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History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church:
Electronic Edition.

Payne, Daniel Alexander, 1811-1893

Ed. by 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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First edition, 2001
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Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2001.

        © This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.

Source Description:
(title page) History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
Daniel A. Payne
Ed. by C. S. Smith
xvi, 502 p., ill.
Nashville, Tenn.
Publishing House of the A. M. E. Sunday School Union
1891
Call number BX8443 .P28 (Holgate Library, Bennett College, Greenboro, NC)

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Library of Congress Subject Headings, 21st edition, 1998

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Illustration

Rt. Rev. Richard Allen
1st Bishop of the African M. E. Church
[Frontispiece Image]

        

Illustration

[Title Page Image]

        

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[Title Page Verso Image]

NOTICE.

        FINDING it impossible to carry out my original intention of publishing THE HISTORY OF THE A. M. E. CHURCH in a single volume, this is to give notice that the present volume will be considered as Volume I., or, THE HISTORY OF THE A. M. E. CHURCH FROM 1816 TO 1856.

        Volume II. is now in course of preparation, and will be issued as soon as possible.

D. A. P.

HISTORY
OF THE
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,

BY

DANIEL A. PAYNE, D.D., LL. D.,
One of the Bishops of the A. M. E. Church; Author of "The Semi-Centenary of African
Methodism;" "A Treatise on Domestic Education;" "Recollections of Seventy
Years;" ["]General Conference Sermons."

EDITED BY REV. C. S. SMITH, D. D.

TWO PARTS. IN ONE VOLUME.

ILLUSTRATED.

NASHVILLE, TENN.:
PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE A. M. E. SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION.
1891.

Page ii

ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1891, BY
DANIEL ALEXANDER PAYNE,
IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON.

Page iii

PREFACE.

        THE General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, seeing the necessity and desirability of having the history of the rise and progress of the Church set forth clearly and concisely for the benefit of its ministers and members, authorized Rev. George Hogarth, the General Book Steward and editor of the Magazine from 1840 to 1848, to publish a work entitled, "The Rise and Progress of the African Methodist Episcopal Church," with a revision of the life and death of Bishop Allen. Mr. Hogarth, for various reasons, never accomplished the work which had been thus assigned to him. He had frequently called upon the ministers of the Connection to furnish him with the documents, and other data necessary for him to go on with the history, but owing to the general apathy on the subject no response was made to his inquiries, and at the date of his death nothing had been done.

        In the General Conference of 1848 the question of having the history written was again brought up, and by a numerous vote I was invested with the power and work of Historiographer of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. During the years from 1848 to 1850, following the example of the General Book Steward, Mr. Hogarth, I sent to the various ministers and officers of the Church, asking for the necessary information to enable me to fulfill the duties of my position, but always met with the same result--no notice was taken of my request, and no responses were made.

        Meanwhile, everything I came across having the nature of history was seized and carefully put away. Finally, I perceived that unless I went in search of material, the history would never be written by me. Therefore, I begged Bishop Paul Quinn to release me from pastoral work in order that I might go in search of historical documents and converse with the contemporaries of Bishop Allen and his coadjutors, for many of his intimate friends and advisers were then living. But the Bishop refused, saying: "I will give you a small appointment which you can manage, and at the same time go on in search of what you need." To this I replied: "That is impossible." But the good Bishop persisted, and at the close of the Baltimore Conference of 1850, which sat in Washington, D. C., in April, he sent me out as pastor of the Ebenezer A. M. E. Church, of Baltimore, Md.

        The announcement was made on Monday or Tuesday. The following Friday morning I went to Baltimore, and in the evening met the class-leaders and stewards, of whom I made inquiries concerning the condition of the charge; but to not one of my questions would they give any information. Therefore, I said: "Brethren, why do you not answer my questions?" The chief steward replied: "Dr. Payne, we might as well tell you at once. The people met here last Wednesday and passed a resolution to reject you

Page iv

as their pastor." Said I, "Is that true?" "Yes," he replied, "it is true." Again I demanded, "Is that true?" He said, "Yes." Then I rose, took my hat and cane, saying, "Good-bye, brethren; I shall never cross your threshold again as your pastor. But," said I, "what are your reasons for refusing to have me as your pastor?" He said: "The people say they have no objection to your moral character. They believe you are a Christian gentleman; but they say you have too fine a carpet on your parlor floor, and you won't let them sing the cornfield ditties, and if any one of them should invite you to dine or take tea with him, you are too proud to do it."

        But the Omniscient Head of the church militant and triumphant overruled this rejection of his servant for good, as the sequel shows:

        (a.) Bishop Quinn, having been informed of the fact that I was rejected, visited Baltimore, and urged me to take possession of the pastorate, assuring me that the civil law would protect and defend me in so doing. I replied that I was willing to go wherever the people were willing to receive me, but my own sense of what was right and proper would not allow me to force myself on a people who had formally rejected me.

        (b.) By this adverse occurrence, I was free to travel in search of material for our Church history.

        My searches and researches commenced at Baltimore, and continued up to Portland, Maine; then through Ontario--called at the time "Canada West"--and Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky to St. Louis. Thence I proceeded by steamer to New Orleans, at that time the extreme southwestern point of our field of labor. Returning from New Orleans, I passed through Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and arrived at New York in time to be present at the General Conference held in that city in 1852.

        As Philadelphia was the fountain and headquarters of African Methodism, I expected to obtain the most information in that city, and in this I was not disappointed. Mrs. Adams, the youngest daughter of Bishop Allen, had in her possession a large old trunk which had belonged to the Bishop. To this I obtained access, and upon examination found that it contained the most valuable documents extant which could shed a ray of reliable light upon the early history and character of the illustrious man.

        These documents are the manuscript basis of what is called "The Life, Experience and Gospel Labors of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen." There was also an unbound manuscript entitled, "Articles Improving, Amending and Altering Articles of Association of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, commonly known by the name of Bethel Church, of the city of Philadelphia, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by and with the consent of two-thirds of the male members of said church."*

        * This association to regulate and govern the mother church adopted seven articles. It is dated, Philadelphia, the 24th of March, 1817; certified to be lawful by Joseph McKean, Esq., Attorney General, after which the Articles of Association were persued and examined by the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth, and pronounced lawful by Judges Thomas Tilman, Jasper Yeats, Thomas Smith and H. H. Breckenridge; and then ordered to be enrolled by the Governor of the State.


Page v

        The former document contained thirty-seven pages, and was written by Bishop Allen's son, Richard Allen, Jr. The proof of this statement is confirmed by the minutes of the Baltimore Conference for 1818-19, which are also in my possession. The minutes of these two Conferences were written by young Richard, then about fourteen years old. The manuscript of the Philadelphia Conference of 1818 is also in my possession. It was enveloped by a thin pasteboard cover, which is so colored as to imitate conglomerate stone. Being too small for the manuscript, this cover did not give that perfect protection which a larger covering would have furnished. It was labelled on the back:

RICHARD ALLEN,
JOURNAL,
MARCH 13TH, 1826.

        I also obtained from the widow of Rev. Joseph Cox his own journal, as closely kept as that of Bishop Allen--in a pasteboard portfolio. These were the only two personal journals of the "Fathers" that I found in the city of Philadelphia. Brother Cox was a local elder in the mother church, and in mental power excelled all but Joseph M. Corr, who was "General Secretary" for the three Conferences--Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York. Joseph M. Corr was also a local preacher and class-leader, and a tailor by trade. Although he kept the fullest and best minutes of the three Annual Conferences, he kept no journal of his daily private life. Beyond these two journals nothing was found in Philadelphia concerning the beginning of things--nothing but "tradition," and that was contradictory.

        Elder Clayton Durham and Deacon Walter Proctor were associates of Bishop Allen. Good and useful men were they, but illiterate. Bishop William Paul Quinn was also in the city of Philadelphia (1850). Added to these, I found a stalwart layman named Jonathan Tudas, from whom I obtained an interesting account of the convention--not the General Conference, because at that time (1816) there were no Conferences in existence to be represented by a General Conference. There were only separate and independent churches from Baltimore, Md., Wilmington, Del., Attleborough, Pa., and Salem, N. J., which met in Philadelphia, organized a convention, and in that convention organized the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Jonathan Tudas was present, and from his lips I obtained the "tradition" which is given the reader in the second chapter of this history. But before I would accept his narrative as correct, or approaching correctness, I interviewed Clayton Durham, a member of the convention of 1816, and Bishop Quinn, who, like Jonathan Tudas, was present, but not a member--being permitted to see and hear all that was said and done. Walter Proctor was not present, but he had obtained from Allen and Durham all that was said and done. To these three persons I put the following question:

Page vi

        "Can I depend upon any statement made by Jonathan Tudas respecting the sayings and doings of the convention of 1816?" To this interrogation every one of them answered in the affirmative, and assured me that Tudas had a powerful memory, and was a man of unquestionable veracity.

        Leaving Philadelphia, I traveled throughout the whole of the territories embraced by the Connection, including Canada West. From Washington, D. C., I went to Portland, Me., and then from St. Louis to New Orleans and as far West as Iowa City, in search of historical material.

        At every point and in every place I searched as diligently as I did at Philadelphia and Baltimore (for the latter city was as much a fountain and a factor, original and powerful, as the former).

        Every pamphlet, every Conference minute, Quarterly and Annual, with every scrap of paper that threw a ray of light upon the genesis and progress of the Connection was examined and copied, and, whenever permitted, I took possession of it. But after I had seen and gathered all available material, I perceived and recognized the fact that the materials providentially saved were both sparse and poor. Nothing reliable, nothing indisputable had been obtained--nothing but the minutes of Quarterly and Annual Conferences. What, then, could I do? Tax the imagination? Imagination is not history. It is the source of romance. Could I depend upon tradition? Because it is contradictory, it is therefore unreliable. At first it may be like pure water flowing from a pure fountain, but in its passage through ravines, glens and valleys, through bogs, quagmires and swamps, through creeks and rivers into the ocean, it becomes stained, polluted, muddy and filthy, like the waters of the great Mississippi. No, no, no! History can find no firm foundation in tradition. Neither can it in rhetoric, for that often canonizes falsehoods and lies as well as facts and truths.

        Upon, what, then, must history be based? Upon unquestionable official monuments like the pyramids of Egypt--like its obelisks and its Sphynxes, its Karnac, its hieroglyphics--which have been preserved through thirty centuries, and brought down to us the histories of ancient Egypt, once mistress of the world, but now, alas! alas! "the basest of the kingdoms."

        We say that history must also be based upon documents, official and irrefutable. Such are the minutes of our Quarterly and Annual Conferences. They are manuscript and printed documents of the genesis and development of the past. The sayings and doings which they record were recorded because they were sayings and doings; the facts and events which they chronicle are chronicled because they actually occurred, and were attested by those who were eye and ear witnesses of them.

        Official documents, whether correct and accurate, or incorrect and inaccurate, we cannot go beyond. The facts which they record are recorded because they are facts. It is presumed that all statements were examined and sifted before they were accepted and put on record, therefore they are reliable. If such monuments of the past are not to be credited, what is?

        Once more, the correctness and accuracy of a record depends much upon the competency of the chronicler, the secretary, or upon the printer;

Page vii

but neither accuracy nor inaccuracy can destroy the reality of the facts--neither can they annual the events.

        I am now prepared to inform the reader that our first chapters may be called Documentary History, because they are based upon the minutes of the several Annual Conferences. So if it be objected, the fact that the early part of the history of our Church being based upon such scanty material must be taken into consideration. To such objection our reply is: We cannot make that rich whose nature is poor. Should we make the attempt, it would be fiction, not truth. If the "Fathers" have given us sparse minutes, we cannot make them full. They are gone to their eternal rest; we cannot call them back. They have left for us the records of their labors; we have made the best of them--the best possible to us.

        If Bishop Allen, Bishop Morris Brown and Bishop Quinn had kept daily private records of their private and public lives, the first part of our history would have been ten-fold more interesting than it is. If all the secretaries who succeeded Joseph M. Corr had detailed the transactions of the Annual Conferences which were in existence from 1816 to 1840, when the Indiana Conference was organized by Bishop Morris Brown at Blue River, Indiana, our history would have been fuller and more instructive than it is. Up to that date the most detailed minutes are those given us by Joseph M. Corr and Lewis Woodson--the former of Philadelphia, the latter of the Ohio Conference. For beauty of penmanship and detailed entries, David Ware may be ranked with them; but it is my duty to say, as a faithful historian, these three secretaries were really laymen, i. e. local preachers, who obtained their living by secular employments, who, by the civil and ecclesiastical laws, are ruled out of the ranks of the clergy. These facts indicate the illiteracy of the itinerant ministry up to 1844.

        We now remark that the first parts of our history may seem stiff and monotonous, but they are rocks--unchangeable rocks. The Great Teacher, who is also the greatest factor of human history, tells us that a wise man will build his house upon a rock. But the latter part of our history is full of life, because it represents the living times, many of its actors being now on the stage still performing their part in the drama. The materials of our history are now increasing, and becoming rich as well as abundant. They ought to be carefully preserved for the future historian.

        To this end we cannot be too careful in electing secretaries; and the Bishops ought to conscientiously keep their own diaries and journals, both private and official. The presiding elders should be required to do the same, and no one should be a presiding elder who is too illiterate to register his daily work. Then, too, if the pastors will write monographs of the several pastorates which they serve, including men and women noted for their piety, usefulness and faithfulness, we shall have at the celebration of our first centennial, which will occur in 1916, varied, abundant and most valuable materials, wherewith the historiographer of that day shall be enabled to furnish to posterity an instructive history.

        And now, may I not say a word to my readers as to the nature and uses of history?

Page viii

        As regards its nature, one has said, "History is philosophy teaching by example." Let us regard this definition as scientific. As a Christian educator, I shall say, history is a method which God employs to teach us that righteousness exalteth the individual and the nation, and sin is a curse to the individual and to the nation. This definition can be demonstrated by biography as well as by monography and general history. We say, therefore, that the Creator of man teaches him by the course of history, as he does by no other method. History is illustrative and confirmative of the teachings of revelations and the utterances of prophecy.

        What are the uses of history?

        (a.) History may be used to teach man the truth--that there is a Supreme Being above him, behind him and before him, enlightening him, counseling him, and controlling him by limitations of time and power.

        (b.) A second use of history is to teach that the Supreme Being is not a god; but the ALMIGHTY GOD, the All-Wise. Good, holy, infinite in all his attributes, he is the God who both causes and permits human actions, be they intellectual activities, moral sensibilities, or movements of the will, causing only the good, and permitting the bad.

        (c.) A third use of history is to teach man that God is the supreme, absolute, irresistible factor of history. "This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (Isaiah xiv. 26, 27.)

        "When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only." (Job xxxiv. 29.)

        Indeed, all the prophets from Moses to Malachi teach us the truth that God is the absolute factor of history. And the teachings of Jesus and the apostles go beyond them, as revealing the Omnipotent Hand in human history, individual and universal.

        History, both sacred and secular, reveals another startling, I may say, appalling truth--that good angels and good men are co-operating factors with God, on the one side; while bad men and bad angels are co-operating factors with Satan, on the other side. Behold the contending factors of history!

        So, also, history shows that God deals with his Church as he deals with the state. Both prosper and perpetuate their existence as they observe, reverence and keep his commandments, his statutes and his judgments--both fall under his indignation and are destroyed as they disobey him and contemn his commandments, his statutes and his laws. Sacred history abounds with examples illustrating and confirming these statements we have just made.

        Lastly, both sacred and secular, sometimes called profane history, show that Churches, as well as states, monarchies and empires, are limited by divine power; that when their time expires no human or divine agency can prolong their existence, and that the invisible power brings them to a final end.

Page ix

        The antediluvian Church seems to have had no organic form, but we see stars of the first magnitude shining in its firmament--stars such as Abel and Seth, Enoch and Noah. This inorganic four was useful for the antediluvian age. When that age expired it passed away forever.

        Out of the flood and the ark, which sailed upon its bosom, came Noah and his sons as new seed for a new state and a new Church. From the three rescued brothers, the eldest, Shem, was chosen, and of his immediate descendants Abraham was selected as the root of that divine tree which God the Father ordained to become the Tree whose juices and leaves and fruit are for the healing of nations. It assumed two successive outward forms: the Patriarchal, then the Mosaic or Jewish. The first was very simple; the second, very complex and gorgeous. Both continued performing their functions for ages, then each was displaced and gave way to a nobler one. Mark well, each of these was racial. Then came the noblest of them all--called at Antioch the Christian, but styled by the Prince of the Apostles, "The Church of the Living God;" non-racial, therefore, to stand forever on earth till she shall conquer all the races, make them one in Christ Jesus, then ascend into the heaven of heavens, or become "The New Jerusalem," whose foundations are eternal, whose inhabitants are the sinless. This Christian Church, which St. Paul styles the Church of the Living God, is universal and invisible--embracing all the saints on earth and all the saints in heaven. The different denominations may be compared to so many regiments in the "Grand Army," each of which makes and writes its own history.

        Believing as we do that the African Methodist Episcopal Church is one of the regiments of the grand division of the "Grand Army," and that she has to make and write her own history, we humbly present the following pages as preserved sheets of history already made and still developing. May the reading and studying of these preserved sheets contribute to the intellectual, moral and spiritual edification of its laity and clergy, stimulating their continuous growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, "be blessing and glory, and wisdom and honor, and power and might, forever given." Amen and amen.

D. A. P.

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Page xiii

Page 1

PART FIRST.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY REFLECTIONS.

        Three Points of History--The Historian's Task--Its Fulfillment--In Civil Life and Ecclesiastical Life--Churches and Conferences--Pastors and Flocks--Remarkable Men and Women--Bishops--A Perfect History of the Redeemer's Church.

        IN all history there exists the necessity of three great points, and without these being brought forward and cleared of all superincumbent affairs which do not accord with them, no properly written history or accurate knowledge can be obtained. The first of these three points, which must be brought out clearly before the mind, is the actual facts--facts which will stand the severest test and bear the truth upon their face. The next point of importance is the judicial weighing of this testimony--the patient unraveling of the tangled skein; the gathering up of the broken ends and the piecing of the fragments and bringing them into a harmonious whole. To do this, we are required to make inquiries into the nature of things--the condition of affairs which led to the ultimate consummation of what took place--or in other words, Why did the facts, which we know to have occurred, so occur? There must have been some reason for events shaping themselves in the way they did. The third great question before us is the results following such a course of events. In the performance of this duty, the historian, if he will faithfully perform his duty, has no easy work before him. It is his obligation not only to exhibit facts as they are and occurrences as they were; the character of private and public men as their conduct manifested it; to tell of governments and the principles by which they developed themselves; of legislators and the laws which emanated from them; but also to show the effects of these upon the people among whom they obtained, both in times of peace and warfare; to trace their influence upon surrounding nations

Page 2

and the influence of surrounding nations upon them, until they have reached the climax of their prosperity; depicting their virtues and vices in the most graphic manner, extolling the one and denouncing the other; thus following the subjects of his story from infancy to old age and from the cradle to the grave of their national existence, bringing to light the invisible hand of the God of nations which led them through all their vicissitudes, now exalting them on account of their virtues and then casting them down because of their vices. Thus does he fulfill his difficult task--teaching mankind by living and striking examples that "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people." This is the business of him who writes a history of man in civil life. Similar is the work of him who writes of man in ecclesiastical life.

        May the Great Head of the Church help us to write concerning the African Methodist Episcopal Church as a faithful historian--as one who will not be warped by envy, bribed by gold, nor awed by power. In the execution of the task allotted to us by the General Conference of 1848, we shall describe the most prominent churches and the respective Conferences and show how the one became the legitimate offspring of the other. We shall portray the life and character of the pastors as far and as well as materials will admit. We will show the general character of the flocks and the particular characters of the most remarkable men and women among them. We shall portray the characters of the Bishops and the ministers in general, holding up to public admiration the local preachers who distinguished themselves either by their piety, their talents or their usefulness. We shall show how the several General Conferences were constituted; how these Conferences maintained their intellectual character by their respective enactments; and how these enactments affected the character of the churches for weal or for woe. We shall also give the history of the Fine Arts--architecture, music, painting and poetry--as cultivated by members of the A. M. E. Church. Moreover, we shall give a view of its doctrines and government. The History of the Redeemer's Church cannot be perfect till this is written. Mankind cannot know it as a whole till they shall have read this history.

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CHAPTER II.
PRELIMINARY CAUSES OF ORGANIZATION.

        Bethel in Baltimore or Bethel in Philadelphia--The Baltimore Church Possesses the Older Documents of History--Testimony of Rev. David Smith and Rev. Richard Allen--General Conference of the Methodist Church in 1784-1787--Unkind Treatment of Colored Members in Philadelphia--Bishop Allen Consecrates the First Bethel--The Colored People Disowned as Methodists.

        WHETHER Bethel Church in Baltimore or Bethel Church in Philadelphia is the first born, has been contested. Some of the oldest among our ministers and among our laity contend that the Baltimore church was first organized; others, that the Philadelphia church had a prior origin. Whether the former church is entitled to be considered the oldest church of the Connection or not may be forever a disputed point in the history of our Church, but it is undisputed that the first record of any of the proceedings of the rulers and fathers of the A. M. E. Church is dated from that city, and the testimony of Rev. David Smith, one of the early pioneers of our ministry, corroborated by a letter written by the Rev. Richard Allen on February 18th, 1816, is to the effect that the separation of the Church in Baltimore took place three weeks before the lawsuit in Philadelphia which forever released us from the oppression that really brought about our Church freedom.

        But then again, while the Baltimore Conference can produce older documents touching its history than can be found concerning the Philadelphia Conference, by at least four years, the priority would seem to belong to Philadelphia on the grounds that the church there can produce written records of her origin dating farther back than any discovered in Baltimore.*

        * Of course we are now speaking of these Churches as independent societies, antecedent to their becoming integral parts of the A. M. E. Church.


But, be this as it may, the preliminary causes which led to the organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church are to be found in what follows:

        In 1784, the Rev. John Wesley ordained the Rev. Thomas Coke, LL. D. (a member of Jesus College, in the University of Oxford) for the office of Bishop, and sent him over to

Page 4

this country to organize the various societies of Methodists then existing chiefly in the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, into an ecclesiastical association. These societies were planted in America through the agency of certain local preachers from Ireland, the chief of whom were Philip Embury in New York and Robert Strawbridge, who having emigrated to Frederick county in the state of Maryland, therein preached and formed societies. In the month of December and on the 25th day in the year above mentioned, all the societies founded in America by Methodist preachers were consolidated into one body by the General Conference held in the city of Baltimore, Bishop Coke presiding, assisted by Bishop Asbury. The latter was ordained by the former.

        About three years after this organization of the M. E. Church, the colored members of that body in the city of Philadelphia, suffering from the "unkind treatment of their white brethren, who considered them a nuisance in the house of worship," met for the purpose of canvassing their wrongs and devising means to remedy the same. The result of this meeting was the determination to erect a house of worship wherein they could worship God under their own "vine and fig-tree." In their efforts to accomplish this object they met with great opposition from Elder J. McC----,who declared if they did not give up the building, erase their names from the subscription paper, and make proper acknowledgements, they should be publicly expelled. Conscious of their rights as men and Christians, and of the rectitude of their motives, they regarded not the mandate of the reverend gentleman and sent in their resignations. While in this condition the Lord raised up friends to counsel and assist them, in the persons of many of the most respectable and influential white citizens, the chief of whom were Dr. Benjamin Rush and Mr. R. Ralston. Bishop White was also among their illustrious benefactors, for he ordained the Rev. Absalom Jones to be their pastor, who of course was ordained according to the Protestant Episcopal Church.

        In 1793, the numbers of the serious people of color having increased, they were of different opinions respecting the mode of religious worship, and as many felt a strong partiality for that adopted by the Methodists, Richard Allen, with the advice

Page 5

of some of his brethren, proposed the erection of a place of worship on his own ground and at his own expense, as an African Methodist meeting-house. This movement was violently opposed by the preachers of the M. E. Church, who also insisted that the house should be made over to the Conference. The building was soon finished and Bishop Asbury by invitation consecrated it to the service of the Most High. The house was called Bethel, after the example and, I trust, in the spirit of Jacob.

        It was now proposed by the resident Elder (J. McC----) that they should have the church incorporated that they might receive any donations or legacy as well as enjoy any other advantages arising therefrom. This was agreed to, and in order to save expense, the Elder proposed to draw it up for them. But they soon found that he had done it in such a manner as to entirely deprive them of the liberty they expected to enjoy. In this condition they suffered grievances both numerous and painful. Sometimes demanding the keys, at other times declaring they should have no more meetings without his permission, the Rev. J. S---- thus embarrassed them until they were driven by force of circumstances to ask legal advice. This led the congregation to sign a petition to the Legislature of Pennsylvania for a supplement to their deed, which petition that body readily granted. This liberated them from numerous difficulties, but did not drive their opponents from the field. In order to adjust matters, they proposed supplying them with preaching, if they would give six hundred dollars per year to the Methodist Society. The congregation refused to give so large a sum, and the preacher proposed to serve for four hundred; but this also they refused to give, whereupon the preachers agreed to preach twice a week during the year for two-hundred dollars. But it proved to be only six or seven times a year that they were served with preaching and then, sometimes, by such preachers as were not acceptable to the people and not in much esteem among the Methodists as preachers. Our people being displeased with such treatment, compelled the trustees to resolve to give but one-hundred dollars per year to the preachers. When a quarterly payment of the last sum was tendered it was refused and sent back, the two hundred dollars being insisted upon or they would preach no more.

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        The authorities of the church then waited upon Bishop Asbury and requested him to furnish them with a preacher, promising to give him ample support, provided he would do all the duties of a pastor. The Bishop said he did not think there was more than one preacher belonging to the Conference who could attend to those duties, and that was Richard Allen. The Bishop was again informed that the people would pay a preacher four or five hundred dollars a year if he would perform all the duties incumbent on his office. He replied, "We will not serve you on such terms." Sometime after this interview with Bishop Asbury, Elder S. R---- declared that if the supplement were not repealed, neither he nor any of the preachers, itinerant or local, would preach for our people any more. At length the preachers and stewards of the Academy offered to serve them on the same terms which had been made to the preachers of St. George's Church. This proposition was acceded to and then they had preaching for about twelve months, after which they demanded one hundred and fifty dollars per year. This sum was refused and they declined to preach any more. The local preachers of the Academy were also threatened with expulsion if they dared to serve our people. About this time the elder of the Academy published a circular letter, in which our people were disowned as Methodists. A house was also fitted up, not far from Bethel, and an invitation was given to all who desired to be Methodists to resort thither; but being disappointed in this plan, the resident elder of St. George's went to Bethel and insisted on preaching to them and taking the spiritual charge, declaring that he would do so because they were Methodists. Being told that he should come on some terms with the trustees, he replied that he did not come to consult with Richard Allen nor the trustees, but to inform the congregation that on the next Sunday he would come and take charge of them, to which reply was made that he could not preach for them under such circumstances. At the appointed hour, however, the said elder went to Bethel, but the people had so obstructed the aisle of the church that he could get but halfway to the pulpit; meanwhile one of our number was occupying it. Finding himself thwarted, he appealed to those who came with him as witnesses that, "That man," meaning the preacher in the pulpit, had taken his appointment, after

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which he departed. The next elder stationed at Philadelphia was R. B----, who, following the example of his predecessor, came and published a meeting for himself; but the afore-mentioned precaution having been taken, he went away without effecting the object desired. In consequence of this disappointment he applied to the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus. This brought on a law-suit, which ended in favor of Bethel. Thus we were delivered, forever delivered, as well from a distressing and expensive law suit as from our oppressors.

        About this time the colored people in Baltimore and other places were treated in a similar manner as in Philadelphia, and rather than go to law, chose to seek places of worship for themselves. This constrained the Philadelphians to call a General Convention in April, 1816, to form an Ecclesiastical Compact. At this Convention, Bishop Quinn--then a lad of about eighteen or nineteen years of age--was present, but not a member. Brother Jonathan Tudas was also present, but not a member. Between the two, the writer was enabled to make out the list of members in attendance at this Convention--there never having been any printed minutes, and the manuscript being lost, there were no other sources of information except among the fathers of the Church who were living in 1850. The testimony of Jonathan Tudas does not differ materially from that already stated, except that he gives the incident which led directly to the proclamation shutting out our people from the M. E. Church. A woman was accused and convicted of adultery. Immediately after love-feast she reported to the preacher in charge of St. George's Church that she had been unlawfully and unjustly expelled; whereupon he sent her to Richard Allen with this message, substantially, that he must restore her back to membership. This Mr. Allen stated could not be done. The preacher then filled out a love-feast ticket and bade her take it to the keeper of the door, stating that he would not dare refuse her admission; but she met the refusal, nevertheless, in the reply that if Mr. R----, the preacher himself, should come presenting the ticket with her name, he should not enter. Because of this Mr. Allen took the deed of the church to proper parties, who told him that according to the letter and spirit of the deed, Mr. R---- could lock up the church against him, and that he could prevent this only by having a supplement to

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the deed. This was drawn up immediately, and acknowledged by the Judges of the Supreme Court. It was then confirmed by the authorities at Lancaster, the seat of government, where it was sent. Mr. R---- in the meantime tried to see the deed but was put off by Richard Allen, who appointed the day upon which he could obtain it, and then handed to the discomfited preacher the supplement. "Well, then," said Mr. R----, "I suppose you think you have done it!" On the following Sabbath he published from the pulpit of St. George's Church, that Richard Allen and his adherents were no longer members of the M. E. Church.

        After the failures to abide by what had been promised in the way of preaching for us, and the consequent refusal of the Quarterly Conference to pay for what had not been done, Brother Tudas gives us the details of the next step: Then Mr. Emory fitted up a house at the corner of Third and Lombard streets. Robert Green, a colored man, also bought a house, where in 1851, St. Mary's Street Church stood, and invited the members of Bethel who wished to be Methodists to come there, at the same time telling them he would sell Bethel. Doubting which would have pre-eminence, the supplement or the deed, he made his fears known to the people. Then the trustees and congregation agreed to secure the property for the use of our people by giving Mr. Allen a bond-mortgage upon it, as he held a claim of $6,300 against it. The church had also borrowed about $4,000 from him and was indebted to him, aside from this for his services as a pastor, to the amount of $1,400. Mr. Allen's claims, therefore, amounted to $11,700. The house was put up for sale, Mr. Green bidding against Mr. Allen who bought it in for $10,500. Such were the causes that brought about the origin of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Does it need the eye of a philosopher to see the hand of God in all this? We have often been blamed for our separate organization, and our fathers have been blamed for bringing about that organization. The blame is as unjust as it is cruel. Let it be fastened upon those who pulled our fathers from their knees as they humbly bowed themselves in the sanctuary to worship that God who has, declared himself to be no respecter of persons. Let the censure fall with ten-fold weight upon the heads of those who still perpetuate invidious distinctions in the house of the Living God.

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CHAPTER III.
RESULTS OF SEPARATION FROM THE M. E. CHURCH.

        Beneficial Results to the Colored Men--Colored Members of the A. M. E. Church--A Comparison--One-fourth Colored in 1792--The African Methodist Church a Slander--Self Government--Self Support--Proof of Its Ability.

        AS to the result of this separation from the Methodist Episcopal Church, permit us to remark that it has been really beneficial to the man of color. First: It has thrown us upon our own resources and made us tax our own mental powers both for government and support: For government--viewed in the light of official responsibility--when we were under the control of the M. E. Church we were dependent upon them for our ministerial instructions. They supplied our pulpits with preachers, deacons and elders, and these in the vast majority of instances were white men. Hence if the instructions given were of the right kind, the merit was the white man's and his alone; so also, if the manner of instruction was pleasing, the merit was the white man's and his alone. The colored man was a mere hearer.

        Again: we were dependent upon them for government. Not only were the presiding elders and preachers in charge all white men, but in a multitude of instances the very class leaders were also white. So then, if the churches among the colored people were well governed, the merit was the white man's and his alone. The colored man was a mere subject.

        But, again: Although the colored members of the M. E. Church always supported to their utmost ability the institutions of the Connection, yet because their white brethren were so vastly in the majority, that support which was so cheerfully and cordially given could not be felt. This was not only true of us when we formed a constituent element of the M. E. Church, but it is equally true to-day of our colored brethren who still continue in connection with it. In the southern states the colored members of the M. E. Church are numerous. In 1792 all the colored members of that church amounted to 13,871. In 1815, the whole number was 43,187. In 1828, the whole number was

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54,065. In 1840, it was 87,197. The whole number in the M. E. Church ran thus:

        
Year. Whites. Colored.
1815 167,978 43,187
1828 327,932 54,065
1840 650,357 87,197
1845 1,024,466 145,435

        Since the division of the M. E. Church, which took place in 1844, the statistics of both Churches throw the colored and Indian members into one and the same column, so that is is impossible to know from the tables before us the whole number of colored members belonging to the M. E. Church, North and South. But from this it will be seen that in 1792 the number of the colored members constituted but about one-fourth of the whole Methodist fellowship in the states. In 1828, about thirteen years after, it constituted still about one-fourth. In 1840, about twelve years later, it formed less than one-seventh of the whole Church, and in 1845, it formed about one-tenth. So, viewed in whatever light you please, the existence of the colored man as a factor of the M. E. Church, always was, still is, and ever must be a mere cipher. The tendency of all this was to prove that the colored man was incapable of self-government and self-support and thereby confirm the oft repeated assertions of his enemies, that he really is incapable of self-government and self-support. But is not the existence of the African Methodist Episcopal Church a flat contradiction and triumphant refutation of this slander, so foul in itself and so degrading in its influence? For the last seventy years a period of more than seven-tenths of a century, it has been governing itself and supporting itself. Being compelled to teach others, its ministry has been constrained to teach itself. This has caused them to seek knowledge on the right hand and on the left. It has forced them to implore and explore earth and heaven for information that they might be able to lead the erring souls of men from the one to the other. Compelled to govern others, its ministry has been constrained to read and investigate church history for models of government. They have also been led to cogitate for themselves; to discriminate between laws which were just, and those which were unjust; to expunge

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from the statutes of the Church those which were unequal in their bearings and to substitute those of a more equable character, so that the blood-washed flock of Christ might walk before him in all peace and quietness, feeling that the ecclesiastical yoke and burdens are both easy and light.

        The ability of our Church (as a distinct branch of the Christian family) to provide for itself, even in its early life, can also be clearly demonstrated by the following facts: Within the twelve years from 1841 to 1853, the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church built, and also rebuilt, three churches in the city of Philadelphia, one of which cost about $16,000, the other over $6,000 and the third about $5,000. In the same period we built and remodelled two churches in the city of Baltimore, one of which cost about $16,000. In the same period we built one in the city of Pittsburgh at the cost of about $10,000. At the same time we built one in Cincinnati, one in Washington, D. C., and one in New Orleans--the first at a cost of $10,000.

        Compelled to support their own institutions, our members have learned to economize and to forecast as they never could or would, had they remained in connection with their white brethren. Does any man require the proofs of these assertions? Let him go to all these cities, to New York, to St. Louis, to Nashville, and others as well. There he will see the commodious and beautiful edifices which have been constructed and dedicated by ourselves to the worship of Almighty God--edifices varying in their costs from $3,000 to $60,000. Let him go to Philadelphia and see our Book Concern, where our hymn books, disciplines and weekly papers are published, which, though in a very imperfect and infant state, give every evidence of an intellect that is at work for itself, and for its own development Let him go to our Sunday-School Publishing House in Nashville, where our own Sabbath-school literature is issued and publications brought forth. Let him go to our several seats of learning--to Wilberforce, near Xenia, O., to Allen University at Columbia, S. C., to Paul Quinn College at Waco, Texas, to Morris Brown College at Atlanta, Ga.--there he will see our children and our youth under the culture of educated men and women giving the pledge of minds that will in the development of mature powers, cause the world to know that they lived and lived to good purpose.

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Let him visit our churches where he may often hear preachers, who by their native talents or literary acquirements (and sometimes both) demonstrate to the most prejudiced hearer that the man of color can think for himself and guide the sacramental host into the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of Christ.

        Secondly and lastly: The separation of our Church from the M. E. Church, which was brought about by the agency of our venerated fathers, the Rev. Richard Allen of Philadelphia and Rev. Daniel Coker of Baltimore, has been beneficial to the man of color by giving him an independence of character which he could neither hope for nor attain unto, if he had remained as the ecclesiastical vassal of his white brethren. This is evident from the training which the force of circumstances has given us. These circumstances have been such as to produce independent thought; this has resulted in independent action; this independent action has resulted in the extension of our ecclesiastical organization over nearly all of the States and also into Canada; this ecclesiastical organization has given us an independent hierarchy, and this independent hierarchy has made us feel and recognize our individuality and our heaven-created manhood.

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CHAPTER IV.
ORGANIZATION OF THE A. M. E. CHURCH.

        The Order of the Plan--Election of a Bishop--Daniel Coker Elected--He Declines--Richard Allen Chosen--Bethel Church made a Separate Charge--Weak Financial Condition--Our Exact Fathers.

        IT has been already intimated that the question is not settled relative to the parent churches in Philadelphia and Baltimore, whether the latter had a separate and distinct origin before the former or not. But in pursuing this narrative we purpose for the sake of order and convenience to commence with the churches farthest South and trace them northward; with the churches farthest East, and trace them westward; with the Baltimore Conference first, not only because its written proceedings date beyond the doings of any other, but also because its annual deliberations have always been prior to those of the others, so that its official documents annually date first.

        As to the organization itself of the A. M. E. Church, we must return to the Ecclesiastical Compact formed by the General Convention in 1816. Forced to take this step, the delegates assembled from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Del., Attleborough, Pa., and Salem, N. J. But sixteen names have been handed down to us as participating in the deliberations of the Convention. The names in the following list were given by Bishop Quinn and Brother Jonathan Tudas, who were present but not participants, as previously stated:

        FROM BALTIMORE:--Rev. Daniel Coker, Rev. Richard Williams, Rev. Henry Harden, Mr. Edward Williamson, Mr. Stephen Hill, Mr. Nicholas Gilliard.

        FROM PHILADELPHIA:--Rev. Richard Allen, Rev. Clayton Durham, Rev. Jacob Tapsico, Rev. James Champion, Mr. Thomas Webster.

        FROM WILMINGTON, DEL.:--Rev. Peter Spencer.

        FROM ATTLEBOROUGH, PA.:--Rev. Jacob Marsh, Rev. William Anderson, Rev. Edward Jackson

        FROM SALEM, N. J.:--Reuben Cuff.

        The men most distinguished in the Convention, were Richard

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Allen, Daniel Coker and Stephen Hill; and to the counsels and wisdom of the last named, more than to any other man, the Church was indebted for the form it took.

        The most important thing that was done was, of course, the organization of the Connection. The speeches which were made in this important Convention are lost to the Church and to posterity, but the following is the resolution under which the Church was organized:

        "Resolved, That the people of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and all other places, who should unite with them, shall become one body under the name and style of the African Methodist Episcopal Church."

        The next thing of importance was the election of a Bishop. The votes being polled, Rev. Daniel Coker was declared the Bishop-elect on the 9th of April, 1816. On the 10th he resigned, or rather, declined the office, and Rev. Richard Allen was chosen in his stead, and was therefore consecrated the Bishop of the A. M. E. Church on the 11th of April, 1816. The next important thing done was to make it constitutional that any minister coming from another denomination should be received in the same official standing which he held in the Church or denomination whence he came. This then was the origin of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Poor and lowly, an outcast and despised of men, it thus feebly entered into being; but with a manifest destiny of greatness which has been unmistakably developing for over three quarters of a century.

        The churches in the city of Baltimore were planted by the Rev. Daniel Coker. The first record of the proceedings of this Conference is dated April 7th, 1818--the first documentary evidence of its existence. It was opened in the house of Mr. Samuel Williams--a fine two-story building, standing in 1843--in Baltimore, under the presidency of Rev. Richard Allen. The minutes of that Conference present to us a very meager number of representatives--Rev. Richard Allen, Rev. Jacob Tapsico and Rev. William Cousins being the representatives of the Philadelphia churches; and Rev. Richard Williams, Rev. Henry Hardin, Charles Pierce, James Fowsin, Jerry Miller, William Quinn and Thomas Robinson representing Baltimore. These were afterwards joined by others as the Conference continued its sittings from day to day.

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        The first transaction we find taken up was a charge brought by James Cole against Daniel Coker. Before a committee was appointed to examine this charge, the following resolution was passed:

        Resolved, That no business of a secret nature referred to a committee shall be taken out of the Conference, and if reported out of the Conference by any member, they shall forfeit all their official functions for one year, and shall not obtain their license until they give proper satisfaction to the Annual Conference


        Why this resolution was necessary we have no means of knowing at this late day, but the wisdom of such a proceeding can hardly be doubted[.]

