METHODIST HEROES
OF OTHER

SAMUEL GARDINER AYRES

ftJV"rWmlrtft1r'WrV^

v^a-V

Methodist Heroes
Of Other Days

By
SAMUEL GARDINER AYRES

THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN
NEW YORK CINCINNATI

Copyright, 1916, by
SAMUEL GARDINER AYRES

MH3

DEDICATED TO
MY FATHER
THE BEV. DAVID CLOUGH AYKES
AND TO THOSE WHO WERE HIS
COLABOREBS IN THE ACTIVE
WORK OF THE METHODIST MIN
ISTRY FOR FORTY YEARS WITHIN
THE BOUNDS OF THE TROY CON
FERENCE. HE TAUGHT ME TO
LOVE THE CHURCH AND THEM.

CONTENTS page
Pbefatory Note  7
Introduction  9
I. Francis Asbuby the Triumphant  13
II. Philip Embtjby, the Fibst of a Noble
Company  19
III. William McKendree, the First Ameeican-
bobn Methodist Bishop  22
IV. Henry Willis, the First Presiding Elder. 26
V. Geobge Pickebing, New England Evangel. 29
VI. Anning Owen, the Apostle of the Wy
oming Valley  32
VII. Peteb Massie, of Kentucky  36
VIII. Thomas Mobbell, Soldier and Bishop's
Companion  39
IX. Jesse Lee, the New England Pioneer.. 43
X. Geobge Doughebty, the One-Eyed Hero.. 46
XI. William Winans, the Indefatigable  49
XII. Alfbed Bbunson, the Soldier Pbeacheb. 52
XIIL Shadbach Bostwick, M.D., "Professor in
Brush College"  56
XIV. Zenas Caldwell — 1800-1826  59
XV. Robert Boyd, an Ohio Methodist Pioneer. 62
XVI. Richmond Nolley, Missionary  66
XVII. Samuel Tucker, Mabtye to Duty  69
XVIII. George Harmon, Traveling Companion of
Bishop McKendbee  72
XIX. John Clabk, Indian Missionaey  77
XX. William Beauchamp, Almost a Bishop. . 83
5

6 CONTENTS page
XXI. Philip Gatch, Preacher and Judge  86
XXII. Valentine Cook, Orator  90
"yXXIII. Hope Hull, Educator  95
XXIV. John Gaddis, the Heroic Convert  98
XXV. William B. Christus  101
XXVI. Glezen Fillmobe, the First Methodist
Pastor of Buffalo, New York  106
XXVII. James Moobe, of New Jebsey  110
XXVIII. John Kobleb, the Young Presiding Eldeb. 115
XXIX. Joseph Ltt.t.abd, Colleague of Samuel
Tuckeb  119
XXX. Joseph Gbubeb, the Eccentric  122
XXXI. James Gilmore of the Eccentric Group. 127
XXXII. John Ray, the Witty Kentuckian  131
XXXIII. "Reformation" John Adams  135
XXXIV. Billy Hibbard, the Eccentric  139
XXXV. John Haslam, Tempebance Refobmeb... 143
XXXVI. Geobge Gary, the Young Presiding Elder. 146

PREFATORY NOTE
Part of these sketches have appeared in the
Western Christian Advocate, and one in the
Pittsburgh Christian Advocate. The rest appear
for the first time. The stories used are gathered
from old papers, biographies, local histories, and
reminiscences of aged people.

INTRODUCTION
The present generation of Methodists, it is
feared, know few of the names of the Methodists
of former days, and still less of the manners and
speech of the olden time. Some have an idea that
the preachers were uneducated, ignorant ranters,
and that their hearers were emotional and easily
impressed. The preachers of the early days were sometimes
ignorant men, but filled with the love of Christ
and burning with zeal to extend his kingdom.
Many were graduates of "Brush College," as
they facetiously called the itinerant method of
study. Their saddlebags contained their library,
and whenever they could they studied. Whenever
an older preacher was met the younger one would
ask questions and receive instruction and advice.
The times were such that there was a greater
opportunity for the development of individuality
than now. So some eccentric men arose, such as
Lorenzo Dow, whom some men refused to allow
in the pulpit, not understanding him and having
no patience with him. We must not lose sight
of the fact that they were greater than their
oddities, and that they were used as the instru-
9

10 INTRODUCTION
ments of God in winning many men to Jesus
Christ. To-day the stories of their eccentricities
amuse us, and we are apt to forget that they
were flaming evangels.
The ministers of the olden time were of the
stuff of which heroes are made. They were in
labors abundant, in journeys oft and far. They
suffered from hunger and thirst, from perils from
men and beasts, from poverty and toil. Yet they
failed not nor faltered, but were faithful unto
the end.
They secured great results, for above all else
they were men of great faith. They took God
into partnership, and he was often drawn upon,
and always acknowledged the draft. Thus out
of the trials was evolved sainthood, and out of
their sanctification came glorification.
They were men who were great in prayer.
They often trod the way into the Holy of holies.
They were importunate in their faith. They ex
pected to receive an answer, and so it came.
Their training was such that they read human
nature like an open book. It seemed at times as
if they were inspired. Their messages brought
hidden things to light, and made the greatest
braggarts quake.
They were all things to all men, yet they never
ceased to be manly, noble, and true. Their lives
were a rebuke to other men because of their

INTRODUCTION 11
purity. Their fearlessness was a challenge to the
powers of evil to do their worst. They were great
defenders of the faith. They defended the truth
against Calvinists, Arians, deists, and Univer-
salists. Rarely were they beaten. They had to
defend their flock from the proselyter, the infidel,
and rum, and they did it bravely and valiantly.
All hail to our Methodist preachers of olden
days! From them we may derive lessons of wis
dom and cheer. We are in the midst of a great
conflict. They can teach us how to fight. We
may have better equipment, a fairer field, and a
more courteous opponent, but we can never sur
pass them in the splendor of their manly spirit
and sacrifice.

FRANCIS ASBURY THE TRIUMPHANT
An English lad, whose principal "foible" was
a love of play, and whose young apprentice man
hood was pure and good, showed no particular
sign that he was to act the great part which he
did in later life. When but a mere lad he began
to preach in England. He was not as closely at
tentive to his duties as he should have been, as
is witnessed by a letter of reprimand written to
him, and still preserved.
When only a little past twenty-six years of age
he voluntarily left his native land and came to
America and became a true American. From
then on to the end of his career his was a life
filled with pain and suffering. No year passed
without his having a hurt or ailment of some sort.
Sometimes he had to be lifted on and off his horse
and put to bed like a child. At other times, with
little strength to spare, he sat in his chair and
preached to a small or a large congregation. He
addressed a dozen or five thousand, as oppor
tunity offered.
In 1772 Wesley appointed this handicapped
young man of twenty-seven the superintendent
13

14 METHODIST HEROES
of all the churches in America. He was only one
of nine preachers, and there were only three hun
dred and sixteen members in all the American
colonies, and so it did not seem such a great
undertaking; but before John Wesley died he
became almost jealous of Francis Asbury, so
great had the work grown to be. When Francis
Asbury died there were no less than six hundred
preachers and two hundred and fourteen thou
sand members.
We have mentioned the personal physical hin
drances which were always a thorn in the flesh.
To these we must add the times of discourage
ment, which must come to every sick man. He
had his sleepless nights over the state of the
church, the debt on Cokesbury College, the in
difference of the people, and the backslidden state
of many members. He toiled over bad roads in
winter, cold and heat, snow and rain, through
swamps and over mountains, making the rounds
of the Conferences and charges.
At the beginning his tours extended to two
thousand miles a year, and later they exceeded
five thousand miles and even reached six thou
sand miles in eight months. He visited the South
thirty times in thirty-one years. In some sections
the houses were filthy and the fare poor. He
shared the poverty of the people or enjoyed being
entertained "like a President."

FRANCIS ASBURY 15
He and his companion frequently rode twenty-
five, thirty, and even thirty-five miles in a day
without food for man or beast. "I find it hard
to ride eight or nine hours without any other
nourishment but a little bread and tea," he re
marks; but on one occasion he returns thanks
over a handful of nuts, and on another over a
crust of bread for two. He tells how he enjoyed
some potato and bacon after a ride of twenty-
seven miles without food. On one occasion the
lunch was a peach pie. Of course he was tired.
He records in his Journal: "Rest, rest, how
sweet ! Yet how often in labor I rest, and in rest
labor!" After a hard ride of three days he
records a poor time in preaching. He earned it.
Sometimes he slept on the ground in the woods
without even a tent over him, or, again, on the
floor in a log cabin on a deerskin filled with fleas.
He was glad when he had a bed, even if the snow
or the rain came through the broken, leaking
roof. He was sometimes obliged to associate
with drunken and profane men. He was in
dangers oft, yet he never ceased to do his duty,
and his everlasting cry was for the souls of men,
and no pain he had was so great as the heartache
caused by the fall of a member of the flock.
His prayers as recorded in his Journal would
make a book. One has a particularly pathetic
note : "Lord, remember Francis Asbury in all his

16 METHODIST HEROES
labors and afflictions." And who shall say that
this prayer was not answered? So often he
records his belief in a Divine Providence: "I can
say hitherto the Lord hath helped us through
deeps, deserts, dangers, and distresses. I have
told but a small part of our labors and suffer
ings; let the great day of eternity reveal the
rest." But this was only the setting for a life in which
many hours were sweet and happy in praise and
service : "O what sweetness I feel as I steal along
through the solitary woods! I am sometimes
ready to shout aloud and make all vocal with the
praises of His grace who died, and lives and in
tercedes for me." "I have suffered much — I am
pained and sore, and poor Jane stumbled so
often ! but my limbs and my soul are safe. Glory !
Glory!" "The prospects of doing good are
glorious." "I groan one minute with pain, and
shout glory the next." "The Lord was my helper
and my mind was in peace." "I began and ended
the day with God." There are other references,
which might be quoted, showing the sweetness of
his soul. All the time he was seeking the best
and highest experience, and he finally found it in
1803: "My mind is in a great calm after the
tumult of the Baltimore Conference ... in ad
dition to the charge of the superintendency to feel
and to live in perfect love."

FRANCIS ASBURY 17
Only the year before his translation he said:
"My mind enjoys great peace, and divine conso
lation. My health is better, but whether health,
life, or death, good is the will of the Lord. I will
trust him and will praise him. He is the strength
of my heart, and my portion forever. Glory!
Glory! Glory!" And this he said when he re
signed to younger hands the burdens of his work,
but he ceased not to toil until the last. He
preached his last sermon in Richmond, Virginia,
March 24, 1816, from the text : "For he will finish
the work, and cut it short in righteousness: be
cause a short work will the Lord make upon the
earth." He sat on a table prepared for him and
preached for nearly an hour "with much feeling."
He was carried from the church to his carriage.
It is not the end of his journey, for he travels
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. He came to the
home of Mr. George Arnold and rested on Satur
day, and on Sunday, the 31st day of March, 1816,
he took his last long journey to the land of rest.
His legacy was a great one — a life filled with
toil and sacrifice, not devoid of faults, 'tis true,
but ever striving for the best. He traveled about
one hundred and fifty thousand miles in the
thirty-seven years of his life as bishop, preached
more than nineteen thousand times, ordained, ap
pointed, and loved one thousand ministers, served
four generations of laymen, winning fathers and

18 METHODIST HEROES
mothers, sons and daughters, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren for the kingdom of God. The
number he won for the kingdom can never be told.
He was the real founder of the Methodist Epis
copal Church of America, and to him and his
care it owes more than we can record. His
triumph never ends.

II

PHILIP EMBURY, THE FIRST OF A NOBLE
COMPANY
The General Conference of 1916 had many
memorials presented concerning the settlement of
the historic fact as to the priority of the claim
that Methodism was established in New York by
Philip Embury, or the claim that Robert Straw-
bridge first blazed the way in Maryland. So far
not enough data have appeared to reward the
searchers for historic truth to enable us to im
partially settle the question. Possibly it can
never be settled. During the session of the Gen
eral Conference a pilgrimage was made to the
grave of Embury, and a service held there.
I suppose you have heard of the Scotch-Irish.
Did you ever hear of the German-Irish? There
was a group of German refugees, who fled to
escape persecution from the County Palatine on
the Rhine not long after the year 1700. They
settled in Balligarane, Ireland. John Wesley
often preached to them there. Whether he was
the means of the conversion of Embury or not we
do not know. 19

20 METHODIST HEROES
We have preserved for us Mr. Embury's state
ment of the fact of his conversion: "On Christ
mas day, being Monday, the 25th of December, in
the year 1752, the Lord shone into my soul by a
glimpse of his redeeming love; being an earnest
of my redemption in Christ Jesus, to whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen. Phil. Embury."
About eight years later Embury with other
friends and neighbors emigrated to this country
and settled in New York city. Embury came as
a carpenter and joiner, but later taught school.
Earlier in the century another group of Irish
people came to this country to start the linen in
dustry here, but the venture was a failure. There
is some historical ground, but not absolute proof
that this group of emigrants came to this country
for the same purpose.
The story has been often told of the interrupted
game of cards. Barbara Heck called Embury to
task while he was playing with some companions,
seized the cards and threw them into the fire,
and told him to be about his Master's business as
a preacher of the gospel. He obeyed the admoni
tion, and soon after preached to a little company
of five or six people.
His congregation increased and a society was
formed. Captain Webb joined him a few months
later, and to his leadership was due the erection
of the first Methodist church in New York city.

PHILIP EMBURY 21
Mr. Embury worked on the building as a car
penter. When Mr. Wesley's preachers, Boardman and
Pilmoor, came over, Mr. Embury left New York.
The State in the meantime had given him and
his brother David a grant of land in the town of
Queensbury, New York. About seven miles from
his grant he established the Ashgrove Society, in
cluded for many years within the limits of the
city of Albany, New York. Only two or three
years ago the society unfortunately changed its
name and lost its historical connection.
For some time he was justice of the peace in
his community. When only forty-five years of
age he became overheated in mowing and sud
denly died.

Ill

WILLIAM McKENDREE, THE FIRST AMERI
CAN-BORN METHODIST BISHOP
Bishops Coke, Asbury, and Whatcoat were all
born in England. The American preachers were
much pleased when William McKendree was
elected bishop at the General Conference of 1808.
He was led into the kingdom of God by the Rev.
John Easter in 1787, and taken by him to the
Annual Conference in 1788. For twelve years
Virginia was the scene of his labors. The follow
ing eight years he was the presiding elder of the
Western Pioneers.
For nearly twenty-seven years he served as a
bishop. He was not only distinguished as a
preacher but was noted for his ability as a pre
siding officer. To him we owe the introduction
of parliamentary law into our General Confer
ence, and the Annual Conferences. This was done
with infinite tact and diplomacy.
Henry Smith, a preacher of the Baltimore Con
ference, wrote about it in the year 1855. Bishop
McKendree introduced the new method in the
General Conference of 1812. As it was new,
22

WILLIAM McKENDREE 23
Bishop Asbury arose, and addressing Bishop Mc
Kendree, said, "I have something to say to you
before the Conference." Bishop McKendree arose
to his feet and the two men stood facing each
other. Bishop Asbury continued : "This is a new
thing. I never did business this way, and why
is this new thing introduced?" Bishop Mc
Kendree promptly replied, "You are our father,
we are your sons ; you never had need of it ; I am
only a brother, and have need of it." Bishop As
bury sat down with a smile on his face. He was
satisfied. Bishop McKendree was a splendid business
man, and very painstaking. Bishop Morris was
very fond of telling a story which well illustrates
this trait : "Many years ago," he wrote in a letter
to Bishop Soule, "the precise time not recollected,
one day in Conference, Bishop McKendree asked
me for the loan of a pencil. I handed him the
only article of the kind I had. It was a very
small cedar pencil, perhaps two inches and a half
long, and less in diameter than a common rye-
straw, with a plain brass head. It was used pri
marily as a pin to fasten a small pocket memo
randum-book, and to make notes on the same.
The original value of the article could not have
been more than three cents. Of so little im
portance was it to me that I did not miss it at
all, nor remember the transaction again until a

24 METHODIST HEROES
year afterward, when the bishop, one day in Con
ference, beckoned to me, and on my approaching
him, handed me the pencil, which he had kept for
me on a tour of some thousands of miles, having
perhaps forgotten to return it at the proper time.
As the business of Conference was in progress,
he gave no explanation, but the sight of the pencil
and a moment's reflection brought the whole
transaction to my mind, and afforded a theme of
profitable meditation upon the character of a
man who, amid the trials and perils of his ex
tended journeys, and his numerous and daily
cares respecting the church over which he exer
cised his general superintendency, could still
charge his mind with so small a matter."
He took great care of his papers and his cloth
ing. In society he was always dignified, but
never stern.
The first bishops, with the exception of Bishop
Coke, were unmarried men. They were all lovers
of children. Bishop McKendree was especially
fond of them. At one place he often visited he
would allow the little girl in the home to comb
his "beautiful black hair." Then he would re
ward her with his thanks and a sweet kiss. She
would count the buttons at his knees. There were
five at each knee, and he wore buckles on his
shoes. He was at this home on one occasion when
a thunderstorm arose. The little girl's mother

WILLIAM McKENDREE 25
told Mr. McKendree how frightened the little
girl was during a thunderstorm. He called the
child to him, took her on his knees, and laid her
head on his breast and soothed her. When the
sharp lightning came she would hide her face in
his bosom and feel perfectly safe.
He not only loved children, but animals as
well. Like Bishop Asbury, he was fond of the
faithful horses who carried him. His last horse
was old "Grey," and in his will he made provision
for his care.
As a preacher few surpassed him in his insight
into spiritual matters. Sometimes great results
followed his efforts, and many were converted as
the result of his preaching. He was not at all
vain of his ability. On one occasion he was asked
to preach before the House of Representatives at
Washington but declined. He said that "his
mission was to those who were found in the moun
tains and valleys and waste places of the earth ;
and especially to the poor."
Few men loved the church more or were more
useful in it. Bishop Asbury founded the church,
and Bishop McKendree organized it for efficient
work.

