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A History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church:
Being a Volume Supplemental to A History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church,
by Daniel Alexander Payne, D.D., LL.D., Late One of Its Bishops: Chronicling the
Principal Events in the Advance of the African Methodist Episcopal Church from 1856 to 1922:
 Electronic Edition.

Smith, C. S. (Charles Spencer), 1852-1923.

Funding from the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition supported the electronic publication of this title.

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(title page) A History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Being a Volume Supplemental to a History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, by Daniel Alexander Payne, D.D., LL.D., Late One of Its Bishops, Chronicling the Principal Events in the Advance of the African Methodist Episcopal Church From 1856 to 1922
(spine) A History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 1856-1922 Vol. II
Charles Spencer Smith
570 p.
Philadelphia
Book Concern of the A.M.E. Church
1922
Call Number BX 8443 .S65x (Dacus Library, Winthrop College, Rock Hill, SC)

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A HISTORY
OF THE
AFRICAN METHODIST
EPISCOPAL CHURCH

BEING

A VOLUME SUPPLEMENTAL TO A HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, BY DANIEL
ALEXANDER PAYNE, D.D., LL.D., LATE
ONE OF ITS BISHOPS

CHRONICLING

THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN THE ADVANCE OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST
EPISCOPAL CHURCH FROM 1856 TO 1922

BY

CHARLES SPENCER SMITH, D.D.
Author of Glimpses of Africa, West and Southwest Coast.

BOOK CONCERN OF THE A. M. E. CHURCH
631 PINE STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
D. M. BAXTER, MANAGER
1922

Page 2

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE REPRESENTING THE COUNCIL OF BISHOPS

        We, the Committee on the History of the Church, appointed by the Council of Bishops, met on June 5, 1922, in Allen Hall, 631 Pine Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

        We examined the manuscript presented by Bishop C. S. Smith, Historiographer, and are pleased to make a favorable report on its contents.

        We heartily approve of the work, and commend the writer for the fair and most interesting way the matter is presented.

        L. J. COPPIN, Chairman.

        W. D. CHAPPELLE.

        J. ALBERT JOHNSON.

        Committee on Publication:

        L. J. COPPIN, Chairman

        J. ALBERT JOHNSON.

        W. D. CHAPPELLE.

        I. N. ROSS.

        J. R. HAWKINS.

        Copyright, 1922, by

        D. M. BAXTER

        Printed in the United States of America

Page 3

PREFACE

        AT the twenty-sixth General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which convened in St. Louis. Missouri, May, 1920, the author was elected Historiographer in lieu of assignment to an Episcopal District. In the order named, Bishop D. A. Payne, Bishop B. W. Arnett, Bishop H. M. Turner, and the Rev. John T. Jenifer (all deceased) preceded him in the position of Historiographer. The present task is to chronicle the doings of the Church from 1856 to 1922.

        The march of the African Methodist Episcopal Church may, for convenience, be divided into five general periods; the Sowing Period, 1787-1816; the Formative Period, 1816-1840; the Progressive Period, 1840-1863; the Expanding Period, 1863-1880; the Developing Period, 1880-1922. Bishop Payne's History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church fully covers the first two periods; and the third, partly. In the preparation of his history, Bishop Payne was greatly handicapped by the lack of authentic records, which is equally true of the author of the contents of this volume. History to be invested with intrinsic value must be buttressed by well authenticated facts. It is sheer folly--a monumental blunder--to attempt to make tradition, imagination, or rhetoric, either one or all, the foundation of accredited history.

        The material from which the present volume is framed is chiefly documentary and from works of reference, though the latter are few. The documents available are General and Annual Conference Minutes. The works of reference are the History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, D. A. Payne; Centennial Retrospect History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. J. T. Jenifer; Outlines of History, D. T. Tanner; an Apology for African Methodism, B. T. Tanner; Recollections of Seventy Years, D. A. Payne; My Recollections, A. W. Wayman; African Methodism in the South, W. J. Gaines; Scraps of African Methodist Episcopal History, James A. Handy; Africa and African Methodism, A. L. Ridgell; The Budget, 1787-1904, B. W. Arnett; Encyclopedia of African Methodism, R. R. Wright, Jr.; South African Letters, L. J. Coppin; Blue Book of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Africa, C. S. Smith.

        The reprinting in full of the Journals of the General Conferences of 1844 and 1860, and part of 1864 and 1868 is demanded, first, by the exigencies of the times in which they convened; and second, by the fact that presumably, there is but one copy of each now extant. The reprinting in full of the first three sessions of the South Carolina Annual Conference is required; first, because of the momentous issues immediately preceding and following the period which they cover; second, because they concretely define the three strategic points from which African Methodism expanded throughout the South, namely, Charleston,

Page 4

S. C., Savannah, Ga., and Wilmington, N. C., and third, because they will reveal to this generation the intrepid, daring, and heroic courage of the trailblazers who bore the banner of African Methodism throughout the regions made desolate and devastated by the ravages of war, but most gloriously enriched by the triumph of freedom. Moreover, the author probably has the only copy now available.

        A personal reference may be permitted. The author reached his seventieth birthday March 16, 1922. Of these seventy years, fifty-three were spent in public life, fifty-one of which were were devoted to the Christian ministry. He lived in the South from 1869 to 1878, and again from 1887 to 1900. He was a member of the House of Representatives of the Alabama Legislature, 1874-1876. Hence the opinions expressed and the observations made anent the Reconstruction Period in the South are based on personal knowledge and experience, and underlie the sundry opinions and observations expressed and set forth in this volume.

        In conclusion the author begs to quote a very pertinent observation from the preface to McTyeire's History of Methodism: "No one, with proper ideas, ever looked over a life that had been lived, or a book that had been written, without feeling and seeing that it might have been bettered."

CHARLES S. SMITH.

Detroit, Michigan, October 1, 1922.

Page 5

CONTENTS

Page 6

Page 11

To the Trailblazers, whose self-sacrificing and heroic labors made possible the expansion and development of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the West and South, this Volume is affectionately dedicated.

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CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS

        Period of Agitation 1787-1816--Period of Organization 1816-1820--First Period of Expansion 1820-1840--Second Period of Expansion 1840-1844--First Period of Development 1844-1851.

        WHILE the task of the author begins with the year 1856, in order to link up with the events from 1787 to 1856, he has deemed it advisable to construct the framework of the whole according to the plan indicated by the subheadings following the Preliminary Statement. What may be noted under the sub-headings from 1787 to 1856 should be regarded as a summary of the major events in the progress of the African Methodist Episcopal Church from its inception to the terminus of the third period of its expansion in 1856. This progress is noted in detail in Payne's History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Volume I. It should be borne in mind that prior to 1863, the operations of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States were practically limited to the regions outside of slave territory. Even here there was a limitation by reason of the sparsity of colored people dwelling on free soil. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island constituted the area in which there was opportunity for the exploitation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It should be noted that Western Canada afforded an additional area for successful endeavor on the part of said Church.

        The agitation that was begun in Philadelphia in 1787 for the organization of colored Methodists into a society separate and apart from the control of the white Methodists became infectious and speedily found supporters in other communities. The spirit of the time seemed to be ripe for the movement that was inaugurated by Richard Allen and his compeers.

        In 1816, at the time of the organization of the African Methodist

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Episcopal Church, sixteen delegates, representing five churches, participated in the proceedings. Of this number Philadelphia furnished five; Baltimore, six; Wilmington, Del., one; Attleborough, Pa., three; Salem, N. J., one.

        The agitation that had existed in Philadelphia and Baltimore prior to 1816 favoring the organization of colored Methodists into an independent organization had evidently reached Charleston, S. C. While Richard Allen and Daniel Coker headed the movements in Philadelphia and Baltimore, Morris Brown led one in Charleston. In the latter place it assumed form in 1817-18. At this time the organization numbered about one thousand. In 1822 the number had increased to nearly three thousand. Associated with Morris Brown in the work of organization were Henry Drayton, Charles Carr, Amos Cruickshanks, Marcus Brown, Stewart Simpson, Harry Bull, John B. Matthews, James Eden, London Turpin, and Aleck Houlston. They acquired a lot upon which they built a commodious but modest house of worship. They also owned their own "field of graves," which is to be understood as meaning a burial-ground. They were greatly elated over their success in being able to worship God under their own vine and fig-tree. Their rejoicing, however, was short-lived.

        An uprising of slaves in Charleston, in 1822, led by Denmark Veasey and Gullak Jack, having been discovered, the authorities of the State and city deemed it wise to suppress all assemblages of free colored people and slaves. Thus African Methodism in South Carolina was stifled to death in its infancy.

        None of the religious leaders who were associated with Morris Brown were implicated in the uprising. But rather than submit to being deprived of the right to worship God according to their own conscience, Morris Brown, Henry Drayton, Charles Carr, and Amos Cruickshanks emigrated to Philadelphia. James Eden, with a majority of the followers of Morris Brown, became members of the Scotch Presbyterian Church. James Eden subsequently sailed with the first emigrants who went from Charleston to Liberia, where he lived for many years. His death was lamented by all who knew him.

        Joseph M. Corr, who was elected secretary of the Baltimore Annual Conference in 1856, was among those who emigrated from South Carolina after the Veasey uprising was exposed.

Page 15

He was a native of Charleston and a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in that city prior to 1822.

        In 1819 William Lambert, a licentiate, was sent to New York to secure an opening for the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

        In 1820 Daniel Coker, one of the founders of, and the first bishop-elect in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, went to Liberia, West Africa, and subsequently to Sierra Leone, a British Colony adjacent to Liberia. While in Liberia, he acted for some time as the representative of the American Colonization Society. While in Sierra Leone he devoted much of his time to the work of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was its first missionary to the Dark Continent, though Bishop Campbell claimed that one Rev. Boggs was the first.