        A committee consisting of Jacob Tapsico, Richard Williams and Edward Williamson was appointed to hear the report and try the case. This committee met at the house of Don Carlos Hall on the 8th, and on the 10th of April reported to the Conference that it had found the charge proven and Daniel Coker guilty. In the meantime another committee had been appointed to examine the work of the trial committee and, after due examination, concurred in the verdict and Daniel Coker was expelled from the Connection. Whatever may have been the sin with which he was charged, and whatever the evidence produced against him, the whole Conference appears to have been satisfied of the justness of his sentence. Two members of the Conference do not appear to have participated in the case: these were Bishop Allen and Elder William Quinn.

        Daniel Coker had shown himself to be eminently useful, and to his talents and activity the infant Connection was largely indebted for the progress it had made. On that account the two non-participants deeply sympathized with him although we have no record of that sympathy being in any way expressed. In view of his former usefulness to the Connection and the disadvantages under which it might have to labor from his absence from its work and councils, we cannot but admire the stern resolve of this body, which dispensed with all the advantages it might otherwise receive, in order to carry out the principles of right and justice, in order to keep itself pure and free from everything which might militate against its advancement in the cause of the Lord; which cut off every one who by any course of conduct might retard that work, or give rise to offence, no matter

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what the cost might be. It would be well if this course were followed more at the present day and less attention paid to expediency than to right.

        This Conference decided that two deacons were sufficient to present for ordination at present and two were recommended and ordained: Charles Pierce and Edward Waters. The last named was admitted at this time as a regular member of the Annual Conference. Richard Williams and Henry Harden were elected to elder's orders. In the line of progress we find it unanimously agreed upon to lay before the Society the building of a Church on the Point, and a committee was appointed to view the site for the purpose. None had died or withdrawn, and, save in the sad case of Daniel Coker, no charges were preferred against any of the members. There were 1,066 members in the Society reported. The services of the Secretary were recognized by the appropriation of five dollars to pay for the same. This was as it should be. We have already seen how much is lost to the Church by the neglect of the General Convention of 1816, in not preserving its records.

        It was different with the Conference of 1818. Here we find the minutes replete with the details of every transaction entered into; and these really give us the first view of how our fathers carried on the business of the different things committed to their charge. These minutes are written in a careful, clear hand and although the work of a mere lad, they show a striking adaptability for the work. The penmanship is that of Richard Allen, Junior, son of Bishop Allen. He was neither a member of the Annual Conference nor a member of the Church, if we are rightly informed. It is supposed that he was employed as the Secretary, because he was the best scholar that the Conference could obtain. He was then about fifteen years of age. Bishop Allen and the Baltimore Annual Conferences of 1818 and 1819 (for the lad was made Secretary of both) exhibited a degree of common sense and sound judgment which many of the Conferences and leading men of our times will do well to consider and imitate. Better have a boy who can do a thing as it ought to be done, than a man who cannot.

        This was the first characteristic of this Conference, and the second was the election of a Book Steward. In this the members

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"builded better than they knew," and laid the foundation of an institution, which since that time has continued to grow in power and influence. Possibly no man in the Conference had any conception of what he was doing to promote the influence and power of the Church, when he voted for the simple resolutions that a book steward be appointed and that Don Carlos Hall receive the appointment.

        In this selection also there was wisdom. This Don Carlos Hall, who was promoted by the Annual Conference to this office, was not a traveling preacher nor a local preacher, but an intelligent layman. He was appointed because he was best qualified, and this selection of the Baltimore Conference demonstrated the soundness of their judgment. It will be wise for the Annual Conferences of the present hour to follow so good an example. Where there cannot be found an itinerant preacher qualified to fill an office involving labor of such a character, let a local preacher possessing the needed qualifications be employed; and when neither itinerant nor local preacher is competent, let a layman be placed in the position. Indeed, the more we employ laymen to fill such positions, the better for the entire Church. At the same time Henry Harden was appointed book steward for the circuit.

        The good resulting from having printed minutes for reference moved the Conference, for it almost unanimously decided to print one thousand copies, the work being left in the general superintendent's hands and to be performed in Philadelphia, the Conference providing for his expenses.

        We find that three--Richard Williams, Henry Harden and Charles Pierce--were nominated to go to the Philadelphia Conference, with an appropriation of fifteen dollars each for their expenses. They were exact--these fathers in the early Church, for even a small sum was paid for the use of the room in which the Conference carried on its deliberations, though it was in a private house; and they were careful as well, for we find directions for providing a trunk for the Conference papers. At this Conference Bethel Church was separated from the circuit and made a separate charge. The financial condition of the Conference was not very strong, although apparently it had the balance on the right side, as the total receipts were $437.90 and the expenditures,

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including everything, $344.05. After resolving that the next Conference, that of 1819, be held in Baltimore, the Conference of 1818 adjourned April 14th.

        Two things characterize this Conference. First, it is the first Conference of which we have any record. The meeting in 1816, although of the utmost importance in the history of the Church, left no records behind it in a tangible form. The whole of the evidence of its existence, apart from the fact that the independent churches there united to form the A. M. E. Church, is wholly dependent upon statements made verbally. It is true the witnesses are reliable men; but at best, all are liable to error. If any Conference was held in 1817, no knowledge of it whatever is obtainable. It is probable some meeting or Conference was held, but of what may have been said or done we have no means of knowing. The important characteristic we have already emphasized--the beginning of what has since proved to be one of the most important offices of the Connection--the office of book steward and the wisdom of the choice of Don Carlos Hall, which future events fully verified.

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CHAPTER V.
BALTIMORE CONFERENCES, 1820-21-22.

        Conference of 1820--Twenty-one Members Present--Their Names--Conference of 1821--Local Preachers Admitted to Seats in Annual Conference--A General Rule Adopted--Conference of 1822--Bishop Allen Makes an Address--A Long Debate in Reference to Western Territory--An Assistant Bishop Elected.

        THE Baltimore Annual Conference of 1818 opened with ten members, some of whom were from the Philadelphia District. The Conference of 1820, about which we are now to write, opened with twenty-one members, showing an increase of eleven, some of whom, as in the first instance, were also from Philadelphia. The names of the men were as follows:

        Rev. Jacob Matthews acted as secretary.

        Again the reader is asked not to forget that Mr. Don C. Hall, marked here and mentioned as steward, and who had distinguished himself in all the preceding Conferences, was not a clergyman, but yet he participated in all the business of the Conference, moving resolutions and voting for them--in a word, leading on the affairs of the Church, and giving character to them. The Conference of this year was held at his house, a private dwelling. Such also was the case with the first session, in 1818. It was held in a private dwelling, that of Mr. Samuel Williams, while that of 1819 was in the sanctuary.

        Two persons were admitted on trial, John White and Joseph Chane; James Cole was ordained a deacon; David Smith, Charles Pierce, and Edward Waters were ordained elders.

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        Henry Hardin and David Smith were paid by the steward of the Annual Conference twenty-four dollars for their expenses to the Philadelphia Conference.*

        * The Conference minutes show that Richard Allen, Jr. is no longer the secretary of the Annual Conference. Rev. Jacob Mathews fills the office. As in the case of young Allen, he is brought from Philadelphia; but, although a man, as secretary he is not the equal of young Allen, in either writing or recording.


        While there was little or no business of particular interest to us, aside from learning that the number in Society was 1,202, we find in two instances how utterly futile were the "Ways and Means" adopted by the Conference of 1819 to prevent the dreaded "discord, schisms, tattling and tale-bearing."

        The next year (1821) the Conference met as usual in the same city, and was opened on the 14th of April, in the church located in Saratoga street, near Gay. Bishop Allen was in the chair. There were several things done at this Conference worthy of note. Boundaries were enlarged, and business of importance dispatched.

        The eastern shore of Maryland was incorporated in the bounds of the Baltimore Conference under a motion made by Rev. Jacob Mathews, and placed under the charge of the Elder in Baltimore. The local preachers were formally admitted to seats in the Annual Conference. This was brought about by the motion of Brothers Harden and Webster. But, by motion of Rev. David Smith and the said Brother Harden, they were to be deprived of a "voice in the Conference against any one of the traveling preachers," except "in case of a trial," and then "only as witnesses." A "General Rule" was adopted for the government of all the churches. This Rule, it seems, had been drawn up in the city of Philadelphia, on the 9th of July, 1820, at the First General Conference then in session, and the Second in order of time; but to this fact no allusion was made by the Baltimoreans. This "General Rule" was first ratified by the Baltimoreans, and then adopted for "government of all the churches." This fact indicates the false views which the members of the General Conference entertained concerning their power as a General Conference. This Baltimore Annual Conference had not only fixed the place of the meeting of the general Conference, but doubtless did send representatives to attend it; for in those days all traveling preachers were members of the General Conference. But

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we are not informed as to the nature of it, and as there are no minutes of that Philadelphia Conference, they having shared the fate, if they existed, of the other minutes of the Philadelphia Annual Conference, we are left in ignorance of its character and design.

        Exhorters to the number of seven were licensed by this Annual Conference. Then there was a motion that it was resolved that "the Rule for raising moneys for the support of the Gospel be enforced."

        There seemed to have been a spirit of insubordination manifested among the local ministry, who were therefore required by vote to pledge themselves anew to "be in subjection to the Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church."

        The number of members in the bounds of the Baltimore Conference had increased to 1,760, Carlisle being the weakest point, with a membership of fifteen, while Baltimore City reached 525, with Caroline County, of recent addition to the work, following next with 192.

        One year later (1822), less two days from the opening of this Conference, the body convened again, upon the 12th of April. Bishop Allen addressed the Conference with special reference to two points always worthy of emulation--love, peace, and harmony among the ministry, and the necessity of conducting the business of the Conference in the fear of God.

        The work was increasing, and there was a consequent increase in the importance of the business to be transacted. Charles Guy, Peter D. Schureman, and Jeremiah Beulah were received on trial in the traveling connection, while Marcus Brown, Amos Crookshanks, and Richard Boone were elected to receive orders as deacons, the work demanding more than two.

        A long and serious debate arose in this Conference relative to the Western Territories and the Conference under whose jurisdiction they should be placed. It was vast enough as a district--these Territories--for the record refers to it as "the country west of the Alleghany Mountains," and after consideration a former rule respecting it was repealed, and it was determined that the supervision should belong to the Philadelphia Conference until it was proper to set it off into an independent district.

        Again the borders were enlarged in another direction through a petition received from Washington, Georgetown, and Piscataway,

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requesting to be admitted into union with the African M. E. Church, which petition was unanimously granted.

        The Church had so increased in its six years of existence that it was thought best to have an assistant to the Bishop. The Baltimore Conference took the matter in hand now, as we see in its motion to create a committee of three traveling preachers to nominate two or three candidates for that position. The committee consisted of Jacob Richardson, William Quinn, and Thomas Webster. The election of the candidates was to be managed in the following manner according to the journal of that date:

        It was moved by Jacob Matthews, and seconded by Abner Coker, that Don Carlos Hall be appointed as a judge with the Bishop in time of election. It was put to vote, and carried, that the person that should be elected for an assistant to the General Superintendent should be voted for by private election, and the name of the person that should gain the election should be sealed up, and for to be kept in secret until after the Conference in Philadelphia has given in their vote, and, according to the Bishop's proposal, for him then to be set apart, if the two Conferences, Baltimore and Philadelphia, wished for it to be done, voted, and carried


        It is a curious paper, showing a very awkward and contradictory movement, at least, in the step toward making a second Bishop; but it was a first experience, in which two Conferences instead of one were concerned, and the authority vested in each body does not seem to be very clearly understood, stated, or acted upon.

        The Philadelphia Conference was not then in session, but in the election held in Baltimore, Morris Brown, Henry Harden, and Jacob Matthews were candidates, and the vote stood: Morris Brown, 7; Jacob Matthews, 9; Henry Harden, 4. The following month the Philadelphia Conference convened the 20th of May, and we find the same three again as candidates for general superintendent, with the following result: Morris Brown, 9; Jacob Matthews, 15; Henry Harden, 9. The total vote stood: Morris Brown, 16; Jacob Matthews, 24; Henry Harden, 13.

        For the first time Bishop Allen's name appears at the end of the Baltimore proceedings, and also in attestation of the genuineness of the electoral votes cast, both in Baltimore and Philadelphia, for the episcopal assistant. The character and constitutionality of this election will be examined at another point. In

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this instance we have an evidence that election to the episcopal office does not constitute any person a Bishop. "The laying on of hands" must follow election in order that the individual may be a veritable Bishop.

        At the Baltimore Conference the question was asked whether the local preachers should have a vote for these candidates set apart for the general superintendent. The answer was in the affirmative, and this answer was given in the form of a vote. There seems to have been some doubt about the employment of Shadrack Bassett as a traveling preacher, in view of the circumstance that having been a slave he had petitioned for his freedom, and having been delivered by the courts from the claims of one slave-holder, it was feared he might be subject to the claims of another, wherefore Brother Abner Coker was appointed a committee to consult an attorney, from whom the Conference received the following instrument:

        Judgment in case of a petition for freedom is not judgment against the whole world, but only against the individual against whom it is filed, so that if a petitioner should succeed in being discharged from slavery to an individual who illegally claimed him, he would still be liable to be seized by his proper owner. The only point gained by Shadrack Bassett, if he sues in case against Hackney, will be that he can make use of the judgment of freedom against Hackney as a security against future molestation, as it is probable that no one would hold him after he had produced such a judgment. It is my opinion that the Conference of Colored People incur no risk in sending Shadrack Bassett forth to preach the Gospel, provided he does not go south of the State of Maryland.

[Signed.]
JOHN TYSON, Attorney.


        All these documents are matters of history, and this is but one of many which might be brought forward to these pages for the eyes of the present and future generations--the present viewing them with mingled feelings of indignation, shame, and regret; the future commingling with these, astonishment and curiosity.

        All that is of other generations teaches us closely--a proof of the unity of the races. All that is of each race inspires that race, or casts it down according to its character; therefore, all that these early journals record of the beginnings of our Church--the trials and triumphs, the failures and successes, the strivings and achievements--moves us to close sympathy and impels us to greater deeds.

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        Our fathers in African Methodism wrought wisely and well for their day and generation, and the documents we gather are indicative of the force which has spread African Methodism far and wide, and from which we learn of the spirit and manner of the men who were leaders then.

        As an Appendix to the Minutes of the Baltimore Annual Conference the following document is recorded, and in furtherance of the above idea, we insert it here:

        It was moved, seconded, and carried that all the local elders, deacons, and preachers shall have a seat in the Annual Conferences, provided that they stand fair, and be in subjection to the elder in charge in receiving appointments and filling up all such appointments that may be given to them from time to time by the elder in charge; provided that the elder does not infringe too much on his temporal affairs; and in case of any of the local preachers should be called upon to fill up any extra appointments, then the minister in charge shall see that the said preacher or preachers shall receive such aid from the Society as is allowed to local preachers in such cases in referring to that discipline that we have recourse to in all giving cases in our ministry or state. If the above rules should be ratified by the Annual Conference, then, if any of the preachers, after receiving appointments from the elder, should refuse for to go and fill up his appointments, without a sufficient excuse, shall, for the first neglect, he be reproved by the elder, and also, if he should neglect the second time, without a lawful excuse, then the elder may, if he think proper, summons that preacher before a committee, and if he gives no proper satisfaction for his neglecting his duty, then the elder, with the committee, shall silence him until the Quarterly Meeting Conference, and his case shall be referred to the Annual Conference for trial and decision.

        Done in the Philadelphia Conference for the whole Connection in General.

Signed by the Superintendent,
RICHARD ALLEN.

Secretary pro tem.,
JACOB MATTHEWS.


        The two points in this document show the men of our times:

        First.--The Quarterly Conference had no jurisdiction over the case of the delinquent local preacher, beyond a mere hearing of the statement and reference of the question to the Annual Conference, which alone could try and pass judgment on him.

        Second.--The Philadelphia Conference was by this extraordinary document invested with the power of the General Conference.

        Again, the report of members from the various churches under the Baltimore jurisdiction shows an increase of 1,938. The Eastern Shore work, so recently added, gives 330 of that number.

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It is wise to make an assistant to the Bishop, in view of this and the nearly parallel increase in the Philadelphia District. This year Jacob Matthews is sent to Baltimore City; David Smith to Washington and Georgetown; Peter Schureman is placed in charge of Piscataway Circuit, while Thomas Webster, Jacob Richardson, Joshua Early, and Jeremiah Beulah are sent on the more scattered work of the Harrisburgh Circuit.

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CHAPTER VI.
EARLY CONFERENCE SESSIONS.

        Morris Brown Admitted into Full Connection--Three Founders Elected Deacons--Stronghold of African Methodism in Philadelphia--Enlarging the Borders--Statistics of Membership--Philadelphia Conference Invested with the Power of a General Conference--An Increase in Numbers.

        THE Baltimore Conference preceded that in Philadelphia by a little more than a month. As has been said of the former, so it can be said of the latter: if any Conference was held in 1817, we are unable to find any trace of the fact. May 9th, 1818, the Philadelphia Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church met in Philadelphia, at the house of Richard Allen, and opened at 11 o'clock A. M. with singing and prayer. In the course of the session nearly all the names of the founders, as represented by the list of 1816, were upon the record. Five preachers were admitted on trial; six members were admitted into full connection, among them Morris Brown. Three of the founders, Henry Drayton, Edward Jackson and Reuben Cuff, were elected to deacon's orders, while Morris Brown, with two other of the founders, James Champion and Jacob Tapsico, were elected and ordained elders. One death is recorded: "Joseph Lea, a man of God, who has labored for many years in the ministry, during which time he supported the character of a Christian and a faithful minister, a kind and loving husband and a tender father." There seems to have been no particular business of importance transacted at this meeting. We find on the third day of the session that Thomas Banks, president and trustee of the Snow Hill church corporation applies to the Bishop and Conference to take charge of the spiritual concerns of their church and congregation, which request is unaminously granted, with the promise to supply them with preaching as often as they can make it convenient. The first detailed report of the members in the Society were given at this meeting, and we find sixteen places represented: Philadelphia, 3,311; Baltimore, 1,066; Salem, N. J., 110; Trenton, 73; Princeton, 33; Snow Hill, 56; Woodbury, 29; Attleborough, 41; New Hope, 33; Frankfort, 28; Westchester, 46;

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Plemeth, 8; Whitemarsh, 29; Bridgeport, 6; Brunswick, 40; Charleston, 1,848; making a total of 6,748. It is seen by this that the stronghold of African Methodism was in Philadelphia, with Charleston next in order. On May 20th the Conference adjourned to meet again in Philadelphia, the date not being stated. And here we may say there is an hiatus; for the next proceedings, of which we have any knowledge or record, are dated in 1822. Not until that date have we any Church records to run parallel with those of Baltimore, which were continued yearly from 1818.

        On the 19th of April, 1819, the Annual Conference for the Baltimore District was opened at the A. M. E. Church, Saratoga street. The members present were from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston, S. C., and were as follows at the opening of the session:

        The first duty of the Conference was to appoint a doorkeeper, whose instructions were to admit no one without the leave of the chair. A resolution was also passed that no member of the Conference should leave the room without the permission of the chair; while still another resolution, tending toward the secrecy and safety of the proceedings of the Conference, was one by Don C. Hall, to the effect that the steward shall not present or show the books or papers of the Annual Conference to any person or persons without the permission of the superintendent. These were all directed to the end that the business should be properly and rapidly done. There appears to have been some letters addressed to the official members in Philadelphia which had been detained by the secretary for some reasons, and handed to the Bishop upon his arrival in Baltimore. We do not know what these letters contained, for, although a motion was made

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that they should be read to the Conference, there is no record of this having been done. Probably, however, the contents of those letters caused Henry Harden to place his resolution before the Conference, "that no minister or preacher belonging to the African Methodist Episcopal Conference, or any member, local or traveling, shall write any letter or letters or communications, verbally, or by any other way whatsoever, that will have the bearance of raising discord or hardness in the Connection," as well as another to the effect "that ways and means shall be entered into by the Conference to prevent any member or members of the Annual Conference of taking a part with any person or persons evading the Discipline of the said African Methodist Episcopal Church or Churches; or shall be found guilty of sowing discord, or raising schisms, tattling or tale-bearing, so that the Church or society may suffer injury by the strife of such person or persons, the Elder shall call him or them to trial; if found guilty, the Elder shall silence him or them until the setting of the Annual Conference, then the Elder shall deliver the charge to the Conference, in writing, and the Conference shall deal with the said offender according to Discipline." At this Conference Daniel Coker, who had been expelled in the year 1818, made application to be reinstated in the position which he had formerly held. A committee having been appointed to take into consideration the reinstating of Daniel Coker, reported as follows:

BALTIMORE, April 27, 1819.

        We, the Committee appointed by the Annual Conference on 22d inst., to take into consideration the case of Brother Daniel Coker, deem it necessary for to receive him into Society, and he be in subjection to the Elder stationed in the District, and when they see proper, shall be admitted to the pulpit at their discretion; but he shall not fulfill the office of a deacon until the Annual Conference restores him to fill those offices.

Committee:
JOSEPH COX, DANIEL COKER.
REV. MORRIS BROWNE, DANIEL COKER.
REV. RICHARD WILLIAMS, DANIEL COKER.
JEREMIAH MILLER, DANIEL COKER.
RICH'D ALLEN, JR., Secretary.


        Henry Fox and Jacob Roberts were admitted as members of the Conference, while the former and David Smith were appointed Deacons. At this time we find the Conference enlarging the borders of the Church. First, by the addition of Frenchtown,

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which was taken into the district of Baltimore, and next, by the addition of Caroline County, which was also placed under the charge of the Baltimore Conference, with Charles Pierce in charge. In the appointment of Charles Pierce to the charge of the Circuit we find a remarkable departure from the established usage. No expense was incurred in the admission of Caroline County, or, as it was afterwards called, Harrisburg Circuit, as that was to be borne by the Society in that Circuit. The statistics of membership in 1819 show an increase of over 300 above those of 1818, there being an aggregate within the Conference limits of 1,388. The next Annual Conference was appointed to be held in Baltimore, and the General Conference of 1820 was appointed to meet in Philadelphia. There are several things in this Conference which are worthy of remark.

        First: Frenchtown was added to the field of labor this year; so was Caroline County, afterwards named Harrisburgh Circuit.

        Second: An appointment for the labors of an itinerant preacher on a whole Circuit was made by the members of the Annual Conference during the session of said Conference, and that before the Bishop's face, while the man who seconded the motion to that effect was a layman, viz., Don Carlos Hall, the Conference book steward.

        Third: The preacher was sent, or rather appointed to the Circuit before that Circuit was taken into the Connection.

        Fourth: The Rev. Daniel Coker, after being expelled for one whole year, was restored to the Church, not on probation, but in full fellowship, and in the exercise of his functions as a minister of the Gospel, the exercise of the deaconate excepted. And yet he was allowed to occupy the pulpit only by permission of the elder in charge--that is to say, at his discretion. We also do well to consider the fact that no elder, no church action of an elder, is allowed to intervene the action of the Annual Conference that expelled Mr. Coker, as more merciful and tolerant leaders may now do; but the same power that expelled is the power that restores.

        In our judgment this example is worthy of imitation, for it has too often happened that, after having been convicted by the Annual Conference, one has been allowed to unite with some local church, and then was restored to full standing by that church before the lapse of a single year. We are more enlightened than

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were the founders of the Connection, but are we as moral? Have we as high sense of personal and official character as they?

        Fifth: The stringency of the resolution against a discordant spirit evinced the strength of their hatred against it.

        Sixth: The Second General Conference was appointed and held in Philadelphia by a vote of the Baltimore Conference.

        Seventh: The vain efforts of the Annual Conference to prevent discontented and insubordinate spirits from "taking a part with any person or persons" who might be disposed to inveigh against the Discipline, or "sowing discord," or "raising schisms," or "tale-bearing."

        As long as there is a devil to disturb the peace, harmony, and love of the Church, or to destroy its unity, just so long will evil-minded persons be found to carry out their infernal purposes. And what is the most perplexing as well as lamentable feature of all church troubles is the impossibility of making such persons see that they are Satanic agents.

        We do well to censure every attempt to produce schism and to resist the good government of the Church, not so much by passing resolutions to prevent such evils, as by cultivating the spirit of Christian forbearance, confidence and love.

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CHAPTER VII.
EXTINCTION OF THE CHURCH IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

        Episcopal Support--Rise of African Methodism in the City of New York--New York and Brooklyn Churches Incorporated with the A. M. E. Church in 1820--Societies outside of New York--Manner of Electing Delegates to General Conference--Finances of the Second General Conference--The Slaveholders' Fear of the A. M. E. Church.

        UP to this period (1822), with the one exception of the Philadelphia Annual Conference of 1818, we have devoted our entire attention and space to the doings of the Baltimore Annual Conferences. The reason for so doing is this: No manuscript, no printed traces, no signs whatever can be found of the sayings and doings of the Philadelphia Conferences other than those of 1818, up to the year 1822. That some must have existed at some period is positive, as is gathered from the resolutions of the Baltimore Conferences during this time, where mention is made of these meetings, but what eventually became of the journal, minutes, or other documents, is not known.

        In 1822, the Philadelphia Annual Conference begins to run in a parallel line with that of Baltimore, and for this year we have both the manuscript journal and the printed minutes of the session which opened in Philadelphia, May 9. The resolutions passed at this Conference were comparatively few, and the general business in most cases unimportant. Bishop Allen presided, and the preachers admitted on trial were Joshua P. B. Eddy, George Bowler, and Noah Cannon. Charles Butler was ordained a deacon and elder for the express purpose of going as a missionary to Africa. Thomas Robinson, Adam Clincher, Samuel Collins, George Bowler, Joshua P. Eddy, Henry C. Mervin, Solomon Walsh, James Scott, and David Crosby were licensed preachers, and William Cornish and Walter Proctor were set apart for the office of deacon, with the proviso that they travel.

        At this time that portion of the law was repealed which said that a preacher should not be stationed in any place longer than two years. Four other licensed preachers were ordained deacons: Thomas Robinson, Adam Clincher, Samuel Collins, and Noah Cannon.

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        It was agreed that in place of salary the Bishop should thereafter receive twenty-five dollars from each Annual Conference, and that each Conference should pay his traveling expenses: that is, he would receive compensation at that period from the Baltitimore, Philadelphia, and New York Conferences,*

        * For the rise of the New York Conference see pages following the Philadelphia Conference of 1822.


for it was decided at this Conference that there should be three Annual Conferences instead of two.

        When the question of the finances of the Conference were being considered, it was ordered by that body that hereafter each member must pay the expenses of his horse himself. As the contingent fund of this Conference eighty-six dollars were collected, which fund was distributed as follows: twenty-five dollars to the Bishop as allowance, seventeen dollars and twenty-seven cents were paid for circular letters to the Bishop, and thirty-three dollars and thirty-seven and a half cents were paid for preachers' horses.

        A resolution was also passed that no preacher in charge should license any person who should make application to them for license to preach or exhort in the African Methodist Episcopal Church until the said person should have been verbally licensed by the preacher in charge twelve months prior to the time that the application was made.

        The election of a general superintendent was brought forward. This action had been taken by the Baltimore Conference of April previous. Then three candidates, Morris Brown, Henry Harden, and Jacob Matthews, had been nominated, and an election had been held, but in accordance with the resolution passed at the time, the results of the election were kept secret until after the election at Philadelphia. The total votes cast at both Conferences were sixteen for Morris Brown, thirteen for Henry Harden, and twenty-four for Jacob Matthews. Jacob Matthews was therefore declared elected. The Philadelphia Conference also decided to hold its next session in Philadelphia. The Society was not yet so extended that it was deemed wise to remove the sessions of these first three Conferences from the cities whose names they bore, and we therefore find the first session of the new Conference--the New York--was held in the city of New York.

        In the Philadelphia Annual Conference of 1822, we also see the brethren acting with the authority of a General Conference,

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first, by the election of an Assistant Bishop; second, by decreeing the existence of three Annual Conferences. The action of this Conference respecting licentiates to preach is also a flat refutation of the assertion that no one, according to our usages from the rise of the Connection, has ever been fully admitted unless they have been recommended by a Quarterly Conference of our Church, but they have "climbed in some other way."

        The limitation of a stationed preacher to two years was also abolished, as was previously done by the Baltimore Annual Conference. By motion, the Conference ordered the ordination of William Cornish and Walter Proctor to the office of deacons, provided they entered upon itinerant work, but there is no record of the execution of the order. This order to ordain was given immediately after they had been received into the itinerant work.

        The motion for the appointment of Rev. Charles Butler to Africa as a missionary resulted in but a paper mission.

        In 1822 the numbers in Society stood as follows:

        
South Carolina City 1,400
In the Circuit Charge 1,600
Smyrna Circuit 31
Riverhead 79
Fredericktown 15
Cookstown 13
Warwick 24
Boheamarnania 10
Frenchtown 41
Middletown 17
Scrabbletown 6
Thorofare 11
Philadelphia City 3,002
Chester and Tenecum 31
Bristol Circuit in Frankfort 25
Bridgeport 29
Attleborough 39
Newhope 29
Mountain 15
Easton 22
Reading 9
Valley 13
Westown 29
Wightmarsh 14
Salem Circuit, Port Elizabeth 17
Tranfield 28
Greenage 42
Salem 72
Bushtown 10
Dutchtown 14
Woodbury 16
Snowhill 42
Evesham 47
Total 6,792

        
City of Pittsburgh 145
Washington, Pa 45
Readtown 30
Pickson 18
Total 238

        
Trenton Circuit, Trenton 72
Princeton 38
Rockhill 37
Siggstown 36
Blandsburgh 27
Brunswick 17
Total 227

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        This gives a final total of 7,257 for the above points; and the joint list of the ministers for 1822 is as follows:


        Before we lay the proceedings of the first Annual Conference of the New York District before the reader, we shall present an account of the rise of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of New York and its vicinity.

        Sometime in the fall of 1819, Brother William Lambert, a licentiate of the Philadelphia Annual Conference, was commissioned by Rt. Rev. Richard Allen to go and labor in the city of New York for the planting of a branch of the African Methodist Episcopal

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Church. He was emphatically a missionary from that Conference. Under God's blessing he succeeded in procuring a school-room in Mott street, and had it fitted up for a house of worship. In the summer of the following year this house was consecrated to the service of Almighty God. The consecration of this church was on the third Sunday in July, 1820.

        In the same year, Rev. Henry Harden, who had been previously appointed at the Baltimore Conference to the Harrisburg Circuit, was sent from the Philadelphia Conference to take the pastoral charge of this church in New York. The membership at that time amounted to twenty souls, the majority of whom were women. From that time the Society increased weekly, though very much opposed by Zion Church. The Society worshipped in this church, in Mott street, for the period of seven years.

        The lease had expired at the end of that time, and the house was taken down. The Society then went to worship for a short period in an old house in Allen street, and afterwards occupied the Mutual Relief Hall in Orange street, No. 42. From there they removed to the basement of the organ factory in Centre street, nearly opposite Canal street. Thence they went to a factory in Elizabeth street, and later again removed to Second street, between avenues B and C, where a house was erected in the year 1835 or 1836, in which the Society worshipped until 1860, when it was sold because the Society was literally dying out. This gradual decay was the result of two important facts, which in all places we will do well to study, and from this study become wiser through the lesson which is taught:

        (a) The population of color, which originally surrounded it, had been almost entirely pressed out by an influx of Irish and of Germans.

        (b) Moreover, many of its members who had been house-servants in the wealthy families, who had moved far away from what was primarily Central New York to the suburbs, found it then difficult to reach the house of worship, especially in the inclement seasons of the year. The spirit of caste would not allow them to ride in the omnibuses then used for public conveyance, so they attended divine service nearer to their homes, or went to no service at all.

        In view of these facts, as we have already stated, Bethel was sold, and the property in Sullivan street was purchased for the

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sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, where we have now the largest congregation of colored Christians in the city of New York. During the last seventeen years this church has had to be enlarged, owing to the great increase in the membership.

        The church in Brooklyn was founded by Rev. Benjamin Croger and his brother Peter, who, with others, had been members of the M. E. Church from 1808 till the 30th of July, 1820, when, by a unanimous vote of the people, they withdrew from that body.

        On the 10th of August, 1820, having had an interview with Rev. H. Harden, elder in charge of our church in the city of New York, they became incorporated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America, by a joint meeting of the officers of the church in Brooklyn and those of the church in New York. The meeting was held in Bethel Church, then located in Mott street. At that time the members of the church in Brooklyn consisted of one hundred souls, chiefly women. These were divided into four classes, two male and two female. Four exhorters were among them, but no preachers. Rev. Benjamin Croger, and his brother Peter, were two of these exhorters. They entered the ministry after they had joined our Connection. The property of the church in Brooklyn consisted of two lots, which had been purchased as early as 1817 at a cost of $162.50 for each lot. The original house of worship was built at a cost of $900.

        Societies were also established in various localities beyond the limits of the city of New York, and formed into a Circuit called the White Plains Circuit. One was also established in the city of New Bedford, Mass., then under the care of Brother Charles Spicer, a deacon, subordinate to Rev. H. Harden of the New York charge. What is now called the Branch, and sometimes Thirtieth Street Church, was planted by Rev. Richard Robinson in 1843. The planting of this Society grew out of the following circumstances:

        Many of the members of the church in Second street, who lived at a distance on the west side of the city, could not obtain seats if they did not reach the house of worship at a very early hour. Therefore, in order that they might be furnished with the needed accommodation, Brother Robinson consulted with his official board at a meeting called for that special purpose, and they all agreed to hire a small building in ---- street.

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        The number organized in this Society was thirty. These were placed under the leadership of Brother Richard Baltimore. In 1850 there were three classes and three local preachers, and the total number of members was one hundred and thirty. One of the most active of its official men was Brother Arnold Ricks. This Branch Church passed through many vicissitudes, changing its location several times before becoming definitely settled.

        We are now prepared for the New York Annual Conference, and it is manifest that its basis was weak. Tradition says that an Annual Conference was held in New York City as early as 1821, but there is no evidence of this. The Conference records for the New York District reach no farther back than 1822, and if the organization took place in 1821, there is no indication of it.

        On the morning of the eighth of June, 1822, the first Conference for this district was opened by Bishop Allen in accordance with the resolution passed at the May Conference in Philadelphia. The members present were Rev. Richard Allen, Henry Harden, Thomas Webster, George White, Richard Williams, Samuel Ridley, Charles Corr, Henry Drayton, Joseph Cox, Stephen Dutton, Jeremiah Miller, Jacob Matthews, Thomas Miller, Isaac Cropper, Joseph Harvey, Edmund Crosby, Peter Croger, Benjamin Croger, James Thompson, Charles Spicer, Titus Rosarett, Henry Davis, Michael Parker, Thomas Jones, Charles Butler, James Scott, John Morris.

        Bishop Allen addressed the Conference in a most pathetic manner, impressing upon the minds of the brethren the great utility of having union among ourselves and a steadfastness in the African cause. James Thompson, Thomas Miller, George White, Peter Croger, Edmund Crosby, Benjamin Croger, Charles Spicer, Titus Rosarett, Henry Davis, Thomas Jones, and William P. Williams were admitted on trial. George White and Stephen Dutton were admitted into full Connection. Charles Spicer, Edmund Crosby, Peter Croger, Benjamin Croger, and Thomas Miller were ordained deacons, and Stephen Dutton an elder. Brother William Lambert, the founder of the Connection, died this year.

        The preachers were stationed according to the following order: New York, Henry Harden; Long Island received Stephen Dutton; George White was sent to White Plains Circuit, while Charles Spicer was appointed to New Bedford, "under the special care of Henry Harden." Benjamin Croger was appointed book

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steward for Long Island, and John Morris book steward for the city of New York.

        The Conference continued in session just six days. In those days the time for the meeting of the next Annual Conference was fixed before the adjournment of its predecessor. Hence we find on record the following notices:

        The Baltimore Conference will be held in Baltimore on the second Tuesday in April, 1823.

        The Philadelphia Conference will be held in Philadelphia on the first Thursday in May, 1823.

        The New York Conference will be held on the last Thursday in May, 1823.


        The total number of members in Society in this year, 1822, was 9,888, an increase since 1818 of 3,110; 737 was the number in Society in the New York District, as reported in 1822. New York, Bethel Church, had 347; Brooklyn, Long Island, had 136; White Plains, subsequently called Huntingdon Circuit, had 27; Cove, now called Glen Cove, had 33; Harlem, 24; Jamaica, Long Island, 18; Flushing, 130; New Bedford, 22.

        The minutes of the three Conferences for 1822 were published together, and give the following list of ministers in the Connection at that time, nearly seventy years ago, and but six years after the organization of the Church:

        Rev. Richard Allen was the Bishop; Revs. Morris Brown, Jacob Matthews, Henry Harden, Stephen Dutton, Charles Pierce, Reuben Cuff, Thomas Webster, Jacob Richardson, William Quinn, Samuel Ridley, Richard Williams, David Smith, George White, and Jeremiah Miller were the elders; Revs. Edward Jackson, Noah Cannon, Sampson Peters, Charles Corr, Joseph Cox, Amos Cruckshanks, Clayton Durham, Adam Clincher, James Savern, Thomas Robinson, Edward Williamson, Henry Fox, Thomas Miller, William Cornish, James Towsen, Joseph Chane, Samuel Collins, Peter Croger, Benjamin Croger, George White, Edmund Crosby, Charles Spicer, Richard Boone, Samuel Todd, Henry Drayton, John H. Foulks. The traveling and local preachers were John Messer, Abraham Anderson, Shadrack Bassett, Julius Stewart, Thomas Banks, John Bull, George Anderson, William Johnson, Joseph Oliver, Walter Proctor, Jeremiah Durham, David Crosby, Michael Parker, Charles Butler, John Boggs, John Gustus, Job Gibson, Walter Maxfield, James Cole, Thomas Gibson, Edward Waters, Jacob Piercen, Solomon Welch, Abner Coker,

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Joseph Brown, Jeremiah Brown, James Carr, Thomas Hall, Jacob Roberts, Caleb Guilley, Levi Lea, Abraham Springs, John Smith, Jacob Warner, Thomas Douglas, Titus Rosarett, Paul Williams, Edward Byrd, George Bowler, Joshua P. B. Eddy, Henry Brown, Lewis Cork, John Jones, Charles Grant, John B. Matthews, Primus Hopkins, George Barnett, Samuel Johnson, Richard Harvey, Israel Scott, Anthony Tunison, Edward Smith, Griffin Cooper, Thomas Webster, William Henry, Thomas Henry, Joseph Parker, Robert Butler, Charles Wilmore, James Burton, Jacob Adams, Jonathan Adams, Richard Gibson, James Wollford, Jesse Johnson, Philip Delaney, Stephen Harden, George Harris, Aaron Miller, George Wright, James Chase, John Darby, Toff Lossicks, Nathan Tarman, Charles Grey, Israel Williams, John Joyce, Edward Young, James Lowe, Job Morris, James Smith, William Butler, John Morris, James Thomas, David Davids, Israel Jaimison, John Conover, Adam Hercules, Stephen Stanford, Graves Holland, James Brown, ---- Phillip, Jeremiah Beulah, Peter Schureman, James Eden, London Turpin, Alexander Harleston, Smart Simpson, George Smith, John White and Thomas Morris.

        These, with a few names which could not be ascertained, make up the ministerial force. Some of these were connected with the organization in 1816; some did good work in the new missionary fields as the Connection spread; some reached a high position in the Church, and some dropped into the oblivion of death or obscurity without having accomplished aught that history cares to record.

        According to appointment the Baltimore Conference met on the second Tuesday of April, the 10th day of the month, in 1823. Only six persons were present at its opening, but before its close the number reached twenty-six. The six were Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, David Smith, John Boggs, Charles Corr, Jeremiah Miller, Jacob Matthews.

        Don Carlos Hall having died during the year, the Conference, by a unanimous vote, appointed Brother Charles Hacket, a layman, as steward in his place.

        Henry Harden and Jacob Richardson were the movers in the agreement that was reached "that the Annual Conference have the prerogative of legislating in behalf of the selection of delegates from the District of Baltimore to attend the General Conference." This was followed by a vote that the selection take

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place, and as a result we find that the District of Baltimore sends five; the City of Baltimore, the elder in charge and Abner Coker; Washington City, elder in charge and George Bell; Frederick Circuit, elder in charge; Eastern Maryland, elder in charge and Samuel Todd; Columbia Circuit, elder in charge and John Linenberger.