IV

HENRY WILLIS, THE FIRST PRESIDING
ELDER
Among the many homes where Bishop Asbury
loved to go, and where he found the rest which
his weary body needed, there was no home where
he was more welcome than the home of the
widow Ann Willis. This was one of his preach
ing places as well, as will be noted in the Bishop's
Journal. For many years he made it a point to
stop there whenever in the neighborhood.
Her husband was as remarkable a man as she
was a woman. He was a man of unusual refine
ment and of great zeal. He was a very slight
man, and always had a tendency to consumption.
He not only preached, but supported his family
by his labor as well. He was born in Virginia,
and died at Pipe Creek, Frederick County, Mary
land, in 1808. He began to preach as early as
1779, when there were only thirty-four preachers
in the connection.
His name appears in the Conference Minutes as
elder, with four preachers under his direction.
In the Minutes for 1785 also his name is first
26

HENRY WILLIS 27
among the supervising elders. The others were
Richard Ivey, Reuben Ellis, Nelson Reed, Enoch
Matson, James O'Kelly, Thomas Foster, Richard
Whatcoat, Caleb Royer, William Guild, Thomas
Vasey, Thomas Chew. The next year he was sent
to Charleston, thence to New York, thence to
Philadelphia, showing that he was a man of un
usual ability, or he would not have been selected
for these important points. His district com
prised the two circuits, Yadkin and Holstein, and
the two had nearly seven hundred members.
We have no particular account of his hardships
on this district, but he must have had them.
Bishop Asbury said of him that "he possessed
great courage tempered with good conduct; he
was cheerful without levity, and sober without
solemn sadness or melancholy." His health was
so poor in some years that from time to time he
was supernumerary, preaching very little after
1793. His house was always a place where other
ministers were welcome, and where he exercised
the greatest of hospitality to all who came.
He was the means of the conversion of many.
The first year that he was pastor in New York
there were fifty-four probationers added to the
roll, and the second year seventy. And this suc
cess probably characterized all his ministry.
I have been able to find two original letters
addressed to Mrs. Willis by Bishop Asbury. One

28 METHODIST HEROES
he writes from Union Camp Meeting, September
7, 1812. In it he shows his great esteem and says :
"Help me, sister, by your prayers. I live for
millions of sons and daughters of Adam and of
God. I fear you will slack your hands. Watch
on, pray on, suffer on, believe on, fight on, like
a woman; like a man for God when I saw you
stemming the weather up the hill like an heroine
or Shunammite riding, and stop not to get to
the prophet; be Frank's sister, his mother and
prompter to all good ; the borough of Pipe Creek
shall be ours. We will not if God is with us
leave a hoof behind."

V

GEORGE PICKERING, NEW ENGLAND
EVANGEL
Without meaning to do so, we find that we
have been confining these sketches largely to men
of the Middle West. Next to Jesse Lee stands
George Pickering among the Methodist apostles
of New England. He was born in Maryland in
1769. In 1787 he was converted in the famous
old Saint George's Church, of Philadelphia. In
1790 he joined the Baltimore Conference. His
first field of labor was in Virginia. In 1793 he
was sent to New England, and there he worked
the rest of his life. In 1797 he was made the
presiding elder of the New England District,
which then included all of the New England
States except Maine and Connecticut. He was
one of the great exceptions to the usual rule of
short ministries and had an effective ministry of
fifty-seven years. He served sixteen years as a
presiding elder, and nine years as a missionary
at large. He was a member of eight General Con
ferences, and six times led his delegation. In
1808 he was a member of the committee which
prepared for a delegated General Conference. He
29

30 METHODIST HEROES
had the distinction of being at his death "the
oldest effective Methodist preacher in the world."
He was fortunate in his marriage, his wife in
heriting from her father a fine home, and thus
allowing him to be free from care as to his finan
ces. Many of the early preachers were compelled
to locate in order to provide for their families.
Dr. McClintock is authority for the statement
that of the six hundred and fifty preachers whose
names appeared on the Minutes previous to 1800,
"five hundred died in the local ranks and most of
the remainder had located, though on becoming
relieved of domestic embarrassments, they were
able to reenter the ministry and die in it."
George Pickering was noted for his character
more than for his preaching, although he was a
good preacher. He was a very methodical man
in everything. He had set times to visit his
family. So conscientious was he that if his duties
took him within half a mile of his house, he would
not visit his family until the set time. His por
trait represents him as a benevolent, kindly,
pious, shrewd, cautious, wise, and witty man.
One can see all this in his face. His contem
poraries give testimony that he possessed these
very qualities.
To these qualities one of his biographers adds
a great tribute for his gentlemanliness. He was
always neat and polite.

GEORGE PICKERING 31
In the Minutes for 1791, it is said of Wyatt
Andrews, "As long as he could ride he traveled;
and while he had breath he praised God." This
was equally true of George Pickering. In the last
year of his life he went to an adjoining charge
and preached twice. A lady remarked to him
that he must be tired working so hard, and espe
cially when he was so old. He replied that he did
not mind it and would really feel better if he had
preached three times instead of twice. A con
temporary said of him that "he lived every day."
His friends witnessed his joyful translation to
the other world. He died full of wonderful joy
and peace.

VI

ANNING OWEN, THE APOSTLE OF THE
WYOMING VALLEY
Recently it has been my pleasure to read the
history of the Genesee Conference by F. W.
Conable, published in 1876. This book embalms
within its pages the heroic deeds of many an
early pioneer. Among the rest we find the name
of Anning Owen. It is not the first time that we
have met his name. It is a napie written large
in Methodism and often mentioned in its biogra
phies and histories.
Mr. Owen was in the Indian Battle of Wyoming
in 1778. A contemporary who heard the old saint
tell the story says : "When the retreat commenced
on the battlefield he thought he should almost
certainly be killed, and should go straight to hell.
He began to pray, and determined that should he
be shot, he would fall on his face, and his last
breath should be spent in calling upon God for
mercy. He (and his brother-in-law) secreted
themselves under a grapevine on the margin of
the river and there he gave his heart to God, and
had never taken back the pledge. He found peace
32

ANNING OWEN 33
to his soul before he left the place, being there
several hours. Another fugitive — a boy — took
refuge with them." Years after another contem
porary records their meeting in a love-feast and
the remark of Mr. Owen : "Ah ! Brother Serie, we
had like to have gone to hell together under the
grapevine." He joined the Conference in 1795 and con
tinued to labor for about nineteen years. Most of
his labor was confined to Western New York. A
pestilence swept over the country in 1814 and Mr.
Owen and his wife were victims, dying within
twelve hours of each other. He was in his sixty-
third year.
In Early Methodism, by Dr. George Peck,
several anecdotes are told of our hero. He was
sometimes very blunt, often zealous to advance
the work of the kingdom. He was opposed to all
of the various isms. It is said that he had the
following passage in nearly every prayer he
offered : "O Lord, put a stop to Mohammedanism,
Judaism, heathenism, atheism, deism, Universal-
ism, Calvinism, and all other devilisms."
Mr. Owen never failed to use an opportunity
to win a soul. On one occasion he joined com
pany with a traveler who, he found, was not a
Christian. He used every argument he could
think of, with no apparent effect. They came to
a fork in the road and bade each other good-by.

34 METHODIST HEROES
Under a sudden inspiration Mr. Owen turned and
called out, "See here, my friend, I have two more
things to say to you which I wish you not to
forget." "What are they?" said the stranger.
"Hell is hot and eternity is long," was the
reply. The message fastened itself in the man's mind
and led ultimately to his conversion. Years after
he met Mr. Owen and told him the story of his
salvation. On one occasion Father Owen was preaching
on happiness and said, "A man who is seeking
happiness in the world is just like a cat chasing
her own tail; she is often just on the point of
catching it, but it flies away and she never quite
gets hold of it."
Another story told by Dr. Peck is that on a
certain occasion a Presbyterian land agent came
to hear him preach. Mr. Owen looked upon this
as a challenge. He said that land-jobbers were
"like a land-jobber of old, who offered to give
away all the kingdoms of the earth, when the
poor devil had not a foot of land in the world."
Next he gave a tirade against the Presbyterians.
His hearer arose and said, "It is too bad and I
cannot endure it !" "Sit down, sir !" the preacher
thundered. Twice again was the hearer brought
to his feet by the words of the preacher, and each

ANNING OWEN 35
time commanded to sit down. In this day such
preaching would not be tolerated. In that day
controversy was so constant that undoubtedly
the course of Father Owen was applauded. He
had a tremendous voice and was sometimes
known as "Bawling Owen," but we are assured
that "it was not all voice." He was a mighty man
of God and. won many souls.
He took his trials bravely and uncomplainingly.
On a certain occasion he found that rowdies had
shaved his horse's tail. His host was indignant,
but was moved to laughter when Father Owen
said, "Glory to God! he is not like Samson, for
he is as strong as ever." His beloved son died
and he preached the funeral sermon. Later a
beautiful daughter died also, and he preached
the funeral sermon on that occasion. The im
pression thus created was very profound.
Father Owen was a great singer. It is said
that he was especially fond of one piece called
"The Band of Music." He sang it wherever he
went, and on all occasions. On the day of his
death his last strength was employed in singing
it. His voice failed and an angelic band bore him
away to unite in the music of heaven.

VII
PETER MASSIE, OF KENTUCKY
In the year 1786 James Haw held a revival in
Kentucky. Among the first fruits of the revival
was Peter Massie. He was filled with the con
viction that he ought to preach. His ideals were
high and his modesty correspondingly great, so
that he refused to hear the call. As a consequence
he became backslidden. While in this condition
he and some others went across the Ohio River
after some horses. On their return the Indians
attacked them and, firing, killed all the company
except Massie. He sprang into a little gully and
concealed himself among the weeds. He promised
himself that if the Lord would hear his prayer
and deliver him from the Indians, he would be
come a minister. In some way, the Indians failed
to find him and he returned home in safety. He
was true to his word and, in 1788, rejoined the
Conference. This was the same year as that in
which William McKendree, Valentine Cook, and
Thornton Fleming joined the Conference. His
ministry was brief, all too brief. First, he was
sent with Thomas Williamson and Benjamin
36

PETER MASSIE 37
Snelling to the Lexington Circuit. This had a
membership of two hundred white and ten
colored members. They must have had good suc
cess, for the next year they had four hundred and
two white and twenty-one colored members. The
next year he was sent to the Danville Circuit with
Barnabas McHenry. Here the total membership
was four hundred and forty. Then the three cir
cuits were divided into five, so that we cannot tell
how great an increase there was.
In 1791 he was sent to Limestone, to succeed
Samuel Tucker, the martyr, whose story appears
later in this volume. It had one hundred and
forty-three members. In December he went to
the Cumberland Circuit to visit some of his
friends. On the 18th he reached the home of Mr.
Hodges, three miles west of Nashville. The In
dians were abroad, and the family of Mr. Hodges
had gone to the fort for protection. Mr. Hodges
was quite ill and unable to go. A young colored
boy, who had been converted under Mr. Massie's
preaching, also took refuge in the cabin. Mr.
Massie had been laboring very hard, and was
never a strong man. During the night he suffered
much pain. In the morning he arose and even
went to the breakfast table. His host expressed
the wish that he would soon be well enough to
travel. He replied, "If I am not well enough to
travel, I am happy enough to die." In a very few

38 METHODIST HEROES
moments he died. His host was too ill to bury
him, so the Negro boy cut down an ash tree,
divided it, and lined the grave with it. After
placing the body in the grave, he covered it over
with a slab and then filled in the grave with
earth. This colored boy was much interested in
the welfare of his race in Africa, and went to see
Bishop McKendree about sending some one to
Africa as a missionary. Mr. Paine, who after
ward became one of the bishops of the Church,
South, volunteered to go on condition that
Simeon, the colored boy, should accompany him.
Mr. Paine's people would not release him, so the
project was abandoned.
Mr. Massie was only thirty when he died. He
was a man of attractive personality and a soul-
winner. He often preached with tears of sym
pathy on his face.

VIII
THOMAS MORRELL, SOLDIER AND
BISHOP'S COMPANION
The early Methodists were sometimes accused
of being unpatriotic, or of being Loyalists. This
was in large part due to the fact that Wesley
took the side of the Crown in the struggle, and
to a lesser degree it was due to the fact that
Methodism was a transplanted church. Not all
were of this type, however; most Methodists were
sympathizers with the American cause. Thomas
Morrell was a notable patriot.
He was born in New York city, November 22,
1747. His parents were early connected with
Methodism. His mother was a member of the
first Methodist class in the old John Street
Church. In 1772 the family moved to Elizabeth-
town, New Jersey. There were no Methodists
here, and she joined the Presbyterian Church. In
1785 a Methodist class was formed, and of this
she became a member.
When the news of the battle of Lexington
reached Elizabethtown all was stir and bustle at
once, for the patriots were aroused. A militia
39

40 METHODIST HEROES
company was formed, and the young clerk in his
father's store became Captain Thomas Morrell by
the election of his comrades. He was a soldier
bold. In the summer of 1775 he was in command
of one of the boats which captured the Green
Mountain Valley, a transport loaded with pro
visions for the British army. The next spring he
was in command of a party which built "Stockade
Fort," designed to prevent the enemy from land
ing at Elizabethtown Point. He also aided in
conveying some powder to Washington at great
personal risk.
In June, 1776, Congress, then assembled at
Trenton, gave him a captain's commission. It is
said that he convened two companies of milita
and gave them such a spirited and patriotic ad
dress that in five minutes more than enough had
volunteered to serve in his company. At great
private expense he fitted out the company and
reported in New York, July 10, 1776.
August 27 he was on Long Island, and was
seriously wounded. He was carried first to his
father's, and then to New Providence, New
Jersey, which is within five miles of the place
where this chapter was written. He finally re
covered and was in the thick of the Battle of
Brandywine and the attack on Germantown. He
was compelled to leave the army after this battle
on account of rapidly failing health, much to the

THOMAS MORRELL 41
regret of General Washington. He was not con
verted until 1786. This was in March. In June
he began to preach as a local preacher. The next
year, when forty years old, he joined the Con
ference. In 1789 he was sent to New York to
raise the money and build a second church. In.
less than two and a half months the first stones
of the foundation were laid for the old Second
Street, Church, afterward called the Forsyth
Street Church. The following January a great
revival took place, and about two hundred joined
the church. In 1791 he traveled with Bishop As
bury in order to recuperate health. He spent the
rest of his pastorate in New York, Philadelphia,
and Baltimore.
The last years of his life were spent in retire
ment in Elizabethtown. He lived to be over
ninety years of age. He preached nearly every
Sunday at Elizabethtown, much to the delight of
all. Judging from the several accounts of his
preaching given, he was a doctrinal preacher, de
lighting to preach on such topics as the atone
ment, justification, sanctification, and the like.
Dr. Sprague, the author of the Annals of the
American Pulpit, examined one of his outlines
and said : "It is written with marked ability, and
would be highly creditable to any of our most
highly educated ministers, indicating a high de
gree of intellectual culture." One who knew him

42 METHODIST HEROES
well declared that "not infrequently his preaching
was attended with an unction that affected his
own heart, causing the tears to trickle down his
cheeks, and being communicated to his hearers,
a large part of his audience would be melted down
with him into tenderness, humility, and love."
The present generation of Methodists cannot be
gin to know how much we owe to this old soldier.
He gave to the Methodism of New York a great
impetus at a critical period. It is due to him
largely that Methodism became so strong in
Elizabethtown and its neighborhood; and though
it is now far away in time, the descendants of
his spiritual children of the third and fourth
generation should arise and call him blessed.