        As early as 1822 a debate arose in the Baltimore Annual Conference relative to the Western Territories and the Annual Conference under whose jurisdiction they should be placed. The record refers to it as "the country west of the Allegheny Mountains." The record is silent as to whether at this time there were African Methodist Societies in any part of this vast territory.

        There is strong ground for presumption that the African Methodist Episcopal Church had gained a foothold in Charleston, S. C., prior to 1822. Among the charges reported at the Baltimore Annual Conference of that year was "South Carolina City," with fourteen hundred members. This "South Carolina City" evidently meant Charleston, S. C.

        In April, 1822, Washington and Georgetown, D. C., and Piscatawa became a part of the Baltimore Annual Conference. In the same year the Philadelphia Annual Conference ordained Charles Buttles for the express purpose of sending him as a missionary to Africa. This purpose, however, was not carried out.

        In 1824 the Philadelphia Annual Conference included five churches in Western Pennsylvania and six in Ohio, one of which was in Cincinnati.

        In 1825 the Baltimore Annual Conference refused the request of Moses Freeman to be sent as a missionary to Haiti. He was appointed pastor of Bethel Church, Baltimore.

Page 16

        In 1827 Scipio Beans was chosen by the Baltimore Ann Conference to be a missionary to Haiti. He went at once his field of labor.

        In 1830 Jacob Roberts and Isaac Miller, of Santo Domingo were received into the Baltimore Annual Conference. At same Conference Samuel Ente offered to go as a missionary Santo Domingo. The same year Richard Robinson, of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was received into the Baltimore Annual Conference.

        On August 28, 1830, the Western Annual Conference was organized at Hillsboro, Ohio, embracing all the territory west of the Allegheny Mountains. There were 15 ministers and 1,194 communicants.

        In 1839 the total lay membership of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was 9,018. From 1816 to 1840 it had extended its operations into two additional States, Ohio and Indiana. This brings us to the second period of expansion, 1840-1844.

        In 1840 N. C. W. Cannon was appointed a missionary to all the New England States. In the same year the Canadian and the Indiana Annual Conferences were organized--the former to embrace all Canada, and the latter all the territory west and southwest of the Mississippi River. That which gave to the second period of expansion a distinctive setting and an historic value was the memorable achievements of William Paul Quinn, who was selected by the General Conference in 1840 as a missionary to the States west of Ohio. He was the first and the only person to be chosen by a General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to do general missionary work. It is estimated that in 1840 there were about 18,000 colored people in Indiana and Illinois. These people were chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits. At the General Conference of 1844 Elder Quinn reported that he had established 47 churches with 2,000 members. He also reported traveling elders, 20 traveling preachers and 27 local preachers; 50 Sunday schools with 200 teachers, and 2,000 scholars; temperance societies had been organized and 17 camp meetings established.

        When the physical and legal difficulties that Elder Quinn had to encounter are considered--that the hounds of slavery

Page 17

were scenting his footsteps at every turn he took; that many of the white people were domineering while his own people were timid; that the Fugitive Slave Law practically established a system of espionage over the movements of the colored people in the North that deterred them from going into slave territory--that despite these untoward circumstances and galling restrictions, he should have possessed the moral and physical courage to defy the slave power by planting the banner of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in two great slave centers, Louisville, Ky., and Saint Louis, Mo., makes one, even at this distance of time, feel like reviving the plaudits that greeted him when he submitted his report to the General Conference of 1844. He had the faith and daring of Paul, the intrepidity of Francis Asbury, and the blood and iron of Bismarck. He was matchless in heroism, superb in courage, and relentless in his attacks on the foes of his people. He was a militant soldier of the Cross. He was a giant in his day. The General Conference of 1844 manifested its deep appreciation of his herculean accomplishments by electing him to the bishopric. His life and labors are both a lesson and a rebuke to the timid and faint-hearted of this day; to those in the North who shrink from accepting a place in our ministry in the South because there are Jim Crow cars and other restrictions and inconveniences to which colored people in that section are subjected. What are Jim Crow cars, restrictions, and inconveniences of the present compared to the hardships, restrictions, and inconveniences imposed by slavery? At times William Paul Quinn could find no other means of conveyance than an ox-cart and there were times when he had no place to lay his head. Only a super-man could have borne the brunt of the battle as he did and gloriously triumphed. There is dire need to-day for many of this type.

        In June, 1844, the African Methodist Episcopal Church Magazine made its appearance under the management of Rev. George Hogarth. It was a monthly publication.

        The decade between 1844 and 1854 may be regarded as the first period of development. At the session of the Baltimore Annual Conference in 1845, a series of strong and comprehensive resolutions on education were presented by Daniel A. Payne, Henry C. Turner, Thomas W. Henry, Adam S. Driver,

Page 18

James A. Shorter, John Henson, and Daniel W. Moore. It was ordered that the resolutions be sent to each Annual Conference with a respectful request for their adoption. At this Conference A. W. Wayman was ordained a deacon. A very peculiar situation developed in the Philadelphia Annual Conference during the session of 1845. It was none other than the superannuation (illegal, of course) of Bishop Morris Brown, who had been stricken with paralysis while he was presiding at the Canadian Annual Conference of 1844. The superannuation of a bishop by an Annual Conference was clearly the usurpation of authority that belongs solely to the General Conference.

        The Ohio Annual Conference met this year in Columbus and made a distinct gain in constructive work by creating "The Union Seminary of the African Methodist Episcopal Church." It is in order to say that at this session of the Ohio Annual Conference a committee was appointed to select a tract of land for the purpose of erecting a seminary of learning on the manual-labor plan. They selected one hundred and seventy-two acres of land in Franklin County, Ohio, twelve miles west of Columbus. The consideration was $1,720, to be paid in installments. The Book Concern was reported to be in a very unsatisfactory condition.

        The Baltimore Annual Conference of 1846 made it the duty of the preachers to form educational societies in their respective charges. It also ordered fasting and prayer among the churches on the first Friday in September. It provided for the delivery of a missionary sermon in 1847. A resolution was offered favoring organic union between the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Zion Wesley Connection, to be considered at the session of 1847. At the New York Annual Conference of 1846, a resolution was adopted providing for a Preachers' Aid Society. A message was also prepared and approved to be sent to the Evangelical Christian Alliance to convene in London, England, on the nineteenth day of August, 1846.

        It may be interesting to note that in the year 1846, the African Methodist Episcopal Church existed in fourteen States, namely: New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan,

Page 19

Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri; also in Canada. There were six Annual Conferences--Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Canadian. There were about 71 stations and circuits and 296 churches and preaching-places, 3 bishops, 62 elders, 48 deacons, 66 licensed preachers, 96 local preachers and 17,375 lay members within those 6 Conferences. A Home Missionary Society was organized in the Ohio Annual Conference, and divided into three districts--the Cincinnati, Sandusky, and Ypsilanti (Michigan).

        In 1847 the Baltimore Annual Conference adopted a list of questions for the examination of applicants for admission. At this session a petition was received from the first colored Wesleyan Methodist Independent Society of Baltimore, which had been organized about the year 1841, asking for admission into the Connection. D. A. Payne introduced a resolution in favor of establishing a mission on the West Coast of Africa. A constructive movement was initiated in the New York Annual Conference of 1847, providing for the appointment of a committee to draft a constitution for a Sunday School Union to be known as the "Allen Sunday School Union." In this year the Ohio Annual Conference appointed a committee to secure the services of a lawyer to obtain a charter for Union Seminary. Another committee was appointed to draft a course of studies. In this year, on June 5, Bishop Edward Waters departed this life at Baltimore, Md.

        The year 1848 was pregnant with events of major importance to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Chief among these was the assembling of the eighth General Conference in the city of Philadelphia. Some of the doings of this General Conference were: the indefinite postponement of a recommendation of the Episcopal Committee to elect another bishop; the readoption of the constitution and by-laws of a missionary society which was organized in 1844; the establishment of a Book Depository in each Conference; the ordering of the Monthly Magazine to be made a quarterly, and a weekly paper to be printed to be called the Christian Herald; the adoption of a plan for common schools drafted by M. M. Clark; the appointment of D. A. Payne as Historiographer; and the equal division of the "two-cent money" at each Annual Conference--one half to be retained in the Conference

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to pay the bishops' salaries and to aid distressed itinerant, superannuated and supernumerary preachers; the other half to be sent to the General Book Steward to aid the Book Concern Further legislation had respect to the trial of a bishop; the definition and limitation of the power of trustees; requiring exhorters to employ their time and talents in the Sunday schools as teachers, and to lead and manage weekly prayer meetings; making a local preacher eligible to the order of a deacon after he had preached four years, on the request of the church through the Quarterly Conference. The phase of legislation that made this General Conference memorable was the decreeing:

That if any minister, preacher, exhorter, or member of a society who has been lawfully married, and shall separate and marry again while the other is living, he or she shall be expelled, and shall never be readmitted during the lifetime of the two parties; and that any minister who shall marry such knowingly shall forfeit his standing in the Connection.

        As it relates to the Annual Conferences of 1848, it is worthy of note that the Indiana Annual Conference received a petition from a society of colored Methodists in New Orleans praying that body to consider establishing the African Methodist Episcopal Church in their city. The petition was presented by Charles Doughty, a native Louisianian, and a licentiate in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The petition was accepted, the prayer granted, and the bearer of the petition was ordained a deacon and sent back to take the pastoral charge of the "Louisiana Missions," subsequently called Saint James' Church. There was considerable agitation among the churches in the cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, growing out of a struggle for supremacy between pastors and trustees. The course of this agitation and its termination are fully set forth in Payne's History, Volume I, pages 223-229.