        Such was the manner of electing members of the General Conference of 1824 at the Baltimore Annual Conference in 1823. What was the manner in 1819 for the General Conference of 1820 is not known, as it does not appear on the face of the journal. All that was done in relation to that General Conference was the passage of the following motion:

        It was moved by Jerry Miller, and seconded by Don C. Hall, that the General Conference in 1820 be held in Philadelphia, and it was unanimously agreed to


        Whether any General Conference was held in 1820 or not can not be ascertained by documentary evidence. There is nothing relating to it beyond the motion just quoted. The rule for the composition of the General Conference, as laid down in the original Discipline, is comprised in the following words:

        The general Conference or Convention shall be composed of one delegate for every two hundred members belonging to our Society, who shall be nominated by the Quarterly Meeting Conference and appointed by the male members of Society, according to the charters or constitutions of the different African Churches belonging to our Society; but no minister or preacher shall be eligible to the office of delegate until he has been licensed according to our Discipline for at least two years


        The conduct of the Baltimore Conference was certainly at variance with the rule, but the wherefore is not apparent. Perhaps they found it was impracticable, or perhaps the General Conference of 1820, if it were held, had abrogated it.

        The following document exhibits the love of order and decorum which actuated the minds of the Annual Conference. There was a motion brought before the house to take into consideration some measures to suppress an evil which had been discovered to exist amongst our people as a body. The Conference took up the subject and appointed a committee of three, Henry Harden, Jacob Richardson and Jacob Matthews, to draw up some rules which should be laid before the House:

        These are the Rules that we, in our judgment, have adopted for our present as well as our future welfare: that is, we are of the opinion that all

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our night meetings ought to commence at one regular hour--that is, from the first of September to the first of March meetings must commence at 7 o'clock, and from the first of March until the first of September to commence at 8 o'clock, exclusive of our Annual Conferences and Quarterly Meetings and Love-feasts. This we have taken into consideration to suppress the rising evils that we have so repeatedly discovered among us as a body; we, therefore, as your brethren and your ministers in Christ, and as those that must have to give an account of our stewardship, we, therefore, deem it our privilege as well as our duty to recommend it to all our members, and in particular for the safe-guard and welfare of our brethren and sisters that are in servitude, and such children as are put out to work or that are under their parents' care, and in particular in cities and towns


        The Annual Conference ratified this by a unanimous vote.

        Three were set apart for deacon's orders on Sabbath morning: Jacob Pierson, Abner Coker and Jeremiah Beulah.

        The amount of collections raised for the use of the Annual Conference was forty-six dollars, and it was expended in the following manner:

        
For the annual services of the Bishop. $12 00
For his passage from Philadelphia to Baltimore and return 9 00
Received for letters at this Conference 12 00
For feeding the preachers' horses 8 05

        From the Baltimore Conference of 1823 we pass, from necessity, to the Baltimore Annual Conference of 1824;*

        *The minutes for the Philadelphia Annual Conference of 1823 are not extant. The minutes for the New York Conferences from 1822 to 1831 are lost. A diligent search in 1850 failed to find any records beyond 1831. Some of the old members of Bethel Church stated that the journal of Conference had been carried to the Court of Chancery, and had never been seen since. It was this Court in which our suit against London Turpin involved us.


but nothing of importance or general interest was done in the Baltimore Annual Conference this year. The tide of affairs was rather dark and turbulent. We shall, therefore, do nothing more than give an abstract of its proceedings.

        It was opened on the 24th of April, in the city of Baltimore, with Rt. Rev. Richard Allen presiding, and Rev. Morris Brown as assistant. Jacob Matthews was its secretary.

        Rev. Jacob Richardson reported his charge in a better condition than it had ever been before. Jeremiah Beulah gave a favorable report of his circuit, and said that he had added another church to it. Edward Waters was not fully prepared to give an account of his charge. It was resolved, too, that if any member of the

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Conference be found carrying out any of its secrets by letter or word, he should forfeit his seat in the Conference.

        As the second General Conference was held this year, we shall give the numbers in Society and the stationing of the preachers:

        Baltimore City and vicinity, 715; Fredericktown Circuit, including Fredericktown, Hagerstown, Greencastle, Shippensburgh, Carlisle, Harrisburgh, Chambersburgh, 317; Eastern Shore, Maryland, including Easton, Concord, Pekin's Island, Denton, Hole-in-the-Wall, Ivorytown, Miles River, Hillsborough, 543; Washington City and Piscataway respectively, 112 and 166; Hartford Circuit, including Havre de Grace, Swamp, Presburgs and Deer Creek, 175; making a total of 2,028.

        The preachers were stationed as follows: Baltimore, Rev. Moses Freeman; Harrisburgh Circuit, Richard Williams, elder, and Peter Schureman, preacher; Easton Circuit, Rev. Jeremiah Beulah and Wm. Richardson; Washington City and Piscataway, Rev. Jacob Matthews.

        The financial report of the General Conference showed the collection for the General Conference to be $42.25; "passage for the Bishop," $9; paid to the Bishop, $25; General Conference, $8.33; paid for letters to the Bishop, $11.12½, and "for horse feed in time of Conference," $8.44; making a total of $104.14½.

        It will be recollected that the Baltimore Annual Conference of 1819, by a unanimous vote, fixed the meeting of the General Conference of 1820 in the city of Philadelphia. This year it was held in Baltimore. The Annual Conference was opened on the 24th of April, and continued in session until the 30th. The next day witnessed the opening of the second General Conference of the A. M. E. Church.

        The preachers' salaries ranged as follows: Jacob Richardson, $26; Jeremiah Beulah, $18.90; Shadrack Bassett, $15; Peter Schureman, $5.75; Jacob Matthews, $10; a total of $125.65 for salaries in 1824 in this Conference.

        We have no record of the proceedings of this General Conference save the vestige found in the financial report given, and bearing date of May 11th, 1824, in which it is declared that Bishop Allen received from it the sum of $8.33. It is also stated in the financial report of the Philadelphia Annual Conference for 1824, that $52.49 were paid to defray the expenses of six delegates to the General Conference at Baltimore. We judge that the General Conference closed its session on the 11th, as it is on

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that date that we find it recorded that it paid the Bishop $8.33. We find that Rev. Jacob Matthews was secretary for both the Annual and General Conferences.

        The Philadelphia Annual Conference for 1824 was opened Saturday morning, May 22d, eleven days after the close of the General Conference. Joseph M. Corr was chosen secretary. He was the youngest man in the Conference, the best educated, and, it is said, the most gifted preacher.

        Some of the pages of this manuscript journal are torn out, and thus some of the doings are a mere matter of conjecture. It was decided to keep the members to their work promptly by a resolution, that if not present after the time appointed each should forfeit twenty-five cents for the use of the Conference. It was also resolved that the circuit should "bear all the traveling expenses through the year of the preachers traveling the circuit, and their expenses coming to Conference."

        This may be considered the origin of the present Rule of Discipline, on page 228, relative to the support and expenses of traveling preachers, as it is the first time we find a written rule defining the duty of the Church on this important subject. The Discipline of 1817 was very indefinite, as the subjoined extract will show:

SECTION II.

        Of the Salaries of the Ministers and Preachers, and allowances to their Wives, Widows and Children.--This shall rest with the Annual Conferences respectively.

SECTION IV.

        Of the Book Concern.--The profits of all the books published by authority of the General Conference, or Convention, shall go to the support of the traveling ministry, as the Annual Conference from time to time may think proper.


        The origin of another present custom among us is found in a resolution "that each preacher stationed on any circuit shall receive a certificate from the president of the Conference, stating the circuit to which they are appointed."

        Shadrack Bassett, William Cornish and Marcus Brown were received into full connection, and Joshua P. B. Eddy was located. There was collected for the contingent expenses of this Philadelphia Conference, $148.92, while the expenses amounted to $139.79, among which we find the expenses of the six delegates to the General Conferences in Baltimore rated as $52.49, while another

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item, $5.75, is for printing the minutes of 1822. From this last we are led to infer that the minutes of 1823 were not published.

        The appointments from this Conference were Rev. Jeremiah Miller to Chillicothe, Ohio; Philip Brodie and Jeremiah Miller to Cincinnati, O.; Rev. Noah C. W. Cannon to Steubenville, O., and George Bowler to Redstone, these two points being under the care of T. Webster; Rev. Richard Williams was sent to Fredericktown, Peter Schureman to Frederick Circuit, Rev. Joseph Harper and Rev. Morris Brown to Bristol Circuit, Rev. William Cornish to Philadelphia, Rev. Samuel Ridley to Trenton Circuit, Thomas A. Dorsey to Salem Circuit, and Rev. John Boggs to Smyrna Circuit.

        In this year (1824) the membership of the Philadelphia District was, for Philadelphia Station and Circuit, 3,000, and Hamilton Village,*

        * Now West Philadelphia.


27. Bristol Circuit, Bucks County, Pa., reported a membership of 438, distributed among the following points: Frankford, 55; Hornesburg, 20; Bridgeport, 50; Attleborough, 105; Newton, 30; Newhope, 50; Whitemarsh, 15; West Chester, 50; Conkerd, 18; Valley, 35; Mountain, 10. Smyrna Circuit, Delaware, reported 173: 19 from Smyrna, 22 from Boheamarnania, 18 from Frenchtown, 15 from Elkton, 17 from Middletown, 11 from Thoroughfare Neck, 36 from Sassafras Head, 8 from Crooktown, 27 from Warwick. Salem Circuit, New Jersey, had 173: 27 from Port Elizabeth, 9 from Fairfield, 38 from Greenwich, 80 from Salem, 36 from Bushtown, 6 from Scrabbletown, 24 from Dutchtown, 25 from Woodbury, 30 from Snowhill, 42 from Cross Roads, 20 from Mount Holly. Trenton Circuit, New Jersey, reported 204: 120 from Trenton City, 29 from Princeton, 22 from Launsburg, 33 from Rocky Hill. Columbia Circuit, Pa., had 210: Columbia, 45; Charleston, 16; Little York, 39; Marietta, 38; Lancaster, 14; Mount Vernon, 38; Martrick Township, 20. The Western District, State of Pennsylvania, comprised Pittsburgh City, 85; Washington, 34; Uniontown, 38; Brownsville, 12; Geneva, 12; Monmouth, 12; making a total of 193. Jefferson County Circuit, Ohio, reported 63, Steubenville, Mount Pleasant, and Cape Belmoths having 45, 12, and 6 respectively. Chillicothe Circuit, Ohio, included Chillicothe, Zanesville, Lancaster and Cincinnati, the last named alone reporting its membership, which was 33.

        The statistics at the second General Conference exhibit two

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facts: First, the loss of territory in South Carolina, and the acquisition of new territory in Ohio. But the loss was in many respects greater than the gain. In respect to numbers and wealth it was really so.

        The loss of South Carolina was occasioned by a terrible civil excitement in 1822, which was produced by the discovery of a contemplated insurrection on the part of certain slaves for the overthrow of slavery in that State. The ringleaders, six in number, were arrested, tried and convicted, and hung on a single gallows at a single blow. Chief of these were Denmark Vesey and Gullak Jack. Subsequently twenty-two of the conspirators were convicted of the same offense, to-wit: a combination to overthrow the most villainous system of oppression beneath the sun. They, too, were hung on the same gallows, and at the same moment. They had not shed a drop of their so-called master's blood, nor had they taken up arms or committed one act of violence, but they had conspired against the infernal system, and that was a crime in itself sufficiently heinous to be punished with death.

        But slavery is a system based upon injustice, born of violence and blood, hence it knows not what is mercy nor justice. But how terribly has the blood of these helpless victims been avenged by the punitive visitation of indignant Heaven during the Civil War and Rebellion against the American Union! How differently has the spirit of Liberty dealt with the blood-stained leaders of the Rebellion of 1860-65! Their conspiracy against Liberty and the American Union resulted in the death of about two hundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred and seventy-six men, and a National debt of ten billions three hundred and sixty-one millions nine hundred and twenty-nine thousand nine hundred and nine dollars; yet they were allowed to go unpunished.

        The slaveholders of South Carolina were not satisfied with punishing with death the conspiracy against slavery in that State; they did not stop their proceedings till our Church in that State was entirely suppressed. Being an independent ecclesiastical organization, it gave the idea and produced the sentiment of personal freedom and responsibility in the Negro.

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CHAPTER VIII.
THE FIRST DECADE.

        Close of First Decade--A Comparison--Twenty-nine Appointments in the Baltimore District--Sixty-five Appointments in the Philadelphia District--Eight Churches in New York District--Growth since 1818--No Sunday-schools in 1826--Difficulties Under Which the Ministry Labored--Their Improvement--Education of the Colored Population Forbidden--Home Missions.

        AMONG the transaction of the Baltimore Conference for 1825 there is nothing of great importance. The minutes show that much of the time was taken up in strife over a case of maladministration, and from it we find that the order of punishment, in this case at least, was the reverse of the order which now obtains. The party was silenced for six months, after which he was sharply reproved before the Annual Conference, and then restored to his functions as a traveling preacher.

        Nathaniel Peck was received on trial for three months, and Adam Hercules on a full course as an itinerant preacher. Peter D. Schureman applied for deacon's orders, but was rejected, while the permission to go to Hayti, asked by Moses Freeman, was also refused. Rev. Moses Freeman and Charles Hacket were appointed a committee to raise moneys to print the Discipline.

        The total sum raised for ministers' salaries was $472.04, distributed among the ministers as follows: The salary of Rev. Moses Freeman, pastor of Bethel, Baltimore, was $198.25; that of Rev. J. Matthews, of Washington City, $80.00; that of J. Beulah, Easton Circuit, $17.50; that of W. Richardson, of the same circuit, $14.50; of Rev. R. Williams, of Harrisburgh Circuit, $67.89, and of Rev. P. Schureman, of the same circuit, $93.90.

        One hundred and fifteen dollars were raised for contingent expenses, out of which the secretary received six dollars for his services, which is the second instance on record of the Conference paying its secretary.

        In many respects the transactions of the Baltimore Conference in 1826 were the most imposing, the most important, and

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the most interesting of any previous one--we might say, more so than all put together. There is, indeed, a business tact and dignity about it which commands our respect at the same time that it takes us by surprise. It opened its deliberations on Monday, April 10, 1826, with Rt. Rev. Richard Allen presiding. Joseph M. Corr was chosen secretary.

        A resolution was adopted by the Conference "that all exhorters and stewards that stand fair, and who are in full connection, shall be admitted to a seat in the Annual Conference, but have neither voice nor vote."

        Up to this time these two classes of men always had a voice and vote in Conference--the Conference steward most assuredly, who, from the formation of the Connection, had always been Don Carlos Hall, and after his lamented death, Charles Hacket. It seemed good in the sight of the clergy at this Tenth Conference to deprive them of these privileges. The reasons for this action do not appear on the face of the minutes.

        At the opening of the Conference several of the most prominent men were impeached and put on trial. The pastoral letters sent forth to several churches who were interested in the impeachments will show the wisdom and piety of those who controlled the affairs of the Conference and its churches:

BALTIMORE, April 13, 1826.

Dear Brethren of the Church in Christ, in the Borough of Chambersburgh, under the African Methodist Episcopal Bishop and Conference:

        We have taken up our pen to inform you that our Conference commenced in this city on Monday last, and the case of Brother ---- came before us, and, after a thorough investigation of the subject, the Conference thought it no breach of discipline in his calling in the white elder to administer the Lord's Supper; and as it respects his debt on the circuit, which caused his horse to be sold, we are of the opinion that, had Brother ---- received his full quarterages on the circuit, he would have been able to discharge his debts honorably; but having examined his returns, we have found he has come short of receiving his quarterages by eighty dollars. We have found he was totally unable to discharge his debts. By this, we are sorry that so small a circumstance should cause such great interruptions on the circuit. When the preacher errs the official members have no right to shut the doors of the church against him, except the crime is of such magnitude as totally unfits a man for the kingdom of heaven, and even then, the superintendent should be first informed of it, and the case laid before the Annual Conference.

        The Conference is of the opinion that the official members of the circuit should act according to rule and order as well as the preacher. We hope

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in future that peace and tranquility will abound among you, and that preachers and people will pull together for the glory of God and the prosperity of his Church. The Conference does not wish to screen a preacher in his wrongs; but it wishes to have justice done him. The impeachments you sent on the Conference found not sufficient to exclude a preacher. Dear brethren, we ought to be exceedingly careful how we let such small evils get into our Churches, as they do a great harm to the souls of our brethren; but as Methodists, leaders, and stewards that love discipline, we should endeavor to eye the glory of God, and do all things in order for the tranquility and peace of the Church of God. We have at present great prospects in the City of Baltimore of this being the greatest Conference ever held in this place. Great harmony prevails among our preachers, and the slain of the Lord are many. Our congregations are very numerous, and our meetings continue the whole night, which caused our hearts to rejoice at the display of the Lord among us.

        We remain your affectionate brethren in Christ and in the bonds of peace.

REV. RICHARD ALLEN, President.

JOSEPH M. CORR, Secretary.
Signed by order of the Conference.


        Another letter was ordered to be written to Columbia Circuit, and is as follows:

BALTIMORE, April 13, 1826.

To the Church of Christ located in the town of Columbia, under the African Methodist Episcopal Bishop and Conference:

        We have taken up our pen to inform you that our Conference commenced sitting in this city on Monday last, and the case of ---- came before them, and the Conference was of the opinion that his trial was illegal by the preacher having the charge. The Conference proceeded to take up the charges against him, and, after a thorough investigation of them, he was honorably acquitted and restored to his former functions. The Conference recommends to our dear brethren of Columbia to let all hardness and ill thoughts be done away with, and that peace and harmony by your love and union may prevail, and that you will still strive to do everything for the glory of God and the prosperity of the Church by preachers and people working together in the fear of God, and pulling together for the lasting honor of the Church, the glory of God, and the salvation of souls.

        Rev. ----, as a man of God and a friend to the Connection, acknowledges his error in the illegality of the trial, and submitted it to the Conference.

Signed by the Conference.
RICHARD ALLEN, President.

JOSEPH M. CORR, Secretary.


        The means devised for the preservation of order and decorum in this interesting Conference were those savoring of early times, assuredly. If any one should fall asleep during the sitting of

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Conference he should pay a fine of twelve and a-half cents. A penalty of five cents was the price which should be paid if one person should "contradict another while on his feet."

        The preachers received on trial were Reuben Melvin, Washington Dorrill and James Richards. William Richardson was received into full connection and ordained deacon, together with Charles Dunn.

        The preachers' salaries for the three circuits and Baltimore City amounted to $448.30. The sum of $50.50 was collected for contingent expenses. We also find an item of expense for the Bishop's assistant's traveling expenses. This assistant was the Rev. Morris Brown.

        One other pastoral letter, addressed to the Church at Easton, Maryland, shows such a prudent and determined effort to do all things justly that it is inserted here:

BALTIMORE, April 17, 1826.

Dear Brethren of the Church of Christ in the town of Easton, under the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop, and Conference:

        We have taken up our pen to inform you that our Conference commenced in this city on Monday last, and your business came before the Conference. The grievances of our brethren were duly considered, and the case thoroughly investigated, and both parties acknowledged their wrongs, and the Conference thought proper to write you an official letter, to let you know their decision, and that the matter was finally settled, and that the preacher should read the deed of conveyance of the church to you, and let you know the public debt of the Church, to give you general satisfaction, and that the class in Ivorytown shall be removed back to the Church in Easton, and that no class shall meet at Ivorytown but the class that was formed for the aged and infirm, and that your leader shall not encourage any member to meet at Ivorytown in the aged and infirm class, so as to prevent them from meeting the Easton class that meets at the church.

        And we recommend to our brethren and sisters in Ivorytown and Easton to meet their class in the church, and attend to their public services; and we entreat you to let all hardness and ill thoughts be done away, and that peace and tranquillity will abound among you, and that preachers and people will strive to pull together for the glory of God and the salvation of souls; and as the lovers of Methodist rules and discipline, we hope you will comply with all our requisitions for the preservation of harmony, good order, love, and union.

Dear brethren, yours in the bonds of peace.

Signed by order of the Conference.
JOSEPH M. CORR, Secretary.

RICHARD ALLEN, President.


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        Would to God that the good example of this prudent Conference had been followed in all subsequent cases, and throughout our fields of labor! Then, many a rupture would have been prevented, and many bleeding wounds healed, as though the very balm of Gilead had been poured into them.

        The secretary of this and the succeeding Conference, Charles M. Corr, was from Charleston, South Carolina, and was among those who emigrated from that city to Philadelphia after the murderous transactions of the state of South Carolina in the case of Denmark Vesey and his compatriots, whom we have seen were put to death for merely planning against the crime of human slavery, which, according to the just views of Frederick Douglass, was "chronic rebellion against humanity." At the Philadelphia Conference of this same year, he was made the general secretary of all the Conferences, at the expense of each Conference.

        This year (1826) the Philadelphia Conference minutes are again to be found, and this body was convened on Monday, May 1st. A few sentences will show its transactions, with two or three exceptions, to have been of very little general interest. Four preachers were received on trial--William Shats, Austin Jones, and Lewis Cork as traveling, and James Wilson as a local preacher. It also resolved that all African preachers coming to join us from the Methodist Connection, and who are in good standing and well recommended, shall be received into our Conferences, as our own preachers are, by the recommendation of our Quarterly Meeting Conference.

        Brother Peter Woods had died this Conference year. He was a local preacher who had been two years in the work, a native of Virginia, and a young man of "sound judgment, clear understanding, genuine piety, and a humble, holy, and useful laborer in the vineyard of the Lord," so say the records. His death occurred at Washington, Pa., December 22, 1825.

        The salaries of the ministers for the ten circuits and stations amounted to $614.14¾.

        The Philadelphia Conference adopted the following resolution:

        Resolved, That the time appointed for the sitting of the New York Conference be revoked from the 12th of June to the 20th of May, if convenient to the New York brethren


        The first decade of our history as a Church closes with this

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year. By comparing the state of affairs at this time (1826) with our condition at the first Conference on record we shall see what progress the Connection had made at the end of the first ten years of its existence.

        In the last report Baltimore had within her pastorate the Harrisburg Circuit, including nine appointments, Fredericktown Circuit with ten appointments, Eastern Shore of Maryland Circuit with seven appointments, and Washington with three appointments, making a total of twenty-nine appointments. These twenty-nine churches had seven pastors, who had charge of two thousand three hundred and four souls, and the support which these gave to the ministry amounted to only $448.30.

        At the same time the Philadelphia District reported Trenton Circuit with five appointments, Salem Circuit with ten, Bristol Circuit with seven, Smyrna Circuit with eight, Lewiston Circuit with nine, Washington Circuit with five, Steubenville Circuit with three, Chillicothe Circuit with two, Zanesville Circuit with one, and Cincinnati Station; also that of Philadelphia--a total of sixty-five appointments. Fourteen pastors had charge of these, which reported four thousand six hundred and six souls, and the pastors' salaries from these reached the sum of $614.14¾.

        In contrast we bring forward the past. In 1818 Baltimore reported one circuit and one station--Dossett Circuit and Baltimore Station. There were but three pastors, and a membership of one thousand and sixty, who gave to their preachers for salaries, $340.

        New York had received into her soul the vegetating seed in the fall of 1819, for then the first church was planted by Rev. William Lambert, who was commissioned, as we have seen, by the Philadelphia Conference, and in 1822 she reported for the District appointments eight churches, with seven hundred and twenty-seven in Society, over which were placed four pastors.

        The brief records of the Philadelphia Annual Conference for 1818--the earliest records to be found--give very little idea of the work. The members in Society in Philadelphia are given as three thousand three hundred and eleven in number.*

        *The comparison is made between these Conferences in 1818, as far as possible, though the first reported work comes from the New York Conence in 1822.


        It is evident from even this meager data that the Lord had strengthened our cords and strengthened our stakes, so that our

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Zion could say in the language of Jacob, "With my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands."

        At the end of this first decade we find no traces of any efforts for literary improvement among the ministers, nor for the education of the rising generation through any agency of the Conferences.

        There was no missionary society, no "Daughters of Conference" society, for the temporal aid of the preachers, nor any effort of the kind among the preachers themselves. Nor do we perceive any traces of the revision of the Discipline, which was first published in 1817, over the signatures of Richard Allen, Daniel Coker, and James Champion. The minutes of the Conferences were occasionally published. No allusion is made to our Hymn Book, so that up to 1826 we have no proof of its existence. Probably the Hymn Book of the M. E. Church was used.

        The authority to publish books was lodged in the hands of Bishop Allen by a vote of the Baltimore Annual Conference in 1818, and up to this date had never been taken away from him. At this time, too, there was no Sunday-school in existence in our Church.

        The absence of what we are accustomed to consider at the present day the necessary adjuncts of Church life is not to be wondered at when we consider the manner in which the A. M. E. Church was born, the troubles and annoyances heaped upon it by those who should have befriended her in the hour of her birth. The animosity shown by the Methodist Episcopal Church does not reflect any lustre or glory, but rather stands as a strain upon her credit--not wanting the colored people, yet unwilling to let them go; and when of their own accord the despised members separated, resorting to subterfuge, and invoking the action of the law to compel them to return to their position of vassalage and ill-usage. This is the course of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the time when the African Methodist Episcopal Church, or rather its progenitor, the African Church in Philadelphia, most needed assistance and friendly advice.

        In addition to the burdens imposed upon the youthful Church by the outside world, she had also to contend with dissensions and turbulence within herself. Many of her ministers and elders were impatient under the rules of the Church, and frequent breaches of discipline took place. These ministers were unaccustomed to the laws governing the progress and purposes of the

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Church--unaccustomed to command or to rule, and with a peculiar notion of the powers of their office, which were often exercised in a degree calculated to lead to complaint from the members of the Conference. As a result we find the time of that body occupied by the listening to, and the rectification of, complaints which should never have come before the Conference.

        The absence of any efforts for literary improvement among the ministers, and the want of any means of education among the rising generation, and the total absence of Sunday-schools, are all to be regretted, but the condition of affairs here indicated cannot altogether be attributed to any apathy upon the part of the Church. Perhaps the lack of literary improvement in the ministry might be considered the fault of the individual minister; but it must not be forgotten that the men appointed to the positions of elders and deacons were all full grown, and had reached manhood before they were so appointed. Many of them had had no opportunities to lay the foundation of an education, even of a most rudimentary kind, in their youth, the time in which an education should be commenced. In manhood, and while acting in the various offices of the Church, their efforts had to be engrossed in the many practical cares of the world. They had to earn a living by the labor of their hands. Earning one's bread by the sweat of his brow is not conducive to any efforts in the way of improving literary attainments. Many of the ministers did improve, however, and showed that improvement in the course of their lives. Others did not advance far in the paths of literary acquirements. The absence of education, however, is to be regretted, as, if the men composing the Conferences had known what lay before them, we might have been able to more fully understand their position, and to judge of their actions.

        While that no provisions were made for the education of the rising generation might be slightly attributed to the neglect of the ministers, yet the portion of the blame attaching itself to the Church is so small that no one can fairly say they were essentially the cause of this neglect.

        The education of the colored population of the states in which the majority of the members of the African Methodist Church were located was strictly forbidden. The laws framed by the various state legislatures were so stringent, and the penalties so

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severe, that we at this present day can only look back at them and shudder. Herein lies the chief cause of the lack of effort upon the part of the Church to increase its members. No one who has given these laws even the most cursory glance can blame the Church for shrinking from the pursuit of this cause; besides, any such efforts as might lead to the spread of education among the colored people, the great proportion of whom were slaves, would not only have called down the law upon the heads of the offenders, but even, as we will afterwards see, have endangered the very existence of the Church itself.

        As for Missionary Societies, Daughters of Conference, Societies for the Temporal Aid of the Preachers, they are all the outcome of a growth in any Church. These betoken an increase in the finances of the Church, due to the increasing numbers and wealth of its members. During the first decade of the existence of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, it was not blessed with members great in number or rich in worldly goods. We cannot, therefore, look upon the want of any of these societies as a reproach to the Church. As for the Church itself, it was at that time mainly in the condition of a mission. Its ministers were missionaries conveying light and hope to many a weary, downtrodden, and oppressed soul. In the way of missionary work it was, we might say, engaged in the noblest of all missionary fields--the home mission. This we conceive to be of infinitely more importance than any foreign field which has or ever may be covered by any Church or Society in the whole course of its history. If fewer efforts were made to enlarge the borders and expend our energies abroad, and if greater efforts were made to reach and bring within the Christian fold the large and evergrowing population of heathen we find within our own towns and cities, it would be better for ourselves and the world generally.

        But while there are many things in the history of the Church during the first decade of her existence which do not altogether fit our ideas, there are many to be approved of, and we ought in fairness to give the men, who, in that day stood in the forefront of the battle, all honor and praise for their noble, unselfish, and unflinching courage, and undaunted bearing and brave efforts to bring order out of confusion. Without their sacrifice, and without their works, the Church, in all probability, would not have the standing she has to-day.

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CHAPTER IX.
CONFERENCES OF 1827, 1828, 1829.

        Baltimore Annual Conference of 1827--Philadelphia Conference--Petition from Canada for Pastors--Election of Delegates to the General Conference of 1828--Rise of the Daughters of Conference--Extension of the Connection--Baltimore Conference of 1828--George Hogarth's First Appearance--News from Port-au-Prince--Philadelphia Conference--Morris Brown Elected and Ordained Bishop.

        THE Conference year of 1827 was opened by the Baltimore Annual Conference the 28th of April.

        Before this Conference, Rev. Scipio Beanes presented himself as an offered missionary to go to Hayti. A committee, consisting of Revs. Morris Brown, Jacob Matthews and William Cornish was appointed to inquire into his qualifications, and after deliberation and examination he was decided upon as a "fit person to be clothed as a missionary to Hayti," whereupon it was then resolved that "Scipio Beanes receive the orders of a deacon and elder in the Church of God for the same mission."

        Another resolution was passed, "that Samuel Dickson, having been a licensed preacher for two years, be received as a member of this Conference." This is another historic fact against the assertion that the action or recommendation of Quarterly Conference was always necessary. In this last case there is no allusion to such a recommendation. His being "licensed for two years" is alleged as the reason why he was received as a member of the Annual Conference. Then, too, we may look at the case of Scipio Beanes, where the action taken was extraordinary. He was received into the itinerant ranks, ordained a deacon, and then an elder--all within one week--for missionary purposes, and no action of the Quarterly Conference was deemed necessary.

        Together with Scipio Beanes, Levin Lee and William Cousins were ordained deacons, the latter if "he travels," and Revs. P. D. Schureman and Lewis Cork, elders.*

        * The action of the Baltimore Conference of 1827 resulted in more than that of the Philadelphia Conference in 1822, which decreed that Charles Butler should be ordained as a deacon and an elder, and be sent as a missionary to Africa, but failed to execute their own unanimous resolution. Scipio Beanes was sent to Hayti, and went.


There was a resolution
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passed admitting no one to a seat in this Conference unless he was licensed exhorter.

        Edward Waters and George Hicks were selected as the delegates to represent the Baltimore District at the next General Conference, to be held May 5th, 1828, in Philadelphia.

        A month later the Philadelphia Conference commenced its deliberations--May 19th. A petition from the western part of New York and Canada was received praying Conference to send them a preacher. After some reflection the Conference referred it to the New York District, as it rightfully belonged to that jurisdiction. Samuel George, William Allen, Nathan Tarman and Isaac Scott were received on trial. Austin Jones was elected to the order of Elders, having been received on probation but one year previous to this step. Samuel George and Walter Proctor were set apart for the order of deacons.

        As the General Conference of 1828 was to be provided with delegates, it was decided that the District embraced by the Philadelphia Conference should be properly represented by choosing two from the West, two from New Jersey, one from Lewiston, one from Bucks County, and two from Philadelphia. The election resulted in the choice of James Byrd from Cincinnati, O., and Samuel Johnston, of Pittsburg, Pa., as the two from the West; Samson Peters, of Trenton, and Thomas Banks, of Salem, from New Jersey; Peter Lewis, of Lewiston, Del.; Edward Jackson, of Bucks County; and Clayton Durham and Joseph Cox from Philadelphia.

        It was also resolved to recommend to the General Conference "The Chartered Fund for the Spread of the Gospel and the Relief of the Traveling Preachers." This "Chartered Fund" of the M. E. Church was founded in their General Conference of 1796, thirty years prior to this, and was now considered as a step it would be wise and timely to follow on the part of the Philadelphians. At this Conference we hear for the first time of the existence of that noble and useful band of women called the "Daughters of Conference," who contributed to Conference the sum of eighteen dollars and seventy-five cents. Other individual friends also gave small sums, which, with the collections of $133.50 from Bethel itself, raised to meet the expense of the session, swelled the amount to $153.75.

        Within the last twelve months, as shown by the journal, the Connection had extended itself into Western New York, taking

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in the cities of Utica, Rochester, and Buffalo; also into Canada, embracing the towns of Erie, Niagara, Gambia, and Malden. At the last-named place there were eighty-five members; at Gambia, six; at Niagara, twenty, and at Fort Erie, thirteen, making a total in Canada West of one hundred and twenty-four; while at Buffalo, N. Y., there were twelve, seven at Rochester, and twenty-seven at Utica, the entire total through this accession of territory reaching one hundred and seventy. Of these Societies, planted in Western New York, only Buffalo has amounted to any thing, and it has been, up to the present, numerically weak.*

        * Its minutes of 1877 give as the membership only one hundred and thirteen, with twenty probationers.


There now exists no A. M. E. Church in Rochester. Previous to 1886 the property was sold, the avails banked, the trustees all died or moved to unknown parts, the bank book was lost, and no claimant has been found. In the next year after this Conference, 1828, the Society in Albany, New York, was taken into the work. But the Canadian Societies multiplied till every important town in Canada West was marked by one of our churches; yet these three, during eighteen years of our missionary labors in that province, never became strong.

        As to the resolution of the Philadelphians respecting the "Chartered Fund," it shared the fate of a still-born child from that day to the year 1872, when the General Conference, sitting in Nashville, Tenn., formally gave disciplinary form to it; but it has remained a mere paper institution, and even now has no existence.

        The doings of the Baltimore Conference for 1828 possesses such little interest as scarcely to be worthy of record or notice here, if we except three or four facts: Rev. Levin Lee succeeded Rev. Joseph M. Corr in the secretaryship of the Baltimore Annual Conference; James High, another layman, succeeded Charles Hacket as steward of this Annual Conference; and Brother George Hogarth, who afterwards distinguished himself as our general book steward and editor of our first monthly magazine, made his first appearance at this Conference, and as steward of the Church in Port-au-Prince, Hayti, he reported seventy-two members in the Mission Church at that place. As Scipio Beanes had been ordained both deacon and elder at the

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last Annual Conference, and sent as missionary to Hayti, these seventy-two members may have been the fruits of his labors.

        The Philadelphia Annual Conference was opened on the 6th of May, notwithstanding the opening of the General Conference had been fixed for the 5th of the same month. Why the General Conference was postponed, in violation of disciplinary rule, does not appear; but it does appear that, after the Philadelphia Conference had been in session from the 6th to the 12th, they adjourned under the following resolution:

        Resolved, The house adjourn until a further period


        Then, after a lapse of fourteen days, we find them meeting again on the 27th, and finishing their business on the same day. Hence, we infer, first, that the Philadelphia Annual Conference was held from the 6th to the 12th; it then adjourned sine die, or till the rise of the General Conference; and second, that the General Conference was opened on the 12th or 13th, and continued in session till the 26th or 27th, after which the brethren of the Philadelphia Annual Conference resumed the session and finished their business; so the General Conference of 1828 must have been in session fifteen or sixteen days.

        We also find that in answer to the Seventh Question--"Who have been elected by the General Conference to exercise the Episcopal Office and superintend the African Methodist Episcopal Church?" this answer is, "Richard Allen." The question was put and answered on the 8th inst., but we find written in different ink, "and Morris Brown," which writing must have been done on the 27th, or some time immediately after the rise of the General Conference, because it was at this Conference that Rev. Morris Brown was elected and consecrated Bishop, which last act took place on the 25th of May, 1828.

        It will be remembered that at Baltimore, on the 10th of April, 1822, three persons were named as candidates for the office of assistant to the Bishop. These were Revs. Morris Brown, Jacob Matthews and Henry Harden, who received respectively seven, nine, and four votes. Then, in the same year, at the Philadelphia Conference, held in May, on the 18th, thirty days subsequent to the Baltimore election, the same three persons were voted for, with the result of nine votes each for Morris Brown and Henry Harden, and fifteen for Jacob Matthews. The last-named had, therefore, a majority of eight as a total over Morris

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Brown, and in each case he received the popular vote; yet he was rejected, and Morris Brown was ordained for the office.

        The reasons for this contradiction and also opposition to the popular vote are not apparent from our standpoint, though it may have been from the standpoint of the men who knew the three--their strong points and their weak ones.

        Four brethren were received on trial as itinerant preachers: John Hite, Anthony Campbell, Jacob Williams and Joseph M. Corr. Anthony Campbell was also ordained an elder at this Conference, but for what reason the excellent injunction of the Apostle was violated does not appear. Three of the traveling preachers located, James Towsen, Jeremiah Beulah and A. W. Allen.

        Three of the watchmen upon the walls of Zion had fallen since the meeting of the last Conference: Charles Corr, the venerable father of the talented and pious Joseph M. Corr, who died in Philadelphia, November 21, 1827, aged 51 years. He was pious in early life, and entered the ministry in his 16th year. He continued publishing salvation to dying men for the period of thirty-five years. For twenty-three years he was in connection with the M. E. Church, during which period he resided in the state of South Carolina, city of Charleston; but as soon as the African Methodist Episcopal Church was formed, he felt it his duty to join it, where he could spend his strength and talents with more effect, and he maintained an honorable position in it to the day of his death, when he laid down his cross to put on his crown.

        James Wilson also departed this life in this year, in the month of September, in the city of Philadelphia, after being twenty years a laborer in the vineyard of the Lord. George Miner was another minister of the Gospel, who died in Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio, after six years in the work of the ministry.

        In the year 1829, and at the Baltimore Annual Conference, we find, for the first time since the organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the seat of Bishop Allen vacant, and Rt. Rev. Morris Brown presiding alone over the deliberations of the Baltimore Conference, which opened on Saturday morning, April 18, 1829.

        Samuel Ente and Jacob Williams were admitted on trial. Scipio Beanes and Levin Lee were admitted into full connection, the former subsequently locating. Nathaniel Peck was ordained

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a local deacon. As there were no other important items, it will be seen that, like the session of 1828, this Conference was extremely barren of interest this year. Not so with the Philadelphia Conference. This was as fertile in interesting matter as the Baltimore Conference was barren of it.

        It commenced its deliberations on Monday, May 11th, although it was organized on the morning of the previous Saturday. The two Bishops were present, but whether they presided singly or jointly, or alternately, day by day, is not stated. Some wise resolutions were made and carried, one to the effect that if any traveling preacher should be impeached, and if there should be no sufficient evidence to convict him, the Conference and superintendent could send him out, if they thought proper, until witnesses could be procured, then he should be brought at any time to trial according to discipline. It was a perfectly just resolution, and gives a precedent that should never be forgotten, and should be applied in all similar cases. They went further in another resolution: "If any preacher should turn out any member from Society without trial by a committee agreeable to discipline, he should be answerable to the Annual Conference, and dealt with as the nature of the case might require, according to the judgment of the Conference."

        They also decreed "that no preacher succeeding another on a circuit, shall, under any circumstances, take up any case that had been legally decided by his predecessor except upon appeal." This was an excellent resolution, and showed the good sense of the Conference. It seems that there had been so many cases of a character violating the principle involved in this decree, and resulting in the most unhappy consequences, both to preachers and people, that the Rt. Rev. Morris Brown, at this Conference, delivered a particular address to the traveling preachers, in which he exhorted them to keep "good rule and order on their circuits," and also urged them "to pay particular attention to the directions of their predecessors." Another decree was "that no preacher should be sent out by its authority who was in any way involved in debt."

        As for the correctness of the position which the Conference occupied in relation to the indebtedness of preachers, no man of correct views and sound judgment would undertake to question it. If there is any man who, above all others, ought to be free from debts, it is the traveling Methodist preacher.

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        That it was a difficult thing to accomplish there is no doubt, in consideration of the small amount obtained by them in the form of support or salary, and because of this fact and its recognition by the Conference, and because of a petition from Joseph Harper and William Richardson requesting Conference "to take into consideration the necessity of forming a sinking fund for the aid of traveling preachers," it was resolved that Noah C. Cannon, Joseph Harper and Joseph M. Corr should be a committee to draw up a constitution for the government of a sinking fund association.