IX
JESSE LEE, THE NEW ENGLAND PIONEER
A young Virginian had been converted and his
soul was all on fire. Although only seventeen
years of age, he began to preach with consider
able success in the Virginia revival of 1775. It
would never have been guessed at that time that
he was to be one of the great leaders of Methodism
and chaplain of Congress.
He was drafted into the Continental Army, but
would not fight, as it was contrary to his prin
ciples to bear arms. He preached to the soldiers
when released from the guardhouse. They wished
to take up a collection for him, but he would not
permit. He was given charge of a baggage
wagon, and frequently preached to the soldiers.
In 1782 he began his lifework as a Methodist
preacher. In 1789 he began his work in New
England, and, with the exception of some time
spent as the traveling companion of Bishop As
bury, he was traveling until 1809 from one end
of New England to the other. In 1800 he came
within one vote of being elected a bishop, Bishop
Whatcoat being elected in his stead. He was
chaplain of Congress in the years 1810, 1811, 1812,
43

44 METHODIST HEROES
and 1813. The next year he served as chaplain
of the Senate.
He was a very large man, weighing nearly three
hundred pounds. He was tall, so that he did not
appear as heavy as he really was. His wit was
brilliant. In repartee he had few equals. On
one occasion it is said that he was riding along a
road when two travelers, also on horseback,
joined him. One rode on either side. They were
lawyers and entered into one argument after
another with him. He never failed to get the best
of them. Finally one of his companions turned to
him and said, "What are you anyway, a fool or
a knave?" "Neither, gentlemen," he replied. "I believe I
am just between the two."
In the early days of Methodism some preachers
in other denominations tried to hinder our
preachers. Such a one examined Mr. Lee as to
his fitness to preach. He addressed a remark to
Mr. Lee in Latin. Lee at once replied in German,
which he had acquired in North Carolina many
years before. The minister was much surprised
and put another question, this time in Greek. Mr.
Lee again replied in German. His opponent did
not understand German and mistook the reply
for Hebrew in each case, and so thought him a
learned man.
Another story is told of his success in waking

JESSE LEE 45
a sleepy congregation. Some of his people were
well asleep and others in the churchyard were
visiting and talking so loudly that he was an
noyed. Pausing for a full minute and raising his
voice so that the people in the yard could hear
him he said, "I'll thank the people in the yard
not to talk so loud ; they'll wake up the people in
the house." The situation was changed at once.
Mr. Lee was a great preacher, one of the great
est of the times. His words came fluently and
his thought was often so original that it sur
prised his congregation. Dr. Thomas E. Bond
once said that he heard him preach on the text,
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." His
beginning was somewhat eccentric : "And what is
the old fellow going to do with that old bone,
which has had the meat all picked off years ago?
I'll tell you what he is going to do with it : he is
going to crack the bone, and give you the mar
row." Then he proceeded to give a splendid, help
ful sermon.
The last time he preached was at a camp meet
ing. His text was, "Grow in grace." This was
preached August 22, 1816. By September 12 he
had passed to his reward and joined his beloved
Bishop Asbury, who had gone before him just a
few months before. He is often correctly styled
the "Apostle of Methodism in New England."

GEORGE DOUGHERTY, THE ONE-EYED
HERO
The environment of the early preacher was
always a strenuous one. He labored from morn
ing to night, and often late into the night. Add
to the unusual drawbacks of his situation that of
a physical disability, and it would seem that
human nature could not stand the strain. But
the human will is all-powerful, and will overcome
the difficulties of any situation. Think of a man
thin and slender with effeminate voice, pock
marked face as the result of an attack of the
smallpox, having only one eye, the other having
been totally destroyed by that disease, and it
would hardly seem that here was one who would
be classed among the great preachers of his time.
Yet he was a great preacher. He was a man of
marvelous memory. It is said that he could re
peat almost anything that he had ever heard, and
with this faculty so fully developed, he had an
implement for the development of a sermon un
surpassed. He was born in South Carolina, and began
46

GEORGE DOUGHERTY 47
preaching in 1798. His ministry lasted only nine
years, and the list of his appointments is not a
long one, but his influence was very great. His
entire ministry was in the State of South Caro
lina. He was not always left in peace, but had
to suffer persecution. At one time the persecu
tion was so severe that he was rescued at the
point of the sword. One of his last public acts
was to bring forward a resolution in his Confer
ence, which he attended about three months before
he died. It was in the following words : "That if
any preacher deserts his station through fear
in the time of sickness or danger, the Conference
should never employ that man again." His argu
ments and energy carried the day, and he was
satisfied. There is on record a letter from Joshua
Wells telling how he died. It is interesting to
those who like the writings of the early Methodist
fathers. Just a paragraph from the end of the letter:
"Of his fortitude, I would speak at large, but
although I saw it I can not describe it. He spake
of death and eternity with an engaging feeling,
sweet composure, and manifested an indescribable
assemblage of confidence, love, and hope. He
said, 'The goodness and love of God to me are
great and marvelous, as I go down the dreadful
declivity of death.' His understanding was un
impaired in death, and so brave was his tran-

48 METHODIST HEROES
quillity that his true greatness was probably
never seen or known until that trying period. He
died without a struggle or scarcely a sigh."
I have written the notice of this hero of other
days for the purpose of bringing to our minds
again the oft-needed lesson that men are able,
in spite of limitations and untoward environment,
to do great service for the Master and the world.

XI
WILLIAM WINANS, THE INDEFATIGABLE
A young preacher was preaching the funeral
sermon of a brother minister at Washington,
Mississippi, in the year 1821. It was a tribute to
a man only a few years his senior, but who had
exercised a great influence over his life. In fact,
it was the one of all others who had helped him
to come to the decision that he should give his
life to the ministry of the church. The preacher
of the day was William Winans, and he was
preaching the funeral sermon of Samuel Parker,
an unusual position for a young man to fill. Mr.
Winans was born in 1788 in Western Pennsyl
vania. At an early age his father died, and he
was obliged to do much toward the support of the
family, and he worked in iron foundries of the
section. When about sixteen years of age he was con
verted and joined the church. When twenty he
began to preach, and his first appointment was
on the famous Limestone Circuit, of which men
tion has been made in other articles of this series.
He was with James King as colleague. He labored
49

50 METHODIST HEROES
only a year in Kentucky, but it is said that "it
left a lasting impression on the church." In 1809
he went to Vincennes. He found there a society
of forty-three members, which had been formed
by the famous Jesse Walker, and in the year in
creased it to one hundred and twenty-five. While
serving as pastor of this church he made the ac
quaintance of General William Henry Harrison,
then governor of Indian Territory. He was with
General Harrison when the treaty of peace was
made with Tecumseh, the famous Indian chief,
and it was the coolness of his bearing that helped
to bring about the final result.
In 1810 a call for volunteers was made for the
work in Mississippi, and he responded. The
journey was made on horseback, in the midst of
winter, through a trackless wilderness. He was
then sent on to New Orleans, where he remained
about a year. In 1815 he married and felt obliged
to locate, and in the meantime taught school. In
1820 he reentered the Conference and served three
terms as presiding elder, and part of the time
was pastor. Then he became an agent for the
Methodist Church in New Orleans, having asso
ciated with him the notorious John N. Maffitt.
After this he served as presiding elder for several
years. A friend said of him : "Often have I seen
him on his tours of circuit duties scarcely able to
sit in the saddle, drawing himself up in the pulpit,

WILLIAM WINANS 51
preaching for two hours with surpassing power
and unction, and then falling down faint and ex
hausted, his handkerchief stained with blood;
and for days thereafter motionless, hovering, as
it were, between life and death. Thirty years ago,
and at intervals since, he was thought to be in a
rapid decline. He was afflicted with hemorrhages,
bronchitis, derangement of the vital organs, and
general debility; and physicians prohibited the
excitement of the pulpit. But he would preach;
he 'felt called of God to preach.' "
He was a member of the General Conference of
1844, and was declared by Abel Stevens to be
next to Peter Cartwright — the most unique man
of the assembly.

XII
ALFRED BRUNSON, THE SOLDIER
PREACHER
Born a Connecticut Yankee, living for a time
in Yonkers, New York, then emigrating to Ohio
when it was a new country, Alfred Brunson
entered the ministry after serving as a soldier in
the War of 1812. He was one of the pioneers of
Methodism in Detroit, some parts of Illinois, Wis
consin, and farther West. He was the founder
of our mission to the Chippewas, served as Indian
agent at Lapointe, Wisconsin, and practiced law
for ten years while struggling with ill health.
He served as member of the State Assembly for
two years. He was presiding elder for many
years and a member of three General Conferences
of the church. He was especially strong in de
bate with the Campbellites. He had a sermon
three hours long which he delivered to the people
far and near. In those days the Campbellites were
great proselyters, and this sermon completely
answered them.
Among the Indians he was known as "White
Rabbit." He asked them why, and received this
52

ALFRED BRUNSON 53
tribute to his character: "Your head is white,
and your appearance as innocent and harmless as
a rabbit." He served one year as chaplain of the Thirty-
first Regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteers dur
ing the Civil War, but as the life was too hard
for him, he was compelled to resign. His auto
biography is very readable and abounds with in
formation and anecdote.
He records, among others, this amusing and in
teresting story of the War of 1812 : "When asked
how I could pray for my enemies, and then shoot
them, I related the anecdote of the deacon in Con
necticut, in 1813, when the British were marching
up to burn the shipping at Middletown. The
militia was called out en masse, the deacon among
the rest, to defend their property and their homes.
He cleaned up his old musket and marched with
others to the field. They were drawn up in line
behind a stone fence, or wall, and when the enemy
came within range, and the word was given to
fire, he leveled his gun and took deliberate aim,
and prayed, 'God have mercy on your souls, while
I kill your bodies !' and fired upon those who were
aiming to kill him. The result was the enemy
were defeated, and returned to their shipping
without doing the intended damage."
At camp meetings he was usually on guard to
keep order. We can get some idea of how efficient

54 METHODIST HEROES
he was by an account he gives : " 'And now I'll
just tell you the upshot of the affair. I have a
strong guard, besides a numerous patrol, who are
watching you, and will be at your heels; and if
you contrive or do mischief, or disturb us in our
worship, they will give me your names, and I
shall have you fined, and your names will be pub
lished in the newspapers.' The preacher for the
evening then took the stand, and a more atten
tive audience I never saw. After the sermon, the
prayer meetings were in operation, and I was on
the alert to keep and preserve order. But I could
but be a little amused at the course things took.
Numerous groups of men were seen standing and
talking in different parts of the ground, but or
derly and harmless, and, of course, not the objects
of my pursuit. As they usually stood in a circle,
the eyes of some one would be in the direction of
my approach, and, seeing me coming, they would
separate, as if fearful of capture."
He was sometimes a little odd. He once an
nounced to a small congregation that on his re
turn he would preach on the words of the devil
(in Job). He did so, and then announced that he
would preach the devil's funeral sermon when he
came that way again. His text was Rev. 20.
1, 2, 3, 10. "A backslider went to a cabinet
maker to induce him to make a coffin and carry
it to the meetinghouse. 'I will make it,' said he,

ALFRED BRUNSON 55
'if you will carry it to the house. If you don't
carry it, you shall pay me for making it.' But
this he declined, and the scheme fell through ; but
the word went out through the community that
he had spoken for a coffin, and he was frequently
jeered on account of it." After this the people
came to church better.
He had many narrow escapes, but none more
thrilling than his escape from some wolves. This
is too long a story to quote, and we refer the
reader to his autobiography (Vol. II, pp. 52-54).
We can do no better than to close with the con
cluding words of his biography: "In purity of
motive and entire consecration to God and his
cause, I could hardly hope for any improvement,
for in these I have given all I have, and am to
him for life or death, for time and eternity."

XIII
SHADRACH BOSTWICK, M.D., "PROFESSOR
IN BRUSH COLLEGE"
If you will look in the Minutes of the Confer
ence for 1805, you will find in answer to the ques
tion, "Who are located at their own request?"
the name of Shadrach Bostwick. This was the
close of a faithful service of fourteen years in the
pastorate, and four years of that time in service
as presiding elder. He traveled in Maryland, New
York, New England, and Ohio. Why did he ask
to be located? He simply did so because he had
married, and in those days there was not sufficient
provision made for a married man in our min
istry. He had received a medical education, and now
began practice in the State of Ohio, and after a
short time removed to Canfield, where he spent
his days in practice, and from which he fre
quently sallied forth to preach, for he had his
regular round of appointments. When he began
his practice he had to go on horseback to Pitts
burgh for his medicines, a distance of ninety
miles. 66

SHADRACH BOSTWICK 57
It is said that "his house was ever open to the
itinerant, and his purse ever open liberally for his
support." "He would always meet the preachers
at their week-day appointments, when in his
neighborhood, unless prevented by sickness or
professional calls, and was very punctual in his
attendance at the quarterly meetings, of which
for many years he was the mentor of the circuit."
He was a great expository preacher, and the
people delighted to listen to him. He always
preached at camp meeting, and at every quarterly
meeting. He was a great friend of the young
preachers, and did much to help them to become
effective workers. One who knew him said, "His
lectures by his fireside, his illustrative anecdotes,
and analysis of knotty Scripture questions were
equal to the lectures of modern theological
schools." It was an age of controversy, and Dr. Bostwick
was a gifted debater, quick at repartee, and logi
cal in analysis and conclusion. On one occasion
a certain doctor of divinity, in argument with
him, was getting the worst of the argument and
replied in Latin. Dr. Bostwick knew Latin too,
and some Hebrew, and gave the doctor a few
words in that language, and also quoted some
German and French, which languages he could
speak from having mingled with those who spoke
them. The learned doctor of divinity, when asked

58 METHODIST HEROES
about it, exclaimed: "Think? I don't know what
to think ! I always supposed that these Methodist
preachers were ignorant men, not even under
standing the English language. But this man
knows it all, and is even ahead of me, for he has
the Hebrew, German, and French at his tongue's
end, as well as the Greek and Latin. He is cer
tainly a good speaker and an able divine, and he
preached too without notes, and with as much
precision as if it had all been written out before
him. I never saw such a man !"
This genial, big-hearted, whole-souled man did
much to increase the effectiveness of our min
istry, and should not be forgotten.

XIV
ZENAS CALDWELL— 1800-1826
This brilliant young man was not one of the
pioneers in the sense that most of the other men
named in this series were, yet he was a pioneer
in the true sense of the term.
He was the first young man in Methodism to go
to college with the definite idea of preparing to
preach. There were a few men in Methodism who
were college graduates, but they were converted
after they left college.
He was born at Ipswich, Massachusetts, but
removed to Maine when a mere lad. He was a
precocious child, possessed with a marvelous
memory. When he had learned to read, it was
his delight to read the Bible and commit it to
memory. The serious illness of his mother led to
his conversion. His biographer tells the story:
"He came into the room, and the nurse said,
'Zenas, you had better go out, as the doctor said
the room must be kept strll.' His mother an
swered, 'Let him stay ; and if he has anything to
say, let him say it.' He hastened to her bedside,
and, with the deepest emotions, said, 'Mother,
59

60 METHODIST HEROES
can you forgive me? I have been a disobedient
child.' His mother replied, 'Yes; I can forgive
you wherein you have done wrong, for God has
forgiven me, though I have erred much.' I pre
sume no one thought he was a disobedient child.
He continued, with overflowing tears, 'How can I
have you taken away before I have religion? I
shall be left like a sheep without a shepherd. Do
beg of father to keep me out of bad company.'
His mother exhorted him to seek his salvation;
and he then decided that he would seek for it at
the loss of all things."
Soon after a serious illness he received his call
to preach. His first thought was preparation.
The Hon. E. L. Hamline became the teacher of
the school in the district in which the Caldwells
lived. He was a graduate of Brown University
and helped young Zenas very much. Young
Caldwell taught school for several winters, and
thus acquired the necessary funds for his college
course. In 1821 he entered Bowdoin College as a sopho
more. Here he exerted a marvelous influence over
all of the young men. Caldwell lived to be only
twenty-six, but in many ways he reminds us of
Henry Drummond, who died at forty. One of his
classmates was Franklin Pierce, afterward Presi
dent of the United States. They were chums, and
our hero exerted an influence for good over him.

ZENAS CALDWELL 61
Another friend was a Nathaniel Hawthorne, who
was in the class just below him.
After he graduated from college he took charge
of Hallowell Academy, in 1824. The following
year he became the first president and founder
of the Maine Wesleyan Seminary. Here he
labored hard and accomplished wonders. Never
strong, his health gave way, and at twenty-six
he completed his eventful life.
His mind was a strong one, as evinced by the
essays and poems appended to his biography.
His brother, Merritt Caldwell, became noted as
an educator.

