
dation and endowment, acting as founder and agent,
and superintending their management, while at the
same time he was constantly engaged in traveling
annually around the continent, preaching at all times
and in all places. Following in the footsteps of
Wesley, who early devised a literature for the Meth
odist people, we find this indefatigable man laying
the foundation of a Book Concern, and raising funds
for its establishment and support.
In 1787 Asbury made the following reference to
the Book Concern : " The last section in the Disci
pline reads as follows: As it has been frequently
recommended by the preachers and people that

216 LIFE AND TIMES OF
such books as are wanted be printed in this coun
try, we therefore propose : 1. That the advice of the
Conference shall be desired concerning any valuable
impression, and their consent be obtained before any
steps be taken for the printing thereof; 2. That the
profit of the books, after all the necessary expenses
have been paid, shall be applied according to the
discretion of the Conference toward the college, the
Preachers' Fund, the deficiencies of the preachers,
the distant missions, or the debts on our churches."
At that time the principal part of the printing busi
ness was carried on in Philadelphia. In 1804 it was
removed to New York. It was first located in John-
street, and then successively in Pearl-street, Church-
street, Catharine-street, and Crosby-street, and finally,.
in 1830, it was removed to Mulberry- street, the site it
now occupies.
Asbury was also the father of missions in the Meth
odist Church, sending out preachers into destitute set
tlements, and soliciting here and there all over the.
country funds for their support. In addition to this a
plan for a fund for the relief of the preachers was
devised by him and carried out, which resulted in a
Chartered Fund that exists to this day.
In an early day Bishop Asbury established a
fund which was called afterward " The Asbury Mite
Fund," and carried with him in his pocket a small
subscription-book in which was inserted the names

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 217
of subscribers. This fund was afterward denominated
the " Preachers' Fund," and several hundred dollars
were obtained. Rev. John Dickins succeeded in hav
ing this fund increased, and such was the result that in
1797 the Legislature of Pennsylvania granted a char
ter under the style and title of " The Trustees of the
Fund for the Relief and Support of the Itinerant
Superannuated Ministers and Preachers of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church in the United States of Amer
ica, their Wives and Children, Widows and Orphans."
The most of this was subscribed in Philadelphia.
Considerable was derived from various other sources,
and the amount was subsequently increased by
legacies. The whole sum was nearly twenty-five
thousand dollars. Loans of money from time to time
were made from this fund to enable the Book Con
cern to carry on its business. Its proceeds are still
regularly divided among the Conferences.
Wesley himself never devised and carried into
execution so many plans of benevolence in connec
tion with his societies as did Asbury for the Meth
odist Episcopal Church. Nor was this all. He was
the first man on the Continent to introduce Sabbath
schools. In the year 1786, five years before any
other person moved in this matter, he organized a
school in Hanover county, Virginia, in the house of
Thomas Crenshaw, and, as one of its first fruits, John
Charleston was converted to God in that school, and

218 LIFE AND TIMES OF
afterward became a useful and successful minister of
the Gospel in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
When we consider the vast results accruing to the
Church from the far-reaching policy of Asbury, and
now, after almost a century of trial, find that the wel
fare of the Church, in almost everything pertaining to
her prosperity, but especially in connection with the
institutions founded by him, which have become
identified with her progress, is directly traceable to
his agency, the profound wisdom of the founder of
American Methodism becomes strikingly apparent.
He was evidently the man for the times in which he
lived; and not only so, but his plans were of such
breadth and scope as to be wisely adapted to all times.
Asbury did not wait for the organization of Edu
cation, Missionary, Bible, Preachers' Relief, Tract,
and Sunday School Societies, before entering upon
the work connected with these benevolent depart
ments of church action, but combining all these
societies in his own person, he originated and car
ried them into successful operation, and from the
fact that these benevolent agencies all stand to this
day, constantly increasing in magnitude and power,
it is obvious that to this wonderful man belonged a
share of wisdom rarely found to exist in man, and
such as fitted him in a most eminent degree for the
position he occupied as the head of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in America.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 219
All these agencies he regarded as the natural out
growth of the Church, the pulsations of her mighty
heart, throbbing with benevolent sympathy for man
kind. The Church is in itself a missionary, Bible,
Sunday School, and Mutual Relief Society, and if
any of these departments of benevolence are found
necessary for their more efficient action to exist in a
separate and distinct corporation, they can only be
regarded in the light of auxiliaries to the Church for
the furtherance of her benevolent design. We have
sometimes doubted whether the multiplication of or
ganizations, with the frequently cumbrous and com
plex machinery of constitutions, managers, officers,
and agents, separate and apart from the Church, was
as efficient a mode for furthering the objects as it
would be if they were brought directly in contact
with the Church. When this pioneer missionary
started out upon his continental journey he supplied
himself with Bibles and other books, and scattered
them abroad as the leaves of the tree of life and
knowledge for the healing of the nation. He says
in his Journal: "When the bishop was old and
pressed down by many infirmities, when the 'almond-
tree was flourishing, and those that look out of the
windows were darkened, the grinders ceasing because
they were few, and the keepers of the house began to
tremble,' his brethren wished him to retire, as God
had raised up many strong men ; but the bishop, like

220 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the apostolic Wesley, did not wish ' to live to be use
less,' and replied, ' No man can do my work.' For
ward he would go in his Master's employment ; and
though he was not able to preach as formerly, he
would place a number of Bibles in his wagon and
distribute them, saying, ' Now I know I am sowing
good seed.? "
Having originated Sunday schools, it was not long
before Asbury had the subject incorporated in the
Discipline of the Church. In 1784, in the section
which defined the duty of ministers of the Gospel,
we find the following : " What shall be done for the
rising generation ? Who will labor for them ?"
" Let him who is zealous for God and the souls of
men begin now. 1. Where there are ten children
whose parents are in society, meet them at least an
hour every week ; 2. Talk with them every time yoii
see any at home; 3. Pray in earnest for them;
4. Diligently instruct and vehemently exhort all
parents at their own houses; 5. Preach expressly
on education."
Six years subsequently the following appears in the
Discipline : " What can be done in order to instruct
poor children, white and black, to read ?"
" Let us labor as the heart and soul of one man to
establish Sunday schools in or near the place of pub
lic worship. Let persons be appointed by the bish
ops, elders, deacons, or preachers, to teach gratis- all

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 22l
that will attend and have a capacity to learn, from
six o'clock in the morning until ten, and from two
o'clock in the afternoon until six, where it does not
interfere with public worship. The Council shall
compile a proper school-book to teach them learning
and piety." After this, Sunday schools were estab
lished in several places, and the teachers took noth
ing for their services. The greater part of the schol
ars, were black children, whose parents were re
luctant to send them, and but few of them were
regular in their attendance, so that in a short time
the teachers were discouraged, and seeing little or
no prospect of doing good they gave up the
enterprise. On the subject of this section of the Discipline,
Bishop Asbury thus comments : " Alas ! the great
difficulty lies in finding men and women of genuine
piety as instructors. Let us, however, endeavor to
supply these spiritual defects. Let us follow the
directions of this section, and we shall meet many
in the day of judgment who will acknowledge before
the great Judge, and an assembled universe, that
their first desires after Christ and salvation were re
ceived in their younger years by our instrumentality.
In towns we may, without difficulty, meet the chil
dren weekly, and in the plantations advise and pray
with them every time we visit their houses : nay, in
the country, if we give notice that at such a time

222 LIFE AND TIMES OF
we shall spend an hour or two at such a "house with
those children who shall attend, many of the neigh
bors will esteem it a privilege to send their children
to us at the time appointed. But we must exercise
much patience, as well as zeal, for the successful ac
complishment of this work. And if we can, with
love and delight, condescend to their ignorance and
childishness, and yet endeavor continually to raise up
their little minds to the once dying but now exalted
Saviour, we shall be made a blessing" to thousands
of them.
" But let us labor among the poor in this respect
as well as among the competent. O, if our people in
the cities, towns, and villages were but sufficiently
sensible of the magnitude of this duty, and its ac-
ceptableness to God — if they would establish Sab
bath schools, wherever practicable, for the benefit of
the children of the poor, and sacrifice a few pubhc
ordinances every Lord's day to this charitable and
useful exercise, God would be to them instead of all
the means they lose : yea, they would find, to their
present comfort and the increase of their eternal
glory, the truth and sweetness of those words, ' Mercy
is better than sacrifice.' Matt, ix, 13 ; xii, 7 ; Hos.
vi, 6. But there is so much of the cross in all this!
O when shall we be the true followers of a crucified
Saviour !"
The deep interest taken by this devoted man in the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 223
subject r>f the religious education of the children was
perfectly apparent in his whole life. His Journal
abounds with notices of his having preached on the
subject, and shows the earnest solicitude which char
acterized all his labors in this particular department
of Christian effort. Like a true philosopher, he
knew that the hope of the country depended upon
the proper education of the children, and like a
wise master-builder in the erection of the Christian
edifice, he was fully impressed with the fact that
the hope of the Church, as it regarded its symme
try, beauty, and strength, depended upon the rising
generations. Now that, after a long life of toil for
the salvation of parents and children, he has passed
away, his memory is embalmed in the hearts of thou
sands, who have " risen up and called him blessed."
There are perhaps this day more that bear the name
of Asbury connected with the Methodist Episcopal
Church than that of any other minister. Many of
them are in the ministry, and show themselves to be
true sons of the immortal father of American Meth
odism. In his last will and testament he made a pro
vision that all then living who bore his name should
have a copy of the Bible, a beautiful edition of which
he had procured for the purpose. How far this pro
vision was carried out we know not, but we mention
it as an impressive and beautiful incident in the life
of that man of "blessed" memory, and at the same

224 LIFE AND TIMES OF
time as an exhibition of a trait of character which
distinguished him in the relation he bore to the chil
dren of the Church. Father Finley, one of the pio
neer preachers of the West, relates an incident as
bearing upon this point which is truly touching. A
youth at a camp-meeting was called by the good
bishop and kindly spoken to on the subject of relig
ion, and the advice he received made such an im
pression on his mind as ever after remained, and
served to mark and mold his destiny, for he after
ward became a minister in the Methodist Church,
and was instrumental in the conversion of thou
sands. Asbury never allowed an opportunity to pass
where he could speak to the children in the families
where he stopped in his itinerant wanderings.
In 1792 Asbury was zealously engaged in organiz
ing what he called district schools. His plan was to
establish a school in every presiding elder's district.*
This was particularly desirable in the Southern
and Western portions of his great field, where there
were no common schools; and was but little less
needed in the North, where the academies and semi
naries were all monopolized, and under the exclusive
control of denominations which had no sympathy for,
if indeed they were not hostile to, the Methodists.
The writer recollects distinctly when at certain insti-
* Each presiding elder's district at this time embraced a whole Annual
Conference ; hence the term district in this connection is synonymous.
with conference.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 225
tutions of learning in the country the students were
all required by law to study the Westminster Cate
chism, and on Sabbath were marched rank and file
to the Presbyterian church, no matter what their
preferences or those of their parents. The same was
true of the Episcopal Church institutions. In this
movement, however, Asbury found himself, as he
did in many other great benevolent enterprises,
vastly in advance of his age. Still, he labored on,
drew up an address calling the attention of the peo
ple to the subject, and exerted himself in every way
to develop and advance the object he had in view.
He was not, however, sustained in his laudable
efforts, and was obliged to yield to the force of cir
cumstances and abandon the enterprise, however
painful to his benevolent heart.
Sixty-five years have passed away since the effort
of Asbury to establish preparatory schools for the
Church. Time in its ravages has swept away all of
this description that then existed in the Church, but
from their ashes have sprung up Conference acade
mies and seminaries all over the land, amounting in
all, North and South, to one hundred and sixty-two.
In the year 1793 a Conference was held at Mount
Bethel, South Carolina, at that time the seat of a
high school founded by the labors of Asbury. A
writer in the " Southern Advocate" furnishes the fol
lowing interesting sketch of this institution :
15

226 LIFE AND TIMES OF
"This section of the country was peopled by emi
grants from Virginia, among whom we may mention
as permanent 'the Finches,' 'the Crenshaws,' 'the
Malones' and others. They had become Methodists
in their native state, and when the subject of a high
school was agitated they entered heartily and with
liberal subscriptions into the project. Edward Finch
gave thirty acres of land as a site for the Institution.
The buildings had been commenced, but for want of
the necessary funds progressed slowly, so that when
the Conference aforesaid met they were incomplete,
and afforded, as may readily be imagined, but nar
row and uncomfortable quarters for thirty preachers.
The daily sessions were held ' in an upstairs room of
the house of Esquire Finch, twelve feet square.'
During the year 1794 the building was completed,
and was formally \ dedicated by Bishop Asbury 'on
his next annual visit, on the 20th of March, 1795,
with a sermon from 1 Thess. v, 16, and was named
Mount Bethel.' On the succeeding Sabbath Asbury
preached again and held a ' love-feast,' which proved
to be a blessed season of spiritual refreshing. The
school was for six years under the rectorship of the
Rev. Mark Moore, a man eminently qualified for the
post, assisted by two other teachers, Messrs. Smith
and Hammond. At the close of this term of service,
Mr. Moore resigned and took charge of a school in
Columbia, where, by his influence and preaching

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 227
ability, which was of the first order, he materially
aided in the permanent establishment of Methodism
in that city. On the retirement of Mr. Moore, Mr.
Hammond, father of ex-Governor Hammond, took
charge of the school and taught it with signal ability
for many years. For a number of years Mount
Bethel and Willington Academy (in Abbeville Dis
trict, under the control of the celebrated Dr. Wad-
dell) were the only schools of high grade in the inte
rior of the state, and did much in the educational
training of the young men of South Carolina. Mount
Bethel was largely patronized, and had from time to
time students from Georgia and North Carolina. A
number of the leading men in our own state in sub
sequent years were prepared for college at Mount
Bethel, among whom were Hon. John Caldwell, and
Chancellor James J. Caldwell, of Newberry District,
Judge Earl, the first ex-Governor Manning, of South
Carolina, William and Wesley Harper, sons of Rev.
John Harper. The first and second classes who
graduated in the South Carolina College received
their preparatory training here also. Wesley Har
per graduated in the second class of the college
and died soon after. William Harper graduated
in the third class in 1808, and subsequently became,
as is well known, one of the first jurists in the
country. "The main building of this institution was twenty

228 LIFE AND TIMES OF
by forty feet, divided by a partition, with chimneys
at each end, constructed of rough, unhewn stone.
The upstairs was used as the lodgings of the students.
Several comfortable cabins were also built, and served
as residences of the teachers and as boarding-houses.
About a hundred yards distant, at the foot of a hill,
ran a bold spring of pure cold water of sufficient
volume to supply all the wants of the resident popu
lation. Of this monument of Asbury's zeal in the
cause of education, nothing scarcely remains. All
the buildings have been pulled down and the loca
tion much altered in its appearance, and the traveler
who might now visit it would hardly conceive its
former glory and usefulness. Nothing now remains
to mark the spot except the three chimneys of
'Father Finch's' house, which yet stand as solitary
sentinels over this classic ground. Near by is a large
grave-yard, in which many of the original settlers
and some of the students quietly sleep the sleep of
death. Here, too, lie in modest seclusion the last
mortal remains of Rev. John Harper. A rude stone
some six or eight inches above ground, bearing the
letters ' J. H.,' marks his grave. Mr. Harper was an
Irishman, and came to New London, Conn., in com
pany with Rev. Mr. Kingston, missionary from the
West Indies. They were present at the first Confer
ence held in New London, and from which Mr. Har
per took a station in Boston.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 229
Bishop Asbury continued annually to visit Mount
Bethel school until the year 1815, when old age and
increasing infirmities curtailed the field of his labors.
After years of prosperity and usefulness it began to
decline, and finally ceased to exist about the year
1820, and was, we believe, superseded by 'Mount
Ariel Academy,' in Abbeville District, and that in
turn by ' Cokesbury School.' "

230 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER XII.
Asbury's Attachment to America when Ms Associates in the Ministiry
fled the Country— Writes a Complimentary Letter to an Advo
cate of American Principles — Admonition to the Conference in
relation to the Employment of an English Preacher — His unbounded
Admiration for Washington— Proposition to the New York Con
ference in 1789 — Asbury and Ms Associates introduced to Washing
ton in Ms Official Capacity— Address of the Bishop— Washington's
Reply — The Methodist Episcopal Church the first to recogmze the
Government of the United States — With other Churches an after
thought — No Union of Church and State, but Government Protection
— The Government Christian — Obedience to Government an Article
of Rehgion — Reflections — Asbury's Example — Tribute to Washing
ton — Thoughts on Rehgious Liberty — Connecticut and Massachusetts
Priest-ridden — View of the Umted States — Continental Officers.
We have already remarked that the moment Asbury
adopted this country as his home he became at once
and forever an American in sentiment and action.
When those who had come here before him, and
those who were associated with him in the govern
ment of the Church, in time of trial left the country
and the poor scattered flock in the wilderness and
returned to England, he bravely stood his ground,
resolving with the indomitable Adams, " live or die,
sink or swim, survive or perish," he would remain
identified with the country of his adoption, and
never forsake the people of his charge. We ever
find him on the side of the patriots of the Revolution,
and stoutly withstanding to the face every English

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 231
preacher who showed the least want of respect <or
loyalty to American principles. At one time we
find him writing a complimentary letter to a Presby
terian minister who had made a speech in the consti
tutional convention in favor of the principles of
American liberty; and at another time, when the
Conference was engaged in discussing a resolution
looking toward the employment of an English
preacher who had left his appointment in the West
Indies without permission, we hear him in a voice
of thunder exclaiming, "Take care! take care!" and
adding, "I have had more trouble with English
preachers than all others put together."
He possessed the most unbounded admiration for
Washington. He, the first, the greatest, and the best
of men, always commanded his highest sympathy and
regard. With Washington he had many personal
and friendly interviews, and availed himself of such
whenever opportunity presented; and when that
great and good man was chosen by the suffrages
of his countrymen to preside over the nation as its
chief magistrate, he was among the first to con
gratulate him upon his elevation to so distinguished
a post. Among the prominent acts of the Conference held
in New York in 1789, Asbury offered the follow
ing proposition: "Whether it would not be proper
for us as a Church to present a congratulatory ad-

232 LIFE AND TIMES OF
dress to General Washington, who has been lately
inaugurated President of the United States, in which
should be embodied our approbation of the Constitu
tion, and professing our allegiance to the govern
ment." The Conference unanimously acceded to
the proposition, and enthusiastically recommended
the measure, requesting the bishop to prepare such
an address. The same -day the address was presented
and read to the Conference, and meeting its hearty
approval, Dickins and Morrell were appointed a
committee to wait on the president and inform
him of the action of the Conference, and request
him to appoint , a day when he would receive
the bishop, who would read the address and receive
his answer.
At the appointed time, accompanied by Dickins and
Morrell, Asbury was introduced to the president in
his official character, and in a clear and impressive
manner read the following :
" Snt, — We, the bishops of the Methodist Episco
pal Church, humbly beg leave, in the name of our
society collectively in these United States, to express
to you the warm feelings of our hearts, and our sin
cere congratulations on your appointment to the
presidentship • of these states. We are conscious,
from the signal proofs you have already given, that
you are a friend of mankind ; and under this estab-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 233
lished idea, place as full confidence in your wisdom
and integrity for the preservation of those civil and
religious liberties which have been transmitted to
us by the ^providence of God and the glorious
Revolution, as we believe ought to be reposed
in man.
" We have received the most grateful satisfaction
from the humble and entire dependence on the great
Governor of the universe which you have repeatedly
expressed, acknowledging him the source of every
blessing, and particularly of the most excellent Con
stitution of these States, which is at present the admi
ration of the world, and may in future become its
great exemplar for imitation ; and hence we enjoy a
holy expectation that you will always prove a faithful
and impartial patron of genuine, vital religion, the
grand end of our creation and present probationary
existence. And we promise you our fervent prayers
to the throne of grace, that God Almighty may
endue you with all the graces and gifts of his Holy
Spirit, that he may enable you to fill up your import
ant station to his glory, the good of his Church, the
happiness and prosperity of the United States, and
the welfare of mankind."
After Asbury had concluded, Washington rose and
read in a calm but earnest manner the following
reply:

23^ LIFE AND TIMES OF
"Gentlemen, — I return to you individually, and
through you to your society collectively in the United
States, my thanks for the demonstrations of affection,
and the expressions of joy offered in their behalf, on
my late appointment. It shall be my endeavor to
manifest the purity of my inclinations for promoting
the happiness of mankind, as well as the sincerity of
my desires to contribute whatever may be in my
power toward the civil and religious liberties of the
American people. In pursuing this line of conduct,
I hope, by the assistance of Divine Providence, not
altogether to disappoint the confidence which you
have been pleased to repose in me.
" It always affords me satisfaction when I find a
concurrence of sentiment and practice between all
conscientious men, in acknowledgment of homage to
the great Governor of the universe, and in professions
of support to a just civil government. After mention
ing that I trust the people of every denomination, who
demean themselves as good citizens, will have occa
sion to be convinced that I shall always strive to
prove a faithful and impartial patron of genuine,
vital religion, I must assure you in particular, that
I take in the kindest part the promise yon make
of presenting your prayers at the throne of grace
for me, and • that I likewise implore the Divine
benediction on yourselves and your religious com
munity."

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 235
The address to Washington was signed by Bishops
Coke and Asbury in behalf of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in the United States of America, and that of
Washington was addressed " To the Bishops of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States of
America." Thus the Methodist Episcopal Church
was the very first in an ecclesiastical capacity to
recognize the government of the United States, and
its chief magistrate, in a public and formal manner ;
and its independent organization was in turn recog
nized by the highest authority in the Union. With
the Presbyterian and other Churches it was an after
thought to present similar addresses, but nevertheless
it was none the less right and appropriate, and de
serving of commendation, on that account. Though
the government of the United States recognizes no
legal union with the Church or any branch of it, and
has in consequence been denounced by our enemies
as godless and antichristian, it has nevertheless from
the beginning thrown its protecting aegis over the
Church, and, as sacredly guards the rights of con
science as it does the freedom of political opinion.
Our government is as thoroughly Christian, both in
its federal and state capacity, as any ecclesiastico-po-
litical establishment in the world, and is the only gov
ernment under heaven where religious liberty exists.
Among the Articles of Religion of the Methodist
Church we find the following : —

236 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" XXIII. Of the Rulers of the United States of
America. The president, the congress, the general
assemblies, the governors, and the councils of state as
the delegates of the people, are the rulers of the United
States of America, according to the division of power
made to them by the general Act of Confederation
and by the Constitution of their respective states.
And the said states ought not to be subject to any
foreign jurisdiction." Subsequently the following
note was added : "As far as it respects civil affairs,
we believe it is the duty of Christians, and especial
ly all Christian ministers, to be subject to the supreme
authority of the country where they may reside, and
to use all laudable means to enjoin obedience to the
powers that le, and therefore it is expected that all
our preachers and people who may be under the
British government, or any other government,
will behave themselves as peaceable and orderly
subjects." These declarations embrace the doctrine of the
Church in regard to civil government, and whoever
is not governed by this doctrine, and is not loyal to
the government where he resides, cannot be(a Meth
odist of the American stamp. Asbury, the father
and founder of American Methodism, has set a noble
example to all his sons in the ministry in his attach
ment to the government, and the respect he paid to
its chief rulers. It is readily admitted that the chair

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 237
of state has not always been occupied by such pure
and noble men as Washington, but whoever shall in
the providence of God be called or permitted to fill
that place, if the man cannot command our love, the
office itself should command our respect.
We shall close this chapter by a quotation from
Asbury's Journal, referring to the death of Washing
ton. It is a noble tribute, worthy of its author.
" Washington, the calm, intrepid chief, the disinter
ested friend, first father, and temporal saviour of his
country, under divine protection and direction. A
universal cloud sat upon the faces of the citizens of
Charleston; the pulpits clothed in black, the bells
muffled, the paraded soldiery, the public oration
decreed to be delivered on Friday, the 14th of this
month, a marble statue to be placed in some proper
situation — these were the expressions of sorrow, and
these the marks of respect paid by his fellow-citizens
to this great man. I am disposed to lose sight of all
but Washington. Matchless man ! At all times he
acknowledged the providence of God, and never was
he ashamed of his Redeemer. We believe he died
not fearing death. In his will he ordered the manu
mission of his slaves — a true son of liberty in all
points." While at Ellington, Connecticut, in 1794, Asbury
preached in a school-house, aud felt great dejection
of spirit at the iron walls of prejudice which existed,

238 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and indulged in the following reflections on the sub
ject of religious liberty : " Out of the fifteen United
States thirteen are free, but two are fettered with
ecclesiastical chains, taxed to support ministers who
are chosen by a small committee and settled for life.
My simple prophecy is that this must come to an end
with the present century. The Rhode Islanders be
gan in time and are free. Hail, sons of liberty! Who
first began the war? Was it not Connecticut and
Massachusetts? and priests are now saddled upon
them. O what a happy people would these be if
they were not thus priest-ridden ! I heard a most
severe letter from a citizen of Vermont to the clergy
and Christians of Connecticut, striking at the founda
tion and principle of the hierarchy. It was the ex
pression of the Vermonters to continue free from
ecclesiastical fetters, to follow the Bible, and give
equal liberty to all denominations of professing
Christians." In 1796 he read Winterbotham's View of the
United States, and remarked that " he had compared
the great talk about President Washington formerly
with what some say and write of him now. Accord
ing to some he then did nothing wrong; it is now
said that he was always partial to aristocrats and
continental officers. As to the latter I ask, Who
bought the liberty of the states ? Did not the con
tinental officers, and should they not reap a little of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 239
the sweets of rest and peace. These were not chim
ney-corner whigs. But favors to many of the officers
would now come too late. A great number of them
are gone to eternity, their constitutions broken with
hard fare and labor during the war. As to myself,
the longer I live and the more I investigate, the
more I am convinced of, and the more I applaud
and approve of, the uniform conduct of President
' Washington in all the important stations which he
has filled."

240 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER XIII.
Asbury and Coke at Port Royal, Virgima — Receive Intelligence of
the Death of Wesley — Tribute — Coke left for Baltimore to take
Passage to England — Preaches a Funeral Sermon in Baltimore — Con
ference — Conference at Duck Creek and Trenton — New York —
Asbury preaches before the Conference on the Occasion of Wesloy's
Death — New Haven — President of Yale College and Professors — Col
lege Chapel — Uncourteous Treatment — Providence — Boston — Dis
couraged — Lynn — Prophecy — Fulfillment — Letter to a young Minis
ter — Visits various Places in New England — Returns to New York-
Journey West and South — Tennessee — Indian Depredations — Crosses
the Wilderness — Kentucky — Boone, the Pioneer Hunter — Paradise
for the Poor Man — Rock Castle Station — Conference at Bethel — Prep
arations for Return — Alarm — Incidents of Travel — Watching the Sen
tinels — Land-marks of Travel — Conference at Lynn— Pittsfield—
Grand Meeting House — New Divinity Preacher — Character of Eastern
People — Medicinal Waters of Lebanon — Devil's Tents — Conferenoe
at Albany — Questions of Theology discussed — Hudson and Ehme-
beck — Conference in New York — Love-Feast — Dr. L.'s PreaeMng—
Hospitality of Friends — Sermon on the Lord's Supper — Dr. Langdon.
on Revelations — Judge White's — Milford — Jefferson's Notes on Vir
ginia — Incident at Judge WMte's — Tribute to his Memory.
Whtxe Asbury and Coke were at Port Royal, Vir
ginia, in the spring of 1791, they received the sad
intelligence of the death of Wesley. We find in
Asbury's Journal the following tribute of respect for
that great man : " The solemn news reached our ears
that the public papers had announced the death of
that dear man of God, John Wesley. He died in his
own house in London in the eighty-eighth year of his
age, after preaching the Gospel sixty-four years.

FEANCIS ASBURY. 241
When we consider his plain and nervous writings,
his uncommon talent for sermonizing and journal
izing, that he had such a steady flow of animal
spirits, so much of the spirit of government in him,
his knowledge as an observer, his attainments as a
scholar, his experience as a Christian, I conclude his
equal is not to be found among all the sons he hath
brought up, nor his superior among all the sons of
Adam he may have left behind. Brother Coke was
sunk in spirit, and wished to start home immediately.
For myself, notwithstanding my long absence from
Mr. Wesley, and a few unpleasant expressions in
some of the letters the dear old man has written to
me, occasioned by the misrepresentation of others, I
feel the stroke most sensibly, and I expect I shall
never read his works without reflecting on the loss
which the Church of God and the world has sus
tained by his death."
Dr. Coke soon left for Baltimore, for the purpose
of taking the first passage that should offer for En
gland. Having arrived in Baltimore, he preached
on the occasion of the death of Wesley to a large
congregation. It was a solemn and interesting oc
casion, and was most appropriately improved. Con
ference was held soon after in that city, and Asbury
was present and preached on the succeeding Sab
bath. From hence he went to Duck Creek, where
he held Conference, and from thence to the Trenton
16

242 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Conference. After attending to the business of the
Conference he proceeded to New York. The mem
bers of the Conference, which consisted of abou*
thirty preachers, and the members of the two Church
es, the old and the new, united in requesting Asburj-
to preach on the occasion of Wesley's death, which
he consented to, preaching in the morning in the
John-street, and in the afternoon in the Forsyth-stree'
church, from the text, " But thou hast fully knowi.
my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-
suffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions.
which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, a*-
Lystra; what persecutions I endured; but out of then
all the Lord delivered me." It was said by those who
heard these discourses that they were worthy of their
author and the occasion which called them forth.
After the close of this Conference the bishop weno
to New Haven, Connecticut. At this appointment
he had the president of Yale College, some of the
professors and students, and quite a number of cit
izens as hearers. He gives the division of his sub
ject on that occasion : " 1. What we must be saved
from ; 2. What has been esteemed by the men of
the world as the wisdom of preaching; 3. What is
meant by the foolishness of preaching." We pre
sume from the division that the text was, " It pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them
that believe." After he had finished his discourse

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 243
no one came forward to speak to him. He availed
himself of the opportunity of visiting the college
chapel during the hour of prayer, and had a desire
to visit the different departments of the college
and inspect the arrangements, but whether they
noticed him or not in the chapel, neither president
nor professors deigned to pay any attention to him
whatever. If this was designed, which we are rather
inclined to think was the case, as such want of court
esy has occurred before where Methodist preach
ers were concerned, it was unpardonable. True
wisdom as well as true religion, to say nothing of
politeness, puts not on such supercilious airs as char
acterized some of the divines of that day.
From New Haven he went to Providence and
preached, and from thence to Boston, where he also
preached ; but being totally disgusted with the place
and its want of hospitality, he exclaimed : "I am
done with Boston until we can find a lodging-house
to preach in, and some to join us." From Boston he
rode to Lynn, a place which he called " the perfec
tion of beauty," situated on a plain under a ridge of
craggy hills and open to the sea. Here he found a
promising society and an exceedingly well-behaved
congregation. " Here," said Asbury, " we shall make
a firm stand, and from this central point shall the
light of truth and Methodism radiate through the
state. How clearly and fully this prophecy has been

244 LIFE AND TIMES OF
fulfilled, the present state of the Church in Lynn, the
declarations of Parsons Cooke to the contrary not
withstanding, abundantly show. While here he wrote
the following interesting letter to Daniel Fidler, a
young minister who had been sent to Halifax :
" My very Dear Brother, — I called at your father's
house, and spent a night there on my way from Old
Town Conference. We hope the dear old people
will make their way to glory. They will long greatly
to see you after two years. You will return to the
continent, or at least to the grand American Union,
when your way is clear. We have a general growth
and increase of souls. I hope that not less than three
thousand will be made subjects of grace this year.
A pretty general harmony reigns through the body
as to traveling preachers. J. 0'K***y is nearly left
alone. His next move will be among the local line
and the membership. Notwithstanding our trouble
the work goes on westward, yet the savages are rest
less.. I expect that in a very few years we shall
be through New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont
states, and so become near neighbors to Nova Scotia.
"I fear I do not see as much simplicity in our
young brethren now as in years past. The love of
shining in dress and talents appears to be too preva
lent. O my dear child, keep humble, watchful, sim
ple, and walk with God, that you may live as well as

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 245
preach the very spirit and practice of the Gospel.
My heart is toward you in the love of Jesus. If I
should see you again, 0 may you be full of grace and
God ! Thine as ever."
After visiting and preaching at Salem, Marble-
head, Manchester, Waltham, and Hartford, he re
turned to New York. Remaining here for a short
time, attending to the interests of the Church in its
various departments, he took up the line of his jour
ney again to the West. After passing through Penn
sylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina, he ar
rived at Tennessee. Here the bishop heard accounts
of the depredations by Indians, which had produced
a good deal of consternation in the country. He
started from hence again to the wilderness, with a
guard to protect him from the savages. After rest
ing on Sabbath at Crabb's, where he preached, the
company entered the wilderness. Some were on
foot, carrying their packs on their shoulders. Among
the number, strange to say, there were some women
with their children, who had consented to brave the
dangers of the wilderness, and seek a better home in
the rich and fertile plains of the West. Kentucky
had been described by the pioneer hunter, Boone,
and his daring companions, who penetrated its desert
wilds years before, as a very paradise for the poor
man. And such it was, abounding in every variety

246 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of game, and having the richest and most luxuriant
soil. With such inducements many were prompted
to leave their poor inheritances in North Carolina
and other parts, and to seek a better home in the
fertile valley beyond the Cumberland. The compa
ny at length reached Laurel River, which they were
compelled to swim. When they reached Rock Cas
tle station, Asbury remarked that " he found such a
set of sinners as made that place next door to hell
itself." The next day they were obliged to reswim
the river twice in their journey. Asbury's horse was
well nigh worn out, as was himself, being thoroughly
wet all day. After a hard day's ride they reached
the Crab Orchard late in the evening, wet and weary.
In his Journal the bishop says : " How much I have
suffered in this journey is only known to God and
myself. What added much to its disagreeableness is
the extreme filthiness of the houses." While here he
wrote an address in behalf of the Bethel Academy,
and made arrangements for improvements in the
style of the building, which was ill adapted to the
purposes for which it was erected.
On Wednesday, April 25th, 1792, the Conference
commenced at Bethel. Vast crowds of people at
tended the ministry. After presiding and making
out the appointments of the preachers, he made
preparations for a return trip across the wilderness.
An alarm was spreading of a depredation committed

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 247
by the Indians on the east and west frontier of the
settlement. It was reported that many men and
women were killed. The consequence of such in
telligence was that great excitement prevailed
throughout that region. The party, however, start
ed on their journey, determined at all hazards to
brave the dangers. When the bishop reached
Rock Castle he was well nigh worn out with fa
tigue. With a violent fever and pain in his head
he stretched himself exhausted on the cold ground,
and borrowing clothes to keep himself warm, he was
enabled to sleep four or five hours. At the next
stopping-place he could have slept more comforta
bly, but was deterred from closing his eyes on ac
count of the proximity of the Indians. Seeing the
drowsiness of the company he could not be persuaded
to lie down, but walked the encampment and watched
the sentries during the entire night. The company
consisted of thirty-six. At length he reached Vir
ginia and proceeded to Half-acres, and from thence
went to Holstein, where the Conference for this re
gion was held.
Passing through a valley where, there were fifty
miles without a house, he came to Uniontown. We
find in his Journal but the merest sketch of his rides
and stopping-places, but as landmarks we are ena
bled by them to trace his journeys round the conti
nent from year to year. Again he is in Pennsylvania

24S LIFE AND TIMES OF
and Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut,
and Massachusetts, everywhere preaching the word.
As the angel of the Apocalypse flying in mid-heaven
with the everlasting Gospel to preach to all nations,
so this pioneer bishop literally flew from state to
state, and from territory to territory, with the mes
sages of salvation.
The Conference for the Eastern division of the
work was held this year at Lynn, where Asbury met
eight preachers and transacted the business of the
Church. A ehurch edifice had been commenced,
and was partly finished, in which there was preach
ing every night during the session of the Conference
by one of its members selected for the occasion. The
ordination sermon preached by the bishop on this
occasion was from the text, "Not that we are suf
ficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves ;
but our sufficiency is of God ; who also hath made us
able ministers of the New Testament ; not of the let
ter, but of the spirit ; for the letter killeth, but the
spirit giveth life." From hence Asbury went to
Pittsfield, which he describes as "a pleasant plain
reaching from mountain to mountain, with a popula
tion of two thousand souls. There was a grand meet
ing-house and steeple, both of which were as white
and glistening as Solomon's temple. The minister was
on the new divinity plan." Asbury enjoyed here the
privilege of " retiring alone to the cool sylvan shade

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 249
in frequent converse with his best Friend." "We
held," says the bishop, " our meeting in a noble
house built for Baptists, Separatists, or somebody, and
is now occupied by the Methodists. A large and at
tentive congregation was present. The Eastern people
are not to be moved it is true ; they are too accus
tomed to hear systematical preaching to be moved
by a systematical sermon even by a Methodist ; but
they have their feelings, and touch but the right
string and they will be moved."
He thus describes Lebanon, in the State of New
York : " The medicinal waters here are soft, pure, and
light, with no small quantity of fixed air. I found a
poor bath-house. Here the devil's tents are set up,
and, as is common at these encampments, his children
are doing his drudgery." From hence he went to
Albany and met twenty-one preachers in Conference.
The occasion was one of great peace and harmony.
Two deacons and four elders were elected and or
dained. Each preacher was called upon to relate his
experience, and the incidents connected with his itin
erancy since the last session. These conversations
not only embraced personal experience, but a review
of doctrines and modes of preaching. At this Con
ference Jonathan Newman was appointed mission
ary to the whites and Indians on the frontier. An
other was sent to Cataraqui. The questions of
theology discussed were the following: "1. How

250 LIFE AND TIMES OF
are we to deal with sinners? 2. How should we
treat with mourners? 3. In what manner should
hypocrites be addressed? 4. How should we deal
with backsliders? 5. What is the best kind of
preaching for believers?" A discussion of these
questions we think might be profitable at the pres
ent day. They are certainly vastly more relevant,
and more in accordance with the peculiar vocation
of a preacher of the Gospel, than many other sub
jects which not only seem to engross councils, assem
blies, and Conferences, but the pulpit itself, and
which in many instances engender strifes and hinder
the progress of religion. Preaching was held in the
market-house, and the meetings were lively and in
teresting. About two hundred conversions had oc
curred in the district since the former session of the
Conference. From hence Asbury rode to Hudson
and Rhinebeck, and dined on his way to New
Rochelle at Governor Van Cortlandt's. At New
Rochelle he held quarterly meeting, and preached to
large congregations with great liberty.
September 27th Conference opened in New York,
twenty-eight preachers being present. Most of the
afternoon of the first day was spent in prayer and
the relation of ministerial experience. The occasion
was one of unusual interest. A Conference love-
feast was held on Friday. We will let Asbury, in
his own quaint, nervous, laconic style, describe the

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 251
thoughts which occupied his mind at this Confer
ence: "My mind has been so bent to the business of
the Conference that I have slept but little this week.
Connecticut is supplied much to my mind, several
very promising young men having been admitted
into this Conference. The societies are in harmony,
but not as lively as they should be. I went to hear
Dr. L., but was greatly disappointed ; he had such a
rumbling voice that I could understand but little in
that great house. How elegant the building ! How
small the appearance of religion ! Lord have mercy
upon the Reformed Churches. O ye dry bones, hear
the word of the Lord. 1 was much obliged to my
friend for renewing my clothing and giving me a lit-
:tle pocket-money; this is better than £500 per an
num. I told some of our preachers who were very
poor how happy they were, and that probably had
they more their wants would proportionally increase;"
It is somewhat remarkable that New York sup
plied, or mostly supplied, Asbury with clothing and
outfits for his journey. At least, if he obtained help
from other places, with the exception of Baltimore,
of this description, he did not make it so frequently
a matter of record. In numerous instances he no
tices the hospitality and benevolence of friends in
New York.
On Sabbath the bishop preached a sermon, prepara
tory to the sacrament of the Lord's supper, from the