        During the next three years, 1849-1851, among the events to be noted was the adoption of a resolution by the Baltimore Annual Conference (1849) to establish a mission in Africa and in the West Indies. The purpose of the resolution, however, did not materialize. This was caused by the desire to do being mistaken for the ability to perform. In 1849 emblems of

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mourning were found to be in evidence throughout the Connection due to the departure from this life of Bishop Morris Brown, in Philadelphia, on May 5. An interesting question that arose in the Philadelphia Annual Conference (1850) related to the right of certain female members to organize themselves into an association for the purpose of conducting evangelical and missionary work independent of the Annual Conference. At this Conference, the last Friday in June was set apart as a day of fasting and prayer for the abolition of slavery. This call to fasting and prayer was stimulated by the effects of the "Fugitive Slave Law." A committee was appointed to collect all the information possible relative to the history of the Church in the Philadelphia Conference, and to transmit the same to D. A. Payne. The Ohio Annual Conference (1850) organized a society to be known as the "Christian Herald and Book Concern Society." It also passed a resolution condemnatory of slavery, though it chose to be silent on the subject the year previous. Among the literary productions of 1850 was a very interesting account of a trip from New Albany, Ind., to Saint Louis, Mo., by J. M. Brown. This interesting narrative is to be found in Payne's History, Volume I, pages 242-244. At the Baltimore Annual Conference (1851) Bishop Quinn appointed Willis Nazrey his assistant or suffragan bishop until the next ensuing General Conference. This action was in keeping with a precedent established by Bishop Allen and Bishop Brown. Bishop Allen made Elder Morris Brown his assistant and Bishop Brown made Elders Edward Waters and W. P. Quinn his assistants. The question of the rights of stewards engaged much of the time of this session of the Baltimore Annual Conference. A long dissertation on the subject is to be found in Payne's History, Volume I, pages 244-249. In the Philadelphia Annual Conference (1851) resolutions were adopted condemnatory of the scheme of the American Colonization Society to deport free colored people to Liberia, West Africa.

        To the writer the wisdom of said action is questionable. The condition of the free colored people in the slave States was not as favorable as that of the bondmen. They were between the upper and nether millstone. The attempt of the American Colonization Society to form a government of colored people,

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by colored people, and for colored people on the West Coast of Africa, was a laudable undertaking. Had the condemnators and opposers of the American Colonization Society lent it their encouragement and support, Liberia to-day might be occupying a commanding position among the smaller nations of the earth; and there would have been less force to the slogan of Marcus Garvey, "Back to Africa." There are many colored people in this country ready, willing, and anxious to find a refuge beneath a flag that will mean to them in truth and reality protection for life, liberty, and property. Better that the bodies of these should fatten Africa's prolific soil than that they should be incinerated in bonfires in America.

        The New York Annual Conference, session of 1851, adopted an address to be sent to the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the West Indies, in which they were urged to be represented in the General Conference of 1852. Bishop Quinn closed the Conference with a characteristic address. In referring to the appointments he said:

I receive the places from you. Now, give me all good places and I will give good places to you all. When a preacher goes to an appointment and the people resist and starve him out, it is wrong for any other preacher to go and preach to them.

        Referring to ministerial comity, he said:

Do not cut and slash things because A or B had the charge there before you. Our work is not to tear down but to build up, to strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die.

        He sounded the following note of warning:

The brethren should exercise caution in forming unions with parties of men who have no permanent nor legal foundation--dissatisfied, split-off, or rebellious characters. It is not wise to preach for such.

        He ended with an observation on race relations, saying:

We should work together. Nine times out of ten when we look into the face of a white man, we see our enemy. A great many like to see us in the kitchen, but few like to see us in the parlor. Our hope is in God's blessing on our own wise, strong, and well-directed efforts.

        The address is to be found in full in Payne's History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Volume I, pages 256-57.

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        There was considerable contention in the Canadian churches this year (1851), and at the session of the Canadian Annual Conference every minister was impeached for:

Rebellion against the Government and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in electing Samuel H. Brown to Superintend the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada until the sitting of the General Conference.

        The difficulty was overcome by Rev. Brown voluntarily relinquishing all claim to the office of General Superintendent, and throwing himself on the mercy of the bishop and Conference. This was accepted as satisfactory and all who were charged with rebellion were forgiven. This Conference adopted a strong deliverance on the subject of slavery. It decried that institution as:

A gross outrage against humanity, a positive violation of every one of the Ten Commandments, destructive of all political, moral, and religious rites; which is in itself theft, murder, robbery, licentiousness, concubinage, adultery, and everything else that is sinful and devilish between heaven and earth.

        The only items of business other than the routine that characterized the Indiana Annual Conference were: the adoption of a resolution favoring the presiding eldership; a declaration in favor of reducing the representation to the General Conference to at least one half; the reception of the first colored Methodist Church in Sacramento, Cal.; and the sending of pastoral letters to the churches in New Orleans, La., and Louisville, Ky. R. M. Johnson, who had been appointed to raise money to establish a seminary within the bounds of the Conference, reported a failure in consequence of the "Black Laws" of Indiana and other States.

        The General Conference of 1852 convened in the city of New York on May 3. Bishop Quinn presided. M. M. Clark, A. W. Wayman, and Edward C. Africanus were chosen secretaries. One hundred and thirty-nine persons were enrolled as members, though all were not present. D. A. Payne preached the opening sermon. Text: 2 Corinthians, 2. 16. Subject: "Who is sufficient for these things?" Bishop William Paul Quinn, who was the only bishop in the Church at the time, read the Quadrennial Address. It was an admirable composition.

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Among the needs of the Church to which he called attention were: the election of an additional bishop; the creation of the office of presiding elder; relief for the Book Concern; the revision of the Discipline; the reduction of the number of dele gates to the General Conference; and the licensing of women in the Church. As to the latter, he stated that he had given the subject some thought, but not enough to warrant him in expressing an opinion as to its merits.

        The chief acts of this General Conference may be summarized as follows: voting adversely on the proposal to license women to preach; and the election and consecration of Willis Nazrey and D. A. Payne as bishops. The ordination sermon was preached by M. M. Clark. The consecration service was conducted by Bishop Quinn, assisted by several elders. At this time I am forced to offer a criticism concerning the contention of Bishop Payne that priority of ordination and not priority of election determines seniority. The Bishop's point of contention will best be seen through his own language:

If five or ten men were elected at the selfsame moment, but one could be ordained at a time, and the first ordained is necessarily the senior of those who may be elected by the same ballot.

        The Bishop's contention runs counter to the practice of Episcopal Methodism relative to what constitutes seniority in the episcopacy. The first and paramount requisite is election; consecration is secondary. In the balloting for bishops at the General Conference of 1852, Willis Nazrey received nine more votes than did D. A. Payne. While it is true that they were both elected on the same ballot, the fact that Willis Nazrey received nine more votes than D. A. Payne shows that Willis Nazrey was the first choice of the General Conference. This establishes his priority of election over D. A. Payne. It is hardly thinkable to those who knew Bishop Payne's modesty and meekness that he would have been responsible for such a contention. It discloses the ambition of humanity, and Bishop Payne was human.

        The report of the committee on Revision of the Discipline regulating the composition of the General Conference relative to the basis of representation and the mode of election was rejected. The name of the Christian Herald was changed to the

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Christian Recorder. Among the distinguished visitors introduced to the Conference were Dr. Pennington, of the Presbyterian Church; Dr. Thompson, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, president of the Ohio Wesleyan University; and Rev. Charles Avery, founder of Avery College, Allegheny, Pa., an institution of learning for the education of colored youth. W. T. Catto was elected general Book Steward; M. M. Clark, editor of the Christian Recorder; and W. H. Jones, traveling Book Agent.

        For the first time the Church was divided into Episcopal Districts, three being formed, namely: the first, including the Philadelphia and New England Annual Conferences; the second, the Baltimore and New York Annual Conferences; the third, the Indiana and Canadian Annual Conferences. Bishop D. A. Payne chose the first district, Bishop Nazrey the second, and Bishop Quinn the third.

        At the close of the General Conference the three bishops met and organized themselves into a body to be known as the "Council of Bishops." The following decisions were rendered at their initial meeting:

        The first number of the Christian Recorder was issued July 1, 1852. At the New York Annual Conference (1852), held in the city of Buffalo for the first time, the humorous situation was presented of sixteen members being impeached for maladministration. I say the situation was humorous, as it appeared to have been a case of "tit for tat." The whole of the West Indies was placed under the supervision of a missionary whose name is not disclosed.

        The Book Concern and the Union Seminary were the chief

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objects which engaged the attention of the Ohio Annual Conference in 1852.

        There is but little to be noted in the proceedings of the Indiana Annual Conference in the year 1852. The Conference was greatly elated by the receipt of the intelligence that the officers of the South Hanover College, in Jefferson County, Indiana, had made provision for the education, free of charge, of three colored youths of that State. This year the New England Annual Conference was organized in New Bedford, Mass., on June 10, Bishop D. A. Payne presiding. T. M. Ward was elected secretary. The Conference boundaries embraced all the territory included in the New England States.

        But little business was transacted at the Baltimore Annual Conference of 1853. Bishop Nazrey was the sole presiding officer. His opening address was terse and practical.