XV
ROBERT BOYD, AN OHIO METHODIST
PIONEER
Our hero was born of Presbyterian parentage
in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He was
early apprenticed to an Irishman to learn how to
make spinning wheels. It seems strange how such
an industry flourished and is now forgotten. The
Irishman was drunk so much of the time that
after a while Robert was sent away to continue
his learning of the trade with the Rev. Chaddis
Chalfant. This good man was a splendid work
man and a Methodist local preacher. Robert's
mother was afraid to have him go for fear he
would become a Methodist. The home of his new
employer was one of the Methodist preaching
places on the circuit. A few days after his arrival
the Rev. Thornton Fleming preached there. He
was the first Methodist that Robert Boyd had
heard. After a struggle of some weeks he was
converted. He wrote to his mother about it.
She was not glad, as you might suppose, but
walked the floor all night long in her anguish.
In the morning she called on her Presbyterian
62

ROBERT BOYD 63
pastor, for she thought her boy ruined because
he had become a Methodist. The pastor told
her that she ought to rejoice instead of weep.
Not long after his conversion he was asked to
become a class leader, and consented on condition
that he was "not to speak to anyone who took the
bottle, either to take the dram, or even to pass
it to another." It was the custom in that place
to pass the bottle of rum around at all gatherings.
He became the class leader of this class.
He was drafted for the War of 1812, but his
master secured a substitute. He engaged in
Christian work more and more. In 1815 he
joined the Baltimore Conference, which at the
time included all the territory northwest to
Pittsburgh. He had eighty dollars salary per
year, if it were paid. Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was
on his circuit, and here he had a good revival. He
was transferred to the Pittsburgh Conference at
its first session in 1825, in which Conference he
always continued, and thenceforth labored mostly
in Ohio.
We little realize the hardships of our Methodist
forefathers. Mr. Boyd, in his autobiography,
gives us a few glimpses. The circuits did not
usually own parsonages, but even if they did,
they were poor buildings. After he had secured
a parsonage he had to move. This is the way he
did it on one occasion : "I found a chance to for-

64 METHODIST HEROES
ward a small wagonload of my movables at hall
price, as the wagon was going empty through Nor
wich to Zanesville for loading there." He moved
thirty-five times during his ministry. He humor
ously says, "And perhaps out of a certain kind
of respect, I have been occasionally honored with
an unaccountably long move." Sometimes the
beds were filthy and the food unwholesome in the
homes where he was entertained.
His experience in traveling was interesting.
Sometimes he was nearly mired : "The usual pass
over a small stream had become so deep and diffi
cult that I dreaded another effort at that place,
so I ventured another. The horse, large and
strong, was soon nearly covered with mire. I
was quickly off, and sunk nearly as deep as the
horse. My first effort was to get out myself,
which was attended with some difficulty. I then
got a stick, and drew my saddlebags through the
mire, and got them in my hand ; but the horse was
still sinking deeper, till his hinder part was
nearly covered. For a short time I had fears that
he had found his grave. However, with the aid
of my stick, and getting pretty deep in the mire,
I got hold of the bridle reins, and, raising my
voice, the horse made a desperate effort with all
his great strength, and barely succeeded in ex
tricating himself."
Again, the storms interfered. "I recollect the

ROBERT BOYD 65
first year I traveled that, under peculiar circum
stances, I came very near freezing to death. In
the first place, the cold was almost extreme, and
the wind blew very strong. A snow had fallen
more than two feet deep, and, during soft days,
had melted and sunk to about one foot, and then
froze into a crust. My way was only a path along
a spur of the mountain, eight miles without a
house, and no track since the snow fell. I was
four hours on the way, and the horse's legs were
bleeding, and the horse covered with frozen sweat.
Long before I reached the cabin where I was to
preach I had suffered all I could suffer, and had
gone into a dull, sleepy condition, and could move
neither eyelid nor mouth. When I got to the
inclosure in which the cabin stood I was so blind
that I could not distinguish the bars from other
parts of the fence. Some one opened the bars, I
rode to the door, got off, but could not feel when
my feet touched the ground. I went into the
dark cabin, where was a large fire. Perhaps I
got too near, and soon fainted, then vomited, and
became very sick, so that I could do nothing for
them that day. For some time I was unable to
speak a word. One reason why I strove so hard
to get over that road was that, if I failed there,
much of the other work could not be reached. I
missed no other preaching but that day, though
I was much out of order for three weeks,"

XVI
RICHMOND NOLLEY, MISSIONARY

->

When one reads the early Minutes, notes the
names, and reads the brief obituaries, he will be
impressed by the fact that in many cases the
service was brief and the life short. That is one
of the indications of their heroism.
Richmond Nolley is of this number. At thirty
years old his work was done and he entered into
his reward. He was a Virginian by birth, but
when he was a boy his people moved to Georgia.
Lovick Pierce was a great preacher. At a certain
camp meeting near Sparta, Georgia, he went into
the outskirts and preached to the scattered people
there. As a result at least one hundred were con
verted, and among them was Richmond Nolley.
In 1807, when only twenty-two years of age, he
entered the ministry and began his preaching in
Wilmington, North Carolina. In 1812, with three
others, he was sent as a missionary to Mississippi
and Louisiana, and the rest of his ministry was
spent in this region. Sometimes he suffered per
secution, sometimes great dangers, at other times
privation. At one time the settlers were much
66

RICHMOND NOLLEY 67
afraid of an Indian outbreak and gathered in
their forts. Mr. Nolley marched unafraid from
fort to fort and preached to the inmates. Good
results followed. He visited all parts of his ex
tensive parishes. It is said that on one occasion
he followed a wagon track and found a settler
about to camp. He was asked if he was a Meth
odist minister, and when the settler learned the
fact he said: "I quit Virginia to get out of the
way of them, and went to a new settlement in
Georgia, where I thought that I should be quite
beyond their reach, but they got my wife and
daughter into the church. Then in the late pur
chase^ — Choctaw Corner — I found a piece of good
land, and was sure that I would have some peace
of the preachers; but here is one of them before
my wagon is unloaded."
Mr. Nolley replied: "My friend, if you get to
heaven, you'll find Methodist preachers there;
and if to hell, I'm afraid you'll find some there;
and you see how it is in this world, so you had
better make terms with us and be at peace."
Mr. Nolley attended his Conference in 1815
and started back to his field of labor in company
with his presiding elder. They had to pass
through a vast swamp. At the end of it was
Hemphill Creek. It was a dangerous stream to
cross at that season of the year. On November 24
he came to an Indian village and secured a guide.

68 METHODIST HEROES
When they reached the stream it seemed to be
almost impassable. He felt, however, that he
must go on. He left his belongings upon the bank
and tried to ride across. The current was swift
and carried horse and rider down the stream.
The banks were steep and afforded no opportunity
of escape. Horse and rider were separated, the
horse escaping on the side on which they entered,
the man escaping from the stream on the other
side. He called to the Indian to keep the horse
until morning, and started for the nearest house,
which was some two miles away. He was able
to go about three quarters of a mile when he sank
to the ground. Chilled and exhausted, he fell
and rose no more. The next day a traveler found
his body, lying at full length on the ground. His
knees were muddy, showing that he had spent
almost his last moment in prayer. So closed a
life of service.
Long years after a minister who had labored in
the same field wrote of him : "It does not appear
that he was distinguished either for talents or
acquirements — his grand distinction lay in his
unquenchable love to Christ, rendering his life
a voluntary, unbroken scene of toil and hardship
and peril to save the souls for whom his Saviour
died. His death was in keeping with his life, and
was worthy to be its seal and crown."

XVII
SAMUEL TUCKER, MARTYR TO DUTY
In the Minutes of the Annual Conference for
the year 1790 the first question asked is, "Who
are admitted on trial?" Then follow the names
of men filling two columes of fine print. The
sixth name on the list is Samuel Tucker. In the
appointments, come down to the third district
(Francis Poythres, elder), and go down the list
and you will find the place Limestone, and op
posite it the names Samuel Tucker, Joseph Lil-
lard. In the next year's Minutes we find the
name, Joseph Lillard, but not that of Samuel
Tucker. What had become of him? We would
never have known if it had not been for the fact
that James B. Finley wrote his autobiography
and in it tells the reason why. He was evidently
proceeding to his appointment in company with
a band of settlers. We will allow Mr. Finley to
tell the tragic story :
"The Indians attacked three boats, two of
which were taken, and all the passengers de
stroyed. The other barely escaped, having lost
all the men on board except the Rev. Mr. Tucker,
69

70 METHODIST HEROES
a Methodist missionary, who was sent by the
bishop to Kentucky. Mr. Tucker was wounded in
several places, but he fought manfully. The In
dians got into a canoe and paddled for the boat,
determined to board it; but the women loaded
the rifles of their husbands, and handed them to
Mr. Tucker, who took such deadly aim, every shot
making the number in the canoe less, that they
abandoned all hope of reaching the boat and re
turned to the shore.
"After the conflict, this noble man fell from
sheer exhaustion, and the women were obliged to
take the oars and manage the boat as best they
could. They were enabled to effect a landing at
Limestone, now Maysville ; and, a few days after,
their protector died of his wounds, and they
followed him, weeping, to his grave. Peace to his
dust, till it shall be bidden to rise! Though no
stone marks the spot where this hero-missionary
lies, away from his home and kindred, among
strangers in a strange land, his dust is sacred till
the resurrection morn, when it shall come forth
reanimate to inherit immortality.
"The Indians, jealous of the white man, and
fearful of losing their immense and profitable
hunting grounds from the great tide of emigration
which was constantly pouring in upon them, were
wrought up to the highest pitch of fury and de
termined to guard, as far as possible, both passes

SAMUEL TUCKER 71
to it, namely, the Ohio River and the Old Crab
Orchard Road, or Boone's old trace, leading from
the southern portion of Kentucky to North Caro
lina, They attacked all the boats they had any
probability of being able to take, using all the
strategy of which they were masters to decoy
them to the shore. Many boats were taken and
many lives were lost through the deceit and
treachery of the Indians and white spies em
ployed by them."
A few months later Mr. Finley and his family
passed over this course on the river and heard
the story, and the Indians tried to decoy them to
the shore to kill them.
Samuel Tucker was a probationer in the Con
ference, and so no mention of his death was made
in the Minutes.

XVIII
GEORGE HARMON, TRAVELING COMPAN
ION OF BISHOP McKENDREE
It was said of George Harmon that he knew
the territory of Methodism in western New York
better than any other minister of our church in
his time. He traveled it as pioneer circuit rider,
superintended it as presiding elder, and shep
herded many a flock within its bounds as a
pastor. As stated in a previous chapter, the early days
were a time of controversy. In some places the
Baptists were our chief rivals in entering a new
field of work. Many debates were held. Our
ministers were usually prepared, and so were not
often defeated. Mr. Harmon had a revival in a
little community. As he was about to leave the
report came to him that a Baptist elder was wait
ing for his departure so that he might enter the
field and capture the converts for his church. Mr.
Harmon sent a local preacher to fill his own
engagements and stayed longer in the neighbor
hood, continuing the revival services and receiv
ing several more converts. This firmly established
Methodism in the place. 72

GEORGE HARMON 73
On another occasion Mr. Harmon was chal
lenged by a Baptist minister to debate. Of course
the challenge was accepted. The Baptist did not
come, but sent a friend in his stead. The method
of procedure was left to Mr. Harmon. He chose
to preach, taking for his text, "I also will show
mine opinion." In this sermon he laid down the
proposition usually in controversy between the
Methodists and Baptists. In his reply his oppo
nent passed rather lightly over the points until
he came to the subject of baptism. On this he
made his chief argument. He made the proposi
tion that no one "was authorized to baptize who
had not been baptized himself." Mr. Harmon
asked if he might ask a question.
"Certainly," was the reply.
"Who baptized the apostles?"
"John the Baptist," was the answer.
"And who baptized John the Baptist?"
No answer was given, and the Baptist brother
left, "highly excited." Mr. Harmon was very
successful in that place, forming a society of one
hundred members. He was the father of Meth
odism in Ithaca, New York.
In his work he encountered many perils. He
has left a brief account of some of them. We
give one which occurred in the year 1812 : "I held
a quarterly meeting in the north part of the
district [Susquehanna], my next being on the

74 METHODIST HEROES
south part. I had to pass through the sixty
miles of wilderness. I took what was called the
Lycoming route. It was in the winter, the snow
being two and three feet deep. I lodged all night
at Spaulding's tavern, near the head of the To-
wanda. I started early the next morning, and
rode some eight miles to Brother Soper's, on the
Lycoming, and took breakfast. I then set out for
Williamsport. When I came to what was con
sidered the most dangerous crossing place on the
route I found the river frozen over about one
third of the way on each side. The snow, as
above stated, was from two to three feet deep,
and no one had passed to open the road. I
paused but for a moment. I could not go back
to Brother Soper's, some ten or fifteen miles, the
last house I had passed ; the sun had gone down.
If I could cross there was a log tavern within
about a mile. I knew the greatest danger would
be in getting on the ice on the other side, for
should the ice break I and my horse would both
go under. I must venture it. I saw no other
course. I was on a very spirited and powerful
horse. I urged him forward, and when his feet
touched the bottom his head went under water.
As he arose on his hind feet I put both spurs into
his flanks and he at once bounded off into the
river. The water was so deep that it ran over
the tops of my boots as I sat upon his back. I

GEORGE HARMON 75
got through without further difficulty. When I
reached the tavern my first care was to have my
horse attended to. But when I attempted to take
off my boots they were frozen to my stockings. I
bought half a pint of rum and bathed myself
with it. I slept comfortably and took no cold.
But my poor horse! The fatigue of worrying
through the snow, and so often fording the river,
so affected his limbs that I had to part with him
at great sacrifice."
Here is another of his adventures in the year
1813: "When I reached the last house in the settle
ment it was one o'clock. I took some refresh
ment and fed my horse. The family told me it
was doubtful whether I could get through, it
being early in the spring, and there being nothing
to guide me but marked trees. Not even a foot
man had been through since last autumn, and it
was probable that the path would be blocked up
by fallen trees. Being on an excellent horse, I
ventured on, but had not gone far before my diffi
culties commenced. Trees were blown down, and
the path, at best a blind one, was blocked up. In
some places I had to ride ten or fifteen rods
around to get through, and then work my way to
find my path again. At length it began to be
dark, and in a short time I could not see the path
or the marked trees. My horse seemed bewildered.

76 METHODIST HEROES
In the midst of my perplexity I thought I heard
the sound of an ax. I started for it as straight
as possible, and soon saw a light and a man
chopping. He had taken up a lot in the wilder
ness, there being no house within six or eight
miles. He had built a large fire and was chop
ping by its light. As soon as I thought I was near
enough to make him hear me I hailed him. He
was astonished to hear a human voice at that
distance in the wilderness, and told me to stop
immediately, as I must be on the brink of a
precipice. There was a gulf between us, and he
would try to get to me with a torch light. Of
course I came to a full stop. When he reached
the place I was astonished to find that not more
than a rod before me was a yawning gulf, and a
steep pitch of some fifteen or twenty feet down.
The cold chills ran through me. The good woods
man hunted around and found the path." He
had to go some fifteen miles further before he
finally found shelter.
In 1814 Mr. Harmon traveled for some time
with Bishop McKendree. He was a member of
several General Conferences, and for many years
a presiding elder. The last years of his long life
were spent as a superannuate.