252 LIFE AND TIMES OF
text, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye
may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even
Christ our passover is sacrificed for us : therefore
let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with
the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." His ob
ject was to show the points of similitude between the
passover and the supper of the Lord, in which he
noticed the simplicity and purity of bread instead of
the flesh of an animal, and wine instead of the blood
of a creature ; wine, the blood of Christ, and grace,
the life of our souls. He showed that true penitents
and real believers were proper communicants; and
also described the manner in which the sacrament
was to be taken, not with unleavened bread, but with
sincerity and truth.
On his route from New York he stopped at his old
friend Judge White's, in Delaware, which we believe
is the only place in all his Journal, with the excep
tion of Sherwood's, that he calls "home."
In reading Dr. Langdon on Revelation, he re
marks: "I find little new or very spiritual. He is
like the Newtons, and all historical interpreters ; one
thing is wanting. And might not an interpreter
show the present time foretold by these signs, which
plainly point to the why and the wherefore it is that
some are Christian bishops and Christian dissertators
on prophecy? A bishopric with one, or two, or

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 253
three thousand sterling a year as an appendage
might determine the most hesitating in their choice.
I see no reason why a heathen philosopher, who had
enough of this world's wisdom to see the advantages
of wealth and honors, should not say, ' Give me a
bishopric and I will be a Christian.' In the eastern
states also there are very good and sufficient reasons
for the faith of the favored ministry. Ease, honor,
interest; what follows? Idolatry, superstition, death."
After remaining at Judge White's for a few days
he proceeded to Milford, where he preached and held
a Conference with the local preachers. From thence
he traveled on from one quarterly meeting to
another, holding local preachers' Conferences, and
preaching until he came round again to White's.
"While here this time he read Jefferson's Notes on
Virginia, a book full of romantic incidents of border-
life ; and it was at this place he made the remark that
he "thought it safer for him to be occasionally
among the people of the world than wholly confined
to the indulgent people of God. He who sometimes
suffers from a famine will better know how to relish
a feast." The following interesting incident in connection
with his visits to this place is given by the Hon.
Isaac Davis :
"During the time when Governor Bassett was a
practicing lawyer in the town of Dover, Delaware,

254 LIFE AND TIMES OF
previously to his election to the post of chief magis
trate of the state, it was his custom, in the business
of his profession, to attend the sittings of the court in
Denton, Md., and he often, .when on his way to and
from Denton, would spend a night with his friend
Judge White, where Bishop Asbury enjoyed the
comforts of a home when in the state, and where he
found a secure retreat for two or three years during
the Revolutionary struggle.
" On one of these periodical visits, Judge White
being absent, his amiable wife received and enter
tained their guest. It was not long, however, before
Mr. Bassett observed other gentlemen present besides
himself, when he sought Mrs. White, and inquired
with evident perturbation :
" ' Madam, who are these gentlemen dressed in
black?' " Mrs. White, knowing that Methodist preachers
were not in very high repute, answered evasively,
' They are gentlemen here on very important busi
ness.' " This indefinite reply not being satisfactory to Mr.
Bassett, he insisted further :
" ' Madam, I should like to know who these gentle
men are.'
"When Mrs. White replied, 'They are Mr. As
bury and his preachers.'
" This information was no sooner received than Mr.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 255
Bassett determined to leave, and said to his hostess,
' I must have my horse.'
"Mrs. White, understanding the case perfectly,
replied, ' You cannot leave to-night, sir.'
"Mr. Bassett still demanded, 'I must have my
horse, I must be gone.'
"But Mrs. White more positively declared he
must not leave, when he resigned himself to his fate,
and submitted to the infliction of an evening with
the bishop and his colaborers; after which he was
constrained to admit they were not the most uninter
esting in the world, and, as an act of courtesy, he in
vited Mr. Asbury to visit him the next time he
should come into Dover. When Mr. Bassett re
turned home he told his wife of his adventure, and
concluded by saying, ' I have invited the Methodist
bishop to visit us. And what will we do, my dear,
should he come?'
" 'Do the best we can,' was the only reply.
" Shortly after Mr. Bassett was busily engaged in
his office. Happening to raise his eyes, and looking
out on the green, he saw a venerable form on horse
back, riding leisurely toward his door, whom he soon
recognized to be none other than the veritable Meth
odist bishop he had met at Judge White's; he
quickly informed his wife of the arrival, who ran up
stairs in a fright. Mr. Bassett cast about in his mind
how he should entertain his rather unwelcome guest ;

256 LIFE AND TIMES OF
his plan was decided upon ; invitations were sent to
the most distinguished gentlemen in the neighbor
hood ; the lawyers, doctors, and clergymen were
all called in; Mr. Bassett thought to overwhelm the
poor Methodist bishop with an array of intellect ; but
Mr. Asbury seemed perfectly composed and at home
among gentlemen. After supper the conversation
took a more decidedly literary character, and among
other things a recent publication came up, upon
which several criticisms were passed, Mr.' Asbury's
being the clearest, most comprehensive, and intelli
gent. The company conceded to him his proper
place. They became listeners, and he the delight of
every person present ; and from that evening party
must be reckoned the beginning of Mr. Asbury's
popularity in Dover.
" The best of the story remains to be told. By re
quest, Mr. Asbury preached the next evening *to a
large and intelligent audience. Mrs. Bassett gave
him a hearing from her piazza, fearing to venture
nearer; next night from the door of the house in
which the bishop preached ; the third night she min
gled in the congregation, and soon after was con
verted, and proved the first-fruits of Bishop Asbury's
labors in Dover. Who can fail to note the hand of
Providence in this whole affair, from the beginning
to the ending?'"
The bishop paid the following merited tribute

FEANCIS ASBUEY. . 257
to the memory of Judge White. As this was his
home during a portion of the dark troublous times
of the Revolutionary war, when the preachers fled
from the country, and others were fined and im
prisoned for their adherence to the British govern
ment, and he found in this family a safe retreat, he
could not but feel, as he expresses himself on hearing
of the death of the judge, most sadly :
"Thursday, May 21, 1795. This day I heard of the
death of one among my best friends in America,
Judge White, of Kent county, in the state of Dela
ware. This news was attended with an awful shock
to me. I have met with nothing like it in the death
of any friend on the continent. Lord, help us all to
live out our short day to thy glory ! I have lived
days, weeks, and months in his house. 0 that his
removal may be sanctified to my good and the good
of the family ! He was about sixty-five years of age.
He was a friend to the poor and oppressed ; he had
been a professed Churchman, and was united to the
Methodist connection about seventeen or eighteen
years. His house and heart were always open, and
he was a faithful friend to liberty in spirit and prac
tice ; he was a most indulgent husband, a tender
father, and an affectionate friend. He professed
perfect love and great peace, living and dying."
17

258 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XTV.
Coke's Return from England— A Crisis in the History of the Church—
Statistics in 1792 — Friction in the MacMnery of Methodism --Power
of the Episcopacy — Causes which led to the Formation of the General
Conferenoe — Plan of a Council — Plan Adopted — Minutes ofthe First
Council — Members present — Constitution — Resolutions — Second
Council — Members present — O'Kelly — Opposition of Lee — Last
Council held — Call for a General Conferenoe — Duly organized — By
laws adopted — Review of the Discipline — Episcopal Power — O'Kel-
ly's Resolution — Asbury withdraws from the Conference Room — His
Letter to the Conference — Discussion — Episcopacy sustained — Sub
sequent Revival of the Question — Methodist Protestant Church — Lee's
History — Questions pertaining to the Election, Ordination, and Trial
of a Bishop — Presiding Elder Question — Duties defined — Provision
for Traveling PreacherB' Wives— Salary — John Dickins appointed
Agent of Book Concern — Fee for performing Marriage Ceremony-
Money to be given to the Conference — Presents to be accounted for —
Certificate of Removal — Rule of Arbitration adopted — Chapter on
Pubhc Worship — ABbury's Reflections on the General Conference —
Opinion of O'Kelly — Revision ofthe Discipline — End of the Session
— Another General Conference agreed upon.
Coke having returned from England, whither he had
gone soon after receiving intelligence of Wesley's
death, the two bishops again met in Baltimore just
on the eve of the General Conference. An import
ant crisis had now arrived in the history of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church. Under the superintendency
of Asbury the difficulties which in other days had
threatened its peace and unity had all been hap
pily adjusted. A separate and distinct organization,
effected through the advice and by the authority of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 259
Wesley at the general convention of the preachers in
Baltimore in 1784, while it removed all the obstacles
out of the way of the exercise of full ministerial func
tions by the ministers, at the same time invested
the Church with every right and prerogative to adopt
whatever articles of religion it deemed wise and
proper, as well as to make all the laws and regula
tions necessary for its government. Under this state
of things the Church continued to prosper, and in
1792 the membership had increased to sixty-five
thousand nine hundred and eighty, and the ministry
to two hundred and sixty-six. The Church had also
enlarged the area of her territory, and extended it
from Massachusetts to Georgia. Twenty Conferences
instead of three were now held annually, and the
number was increasing yearly, so wonderfully did
the work of the Lord spread and prevail. While
these eight years had wrought changes in the exter
nal appearance of Methodism, and everywhere there
appeared the most evident signs of prosperity, there
were nevertheless, to the eye of the ever watchful
Asbury, signs of discontent. The vast and efficient
machinery put so successfully in operation was not
without its friction. It was thought by some that
the power of the episcopacy was brought to bear too
strongly upon the preachers ; or, in other words, that
the prerogative of the bishop to appoint preachers
at his pleasure required some restriction. One of the

260 LIFE AND TIMES OF
presiding elders had indulged to a considerable ex
tent in remarks against the exercise of this power,
and had to the extent of his influence created quite a
sentiment in opposition. It was this, with other mat
ters of moment connected with the interests of the
Church, that led the Council, which constituted the
highest judiciary in the Church at that time, to sug
gest the propriety of calling a General Conference,
to be composed of all the preachers in full con
nection. Before proceeding to describe the deliberations and
acts of this General Conference, we deem it proper
to bring to view more specifically the causes which
led to its formation. In 1789 considerable discussion
was had on the subject of a General Conference. To
obviate the necessity of such a general convoca
tion, the bishops presented to the Conferences the
plan of a Council. It was introduced by the follow
ing preamble: "Whereas the holding of General
Conferences on this extensive continent would be at
tended with a variety of difficulties and many incon
veniences to the work of God'; and whereas we
judge it expedient that a council should be formed
of chosen men out of the several districts as repre
sentatives of the whole connection, to meet at stated
times, Therefore," etc,
To the questions, " In what manner shall this coun
cil be formed ? what shall be its powers ? and what

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 261
the regulations concerning it ?" the following answer
was given :
" 1. Our bishops and presiding elders shall be the
members of this Council, provided that the members
who form it shall never be less than nine. If any
unavoidable circumstance prevent the attendance of
a presiding elder at the Council, he shall have au
thority to send another elder out of his own district
to represent him ; but the elder so sent shall not take
his seat in the Council without the consent of the
bishop, or bishops, and presiding elders present.
And if, after the above-mentioned provisions are
complied with, any unavoidable circumstance or
contingency arise so as to reduce the number to
less than nine, the bishop shall immediately sum
mon such elders as do not preside to complete the
number. "2. The Council shall have authority to mature
everything they shall judge expedient, (1.) To pre
serve the general union. (2.) To render and preserve
the external form of worship similar in all our socie
ties throughout the continent. (3.) To preserve the
essentials of Methodist doctrine and discipline pure
and uncorrupted. (4.) To correct all abuses and dis
orders. (5.) To mature everything they may see
necessary for the good of the Church, and for the
promotion and improvement of our colleges and
plan of education.

262 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" 3. Provided, nevertheless, that nothing shall be
received as the resolution of the Council unless it he
assented to unanimously by the Council, and nothing
so assented to by the Council shall be binding in any
district (Conference) till it has been agreed upon by
a majority of the Conference which is held for that
district. " 4. The bishops shall have authority to summon
the Council to meet at such times and places as they
shall judge expedient."
Though considerable opposition was manifested to
this plan, and it was regarded as a dangerous inno
vation, yet, after due deliberation, it was adopted by
a majority and became a part of the Discipline of the
Church. As it may be interesting to the reader, merely
as a matter of history, we copy from Lee's History of
Methodism the minutes of the first Council, which was
held in Baltimore December 1, 1789. The follow
ing members were present : Francis Asbury, bishop ;
Richard Ivy, Reuben Ellis, Edward Morris, James
O'Kelly, Philip Bruce, Lemuel Green, Nelson Reed,
Joseph Everitt, John Dickins, James O. Cromwell,
Freeborn Garrettson, elders." When the Council
was constituted, an hour was spent in prayer to Al
mighty God for his direction and blessing. "They
then unanimously agreed that a General Conference
of the bishop, ministers, and preachers of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church on the continent of America

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 263
would be attended with a variety of difficulties, with
great expense and loss of time, as well as many in
conveniences to the work of God."
The Council then proceeded to form the following
constitution, embracing its several duties :
" 1. To render the time and form of public wor
ship as similar as possible in all the congregations.
"2. To preserve the general union of the minis
ters, preachers, and people in the Methodist doctrine
and Discipline.
" 3. To direct and manage all the printing which
may be done from time to time for the use and bene
fit of the Methodist Church in America.
" 4. To conduct the plan of education, and manage
all matters which may from time to time pertain to
any college or house built or about to be built as
the property of the Methodist connection.
" 5. To remove, or receive and appoint the salary
of any tutors from time to time employed in any
seminary of learning belonging to the said con
nection. "6. In the interval of the Council the bishop
shall have power to act in all contingent occurrences
relative to the printing business or the education and
economy of the college.
" 7. Nine members, and no less, shall be competent
to form a Council, which may proceed to business.
" 8. No resolution shall be formed in such a Coun-

264 LIFE AND TIMES OF
cil without the consent of the bishop and two-thirds
of the members present."
After adopting the above constitution, the Council
then passed unanimously the following resolutions :
" 1. Every resolution of the Council shall be put
to vote in each Conference, and shall not be adopted
unless it obtains a majority of the different Confer
ences. But every resolution which is received by a
majority of the several Conferences shall be received
by every member of each Conference.
"2. Public worship shall commence at ten o'clock,
on the Lord's day in all places where we have socie
ties and regular preaching, if it be practicable, and
if not at eleven o'clock.
" 3. The exercises of public worship on the Lord's
day shall be singing, prayer, and reading the Holy
Scriptures, with exhortation or reading a sermon in
the absence of a preacher, and the officiating person
shall be appointed by the elder, deacon, or traveling
preacher for the time being.
" 4. For the future no more houses shall be built
for public worship without the consent and direction
of the Conference and presiding elder of the district,
unless a house should be built under the direction of
the presiding elder and traveling preachers on the
circuit and finished without the least debt remaining
on it.
" 5. It is required that all the parents and guard-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 265
ians of independent scholars in Cokesbury College
may punctually pay for the students' tuition and
board on or before the first of December in every
year, as none will be continued there more than a
year on credit, but will be immediately sent home in
case of non-payment. And for the future, at least
one fourth of the price of twelve months' board and
tuition must be sent with every scholar who comes
from the adjacent states, and half the said price with
every scholar who comes from any distant state.
"6. Every minister, preacher, and private mem
ber shall be permitted, and is hereby earnestly re
quested, to devise some means, and either bring or
send his proposals to the next Council for the pur
pose of laying some scheme for relieving our dear
brethren who labor in the extremities of the work
and do not receive more than six, eight, ten, twelve,
or fifteen pounds per annum.
" 7. Every deacon shall be three years in a state
of probation before he can be elected to the
eldership. " 8. Considering the weight of the connection, the
concerns of the college, and the printing business, it
is resolved that another Council shall be held on the
1st of December, 1790."
The second Council, which had by this last resolu
tion been provided for, was held in pursuance there
with in the city of Baltimore. Bishop Asbury,

266 LIFE AND TIMES OF
F. Garrettson, F. Poythress, N. Reed, J. Dickins,
P. Bruce, J. Smith, T. Bowen, J. 0. Cromwell,
J. Everitt, and C. Conoway were present. The first
business done was to settle the question relating to
the power with which the electors had invested the
Council, and this they did by declaring unanimously
that they were invested with full power to act de
cisively in all temporal matters, and that it was their
prerogative to recommend to the several Conferences
any new canons or alterations to be made in any old
ones. Various other matters were disposed of, and
the Council adjourned to meet again the next year.
O'Kelly, who had attended the first Council, refused
to be present ; and such was his opposition, and that
of Lee and others, to what they regarded as an un
warranted assumption of power, that no Council was
ever afterward held, and it became obvious that
nothing would meet the wants of the preachers and
people generally but a General Conference. This
was agreed to, and accordingly on the 1st day of
November, 1792, the preachers in the regular work
collected together from all parts of the country and
took their seats in General Conference assembled in
the city of Baltimore.
Bishops Coke and Asbury being, ex officio, the
presiding officers, the Conference was duly organized
by the election of the secretaries and the appoint
ment of the appropriate committees. The first thing

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 267
brought before the Conference for deliberation and
action was the Discipline of the Church. Before any
action, however, was taken upon any subject intro
duced to the Conference, certain by-laws were adopted
for its government, among which was a rule requir
ing a two-thirds vote of all the members of the Con
ference to adopt any new rule or abolish any old one,
though a bare majority might suffice to modify or
amend any rule. As the subject of Discipline came
under review of the Conference, those parts especi
ally which had been the subject of discussion, and re
garding the propriety of which there was a difference
of opinion, were the first to elicit attention. James
O'Kelly, the presiding elder (above alluded to) over
a district in Virginia, one of the largest in the con
nection, in an early part of the session brought for
ward the subject of episcopal power as relating to
the appointment of the preachers. The question was
embraced in the following resolution: "Resolved,
that after the bishop appoints the preachers at the
Conference to their several circuits, if any one think
himself injured by the appointment, he shall have
liberty to appeal to the Conference and state his ob
jections; and if the Conference approve his objec
tions, the bishop shall appoint him to another cir
cuit." This resolution brought the whole subject of
the episcopacy, and its powers and prerogatives, before
the Conference. As the discussion would necessarily

268 LIFE AND TIMES OF
bring the whole administration, involving particularly
the episcopal acts of Bishop Asbury, before the Con
ference, with characteristic liberality, lest any should
be deterred from speaking out fully his sentiments on
the subject, the bishop withdrew from the Confer
ence-room and forwarded the following letter :
"My Dear Brethren, — Let my absence give you
no pain ; Dr. Coke presides. I am happily excused
from making laws by which I am myself to be gov
erned. I have only to obey and execute. I am
happy in the consideration that I never stationed a
preacher through enmity or as a punishment. I
have acted for the glory of God and the good of the
people, and to promote the usefulness of the preach
ers. Are you sure that, if you please yourselves, the
people will be as fully satisfied? They often say:
' Let us have such a preacher ;' and sometimes, ' We
will not have such a preacher ; we would sooner pay
him to stay at home.' Perhaps I must say, 'His ap
peal forced him upon you.' I am one, ye are many.
I am as willing to serve you as ever. I want not to
sit in any man's way. I scorn to solicit votes. I am
a very trembling, poor creature, to hear praise or dis
praise. Speak your minds, freely, but remember you
are only making laws for the present time. It may
be that, as in some other things, so in this, a future
day may give you further light."

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 269
The discussion of the question lasted for several
days, and was quite animated on both sides. At
length, when the period arrived to take the vote, it
was ascertained that a large majority were in favor
of continuing with the episcopacy the power given
to it at the Conference in 1784. It may not be im
proper to remark here, that this question was revived
in what was denominated the "Radical Controversy"
in 1827, and with that of lay delegation, and some
other matters of Church government, it led finally to
a secession, the result of which was the organization
of the Methodist Protestant Church, now a large and
influential body of Christians. Several of the ablest
and most distinguished ministers were lost to the
Church in this controversy ; a calamity which we
pray may never befall the Church again.
In Lee's History of Methodism, published in 1810,
we find the following in relation to the controversy
in the General Conference on the subject of the ap
pointing power, as elicited by the resolution offered
by O'Kelly : " This motion brought on a long de
bate; the arguments for and against the proposal
were weighty, and handled in a masterly manner.
There never had been a subject before us that so
fully called forth all the strength of the preachers.
A large majority of them appeared at first to be in
favor of the motion, but at last Mr. John Dickins
moved to divide the question thus : First, Shall the

270 LIFE AND TIMES OF
bishop appoint the preachers to the circuits? And
secondly, Shall a preacher be allowed an appeal?
After some debate the motion to divide the question
prevailed. The first question being then put, it was
carried without a dissenting voice ; but when we
came to the second question, namely, Shall a preach
er be allowed an appeal ? there was a difficulty start
ed, which was, whether this was to be considered a
new rule, or only an amendment of an old one. If it
was to be regarded as a new rule, it would require a
two thirds vote to carry it. After considerable de
bate it was decided by vote that it was only an
amendment of an old rule. Of course, after all the
lengthy debates, we were just where we began, and
had to take up the question as it was originally pro
posed. One rule for our debates was, that each per
son, if he choose, shall have liberty to speak three
times on each motion. By dividing the question,
and then coming back to where we were at first, we
were kept on the subject called the Appeal for two
or three days. On Monday we began the debate
afresh and continued it through the day, and at night
we went to Mr. Otterbein's church and continued it
till near bedtime, when the vote was taken, and the
motion was lost by a large majority."
Having disposed of this difficult subject, the Con
ference proceeded to the discussion of the questions
pertaining to the appointment, ordination, and trial

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 271
of a bishop. The Church being, as we have seen,
disconnected from the Wesleyan connection, and ex
isting as a separate and independent organization, the
power to appoint a bishop could no longer come from
without, and the General Conference was hence made
the source of episcopal power, the exercise of which
was placed exclusively under its control, holding
original jurisdiction over all its bishops.
1 The question relating to presiding elders was fully
discussed at this Conference. By the authority of
the bishop alone a number of circuits had been
formed into districts, and from the organization of
the Church, in 1784, they had been placed under the
charge of a presiding elder. We say this was done
by the authority of the bishop, as the Conference had
made no rules or regulations on the subject. As con
siderable objection had been urged against this usage,
and several expressed doubts as to the authority of
the bishop in appointing the presiding elders, the
Conference, under the head of episcopal duties, made
it the duty of the bishop to appoint the presiding
elders, and gave him the power to change them at
pleasure, provided that he should not allow an elder
to preside over the same district for more than four
consecutive years. The duties of presiding elders were
also more specifically defined. Until this Conference
no provision whatever was made for the support of the
wives of traveling preachers. If a preacher married,

272 LIFE AND TIMES OF
his salary of sixty-four dollars remained the same as
before, the design being evidently to keep up the
celibacy of the clergy, an example of which was so
strongly and perseveringly maintained by the bishop.
The Conference, however, after a thorough investiga
tion of this matter, in all its present and prospective
bearings, adopted a rule allowing the wife an equal
claim with her husband. The sum total of the allow
ance or salary for a Methodist preacher and his fam
ily was thus increased to the amount of one hundred
and twenty-eight dollars. Such was the allowance,
but it did not follow by any means that this amount
was received. In numerous instances the half of it
was not obtained, and the preachers and their wives
were obliged to live in the most abject poverty, or
on the most cringing dependence.
At this Conference John Dickins was reappointed
agent of the Book Concern in Philadelphia, and for
his services was allowed a house and book room, and
six hundred and sixty-six dollars thirty-three cents
per annum, which was to be paid out of the profits
arising from the sale of books. The Conference also
appropriated out of the proceeds of the Book Con
cern four thousand dollars, to be paid in four annual
instalments. Six hundred and sixty-six dollars were
also appropriated out of the same fund for the benefit
of distressed preachers, and also the bishop was al
lowed to draw annually on the Book Concern the sum

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 273
of sixty-four dollars for the support of district schools.
The profits ofthe Book Concern at that time amounted
annually to about two thousand five hundred dollars.
Previous to this Conference it was not only con
trary to usage, but contrary to the law of the Church
for any preacher to take a fee for performing the
marriage ceremony. This, like the other ordinances
of the Church, was not to be purchased with money,
and there were some who thought it a species of
simony to take anything for celebrating the rites of
matrimony. The General Conferences, however,
came in their deliberations to a different conclusion,
and allowed those who should be called upon to
perform this ceremony to receive whatever might
be given on the occasion. But though the Confer
ence allowed preachers to take a fee for performing
the rites of matrimony, yet the money thus received
was not to be regarded as their own. The amount
was placed in the hands of the stewards of the re
spective circuits, and equally divided between the
traveling preachers of the circuit who had not re
ceived their full disciplinary allowance. When?
such necessity for its appropriation did not exist, it
went into the hands of the District or Annual Confer
ence, to be appropriated according to its discretion ;
in no case, however, was it the property of the
preacher who performed the ceremony.
With a view of bringing all the preachers upon a
18

274 LIFE AND TIMES OF
level as it regarded salary, and thereby prevent any
unpleasant feeling that might arise, a rule was adopt
ed requiring all the preachers to present an exact
account of all and singular the presents they might
have received, either in money or other articles, and
until this was done no money could be appropriated
to him from any fund or collections to make up
deficiencies. The Conference, also, with a view to prevent
any imposition upon the societies from unworthy
members, or those who were impostors outright,
adopted a rule requiring all members, on their
removal to another society, to take a certificate of
good standing, and this rule remains in force to
this day. The rules, however, relating to salaries,
marriage fees, and presents, have long since become
obsolete, and have passed away from the Discipline.
Though the salary nominally allowed a preacher is
one hundred dollars, and his wife the same, with a
small sum for each of his children under a certain
age, together with his traveling, fuel, and table
expenses, yet under these heads, especially the latter,
our ministers at the present day can receive in
salary, table expenses, presents, and marriage fees,
any amount. Some we know of who receive annu
ally on these accounts from two to three thousand
dollars. As a whole, however, the Methodist ministry
are poorly paid, many of them on the poorer cir-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 275
cuits not receiving more than two or three hundred
dollars, and some even less.
An important rule on the subject of arbitration
was adopted at this Conference. This rule had
special reference to the settlement of disputes
arising between brethren in regard to debts. It
has been modified from time to time, and has
proved of great service in preventing litigation, and
keeping " brother from going to law with brother."
The chapter relating to the manner of conducting
public worship was inserted in the Discipline at this
Conference, and with slight modifications from time
time still remains.
Asbury in his Journal, alluding to this Conference,
and the opposition manifested against the appointing
power, says: "Perhaps a new bishop, new Confer
ence, and new laws would have better pleased some.
I have been much grieved for others, and distressed
with the burden I bear, and must hereafter bear. O
my soul, enter into rest! Some of the preachers
having their jealousies about my influence in the
Conference, I gave the matter wholly up to them and
to Dr. Coke, who presided. I am not fond of alter
cations ; we cannot please everybody, and sometimes
not ourselves. Mr. O'Kelly being disappointed in
not getting an appeal from any station made by me,
withdrew from the connection and went off. For
himself, the Conference well knew that he could not

276 LIFE AND TIMES OF
complain of the regulation. He had been located in
the Southern District of Virginia for about ten suc
cessive years, and upon his plan might have located
himself and any preacher or set of preachers to the
district, whether the people wished to have them or
not. The General Conference went through the Dis
cipline, Articles of Faith, Forms of Baptism", Matri
mony, and the Burial of the Dead, as also the Offices
and Ordination. The Conference ended in peace,
after providing for another General Conference, to he
held, four years afterward. By desire of the breth
ren, I preached once on 1 Peter iii, 8. My mind was
kept in peace, and my soul enjoyed rest in the
stronghold."

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 277

CHAPTER XV.
Second Decade of Methodism passed — Results of Twenty-six Years —
Position of the Church — Southern Tour — WMtefield's Orphan House
in Georgia — Melancholy Reflections — Asbury crosses the Wilderness
—Sick — Continental Tour — Great Sickness in New York — Few
Preachers at Conference — Yellow Fever in Philadelphia — Day of Fast
ing, Humiliation, and Prayer — Pestilence in Maryland — Pass from a
Health Officer — Preaches in Baltimore — • Takes up Winter Quarters at
Charleston — Midmght Journey — Father Harper's Plantation — As
bury at Baltimore June, 1794 — Portrait taken at request of Preachers
— Original Picture in possession of Baltimore Methodist Historical So
ciety — Travels to Boston — Remarks — New York Conference — Preach
ing — Yellow Fever at Baltimore — WMsky Insurrection in the West
— Charleston — Rough Treatment — Leaves the South — Trip North-
•ward — At New York Fourth of July — Rev. Mr. Ogden's Work on
Revealed Religion — New England — Grave of Embury at Ashgrove —
Residence of Garrettson — Governor Van Cortlandt — At the Mansion
of Ms friend Wells in Charleston — His Slaves — Asbury's Labors in
Charleston — "Ben," the Half-blood Indian Warrior — Thrilling Ac
count of Mrs. Dickenson — Constitution for a Relief Fund — Asbuiy in
New York — Explains the Discipline to the Leaders — His Definition
of Schism — New England Conferenoe — Rumors of Yellow Fever —
Crossing the Bay in a Storm — Conference at Philadelphia — Short
Sketch of Benjamin Abbott.
The second decade of Methodism in America had
passed, and the middle of the third had been reached
at the session of the first General Conference. What
mighty results had been achieved through the instru
mentality of the pioneer missionaries during the
period of twenty-six years ! In considerably less
than one generation, the Methodist Church in Amer
ica had risen from the smallest and feeblest begin-

278 LIFE AND TIMES OF
nings to a large denomination, embracing the whole
country, from Maine to Georgia, in the field of its
operations, besides including portions of the province
of Canada. From a small society, composed, as we
have seen, of six persons, who met to listen to the
instructions of a carpenter in his rude shop on Bar
rack-street, New York, the number had increased tQ
sixty -five thousand ; and instead of one local preacher,
there were two hundred and sixty-six engaged in
the regular work, besides hundreds who, like Embury,
labored with their hands for a support during the
week, and on Sabbaths visited destitute localities,
preaching the Gospel without fee or reward. From
a feeble and unorganized society, without the ordi
nances and without a " regularly authorized ministry,"
Methodism had risen up to take its position with an
ordained ministry, and the full possession of all the
ordinances as a separate and distinct organization
among the Churches of the land.
After the session of the General Conference Asbury
started out on his Southern tour, and traveled as far
as Georgia. While at Savannah he visited the ruins
of Whitefield's Orphan House. He gazed with
melancholy interest upon the blackened walls, and
recognized among the ruins the copper-plate inscrip
tion which had been inserted in the main building.
While Whitefield was eating his last dinner at this
house, it is said he remarked as follows: "This

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 279
house was built for God, and cursed be the man that
puts it to any other use." Asbury was led to the
following reflections in regard to this enterprise : " I
reflect upon the present ruin of the Orphan House,
and taking a view of the money expended, the per
sons employed, the preachers sent over, I was led to
inquire, where are they ? The earth, the army, the
Baptists, the Episcopal Church, the Independents,
have swallowed them all up at this windmill of the
continent. A wretched country this ; but there are
souls, precious souls, worth worlds."
From Georgia he passed through the country and
returned by way of Kentucky, crossing the wilderness
to Virginia, and thus on through New Jersey to New
York. From hence he passed through Connecticut
and Massachusetts and returned to New York. In
all this tour he was in labors more abundant, preach
ing at every point, and superintending the various
business connected with the Conferences. Though he
had been sick four months of the time, yet he had
traveled three thousand miles since General Confer
ence. When he returned to the city of New York he
found great sickness prevailing. But few preachers
attended the Conference, on account of the pestilence.
While here he received intelligence of the prevalence
of yellow fever in Philadelphia, and was dissuaded
from going to that place, as it would be attended
with great danger. But duty called, and he felt that

280 LIFE AND "TIMES OF
in following the behests of duty he was safe, ay, even
immortal till his work was done. The following,
which we find in his Journal of Friday, 6th of Sep
tember, will show the state of the city at that time :
" Ah how the ways mourn ! how low spirited are the
people while making their escape ! I found it awful
indeed. I judge the people die from fifty to one
hundred in a day ; some of our friends are dying,
others flying. Sabbath I preached on the text, ' Cry
aloud, spare not ; lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and
show my people their transgressions, and the house
of Jacob their sins.' The people of this city are
alarmed, and well they may be. I went down to
Ebenezer Church, but my strength was gone ; how
ever, I endeavored to open and apply Micah vi, 9 :
' The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man
of wisdom shall see thy name : hear ye the rod, and
who hath appointed it.' The streets are now depop
ulated, and the city wears a gloomy aspect. Poor
Philadelphia! 'The lofty city, He layeth it low.'"
The preachers, in view of the calamity, appointed a
day of fasting and humiliation, and after Sabbath left
the city ; but Asbury remained.
The pestilence also prevailed in Maryland, and on
his route he stopped at a quarterly meeting at the
Cross Roads, where he preached from the text, "Yea,
in the way of thy judgments have we waited for thee."
In this discourse he showed that God sent pestilence

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 281
famine, blasting, and mildew, and that only the
Church, and the people of God know and believe his
judgments ; that God's people waited for him in the
way of his judgments, and that they improved and
profited by them. Having been in the infected re
gion, he could not travel without a pass from the
health officer, and hence, when he was en route for
Baltimore, he found a guard stationed one hundred
miles from the place. At Baltimore he preached from
the words, " Give glory to God before he cause dark
ness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark
mountains, and while ye look for light he turn it into
the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness."
Having delivered his testimony, he proceeded to An
napolis, and then returned to meet the Conference in
Baltimore. From hence he started out on his south
ern tour. This year he declined going to the West,
and gave the following as his reasons : " The Ameri
can Alps, the deep snows and great rains, swimming
the creeks and rivers, riding in the night, sleeping
on earthen floors, more or less of which I must expe
rience if I go to the western country, might cost me
my life. I have only been able to preach four times in
three weeks." He accordingly proceeded south, and
took up his winter- quarters at Charleston, which he
describes as "the seat of Satan, dissipation, and folly."
The following description of a midnight journey
in North Carolina at this time will serve as a speci-

282 LIFE AND TIMES OF
men of many of Asbury's adventures in traveling :
"At length we came to Howe's Ford, on the Catawba
River, where we could get neither canoe nor guide.
We entered the river at the wrong place, and
were soon among the rocks and in the whirlpools.
My head swam and my horse was affrighted ; the
water was to my knees, and it was with difficulty we
retreated to the same shore. My horse being afraid
to take to the water a second time, my companion
crossed over, and sent me his horse, the guide which
had been procured from the other side taking mine
across. We passed on ; but our troubles were not at
an end. It was very dark, and rained heavily, ac
companied with tremendous lightning and thunder.
We lost our path and wandered in the wilderness past
midnight until we struck one, which we followed.
This path fortunately led us to dear old father Har
per's plantation. We made for the house, and called.
He answering, but wondering who it could be, in
quired whence we came. I told him we would tell
him when he let us in, for it was raining so powerfully
we had no time to talk. When I came dripping
into the house he cried, ' God bless your soul, is it
Brother Asbury ? Wife, get up.' "
In June, 1794, he arrived at Baltimore, and worn
and weary sought a little rest. While here he had
his portrait taken at the request of the preachers. In
regard to this he says : " It seems they will want a

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 283
copy ; if they wait longer perhaps they will miss it.
Those who have gone from us in Virginia (alluding
to the O'Kelly secession) have drawn a picture of
me which is not taken from the life." The original
portrait of the venerable bishop is in possession of the
Baltimore Methodist Historical Society. From Bal
timore the bishop started out on his northern tour,
passing through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New
York, and Connecticut to Massachusetts. In Boston
he writes : " Like our Lord we had to preach in an
upper room, but we shall yet have a work in Boston."
On his return he held a Conference at New York.
While here he preached on Sabbath in John-street in
the morning, and in Forsyth-street in the afternoon.
The next Sabbath he preached in the new church in
Brooklyn. Intelligence came to him of the raging of
the yellow fever at Baltimore, and the insurrection in
the West on account of the excise law relative to the
manufacture of whisky.
Again he started south, and meeting with the usual
incidents on the way, of swimming rivers, wading
swamps, riding all day in the rain, and nearly all
night in the dark, preaching as he went "in weari
ness and painfulness," and often " in perils in the wil
derness," he at length reached Charleston, his southern
home. To save himself, if possible, he concluded to
spend a portion of the winter in this place. The
mild climate was favorable to his health, though the

284 LIFE AND TIMES OF
city was very offensive to his moral feelings. He
was frequently insulted in the streets, and while en
gaged in prayer with a few persons, those outside
would shout at him in derision.
While here at this time he was unusually dejected.
He says in his Journal : " I have been lately more
subject to melancholy than for many years past,
and how can I help it ; the white and the worldly
people are intolerably ignorant of God ; playing,
dancing, swearing, racing, these are their common
practices and pursuits. Our few male members
do not attend preaching, and I fear there is hardly
one who walks with God ; the women and Africans
attend our meetings, and some strangers also. Per
haps it may be necessary for me to know how
wicked the world is that I may do more as a presi
dent minister. There is some similarity between
my stay here and at Bath." Further on he says:
"The people have high work below stairs, laid off
for each day this week. The western regiment pa
rades to-day, the eastern to-morrow. Wednesday
is the president's birthday; Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday, come on the races. I intend to keep close
to my room, except when attending meetings in the
evenings ; I am in a furnace, may I come out purified
like gold." When the period arrived for his leaving he
preached a parting discourse. The congregation was
very large, and he remarked that if the people were

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 285
prudent, and the preachers faithful, there would be a
work of the Lord even in that " seat of wickedness."
When spring returned to melt the frozen fetters of
the North, he left the sunny South and entered upon
his itinerant career. After attending Conference at
Holstein, he crossed the mountains and proceeded
along the valley between the Blue Ridge and the
Alleghanies, to the head waters of the Shenandoah,
which he followed to its mouth, crossing the Potomac
near Harper's Ferry, and proceeding to Baltimore.
In seven days he rode two hundred and twenty-seven
miles. From thence he bent his course for New
York, where he arrived on the 4th of July, amid
the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and the
shouts of liberty. The Rev. Mr. Ogden, of New
York, presented him on this visit with a copy of his
work on Revealed Religion, being an answer to
Paine's Age of Reason. He took from hence his tour
through New England on the old route, and on his
return for the first time visited Vermont. During
this visit he had an opportunity of seeing the
grave of Embury at Ashgrove. He visited the
residence of Garrettson at Rhinebeck, one of the
first native American Methodist preachers, a faith
ful devoted, and talented minister of the Gospel,
cheerfully submitting to all privations, • shrinking
from no toils or hardships, bearing all perse
cutions for the sake of his Master, and among

286 LIFE AND TIMES QF
the first to bear the glad tidings .of salvation to
Western New York. He also visited. Governor
Van Cortlandt at Croton, whose princely mansion
was always open for Methodist preachers, and who
afterward dedicated a magnificent grove near his
residence as a place for holding the yearly camp-
meeting. Asbury could appreciate and enjoy hospi
tality, and though he never courted, yet when Provi
dence opened his way he never shunned the' society
of the wealthy. After having toiled through the
wilderness, sleeping in cabins or in the woods, and
living on the coarsest fare, he would enjoy "the rest
and comfort afforded at the mansions of Mr. Van
Pelt on Staten Island, Judge White in Delaware,
General Russell in Holstein, Mr. Wells in Charleston,
General Lippett, in Cranston, R. I., Mr. Phelps in
Virginia, Mr. Johnson in Massachusetts, Governors
Worthington and Tiffin in Ohio, and several others
in different sections of the country.
On his southern tour we find him again at the
mansion of his old friend Wells in Charleston. An
incident occurred here which shows how deeply As
bury sympathized with the colored people. He
says : "I was happy last evening with the poor slaves
in Brother Wells's kitchen, while our white brother
(the stationed preacher) held a sacramental love-feast
in the front parlor up stairs." During his stay in the
city this time, which was about two months, he at-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 287
tended the business of the Conference, preached
eighteen sermons, met fifteen classes, wrote eighty
letters, besides more than three hundred pages on
subjects interesting to the Church, read several books,
and visited thirty families again and again, and yet
in the review of all this he asks : " What have I done?
who are made the subjects of grace?" We doubt if
there are any regular pastors without any other
duties who can present an exhibit of labor in their
charges superior to this.
On his return trip, in crossing the ridge which
runs through Russell county, Virginia, he says of the
people : " They have lived in peace ever since the
death of Ben, the half-blood Indian warrior, who was
shot through the head while carrying off two women.
He was a dreadfully wicked wretch, and had been
the agent of death to nearly one hundred people in
the wilderness and on Russell." While in this section
of the country he inserts the following in his Journal :
" This day in the evening Brother Kobler was called
upon to perform the funeral services of Mrs. F. Dick
enson, who has been as great a female sufferer as I
ever heard of. She was married to a Mr. Scott, and
lived in Powell's Valley ; at which time the Indians
were very troublesome, often killing and plundering
the inhabitants. On a certain evening, her husband
and children being in bed, eight or nine Indians
rushed into the house ; her husband being alarmed,