        At the Philadelphia Annual Conference of this year, Bishop Nazrey presiding, Dr. J. J. G. Bias presented a document condemnatory of African Colonization, and advised those of our people who intended to migrate to go to Canada, Haiti, or the British West Indies. A comprehensive report on the Book Concern was submitted by M. M. Clark, General Book Steward and Editor. Bishop Nazrey took occasion to stress the duty of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to foreign missions. "We have as much right," said he, "to look after perishing Africa and the West India Islands as any other Christian Church upon the face of the earth."

        The Canadian Annual Conference was presided over by Bishop Quinn. H. J. Jones of the Philadelphia Annual Conference was received as an itinerant elder. London and Hamilton were made stations. A change was made in some of the circuits.

        This year Bishop Quinn presided over the Indiana Annual Conference. William A. Dove was admitted on probation. Basil L. Brooks, John Turner, and Elisha Weaver were ordained elders. The three latter subsequently became outstanding figures in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. A matter of record, which is not entirely clear, concerned the relation of Asbury Church, in Louisville, Ky., to the Indiana Annual Conference. The matter was investigated but not definitely settled.

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        Bishop Quinn was the presiding officer of the Ohio Annual Conference which convened in Washington, Pa., on September 17. A. R. Green and Hiram Revels were the secretaries. These two subsequently attained great distinction, Hiram Revels being the first of his race to be elected a United States Senator.

        Bishop Quinn presided over the session of the Baltimore Annual Conference which met in 1855. A. W. Wayman was the secretary. Number of lay members reported, 5,508. The opening of correspondence with the Liberia Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church was recommended. C. Dunn, G. W. Moore, W. H. G. Brown, C. Hicks, J. M. Brown, J. L. Brister, C. F. Carr, and C. Dodson were elected delegates to the General Conference of 1856.

        The Philadelphia Annual Conference met this year at Philadelphia. Bishop Nazrey presided, assisted by Bishop Quinn. Joshua Woodlyn was the secretary. W. H. Jones resigned as agent of the Book Concern. The Committee on Missions advised the establishment of a Home and Foreign Missionary Society. Bishop Nazrey again pleaded for foreign missions, claiming that in the early days of the African Methodist Episcopal Church it had missions in Africa and Santo Domingo. The Bishop rendered a decision as to what would be a justifiable process of law; also as to members being in debt to one another. Dr. J. J. G. Bias, S. Smith, J. P. B. Eddy, J. M. Brown, Robert Collins, A. Johnson, L. J. Conover, and H. Dickerson were elected to the General Conference of 1856.

        Bishop Quinn presided over the New York Annual Conference. Leonard Patterson was the secretary. The number of lay members reported was 2,088. Edward Johnson and J. E. Dallas, of New York city, and Green Willis, of Long Island, were elected delegates to the General Conference of 1856.

        The New England Annual Conference convened at Providence, R. I. Bishop Nazrey presided. W. M. Watson was the secretary. Six hundred and sixty-one lay members were reported. There is no record of delegates to the General Conference of 1856 having been elected. Bishops Payne, Quinn, and Nazrey were present at the Canadian Annual Conference which convened in Chatham, July 21, 1855. The lay membership reported was 2,090. Benjamin Stuart startled the Conference by the introduction of a resolution petitioning the

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General Conference of 1856 to set aside the work in Canada into an independent body. The action of Benjamin Stuart was all the more startling because he had been a member of the Philadelphia Annual Conference for many years, and a resident of Canada only about twelve months. Then again, he was noted for his timidity, and it was never surmised that he would initiate such a bold movement. However, the man and the movement both appeared at the psychological moment. The resolution met with a prompt response in the hearts of all present. The three bishops assented to the measure as needful, just and beneficial. Bishop Quinn was apparently elated. The occasion was momentous and it signalized the first step toward the formation of the British Methodist Episcopal Church.

        The Ohio Annual Conference, which met in Columbus, in August, 1855, was distinguished by the presence of the three bishops. J. P. Underwood and Edward Davis were elected secretaries. Rev. Asbury and Rev. John F. Wright were introduced to the Conference. The latter delivered an address touching the proposal of the Cincinnati Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to establish a school of a high order for the education of the colored youth. The address of the Rev. Wright was greatly appreciated and the Conference tendered him a vote of thanks. The report of the Board of Managers of Union Seminary was not encouraging. It was reported that a movement was on foot among the members of Marshall Circuit, Michigan, to establish an institution of learning to be called "Quinn Seminary."

        The three bishops were present at the session of the Indiana Annual Conference which met September 1, 1855, at the camp ground of the Lost Creek Settlement in Vigo County. Among those admitted on probation were Page Tyler and W. R. Revels. W. A. Dove was received into full membership; 3,503 lay members were reported--an increase of ten. A benevolent society in New Orleans sent a donation of $47. A communication was received from T. M. D. Ward giving an account of the California Mission. Recommendations were adopted appointing a committee to receive proposals from the Methodist Episcopal Church for co-operative work in education; to secure an interest in Union Seminary, and failing to do so to select a location

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somewhere in the State of Indiana or Illinois for a seminary; and to establish a publication to promote the interest of the work within the bounds of the Conference.

        This year (1855) witnessed the birth of a new Annual Conference--the Missouri. It convened September 13, in the city of Louisville, Ky. Bishops Quinn and Payne were present. John M. Brown, of New Orleans, was the secretary. The Conference began with a lay membership of 1,698. The ministerial corps contained a number of strong characters. The over-shadowing significance of the organization of this Conference lies in the fact that it took place in one of the strongholds of slavery. Again we are confronted with the force of the term "super-man." The Missouri Annual Conference was brought into existence by super-men, abounding in faith, courage, and daring.

MEETINGS OF GENERAL CONFERENCES: 1820-1856

        1820, Philadelphia, Pa., July 9; 1824, Philadelphia, Pa., May 1-11; 1828, Philadelphia, Pa., May 12-27; 1832, Baltimore, Md., May 10-21; 1836, Philadelphia, Pa., May 2-11; 1840, Baltimore, Md., May 4-14; 1844, Pittsburgh, Pa., May 6-20; 1848, Philadelphia, Pa., May 1-23; 1852, New York, N. Y., May 3-20; 1856, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 5-20.

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CHAPTER II
THIRD PERIOD OF EXPANSION: 1851-1856

        Pioneer Work in California--The First Society--Joseph Thompson, First Pastor--Difficulties with Sinister Local Preachers--Incorporation of First Society--T. M. D. Ward Arrived in California--John M. Brown Entered New Orleans in 1852, Remained until 1857--Arrested Five Times--J. W. Early, a Retrospect--Went from Virginia to Missouri--Joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church--Licensed to Preach--Ordained a Deacon--At New Orleans in 1842--Planned Organization of First Society--Charter Secured in 1848--Saint James' Chapel, New Orleans, Dedicated--Rev. Early Proved Very Successful in Establishing Churches in Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa.

        THAT the epoch-making movements may be chronicled in their order as to time, three of them will be narrated under the heading of the Third Period of Expansion, 1851-1856. Charles Stewart, a local preacher, was the first to plant the banner of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in California. He sailed from New York on board the S.S. "Brother Jonathan," December 1, 1851. His route was via Panama, which place he left January 17, and arrived at San Francisco on Thursday, February 11, 1852.

        On Sunday, February 14, he held a prayer meeting in the home of Mr. Edward Gomez, whom he had formerly met on the Danish island of Saint Thomas, now one of the Virgin Islands belonging to the United States. His wife was also known to Brother Stewart, as he had previously met her in New York city. After prayer meeting he visited the room of James Nicholson, Henry Butler, James Barton, and Henry Lewis, all of whom, from a religious viewpoint, he found to be salt which had not lost its savor. On Tuesday, February 16, at twelve o'clock noon, he again visited those four brethren, and engaged in a season of prayer and communion concerning the spiritual condition around them. In their prayers they entreated the Lord to show them what to do, and before parting concluded that on the next day three of them would go out and seek a place wherein worship could be held. The prayer

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meeting lasted for two hours. In searching for a place in which to hold religious services, they succeeded in renting a house for forty dollars a month. The owner was an Englishman--a carpenter. They engaged him to make a small pulpit and sixteen benches, for which they paid him one hundred dollars. On Monday, February 22, 1852, the house was dedicated, and sacrament administered by the Rev. George Taylor (white) of Boston, Mass. On Thursday, February 25, the first weekly prayer meeting was held. It was attended by a goodly number of people. On March 1, 1852, there arrived from England a colored preacher by the name of Joseph Thompson. He had been ordained by the Wesleyan Methodists. He was accepted as the pastor of the colored church. Shortly after he had assumed the pastorate, certain parties whose stay in California had been anything else than commendable, approached Rev. Thompson with the view of persuading him to receive them as local preachers in good standing. Brother Stewart remonstrated against this on the ground that the applicants were not of good moral character. Despite this remonstrance, they were received by Rev. Thompson, and on the following Sunday two of them occupied the pulpit. One of them was made treasurer. At the next period when the rent for the church was due and the landlord appeared for his money, it was found that the treasury was empty, though forty-five dollars had been collected. When Rev. Thompson called upon the treasurer and his associates, they informed him that they had no money, and if the landlord had the key to let him keep it. At this juncture Rev. Thompson, who seemed to be much distressed, called on Brother Stewart and apprised him of the failure of the treasurer to pay the rent. Brother Stewart remarked that he was not surprised. Determined not to be baffled, he engaged a lawyer by the name of Aldrich, from New Orleans, to draw up an act of incorporation for an African Methodist Episcopal Church. After the act of incorporation had been prepared, it was taken to the mayor for his signature and the seal of the city. The mayor not only readily signed the document and affixed the seal, but he promised to give them one hundred dollars when they were ready to build. He said that the Act of Incorporation should be taken to Sacramento, the capital of California, to have the Governor sign and affix