XIX
JOHN CLARK, INDIAN MISSIONARY
The large family of former days is now the ex
ception, but it was not so two or three generations
ago. John Clark was one of twelve children,
eleven of whom grew up. His parents were Cal
vinistic Baptists. He was born in 1797, at Hart
ford, New York. When he was eight years old
his father lost his eyesight and his farm at about
the same time. After that time the son was
little at home. His advantages were very limited.
When eighteen years old he became an apprentice
in the tanning business, serving for nearly three
years. "Previous to his leaving Mr. Rawson he
had been converted, and though his employer was
an unconverted man, and was called an infidel,
yet he became convinced that his apprentice must
become a preacher. Not a word had John uttered
on this subject, even to his Christian friends; yet
his irreligious master had marked his faithful
ness, his devotion, and his increasing gifts, until
the question was clear to his own mind. Of his
own accord, he introduced the subject, and pro
posed to relinquish all further claim to his serv-
77

78 METHODIST HEROES
ices, although these were then more profitable to
him than at any former time, as the apprentice
was well skilled in his craft. How strong and
clear must have been the evidence of the young
man's call to the work of the ministry, to produce
such an effect upon his employer!"
He was admitted to the New York Conference
in 1820 and sent to a little town in Massachusetts.
In the middle of the year he was taken up and
sent to Saratoga. "The compensation which the
ministers received was but a pittance, for they
seldom realized their whole claims. They labored,
but their hire was very uncertain ; and our young
itinerant found at the end of the year that his
receipts only amounted to thirty dollars! Yet,
only a few years since, when speaking of those
times, and of those small receipts, he playfully
remarked that he made quite a respectable pay
ment on his note, which he had given for a horse,
saddle, and bridle, which he had purchased on
credit before going to his circuit. It ought also
to be recorded that, besides the above sum in
cash, he received the following articles as pres
ents: one pair of woolen socks, flannel for one
wrapper, and cloth for one pair of pantaloons!"
In 1828 he was made presiding elder of the
Plattsburg District. In those days it was a re
markable proceeding to put at the head of a dis
trict a man of only eight years' experience. The

JOHN CLARK 79
first time that he took his place in the bishop's
council, to nominate ministers for the several
charges in his district, he encountered the Ajax
of the board in the person of an old presiding
elder, who had not been accustomed to defeat.
He nominated Brother C  for Plattsburg,
when the old veteran said, "You cannot have
him ; I want him myself." A few words of debate
followed, when the bishop proposed to pass Platts
burg for the present. This was done, and a man
was put down for another place. But the time
arrived when Plattsburg must be provided for,
and Mr. Clark again nominated Brother C  .
This brought the veteran to his feet, and in tones
and terms of severity he rebuked the youthful
presiding elder. He said, "I have aided and in
structed that boy; I have furnished him with
books, been a father to him, and made him all
that he is ; and this is the return for all my kind
ness." And much more in the same strain.
After the old elder had taken his seat, some
time passed in silence, when the bishop asked
Mr. Clark if he had anything to say. He then
arose, leaned over the chair, with his eyes fixed
upon the floor, and in humble accents said:
"Bishop, all that this aged father has said is true.
He has been a father to me, he has made me all
that I am; I shall never be able to repay him."
And then, standing erect, he added: "But, sir,

80 METHODIST HEROES
since you have seen fit to put me in my present
position, I am, in the matter of rights, exactly his
equal. I know my rights, and am prepared to
maintain them; and he must not expect that I
will attempt to cancel my obligations to him by
sacrificing the interests of my district." He then
gave his reasons at length for believing that the
best interests of the whole work would be sub
served by the appointment of Brother C 
to Plattsburg. He took his seat; and the bishop
said, "Put Brother C  down for Plattsburg."
For the bold and manly course taken by Mr.
Clark, he received the thanks of several of the
presiding elders, who said that it was the first
time that the old hero had been withstood and de
feated. It is proper to remark that the aged
father never respected or esteemed him less than
before, for he was a man of both good sense and
piety, and is now with God.
In 1832 he was a member of the General Con
ference at Philadelphia. Here an appeal was
made for missionaries to the Indians in Michigan.
He offered himself for the work and was accepted,
being appointed superintendent. It took him
twenty-six days to go from New York to Sault
Ste. Marie. He remained among the Indians for
nine years. While here he also worked among
the soldiers. He was called "White Eagle" by the
Indians. In 1841 he felt the call of the beyond

JOHN CLARK 81
and went to Texas. He was a delegate to the
General Conference of 1844 from Texas. Here he
took the Northern side and thus alienated and
angered his Texan friends. This made it neces
sary for him to be transferred, and the Troy Con
ference was again his home, and he was imme
diately made presiding elder. He was a pastor
of a church in Troy for a brief time, and then'
presiding elder again. All this time his heart
was in the freer life of the- West. He had, in fact,
become a Western man. So in 1852 he was trans
ferred to the Rock River Conference and ap
pointed to the Clark Street Church, then one of
the best in the city. Here he was the pastor of
Mrs. Garrett, founder of Garrett Biblical Insti
tute, and his biographer claims for him a large
share in aiding her to come to the conclusion that
she should do so noble a work.
In 1854 the cholera raged on the continent.
When it reached Chicago Mr. Clark was inde
fatigable in relieving the suffering and comforting
the dying. At last the dread disease claimed him
for its victim, and he passed away July 11, 1854.
He was a member of six General Conferences.
Sometimes he was a great preacher. When he
was a presiding elder in Vermont a certain col
lege professor preached at a camp meeting where
Mr. Clark had charge. It was a wonderful ser
mon. Every minister on the ground refused to

82 METHODIST HEROES
follow, and all united in asking Mr. Clark to
preach. This he did, equaling the great sermon
of the morning in a wonderful discourse of two
hours, holding the attention to the close.
In his work among the Indians he took long
journeys by canoe, and spent weeks away from
civilization. He won many to the Kingdom
wherever he went.

XX
WILLIAM BEAUCHAMP, ALMOST A
BISHOP
The subject of this sketch is one whose name
was known in all the churches of the early days.
He may not have passed through as many dra
matic situations as others in this series did; his
name, however, is one that should not be for
gotten by the church.
Mr. Beauchamp (pronounced Beecham) was
born in Kent County, Delaware, in 1776. When
fifteen he joined the church, and when nineteen
began to preach. His ministry was in the wilder
ness and in the city, on the frontier and in the
large cities of New York and Boston, in New
England and in Ohio. He died in Indiana in
1824. He was a man of limited advantages, but
well educated. In fact, for about six years he
taught a private school in the island of Nan
tucket. It is said that he was well read in his
tory, philosophy, and in mathematics, and fa
miliar with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
In 1815 he removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, to be
come the- editor of the Western Christian Monitor,

84 METHODIST HEROES
a monthly, one of the first papers published by
the Methodists. We have seen only two copies of
it. It was published for a year only (1816), and
then discontinued because it was published at a
loss. The late Bishop Clark had a copy before
him in 1859. Mr. Beauchamp, one of the earliest
authors of Methodism, had published "An Essay
on the Truth of the Christian Religion." It was
published in Marietta, Ohio, in 1811. In 1824 he
was elected a member of the General Conference.
There were four candidates for bishop. Bishops
Hedding and Soule were elected. Mr. Beauchamp
was third, and lacked only three votes of being
elected. John Emory was fourth. I once asked
a minister who was perfectly familiar with early
Methodist traditions why Mr. Beauchamp was
not elected, and he told me it was because he was
a literary man, and some of the friends of the
church held that it would damage the church to
have such a man a bishop.
He was the first ordained Methodist preacher
to preach on Nantucket Island, and during his
pastorate there built the first Methodist church
on the island. He was one of the founders of
Mount Carmel, Illinois, and named it and sur
veyed it himself, but did not cease to preach.
He was exceedingly versatile. He knew much
about medicine. He built a house and a mill,
made a clock, repaired watches, and was fond of

WILLIAM BEAUCHAMP 85
working at the cabinet business. He could work
in brass, iron, and wood. He was fond of music
and encouraged its use. In fact, from his youth
he was hungry for knowledge of all kinds. His
judgment was so sound that it is said cases were
taken out of court for him to settle.
He was a great preacher, his sermons leaving
a lasting impression. From what his contem
poraries said of him, he must have been an ex
pository preacher. In the days when shouting
was common at the preaching service, it is said
that the people seldom shouted under his preach
ing, but all listened intently, and often their faces
were bathed in tears. He was unassuming in
manner. He was about five feet ten inches in
height; had a light form, hair nearly auburn in
color, rather a sallow complexion, and a pleasing
face, which lighted up when his interest was
aroused. He did much good. His last position
was as presiding elder of the Indiana District,
including the whole State. He did great and
heroic work wherever he labored. Not all of his
life was given to the ministry, but all of it was
given to doing good.

XXI
PHILIP GATCH, PREACHER AND JUDGE
It is remarkable how many men other lands
and other denominations have furnished to Meth
odism. The parents of Philip Gatch were born
in Prussia and came to this country some time
before the year 1727. His mother's maiden name
was Burgin, and her family was originally from
Burgundy. They settled near Baltimore, and it
was here that Philip was born in the year 1751.
The first Methodist preacher that he ever saw
was Nathan Perigo, one of the three preachers
raised up as the result of the preaching of Robert
Strawbridge. Under Mr. Perigo's preaching
Philip was awakened, but not converted. For
some time he was under deep conviction.
Methods of conversion differ; the fact is the
same. Let him tell the story: "On the 26th day
of April I attended a prayer meeting. After re
maining some time I gave up all hopes and left
the house. I felt that I was too bad to remain
where the people were worshiping God. At length
a friend came out to me and requested me to
return to the meeting; believing him to be a good

PHILIP GATCH 87
man, I returned with him, and, under the deepest
conviction bowed myself before the Lord, and
said in my heart, 'If thou wilt give me power to
call on thy name how thankful will I be!' Imme
diately I felt the power of God to affect me, body
and soul. It went through my whole system. I
felt like crying aloud. God said, by his Spirit,
to my soul, 'My power is present to heal thy soul,
if thou wilt but believe.' I instantly submitted
to the operation of the Spirit of God, and my
poor soul was set at liberty. I felt as if I had
got into a new world. I was certainly brought
from hell's dark door, and made nigh unto God
by the blood of Jesus."
At first he was opposed by his people, but they
were converted too, and the opposition ceased.
Bishop Asbury soon set him at work as a local
preacher. In 1772 he was sent into New Jersey,
there establishing the work. As the result of his
labors fifty-two joined the church. In 1773 he
joined the Conference along with William Wat
ters, the first American native-born Methodist
minister. His next appointment was in Virginia. Here
he heard the famous Captain Webb preach. Here
too he encountered the strong opposition of the
rector of the parish. He also found opposition
of a different sort. The following is one of his
experiences: "One Sabbath morning, while on my

88 METHODIST HEROES
way to my appointment, accompanied by Fred
erick Bonner, late of Green County, then a youth
of about eighteen years, I was met by two men,
of whom I had no knowledge, of a stout and rough
appearance. They caught hold of my arms, and
turned them in opposite directions with such vio
lence that I thought my shoulders would be dis
located; and it caused the severest pain I ever
felt. The torture, I concluded, must resemble that
of the rack. My shoulders were so bruised that
they turned black, and it was a considerable time
before I recovered the use of them. My lungs
remained seriously affected, and my system was
so debilitated that my prospect for serving the
church as formerly failed. I thought that I must
of necessity retire from the work. This to me
was a gloomy reflection, and my mind became
much rejected."
In 1778 he married, and soon after, his health
becoming very poor, he was left without appoint
ment to work wherever he could. In 1777 he was
chosen one of five "to take the general superin
tendency in the place of the incumbent, who, with
his countrymen, with the exception of Mr. As
bury, returned to England." He was at the head
of the movement in regard to the administration
of the sacraments that led to separation from the
Established Church and the appointment of Mr.
Asbury as bishop. After a time Mr. Gatch re-

PHILIP GATCH 89
moved to the State of Ohio, settling near New
town, in the forks of the Little Miami River. He
preached frequently.
In 1808, or just before, he was appointed asso
ciate judge of Clermont County, and served three
terms of seven years each, and then retired volun
tarily. He was a member of the Constitutional
Convention of Ohio. He was much esteemed for
his sound judgment. During court he usually
preached once or twice. At the Conference of
1796 he introduced two laws which remain as law
for us to-day. First, the law that members of a
church should be tried by the society to which
they belonged. Previously ministers might try
the members where they pleased. Second, the
ordination of local preachers as local deacons.
Dr. Coke was opposed to both measures, but they
were passed by the Conference.
He is thus described by a contemporary who
knew him in his prime: "He was tall and well
proportioned; his hair was black, and he wore
it long, extending over the cape of his coat. His
dress was neat, with a straight-breasted coat, and
in every respect as became a Methodist preacher
of that day. He had a most impressive coun
tenance. It showed no ordinary intellectual de
velopment, united with sweetness of disposition,
unconquerable firmness, and uncommon devo
tion."

XXII
VALENTINE COOK, ORATOR
One would hardly imagine that Captain Cook,
the navigator, had any relation to Methodism,
even remotely. The father of Valentine Cook
was second cousin to that famous man. The
family came to this country before the War of the
Revolution. For a time he was one of the stu
dents of Cokesbury College. In 1787 he began
to preach. In 1800 he took charge of Bethel
Seminary, in Kentucky, the second educational
institution established by the Methodists in
America. After a few years' work here he
became principal of an academy at Harrods-
burg, Kentucky. In 1819 he made a preaching
trip to the East, visiting places where his early
ministry had been. He made a deep impression
wherever he went.
He was a man subject to great temptations,
as will be seen from the following account given
by him to one of his friends: "The day I left
Uniontown and commenced the ascent of the
Allegheny Mountains, the devil came to me and
said : 'You are one of the most learned men of the
Methodist Church ; your fame has already reached
90

VALENTINE COOK 91
the Eastern cities. If you will change your man
ner in the pulpit a little, make your discourses
more erudite, your style more florid, your manner
less earnest and boisterous, you will be admired
by the learned; the papers will be filled with
your praise. New York, Philadelphia, and Balti
more will throng the churches where you preach.'
'Ah, Satan, is that you?' said the venerable
man, as he reined up his horse to a standstill.
'I will not go one step farther unless you leave.'
Leaving the road a few hundred yards, I found
the bottom of a deep ravine, where I thought my
self safe from observation. I dismounted, tied
my horse, fell on my knees, head to the ground;
the snow was about six inches deep. I had been
there but a few minutes when the devil again
accosted me, and said : 'You look for all the world
like a bear (his dress was a black overcoat with
long cape) ; some hunter will soon see you and
will shoot you.' I sprang up and looked in every
direction for the hunter, but saw no one. 'Ah,
Satan, that's you again. Let them shoot; I will
not leave till you have.' " Here he wrestled for
a long time; here he got the victory. Satan was
bruised beneath his feet; angels came and min
istered to him. He went on his way rejoicing, re
solved to "preach the preaching" which his
Master bade him, without any reference to self-
aggrandizement.

92 METHODIST HEROES
His memory was wonderful. It was said of
him that "so thoroughly posted was he in the
teaching of the inspired penmen, that no passage
could be called for that he was not able to repeat,
or to which he could not turn in a few minutes."
Yet he was an absent-minded man. "On one occa
sion he started for an appointment some six or
eight miles from his residence. When but a short
distance from the chapel at which he was to
preach, he turned aside into the barrens, as was
his custom, for the purpose of spending a while
in private devotion. On remounting his horse
and returning to the road, he unwittingly took
the wrong end, and was jogging along toward
home, humming a favorite tune, when met by
some of his friends who were going to hear him
preach. "Well, brethren," said the old gentleman,
very pleasantly, "are you not going the wrong
way?" They thought not. "We are going to
Bibb's Chapel to hear you preach, and this is cer
tainly the right road." He appeared much aston
ished, but, yielding the point, he turned about and
accompanied them to the church, being much
more inclined to laugh at the blunder than any
of the company.
He was a man of great faith, and by many of
his time he was thought to have the gift of
healing. Mr. Cook was remarkably fond of music, in-

VALENTINE COOK 93
strumental as well as vocal. He was a good
singer himself, and wherever he went encouraged
the young people especially to learn to sing, never
forgetting the apostolic injunction, "with the
spirit and with the understanding also."
His wonderful ability as a preacher can hardly
be estimated at this distance in time. His appear
ance as described by a contemporary is interest
ing: "Valentine Cook was slightly above the
medium height and size. There was no symmetry
in his figure; his limbs, being disproportionately
long, seemed more like awkward appendages than
well-fitted parts of a perfect whole. He was what
is called 'stoop-shouldered' to such a degree that
his long neck projected from between his shoul
ders almost at a right angle with the perpen
dicular of his chest. His head, which was of a
peculiar formation, being much longer than usual
from the crown to the point of the chin, seemed
rather suspended to than supported by the neck.
A remarkably low forehead, small, deeply sunken,
hazel eyes, a prominent Roman nose, large
mouth, thin lips, a dark, sallow complexion,
coarse black hair, with here and there a thread of
gray, formed a 'tout ensemble' in which nature
seemed to have paid no regard to order, strength,
or beauty. His singularly eccentric appearance,
his homely apparel, and humble attitude, as he
slowly approached the house, are imprinted upon

94 METHODIST HEROES
my mind as vividly now as when for the flrst
time I looked upon him as I sat in my little
portico." His prayer life was preeminent. He prayed in
secret three times a day and always for some time
before preaching, giving much time to it.
He was so much thought of that, after his death,
a memorial sermon was preached at the next
session of the Kentucky Annual Conference, some
thing rarely done.
Like all other early Methodists, he was a con
troversialist. His argument on baptism is all
that remains of his work. This shows the marks
of scholarship.