288 LIFE AND TIMES OF
started up, when all that had guns fired at him. Al
though he was badly wounded, he broke through
them all, and got out of the house. Several of them
closely pursued him, and put an end to his life.
They then murdered and scalped all her children be
fore her eyes, plundered her house, and took her
prisoner. The remainder of the night they spent
around a fire in the woods, drinking, shouting, and
dancing. The next day they divided the plunder
with great equality ; among the rest of the goods was
one of Mr. Wesley's hymn-books ; she asked them for
it, and they gave it to her ; but when they saw her
often reading therein they were displeased, called her
a conjurer, and took it from her. After this they
traveled several days' journey toward the Indian
towns ; but, said she, my grief was so great I could
hardly believe my situation was a reality, but thought
I dreamed. To aggravate my grief, one of the In
dians hung my husband's and my children's scalps to
his back, and would walk the next before me. In
walking up and down the hills and mountains, I was
worn out with fatigue and sorrow ; they would often
laugh when they saw me almost spent, and mimic my
panting for breath. There was one Indian who was
more humane than the rest. He would get me
water, and make the others stop when I wanted to
rest. Thus they carried me on eleven days' journey,
until they were all greatly distressed with hunger.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 289
They then committed me to the care of an old Indian
at the camp, while they went off a hunting.
" While the old man was busily employed in dress
ing a deer-skin, I walked backward and forward
through the woods, until I observed he took no notice
of me. I then slipped off, and ran a considerable
distance and came to a cane-brake, where I hid my
self very securely. Through most of the night I
heard the Indians searching for me, and answering
each other with a voice like that of an owl. Thus
was I left alone in the savage wilderness, far from
any inhabitants, without a morsel of food, or any
friend to help, but the common Saviour and friend of
all: to him I poured out my complaint in fervent
prayer that he would not forsake me in this distress
ing circumstance. I then set out the course that I
thought Kentucky lay, though with very little expec
tation of seeing a human face again, except that of
the savages, whom I looked upon as so many fiends
from the bottomless pit ; and my greatest dread was
that of meeting some of them while wandering in the
wilderness. " One day as I was traveling, I heard a loud human
voice, and a prodigious noise, like horses running. I
ran into a safe place and hid myself, and saw a com
pany of Indians pass by, furiously driving a gang of
horses which they had stolen from the white people
I had nothing to subsist upon but roots, young grape
19

290 LIFE AND TIMES OF
vines, and sweet-cane, and such like produce of the
woods. I accidentally came where a bear was eating
a deer, and drew near in hopes of getting some ; but
he growled and looked angry, so I left him, and
quickly passed on. At night, when I lay down to
rest, I never slept but I dreamed of eating. In my
lonesome , travels I came to a very large shelving
rock, under which was a fine bed of leaves. I crept
in among them, and determined there to end my days
of sorrow. I lay there several hours, until my bones
ached in so distressing a manner that I was obliged
to stir out again. I then thought of, and wished for
home ; and traveled on several days, till I came where
Cumberland River breaks through the mountain.
"I went down .the cliffs a considerable distance,
until I was affrighted, and made an attempt to go
back, but found the place, down which I had gone,
was so steep that I could not return. I then saw but
one way that I could go, which was a considerable
perpendicular distance down to the bank ofthe river.
I took hold of the top of a little bush and for half an
hour prayed fervently to God for assistance. I then
let myself down by the little bush until it broke,
and I went with great violence down to the bottom.
This was early in the morning, and I lay there a con
siderable time, with a determination to go no farther.
About ten o'clock I grew so thirsty, that I concluded
to crawl to the water and drink, after which I found

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 291
I could walk. The place I came through, as I have
been since informed, is only two miles, and I was
four days in getting through it. I traveled on until
I came to a little path, one end of which led to the
inhabitants, and the other to the wilderness. I knew
not which end of the path to take. After standing
and praying to the Lord for direction, I turned to
take the end that led to the wilderness. Imme
diately there came a little bird of a dove- color near
to my feet, and fluttered along the path that led to
the inhabitants. I did not observe this much at first,
until it did it a second or third time. I then under
stood this as a direction of Providence, and took the
path which led me to the inhabitants.
" Immediately after her safe arrival she embraced
religion, and lived and died a humble follower of •
Christ." From this point Asbury pursued his journey until
he arrived in Baltimore, where he made a review of
his southern travels since leaving that place, as fol
lows : " From the best judgment I can form, the dis
tance is as follows : from Baltimore to Charleston, S.
C, one thousand miles ; thence up the state of South
Carolina, two hundred miles ; from the center to the
west of Georgia, two hundred miles ; through North
Carolina, one hundred miles ; through the state of
Tennessee, one hundred miles ; through the west of
Virginia, three hundred miles ; through Pennsylvania

292 LIFE AND TLMES OF
and the west of Maryland, and down to Baltimore,
four hundred miles. It will be,, seen that this tour of
two thousand three hundred miles did not embrace the
wilderness of Kentucky and Ohio, the most dangerouB'
and difficult portion included in his annual round.
While in Philadelphia, on his northern tour, he
drew up a constitution for a general fund, designed
for the support of the traveling ministry, and to be
applied, first, to the single men that suffer and are in
want; second, to the married traveling preachers;
third, to the worn-out preachers ; fourth, to the wid
ows and orphans of those who have died in the work ;
fifth, to enable the annual conferences to employ
more married men ; and lastly, to supply the wants of
all the traveling preachers, under certain regulations
and restrictions, as the state of the fund would admit.
New York seems to have been one of the fields of
his greatest labors. Frequently we find him preach
ing three times and visiting six classes on one Sab
bath, an amount of labor that none of his successors
of the present day would think of performing. On
one occasion, after preaching twice on the Sabbath
to sixteen hundred hearers each time, he said:
" The preachers had pity upon me* and desired me
only to preach twice." While in this city, in 1796,
he found it necessary to call a. meeting of the lead
ers of the different classes for the purpose of explain
ing the Discipline in regard to the right of the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 293
preacher in charge to expel members when tried
before them, or a select number of them, and found
guilty of a breach of the law of God and the rules of
the Church. He also explained the nature of an
appeal. On the subject of schism he made the follow
ing remark : " Schism is not dividing hypocrites from
ihypocrites, formal professors from people of their
own caste. It is not dividing nominal Episcopalians
from each other, nominal Methodists from nominal
Methodists, or nominal Quakers from nominal
Quakers ; but schism is the dividing real Christians
from each other, and breaking the unity of the
Spirit." This is the true apostolic definition of
schism, which consists in "rending the body of
¦Christ," and not in any disruption of a false Church.
From New York Asbury passed on through New
England, preaching everywhere, " in labors more
abundant," and looking with a fatherly anxiety over
all the interests of the Church. Returning to New
York, he made preparations for the approaching Con
ference. When the period arrived, several preachers
were detained at home on account of rumors of yel
low fever in the city. Enough, however, arrived to
attend to the business of the Conference, and a
peaceful, profitable session was held. After preach
ing in John-street and in the new church, Asbury
ordained eight deacons and seven elders, the services
connected with Which required him fo be on his feet

294 LIFE AND TIMES OF
six hours in the course of the day. On Monday, not
being able to find a passage at Powles Hook, on
account of the stormy weather, two of the preachers
went to Whitehall, where they found a boat which,
in the language of Asbury, "would sail, sink, or
swim for Van Deezen's Landing, on Staten Island."
He felt rather reluctant about entering the craft and
braving the dangers, but finally embarked. He says :
" We passed the bay, ten miles over, in the space of
an hour. When we were within one mile of the
dock the wind shifted and blew powerfully; the
people on shore were alarmed, and had the skiff
ready to take us up, expecting we should fill and sink,
or be beaten off and strike the rocks. After a time
we secured the boat, and landed the men, but left
the landing of the horses for better weather."
At Philadelphia he preached in the Ebenezer and
St. George's Churches, to large and attentive con
gregations. At the Conference there were present
between forty and fifty preachers, and the session
was characterized by great harmony and prosperity.
For the first time since Asbury had been on the con
tinent, it was announced that sufficient money had
been raised to pay the salaries of all the preachers,
and besides there was a surplus of two hundred dol
lars, which was appropriated to relieve the preachers
from embarrassment and pay their debts. From
hence the bishop directed his course toward Balti-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 295
more, where the General Conference was to be held
in November.
One of the remarkable men in the itinerancy of
the times about which we are now writing, was
Benjamin Abbott. He was a man of great simplicity
of manner and good native talents, though entirely
uncultivated. His success as a preacher was of the
most wonderful character. Wherever he went crowds
were attracted to hear him, and he rarely preached a
sermon that was not attended with immediate results
in the conversion of souls. Beyond his Bible and
Hymn Book he did not extend his studies, but seem
ed to have been shut up to them entirely. He had
deep experience in spiritual things, and his labors
were characterized with great faith and zeal. Hav
ing strong faith, all his movements partook of its
nature, and he as confidently expected souls would be
converted as that the Gospel was preached. It was
this element in his character that gave him such
power in preaching, and made him one of the most
successful ministers of his day. He traveled, like
most of the preachers of that day, over a wide extent
of country, and precious fruits of his ministry were
gathered in all parts of the land. Of the graces of
oratory or elocution he knew nothing; a child of
nature, he obeyed her impulses alone, and with a
heart full of love to God and love to man, he was
like a minister from Pentecost, with a heart of fire

296 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and a tongue of flame. Hence his word was with
power, and none could resist the eloquence or gain
say the wisdom with which he spoke. His last
labors were on the eastern shore of Maryland, and a
fire was kindled throughout the length and breadth
of the peninsula which burns even to this day. Like
the holy lamp of the sanctuary, he was a flame ever
burning ; but in serving others he consumed himself,
and thus literally burned out his life, a living sacri
fice to the holy cause in which he was engaged.
Thus lived and thus died this wonderful man.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 297

CHAPTER XVT.
General Conferenoe in Baltimore in 1796— Number of Preachers present
— Cradle of Southern Methodism — Quadrennial Greetings — Address
of British Conference — Number of Conferences — Boundaries — Deed
of Settlement — Candidates for Deacon's and Elder's Orders — Arrange
ments for Publication of Books — MontMy Magazine — Rules for
Seminaries of Learning — Charter Fund — Preacher's Fund merged —
Regulations in regard to Marriage — Use and Sale of Ardent Spirits —
Subject of African Slavery — Declaration — ¦ Address to the British
Conference — Southern Tour — Attack of Fever — Coke and Whatcoat
— Unpleasant Incident — Mr. Wesley displeased — Asbury's Love of
American Methodism — Light-street Church and Asbury College de
stroyed by Fire — Dangerous niness of Mr. Wells — Death — Tribute
to Ms Memory — Dr. Coke's Oration — Notes on the Disciphne — Spring
— Gap in the Mountain — Widow Sherwood's — Dumb Sabbaths — Re
view of Labors — Jesse Lee in Maine — Noble Band of New England
¦' Itinerants — The eccentric Father Moodie — Conference at Readfield —
Preaches in Portland — Returns — Yellow Fever in New York — Death
of John Dickins — Testimonial — Conference in PhiladelpMa and New
York— Accompanied by Lee to the South — Intelligence of Washing
ton's Death — Sermon on the Occasion — Snethen — A great Favorite.
In the fourth decade of Methodism in this country
we shall embrace the General Conference held in
Baltimore on the 19th of November, 1796. About
one hundred preachers were present at this Confer
ence, and the session began under the most favorable
auspices. It was an occasion of great interest to see
those hardy sons of itinerant toil assembled together
from the extremes of the continent in that cradle of
southern Methodism, the Light-street Church. The
first thing they did was to receive the fraternal

298 LIFE AND TIMES OF
quadrennial greetings of their brethren in England.
Though Wesley and the first class of itinerants asso
ciated with him had closed their career and entered
into rest, their successors still retained an ardent at
tachment to all the members of the wide-spread
family of Methodism. In their address the British
Conference say : " We see an absolute necessity of
strictly adhering to our first principles, by firmly sus
taining our original doctrines, and that plan and dis
cipline which we have so long proved to be the very
sinews of our body. Herein we doubt not you are
likeminded with us. We consider you a branch of
the same root from which we sprung, and of which
we can never think but with inexpressible gratitude.
We congratulate you on the honor which our blessed
Lord has put upon you in crowning your endeavors
with such amazing success, and blessing you with the
enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, for which
we also have great cause to be thankful."
Up to this period in the history of the Church the
bishops exercised discretionary power in appointing
as many Annual Conferences as they judged expedi
ent for the convenience of the preachers and people ;
but as the General Conference possessed the legisla
tive power to make rules and regulations, it was
deemed best at this session to settle definitely the
question in regard to their number, and also to define
the respective boundaries of each. Accordingly the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 299
number of Conferences agreed upon was six, with the
proviso that should it be considered essential to the
demands of the work in New England, the bishop
might organize an additional one in the province of
Maine. The following were the Conferences author
ized to be holden :
1st. The New England Conference, embracing the
states included under that name, and so much of the
State of New York as lay east of Hudson River.
2d. The Philadelphia Conference, embracing the
remainder of the State of New York, New Jersey, all
that part of Pennsylvania lying east of Susquehanna
River, the State of Delaware, and the remainder of
the peninsula.
3d. The Baltimore Conference, including the re
mainder of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and the
Northern Neck of Virginia.
4th. The Yirgvnia Conference, embracing all that
part of the state lying south of Rappahannock River,
and all that part of North Carolina lying on the north
side of Cape Fear River, including also the circuits
on the branches of the Yadkin.
5th. The South Carolina Conference, embracing
South Carolina, Georgia, and the remainder of North
Carolina. 6th. The Western Conference, embracing the States
of Kentucky and Tennessee.
'. Among the reasons given by the General Confer-

300 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ence for its action in the establishment of these Con
ferences, we find the following : " For several years
the Annual Conferences were very small, consisting
only of the preachers of a single district, or of two or
three very small ones. This was attended with many
inconveniences. There were but few of the senior
preachers whose years and experience had matured
their judgments who could be present at any one
Conference ; and, besides, the Conferences wanted
that dignity which every religious synod should pos
sess, and which always accompanies a large assem
bly of Gospel ministers. The itinerant plan was
exceedingly cramped from the difficulty of removing
preachers from one district to another. ' To all which
it may be added that the active, zealous, unmarried
preachers may move on a larger scale, and preach
the ever blessed Gospel far more extensively through
the sixteen states and other parts of the continent;
while the married preachers, whose circumstances
require them in many instances to be more local in
their sphere of labor than the single men, will have
a considerable field of action opened to them, and
also the bishops will be able to attend the Confer
ences with greater ease and without injury to their
health." For the purpose of securing the church edifices
which had been built for the Methodist Episcopal
Church, a plan of a deed of settlement was adopted

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 301
by the Conference. The qualifications necessary for
such- as were candidates for elder's orders were also
agreed upon and defined. Certain arrangements
were made in regard to the publication of books,
and also in relation to the management of the press,
which were deemed important. The Conference de
cided upon establishing a monthly magazine. They
also adopted a system of rules for the regulation of
all the seminaries of learning under the patronage
and control of the Church, which are alluded to else
where. A Chartered Fund, to be sustained by volun
tary contributions, the principal stock of which was
to be funded under the direction of trustees, and the
interest accruing applied by order of the General
Conference, was also established. The stock of the
Preachers' Fund was merged into that of the Chartered
Fund, and the annual profits of the Book Concern
were appropriated to increase the stock. It was
agreed that the money subscribed for the fund might
be lodged on proper security in the states respec
tively where it had been subscribed, provided the
securities were such as the trustees in Philadelphia
approved. The sole design in the establishment of
this fund was to secure to the Church the services of
those ministers who otherwise, from sheer necessity,
would have been obliged to retire from the work,
and engage in some secular employment for the sup
port of their families.

302 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Regulations were made at this Conference in regard
to the subject of marriage of such a nature as to
prohibit a member of the Church from marrying one
who was not a member, or at least an awakened
person, and requiring all who had the charge of
circuits to enforce the discipline in all such cases,
and exclude them from the Church. The Conference
also gave directions in regard to the use and sale of
ardent spirits; and while it protested against any
design whatever to trench upon the civil or religious
liberty of any members of the Church, yet it con
sidered the use of ardent spirits, unless in cases of
necessity, and their sale, unless for mechanical,
chemical, or medicinal purposes, such a crying' evil
that it was called upon, under the circumstances,
to legislate against them. The subject of African
slavery, which had more or less excited the attention
of the Conferences from time to time, was also
brought before this General Conference, and became
a matter of serious and deliberate investigation.
The members believed it their duty to seek in all
proper legitimate ways the extirpation of the evil.
The following were the regulations adopted :
" We declare that we are more than ever convinced
of the great evil of African slavery, which still exists
in these United States, and do most earnestly recom
mend to the yearly Conferences, quarterly meetings,
and to those who have the oversight of districts and

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 303
circuits, to be exceedingly cautious what persons
they admit to official stations in our Church ; and in
the case of future admission to official stations, to
require such security of those who hold slaves, for the
emancipation of them immediately or gradually, as
the laws of the states respectively and. the circum
stances of the case will admit. And we do fully
authorize all the yearly Conferences to make what
ever regulations they judge proper in the present
case respecting the admission of persons to official
stations in our Church. No slaveholder shall be
received into the society till the preacher who has
the oversight of the circuit has spoken to him freely
and faithfully on the subject of slavery. Every
member of the society who sells a slave shall, imme
diately after full proof, be excluded the society ; and
if any member of our society purchase a slave, the
ensuing quarterly meeting shall determine on the
number of "years in which the slave so purchased
would work out the price of his purchase. And the
person so purchasing shall, immediately after such
determination, execute a legal instrument for the
manumission of such slave at the expiration of the
term determined by the Quarterly Conference ; and
in default of his executing such instrument of manu
mission, or on his refusal to submit his case to the
judgment of the quarterly meeting, such member shall
be excluded the society. Provided, also , that in the

304 LIFE AND TIMES OF
case of a female slave it shall be inserted in the afore
said instrument of manumission that all her children
which shall be born during the years of her servitude
shall be free at the following times, namely, every
female child at the age of tWenty-one, and every
male child at the age of twenty-five. Nevertheless,
if the member of our society executing the said in
strument of manumission judge it proper, he may fix
the times of manumission of the children of the female
slaves before mentioned at an earlier age than that
which is prescribed above. The preachers and other
members of our society are requested to consider the
subject of negro slavery with deep attention till the
ensuing General Conference, and that they impart
to the General Conference, through, the medium of
the yearly Conferences or otherwise, any important
thoughts upon the subject, that the Conference may
have full light in order to take further steps toward
the eradicating this enormous evil from that part of
the Church of God to which they are united."
An address was drawn up by a committee appointed
for that purpose to the British Conference. Among
other items contained in this address we find the
following :
" We candidly confess that we were very fearful,
when the Lord took that eminent man, Rev: John
Wesley, to his reward, that division would take place
among you from the delicate circumstances in which

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 305
you were placed. Among you he superintended for
half a century to the admiration we had almost said
of the entire civilized world. But our God is infi
nitely kind to us all. He has preserved both you and
us in a wonderful manner. We rejoice in your union,
and can bless God that we were never more united
than at present. A few, indeed, who were as great
enemies to the civil government under which they
lived as to our Discipline, have left us, and we have
now not a jarring string among us. At present you
have the largest field of action in respect to the num
ber of souls ; but we are humbly endeavoring to sow
those seeds of grace which may grow up and spread
in this immense country, which in ages to come will
probably be the habitation of hundreds of millions."
At the close of this Conference Asbury started out
upon his Southern tour. His constitution, though
naturally robust, had been undermined and shat
tered by disease. Exposure in all weathers, con
nected with excessive labors, brought on long attacks
of inflammatory fever. He rode during this tour six
hundred miles with a fever on him. Having Coke
and Whatcoat as traveling companions, he was saved
however from preaching as much as usual. While
in Virginia he was amazed to hear that one of his
oldest and most valued friends had been converted
to the views of O'Kelly by being told by that re
former that he (Asbury) had offended Wesley, and
20

306 LIFE AND TIMES OF
for fear of being called to an account had cast him
off altogether. To this he replies : " Query, Did not
J. O'Kelly set aside the appointment of Richard
Whatcoat ? and did not the Conference in Baltimore
strike that minute out of our Discipline which was
called a rejecting of Mr. Wesley? and now, does
J. O'Kelly lay all the blame on me ? It is true, I
never approved of that binding minute. I did not
think it practical expediency to obey Mr. Wesley, at
three thousand miles distance, in all matters relative
to Church government, neither did Brother What
coat, nor several others. At the first General Con
ference I was mute and modest when it passed, and
I was mute when it was expunged. For this Mr.
Wesley blamed me, and was displeased that I did
not rather reject the whole connection or leave them
if they did not comply. But I could not give up the
connection ¦ so easily after laboring and suffering so
many years with and for them." Thus it will be seen
that it was not that Asbury loved Wesley the less,
but that he loved the infant American Methodism
more. The sad intelligence came to him while in South
Carolina that the Light-street Church and Cokesbury
College, in Baltimore, in connection with Mr. Haw
kins's elegant house, were consumed by fire. In this
calamity the Methodists in Baltimore had the sym
pathy of the Episcopal, and the English and German

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 307
Presbyterian Churches, which were kindly tendered
for their occupancy. At Charleston he found his old
friend, Mr. Wells, in a very dangerous sickness.
After preaching on Sabbath he went to hear Dr.
Coke in the evening. On Monday the preachers who
had been attending the Conference left, and after
accompanying Dr. Coke to Clement's Ferry, he re
turned to Mr. Wells's house, where he instructed his
slaves in the kitchen, and then prayed with their
master for the last time. On Tuesday he returned
and found him dead, and " the widow in prayers and
tears, and also the dear children and servants." The
following testimony of regard for his friend we find
in his Journal : " It is twelve long years next March
since he received Henry Willis, Jesse Lee, and my
self into his house. In a few days he was brought
under great distress for sin, and soon after professed
faith in Christ, since which he has been a diligent
member of the society. About fourteen months ago,
when there was a revival of religion in the society
and in his own family, it came home to his own soul ;
he was quickened and remarkably blessed, and con
tinued so until his death. The last words he said were
that he knew where he was ; that his wife was with
him, and that God was with him. He was one much
for the feeling part of religion ; a gentleman of spirit,
and sentiment, and fine feelings ; a faithful friend to
the poor, and warmly attached to the ministers of the

308 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Gospel." Dr. Coke pronounced an oration over his
grave, and the succeeding Sabbath Asbury preached
a funeral discourse on the text, "Be thou faithful
unto death and I will give thee a crown of life."
While here he was quite ill with intermittent fever,
but occupied his time with Dr. Coke in writing the '
Notes to the Discipline, which was continued until
the latter sailed for Ireland, which he did on Friday,
the 10th of February, 1797. When he parted with
the doctor he felt unusually sad. About this time
his spirits were more depressed than ever before.
He says : " My depression of spirits at times is awful,
especially when afflicted. That which is deeply con
stitutional will never die but with my body." When
he left the city this time he felt like one escaped
from prison. The balmy breath of spring revived
his spirits, and as he rode along through the country
he exclaimed: "Hail, ye solitary pines! the jessa
mine, the red bud, and dog-wood ! How charming in
full bloom ; the- former most fragrant." Before him
was a journey of two thousand miles, and his outfit
consisted of but three dollars; yet in courage and
confidence he was resolved to prosecute it, and be
found in the way of duty however discouraging the
circumstances. His route lay through North Caro
lina and Tennessee on to Maryland, and thence to
New York. Some of the most magnificent scenes
are presented to the eye of the traveler in the route

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 309
yearly taken by the bishop in passing through the
borders of North Carolina and crossing what is called
the Gap in the mountain. The ascent is gradual
until the summit of the Blue Ridge is gained. From
this point the scene is the most enchanting that can
be imagined. Spread out in beauty, such only as
nature can produce, as far as the eye can reach,
beautiful plains and flowery woodlands, presenting,
as it were, a continuous but ever-varying panorama,
nothing can be more inspiring.
While at the Widow Sherwood's, in New York
state, a family he frequently visited, and which was
much loved by him, he says : " It is now eight weeks
since I have preached — awfully dumb Sabbaths ! I
have been most severely tried from various quarters.
My fevers, my feet, and Satan would set in with my
gloomy and nervous affections. Sometimes subject
to the greatest effeminacy, to distress at the thought
of a useless, idle life ; but what brought the heavy
pang into my heart, and caused the big tear to roll,
was the thought of leaving the connection without
some proper men of their own election to go in and
out before them in my place, and to keep that order
which I have been seeking these many years to
establish." While in New York he received a letter
from Dr. Coke, who had gone from Ireland to En
gland. He makes the following comments on this
letter : " The three grand divisions of the Wesleyan

310 LIFE AND TIMES OF
connection are alarming. It is a doubt if the doctor
comes to America until spring, if at all until the
General Conference. I am more than ever con
vinced of the propriety of the attempts I have made
to bring forward episcopal men : first, From the un
certain state of my health ; secondly, From a regard
to the gpod order and union of the American body
and the state of the European connection. I am sen
sibly assured that the Americans ought to act as if
they expected to lose me every day and had no de
pendence upon Dr. Coke, taking prudent care not to
place themselves at all under the controlling influence
of British Methodists."
On his return to Baltimore he was called upon to
open the new Light-street Church. His text for the
occasion was : " Now therefore ye are no more stran
gers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints
and of the household of God, and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner-stone." From hence
he went to Virginia, where he held a Conference, and
then, believing that a journey to Charleston would be
fatal, he concluded to take up winter-quarters at Mr.
Drumgold's. His health was such that he could not
preach, and his time was occupied in study and writ
ing letters. When he could neither read nor write, he
had such a horror of being idle that he occupied his
time in winding cotton. While here he received a

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 311
letter from Charleston Conference, representing all
things in a peaceful and prosperous condition. He
was prompted to review in this connection the labors
of Methodist preachers. He says: "I make no
doubt but others have labored; but in England, Scot
land, and Ireland, and those kingdoms that have been
civilized and improved one thousand years, and which
are under such improvements, no minister could have
suffered in those days and in those countries as in
America, the most ancient parts of which have not
been settled two hundred years, some parts not forty,
others not thirty, twenty, nor ten, and some not five
years. I have frequently skimmed along the fron
tiers for four and five hundred miles, from Kentucky
to Green Briar, on the very edge of the wilderness,
and thence along Tagert Valley to Clarksburg on the
Ohio. I am only known by name to many of our
people and some of our local preachers, and unless
the people were all together they could not tell what
I had to cope with. I make no doubt the Methodists
are and will be a numerous and wealthy people ; and
their preachers who follow us will not know our
struggles but by comparing the present improved
state of the country with what it was in our days, as
exhibited in my Journal and other records of that
day. Many other Churches go upon the paths
already trodden two or three hundred years. We
formed our own Church, and claim the power of a

312 LIFE AND TIMES OF
reform every four years. We can make more exten
sive observations, because our preachers in six or
seven years can go through the whole continent and
see the state of other Churches in all parts of this
new world."
From his retreat he went out to Maryland, and
passed through Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and on to New York. While here he preached in
John-street and at the Bowery Church, and rode out
to Kingsbridge, where he also preached. On his
return he preached in Brooklyn. A letter from
England informed him of the death of his father, and
he entered the following reflections in his Journal :
" I now feel myself an orphan with respect to my
father. Wounded memory recalls to mind what took
place when I parted with him nearly twenty-seven
years ago. He was a man that I seldom, if ever,
saw weep ; but when I came to America, over
whelmed with grief and tears, he cried out, ' I shall
never see him again!' For about thirty-nine years
my father has had the Gospel preached in his house." •
The indomitable Jesse Lee having penetrated the
distant province of Maine, and organized societies
and circuits, the time had now arrived for holding a
Conference in that region. Asbury had a great
desire to visit the noble and heroic band of Meth
odist preachers in Conference assembled. He had
met Hall, Mudge, Merritt, Broadhead, and others

FEANCIS ASBURY. 313
associated with Lee in the New York Conference,
but he wished to hold communion with them on the
field of their toil and conflict. He accordingly, on the
first month of the summer of 1798, left New-York,
and proceeded through Connecticut, Rhode Island,
and Massachusetts, passing through Boston, Lynn,
Salem, and Newburyport, to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. Crossing the Piscataqua River, he step
ped for the first time upon the soil of Maine. Pro
ceeding along the sea shore, through old York, the
parish of the eccentric " Father Moodie," who never
received anything for his salary but the prayers of
the people ; through Wells, with its lovely bay and
beautiful beach, over the pine plains of Kennebunk,
and around the saline marshes of Scarborough, he
arrived at Portland, where he found himself among
strangers. Proceeding on to the Presumpscot River,
he preached in a barn. At Gray he preached in a
school-house, and at New Gloucester in the house of
a widow. Making his way through the woods to the
Androscoggin, he crossed near Lewiston Falls, and
went on to Monmouth, where he preached in an
unfinished church, the second erected in the state of
Maine. At Winthrop an appointment had been
made for him at the Congregational Church, but he
was unable to fulfill it. From thence he beat his
way through the woods, which he describes as being
" as bad as the Alleghany Mountains and the Dismal

314 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Swamp, or the shades of death," until he reached
Readfield, where the Conference was to be held.
After Conference he returned to Portland, and
preached in a small back room to about twenty-five
persons. He visited Boston, and from thence re
turned to New York and rested a little at Widow
Sherwood's. The intelligence he received of the
prevalence of the yellow fever in New York and
Philadelphia, was truly alarming. Crossing the ferry
six miles above New York, he went on to Crosswicks,
in New Jersey, where he heard of the death of John
Dickins, who fell a victim to the pestilence. Of
Dickins he says : " For piety, probity, profitable
preaching, holy living, the Christian education of his
children, secret closet prayer, I doubt whether his
superior is to be found either in Europe or America."
From Baltimore he took his usual Southern trip,
attending the Conferences and preaching on the way,
and returned in the spring. While in Delaware a
consultation of physicians, consisting of Doctors
Cook, Anderson, Ridgley, and Neadham, was had in
his case, in which they advised him to desist from
preaching entirely, as he was threatened with a con
sumption, which would speedily end his days. From
the Cross Roads he went to Philadelphia, where he
held a Conference, retiring every night to the Eagle
Works, on the Schuylkill, to the residence of Mr.
Henry Foxall. After Conference he went to New

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 315
York, where Conference was opened. Notwithstand
ing the advice of his physicians, he preached and
exhorted during the session. We give the follow
ing interesting description of this Conference from
the unpublished autobiography of Rev. William
Thacher :
" As the Conference of 1799 was the first in which
I was ever honored with a place and a seat, I may
give a brief account of my adventure on the occa
sion. About a dozen of us, Methodist preachers,
-passengers from the East, landed at New York, and
made our way to the old head-quarters in John-street,
bearing on our arms our saddle-bags ; we were horse- — -
hack men, and did not use trunks for traveling; we •
were all plain men, plain enough. We were wel
comed at the little old parsonage by the venerable
Revs. Thomas Morrell and Joshua Wells, ministers in
the station. Brother W> took us as he found us, bag
and baggage, formed us in rank and file, and placed
himself as captain at the head of the company. We
were in Methodist preacher's uniform, in military
style. Our walk, especially through Chatham-street,
seemed to attract attention. We were soon disposed
of at different places. Conference was held in the
, old hive of Methodists, John-street Church. What a
congregation of Methodist preachers ! What greet
ings, what love beaming in every eye, what gratu-
lation, what rejoicing, what solemnity! The clock

316 LIFE AND TIMES OF
strikes nine. We are in the old sanctuary, in Con
ference, assembled around the altar, within which sits
the venerable Asbury, Bible in hand. A chapter
read, a hymn sung, we kneel. How solemn, how
awful, how devout the prayer! What amens are
responded, what a Divine effusion! Inspiration
seemed to pervade the whole. Prayer ended, the
secretary calls the roll, and we proceed to business.
Six hours are spent each day for the transaction of
business, from nine to twelve and from three to six,
each session opening by reading the Scriptures, sing
ing, and prayer, and closing by prayer. At length
the Conference draws to a close ; the bishop looks
solemnly around upon us, the doomsday document
trembling in his hand ; he reads intuitively each
countenance, tracing the suspense and solicitude of
his anxious sons, all trembling to fly to their work,
yet fearing as to the place where they shall be sent.
Although the suspense was painful, the slow, solemn,
concluding address of the bishop gradually rolls
along, occasionally stopping in its progress until its
close. Then taking the Hymn-book he reads :
' The vineyard of the Lord
Before his laborers lies,
And lo ! we see the vast reward
Which waits us in the skies.'
We sing, we kneel, and O what a prayer! What
unction -from heaven ! We arise, and then the hid-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 317
den, sealed instrument is all a revelation, the bene
diction is pronounced and we separate."
From New York he bent his course southward, and,
accompanied by Lee, visited many of the quarterly
meetings and all the Conferences as far as Georgia.
On his return he held a Conference in Charleston.
While there intelligence was received of the death
of Washington, and on the Sabbath Asbury deliv
ered a discourse on the occasion. No one entertained
a higher regard for Washington than did Asbury
and his coadjutors. After the Conference closed
Lee was requested by the bishop to visit, as his as
sistant, several places in Georgia, he being unable
to go in consequence of illness. Here he remained
preaching, when he was able, until Lee returned,
when, accompanied by him and Snethen, he set out for
the North. The latter of these traveling companions
was as great a favorite with the bishop as Lee, and
in alluding to a certain sermon which he preached in
Virginia during this journey, he says: "N. Snethen
preached a great discourse on 2 Cor. xiii, 5-7." In
the route they were joined by M'Kendree and other
preachers, who were making their way to the
General Conference, which was to be held in Balti
more. From the 10th of February to the 27th of
April, Asbury had traveled eleven hundred miles.