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the seal of the State. On Saturday, April 29, 1852, Rev. Thompson started for Sacramento. Upon his arrival there he stopped at the home of Rev. Barney Fletcher, formerly of New Orleans, to whom, as well as to other persons, he made known his mission. The next day, Sunday, he preached for them, and at the evening service they gave him a collection amounting to forty dollars. Monday, May 1, he waited on Governor Calhoun, who graciously received him, heard his story, signed his papers, and gave him one hundred dollars in gold. The kind Governor directed him to go to the Adam Express Company, where he received a gift of another one hundred dollars. He also received one hundred dollars from the Townsend banking house, as well as a letter to their house in San Francisco. Rev. Thompson received such financial aid while in Sacramento that he was enabled to return to his home with four hundred and fifty dollars. This greatly cheered the heart of Brother Stewart. In San Francisco the Townsend banking house and the Adams Express Company each gave Rev. Thompson one hundred dollars. Mr. Argentai, an officer of the Government, gave two hundred dollars. Lawyer Aldrich gave fifty dollars, while numbers of others contributed building material sufficient to erect a house. A lot was leased from the Presbyterian Church on Stockton Street, and a contract entered into for the erection of a church to cost nine hundred dollars. On August 8, 1852, the building having been completed, was dedicated by the Rev. George Taylor. Six days after, August 14, Brother Stewart sailed for home on board the S.S. "Oregon." While his stay was brief and his work local, it was nevertheless effective, and prepared the way for the coming of the Rev. Thomas Marcus Decatur Ward, who justly may be styled the original trailblazer of African Methodism in California. He was the first ordained minister to labor on the Pacific Coast as a representative of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was assigned to that field by Bishop Quinn in 1849, but did not succeed in reaching there until the close of the year 1852. In establishing the work of the African Methodist Episcopal Church on the Pacific Coast, Rev. Ward encountered great difficulties and hardships. On account of the gold-mining industry, California had become a rendezvous for adventurers from all parts of the United

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States and Canada. In the mad rush to secure the material, things possessing a moral and spiritual value were overlooked. Life was largely that of the Ishmaelite. Hence the moral atmosphere reeked with corruption. Conscience was perverted. Freebooters, with all their disregard for law, order, and decency, reigned supreme. A preacher was looked upon as a nuisance, a thing to be despised. Deaf ears greeted the solemn tones of the preaching of the gospel. A wild orgy of dissipation and licentiousness prevailed. Is it any wonder that amid these untoward circumstances the heart of the preacher often quaked, and was at times sorely tempted and tried? This also accounts for the slow growth of all Christian endeavor during that reign of wickedness on the Pacific Coast.

        It will be remembered that in 1841 Charles Doughty, of New Orleans, La., appeared before the Indiana Annual Conference with a petition asking for the establishment of an African Methodist Episcopal Church in New Orleans, and that his request was granted. On September 29, 1852, Rev. John Mifflin Brown entered New Orleans to take charge of the affairs of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, having been sent there by Bishop Quinn. This was certainly a bold adventure. Being a free man, figuratively speaking, he carried with him the shackles of his enslavement; for was it not possible for some over-zealous supporter of slavery to trump up a charge against him, and by the aid of the intrigue of the officers of the law, impose a heavy fine, in default of the payment of which he would be held as a chattel until the fine was paid? While this was a possibility, fortunately it was not his fate. He remained in New Orleans for five years, during which period he was arrested five times because he refused to prohibit slaves from attending his church services. Though the members of his church were free people of color, occasionally one or more slaves would slip in during the hours of worship as silent listeners. It has been said that the Rev. Brown's frequent arrest was due not so much to the disposition of the officers of the law to hamper and punish him, as it was to the envy and jealousy of his own people. During Rev. Brown's labors in New Orleans four societies were organized; one church was built at a cost of three thousand dollars, known as Morris Brown, and one was purchased at a cost of two thousand dollars,

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known as Trinity. He was pastor of Saint James' Church for three years. He was then appointed by Bishop Payne to take charge of the New Orleans Mission, which consisted of Morris Brown and Trinity. Other places in Louisiana besides New Orleans, in which he established churches, were Algiers and Covington. In 1857 he left New Orleans to assume the pastorate of Asbury Chapel, Louisville, Ky.

        Another historic character who deserves special mention is the Rev. Jordan Winston Early, who was born in Franklin County, Va., June 17, 1814. In 1826 his family removed from the State of Virginia to that of Missouri and located in Saint Louis. In 1828 he was converted and attached himself to a religious society. He served as superintendent of a Sunday school. In 1853 he was licensed as an exhorter. When about eighteen years of age he resolved to learn to read and write. Having no opportunity to attend school, he sought the aid of a Presbyterian minister who sympathized with him and offered to teach him in the evenings. The offer was gladly accepted. As he was employed on a boat plying between Saint Louis and New Orleans, which caused him to be frequently absent from Saint Louis, his progress in learning was slow. He persevered in studying until he was able to read. Through the favor of one of the mates attached to the steamer on which he was employed, he learned to write. He was required to compensate both the Presbyterian minister and the mate for the instruction they gave him. Up to 1832 he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, but as African Methodism had been introduced in Saint Louis through the efforts of William Paul Quinn, and a small society organized, he connected himself with it. For some years he had been preparing to preach the gospel. In 1836 he applied for a license to preach, which was granted him by George W. Johnson, a member of the Ohio Annual Conference. For the first two years of the existence of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Saint Louis, meetings were held in private houses, and on account of the growing power of slavery they were necessarily obliged to proceed very cautiously. These were perilous times, and none but men and women of brave hearts, true courage, and daring, were able to brook the terrible pressure of the law and public sentiment. The effect of Nat Turner's insurrection in

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Virginia, which took place on Sunday, August 21, 1831, was still felt. This insurrection had caused the slaves and free people of color to suffer untold barbarity and persecution in many of the Southern States. In course of time Rev. Early and others obtained a small log cabin, near the end of Main Street, in which they held meetings. The society grew rapidly in numbers, which necessitated the securing of larger quarters. An old mission house, located at the corner of Seventh and Washington Streets, was obtained from the Presbyterians. This was repaired, made stronger, and decorated. The mission house having become too small to accommodate the society, they secured a large hall on Broadway over an engine-house near the center of the city. As the membership increased and the meetings became more popular, the officers of the society began to discuss the advisability of buying a lot on which to build a suitable house of worship. At the end of two years they purchased a lot at the corner of Eleventh and Green Streets, on which they erected a church building. It was built of brick and cost five thousand dollars. It had an auditorium with a gallery, was seated with pews, and had a basement where Sunday school and class meetings were held. This was in the year 1840.

        In 1838 Rev. Early was ordained a deacon by the Indiana Annual Conference, which met at Indianapolis, Ind. He had often expressed a desire to extend the work of the Church wherever opportunity would permit. Having occasion to visit and remain some time in the cities of Burlington and Dubuque, Iowa, he took advantage of his stay to try and create a sentiment in favor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This he also did at Galena, Ill., where his business often called him. Here a lot was purchased and preparations made for building a church. Rev. Early dug the first stone from the quarry which was used in laying the foundation. Great effort and much sacrifice were required to complete the structure. This church in after years became a flourishing station, and was the place of Bishop Shorter's conversion in 1859.

        In the year 1842 business caused Rev. Early to spend much time in the city of New Orleans, where he began planning for the establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and where he became closely allied with a number of men who

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were members of the Masonic fraternity, and with whom was led to confer on the utility of making an effort to organize a religious society. They agreed to try the project, provided permission could be obtained from the State authorities. Among those with whom he conferred was James Hunter, a man of worth and integrity. Among his friends was a member of the Legislature of the State of Louisiana, whom he persuaded to bring a bill before that body authorizing the establishment of an African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Legislature passed an enactment granting the organization of a religious society for free people of color, provided they should meet at a time between sunrise and sunset. In 1848 they secured a charter under those restrictions, a copy of which will be found in the Appendix. They were obliged to meet in private houses and that with great caution. They often had to conceal themselves from the police, meeting in an obscure room as far back from the street as possible; and keep a watchman near the entrance to the alley so that he might signal the worshipers in case they were being spied on, and thus enable them to disperse without being detected. No one of the present generation can form the least conception of the terror and disquietude that free colored people experienced who lived in the slave-holding States. As has been well said:

That infamous system of human oppression aimed to crush out all the light of the human soul. It made no compromise with wisdom or worth. All it called for was the utter subjection of the slave--soul, body, and spirit--in consequence of which there was constant jealousy exercised toward free colored people, for fear that they might diffuse some practical knowledge among the slaves or excite them to a desire for freedom.

        This seemed to fill the minds of the slaveholders with constant dread and apprehension and it led to the appointment of patrols who, like thirsty bloodhounds, kept vigil over the movements of the enslaved--more particularly over the movements of free colored people. Many devices were resorted to by the free colored people to evade the infliction of cruelty. The members of the society were kept continually under the surveillance of the slaveholders and other enemies of the infant church. In course of time a lot was purchased on Roman

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Street, on which was erected an attractive house of worship. It was dedicated "Saint James' Chapel."

        In 1851 Rev. Early returned to Saint Louis and began to expand the work of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He organized the mission at Carondelet with twenty-five members. In 1853 he organized a mission at Kirkwood. He subsequently established missions at Saint Charles, Roche Port, Washington, Jefferson City, Louisiana, Booneville, Saint Joseph, and Weston, all in the State of Missouri. It will thus be seen that he proved a powerful factor in supplementing the labors of William Paul Quinn in planting the African Methodist Episcopal Church west of the Mississippi River. The success of his work in that region as well as in New Orleans was phenomenal.