        Respecting the interests of the Book Concern, it was resolved "that all east of the Alleghany Mountains should make their return of moneys once in six months, or sooner, if convenient; at the end of the year the books remaining unsold should be returned to the stewards;" and again, "that Samuel Johnson in Pittsburgh and James Kurtz in Cincinnati be the book stewards for the Western country."

        Wiley Reynolds was admitted into the traveling ministry on probation, and also ordained a deacon, and William Richardson an elder. As in the year previous, so in this, we have to record the death of three of the ministry: Samuel Ridley, Thomas Webster and Philip Broadie. The first named died May 7th, 1828, in Rocky Hill, N. J. His circuit at the time of his death was the Smyrna Circuit, which he had left to attend this Conference, but was stricken down while on a visit to his family. He had been a traveling preacher for a number of years. Thomas Webster died in Philadelphia, October 9th, 1828, after a lingering illness of nearly two years. He had, as it appeared, contracted a cold in his travels in the State of Ohio, having belonged to the traveling department of the Connection for eight or nine years. Philip Broadie died in Cincinnati, O., on the 9th of March, 1829. These are the statements which the journal bears, but concerning the last named we have some additional facts. Brother Owen T. B. Nickens, a local preacher of the Ohio Annual Conference, and a member of the Church in Cincinnati, has furnished further information concerning him:

        "Rev. Philip Broadie, the first preacher having charge of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of Cincinnati, O., was a native of the state of Virginia, but when quite young he was taken by his parents to East Tennessee, near Knoxville, where he grew up to manhood, and lived for many years afterwards.

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        "He experienced a change of heart and made a profession of religion, and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he continued an upright and exemplary member for many years. At length, feeling it his duty, by the moving of the Holy Ghost, to call sinners to repentance, he applied for and obtained license, first as an exhorter, and then as a local preacher.

        "After laboring extensively, and with abundant success, in that part of the vineyard of the Lord, he left that country, visited and preached in many places in West Tennessee and the state of Kentucky, and at length landed in Cincinnati. Here the African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by the lamented Rev. Moses Freeman on the 4th of February, 1824, a few days before Brother Broadie's arrival. He immediately united with it, and began his labors.

        "As a local preacher he continued to preach and build up the little flock of Christ after Brother Freeman left, till the following spring, when he went on to meet the Conference in Philadelphia. There he offered himself, and was received into the traveling ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and was sent back as preacher in charge of the Cincinnati Circuit. In that, his first year in the itinerant service of the Church, though compelled to encounter privations and hardships, to contend and battle with foes strong and wily, he showed himself fully competent to the great task.

        "On almost every part of his large circuit a great and glorious revival of religion broke out, and continued the greater part of the year, during which many souls were added to the Church. In Cincinnati alone the number was increased from six to about fifty. In the following year, owing to its great distance from every other point of the circuit, Cincinnati was cut off and formed into a station, which was filled by Rev. Thomas Webster, and then Brother Broadie's field of labor became the Urbana Circuit. He continued his labors with great and glorious success on that and other circuits till the close of the year 1828, when he was compelled by disease and approaching dissolution to retire from the field and return home to his family in Cincinnati. There he lingered, his constitution gradually giving away, and his soul ripening for heaven, till the latter part of February, 1829, when he fell asleep in death.

        "Philip Broadie was not a man of scientific and literary attainments, but his constant reading of the Scriptures, theological,

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historical, and other useful works, had furnished his naturally active and vigorous mind with a rich fund of biblical and useful knowledge. In the pulpit, though not learned and brilliant, he was solid, plain, practical, and full of good sense. Very different from many of the fathers of our Church, he loved and highly appreciated education and knowledge; not that he valued piety and holiness less. And though not regarding these as paramount objects, he knew their worth, and assiduously urged upon all, both young and old, particularly those just entering into the ministry, the importance of mental culture.

        "And when disease had so wasted and worn him down that he could preach no longer, it was his great delight to call the young members together at his house to instruct and counsel them. The nearer his life drew to a close the more fervent he grew in his advice to the young, more fervent in prayer that God would raise up fit and properly qualified young men to labor in his vineyard. Thus lived, prayed, and labored the pious Philip Broadie, the first pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Cincinnati; his life--a living proof of his firm belief in the Gospel which he preached; his death--peaceful and calm, yet triumphant, a striking demonstration of the glorious victory of a dying Christian."

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CHAPTER X.
EARLY MISSIONARY WORK OF THE A. M. E. CHURCH.

        News from Hayti or Santo Domingo--Letter Asking Recognition of the Society in Hayti as a Branch of Our Connection--Pledges to Submit to Our Discipline--Samuel Ente Devotes Himself to the Santo Domingo Fields--Ohio Formed into a Conference--Death of Bishop Allen.

        THE Baltimore Conference of 1830, like that of the preceding two years, presents nothing of general interest but the contents of two letters received from St. Domingo. The first of these relates to their pastor, Rev. Isaac Miller. As the two give us an insight into the state of the work in that part of the island of Hayti at that early period, as well as a knowledge of the workers, their piety, zeal, and abilities, they are here transcribed:

SAMANA, December 19, 1829. *

        * Samana is located in the Spanish part of the Island of Hayti, in the Peninsula of Samana. The town is situated in the southern part of the peninsula. At the time when the Society memorialized our Connection, the whole island was under one government, that of President Boyer. Samana is the most important peninsula in this island, contains the largest bay, and has many advantages not enjoyed by the two others.


        We, the undersigned Board of Trustees, members of Bethel Church, at Samana, doe send unto you our Brother in the Lord and deacon in the Ministry. We recommend him unto you as A Worthy member of our Society And partner in tribulations, and as our redeemer saith, "Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you."

        Therefore, as our Saviour himself was evil spoken of, We can not expect that his followers Will not share the same fate. Our Pastor We hope you will receive as A gardian Angel over the flock of Christ, and While We have Seen other Shepherds desert the flock, our Brother Isaac Miller in the Holy War stood the Storm, and appears Willing to endever untill the end as A good soldier as such. We claim him as our Worthy, affectionate, and respectable Pastor in Charge.

SAMUEL TACHER, Exhorter.

CHARLES IRWIN, Class Leader.

SAMUEL KETLER, Trustee.

SAMUEL HOLMES, Trustee.

ELIJAH JOHNSON, Trustee.

SOLOMON THOMAS, Trustee.


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        The second letter relates more particularly to their general condition as a Church:

A LETTER FROM STAINT TO MINDAY, Monday 1st, 1830. *

        * The true orthography of this word is Santo Domingo. It is the name given sometimes to the whole island, and is derived from the city which was founded by Bartholomew, the brother of Christopher Columbus. The town or city of Santo Domingo, from which this letter was dated, and doubtless written, is the capital or chief city of the Spanish or eastern part of the Island of Hayti. It is in the southern part, situated on the River Ozama, near its mouth. It is the first, and, therefore, the oldest European city in the Western World. It is surrounded by a wall.


        At A Annual Conference Held in San daming by Brother Jacob Roberts, Preacher in charge, the conference viewing our deplorable Situation; the Conference thought to devise Some Ways or means to remedy our deploreable Situation, then entered into a resolution to Send two of our Brothering on to the Affrican Methodist Episcopal Church in North America, that are under the Control of the Affrican Methodist Bishops and conference, for the express perpose to know of them, to know whether they will acknowledge us to be a Branch of the said conference, as we have unanimously agreed to submit ourselves to the Desipolin of the said conference that now is and may be devised hear or hearafter.

        Dear Brothering, the harvest is great and the labers are few, and notwithstanding Miles and Waves sepparates our boddies, We know the same God is hear that is in the united States, for Bethel is still the same; but not withstanding, sense we have arrived in this dark region a number of our Brothers and Sisters that bid fare when we left the United States for old Cananon, have hung their harps uppon the Willows, and has lost the Song of Zion; but blessed be the name of the God of Betthell, there is yet a few names in Sardeous, there is yet a few names in Hati, that doe contend for the faith that was delivered to the Saints; finely, brothern, pray for us that the word of the Lord may run through this dark region, and his name be glorified as it is with you; brethern, we believe you pray for us as we do for you; by faith We feel the force of your prayers; don't Wery in Well-doing; brothern, we have nothing to fear here but God: our religious devotions are granted to us both by Church and State. We can worship God here in all the ways directed in our disciplain, as we did in the united States; brothern, we care not for the Clambers war furthern; first the Christian and the soilder is the bulwark of contry; but for soldiers We have a plenty, but Christians is few. This letter we send to you by our beloved Brothers Roberts and Miller, greeting, by the order of the Annual Conference, and we hope you will keep them imployed, for that will give you a verbal statement; no more at pressent; finely, Brothern, pray for us, tel all Christian Churches to pray for us.


        Immediately after this letter was read, we are told that "Samuel Ente gave himself up to be sent to Sindemingo;" and

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next, "By motion, the Annual Conference received Jacob Roberts and Isaac Miller in the Affrican Connection," and that these brethren would return to St. Domingo as soon as they could get their "business settled and a passage to the same."

        The journal of this year also tells us that Jacob Roberts was to be set apart for the orders of a deacon, and Isaac Miller for those of an elder, though there is no record of any ordinations. It will be remembered that in May, 1827, Brother Scipio Beans offered himself to Conference as a missionary to Hayti; that a committee was appointed to examine into his qualifications, which committee decided in his favor, and that he was elected to deacon's and elder's orders and ordained, receiving his desired appointment. Up to this date we find no record of the work of that mission. In less than twelve months he was back in Baltimore, and now in 1829 he is found a located man. What he accomplished will be noted in a succeeding chapter.

        There was no addition to the itinerant ministry at this Conference. Both Bishops were present at this session, which was the last Bishop Allen ever attended in Baltimore. Bishop Allen was assisted in stationing the preachers by a committee appointed for the purpose, consisting of Bishop Brown, Samuel Todd, and Edward Waters.

        On the 22d of May, 1830, the Philadelphia Conference commenced its deliberations, with the two superintendents present. Joseph M. Corr and Levin Lee, of Baltimore, were secretaries.

        Five young men were received into the traveling department of the ministry at this Conference--John Cornish, Stephen Stanford, Robert Brady, Robert Evans, Isaac Miller, Henry Allen, and Richard Robinson, from Port-au-Prince. On account of this last-named brother, a petition was sent from Port-au-Prince, praying that he should be set apart for holy orders. In compliance with this petition, Conference ordained Brother Robinson first a deacon, secondly an elder. John Cornish was also ordained to the former office, and Israel Scott, Nathan Turman, and Isaac Miller to the latter. Isaac Miller is the same person who was at the Baltimore Annual Conference of this year. He was first licensed to preach by Rev. Jacob Roberts, the deacon who had charge of the Church at Santo Domingo and, through a vote of the "Convention," the "Church in Samana." This license he bore to the Baltimore Annual Conference, and it was recorded upon the journal as follows:

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ISAAC MILLER, LICENSE.

SANTO DOMINGO, January the 4th, 1829.

        This is to certify that the bearer, Isaac Miller, is licensed to be a preacher in charge of Samara,*

        * Samana is meant.


over the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Signed in behalf of the Convention of said Church, so long as his life corresponds with the Gospel, to be renewed once a year, and he submits to the rules of the Discipline of said Church, given under my hand the 4th of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.

        This given under my hand the 23d day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty.

JACOB ROBERTS, Minister.


        This license, with the two letters already given in this chapter, were laid before the Baltimore Conference on May 3d, 1830, and on the same day it was "moved and seconded that Jacob Roberts and Isaac Miller be set apart by the Annual Conference of Baltimore District to receive deacon's orders." It was also "moved and seconded that Isaac Miller be set apart to receive the orders of an elder." Both of these motions were carried in the affirmative, but it seems that neither of them were executed by the Bishops, both of whom were present. On the other hand, we find the previously mentioned fact from the Philadelphia journal, under date May 29th, 1830, that "Isaac Miller be also set apart as a deacon and an elder for Samana."*

        * The word "also" alludes to the action of Conference in the case of Brother Richard Robinson, for they had just voted to "set him apart" in holy orders as a deacon and an elder.


        Why Jacob Roberts was not ordained, though the foremost man whom the people of the Island of Hayti had sent as one of the commissioners to our Church, we know not, nor can we tell what eventually became of him. We conjecture that he was insulted either by the action of the Baltimore Conference in respect to himself, or by the Bishops referring his ordination to the Philadelphia Conference. The inference is strong that the former hypothesis is true, because the letters from Samana and Santo Domingo represent Brother Roberts first, as a deacon; secondly, as licensing Brother Miller, which he could not have very well done if he had not been a deacon; thirdly, as holding the Convention in which Miller was ordered to be licensed; and fourthly, as presiding over the Annual Conference, which was held in Santo Domingo, and which had ordered the appointment of the commissioners

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to the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. Notwithstanding all these marks of superiority, Brother Miller was preferred before him, and the Conference ordered his (Miller's) double ordination; at the same time only a single one was ordered for Brother Roberts.

        Among the parochial reports at this Conference there were no returns from Ohio, because it was formed into a Conference District. We find here, too, the first instance of the preachers' setling for books with the general book steward, and a total of profits is recorded as being $10.45.

        Three local preachers were admitted on trial in the Baltimore Conference of 1831, among whom was Stephen Smith, who was also voted to be ordained a deacon in compliance with a petition from the Harrisburgh Circuit. Two local preachers had died, Brothers George Hicks and Ignatius Currey, the former September 8th, 1830, the latter on the 28th of the same month.

        Bishop Brown is represented as having preached Bishop Allen's funeral sermon on Thursday afternoon, May 5th, at 3 o'clock. Besides these items, the Baltimore Conference of 1831 is destitute of interest.

        This year history had the painful and solemn duty of recording the death of the most distinguished man of color in the United States of America. That man was none other than the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, the illustrious founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the first descendant of Africa since the day of the Christian fathers who obtained such high authority in any one branch of the Christian Church of which we have knowledge. Yet, notwithstanding this important fact, not so much as a resolution expressive of the honor due his character, nor one expressing condolence with his bereaved family, was passed by the Baltimore Conference--nothing given to the Church and to the world to show what appreciation the Baltimore Conference set upon the character and labors of this illustrious servant of God and the Church.

        Not so the Philadelphia Conference for 1831, which was organized May 21st. The first business done was to pass the following resolution:

        Resolved, That the funeral sermon of the Rev. Bishop Allen, deceased, be preached on Thursday afternoon at 3 o'clock, in Bethel, and at the Union on Sunday, May 29th


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        And in connection with the notices of the deaths of the ambassadors of the Cross this year, recorded upon the journal, we find the following of the first and chief one, Rt. Rev. Richard Allen:

        The father and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Connection in the United States of America, who departed this life in the triumphs of faith, and in the full assurance of a better resurrection, on the 26th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1831, in the 72d year of his useful and venerable life, was a preacher for upwards of half a century, and may truly be said to be the great apostle of the African race in the United States. The extent of the Connection through his instrumentality, and the preachers who were ordained and sent out by him, has been as far as the western bounds of Ohio, as well as north and south of Philadelphia, to the Island of Hayti and the wilds of Africa, and thousands, yea myriads of the African race who once sat in darkness now dwell in light, and though last, are not least of those who are crowding the gates of Zion.

        He was born in Philadelphia 1760, ordained a deacon in 1799, and a Bishop in 1816.


        Such is the notice found of the lamented Bishop Allen. The other two who had died were Henry Fox and Stephen Stanford, a licensed local preacher, who died on the Easton Circuit in September, 1830. He was "a man truly devoted to God, and aged fifty years." Henry Fox died on August 9th, 1830, in the ninetieth year of his age, an "acceptable local deacon in Frenchtown" at his death. He is described as a "venerable patriarch" who went down to his grave "crowned with glory and surrounded by a large posterity"--a man who "labored almost to the last for the vindication of the Gospel of Peace, and went down to Jordan's streams rejoicing.["]

        Wardell Parker and Aaron Wilson were admitted on trial, and William Henry was ordained a deacon. Rev. John Cornish and Rev. Wiley Reynolds were ordained elders. Samuel Ente, who had devoted himself as a missionary to Hayti, did not go for some reason, but located this year. William Richardson was received again on trial. Joseph Cox and Clayton Durham were elected delegates from Philadelphia to the ensuing General Conference. Moses Robinson, from Lewiston; Aaron Wilson, from Smyrna; Thomas Banks, from Salem, N. J.; Samson Peters, from Trenton, N. J.; and Joseph Corr, from Bucks County, Pa., made up the list--seven in all.

        Since 1824 we have lost sight of the movements of the New York Conference, and not until 1831 does the stream from its

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history re-enter and flow on with the general current. At this point we find it opened on the 18th of June in the city of New York, about two weeks and four days after the rise of the Philadelphia Conference. Bishop Morris Brown presided over its deliberations. After this lapse of time we find the following members composing this body: Revs. William Cornish, Jeremiah Miller, Israel Scott, William Richardson, Edward Waters, Richard Williams, Samuel Todd, Benjamin Croker, Edmund Crosby, Peter Croger, Henry Brown, Charles Bohomon, Clayton Durham, John Morris, Fortune Mathias, James Burton, Edward Thompson, Abraham Marks, Hercules Schureman,*

        * This was the grandfather of the Rev. William D. W. Schureman.


George Hogarth, London Turpin, Samuel Brown, John Gustive. Benjamin Croger was its secretary.

        This Conference also notes the death of Rt. Rev. Richard Allen by a resolution, "that the funeral sermon of Rt. Rev. Richard Allen be preached on the 23d instant, in Bethel Church, at 3 o'clock; at the Wesleyan Church, in Brooklyn, on the 27th, and in the Macedonian Church, at Flushing." Rev. Edward Waters appears on the face of the journal as Bishop Brown's assistant.

        In 1822 the New York Conference embraced seven charges. This year (1831) nine were reported, showing an increase of only two in nine years. In 1822 the number of members were seven hundred and thirteen, this year they were six hundred and fifty-five, showing a decrease of fifty-eight members.

        Four delegates were elected to the ensuing General Conference: Revs. London Turpin, Edmund Crosby, George Hogarth and Abram Marks; but aside from this election and the funeral sermons of Bishop Allen, the Conference did nothing which had relation to the general interests of the Church.

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CHAPTER XI.
SOME OF THE FOUNDERS.

        Life of Bishop Allen--His Birth in a State of Slavery--His Conversion--He Joins the Methodists--The Way in Which Allen and His Brother Treated Their Master--He Reciprocates Their Attention to His Interests--His Opinion About the Influence of Religion on Slaves.

        ALL that is known of the life of Rev. Richard Allen, prior to 1816, when he became one of the founders and the Bishop of the A. M. E. Church, has been furnished us by his own hand.*

        * The original manuscript entitled, "Journal of Richard Allen," is in the writer's hands. He found it in a chest, which had belonged to the Bishop, in possession of his younger daughter, Mrs. Nase Adams. It was among a great deal of mere rubbish. The old chest seemed to have been to the Bishop what a waste basket is to a literary or business man of our times. The manuscript was written by his son Richard, who was his amanuensis.


We shall, therefore, let him speak for himself:

        "I was born in the year of our Lord 1760, on February 14th, a slave to Benjamin Chew, of Philadelphia. My mother and father and four children of us were sold into Delaware State, near Dover; and I was a child and lived with him until I was upwards of twenty years of age, during which time I was awakened and brought to see myself poor, wretched and undone, and without the mercy of God, must be lost. Shortly after I obtained mercy through the blood of Christ, and was constrained to exhort my old companions to seek the Lord. I went rejoicing for several days, and was happy in the Lord in conversing with many old experienced Christians. I was brought under doubts and was tempted to believe I was deceived, and was constrained to seek the Lord afresh. I went with my head bowed down for many days. My sins were a heavy burden. I was tempted to believe there was no mercy for me. I cried to the Lord both night and day. One night I thought hell would be my portion. I cried unto Him who delighteth to hear the prayers of a poor sinner; and, all of a sudden, my dungeon shook, my chains flew off, and 'Glory to God!' I cried. My soul was filled. I cried, 'Enough! for me the Saviour died!' Now,

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my confidence was strengthened that the Lord, for Christ's sake, had heard my prayers and pardoned all my sins. I was constrained to go from house to house, exhorting my old companions, and telling to all around what a dear Saviour I had found. I joined the Methodist Society, and met in class at Benjamin Wells', in the forest, Delaware State. John Greg was class-leader. I met in his class for several years.

        "My master was an unconverted man, and all the family; but he was what the world called a good master. He was more like a father to his slaves than anything else. He was a very tender, humane man. My mother and father lived with him for many years. He was brought into difficulty, not being able to pay for us. My mother, who had several children after he had bought us, was sold with three of her children. She sought the Lord, and found favor with him, and became a very pious woman. There were three children of us who remained with our old master. My oldest brother and my sister embraced religion. Our neighbors, seeing that our master indulged us with the privilege of attending meeting once in two weeks, said that Stockley's negroes would soon ruin him; and so my brother and myself held a council together, and decided that we would attend more faithfully to our master's business, so that it should not be said that religion made us worse servants; we would work night and day to get our crop forward, so that they should be disappointed. We frequently went to meeting on every other Thursday; but if we were likely to be backward with our crops we would refrain from going to meeting. When our master found we were making no provisions to go to meeting, he would frequently ask us if it was not our meeting day, and if we were not going. We would frequently tell him, 'No, sir; we would rather stay at home and get our work done.' He would tell us, 'Boys, I would rather you would go to your meetings; if I am not good myself, I like to see you striving yourselves to be good.' Our reply would be, 'Thank you, sir; but we would rather stay and get our crops forward.' So we always continued to keep our crops more forward than our neighbors; and we would attend public preaching once in two weeks. At length our master said he was convinced that religion made slaves better and not worse, and often boasted of his slaves for their industry and honesty. Some time after I asked him if I might ask the preacher to come and preach at his house. He being old and infirm, my

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master and mistress cheerfully agreed for me to ask some of the Methodist preachers to come and preach at the house. I asked him for a note. He replied, 'If my word is not sufficient I will send no note.' I accordingly asked the preacher. He seemed somewhat backward at first, as my master did not send a written request; but the class-leader, John Greg, observed that my word was sufficient; so he preached at my old master's house on the next Wednesday.

        "Preaching continued for some months. At length Free-born Garrettson preached from these words: 'Thou art weighed in the balance and art found wanting.' In pointing out and weighing the different characters, and among the rest weighed the slaveholder, my master believed himself to be one of that number, and after that he could not be satisfied to hold slaves, believing it to be wrong. And after that he proposed to me and my brother buying our time, to pay him sixty pounds in gold and silver, or two thousand dollars Continental money, which we complied with in the year 17--.

        "We left our master's house, and I may truly say it was like leaving our father's house; for he was a kind, affectionate, and tender-hearted master, and told us to make his house our home when we were out of a place or sick. While living with him we had family prayers in the kitchen, to which he would frequently come out himself at the time of prayer, and my mistress with him. At length he invited us from the kitchen to the parlor to hold family prayers, which we attended to. We had our stated times to hold our prayer-meetings, and give exhortations in the neighborhood.

        "It had often been impressed upon my mind that I should one day enjoy freedom, for slavery is a bitter pill, notwithstanding we had a good master. But when we would think our day's work was never done, we often thought that after our master's death we were liable to be sold to the highest bidder, as he was much in debt, and thus my troubles were increased, and I was often brought to weep between the porch and the altar. But I have had reason to bless my dear Lord that a door was opened unexpectedly for me to buy my time and enjoy my liberty. When I left my master's house I knew not what to do, not being used to hard work--what business I should follow to pay my master and get my living. I went to cutting cord-wood. The first day my hands were so blistered and sore that it was with

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difficulty I could open or shut them. I kneeled down upon my knees and prayed that the Lord would open some way for me to get a living. In a few days my hands recovered, and became accustomed to cutting wood and other hardships; so I soon became able to cut my cord and a-half and two cords a day. After I was done cutting I was employed in a brick-yard by one Robert Register at fifty dollars a month, Continental money. After I was done with the brick-yard I went to day's work, but did not forget to serve my dear Lord. I used often to pray sitting or standing or lying; and while my hands were employed to earn my bread, my heart was devoted to my dear Redeemer. Sometimes I would awaken from my sleep preaching and praying. I was after this employed in driving a wagon in time of the Continental war--drawing salt from Rhobar, Sussex county, in Delaware. I had my regular stops and preaching-places on the road. I enjoyed many happy seasons in prayer and meditation while in this employment.

        "After peace was proclaimed I then traveled extensively, striving to preach the Gospel. My lot was cast in Wilmington. Shortly after I was taken sick with fall fever, and then the pleurisy. September 3d, 1783, I left my native place. After leaving Wilmington I went into Jersey, and there traveled and strove to preach the Gospel until the spring of 1784. I then became acquainted with Benjamin Abbott, that great and good apostle. He was one of the greatest men that ever I was acquainted with. He seldom preached but what there were souls added to his labor. He was a man of as great faith as any that ever I saw. The Lord was with him, and blessed his labors abundantly.

        "He was as a friend and father to me. I was sorry when I had to leave West Jersey, knowing I had to leave a father. I was employed in cutting wood for Captain Cruenkleton, although I preached the Gospel at nights and on Sundays. My dear Lord was with me, and blessed my labors--Glory to God!--and gave me souls for my hire. I then visited East Jersey, and labored for my dear Lord, and became acquainted with Joseph Budd, and made my home with him near the new mills--a family, I trust, who loved and served the Lord. I labored some time there, but being much afflicted in body with inflammatory rheumatism, was not as successful as in some other places. I went from there to Jonathan Bunn's, near Bennington, East Jersey. There I labored in that neighborhood for some time. I found him and his family

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kind and affectionate, and he and his dear wife were a father and mother in Israel. In the year 1784 I left East Jersey and labored in Pennsylvania. I walked until my feet became so sore and blistered the first day that I scarcely could bear them to the ground. I found the people very humane and kind in Pennsylvania. I, having but little money, stopped at Cæsar Waters, at Radnor Township, twelve miles from Philadelphia. I found him and his wife very kind and affectionate to me. In the evening they asked me if I would come and take tea with them; but after sitting awhile my feet became so sore and painful that I could scarcely be able to put them to the floor. I told them I would accept of their kind invitation, but my feet pained me so that I could not come to the table. They brought the table to me. Never was I more kindly received by strangers that I had never before seen than by them. They bathed my feet with warm water and bran; the next morning my feet were better, and free from pain. They asked me if I would preach for them the next evening. We had a glorious meeting. They invited me to stay till Sabbath day and preach for them. I agreed to do so, and preached on Sabbath day to a large congregation of different persuasions, and my dear Lord was with me, and I believe there were many souls cut to the heart and were added to the ministry. They insisted on me to stay longer with them. I was frequently called upon by many inquiring what they should do to be saved. I pointed them to prayer and supplication at the throne of grace, and to make use of all manner of prayer, and pointed them to the invitation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has said, 'Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Glory be to God! and now I know that he was a God at hand and not afar off. I preached my farewell sermon, and left these dear people. It was a time of visitation from above. Many were the slain of the Lord. Seldom did I experience such a time of mourning and lamentation among a people. There were but few colored people in the neighborhood--the most of my congregation was white. Some said, 'This man must be a man of God. I never heard such preaching before.' We spent a greater part of the night in singing and praying with the mourners. I expected that I should have had to walk as I did before; but Mr. Davis had a creature that he made a present to me, and I intended to pay him for his horse if I ever got able. My dear Lord was kind and gracious to me. Some years after

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I got into business and thought myself able to pay for the horse. The horse was too light and small for me to travel on far. I traded it away with John Huftman for a blind horse, but large. I found my friend Huftman very kind and affectionate to me, and his family also. I preached several times at Huftman's meeting house to a large and numerous congregation.

        "I proceed on to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I found the people in general dead to religion, and scarcely a form of godliness. I went to Little York, and stopped with George Tess, a saddler, and I believed him to be a man that loved and feared the Lord. I had comfortable meetings with the Germans. I left Little York and proceeded on to the State of Maryland, and stopped at Benjamin Givens, and I believed him to be a man that loved and served the Lord. I had many happy seasons with my dear friends. His wife was a very pious woman, but their dear children were strangers to vital religion. I preached in the neighborhood for some time, and traveled Harford Circuit with Mr. Porter, who traveled that circuit. I found him very useful to me. I also traveled with Jonathan Forest and Levi Coal.

        "December, 1784, General Conference met in Baltimore, the first General Conference ever held in America. The English preachers just arrived from Europe, Dr. Coke, Richard Whatcoat, and Thomas Vassey. This was the beginning of the Episcopal Church among the Methodists. Many of the ministers were set apart in holy orders at this Conference, and were said to be entitled to the gown;*

        * It is evident from the remarks of Richard Allen that he was opposed to a gowned ministry. If he could arise from the dead what would be his feelings and his reasonings upon seeing Bishop Brown, Bishop Campbell, Bishop Cain, and Bishop Turner in black silk gowns.

        It is said "it adds to their dignity." True dignity is found only in character, not in office. Did the God-man dignify himself with white surplices and black silk gowns? No mere man ever lived who was greater than the apostle Paul. Did he attempt to increase his dignity by a surplice or a silk gown? The dignity of an individual lies in a spotless life. The dignity of an officer, civil, political or ecclesiastical, lies in his qualifications for the office which he has been called to fill. These qualifications must be in his head, his heart, and his will; not in his dress, which for gentility's sake he must wear; nor in white or silk robes, which for vanity's sake he need not wear. There was a pamphlet published by some persons which stated that when Methodists were no people they were a people, and now they have become a people they were no people, which had often serious weight upon my mind.


and I have thought religion has been declining in the Church ever since.

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        "In 1785 the Rev. Richard Whatcoat was appointed on Baltimore Circuit. He was, I believe, a man of God. I found great strength in traveling with him, a father in Israel. In his advice he was fatherly and friendly. He was of a mild, serene disposition.

        "My lot was cast in Baltimore, in a small meeting-house called the Methodist Alley. I stopped at Richard Mould's, and was sent to my lodgings, and lodged at Mr. McCannon's. I had some happy meetings in Baltimore. I was introduced to Richard Russell, who was very kind and affectionate to me, and attended several meetings.

        "Rev. Bishop Asbury sent for me to meet him at Henry Gaff's. I did so. He told me he wished me to travel with him. He told me that in the slave countries, Carolina and other places, I must not intermix with the slaves, and I would frequently have to sleep in his carriage, and he would allow me my victuals and clothes. I told him that I would not travel with him on those conditions. He asked me my reasons. I told him if I was taken sick who was to support me? and that I thought my people ought to lay up something while they were able, to support themselves in time of sickness and old age. He said that was as much as he got, his victuals and clothes. I told him he could be taken care of, let his afflictions be as they were, or let him be taken sick where he would, he could be taken care of; but I doubted whether it would be the case with myself. He smiled, and told me he would give me from then until he returned from the eastward to make up my mind, which would be about three months. But I made up my mind that I would not accept his proposals. Shortly after I left Harford Circuit, and came to Pennsylvania, on Lancaster Circuit. I traveled several months on Lancaster Circuit with the Rev. Peter Moratte and Jerie Ellis. They were kind and affectionate to me in building me up, for I had many trials to pass through, and I received nothing from the Methodist Connection. My usual method was, when I would get bare of clothes, to stop traveling and go to work, so that no man could say I was chargeable to the Connection. My hands administered to my necessities. The autumn of 1785 I returned again to Radnor. I stopped at George Gigers, a man of God, and went to work. His family were all kind and affectionate to me. I killed seven beeves and supplied the neighbors with meat; got myself pretty well clad through my own

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industry--thank God--and preached occasionally. The elder in charge in Philadelphia frequently sent for me to come to the city. February, 1786, I came to Philadelphia. Preaching was given out for me in the morning, at five o'clock, in St. George's Church. I strove to preach as well as I could, but it was a great cross for me, but the Lord was with me. We had a good time, and several souls were awakened, and were earnestly seeking redemption in the blood of Christ. I thought I would stop in Philadelphia a week or two. I preached at different places in the city. My labor was much blessed. I soon saw a large field open in seeking and instructing my African brethren, who had been a long forgotten people, and few of them attended public worship. I preached on the commons in Southwark, Northern Liberties, and wherever I could find an opening. I frequently preached twice a day, at five o'clock in the morning and in the evening, and it was not uncommon for me to preach from four to five times a day. I established prayer-meetings; I raised a Society in 1786 of forty-two members.

        "I saw the necessity of erecting a place of worship for the colored people. I proposed it to the most respectable people of color in this city; but here I met with opposition. I had but three colored brethren who united with me in erecting a place of worship--the Rev. Absalom Jones, William White and Darius Jinnings. These united with me as soon as it became public and known by the elder, who was stationed in the city. The Rev. C. B. opposed the plan, and would not submit to any argument we might raise; but he was shortly removed from the charge. The Rev. Mr. W---- took the charge, and the Rev. L. G----. Mr. W---- was much opposed to an African Church, and used very degrading and insulting language to us to try to prevent us from going on. We all belonged to St. George's Church--Rev. Absalom Jones, William White and Darius Jinnings. We felt ourselves much cramped; but my dear Lord was with us, and we believed if it was his will the work would go on, and that we would be able to succeed in building the house of the Lord. We established prayer-meetings and meetings of exhortation, and the Lord blessed our endeavors, and many souls were awakened; but the elder soon forbid us holding any such meetings. We viewed the forlorn state of our colored brethren, and saw that they were destitute of a place of worship. They were considered as a nuisance.

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        "A number of us usually sat on seats placed around the wall, and on Sabbath morning we went to church, and the sexton stood at the door and told us to go in the gallery. He told us to go and we would see where to sit. We expected to take the seats over the ones we formerly occupied below, not knowing any better. We took those seats. Meeting had begun, and they were nearly done singing, and just as we got to the seats the elder said, 'Let us pray.' We had not been long upon our knees before I heard considerable scuffling and loud talking. I raised my head up and saw one of the trustees, H---- M----, having hold of the Rev. Absalom Jones, pulling him off his knees, and saying, 'You must get up; you must not kneel here.' Mr. Jones replied, 'Wait until prayer is over.' Mr. H---- M---- said, 'No, you must get up now, or I will call for aid and force you away.' Mr. Jones said, 'Wait until prayer is over, and I will get up and trouble you no more.' With that he beckoned to one of the other trustees, Mr. L---- S----, to come to his assistance. He came and went to William White to pull him up. By this time prayer was over, and we all went out of the church in a body, and they were no more plagued by us in the church. This raised a great excitement and inquiry among the citizens, insomuch that I believe they were ashamed of their conduct. But my dear Lord was with us, and we were filled with fresh vigor to get a house erected to worship God in. Seeing our forlorn and wretched condition, many of the hearts of our citizens were moved to urge us onward; notwithstanding we had subscribed largely toward furnishing St. George's Church, in building the gallery and laying new floors; and just as the house was made comfortable, we were turned out from enjoying the comforts of worshipping therein. We then hired a storeroom and held worship by ourselves. Here we were pursued with threats of being disowned and read publicly out of meeting, if we did contrive to worship in the place we had hired; but we believed the Lord would be our friend. We got subscription papers out to raise money to build the house of the Lord. By this time we had waited on Dr. Rush and Mr. Robert Ralston, and told them of our distressing situation. We considered it a blessing that the Lord had put it into our hearts to wait upon these gentlemen. They pitied our situation and subscribed largely towards the church, and were very friendly towards us, and advised us how to go on. We appointed Mr. Ralston our treasurer. Dr. Rush did much for us in public by

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his influence. I hope the names of Dr. Benjamin Rush and Mr. Ralston will never be forgotten among us. They were the two first gentlemen who espoused the cause of the oppressed, and aided us in building the house of the Lord for the poor Africans to worship in. Here was the beginning and rise of the first African Church in America. But the elder of the Methodist Church still pursued us. Mr. I---- M---- called upon us and told us if we did not erase our names from the subscription paper, and give up the paper, we would be publicly turned out of meeting. We asked him if we had violated any rules of discipline by so doing. He replied, 'I have the charge given me by the Conference, and unless you submit, I will read you publicly out of meeting.' We told him we were willing to abide by the discipline of the Methodist Church, 'And if you will show us where we have violated any law of discipline of the Methodist Church, we will submit, and if there is no rule violated in the discipline, we will proceed on.' He replied, "We will read you all out.' We told him if he turned us out contrary to the discipline we should seek further redress. We told him we were dragged off our knees in St. George's Church, and treated worse than heathens, and we were determined to seek out for ourselves, the Lord being our helper. He told us we were not Methodists, and left us. Finding we would go on in raising money to build the church, he called upon us again, and wished to see us altogether. We met him. He told us that he wished us well, and that he was a friend to us, and used many arguments to convince us that we were wrong in building a church. We told him that we had no place of worship, and we did not mean to go to St. George's Church any more, as we were treated so scandalously in the presence of all the congregation present, 'and if you deny us your name, you can not seal up the Scriptures from us and deny us a name in heaven. We believe heaven is free for all who worship in spirit and in truth.' And he said, 'So you are determined to go on.' We told him, "Yes, God being our helper.' He replied, 'We will disown you all from the Methodist Connection.'

        "We believed if we put our trust in the Lord he would stand by us. This was a trial that I never had to pass through before. I was confident that the great Head of the Church would support us. My dear Lord was with us. We went out with our subscription paper and met with great success. We had no reason to complain of the liberality of the citizens. The first

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day the Rev. Absalom Jones and myself went out we collected three hundred and sixty dollars. This was the greatest day's collection that we met with. We appointed a committee to look out for a lot--the Rev. Absalom Jones, William Gray, William Wicher, and myself. We pitched upon a lot at the corner of Lombard and Sixth streets. They authorized me to go and agree for it. I did accordingly. The lot belonged to Mr. Mark Wilcox. We entered into articles of agreement for the lot. Afterwards the committee found a lot on Fifth street, in a more commodious part of the city, which we bought; and the first lot they threw upon my hands, and wished me to give it up. I told them they had authorized me to agree for the lot, and they were all satisfied with the agreement I had made, and I thought it was hard that they should throw it upon my hands. I told them I would sooner keep it myself than to forfeit the agreement I had made. And so I did. We bore much persecution from many of the Methodist Connection, but we have reason to be thankful to Almighty God, who was our deliverer. The day was appointed to go and dig the cellar. I arose early in the morning and addressed the throne of grace, praying that the Lord would bless our endeavors.

        "Having by this time two or three teams of my own--as I was the first proposer of the African Church--I put the first spade into the ground to dig a cellar for the same. This was the first African church or meeting-house that was erected in the United States of America. We intended it for the African preaching house or church; but finding that the elder stationed in the city was such an opposer to our proceedings of erecting a place of worship, though the principal part of the directors of this church belonged to the Methodist Connection, and that he would neither preach for us nor have anything to do with us, we held an election to know what religious denomination we should unite with. At the election it was determined. There were two in favor of the Methodist, the Rev. Absalom Jones and myself, and a large majority in favor of the Church of England. This majority carried. Notwithstanding we had been violently persecuted by the elder, we were in favor of being attached to the Methodist Connection, for I was confident there was no religious sect or denomination that would suit the capacity of the colored people as well as the Methodist, for the plain and

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simple Gospel suits best for any people, for the unlearned can understand, and the learned are sure to understand; and the reason that the Methodist is so successful in the awakening and conversion of the colored people is the plain doctrine and having a good discipline. But in many cases the preachers would act to please their own fancy, without discipline, till some of them became tyrants, and more especially to the colored people. They would turn them out of Society, giving them no trial, for the smallest offense, perhaps only hearsay. They would frequently in meeting the class impeach some of the members of whom they had heard an ill report, and turn them out, saying, 'I have heard thus and thus of you, and you are no more a member of society,' without witnesses on either side. This had been frequently done, notwithstanding in the first rise and progress in Delaware state and elsewhere, the colored people were their greatest support, for there were but few of us free. The slaves would toil in their little patches many a night until midnight to raise their little truck to sell to get something to support them, more than their white masters gave them, and we used often to divide our little support among the white preachers of the Gospel. This was once a quarter. It was in the time of the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States. The Methodists were the first people that brought glad tidings to the colored people. I feel thankful that I ever heard a Methodist preacher. We are beholden to the Methodists, under God, for the light of the Gospel we enjoy; for all other denominations preached so high flown that we were not able to comprehend their doctrine. Sure am I that reading sermons will never prove so beneficial to the colored people as spiritual or extempore preaching. I am well convinced that the Methodists have proved beneficial to thousands and tens of thousands. It is to be awfully feared that the simplicity of the Gospel that was among them fifty years ago is not now apparent, and if they conform to the world and the fashion thereof, they would fare very little better than the people of the world. The discipline is altered considerably from what it was. We would ask for the good old way, and desire to walk therein.