318 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER XVH.
General Conference in Baltimore in 1800 — Address of the British Con
ference — Explanation of Dr. Coke — Address of Asbury to the Brit
ish Conference — His Determination to resign Ms Office — Resolution
of the Conference— Election of Richard Whatcoat to the Episcopacy —
Asbury and Whatcoat at Perry Hall — Abingdon — Ruins of the Col
lege — New York Conference — Revival in the Bowery Church — Wid
ow Sherwood's — Boston — Bishops preach in the Tabernacle-
Mother Livingston — Her Conversion — Hospitality — Garrettson's—
Crossing the Wilderness — Conference at Bethel — Preachers present —
Nashville — Origin of Camp-meetings — Asbury confined at Philadel
phia — Western Conference in Tennessee — Poythress — Reerosses tho
Mountains — Spends the Winter in South Carolina — Baltimore — Maine
— A'charming Sp6t — His Mother's Death — Tribute to her Memory—
Death of Rev. Devereux Jarratt — Memorial — Funeral Sermon — New
York Conference — Fredericktown — Natural Bridge — Revival at Hol
stein— Conference — At Station Camp — Night Encampment— Mount
ain Dew— No Tent — Opinion of Southern Planters — Baltimore —
Compliment to — Perry Hall — Miss De Peyster's Legacy — Sermon in
John street — Ordains Joshua Soule — Ashgrove — Pittsburgh — Zane's
Trace — Lancaster — Western Conference in Kentucky — Visit to Dr.
Hinde — Interesting Incident — Illness — Depression — Legacy — Ten
nessee — Virgima.
On the 6th of May, 1800, one hundred and sixteen
itinerant preachers had congregated from all parts of
the United States in Baltimore, for the purpose of
holding another General Conference. After the Con
ference was opened, Dr. Coke, who had returned
from Europe, read the address of the British Confer-
once, and at considerable length explained those por
tions of it which related to himself in regard to his

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 319
return to Europe. He remarked in conclusion that
the address was not his own, and that he was
not consulted in relation to it, ' and he left the
decision of the case entirely at the disposal of the
General Conference. At the previous General Con
ference he had pledged himself to his American
brethren after the following manner : "I offer myself
to my American brethren entirely to their service,
all I am and have, with my talents and labors in
every respect, without any mental reservation what
ever, to labor among them and to assist Bishop As
bury ; not to station the preachers at any time when
he is present, but to exercise all the episcopal duties
when I hold a Conference in his absence, and by his
consent, and to visit the West Indies and France,
when there is an opening and I can be spared."
As no official action could be had in relation to the
desire of the British Conference, which had pre
viously been made known to the Conference in Vir
ginia in 1797, Bishop Asbury addressed that body as
follows :
" Respected Fathers and Brethren, — You, in your
brotherly kindness, were pleased to address a letter to
us, your brethren and friends in America, expressing
your difficulties and desires concerning our beloved
brother Dr. Coke, that he might return to Europe to
heal the breach which designing men have been

320 LIFE AND TIMES OF
making among you, or prevent its threatened over
flow. We have but one grand responsive body,
which is our Gene'ral Conference, and it was in and
to this body the doctor entered his obligations to
serve his brethren in America. No yearly Confer
ence, no official character dare assume to answer for
that grand federal body.
"By the advice of the yearly Conference now sit
ting in Virginia, and the respect I bear to you, I write
to inform you that in our own persons and order we
consent to his return and partial continuance with
you, and earnestly pray that you may have much
peace, union, and happiness together. May you find
that your divisions end in a greater union, order, and
harmony of the body, so that the threatened cloud
may blow over, and your divisive party may be of as
little consequence to you as ours is to us.
" With respect to the doctor's returning to us, I
leave your enlarged understandings and good sense
to judge. You will see the number of souls upon our
Annual Minutes, and as men of reading you may
judge over what a vast continent these societies are
scattered. I refer you to a large letter I wrote our
beloved Brother Bradburn on the subject.
" By a probable guess, we have, perhaps, from one
thousand to one thousand two hundred traveling
and local preachers. Local preachers are daily rising
up and coming forward, with proper recommendations

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 321
from their respective societies, to receive ordination,
besides the regulation and ordinations of the yearly
Conferences. From Charleston, South Carolina,
where the Conference was held, to the province of
Maine, where another Conference is to be held, there
is a space of about one thousand and three hundred
miles ; and we have only one worn-out superintend
ent, who was this day advised by the yearly Confer
ence to desist from preaching till next spring, on
account of his debilitated state of body. But the
situation of our affairs requires that he should travel
about five thousand miles a year, through many parts
unsettled, and other thinly peopled countries. I have
now with me an assistant, who does everything for
me he constitutionally can ; but the ordaining and sta
tioning the preachers can only be performed by my
self in the doctor's absence.
" We have to lament that our superintendency is
so weak, and that it cannot constitutionally be
strengthened till the ensuing General Conference.
How I have felt and must feel, under such critical
and important circumstances, I leave you to judge.
"To write much on the subject would be imposing
on my own weakness and your good understanding.
I speak as unto wise men ; judge what I say.
" Wishing you great peace and spiritual prosperity,
I remain your brother, your friend, your servant for
Christ's sake." 21

322 LIFE AND TIMES OF
In conformity with the permission given in this let
ter for his absence from America for a short season
only, after remaining for a while and assisting Bishop
Asbury, Dr. Coke returned to Europe, and was use
fully employed in visiting the societies in various
parts of the United Kingdom, particularly in Ireland,
during a rebellion which broke out in 1798, in which
he was successful in his attempts to shield the Meth
odist preachers from all blame, until the session of
this General Conference, when he appeared to fulfill
his engagements with his American brethren, or be
honorably released. After deliberating for some
time upon the request of the British Conference for
Dr. Coke's return, the following resolution was con
curred in by the General Conference :
" That, in compliance with the address of the Brit
ish Conference to let Dr. Coke return to Europe, this
General Conference consent to his return upon con
dition that he come back to America as soon as his
business will allow, but certainly by the next Gen
eral Conference."
In accordance with the spirit of this resolution, the
Conference addressed their British brethren as fol
lows: " We have considered, with the greatest attention,
the request you have made for the doctor's return to
Europe ; and after revolving the subject deeply in
our minds, and spending part of two days in debating

• FEANCIS ASBUEY. 323
thereon, we still feel an ardent desire for his continu
ance in America. This arises from the critical state
of Bishop Asbury's health, the extension of our work,
our affection for and approbation of the doctor, and
his probable usefulness, provided he continue with
us. We wish to detain him, as we greatly need his
services. But the statement you have laid before us
in your address, of the success of the West India
missions under his superintendence, the arduous at
tempt to carry the Gospel among the native Irish
requiring his influence and support, and the earnest
request you have added to this representation, ' be
lieving it to be for the glory of God,' hath turned the
scale at present in your favor. We have, therefore,
in compliance with your request, lent the doctor to
you for a season, to return to us as soon as he con
veniently can, but at farthest by the meeting of our
next General Conference."
Asbury's health having declined more rapidly
within a few years past, and finding it difficult to
travel and superintend the work generally, he had
come to the conclusion to resign his office as bishop.
Being unable to perform its duties, he could not consent
to remain in a relation for which he was evidently
unfitted, and which Providence indicated should be
dissolved. He was keenly alive to the responsibility
of his position, and having been able during the last
quadrennial period to render only partial service, he

324 LIFE AND TIMES OF
feared that there was a dissatisfaction existing in the
minds of the preachers on that account. To disabuse
his mind the Conference unanimously passed the
following :
"Resolved, That this General Conference consider
themselves under many and great obligations to Mr.
Asbury for the many and great services he has ren
dered to the connection, and that they earnestly
entreat a continuance of his services as one of the
General Superintendents of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, as far as his strength will permit."
In view of the inability of Bishop Asbury to do
effectively the work of an itinerant general superin
tendent, the Conference subsequently resolved to go
into an election of an additional bishop, and as the
result of such election Richard Whatcoat was chosen.
He was shortly after duly ordained to the office, and
became the episcopal colleague of Asbury.
After the transaction of the ordinary business per
taining to the Conference it adjourned, and the
preachers started out again to their different and dis
tant fields of itinerant toil.
In company with the newly ordained bishop, As
bury left Baltimore and went out to " Perry Hall."
The family of Mr. Gough, like the family visited by
the Saviour at Bethany, manifested the most enlarged
and open-hearted hospitality, and the visits of As
bury were hailed with delight. From this place they

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 325
went to Abingdon, the site of the late Cokesbury
College, whose charred and blackened walls pre
sented a sad and melancholy appearance. Passing
through Delaware and New Jersey, they came on to
New York, where the Conference was held. During
the session there was quite a revival in the Bowery
Church. From this place they went out to the
Widow Sherwood's for the purpose of enjoying quiet
and rest. While here Asbury preached at Sherwood's
Chapel. From thence the bishops pursued their
eastern route through Connecticut and Rhode Island
on to Boston, where they both preached in the Tab
ernacle. On their return they fell in company with
Garrettson, who had been attending the funeral of the
venerable Mother Livingston, who died suddenly at
the age of seventy-eight. In regard to this lady As
bury says : " About thirty-four years ago this godly
woman was awakened, under the first sermon the
Rev. Dr. Sadley preached in the Reformed Low
Dutch Church in New York ; as she told me, not she
alone, but six or eight other respectable women.
Madam Livingston was one who gave invitation to
the Methodist preachers to come to Rhinebeck, and
received them into her house, and would have given
them more countenance had she been under no other
influence than that of the spirit of God and her own
feelings. I visited her one year before her death, and
spent a night at her mansion. She was sensible, con-

326 LIFE AND TIMES OF
versable, and hospitable." After leaving Rhinebeck,
where they stopped and enjoyed the hospitalities of
Garrettson's pleasant home, and at the " elegant man
sion " of Dr. Tillotson, commanding a charming view
of the Hudson, they started out upon their route
and came to Poughkeepsie, concerning which As
bury remarked, "This is no place for Methodism."
Again in New York, after recruiting a little, they
started out on their Southern tour, passing through
the intervening states, preaching at Baltimore and
other places, until they arrived at Virginia, where
they made preparations for their " grand route to Ken
tucky." After crossing the wilderness, they reached
the seat of the Western Conference on the 3d of Oc
tober. The place selected was Bethel, on the Ken
tucky River, about forty miles above Frankfort. We
give the names of the preachers present on that occa
sion : William M'Kendree, William Burke, John Sale,
Hezekiah Harriman, Benjamin Lakin. At this Con
ference Lewis Hunt, Thomas Allen, and Jeremiah
Lawson were readmitted. Two were admitted on
trial. After spending two weeks in that section of
the country, Asbury, Whatcoat, and M'Kendree start
ed for Nashville. He thus describes his visit to this
city : " This is a place long heard of, but never seen
by me until now. Some thought the congregation
would be small, but I believed it would be large.
Not less than one thousand people were in and out

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 327
of the stone church, which if floored, ceiled, and
glazed, would be a grand house. We had three
hours' public exercises. Mr. M'Kendree preached
upon 'The wages of sin is death-,' myself upon Ro
mans x, 14, 15, and Brother Whatcoat on 'When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also
appear with him in glory.' " While in Tennessee
they attended a meeting which had been in progress
four days. It was one of those remarkable meetings
called sacramental occasions, held by Presbyterian
ministers, and which, on account of the great numbers
that attended them, gave rise to camp-meetings. At
this meeting Asbury, Whatcoat, and M'Kendree were
invited to participate, and it was continued several
days longer. The following graphic description of
this meeting we find in his Journal : " The stand was
in the open air, embosomed in a wood of lofty trees.
The ministers of God, Methodists and Presbyterians,
united their labors, and mingled with the childlike
simplicity of primitive times. Fires blazing here
and there dispelled the darkness; and the shouts of
the redeemed captives, mingling with the cries of
precious souls struggling into life, broke the silence
of midnight. The weather was delightful, as if
heaven smiled, while mercy flowed in abundant
streams of salvation to perishing sinners."
By means of these meetings great revivals pre
vailed throughout the South and West, and extended

328 LIFE AND TIMES OF
to the Middle and Eastern States. So great were the
multitudes, collected far and near from the surround
ing country, that from ten to fifteen thousand per
sons have been estimated to be present at a single
encampment. The congregations being so immense
it was impossible for the voice of one preacher to
reach them, and stands were erected at different
points, where ministers of different denominations,
but all in the same spirit, and actuated by the samo
motives, held forth to the listening thousands the
words of life. So great was the excitement which
pervaded the encampment at times, that hundreds
if not thousands might have been seen prostrate
upon the earth at once in the greatest distress, or
wild with joy, on their feet, shouting the praises of
God. So many descriptions have been written of
this remarkable revival, and the wonderful exercises
accompanying it, that we do not deem it necessary to
occupy space in repeating them, and shall refer the
reader who may not have seen them, or who desires
a further account, to Finley's Sketches, or the Auto
biography of the Rev. Jacob Young, both of whom
were present at the meetings.
From the South Asbury returned to Philadelphia,
where he was confined by lameness for two months,
and in August, 1801, he again commenced his conti
nental journey. An arrangement had been made
that he should go West, taking with him as a travel-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 329
ing companion Nicholas Snethen, while Whatcoat -was
to attend the Southern Conference. Proceeding
through Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, to Hol
stein River, he met the Western Conference at Eben
ezer, Tennessee.
We have before us a copy of the Journal of the
Western Conference from the beginning, and to
show the preachers of the present day the manner
in which the Journals were then kept, we will
make an extract or two. In the Minutes for 1801
we find the following : " John A. Granade came
recommended for admission on trial. It is the
judgment of the Conference that he has a certain
hardness aud stubbornness in his temper which has
produced some improper conclusions ; but as he has
given some hopeful assurance that in future he will
be more teachable, and as his piety and zeal are not
doubted, the Conference is of opinion that he may
be admitted after receiving a special counsel from
the bishop." Granade was a man of remarkable ec
centricity of character, and would often express his
thoughts in poetic verse. He proved an efficient
itinerant ; but his zeal carrying him beyond his
strength, and being exposed to the hardships of the
wilderness, his health failed, and after a few years he
was obliged to retire from the work. At this Con
ference the health of Poythress was such that he was
obliged to give up the itinerancy. In giving the

330 LIFE AND TIMES OF
reasons for the selection of Cumberland as the seat
of the next Conference, the Journal records the fol
lowing: "1st. The union and friendly state of affairs
'between the Methodists and Presbyterians; and, 2d,
There never was a Conference held there," reasons
which proved conclusive. *
From this Conference the bishop recrossed the
mountains, and spent the winter traveling and
preaching in South Carolina and Georgia. In the
spring he returned to Baltimore, and after attending
the Middle Conferences he accompanied Whatcoat
to Maine. Returning he stopped at Waltham, and
found a quiet retreat in the hospitable mansion of his
old friend, Mr. Abraham Bemis. This delightful
place, surrounded by beautiful scenery, and adorned
with all the elegancies of wealth and refinement, was
a favorite resort of Asbury. The contrast between
such a place of rest and refreshment, and one where
there was but one room and fire-place, and a half-
dozen inmates, where " he had to preach, read, write,
pray, sing, talk, eat, drink, and sleep," was doubtless
very great. In many of his rides through the western
wilderness the pioneer bishop sometimes had not even
as good accommodations as we have just described.
Often he had to sleep in the woods, if sleep he could
for the wild beasts which infested them.
During this year the following remarks occur in his
Journal : " I find reasons enough in my own mind to

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 331
justify myself against the low murmurs oi partiality
in which some have indulged. I am impartial. I
spend as much time in the extremities, and know
no Maryland or Delaware, after the flesh, more than
Kentucky, Cumberland, Georgia, or the Carolinas.
It is our duty to save the health of the preachers
where we can, to make particular appointments for
some important charges, and it is our duty to em
brace all parts of the continent and Union after the
example of primitive times, and the first and faith
ful preachers in America."
While at the session of the Baltimore Conference
this year, the sad intelligence of the death of his
mother reached him. We find in his Journal the fol
lowing touching and beautiful tribute to her memory :
" Her paternal descent was Welsh, from a family
ancient and respectable of the name of Rogers. She
lived a woman of the world till the death of her only
daughter, Sarah Asbury. How would the bereaved
mother weep and tell of the beauties and excellences
of her lost and lovely child, pondering on the past in
the silent suffering of hopeless grief ! This afflictive
providence graciously terminated in the mother's
conversion. When she saw herself a lost and
wretched sinner she sought religious people. But
' in the times of this ignorance ' few were ' sound in
the faith,' or 'faithful to the grace given.' Many
were the days she spent alone, chiefly in reading and

332 LIFE AND TIMES OF
prayer. At length she found justifying grace and
pardoning mercy."
The parents of Asbury were not by any means in
affluent circumstances. He was constantly remitting
to them all the money he could possibly spare from
America. Some of his letters to them are preserved,
and they exhibit a beautiful specimen of filial love.
" I have had," says he, in a letter to his father and
mother in 1793, " considerable pain of mind from in
formation received that the money was not paid. 1
last evening made arrangement for a remittance to you*
It will come into your hands in the space of three or
four months. My salary is sixty-four dollars. I have
sold my watch and library, and would sell my shirts
before you should want. I have made a reserve for
you. I spend very little on my own account. My
friends find me some clothing. The contents of a
small pair of saddle-bags will do for me, and one
coat a year. Your son Francis is a man of honor
and conscience. As my father and my mother never
disgraced me by an act of dishonesty, I hope to echo
back the same sound of an honest, upright man. I
am well satisfied that the Lord saw fit you should be
my parents rather than the king and queen, or any
of the great. I sometimes think you will outlive me.
I have made my will, and left my all to you, and
that is soon done. While I live and do well, I shall
remember you every year. O that your last days

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 333
may be your best, and that you may not only live
long, but live well and die well !"
By the following extract it would seem he was
seriously thinking of returning to England to provide
for his parents, or of their removing to America, so
as to be near him : " I have received several letters
expressive of your paternal love and gratitude toward
me. I have often revolved the serious thought of
my return to you. I have frequently asked myself
if I could retire to a single circuit, step down and act
as lay preacher. This, if I know my own heart, is
not my difficulty. With humility I may say one
hundred thousand respectable citizens of the new
world, three hundred traveling, and six hundred
local preachers, would advise me not to go. I hope
the voice of the people is the voice of God. At
present we have more work than faithful workmen.
I am like Joseph, I want to have my parents near
me. I am not ashamed of your poverty, and I hope,
after so many years professing religion, you will not
be .wanting in piety. I have considered you have
that which is my joy and my glory ; that you have
had for forty years open doors for religious exercises
when no other would or even dare do it. It is a
serious subject whether you think it is your duty
still to keep a place for preaching, or if on your
removal the Gospel will be taken from the place.
Yet when I think you have no child with you, nor

334 LIFE AND TIMES OF
friend that careth for you, the distress of the land,
and the high prices of provisions, I wish to see you,
and have you near me. It is true, while I live you
will live also, if I keep my place and piety. I study
daily what I can do without. One horse, and that
sometimes borrowed, one coat, one waistcoat — the
last coat and waistcoat I used about fourteen months
— four or five shirts, and four or five books. I am in
doubt, if I should be called away, you will not be
provided for so well in England as in America,
among those for whom I have faithfully labored
these twenty-four years. It is true, you are not im
mortal any more than myself, and judging according
to the nature of things you may go first, one or both
of you. All these things I have weighed in my
mind. I wish you to consider the matter, and ask
much counsel of God, and of your best and most im
partial friends. I wish you, after considering the
matter, to send me another letter. Whether I be
present or absent, dead or alive, I trust my friends in
Baltimore will take care of you by my help. You
have spent many pounds upon Christian people, I
know, from my childhood. Happy was I when this
was done, and I hope it will come home to you in
mercy. You must make it matter of much fasting
and prayer before you attempt anything. You must
not expect to see me more than twice a year."
He afterward concluded, however, that their inter-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. v 335
est would be best promoted by remaining in England,
and wrote as follows : " Perhaps I was constrained,
from the high sense of filial duty I had, to invite you
here. I now think you are much better where you
are. I sincerely wish I could come to see you, but
I see no way to do it without sinning against God
and the Church. Since I wrote I have traveled
nearly two thousand five hundred miles, through
Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, Mary
land, and Delaware. Hard wear and hard fare;
but I am healthy and lean, gray-headed, and dim-
sighted." On making his parents a remittance of money in
1795, he says : " Were it ten thousand per year, if I
had it in my possession, you should be welcome if
you had need of it."
After news had arrived of the death of his father,
he wrote as follows to his mother: "From the in
formation I have received I fear my venerable father
is no more an inhabitant of this earth. You are a
widow and I am an orphan with respect to my
father. I cannot tell how to advise you in this im
portant change. You have made yourself respectable
and extensive friends, who, though they cannot give
to you, can comfort you. I have been, as you have
heard, afflicted by excessive labors of mind and body.
I had to neglect writing, reading, and preaching for
a time. I had to stop and lie by in some precious

336 LIFE AND TIMES OF
families, where parents and children, in some meas
ure, supplied your absence. I lay by in Virginia.
When you hear the name you will love it unseen, for
you will say, 'That is the place where my Frank was
sick.' I am now much mended. I move in a- little
carriage, being unable to ride on horseback. Were
you to see me, and the color of my hair — nearly that
of your own ! My eyes are weak even with glasses.
When I was a child, and would pry into the Bible
by twinkling firelight, you used to say, ' Frank, you
will spoil your eyes.' It is a grief to me that I can
not preach as heretofore. I am greatly worn out at
fifty-five ; but it is a good cause. God is with me ;
my soul exults in God."
These extracts we have given in order to exhibit
the amiable and filial spirit of this good man, who,
though prevented by the pressing duties of his respon
sible station from ever visiting his father and mother
in their old age, spared no pains to cheer and aid
them in the decline of life. The high position he
occupied in America did not make him forget the
village of his. birth, nor, amid all the thousands in
America who admired and loved him, did he forget
the humble Joseph and Elizabeth Asbury. Much
did he desire to see them again ; but their faces he
saw no more ; father and mother had
" Gone from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in."

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 337
When he arrived at Petersburgh, Virginia, he
learned that his old friend, the Rev. Devereux
Jarratt, was no more. He was, as we have already
seen, a zealous and devoted minister of the Prot
estant Episcopal Church and a most successful
preacher. He had witnessed several revivals of
religion in his parish. When he began his labors
there was no other evangelical minister in the prov
ince. He traveled into several counties, and there
were very few parish churches within fifty miles of
his own in which he had not preached, and to which
labors of love he added preaching the word of life on
solitary plantations. He was the first who received
the despised Methodist preachers; when strangers
and unfriended, he took them to his house and had
societies formed in his parish. The friends of Mr.
Jarratt desired the bishop to preach his funeral dis
course, which he did to an immense congregation
from the passage, "Well done, good and faithful
servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I
will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou
into the joy of thy Lord." The following is an out
line of the discourse : I. A good servant is only good
in the relation which his practice and experience
bear to the example and precept of his Divine Mas
ter. Hence his goodness is a Christian goodness,
founded altogether on grace. II. A faithful servant
is one who is faithful to his ministerial character,
22

338 LIFE AND TIMES OF
faithful in the discharge of the duties pertaining to
his holy calling, (1.) in preaching the word ; (2.) in
administering the sacraments and ordinances ; (3.) in
ruling the Church of God. III. The results of such
fidelity. A glorious entrance to heaven.
At the New York Conference in 1802 Asbury pre
sided, and to show the estimate placed upon him by
the preachers of that day, we insert the following
testimony from one who has recently entered into
rest : " The beloved Bishop Asbury, that true son of
Wesley, that apostle of American Methodism, sent
out from the evangelical school of the purest order
and best authority of original Methodists in England,
grown up with our growth, a pioneer among our mount
ains, and vales, and forests, over our rivers and lakes
till our Revolutionary war, when he retired for a sea
son, as he was a messenger of peace. He has shown,
by the path of love and moderation, the Gospel ex
ample amid the roar of cannon, and the din of war,
and effusion of human blood, and the shout of liberty,
that he was a true son of peace. He awaited for the
dove with the olive-branch, when he came from his
retirement and emerged from the clouds a star of the
first magnitude, whose glory has known no eclipse.
He steadily shone in our hemisphere till mortality
was swallowed up of life. This is that disciple who
steadied our helm and commanded our ship. With
the affection of a father he conducted our business

FEANOIS ASBUEY. 339
and appointed our work. A man, dead to the world,
of one work — the salvation of souls. The zeal of the
Lord's house consumed him till he wore out in the
work and expired at his post. In the intervals of
Conference he made out all the stations alone, often
dropping on his knees, then rising and writing down
appointments according to the wisdom given him."
On his way South, after reaching Fredericktown,
Virginia, he remarked: "At last, after more than
thirty years' labor, the Methodists have a house of
worship here and thirty souls in fellowship." On his
way to Tennessee he passed through that portion of
Virginia in which the Natural Bridge is found, of
which he gives in his Journal an exact description.
As he gazed upon the beautiful arch thrown over the
chasm one hundred and sixty feet above the surface
of the stream below, he was filled with admiration at
the scene. When he reached the Holstein he found
a gracious revival in progress. At witnessing this
work of the Lord he was led to exclaim : " Fourteen
or fifteen times have I toiled over the mighty mount
ains, and nearly twenty years have we labored upon
Holstein, and lo ! the rage of wild and Christian sav
ages is tamed, and God hath glorified himself."
After having attended Conference at Station Camp,
Tennessee, he started with M'Kendree for West
Point. He was greatly afflicted at this time with
acute pain in his whole system. On his way he was

340 LIFE AND TIMES OF
attacked with a most torturing pain in his knee, at
tended with a swelling of both his feet. Nothwith-
standing this, however, he traveled on. After cross
ing the Cumberland River night overtook them,
and they encamped under what he called a heavy
mountain-dew. He thus describes the encampment :
" Brother M'Kendree made me a tent of his own and
John Watson's blankets, and happily saved me from
taking cold while I slept two hours under my grand
marquee. Brother M'Kendree threw his cloak over
the limb of a tree, and he and his companion took
shelter beneath and slept also. I will not be rash in
my protestations against any country, but I think I
will never more brave the wilderness without a tent.
My dear M'Kendree had to lift me up and down
from my horse like a helpless child. For my sick
ness and sufferings I conceive I am indebted to
sleeping uncovered in the wilderness. I could not
have slept but for the aid of laudanum; meantime
my spirits and patience were wonderfully preserved
in general, although I was hardly restrained some
times from crying, Lord, let me die, for death hath
no terrors! and I could not but reflect upon my
escape from the toils and sufferings of another year."
Notwithstanding all his sufferings, he toiled on over
rugged mountains and through dense forests until he
completed his usual journey of six thousand miles for
the year.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 341
While in South Carolina he made the following
observation in regard to the planters : " Whenever
our preachers gain the confidence of the lowland
planters, so that the masters will give us all the lib
erty we ought to have, there will be thousands of
the poor slaves converted to God. The patient must
be personally visited by the physician before advice
and medicine will be proper, and so it is and must
ever be with the sin-sick soul and the spiritual physi
cian." And thus it proved ; for notwithstanding the
reiterated declaration of the Church on the subject
of slavery, the confidence of the master has been
gained, and masters and slaves have alike been con
verted to God, and brought into the same Christian
brotherhood. Had any other course been adopted
than what Asbury suggested and advised, the two
hundred thousand slaves now in the bosom of the
Church would have been in a state of the most
wretched spiritual bondage, and more effectually
excluded from the Gospel than their brethren in the
wild and hitherto inaccessible regions of Africa.
On his return from his Southern tour he held Con
ference in Baltimore. Sixty-four effective preachers
were now connected with the Conference. On Sab
bath he preached three times, morning, afternoon,
and evening, and gave the following reasons why
he did not preach more during the session : 1. Be
cause there were many zealous, acceptable preachers

342 LIFE AND TIMES OF
present ; 2. Because he desired to be a man of one
business, and to have his mind free : and 3. Because
he had neither bodily nor mental strength to preside
in the Conference, and take so great a part in par
ticular duties as its head, to receive the continual
application of so many preachers on so many subjects
presented at that time.
The bishop paid the following merited compliment
to the Baltimore Conference : " In regard to finances
they have had a surplus. They have supported wives,
widows, and children, and in the present instance
have supplied the contingencies of those preachers
who have gone to distant parts, besides giving one
hundred dollars to the Philadelphia, and as much to
the Conferences of New York and Boston." The
Baltimore Conference, it must be conceded by all,
has raised the proudest monument to American
Methodism in the zeal and success which has crowned
her labors, and Baltimore, one of the ancient seats of
Methodism, deserves to hold the urn that contains
the ashes of the sainted Asbury. It is not the least
praise of this monumental city that the sons of the
devoted Asbury have, with characteristic nobleness
of spirit, resolved to erect a monument over his
remains. After the Conference was ended he sought rest in
the calm and quiet retreat of Perry Hall. From
hence he went to Philadelphia, and so on through

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 343
New Jersey to New York. While here he signed a
memorial for obtaining in court a legal claim to the
£400 left by Miss De Peyster to the bishops and
clergy of the Methodist Episcopal Church, for the
benefit of the same. On Sabbath he preached in the
John-street Church from James iii, 17. His sermon
was spoken of at the time as one of great interest
and power. The following is an outline :
I. The wisdom that cometh from above is re
vealed and inspired. It is pure, negatwely : It is
not mixed by its Divine Author with that wisdom
which is earthly, sensual, and devilish. It is not
mixed with the policy, or pleasures, or profits of this
world, or of sin, which is of hell. The apostle hath
written, "pure religion," and this cannot be when
mingled with such qualities, all of which spring from
men or devils.
II. The wisdom that cometh from above is pure,
positively: It is pure in conviction, repentance,
faith, regeneration, and sanctification. It is the
operative principle of grace in the soul as internally
and externally manifested. It is peaceable in rela
tion to God and all mankind, to the Church and the
world, and the tranquillity of the soul. It is gentle,
amiable in all its ministrations, never stormy, or
sour, or haughty and overbearing. Easy to be en
treated to do and suffer anything that is right for
the glory of God and the good of souls. " Impartial-

344 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ity." This is the Christian dress. Not bound and
pinched by countries, names, forms, and opinions.
It neither envies the rich on account of their afflu
ence, nor despises or neglects the poor on account of
their poverty. " Without hypocrisy." Sincerity is the
incontestible evidence to God and man of our posses
sion of the heavenly treasure, of that wisdom that
cometh from above. People may go upon fancies,
and be ready to die with raptures ; but if they are
turbulent, ungovernable, self-willed, and false toward
their fellow or toward their God, their religion is
vain. Whatever it may once have been, --it is not
the gold of the sanctuary now, but a counterfeit,
alloyed by a mixture of the wisdom of this world."
From New York he proceeded on his Eastern tour
through Connecticut to Boston, where he held a Con
ference. Speaking of New England, he says : " Poor
New England, she is the valley of dry bones still!
Come, 0 breath of the Lord, and breathe upon these
slain, that they may live !" At this Conference he
ordained Joshua Soule and Nathan Emery elders,
the former of whom is the senior bishop of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church, South, now advanced in
years and quite feeble in health; the latter a few
years past closed his earthly labors in Ohio.
From Boston he directed his course to Ashgrove,
a small village sixteen miles east of the Hudson River,
where the remains of Embury, the father of New

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 345
York Methodism, were re-interred. Passing through
New Hampshire and Vermont, he at length reached
Ashgrove, where he held the New York Conference.
Nearly seventy preachers were present, and on Sab
bath Asbury preached to two thousand hearers.
Crossing the Hudson he passed over into New
Jersey, and thence, after stopping and preaching
at different places on the route, he proceeded on to
Philadelphia. This year (1803) he took a different route to the
West. He went by Lancaster, Columbia, and York,
to Carlisle, and from thence, through Shippensburg,
Strasburg, and Emmetsburg, he proceeded to the
Juniata, which he crossed near Bedford. From
thence he went to Connelsville, on the Youghiogheny,
and thus on to the Monongahela, which he followed
down to Pittsburgh. He then proceeded down the
Ohio to Wheeling, and from thence through the woods
to Zanesville, a long and weary ride. Taking Zane's
Trace, he started for Chillicothe, stopping on the way
at Lancaster. From Chillicothe he struck again for
the Ohio, and proceeded to Paris, Kentucky, where
he held the Western Conference. During this tour
he was considerably afflicted, and at times unusually
dispirited. He says, however, in the midst of all his
toils and hardships : " I felt wholly given up to do
and suffer the will of the Lord, to be sick or well, to
live or die at any time and in any place, the fields,

346 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the woods, the house, or the wilderness. Glory be to
God for such resignation! I have little to leave
except a journey of five thousand miles a year,
care of more than a hundred thousand souls, and
the arrangement of four hundred preachers yearly,
to which I may add the murmurs and discontents
of ministers and people. Who wants this legacy?
Those who do are welcome to it for me."
While in Kentucky he paid a visit to his old friend,
Dr. Hinde, a physician who resided in Clark county.
Here he was received with the greatest cordiality, and
treated as a patriarch and the honored father of West
ern Methodism. Dr. Hinde was the family physician
ofthe celebrated General Wolfe. He was a native of
England, but came to America with General Wolfe
in the time of the French war. He had been a pro
fessed deist, and a decided enemy to Christianity, but
was converted from the error of his way through the
example of his wife. His conversion was brought
about on this wise. His wife and daughter having
joined the Methodist Church, the latter was banished
from home and the former put under medical treat
ment for what the doctor feigned to regard as insanity.
His remedy was a blister plaster extending the whole
length of the back, which was left on for several
days. The fortitude and meekness with which the
Christian wife bore her persecutions resulted in the
doctor's conviction and subsequent conversion.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 347
Dr. Hinde was now considerably advanced in
life, and had not attended to any professional calls
for many years. At a late hour in the night a
messenger arrived at his house with two horses, in
great haste. A neighbor of his in the country had
been seriously and suddenly attacked with a disease
which baffled the skill of the physician in attend
ance, and at his suggestion Dr. Hinde was sent for.
When the messenger rapped at the door the doctor
hoisted the window, and received from him the request
of the attending physician, that if it was possible he
would come to his assistance, as the man must have
relief soon or die. The doctor was in feeble health,
and replied that he did not think he was able to
undertake the journey. The night was dark and
stormy, and the road through the woods rough and
dangerous. Asbury overheard the conversation, and
shouted out, " Go, doctor, instantly, and save the
man's Hfe." "It seemed," as Dr. Hinde afterward
remarked, "that the voice was as it were from
heaven," and he could not disobey. He dressed
himself as quickly as possible, and was soon in the
saddle of the extra horse, following his guide through
the dark and tangled thicket of the wood. After
riding several miles as fast as they could for the
darkness, they at length arrived at the cabin of the
sufferer. He found his patient in great agony, and
apparently dying. He soon, however, detected the

348 LIFE AND TIMES OF
cause of the disease which was working death, and
immediately applied a remedy. The man was
speedily relieved, and early in the morning the
doctor arrived at home. When he met Asbury the
first words that fell upon his ear were, " Well, doctor,
how is your patient ?" His reply was, " To you,
bishop, under the blessing of God, that man owes his
life, as he must have died before morning." "As
long as you can drag yourself about always be found
doing something," said the bishop.
Of this advice Asbury was himself a living exam
ple. Neither old age nor sickness, when he could but
just sit upon his horse, having frequently to be lifted
to and taken from the saddle, deterred him from the
work; he was still found in the discharge of duty.
About this time several preachers, who had located
and engaged somewhat in land speculation, were
handled pretty severely by the bishop in his sermons.
Speaking of a certain place where there were a num
ber of this class, he said : " The place is cursed with
apostate Methodist preachers, and unless they repent
and go back to their work God will curse them." In
many instances this, alas ! proved true. Some who
had engaged in such speculations, and others who
had become traders and merchants, failed, and be
came hopelessly bankrupt in property and character.
When the bishop arrived in Tennessee, he writes :
" What a road we have passed ! Certainly the worst

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 349
on the whole continent, even in the best weather ;
yet bad as it was there were four or five hundred
crossing the mountains while we were. I was pow
erfully struck with the consideration that there were
at least as many as a thousand emigrants from east to
west annually. We must take care to send preachers
after these people. A man who is well mounted will
scorn to complain of the roads when he sees men,
women, and children, almost naked, paddling barefoot
and bare-legged along, or laboring up the rocky
ascent, while those who are best off have only one
horse for two or three children to ride at once. If
these adventurers have little or nothing to eat, it is
no extraordinary circumstance, and not uncommon to
encamp in the wet woods after night. In the mount
ains it does not rain, but pours."
From Tennessee he traveled through North and
South Carolina and Georgia, visiting the Churches.
While in the latter state he took occasion to make a
few observations on the ignorance of foolish men
who rail against the government of the Church.
" The Methodists," he said, " acknowledge no supe
riority but what is founded on seniority, election, and
long and faithful services. For myself, I pity those
who cannot distinguish between a pope of Rome and
an old worn man of about sixty years, who has the
power given him of riding five thousand miles a year,
at a salary of eighty dollars, through summer's heat

350 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and winter's cold; traveling in all weathers, preach
ing in all places, his best covering from rain often a
blanket; the surest sharpener of his wit, hunger, from
fasts, voluntary and involuntary ; his best fare for six
months in the year, coarse kindness ; and his reward
from too many, suspicion, murmurings, and envy all
the year round." Well did this faithful servant of
the Church need a " testimony in heaven and a
record on high." From Georgia he returned to
Virginia and held Conference, and from thence
directed his course to Baltimore, where the General
Conference was to be held, which ended his conti
nental tour this year.
An incident occurred during this tour of the
West, in 1803, which we will relate. After attend
ing the Western Conference, near Cynthiana, Ken
tucky, where he preached to ten thousand people in
the woods, he started out, in company with several
preachers, on his return tour. In the midst of the
wilderness, between the Crab Orchard and Powell's
Valley, he halted one night at a rude log cabin
tavern, a kind of half-way house in the wilderness.
The house was filled with a rough company of wild
mountain hunters. They had been drinking and ca
rousing, and when the preachers entered loud oaths
fell upon their ears from a company around a card-
table. Low-bred as the landlord was, he had sufficient
respect left to invite his newly arrived guests into

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 351
another room. One of the bar-room company, an
old Englishman, on finding that the persons who had
recently come were preachers, immediately sauntered
in, and walking up to the bishop, commenced ask
ing him some questions on the subject of religion.
The bishop asked him if he had been seeking
religion. " 0 yes," replied the old man, " for a long time,
but I have not found it yet. I have succeeded in
one thing; a Baptist preacher has broken me off from
swearing profanely."
"Ah," replied the bishop. "Well, keep on
reforming, and you may come out a good man at
last." The bishop evidently had little faith in his sincerity,
and was afterward abundantly confirmed in his opin
ion by hearing him, in a loud voice, cursing and
swearing in the other room. At length, opening the
door, the bishop said to him : " You told me a cer
tain Baptist preacher had broken you off from
swearing, but I find you can lie and swear both."
At this the Englishman approached him and said,
" I beg your pardon, Bishop Asbury."
" Ask pardon of God, whose name you have blas
phemed ; repent of your sins, and that right speedily,
or iniquity will prove your ruin."
This reproof affected the whole company of riot
ers, and they soon left the house to quietness and the

352 LIFE AND TIMES OF
preachers. After supper the bishop had the whole
family called in, read a chapter in the Bible, gave a
short lecture, and offered a most fervent prayer.
Early next morning, while preparing for their de
parture, the landlord came to the bishop with a bot
tle and a glass, and asked him to take a little
whisky. " Nay," said the bishop, " I make no use of
the devil's tea."
It was not without some misgivings that the
preachers started out upon their journey, as the moun
tain hunters had among them a class of desperadoes
who would frequently stop at these wilderness tav
erns, and on becoming acquainted with the char
acter of the travelers who stopped for the night,
would leave, and laying aside their hunting dress,
would paint themselves and put on the garb of In
dians, and intercepting the path of the travelers,
would fall upon and murder and rob them. Preach
ers were doubtless often protected from the fact that
they had but little that would be an object of plun
der except their horses.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 353

CHAPTER XVIH.
General Conference of 1804 — Conferences represented — Ratio of Repre
sentation — Composition of — Revision ofthe Discipline — Boundaries
—Presiding Elder Question— Resolution of Garrettson on the Subject
of Slavery — Dr. Coke granted Leave to return to England — Perry
Hall — PMladelphia and New York — New Haven — Middletown —
Conferenoe at Buxton — Remarkable Camp-meetings — Quakers in
Massachusetts — Rhinebeck — The Congregations in New York- — Ad
dress to Quarterly Conferences — Secessionists return — O'Kelly's Zeal
— The Methodist People independent — Railers — Conferenoe in Balti
more — Camp-meeting at Musquito Cove on Long Island — Brooklyn —
Regular Succession — -Asbury's short Way — Camp-meeting — New York
Conference — New England Conference — Yellow Fever at New Haveu
— ProMbited from entering New York and Philadelphia — The Alle
ghanies — OMo River — Wheeling — Zanesville — Chillicothe — Lost
in the Woods — First Visit to Cincinnati — ¦ Reply to Dr. Coke's Letter
— Resolution in regard to a Delegated General Conference — Danger
ous Hrness of Bishop Whatcoat — Camp-meeting at Philip's Manor —
New York Conference— Establishing the Episcopacy — Mountains of
Western Virgima — Camp-meeting — Tour among the Log Cabins of
the West — Encouragement.
The General Conference of 1804 was held in Balti
more. There were one hundred and eleven mem
bers, representatives from seven Conferences, present.
Sixty-seven were from the Baltimore and Philadelphia
Conferences, constituting more than two thirds of the
entire number. Of the remaining portion, twelve were
from the New York, seventeen from the Virginia,
four from the Boston, three from the Western, and
five from the South Carolina Conference. The Con
ference was composed of all the preachers who had
23

354 LIFE AND TIMES OF
traveled four years consecutively since their admis
sion on trial in the connection. After adjusting
some preliminary matters, such as adopting rules
for the government of the body, and settling the
question as to who were entitled to seats, the Con
ference resolved to proceed to a revision of the Dis
cipline. It was agreed that in the revision it should
be read chapter by chapter, section by section, and
paragraph by paragraph; that the assent to every
paragraph which was not debated should be decided
by the members sitting, and the assent to every para
graph which was debated should be decided by the
members rising. The assent to every section, except
such parts as had been expunged or abolished, was
to be decided by rising.
After settling the question of the boundaries of
the several Annual Conferences, a long and anima
ted discussion was had on the subject of presiding
elders. The discussion was elicited by a motion
to abolish the office entirely. The motion, however,
was lost. In alluding to the debate on this subject,
Asbury remarked : " Attempts were made upon the
ruling eldership. We had a great talk. I talked
little on the subject, and was kept in peace."
The subject of slavery was introduced by a resolu
tion offered by Freeborn Garrettson, the import of
which was, that the bishops be requested to draft a
section for the Discipline, embracing such regulations

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 355
and provisions as would adapt it to the southern as
well as northern states. The action of the last Con
ference on the subject had created no little dissatis
faction, and especially the Address to the Methodist
people. The way of the preachers had evidently
been hedged up in several places, and it was consid
ered important that the General Conference should
modify its action on the subject. Bishop Asbury
declining to act with the episcopal committee, the
subject was referred to a committee of seven, who,
after due deliberation, presented a report which was
incorporated in the Discipline and made section nine,
entitled, " Of Slavery." The section contained five
rules, requiring, 1st. That all who held slaves should
give security for their emancipation, immediately or
gradually, as the laws of the states respectively and
the circumstances ofthe case would admit; 2d. When
any traveling preacher became an owner of a slave
or slaves by any means, he was to forfeit his minis
terial standing unless he executed, if practicable, a
deed of emancipation conformably to the laws of the
state where he lived ; 3d. No slaveholder was to be
received into full membership until the preacher in
charge had spoken to him fully and faithfully on the
subject ; 4. No one who sold a slave, except in cases
of mercy or humanity, was to be allowed to remain
in society, and if any one purchased a slave the quar
terly meeting Conference was to determine the num-

356 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ber of years the slave should serve as the price of his
purchase, at the expiration of which time the master
was to set him free. Other regulations were made
in regard to female slaves, providing for the manu
mission of such of their children as might be born
during servitude. This and the preceding rules con
tained the remarkable proviso exempting the states
of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia from
their operation. The fifth and last rule required the
preachers from time to time, as occasion served, to
admonish and exhort all slaves to render due respect
and obedience to the commands and interests of their
respective masters.
The Conference, agreeably to the request of the
European Conferences, granted Dr. Coke leave to
return to England, with the proviso that at the call
of three Annual Conferences, in the interval of the
General Conference, he should come back to the
United States. In the address of the General Con
ference to the British and Irish Conferences, the fol
lowing allusion is made to the doctor: "With respect
to our much esteemed friend and beloved brother,
Dr. Coke, we would say, he arrived among us last
Autumn, and was received by us with sincerest sen
timents of respect and affection. Since he came into
these states he has traveled about three thousand
miles, visiting our principal societies, and preaching
to crowded assemblies of our citizens. Your request