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CHAPTER III
SECOND PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT: 1856-1863

        Tenth General Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio, May, 1856--Episcopal Address Read by Bishop Payne--Majority and Minority Reports on Slavery--Interesting Discussion--Strong Debates on Both Sides--An Episcopal Seal Ordered to be Manufactured--General Conference of 1856 Noted for its Constructive Legislation--The Near Approach of Civil War--James Lynch--Preacher and Statesman--The Eleventh General Conference, Pittsburgh, Pa., May, 1860--Full Proceedings in Appendix--Provisional Proclamation of Emancipation Went Into Effect.

        THE Tenth General Conference convened in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 5, 1856. Devotional services were conducted by Bishops Quinn, Nazrey, and Payne. A. W. Wayman, Rev. James, and G. W. Brodie were elected secretaries. A. E. Green was chairman of the committee appointed to draft rules for the government of the General Conference. The following were among the delegates in attendance: J. P. Campbell, G. Hogarth, M. M. Clark, William H. Jones, Dr. J. J. G. Bias, John Peck, H. J. Young, A. W. Wayman, J. A. Warren, Peter Gardner, W. R. Revels, M. T. Newsome, R. M. Johnson, William Moore, R. Robinson, J. R. V. Morgan, J. P. B. Eddy, Elisha Weaver, and A. Woodford. The Episcopal Address was by Bishop D. A. Payne. It was informing, illuminating, and pungent with the flavor of intellectualism. It was by far the ablest deliverance that had been presented to a General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Some of the more striking passages were as follows:

Respecting the ministry we feel, as heretofore, that we all ought to cultivate our minds by the study of every science--physical, mental, and moral--so that we may be better qualified to study the Bible. No man should be more enlightened than the Ambassador of the Cross because no position is so commanding and no office freighted with such important results as his. Of all the ministers of Christ there are none who have more need of being thoroughly educated than those in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The literary advantages which the great Head of the Church has opened to our access demands
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our gratitude, our praise, our love. Twenty-one years ago there were but two institutions of learning of a high order in the whole United States where colored men could be educated in the same classes and on equality with white men. These were at Oberlin, Ohio, and Oneida, N. Y.

        A number of changes in the Book of Discipline were recommended. Emphasis was laid on the duty of the General Conference to give earnest attention to the cause of missions. It was pointed out that there had been a failure to prosecute the missionary work in Africa and Haiti which had been established in 1836. The report of the general Book Steward and Editor was comprehensive. The establishment of the office of General Traveling Agent was recommended. It was also recommended that the office of General Book Steward and the office of Editor be combined in one person. Other questions that engaged the attention of the General Conference were those relating to the churches in Canada, slavery, divorce, dress, Council of Bishops, bishops' residence, missions, and education. Peter Gardner, J. A. Shorter, J. R. V. Morgan, H. Young, A. Woodford, and W. R. Revels constituted the Committee on Slavery. The committee presented two reports--a majority and a minority. This produced a protracted and exciting debate that occupied the larger portion of two days. Among the other recommendations in the majority report was the following:

That page 124, in the Book of Discipline, 13th and 14th lines from the top, be altered so as to read: "The buying and selling of men, women, and children, except with an intention to free them immediately; or if he or they do not immediately emancipate them, he or they shall be immediately expelled."

        The minority of the committee contended that the existing provisions of the Book of Discipline relative to slavery were sufficient, and that there was no need for this amendment. The motion to adopt the majority report was lost. Among those who favored its adoption were Dr. Bias, J. A. Warren, M. T. Newsome, M. M. Clark, and H. J. Young. Among those who opposed its adoption were R. M. Johnson, J. P. Campbell, William Moore, R. Robinson, and J. R. V. Morgan. Those who favored the majority report held that the minority report was not sufficiently radical, while those who favored the minority

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report expressed the opinion that the majority report was too radical and might interfere with mercy and justice. The advocates of the majority report inclined to the belief that a state of things similar to those existing in the Methodist Episcopal Church was about to be introduced into the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Dr. Bias said:

The Methodist Episcopal Church was once a truly apostolic church, but she suffered slavery to get into her bosom like a little acorn--an acorn that developed itself, struck its roots deep into its heart, threw its gigantic trunk up towards heaven, and made almost everybody tremble before its monstrous aspect.

        John Morgan was the leader of those who favored the adoption of the minority report. Those for whom he spoke seemed to be strongly inclined to the idea that the adoption of the majority report would do more harm than good; and that it would prove a hindrance to the progress of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the slave States where it was then operating--Louisiana, Kentucky, and Missouri. The crux of the debate seemed to rest on the question whether church members holding slaves should emancipate them immediately as proposed by the majority report, or whether they should practice gradual emancipation as approved and advocated by the minority report. The contention of the minority indicated that they were afraid of offending the "good slave-holders"--those whom it was claimed were treating their slaves as though in the fear of God. The advocates of the minority report evidently forgot, if they ever knew, John Wesley's pronunciamento that "Slavery is the sum of all villainies."

        From 1848 to 1852 the Book of Discipline contained the following rule relative to divorce:

If any minister, preacher, exhorter, or member of our Society, who has been married shall separate and marry again while the former companion is living, he or she shall be expelled and shall never be admitted during the lifetime of the parties; and any minister who shall marry such knowingly shall forfeit his standing in the Connection.

        At the General Conference of 1852 the rule was altered so as to allow any one of the members to marry after obtaining a legal divorce, provided it was based on the act alluded to by our Saviour in the Sermon on the Mount. For some reason

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this amendment was not inserted in the Discipline. Dr. Bias moved the adoption of the rule on divorce as amended and adopted by the General Conference of 1852. This motion provoked quite a lengthy discussion which ended in indefinite postponement. A debate on the question of dress was precipitated by a motion to amend the rule on dress in the Book of Discipline so as to require each and all of our Annual Conferences to faithfully carry out the rule at each session; and provided that a minister was to be suspended for its violation, and that the preachers should conform to the requirement of putting off all superfluous and costly apparel. Though the amendment was opposed by such stalwarts as Dr. Bias, E. Weaver, J. R. V. Morgan, and A. R. Green, it was adopted by a vote of 24 for to 21 against.

        Another motion which provoked sharp debate provided for the appointment of three or five elders in each Annual Conference to be known as the

Bishops' Advisors in matters pertaining to the Conference and the removal of preachers, etc.

        Among the supporters of this measure were A. R. Green, R. Robinson, J. A. Shorter, and William Moore. It was lost by a vote of 15 for to 29 against. The question of requiring bishops to live within the boundaries of their respective districts was indefinitely postponed by a vote of 23 for to 2 against.

        Among other proceedings may be noted: the rejection of the proposal of the Cincinnati Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to establish, or aid in establishing, a school of a high order for the education of colored youth on the ground that its promoter, Dr. Durbin, was an avowed colonizationist, and, therefore, nothing good could come out of it; the adoption of the report of the Committee on Missions favoring the organization of a Parent Society with headquarters at Baltimore; the limiting of the membership of the General Conference to traveling preachers who had traveled six full years in the Connection, and one regularly licensed local preacher of four years' standing for every eight hundred lay members reported at the previous Annual Conference; the requirement of a majority vote of all the members of the General Conference present and voting, and the laying on of the

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hands of a bishop and six elders, as prime requisites for constituting a person a bishop; prohibiting a preacher from remaining on one station or circuit longer than two years, and in one city longer than four years, except the Editor and General Book Steward; providing for checking the danger of destroying our itinerant general superintendency by dividing the Connection into dioceses, and amending section 3 of the Book of Discipline so as to require the bishops to travel at large among the people, and to visit every circuit and station, providing that while one might have charge of a specific Conference, yet in any Conference where the interest of the Connection should require the presence of a bishop, in the absence of the one appointed to that Conference, or jointly with him if present, it would be lawful for him to go; providing that in all cases of difficulty where the presence of a bishop was required it should be the duty of the bishop nearest to attend, when official notice was given by the officers of the church fixing the salary of a bishop at two hundred dollars a year, with board for himself, wife, and children under twelve years of age, also house-rent, fuel, and traveling expenses; stipulating that in estimating the allowance for a traveling preacher, the same provision for board, house-rent, fuel, and traveling expenses was to be the same as that of a bishop; the ordering of an Episcopal Seal to be manufactured under the supervision of Bishop Payne, its face to be embellished with an open Bible, and upon its border to be the motto, "God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, Man our Brother." The following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

        Whereas we the members of this General Conference have heard from Bishop Payne that the history of our Church will be completed in twelve months; and

        Whereas in view of the great difficulties under which he has labored in gathering material for said history; therefore,

        Resolved, (1) That we return our thanks to him for his unremitting labors, believing that said history will greatly promote the religious, moral, and social elevation of our people.

        Resolved, (2) That we will do all in our power in the various charges to impress upon our people the importance of each family securing a copy of the same.


        It will be remembered that Bishop Payne was appointed Historiographer by the General Conference of 1848.

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        No General Conference from 1820 to 1920 was characterized by as much constructive legislation as that of 1856. It was in session for seventeen days. All honor and praise to the intelligence, insight, keen interest, patience, loyalty, and Godly judgment of the persons who composed it.