        " In 1793 a committee was appointed from the African Church*

* This was the colored Protestant Episcopal Church, known as St. Thomas, in Fifth street, Philadelphia.
to solicit me to be their minister, for there was no colored preacher

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in Philadelphia but myself. I told them that I could not accept their offer as I was a Methodist. I was indebted to the Methodists, under God, for what little religion I had, being convinced that they were the people of God. I informed them that I could not be anything else but a Methodist, as I was born and awakened under them, and I could go further with them, for I was a Methodist, and would leave them in peace and in love. I would do nothing to retard them in building a church, as it was an extensive building, neither would I go out with a subscription paper until they were done with their subscription. I bought an old frame that had formerly been occupied as a blacksmith shop from Mr. Suns, and hauled it on the lot on Sixth, near Lombard street, that had formerly been taken for the Church of England. I employed carpenters to repair the old frame, and fit it for a place of worship. In July, 1794, Bishop Asbury being in town, I solicited him to open the church for us, which he accepted. The Rev. John Dickens sung and prayed, and Bishop Asbury preached. The house was called Bethel, agreeable to the prayer that was made. Mr. Dickens prayed that it might be a Bethel to the gathering in of thousands of souls. My dear Lord was with us, so that there were many hearty amens echoed through the house. This house of worship has been favored with the awakening of many souls, both white and colored, and I trust they are in the kingdom."

        Then commenced that systematic series of opposition on the part of certain elders of St. George's Church, which resulted in the secession of the great body of the colored members of the M. E. Church in Philadelphia, also the regions round about, and the organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1816, at which time Rev. Richard Allen was elected and consecrated its first Bishop. Thence, till the day of his death, history regards him, not only as the founder, but also the master-spirit of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Let us, therefore, look at him from that event till the hour when his earthly career was finished.

        After the organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop Allen found it necessary, not only to provide for the churches already under his care, but also to plan and mature measures for the extension of the Connection, and the good government of the whole, at the same time that he had to provide for his growing family. But as he kept no private journal of his

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official transactions, much of what he did as the leader of the movements of the Connection we are compelled to look for in journals*

        These documents afford very scant information concerning this energetic man. All have been examined that could be found in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York, which embraced the field of his personal operations.


of the several Annual Conferences, the minutes of the Quarterly Conferences, and extra meetings of the official board of Bethel Church in Philadelphia.

        In the latter he presided week after week and month after month, from 1816 until October 6th, 1830, and in the New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore Annual Conferences until the summer of the same year. He was the pastor of Bethel, in Philadelphia, as well as the Bishop of the Connection, nearly all the time of his life, dating from 1816. This was business enough for one man, as every one will admit who has ever seen the mammoth congregation of that church; and what it is now, with a little modification, it has ever been, if the Conference journals are to be credited. He was perpetually employed in giving advice about the planning of new circuits, and the founding of the individual churches which constituted them.

        The Bishop's concern for the benefit of his oppressed kinsmen, according to the flesh, was not confined to religious matters. He did as much as he could for their secular improvement. In a letter which was written at his instance to a Mr. Townsend, of Baltimore (a white person), whose influence he solicited, he asked him to procure a large number of colored boys, and send them to Philadelphia, in order that they might be apprenticed to learn the art of manufacturing nails. Thoroughly "anti-slavery," his house was never shut "against the friendless, homeless, penniless fugitives from the "House of Bondage."

        The testimony of that pious man, the Rev. Walter Proctor, says, the "house of Bishop Allen was a refuge for the oppressed, and a house for the refugee from American oppression." The same truthful witness informs us that "he was a man of most active benevolence; he lived to be good and to do good."

        This benevolence he exercised in more than one direction. He was promised a salary of $500 per year. This he never received. All that he ever did receive was the sum of $80, not per year, but for all his services. The balance due him in this direction he bequeathed to the church. "I have," says Brother Proctor,

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"a knowledge of $1,400 being so bequeathed or given by him to the church, at one time, when the house of worship was sold and bought by us. This claim of $1,400 against Bethel in Philadelphia, which the Bishop had served as a pastor, is confirmed by the testimony of Jonathan Tudas, one of the most intelligent of Bishop Allen's lay advisers. At one time the Bishop loaned Bethel the sum of $4,000. At another time his claims against Bethel amounted to $6,300, and once $11,700. At the time that Robert Green sold it, Mr. Allen bought it in for the congregation at the sum of $10,500."

        The above statements, made by intelligent and active advisers of Bishop Allen, proved that he was of more use to the mother church than a mere pastor--that while his tongue instructed her, his purse was also furnishing her with material aid.

        Bishop Allen was a father of six children--four sons and two daughters--namely, Richard, Peter, John, Sarah, Ann and James. These he educated as well as circumstances allowed. These circumstances were two-fold--the opportunities for educating colored children at that time, and the Bishop's own literary acquirements. That the Bishop made good use of these opportunities, as few as they were, is manifest in the fact that in 1818-19, the secretary of the Baltimore Annual Conference was his son Richard, then, as we have elsewhere shown, a lad of about twelve or fourteen years of age. The penmanship, the style, and method of the journal compares favorably with the best records now kept by our secretaries, and better than the greater number of his immediate successors, every one of whom have been men of adult age.

        His son John, who lived several years on the island of Hayti, was skilled in the French language, and could translate it with great ease and elegance. He also spoke the Spanish language. In his latter years the Bishop carried on a boot and shoe store, which trade and business he had learned in the earlier part of his life. He retired from this business two or three years prior to his death, at which time his estate was worth between thirty and forty thousand dollars, all of which was accumulated by his own intellect, industry and thrift.

        The Bishop was a man of mixed blood, his mother being a mulatto and his father a pure African; this gave his complexion a soft chestnut tint, as is shown in the fine oil portrait of him,

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now in possession of his oldest daughter, Mrs. Sarah Wilkins. The expansive forehead and the fulness of the lower eyelids indicate expansiveness of intellect and a ready command of language.

        "When he lived he adorned the Christian life and profession; when he died he was ready and prepared to go, having faithfully accomplished, as a hireling, his day. Thus ended the earthly career of one of the most useful lives of modern times.

        "We ought to consider Richard Allen not a whit behind the chief of protestant reformers, except in the matter of literary attainments."

        The above quoted passages are taken from a private letter addressed to the writer by Rev. Walter Proctor, who was an eye and ear witness of the sayings and doings of Bishop Allen, and who, for upwards of fifteen years, enjoyed the intimate acquaintance of that eminent servant of God. None of his coadjutors knew him better, none loved him more sincerely.

        There can be no more appropriate plan to speak of the consort of the first Bishop of the A. M. E. Church than in connection with her eminent husband--though her death occurred in 1850, nineteen years later. An obituary notice was prepared at the time, which we give in full:

MRS. SARAH ALLEN.
CONSORT OF RT. REV. RICHARD ALLEN.

        In the course of events brought about by the dispensation of an all-wise God, the Church, since the last sitting of its Annual Conference in this district, have been called to mourn, and with sorrowing hearts to lament, the death of Mrs. Sarah Allen, consort of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, Bishop and founder of the African M. E. Church. Whilst it is true that we should not mourn as those who have no hope, being assured that the righteous have hope in their death, yet it is by no means criminal or unchristian to mourn the loss of those we love. And the more so when those are called to the spirit land with whom we have been identified in matters of moment, trial, and conflict.

        The subject of this notice was one endeared to us by every tie which could link one being with another, and as often as we look back upon the early history of our Church, memory, that monitor of time past, clinches upon our affections emotions too pungent and deep for expression. We can only say, "So seemeth it good and right, Oh Lord!"


                         Thankful we take the cup,
                         Prepared and mingled by thy skill.

        In the death of Sister Allen the Church has not only lost a bright ornament--a

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jewel, precious--a relic of her formation when she was first seen to glide from the stormy element of oppression, but has indeed lost a pillar from the building, a mother in Israel. On Thee may we not cry, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth." Our aged and dear mother was a native of Virginia, Isle of Wight county, and came into the city of Philadelphia to reside at an early age, being not more than eight years old. She was united in marriage to Rt. Rev. Richard Allen about the year 1800. From that period she has been identified as one of those noble spirits who, with her husband, our venerable father in God, battled mightily for the establishing of our beloved Zion. It might be well said that the Church, when contending with a powerful adversary, had no more able advocate than Sister Allen. A staff to her husband, and a counselor and the encourager of the pioneers who, with the Bishop, labored hard to bring the Church out of her captivity, and throw oft her oppressors. Her name will ever be associated and endeared to the Church with those of Allen, Coker, Champion, Tapsico, Webster, Waters, Brown, and others, founders and fathers of this branch of the Church of Christ.

        Mother Allen lived to a good old age, being eighty-five years when she was called from labor to reward. This event took place in the city of Philadelphia on the 16th day of July, 1849, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Ann Adams.

        Reader, let us pause and think of her whose loss the Church mourns, and whose departure from the land of the living has thrown the mantle of sorrow over this community. Mark the upright man, says God, for his end is peace.

        We have known our sister long. We have cherished the liveliest sentiments of regard towards her; never have we known her to be remiss in a single duty which claimed her attention. To the young she was a faithful counselor; the gay, the giddy, the careless and heedless met in Mother Allen one who was faithful to advise even unto tears. The aged met a friend sincere and true, without ostentation, but simple minded, frank and affectionate. To Mother Allen all had access, the high, the low, the rich and poor. The friendless and the outcast found in her one unto whom they could pour out their complaints, and tell their sorrows o'er. The poor, flying slave, trembling and panting in his flight, has lost a friend not easily replaced; her purse to such, as well as others, was ever open, and the fire of those eyes, now closed in death, kindled with peculiar brightness as she would bid them God speed to the land of liberty, where the slave is free from his master, and the voice of the oppressor is no longer heard.

        Her house was the resort of the brethren who labored in the ministry; when weary and worn with the burden of duty, they found a resting place indeed. Long will her motherly counsel be remembered by our itinerant and local brethren, and long will it be, yea, ever, that the tones of her well known voice shall sound upon the ear of the ministers of our Church.

        As it regards her Christian profession, we may say that such was the reflection thrown from it that no one could for a moment question or

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doubt but that she walked with God. The power of which was felt as often as she opened her mouth either to rebuke, to counsel, or encourage. In the Church truly a void has been made; a great light, indeed, has been blown out; and Zion, our beloved Zion, will long mourn the loss of Mother Allen.

        In conclusion, we can only say, Fare thee well, sister,


                         Thy happy spirit hath winged its way,
                         Far, far away.

        Now, even now, thou art happier far than any of earth's sons whose pilgrim journey ends not yet. We bid thee farewell. We hope to meet thee yet, where parting can no more take place; we hope to walk with thee in white, and in the upper sanctuary commingle once again and forever our voices in anthems of praise to Him who hath loved us and given himself for us. Fare thee well, sister.

WM. P. QUINN,

N. C. H. CANNON,

J. G. BEULAH,

ISRAEL SCOTT,

M. BROWN,

J. CORNISH.


        The churches in the city of Baltimore were planted by the Rev. Daniel Coker, of whose life and character it will be proper at this point to give an outline.

        The Rev. Daniel Coker was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, in a state of slavery, and subsequently ran off from his owner to the state of New York, where he so conducted himself as to secure the confidence of the M. E. Church in the city of New York. He became an ordained preacher under Bishop Asbury. Sometime after he left New York and went to the city of Baltimore, where he concealed himself until his friends had purchased his freedom. The chief of these friends were Watts, Hackett, Murray and Hilliard. The Rev. Michael Coate, an elder of the M. E. Church, was also one among the chief ones who secured the liberty of Brother Coker. This reverend gentleman died in 1814. Toward him Brother Coker always cherished feelings of the deepest gratitude.

        The following was learned from the lips of a half-brother of Brother Coker, and who in 1852 was living in the state of New Jersey, in the village of Greenwich:

        He also bore the name of Daniel Coker, to cover his escape from the slave-hunter. He said that his brother, the subject of this biographical sketch, was the son of a white woman, whose

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name was Susan Coker, by a slave whose name was Daniel. Susan was an English woman, and was living in the family of Isaac's*

        * The real name of this informant.


master. She had a child by her first husband, whose name was Daniel; his father's surname was Coker; of course, he bore it. Daniel's real name was Isaac Wright. When Daniel Coker resolved to escape from the slavery in which he was held, to cover his escape he also took the name of his white half-brother, and became Daniel Coker, which name he ever afterwards bore. He obtained the elements of his education through the perverseness of his young master, who would not go to school unless his parents would allow Daniel to accompany him. So while Daniel was his attendant at school, he busied himself in learning to read, write, and cipher. Of his knowledge thus acquired he made an excellent use, for he educated scores of young men in the city of Baltimore, two of whom were Mr. Clarke, of Little York, Pa., and Rev. William Douglas, the talented and well educated pastor of St. Thomas' Protestant Episcopal Church, in the city of Philadelphia, and the author of a volume of sermons and a history of his own pastorate, entitled "Annals of St. Thomas' Church."

        We have no account of his conversion. He is said to have been a man of uncommon talent, and he possessed more information on all subjects than usually fell to the lot of colored men of his day. Those living who had the happiness of hearing him, inform us that he was a powerful and eloquent preacher. It was through his counsel that our people withdrew from the M. E. Church, and by his agency were formed into an African M. E. Church. He was not only their leader in this great movement, but also their able and successful defender against the slanderous attacks of their enemies.

        Among the local ministers of Sharp Street Church, in Baltimore, he was pre-eminently useful, and during his connection with that church laid a plan of finances which resulted in an improvement of the original property purchased to the amount of $3,000. For several years he acted the part of a school-teacher, and his success in this important field of usefulness was such that, whereas he opened the school with about seventeen scholars, when he left it, there were as many as one hundred and fifty.

        He was also a writer of respectable attainments, especially

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when we take into consideration the circumstances under which he was placed--I mean the disadvantages under which he labored in an educational point of view. The proof of the ability of Brother Coker in this particular may be seen in a little book which he wrote on the Slavery Question, and which was published in the city of Baltimore in 1810. The title page runs in the following language:

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN A VIRGINIAN AND AN AFRICAN MINISTER.


                         Written by the Rev. Daniel Coker, a Descendant of Africa, Minister of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore. Humbly
Dedicated to the People of Color in the United
States of America.

        This little volume contains about forty-three pages. After the Slavery argument is finished, the writer gives a "List of the Names of the Descendants of the African Race Who Have Given Proofs of Talents," "A List of African Churches," "A List of the Names of African Ministers" who were in holy orders, and "A List of the Names of African Local Preachers" at that time in the United States. The writer also informs us that the number of African Methodists in the United States at that period was 31,884. He was, moreover, a man equal to the emergency of the hour, and a real hero in times of great public trials and danger. This feature of his character is seen in bold relief by the following testimony of the talented author of a little work on Liberia, entitled "The New Republic;" for our readers must be informed that the subject of our historical sketch left this country in 1820, among the first band of emigrants, to find a home and untrammeled freedom in Africa. The diseases incident to that climate soon laid the government officers and colonial agent in their graves:

        What a pall hung upon the prospects of the feeble remnant. Their leaders fallen, without a guide, or counsel, or protection, they were like sheep without a shepherd in the howling wilderness; but He who led his people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron, gave power to the faint, and to them that had no might he increased strength.

        Before his death Dr. Crozer committed his agency into the hands of one of the leading emigrants, Rev. Daniel Coker, a colored clergyman. Finding himself at the head of affairs in a most perilous crisis, and feeling the need of advice, he determined upon going to Sierra Leone as soon as the condition of the sick would allow.

        

Illustration

Rev. Daniel Coker
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE AME CHURCH

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        At that hour, with the sick, the dying, and the dead about him, entrusted with new responsibilities connected with the welfare of a large body of people, and the preservation of a large amount of property, with no one to counsel or befriend him, how does this new workman on the foundations of a new republic stand out to light? Does he flag, or flinch, or fear? Alone he stands, with a dark present and a darker future; but does he draw fearfully and timidly back? His language in that night of toil is truly sublime: "We have met trials; we are but a handful; our provisions are running low; we are in a strange, heathen land; we have not heard from America, and know not whether provisions or people will be sent out; yet, thank the Lord, my confidence is strong in the veracity of his promises. Tell my brethren to come; fear not; this land is good; it only wants men to possess it. I have opened a little Sabbath-school for native children. Oh, it would do your hearts good to see the little naked sons of Africa around me. Tell the colored people to come up to the help of the Lord. Let nothing discourage the Society or the colored people."

        Herein do we not read the words of a stout-hearted Christian hero? He daunted! He fearful! He dismayed! No! The work must be done, though hundreds fall in the outset. He sees that Africa must be christianized and civilized, and stands boldly relying upon the promises of God that it will be done.


        Such is the interesting light in which Daniel Coker is placed by the hand of history. The historian quotes Mr. Coker's own words, for they were addressed by Mr. Coker himself to the friends of benighted Africa. And it is to this work of his in Africa--this gathering of "the little naked sons of Africa" into a Sunday-school around him--that Bishop Allen alludes when, in the first revised edition of the Discipline, he tells us that "God has spread the work, through our instrumentality, upon the barren shores of Africa."

        Some time after Rev. Mr. Coker gave up the command of the colony into the hands of the officers appointed by the Society at Washington, he emigrated from Liberia to the British Colony of Sierra Leone. There he planted a church and reared a family. The building in which his congregation worshipped is still standing (1852); it is built of stone, and is one of the largest in the city of Freetown. Beside the pulpit is a marble tablet bearing a memorial of his life and death. Two of his sons grew up to manhood. One of them became a successful trader with the natives of the interior, and at his death endowed his father's church; the other was living as late as 1861, and was then inspector of police at Sierra Leone.

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        Though not faultless, Daniel Coker was one of the most intelligent, active and heroic spirits that opened the glorious career of the A. M. E. Church. The oldest circuits in the Baltimore District were cut out and the churches planted by him. "Peace to his ashes!" Honor to the memory of the man whose heroic labors have shed additional lustre upon our ecclesiastical history, and through whom alone, up to 1863, we have dared to say, "God has spread the work, through our instrumentality, upon the barren shores of Africa." God grant that we may meet him in that better and brighter land, where the redeemed of the Lord are made perfect through the blood of the Lamb.

        In the Baltimore Conference of 1823, in answer to the question, "Who have died this year?" the reply included, "Don Carlos Hall, steward of the Annual Conference. He died on the 18th of March, after a long and serious, as well as a lingering illness. He died in the full triumphs of faith, in the 56th year of his age, and much lamented by the Conference, by the Church, and by his family and his friends in general. It will be remembered that Brother Hall was a layman, and distinguished himself in the General Conference, as also in all the early meetings of the Baltimore Annual Conference.

        Don Carlos Hall was amongst the first founders of the A. M. E. Church in Baltimore. He and the Rev. Daniel Coker were unceasing in their efforts to procure a place where they and their followers could worship God in spirit and in truth. They first assembled in Don Carlos Hall's house, and there held their prayer and class-meetings, also their meetings for ecclesiastical deliberations.*

        * In 1820 the Annual Conference of the Baltimore District was held in his residence.


        The class-meetings were held there until his death in 1823, and for years after. He held the office of both steward and trustee as long as he lived. His charity and benevolence can be told by those who are living witnesses; the old ministers also can bear witness to his religious and exemplary walks. He was beloved by everybody who formed his acquaintance. He was a kind, loving husband, and a dear father. His last dying words were, that he felt happy in the Lord, and that his reward was on high. He said that he was going to die like old Simeon, with Christ in his arms. Before the breath left his body

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he told them to raise him up; he then sent for all the members of his family, and admonished them to meet him in heaven. He raised the hymn:


                         The Lord into his garden, etc.
and while singing it he breathed his last, in the 44th year of his age.

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CHAPTER XII.
THE FIELD OF AFRICAN METHODISM IN 1832-1835.

        Baltimore Conference--Philadelphia Conference--The General Conference--The Black Code--The Book Committee of 1832--New York Conference--A Missionary to Canada--Baltimore Annual Conference, 1833--Delaware Laws--Book Steward's Report--Rev. William P. Quinn Admitted--Ohio Conference Record of 1833--Action in Favor of Common and Sunday-Schools--Baltimore Conference Held in Washington, D. C., 1834.

        FOR several years it is to be noted that little business of importance was transacted in the Baltimore Annual Conference, so that its history has been summed up in a few words. It seems as if a change had passed over the entire character of this once active and leading Conference. Either the master-spirits had departed or they had backslidden, and the energy and enterprise which formerly had distinguished it was transferred to the Philadelphia District. It opened its deliberations on Saturday morning, April 21st, 1832, and the first thing after services it granted a seat to Jeffrey Goulden, without the privilege of participating in its affairs. We find here again Rev. Edward Waters acting as assistant to Bishop Morris Brown, while Rev. Levin Lee was secretary. As Abner Coker desired to be exonerated from the duty of being a delegate to the General Conference, having been elected the year previous, Charles Dunn was appointed in his stead, and so the record of any interest ends.

        On May 8th we find the Philadelphia Conference in session, Bishop Brown presiding, with the same assistant as at the Baltimore Conference. It continued in session two days, when it adjourned to hold the Fourth General Conference (which it seems was opened on the tenth and ended on the twenty-first); it then resumed its deliberations upon the last named date.

        Rev. Walter Proctor was elected a delegate to the approaching General Conference. A case of breach of discipline before this session leads to the reference, "according to page 200" of the Discipline then in use, from which we draw the inference that the original Discipline, which had but one hundred and ninety-two

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pages, including table of contents, must have been revised in the General Conference of 1824 or 1828.

        The state of affairs at this date (1832) was such that our churches in certain quarters were quite seriously threatened, which led to the attendance at this Conference of a delegation of three members of the society at Elkton for the purpose of requesting that something might be done in behalf of the churches in Maryland belonging to Smyrna Circuit, as the Black Code of that state forbade any colored minister, as well as other colored people belonging to another state, from entrance there, unless they went in the capacity of slaves, or servants of some white person. They also prayed the Conference to ordain Brother Aaron Wilson, a local preacher, and ordain him to take the oversight of the churches alluded to, he being a resident of the state of Maryland; the said brother, however, was to remain pastor only until some change might take place in the laws or the feelings of the community so as to tolerate the presence of a minister of the Lord Jesus whom He had been pleased to make a man of color! In view of their peculiar circumstances the prayers of these churches were granted, and Brother Wilson was ordained a deacon at the same time with that eminent man, Joseph M. Corr.

        Samuel Ente, who had located at the last Annual Conference, was readmitted into the itineracy in this. Clayton Durham, Walter Proctor and Charles Bohannon were elected to serve as "Book Committee;" and we find that noble band of women, the "Daughters of Conference," presenting the sum of $57.99 to the Conference.

        The New York Annual Conference met in the city of Brooklyn this year, June 9th. Benjamin Croger and George Hogarth were its secretaries, and for its good government, rules were adopted which subjected the members to fines varying from twelve and a half to fifty cents, if violated. These related to absence and tardiness, to refusal to "come to order," and neglect to vote upon important measures.

        Bishop Morris Brown presided this time, with Rev. John Cornish as his assistant for the session. Cuffee Spence and Eli N. Hall were admitted on probation; Jeremiah Miller was sent as a missionary to Canada, and Samuel George was recorded among the dead, which items were alone of any note, and there are but three things worthy of historical record in the affairs of the Baltimore Annual Conference of the following year, 1833:

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        At the opening of its session a committee of three was appointed to inquire of the judge of the city court whether the Conference could be allowed the privilege of stationing a preacher over the church in Baltimore, who was a resident of another state. Hagerstown, Fredericktown, and the Cattaxon Mountain were attached under the pastorate of the Baltimore Church, and Brother William Moore was admitted on trial to the itineracy.

        The Philadelphia Conference of 1833 opened the 18th of May, and it saw Rev. William Paul Quinn petitioning to rejoin the Connection. He had made application to the Quarterly Conference, or rather to the ministerium of the mother church in Philadelphia, to reunite with the Connection on June 18th, 1828, at which meeting the following action was had:

        Resolved, On motion, that before we proceed any further in Brother William Quinn's case, that he return to New York and consult his people whom he now serves, and amongst whom he now belongs, and hear what they say on the subject, and get their consent for him or them to join the Connection, one way or the other."


        The present petition was referred to the New York Conference.

        Inasmuch as the laws of Delaware did not allow the ambassadors of the Cross, who were colored men, to itinerate in that state, the churches on Lewiston Circuit petitioned Conference to ordain Moses Robinson and Peter Lewis, a local elder, to minister for them in holy things, and their petition was granted.

        The Salem Circuit, in New Jersey, was divided at this date. The upper part was made to extend "from Woodbury upwards," and was called Burlington Circuit; the lower part to extend "from Dutchtown downwards," and to retain the name of Salem Circuit. The former embraced Woodbury, Pendleton, Snowhill, Mount Holly and Burlington, containing two hundred and fifteen members; the latter embraced Salem, Dutchtown, Bushtown, Greenwich and Fairfield, containing two hundred and seventy-nine members.

        Perry Gibson was received on trial, and two preachers were numbered among the dead, Charles Pierce and William Johnson, the latter a deacon, and an old veteran of the Cross.

        At this meeting the book steward reported one thousand copies of the Discipline printed at a cost of $70, and five hundred bound at a cost of $40. The amount of books sold was $20, and with the statement of cash remaining from last year of $28, there was also the recorded fact of a loan of $62 to carry on the concern.

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It is evident that the book concern was not doing a great amount of business, but for the times and under the circumstances, perhaps, it may be looked upon as flourishing creditably.

        The New York Conference began to transact its business upon the 8th of June, in 1833, and opened with added rules for preservation of order and decorum. It evidently had faith in the influence of fines to bring this about, for this penalty was the one attached to some of these rules. The Conference, too, had reached the stage of appreciation of its own dignity and importance as a body to require a post-office messenger, and London Turpin was given that duty to perform--to bring to Conference each day the letters directed to that body.

        Francis Graham was received into Conference and afterwards placed on trial as an itinerant preacher, while Rev. William Paul Quinn was "admitted a member." He had petitioned this body, as he had been referred to it by the Philadelphia Conference of this year, and at last, after the action of that body and of the Mother Church, covering a period of five years, he regained his position in the Connection. Immediately after his reception he was transferred to the Western field of labor--to the Ohio Conference, which had been organized in 1830.

        One laborer had fallen--Enos Adams--who, after laboring extensively through his charge, died of the small-pox, terminating a useful life.

        The Ohio or Western Conference was organized by Rt. Rev. Bishop Morris Brown, in 1830, as has been said; but the first record of its proceedings which are available for information is that found in the printed minutes of 1833.*

        * The journal containing the minutes of its organization, together with the journal of the General Conference for several successive years, has been lost.


In this year it opened in the city of Pittsburgh, and continued in session for nine days. Bishop Morris Brown presided, and Rev. Lewis Woodson was its secretary. Fifteen members were present, seven being itinerants--Revs. John Boggs, Wiley Reynolds, Austin Jones, Jeremiah Thomas, W. P. Quinn, Thomas Lawrence, James Bird--and the remainder local--Revs. Lewis Woodson, Samuel Johnson, Abram D. Lewis, Samuel Collins, Samuel Enty, Pleasant Underwood, George Coleman and Samuel Clingman.

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        The Bishop delivered an appropriate and impressive address to the Conference on the "importance of promoting harmony and good feeling among themselves and all Christian people, and that they should study to show themselves in all their pursuits approved unto God."

        Twenty-four points were reported for the five circuits, while several were not given. Pittsburgh Circuit had three: Pittsburgh, Washington and Uniontown, with an aggregate of 306 members; Zanesville Circuit had Zanesville, Captain, Mount Pleasant, Smithfield, Steubenville and Wheeling, with 205 members; Columbus Circuit had Columbus, Arbana, New Lancaster, Circleville and Springfield, with 166 members; Chillicothe Circuit had Chillicothe, Big Bottom, Jackson and Gallipolis, with 193 members; while Hillsborough Circuit embraced Hillsborough, Wilmington, Zand, Dayton, Harden's Creek and White Oak, with 126 members.

        The total returned for the Ohio District was 1,194. William Paul Quinn was stationed over the Pittsburgh Circuit, and Austin Jones over Zanesville.

        The secretary says that "the following important resolutions were passed:"

        Resolved, As the sense of this Conference, that common schools, Sunday-schools, and temperance societies are of the highest importance to all people; but more especially to us as a people.

        Resolved, That it shall be the duty of every member of this Conference to do all in his power to promote and establish these useful institutions among our people.


        He might well call them important. They constitute a new era in the history of our Church, because they are the first of the kind on record. Seventeen years had passed away from the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church before a word was said in its Conferences on the important subject of education; and it remained for this, the youngest and least of the four Conferences, to give the first utterance on a subject so vital to the interests of the colored race in these United States, considered so in an ecclesiastical, social, moral, or political point of view. In this case the order of light seems to have been reversed. We always look for its rising in the east, but in this instance its dawning was in the west!

        The secretary tells us also that "At the close of this Conference God was pleased, in a most miraculous manner, to display

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his power at the love feast 'so that many souls were added to the Lord;' thus giving a flat and eternal refutation to the oft-repeated falsehood, that 'education destroys religion.'"

        Jeremiah Thomas and Pleasant Underwood were ordained deacons; and one of the traveling preachers had laid down the cross for the crown. This one was Samuel Madison, a licentiate, who was appointed at the last Conference to Hillsborough Circuit, and "finished his course and his life together, dying in the triumphs of faith." In this connection we learn, too, that James Byrd had charge of that circuit at that time.

        At the last Annual Conference for the Baltimore District it was voted to hold the Annual Conference for this year in the city of Washington; accordingly, we find the members of the same assembling themselves at Israel Church, about 9 o'clock, on Saturday morning, April 19, 1834; and sat by adjournments until Monday, the 28th, inclusive. Bishop Morris Brown presided, with Rev. Levin Lee as secretary.

        At the end of the printed minutes we find the following remarks:

        The sitting of this Conference was attended with unusual success; it being the first colored body that has ever convened in the Capital of the United States, caused great excitement. Many hundreds, both of white and colored, assembled at the preaching-house, especially on the Lord's Day, and listened with delight to the embassadors of the cross."


        We also learn that the authorities of the city expressed their good feelings toward the Conference, and offered their protection in case any occurrences should require such action. President Jackson was waited upon by the Conference in a body, and His Excellency expressed his warmest approbation of the work, and wished hearty success to the cause. It is also recorded that the ministrations of the ministers were very successful, fourteen coming forward professing their faith in Christ and joining the Society.

        The Society this year was called upon to suffer the loss of the Rev. Abner Coker. Mr. Coker, who had been one of the founders of the A. M. E. Church, was a useful and zealous local deacon. He died in the fall of 1833.

        The Society appears at this time to have been in great need of traveling preachers, as we find it recorded that Frederick City and Hagerstown were to be served only once in three months by Rev. L. Lee, and William A. Nichols was apportioned to perform the same service to Easton, Maryland.

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        William A. Nichols had only been admitted into full connection at this Conference, and Jeffrey Goulden on trial. Preachers were stationed in Baltimore, and on Chambersburg, Columbia and Lewistown Circuits.

        The minutes state that the members in Society were reported, but how many, or in what districts they were, is not stated; nor do we find anything relating to the financial condition of this Conference.

        The Philadelphia Conference of this year was opened in the usual manner on Saturday morning, May 24th. At this time the Smyrna Circuit, in Delaware, was detached from the Philadelphia Conference and attached to the Baltimore District. Rev. Richard Robertson was received into the itineracy. He had been ordained a deacon and an elder by this Conference in its session of 1830, and that same year he returned to his field of labor in Hayti. We find him at this date representing Trenton Circuit, which he had been serving the three months prior to the opening of the Philadelphia Conference. No report is to be found of his work in Hayti, at least not to the Annual Conferences, though such report may have been given to Bishop Brown.

        This Conference was more fruitful in business and regulations regarding the welfare of the Church than had been the Conference at Washington. Although not the first item of business transacted, the subject of education was the most important, and a resolution was passed "that as the subject of education is one of high importance to the colored population of the country, it shall be the duty of every minister who has the charge of circuits or stations to make use of every effort to establish schools wherever convenient, and to insist upon the parents of children that they send them to school; and that a sermon should occasionally be preached expressly upon that subject; and that it should be the duty of every minister to make yearly returns of the number of schools, the number of scholars in each, the places where they are located, and the branches taught on their circuits and stations, and that every preacher who neglects to do so to be subject to the censure of the Conference."

        This stringent resolution can hardly be said to have originated within the Philadelphia Conference. At the Ohio Conference for 1833, a somewhat similar resolution was passed, and we may conclude in the face of the fact that Bishop Morris Brown, who was presiding, had also presided over the Ohio Conference when

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the resolution was passed, and that the Philadelphia Conference of this year was to some degree influenced by the action of Ohio. Bishop Brown was a man who was always ready to sustain any action looking forward to the upward progress of the colored race, and probably the passage of this resolution was greatly facilitated by his actions. We have seen that no action was taken in the matter by the Baltimore Conference just closed, but the reasons for the silence of that Conference upon such an important work we are at a loss to determine, unless it be on account of the Maryland laws being similar to those of various other states in regard to the education of colored people.

        The most important resolution tending to the uplifting and benefiting of the members of the Church was passed in the interests of temperance. It reads, "that the subject of temperance be strongly recommended to all our members, and that every preacher in this Conference come under the obligation to abstain from ardent spirits, and to cry against it wherever they go."

        Efforts were made at this Conference to aid the Preachers' Aid Fund, although in a somewhat indirect way, by a resolution exhorting the preachers in charge to advise their members to raise twelve and a half cents each a year to aid the publishing fund, the profits of which are to be applied to the benefit of the worn-out and sick traveling preachers. It was also made imperative for every preacher in charge to take up a collection in every principal appointment on his circuit, but for what purpose this collection was to be applied is not stated. The Daughters of Conference this year donated fifty dollars.

        A resolution was also passed by which exhorters were deprived of a seat in the Conference. Previously they had a seat, but no voice in the proceedings. We have only one name, Charles A. Spicer, added to the Connection in 1834, at this Conference, as a local preacher. Two deaths are, however, recorded--Rev. Joseph Harper, who had been admitted in the New York Conference of 1823 as an itinerant, and ordained in 1824, and Rev. Joseph Chain, the latter a local deacon, who formerly lived on the eastern shore of Maryland, and who was admitted on trial into the Baltimore Annual Conference as early as 1820. The former was first appointed to the Bucks County Circuit, Pa., under charge of Rev. W. P. Quinn. He was ordained deacon at the Philadelphia Conference in 1824, and elder at the next Conference. He traveled regularly until his death, and was laboring on the Trenton Circuit

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when he died, February 1, 1834. His place was filled in that work by Brother Robinson.

        This year witnessed the session of the New York Annual Conference in Brooklyn, where it was opened under the presidency of Bishop Morris Brown, assisted by Rev. Edward Waters, and having Rev. George Hogarth as secretary. Its session lasted only nine days, opening on the 14th and closing on the 23d of June.

        By a special resolution Willis Jones, Joshua Jenkins and Cæsar Springfield, licentiates of New York, and Daniel Peterson, of Philadelphia, obtained seats in the Conference, but no voice in its deliberations. Francis P. Graham was ordained an elder. Following in the wake of Ohio and Philadelphia, the New York Conference took up the question of education, and, after discussion, unanimously passed a resolution "that we will use every exertion in our power to advise and encourage our people to send their children to Sabbath and other schools." While this resolution was not as stringent in character as the one passed by the Philadelphia Conference, it showed that the spirit was spreading.

        The cause of temperance was introduced by the Bishop. He called the attention of the brethren to Chapter II., Section 1, Clause II. of the Discipline, which says: "Avoid all drunkenness or drinking spirituous liquors, unless in case of necessity." The members bound themselves to endeavor by example and influence to enforce this rule in the aid of temperance. The curse of gambling, then as now, seems to have obtained a considerable hold upon the people, for we find this Conference dealing with the subject by a resolution to discourage the purchase and sale of lottery tickets so far as they could by example and influence. It is to be regretted that this question of gambling in any form, as well as the purchase and sale of lottery tickets, was not dealt with in a much more stringent manner.

        The affairs of the Book Concern were examined, and Abram Marks elected district book steward for 1835. It was also resolved that the minutes of the three Conferences--Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York--for 1834 should be published together.

        About this time, Rev. N. C. W. Cannon, a man of very eccentric habits and irregular mode of thinking, but as active and laborious as he was eccentric, wrote and published a book, to which he gave the dignified title of "Rock of Wisdom." This book was taken up by this Conference and examined. It resulted in the adoption of the resolution that "the book contains

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many errors," and, we are told, "upon which Brother Cannon came forward and acknowledged that the book is full of errors on almost every page." The secretary further says of it: "It was found to contain many erroneous principles repugnant to the Articles of Faith believed and taught by the Methodist Church. Brother Cannon acknowledged this: his acknowledgment was received, and the book condemned by the Conference." We also find Brother Cannon located the next day by his own request.

        From this Conference Bishop Brown went to take the pastoral charge of the mother church in Philadelphia, taking with him the Rev. John Cornish as his assistant, while Francis P. Graham was sent to take charge of the Harrisburg Circuit in Pennsylvania.

        Here again, at this point, we meet with a chasm in the history of the Ohio Conference District, as the journal of 1834 is lost. This leads us to turn again to the Baltimore Conference to see what it was doing for the Redeemer's kingdom in 1835.

        For the second time we see Rev. Stephen Smith present in the Baltimore Conference, and for the first time John Jordan and Joshua Gilbert. Whether the first mentioned alone, or the two latter with him, aided in diffusing a new spirit into this Conference, which for several years past had exhibited very little vitality, we have no means of deciding. One thing, however, is evident, and that is, it began to act on all points vital to the improvement of the churches with its ancient vigor and wisdom. The well known zeal of Brother Smith for all the various forms of moral improvement, leads us to believe that he was the man in the new measures introduced, although there is no record to that effect other than results.

        Brother Smith was admitted by vote into the Annual Conference as a local preacher through recommendation from the Harrisburg Circuit, and ordained at their request in the year 1831, but with the exception of one day he does not appear present until 1835.

        At this Conference a motion was introduced to inquire into the sinfulness of the u e of ardent spirits, and another to organize a temperance society. The former was sustained, but the latter lost. In spite of this the Conference declared itself in favor of "strictly and perseveringly recommending the temperance cause on the respective circuits and in their stations, both

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by example and precepts." It also provided that in case of default the preacher offending should be dealt with as in all cases of imprudence and neglect of duty laid down in the Discipline.

        It was made the duty of itinerants to impress on the parents the duty of sending their children to school. But, following in the wake of the active measures taken by the other Conferences to promote education, this body did not exhibit much vigor in its educational policy.

        Four delegates were elected to the General Conference of 1836, Nathaniel Peck, Levin Lee, Basil Simms and Stephen Smith. These were local preachers, and the reason for their election as delegates to the General Conference is found in the fact that all traveling preachers who had been in actual service for several years were ex officio members of the General Conference; local preachers were not, and, therefore, to have a seat and a voice in the General Conference, it was necessary to elect them.

        The church at Easton, on the eastern shore of Maryland, was placed under the pastorate of Baltimore City, and the church at Port-au-Prince was asked to nominate a man from among its members competent to fulfil the duties of elder, who might then take charge of it.

        Of the ministry none had fallen by the hand of death this year past but Rev. Scipio Beanes, who at the time was in Port-au-Prince. As he was the first missionary selected and ordained especially to preach the Gospel on the island of Hayti, a short sketch of his life is pertinent in our history.

        Scipio Beanes was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, sometime in the year 1793. He was just about twenty years of age when he moved to the city of Washington. He was born a slave, and had obtained permission from his master to attend the school which was then held in Prince George's County, in which he obtained the elementary principles of an English education. In 1818 Dr. Beanes, his master, made him a present of his freedom. The next year he married Miss Harriet Bell, of Washington City, daughter of one of the most influential members of our church in that city for many years, being trustee and leader at the time of his death, in 1845.