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 357
for his return was taken into our most serious and
solemn consideration, and after a full and deliberate
examination of the reasons which you assigned in
favor of his return, we have concluded that there is
a probability of his being more eminently useful at
present in the way you point out, than for us to re
tain him, especially as our beloved brother Asbury
now enjoys better health than he did some years
ago. We therefore have consented to the doctor's
return to Europe on the express condition that he
will come back to us at any time when three of our
Annual Conferences shall call him, or at farthest that
he shall return to our next General Conference."
To that favored retreat, Perry Hall, after the Con
ference was ended, Asbury directed his course, where,
after a brief rest, he started out on his Eastern tour,
holding Conference in Philadelphia and New York.
From the latter place he rode to New Haven, where
he preached in a small house to a few people. While
here he entered the following in his Journal : " My
soul has constant peace and joy, notwithstanding my
labors, and trials, and reproach, which I heed not,
though it comes, as it sometimes does, from the good,
when they are not gratified in all their wishes. Peo
ple unacquainted with the causes and motives of my
conduct will always more or less judge of me improp
erly. Six months ago a man could write to me in
the most adulatory terms to tell me of the unshaken

358 LIFE AND TIMES OF
confidence reposed in me by preachers and people.
Behold, his station is changed, and certain measures
are pursued that do not comport with his views and
feelings. Then I am menaced with the downfall of
Methodism, and my influence, character, and reputa
tion are all to find a grave in its ruins. First, my
mountain is made so strong I shall never be moved.
Anon, O man, thou hidest thy face and changest thy
voice, and I must be troubled forsooth. But I am
just as secure as ever as to what man can do or say."
Censure is a tax invariably imposed upon all men
who rise to eminence in Church or state, and it was
not to be expected that Asbury would escape. It
will be seen, however, from the above that he bore
it with Christian patience and magnanimity. As a
Christian bishop and father, he did not lay up any
thing against those who censured him; at least, he
never allowed a remembrance of past injury to weigh
a feather in the exercise of his episcopal authority in
stationing the preachers. His motto was to overcome
evil with good.
From New Haven he went to Middletown, where
the members of the Church were about purchasing
a lot whereon to build a small house of worship. The
Conference had given him Sylvester Hutchinson as
a traveling companion, who frequently supplied his
place in the pulpit. Passing through Rhode Island
and New Hampshire, they came to Buxton, where

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 359
the Conference was held, and at which fifty souls
were converted. Asbury generally considered it a
barren time if there was no revival at a Conference.
While journeying through Massachusetts he came
to Enfield, near to which was a settlement of the
Quakers, concerning whom he said, " Poor souls,
they have landed where all other sects have landed.
0 this love of the world ! But the Shakers are near
the end of the world : they forbid to marry ; they are
as the angels in heaven." After passing through a
portion of Massachusetts, he directed his course to
Rhinebeck, on the Hudson, where he preached on
Sabbath in an orchard to about one thousand people.
The next two or three days he spent at Widow Sher
wood's, and the succeeding Sabbath went to New
York, where he preached in John-street, complain
ing that all the congregations in the city were a
valley of dry bones. From New York he took his
usual route through New Jersey, Delaware, and
Maryland. At the yearly Conference held in Chestertown,
Maryland, an address was sent to the Quarterly
Conference of the Delaware District, embracing
nearly all the territory now included in the Phila
delphia Conference. The Address was written
and signed by Asbury, and as it is interesting, both
from its matter and style, we insert it. It bears date
May 5, 1805, and is as follows :

360 LIFE AND TIMES OF
"Dearly Beloved in the Lord, — Grace Le unto
yon, and peace and love be multiplied. It is scarcely
possible for you, in your local situation, to have
correct views of what our God hath done for us as a
people in the space of thirty-five years. We think
it a duty we owe to you to make the following state
ment. The Gospel, by our ministry, has made a glo
rious progress through the seventeen United States,
the territorial settlements, and Canadian provinces, as
may be seen by our Annual Minutes. Should we
compute the distance from St. Mary's, in Georgia, to
Montreal, in Canada, it would be found to be seven
teen or eighteen hundred miles ; and from the ex
tremities of the district of Maine to the Natchez, two
thousand miles. What but a traveling ministry, and
a very rapid one too, could so extensively propagate
the Gospel in the midst of so much opposition.
There are now more than one hundred thousand
souls in fellowship with us, and perhaps six times that
number who look up to us for ministerial services,
and to hear the word of life, which you know by
happy experience to be the power of God unto salva
tion, as well as many thousands of happy souls whom
we doubt not have already gone to glory. We have
upward of four hundred traveling preachers, besides
about two thousand local preachers and exhorters:
a source from whence we can draw supplies to
strengthen and replenish our traveling connection.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 361
" We unanimously express our high regard for our
local brethren, many of whom have long traveled,
labored, and suffered with us in the vineyard of the
Lord, and others who would have traveled but for
secular affairs. Dear brethren, we acknowledge
your great usefulness. You cheerfully labor with us
when we are present, preserve the union of the socie
ties, keep up the congregations and prayer-meetings
when we are absent, and your influence can and does
do much in raising class collections for our support.
Our apparent increase (in the Philadelphia Confer
ence) this year is small, owing in part to migrations
to new settlements, and the uncommon sickness and
mortality of last autumn. But when we bring into
view the great wastage among twenty-eight thousand
seven hundred and twelve, and the number necessary
to repair that wastage, we shall see that the number
received must have been very considerable to give us
an addition of six hundred and twenty-four.
" Our finances for the present year are better
than they were last, owing in part to the Albany
district (where the deficiencies were usually great)
being attached to the New York Conference, and yet
many of the preachers were deficient more than
twenty-three per cent, though they received nothing
for their children. The circuits which have given
liberally will please accept, our thanks. We have
received eight preachers upon trial, and discontinued

362 LIFE AND TIMES OF
 from their probation, and are exceedingly sorry

to add that some of their cases were truly humiliat
ing and distressing ; nevertheless tlie Lord hath in
great mercy blessed us with unusual moderation and
peace, through the whole of our critical decisions.
" Dear brethren, we have labored and suffered with
you and for you, and are willing and determined so
to do. We have confidence that you will endeavor
to walk worthy of your vocation, and unite with us in
all laudable endeavors to promote the Redeemer's
kingdom. Let us in love continue to watch over and
pray for each other, keeping the unity of the spirit
and the bond of peace until we are come to the full
ness of the measure of the stature of Christ, that we
may finally rest with him forever."
One of the most remarkable camp-meetings ever
known was held in the autumn of this year near
the town of Suffolk, in Virginia. The meeting
commenced on Friday, and was continued with but
little intermission until Monday night. From the
very beginning the power of God was wonderfully
manifested, and during its continuance four hundred
persons were converted. The accounts of this meet
ing which appeared at the time would seem incredible
had they not been vouched for by those who were
present. Another meeting of the same description
was held about ten miles from Wilmington, in North

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 363
Carolina. The revival commenced on the first day
ofthe meeting, and continued with increasing interest
and power until Sabbath. Persons of all descriptions
and all ages, from the child nine years of age to the
hoary-headed sinner, were subjects. The revival did
not close with the meeting, but spread abroad among
the surrounding settlements until three hundred were
converted. A camp-meeting was also held at a place
called Hampton, belonging to General Ridgeley,
about ten miles from Baltimore, which lasted four
days. There were about thirty preachers present, and
a large number of people were made the subjects of
converting grace. Meetings of the same description
were held at Linville's Creek, Rehoboth, and Big
Levels in Virginia, and in the Mississippi territory,
some of which lasted more than a week, and at all
of which numbers were converted.
Near Uniontown, Pa., Asbury was confined more
than a month with sickness, and was obliged to
desist from going to Kentucky. It was a great trial
to be kept so long from his loved employment ; but
he bore it with patience. After his recovery he
passed slowly through Virginia, accompanied by
Bishop Whatcoat, and continued the journey through
North and South Carolina. The Conference was
held in Charleston. On their return through Vir
ginia they preached at different points. While at
Joseph Moody's, Asbury learned of quite a number of

364 LIFE AND TIMES OF
members who had left the O'Kelly secession and
returned to the Church. Among the number were
General Wells and family. Speaking of O'Kelly, the
bishop says : " He has come down with great zeal,
and preaches three hours at a time upon government,
monarchy, and episcopacy, occcasionally varying the
subject by abuse of the Methodists, calling them
aristocrats and tories, a people who, if they had the
power, would force the government at the sword's
point. Poor man, the Methodists have but two of
their very numerous society members of Congress,
and until these democratic times we never had one.
I question if in all the legislative bodies in the seven
teen states there are more than twenty Methodists.
No ; our people are a very independent people, who
think for themselves, and so do the preachers, and
are as apt to differ in politics and divide at the hust
ings as those of any other denomination, and surely
they are not seekers of the offices of this world's
profit or honor ; if they were, what might they not
gain in many parts of the United States ! While one
rails at us, others, who are always fond of fishing in
troubled waters, take those who are already in our
net, or, hunting on forbidding ground, pick up onr
crippled game."
After holding Conference in Virginia Asbury
returned in the spring to Baltimore, where Con
ference was opened on the first of April, 1805.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 365
From hence he and Whatcoat started eastward,
preaching at different places in Delaware, New Jer
sey, and' Pennsylvania until they arrived in New
York. While here Asbury attended a camp-meeting
at Musquito Cove, on Long Island, and preached to
a vast multitude on Sabbath. The meeting was at
tended with a gracious outpouring of the Spirit, and
many were converted. On Monday evening he re
turned to Brooklyn and preached. He and What
coat preached also in New York, and then started
for White Plains, where they held services on
Sunday. About this time there was a considerable discus
sion going on in the state on the subject of the regu
lar succession, and the consequent right to administer
the ordinances. Asbury's short way of meeting the
objections to his authority was presented on this wise:
1. Divine authority; 2. Seniority in America; 3. The
election of the General Conference; 4. Ordination
by Dr. Coke, Rev. W. P. Otterbein, of the German
Beformed Church, and Revs. Richard Whatcoat and
Thomas Vasey ; 5. Showing the signs of an apostle.
He might have rested his authority in the first con
sideration, namely, his Divine call to the ministry,
for it is not to be presumed that God will call any
man to this great work and at the same time not
invest him with authority to administer all the ordi
nances connected therewith. The call is of itself

366 LIFE AND TIMES OF
prima facie evidence of the authority, and the fact
that souls are converted and saved through his instru
mentality is proof that the minister is an embassador
for God, invested with plenipotentiary power to tran
sact all the business pertaining to the Divine vocation.
From White Plains they crossed the Peekskill
mountains, and after spending the Sabbath at Rhine
beck, they passed through Claverack, Kinderhook,
Lansingburgh, and Waterford, on to Stillwater, where
a camp-meeting was to be held. At this meeting
there were preachers from Canada, Vermont, Massa
chusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
The meeting lasted four days and was very largely
attended. From the camp-meeting the bishops pro
ceeded to Ashgrove, where the New York Confer
ence was held. Leaving the banks of the Hudson
they crossed the Berkshire mountains by Pittsfield,
descended the valley of the Connecticut, and pro
ceeded to Lynn, where they met the New England
Conference, and returned by Wilbraham, Hartford,
and New Haven to New York. They were not per
mitted, however, to enter the city, because they had
passed through New Haven, where the yellow fever
was prevailing. On arriving at Philadelphia they
were for the same reason debarred entrance to that
city, and they accordingly directed their course west
ward across the Alleghany Mountains to Pittsburgh.
From thence they proceeded down the Ohio to

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 367
Wheeling, and across the country, by Zanesville, to
Chillicothe, where they enjoyed the hospitalities of
Hon. Edward Tiffin, then governor of the State of
Ohio. Leaving Chillicothe for the Falls of Paint
Creek, they lost their path and wandered about in
the woods until they brought up at Bullskin, where
they were kindly entertained by Michael Haines,
who conducted them on their way. From this point
they struck for the Little Miami and reached the
house of Judge Gatch. Here they held meeting on
the Sabbath. While here a messenger came from
Cincinnati inviting the bishops to visit that place,
and on Monday, the 15th of September, 1805, As
bury for the first time entered what has since become
the Queen City of the West. He preached in the
house of Mr. William Lines from- the text, " Seek ye
the Lord while he may be found."
Crossing the Ohio at Cincinnati they went through
Kentucky to the Holstein, and from thence over the
mountains through North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Georgia. Asbury was accompanied in this tour
by Joseph Crawford, who did most of the preaching
on the way. Having attended the Southern Confer
ences, he returned and held Conference in Virginia,
and proceeded on to Baltimore. Among other busi
ness transacted at this Conference was the drawing
up of a reply to Dr. Coke's letter, and the passage of
a resolution requesting the bishop to lay it before all

368 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the annual Conferences for concurrence. The Con
ference also by resolution recommended all the An
nual Conferences to take into consideration the pro
priety of having the General Conference composed
of delegates, for the purpose of securing a more equal
representation than had heretofore been had by the
Southern, Western, and Eastern Conferences. His
next Conference was Philadelphia, which he at
tended, and where he heard of the dangerous illness
of Bishop Whatcoat at Dover. From hence he went
to New York, and visited the ground at Philip's
Manor selected for a camp-meeting. He rested two
days at " Sherwood's Vale," as it was in the vicinity
of the camp-ground. The meeting began on Friday.
On Sabbath he preached, and had what he called "an
open season." At this meeting there were about one
thousand Methodists and about six thousand people.
As to the result, about two hundred were converted.
On Friday, the 16th of May, 1806, Conference was
held in New York. At this Conference a paper was
read setting forth the uncertain state of the episco
pacy, and proposing the election of seven elders from
the seven Conferences to meet in Baltimore on July
the 4th, 1807, for the sole purpose of establishing the
American episcopacy on a surer foundation. The
Conference, by resolution, requested the bishop to
pass the paper around among the Conferences for
concurrence. During this Conference preaching

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 369
was held in the " Park " as well as in the Methodist
churches, and a day of fasting and prayer was set
apart for the health of the city.
After Conference he took his usual Eastern tour,
holding the New England Conference in New Hamp
shire. On his return he passed through New Jersey,
Maryland, and Virginia, on to Tennessee, where the
Western Conference was held. It was here that the
poverty of the preachers was such as to induce him
to part with his watch, and coat, and shirt to relieve
their necessities. Passing through North and South
Carolina, he went down into Georgia, where he was
lost in the woods and camped out all night. He
held Conference at Sparta. The paper in relation to
the delegated General Conference was adopted, and
the delegates to the elders' meeting in Baltimore
elected. This Conference closed up the labors of the
year 1806, and with it the fifth decade of American
Methodism. 24

370 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER XIX.
Mountains of Western Virginia — Camp-meeting Scenes — Asbury's Visit
— Rev. Henry Boehm — Reese Wolf — Hockhocking — Preaching —
Tour through OMo — Pioneer Settlers — Log Cabins — Hospitable but
hard Fare — Asbury's Lecture — Interesting Incident — Love-feast —
One of Asbury's Converts — Virginia Hospitality — Social Gathering —
Description of Guests — Subjects of Conversation.
Among the mountains of Western Virginia the
pioneer Methodist preacher had formed his circuit,
and established preaching places in the cabins of the
settlers. Camp-meetings were generally held in the
valley of the Kanawha during the summer months,
where from various and distant parts of the wilder
ness the people would congregate and pitch their
tents. Hundreds and thousands would collect
together upon such occasions, and the native forests
would be made vocal with the praises of the assem
bled throng. Preachers from adjoining circuits and
districts would attend these annual feasts, and, with a
fervency and zeal characteristic of pioneer preachers,
they would pour forth strains of burning eloquence
that would find their way to the most impenitent
hearts; and multitudes to whom the Gospel would
otherwise perhaps never have come, were made the
happy subjects of converting graee.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 371
On one of Bishop Asbury's Western tours he
turned aside from his direct journey to visit one
of these encampments. He was now in the sixty-fifth
year of his age, and though worn down with the
fatigues of long weary rides, and incessant labors,
still he was determined to toil on, unwilling that any
part of his vast field should be neglected. The
presiding elder, who was the Rev. James Quinn, of
precious memory, thus describes this visit :
" It was in the month of September, in the West
one of the most bland and beautiful months of the
year, that we pitched our tents in a beautiful sugar-
grove on the lands of Richard Lee, two miles above
Parkersburg, on the banks of the Kanawha. It was
at the time of full moon and at night. The camp
was well illuminated with pine lights. The meeting
commenced under the most auspicious circumstances,
and from the beginning to the close we had evidences
of the presence and approval of the great Head of the
Church, in the conviction and conversion of many
souls, and the upbuilding of believers in the most
holy faith. Having retired to the preachers' tent for
some relaxation and rest, the work still going on in
the camp, about ten o'clock a person came to the
tent and informed me that an old man at the gate
way wished to see me. I arose and went forthwith,
and to my great surprise and joy, who should I see
in the clear moonlight, but the venerable Asbury and

372 LIFE AND TIMES OF
his traveling companion the Rev. Henry Boehm.
I conducted him to the house of Richard Lee, and
said to him, Rest and be happy for the night. You
are now in the house of the brother of your old
friend, Rev. Wilson Lee. At this the good old man
appeared to be pleased, nor were Brother and Sister
Lee less gratified at having the privilege of entertain
ing, if not unawares, at least unexpectedly, that angel
of the Church below. I returned to the encamp
ment, and witnessed a glorious night of the presence
and power of the Most High. The bishop had a
good night's rest, which he said was the first he had
enjoyed since he left Wheeling, and he came on the
ground quite early in fine spirits, expressing himself
highly pleased with the arrangements and good order
which he saw on the camp ground. He preached
twice during the meeting with great life, light, and
power. Surely the Lord helped him and great good
was done. He also ordained a preacher who had
been . elected by the Baltimore Conference to the
office of an elder.
" Our camp-meeting closed well on Monday morn
ing, and we repaired to Brother Reese Wolf's, the
old local preacher who led the way, and invited
Methodism on to the Little Kanawha, by the itiner
ant preachers, in 1799. Here we met a kind recep
tion, and rested till next morning. At three o'clock
the bishop preached a plain and powerful sermon in

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 373
Parkersburgh, which was a small place then. O
what awful appeals to the understanding and to the
heart! There was no daubing with untempered
mortar. " We crossed over the Ohio into Belpre, and were
kindly received and lodged at the house of Esq. B.
The lady of the house was an intelligent old lady,
from the land of steady habits, who had heard White-
field preach, and was greatly delighted in seeing and
conversing with the Methodist bishop. But O, her
regrets on account of the great privations in coming
to the West: 'Yonder we had such fine meeting
houses, comfortable pews, organs, and such delightful
singing; and then, O such charming preachers! O
bishop, you can't tell!' etc. 'Yes, yes,' said the
bishop, ' old Connecticut for all the world :
"A fine house and a high steeple,
A learned priest and a gay people."
But where shall we look for Gospel simplicity and
purity ? Let us go back to the days of the Pilgrim
fathers.' ' Well, bishop, who are you going to send to
us next year ? I hope you will send us a very good
preacher.' ' Come, send you a good preacher !'
'Yes, sir; don't you send them just where you
please ?' It was evident that the bishop was disposed
to waive the subject, upon which one present said,
'Madam, I'll tell you how it is ; we send him and tell

374 LIFE AND TIMES OF
him to send us, and then he must come and see us;
for he must travel at large, and oversee the whole
work, and must not stop without our leave.' 'In
deed ! Well, now I guess I understand it better.
Well, well, bishop, where do you live ?'
' No foot of land do I possess,
No cottage in this wilderness,
A poor wayfaring man.'
«
At this the old lady appeared much surprised, and
so the conversation closed.
"Next morning we started very early, and called
at several farm-houses on the way down the river,
whose inmates were not Methodists, and the good
man prayed with them all. Indeed, I have seldom
known him to leave a family without prayer, whether
they were professors or not, for he was always intent
upon doing good. At three o'clock he preached in
a school-house opposite Blennerhasset's Island; and
truly it might be said of the sermon, as I once heard
him say of Horneck's Great Law of Consideration,
' It was a dagger to the hilt at every stroke.' After
preaching we were kindly invited by Col. Putnam,
son of Gen. Putnam, of the Revolution, to the house
of his son, Major Putnam, where we were treated
with every attention. Some six or eight of the prin
cipal men, with their ladies, came in to see and spend
the evening with the Methodist bishop. Most of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 375
these were Revolutionary men. The conversation of
the evening was quite of an interesting character, in
which the bishop took a lively part. But ever and
anon an important religious sentiment was thrown in,
or a moral application made, to which the company
bowed silent assent, their countenances, in the mean
time, showing that the weight was felt. The evening
closed with devotional services. The company re
tired, and we were conducted to our lodgings; and
where should we find ourselves but in the splendid
ball-room. ' Here,' said the bishop, ' they were wont
to worship the devil; but let us worship God.' I
was informed that the decree was passed soon after,
that no more balls were to be held there. Next
morning we set out for Athens. As we were crossing
Little Hockhocking, I said : ' Here, Mr. Asbury, in
1800, the man used to set me over ferriage free, say
ing he never charged ministers or babes ; for if they
do no good they do no harm.' ' Ah,' said he, ' that is
not true of ministers ; for the minister who does no
good does much harm.' We reached Athens on
Friday at noon, and commenced our camp-meeting.
It went on well, and closed well on the fourth day,
and the bishop left us in good spirits for Chillicothe,
having preached two powerful sermons. In making
his tour, he had diverged from a straight road at
least fifty miles, and added to his journey more than
one hundred miles. What love had he for the

376 LIFE AND TIMES OF
souls of men, as the purchase of the Redeemer's
blood !"
Another interesting reminiscence is given by the
same writer, in which he describes a tour with As
bury through Ohio. The sketch thus runs : " I once
had the pleasure of accompanying Bishop Asbury
ten days on one of his Western tours through the
then infant state of Ohio in the days of log-cabins;
and they were not such unsightly things, if coon and
wildcat-skins were hanging round the walls, and deer
horns strewed over the roof, and wild turkeys' wings
sticking about in the cracks, for they were, with few
exceptions, the best dwellings in the land. Well, in
many of these we met a smiling welcome, and were
most hospitably entertained, and the good bishop
always made himself pleasant and cheerful with the
families, so that they soon forgot all embarrassment,
and appeared as easy in their feelings as if they had
received the bishop into ceiled and carpeted parlors,
as some of them had in the old states. Some of them
were very neat and clean, fitted up in good taste,
which showed that if madam could not play on the
piano-forte she had taken lessons from Israel's wise
king, and knew well how to look to the affairs of her
house if it was a cabin. It must be confessed, how
ever, that all were not so ; for it was our sad lot to
fall in with one or two that were miserably filthy and
fearfully infested with vermin. This was a heavy tax

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 37^
on the feelings of the poor bishop, for he had as fair,
and as clear, and thin a skin as ever came from En
gland, and in him the sense of smelling and tasting
were most exquisite. But, dear souls, they were as
kind as you please, and the bishop did not hurt their
feelings, but prayed for them, and talked good to
them. Many of them have got better houses since
that time, have made good improvements, and their
daughters have come out quite polished. But we
got to quarterly meeting, for he was passing my dis
trict, and a most blessed season we had : sinners
awakened, souls converted, believers quickened,
backsliders reclaimed. O the Master of assemblies
was with us of a truth ! Quarterly meeting Confer
ence came on. ' Well, Mr. Asbury, you will attend
with us and preside?' 'No, son,' was the reply; 'let
every man stand in his lot and do his part of the
work ; when you shall have got through your busi
ness let me know and I will come and see you.' So
we went to business pretty expeditiously, expecting
an address from the bishop. We had no long, tough
speeches, and those repeated, but went through,
brought our business to a close in due time, and sent
a messenger to inform him that we were ready to
receive him. He came, took the chair, and after a
short pause commenced taking notice of the infancy
of the state, the infancy of the Church, the toils and
privations, the trials and temptations, peculiar to

378 LIFE AND TIMES OF
such a state of things, and the great necessity of
watchfulness and prayer, and diligent attendance on
the means of grace, both public and private. He
spoke of his own toils, cares, and anxieties with some
emotion; of the great and glorious extension and
spread of the work of God in the East and South,
also in the West and Southwest, both among the
Methodists and other Christian people. He spoke
with much feeling. ' But the Quarterly Conference,
the importance of this branch of our ecclesiastical
economy, " to hear complaints, to receive and try ap
peals," and thus guard the rights and privileges of
the membership against injury from an incorrect ad
ministration ; to try, and even expel, preachers, dea
cons, and elders ; to examine, license, and recommend
to office in the local department ; to recommend for
admission into the traveling connection persons as
possessing grace, gifts, and usefulness for the great
and important work of the Gospel ministry ; surely
you will see and feel the highly responsible station
which you fill as members of this body. We send
you our sons in the Gospel to minister to you the
word of life and watch over your souls as they that
must give account. That they may become men,
men of God and even fathers among you, help them
in their great work; and that you may help them
understandingly, read, mark, learn, and inwardly
digest your excellent Discipline. It is plain, simple,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 379
and Scriptural. It is true, speculative minds may
find or make difficulties where there are none. [I
am not ashamed to confess that I learned something;
during this lecture that I thought well worth taking
care of.] But a few words about your manner of
living at the present. You are now in your log-
cabins, and busily engaged in clearing out your
lands. Well, think nothing of this. I have been a
man of cabins for these many years, and I have
been lodged in. many a cabin as clean and sweet as a
palace ; and I have slept on many coarse, hard beds,
which have been as clean and as sweet as water and
soap could make them, and not a flea nor a bug to
annoy. [Here I had to hang my head. Dear old
gentleman, he had not forgotten the other night
when he got no sleep.] Keep,' said the bishop, ' the
whisky-bottle out of your cabins, away far from your
premises. Never fail in the offering up of the morn
ing and evening sacrifice with your families. Keep
your cabins clean for your healths' sake and for your
souls' sake, [put this on to your wives and daughters,]
for there is no religion in dirt, and filth, and fleas.
But,' said he, ' of this no more. If you do not wish
the Lord to forsake your cabin, do not forsake his ;
you will lose nothing, but be gainers, even in tem
poral things, by going and taking your household
with you, even on a week day ; you cannot all have
Sabbath preaching. It is time we close for evening

380 LIFE AND TIMES OF
service.' A few words more in commending us
to God and the word of his grace, and then what
a prayer! how spiritual, how fervent, how fully
adapted to the state of the country and the Church
as they then were ! Truly, it might be said, he was
mighty in prayer."
On one of Asbury's excursions, after traveling
hard through a Western wilderness to reach a quar
terly meeting which lay on his route to a distant
Conference, he was unusually tempted at not having
seen, for some time, any direct fruit of his per
sonal labor in the conversion of souls. He felt in
clined to the belief that his mission had expired, and
he had better retire from the work. With this de
pression of spirit he entered the love-feast on Sab
bath morning, in a rude log chapel in the woods, and
took his seat, unknown to any, in the back part of
the congregation. After the usual preliminary exer
cises had been gone through with by the preacher,
an opportunity was given for the relation of Chris
tian experience. One after another testified of the
saving grace of God, and occasionally a verse of
some hymn was sung, full of rich and touching
melody. The tide of religious feeling, was rising and
swelling in all hearts, while a lady rose whose plain
but exceedingly neat attire indicated that she was a
Methodist. Her voice was full and clear, though
slightly tremulous. She had traveled many miles to

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 381
the meeting, and her feelings would not allow her to
repress her testimony. She remarked that she had
not long been a follower of Christ. "Two years
ago," said she, " I was attracted to a Methodist meet
ing in our neighborhood by being informed that
Bishop Asbury was going to preach.' I went, and
the Spirit sealed the truth he uttered on my heart.
I fled to Jesus and found redemption in his blood,
even the forgiveness of my sins, and have been
happy in his love ever since.
" ' Not a cloud doth arise to darken my skies,
Or hide for a moment my Lord from my eyes.' "
She sat down, and ere the responses which her
remarks had awakened in all parts of the house had
died away, Bishop Asbury was on his feet. He com
menced by remarking that " he was a stranger and
pilgrim, halting on his way for rest and refreshment
in the house of God, and that he had found both ;
and," said he, with uplifted hands, while tears of joy
coursed each other freely down his face, " if I can only
be instrumental in the conversion of one soul in trav
eling round the continent, I'll" travel round till I die."
The following story was told us by Father Finley :
When Asbury was spending a few weeks in one of the
cities of the Union, and preaching every day, he was
refreshed in spirit by witnessing the conversion of a
number of souls. Among them was a young lady.

382 LIFE AND TIMES OF
She had just returned from a fashionable boarding-
school, having finished the course of study, and hav
ing received a diploma setting forth her attainments
and accomplishments. Special attention had been
bestowed upon her musical education. She had a
voice of great 'power and melody, and her perform
ance on the piano exhibited rare attainments in the
art. Her father was a gentleman of wealth, and took
great pride in his daughter. At fashionable parties
she was a star of general attraction, and her musical
power, as well as prepossessing appearance and man
ners, made her society extremely desirable.
This gifted and accomplished young lady was in
duced to go one evening to hear Asbury. His voice
and manner riveted her attention, and ere she was
aware, as the man of God presented the claims of
religion upon the young, her heart was touched.
She yielded to the persuasive power of the Gospel,
and in penitence sought and found the blessings of
religion. Her conversion was as sudden as it was
unexpected by her friends, but it was, nevertheless,
clear and genuine. No place to her was now so
attractive as the house of God, and thither she
wended her steps from evening to evening, enjoying
the rapturous bliss
" Of a soul in its earliest love."
Of course, it was not long until the change wrought
upon her by the power of the Gospel was known to

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 383
her parents, who, strange to say, felt grieved and
indignant at the result. They were worldly and
thoughtless, not only neglecting the claims of relig
ion themselves, but wholly careless in regard to their
children. Their only object was to fit them for mov
ing in fashionable circles, and no pains or expense
were spared to effect it.
To win her back to the world was now the design
of the father. He was too much of a gentleman, and
had too much respect for himself and the proprieties
of life, to resort to any coercive measures. He ac
cordingly brought around her the thoughtless and
the gay of her companions, and threw her as often as
possible into their society. Naturally amiable, and
loving her parents with all the devotion of an affec
tionate child, she yielded to her father's requests to
visit different places of mirth and gayety; and though
she did not put on the morose look of cloistered piety,
yet she was serenely quiet and affable in her man
ners, preserving the true dignity of the Christian.
She had a heartfelt joy to which the worldly are
strangers, and while she felt sympathy for the pur
suers of shadows, she allowed not her anxiety for
their spiritual welfare to destroy their brief uncertain
joy. She preferred holding up the light of a Chris
tian example in a calm, quiet, unobtrusive manner,
rather than to resort to any effort to convince them
of the error of their way. All the efforts of her father

384 LIFE AND TIMES OF
were, however, of no avail to lure her from the pur
pose she had formed to lead a religious life.
As a last resort he gave a large party, and sent out
invitations to the most worldly and fashionable of the
city. The evening at length arrived ; the company
came together ; all was a scene of gayety and mirth,
for the pleasure-loving throng were there. In the
midst of this scene it was arranged that she should be
invited to sing and play on the piano one of those
fashionable airs to which they had been wont to listen
with so much interest previous to her conversion.
She made no objection as she was led by her father
to the piano. Taking her seat, she commenced in a
strain the most touching, because it came from her
heart, and sang, with a full clear voice, that beautiful
hymn of Charles Wesley :
"No room for mirth or trifling here,
For worldly hope or worldly fear,
If life so soon is gone ;
If now the Judge is at the door,
And all mankind must stand before
The inexorable throne.
" No matter which my thoughts employ
A moment's misery or joy ;
But 0 1 when both shall end,
Where shall I find my destined place ?
Shall I my everlasting days
With fiends or angels spend?

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 385
" Nothing is worth a thought beneath
But how I may escape the death
That never, never dies ;
How make mine own election sure,
And when I fail on earth secure
A mansion in the skies."
She had not sung through one verse before her
father, who stood by her side, was seen to drop his
head. Every whisper ceased, and the most intense
feeling was evidently pervading the entire company.
Every word was distinctly heard, and each seemed
an arrow from the Spirit's quiver going directly to
the hearts of the hearers. When she ceased her
father was gone. His feelings were too great to be
suppressed, and he sought another room, where he
gave vent to his tears. Mary had conquered, and
from that hour she was free from the allurements of
the world. For many years she lived to adorn her
profession, and then went up to join the song of the
redeemed in heaven.
In the summer of 1802 Asbury spent a few days
in the vicinity of Stevensburg, Virginia, at the house
of his warm-hearted brother, Rev. Elisha Phelps,
where he received his friends. The Rev. James
Quinn thus describes the interview : " A most inter
esting company, convened at this lovely country resi
dence, where true Virginia hospitality, in old style,
stood ready to receive them with smiling welcome.
25

386 LIFE AND TIMES OF
As soon as the company were seated in the not splen
did but neatly arranged parlor, in order that all
things might be sanctified by the word of God and
prayer, the bishop, in his usually laconic and com
prehensive style, addressed the throne of grace.
Although the prayer was short, it seemed to take in
all for which man or minister should pray. 0 how
much unprofitable, not to say vain, repetition do we
sometimes hear in the long prayers of some well-dig-
posed persons ! Not so prayed Asbury. The prayer
concluded, the company resumed their seats; and what
then ? Light chit-chat, mixed with peals of laughter,
in which all persons talk and no one hears? No, no;
it was ' the feast of reason and the flow of soul.' In
a free flow of conversation on a variety of interesting
topics, chiefly of a moral and religious character. The
state of the Old World, in religion and politics, occu
pied part of the time. The revolutions in Europe, the
shaking of- thrones, the fulfillment of prophecy, the
overthrow of the beast and the false prophet; New
ton, Faber, Bengelius, and Wesley, on the fulfillment
of prophecy ; infidelity in Europe and America ; the
spread of the Gospel, the rolling of the stone cut out
of the mountains, the glorious 1836, which, accord
ing to some, was to usher in the glories of the Millen
nium ; these, together with the state affairs in our own
America, God maintaining his own cause, making
bare his arm, pouring out his Spirit gloriously on

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 387
different branches of his Church, etc., entered largely
into the social entertainments of that pleasant day.
" And now, if I could, I would most cheerfully give
the reader a minute description of that social band.
I fear a failure, but will try. Well, then, here were
our host, Rev. E. Phelps, and hostess. He had been
a travehng preacher of respectable talents. His
heart was still warm in the cause, though he had
retired from the work. His open, good-natured coun
tenance told his guests that they were welcome, and
that was enough. His deeply-pious lady, somewhat
in advance of him in years, was of the olden style,
a sensible, well-informed woman, without the tinsel
and frippery of modern etiquette. She was a daugh
ter of Colonel Hyte, of Revolutionary fame. Her
orderly movements and countenance beaming with
good-nature, said to her friends, Feel yourselves
welcome. " Then here was Mr. Asbury, in better health than
usual, and in fine spirits ; I never saw him in a
more cheerful and pleasant mood ; for the Lord was
then gloriously pouring out his Spirit in many places,
and many souls were coming home to God ; and this
always cheered the heart of the good man.
" That tall, swarthy southerner, of ministerial garb
and mien, who was that? That was Rev. Philip
Bruce, a bachelor. He brought good news from the
south of Virginia. His district was all in a flame.

388 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" Well, that somewhat robust, fine^looking gentle
man, with black band, in Virginia cotton homespun,
and that sickly-looking lady near him, who are they?
That was Rev. Samuel Mitchell, of Bottetourt, Va.
He was a whole-souled Virginian, who by word and
deed carried out thefirst principles ofthe doctrine
contained in the Declaration of American Independ
ence. His heart was all on fire. The news of the
great work of God in West Tennessee and Kentucky
had just come to hand by private letters. In his
amiable lady we saw and admired the power and
loveliness of blessed Christianity, fortifying the mind
and cheering the heart, while sweet resignation sat
smiling at the approach of death. A few months
more and she slept in Jesus, and all was well.
" But there is still another interesting figure, some
what robust but not corpulent, a fine manly face, and
smiling countenance. Well, that was Dr. J. Tildon,
a local preacher. He had been a captain in the Rev
olution, held a certificate of membership in the Cin
cinnati, with Washington's signature as president of
the society. He was interesting in conversation.
" That aged lady in black ? That was Dr. Tildon's
mother. She had lived more than seventy years.
She was waiting her change and ripening for heaven.
" And that interesting lady, whose head and hair
were naturally white as pure wool, and an eye beam
ing with intelligence? That was the doctor's

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 389
lady ; she knew when to speak and when to keep
silent. " Here, also, was Dr. William M'Dowell, late of
Chillicothe, at that time in the prime of life, a man of
most dignified appearance : his raven locks, hanging
in ringlets, were beginning to be sprinkled with gray,
and the fine Irish bloom was yet glowing on his
cheek. He had been a successful traveling preacher,
but had retired from the field of toil and privation.
This was often a subject of regret to him. His
amiable wife was also present, all vivacity of body
and mind : she had a smiling, talking eye, and when
she spoke it was with wisdom, and what she said was
worth attention and memory.
" And this ruddy Englishman, who looked as if he
was always in a good humor with himself and every
body else ; often laughed heartily, but not at his own
wit ? That was Brother Mason, the watchmaker, quite
gentlemanly in his manners. And that meek, neat
lady, of Quaker appearance ? That was Sister Mason.
In her we saw a pattern of neatness and piety.
" Here, too, was the pious widow of the Rev. B.
Talbot. While her countenance well expressed the
meekness and sweetness of resignation, it seemed to
say, ' Pity me, pity me, O ye my friends ; for the
hand of the Lord hath touched me.' Sympathies
were well expressed in those kind and gentle atten
tions which are calculated to soothe and cheer the

390 LIFE AND TIMES OF
bereaved heart, and no gloom was cast over the
company. " And now I must make you acquainted with my
colleague, the Rev. Edward Matthews, a Welshman,
and not long from his native land, with the fire, man
ners, and dialect of his country, a pleasant and com
panionable man, and zealous in the cause of God.
He was modest and reserved, but Mr. Asbury and the
Virginians led him out and made him feel at home.
" But it is proper that I should notice one other
circumstance, which added much to the religious
sociabilities of the day : it was music, sweet, spirit-
stirring music. It charmed the ear and warmed the
heart. We had six or eight intellectual musical
instruments in our company, which the Lord himself
had strung and tuned. The Methodists used only
such in that day. With these we occasionally made
melody in our hearts to the Lord. In this exercise
Dr. M'Dowell took the lead, for he had the best
instrument in the company, and could use it with skill.
He sounded the key-note, all the rest chiming. 0 it
was heart-warming, soul-animating !
" The writer of this reminiscence was also one of the
company. But he was the junior of all present;
at that time a student of the fourth year in the Meth
odist Theological Seminary, which had its establish
ment in all the United States, and a few branches in
the western wilds, and a backwoodsman withal; it

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 391
behooved him, therefore, to be swift to hear and slow
to speak. But being now in ' good company,' he
resolved to take a lesson or two on good behavior
and Christian politeness, and also gather a few good
thoughts on divinity ; for in those days he was all eye
and ear, and constantly on the look-out ; he was
studying men as well as a few good books. In due
time we were summoned to the dining-room. Upon
approaching the table, the bishop tuned his musical
powers, a deep-toned, yet mellow bass, to '
' Be present at our table, Lord,
Be here and everywhere adored ;
Thy people bless, and grant that we
May feast in paradise with thee.'
The blessing asked, and all were seated — old Virginia
for all the world ; and for once we partook of food,
ate our bread with singleness of heart ; the decanters
with wine or stronger drink were neither on the table
nor sideboard ; but we had a fresh supply of new wine
just from the kingdom. From the dining-room we
returned to the parlor, and again united our musical
powers in one of the songs of Zion, then bowed
before the sprinkled throne, and found access by one
Spirit, through the one and only Mediator, to the God
of all consolation. The afternoon passed pleasantly
and profitably away on subjects of conversation. We
had just entered the nineteenth century. Here were
those who had lived and witnessed many of the

392 LIFE AND TIMES OF
scenes of more than half of the eighteenth century ;
the prophecies which (in whole or in part) in the Old
and New World, had been fulfilled, and what would
probably take place in the fulfillment of prophecy
during the century on which we had just entered.
Glorious things were anticipated, and we were ready
to think that the beast and the false prophet would
both be overthrown, and Satan bound and imprisoned.
Well almost half of that century has passed away,
and these things have not yet taken place ; but the
Lord hath said that he would make short work in
the earth; 'And what his mouth in truth hath said,
His own almighty hand shall do.'
But the day was now far spent, the shadows of even
ing were lengthening out, and the time for parting
came, when all met in the parlor, and tuned our
well-strung instruments in lofty strains to
' The Lord into his garden comes,
The spices yield a rich perfume,
The lilies grow and thrive,' etc.
and then the parting prayer and benediction by Mr.
Asbury. O, it was a season not soon to be forgotten,
it savored of heaven !