        In April, 1857, the Baltimore Annual Conference convened in Ebenezer Church, Baltimore, Md. This church is located in the southern part of the city. Bishop Payne, who presided over the Conference for the first time, was officially introduced. M. F. Sluby was elected secretary. Introductions included Rev. J. P. Campbell and Rev. David Smith, this being the first visit of the latter to Baltimore after an absence of many years. James A. Shorter was transferred to the Ohio Annual Conference. His going was deeply and sincerely regretted by the Baltimore Annual Conference. In this year A. W. Wayman laid the cornerstone of Saint Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D. C., and dedicated Ebenezer Church in Georgetown, D. C. During this year Bishop Payne was active in social work in the city of Baltimore. He organized the first Mental and Moral Improvement Society in Bethel Church; he also organized the Mothers' Association, which he succeeded in forming at a number of important centers. Its object was to enable mothers to aid one another in training their children, especially their daughters. To use Bishop Payne's language:

Perhaps the greatest curse which American slavery entailed was the destruction of the home.

        Furthermore he said:

No home, no mother; no mother, no home. But what is home without a cultivated intellect, and what is the value of such an intellect without a cultivated heart?

        Bishop Payne made a brief visit to Carlisle, Pa., where he had been wont to spend his vacations while he was a student in the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He entered the Seminary in 1835 and continued for two years, being forced to relinquish his studies at the end of that time by reason of failing eyesight. From Carlisle, Bishop Payne proceeded to his home at Wilberforce. After a short visit there

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he attended the Indiana and Missouri Annual Conferences. No details, however, are available in respect to the doings of those Conferences. The Philadelphia Annual Conference met in Columbia, Pa., Bishop Quinn presiding. Aside from the statement of Bishop Handy that a large amount of business was transacted, nothing can be said of its doings.

        In 1858 the Baltimore Annual Conference met in Israel Church, Washington, D. C., Bishop Payne presiding. Samuel Watts was elected secretary. The Conference was graced with the presence of many distinguished visitors, which included the Hon. James Pike, a member of Congress and formerly a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. John M. Brown became a member of the Conference by transfer and was appointed pastor of Bethel Church, Baltimore. The Revs. James A. Shorter, J. P. Campbell, and Peter Gardner were among the visitors. The Conference received the sad intelligence that Bishop Quinn, who had been assaulted the previous winter, was still unable to resume his official duties.

        This year the Philadelphia Annual Conference met in Philadelphia. Owing to Bishop Quinn's physical condition, Bishop Payne presided. There were a great many members of the Baltimore Annual Conference among the visitors. Among them was the Rev. A. W. Wayman. Bishop Quinn made his appearance near the close of the Conference, badly bruised and battered as the result of the assault previously referred to. His disfigured visage excited much sympathy for him and aroused great indignation against his assailants. Rev. Elisha Weaver accompanied him. In this year a young minister made his appearance in Washington, D. C., who was destined to become a great factor in the Church. The following is culled from Wayman's Recollections:

One day during this year a hack drove up to my door. I saw a young man, who had the appearance of a South Carolinian, get out and walk up on the front porch. I went to meet him. He asked if my name was Wayman. I said, "Yes, sir; come in." He then said that he was from Missouri and was on his way to Baltimore, where he had been appointed. He had his wife with him. I invited them in and made them welcome, remembering the advice of the good apostle, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers." That young Carolinian was H. M. Turner, afterwards Bishop Turner. I gave him the name of "Plutarch" and he became known throughout the Church by that name.
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        The fourth General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met this year at Nashville, Tenn. No bishops were elected.

        In 1859 the Baltimore Annual Conference met in Baltimore, Bishop Payne presiding. J. M. Brown was elected secretary. A. W. Wayman preached the annual sermon. Stephen Clark died while the Conference was in session. A prize essay was competed for. The subject was "Hugh Miller." A. W. Wayman was awarded the first prize. It will be remembered that the General Conference of 1852 divided the eight Annual Conferences--Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, Western, Canadian, Indiana, New England, and Missouri--into three Episcopal Districts. For some inexplicable reasons but few details, if any, of these Conferences are at hand, except those of the Philadelphia and Baltimore. Doubtless the records of many important events have been lost forever. Either that or there was failure to record them.

        From a national standpoint the year 1859 was made memorable by two events: the prohibition of slavery in Kansas by the adoption of the Wyandotte Constitution, and the antislavery insurrection at Harper's Ferry, which took place October 17, under John Brown, who was hanged December 2. Call him what name you may--fool, fanatic, madman, anarchist, revolutionist, would-be-murderer--he is the only being of whom the world has ever sung, "His soul goes marching on."

        A forecast of the political horizon pointed to the near approach of the Civil War. An impassable gulf had been formed between the forces of freedom on one side and the forces of slavery on the other. Evidently the slave-holding oligarchy had determined to cast the die and cross the Rubicon.

        In the Church the near approach of the eleventh General Conference was the magnet of interest. Before presenting the record of its proceedings, attention is directed to other items of interest. In March of this year Bishop Payne completed six years of incessant travel and labor, except for five months when he experienced an attack of nervous prostration. His traveling alternated between the East and the West. On his last trip East, March, 1860, he was joined by Rev. James Lynch, who was destined to win renown as a scholar, writer, preacher, orator, and statesman.

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        The Rev. and Hon. James Lynch was born in Baltimore, Maryland, January 8, 1839. His father, who was a merchant, was a freeman. His mother was a slave. Her husband purchased her freedom. Rev. Lynch was educated at Kimball University, Hanover, New Hampshire. In 1858 he joined the Presbyterian Church in New York city. He went to Indiana, where he spent some time in the ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. From there he went to Galena, Ill., where he married. Subsequently, April, 1860, he connected himself with the Baltimore Annual Conference by transfer. In May, 1863, he and J. D. S. Hall, of the New York Annual Conference, went as missionaries to South Carolina. He labored at Port Royal, Beaufort, and Charleston, S. C., and Savannah, Ga., and was one of the original members of the South Carolina Annual Conference. From February 24, 1866, to June 15, 1867, he was editor of the Christian Recorder. In the same year he went to Mississippi as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and served for a time as presiding elder of the Jackson District. At the same time he filled the position of assistant in the Educational Department of the Freedmen's Bureau. In 1869 he was elected Secretary of State, a position which he ably and efficiently filled. The author knew him personally, having met him in Jackson, Miss., in 1870. He was a man of fine attainments and the highest order of talent. Being one of the very few colored men in this country who were fortunate enough to obtain a college education prior to 1860, he not only wielded tremendous influence with his own people, but was regarded as an object of curiosity by the white people, particularly of the South. He died at Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday, December 18, 1871, and was buried in the city cemetery on the following Sunday. His reasons for deserting the African Methodist Episcopal Church in favor of the Methodist Episcopal Church are not known.

        In April, 1860, the Baltimore Annual Conference met in Washington, D. C., Bishop Payne presiding. J. M. Brown was elected secretary. James Lynch was received as a member by transfer from the Indiana Annual Conference. Several distinguished clergymen were introduced, among them the Rt. Rev. Bishop Payne, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of

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America, who was in charge of the diocese of Liberia, West Africa. Daniel Rideout was elected an elder. H. M. Turner, W. H. Hunter, G. T. Watkins, and Dennis Davis were elected deacons. The first two subsequently became chaplains in the United States Army. H. M. Turner was the first colored man to be appointed to that position. He was commissioned by President Lincoln. The Conference agreed to sustain W. H. Hunter for two years at Wilberforce University.

        The eleventh General Conference met at Pittsburgh, Pa., in May, 1860. The record of its doings will be found in the Appendix.

        In this year the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church convened in Buffalo, N. Y. The ratio of representation was fixed at one in thirty. The General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church assembled in Philadelphia, Pa. An adjourned session was held in New York City, June 6, when the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and a faction led by Rev. W. H. Bishop were reunited. There was no election of bishops this year by either of these two General Conferences.

        A striking incident which occurred in April, 1861, in African Methodist Church circles, was the refusal of the authorities of Baltimore to allow the Baltimore Annual Conference to convene in that city. The reason given by the Police Commission for this refusal was that the bishop of the Conference lived in Ohio and, therefore, could not enter Baltimore. Assurance having been given that the Conference would be held without Bishop Payne, permission was granted. The New England Annual Conference was held this year at New Haven, Conn. Bishop Payne presided. At the close of the Conference Bishop Payne called on the Rev. Theodore T. Holly, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, a young colored clergyman of brilliant intellectual endowment, who was subsequently elected missionary bishop to Haiti. Bishop Payne also paid a visit to the laboratory of Yale College. There he met Professor Silliman, Sr., who showed him the valuable and extensive library which he possessed. During the course of their conversation Bishop Payne asked the Professor if he thought slavery would be abolished. He replied, "Yes, I do believe that slavery will be abolished because there are Christians among the slaves."

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This, to Bishop Payne, was the reason advanced for the overthrow of the abominable system. The death of the Rev. J. J. G. Bias, M.D., took place at his home in Philadelphia, Pa. Bishop Payne preached the funeral sermon. He also secured the service of Mr. Sartain, a noted artist, to make a picture of Richard Allen, to be engraved for use in The Repository. Mr. Sartain made the steel engravings found in Payne's History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

        In answer to a general request, A. W. Wayman prepared an address to the bishops, ministers, and members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, bearing on existing conditions and urging continued loyalty to the Church. During the summer of 1861 an article appeared in the Christian Recorder from the pen of Rev. H. J. Young, giving an account of affairs in Canada. This article lodged doubt in the minds of some as to the real status of Bishop Nazrey. In October, 1861, all the members of the Philadelphia Annual Conference were requested to meet Bishop Nazrey in Philadelphia so that he might set himself right before them and the Church.