        On the 19th of October, 1824, Scipio Beanes was struck with conviction on account of his sins, and in a few months after he experienced a change of heart in the first Little Bethel at Washington, under the preaching of Rev. Jacob Matthews. After his

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conversion, he daily grew in grace, and in the knowledge of divine things. The first office that he filled in the church was that of assistant class-leader to Rev. George Hicks. Sometime after this he felt deeply impressed to call sinners to repentance, and he immediately obeyed the divine call. Having been duly authorized in 1825 or 1826 to exercise his ministerial gifts by the church at Washington, he was commissioned by Rt. Rev. Richard Allen to visit the churches on the eastern shore of Maryland. His labors among these societies were owned and blessed by the Lord. He remained laboring in the Gospel among them as long as his health permitted such service, but his delicate constitution, the severity of the winter, and the bad accommodations which were afforded him, compelled him to abandon the field and return home. In this homeward journey the snow was so deep that he was compelled to quit the saddle, and on foot pursue his journey, leading his horse nearly the whole distance from Annapolis to Washington. The consequence was that he was seized with a severe pulmonary affection, which induced his physician to declare him in deep consumption, and to advise him to go to some warm climate; so in 1826 he left home for Port-au-Prince to improve his health. There he remained one year, doing all he could by precept and example to lead the American colonists, as well as the native Haytians, to a knowledge of Christ, who taketh away the sins of the world. In the spring of 1827 he returned home. The people had been benefited through his ministrations, and his health was improved. The result of his labors, as reported to Bishop Richard Allen, led the latter to bring him before the Baltimore Conference of that year, and the result of this introduction has been seen in the inquiry and resolutions which led that body to ordain him doubly for the mission in Hayti, and commission him to this point as one among the six appointments read at that session--an instance worthy of notice as being the only instance in the history of our Church where the appointment to a foreign mission is recorded as one and among the regular spots of labor in the regular work of our ministry.

        In little less than one year from the date of Brother Beanes' appointment, he returned and reported (in 1828) that the number in Society at Port-au-Prince was seventy-two, and that place appears again in the regular work. One year from this time he was admitted into full connection, and reported the

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number of 182 members in the Society at Port-au-Prince, and it seems that between the time of his arrival from Hayti and the opening of the Conference, he labored on the Easton Circuit in the Baltimore District.

        In consequence of his infirmities he located in 1829, and remained in this relation until the year 1831, when he was elected to represent the church in Washington at the General Conference of 1832, but it is not known whether he filled the office of delegate or not. It is certain, however, that he was present at the Baltimore Annual Conference that year until its close.

        From this date we see and hear no more of him in the United States until the record is made of his death at the Baltimore Conference in 1835; but his wife tells of their return to Hayti and Port-au-Prince in 1832, where he again took charge, the Lord blessing his labors in the souls added to the Church. His health improved at first, then began to fail. He was a great sufferer, but a patient, uncomplaining one, and without flinching he continued to labor. It was his wife's desire to return home, but the rapid encroachments of the disorder prevented this, and he was content to remain and die in Hayti, saying, "Heaven is as near to Port-au-Prince as to Washington." He literally finished his life and his labors together, for we are told that he baptized and administered the Lord's Supper on a Sabbath (January 12, 1835), and went home to heaven the next morning at dawn, in the forty-second year of his age. He was generally beloved by the people, it seems, and esteemed as well. We are told that he performed the marriage of the French ambassador, Mr. Denney, himself a Methodist. His labors were confined, so said his wife, entirely to the city of Port-au-Prince, because his health did not permit him to travel over the island. So much we know of the life and death of our first worker in the foreign missionary field of the West Indies.

        The ministers of the Philadelphia churches met in annual assembly in 1835, but nothing of importance bearing upon the welfare of the Church was done at this Conference. It followed its action of the previous year by resolutions in favor of temperance, and by calling upon all the preachers to uphold it by precept and advice.

        There was a verbal petition by a delegate from the church at Reading, Brother George Dillon, praying that pastoral labors and the preaching of the Gospel might be given more regularly to

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the flock of Christ. Delegates were elected to the General Conference in the persons of Sampson Peters, Joshua P. B. Eddy, Jeremiah Durham, William Henry, Clayton Durham and Walter Proctor, representing respectively Trenton Circuit, Burlington Circuit, Salem Circuit, Bucks County and Chester, while the last two named were for Philadelphia. Elder Cornish was transferred to Baltimore Conference, and Elder Scott to New York, and all the churches in Maryland on the Lewistown Circuit were placed under the charge of Rev. Andrew Massey.

        In this Conference the Rev. Joseph M. Corr made a report upon the state of the book concern, as its general book steward. He had had printed one thousand copies of the Discipline, and five hundred of these bound. One thousand hymn-books had been printed and bound; also, two thousand minutes of the Conferences. The whole cost was reported as about six hundred dollars, including transportation to different places, commission, etc. There were still some unbound Disciplines and several hundred copies of minutes unsold, and which he feared would be a "dead loss." He had sold hymn-books and Disciplines to the amount of $300. He further stated that when he commenced operations there were but $28.00 on hand, but he had "succeeded in getting through with all this huge debt," and had on hand, clear of all present contingencies, $60.00, with which to commence the Publishing Fund, while he had received from the circuit for the same object $12.19.

        This report, which he hoped to have health and strength permitted him to render more correct another year, was his last--the end of his labors as an excellent secretary for the Philadelphia Conference, and as general book steward of the A. M. E. Church. He died in October of this same year.

        The New York Conference of 1835 met in Brooklyn on June 13th. With the exception of a strong resolution making it the duty of every traveling minister to use his utmost endeavors to promote education, and a resolution to encourage temperance--two things which had gone hand-in-hand down through the Conference--nothing of importance seems to have been done. Bishop Brown presided, and during this visit, assisted by Rev. Edward Waters and Rev. Samuel Todd, laid the corner stone of the church on Second street, New York.

        The district book steward, who was the Rev. George Hogarth, reported sales in the district for the year as amounting to $26.87½.

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There were nine hundred and forty-seven persons members of the New York churches, but only twenty had been induced to purchase the minutes of the Annual Conference, although they were but twelve and a half cents apiece. But it is evident that the appreciation of the work of the book concern was growing in spite of this, or there was good financial management, as in the case of the Philadelphia Conference.

        Of the ministry this year but one had entered the spirit world. That one was Rev. Fortune Mathias, who had died in the city of New York, aged seventy-eight years. He was born a slave, in the state of Maryland, and among the first pioneers of color he entered the Methodist Episcopal Church in Norfolk of that state. He had been a preacher of the Gospel for about forty-eight years, and labored successfully, and with the high appreciation from all classes in that vicinity. About ten years previous to his death he got permission from his owner to move into New York state, and there immediately joined himself to the itinerant service of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Such was his ardent desire to carry the Gospel unto the poor of his brethren in distant parts of the country, that he was somewhat grieved because his brethren, at the sitting of the last Annual Conference, refused him that privilege in consideration of his extreme old age and aggravated state of bodily infirmity. He lived an exemplary life of piety, and was an example to all with whom he had intercourse. He was never backward in reproving sin, and was always ready to give a testimony of his hope in Christ.

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CHAPTER XIII.
END OF THE DECADE.

        Baltimore Churches in 1836--Philadelphia Conference Increases--Western Churches--General Conference of 1836--Revision of Discipline for Publication--Rev. Edward Waters Elected Bishop--Expansion of the Western Field--Book Concern Being Reduced to a System--Church Awakened--A Petition From Canada and Buffalo--Missionaries Provided, but no Support--Decree of Publication of a Quarterly Magazine.

        THE secretary of the Baltimore churches, which met in Conference in 1836, has furnished little information concerning their labors and successes. Brother James High, steward of the Annual Conference, had died on the 9th of April of this year. He was the successor of that remarkable man, Charles Hackett, who was the successor of Don Carlos Hall, who took such an active part in the early affairs of the churches. Like his predecessors, Brother High was a layman. He had filled the office of Conference steward for several years. Jeffrey Goulden and Basil Simms were ordained as deacons, the former as itinerant, the latter local.

        This year closed the second decade of the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and we find the number of circuits to be six and the number of stations two. The itinerants numbered four: Rev. Edward Waters was pastor of the Baltimore city church and the Baltimore County Circuit; Rev. Samuel Todd was pastor of the church at Washington; Rev. John Cornish was pastor of the Columbia Circuit churches, and Rev. Henry Turner was assistant. The same preachers were pastors of the Chambersburg Circuit. Three circuits, Lewistown, Easton and Frenchtown, were destitute of pastors. The total number of members was two thousand.

        The decision must be that, comparing 1836 with 1826, the Baltimorean churches had lost ground. This at least appears from the recorded facts. In 1826 there were seven pastors, now reduced to four. In 1826 Frederick Circuit had ten appointments, which were reduced to three ten years later. Harrisburg Circuit had lost one appointment, having had nine in 1826. Easton and Frenchtown Circuits made no report of their condition, so that

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we are unable to know whether they were abandoned entirely or not. In 1826 the preachers' support amounted to four hundred and forty-eight dollars. It was but three hundred and forty-two dollars and nineteen cents in 1836. But there is every reason to believe that this retrogradation was due chiefly to the influence of slavery.

        The Philadelphia Conference of this year, which met on the 10th of May, immediately at the close of the General Conference, showed an increase, especially when we consider that the western work had been set off in a district by itself within the decade, and that then the total of members, including the western work, reached 4,606, with sixty-five churches and fourteen pastors, while now the total of members, with the western work omitted, reached 3,344. There were but eight pastors in the Philadelphia District for 1836, but they received a total of four hundred and seventy dollars and eighty-two cents in salaries, while the fourteen had received but a few cents over six hundred and fourteen dollars in 1826.

        The Philadelphia Conference of 1836 admitted Henry C. Turner as an itinerant preacher, and David Ware, Moore, Walker, Thomas Pierce, Jacob Adams, Robert S. Holcom and Andrew Radder in a local capacity. This year we find the record of the death of Joseph M. Corr, on the 18th of October, 1835, in the twenty-ninth year of his age. Thus another gap was made in the ranks of the early pioneers.

        The Church had unbounded confidence in his ability as a man and his integrity as an officer, and for the entire period of his connection with the A. M. E. Church to the day of his death he enjoyed this confidence, not only unabated, but with increasing volume and power. When a mere licentiate, and that, too, a local one, he was elected to the secretaryship of the Philadelphia Annual Conference, which office he held to the day of his death. He was also secretary of the Baltimore Conference from 1826 till the opening of 1828, when he ceased to act, simply because engagements at home kept him away from that district till 1830. It was in 1826 that the Philadelphia Annual Conference passed a resolution constituting him secretary-general. He was the first one who gave a report of the condition of the book concern, and we do not hear of the existence of a hymn-book among us until he reports the publication of a thousand copies in 1835. As a general book steward, all things considered, no one has

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yet been more successful than he. When he commenced his labors in the book concern, in 1832, the sum of twenty-eight dollars was all his capital, but within three years from that date he had published one thousand Disciplines, one thousand hymn-books and two thousand minutes of the three Conferences, and reported about three hundred and sixty dollars in stock and cash as clear profits.

        The representative of the New York churches assembled on the 4th day of June in this year. Rt. Rev. Morris Brown and Rt. Rev. Richard Waters were present as the leaders of the deliberations. The items of business were few. The total number of the members in the churches was seven hundred and forty-three. Financially considered, they did as well as the other districts in their moneys raised for their three pastors, the combined salaries being three hundred and thirteen dollars and thirty-eight cents. Over one hundred and seventeen dollars were raised as contingent money. Eight points are given: New York City, Brooklyn, Flushing, South Huntington, John's Cove, Hempstead Harbor, South Jamaica and Albany. Sampson Peters was received as a probationer into the traveling connection. This was all, yet we cannot say that the district had improved to a great extent.

        Over two months later we find the Pittsburg or western churches assembling, through their representatives, in Columbus, Ohio. But it seems that little had been done during the year for the Redeemer's cause. The statistics give a total of one thousand one hundred and thirty-one members in Society at the two stations and on the five circuits. At this time Pittsburg and Cincinnati were the only stations, while the circuits consisted of the Zanesville, Chillicothe, Hillsboro, Richmond and Uniontown. These together gave a contingent collection of nearly one hundred and sixteen dollars. There were seven traveling preachers doing the work in this Western District.

        We have seen the work of the individual districts, and can now turn for a view of the General Conference of 1836, which, as we have intimated, held its session in Philadelphia in May, immediately preceding the meeting of the Philadelphia Annual Conference.

        There were sixteen traveling preachers present: Rt. Rev. Morris Brown, Edward Waters, Richard Williams, William Cornish, John Cornish, Israel Scott, John Churlson, Moses Robinson, William Moore, Jeremiah Miller, Samuel Todd, John Boggs,

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Richard Robinson, William P. Quinn, Thomas Lawrence and Samuel G. Clingman. The delegates were: Six from the Philadelphia Conference--Clayton Durham, Walter Proctor, Shadrack Bassett, Sampson Peters and Jeremiah Durham; three from the Baltimore Conference--Nathaniel Peck, Stephen Smith and Levin Lee; three from the New York Conference--London W. Turpin, George Hogarth and Edmund Crosby; and two from the Western Conference--Abraham D. Lewis and George Coleman.

        This body reviewed, amended and revised the Discipline for publication. George Hogarth, of Brooklyn, N. Y., was elected the general book steward of the Connection for the ensuing four years, to fill the place of the deceased Joseph M. Corr. Resolutions were passed in order that the book concern might be benefited and its usefulness enlarged. The general book steward was to be permitted to "publish such religious books, tracts and pamphlets as may be deemed best for the interests of the Connection, the profits arising therefrom always to flow into the general book treasury," but it was stipulated that such work would be undertaken only "upon the recommendation of the book committee, with the concurrence of the New York Annual Conference." He was also to be "allowed twenty-five dollars for revising and publishing the hymn-book and Discipline."

        The time had arrived when, on account of the spread of the work of the Church, and the extensive labors which this extension called upon the Bishop to perform, the Conference was moved to consider the matter of selecting "an associate to take part with him as a junior Bishop." The labor entailed upon Bishop Morris Brown alone seemed to render it imperative that such a step be taken, and, too, the best interests of the Connection in promoting the general cause of the societies seemed to demand aid in the burdensome work. It was finally decided that such a junior or assistant Bishop should be elected, and as a result Rev. Edward Waters was the one upon whom the mantle of that position fell, and he was solemnly ordained a Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church on the 8th of May, 1836, by the imposition of the hands of the Rt. Rev. Morris Brown and several elders present.

        The same year of his election Bishop Brown took him with him to all the Conferences except the Western Conference, thus giving him some idea of the field of labor. After this tour he never left the regions of Baltimore only to attend the Philadelphia

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and New York Conferences, which was once a year. He never presided in an Annual Conference only as a silent looker-on, assistant of Bishop Brown, and though he sat in the episcopal chair from 1836 to 1844, he never ordained a single minister, not even a deacon. The second year after his election he requested the Baltimore Annual Conference to locate him. Indeed, ever after his ordination he held charge of the Ellicott Mills Circuit, and sometimes of Bethel, in Baltimore. In the eighth year of his episcopate he resigned his episcopal authority, although he was able to travel as a Bishop, and returned to the ranks of the effective elders till his death. This was occasioned by the wickedness of some rude white men who ran over him with their horse and buggy, which accident he survived, but lingered only a few weeks, when he finished his days in peace, in the month of April, 1847, in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.

        There was a resolution that no preacher should be permitted "to graduate into ministerial functions who is and continues to be a member of a Freemason's Lodge." The futility of such a resolution is apparent on its face. No church has ever yet been able to expunge Freemasonry from among its ministry and laity. It has been repeatedly tried, not only by this, but by almost every other church in Christendom, but without success. The members of the Conference knew nothing about the order beyond its existence, and to pass such a resolution was to enact a rule which they could never carry into effect. Subsequent facts have shown this to be true.

        As a summary of the work at the end of the second decade, we see that in 1826 there were twenty-one itinerant ministers; in 1836, thirty-two; in 1826 there were ninety-five churches; in 1836, eighty-six; the fourteen circuits of 1826 were reduced to twelve in 1836, but the members, which in 1826 were six thousand nine hundred and four in number, had increased to seven thousand five hundred and ninety-four, and from one station we had seven to report at this time. Salaries, too, had increased from a total of $562.51¼ to $926.39.

        At the end of this second decade of the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, we see some things to humble us and others to make us to rejoice. We are humbled in seeing the decline of the affairs of both the Baltimore and Philadelphia Conferences, respecting the extent of their work and the number

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of their workmen, for they had less of both in 1836 than they possessed in 1826. The delinquency of the Ohio or Western District is also painful. Yet we have reason to rejoice:

        First, because the western field--the regions west of the Alleghanies--had expanded itself from a mere adjunct into an indedent Conference District, embracing three stations, the same number of circuits, and seven laborers to cultivate them. And secondly, because the Connection had its eyes opened upon, and its attention also turned to, the instruction of the rising generation and the cause of temperance. Thirdly, the mind of the ministry had also begun to reduce their book concern to a system. The book concern was removed from Philadelphia to New York or Brooklyn as a result of the election of Rev. George Hogarth, local deacon, to the office of general book steward, as his residence was in Brooklyn, where he conducted mercantile operations with Hayti.

        When the Baltimore Conference met in 1837 nothing of interest took place, except the resolution to aid in raising a general fund for the relief of worn-out preachers, but the Philadelphia Conference, which convened in Philadelphia on the 20th day of May, was one of unusual interest. It seems to have been animated by a spirit of light and comprehensiveness unknown to it before.

        As in the Baltimore Conference, so in this, a society was formed auxiliary to the general fund. There were four ordinations: Revs. Clayton Durham, Jeremiah Beulah and William Moore as elders, and Brother John C. Spence as a deacon. Two local preachers, namely, Abraham Bell and Jackson, were numbered with the dead. Of the former it is said that "he was a man truly devoted to God, and left this world in full assurance of a blessed immortality; of the latter it is written that he was "greatly esteemed for his unexceptionable fidelity."

        This Conference was visited by William Yates, Esq., a lawyer from the city of Troy, New York, agent of the A. A. S. Society, and Rev. Joshua Leavitt, then editor of the New York Evangelist. Both were cordially received, and both ably and kindly addressed the assembled ministry on the important subjects of education and temperance. After the address of lawyer Yates, the Conference passed a resolution of thanks "for his able and thrilling address," and as an evidence of how deeply moved it had been, we find a subjoined resolution that there should be a "committee of five appointed to draft some resolutions to offer to the house,"

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and on the morning of the next day this committee made the following report:

1. THE MINISTRY.

        We, the elders and preachers of this Conference, who, according to our ability and the grace that hath been given to us, have in our day preached the Gospel to our scattered and rejected brethren, sensible that like those who have gone before us, the time of our departure will come also when we must give an account of our stewardship, would enter upon the minutes of this Conference an expression of grief at the withering effects of prejudice against color, and in connection with it the deep solicitude we feel that those who will hereafter rise to fill our places should possess the means of securing every qualification for the ministry, that they may be workmen that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly divining the word of truth. Upon this it is evident that the salvation of souls and the right instruction of the Church in the means of grace depend. Besides, the general improvement of the people of color, their advances in knowledge and mutual cultivation, render it necessary; therefore,

        Resolved, That our Rt. Rev. Father and Bishop, with such person or persons as he may associate with him, be a committee to prepare, or cause to be prepared, an appeal or statement of the condition and wants of the Church of Christ among the people of color in regard to the ministry, and the obstacles which embarrass candidates for that office in obtaining suitable preparations, and often hinder access even to the ordinary means of education.

        That the committee lay the same before the presidents and officers of colleges and theological seminaries in the free states, with a respectful entreaty that the advantages of education which their respective institutions afford may be extended to all persons alike, without distinction of color.

        And further, that the Bishop or committee, by correspondence with brethren throughout the United States, with Christian philanthropists, by appeals from the pulpit and press, and by all suitable means, endeavor to awaken a general interest amongst ourselves and friends on this important subject, viz.: a suitable preparation for the pulpit or ministry.

2. EDUCATION.

        Resolved, That as education is the only sure means of creating in the mind those noble feelings which prompt us to the practice of piety, virtue and temperance, and elevate us above the condition of brutes by assimilating us to the image of our Maker; we, therefore, recommend all our preachers to enjoin undeviating attention to its promotion, and earnestly request all our people to neglect no opportunity of advancing it, pledging ourselves to assist them so far as it is in our power.

3. TEMPERANCE.

        Resolved, That our elders and preachers, in their labors to promote the cause of temperance, hold up the principle of total abstinence from the

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use as a beverage of all intoxicating drinks as the true and safe rule for all consistent friends of temperance to go by, and as in accordance with our Discipline and the resolutions of our former Conferences.


        The remainder of the report was upon two topics of such importance that we append it also:

PUNCTUAL ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS.

        Resolved, That the elders and ministers of our Connection do see that the rules of our Discipline be duly observed in regard to the prompt and punctual attendance at the times and places appointed for worship; because a habit of loitering on the way to meeting, coming in after the regular hours, or after the exercises have begun, is extremely hurtful and injurious.

DRESS AND CLEANLINESS.

        Resolved, That the elders and ministers of our Church warn the people, not only in regard to extravagance and useless ornaments and dress, as our Discipline enjoins, but against a slovenly and ragged appearance, which some unhappily, and we believe unconsciously, are not careful to avoid, than which nothing perhaps does more to perpetuate the prevailing aversion and prejudice against color. The malignity of prejudice, we believe, would be much abated if our people were more careful, in their persons and dress, to appear neat and cleanly.


        This report was followed up by another resolution, which said:

        That the members of this Conference, from a sense of duty to ourselves, our people, and our friends, would express feelings of affection and gratitude for those noble men who have extended their privileges of education in their institutions of learning to all alike, without distinction of color, and trust the time will soon come when over the doorway to every school of science and literature in the country will be inscribed the Gospel principle, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come."


        It is to be noted for the sake of those who see only the broader privileges extended throughout the Northern institutions over fifty years later, that at that early period there were but three institutions for higher education to which young men and young women of color then had access. These were Oberlin College, in Ohio; Gettysburg Seminary, in Pennsylvania; and Oneida Institute, in Central New York.

        We also find a record of a more general interest in outside matters pertaining to the race. Two delegates, Rev. David Ware and Richard Robertson, were sent to the "Mental and Moral Reform Society," and Rev. Shadrack Bassett and Noah C. Cannon were delegated to the "Philadelphia Association," while there is noted the invitation to the members of Conference to visit the "Orphan Asylum for Colored Children."

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        That the Church was becoming aroused to its necessities is evident; that it had awakened to a full sense of these necessities is not so apparent. There were opponents to education, and especially the education of the ministry, within its own ranks, though there were exceptions to the attitude these took. Bishop Morris Brown was always in favor of education in the pulpit as well as out of it.

        The 10th of June brought together the ministry of the New York churches, and found Bishops Brown and Waters presiding over their deliberations, the most important of which had reference to church extension; for a petition was received from St. Catherine's, Canada West, and from Buffalo, asking pastoral care. As a result, resolutions were passed to send missionaries thither, and that they be "appointed to go into Canada and the western part of the state of New York, to explore, and, as far as possible, organize and regulate what Societies they can in these regions," with the added provision "that they shall be subject to the order of the Bishops, and amenable to the Annual Conference of the New York District, and, as far as possible, under the advice and patronage of any charitable institutions established for missionary purposes." But no provisions were made for their support for the work other than spiritual, in setting apart a day "for public prayer and supplication to Almighty God for the spread of the Gospel and the success of the missionaries."

        Willis Jones and Cæsar Springfield were admitted on trial as local preachers, and Joshua Jenkins was received into full connection. Samuel Peters and Samuel Edwards were ordained, the former an elder, the latter a deacon.

        The book concern was looked after by the election of Benjamin Croger, Samuel Edwards, H. C. Thompson and Eli N. Hall as a book committee to aid the general book steward in its management. The Conference decreed the publication of a quarterly magazine for the use and benefit of the Connection as another step toward the exercise of what literary talent might be found among the members.*

        * In conversation with Rev. Richard Robinson many years ago, he informed the writer that he was the author of the motion to publish a magazine. During its publication no preacher in the Connection was more active in selling the magazine or the minutes of the Annual Conference. He was in the habit of taking bundles of them when on his pastoral visits, and selling them among his flock. There was, too, an association of Anti-Slavery Christians organized about that time in the state of New York, for the purpose of supporting teachers and a missionary to take charge of the social, intellectual and religious condition of the fugitives from American slavery who had taken refuge in Canada. Rev. Hiram Wilson was the first sent over from the state of New York for that purpose. His wife was Miss Harriett Hubbard, who married him in East Troy, New York, for the special purpose of aiding him in his truly benevolent task. The writer knew her as teacher of the colored school which was held in the basement of the church of which he then was pastor. She was a woman of uncommon faith and powerful in prayer, well suited to be the wife of a missionary.


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        The New York Conference for 1837 reported 810 members within its bounds, and but one was reported among the dead of the year: James Thompson, 70 years of age.

        As to the Ohio churches, the representatives assembled in the city of Columbus, Ohio, on the 26th of August, 1837. They were thirteen in number, and consisted of nine elders, one deacon and two licensed preachers, with Bishop Brown at their head, and Owen T. Burton Nickens, secretary.

        Several resolutions commendatory of temperance and education were introduced, considered and adopted. In the report of the churches, that at Pittsburgh showed a membership of 225, and that at Cincinnati, 146. The churches of Uniontown Circuit reported 187, Zanesville and Columbus had respectively 203 and 212. Richmond Circuit gave in 160; Chillicothe, 204, and Hillsborough, 170. The total membership thus shown in 1837 for the Ohio Conference was 1,507.

        John Caves, Claiborne Yancy and Turner Roberts were admitted on trial; Fayette Davis and Samuel G. Clingham into full connection. Job Dundy withdrew from the church, while Elijah Brown had finished his ministerial career gloriously and gone to his reward in heaven.

        The work of the year 1838 was opened by the meeting of the ministers who watched over the interests of the Baltimore churches, in the city of Washington, D. C., April 22d. They were but ten in number, over whose deliberations Bishop Brown presided, assisted by Bishop Waters. John F. Cook was secretary. Bishop Brown did not forget to impress upon the minds of the preachers the importance of encouraging education among themselves, and especially among the rising generation. This was followed by a resolution making it the duty of the preachers to deliver an address on education in each of their congregations once a quarter. The different points of moral reform were also touched upon.

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        One peculiar phase of our early work is laid bare to the gaze of the Christian world to-day in a portion of the closing resolutions where thanks were tendered for the mercies of the session. It is exhibited in all its simple pathos in the closing words: "Also to the mayor and city authorities and citizens of Washington generally, for their kindness and hospitality, and for our safe and peaceful sessions."

        Samuel Todd and Joshua Gilbert were reported among the dead, and we find a time set for the commemoration of their deaths, "as a mark of our regard and affection." Rev. Stephen Smith was ordained a local elder, and Brother John Jordan a deacon. A change was made in adding to the Columbia Circuit Lewistown, in Mifflin County, and the entire number of members in Society within the Conference bounds was set at two thousand six hundred and ninety-nine.

        At the meeting of the Philadelphia churches eleven ministers were present, and Bishop Brown was alone in the presidency of this body. There was a vigorous and kindly spirit animating the whole body, as seen in the journal for the session, yet there was nothing of moment done, and, with the exception of learning that the churches embraced in this district numbered no less than four thousand two hundred and forty-four souls, there is nothing deserving especial note.

        In the New York Conference for this year, which met in New York City on the 9th of June, 1838, we find both Bishops again present, with fourteen other ministers, traveling and local. Among its first acts was one tending to correct habits of slovenliness in attire by attaching a penalty to any preacher who might appear in other than proper and becoming apparel while attending Conference. It was by no means a trivial matter, whether viewed as a habit to be corrected or an erroneous opinion to be rectified--thinking it a mark of Christian humility to be clad meanly as a beggar, or of worldly pride to appear in the costume of a gentleman.

        Rev. Richard Williams, who was the missionary sent out by the previous Conference to explore the regions of western New York and Canada, for the purpose of planting churches wherever the head of the Church should open an effectual door, made his report. It appeared that he had established a Society at Rochester, consisting of twenty-six persons, and also licensed a local preacher to watch over their spiritual interests. He had also

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planted one at Buffalo, with thirty-one members, and licensed two local preachers. From thence he proceeded to Canada West, where he had an interview with the civil authorities, and, obtaining their sanction, then established one Society at Niagara of twenty-two members, one at St. David's of twenty-nine members, and one at St. Catherine of forty, at which place he also licensed two local preachers.

        To this Conference there was a delegate by the name of Daniel Laing, sent from Boston with a petition that a preacher should be sent to found our Connection in that place; but Conference refused to comply with their request unless they would give assurances of their ability and willingness to support the preacher who might be sent. Before adjournment Conference received a reply from the brethren at Boston, declaring that they were prepared to sustain a preacher, or at least to give him the sum of seventy-five dollars.

        Rev. Edmund Crosby was received into the itinerancy with a view to go as missionary to the West, and was afterwards ordained an elder for the same object. Eli N. Hall, by petition of the trustees and people of New Haven, was ordained a deacon, to serve the interests of that church, at the same time that Brother George Weir was ordained a deacon to serve the Buffalo Society. Israel Scott, who had located in the interim of Conference, was again united to the itinerancy.

        It will be seen from the following sum that not much was done by the three Conferences through their auxiliaries for the "general fund," as the entire amount raised was just three dollars and seventy-nine cents.

        Excepting the passage of two resolutions affecting the cause of education and temperance, nothing of importance was done by the ministry of the Ohio Societies in the year 1838 beyond the answers due disciplinary questions. We find that Rev. Wiley Reynolds withdrew from the Connection, and Rev. David Smith returned to it. Two deaths had occurred--Brothers Job Case and 'Squire Ford. Of the latter we find it said that "he was born in the state of Virginia, where he labored extensively in the vineyard of the Lord, with the most abundant success. In 1834 he moved to Cincinnati, where he again commenced his labors with renewed energy, until it pleased the Lord to transplant him from the Church militant to the Church triumphant."

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CHAPTER XIV.
GROWTH WESTWARD AND IN CANADA.

        Measures for the Improvement of the Ministry--Plan to support the Book Concern--Plan for Replenishing the General Fund Approved--General Recapitulation--Philadelphia Statistics--Admission of Willis Nazrey into the Itinerancy--Increase of Numbers--Birth of the Canada and Indiana Conferences--Canadian Work--Slim Support for Preachers--The Year 1840 was a Remarkable One--A Golden Opportunity to secure Fruits of our Missionary Labors.

        IN the year 1839 the Baltimore Annual Conference proceeded to take some measures for the improvement of the ministry, when it met April 27th, in Baltimore, to report and regulate the affairs of the respective charges. A record of this attempt is found in the following form: "That any person applying for license to exhort or preach shall be examined before the Quarterly Meeting Conference touching his acquaintance of the Articles of Faith and Doctrines of the Christian Religion taught in our Discipline, and if he gives satisfaction thereon, he may have a trial. And the preacher in charge shall appoint a committee of three or five preachers to hear him and judge his abilities, and report to the ensuing Quarterly Meeting Conference." In this the Annual Conference placed the exhorter and the preacher on the same footing, not noting that as the exhorter is never allowed to take a text, he therefore does not need the literary furniture which is required in the preacher. If, however, the Quarterly Conference had rigidly obeyed this rule given them by the Annual Conference, the result would have been an advance of many degrees in intelligence.

        Rev. Jeffry Goulden and Rev. Thomas Henry were ordained elders, and John Vozart deacon. It was decided that the "elders in charge nominate the delegates who shall attend the General Conference," and this was followed by the motion which made N. Peck a delegate from Baltimore city, Levin Lee and John Butler for Washington City, Stephen Smith for Columbia, Pa., and John Jordan for Easton, Md. The number of members in the Baltimore District this year was two thousand one hundred and thirty.

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        But it was left for the Philadelphia Conference of this year to make most marked advance in its spirit of liberality and freedom as is evinced by its deeds. Fourteen elders, four deacons, and fifteen preachers composed the number which so showed its zeal and wisdom. From the first it opened its doors to the free ingress of the people. It expressed its sympathy with their enslaved brethren and its thanks to those who were laboring for their emancipation. It set to work and formed plans to raise funds for the support of the book concern. These plans made it the duty of all traveling preachers to collect from every member, through their leaders, two cents per month, or six cents a quarter, the amount thus collected to be reported to every Quarterly Meeting Conference, and transmitted to the general book steward, requiring his receipt for the same, to be entered upon the minutes of the next ensuing Quarterly Conference. And lastly, it provided that the minutes of each Quarterly Meeting Conference touching the subject of the first duty of all traveling preachers mentioned in the plan, should be sent to the next Annual Conference, the delinquent preacher to forfeit and pay to the Annual Conference, for the benefit of said fund, the sum of five dollars, this amount to be taken from the amount of his salary returned at the General Conference. The men who drew up this report embracing this plan were Rev. George Hogarth, general book steward, of Brooklyn, N. Y., Rev. John Vogart and Rev. John Cornish. The only objectionable feature in this plan was that relating to the last provision. It was impracticable because of the indisposition of those authorized to inflict the penalty upon the delinquents.

        For several reasons, which may be apparent upon perusal, the following address at this time is worthy of a place in our history without abridgment. It was undoubtedly the composition of the then general book steward, Rev. George Hogarth:

Beloved in the Lord:

        The undersigned take this opportunity to lay before you the claims of our aged, sick and worn-out traveling preachers, many of whom have spent the prime of their life in your service, counting their time, their talents, and even life itself not dear to them, but have rather sacrificed all earthly comfort and family in obedience to the heavenly mandate requiring them to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and to compel poor sinners to come to the bounteous table of the Lord. You have heard them. Your souls have been made to rejoice within you while sitting under the pleasing strains and arguments that dropped from their

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lips from time to time in calling sinners to repentance, and in pointing the mourner to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. But recollect that they are in the flesh; age, infirmity, and all these debilities incident to mortality have crept upon them, and they are now thrown upon the charities of the general Church for support the few remaining days they have to linger in this evanescent state. To you, therefore, dear brothers, the Church, in behalf of these ancient worthies and veterans of the Cross, speaks in loud and urgent tones for a little pittance to sustain them the few remaining days of their probation. And shall this appeal to you, dear brethren, be in vain? We trust not, but feel encouraged with the pleasing thought that you will not suffer the righteous to be forsaken, nor see his seed begging bread. The profits arising from the sale of all books published by the general book steward are applied to the above purpose; and all donations of money, etc., directed to him at Brooklyn, New York, for that purpose, will be thankfully received and carefully applied.

        The claims of our young men, too, for aid to sustain them while they are preparing themselves for the ministry (that they may become approved workmen in the Lord's vineyard) are urged upon you, as the future prosperity of the Church and of generations to come is dependent upon the care we now take in raising up suitable teachers for our people well qualified in every respect. We, therefore, sincerely trust that you will unhesitatingly lend us your aid, dear brethren, in this laudable cause, as it is no other than the cause of God.

        To our white friends, upon whom Providence has smiled with all that nature's bounty can afford--to you, poor Ethiopia's sons and daughters look with long desires for the day when you will take her cause at heart, and aid her young men on in the ministry that she may in due time be able to stretch forth her hands to God. You will observe, by carefully perusing these minutes, that the wants of our Church are many and urgent upon us at present, and call loudly for aid from the charitable part of the community, many of whom stand ready, we believe, to assist in raising the character and standing of the ministry of our Church. All aid for the above purpose will be gratefully received and duly applied if directed to our general book steward, Brooklyn, New York.

        We would remind our brethren throughout the Connection, as Methodists, to bear in mind the 22d day of October next as the Hundredth Anniversary of Methodism, and as it is a special day set apart by all the Methodist churches in Europe and America as one of gratitude and praise to God, we, therefore, trust that all of our brethren, in all of our churches, will be careful strictly to observe it in worshipping and praising God for his bounteous goodness.

MORRIS BROWN, Bishops.
EDWARD WATERS,Bishops.
GEORGE HOGARTH,
General Book Steward.

Brooklyn, New York, August 1st, 1839.

        The foregoing is the first document of the kind which has been chronicled by our secretaries, and, like the pastoral letters of 1826,

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which were undoubtedly the composition of Rev. Joseph M. Corr, was an evidence of what incalculable use and benefit are cultivated minds to act as guides in our ecclesiastical movements. It is, too, the first appeal in behalf of ministerial support at a time when they were most in need of it. It is also the first official effort in favor of ministerial education.

        The recommendation to observe the centenary of Methodism is also an evidence of enlarged views of ecclesiastical relations and obligations. It also shows the strength of our attachment to our noble Mother Church in England; for it was not a centenary of American Methodism, but of Methodism, that is, English Methodism expanded over the four quarters of the globe.

        Notice was taken for future consideration of another point bearing upon broad interests--that of free labor produce. Next followed the election of delegates to the General Conference of 1840. They were seven in number, and embraced the following named brethren: William Henry, of West Chester, for West Chester; Thomas Banks, of Snow Hill, N. J., for Burlington; Benjamin Wilkens, of Philadelphia, for Salem; Jeremiah Durham, of Philadelphia, for Trenton; David Ware, of Philadelphia, for Bucks County; Walter Proctor and Shadrack Bassett, of Philadelphia, for Philadelphia.

        The Hurst Street Church, with its pastor and membership, was received into the Connection. Alexander Davis, Robert Collins, Berry W. Wilkens and Henry Brightman were received on trial as local preachers, and Isaac Parker as an itinerant. Thomas Bowser, "a local preacher and an exemplary Christian," was numbered with the dead. The round numbers in this district were 4,304.

        The 15th of June, 1839, beheld the pastors of the New York churches convened in the city of Brooklyn to examine their affairs and to adjust certain difficulties. Bishop Brown was assisted by Bishop Waters. The former's recommendation urging the members "to live in unanimity, peace, and brotherly love," was much needed, for charges of "riot and schism" and other troubles threatened to disturb the desired harmony. The field of labor in this district was enlarged by the planting of a church in Lockport, Western New York; one in Toronto, one in Malden, one in Hamilton and Brandford, Upper Canada; also one in Boston, Mass., and one in Providence, R. I. So that, while Satan was inciting evil in the churches in one direction,

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Christ Jesus, the Redeemer, was carrying on the victories of his cross in another. Asa Jeffry was ordained a deacon.

        Brother Abram Marks, for many years an ordained deacon, was cut down by the scythe of death in 1838. He is spoken of as a "staunch supporter of the doctrines of Christ," and as going about "for many years doing good." The delegates elected to the General Conference were five in number: Rev. Eli N. Hall, Rev. Benjamin Croger, Rev. George Hogarth, Rev. Samuel Edwards and N. C. W. Cannon.

        There was some trouble at Rahway, N. J., factions having arisen, and the church there had been taken possession of by one body under the name and title of African Methodist Episcopal Church. This called forth a resolution "to assist our brethren at Rahway with all the means in our power to bring those intruders to justice."

        The plan for replenishing the General Fund, which was adopted by the Philadelphians, was approved by this Conference, and the usual resolutions recommending education, temperance and fasting, and denouncing lottery dealers, were discussed and adopted. This body also reviewed and put into a more practical form some resolutions passed by the Philadelphia Conference in relation to dispensing of books, pamphlets, etc., which produced "no interest to the Connection," and such sales in our churches and at our altars were forbidden "without permission from the elder in charge, with the concurrence of a committee whom he shall choose to examine them."

        The New York Conference of 1839 reported the total number of members in these churches to be 1,222.

        The minutes of the Ohio or Western Conference for this year cannot be found, but a general recapitulation of members for the four districts for the last four years gives the following:

        
Ohio. Philadelphia. Baltimore. New York. Total.
1836 1,131 3,344 2,052 743 7,270
1837 1,507 3,443 2,345 810 8,105
1838 1,817 4,044 2,794 1,053 9,708
1839 4,479 2,300 1,222 8,001

        The annual transactions of the ministry of the Baltimore churches for the next year (1840) were of very little interest, as may be seen by the following synopsis of its proceedings in session, beginning April 16th:

        Henry Brightman was received on trial, and Isaac Parker was

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referred to the Philadelphia Conference. Rev. William A. Nichols was elected instead of Brother John Butler as delegate to the approaching General Conference. The preachers were requested to solicit one cent per month from each member in their respective charges to aid the General Fund. They were also "enjoined to encourage the principles of education and temperance."

        The year 1840 was the year of General Conference, and as exact an account as possible of the churches should be furnished. The Baltimore churches showed an increase in membership in some way over the preceding year, as we find a total of 2,636 members. The amount of salaries paid for the year was $437.87; the moneys collected for contingent expenses reached $152.33, and a total of twenty-eight itinerant preachers was reported. There was also a slight increase in the Philadelphia District membership, as it reached 4,659, with a total of salaries amounting to $665.21½. The contingent moneys summed up $201.45, including $60.50 from the Daughters of Conference. The number of preachers was not reported.