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 393

CHAPTER XX.
Asbury in the far South — Conference at Newborn, North Carolina —
Baltimore Conferenoe — Virginia — Delaware — Philadelphia — Green
Mountains, Vermont — Conference in Boston — Lakes — Moravians at
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania — First Conference northwest of the Ohio —
Indian Invasion — Shakers at Lebanon, Ohio — Philip Gatch's — Cin
cinnati — Camp-meeting— Additions to the Hymn Book — Charleston
— Western Conference — Conference at Alexandria — Perry Hall in
Mourning — General Conference in Baltimore — New Church in Eutaw
street dedicated — Portrait of Asbury taken by Order of the General
Conference — Whatcoat — Coke's Proposal to divide the Continent into
Two separate Dioceses — Bishop White Affair — -M'Kendree elected
Bishop — Western Pioneer — Memorial of New York Conference — Re
strictive Rules — Subject of Slavery — Proposal to strike the Section
from the Discipline — First Two Paragraphs retained — Asbury's Mo
tion— Asbury and Boehm — Western Travels — Indiana — Regulation
on Slavery — Crosses the Wilderness — Asbury and M'Kendree in a
Thirty Dollar Chaise — Rembert's Chapel — Virginia Conference —
Attempt to prejudice Slaveholders against the Methodists — New York
and New England Presbyterians — Cincinnati — Camp-meeting — " Old
Stone " — Conference — Baltimore Hospitality — Pittsfield — " Perpet
ual Hills " — Boston — South called on to assist Boston Methodists —
Lee's History — Comments — Review — Life in the Mountains — Awful
Wilderness — Discipline translated into German — West — Governor
Worthington— Virginia — Great Fire in New York — Genesee Confer
ence — Wise Men of New York Conference — Mad River — Dayton,
Ohio — South Carolina.
The opening of the sixth decade of American
Methodism found the toil-worn Asbury in the far
South. His New Years' dinner was taken in the
woods on his route to Columbia, South Carolina.
He was redeeming time by riding three hundred
miles a week, and preaching on the route. At

394 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Newbern, North Carolina, he held Conference,
preaching several times during the session. From
hence he passed on through Virginia to Baltimore,
where he preached on the Sabbath, and opened the
Conference on Monday. Upward of a hundred
preachers were present ; the increase in the member
ship within the bounds of the Conference was nearly
three thousand. As was his custom he went to Perry
Hall, where he had a delightful interview with his
old friends and traveling companions of three thou
sand miles, Hollingsworth and Hitt. After visiting
points in Virginia and Delaware, he proceeded to the
Conference at Philadelphia. From hence he passed
through New Jersey and on to Vermont. When he
came to the Green Mountains, he says : " We boldly
engaged the Green Mountains of which we have
heard awful accounts. I match it with rude Clinch
or rough Alleghany. When we reached the Nar
rows, Daniel Hitt led the horses; he preferred my
leading them, so on we went ; but I was weak, and
not attentive, perhaps, and the horse ran me upon a
rock, up went the wheel, hanging balanced over a
precipice fifty feet deep, with rocks, trees, and the
river between us. Never in my life have I been in
such apparent danger, but the Lord saves man and
beast." Crossing after this the New Hampshire
mountains, he entered the state of Massachusetts, and
held Conference in Boston. The New England Con-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 395
ference had then ninety-two preachers on the list.
After Conference he went to Lynn, where he
preached on Sunday and Monday. His route from
this place was through Wilbraham, Springfield, and
across the mountains to Pittsfield, from thence to
Schenectady, and along the banks of the Mohawk.
Here he was so lame as to be obliged to go upon
crutches, but he nevertheless continued to preach.
He went from hence to Cazenovia, Onondaga, Ska-
neatelas Lake, Owasco Lake, Cayuga Lake, Seneca
Lake, and Lyonstown, and thus from point to point
until he reached Genesee and Tioga, and thence on
through Pennsylvania until he reached Bethlehem, a
place he had long desired to see.
In describing this place, he says : " We found our
selves at the grand tavern at the north end, the
property of the ' Moravian Brethren.' The house is
large, but a plain building, the entertainment good
at a dollar a night for man and horse. On the second
bench of the high grounds on the main street, which
begins on the hill above, stand the church buildings.
On the east and west are rooms appropriate to the
institution, and certainly the west end has a grand
appearance. On the same street below stands the
'Brethren's ' house, one hundred feet front, five stories
high, very plain, and much German taste discover
able everywhere; add to this the majestic Lehigh,
and you have the most striking features of this cele-

396 LIFE AND TIMES OF
brated. place. I asked the young man who managed
the tavern if they ever permitted any minister to
preach among the ' Brethren.' He could not answer ;
he was a servant and knew not how to answer. Next
day came the master of ceremonies, the cicerone of
the establishment, who shows the wonders of the
place. I asked him, but was informed that the min
ister must perform hi/mselbst. Daniel Hitt and two
gentlemen from York, who had given money for the
sights shown here for money, went to the Church-
meeting. And what did they see and hear ? A man
read in German they knew not what, and sung and
played upon the four thousand dollar organ, but ser
mon or prayer they heard not. I doubt much if there
is any prayer here, public or private, except the stated
prayer of the minister on the Sabbath day. The
' Brethren ' have a school for boys at Nazareth, and
one for girls at Bethlehem, and they have a store and
a tavern. The society have worldly wealth and
worldly wisdom, and it is no wonder that men of the
world, who would not have their children spoiled by
religion, send them to so decent a place."
From this place he directed his course to Lancas
ter, and without visiting Philadelphia he proceeded
across the Alleghany Mountains, and through Ohio
to the far-off Scioto, where the first Conference north
west of the Ohio was held in Chillicothe. Sixty-six
preachers had assembled from the different and dis-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 397
tant parts of the far West and South. Among them
were many hardy pioneers, who had blazed their
way through the wilderness, men of giant hearts and
stalwart frames, who had braved a thousand dangers,
and who were ready for any hardship and toil the
Church might demand. The most of them have
passed away, and the few that remain stand here and
there like the solitary oak to tell of the glory of the
primeval forest in which they stood.
During the session of the Conference Asbury vis
ited the Deer Creek camp-ground, and preached a
powerful discourse from the text, " We then, as work
ers together with him, beseech you also that ye re
ceive not the grace of God in vain." 2 Cor. vi, 1.
An immense concourse of people were collected from
all parts of the country. Whole Methodist families
came from the distance of forty and fifty miles, and
some even further. They came in covered wagons,
bringing their provisions with them. They did not,
like many of the Methodists of the present day, take
the cars in the morning and, whirled along at the
rate of thirty miles an hour, reach the encampment
in time to hear the eleven o'clock sermon, take din
ner at a boarding-tent, and return in the evening,
wondering that they had received no spiritual bene
fit. Had they done so, camp-meetings would not
have been attended with the power that character
ized them. But they closed up business at home,

398 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and made all their arrangements to spend a week
at the feast of tabernacles, devoting themselves ex
clusively to the worship of God, and the result was
invariably an increase in spirituality in the hearts of
the members, and the conversion of their children.
The great wonder is not now that so few are con
verted at our modern camp-meetings, but that any
are converted. This, however, is to be attributed to
the fact that there are some who act upon the prim
itive plan of going prepared, and determined to re
main during the continuance of the meeting.
After the business of the Conference was closed,
during which they received an addition of thirteen
preachers to the ranks of the itinerancy, and elected
seven delegates to attend the General Conference,
Asbury set out for what he called the frontier settle
ments on the Great Miami. A great alarm about
this time was spread through the country on account
of a threatened invasion of the Indians. A council,
however, was held, at which Governor Worthington
and General M' Arthur met the chiefs, and all hostile
demonstrations were quieted. On his way he stopped
at Lebanon, where he heard much about the Shakers.
At Union Village, about three miles west of Leb
anon, the Shakers commenced their operations, and
at this day it is, perhaps, the strongest hold of
Shakerdom in the West. The society owns a large
tract of fine land under a high state of cultivation;

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 399
and have several family houses within a distance of
three or four miles of each other. As there are dif
ferent grades it is necessary to keep them separate.
On the Little Miami he preached at Philip Gatch's,
and from thence proceeded to Cincinnati, where he
stopped with Mr. Farris, in company with Solomon
and Oliver Langdon. While here he thus expressed
himself: "I am young again, and boast of being
able to ride six thousand miles on horseback in ten
months. My round will embrace the United States,
the Territory, and Canada, but O ! childhood, youth,
and old age, ye are all vanity." He alludes to the
erection of the stone church where Wesley Chapel
now stands, and thought it a very neat and comfort
able house of worship, though the crowd to hear him
was so great that they could not find seats for their
accommodation. From Cincinnati he went to the camp-meeting at
Mount Gerizim, Kentucky, where there was a large
collection of people, and where he remained several
days preaching. Quite a number were converted
during the progress of the' meeting.
While on this tour he employed a part of his
leisure time "in seeking appropriate portions of
Scripture for the new hymns designed to enlarge
the common hymn book."
Pursuing his course through Tennessee, North Caro
lina, and Georgia, on Christmas day he reached

400 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Charleston, South Carolina, where the next Confer
ence was to be held. On Sabbath he preached at the
old church and at Bethel, when he took occasion to
notice the life and labors of Kendrick and Dough
erty. January 1, 1808, the Conference began. They
sat six hours a day, and everything progressed with
peace and harmony. The increase within the bounds
of this Conference and the Western Conference was
three thousand seven hundred. At the close he
passed through North Carolina and Virginia to
Alexandria, where a Conference was to be held, and
thence on to Baltimore.
A letter from the Rev. Asa Kent communicates
the following incident, connected with the travels of
the bishop at this time :
"He was traveling through, I think, the country
parts of North Carolina into Virginia, and put up
with a brother who kept a house of entertainment
for travelers. They had just risen from tea as a
neighbor called at the door, and said a duel had just
been fought but a few miles distant, and one of the
parties had received a ball' in his leg.
" Soon a carriage drove up to the door, and some
half-dozen spruce young men alighted and wished
for supper as soon as convenient. Their business
was at once understood, and their host brought them
into the room and introduced them to the bishop,
and they were seated till the table should be laid.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 401
He began a free conversation with them, and found
they were young gentlemen of refined manners and
education, and he wanted some method by which he
could approach them so as to do them good.
" Supper was announced, and they invited the
bishop to eat with them; but he excused himself,
having just left the table; still they desired it, and
he went with them. He supposed that he had desig
nated the principal, second, and surgeon; but they
did not seem to have an idea that their business was
known. He implored the blessing of God upon their
souls, bodies, food, etc. He took a cup of tea, a bev
erage not often slighted by him, and excused himself
from eating, and proposed telling them some of his
reflections for the day. I am sorry that I cannot
give the exact words of the bishop ; the matter is
familiar, and I think the substance is found in what
follows :
'"In passing over these hills and through these
valleys to-day, I have been led to reflect upon the
mighty changes which have taken place since I first
passed through this section of country years ago.
Then the settlements were, "like angels' visits, few
and far between." The pioneers depended much
upon their rifles for support, until they were able to
obtain supplies from the soil. Now I am really de
lighted with the changes which I behold. These
hunters were a hardy class of men, and would give
26

402, LIFE AND TIMES OF
thrilling incidents of their exploits in those " days
which tried men's souls." But, noble-minded as
they were, they were apt, by habit, to fall into a
besetting sin — they became reckless of life. Thei-
glorious Author of all life has permitted man to taka
the life of beasts when he needs their skins for use,
or their flesh for sustenance. He may also kill wild
beasts, or anything that would injure or destroy man,
or the labor of his hands ; but some have a rare thirst
for blood, even when they have no idea of making
any use of either hide, flesh, or tallow. Behold the
sportsman as he goes forth' for. his game. He hears
the chirping of a bird ensconced in the foliage of that
tree. He stops, and with his keen eye discerns his
victim, as she raises her grateful song to the top of
her voice. He has no ear for such music, and holds
a short consultation upon her life : " She is a fair
mark, and I wish to test my skill, and the correct
ness of my rifle, by putting a ball through her heart."
He takes aim, the singing ceases, and the harmless
creature falls dead to the earth. He leaves her to
rot where she fell, and passes on with much self-
complacency. Alas for that man! God has told
him that not a sparrow falls to the ground without
his notice. God was there, and saw the working.of
his mind when he determined upon blood, and the
motive which induced him to present the deadly
weapon. He has taken what he cannot restore, if it

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 403
were to save his soul from death. We may try to
excuse his thoughtlessness, but that will not suffice ;
there is a depravity of nature which must be removed.
" 'There has been a company out hunting in these
woods to-day. With cautious steps they approached
the place where they expected to find their game,
and coming suddenly to an open space, they saw a
noble buck standing still, and looking intensely at
them. One fired, but instead of sending the ball
through his heart it took effect in his leg, and with
one bound into the bushes he made his escape. Who
can tell what he may suffer from that wound, and it
may be, go halting upon that leg all his life ?'
"The bishop said he had watched their agitation
as he progressed ; their hurry increased, with down
cast eyes, until he came to that point. ' Then they
rose simultaneously, bowed me a • good evening,
leaped into their carriage, and were soon out of
sight.' "
The next Conference was held at Philadelphia,
and from thence he went to the New York Confer
ence at Amenia, and the New England Conference
at New London, and from thence returned by way
of New York and Philadelphia to Baltimore. While
here he visited Perry Hall, which he now found a
house of mourning. Mr. Gough, the proprietor, was
dead. Of this gentleman Asbury writes : " Harry Dor-
Bey Gough professed more than thirty, years ago to be

404 LIFE AND TIMES OF
convicted and sanctified ; that he did depart from
God is well known, but it is equally certain that
he was visibly restored ; as I was the means of his
turning to God, so was I also of his return and
restoration. Certain prejudices he had taken up
against myself and others I removed. In his last
hours, which were painfully afflictive, he was much
given up to God. Mr. Gough had inherited a large
estate in England, and, having the means, he in
dulged his taste for gardening and the expensive
embellishment of his country seat, Perry Hall, which
was always hospitably opened to visitors, particularly
those who feared God. Although a man of plain
understanding, Mr. Gough was much respected and
beloved. As a father, a husband, and a master, he
was well worthy of imitation. His charities were as
numerous as proper objects to a Christian were likely
to make them, and the souls and bodies of the poor
were administered to in the manner of a Christian
who remembered the precepts and followed the ex
ample of his Divine Master."
On July 5, 1806, in Dover, Delaware, Asbury's
episcopal colleague, Richard Whatcoat, was called
from labor to reward. He was a native of England,
where he was converted at an early age and joined
the Wesleyan society. After passing through various
subordinate offices in the Church, he received license
to preach, and was in due time regularly inducted into

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 405
the ranks of the traveling ministry. Having fully
counted the cost of toil and sacrifice connected with
the work of an itinerant, he manifested a devotion to
the same by the entire consecration of himself. He
entered with zeal upon some of the hardest circuits of
the Conference, and all his labors were characterized
by the most remarkable fidelity. For fifteen years
he traveled extensively, and labored successfully in
England, Wales, and Ireland. Some of his circuits
required eight weeks to complete the round, and he
often preached three times a day. On one circuit
which he traveled the people were too poor to render
him any support, and rather than deprive of the Gos
pel that class for which it was specially designed, he
sold his horse and traveled on foot. As a matter of
course, wherever he went he was cordially received
by the people, who flocked out in crowds to hear one
who manifested so much interest in their welfare.
He was as successful as he was popular, multitudes
being converted through his instrumentality. Like
Asbury, and the other noble band of early pioneers to
America, his heart was stirred at the descriptions
given of this vast field of missionary enterprise,
and in 1784 he volunteered his services and came
over with Dr. Coke, to enter upon his much loved
¦toil in this western world. From the time of his
arrival on these shores, whether as traveling large
districts, or with the laborious Asbury, making the

406 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tour of the continent, he always inspired and main
tained the confidence and esteem of all the preachers.
He enjoyed to a remarkable degree the confidence of
Wesley, and perhaps no man ever lived who filled up
the measure of Wesley's idea of a Methodist more
than the self-sacrificing Whatcoat.
At the General Conference of 1800, as the reader
will already have seen, he was raised by the
suffrages of his brethren to the distinguished office of
a bishop, a position which he filled with honor to
himself and usefulness to the Church for a period of
six years. Though the materials are scarce from
which to write a sketch of this great and good man,
yet is there enough in the unblemished reputation of
his character, and his unceasing devotion to all the
interests of the Church, together with the success that
crowned his labors, to make a volume. The merest
sketch, however, must suffice, and such is all we pro
pose to give. One of his cotemporaries thus speaks
of him : " We will not use many words to describe
this almost inimitable man. Dead to envy, pride, or
praise, he was raised above the world : sober without
sadness, cheerful without levity, careful without cov
etousness, and decent without pride." Like most of
the preachers of those days he led a life of poverty,
and when he died was not possessed of property suffi
cient to pay his funeral expenses. Though not pos
sessed of much erudition, his attainments were respect-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 407
able, and he was a most devoted student of the word
and works of God, a study of vastly greater conse
quence than many things supposed to be essential to
tlie ministerial work. So deeply was he read in the
Scriptures, and so faithfully had he treasured up their
teachings, that one of his friends. called him a walking
concordance. His labors as a bishop were only ex
celled by those of his senior in the episcopal office,
and such is the change of circumstances that they
will not likely be equaled again in this country.
During the last years of his life he suffered much
from disease, but in the midst of all he was regarded
as a prodigy of patience. Excruciating as were his
sufferings, " He did not murmur or complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But in the hour of grief and pain
He hung upon his God."
At Wesley Chapel, Dover, the place of his grave,
Bishop Asbury delivered a funeral discourse from the
text, " But thou hast fully known my doctrine, man
ner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity,
patience." In that discourse the bishop said "he
had known Richard Whatcoat from his own age of
fourteen to sixty-two years most intimately ; and had
tried him most accurately, in the soundness of his
faith, in the doctrine bf universal depravity and the

408 LIFE AND TIMES OF
complete and general atonement; the insufficiency
of either moral or ceremonial righteousness for justi
fication, in opposition to faith alone in the merit and
righteousness of Christ ; the doctrine of regeneration
and sanctification. He spoke of his holy manner of
life, manifest in all places, and before all people, as a
Christian and as a minister; his long-suffering, a
man of great affliction of body and mind, having
been exercised with severe diseases and great labors ;
but this did not abate his charity — his love of God and
man — in all its effects, tempers, words, and actions ;
bearing with resignation and patience great tempta
tions, bodily labors, and inexpressible pain. In life
and. death, placid and calm ; as he lived, so he died."
Asbury had made his death the occasion of numer
ous discourses at the Conferences and elsewhere,
and the above tribute to his memory is sufficient to
show how greatly he loved his first colleague in the
episcopacy. On the 6th of May, 1808, the General Conference
opened in Baltimore. One hundred and twenty-nine
members were present and took their seats. On the
succeeding Sabbath the new church in Eutaw-
street was dedicated, and the sermon was preached
by Asbury from 2 Corinthians, iii, 12 : " Seeing then
that we have such hope} we use great plainness of
speech." The sermon was characterized by great
directness and force. During this Conference, at the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 409
request of several preachers in England and the Gen
eral Conference, Mr. Bruff, an artist, took a likeness
of Asbury, which afterward appeared in the English
Methodist Magazine. It represented him with flow
ing white hair, falling in ringlets on his shoulders.
At this Conference Asbury was left alone in the
presidency, Coke not having returned from England,
and Whatcoat having died.
After attending to the necessary preliminaries con
nected with Conference business, the case of Dr.
Coke was taken up. During his last absence he had
married a lady of wealth and respectability in En
gland, who proved in every respect a helper in the
great work of extending the Gospel abroad. He had
suggested as a condition of his return to the United
States that the continent be divided into two separate
dioceses, he to preside over one and Asbury over the
other. He furthermore claimed the full right to give
his judgment in the General and Annual Conferences
in everything pertaining to the making of laws,
stationing of preachers, and sending out mission
aries. What the General Conference felt disposed to
grant Dr. Coke in relation to the exercise of the
rights which he claimed in the Conferences we are
not prepared definitely to state, but the proposal to
divide the country into two separate and dis
tinct ecclesiastical dioceses they did not for a
moment entertain. The- Conference were somewhat

410 LIFE AND TIMES OF
dissatisfied with the course pursued by Dr. Coke in
relation to the Bishop White affair. It seems from
the history of the transaction that the proposal of
the doctor, made to Bishop White for a union of
the Protestant Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal
Churches, was of a purely confidential character, and
designed only to elicit an opinion as to the propriety
and practicability of the measure. In addition to
this it was of a personal character, and in no way in
volved the Methodist Church or the General Confer
ence. The whole affair was doubtless prompted by
the purest motives, arising in all probability from the
peculiar condition of the Methodist Church at the
time. The O'Kelly schism had created a considerable
alarm lest the Church should be torn asunder; and this
state of things doubtless moved the doctor to look to the
Protestant Episcopal Church, believing that a union
with that body without a compromise of principles
would prove of essential service to both. No one
should hold him accountable for an error of judgment
under circumstances of this description. Such event
ually was the light in which the subject was viewed by
the General Conference, and the following resolutions
show that they entertained for him the highest regards:
" 1. Resolved, That we do retain a grateful remem
brance of the services and labors of Dr. Coke among
us, and that the thanks of this Conference are here
by acknowledged to him and to God for all his labors

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 411
of love toward us from the time he first left his
native country to serve us.
" 2. Resolved, That Dr. Coke's name shall be re
tained on our Minutes after the names of the bishops,
in a Nota Bene : Dr. Coke, at the request of the Brit
ish Conference, and by consent of our General Confer
ence, resides in Europe. He is not to exercise the
office of superintendent or bishop among us in the
United States until he be recalled by the General
Conference or by all the Annual Conferences re
spectively." Furthermore, in their address to the British Con
ference, they hold the following language in regard
to Dr. Coke: "Your request for the continuance of
our beloved brother, Dr. Coke, among you, has been
taken into the most serious and solemn deliberation
in our Conference, and, in compliance with your re
quest, a vote has passed that he may continue with you
until he may be called to us by all the Annual Con
ferences respectively or the General Conference. We
are, however, not insensible of his value, or ungrate
ful for his past labors of love, and we do sincerely
pray that the everlasting God may still be with him,
and make him a blessing to hundreds and thousands
of immortal souls."
On the twelfth day of the Conference a resolution
was passed that the episcopacy be strengthened by
the election of an additional bishop. When the bal-

412 LIFE AND TIMES OF
lot was had it was ascertained that the lot had fallen
upon William M'Kendree, the western pioneer. He
was taken from the well-tried field of itinerant labor,
and hence was practically acquainted with, and had
a deep experience in the toils and hardships of an
itinerant life. On the 17th of May he was ordained
by Asbury, and regularly inducted into office. The
subsequent life and labors of this bishop showed the
wisdom of the choice of the General Conference.
The next question brought before the Conference
was the memorial of the New York Conference in re
lation to a delegated General Conference. In this
memorial the Eastern, Western, and South Carolina
Conferences concurred, the two former unanimously,
the latter giving five dissentient votes. The subject
was referred to a committee consisting of two from
each of the Annual Conferences. The following are
the names of the committee, and the Conferences to
which they respectively belonged : New York, Eze
kiel Cooper and John Wilson ; New England, Josh
ua Soule and George Pickering ; Western, William
M'Kendree and William Burke ; South Carolina, Wil
liam Phoebus and Josiah Randall ; Virginia, Philip
Bruce and Jesse Lee ; Baltimore, Stephen G. Roszel
and Nelson Reed ; Philadelphia, John M'Claskey and
Thomas Ware. After seven days' deliberation this
committee presented their report, which was read
and laid on the table for the space of eight days,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 413
when, on motion, it was taken up and discussed.
The report was designed, if adopted, to constitute a
section of the Discipline relative to the constitution
of the General Conference and its powers and pre
rogatives. The original paper was finally adopted,
with a few slight modifications. As this section has
been changed in some parts from time to time, we
have thought it proper to give it to our readers as it
originally stood in the Discipline :
" The General Conference shall not change or alter
any part of our rules of government so as to do away
episcopacy, or destroy the plan of our itinerant gen
eral superintendency. ... It shall have full power to
make rules and regulations for our Church under the
following restrictions :
" 1. The General Conference shall not revoke, alter,
or change our articles of religion, nor establish any
new standards or rules of doctrine contrary to our
present existing and established standards of doctrine.
" 2. They shall not allow of more than one repre
sentative for every five members of the Annual Con
ferences, nor allow of a less number than one for
every seven.
" 3. They shall not revoke or change the General
Eules of the United Societies.
" 4. They shall not do away the privileges of our
ministers or preachers of trial by a committee, and of
an appeal ; neither shall they do away the privileges

414 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of our members of trial before the society, or by a
committee, and of an appeal.
" 5. They shall not appropriate the produce of the
Book Concern or of the Charter Fund to any purpose
other than for the benefit of the traveling, super
numerary, superannuated, and worn-out preachers,
their wives, widows, and children.
" 6. Provided, nevertheless, that upon the joint
recommendation of all the Annual Conferences, then
a majority of two-thirds of the General Conference
succeeding shall suffice to alter any of the above
restrictions." The subject of slavery was introduced by Stephen
G. Roszel, who proposed an amendment, which was
lost. John M'Claskey moved that the whole section
on the subject be stricken from the Discipline, which
was also lost. Mr. Roszel subsequently offered the
following, seconded by Thomas Ware, which was
carried, namely : " That the first two paragraphs of
the section on slavery. be retained in the Discipline,
and that the General Conference authorize each
Annual Conference to form their own regulations
relative to buying and selling slaves."
On motion of Bishop Asbury, which was carried,
one thousand copies of the Discipline, with the
section and rule on slavery omitted, for the use of
the South Carolina Conference, was ordered to be
prepared.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 415
At the close of the Conference Asbury felt greatly
relieved that his " beloved M'Kendree " had become
associated with him in bearing the labors and respon
sibilities of the episcopacy. After a short respite he
started out with Henry Boehm, a German minister,
on a tour through Pennsylvania, preaching to Eng
lish and German congregations in numerous places.
Of this tour Mr. Boehm, the only surviving travel
ing companion of Asbury, and who still retains a
vivid recollection of him, furnishes the following
reminiscences :
"For several years Bishop Asbury gave me intima
tions of his intention to take me with him, one motive
of which was to minister to the Germans when an
opportunity offered in his tours. At the General
Conference at Baltimore, in 1808, he came to the con
clusion that I should travel with him. Accordingly
I proceeded to Pipe Creek, where I met the bishop
at the house of Brother M'Cannon. Here we saw the
remains of the house of worship erected in the days
of Mr. Strawbridge, of whose person I have some
faint recollection when on a visit at my father's, near
seventy years ago. We proceeded through Frederick-
town, Hagerstown, and Fort Cumberland, preaching
frequently by the way ; then toiled across the Alle
ghany Mountain, the road being very rough. By
the time we descended on the west side of the moun
tain the indefatigable bishop was attacked with in-

416 LIFE AND TIMES OF
flammatory rheumatism, which deprived him of the
use of his feet ; and his companion had to follow the
appointments on to Pittsburgh. The last appointment
was on Sabbath, and had to be noticed in some of
the newspapers ; the bishop in the morning, and his
companion in the afternoon in German : this was a
heavy cross for a young man, but in the name of the
Lord I undertook the work, and succeeded both in the
morning and afternoon, as also at five o'clock, in
Brother Wrenshall's yard. The Methodist society
was small, and had no house of worship in Pittsburgh.
" I now hastened back to the forks of Youghiogany
and Monongahela, and found Father Asbury still very
lame. During my absence he had provided himself
with a pair of crutches, and was actually shaping his
course for a start. It was truly, from all human
appearance, a hopeless case, but it must be under
taken. We started for Washington ; every step of
the horse was painful ; when we arrived at said town
I lifted him off his horse, and carried him into the
house, to the astonishment of the kind family when'
they found that he had traveled on horseback through
a shower of rain. We carried the crutches with us,
though for the time being they were of no use. Next
morning we were on the road, and arrived in safety
at Brother Beck's, a family of blessed memory.
Here we rested a little while, and then proceeded to
Wheeling, tarried with Colonel Zane, one of the early

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 417
settlers on the banks of the Ohio. I recollect, anions:
many remarks, one very remarkable incident, related
to us by the old people. Their house was assaulted
by a company of Indians ; the wife molded bullets,
while the husband used them with such effect that
they happily succeeded in defending themselves
against a superior force.
" We crossed the Ohio, and then crossed the Mus
kingum at Zanesville. In the vicinity of New Lan
caster we fell in with brothers Sale and James Quinn,
now among the happy dead ; the former was presid
ing elder of the district, then extending from the Big
Miami to the Muskingum. Brother Sale accompa
nied us to Chillicothe and to Xenia, where his family
resided. There lived here a worthy family who had
removed from Virginia, and laid a lasting foundation
for Methodism, namely, Pelham, Bonner, and others.
"We proceeded to Lebanon, an infant village
down the Little Miami, to the venerable Philip
Gatch's, where we found a camp-meeting. Here I
had an opportunity to preach to the Germans, as
also in Cincinnati, which was probably the first ser
mon preached in German by a Methodist minister
in that town, containing then about two thousand
inhabitants. Notwithstanding the affliction of Bish
op Asbury, he preached almost daily when opportu
nity served, and by the time we arrived at Cincinnati
he was much better of his lameness. In this town,
27

418 LIFE AND TIMES OF
likewise, there was a foundation of good materials in
the Methodist society, fine, steady, pious members.
" Leaving Cincinnati, we traveled in company with
Brother and Sister Lakin to Lawrenceburgh, Indiana
Territory, where we tarried with Brother Elijah
Sparks. This was quite an infant village. We
passed down opposite Kentucky River, where we
crossed the Ohio in a leaky scow, and were in
considerable danger. We now took our course
through Kentucky to Tennessee, to Brother James
Gwin's. Here the Western Conference had its ses
sion, embracing all west of the Alleghany Mountains,
except what the Baltimore Conference included ; it
likewise took in East Tennessee, with Southwest Vir
ginia. What changes since that period ! To my
great surprise Father Asbury bore up under all the
loil and labor of traveling and preaching, together
with the care of all the Churches, and notwithstand
ing, he was a very agreeable companion on the
road." Crossing over to Kentucky they met M'Kendree,
and journeyed on to Nashville, and thence to tlie
teat of the Conference. The Conference was in
Williamson county, held in the encampment, where
ihe preachers ate and slept in tents. It was a peace
ful and prosperous time ; eighty preachers were sta
tioned. At this Conference a regulation was adopted
respecting slavery, to the effect that "no member of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 419
the society, or preacher, should sell or buy a slave
unjustly, inhumanly, or covetously."
From this Conference they started, with fifty trav
elers in company, across the wilderness. The toils
of the journey preyed heavily on Asbury's constitu
tion, but still he toiled on. Arriving at Buncombe,
North Carolina, they stopped for rest, and M'Ken
dree and Boehm preached alternately. Thence they
journeyed to South Carolina, stopping at Camden,
where they were greatly refreshed by intelligence
from Baltimore and elsewhere of glorious revivals of
religion. The next point was a camp-meeting in
Georgia, where Conference was held. There was an
immense concourse of people, many of whom had
come a great distance. The number of traveling and
local preachers present was about three hundred, and
preaching, exhortation, and prayer were kept up
without intermission. During this tour Asbury and
M'Kendree rode together in a carriage. In the Jour
nal it is thus described : " We are riding in a poor
thirty-dollar chaise, in partnership, two bishops of us ;
but it must be confessed it tallies well with the weight
of our purses. What bishops ! Well, but we have
great times ; each Western, Southern, and the Vir
ginia Conference will have a thousand souls truly
converted to God, and is not this an equivalent for a
light purse, and are we not well paid for starving and
toil ? Yes, glory to God !"

420 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Asbury went to Rembert's Chapel to fill an ap-1
pointment which had been made for Bishop M'Ken
dree. Mr. Rembert, after whom this chapel was
named, was a resident of South Carolina, and his
house was a favorite resort of the bishop. In speak
ing of this Christian gentleman, whose hospitalities he
frequently enjoyed, he says: "He is kind and good,
rich and liberal, and has done more for the poor
Methodists than any man in South Carolina. The
Lord grant that he, with his whole household, may
find mercy in that day."
The next Conference they attended was the Virginia,
which was held in February, 1809. Among the eighty-
four preachers present there were only three who were
married. While at this Conference Asbury complained
of the course taken by certain people to prejudice
slaveholders against Methodist principles, and thus
keep them from having access to the slaves. In this
connection he asks the following question : " Would
not an amelioration in the condition and treatment of
slaves have produced more practical good to the poor
Africans than any attempt at their emancipation f
The state of society unhappily does not admit of this ;
besides, the blacks are deprived of the means of in
struction, and who will take the pains to lead them
in the way of salvation, and watch over them that
they may not stray, but the Methodists ?"
In consequence of the position taken by the Gen-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 421
eral Conference previously on the subject of slavery,
some of the legislative assemblies of the South had
passed laws prohibiting ministers from instructing
the slaves except upon certain conditions, and author
izing the peace officers to break up any meetings
that might be held in private for their benefit. In
regard to the effect of the address of the General
Conference upon the citizens of South Carolina, As
bury says : " Nothing could so effectually alarm and
arm the citizens of South Carolina against the Meth
odists. The rich among the people never thought us
worthy to preach to them ; they did indeed give
their slaves liberty to hear and join our Church, but
now it appears the poor Africans will no longer have
this indulgence." Asbury frequently lamented that
his way was hedged up, and that he had not the
access to the slaves which he so much desired. At
the Conference held in Tennessee in 1808, the year
immediately preceding the present time, we learn
from his Journal that a rule was adopted on the
subject of slavery wliich prohibited any member of
the Church, or preacher, from selling or buying a
slave " unjustly, inhumanly, or covetously."
The bishops continued on their journey until they
reached Baltimore, the old starting point, and from
thence passed through Pennsylvania and New Jer
sey on to New York. Here Conference was held.
One hundred and fifteen preachers were stationed.