        The year 1861 was memorable for national and world-wide events. Nationally the supreme event was the bombarding of Fort Sumter, April 12, 13, by the Confederates. Other national events of a major character were the election of Jefferson Davis as the President of the Confederate States of America, February 9; the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, March 4, as President of the United States; and the battle of Bull Run, July 21.

        As to world-wide events, in this year (1861) the Austrian Empire received a new constitution; Victor Emanuel was made King of Italy; Spain, France, and England united in the Convention of London to enforce their Mexican claims and sent fleets to Mexico; and Prince Albert, Consort of Queen Victoria, died on December 14.

        In April, 1862, while Bishop Payne was in New York city, he attended a reception given to Rev. Alexander Crummell, a missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church to Liberia. Remarks were made by the Rev. Highland H. Garnet. These two distinguished prelates were moral and intellectual giants in their day. Both saw service in Liberia. Dr. Garnet preached in the United States Senate Chamber, February 18,

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1865. He represented this country as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Liberia, where he died and was buried.

        In April, 1862, the Baltimore Annual Conference met in Washington, D. C. Bishop Payne presided. James Lynch was elected the secretary. John J. Herbert preached the annual sermon. John Lane organized an African Methodist Episcopal Church at Annapolis, in February. Rev. B. T. Tanner, who, at the suggestion of Bishop Payne had entered the Presbyterian Church and been ordained, was received as an elder. J. A. Handy was admitted on trial. H. M. Turner, E. Boyer, and Richard P. Gibbs were ordained elders. It is somewhat significant that Revs. Tanner, Turner, and Handy were subsequently elevated to the episcopacy. Among the visitors introduced to the Conference was the Hon. Owen Lovejoy, M.C., from Illinois. He had delivered a lecture in Israel Church a short time before the meeting of the Conference. The trustees had secured a permit from the mayor to have the lecture. When it was shown to Mr. Lovejoy he burned it, saying that he did not need a permit to lecture.

        At this Conference a request came to Bishop Payne from the Preachers' Meeting at Philadelphia to come to the Philadelphia Annual Conference and decide Bishop Nazrey's episcopal status. The Baltimore Annual Conference passed a resolution asking him to go. When the time arrived for Bishop Payne to decide the question, the whole matter took a different turn. Rev. W. H. Jones came into the Conference. He was introduced by J. P. Campbell as the accredited minister from the British Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Nazrey then arose and said, "that he had been charged with not resigning according to promise." He called on Rev. W. H. Jones to affirm that he had resigned. His answer was that Bishop Nazrey had presented his resignation to the General Conference of the British Methodist Episcopal Church, which was the only statement that he made. By mutual agreement the matter was allowed to rest until the next General Conference. This year Bethel Church, Baltimore, lost that sweet singer, Rev. Charles Dunn. James A. Shorter, M. Sluby, and A. W. Wayman were visitors to the Philadelphia Annual Conference.

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        On account of the Civil War the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, did not meet in 1862.

        January 1, 1863, the provisional Proclamation of Emancipation that was issued September 22, 1862, went into effect. This was the greatest event in the history of the nation since the adoption of the Declaration of American Independence. Well might the immortal Lincoln have invoked upon that act the favor and blessing of Almighty God, and the considerate judgment of all mankind.

        April 18, 1863, Bishop Francis Burns, the first missionary bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church to Liberia, West Africa, died at Baltimore, Md., aged 53. He was born December 5, 1809, at Albany, N. Y. He entered the ministry in 1838, and was consecrated a bishop at Perry, N. Y., in 1858. He was a member of the Liberia Annual Conference when he was consecrated a bishop, and his body was removed to that country for burial.

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CHAPTER IV
FOURTH PERIOD OF EXPANSION: 1863-1868

        James Lynch and J. D. S. Hall Went to Charleston, S. C.--Baltimore Threatened With Invasion of Confederate Army--Colored Men Drafted for Federal Service--A. W. Wayman Went to Norfolk, Va.--Made Second Visit to Norfolk Accompanied by Bishop Payne and J. M. Brown--Bishop Payne Journeyed from Norfolk to Nashville, Tenn.--Called on Governor Andrew Johnson--Organized Two Churches--Meeting of the Twelfth General Conference--Proposal for Organic Union with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church--Major Martin R. Delaney Left Wilberforce for the South--Bishop Wayman and Elisha Weaver Visited Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S. C.--Organization of the South Carolina Annual Conference--Bishop Payne Visited Europe--Bishop Wayman Toured Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia--Organization of the Virginia, Georgia, and Florida Annual Conferences.

        IN April, 1863, the Baltimore Annual Conference met in Baltimore, Bishop Payne presiding. There was no disposition shown on the part of the city officials to prohibit the Conference from meeting. W. H. Hunter, J. R. Henry, and James Lynch were ordained elders. A Rev. Mr. Lee of New York city, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, visited the Conference with the view of securing some colored ministers to go as missionaries to South Carolina, which had been taken by the Union forces. He called on Bishop Payne to discuss the matter. The Bishop informed him that the African Methodist Episcopal Church had once operated in South Carolina; and that the loss of South Carolina to the Church was occasioned by a terrible excitement in 1822, caused by the discovery of a contemplated insurrection on the part of certain slaves for the overthrow of slavery in that State. He further stated that the African Methodist Episcopal Church being an independent ecclesiastical organization, gave the idea and produced the sentiment of personal freedom and responsibility for the Negro; and hence the authorities waged a warfare on our Church until it was entirely suppressed. At the close of the recital of this incident Rev. Lee said, "The field is yours; go

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and occupy it." James Lynch was the first one to volunteer to go. He was accompanied by J. D. S. Hall, of the New York Annual Conference. What a contrast in daring and courage with the timid, if not cowardly disposition exhibited by many of our preachers in this day. Conference ties, dread of Jim-Crowism, together with an absolute lack of the spirit of self-sacrifice, are retarding the development of the Church, as well as hindering its expansion. The Civil War had not yet ended when the Revs. Lynch and Hall defied the armed forces of the slave-holding oligarchy, and carried the gospel to their kinsmen in bonds and fetters. When the ministry of any branch of the Christian Church loses the spirit of self-sacrifice, it has a "name to live but is dead." Well might we pray most earnestly for the return of the courage, daring, and self-sacrificing spirit possessed by James Lynch and J. D. S. Hall. The scope of the Divine Commission, "Go preach my gospel," is as universal as the abode of human habitation, and was never intended to be circumscribed by the metes and bounds of an Annual Conference, or of that of any particular country.

        During this year, 1863, Baltimore was threatened by an invasion of the Confederate Army. Every able-bodied Negro was arrested by the police and carried to the outskirts of the city to assist the United States Government in throwing up breastworks. A. W. Wayman, who was the pastor of Bethel Church at the time, was among those arrested, but when carried before the Captain was turned loose. Before leaving he made a brief talk to the officers present, saying:

Gentlemen, there is no need of the police officers running us down this way. All that was necessary was to let us know that we were wanted, and you could have had five thousand of us before sundown. All that I want is for some one to preach to my people to-morrow morning, and here am I.

        Rev. Wayman obtained a pass which secured him against further molestation. W. H. Hunter was among those arrested, and in the summer of 1863 was appointed Chaplain of the First Maryland Colored Troops.

        During the summer of 1863 an army officer was sent to the eastern shore of Maryland to a certain plantation where there were a great many slaves, for the purpose of recruiting them.

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When he had reached his destination, he rode across the fields and every Negro he came to he asked if he did not want to be a soldier. The answer was invariably, "Yes." All who thus answered were told to go to the wharf and await the officer's arrival. This was followed by a regular stampede, and by the time the officer got back to the boat--for he had come there by steamer--a great crowd was there. Among them was the county constable, who came to forbid the military officer taking the slaves away. The Captain's reply was, "I must carry out my orders." The constable then said, "Sir, I forbid you taking these slaves away." The officer answered, "I have orders from the Secretary of War to do what I am doing, and if you wish any redress go to him;" and then said, "Boys, go aboard." It is needless to say that the boys promptly obeyed. As the boat left its moorings they began to sing:


                         Fare you well, fare you well,
                         I am going away to leave you, fare you well.

        On reaching Baltimore they were drilled and uniformed and sent to the front. About the same time several companies went out from Bethel Church. The bones of many of them rest in the soil of Virginia. What a tragedy of fate that their kinsmen of this day should be burned, lynched, oppressed, and made the victims of all manner of injustice.

        In the autumn of this year, 1863, Rev. Wayman moved southward. He was prompted to go because he had been advised that the colored members of Butte Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Norfolk, Va., being without religious leadership and instruction, desired to unite with the Baltimore Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and wished him to visit them. He gladly accepted the invitation, regarding it as an opportunity afforded by Providence for him to preach his favorite text, "I seek my brethren." When he went to the provost marshal for a pass to go to Norfolk he was informed that the military never interfered with religious affairs, and, therefore, he would have to write to Norfolk for what he wanted. However, after he had made certain other representations, he received a pass. At this juncture an important missing link is to be noted--the date of Rev. Wayman's departure for Norfolk. In all my research

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work for reliable historical data, the absence of specific dates is the greatest handicap. On arriving at Norfolk Rev. Wayman was met at the boat by Brother Peter Shepherd, who subsequently became an itinerant minister, and a member of the Virginia Annual Conference. Rev. Wayman's visit was rewarded by the reception of a church of eight hundred members and nine local preachers. Thus did another Daniel dare to enter the lions' den of American slavery. Note this, ye ministerial slackers of this day, with your D.D.'s, Ph.D.'s, LL.D.'s, etc., and yet who shrink from every opportunity and task requiring courage and sacrifice.

        Be