        The Philadelphia Conference was opened May 23d. Its transactions were characterized by lack of vigor, though from what cause we are unable to say. Education and temperance received the usual attention, while lotteries were condemned, and resolutions passed dealing severely with those preachers who had anything to do with them, even to expulsion from the Connection as a final sentence. Some property transactions were authorized, and the trustees of Lewiston, Delaware, were to part with such a portion of the ground belonging to that church as they might think proper for the benefit of the church. The trustees of Indian River Church, in the same state, were "to grant a deed of exchange for a piece of ground better situated for the church in that place.["] Brother David Ware was offered for the office of deacon, and was ordained. Two ministers had died; one, Brother Simon Murray, died at the advanced age of eighty-six. He was a "faithful minister," and the same who was pastor of the Hurst Street Church at the time of its annexation to our Connection; the other, Rev. Jeremiah Miller, died in his seventy-third year. He was one of the brave and hardy pioneers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a "faithful itinerant."

        In the year 1840 a new agent of power was introduced into the

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body of the New York Conference; yea, more, into the very vitals of the Connection. The brethren of this district convened this year on the 13th of June, in the city of New York. Bishop Morris Brown presided, and the person who was to constitute this agent of power was no other than that remarkable man, Willis Nazery, who applied for admission into the itinerant ranks, and having passed a fair examination was put on his probation. Probably no one thought that in twelve years from that day, and in that very house, he would be elected and ordained one of the Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and one of its most efficient.*

        * He was elected and ordained at the same time with the writer. Subsequently, in 1856, he emigrated to the British Province of Canada West, and became the first Bishop of the British Methodist Episcopal Church.


There was nothing striking in the physique of Brother Nazery but his height, which was about six feet and two inches; nor was there anything remarkable in his speech to arrest the attention of the beholder and cause one to predict his future elevation, for all his sermons and conversation were commonplace. It was his activity, his promptness and general force of character that made the place for him.

        A missionary for all the New England states was appointed in the person of Rev. N. C. W. Cannon--a very important and honorable commission. The preachers of this Conference were obligated by a resolution to preach four sermons during the year on the subject of education, and to take up collections for Sunday-schools.

        Brothers Shepherd Holcomb and E. N. Hall were admitted on trial, and Brother George Ware passed into full connection: Brothers Joshua Jenkins and Edward Thompson were ordained deacons in a local capacity, and Brother Eli N. Hall an elder.

        Again we find a slight increase in members, as reported from the New York churches for 1840. Including the work in Upper Canada and the missions in New England--Providence, R. I.; Boston, Mass.; and Springfield, Mass., we find the number to be 1,276, The salaries amounted to $593.34, while contingent collections, with donations from Daughters of Conference, amounted to $175.73; $29.22 were also sent in by the pastors of the missions, circuits and stations for the General Fund.

        Brother Asa Jeffrey, who was ordained a deacon at the last session of this Conference, had fallen this year. Like the two

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mentioned in the Philadelphia Conference as having departed, Brother Jeffrey was a man advanced in years, being in his seventieth year at his death. He had been admitted into this Annual Conference in 1837, and his ordination as deacon, as will be remembered, in the year 1839, was for the benefit of our people at Lockport. For many years he had been a member and preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is mentioned by Rev. George Hogarth as a "man of exemplary piety," and it was because of "his deep interest for the spiritual welfare of his own people" that he came to the conclusion, four years previous to his death, to become attached to our Church, and thereby become wholly identified with us, being satisfied that it afforded the best opportunity of doing the most spiritual good among us. Old and infirm as he was, "he was truly zealous for the promotion of His kingdom," as was evinced by his effort to serve the church at Lockport. Rev. Jeremiah Miller, one whom we noticed in the Philadelphia Conference, was a member of the New York Conference when he died, and this body gives excellent testimony concerning his life and character. For twenty-three years he had been a member of our Church, and the Lord had blessed him abundantly in his labors in the ministry. He was a "very peculiar man in his manners and deportment," we are told, yet it is added that "wherever he traveled, like the apostles of our Heavenly Master, the observer could identify in him the marks of the suffering and dying of his Lord and Master." Indeed, we find him, just before yielding up his life, a strong worker in his protracted meetings, and "adding about sixty-four souls to the Church as a seal to his ministry."

        By the order of the General Conference held this year two more Annual Conferences were brought into existence--the Upper Canada and the Indiana, and from this point we date the organization of our Canadian work. The Upper Canada Conference was organized by the Rt. Rev. Morris Brown, in the city of Toronto, July 21st, 1840. It was a fit place for such an important movement, first, because of the beauty of the place, whose location is on the western banks of Lake Ontario, whose waters seem to reflect the deep azure of that heaven in which the church triumphant is now rejoicing, and to which the church militant is now hastening; second, because the inhabitants of this city were possessed of such a magnanimous and generous spirit shown towards the down-trodden descendants of Africa when they sought

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an asylum from the cruelties of the "Fugitive Slave Law" of these United States; and third, because it has always been the great seat of learning and Christian benevolence for the western portion of British America.

        As to the particular manner in which this Conference was organized, nothing appears on the face of the minutes. There were twelve members of this first Conference. Elder Edmund Crosby, missionary to Canada West, and the assistant of the Bishop, Deacon George Weir, of Rochester, N. Y., with the following preachers, all of whom were residents of Canada West: William Edwards, Samuel Brown, James Harper, Alexander Hemsley, Jeremiah Taylor, Daniel D. Thompson, Peter O'Banyon, Jacob Dorsey and Henry Bullard. Brother Weir was chosen as its secretary, and was ordained an elder, also, at this Conference. Daniel D. Thompson and Peter O'Banyon were admitted on trial, and Samuel Brown into full connection, while he, with James Harper, William Edwards and Alexander Hemsley, was afterwards chosen and ordained deacon, after which Samuel Brown was ordained to the office of an elder. This suspension of the law of the church was manifestly to serve some useful end. The Conference embodied in the work of its first session resolutions against the use of ardent spirits and encouraging to the foundation of temperance societies. It also resolved that all its preachers should preach expressly in favor of education, and everywhere encourage it. Sabbath-schools were to be established wherever possible, and the first Friday of each year was to be set apart as a day of fasting, thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God for the general progress of the Gospel throughout the world, and for the prosperity of our Connection, the first failure to observe the same to cause the preacher offending to be amenable to the next Annual Conference.

        The circuits designated as St. Catharine's, Brantford, London Circuit and the West, together with Toronto Station, gave a total of two hundred and fifty-six members in Society, and they were manned by preachers stationed as follows: William Edwards was sent to Toronto Station, James Harper was sent to London Circuit and the West, Jeremiah Taylor was appointed to Brantford Circuit, and Alexander Hemsley was sent upon St. Catherine's Circuit.

        From this organized beginning in new territory we turn to the

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Western Conference--the Ohio, or Pittsburg, as it was sometimes called. It opened its deliberations in the city of Pittsburg on the fifth day of September (1840), with the Rt. Rev. Morris Brown presiding. There were seven elders, six deacons, and six preachers present. Mr. John B. Vashon, a layman, was chosen as its secretary, and the usual resolutions on temperance, education, Sunday-schools, the book concern and slavery were passed. That we may note the utterance of the Ohio ministry of that period upon this last-named question, we present the resolution:

        We, the members of this Conference, are fully satisfied that the principles of the Gospel are arrayed against all sin, and that it is the duty of all Christians to use their influence and energies against all systems that rudely trample under foot the claims of justice and the sacred principle of revelation. And whereas, slavery pollutes the character of the Church of God, and makes the bible a sealed book to thousands of immortal beings, therefore,

        Resolved, That we will aid by our prayers those pious persons whom God has raised up to plead the cause of the dumb until every fetter shall be broken, and all men enjoy the liberty which the Gospel proclaims.


        The Conference reported a total of two thousand four hundred and forty-eight members in Society, a considerable increase over the last report given in 1828, when the numbers reached one thousand eight hundred and seventeen. The appointments at this Conference were as follows: Thomas Lawrence to Pittsburg Station, Henry Addenson to Cincinnati Station, Fayette Davis to Chillicothe Circuit, Simon Ratcliffe and M. M. Clark to Hillsboro Circuit, George Coleman to Zanesville Circuit, George Johnson to Richmond Circuit, Samuel G. Clinghman to Uniontown Circuit, Charles H. Peters to Columbus Circuit, Major T. Wilkerson to Urbana Circuit, Austin Jones to Massilon Circuit. Robert Johnson was transferred to the second new Conference formed this year--the Indiana Conference.

        This Conference was organized at a place called Blue River, in Indiana, October 2d, 1840, when twenty-one ministers assembled for that purpose, and conducted its deliberations. The elders were Rev. William P. Quinn, Henry Addenson, Thomas Lawrence, Fayette Davis, Jeremiah Thomas; the deacons, Rev. George W. Johnson, Claiborne Yancy, Robert Johnson and M. J. Wilkerson; the preachers, Robert Jones, Nathan Ward, Daniel Winslow, Shadrack Stewart, Henry Tryon, Matthew T. Newsom, Benjamin Hill, Willis R. Revels, Matthew Sawyers, Thomas

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Winmon, Benjamin Scipworth. Henry Addenson was made Bishop Brown's assistant in the absence of Bishop Waters, and Major J. Wilkerson was chosen secretary.

        All the preachers mentioned above, excepting the first three, were received on trial, together with M. M. Clark, and out of the whole list only Robert Jones, Shadrack Stewart and Benjamin Hill were itinerants.

        M. T. Newsom was transferred to the Ohio Conference this year under Major J. Wilkerson. A total of one thousand one hundred and sixty-eight in Society was reported from the different circuits, which included Brooklyn Circuit in Illinois. It was a meager support which the preachers and elders obtained that year, as the entire sum only reached $234.88, to be divided into six portions, in sums ranging from thirty dollars to fifty, but it did better than the Canada Conference in its contingent money, collecting $45.50, while the former collected $9.25; yet the Indiana Conference, upon its organization, had twenty-one members representing one thousand one hundred and sixty-eight in Society, while the Canada Conference had twelve members representing two hundred and fifty-six in Society. With nearly five times the number in Society, and nearly double the number of members, it raised nearly five times the amount--small though the larger sum was. Claiborne Yancy was ordained an elder at this Conference, and the preachers were appointed as follows: George W. Johnson to Richmond Circuit, Robert Jones to Indianapolis Circuit, Shadrack Stewart to Terre Haute Circuit, and William P. Quinn and Benjamin Hill were sent to Brooklyn Circuit, Illinois, and at the same time all these circuits were placed under the oversight of Elder Quinn.

        The year 1840 was not only remarkable for the organization of new Conferences, but also for its literary movement; for, by the statement of Rev. George Hogarth, who, at this time, was the general book steward, the idea of publishing a magazine for the benefit of the Connection was considered and discussed at the Annual Conferences of this year. The General Conference, too, was held this year in the city of Baltimore, but not a vestige of the proceedings is handed down to us. It is certain that the minutes were never published, and we are led to infer that the terror of slaveholders led to this death-like silence.

        Another circumstance which renders this a notable year was the fact that the last opportunity for securing the fruits of the

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labors of our three missionaries*

        * Brothers Scipio Beanes, Richard Robinson and Isaac Miller.


to Hayti was lost through want of zeal, tact, and missionary enterprise, as will be evident from the following occurrence in the New York Annual Conference the following year (1841). It seems that while the Conference was progressing in the examination of characters, Rev. George Hogarth, the secretary, impeached Rev. Charles A. Spicer "for having accepted an invitation," at the Annual Conference of 1839, to become part of a delegation from this Connection to a Convention of Methodists which was to meet in the month of December last, in the city of Port-au-Prince, capital of the Republic of Hayti, for the purpose of organizing themselves into a religious body of that denomination in that republic; and our, Bishop, as he understood, had received an invitation from that country to send such a delegation to that convention, that our Connection might be represented in the formation of that body of Christians in that country. But Brother Spicer, instead of going to Port-au-Prince, as he offered himself, went to Europe, contrary to the expectation of the Bishop and the Conference, and deprived this Connection of being represented in that convention, which has given another denomination of Methodists in this country, in opposition to ours, the ascendency in the hearts and feelings of that body of Christians, they having been well represented there.*

        * While this is true, it was so at that time. Fifty years later our Church is found to have a new hold upon that island, and bids fair to wield immense power in future.


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CHAPTER XV.
CLOSING YEARS OF THE FIRST PERIOD.

        Proper Observance of the Sabbath--Ordination of Willis Nazrey and Others--Canada Conference--Promising Growth--Baltimore Conference of 1842--Willis Nazrey Admitted into Full Connection--Action in Favor of Missions--News from the Haytian Methodist Church--Action of Conference--Educational Interests Looked After--D. A. Payne's Preamble and Resolution in Behalf of Ministerial Education--Financial Embarrassment of the Boston Church--Providence Prays for Independent Existence as a Station.

        FOR the first time the ministers of the Philadelphia District held their annual meeting before that of Baltimore was convened, and, as we enter the year 1841, we find its proceedings the first to note.

        They assembled in the City of Brotherly Love April 10th, as usual, with Rt. Rev. Morris Brown presiding, and Rev. John Boggs his assistant in Bishop Water's absence. Sixty members made up the body--fifteen elders, twenty deacons and twenty-four preachers. Six men were admitted on trial--Thomas W. Jackson, Samuel Murray, George Greenly, Lewis J. Conover, John Butler and Wardle W. Parker. Seven were received into full connection--James Burton, Benjamin Wilkins, Robert Collins, John Anderson, Nathaniel Murray, Ishmael Berry and Isaac Parker. The last named and Samuel Murray were ordained deacons. Rev. Adam Clincher had died in the seventieth year of his age. He is spoken of as a "man of exemplary piety and zealous in his Master's cause."

        The proper observation of the Sabbath Day was touched upon in a resolution instructing elders and preachers having charge of circuits or stations to see that no preacher or minister keeps open shop, oyster or eating-house, or shaving-shop on that day. Another resolution was to the effect that any member of this Conference failing to discharge the duties incumbent upon him relative to the instruction of children should be amenable to the Annual Conference for his dereliction of duty.

        The trouble in carrying out this resolution lay in the fact that they would admit men into the itinerancy who had neither talents,

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nor culture, nor taste, which could get them to become sufficiently interested in the Sabbath-school to become themselves instructors of the children and youths who were growing up daily under their eyes. For lack of pastors qualified to oversee and cherish Sunday-schools, hundreds of the most talented and intelligent children of Methodist parents have forsaken us and united themselves with the Presbyterians and Episcopalians, whose ministers have been sufficiently educated to be earnest workers in the Sabbath-schools of all the cities on the Atlantic coast, from New Haven down to Washington, D. C.

        It is to be observed that, as the statistics are compared with the annual returns for the preceding year (1840), there is a decrease in members in Society amounting to four hundred and seven, as the report returns but 4,252 against 4,659 in 1840. Up to this time the increase for the five years previous had been slight, still it was an increase; but there is no reason assigned for such a decrease as occurs this year.

        Both Bishops were present at the Conference of the Baltimore District, which assembled May 8th, 1841. There were in addition nine elders, seven deacons and ten preachers. Five preachers were admitted on probation. These were Benjamin Boyes, John L. Armstrong, Thomas Hall, Darius Stokes and Wm. G. Brown. Willis Nazery and John L. Armstrong were ordained deacons, and Levin Lee was ordained an elder.

        Numbered among the dead were Brothers Phæton Blake, Jacob Howard and Southey Hammond, concerning whom we learn nothing more than that they "died in the triumphs of faith." It is a pity that the early Annual Conferences did not, through intelligent committees, inquire into the life and characters of their preachers who died, and report such a sketch of their lives as would give them the credit due, and at the same time render their biographies varied and interesting as they should be truthful.

        The churches on the Columbia Circuit petitioned the Conference to detach them from the Baltimore and attach them to the Philadelphia District, but this was refused. All the laymen of the churches who were office-bearers were hereafter to be admitted to seats in Conference, but to have no voice. The office of district book steward for the ensuing year was filled by the selection of Brother William G. Brown.

        The statistics show a decrease of membership also in this district, in reporting 2,514 against 2,636 in 1840, a decrease of 122.

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        At this time there were in the Baltimore Station two Sunday-schools, embracing two hundred and eight scholars and nineteen teachers. The sum of $31.99 was raised to sustain them. Washington City Station also reported two schools, in which were two hundred and four children, with twelve teachers, and $17 raised for their support. Fell's Point had no school. Columbia Circuit reported one school, three teachers and thirty scholars; Lancaster, one school, three teachers and twenty scholars; Carlisle, one large school in a prosperous condition; Gettysburg, and Lewiston, each, the same, and Baltimore Station reported one day or common school, one teacher and fifty scholars. This is the first report of Sunday and common schools on the records of our Connection, and the Conference closed its deliberations by pledging themselves to sustain common and Sunday-schools.

        The business growing out of the pastoral relations of the ministers of the New York District was transacted this year in Brooklyn, where they convened the 29th of May, 1841. Neither one of the Bishops were present at the opening, and we learn, incidentally, that at least the absence of one (Bishop Brown) was due largely to the fact that he must attend the laying of the corner-stone of Bethel Church, in Philadelphia, which ceremony was to take place June 2d.

        By his recommendation, Brother John Boggs, of the city of New York, was selected as chairman, to officiate during his absence, organize the Conference, and proceed to the business of examination of members. Brother Richard Robertson was chosen his assistant and Brother Hogarth was made secretary.

        Jabez P. Campbell appears here for admission, with Charles Burch, on trial as local preachers. The former also applied for itinerant work, but, on the ground of his feeble health, Conference refused the application. It saw fit, however, to recommend him as one, among others, who might be ordained a local deacon, at the discretion of Bishop Brown, and that he or another might be placed at Providence, R. I., provided the Bishop found no preacher there already ordained when he should visit that place in the interval of the Conference. An irregular petition from "the brethren" at New Haven for the ordination of Brother Burch as a local deacon was the means of a refusal, as it proceeded from a public meeting and not from a Quarterly Conference. John C. Spence was also located.

        Rev. George Weir, laboring in the Canadian regions, sent information

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to the Conference of the prosperity of the churches under his pastoral care, and expressions of the good feelings of the brethren in those regions. It seems that the Rahway Church was still in pecuniary embarrassment, and in order that it might be extricated, a committee was appointed for the purpose, which was to act in conjunction with a Philadelphia committee.

        This Conference detached the Binghampton Circuit from the Philadelphia District and put it under the jurisdiction of the New York District. We find, also, that aside from this enlargement it made an appointment for the Baltimore District by sending Sampson Peters and L. Conover upon the Columbia Circuit, and one for the Philadelphia District also, while its other appointments, eight in number, including Binghampton Circuit, were filled by stationing Clayton Durham on Long Island Circuit, John Boggs at New York, Eli N. Hall at Albany, Jeffry Goulden at Rochester, George Weir at Buffalo, Charles A. Spicer on the Binghampton Circuit, and N. C. W. Cannon on to New England Mission. The Burlington Circuit of the Philadelphia District was supplied by Israel Scott.

        In a financial way, we find a decrease in the amount paid for salaries, as compared with the previous year. There was raised in 1841, $531.78, while the sum reached in 1840 was $593.34. Contingent collections amounted to a smaller sum as well. There was an effort to improve the finances by decreeing that "two cents a month shall be collected from each member." We find that even those helpful orders, the Benevolent Daughters of Conference and the United Daughters of Conference, were not able to reach the figures of the previous year in their offerings, which, united, amounted to $72.47 this year, while they had presented, in 1840, $92.50. But if the financial part of the work was weaker in one direction, there was evidence that money could be raised in the pledges of a total of $56.50 from N. C. W. Cannon, Richard Robinson, Eli N. Hall, John Boggs, Charles A. Spicer, Isaac Parker and the Philadelphia Church, in support of the new enterprise, which was to make this Conference noted as giving birth to the first literary measure known in the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It did this, as has been already intimated, in the following resolution:

        Resolved, That there shall in future be a magazine published, either quarterly or monthly, for the benefit of the Connection, instead of the minutes.


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        So we see, even though we find a decrease in the membership in the churches of fifty-one, that there was an increase in the growing intelligence, which would push forward and strive to uphold such a measure in the face of objections based upon the financial disability of the Connection.

        This Conference, too, presents the first instance in which the report of the general book steward assumes a business-like form, by which a clear view of the whole work of the Conference year is given. By it we find a balance in favor of the book concern amounting to $1,318.54.

        The Indiana churches held their Annual Conference in Rush County, on Blue River, assembling on the 27th of August. Rt. Rev. Morris Brown presided, and Turner Roberts was made secretary. Only two elders were present, William P. Quinn and Thomas Lawrence. Elder Quinn was, by motion, made an assistant to Bishop Brown, as Bishop Waters was again absent. Thomas Elsworth, Allen Graham, Benjamin Coals and William Douglas were admitted on trial, and the first named and the last were also ordained deacons. Robert Jones was elected to the office of an elder and Benjamin Hill was located. Elder Quinn was appointed by Bishop Brown as presiding elder over the states of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, until the meeting of the next General Conference. It closed its deliberations by electing William Davidson as district book steward, and passing resolutions in favor of temperance and Sunday-schools.

        The Indiana Conference showed vigor and growth in its reported increase of two hundred and sixty-two members in Society for the Conference year.

        The representatives of the Ohio churches assembled in Cincinnati on the 11th of September, 1841. Three preachers were admitted on trial: W. T. Newsum, W. C. Yancy and John Gibbons. George Coleman was elected and ordained an elder. Daniel Winslow, M. M. Clark and J. Gibbons were ordained deacons, and Jeremiah Thomas, Claiborne Yancy and J. Gibbons were put upon their probation as traveling preachers. Austin Jones and Isaac Delaney were numbered with the dead, but no obituary is given of these men to indicate their piety, their talents, nor their usefulness.

        Up to this date, and at the Indiana Conference of 1841, there have been found no instances of transfers by motion in an Annual Conference, which was evidently a departure from Methodistic

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usage. Here we have the first record of the kind when Turner Roberts was by motion transferred to the Indiana Conference.

        Among the resolutions passed was one creating a committee of three to draft an address upon the condition of our people, and also, to construct a constitution to govern the Societies of the Western Conferences. It appears that the preachers had complied with the resolutions passed by the last Conference relative to the causes of temperance and education, and that these important causes espoused by the Church were progressing among the members of the Church, particularly in the large towns and cities. The preachers were instructed to preach upon these subjects at least twice a quarter, and by every means in their power to do what was possible towards furthering the objects in view by increasing the educational interests, and suppressing, as far as they could, intemperance, and especially the use of intoxicating drinks. In this connection the Conference resolved that all candidates for the itinerancy should be examined, and be required to give satisfactory evidence as to their temperance principles before being admitted into the traveling connection. The other abuses--that of prolonging the hours of night service, and the singing of fugue tunes and hymns, were corrected.

        The second annual meeting of the pastors of the Canadian churches was held in St. Catherine, Upper Canada, October 2d, 1841. As neither Bishop Brown or Bishop Waters were present, Rev. Edmund Crosby was chosen the president, with S. Brown as his assistant, and George Weir as secretary. This year George Wilkerson was admitted on trial, and Jacob Dorsey, Edward Gant, Jeremiah Taylor and Josiah Henderson were received into full connection. The growth of this Conference was also promising, as there was an increase of one hundred and eighty-three.

        When the Conference year of 1842 opened, the Baltimore District met on the 23d of April to make their parochial reports. Both Bishops were present, and also nine elders, nine deacons, and four preachers. We find Willis Nazery admitted into full connection, and Henry Waters and William Gaines into the itinerant service on probation, while Aaron Wilson was reported as dead.

        The church in Hagerstown was attached at this time to the Frenchtown Circuit. Among resolutions of minor importance the following helped to constitute the business of this Conference:

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        Resolved, That every traveling preacher who shall neglect for one year to take up the collections of two cents per month from each member for the support of the ministry shall be expelled from the Connection, unless he sends a letter or note to the steward of his circuit or station giving satisfactory reason for such neglect.

        Resolved, That the preacher from each circuit or station shall, in future, produce at the Annual Conference a certificate, properly authenticated, containing the number of Sabbath and day schools, scholars and teachers within his charge, and also the amount of collections made during the year for their support.


        Twelve Sabbath and two day schools were found to be in existence in the bounds of this Conference, while progress in good work was exhibited in the petition which came to the Conference, praying its influence and aid in establishing the African and Foreign Home Missionary Society. This was received, and Conference ordered that all our preachers on their circuits and stations shall render their aid in promoting such a laudable society.*

        * This society was the result of the Convention held in Hartford, Conn., the August previous.


        Nine hundred and eighty members were in Society at Baltimore City Station, four hundred and twenty-six on Fell's Point Circuit, four hundred and fifty on Columbia Circuit, two hundred and twenty-five on Chambersburgh Circuit, seventy-nine on Lewiston, sixty-six at Easton, sixty-seven at Frenchtown, and three hundred and ninety-two elsewhere. Their two-cent collections amounted to $60.31, while the collections for contingent expenses amounted to $117.63, of which Washington City raised $30.50.

        As we turn to the Philadelphia churches, the ministry of which commenced their deliberations in the city of Philadelphia on the 21st of May, this year (1842), we find both Bishops present, together with nineteen elders, thirteen deacons, and nineteen preachers, making fifty-three in all. Rev. David Ware was chosen secretary, and three preachers were admitted on trial--William Webb, C. P. Gibson and Daniel A. Payne. Three were admitted into full connection--Adam Driver, Abram Coursey and Stephen Holcomb. Isaac Parker requested to be located, and his prayer was granted.

        There were reported among the departed this year Robert Holcomb, John Hight and Henry Brown. The first named died at the ripe old age of ninety-seven years, and had been a member

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of the church for twenty-five years. He is spoken of as a "plain, simple-hearted Christian, a pointed and solid preacher, a good husband, and a firm friend. He commenced his public labors about 1822." John Hight and Henry Brown were both venerable preachers of the Gospel in our Connection and "wore themselves out in the service."

        The Trenton Circuit was divided into two divisions, the eastern portion bearing the name of Princeton, and the western that of the Trenton Circuit. Strong efforts were made to have the funds of the church properly looked after, and this Conference passed some very stringent resolutions on the subject. Among them, any itinerant preacher neglecting to take up collections in his charge for the purpose of defraying the expense of the Annual Conference, or neglecting to collect the two-cent money, would be liable to expulsion from the ministry. The necessity of these resolutions seems to indicate a lack of prudence in financial matters among the itinerant preachers of that time.

        Whether it had been customary for preachers, after making their returns to Conference, to return to their charges without being located, does not seem very clear, still, from this resolution, it would seem that such was the case, as it prohibited any one from returning and holding quarterly meetings without the episcopal authority expressly granted under the penalty of expulsion.

        The local preachers and exhorters were required by this Conference to establish a home missionary society, which was to be subject to the Annual Conference. But it can hardly be supposed that the Philadelphia brethren really thought that the local preachers and exhorters felt more intensely the need of missionary enterprise, and would evince more zeal in the sacred cause than the itinerants themselves.

        It was at this time that we have news again from the Haytian Methodist Church, as it was now called, as it had separated from the African Methodist Episcopal Church. At this period and to this Conference news comes of the pecuniary difficulties which it seems to have been suffering. Henry J. Williamson, on behalf of the Church in Hayti, requested, through a petition, assistance, and this the Conference promised to grant, and at the same time gave Mr. Williamson a letter of introduction or recommendation to the general public and another to the Hartford Conference. But despite the resolutions to grant aid, the Church in Hayti

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received nothing at that time. It was also recognized at this and other Conferences that much good might result from sending one of the Bishops on a visit to that island, but the efforts put forth went no farther than mere resolutions, for some cause or other, and it remained for later workers in the field to take a view of the land that we might have possessed in full had we fully seized as well as recognized the opportunities for our Church. Every such failure is regarded to-day as a loss.

        The Rahway church appears again to have been in an embarrassed condition, and a collection was recommended to be taken up for its relief. "The Church Magazine," too, which had been established in 1841, appears at this early period of its existence in "deep water." It had been published as a monthly, and the first number had appeared in September of that year, but at this Conference a resolution is passed to publish it quarterly. Still, in spite of its embarrassed condition from so many and varied claims, it strove nobly and, as a whole, wisely to steer clear of future difficulties.

        But if financial matters were somewhat clouded, the educational interests were kept clearly before the brethren. The resolutions leading toward progress in this direction are worthy of being kept in mind as the first formulated effort toward a course of regular study. It was first resolved, "That the elders and deacons of the Connection make use of all the means in our power from henceforth to cultivate our minds and increase our store of knowledge." Then, second, "That we recommend to all our elders and deacons, licensed preachers and exhorters, the diligent and indefatigable study of the following branches of useful knowledge: English Grammar, Geography, Arithmetic, Rollin's Ancient History, Modern History, Ecclesiastical History, Natural and Revealed Theology." These resolutions were introduced by the following preliminary: "Whereas, The great literary advantages which the rising generation enjoys require more than ordinary intelligence in the ministry that may be called to instruct them; and, whereas, our excellent discipline cannot be fully executed, nor our present plans of improvement fully consummated without an intelligent ministry; and still more, whereas, the word of God requires that the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they (the people) should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts; therefore, etc."

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        These resolutions, presented by D. A. Payne at that date, were the first strong, entering wedges to rive the mass of general ignorance and force the ministry of our Church to a higher plane of intellectual culture. Still, the state of both education and temperance in the bounds of the Philadelphia Conference for the year 1842 was promising. We find that at Princeton, N. J., there were, under the pastoral care of H. C. Turner, one common school, containing thirty-five scholars and one teacher; one Sunday-school, with sixty-seven scholars and fifteen teachers; and one temperance society, with one hundred members. At Trenton we find one common school, containing thirty scholars and one teacher; one Sunday-school, containing forty scholars and twelve teachers, and one temperance society, with thirty members. Rahway, N. J., reported thirty scholars and six teachers in its one Sunday-school, and sixty members in its one temperance society. Gouldtown, N. J., under Rev. J. Beulah, had one Sunday-school and thirty scholars. Bucks County Circuit was under Rev. I. Parker, and had thirty scholars in its one common school, and twenty-seven in its Sunday-school, which was under the care of one teacher. It also had one temperance society, as did Attleboro and Buckingham Mountain. But the largest work was being done at Philadelphia, under the care of Bishop Morris Brown. Rev. D. A. Payne had under his charge one seminary for both sexes, containing forty scholars; one literary society, with twenty members; one Sunday-school, having sixty scholars and nine teachers; and one temperance society, with eight hundred members. The president of this last was Dr. James G. Bias. There was also in Philadelphia, under the care of Rev. David Ware, one common school, with thirty scholars, and one Sunday-school, with three hundred scholars and twenty-four teachers.

        Bishop Morris Brown held the pastorate of Bethel Church this year, as he had done many years before, and his church gave $120 of the total amount collected for contingent expenses, which was $148.74.

        According to appointment the pastors of the New York churches met on the 11th of June, in Bethel Church, on Second street, and transacted the business belonging to the district. Rt. Rev. Morris Brown was present and presided, assisted by Rt. Rev. Edward Waters. Rev. George Hogarth was chosed secretary. Henry Johnson and J. P. Campbell were two itinerants

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who were admitted on trial, together with two local preachers, Goldsbury Warner and John Scott. James Sharp was received into full connection. We find financial embarrassments, as well as in the other districts, for the church at Boston, Mass., prayed Conference not to send them a pastor for the present year, as their embarrassed condition would prevent them from giving him a support; but they asked to be supplied with ministerial help from Providence, R. I. The church at Providence, meanwhile, petitioned to be dismembered from the New England Mission and converted into a station, which was granted. Since then the church at Providence has been the most efficient of all the New England congregations, not only in pastoral support, but also in sustaining all the institutions of the Church and Connection. A body of Christians, who had recently seceded from the Zion Wesley Church, prayed Conference to receive them into the fellowship of the Connection, and be put under the pastorate of the New York City Station. This was granted and provisions were also made for constituting all the licentiates in said church members of the Annual Conference.

        The petition of the Haytian churches, which had been laid before the Philadelphia brethren, was also brought up for consideration and resulted in securing the sympathy and promised aid of the Conference. It was made the duty of all the traveling preachers to produce a certificate from their recording stewards, in proof that they had done their best to raise the moneys created by the two-cent system, expulsion from the itineracy to be the penalty of neglect to produce such a certificate.

        The report on education showed that there were taught in the basement of Bethel Church, Second street, New York, one day school, containing one hundred and twenty-one scholars of both sexes, and one Sunday-school, containing thirty males and thirty-five females, managed by eleven teachers.

        When the general book steward made his annual report, in which he presented his views of a plan for the improvement of the concern, it was approved by all present. It was decreed that the steward should procure a suitable room for a depository of the books of the concern, and that whenever the book committee was called upon to attend to the business of the concern, each member of it should be allowed the value of a half day's work. It was also decided that each subscriber paying one dollar annually should be entitled to one copy of the magazine, and that

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to non-subscribers the magazine should be sold at a price not exceeding twelve and a half cents per copy; also, that the book steward, with this committee, should have power to send out two agents, one northward, the other southward, to solicit subscribers for said magazine, who should be rewarded for their services by a ten per cent. premium, the duty of such agents to be the entering the names of subscribers with the amount of all their receipts on their subscription books, and the making of regular returns to the book concern. There were those who felt that the proper progress in the Connection could best be brought about by the publication of the magazine monthly instead of quarterly, as the Philadelphia and Baltimore Conferences had ordered, so Rev. Daniel A. Payne sent a communication to this Conference (under whose control the book concern had been placed by the General Conference), praying that the resolutions of the afore-mentioned Conferences be set aside, and the magazine be published monthly. After due consideration it was resolved, "That so much of the action taken by the Baltimore and Philadelphia Conferences on the part of the publication of our magazine be revoked, and that it shall he published monthly instead of quarterly."

        Rev. D. A. Payne also introduced resolutions concerning ministerial education similar to those introduced by him in the Philadelphia Conference.

        The general book steward and his colleagues were also instructed "to publish the rise and progress of our Church, with a revision of the life and death of the late Bishop Allen, the founder of our Connection; also the journal, or the life and death of the late Joseph M. Corr, the former general book steward."

        The Canadian churches gathered together on the second of July, 1842, in the city of Hamilton, C. W., Bishop Brown presided, assisted by Samuel Brown. Three elders, three deacons and five preachers were present. Henry Ballard, a layman, acted as Conference steward. Four were admitted on probation. These were Peter Smith, Zachariah Estress, Austin Steward and James Walke. At this meeting Josiah Henson was ordained a deacon, and Austin Steward, the exhorter, in whose behalf the brethren at Rochester had memorialized Conference, was received into the itinerant service of the Church, and then immediately transferred back to the New York Conference. Jeremiah Taylor, Jacob Dorsey and Edward Gant were received into full connection.

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Rev. James Harper and Rev. Alexander Hemsley were ordained elders. This was the second year of the existence of the Canada Conference, and the first time that we have a report of their quarterage. We will exhibit their places of appointment and salaries received, so that we may judge somewhat of their financial strength and progress, and also, that we may have data with which to compare the subsequent financial condition of the Church in these regions. Alexander Hemsley received $12.12 at Toronto, Jeremiah Taylor received $22.23 on London Circuit, James Harper received $20 on Branford Circuit, Josiah Henson received $19.50 on Colchester Circuit, and William Edwards and Jacob Dorsey received $24 on St. Catharine's Circuit, making a total of $97.84. The contingent expenses reached the sum of $57.70.

        The territory of the Canada Conference was enlarged this year by the addition of the city of Detroit, in the state of Michigan, and Queensbush, in the township of Peel, Canada West.

        On the 25th of August, 1842, the ministers of the Indiana regions met in the village of Vincennes, and spent eight days deliberating on the condition and prospects of the work of God committed to their care. There were present five elders, five deacons, and ten licentiates. In the absence of Bishop Waters, Elder Quinn was chosen to assist Bishop Brown, and Æneas McIntosh was made secretary. Six persons were put upon their probation as itinerants--James Curtis, Israel Cole, Joshua B. Dunlap, Bird Parker, Æneas McIntosh and Willis R. Revels. Turner Roberts was transferred from the Ohio Conference to this. Two were ordained elders, George W. Johnson and William Douglas, and two were located, Major J. Wilkerson and Robert Jones. Rev. David Smith was appointed district book steward for the state of Indiana, and Rev. W. P. Quinn for Illinois and Missouri.

        The Ohio churches held their annual deliberations this year, beginning on the 17th of September. Nine elders, three deacons and two licentiates constituted the number present. Henry Adcusson was chosen assistant to Bishop Brown, as Bishop Waters did not attend. William Newsum and Thomas Woodson, with Watkins Lee, were received on trial; Augustus R. Green, David Canyon and M. M. Clark, into full connection; and the last named, with Augustus Green, were ordained elders; while Matthew T.

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Newsum, Thomas Woodson and Simon Ratcliff were ordained deacons. Claiborne Yancy retired from the itineracy, and Benjamin Roberts had finished his mortal career, leaving "a bright testimony behind him." We find at this stage of the existence of our Church a number of men entering the work who were above mediocrity, to say the least. Æneus McIntosh and Willis Revels were head and shoulders above the others in the Indiana District in intellectual endowments and literary attainments, and Woodson, Clark and Green were much above the average.

        There was proper and just recognition at this Conference of what was denominated the "Western Missions" and missions generally, and David Winslow was permitted to go home and settle his private affairs, with the privilege of engaging afterwards in mission work lying in the bounds of the Ohio District. Elder William P. Quinn's labors in prosecuting the western work were commended, and he was designated as entitled to "that honor and esteem which is due and is paid to all men of great minds and enterprising habits." Here we find the work of the "Western Missions" summed up: It was begun in 1840, and now (in 1842) it is reported as including eight circuits and stations, embracing a membership of about eight or nine hundred, and comprising a colored community of about twelve to fourteen thousand.

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CHAPTER XVI.
LITERATURE AND VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

        Preparations for the Publication of the Magazine--Contents of the First Number--The Magazine's Existence of Eight Years--Reasons for Failure--Statistical Presentation--First Words on Ministerial Education--Struggle in 1843 Between Ignorance and Knowledge--Bishop Brown favoring an Educated Ministry--Alexander Wayman and others Admitted on Probation--D. A. Payne and Others Admitted into Full Connection--Willis Nazrey Ordained Elder--New York Conference--J. P. Campbell, Charles Burch and Thomas W. Jackson Admitted.

        WE have already furnished the reader with the circumstances under which the magazine of the African Methodist Episcopal Church sprang into existence. After Conference had decided to publish a magazine, the general book steward, Rev. George Hogarth, set about making the necessary preparations. The first copy, as has already been said, was issued in September, 1841. That there was inherent strength and enterprise, as well as liberal mindedness, existing in the bosom of this poor and struggling people is shown, not only by the step taken, but by the material which entered into the literary make-up of the first number of this magazine and the prospectus which heralded its advent. This prospectus is given here in full:

To the Friends of the African Methodist Episcopal Church:

        BRETHREN:--The clergy of our Church, in their Conferences, have long contemplated on the importance and necessity of a magazine, either monthly or quarterly, published under the immediate supervision of our Church as a circulating medium of intelligence throughout the wide extensive bounds of our Connection. Such a work we consider, if properly conducted, will be of vast importance toward advancing the interests of our general Church, and at the same time convey such information periodically through its pages, of the general progress of our Church, as every friend and well-wisher of our Connection materially desires.

        In embarking upon this laudable enterprise it becomes our duty in the outset to inform our friends that such a work cannot be conducted with dignity and honor to our people unless it meets with an ample supply of pecuniary and intellectual means. A fear of failure in obtaining these important contingencies had in a great measure prevented our brethren in their deliberations from coming to any conclusions on this important subject.

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        But, judging from the present aspect of things that the times have greatly changed in our favor as a people, light has burst forth upon us, intelligence in a great measure has taken the place of ignorance, especially among the younger portions of our people, opening the avenues to proper Christian feeling and benevolence, our brethren, from those important considerations, came to the conclusion at our last New York Annual Conference, held in June, in the city of Brooklyn, to order such a work, and lay it before the public for their patronage.

        In soliciting the aid of our friends we would wish it fully understood that it is far from our intention to close our pages to the respectful communications of any who may at any time be so kind as to contribute to the advancement of our enterprise, as we assure our friends that we shall stand greatly in need of talented contributors to our pages.