422 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The ordination of elders took place at John-street,
and the occasion was one of great interest to the
Church in the city. From hence Asbury sought the
rest and quiet of Sherwood vale, where he spent the
Sabbath and preached. From this he started with
Boehm for his Eastern tour. Passing through New
Haven, New London, Newport, Bristol, and Warren,
he journeyed on to Boston, where he preached in the
old chapel on Sabbath morning, and in the afternoon
in the new. Such was his feebleness here that he was
obliged to preach in a sitting posture. From this
place he went to New Gloucester, where Conference
was held. On Sabbath he preached to an immense
congregation consisting of thousands. In Danville,
Vermont, he was invited to preach to the court,
which was then in session, but his health would not
allow the undertaking; a large congregation, how
ever, collected in the Church, and he preached, sitting
in one of the pews near the pulpit. From hence he
proceeded on his way through Marshfield, Mid
dlesex, Waterbury, and Richmond to Lake Cham
plain, and from thence onward to Fort Edward,
where he preached in Dr. Lawrence's store to five
hundred attentive hearers. Afterward he preached
in M'Cready's barn, on Saratoga Lake, and from
thence he went to General Clark's, where he preached
iu a bar-room. .His next stopping place was
Ballston Springs, which he compares to those of

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 423
Bath, in England : " The water," he says, " has a taste
of beer, lemon juice, and salt of tartar." From Balls-
ton he went to Kingsbury, where he took to tho
woods for a shade and preached to a thousand people.
While here he remarks: "I wish to fast as when
young, and when fast-day comes the body has a
journey of forty miles to make, and do its part in
preaching; but Christ is strength in my weakness."
Thus he continued on his journey until he reached
Onondaga, where he preached in the court-house on
Saturday and Sunday to large congregations. De
scribing his journey from this place in the midst of a
storm, he says, " We had an awful time in the woods
among rocks, and trees living and dead barring
our way."
We cannot trace the bishop in his wanderings
from place to place. Suffice it to say he passed
on from New York through Pennsylvania, crossed
the Alleghany Mountains, stopping at Wheeling,
where Colonel Zane had given the Methodists a lot
for a house. He preached here in the court-house
"with light and power, having an open time."
Boehm preached in St. Clairsviile, and also at Zanes
ville, named after the colonel. From thence they
went to Lancaster, where he spoke to the assembled
people in the court-house, and then on to Chillicothe,
Hamilton, Milford, Columbia, and " fair Cincinnati,"
as the bishop called it. He found the " old stone "

424 LIFE AND TIMES OF
enlarged and the society increased. At the camp-
meeting held near Cincinnati the bishop preached, as
also Blackman, M'Kendree, and Burke. Conference
was held this year (1809) at Cincinnati.
From this Conference he and M'Kendree started
out for the South, through Kentucky, Tennessee,
North and South Carolina, holding meetings and
Conferences on the route, and returning by Virginia
to Baltimore, where he says : " If we want plenty of
good living and new suits of clothes let us come to
Baltimore." They evidently did want them, and the
Baltimore Methodists showed their religion and good
sense in providing for these bachelor bishops. After
Conference Asbury went to Perry Hall, and started
from thence on his customary route eastward, in com
pany with Bishop M'Kendree, holding Conference in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at which eighty-four preach
ers were stationed, and two missionaries sent out, one
to Michigan, and the other to Canada. From Con
ference they started out and crossed the " perpetual
hills " into New Hampshire, where they held Confer
ence at Winchester, in the Presbyterian Church. A
camp-meeting was in progress during the session of
the Conference, and there was preaching three times
a day by the members.
At Boston Asbury preached in the old chapel on
Sabbath morning, and 'at the new in the evening. On
Monday he wrote letters to Baltimore, Georgetown,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 425
Alexandria, Norfolk, and Charleston, urging the
Churches in these places to take up collections in be
half of the new chapel in Boston, which was greatly
embarrassed with debt. Passing through Warren,
Bristol, and other places, they came to New London,
where for the first time he saw Lee's History of Meth
odism, concerning which he writes : " It is better than
I expected. He has not always presented me under
the most favorable aspect, but we are all liable to
mistakes. I correct him in one fact. My compelled
seclusion at the beginning of the war, in the state of \
Delaware, was in no wise a season of inactivity. On
the contrary, except about two months of retirement
from the direst necessity, it was the most active, the
most useful, and most afflictive part of my life. If I
spent a few dumb Sabbaths ; if I did not for a short
time steal after dark, or through the gloom of the
woods, as I was accustomed, from house to house to
to enforce that truth I, an only child, had crossed
the ocean to proclaim, I shall not be blamed I hope ;
especially when it is known that my patron, the good
and respectable Thomas White, who promised me
security and secrecy, was himself taken into custody
by the light horse patrol ; and if such things happened
to him what might I, a fugitive and an Englishman,
expect? In these very years we added eighteen
hundred members to society, and laid a broad and
deep foundation for the wonderful success Methodism

426 LIFE AND TIMES OF
has met with in that quarter. The children and chil-
drens' children of those who witnessed my labors and
sufferings in that day of peril, now rise up by hun
dreds to bless me. Where are the witnesses them
selves ? Alas ! there remain not five perhaps whom
I could summon to attest the truth of this statement."
From Connecticut they returned to New York,
where, after spending the Sabbath, July 8, 1810,
they crossed the Hudson River and the Catskills, and
directed their course to the Sharon camp -meeting.
While passing through this route he remarked that
he did not see how the people in the mountains could
be kept from starvation, were it not for the saw-mills
and lumber with which they abound. From hence.
they went on through Cazenovia, and attended the
session of the Genesee Conference, which was held in
connection with a camp-meeting. The formation of
this Conference Asbury regarded as one of the most
judicious acts of the episcopacy. After Conference
they proceeded to Geneva, passing round Seneca
Lake, where they went through what Asbury calls
" an awful wilderness." They were now in Pennsyl
vania, on the route to Northumberland, and as they
pursued their course Boehm, who was in company,
was thrown from the sulky, but without injury.
While in the wilderness Asbury describes the scene :
" Thunder and rain, and awful mountains, deep roads
and swollen streams." Crossing the Susquehanna they

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 427
stopped at Middletown, where they dined with a doc
tor by the name of Romer, who had translated the
Discipline into the German language for the benefit
of his countrymen. On Sunday Asbury preached
in Lancaster, morning and evening. From this place
they went to Carlisle, where he drew a plan for a new
chapel, seventy by forty-five feet, to cost two thou
sand dollars. The road between Indian Creek and
Connelsville he describes as very bad, and thus writes
about it : "I enter my protest, as I have yearly for
forty years, against this road." His next appoint
ment was a camp-meeting near Brownsville, where
three thousand people heard him preach. From
hence he went to Barnesville, Ohio, and from thence
to Wills' Creek and Meig's Creek, and on to Marietta,
where he preached to a small congregation. His
course from this place was across the Ohio, and up
the Little Kanawha to a camp-meeting, from whence
he returned across the country to Chillicothe.
While at Chillicothe he was requested by Governor
Worthington to furnish an inscription for the tomb
stone of his sister, Mary Tiffin, and he gave the fol
lowing: "Mary hath chosen that good part which
shall not be taken away from her." Luke x, 42.
After a short rest he journeyed across the country to
the Little Miami, and on to Cincinnati, where Boehm
preached in German on Friday evening. On Sab
bath Asbury preached to large and attentive con-

428 LIFE AND TIMES OF
gregations. On the morning of his departure for
Kentucky there was a dense fog. He thus describes
it : " The great river was covered with a mist until
nine o'clock, when the airy curtain rose slowly from
the waters, gliding along in expanded and silent
majesty." Passing through Kentucky, where he
held a Conference, he crossed the mountains into
North Carolina, thence to South Carolina, where, at
Columbia, they found a kind friend in the person of
Mr. Taylor, a member of the United States Senate,
who opened his house for the session of the Confer
ence. On Sabbath he and M'Kendree preached.
About eighty preachers were present.
On the succeeding Sabbath he preached at Lum-
berton. His fatigues and exposures had wrought
heavily upon him, and he was quite unwell. After
preaching he made the following note : " I preached
here possibly for the last time. I spoke in great
weakness of body, and having offered my service and
sacrifice, I must change my course and go to Wil
mington. I am happy, my heart is pure, and my
eye is single ; but I am sick and weak, and in heavi
ness by reason of suffering and labor. Sometimes I
am ready to cry out, Lord, take me home to rest.
Courage, my soul!" Accordingly he directed his
course to Wilmington, and having fulfilled his mis
sion in that place, went to Raleigh, where Conference
was held. On the Sabbath during Conference he

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 429
preached in the State House to two thousand people.
The next Sabbath we find him at Richmond, Vir
ginia. From thence he returned to Maryland, where,
after resting awhile at Perry Hall, he went to Phila
delphia. At the session of the Conference he had
visits from Drs. Rush and Physick, whose kindness
and services he acknowledged with gratitude.
At the Conference held in New York, May, 1811,
a great fire occurred, consuming about one hundred
houses. Referring to New York at this time, Asbury
says : " The Society has increased, our chapels are
neat, and their debt is not heavy ; they wish to re
build John-street Church, and to build a small house
at the Two-Mile Stone." From New York he went to
Sherwood Vale and to Governor Cortlandt's, at both
of which places he preached. He then traveled
into Vermont, and, visiting several places, crossed
Lake Champlain to Sable River, where he preached
to a large congregation. From thence he went to
Plattsburgh, and on to the Indian Village, and across
the St. Lawrence. In crossing the line separating
the United States from Canada, he writes : " My
strong affection for the people of the United States
came with strange power upon me while I was cross
ing the line." After visiting several places, and
preaching, he returned to the States, making the fol
lowing remarks : " Well, I have been in Canada, and
find it like all stations in the extremities ; there are

430 LLFE AND TIMES OF
difficulties to be overcome, and prospects to cheer us.
Some of our laborers have not been as faithful and
diligent as we could wish." On his return he attend
ed, with M'Kendree, the Genesee Conference, and
from thence proceeded to the New York Conference.
At this Conference he says : " Some of the wise men
of New York Conference have discovered that it will
be far better to elect presiding elders in Conference,
and give them the power of stationing the preachers.
When the election for General Conference came on,
tliere was some disposition manifested to reject the
Canadians and the presiding elders. If the preachers
take any specific power, right, or privilege from the
bishops, which the General Conference may have
given them, it is clear that they dissolve the whole
contract." From Conference he traveled through Pennsylva
nia, taking the ordinary route, and directed his course
to Mad River, in the interior of Ohio. At Dayton he
preached in the court-house to a thousand people.
His next route was through Franklin and Lebanon,
where he drew a plan for a new brick church forty
by sixty, and thence to Cincinnati, where Conference
was held, and where he and M'Kendree preached in
the chapel and market-house.
His next trip was through Kentucky and on to
Georgia, where he held Conference at Camden. Of
this Conference he says : " Scarcely have I seen so

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 431
much harmony and love. There are eighty-five
preachers, and the increase is three thousand three
hundred and eight." The next point was Charleston,
where he spent the first day of the year 1812 " in
meditation, writing, and prayer." After preaching
at Cumberland and Bethel Chapels he started for
various points in North Carolina, and then on to
Petersburgh, Virginia, where Conference was held.
From hence he went to Maryland and held Confer
ence ; then another in Philadelphia, from which place
he directed his course to New York, where the Gen
eral Conference was to be held.
The above is but the merest outline of the bishop's
labors in his itinerant journeyings. Anything like a
detail would swell his biography into almost as many
volumes as he performed continental tours. A vast
amount of otherwise interesting matter must neces
sarily be left untouched on account of its sameness ;
our object has been to present as far as possible
that which is the most interesting in a connected
whole, and yet sufficiently full to give the reader an
idea of the great labor, and self-sacrificing devotion
of this extraordinary man. Sweeping over a circuit
of thousands of miles, and attending conferences,
camp, quarterly, and other meetings, almost without
number, it would take entirely too much space to
give a- detailed account of his journeyings and labors.

432 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER XXI.
General Conference in New York, May, 1812 — Adoption of Rules — Let
ter from Dr. Coke — Bishop M'Kendree's Address — Genesee Confer
ence recognized — Asbury's Address to the Conference — M'Kendree's
Reply — Asbury's Desire to return to England — Collection of Materials
for a History of the Church — Dr. Bangs's History — Division of the
Western Conference — Missionary Society — Subject of Slavery — Last
General Conference he attended — Sherwood Vale — Governor Van
Cortlandt — Hiness— Conference at Albany — Conference at Lynn —
War declared — Secession — Genesee Conference — West — Beauti
ful Country of the Wyoming — Remarks on the War — Judge Van
Meter — White Brown's — Ohio Conference — Cincinnati — Frankfort,
Kentucky — Louisville — Labors in Nashville — Charleston — General
Lee — Carried into Church — Invitation from British Conference — Bal
timore Conference — Philadelphia — New York Conferenoe— M'Ken
dree — Valedictory Address to — Writes his laBt Will — Remarks
about New England — New York Conference — Tomb of Henry Willis
— The poor Africans — Dr. Hinde — Tennessee Conference — Valedic
tory Address to Presiding Elders — Funeral Sermon on the Death
of Otterbein — Sick at Perry Hall — John Wesley Bond — Ohio Con
ferenoe — Gloomy Tidings of War — Conference — Illness —Baltimore
— Last Visit to Perry Hall — New York Conferenoe — Preached the
Funeral Sermon of Dr. Coke — Tribute — Massachusetts — Last Ser
mon in Boston — New York — Philadelphia — Crosses the Mountains
—David Young — Chillicothe — Eleanor Worthington — Reflections on
the Overthrow of Buonaparte — Ohio Conference — Bishop M'Kendree
— Conferenoe at Lexington, Kentucky — Funeral Sermon.
The General Conference of 1808 having provided
for a delegated General Conference, the Annual Con
ferences accordingly elected their representatives,
who convened in New York on the 1st of May,
1812. After the appointment of several committees,
the adoption of rules for their government, and the
settling of several preliminaries, among which was

FEANCIS ASBUEY. , 433
one allowing all traveling preachers in full connection
who might be present a seat as visitors, Bishop As
bury read to the Conference a letter received from
Dr. Coke. This letter was full of fraternal affection,
and expressed continued attachment to the cause of
American Methodism. It, however, communicated
the intention and design of the doctor to go out as a
missionary to India. After the reading of this ad
dress, which we regret very much has been lost, as it
was the last letter of Dr. Coke to his American
brethren, Bishop M'Kendree presented the follow
ing address :
"To the General Conference of the Methodist Episco
pal Church, now assembled in the city of New York.
"Dear Brethren, — My relation to you and the
connection in general seems, in my opinion, to make
it necessary that I should address you in some way,
by which you may get possession of some informa
tion perhaps not otherwise to be obtained by many
of you.
" It is now four years since, by your appointment,
it became my duty jointly to superintend our exten
sive and very important charge. With anxious
solicitude and good wishes I have looked forward 1<>
this General Conference. The appointed time is
come, and the Lord has graciously permitted us to
meet according to appointment, for which I hope
28

434 LIFE AND TIMES OF i
we are prepared jointly to praise and adore his
goodness. " Upon examination, you will find the work, of the
Lord is prospering in our hands. Our important
charge has greatly increased since the last General
Conference ; we have had an increase of nearly forty
thousand members. At present we have about one
hundred and ninety thousand members, upward of
two thousand local, and about seven hundred travel
ing preachers in our connection, and these widely
scattered over seventeen states, besides the Canadas
and several of the territorial settlements.
" Thus situated, it must be expected, in the present
state of things, that the counsel and direction of your
united wisdom will be necessary to preserve the har
mony and peace of the body, as well as co-operation
of the traveling and local ministry, in carrying on the
blessed work of reformation which the Lord has been
pleased to effect through our instrumentality. To
deserve the confidence of the local ministry and
membership, as well as to retain confidence in our
selves and in each other, is undoubtedly our duty;
and if we consider that those who are to confide in
us are a collection from all classes and descriptions,
from all countries of which the nation is composed,
promiscuously scattered over this vast continent,
men who were originally of different educations,
manners, habits, and opinions, we shall see the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 435
difficulty as well as the importance of this part of our
charge. " In order to enjoy the comforts of peace and union
among us, we must ' love one another ;' but this can
not abide where confidence does not exist ; and
purity of intention, manifested by proper actions, is
the very foundation and support of confidence ; thus
' united, we stand ;' each member is a support to the
body, and the body supports each member ; but if
confidence fails, love will grow cold, peace will be
broken, and ' divided, we fall.' It therefore becomes
this body, which, by its example, is to move the
passions and direct the course of thousands of minis
ters, and tens of thousands of members, to pay strict
attention to the simplicity of Gospel manners, and to
do everything as in the immediate presence of God.
If we consider the nature of our business, and the in
fluence of civil governments, and political measures,
it will hardly be expected that every individual in so
large a body as you form will continually be suffi
ciently and strictly evangelical in all cases; it is
therefore hoped in cases of failure, that the wisdom
and firmness of your united prudence as a body will
counteract evil effects by a well-ordered and prudent
disapprobation and better example. Church and
state should never be assimilated.
" Connected as I am with you and the connection
in general, I feel it a part of my duty to submit to

436 LIFE AND TIMES OF
your consideration the appointment of the Genesee
Conference ; and perhaps it may be for the general
good if in your wisdom you should think proper to
take into consideration a division of the work in the
western country, and a proper arrangement of the
work in general ; and the magnitude and extent of
the work which the Lord has graciously pleased to
prosper in our hands, may make it proper for you to
inquire if the work is sufficiently within the oversight
of the superintendency, and to make such arrange
ments and provision as your wisdom may approve.
I would also suggest the necessity of keeping in view
not only the traveling, but the relation and situation
of our local brethren, and to pursue that plan which
may render the whole the most useful ; and it may
also be proper to bring into view any unfinished
business (if any) which we had under consideration at
our last General Conference. Hitherto, as a body,
we have been preserved by our well-digested system
of rules, which are as sinews to the body, and form
the bonds of our union. But it is evident, both from
Scripture and experience, that men, even good men,
may depart from first principles and the best of rules ;
it may therefore be proper for you to pay some at
tention to the administration, to know the state both
of the traveling and local ministry, as it relates to
doctrine, discipline, and practice.
" Before I conclude, permit me, my dear brethren,

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 437
to express a few thoughts concerning the view I have
of the relation in which I stand connected with this
body. It is only by Virtue of a delegated power from
the General Conference that I hold the reins of gov
ernment. I consider myself bound by virtue of the
same authority to exercise discipline in perfect con
formity to the rules of the Church, to the best of my
ability and judgment. I consider myself justly ac
countable, not for the system of government, but for
my administration, and ought, therefore, to be ready
to answer in General Conference for past conduct,
and be willing to receive information and advice, to
perfect future operations, and I wish my brethren to
feel themselves perfectly easy and at liberty.
" I shall take the liberty here to present my grate
ful acknowledgments for the high degree of confi
dence which my beloved brethren have placed in me,
and especially for the able counsel and seasonable
support afforded by many, which has, I believe, with
the Divine aid, preserved and supported me. Dear
brethren, such are the effects of our high responsibil
ity, connected with a consciousness of the insuffi
ciency of my talents for so great a work, that I move
with trembling. Your eyes and the eyes of the Lord
are upon me for good. We shall rejoice together to
see the armies of Israel wisely conducted in all their
ranks, carrying the triumphs of the Redeemer's
kingdom to the ends ofthe earth; and the Lord will,

438 LIFE AND TIMES OF
rejoice to make his ministers a flame of fire. In you
I have confidence, and on you I depend for aid, and
above all, I trust in Divine aid. Influenced by these
considerations, and with my situation in full view, I
cannot entertain a thought of bearing such awful ac
countability longer than I am persuaded my services
are useful to the Church of God, and feel a confi
dence of being aided by your counsel and support,
which is with you to give in any way or form you
judge proper. And while I join with you, my dear
brethren, in pure Gospel simplicity, to commit and
recommend ourselves and our several charges to the
special care of the great Head of the Church, I re
main, with sentiments of love and confidence, your
servant in the Gospel of Christ."
Several parts of this address were referred to select
committees, with instructions to report upon them at
a subsequent day. The Genesee Conference, which
had been constituted during the interim of the Gen
eral Conference, was recognized as properly and
legally organized.
At the opening of the morning session, on. the 8th
of May, Bishop Asbury rose and addressed the Con
ference through Bishop M'Kendree. In his address
he gave a succinct and interesting narrative of the
rise, progress, and present state of Methodism in
America, and intimated, as with prophetic ken, its

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 439
glorious future. His address was truly inspiring, and
was received with every demonstration of gratifica
tion by the ninety representatives present. When he
concluded Bishop M'Kendree rose and replied, thank
ing him, in behalf of the delegates assembled, and of
the Church in general, for his address, and for the
fatherly care with which he had watched over the
interests of Methodism from the beginning.
The various matters pertaining to the interests of
the Church embraced in the address of Asbury were
referred to select committees. The bishop expressed
a desire to visit his native land, and gaze once more
upon the scenes of his youth and early labors ; but as
the Conference had decided not to increase the num
ber of bishops, the committee on the episcopacy pre
sented the following : " It is our sincere desire and
request that Bishop Asbury would relinquish his
thoughts of visiting Europe, and confine his labors to
the American connection so long as God may preserve
his life." The Conference unanimously concurred in
the above resolution, and Asbury, regarding the
voice of the Church as indicative of an order of
Providence, cheerfully acquiesced in its decision.
The General Conference of 1808 having been im
pressed with the importance of the collection of reli
able material for the purpose of furnishing a com
plete history of the Church, suggested the propriety
of each Annual Conference attending to this matter,

440 LIFE AND TIMES OF
by collecting such historic facts and incidents as
might come within their reach. Accordingly several
historical letters were presented and referred to a
committee consisting of Nathan Bangs, Thomas L.
Douglass, and Learner Blackman. This was an im
portant movement, and we doubt not that this action
lod the chairman of that committee to devote more
specific attention to the subject than he would other
wise have done, and we rejoice, in common with the
great Methodist family, that it resulted in a clear,
concise, and comprehensive history of the Church
from his pen. We think it proper to remark in this
connection, that the History of the Methodist Episco
pal Church, by Dr. Bangs, is worthy of the name,
and justly deserves the wide and well-earned repu
tation which it has obtained both in this country and
in Europe. If the old definition of history has not
become obsolete, which makes it to consist in the
simple unadorned narration of facts and events, then
does this work come up most fully to all the require
ments of that standard. The highest philosophy
connected with history is that which makes it speak
by the truthful examples it furnishes.
The work having increased to such an extent in the
West and South, the bishops united in recommending
the General Conference to divide the Western Con
ference into two, to be called the Ohio and Tennes
see Conferences, the former to comprehend the Salt

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 441
River, Kentucky, Miami, and Muskingum Districts,
and the latter to embrace the Holston, Nashville,
Cumberland, Wabash, and Illinois Districts. Acting
on this recommendation the division was made, and
the bishops were empowered, should they deem it
necessary, with the concurrence of the Annual Con
ferences concerned, to organize another Conference
farther South.
As yet the Church had no missionary society. It
was, indeed, itself missionary in all its operations ; but
no specific regulations had been adopted for the
raising of missionary funds, apart from the efforts of
Asbury, who carried his little blank-book in his
pocket, and solicited subscriptions wherever he went.
We have been greatly interested in looking over one
of these missionary subscription books. It contains
long lists of names, from the east, west, north, and
south, of members of the Church, and others friendly
to Methodism. Among these we have the autographs
of many preachers, some of whom are still living ; but
the great majority have passed away, and joined the
sainted Asbury in the better land.
That ever fruitful theme of discussion and excite
ment, the subject of slavery, was again brought be
fore the General Conference, by a motion suggesting
an inquiry into the nature and moral tendency of
the system. It was considered, however, in the judg
ment of the Conference, that no further action was

442 LIFE AND TIMES OF
necessary or desirable, and the motion was accord
ingly laid on the table without debate. In alluding
to this Conference, Asbury says, in his Journal :
" There were many and weighty affairs discussed,
among which was a motion to strengthen the episco
pacy. After a serious struggle of two days, to change
the mode of appointing presiding elders, it remains
as it was. Means had been used to keep back every
presiding elder who was known to be favorable to
their appointment by the bishops, and long and earn
est speeches have been made to influence the minds
of the members. Lee, Shinn, and Snethen were of
a side, and these are great men."
This was the last General Conference which Asbury
attended. He had seen Methodism in its infancy in
America, and like a father had watched over its de
velopment until it had arisen to vigorous manhood.
He saw the Church as she extended her conquests and
influence from the cold provinces of Canada to the
sunny savannas of Georgia, and from the shores of the
Atlantic to the "father of waters " in the distant West.
He had held forth to listening thousands in crowded
cities, and at great camp-meetings in the wilderness,
and had preached to little flocks in solitary log-cabins,
always and everywhere the same affectionate and inde
fatigable servant of the Church. In alluding further to
this General Conference, he said he "saw nothing like
unkindness but once, and there were many weighty

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 443
affairs discussed. A subject before it was the ques
tion, If local deacons, after four years of probation,
should be elected to the eldership by two-thirds of the
Conference, having no slaves, and having them, to
manumit them where the laws will allow it,
shall they be ordained? This passed by a large
majority." After the session was ended the bishop left New
York for " Sherwood Vale," where, as usual, he en
joyed the hospitalities of his old friends. From
hence he went to Croton, to visit his friend, Gov
ernor Van Cortlandt, whom he called the elder of
ninety. While in this neighborhood he preached at
White Plains. From hence he went, in company
with his old friend Boehm, to Peekskill and Rhine
beck, on the Hudson. He was now suffering from
illness, and at times had high fevers. A sickness
that would have laid up most men was endured
by this astonishing man in the very midst of heavy
labors and long rides. At Albany he met the Con
ference, and with unremitting attention transacted
all the episcopal business. The Dutch Reformed
Synod was in session at the same time. During his
stay he preached on the site which had been selected
for a new church.
From this place he passed on through Connecticut
and arrived at Lynn, where the New England Con
ference held its session. Here he read the proclama-

444 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tion of the President of the United States, declaring
war between this country and Great Britain. The
church in Lynn, which had a steeple, excited the
regret of Asbury on that account, and he admonished
the Methodists in relation to some things which he
regarded as extravagances, and a departure from
that primitive simplicity which he fondly hoped
would ever characterize the Church. At Pittsfield
he was grieved at hearing of a division of the
Church, and a secession therefrom of three hundred
and eighty. From this place he visited Lansingburg
and Troy, and from thence went to Lyons, the place
of the session of the Genesee Conference. There
were thirty preachers present, and the business of the
Conference was conducted with great concord. He
was deterred on account of the war from visiting the
frontier work on the Niagara, a thing which he
greatly desired to do. From hence he directed his
course to Pennsylvania. On his route, as was often
the case, he was obliged to stop at a public house.
The entertainment he received, we may judge from
his Journal, was not of a very agreeable character.
He says : " Farewell to Merwines ; I lodge no more
there ; a whisky hell, as most of the taverns are."
In crossing the Lehigh he was led to express
his admiration of the beautiful country of the
Wyoming. In speaking of the Germans he says:
"They are decent in their behavior, and would be

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 445
more so were it not for vile whisky, which is the
prime curse of the United States, and which, I fear,
will prove the ruin of all that is excellent in morals
and government." In regard to the war which was
then raging, he remarks : " I feel a deep concern for
the Old and New World. Calamity and suffering
are coming upon them both. I shall make but few
remarks on this unhappy subject, as it is one on
which the prudent will be silent, but I must needs
say it is an evil day. I have written many letters of
serious warning to our elders." His next stopping
place was a camp-meeting on Pipe Creek, Maryland.
This was a large encampment, having a hundred
tents, and a congregation of five thousand. During
this meeting he labored incessantly night and day,
sleeping but about two hours out of the twenty -four.
From this meeting he crossed the south mountain
and preached to large congregations in Cumberland.
In crossing the mountain he says : " We had a
strange medley of preachers, drovers, beasts on four
legs, and beasts made by whisky on two, traveling
on the turnpike at the same time." Having descend
ed the western slope of the Alleghanies, he urged his
way to another camp-meeting, where he preached on
Friday and Saturday. The ministry, which had been
carefully instructed to preach to the soldiers, were
uut faithless on this occasion.
The commanding officer of a large company of sol-

446 LIFE AND TIMES OF
diers, on the eve of starting for Buffalo, sent a note to
the clergy on the camp-ground, requesting that the
soldiers might be addressed by one of the ministers
previous to their marching. Bishop Asbury, who
was present, had an answer communicated, inform
ing the commander that his request should be com
plied with. Accordingly, the officers and men
marched out in rank and file to the encampment,
where they were met and conducted to seats pre
pared for them. The bishop gave out the hymn,
"Soldiers of Christ arise,
And put your armor on."
He then addressed the throne of grace, and prayed
most fervently for the President of the United States,
the Cabinet, the Senate, and House of Representa
tives. His text was, " And the soldiers likewise de
manded of him saying, And what shall we do ? And
he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither
accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages."
Luke iii, 14. In his discourse he dwelt impressively
on the evils of war, its destructive influence upon
commerce, the arts of life, and the wealth of nations,
but more particularly its pernicious effects in relation
to religion and morals. He showed that war should,
if possible, be avoided, and it never should be de
clared only as a dernier resort. If Christian nations
should be embroiled in war, they should only act on

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 447
the defensive. He also enlarged upon the import
ance of good discipline in an army, and showed that
the government or military discipline could at the
same time be strict and mild, and that the officers
should be kind and generous to their men. In a
word, he said that the commanding officer should be
as a father to his soldiers, and they should in turn be
obedient to all his military commands. He concluded
by giving a fatherly advice to the soldiers. After
his discourse he descended, and took a position where
the company passed in review before him. As the
commanding officer approached he placed his hands
upon his head and prayed for him most fervently,
blessing him in the name of the Lord ; then each of
the officers; and as the soldiers passed he took each
one by the hand and gave them a parting blessing.
Tears flowed from every eye of the thousands
gathered there. i
His next point was a camp-meeting on Indian
Short Creek, where he found nearly a hundred tents,
and thousands of people congregated from the sur
rounding country. This meeting was attended with
unusual interest, and a large number of converts
were added to the Church. His route from this
was through Barnesville, and thence on to the Wills'
Creek neighborhood, and thence to Zanesville, where,
sick and weary, he found rest in the hospitable man
sion of Christian Spangler, Esq., one of the early and

448 LIFE AND TIMES OF
fast friends of Methodism in Ohio. Having recov
ered and recruited, he started out to another camp-
meeting, on Rush Creek. This also was a powerful
meeting, and was kept up day and night, resulting in
great good. From hence he passed through Lancas
ter, and on to Chillicothe, where he visited Judge
Van Meter and White Brown. While here he held
the Ohio Conference, where he labored hard, but was
much assisted by the elders in the stationing of the
preachers. In a computation which he makes of his
travels, he says he had journeyed six thousand miles
in eight months, had met nine Conferences, and at
tended ten camp-meetings. The records- of itiner
ancy nowhere in the world can furnish such an
example of travel and toil.
In his visit to Cincinnati he was somewhat de
pressed in spirits at finding the Church low in relig
ion. Kobler, Hunt, Bowman, Burke, and Collins
had introduced Methodism into Cincinnati several
years before. The first Methodist Church was erect
ed in the year 1806, and was now undergoing an en
largement. Passing over into Kentucky he directed
his course to Frankfort, the capital of the state, where
he preached in the hall of the House of Representa
tives. From this place he went to Louisville, situated
at the falls of the Ohio, where he preached, and from
thence entered the interior and passed on to Nash
ville, Tennessee. On Sabbath, November 11th, he

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 449
preached in the new brick church, which he describes
as being thirty-four feet square with galleries. Re
ferring to his former labors here, he says : " Twelve
years ago I preached in the old stone-house, taken
down since to make a site for the state-house. The
latter house exceeds the former in glory, and stands
exactly where our house of worship should by right
have stood, but we bear all things patiently." Con
ference was held this year at Gwin's, and there were
present a large number of preachers. Forty were
ordained to the office of deacon, and ten to the office
of elder. The increase in the bounds of the Confer
ence during the year was eight thousand.
His route after this lay through North and South
Carolina. At Columbia he preached in the House
of Representatives. His next point was Charleston,
where Conference was held. He speaks of the har
mony which subsisted between the presiding elders
and the episcopacy with evident satisfaction. The
increase during the year in the bounds of the Con
nection was eighteen thousand. The bishop lamented
the loss of fourteen itinerants by location. His route
from Charleston was to Georgetown, and thus on
through the Peedee settlements.' At the residence
of General Lee he was quite unwell, but he rested
not. At Fayetteville he had to be carried into
church, and, notwithstanding his illness, preached
to the congregation assembled. From the meeting
29

450 LIFE AND TIMES OF
he went home to Mr. Russell's, and was thoroughly
blistered for a high fever. In two days we find him
on the route of travel again, and though he had a
fever he rode through a bitter cold thirty miles,
and the next day thirty-six, which brought him to
Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was again
carried into church, that he might minister the
word of life. With fever and swelled feet he start
ed out from this place, holding meetings on his
way, to Newbern, the seat of the Conference,
which was held, as he says, in Sister Tenkard's
elegant school-room. This Conference was char
acterized by "great order, great union, and great
dispatch of business." Passing through Halifax,
Petersburgh, and Richmond, preaching at these and
intermediate points, he arrived at Georgetown, Dis
trict of Columbia. While here he received an invi
tation from the British Conference, requesting him
to visit that body, and engaging to pay all the ex
penses of the journey.
At Baltimore he held Conference, which was
opened April 24, 1813. The Conference was com
posed of ninety preachers; the number of white
members was twenty thousand two hundred and
seventy-two, and of colored members seven hundred
and ninety-nine. Again we find him, after the ses
sion of the Conference, at his much-loved home, Perry
Hall. From hence he passed through Delaware, and

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 451
attended the Conference in Philadelphia. While
here he preached at the Academy, St. George's, Eb
enezer, and the Tabernacle. His next point was
Burlington, New Jersey. It seemed to be a doubt
in the mind of the bishop whether Burhngton or Tren
ton would ever become famous for vital religion.
Preaching at Lumberton, AUentown, Rahway, and
Belleville, he went to Sherwood's, New York, and
from thence on to Amenia, where the Conference
was held. It was a time of order and peace, though
the bishop pleasantly said, " King Gordius had well
nigh been among us, but the knots were untied
peaceably, and not cut in rashness." Speaking of his
colleague's sermon on Sabbath, he remarked : " Bishop
M'Kendree preached. It appeared to me as if a ray
of Divine glory rested on him. His subject was,
' Great peace have they that love thy law, and noth
ing shall offend them." Before announcing the ap
pointments of the preachers Asbury delivered a val
edictory address, in which he assured them that the
plan of their future labors was deliberately formed
with the aid of the collected wisdom of judicious
counsel and much prayer.
The Eastern route now lay before him, and taking
up the line of travel he crossed over Connecticut,
New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. At Winches
ter he wrote his last will and testament, making
M'Kendree, Hitt, and Boehm his executors. While

452 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in New England he remarked: "I believe for one
that there has been more true Gospel preaching in
the other states than in the five New England states,
with all their boasting. I have difficulties to en
counter, but I must be silent. In New England we
sing, we build houses, we eat, and stand at prayer.
Were I to labor forty years more I suppose I should
not succeed in getting things right. 0 rare steeple
houses, bells! (organs by and by?) these things are
against me, and contrary to the simplicity of Christ."
At the session of the Conference at Colchester, a
resolution was passed against steeples and pews.
At Providence he was introduced to Governor
Jones, who received him with great cordiality.
From the East he returned to New York. Conference
was held at Westmoreland. In his journey to this
place he complained of hunger and heat, and re
marked that the East was not hospitable. Maryland
or the South was to him the land of hospitality. A
large concourse of people was assembled at the Con
ference, and thousands were preached to by the
bishops and preachers. From hence he started for
the West, and while among the mountains he found
a stopping place at a German Lutheran's, whose
son was a preacher, but refuged to read or pray in
the family. " Alas," said Asbury, " so stupid and
so wicked ! I would rather be a slave in South Caro
lina with the Gospel and a good master !"

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 453
While here he prepared a valedictory address to
Bishop M'Kendree, who in conjunction with the Gen
esee Conference had requested him to give his opin
ion in relation to the government and usages of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. The address is quite
lengthy, and enters elaborately into a discussion of
the Church dogma of apostolical succession. As it
never has been published, we shall make such ex
tracts from it as are considered most important, and
possessing the greatest interest at the present day.
Some of the views entertained by the bishop would
doubtless have been modified had he lived to witness
the progress of the Church and the country. They
were, however, wisely adapted to his day, and will
serve to show how narrowly he watched over all the
interests of his beloved Methodism. In regard to the
episcopacy and its duties, he says: "My desire is
that there may be four effective bishops traveling, as
from the beginning, through the whole continent,
one to preside alternately in all the Conferences, (not
to change presidents during the sitting of the same
Conference, unless in cases of indisposition,) the
other two or three to plan the stations and per
form ordinations, assisted by the elders in both
branches. The plan of stations should be submitted
to the president, time enough for him to give a final
decision before the appointments are read to the
preachers.

454 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" I would particularly warn you to guard against
the growing evil of locality in bishops, elders, and
preachers, or Conferences. Locality is essential to
towns and cities, traveling is as essential to the coun
try. Were I to name cities, such as Jerusalem, An
tioch, Rome, and all the great cities both ancient
and modern, what havoc have these made in the
Churches? Alas for us! out of seven hundred
preachers we have about one hundred located in
towns and cities and small circuits, and in some
week-day preaching nearly abandoned.
" Guard against two orders of preachers, one for the
country and the other for the cities. The latter gen
erally settle themselves to purchase ministers, and
men of gifts and learning too often set themselves to
sale. I am bold to say that the apostolic order of
things was lost in the first century ; and since that
time Church government may be compared to the
rolling of a snow-ball,; gathering much filth of various
kinds. At the time of the Reformation, the reform
ers beat off only part of the dirt ; and for many cen
turies more filth has been rolled on to an enormous
size. " In the eighteenth century John Wesley formed an
evangelical society in England. At the first General
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held
in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1784, an apostolical
form of Church government and order was formed in

FEANCIS ASBURY. 455
America. You know that the present ministerial
cant is, we cannot now, as in former apostolic days,
have such doctrines, such discipline, such convictions,
such conversions, such witnesses of sanctification, and
such holy men. But I say we can, I say we must,
yea, I say we have in part ; and can men claim the
rights and privileges of apostles if they are impostors
and not true ministers? Thus, instead of going to
preach they stay to preach. Hence schools, col
leges, and universities are resorted to in order to
make ministers, a practice Christ never commanded.
The present Episcopal churches are local and greatly
independent. All the numerous orders of Presby
terians, Independents, and Baptists are local still. If
we wish pure Church history, see tlie Acts of the
Apostles, men flying by the impulse of the Spirit and
driven by persecution. See Paul, Timothy, Titus,
Tychicus, Archippus, Trophimus, Artemas, Luke,
Epaphroditus, etc. At present I can only view it in
this light, that with many ministers men go into the
ministry by their learning, by their parents, or blind
priests like themselves, moved by pride, worldly
honor, or Satan. Observe well what a situation the
apostles found themselves in ! If unfaithful God
would condemn them with a double condemnation,
the people ready to starve, stone, or beat them to
death. Modern priests seek to please the people
that they may not beat or starve them to death.

456 LIFE AND TIMES OF
But will not God condemn false teachers to the
nethermost hell? We lay no claim to the Latin,
Greek, English, Lutheran, or Protestant Episcopal
Church episcopal order. It will be easily seen
that we are so unlike each other that we are not
even third cousins. Will their bishops ride from
five to six thousand miles in nine months for eighty
dollars a year, with traveling expenses, less or more ;
preach daily when opportunity serves; meet six
camp-meetings in the year ; make arrangements for
seven hundred preachers, and ordain one hundred
men annually ; ride through all kinds of weather and
roads, at our time of life, the one fifty-six and the
other sixty-nine years of age ?
" Be sure always to see how the charitable contribu
tions are appropriated. Never sign the journals till
everything is correctly recorded. Be rigidly strict in
all things ; and should there be a failure in any depart
ment, such as you cannot cure, appeal to the General
Conference for a final decision. Examine well and
with caution admit men into the ministry. It is ours
to plead, protest, and oppose designing men from get
ting into the ministry. It is our fort, stronghold, and
glory, and the superior excellency of our economy,
that each character must undergo a strict examina
tion every year. Put men into office in whom you
can confide. If they disappoint you let them do it
but once. Of all wickedness spiritual wickedness is

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 457
the greatest, and of all deception religious deception
is the worst. Fear not for the ark ; God will care for
his own cause. If we have not men of great talent
we have men of good hearts. Preserve a noble inde
pendence of soul on all occasions. Be the willing serv
ant of slaves, but the slave to none. Put full confi
dence in men that merit it; be not afraid to trust
young men, they are not so likely to fail as old
men; young men are willing and they are able to
work. " Ours is not a civil, but a spiritual government,
therefore one election is sufficient to secure a man's
standing and office, unless in cases of debility, crimi
nality, or corruption in administration.
" The circulation of our traveling and local minis
try with their different gifts and diversity of talents
is admirably calculated to be singularly useful.
Many of our local brethren travel hundreds of miles
in the course of the year, and highly enjoy them
selves, and feel perfectly at ease and at home in the
different circuits and districts, preaching anywhere
and everywhere without fear of offending the travel
ing preachers."
While Asbury was opposed to educating men for
the ministry as they would be educated for any other
profession, without regard to a Divine call, he was
yet altogether in favor of having Methodist preach-

458 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ers thoroughly educated, and gave, in his own dili
gent attention to study, an example to all his sons in
the ministry. Though there were then no colleges *
or Biblical Institutes in the Church, yet the study of
the learned languages was by no means neglected ;
and Asbury well knew that he would prove un
worthy of his relation as a son of Wesley and a
colleague pf Coke, did he not advocate to the
extent of his ability the importance of a sound
and thorough education in matters pertaining to
general science and literature, as well as a theolog
ical training.
After preaching at Boehm's Chapel he went to a
camp-meeting. This meeting was largely attended.
While at the Widow Willis's he entered the follow
ing tribute in his Journal :
"From the door I saw the tomb of dear Henry
Willis. Rest, man of God ! Thy quiet dust is not
called to ride five thousand miles in eight months,
to meet ten Conferences in a line of sessions from
the district of Maine to the banks of the Cayuga,
to the states of Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi, to
Cape Fear, James River, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
and the completion of the round. Thou wilt not
plan and labor and arrange the stations of seven
hundred preachers. Thou wilt not attend camp-
meetings and take a daily part in the ministration
of the word, and often consume the hours which

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 459
ought to be devoted to sleep in writing letters upon
letters." From hence he went to the Pipe Creek camp-
meeting. While here he said : " We are told there
are between forty and fifty converts, and many pro
fessors powerfully quickened. The poor Africans,
abandoned by all sects to us, were greatly engaged."
Crossing the mountains he entered Ohio, and held
Conference at Brownsville. Taking Chillicothe and
West Union in his route, he entered Kentucky, and
visited his old friend Dr. Hinde, in Clark county.
" Once more," said he, " I see Dr. Hinde from the
other side the flood rejoicing in Jesus. He will
never again, I presume, put a blister on his wife's
head to draw Methodism out of her heart. This mad
prank brought deep conviction by the operation of
the Spirit of God upon his soul."
From hence he went to the Tennessee Conference.
This Conference was one of peace and prosperity;
the families in the neighborhood were extensively
visited, and much good resulted therefrom. During
this Southern route Asbury records the following
significant sentence : " On the peaceful banks of the
Saluda I write my valedictory address to the presid
ing elders." As a faithful old patriarch, leaning
upon his staff, he addressed the elders of the tribes
of the Methodist Israel, being assured that he
would ere long be called away from their councils.

460 LIFE AND TIMES OF
After visiting Georgia, encouraging and strength
ening the Churches, he returned to Charleston,
where he preached in all the Methodist churches.
In North Carolina he received intelligence that
Dr. Coke had sailed with a company of missionaries
for India. In Norfolk, where Conference was held,
he was quite afflicted. During his illness he says :
"I have been moved about among the families" (so
great was the desire to have him) " of the Wil-
liamses, the Harrises, the Weavers, the Bennetts, and
the Merediths; and O what kindness and nursing!"
His next point was Richmond, and from thence to
Georgetown. The following note was made in
his Journal : " In the year 1774 I first visited Vir
ginia and North Carolina ; in the year 1780 I repeat
ed my visit, and since that time yearly. In the year
1785 I first visited South Carolina and Georgia, and
to these states, except one year, I have since paid an
annual visit until now, 1814. I suppose I have
crossed the Alleghany Mountains sixty times."
The Baltimore Conference, which held its session
in 1814 at Georgetown, D. O, requested him to
preach a funeral discourse on the death of Otterbein.
Speaking of him Asbury says : " The holy, the great
Otterbein ! Forty years have I known the retiring
modesty of this man of God, towering majestic above
his fellows in learning, wisdom, and grace, yet seek
ing to be known only of God and the people of God."