XXIII
HOPE HULL, EDUCATOR
In Worcester County, Maryland, March 13,
1763, Hope Hull was born. In those days it was
the custom to give children names that meant
something. In one home a child was called
"Praise God" because the parents considered him
a gift from God. "Patience" was a common name
for girls. So probably the parents of Hope Hull
gave him the name to signify some vital relation
to their life. The name "Hope" was a name given
to girls as well as boys.
It is supposed that he was converted in Balti
more. He joined the Conference in 1785, and was
appointed to Salisbury, North Carolina, and sub
sequently to circuits in South Carolina and
Georgia. In Georgia he formed the first Meth
odist societies ever formed in the State. Beverly
Allen, founder of the African Methodist Epis
copal Church, had preached there three years be
fore, but, it is thought, formed no societies. In
1794 he was traveling companion of Bishop As
bury. He was a strong opponent of slavery, and
was often in danger from mobs.
In 1794 he located, and within two years mar
ried a daughter of John Wingfleld, one of the
95

96 METHODIST HEROES
most respectable families in Georgia. In 1802
he removed to Athens, Georgia. He was ap
pointed one of the trustees of the new State Uni
versity located there. His own advantages had
been poor, but he was something of a Latin
scholar and a good English scholar. So he taught
and preached after locating.
He was desirous that his children should have
the advantages of which he had been deprived.
He remained a trustee of the university to the
end of his life. The income of the institution was
derived largely from the rent of lands. The work
of renting and collecting the rents was largely in
his hands. At one time he was acting president.
Wherever he was placed he did his best. It is
said of him that "his whole life was emphatically
spent in doing good."
One of his most intimate friends was that great
old Southern war-horse, Lovick Pierce. He
credited Mr. Hull with being one of the great
preachers of the time. He said that "in some of
his finest moods of thought, he seemed to look his
words into you. He was one of nature's orators,
who never spoiled his speaking by scholastic re
straints. He wisely cultivated his mind and
taste, that he might rightly conceive and speak;
but he left all external oratory to find its inspira
tion in its subject, and to warm itself into life
in the glow of his mind. Hence, in many of his

HOPE HULL 97
masterly efforts, his words rushed upon his au
dience like an avalanche, and multitudes seemed
to be carried before him like the yielding captives
of a stormed castle."
He was a man of great power in prayer, of
great discernment, and sound common sense. By
some it was thought that he was a prophet, for
sometimes his preaching was so direct that he
seemed to be revealing secrets to the assembled
people, and many a conscience-stricken one yielded
to the demands of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Pierce
tells the story that on a certain occasion, after
preaching, he was leading a class. "Having gone
through the names on the class paper, he ap
proached an elderly man sitting afar off and in
quired after his soul's welfare. The old gentle
man, after taking a sufficient time to digest his
answer, squared himself around and said: 'I
am like old Paul: when I would do good, evil is
present with me.' To which Mr. Hull replied : 'I
am afraid that you are like old Noah, too — get
drunk sometimes.' It was a center shot, for the
poor old man was a drunkard.
"Many such cutting remarks, made in utter
ignorance of the persons to whom they were ad
dressed, went to prove that he possessed a power
of discerning spirits above most other men."
Undoubtedly this gift was often exercised by
other early Methodist preachers.

XXIV
JOHN GADDIS, THE HEROIC CONVERT
At this distance in time, and with the change
of relations between the denominations, it is hard
to realize how great was the persecution of many
of the early Methodists who came out from other
denominations. I have just been reading the fascinating auto
biography of Maxwell P. Gaddis, entitled The
Footprints of an Itinerant. In that he tells of
the struggle which his mother and brother had.
The family belonged to the Scotch seceders. Out
of curiosity they all attended a Methodist camp
meeting. John, one of the sons, was converted.
The father found it out, and in a great rage
"started his son homeward at the point of his
cane." On the way, however, he calmed down and
concluded to say or do nothing hastily.
When the good mother was told she wept bit
terly and told John that she would have preferred
to have him laid in his grave than to have him
thus bring lasting disgrace to the family. She
spent a large part of the evening in abusing the
Methodists and making sport of the idea of con
version. He calmly reiterated, whenever oppor-
98

JOHN GADDIS 99
tunity offered, the fact "that God had awakened
and converted his soul."
Monday morning his mother forbade his attend
ing Methodist meetings or having anything to do
with the Methodist young people. It was a
severe testing time and drove him to God. In
stead of giving up his experience, his faith became
stronger, for he prayed much.
A prayer meeting was appointed at the house
of a near neighbor. John went to his father and
asked permission to attend. He finally consented,
on condition that the mother would consent also.
His mother refused his request and declared that
she would compel him to obey. He retired to the
barn to pray. He prayed until evening. His
mother searched the house for him, and not find
ing him, concluded that he had gone to the for
bidden meeting. She started out in great rage,
with the intention of compelling him to go home
with her. Her path led past the barn, where her
boy was in prayer. When she first heard him
praying, she did not recognize the voice of her
son. As she listened she recognized his voice,
and was powerfully convicted of her sin. She
returned to the house, and soon retired for the
night. John also returned to the house, and went
to bed in utter ignorance of what had transpired.
The mother could not sleep, so deep was her con
viction. Her alarm increased so greatly that her

100 METHODIST HEROES
husband was frightened, and proposed that John
should get a physician. As soon as John saw his
mother he realized the trouble and prayed for her,
and she was soundly converted, and the remain
der of the night was spent in prayer and praise.
The father thought both were partially demented.
The son was no more persecuted in the home.
The mother, on the following Sunday, attended
worship in her own church. The sermon appealed
to her newly awakened soul and she shouted
aloud, to the great confusion of pastor and peo
ple, and to the annoyance of her husband. This
happened the second, and again the third Sunday.
She was brought to trial before the session to
answer to the specification of disorderly conduct
in the house of God, for "shouting three successive
Sabbaths." The case was dismissed, with an ad
monition to the husband to use all his influence
to have her stop shouting in church. Soon after
she attended a meeting of the Methodists, and felt
at home among the despised people. She applied
for a church letter, and soon joined the Meth
odists. The entire family in time also became
Methodists. John and Maxwell P. and another
brother became itinerants and labored for many
years in the State of Ohio. If John had been
untrue to his faith, the story would never have
been told, and the endless results lost to the
world forever.

XXV
WILLIAM B. CHRISTIE
It is hardly necessary to write of this saintly
young man for Ohio Methodists. He died six
months before he was forty. He was born in
Wilmington County, Ohio, in 1803, and died in
1842. In reading the Methodist biography of the
second generation of Methodists, his name often
figures on the pages — and always figures large.
Young as he was, he had served as presiding elder
of three different districts. He occupied too
some of the best appointments of the time in the
Conference. He was a student at Augusta Col
lege, where graduated Bishop Foster and his
brother-in-law, the great theologian, John Miley.
Judge McLean declared him to be "an extraor
dinary preacher." Bishop Morris stated that
he excelled in three qualities — "beauty of lan
guage, force of argument, and pungency of appli
cation." Maxwell P. Gaddis gives an interesting account
of a wonderful prayer made by Mr. Christie at a
camp meeting, when a great thunderstorm was
approaching. He ascended the stand to close the
101

102 METHODIST HEROES
service. His voice at first was low, but sweet and
melodious; but as he proceeded to line out
Cowper's beautiful and well-known hymn, com
mencing, "God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm,"
all eyes in the congregation were riveted upon the
stranger. With the reading and singing of each
verse of that appropriate hymn, the devotional
feeling increased in the audience till the tear of
joy sparkled in many an eye; while the hearty
"Amen" gave additional interest to the scene. At
the close of the hymn the assembly knelt in prayer
while the voice of the stranger was lifted to the
throne of grace. At first the faint whispers of
his voice were scarcely audible, owing to prepara
tions in the rear of the stand for a rainy day.
But as the preacher breathed out the desires of
a burdened heart in a soft and subdued tone of
voice, a solemn and awful stillness fell on the
entire encampment. He had not continued long
in prayer, till all within the area of tents, and
in the rear, and on all sides of the ground fell
upon their knees, or assumed a devotional posture.
It was but a short time till the crack of the
wagoner's whip and the sound of the ax in the

WILLIAM B. CHRISTIE 103
surrounding grove had died away. At last not
a voice or a sound of a solitary footfall on the
withered leaves disturbed the stillness of our de
votions. The whole scene conspired to remind
one of the address to the Hebrew prophet, "Put
off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where
on thou standest is holy ground." It was soon
apparent, even to the careless, that no ordinary
personage was leading the devotion of the people
of God at that hour. Brother Christie, after
praying for the sanctification of the people of
God, the conversion of sinners, and the success of
the meeting in general, began to plead most elo
quently with the Almighty God, if consistent with
his will in the government of the world, to "stop
up the bottles of heaven" and give us "fair
weather," in which to continue our worship in
the tented grove. Never shall I forget the sub
lime portions of the Word of God which were
quoted in his prayer with great power and singu
lar appropriateness. I will name a few ; such as,
"Behold, God is great. . . . For he maketh small
the drops of water: they pour down rain accord
ing to the vapor thereof: which the clouds do
drop and distill upon man abundantly. . . . For
he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; like
wise to the small rain, and to the great rain of
his strength. . . . Also by watering he wearieth
the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:

104 METHODIST HEROES
and it is turned round about . . . : that they may
do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the
face of the world in the earth." He also ad
dressed the Almighty as the God of providence —
as able to send or withhold rain at his pleasure —
as causing it to come for "correction for his land
or for mercy" and as "causing it to rain on one
city and not on another"; and as working every
thing after the counsels of his own will, and
"that snow and vapor, stormy wind, rain and
hail" all fulfilled his word, and then quoted, with
pathos and resistless power, the entire history of
Elijah on Mount Carmel, and closed by quoting
a verse from the hymn sung at the close of the
sermon : "Judge not the Lord hy feehle sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face."
Never till that day had I known so fully the
power and efficacy of prayer; and never before
did I witness such a striking and remarkable an
swer to prayer. The minister on that occasion
seemed to converse with God "face to face," as a
man with his friend. As the petitioner approached
nearer and nearer still the "mercy seat," sprinkled
with the blood of the Son of God, his faith waxed
stronger and stronger until "he prevailed with

WILLIAM B. CHRISTIE 105
God" ; and the humble, fervent prayer of the sup
pliant was almost instantly answered. Hun
dreds of "living witnesses" at this day would
unite their testimony to mine in confirmation of
this wonderful interposition of God in answer
to the prayer of his faithful servant.
From his deathbed Mr. Christie sent word to
the members of the Ohio Conference: "If they
think my name worthy of being mentioned, I
have not preached an unknown and unfelt
Saviour. Tell them, that though unworthy and
unfaithful, that gospel which I have preached
sustains me now. Tell the ministers to preach
Christ and him crucified. Tell them my only
hope, my only foundation, is in the blood of
sprinkling. Precious blood! O the fullness, the
richness, the sweetness of that fountain !"
Undoubtedly he was brought to his early death
by the privations and exposure which he endured.
His funeral was held in Wesley chapel and the
edifice was more than filled. Many distinguished
people were present to pay their last tribute to
the great soul-winner that he was.

XXVI
GLEZEN FILLMORE, THE FIRST METH
ODIST PASTOR OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK
It is not often that we have been able to see a
likeness of the subject presented in one of these
articles, but in this case we find a splendid steel
engraving published in an early number of the
Methodist Magazine and reproduced in Con-
able's History, referred to in another article of
this series. Mr. Fillmore is presented as a large,
genial appearing man, of evident power and good
ness. Winning by his smile and undoubtedly
capable not only of intense enjoyment himself,
but able to produce the same feeling in others.
He was born in Bennington, Vermont, in 1789,
and died in Clarence, New York, in 1875. His
wife survived him and lived to pass the age of one
hundred and six. Mr. Fillmore spent nine years
as a local preacher. His father objected to his
preaching as a member of the Conference, but
after hearing the son preach a two-hour-long
camp-meeting sermon withdrew his objection,
and the young preacher became a regular member
of the Conference. 106

GLEZEN FILLMORE 107
In 1821 he was appointed presiding elder of the
Erie District, which at that time extended from
Lake Ontario to Meadville, Pennsylvania. He
had been a member of Conference for only three
years when appointed, a fact which caused some
criticism of the authorities for appointing so
young a man. The late Dr. Sanford Hunt told
the story that on his way home from the Confer
ence he attended a camp meeting. Many min
isters were present. When he came to preach, it
was with a great feeling of responsibility. He
said, "I soared, and soared so high that I burned
my wings and came down flat, and I have never
attempted to fly since."
The Rev. F. W. Conable knew Mr. Fillmore,
working under his care in the years 1850-54. He
states that he was a very strong preacher, but
never used notes in his preaching. "Elder Fill
more generally selected plain texts, but sometimes
his congregation would be agreeably surprised
with a selection calculated to awaken the spirit
of curiosity, leading his hearers in their own
minds to ask, 'Well, what will you do with that ?'
At a quarterly meeting on the West Carlton
charge, on Saturday, he took for his text the
fourteenth verse of the second chapter of Solo
mon's Song, 'O my dove, that art in the clefts of
the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me
see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for

108 METHODIST HEROES
sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.'
Making the dove represent the faithful Christian,
he remarked that one characteristic was watch
fulness — suggestive of the habit of watchfulness
becoming the Christian — and as a dove one might
see on the ground in the road before him as he
was riding along, said he, 'Careless thing! you
thought you were going to run over it, but you
didn't.' "This servant of God was accustomed to preach
to the children and young people, and being a
quick, shrewd, though quiet observer of the ways
and habits of persons and families and of passing
events, he was prepared to address to the young,
as well as to those of mature years, many a useful
lesson and vauable hint relating to matters of
personal conduct and the affairs of everyday life.
In a sermon to the young at West Carlton he
called attention to the importance of cultivating>
the habit of maintaining order and tidiness at
home, in the house and on the premises round
about, and he made plain the bearing of such
a habit in the formation of character and in se
curing success in life. In doing this he referred
to some things which had a bad look — the drawers
half shut, with the corners of articles hanging
out, as if they would say, 'We are all in a tumble
here!' in driving the cows to pasture leaving the
bars down and mischief resulting. Two boys who

GLEZEN FILLMORE 109
heard the sermon had that morning left the bars
down, and they began to be afraid, and wondered
who had told the minister of them."
In many respects Father Fillmore was a model
man. He was a pleasant visitor, a good eater, and
a good sleeper. "At Akron, on a time, the
preacher stationed there was working over a diffi
culty in the church, and his sleep departed from
him. The elder, being there probably at his quar
terly meeting, the preacher said, 'Father Fill
more, what would I give if I could go to bed and
sleep as soundly as you do?' 'Why,' answered
he, 'that is what I go to bed for.'
"The subject of these reminiscences took the
rough things of life very much like a philosopher,
or rather like a Christian. At one time a lady
inquired of him to know whether he» was design
ing to publish a history of his life, giving an
account of his 'trials,' etc. 'Trials !' said he with
evident emotion, 'I never had any.' "
Four times he served Buffalo as its pastor, and
including his years as presiding elder, had to do
with its spiritual affairs for twenty-one years.

XXVII
JAMES MOORE, OF NEW JERSEY
This good man is not as widely known as he
deserves. We are mostly indebted for our knowl
edge of him to a sketch written by the late presi
dent of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Associa
tion, the Rev. E. H. Stokes. How much Meth
odism owes to Ireland! From Ireland came
Embury and his party. From Ireland came
Bishop Asbury. From Ireland too came James
Moore. He was born in the County of Tyrone in
1760. When twenty-six he joined the Methodist
Society. Six years later he came to America.
The young Irishman had only been here two years
when he joined the Philadelphia Conference. That
same year William Beauchamp and Nicholas
Snethen, two of the great leaders of the church,
joined the traveling connection. His ministry
was spent in Pennsylvania, New York, and New
Jersey. He it was who led in the erection of the
first Methodist Episcopal Church in Newark, New
Jersey. Here, in 1808, the Halsey Street Meth
odist Church was built. The mother church of
this part of New Jersey is the Belleville Church.
110

JAMES MOORE 111
Here were held some great quarterly meetings.
The Rev. John Dow was a famous local preacher
of this place. On one of these occasions the wants
of one hundred and eighteen persons were sup
plied by this good man.
James Moore was not a man of learning, but,
rather, of power, and that largely due to his sim
plicity. It is said that his sermons were more
like conversations than formal discourses. "Chris
tian Experience" was his great theme, and so
confident was he of the truthfulness of his state
ments that he would often exclaim in the middle
of his discourses with a great deal of Christian
and Irish fervency, "It's as true as ould Jeems
Moore stands here on this day," and then appeal
ing to anyone in the audience whose eye chanced
to meet his, would continue : "Ain't it so, Brother
A. ?" and then Brother A., and perhaps a score of
others, would respond with an emphatic "Yes," a
volley of hearty "Amens," or floods of tears. He
was a great singer, too, and would almost in
variably come down the pulpit steps, after a
sermon, singing his favorite air :
"Is there anybody here like a weeping Mary?
Call on my Saviour, and he'll draw nigh."
Advancing in his song, he would insert in the
place of "weeping Mary," "a doubting Thomas,"
or a "sinking Peter." Then, after having gained

112 METHODIST HEROES
the sympathy of his audience, with tears stream
ing from his own eyes, his whole soul would break
forth :
"Is there anybody here who wants their souls converted?
Call on my Saviour, and he'll draw nigh,
O glory, glory, glory be to God on high."
It was a rare thing when some did not respond
to these calls; and thousands newly born to God
have united with him in singing:
"O glory, glory, glory be to God on high."
The following story is told by the late Rev.
Anthony Atwood, of the Philadelphia Conference,
and quoted by Dr. Stokes in his article. The in
cident occurred at the session of the New Jersey
Conference at Trenton, April, 1839, about two
years before the death of Mr. Moore:
"Bishop Hedding was in the chair, and we were
receiving the young man who was said to have a
good mind, and some preaching talents, but was
reported as slow, and very sluggish in his manner,
and very much lacking in fire and zeal. This I
consider a sad defect in a man so young, and re
marked: 'If he was so deficient in natural fire
now in youth, he would in a few years be un
bearable, as it was common for men to lose much
of their zeal when age had dried up their youth
ful activities.' Bishop Hedding turned to Father

JAMES MOORE 113
Moore, who sat in the corner at his left, and said :
'Brother Moore, how do you like the doctrine of
Brother Atwood ? Do you think a minister is apt
to lose his fire as he grows old? I want to hear
your opinion?' I saw I was totally annihilated.
The church was full in every part listening to
what was said, and, as the man who fell under
the wheel and said that to be run over was in
evitable, made himself as hard as possible, I pre
pared myself for the storm that I knew was com
ing. Brother Moore rose up slowly, and began
to speak of his interest in the work of God for
merly and now. As he proceeded he arose to a
state of feeling the most sublime and inspiring
that I ever witnessed. He shook with deep emo
tion. He usually had a rapid utterance, but now
faster than ever, until the whole house was per
fectly convulsed with intense excitement. As
usual, the shout began among the preachers, then
the galleries caught the spirit and followed, until
the noise of shout and praise went up like the
sound of many waters. For a length of time no
business could be done. The good bishop shook,
wept, and praised God with all the others. It
was a wonderful scene, worth traveling many
miles to witness and enjoy — a feeling that no man
could wake up but James Moore, and he could
and did do it often. The bishop was aware of
this, and seeing a good opportunity to wake up

114 METHODIST HEROES
an unusual shout, could not afford to let it pass
unimproved. I, of course, could only say I
thought that my position was a sound one in
general, but Bishop Hedding and James Moore
were exceptions to the rule, and business resumed
its usual course."
James Moore was a man of prayer, and many
amazing stories are told of the results of his faith.
He loved the work, and literally won thousands
to the Master. He might have been called one
of the modern apostles.