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 461
Again he visited Perry Hall, where he was sick
several days, receiving the kind attentions of that
hospitable mansion. His next Conference was held
in Philadelphia. From this Conference he wrote a
serious and affectionate letter to the New England
Conference, remonstrating on the neglect of family
worship. He was much afflicted during this time,
and for twelve weeks made no entry in his Journal.
He was burdened with attention and kindness during
his illness, and says : " I would not be loved to death.
Attentions constant, and kindness unceasing, have
pursued me to this place, (Greensburgh,) and my
strength increases daily. I look back upon a mar
tyr's life of toil, privation, and pain, and I am ready
for a martyr's death ! My friends in Philadelphia
gave me a light four-wheeled carriage ; but God
and the Baltimore Conference made me a richer
present ; they gave me John Wesley Bond for a trav
eling companion. Has he his equal on earth for
excellences of every kind as an aid ?"
On his Western tour he stopped at Pittsburgh, and
thence passed on through Ohio, stopping at Steuben
ville, Zanesville, Middletown, Circleville, and other
places, where Bond preached. Asbury was prevailed
upon to preach in Chillicothe, but it was in great
weakness and suffering. The Conference was held
at Cincinnati. At this place he expected to have
met M'Kendree, but the latter had been thrown

462 LIFE AND TIMES OF
from his horse and considerably injured. Asbury
being unable to preside, his place was occupied by
John Sale. While here gloomy tidings were receiv
ed in relation to the war ; the British had entered
Maryland, and burned the public buildings at
Washington. From Cincinnati he went to the Kentucky Confer
ence, which was held on the camp-ground. At this
meeting the bishop pleasantly remarked : " Our en
campment cook is Brother Douglass ; as for the bish
ops, they are sick, lame, and in poverty." From
hence they passed through North and South Carolina,
and attended Conference in Georgia. From this
point, returning through North and South Carolina,
they went into Virginia. At the Conference held in
Lynchburgh he was severely attacked with asthma
and spitting of blood. At the Baltimore Conference
he was quite feeble, but notwithstanding preached
several times, and attended to the work of stationing
the preachers.
Again we find the worn and weary bishop at that
place he so much loved, and which he so often visited,
Perry Hall. A sense of loneliness, however, came
upon him as he remembered the friends of other days
who had passed away. The seasons of happiness he
had spent with some of the inmates of that hospita
ble mansion were gone, never to return. This was
the last visit of the bishop to this place.

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 463
In much feebleness he entered upon his Eastern
route, passing through Delaware, Pennsylvania, and
New Jersey. At New York he attended the North
Church and preached, and from hence went to Cro
ton, visiting the family of Governor Van Cortlandt,
who had entered into rest. Conference was held at
Albany, and at the request of the members he
preached the funeral sermon of Dr. Coke, who had
died on the passage to the East Indies, and was
buried in the Indian Ocean. We find the following
tribute in Asbury's Journal : " Dr. Coke, of blessed
mind and soul, of the third branch of Oxonian Meth
odists, a gentleman, a scholar, and a bishop to us.
As a minister of Christ, in zeal, in labor, and in ser
vices, the greatest man in the last century."
The Rev. William Thacher, who was a member
of the New York Conference, and was present at this
session, thus writes in relation to Asbury :
" Bishop Asbury, almost done, is with us again, sus
tained by Bishop M'Kendree. Bishop Asbury is like
the old patriarch, bowing down upon the top of his
staff, his bodily strength much prostrated, his speech
failed of its usual articulation, and his voice of its
animated tone. But little of his presence was afford
ed us in Conference. Forty-four years' hardships, and
indefatigable labor and traveling, and the fatigues
and cares of Conferences, has worn him down; and
that which came upon him daily, the care of all the

464 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Churches, was never more deeply and heavily felt
by man. These things engrossed his whole soul. He
was the apostle of American Methodism, and had
literally laid down his life for his brethren, ever pre
pared to divide his last dollar with a needy preacher.
He was now in his last year. Desiring an interview
with me he sent me word, and I- called to see him at
his lodgings, and with a most tender solicitude for me
and mine he gave me some kind and affectionate
advice, and demonstrated his love for and confidence
in me ; then, with an overflowing heart, bade me his
last parental farewell."
From this Conference Asbury and his companions
started for Massachusetts. The Conference was held
at Unity, N. H. On his way he was detained two
days with affliction in Boston, but was able to preach
in the evening previous to leaving. This was his last
sermon in Boston. He was unable to preside at the
Conference, and his place was supplied by George
Pickering. On his return to New York he preached
at Ashgrove and at Freeborn Garrettson's. On Sab
bath, the 18th of June, 1815, he preached in New
York at the Fourth-street Chapel, and at the African
Chapel on Tuesday. The church was crowded by
both white and colored people. These were his last
ministrations in this city. His text at Fourth-street
was Zephaniah i, 12 : " And it shall come to pass at
that time that I will search Jerusalem with candles,

FEANCIS ASBUEY 465
and punish the men that are settled on their lees,
that say in their heart, the Lord will not do good,
neither will he do evil." There are living those who
heard this discourse, and who represent it as pungent
and searching, full of awakening power to the Church,
but abounding in tenderness.
From New York he went to Philadelphia, where
he also delivered his last message to a large and
deeply interested congregation. His next sermon
was at Carlisle, and from thence, to use his own
expression, he "beat across, the mountains." He
preached at Somerset, Brightwell's, and Washing
ton. While at the latter place he says : " A Baptist
missionary came into town collecting money for for
eign lands. We labor for those at home. Feeble as
I was, the necessity of bearing testimony to the truth
pressed upon me. As our Baptist brother talked and
read letters upon missions to foreign lands, I thought
I might help with a few words. I related that a few
years past a London Methodist member, in conversa
tion, had complained to me that the kingdom and the
Church had given so largely to support foreign mis
sions. I observed in reply that the Methodist preach ¦
ers who had been sent by John Wesley to America,
came as missionaries ; some returned, others did not ;
and now behold the consequences of this mission :
we have seven hundred traveling, and three thou
sand local preachers who cost nothing. We will not
30

46.6 LIFE AND TIMES OF
give up the cause, we will not abandon the world to
infidels ; nay, we will be their plagues ; they will find
it herculean work to put us down. We will not give
up that which we know to be glorious until we see
something more glorious; nor will we concede an
inch to schismatics and heretics, who say 'Do away
your forms, and leave your peculiar doctrines, and
we will show you something better.' Show it to us
first ; we are not ignorant of Satan's devices."
At West Liberty he preached from the text, " The
time is short." His next stopping place was Zanes
ville, in the vicinity of which a camp-meeting was in
progress. Within the last three, months he had trav
eled through New Hampshire, Vermont, New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and a portion of Ohio.
He visited the encampment, and preached from
2 Cor. v, 2 : " Knowing the terror of the Lord we
persuade men." His sermon was unusually interest
ing and powerful, and several souls were converted
through its instrumentality. David Young, one of
the most popular among the preachers of that day,
was present at this camp-meeting. Though advanced
in years and feeble, he is still living in Zanesville, a
patriarch of Western Methodism beloved by all. As
bury's next appointment was in Chillicothe. His text
was, " And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter."
After the sermon intelligence came to him that his
friend Eleanor Worthington was ill and desired to

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 467
see him. He accordingly visited her, and in conver
sation with her found that she was much exercised
on the subject of religion. She was a member of the
Episcopal Church, and had doubtless been converted,
but lacked that assurance which is the privilege of
the children of God. When the bishop told her it
was common for persons to be well assured that God
had blessed them, her countenance was instantly
lighted up, and her heart overflowed with joy. He
administered the sacrament of the holy communion,
and left her rejoicing in the Lord.
While here he received the intelligence of the
overthrow of Bonaparte, and indulged in the follow
ing reflections : " The time is coming that all kings
and rulers must acknowledge the reign of the King
of kings, or feel the rod of the Son of God. But will
forms do for the United States of America ? Foolish
people will think they have a right to govern them
selves as they please ; aye, and Satan will help them.
Will this do for us ? Is not this republic, this land,
this people, the Lord's? We acknowledge no other
king but the eternal King ; and if our great men will
not rule in righteousness, but forget God and Christ,
the consequence will be ruin."
At a camp-meeting held near Mechanicsburgh he
preached from the text, "The day is far spent, and
the night is at hand." Thursday, September 14,
he says : " Our Ohio Conference began, and all

468 LIFE AND TIMES OF
our fears vanished. We have great peace, abund
ance of accommodation, and comfortable seasons
in preaching noon and night in the court-house
and the chapel. Great grace, peace, and success
have attended our coming together. We have sixty-
eight preachers. Ten delegates have been chosen
to attend the next General Conference." Bishop
M'Kendree was present at the Conference, and at
its conclusion the two went to Cincinnati.
While in this place Asbury had a long and earnest
conversation with M'Kendree in regard to the affairs
of the Church. He gave it as his opinion that the
western part of the United States would be the glory
of America for the poor and pious, and that it ought
to be marked out for five Conferences, and he traced
out their boundaries. Having passed the first allot
ted period of life, threescore and ten years, and being
in ill health, he informed him that it could not be
expected that he should visit the extremities every
year, sitting in eight Conferences and traveling six
thousand miles in eight months. The labor and anx
iety connected with the stationing of the preachers
he regarded as too great a tax upon him in his feeble
health. From Cincinnati he went to Lebanon, and
preached, at the request of the Conference, a memo
rial sermon on the occasion ofthe death of Dr. Coke.
On the following Sabbath he preached his last ser
mon in Cincinnati, and from thence passed over into

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 469
Kentucky, preaching at Georgetown and Lexington.
Here Conference was held. On Sabbath he ordained
the deacons, and preached on the occasion of the
death of Coke. While here he entered the following
in his Journal : " My eyes fail ; I will resign the
stations to Bishop M'Kendree ; I will take away my
feet ; it is the fiftieth year of my ministry, and forty-
fifth year of labor in America. My mind enjoys
great peace and divine consolation. My health is
better, which may in part be because I am less
deeply interested in the business of Conferences ; but
whether health, life, or death, good is the will of the
Lord. 'I will trust him, yea, I will praise him; he
is the strength of my heart, and my portion for
ever.' "

470 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER XXII.
Educational Advantages — His Devotion to Study — His Knowledge of
the Languages — Thorough Course of Reading — Hebrew Bible and
Greek Testament his constant Companions — Critical Exegesis —Power
of Discrimination — Style of Writings Imagination and Wit — Speci
mens — Gracefulness of Style — Specimens — An Appreciative Sense
of the Beautiful — A Man of Sympathy — Notices of Books in his
Course of Reading — Criticisms — His Skeletons of Sermons — Secret
of his success as a Student — Method of Study — His Library — Prep
arations for the Pulpit — Obituaries in the early Minutes written by
Asbury — Epistolary Correspondence — Letters.
Asbtjry was not in the strict sense of the word a
scholar, and yet he was far from being deficient
in education. He did not, like the Wesleys, and
Fletcher, and Coke, enjoy the advantages of a col
legiate training, his opportunity for literary culture
being simply such as was to be found in the primary
schools of that day in England ; but at the same time
such was his love of study, and his unremitting appli
cation, that he amassed an amount of varied learning
that was astonishing, when we consider the circum
stances under which it was attained. Riding day
and night on horseback, and lodging mostly in the
cabins of the wilderness, where there were neither
books nor facilities for study, and when in the cities
and towns holding quarterly meetings, councils, and
conferences, and having the care of all the Churches,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 471
temporal as well as spiritual, himself originating and
acting as agent for all the institutions of the Church,
the wonder is that he was able to prosecute with suc
cess any department of study. As it was, he made
himself acquainted with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew,
besides taking a thorough course of reading in Theol
ogy, Church History and Polity, Civil History and
General Literature. His Hebrew Bible and Greek
Testament were his. daily companions; and though in
his preparations for the pulpit he made no show of
learning, yet his numerous sketches furnish abundant
evidence of the fact that he was skilled in critical
exegesis, and " a workman that need not be ashamed,
'rightly dividing the word of truth" with a power of
discrimination rarely attained. His style of writing,
as his Journal in three volumes will show, was plain,
pointed, direct. He seemed to eschew all figures of
speech, and to express his thoughts with sturdy old
Anglo-Saxon nervousness. Occasionally a slight
sparkle of wit may be found playing like a sunshine
over his grave sentences, and sometimes, though
rarely, he indulged in a flight of imagination that
shows he was not destitute of the elements of a
graceful writer. As mere specimens we present
the following, which we take from the volume
now in our hand.
While on a visit to New Haven, the seat of
Yale College, he makes the following remark:

472 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" New Haven ! thou seat of science and of sin !
Can thy dry bones live ? ' O Lord ! thou . know
est.'" While at Middlebury, the seat of a col
lege, he entered the following: "At Middlebury we
find college-craft and priest-craft." At a certain
place in the South he said of the people that they
had " more gold than grace ;" and describing another
place he said, "they had neither dollars nor disci
pline, being sadly deficient in both." While at the
salt-works in Virginia, he exclaimed : " Alas ! there
is little salt here, and when Sister Russell is gone
there will be none left." Boston, he said, "was
famous for poor religion and bad water." Alluding
to a congregation there who sold their preacher to.
another congregation for a thousand dollars, and
loaned out the money at thirty per cent., he said :
"How would it do to tell the South that priests
were among the notions of Yankee traffic." New
York, he said, was "as famous for oysters and bad
ale " as " Asbury town was for distillation and bad
whisky." Traveling in New Jersey, he remarked:
" Since this day week I have ridden over dead sands
and among a dead people, and a long space between
meals." We might easily multiply specimens of
Asbury's wit, which, though rarely if ever in
dulged while occupying the pulpit, yet would
flash out among the preachers in council and
Conference at times in the most genial manner.

FRANCIS ASBUEY. 473
Like Cowper's village pastor, he never stooped from
the holy place,
" To court a grin when he should -woo a soul."
But we promised some examples of gracefulness of
style or beauty of composition. Having attended
the session of the New York Conference which was
held in John-street in the summer of 1802, he
says, " it would require a volume to tell the restless
to3sings he had, the difficulties and anxieties he felt
about the preachers and people here and elsewhere,
alternate joy and sorrow ; but I am done, I am gone !
New York, once more farewell!" Having passed
the din and strife of the city, and having gained the
country, he says : " How sweet to me are all the calm
scenes of life which now surround me on every side.
The quiet country houses, the fields and orchards
bearing the promise of a fruitful year; the flocks
and herds, the hills, and vales, and dewy meads, the
gliding streams and murmuring -brooks ; and thou,
too, solitude, with thy attendants, silence and medita
tion, how dost thou solace my pensive mind after the
tempest of fear, and care, and tumult, and talk of
the noisy, bustling city."
While in the South, after riding, as he describes
it, six hundred miles over the hills, barrens, swamps,
savannas, rivers, and creeks of South Carolina, he
says : " At Gause's Manor we were pleasantly situ-

474 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ated. I had a visit to the sea-beach, which to me
was a most instructive sight. The sea reminded me
of its great Maker, who stayeth the proud waves
thereof; its innumerable productions, the diversified
features of its shores^ the sand-hills, the marshes,
the palmetto, tall and slender; the sheep and goats
frisking in the shade, or browsing in the sun ; or the
eye directed to the waters beholds the rolling por
poise, the sea-gulls lifting and letting fall from high
the clam, which breaking furnishes them with food ;
the eagle, with hovering wing, watching for his prey ;
the white sail of the solitary vessel tossed upon the
distant wave ; how interesting a pieture do all these
objects make!"
His descriptions of the "noble Hudson with its
Palisades," the " lofty Catskills with their towering
cliffs," the " beautiful Ohio with its verdant shores,"
the " wild Potomac," the " lovely Shenandoah," the
" thundering Niagara," the " Natural Bridge, under
whose arch he longed to preach," the " interminable
forests" and " broad prairies," aU show that he pos
sessed a lively and appreciative sense of the beauti
ful. To those who looked, upon him as cold and sto
ical, and destitute of those more tender and endear
ing sympathies which constitute the charm of social '
life, let us hear him as he speaks of the death of a
Christian lady in whose hospitable mansion he often
found a home : " I was invited to pass a night under

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 475
the hospitable roof of General Thomas Worthington,
at Mount Prospect Hall. Within sight of this beau
tiful mansion lies the precious dust of Mary Tiffin.
It was as much as I could do to forbear weeping over
her speaking grave. How mutely eloquent! Ah,
the world knows little of my sorrows — little knows
how dear to me are my many friends, and how
deeply 1 feel their loss."
In his Journal we find notices of upward of a
hundred books which he read, some of which he
made the subject of severe thought and study. His
various criticisms of works which came under his
review, show that he was far from being a superficial
reader or thinker. We have often been astonished
at the amount of his reading, and have wondered
how, in the midst of his numerous and onerous
engagements, he found time to perform a tithe of
what he accomplished. He was never, in any sense
of the word, unemployed, and what is more important,
was never "triflingly employed." That the reader
may see that he was as accurate in his judgment of
books as he was of men, we subjoin some of his
criticisms. Of Edwards on the Affections, he says :
" Excepting the small vein of Calvinism which runs
through this book, it is a very good treatise, and
worthy the serious attention of young professors of
religion." Of Sherlock's Sermons he makes the fol
lowing remark : " The author was doubtless a man of

476 LIFE AND TIMES OF
great abilities, but it is a pity he had not been a more
evangelical writer. I find some good things in his
writings, and others in general harmless, but not very
interesting." After he had finished reading the lives-
of Haliburton, De Renty, and Walsh, he thus charac
terizes them : " One of the Church of Scotland,
another of the Church of Rome, and the latter a
Methodist preacher, but the' work of God is one in
all. To set aside a few particulars, how harmonious
does the work of God appear in men of different
nations and Churches." Having read two volumes
of Sermons by Rev. Mr. Knox, oi the West Indies,
he says : " I am much pleased with his defense of
revealed religion. Through the whole work- there, is-
something sublime and spiritual, so catholic too,
and free; from . peculiar doctrines. I esteem him as
one of the best writers among the Presbyterians I
have yet met with  I approve the spirit and "princi
ples of the man ; he appears to be of the spirit of Mr.
M'Gaw ; he ; gives ' some favorable hints of restora
tion, that natural evil should purge out moral evil ; but
gives it not as his own opinion, but as that of others.
In another place he says: 'Perhaps the heathen
world shall have an after trial ;' if in time, it is true.
So it sometimes is, that if a man is a rigid Calvinist,
and turns, he must go quite round; but general
redemption and conditional salvation is the plan."
Concerning a work written by Rev. Silas Mercer, a

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 477
Baptist, he says : " I have been wonderfully enter
tained with it. He has anathematized the whole
race of kings from Saul to George the Third. He is
republicanism run mad. Why afraid of religious
establishments in these days of enlightened liberty ?
Silas has beaten the pope, who only on certain occa
sions, and for certain reasons, absolves subjects from
allegiance to their sovereigns ; and if the nations of
Europe believed the sweeping' doctrines of Silas, they
would be right in decapitating every crowned head, •
and destroying every existing form of Church gov
ernment. If plunging baptism be the only true
ordinance, and there can be no true Church without
it, it is not quite clear that even Christ had a Church
until the Baptists- plunged for it." Comber on Ordi
nation elicited the following critique : " Much pomp
was annexed to the clerical order, though plausible in
its way. I believe the episcopal mode of ordination
to be more proper than the presbyterial, or ordination
by presbyters, but I wish there were primitive quali
fications in all who handle sacred things." The Con
cession of Faith and the Assembly's Catechism:
" There are some good and other very strong things
in it. These books are calculated to convert the
judgment and make the people systematical Chris
tians." Fletcher's Checks: "The style and spirit in
which Mr. Fletcher writes at once bespeak the
scholar, the logician, and the divine." Robertson's

478 LIFE AND TIMES OF
History of Scotland: " O what treachery and policy
attendeth courts, and how does court policy, without
design, give way to a reformation. This has been the
case in England and Scotland. The fate of the un
fortunate Mary Queen of Scots was affecting. The
admired Queen Elizabeth does not appear to advant
age in the Scotch history." Dr. Chandler's Appeal
to the Public : " I think, upon the whole, he is right.
Why may not the Protestant Episcopal Church have
•as much indulgence in America as any other society."
Potter's Church Government : " I have read and
transcribed portions of this work, but I must prefer
the episcopal mode of Church government to the
presbyterian. If the modern bishops were all as
the ancient ones, all would be right, and there wants
nothing but the spirit of the thing." Clagget agamst
Chubb : " He writes well for a layman, but I suspect
he would write as much against us whom he terms
Arminians. Chubb is quite wrong. Clagget is no
way smooth and entertaining, though he has truth
and argument on his side." The Valley of Lilies,
by Thomas a Kempis : This is much in the style of
his Christian's Pattern, or Imitation of Christ. I
wonder Mr. Wesley has never abridged this work."
Haweis's Church History : " This is perhaps among
the best I have seen, but his partiality to good old
Calvinism is very apparent. I find it is the author's
opinion that the evangelists were chief superintend-

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 479
ing episcopal men, (ay, so say I,) and that they pre
scribed forms of discipline and systematized codes of
doctrine. After the death of tbe apostles, it would
appear that the elders elected the most excellent men
to superintend. This course was doubtless the most
expedient and excellent. Every candid inquirer
after truth will acknowledge, upon reading Church
history, that it was a great and serious evil when
philosophy and human learning were taught as a
preparation for a Gospel ministry." Marshall's Life
of Washington : " Critics may, for aught I know,
find fault (especially on the other side of the water)
with the style and general execution of this work. I
like both. The early history of the country very
properly precedes, and is connected with the life of
the great man who has been so justly styled the
father of his country. There is nothing in the work
beneath the man of honor ; there are no malevolent
sentiments or bitter expressions derogatory to the
character of a Christian. The author deserves credit
for the pains he has taken to furnish authorities and
authentic records in the notes to his work. If any
author in America has done better than Marshall, it
is Belknap, perhaps." Mungo Park's Travels in
Africa : " Certain parts are so extraordinary that it
appears like a romance. If true he experienced
astonishing hardships. It would seem by this narra
tive, that the Africans are in a state so wretched that

480 LIFE AND TIMES OF
any sufferings with the Gospel would be submitted to
in preference. But I have my doubts." OstervaWs
Christian Theology : In Cave's Lives of the Fathers,
and in the writings of the ancients, it will appear
that the Churches of Alexandria and elsewhere had
large congregations and many elders ; that the apos
tles might appoint and ordain bishops. Mr. Oster-
vald, who, it appears, is a candid and well-informed
man, has gone as far as might be expected for a
Presbyterian. For myself I see but a hair's breadth
difference between the sentiments of the respectable
and learned author of Christian Theology and the
practice ofthe Methodist Episcopal Church. There
is not, nor indeed in my mind can there be a perfect
equality between a constant .president and those over
whom he always presides." Simpson's Plea for Re
ligion : " The author has drawn aside the purple
curtain of the Church of Rome, and the black robes
of the antichristian Church of England, to lay bare
the abuses of bad systems and the vices of mitered
heads. He has raised his warning voice against the
corruption of manners and morals in all orders, which
will, he predicts, without a speedy reformation, cause
the downfall of all ecclesiastical establishments. He
has magnanimously renounced his living as a minis
ter, which his conscience would permit him no
longer to hold. He said he knew not where to go,
but the Lord has taken him to the 'Church of the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 481
first-born.' O what a warning is given to all
Churches, to all ministers, to all Christians, and to
thee, O my soul !" Blair's Sermons : " I find some
very beautiful things in these sermons ; they contain
good moral philosophy. His sermon on Gentleness is
worthy the taste of Queen Charlotte, and if money
were anything toward paying for knowledge, I
should think that sermon worth two hundred pounds
sterling, which, some say, the queen gave him."
Prince's Christian History: This book is Method
ism in aU its parts. I have a great desire to print an
abridgment of it to show the apostate children what
their fathers were." Gordon's History of the Amer
ican Revolution: "Here we view the suffering
straits of the American army, and what is greatly in
teresting, Washington taking his farewell of the
officers of the American army." Saurin's Sermons :
" Long, elaborate, learned, doctrinal, practical, his
torical, and explanatory." Thomson's Seasons :
" I find a little wheat and a great deal of chaff. I
have read great authors, so called, and wondered
where they found their finery of words and phrases.
Much of this might be pilfered from the ' Seasons,'
without injury to the real merit of the work ; and
doubtless it has been plucked by literary robbers."
Wesley's Jowrnal: "I am now convinced of the
great difficulty of journalizing. Mr. Wesley was
doubtless a man of very general knowledge, learning,
31

482 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and reading, to which we may add a lively wit and
humor ; yet I think I see too much credulity, long,
flat narrations and coarse letters taken from others,
in his Journal ; but when I come to his own thoughts
they are lively, sentimental, interesting, and in
structing. The journal of a minister of the Gospel
should be theological, only it will be well to wink
at many things we see and hear, since men's feel
ings grow more and more refined."
Besides his readings, Asbury's sketches or skeletons
of sermons, if collected together, would make a vol
ume of rare value for their exegetical and practical
character. Above all the books for reading and
study, the Bible, which he read in the original lan
guages, occupied the highest place ; and no day,
when his health would permit, was suffered to pass
without its thorough and systematic study. This was
the great armory from whence he drew the weapons
of his warfare, and in the successful wielding of
which he was enabled to demolish the strongholds of
the adversary. Following in the footsteps of Wesley,
he urged upon the preachers the importance of
study ; and many, from his own example, who, when
they entered the itinerancy, were utterly deficient in
education, not only made themselves acquainted with
their own language and literature, but made them
selves acquainted with the classics of Greece and
Rome, as well as the literature of Palestine. All

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 483
honor to those self-made men who, without a college,
and almost without a salary, pushed their way to the
cabins of the wilderness, and in the midst of all their
toils and embarrassments worked their way into the
domain of letters. ,
The secret of Asbury's success as a student con
sisted in his rigid adherence to a systematic method ;
and it is rarely if ever that any one excels who does
not adopt and adhere to a systematic course of study.
Discipline is everything to body and mind, and the
most insurmountable difficulties are overcome by
patient perseverance. To labor and to wait may be
a difficult task for the impulsive and ambitious to
learn ; but there is no royal road, no patent-righted,
labor-saving way to profound attainment in any de
partment of learning. His method, when not trav
eling, was to rise at four o'clock every morning;
spend two hours in prayer and meditation, two hours
in reading and study, and one in recreation and con
versation. Ten hours out of sixteen were spent in
reading the Hebrew Bible and other books, and wri
ting. He retired to his room at eight o'clock when
not at meeting or in council, and spent an hour in
meditation and prayer before retiring to rest.
Being obliged, for the most part, to depend
for a library on the resources of his saddle-bags,
which consisted of his Hebrew Bible, Greek Testa
ment, Book of Discipline, and a few other books,

484 LIFE AND TIMES OF
his preparations for the pulpit were not drawn
from commentaries, sketches, and pulpit assistants,
but from original sources. Reading his text in the
original, and thus going to the' very fountain of in
spiration, he was enabled to bring out of this rich
and inexhaustible treasury things if not novel at
least constructed after the model of the Holy Scrip
tures. His sermons were mostly of a textual, and
rarely, like many discourses of the present day, of a
topical character, and which stand frequently as
nearly related to one passage of Scripture as another.
Examining the numerous sketches of his sermons
given in his Journal, we are struck with the natural
ness of his divisions of the subject-matter ofthe texts;
and those who have heard him preach assure us that
he followed the advice of the Discipline, which he
administered to the letter, in "always making out
what he took in hand," " always suiting his subject
to his audience, and choosing the plainest texts."
In fact, " to convince, to offer Christ, to invite, and
to build up " were prominent points, rarely, if ever,
lost sight of in his discourses. In this respect he
was a model preacher.
We cannot close this chapter without calling the
attention of the reader to two more features in con
nection with the literary attainments of Asbury. It
is conceded pretty generally by those who were
competent to give information on this subject, that

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 485
most of the obituaries found in the older Minutes of
the Conferences were from his pen. As biographical
sketches they are models of excellence. In these we
find no attempt at eulogy or elaboration. The strong
points in the character of each were seized and de
lineated with a master hand. We have presented in
the early part of our book a few of these as speci
mens of what we conceive to be a rare biographi
cal style.
The other remarkable quality in the literary char
acter of Asbury which is worthy of notice, is his
admirable epistolary style. His correspondence was
voluminous, and his letters possess an interest beyond
their personal value, in the vast amount of informa
tion they contain on matters not only pertaining to
the Church and her interests, but to the country at
large. His numerous letters to Thomas Morrell, who
was stationed at John-street Church, and which
were published several years since in the Christian
Advocate and Journal, are full of interesting facts
and incidents pertaining to the current history of
Methodism.

486 LIFE AND TIMES OF

CHAPTER XXIH.
His last Round — Unceasing Toil — The ruling Passion — Entry in his
Journal— Journey through North and South Carolina — Arrival at
Richmond, Virgmia — Dissuaded from Preaching— Determined to
preach once more — Ls carried into the Church — Beautiful Morning —
His Text on the Occasion — His Audience — An impressive Scene —
Close ofthe Discourse — Anxiety to reach Baltimore — Farewell — Ar
rives at the Residence of his old Friend, Mr. George Arnold — Hlness
increased — Unable to proceed further — His Sufferings — Sabbath —
Family called together for Rehgious Service — Bond, his traveling Com
panion, reads and expounds the Scriptures — Conclusion of Services—
While sitting in his Chair the Spirit of ABbury passed away — His
Funeral — Burial — Request of the Citizens of Baltimore made to the
General Conference — His Remains removed to Eutaw-street Church —
Vast Procession — Funeral Oration pronounced by Bishop M'Kendree —
Epitaph — Resolutions of the Baltimore Conferenoe in 1856 in relation
to the Erection of a Monument in Mount Olivet Cemetery — Reflections.
The veteran pioneer had taken his last round and
had attended his last Conference. Forty-five years
of incessant toil in cities and villages, and in the
log-cabins and wildernesses of the far West and
South, traveling round the continent with but few
exceptions every year, subject to every kind of itin
erant hardship and privation, bore heavily upon his
physical constitution, and we find him, as if impelled
by a ruling passion strong as life, and undismayed by
the approach of death, urging his weary way from
appointment to appointment. He needed rest and
relief from all cares and anxieties, but like one who

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 487
was determined to rest not until the grave should
unveil its bosom to receive him, he continued to
travel and preach. When he could no longer walk
to the house of God, he was borne in the arms of his
brethren ; and when he could no longer stand in the
holy place to deliver his dying message to the assem
bled flocks over which he had been a faithful, and
affectionate overseer for upward of forty years, he
sat, as the beloved of the Apocalypse, and poured
out the treasures of his loving, overflowing heart to
the weeping multitudes, who sorrowed most at the
thought " that they should see his face no more." In
the midst of his last labors he says in his Journal :
" I die daily, am made perfect by labor and suffering,
and fill up still what is behind. There is no time or
opportunity to take medicine in the day-time, I must
do it at night. I am wasting away."
By slow and difficult stages he passed with his
faithful Bond through South and North Carolina,
preaching at different points until he reached Rich
mond, Virginia. His anxiety to preach once more
in Richmond was so great, that notwithstanding the
entreaties and endeavors of his friends to dissuade
him therefrom, seeing his extreme debility, he over
came all their efforts, saying, " I must once more de
liver my public testimony in this place. When the
hour for preaching arrived he was taken in a close
carriage to the Old Methodist Church. On arriving

488 LIFE AND TIMES OF
he was borne in the arms of his friends into the
church and placed upon a table prepared for the
purpose, whereon he was seated. The " Old Church,"
whose walls had so often echoed to his voice, was
crowded to its utmost capacity.
It was a bright and beautiful Sabbath of spring
in the year 1816. Nature, which in the South at a
more early season puts on her flowery robe and
decks herself in garlands of beauty, on this morning
wore her most smiling aspect. The air was freighted
with the perfume of bright spring flowers, and earth
and sky conjoined to make the Sabbath a delight.
But that day, so full of joyousness and hope, hke the
aged messenger of God who saw its opening glories,
was destined, like himself, to pass away. How befit
ting the language of the poet :
" Sweet day, so calm, so bright,
Bridal of earth and sky,
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night,
For thou, alas ! must die."
After singing, reading the Scriptures, and prayer,
the bishop announced, in tremulous tones, his text :
"For he will finish the work and cut it short in
righteousness: because a short work will the Lord
make upon the earth." Impressed with the con
sciousness that his work was done, and that he
was like one who was waiting for the voice of the

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 489
bride-groom, the text was well chosen. Before and
around him were his brethren and friends of former
years. With tearful eyes and throbbing hearts they
were listening to the last sermon of their beloved
father in God. Slowly and measuredly the solemn
truths fell from his trembling lips. Carried away
by his feelings he exceeded his strength, and was
obliged to pause frequently from sheer exhaustion.
Feeble as he was he preached for nearly an hour,
during which time a deep and awful stillness per
vaded the entire assembly, only broken by the sobs
of sympathetic hearers. To the vast audience gath
ered on this occasion the scene before them must
have been sublimely impressive. For the last time
they were listening to the voice of their beloved
bishop, who had gone in and out before them in
his continental visits for so many years. When he
closed his discourse he was much exhausted, and
was borne back to his carriage and taken to his
lodgings. '
Almost any other person would have desisted
from traveling in such an ill state of health, but the
spirit of Asbury could brook no delay; besides, he
was particularly anxious to reach Baltimore to be
present at the session of the General Conference in
May. Accordingly, taking his last farewell of the
brethren and friends in Richmond, he proceeded
on his journey in the care of his ever-faithful

490 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Bond. Having arrived at the residence of his old
and long-tried friend, Mr. George Arnold, about
twenty miles south of Fredericksburg, in Virginia,
his illness increased so that he was unable to
proceed. On the evening of the twenty-ninth of March his
carriage stopped at the door of this his last earthly
resting-place, and he was borne into the house never
more to leave it until his worn and weary body
should be carried to the tomb. He suffered much
during the night and the succeeding day, notwith
standing everything was done that affection could do
to mitigate his distress. When sabbath came he
requested the family to be called together at the
usual hour for religious services. His traveling com
panion read and expounded the twenty-first chapter
of Revelation, during which time Asbury was calm
and devotional. His end was near, and his faith
doubtless enabled him to catch a glimpse of the holy
city which John saw coming down out of heaven,
and to hear the voice assuring him that God would
wipe away the tears from sorrow's weeping eye.
The sun of his life was declining, but there were no
clouds in the evening heavens. All was calm, and
clear, and bright.
The services were closed, and Bond, perceiving
that the venerable bishop was sinking in his chair,
hastened to support him ; and while he held up his

FEANCIS ASBUEY 491
reclining head, the spirit of the patriarch passed
away in peace to its God, and thus,
"Like some broad river widening t'ward the sea,
Calmly and grandly life join'd eternity."
His funeral was attended by a large assemblage
of citizens from the surrounding neighborhood,
and with appropriate religious services his body
was deposited in the family burying-ground of
Mr. Arnold.
At the session of the General Conference a request
was presented by the people of Baltimore, that his
remains be removed, and deposited in a vault pre
pared for that purpose in the Eutaw Church, immedi
ately beneath the pulpit. The occasion of the re
interment was one of thriUing interest, not only to
the members of the General Conference, but to the
inhabitants of the entire city. An immense con
course assembled at the Light-street Church, from
whence his remains were taken to the Eutaw
Church. At the head of the vast procession was
Bishop M'Kendree, the coUeague of the departed
Asbury, and the only surviving bishop of the
Church. Next followed the members of the Gen
eral Conference ; and lastly the members of the
Church and citizens in thousands. Amid the tears
of the multitude, M'Kendree pronounced the funeral
address; and with the solemn and impressive cere-

492 LIFE AND TIMES OF
monies connected with the burial service, the sacred
relics were deposited in their resting-place. Over
the vault the following epitaph was inscribed :
£«r«& ta t\t fjUmjorra Bf
REV. FRANCIS ASBURY,
BISHOP OP THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL OHUEOH.
He was born in England, August 20, 1745 ;
Entered the Ministry at the age of seventeen ;
Came a Missionary to America 1771 ;
Was ordained Bishop in this city December 27, 1784 ;
Annually visited the Conferences in the United States ;
With much zeal continued to "preach the word"
For more than half a century;
and
Literally ended his labors with his life,
Near Fredericksburg, Virgmia,
In the full triumph of faith, on the 31st of March, 1816,
Aged 70 years, 7 months, and 11 days.
His remains were deposited in this vault May 10, 1816,
By the General Conference then sitting in this city.
His journals will exhibit to posterity
His labors, his difficulties, his sufferings,
His patience, his perseverance, his love to God and man.
In March, 1856, the Baltimore Conference passed
the following resolutions :
"Resolved, That we highly appreciate the inten
tion of the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 493
Church in the city and precincts of Baltimore, to
erect a monument which may designate to future
generations the burial-place of the venerable Asbury,
and also record the gratitude of the Church for the
blessings which have resulted from the labors of that
faithful servant of Christ, to whom, under God,
American Methodism is so deeply indebted for her
wonderful progress and prosperity.
Resolved, That we present this subject to our vari
ous congregations as soon after we reach our several
appointments as may be convenient, and that we
request the donations of those of the members and
friends of our Church who may feel disposed to con
tribute to this memorial."
The trustees of Mount Olivet Cemetery having
selected and contributed a site for this monument,
the resolutions were designed to carry out their be
nevolent undertaking, and it is presumed, that ere
long a monument worthy of the Pioneer Bishop wiU
be erected by the Baltimore Methodists, to "desig
nate to future generations the burial-place of the
venerable Asbury."
The reader has seen in the preceding pages that the
life of Asbury was one of continued incident, from
his youth through all the period of his laborious and
useful career. What the London " Athenaeum " says
of the tireless itinerant, Wesley, in Great Britain —
that if" under the horsehoof of Attila the grass never

494 LIFE AND TIMES OF
grew, so the grass never grew under the tread of John
Wesley" — may with equal propriety be affirmed of
the indefatigable Francis Asbury in America.
Well did Methodism find its way into the States.
It had no ruffles or lawn that it feared to soil, no
powdered locks that it feared to disorder, no buckles
it was afraid to tarnish. It lodged roughly and
fared scantily. It tramped up muddy ridges, it
swam or forded rivers to the waist, it slept on
leaves or raw deer skin, or pillowed its head
on saddle bags, it bivouacked among wolves or
Indians ; now it suffered from ticks or mosquitoes ; it
was attacked by dogs, it was hooted and it was
pelted ; the hurricane blew down trees across its path :
it lost its way in the woods, it was stricken by fever
and wasted by pestilence, it was fined, maltreated
and imprisoned, but it throve. Through the ample
woods of the West, taking long windings to avoid
the swamps, skulking out of sight of Indians, follow
ing by the dim light of some backwoodsman's blaze,
drifting along great silent rivers to some poor settler's
hut, giving even the shirt off its back, worn, weary,
rain-drenched, yet pursuing its noble mission, and
making footpaths for love and fondness, Methodism
went on till it had crossed the frontier of states. The
only distinction of its bishops was one of bodily toil
or personal labor. They traversed six thousand miles
a year through a country that had no inns, no roads,

FEANCIS ASBUEY. 495
ft
where they and their horses, when they had any, were
hungry and shelterless. If they wanted a dinner
they had to hunt it, and then cook it by a fire that
would not blaze, and the rain and wind often put it
out. It was a feast day when they dined on raccoon
or bear steaks, and jolted on a road full of ruts in a
forty-dollar chaise. Perhaps even Methodism would
not do ill to recall the history of some of those early
pioneers. Methodism is now a power in the States.
Its loyalty is no longer called in question, as at the
time of the Declaration of Independence. West and
South it is paramount.
Foremost in that band of tireless itinerants was
Francis Asbury, the pioneer bishop of the Meth
odist Church in America. Always and everywhere
with harness on ready for the spiritual warfare,
he may be said almost to have created the Church
in its present form, and during his long and
active life kept all its departments in motion. He
ordained upward of three thousand preachers, and
preached seventeen thousand sermons, besides attend
ing to the varied and multitudinous duties connected
with his pecuUar relation to the Church and his epis
copal office. Though dead he yet lives in the affec
tions of the great Methodist public, North and South,
numbering upward of a million. So effectually has
he stamped his powerful mind upon the masses of
Methodism all over this vast continent, from the hills

496 LIFE AND TIMES OF FEANCIS ASBUEY.
of the Aroostook to the slopes of the Pacific, that no
time or change can efface the impression. What the
name of Washington is to the -patriot American —
a charm and a watchword in whatever pertains to
American liberty, the name of Asbury is to the
American Methodist in whatever concerns the
genius and mission of Methodism.

THE END.

YALE UNIVERSITY I

¦ -it-'t %

¦V