XXVIII
JOHN KOBLER, THE YOUNG PRESIDING
ELDER
To be a presiding elder at twenty-five years of
age would in our day be an impossibility. Most
men who enter the ministry now are at least of
that age. But such was the experience of John
Kobler. Our hero was born in Culpepper County, Vir
ginia, August 29, 1768. When nineteen he was
converted, and when twenty-one joined the Con
ference and began to preach. The first district,
which he served four years, was in Virginia. On
the conclusion of his term he was immediately
appointed elder in Kentucky to succeed Francis
Poythress. In the bounds of this district was the
famous Limestone Circuit, to which we have pre
viously referred. Here he remained about a year,
when he was sent over the Ohio River into the
Mad River Country. In this section he was to
form a circuit.
This is declared to be the first circuit in the
State of Ohio. True, there had been an Ohio
Circuit in the Minutes for some time, but this did
not include any part of the present State of Ohio.
115

116 METHODIST HEROES
It included only the towns on the Ohio River in
western Pennsylvania and Virginia. He formed
the Miami Circuit, and reported to the Conference
of 1799 ninety-eight white members and one
colored member. The next year he spent in Ken
tucky and the year following in Virginia. This
completed his active ministry of twelve years.
He was worn out at the age of thirty-three.
Thirty-five years after he was placed upon the
roll of the Baltimore Conference, within the
bounds of which he lived. This was entirely
without his solicitation.
One item of his life is especially worthy of men
tion. When he was seventy-four they were build
ing a new church at Fredericksburg, where he
lived. He was much interested in the project and
visited his Western friends, soliciting their aid,
and as a result paid into the treasury of the
church toward the new enterprise over one thou
sand dollars which he had collected. Bishop As
bury and he were good friends. I have seen three
letters written to John Kobler by the bishop.
Undoubtedly he was high in the good graces of
the bishop. In one of the letters the bishop ex
plains that he is unable to meet the Conference
as appointed, and adds: "I have herein inclosed
a plan of stationing the preachers which I should
be glad should take place; but you must do as
well as you can in cases of failure or contin-

JOHN KOBLER 117
gencies, and I desire you, if Brother McHenry
should not be present, to take the presidency of
the Conference, and go through in regular order,
taking their names, members, numbers, and elec
tions, if any of them should have the right of elec
tion, which is two years' probation." Mr. Kobler
was then only twenty-six years old.
Fortunately for us, Maxwell P. Gaddis has pre
served in his Footprints of an Itinerant a portion
of the journal of this good man Kobler. He was
the first Methodist to preach in Dayton. In this
we find an account of some of his hardships. "In
this neighborhood there are six or eight Meth
odists settled, and among them is a local preacher
by the name of Hamer. I think he came down
from the Redstone country ; is from forty to forty-
five years of age. Last year he raised a class of
the few scattered Methodists here, and for a while
met them as leader. I visited each of them
severally, as far as possible, examined into the
state of their souls, and found some of them filled
with prejudice. I held a second public meeting
among them and read the rules of the Society;
laid before them the great necessity of Christian
union in church membership, and invited all those
who could fellowship each other to come forward
and join in class. So we organized a class of
eight members, of whom Brother Hamer was ap
pointed leader."

118 METHODIST HEROES
This is his record of his preaching in Dayton :
"Lord's Day, August 12, 1798. Preached in
Dayton, a little village by that name on the bank
of the Big Miami River, and just below its junc
tion with Mad River. Here are a few log houses
and eight or ten families residing. Here I saw
some tokens for good; the people seemed to re
ceive the word preached with all readiness of
mind; indeed, several in the company were
affected."

XXIX
JOSEPH LILLARD, COLLEAGUE OF
SAMUEL TUCKER
The famous Limestone Circuit of Kentucky,
now called Maysville, has a great fascination
for us. In our researches we return to it again
and again. Here Samuel Tucker met his death.
His colleague was Joseph Lillard.
Concerning Mr. Lillard little is known, but
that little we will give. He was born near Har-
rodsburg, Kentucky. We do not know the story
of his conversion. He was admitted to the Con
ference in 1790, the same year in which Samuel
Tucker, his first colleague, joined. Possibly they
were at Conference together. The death of Samuel
Tucker left him alone on the circuit. His toil
must have been enormous. We find that in his
year's work the membership increased from
sixty-six to one hundred and thirty-seven white
and six colored members.
His second year in the ministry was on the
Salt River Circuit, with Wilson Lee as senior
preacher. This circuit had a much larger mem
bership, which was materially increased, over one
119

120 METHODIST HEROES
hundred being added. These two years completed
his service in the active ministry. Why he was
discontinued we do not know. He remained a
local preacher all his life. He settled near his
birthplace, and from there went to preach in all
the surrounding region.
Dr. J. M. Peck, a Baptist minister, tells an
incident of his visit to Illinois. During his visit
he became temporarily insane. He wandered
away from his friends and started for Kaskaskia.
The Indians had been on the trail and had
scalped and murdered a man named Sipp. The
body, mutilated as it was, was left on the trail.
It was enough to startle any man. The sight
and horror of it restored the mind of Mr. Lillard,
and he returned to his friends. This is said to
be the first visit ever paid to the State by a Meth
odist preacher, and he probably preached the first
sermon preached in the State by a Methodist at a
place called New Design. He was the first of
a long line of good men who have made of Illinois
a great Methodist stronghold. His gifts as a
preacher were not great, but he was a good man.
He possessed some of the eccentric characteristics
of our early preachers.
About nine miles from Harrodsburg, Kentucky,
there stood, a few years ago, a large brick church
known as Joseph's Chapel; in all probability it
is standing now. This was built principally

JOSEPH LILLARD 121
through his liberality and effort, and was named
after him.
The last visit he made was to Missouri. On
his return, about the year 1853, he died. It is
not known just how or where. Some of his re
lations and friends thought he was murdered.
His home was always open to his brother itin
erant. His reputation seems to have been for
goodness combined with deep piety and liberality.
He must have been a very young man when he
began preaching as the colleague of Samuel
Tucker.

XXX
JACOB GRUBER, THE ECCENTRIC
Jacob Geuber was the son of Pennsylvania
German parents, who were godly though bigoted.
He heard Methodist preaching for the first time
from Simon Miller and Isaac Robinson, two itin
erants, and was interested but not converted. A
little later Valentine Cook came to the neighbor
hood, and under his preaching Jacob Gruber was
converted and soon began to preach. At first his
parents and friends persecuted him, and he soon
was obliged to leave home. He began preaching
as a supply under the elder, but joined the Con
ference in the year 1800. After six years' service
he was made presiding elder. On his district he
had some great experiences. We give one of
them: "My travels among the Pendleton and
Greenbrier Mountains were hard and severe. One
very cold night in the winter I took a path for a
near way to my stopping place, but got out of my
course, wandered about among the hills and
mountains, and went to the top of one of them
to see clearings, or hear dogs bark, or roosters
crow, but all in vain. After midnight the moon
122

JACOB GRUBER 123
arose. I could then see my track. The snow was
knee deep, and I went back till I got to the right
course, and reached my lodgings between four
and five o'clock in the morning. The family was
alarmed, and said I was late, but I called it early.
After lying down and sleeping a little, I arose
and, getting breakfast, departed on my day's
journey, filling two appointments."
He was a hortatory preacher, going directly to
his subject, often with powerful effects. "At a
certain camp meeting, where, notwithstanding all
the powerful exhortations of the preachers, but
few persons were found to come to the altar and
seek religion, and where there was a general
apathy among professors of religion, he resorted
to the following expedient: taking his stand in
the altar at the base of the pulpit, he said, in
pathetic tones, 'Come on, brethren, I want to get
a little more converted myself.' Then falling at
the mourners' bench, he commenced praying with
all his might. The effect was electrical. The
people crowded in from all quarters, saints and
sinners. Many professors soon became much ex
cited, and loud shouts were heard on all sides."
Many were converted.
He was a great despiser of the fashions in dress,
and would inveigh against them on all occasions.
His biographer gives an amusing incident show
ing this peculiarity: "About that time a certain

124 METHODIST HEROES
article of dress among the ladies known as 'petti
coat and habit' came into general use; and as
fashion will sooner or later have its way, it ob
tained among the young ladies of the Methodist
Church. Gruber was attending a camp meeting
in the neighborhood of Franklin, Pennsylvania.
At this meeting there were several young ladies
dressed after this fashion. Their appearance so
thoroughly displeased him that, true to his in
stincts, he determined, if possible, to administer
a public reproof. During a prayer meeting some
of these fashionables were grouped together, sing
ing a hymn which was very popular in those days.
This hymn, the chorus of which was,
'I want to get to heaven,
My long-sought rest,'
they sang with animation, and their animation
increased as they saw the presiding elder ad
vance and join them. It was discovered after a
while that he changed the last line of the chorus,
and instead of singing,

he sang,

'I want to get to heaven,
My long-sought rest/

'I want to get to heaven,
With my long, short dress.'

JACOB GRUBER 125
One after another, as they detected the change in
the chorus, ceased singing until all had stopped,
leaving Gruber alone. At this he sang more
lustily than ever, so that all around could hear.
The 'long, short dresses' began to disappear, and
the conscience of Gruber was not again disturbed
on that score during the remainder of the meet
ing." At a certain camp meeting he was obliged to
preach, and on short notice. He preached a ser
mon to slaves and slave-holders. He was ar
rested and tried for inciting slaves to rebellion,
and was acquitted. He was always much thought
of, and soon after his trial Bishop Roberts gave
him the choice of a district or a circuit. He pre
ferred the latter.
The following incident will give some idea of
his wit: "A young preacher, desirous of improv
ing his style as a pulpit orator, and having great
confidence in Father Gruber, who, we believe, at
the time was his presiding elder, wrote to him
for advice. The young man had contracted the
habit of prolonging his words, especially when
under the influence of great excitement. Deem
ing this the most important defect in his elocu
tion, Gruber sent him the following laconic reply :
'"Dear-ah Brother-ah — When-ah you-ah go-ah to-ah
preach-ah, take-ah care-ah you-ah don't-ah say-ah Ah-ah!
Youra-ah, Jacob-ah Gbuber-ah.' "

126 METHODIST HEROES
He was seventy-two when he died. It is said
that "he performed more work, preached more
sermons, endured more fatigue and hardship,
with less abatement of mental and physical
energy, than perhaps any other minister of his
times." Indeed, the steady and glowing flame of
his zeal and industry was never quenched until
extinguished by death.

XXXI
JAMES GILMORE OF THE ECCENTRIC
GROUP
Some twenty or more of the early Methodist
fathers seemed to have had a strong vein of
eccentricity running through their characters.
Such were Billy Hibbard, Jacob Gruber, Lorenzo
Dow, John Allen, Peter Cartwright, and our
present subject, James Gilmore. From several
sources, but principally from Dr. George Peck's
Early Methodism, I have found stories illustrat
ing this trait in his character.
"A young woman, the daughter of a good Meth
odist brother, obstinately refused to be converted,
or even to kneel in family prayer. He tried in
various ways to move her, but all in vain. 'Well,'
said he, 'you are determined to go to hell, and if
you will go, then the sooner you go, the better.'
This rather shocked her; but she was utterly
astounded, when he prayed in the family, to hear
him call her name and tell the Lord how wicked
she was, and then ask the Lord 'if she would not
repent, to kill her and take her out of the way
of others whom she was hindering.' She got out
of his way as soon as prayer was over, and went
127

128 METHODIST HEROES
off in a great state of excitement. She told the
story to a young friend, and fretting and chafing
said she thought as likely as not the Lord would
kill her, adding that if he did, she would lay all
the blame to Gilmore. The poor girl finally be
came penitent, and lived and died in the church."
"He came to Attica on the Sabbath and found
the people all at their work, and the grist-mill
running. He sent out a boy to publish that a new
minister would preach in a certain place. The
house was full, and Gilmore laid on the lash in
his own peculiar style. Among other things of
the same sort, he said: 'Tell your miller that if
he don't stop grinding on Sunday he'll be ground
to all eternity. Hell will be the bed-stone and
God Almighty the runner.' " Strange to say,
several were converted and a class established
there. During the war of 1812 he visited the hospital
in Buffalo. "An officer ordered him away with
profane language. Gilmore replied, 'If you do not
stop swearing, God will kill you and send you to
hell.' The guard presented his bayonet, and
threatened to run him through. Gilmore stood
his ground, reproving him for his blasphemy,
and the officer repeated his threats. When the
courageous messenger of God was ready he left,
but in such wise as to prove that he had not been
frightened away."

JAMES GILMORE 129
His method of pastoral visiting would hardly
do in this day. He visited each house in turn.
"He came in and without being seated, asked,
'Have you any religion here ?' If the answer was
not satisfactory, he added, 'You must repent or
you will go to hell. Good-by.' "
The following story is so strange that it seems
hard to believe. It is given on such good au
thority that we are compelled to believe it. We
give it in the words of Dr. George Peck: "He
preached in a place called Naples, and was so out
spoken and fearless that the people concluded
that he seriously interfered with their pleasures,
and resolved to drive him from the place. At one
of his meetings after service had commenced, a
leading citizen swung his hat and hallooed
'Hurrah!' All was confusion in a moment and
Mr. Gilmore, finding it impossible to restore order,
left, and put up with a friend in the place. Be
fore he retired he prayed with the family, and, re
ferring to the disturbers, prayed that God would
kill them and send them to hell, as they would
probably never come to repentance. Fourteen of
the rioters and their connections died suddenly
within a short time. The facts were put together
by the survivors, and the opposition ended."
We must again emphasize the thought which
we have expressed in other articles. We must not
consider that the eccentric traits made up all the

130 METHODIST HEROES
character; on the contrary, these men were usu
ally men of sterling worth, who believed and
preached intensely, and persuaded men and
women by scores everywhere to repent and be
saved.

XXXII
JOHN RAY, THE WITTY KENTUCKIAN
The Limestone Circuit furnished a great field
for heroism and for the development of char
acter. After Peter Massie, John Ray came as
pastor. Under his ministry almost a hundred
members were added to the church. This eccen
tric man was born January 21, 1768. He was a
true frontiersman. The visit of some Methodists
to his home community led to his being soundly
converted. In 1793 he entered Conference and
labored in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Caro
lina until 1801, when, completely worn out, he
located and returned to Kentucky. He remained
a local preacher for eighteen years. This did not
hinder him from preaching often. He usually
had a regular round of appointments and won
many for the Kingdom. He was a noted soul-
winner, being especially successful in altar work.
In 1819 he was readmitted to the Conference, and
preached for nine years. The last nine years of
his life he was included in the roll of superan
nuates. He died at Greencastle, Indiana, in 1837.
He is described by one of his friends as "A man
131

132 METHODIST HEROES
of large stature— tall, well proportioned, rather
portly, erect, noble and commanding in appear
ance. His features were regular, of a strong
masculine cast. Benignant humor, independent
boldness, uncompromising firmness, and biting
sarcasm were strongly written upon his counte
nance. His step was firm and elastic. He was
of graceful and commanding mien. His com
plexion, though dark, was not swarthy. His hair,
though doubtless originally a deep brown, when
I first saw him was a magnificent iron gray,
standing nearly erect upon his forehead, and
hanging down from ear to ear in bushy curls upon
his shoulders."
He was absolutely without fear. The Rev. Dr.
Ralston is authority for a story which illustrates
this. "He with several others had prosecuted a
man for kidnapping a family of free Negroes.
This person had carried off two lads and had sold
them in west Tennessee. In order to save himself
from the State prison he was compelled to send
and purchase the Negroes at an enormous ad
vance, and surrender them to the courts. He was
greatly exasperated and determined to seek re
venge on his prosecutors. Not long afterward
Ray and myself, with two other persons, were re
turning from the city of Lexington, where we had
attended a Conference. We had not traveled far
before we found ourselves pursued by a party of

JOHN RAY 133
five men, armed to the teeth with knives and pis
tols. They followed us until we reached a certain
place, when they rode up, swearing that thev
would be revenged by shedding Ray's heart's
blood. He received them as coolly as if they had
been harmless travelers. 'If you think,' he said,
'to frighten me by this maneuver, you are a set
of cowards, or you would not come up armed
against an unarmed man. It is dastardly. You
are young men ; I am an old man : why all this
parade?' I and the other brethren told them that
if they touched Ray it would be at their peril, and
urged them to desist for the sake of their own
reputation, if for no other reason. We finally
succeeded in dissuading them from their purpose,
but through it all the intended object of their
vengeance remained perfectly unmoved."
We have space for only one anecdote illustrat
ing his readiness of wit. Ray generally rode a
very superior horse. Once as he was riding
through the town of M  a group of young
lawyers and doctors, seeing him approach, plotted
that they would "stump" him in some way when
he came up. On his arrival their chosen spokes
man commenced : "Well, Father Ray, how is it
that you are so much better off than your Master?
He had to ride on an ass, but you are mounted
on a very fine horse; you must be proud. Why
don't you ride as did your Master?"

134 METHODIST HEROES
"For the simple reason," said Ray, "that there
are no asses now to be obtained — they turn them
all into lawyers and doctors."
They said no more.

XXXIII
"REFORMATION" JOHN ADAMS
Methodism has produced some eccentric char
acters. It is to its credit that it could touch a
Lorenzo Dow and send him, a flaming torch, to
bring light to many a darkened soul. We some
times think only of the oddities of such men and
forget for what they stood in their own genera
tion. "Reformation" John Adams was a man of this
type. He was not widely known outside of the
New England States, where his lifework was done.
Our hero came from the Adams family. His
great-grandfather was the uncle of President
Adams, a direct descendant of John and Priscilla
Alden, of Mayflower fame.
Mr. Adams was born at Newington, New Hamp
shire, February 14, 1791, and died at Newmarket,
September 30, 1850. When he was thirteen he
heard a funeral sermon which affected him for a
number of weeks. Later he was much affected
by the death of a cousin, and yet again by a ser
mon which he heard delivered by George Picker
ing, the first Methodist whom he had seen. Now
135

136 METHODIST HEROES
he was thoroughly aroused. After attending a
meeting, he was crossing a pasture alone. He
says: "I bowed down to pray for mercy; yet the
tempter drove me from my knees. I went on
farther, and bowed again, however, and here I
had a clear discovery of my lost condition, and
the damning nature of sin. Hell now appeared
before me, and I saw the justice of God in my con
demnation. O, the distress my soul was in I can
not describe !" That night he went to a meeting.
Here he finally found peace.
The first person whom he won to Christ was
his own mother. He soon felt that he must preach,
and offered himself, and was accepted by the Con
ference and sent into the State of Maine.
His struggles were many in his long ministry.
He won many for the kingdom of Christ. Some
years he records two hundred additions. He
always spoke of a revival as a reformation, and
thus derived his nickname. His journal is full
of the record of prayers for reformation and the
success of his efforts. In 1818 several sea cap
tains were converted under his ministry.
His experiences were not always like this:
"Monday I came to Weymouth, and one of the
wicked blew a blast at me on the way. In the
evening our meeting was powerful, but the
steward and class leader arose in opposition to
me and Mrs. Adams and the two preachers with

JOHN ADAMS 137
us. Then we went to Mr. Rice's and, retiring to
our chamber, prayed and wept before God till
midnight." He worked very hard. In his journal he speaks
of attending more than twenty meetings in a
week and four days. His ministry on the Island
of Nantucket was very remarkable. We have not
space to describe it, but refer the reader to his
journal. To this we are indebted for the facts of
this article.
He had a great gift in selecting appropriate
texts. At a camp meeting he won the attention
of the rowdies by preaching on the text, "Suffer
me that I may speak; and after that I have
spoken, mock on" (Job 21. 3). He had their
attention. In speaking of a man, he said: "He was Gray
by name, and had become somewhat gray and
rusty in his Majesty's service, because he had not
frequently anointed his shield, or exercised that
faith that works by love." He described a meet
ing as "powerful, and some were awakened, and
we battered the two rocks of unconditional fa
tality, and God kept us channel-way." In speak
ing of an opponent in a controversy, he said, "I
punished the leviathan with the sword of silence."
He prayed for a couple of young ministers.
One was named Mills. He prayed "that God
would increase Mills into good cents, and so on

138 METHODIST HEROES
to crowns, hoping that he and his colleagues would
be crowned with glory, honor, immortality, and
eternal life." He described the sermon of another
who had a hard time in preaching by saying, "It
was death in the pot."
It is said that on one occasion this eccentric
man bound a penitent to the altar with a rope
and would not release him until he was con
verted. In speaking of a great meeting he said
"a hundred arose for prayers. Glory to God!
more than five tons of unbelief went off."

XXXIV
BILLY HIBBARD, THE ECCENTRIC
Seventy-five years ago the name of Billy Hib-
bard was almost a household word in Eastern
Methodism. Most of his ministry was spent in
the State of New York. He has left his autobiog
raphy which gives the revelation of an interest
ing man. A writer said of him: "In him con
trarieties were strangely blended. He was grave,
yet facetious; serious and thoughtful, yet witty
and humorous; stern in appearance and in man
ner, yet as tender and docile as a child."
Many amusing incidents are told of him. The
following is the best known. The first Conference
he attended soon found out his character. His
name was twice called by the secretary as William
Hibbard without eliciting a response. The bishop
said, "Brother Hibbard, why don't you answer
to your name?"
"I will when it is called," he replied.
"Is not your name William ?" said the bishop.
"No, sir," said he.
"What is it?"
"It is Billy Hibbard."
"Why," said the bishop, "that is a little boy's
name." 139

140 METHODIST HEROES
"I was a very little boy when my father named
me," was the reply. You can imagine the merri
ment of the audience. In 1798 he joined the New
York Conference after having supplied a year on
the Pittsfield Circuit in Massachusetts.
At another Conference he was objected to on
the ground that he sometimes practiced medicine.
The bishop inquired if the report that he prac
ticed medicine were true. "I do not," he said,
"I only give advice in critical cases."
"What advice do you give?" asked the bishop.
"I always advise them to send for a physician,"
he replied.
On one occasion a young man grossly insulted
him. Mr. Hibbard said to the young man : "I per
ceive, young man, that you are destitute of good
manners." "I have good manners too," was the reply.
"Well, if you have," said Mr. Hibbard, "you
are keeping them as an old man I heard of did his
money — for his children; he never used any for
himself." His eccentricity appeared in his selection of
hymns. If possible, he always selected a hymn
in one of the unusual meters. He was the author
of several hymns in some of the old camp-meeting
selections. They are said to be quite good.
On one occasion he was in the Forsyth Street
Church, in New York, seated in the altar, while

BILLY HIBBARD 141
a collection for some purpose was being taken.
Mr. Hibbard had recently been ill, and was
obliged to take medicine, and when the collectors
passed by the altar he arose and put a box of
pills on the plate, saying: "Silver and gold have
I none, but such as I have give I thee." This
story was told by one of the collectors to the late
Cornelius R. Disosway.
The same gentleman is responsible for another
reminiscence. Mr. Hibbard spent most of his life
preaching in the country, but one Sabbath
preached for the first time in a city church. For
the first half hour he struggled along trying to
assume what he thought to be a city manner. He
finally gave it up and said: "Now, my friends,
my name is Billy Hibbard, a plain man, and I
find this way of preaching will not do for me,
and that I must preach as I usually do" — and he
did so. Many years after, while traveling in Con
necticut he met a stranger, who said to him :
"You are the Rev. Billy Hibbard?"
"Why, how do you know me?" was his reply.
"O, I know you very well; you, years ago,
preached in the Forsyth Street Church in New
York and I was convicted and it led to my con
version." "Well," said Mr. Hibbard, "under which part
of the sermon was it, the first or the last?"
"The last," said the stranger.

142 METHODIST HEROES
"Ah," said Hibbard, with an amused look on his
face; "I thought so."
His death was hastened by the division of the
Church in 1844. So great was his grief that he
died the same year. His life was not simply a
life of eccentricity. It was a life of soul-winning.
He won hundreds for the kingdom of God. The
late Rev. J. L. Gilder remembered him as large
of frame, tall, broad-shouldered, with features
strongly defined. His complexion was dark, eye
brows heavy, overhanging hazel eyes, usually
atwinkle with merriment. The whole face had an
expression of quaintness.
He was not only a great soul winner, but a
great controversialist as well. He was fond of
attacking the Calvinists and also had a contro
versy with the Quakers, the relic of which re
mains in a little book addressed to that sect. He
always came off best in the argument in which
he engaged. His ready wit often placed his op
ponent in an embarrassing position. Sometimes
his use of it bordered on coarseness, but not often.
Many more interesting anecdotes might be told of
him, picked from his autobiography, but space
will not permit. Never forget that he made it
his chief business to save men.

XXXV
JOHN HASLAM, TEMPERANCE REFORMER
Many years ago there might have been seen in
a house in northern New York a young Irishman
studying his grammar, aided by the youngest
daughter of the home where he was staying. He
was a young man who felt the call too preach,
and was preparing to be examined by the Annual
Conference. At times he was out of patience, and
would throw the grammar across the room and
declare he would never study it again. The young
girl, however, encouraged him to continue. This
was John Haslam, the young Irishman, not long
in this country, but who already displayed some
ability as a preacher. The young girl was my
great-aunt, the sister of his first wife. He be
came quite a noted preacher, working principally
in the Champlain Valley. We have several amus
ing and interesting traditions relating to him.
Like many another preacher of his time, his
memory was marvelous. He knew the Bible abso
lutely by heart, and declared that if it were de
stroyed he could reproduce it word for word. It
was his common custom when at my great-grand-
143

144 METHODIST HEROES
father's to say : "Now let us have prayers ; what
shall we read? You tell me and get your Bibles,
and see if I repeat it correctly." And invariably
he would repeat the chapter without a mistake,
no matter how unusual a one might be selected.
He became quite active in the temperance move
ment in that day, and was mobbed at Whitehall,
New York, and Burlington, Vermont. The fright
of the mob at Burlington, Vermont, led to the
death of his wife. In some respects he resembled
Billy Hibbard or Peter Cartwright. On one occa
sion he was entertained at the home of a farmer,
and they stayed up rather late Saturday night.
This was an unusual proceeding for the farmer,
and the next day during service he struggled hard
trying to keep his eyes open, but began to nod as
a sleepy man will do. Mr. Haslam stopped in the
middle of his discourse and remarked to the man
half-asleep, "You need not bow to me, sir; I have
met you before," and then proceeded with his
discourse. On another occasion, at a camp meet
ing, he was sent to the rear to quell the disturb
ance made by some rowdies. At first he made
more noise than they, but soon had them climbing
a large tree to see who would be at the top first,
and then when he had them in the tree kept them
still by offering a quarter to the one who could
keep still the longest.
One of his parishes was very large. While in a

JOHN HASLAM 145
distant part of the parish a Baptist minister took
advantage of his absence to proselyte some of the
young converts. The next time the two preachers
met, Mr. Haslam leaned from his saddle, turned
toward the other preacher, and remarked, "You
needn't think that you can make goslings out of
my chickens."
One old gentleman told me that he heard him
preach. After preaching he passed through the
congregation for their offerings, while keeping up
a constant series of remarks. When he came to
my informant, who was then a young boy, he
patted him on the head, and said, "You will grow
up to be a fine man some day." His spirit was
kindly, but he had no mercy for an opponent in
controversy. There are many other amusing and interesting
stories of his life the insertion of which the limits
of this chapter will not permit.

XXXVI
GEORGE GARY, THE YOUNG PRESIDING
ELDER
The exigency of the work was so great in the
early days that often very young men were forced
to the front. Among the young men of ability
we must count George Gary. He was a man of
more than ordinary caliber, judging by the words
of commendation given by his contemporaries.
A rather amusing story is told of his first en
counter with Billy Hibbard. He was visiting
some friends in New England where Billy Hib
bard was pastor. At the close of the morning
service he introduced himself to the preacher as
an exhorter from the woods in York State.
"What is your name?"
"George.""Have you a license to exhort?"
"No.""Will you exhort in the church this evening if
I make the appointment?"
"Yes, if you wish me to."
At the close of the afternoon service Brother
Hibbard said there was a lad present from the
woods up in York State who would exhort in the
146

GEORGE GARY 147
evening, and invited the congregation to come and
hear him. Gary had one of his best times; or,
as Bishop Asbury would say, he had an "open
time." The entire audience, including the pastor,
were filled with astonishment at the performance
of the boy. After the sermon Brother Hibbard
subjected George to another series of Yankee
questions. "You preached! Are you a preacher?"
"Yes ; I try to preach."
"Are you a traveling preacher?"
"Yes; I have a very large circuit."
"In what Conference?"
"Genesee.""On what district?"
"  District."
Hibbard pulled a copy of the Minutes from his
pocket, found the Genesee Conference and 
District, glanced over the list of appointments on
that district, and began to look serious. He put
his finger on the page, looked at each name care
fully, and then with a stern look said, "Your name
is not here."
"Yes, it is there," said George, pointing to the
name at the head of the list — "Gary, presiding
elder." Hibbard bent his keen eye upon him, and sur
veyed him from head to foot. "But you told me
your name was George."

148 METHODIST HEROES
"It is George Gary."
For once the wit confessed himself outwitted.
Mr. Gary was superintendent of our mission in
Oregon for four years, 1843-47. At the end of that
time he returned to his own Conference, the Black
River, and served it for the rest of his days. He
was the leader of his General Conference delega
tion to the General Conference of 1852, and there
received the united votes of the Genesee, Oneida,
and Black River Conferences for the bishopric.
Dr. George Peck gives him a very strong trib
ute: "In the pulpit George Gary was a strong
man. Not that he always preached great sermons.
He sometimes fell below himself, and when this
was the case no one knew it better than he did;
at others he was quite above himself, and he then
created a great sensation. Usually he preached
with much deliberation, and was simply instruc
tive; but on great occasions his soul fired up and
he was overwhelmingly eloquent. His forte was
in the pathetic. When he became thoroughly
moved his efforts were the very soul of passion.
Persuasion, melting, over-powering eloquence, is
the creature of passion, and we never witnessed
a more perfect triumph in this line than was often
achieved by our much-loved friend when in the
zenith of his ministerial life. On the camp ground
thousands have melted under his burning words;
saints shouted and sinners stood aghast."

GEORGE GARY 149
Much as we would like to continue this series
of articles, we must refrain. Other duties compel
us for the present to bid adieu to our much-loved
itinerants. I say farewell with regret, for as I
have looked down the line of their serried ranks
one and another have almost seemed to salute
me in order to attract my attention, that I might
include them in my list. Abner Chase, William
Colbert, William Case, William Black, Henry
Ryan, Charles Giles all beckon me, and many more
also of the great and lesser worthies of a day now
forgotten. What noble, courageous, inspiring
men Methodist ministers have been and are! My
aim has been in some measure to bring to this
generation a sense of the greatness of our heri
tage. In the great amount of reading necessary
for the preparation of these articles, my rever
ence has grown and my wonder increased as I
have closely studied the story of their labors,
sympathized with them in their hardships and
sorrows, enjoyed their wit and fun, and appre
ciated their good sense. Only thirty-six men have
I presented out of a great host. I really wish I
knew how large a host it has been. After a little
calculation I venture a guess that more than
three hundred and fifty thousand men in America
have borne the name of Methodist minister.
Probably in the sight of the world most of them
would be considered failures. But the day will

150 METHODIST HEROES
come when they shall be presented "faultless be
fore the throne of God." These humble helpers
shall be found as a necessary part of God's great
plan for the redemption of the race. If we could
trace their influence, to our surprise we should
find that it was world-wide. Then all hail to the
glorious men and their great work, and "For
ward" be our watchword, as it was theirs in the
toilsome days of long ago.
Some day may we join with them
Ten thousand times ten thousand,
In sparkling raiment bright,
The armies of the ransomed saints
Throng up the steeps of light;
'Tis finished, all is finished,
Their fight with death and sin:
Fling open wide the golden gates,
And let the victors in.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 05222 3154