        Among the prominent objects of our enterprise which call for immediate and particular attention, is primitive Christianity as was understood to exist in the Methodist Church in Mr. Wesley's day; a vindication of the rights and privileges of our Church in all its bearings in this country as African Methodists, its episcopacy and doctrines, holding up to the observance of our Christian brethren, regardless of color, the importance of union among us, not only as Methodists, but as worshippers before the same Lamb in whose blood we are washed; the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom among our brethren of color in this country, who are still perishing for the want of an opportunity of hearing his sacred word to their advantage; the importance of turning the attention of our brethren to the land of our fathers--the millions of souls who are enshrouded in midnight darkness under heathenish superstition and idolatry--that the prayers of our brethren may ascend to the ear of the Lord, that he may in mercy raise up some of our young men and prepare them to carry to Africa's shore the glad tidings of salvation, that the sunbeams of the morning may burst forth with its radiant light upon these benighted regions and dispel the shades of ignorance, superstition, idolatry and death that now lays them prostrate in the dust; the necessity of contributing to the education of our pious young men who may be called of God to the work of the ministry, that they may be able to study unembarrassed to show themselves approved of God, workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly divining the word of truth.

        Sabbath school and every other religious instruction shall meet with our most cordial support, that our members, under God, may become remarkable for science and Christian piety and intelligence in this highly favored land of Christendom. And last, but not least, moral reform in all its branches shall command our special attention, as we are fully satisfied that its principles open to the view the avenues to true Christian piety and holiness.

        This work will be issued from the press monthly, and our terms will be $1 per annum, payable in advance; $1.25 at the end of three months, and $1.50 at the end of the year.

        The ministers in charge of our circuits and stations throughout the

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Connection, or whomsoever they or the general book steward may appoint, will become our special agents to solicit subscriptions, to distribute the work, and collect the funds due from the subscribers and forward to us, for which they will be allowed the usual commission.

        The proceeds of the work, after all expenses are paid, shall be strictly applied to aid our general Church according to the provisions of our discipline. We sincerely hope that our agents will invariably, when they have accumulated five or ten dollars, without delay forward the amount through the mail, that the wheels of our vehicle may at no time be clogged for the want of any immediate pecuniary support.

        We are your affectionate brethren in the Lord,

GEORGE HOGARTH, General Book Steward.

SAMUEL EDWARDS, Committee.
JOSHUA JENKINS, Committee.
BENJAMIN CROGER, Committee.
WILLIS JONES, Committee.


        Such was the prospectus issued by the editor. It is a straightforward document that many other editors would do well to copy.

        The first number was chiefly occupied by reports and minutes of the several Annual Conferences which had been held throughout the past year. From the October number we cull the following short editorial upon the work of Bishop Brown:

        This venerable servant of God, and presiding officer of our Church, is this day, August 19th (while we are preparing our work for the press), engaged in opening his Indiana Conference. We trust that it may be attended with glorious results.

        This man of God, we can safely say, feels his mission deeply at heart. The high, responsible station in which, under God, he has been placed for the last twelve or fourteen years, he has filled with dignity and honor to himself and to our general Church, which requires the gratitude of all as brethren for his devoted zeal in the cause of God and of our Church, for which cause he has not ceased to labor day and night, traveling through hot and cold, east, west, north and south.

        O, that we may always have such a Bishop that feels the interests of the Church so deeply at heart! We trust that he will fail not to drop us a few lines now and then for publication as he is traveling on to his several Conferences.


        There is also a long letter from John M. Brown, of Oberlin College, dealing chiefly with the question of Education among the Colored People, and suggesting several possible means whereby the increase of education may be effected. Among other things he says:

        It is a self evident fact that the people of color of this country have been denied the privilege of a liberal education; therefore, it reasonably

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follows that they stand much in need of one. In order to get an education, they must apply themselves to study. In these days of light and knowledge, every man, woman and child can become educated if he will.

        The above declarations being evident, it follows, of course, that it is the duty of all persons to improve their minds, and become educated . . . . The various resolutions on the subject of education, passed at preceding Annual Conferences, should be put in action, for until there is action on the subject it will be impossible to accomplish anything.

        Literary institutions should be selected by our Conferences, to which those of our young men whom we shall hereafter choose as candidates for the ministry may be sent that they may become prepared for the work.

        In order to secure this, let there be committees appointed from each Conference to seek out such institutions as will receive them on the most favorable terms, and those committees make the most favorable report to some body, that the Conference may be authorized to act for them in the interval of the sessions. I would recommend the Oneida Institute, at Whiteboro, N. Y., for the Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore Districts; the Oberlin Collegiate Institute for the Ohio and Indiana Districts; and the Toronto University for the Canada Districts. Neither of these schools are Methodist institutions. I would advise that the young men first sent out should only remain in those institutions. The course of studies for the junior preachers the first four years should be marked out to them in a manner similar to that of our white brethren.

        I want to see our young men come up filled with the Holy Ghost and cultivated minds. They must build up the foundation thus laid by our venerable fathers. The names of those noble-hearted pioneers will long be borne in mind. Generations yet unborn will call them blessed. Three years, I think, with proper attention on the part of the student, will accomplish this. Will our brethren act upon this important point without delay? Try, dear brother, and urge it upon them; for I consider it the mainspring of all our future actions, and the life of our Church.


        There was still another editorial which is of interest to us today--one upon the subject of "African Missions:"

        Just at this time, August the 19th, while we are busily engaged in preparing our work for the press, our colored Christian brethren of all denominations are convened in Hartford, Conn., deliberating on the ways and means for us to carry the gospel to poor, benighted, downtrodden Africa, the land of our forefathers.

        This is a cause of deep interest to us as a people, and naturally calls the attention of every person who has one drop of African blood running in his veins. Every Christian should be deeply interested in this glorious work.

        We sincerely hope that this convention will result in blessings on our fatherland. Though at present it appears to be a day of small things in this glorious cause, yet we feel that God will not despise it, but bestow honor on those who are engaged in this praiseworthy work. What can

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appear more acceptable in the sight of God than to see the descendants of Africa as missionaries from our country, filled with the Holy Ghost and cultivated minds, scattering themselves throughout those benighted regions, and proclaiming the gospel of light and peace to those millions of poor souls identified with ourselves in color, who in this gospel day are still sitting in the valley of the shadow of death?

        We feel much embarrassed in mind that it is beyond our ability to be present at the convention, though we have had an invitation from the committee to attend, but they have our unceasing prayers to God for their success.


        With this first effort of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to attain a literary standing in the great family of Christian denominations, and to instruct her members in Christian morals, Christian obligations and Christian enterprises, as well as to create a love for science and philosophy through the medium of the press, let us now ask what was the measure of her success at the end of the first year? Only three numbers were issued in this period--one of eleven months.

        The editorial of the May number will be the best and most authoritative answer to this important question. It is well to note here, for the better understanding of what follows, that the Zion's Connection had at that time quite an imposing sheet, which was edited by Rev. Jehiel S. Beman. It was called "The Zion's Wesleyan."

To our Patrons and the Friends of our Cause Generally:

        As much time has elapsed since our last number was issued from the press, the minds of many, no doubt, are on a stretch to ascertain the causes why we should, at our very commencement, suspend our operations for such a length of time.

        It should be borne in mind that upon the cover of our last number we there issued a circular informing the public that as soon as nine hundred subscribers, at one dollar each per annum, could be obtained (which number is needed to defray the expenses of the work), that our next number should be issued forthwith, monthly. We have waited upon the friends of our cause with longing eyes for their patronage of this laudable enterprise until now, but we are sorry to say, to our astonishment, we find but few (out of the large numbers of our members dispersed throughout the country) have lent their aid and influence in support of this important work--a work which has long been wanted among us; which, if well conducted, is calculated, under God, to raise the character of our Church and ministry in the estimation of the public, and place us on a footing inferior to no other Christian denomination. The eyes of our people, however, have been closed thus far to this important subject, much to the hurt of our general cause; for, while the mantle of obscurity has been thrown

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over the efforts, progress and prosperity of our general Church for the last twenty-five years, other denominations (many of whom are inferior to ours in number of members) have their periodicals, through which the public are informed of their existence, and are enabled to place an estimate upon their character and standing among the various denominations of Christians in our country.

        In our last New York Annual Conference many of our brethren concluded that in this day of light and literature, and according to the progress of our Church, it was high time we should awaken out of our moral and intellectual stupor, and shake off this mantle of obscurity now pending over our denomination, and place before the public, through a periodical of our own, our doctrines and tenets, our efforts, progress and determination, under God, to maintain a laudable standing among the various denominations of Christians in our land. This feeling has not become dominant in the hearts of most of those brethren thus associated, but, to the contrary, they have gone forward with a holy zeal, determined to carry out the measures thus adopted. Some have met with favorable results thus far in soliciting subscribers, whilst others have not as yet been quite so fortunate. We trust, however, that our brethren will renew their efforts, and never rest satisfied until our magazine shall become established permanently.


        It is evident from this editorial that, while a few of the ministry were manfully struggling to sustain this literary enterprise, the great mass, both of the ministry and the people, were perfectly unconcerned about its success.

        This magazine, after a varying and struggling existence, stopped in the eighth year of its publication. During that time it was the only medium through which the Church could exhibit its progress in learning and the growth of talent among its members.

        Thus ended the first venture of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the field of journalistic literature, and with the single exception of a small memoir of a child published, it had been the only venture in a literary line of the Church from its beginning. Various attempts had been made to induce the book concern to publish something. The manuscripts of one or two books had been presented by the members, and Conference had voted funds; but, until the appearance of the magazine in 1841, nothing had been accomplished.

        The chief reasons which might be assigned for the failure of the magazine are the almost total want of learning among the laity of the Church, the limited education of the ministers, and the small number who were sufficiently educated or had the time either to contribute to its support by writing or to appreciate the

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efforts put forth for its sustenance. Low as the price was, it was too high for the majority of both ministers and laity who could read, owing to the extreme poverty of the great mass of those to whom the magazine naturally addressed itself. While it existed the magazine showed that it was judiciously managed, and its death showed no disgrace upon the Church, as many magazines before and since, begun upon stronger foundations and with brighter prospects of success, have been forced to succumb in a much shorter period of time.

        As a means of promoting and stimulating the literary spirit as distinct from the work of the magazine, in the spring of 1842 a literary society was formed bearing the name of the Union Theological Association of Philadelphia, whose special object was to cultivate the spirit of biblical research and that of the collateral sciences. It included Bishop Brown and all the local ministry of the sister churches. Its meetings were held in the lecture-room of Bethel. It was very violently opposed by some; but, in spite of opposition, it continued in existence for about twelve months, when some of its leading members were removed, two entering the itinerant service, and one died. The Rev. Joseph Corr was elected president. He took an active part in its work up to the time of his last illness. After his death the Association became extinct. It died just as certain plants will die, because there is no gardener to take care of it--just as an army will become disorganized because there is no general to command it--just as a house will go to ruins because there is no one to repair it. During the twelve months of its existence many interesting debates on various theological questions were had, and several valuable essays were written.

        The year 1842 was remarkable for the erection of new churches in the Connection. We gather from letters written to the editor of the magazine that not less than five were consecrated to the worship of the Most High. The first was that beautiful edifice in Philadelphia, Bethel, at a cost of about $14,000. Then one was built in Lewiston, and one in Hollidaysburgh, Pa.; one in Salem, N. J.; and one in Elmira, N. Y.

        From letters written by a number of brethren it seems that notwithstanding there was no extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Connection, yet the Lord did graciously smile upon various portions of the Church, and added many to the number of the redeemed.

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        From the report of the general book steward we learn that the publications issued by the concern cost it the sum of $224.24, and the profits amounted to $333.57. The amount received into the preachers' fund from the New York District was $36.02; from the Philadelphia District $28.75; and from the Baltimore District $53.63; making a total of $118.40. The numerical strength of the clergy was as a total one hundred and sixty-three, consisting of two Bishops, forty-six elders, fifty-four deacons, sixty-one preachers, and among these were sixty-five traveling preachers and ninety-eight local preachers. Of these, twenty-nine belonged to the Baltimore Conference; thirty-nine to the Philadelphia Conference; thirty-two to the New York Conference: twenty-seven to the Ohio Conference; twenty-three to the Indiana Conference; and fourteen to the Canada Conference.

        There were two thousand nine hundred and ninety-three members in the Baltimore District, four thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight in the Philadelphia District, one thousand four hundred and fifty-four in the New York District, four hundred and forty-four in the Canada District, one thousand one hundred and ninety-four in the Indiana District, and two thousand six hundred and fifteen in the Ohio District--a total membership of thirteen thousand five hundred and twenty-eight.

        With this statistical presentation the year 1842 closes, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church is introduced into a new era in its history.

        It will be remembered that ever since the passage of certain resolutions at the Cincinnati Conference of 1833, calling the attention of the ministry and people to the common and the Sunday-school education of the children, the same idea has been echoed and re-echoed by almost every Annual Conference, but beyond the passage of resolutions touching the subject, the Church had not done anything. It will also be recollected that it was not till four years afterwards that the first word was uttered on the subject of ministerial education; that this occurred at the meeting of the Philadelphia Conference, 1837, through the agency of William Yates, Esq., a lawyer from the city of Troy, N. Y., who acted in the premises as the accredited agent of the Anti-Slavery Society; and that this movement of Mr. Yates was sustained by the Rev. Joshua Leavitt, then the able and enterprising editor of the New York Evangelist, himself a Congregational clergyman, and one of the early advocates of impartial

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freedom. The first article (excepting a single remark by the editor of the magazine in the same year, and a short editorial in the magazine for December, 1842, penned by a minister in the A. M. E. Church) was written by Brother John M. Brown, April 14th, in the year 1841, he being then a licentiate and a student at Oberlin College, as has been previously mentioned. But the year 1843 witnessed the commencement of that struggle between darkness and light, between ignorance and knowledge, between baptized superstition and Christianity, that shall never end till victory shall sit perching upon the banners of the one or the other; and we are certain that God will defend the right, and crown it with the most glorious success.

        April 22d, 1843, saw the ministry of the Baltimore District gathering. The two Bishops were present, with ten elders, four deacons and thirteen preachers. Rev. Levin Lee was secretary. Before commencing its business the Conference voted that all the official members of the church in Baltimore and elsewhere should have a seat but no voice. Benjamin Lynch and Perry Stanton were admitted on trial as local preachers; Benjamin Boyer, John L. Armstrong, Thomas Hall, Darius Stokes, William G. Brown and Savage Hammonds were admitted into full connection, only one being an itinerant--Brother Armstrong.

        An itinerant licentiate by the name of Adam S. Driver made application for the orders of a deacon, at the same time that the Quarterly Conference of Bethel, in Baltimore, petitioned the Annual Conference to ordain Brothers Savage L. Hammonds and Thomas Hall, two local licentiates, to the same rank in the ministry. These three brethren were put into the hands of a committee, consisting of D. A. Payne, John Boggs and Thomas W. Henry, for nomination. The following statements will show what was the result of this examination. It also shows the first open conflict between the advocates of ministerial education and the defenders of an illiterate ministry: A majority of the committee was in favor of ordaining the three candidates. The minority was opposed to it. Therefore two reports were made out and presented to the Conference. The reasons assigned by the majority were, in the case of one of the candidates, that a christening or a marriage might be desired when the elder in charge might be at one end of the circuit, and the minister, though upon the spot, would be unable to act; another reason given in another case was, that though there was no special need for the brother in

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question, "he might be ordained to gratify the Quarterly Conference." Respecting the third case, it was argued that should the brother be placed where a matrimonial ceremony was to be performed, he, if ordained, could serve, and being a poor old man, it would greatly aid him, as thereby he might make some money. But the minority report assigned one reason why they should not be ordained. It was that the candidates were all disqualified for the office, because they had not the information required by the Discipline. The counter report produced quite an excitement, and one brother violently demanded whether we wanted a man to know how to read Hebrew, Greek and Latin before we would ordain him. In the speech that followed, education and those who favored it were denounced.

        In reply to this the minority arose and said that the remarks were altogether gratuitous, because the report said nothing at all about Latin, Greek or Hebrew, but was based simply upon two instruments--the Discipline and the Bible. The minority also maintained that every member of the Conference, and therefore, the whole Conference, was most solemnly bound to heed the Discipline, and still more to heed the Bible. At the conclusion of these remarks Bishop Brown called the attention of the Conference to the fact that he was placed in the chair not to carry out the opinions of any man nor set of men, but to execute the Discipline to its very letter, and he also declared, in a very decided and emphatic manner, that if the whole Conference voted for the ordination of the said brethren, in view of their disqualifications he could not and would not ordain them. He also added, that when men are sent out destitute of the needed qualifications, the people do not blame the Conference, but the Bishop. As a final result the report of the minority was adopted. The Conference also adopted the preamble and resolutions on education which had been previously adopted by the Philadelphia Conference. At this Conference the church at Fredericktown, Md., which had hitherto been a part of the Fredericktown Circuit, petitioned Conference to give them a stationed preacher, i. e., to convert them into a station, but this prayer was not granted.

        Brother John Peck, of Pittsburg, Pa., prayed Conference to recommend some means whereby he could be relieved from the heavy debt for which he became responsible on account of the church in Carlisle, Pa., whereupon a committee, consisting of Brothers David Ware, George Hogarth and John Jordan, was

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appointed to devise some ways and means to relieve Brother Peck. After "due consideration," they recommended that the trustees of the church at Carlisle become securities of Brother Peck by endorsing a note for the amount due, with interest, at the most extended time, and that the said trustees, with Brother Peck, immediately institute collections, or by other means "raise moneys to protect the note when due."

        The Columbia Circuit, which was located entirely in the state of Pennsylvania, prayed Conference at this time to detach them from its jurisdiction and place them under the control of the Philadelphia District. Another violent excitement was produced by this petition. Some, especially those living in the state of Maryland, contended that the prayer ought not to be granted because the churches of that circuit had been planted by the agency of the Baltimore ministry, while on the other hand, brethren living on that circuit argued that their prayer should be granted because it was more convenient for them to attend the Philadelphia Conference than this. The question was put to vote and decided in the negative.

        From the parochial returns it was found that the Lord had so prospered the labors of the ministry since the last meeting of Conference that there was an increase of nine hundred and sixteen members. The two-cent collections amounted to $88.59, and the contingent collection to $138.11. A glance at the statistics of the Sabbath-schools and temperance societies shows that at Baltimore City Station the Sunday-school at Bethel Church contained one hundred and twenty scholars and eighteen teachers, while the school at Ebenezer Church had one hundred and seventy scholars and thirty-eight teachers. At Columbia, Pa., the Sunday-school included ninety-four scholars and sixteen teachers, and that at Harrisburg had fifty-three scholars and fourteen teachers. In Chambersburg and Messersburg, each, there was one school taught by whites. There were temperance societies--one each at Bethel and Ebenezer, in Baltimore, Union, Columbia, Harrisburg, Messersburg and Chambersburg.

        On the morning of the 20th of May, 1843, the pastors of the respective churches in the Philadelphia regions met and commenced their annual transactions with Bishop Brown at their head. There were local and itinerant elders to the number of twenty-one, deacons to the number of thirteen, and preachers to the number of twenty-four, making a total of fifty-eight.

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        Aaron Johnson, Henderson Davis, Henry Davis, Abraham Crippen and Alexander Wayman were admitted on trial--some as local, others as itinerants. Samuel Murray, Daniel A. Payne, George Greenly, Lewis S. Conover, John Butler, Wardell W. Parker and Levin Bond were admitted into full connection. Rev. Willis Nazrey was ordained an elder, Lewis Conover was located, and Rev. Richard Williams was placed on the supernumerary list.

        At this time and always prior, the Union Church, situated in the Northern Liberties, was under the same pastorate as Bethel; but the congregation of Bethel numbered two thousand souls, while that of Union numbered two hundred. It was therefore impossible for the stationed preacher (who was none other than the Bishop himself) to give Union that attention which her own individual affairs demanded. She therefore petitioned Conference to give her a separate minister. This was granted by vote of the Conference, but the trustees of Bethel Church, being also the trustees of Union, refused to allow the Bishop to execute the mandate of the Conference.

        The Little Wesley Church, Philadelphia, and Mount Zion, in Hamilton Village, sometimes called West Philadelphia, were placed in a circuit.

        Conference went into an election for delegates to the ensuing General Conference, with the result of making a choice of Joseph P. Cox, Daniel A. Payne, David Ware, Stephen Smith, Levin Tillman, Shadrack Bassett, Aaron Johnson, Robert Collins and Jeremiah Miller. It was then made the duty of the traveling preachers to take up collections throughout their respective circuits and stations to defray the expenses of the delegates. D. A. Payne presented the preamble and resolutions touching ministerial education, as in a former instance, and which will be found given in full when the subject of ministerial education is reached.

        The report on Sabbath-schools showed that within the bounds of this Conference there were only seven, in which were six hundred and seventeen scholars, taught by seventy-five teachers. There were then three day schools, embracing about one hundred and six scholars, with three teachers. There were six temperance societies, embracing about one thousand four hundred and forty-one members. One of these was founded by Dr. James G. Bias, and contained one thousand and forty-seven members. It is here proper to mention, as history demands it, that of colored

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men there was none living in the American Union who showed the same amount of zeal in the good cause as did this same Dr. James G. Bias.

        As in the Baltimore regions, so in this, the parochial reports show that the God of Zion had graciously visited his people, for there was an increase among the Philadelphia churches of one thousand and thirty-seven souls. And the financial report stood fair, for the two-cent moneys collected amounted to $77.72, and the contingent collection to $254.05.

        In the city of New York, on the 10th of June, 1843, the pastors of the churches in the New York regions were seen engaged in the transaction of their business pertaining to the pastorates in their charge, and continued in session during a period of ten days. Bishop Brown presided alone, but there were present fifteen elders, thirteen deacons and ten preachers. The Conference sat with open doors. At this Conference a young man of fine talents and liberal education was admitted on trial in the itinerant department. He had formerly been a student of Oneida Institute.

        J. P. Campbell, Charles Burch and Thomas W. Jackson were admitted into full connection. The first named and last were also ordained elders. Brother Charles Burch was also ordained a deacon.

        The election of delegates to the General Conference was held, and resulted in the choice of Samuel Edwards, Edmund Crosby, Cæsar Springfield, Benjamin Croger, George Hogarth and Charles Burch.

        The New York territory was enlarged by the creation of two new circuits. One was the Haverstraw, which included Nyack, Goshen, Rockland and Passaic. There was another that included Hudson, Sandy Lake, Lennox and Bethlehem. There was growth in another way as well. As with the other two regions already noticed, the Great God of Zion had poured out his Holy Spirit most graciously upon the New York churches, so that the number added to their fellowship was seven hundred and forty-nine souls.

        The general book steward laid before the ministry the claims of the book concern, endeavoring to show each one his relations to it, and his duty to sustain it, urging upon all who were indebted to it their obligations to make speedy remittance, and clearly showing how their want of punctuality had embarrassed

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its movement. The book steward also paid out to preachers and others for commissions the sum of $104.38. This shows that the book concern was in a better condition than it had ever been before. Its contingent expenses were $222.92, while the net gain on books, pamphlets, etc., sold and unsold, according to their specific valuation, subscribers to the magazine included, was $986.79.

        When the opportunity came for those useful bands of Christian women--the Benevolent Daughters of Conference, the United Daughters of Conference and the Rising Daughters of Conference--to lay their annual free-will offering upon the Lord's altar, they gave a total of $117.68, which, up to this date, was the largest sum ever realized from this source. The collections for the two-cent fund amounted to $95.32, and the contingent collections to $74.75. Sabbath-school statistics showed that there were then in the bounds of the New York District eight schools and two hundred and seventy-three pupils. The temperance statistics showed the existence of ten temperance societies, embracing nine hundred and forty-nine members.

        It was at this Conference that the Rev. Noah C. W. Cannon appeared for the third time as an author. The work produced this time by his pen is entitled "History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church." Of its literary merits we shall speak elsewhere. Here we shall only say that he was considered as having violated the resolution of the last General Conference, which prohibited our preachers from publishing any works touching the history, doctrine, or discipline of our Church unless permission was given them. The same General Conference had directed the general book steward to make such a publication for their special benefit, and the present publication could not be accepted as authoritative.

        The brethren terminated their annual deliberations by passing resolutions in favor of education, temperance, Sunday-schools and all kindred subjects, by denouncing policy and lottery dealing as covetousness and stealing, and by adopting the course of study laid down by the last Philadelphia Conference for the training of the young in the ministry.

        This year the Canadian churches met in Toronto on July 1st, 1843. Three elders, one deacon, and three licentiates were present. Elder Cannon filled the chair, as neither of the Bishops were present. Very little business was done, no new ideas being

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advanced, and only the re-echoes of the doings of the other Conferences were heard on the usual subjects of education, etc. It was decided to make an effort to influence the preachers to have their churches closed at a suitable hour of the night, conforming to the customs of the communities where they live, "thereby removing much of the odium commonly thrown upon our religious worship."

        It appears that there had been an attempt to organize the Conference at St. Catherine's, because of some local differences, which must account for the small number present at Toronto.

        On the 31st of August, 1843, the churches of Indiana were in annual session in Indianapolis, with Bishop Brown conducting their movements. Brother Robert Jones was made the Bishop's assistant, and Brother Æneas McIntosh secretary. Henry Cole and Isaac Knight were put on probation, and Thomas Elsworth was admitted into full connection. Byrd Parker, Willis R. Revels, Robert Johnson and Major J. Wilkerson were ordained elders, and Israel Cole, Æneas McIntosh and James Curtis were ordained deacons, and the ranks of the itinerancy were added to by Major J. Wilkerson, Æneas McIntosh, Henry Cole, Byrd Parker and Henry Travan. Joseph P. Dunlap was the only one who was located. The election for delegates to the ensuing General Conference was held, and resulted in the choice of Thomas Elsworth, Dennis Kiza, Benjamin Shipworth, Peter Smith and Nathaniel Newton. William P. Quinn was appointed district book steward, and a day of fasting and prayer to Almighty God was set apart--the 11th of April--inasmuch as it was the date of the founding of the A. M. E. Church in the city of Philadelphia. It was also made obligatory upon the circuit, stationed and local preachers to hold public services on that day wherever it would be practicable. This was declared to be a standing rule for each year. The ministers also decreed that no church should be suffered to be built among us, "until a deed, according to our Discipline, be first procured, or a title bond is obtained for double the value of the ground on which the church is to be built."

        The amount realized to meet the contingent expenses amounted only to $40.22. The Lord of the harvest, however, did not omit to visit the churches, as may be seen by the number of souls added to their communion the past year, which was five hundred and ninety-eight.

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        The little town of Hillsboro was the place of meeting for the ministers of the churches placed under the jurisdiction of the Ohio District while they were congregated to make their parochial reports for the year 1843. They opened their business on the 15th of September. Bishop Brown presided, and Thomas Woodson and A. R. Green were chosen secretaries. Eleven elders, seven deacons, and five licentiates constituted the enrolled numbers. Solomon H. Thompson, Carey S. Hargrave and Joseph Fowler were admitted on trial. Matthew T. Newsum, John Gibbons, Simon Ratcliff and M. M. Clark were also admitted. John Gibbons and Daniel Winslow were ordained elders. We find three members numbered with the dead--James Byrd, who died November 7th, 1842, aged fifty-eight; Samuel Ente, who died April 7th, 1843, and an aged minister of the Gospel, Frederick Rives, who died June 15th, 1843, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. It is written of Brother Byrd that he traveled and labored several years in the itinerant service of the Church; while of Brother Ente it is said, that he commenced his labors as an itinerant in 1829, in the Baltimore Conference, and that year served under Brother Joseph Harper on the Harrisburg Circuit. The next year he offered himself as a missionary to the Isle of Hayti, but was not sent. The same year he was transferred to the Philadelphia District, in which he located in 1831. Brother Turner Roberts, who was last year transferred to the Indiana Conference, was this year transferred back to this.

        Conference planned the circuits within its boundaries in the following manner: Chillicothe Circuit was made to embrace Chillicothe, Dry Run, Pepee, Big Bottom; Gallipolis Circuit: Gallipolis, Big Run, Strait Creek, Piketown, Portsmouth; Zanesville Circuit: Zanesville, Dresden, Newark, Meig's Creek; Captiene Circuit: Captiene, St. Clairsville, Steubenville, Mount Pleasant, Macantyre, Stillwater; Hillsboro Circuit: Hillsboro, Grassy Branch, Wilmington, Greenfield, Richland, Red Oak, White Oak, Winchester; Hamilton Circuit: Hamilton, Springboro, Palmyra, Harveysburg, Lebanon, Xenia.

        The election of delegates to the approaching General Conference resulted in the choice of Abram D. Lewis, Samuel Johnson, John Peck and Samuel Collons, of Pittsburg, and Joseph Fowler, of Cincinnati.

        Educational statistics showed improvement among our people, for there were reported within the bounds of this Conference at

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least thirteen common schools and about eleven Sunday-schools, including over three hundred children. The report on temperance showed the existence of eight societies, but the reports are by no means full. There was an increase of members, showing that the Saviour of sinners had graciously visited the Ohio churches the past twelve months, for the parochial reports show the number of one thousand and seven.

        We have already spoken of the excitement on the subject of education. It is proper here to remark that this excitement increased as the year 1843 drew to a close, creating on the part of those who were in favor of ignorance and superstition feelings of the bitterest and most uncharitable kind, and on the part of those who were friendly to an intelligent and a thoroughly educated as well as holy ministry, a firm resolution to speak and to write till the dormant energies of the whole Connection should be awakened and enlisted on the side of progress. The state of feeling cannot better be depicted than by quoting the language of the Rev. George Hogarth in an editorial from his pen touching the subject:

        Much as is said for and against the steps taken by our brother in his epistles for the improvement of the ministry, no one has as yet come forward with his pen to propose anything better. Great fear is entertained by some that if the measures proposed by him are adopted by the General Conference, discord and dissolution will necessarily take place in the Church between the ignorant and intelligent portions of it; yet these very brethren who manifest such fear will not come forward and propose anything as a substitute to the measure offered by our brother. They admit themselves to be friendly to education, to an intelligent ministry, and an intelligent congregation; yet they appear to be backward about coming forward with their objections and views on the subject, that we may print them so as, if they are better, to counteract those already offered.


        We have already spoken of the great work of salvation this year as we have noticed the different districts. It was a remarkable outpouring of the Spirit, and began in the city of Philadelphia in the following manner and under these circumstances: A young Presbyterian minister, Andrew Harris, of classical attainments, took suddenly sick, and died at the end of the week. He was the pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of color. Rev. Theodore S. Wright, of New York, came by invitation to Philadelphia, with a view to be present at the funeral of Brother Harris. While there he preached in the vacated pulpit from Psalms, cxix., 59-60, "I thought on my ways," etc. The sermon made a deep and visible

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impression on the audience, and yet it was made evident by no sign beyond the fixed attention of the people. His sermon was followed by an exhortation by Rev. D. A. Payne, and an invitation to all who felt concerned about their souls to come forward and occupy the front pews. This invitation was immediately responded to by some half dozen young men and women, with whom we prayed about an hour or two. This encouraged us to protract the meetings, and every night witnessed an increased interest on the part of the people, and a deepened zeal on the part of the ministry. Soon the cries of the anxious inquirer were exchanged for the shouts and rejoicings of the happy converts. The work extended from St. Mary's street to the surrounding churches. As it deepened sinners were awakened and converted to God by scores and hundreds, till the whole city was enveloped in the hallowed flames, and in every house and every church were heard the cries of the convicted sinner or the praises of the redeemed. Bethel shared largely in the grace of God. Her ministers preached with more than common unction, and her converts were counted by hundreds. Among the precious souls gathered into the ark of safety during this season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, were many of the best educated and most respectable youths of the city, and that, too, of both sexes. Nor was the work confined to the city of Philadelphia. It extended to all the churches of the Conference District. A voice from Princeton, N, J., writes under date of February 9th, 1843:

Dear Brother Hogarth:

        While the Great Head of the Church has been refreshing with the showers of his grace other portions of his vineyard, we rejoice that we have not been left to mourn over a barren and thirsty soil. It will doubtless be pleasing to the friends of the kingdom of Christ, and more particularly to those who have labored in this part of the work in years gone by, to learn that the ground which they spent so much labor to prepare has become a fruitful soil, and the seed which with so much care and anxiety was sown, has been watered, and promises a harvest a hundred fold; nay more, already its fruit appears. The work has not been confined to any particular part of the circuit, but at different and almost every part of our charge. More than one hundred have joined the A. M. E. Church during the Conference year thus far.

        Our people are seeking for holiness of heart, and our prayer is that God will sanctify the Church and convert the world.


        Another account of the work is from the Salem Circuit, N. J. It bears date of February 11th, the same year:

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        While the Great Head of the Church has been visiting various parts of the world with the outpouring of his Holy Spirit, he has not forgotten this part of his vineyard. A sacred shower of his grace has lately been experienced on this circuit, and many souls, through its divine influence, have become awakened and brought to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus; and from the present appearance of things I am lead to believe that there are many more who are seriously inquiring the way to salvation.

        I have taken into society on probation about one hundred and twenty persons, who, I think, will become useful members during their day and generation to the Church. Pray for me, brother, that the good Lord may continue to bless the feeble labors of his servant, that he may become more instrumental in his hands in the awakening of poor sinners out of their wretched state of slumber and death.


        Brother Israel Scott also writes from still another point, Burlington, N. J., under date of May 7th, 1843:

        The Lord has been pleased to visit us here in a powerful manner. During our protracted meetings about fifty were added to the Church, and many testified that they had found the Lord to the pardoning of their sins. At Snow's Hill eighteen were added to the Church. The Lord truly has visited us on this circuit, and many souls have been inquiring the way to Zion.


        As for Baltimore, salvation was poured down upon it like a flood. Bishop Waters, who was at the head of its pastorate, says:

        The work of the Lord is going on with triumph among us. The enemy has no foothold but what is disputed inch by inch.


        Brother William H. G. Brown, then the district book steward, writes from the same point, and says:

        There has been lately one of the greatest revivals of religion known for a long time in this city. About seven hundred members have become attached to Bethel Church. The church has become so crowded that during service they are obliged to sit in each others' laps.


        Brother Abram D. Lewis, writing from Pittsburg, says:

        Within the period of eight weeks there were three hundred and two members added to the Church, one hundred and eighty-six of whom have been happily converted to God, and many profess sanctification.


        This shows what the Lord was doing in the Ohio District.

        The editor of the Church Magazine, writing from New York, says:

        Within a few months past the Lord has in a remarkable manner refreshed his churches in various parts of our country by a glorious outpouring of his Holy Spirit upon them, which has resulted in a general

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rush of earnest inquirers at the sacred altars for salvation--hundreds, yea, thousands, have been happily converted to God and initiated into the Church, and are now on their march to the heavenly Canaan. Many churches of Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists have held their protracted meetings for several weeks in succession. Our portion of the General church has also participated in these glorious revivals of religion, as may be observed in the communications from our brethren. This precious work of salvation, we are happy to say, continues in most of the churches with the same blessed results. We sincerely hope that the Lord may continue to carry it on among all his followers in all portions of his Zion, until righteousness shall cover the earth as the water cover the face of the great deep.


        So the Redeemer of the world visited the churches in the memorable year of 1843, and opened up the flood-gates of salvation through his saving presence.

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PART SECOND.

CHAPTER XVII.
OPENING OF A NEW ERA.

        A New Period in the A. M. E. Church--Seventh General Conference--Committee Appointed on Revision of Discipline--Condition of the Colored Inhabitants of Illinois and Indiana--Work in Kentucky and Missouri--Election and Ordination of William Paul Quinn to the Episcopacy--Office of General Book Steward Created--Home and Foreign Missionary Society--Conference of 1844--Good News from Canada.

        WITH the year 1844 a new period in the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church opens. This year the transactions begin with the sayings and doings of the Seventh General Conference. This body met in the city of Pittsburg, Pa., the 6th of May. Two Bishops were present, Rt. Rev. Morris Brown and Rt. Rev. Edward Waters. Thirty-nine traveling preachers occupied seats, and the local delegates were twenty-seven in number, from the following five districts: Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Indiana, the total number being sixty-eight. M. M. Clark, George Hogarth and David Ware were the secretaries. Among the important items of business that engaged the attention of this body was that of the Discipline. A committee was appointed on the revision, and Daniel A. Payne, George Weir, Benjamin Croger, A. R. Green and Willis Revels were the appointees. At the time when the matter came up before the General Conference, and the reconsideration of the Preface to the Discipline took place, some were in favor of omitting it in our future publications of the Discipline; but the majority were opposed to such a measure as exceedingly wrong and heretical. Those who held views favorable to the omission based their desire upon the supposition that its retention in the Discipline had a tendency to perpetuate malignant feelings against our white brethren of the M. E. Church. Others believed no such assertion, and, therefore, the majority voted to retain the Preface without alteration or amendment. The Discipline, however, was amended in the following particulars:

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        The phrases "junior" and "senior" Bishop were altered to "joint Bishops." The basis of the election of delegates to the General Conference was changed as to the number of traveling preachers in each Annual Conference so as to read: "The General Conference shall consist of one delegate for every four hundred lay members returned at the previous Annual Conference," and the power to limit the bounds of each elective department was lodged in the hands of the several Annual Conferences. Here the admission of lay delegates to the membership of the General Conference did really commence, but such was the feeling of the itinerant preachers concerning their superior right to govern, that they allowed only lay preachers, that is, local preachers, to represent the laity. It was also provided that in the absence of the Bishops Conference should "choose a president pro tem. to preside over its deliberations.*

        * See Vol. II. of Magazine, page 4.


On the fourth day the Discipline was amended in five points: 1st. The regulation of the proceeds of the book concern. 2d. The elements to constitute the Annual Conferences. 3d. Regulation of the contingent expenses. 4th. Limiting the number of the Annual Conferences. 5th. Whereas, the General Conference, prior to this period, could expel a Bishop for "improper conduct." That phrase was stricken out, and the phrase "immoral conduct" inserted in its place.*

        * See Vol. II. of Magazine, page 5.


Upon this day Rev. Daniel A. Payne introduced a resolution to institute a course of studies for the education of the ministry. As soon as read it was seconded, and, convinced as he was of the reasonableness and utility of the measure, he thought that the majority of the Conference looked at it in the same favorable light, and that it would be carried without much opposition; he, therefore, did not make any speech for the purpose of convincing his brethren of that utility and excellence which he believed was apparent to all. But in that he calculated without his host, for as soon as the Bishop had put the question to the house, the effect was like unto that which follows when a fire-brand is cast into a magazine of powder. With the greatest apparent indignation the resolution was voted down by a large and overwhelming majority, and the house adjourned amid great excitement. The next day, the fifth of the session, as soon as the house was opened, and first of all, Rev. A. D. Lewis, a brother of lofty stature, venerable appearance, dignified mien and delectable countenance, rose to his feet
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and called for a reconsideration of the rejected proposition. His motion was seconded and stated by the chair. This venerable man then advocated its claims and demonstrated its utility in a speech of uncommon eloquence and power. He addressed the understanding, the conscience, the passions of the audience till it was bathed in tears, and from many a voice was heard the impassioned cry, "Give us the resolution, give us the resolution." It was then put and carried without a dissenting voice. Immediately the Rev. John Peck moved the appointment of a committee of seven "to select a proper course of studies" for the young preachers. It was carried, and Bishop Brown appointed Revs. Daniel A. Payne, H. C. Turner, David Ware, Richard Robinson, Abram D. Lewis, W. R. Revels and George Weir to perform the task. It is also proper here to say that the indignation evinced outside the General Conference by the intelligent laity was equal to that excited inside among the prejudiced preachers. Between the rejection of the resolution in favor of education on the 4th, and its reconsideration and adoption on the 5th, wherever the preachers went they were informed that if the proposition to educate the ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal Church were absolutely rejected, they would withdraw and organize an ecclesiastical establishment that would be in favor of such a measure. Ten amendments were made to the Discipline the fifth day. They relate to the trial of traveling preachers, the admission of itinerants into Conference, licensing local preachers, licensing exhorters, distilling and retailing spirituous liquors, the catechetical instruction of children, public worship and the trial of laymen.*

        * See Vol. II. of Magazine, pp. 6, 7.


On the sixth day the Committee on Education reported the following scheme of studies, which was unanimously carried: I. For exhorters--First year--the Bible, Smith's English Grammar, Mitchell's Geography, our own Discipline, Wesley's Notes. Second year--Original Church of Christ, History of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Watson's Life of Wesley. II. For preachers--First year--Smith's English Grammar, Mitchell's Geography, Paley's Evidences of Divine Revelation, History of the Bible, Homes' Introduction (abridged). Second year--Schmucker's Popular Theology, Schmucker's Mental Philosophy, Natural Theology, or Watson's Institutes. Third year--Ecclesiastical History, Goodrich's Church History, Porter's
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Homiletics and D' Aubigne's History of the Reformation. Fourth year--Geography and Chronology of the Bible, with a review of the above studies. After the adoption of this system of studies, Conference decreed that they should be placed as an appendix to the Discipline. Sections 23, 24, 25 and 26 were re-adopted without alteration, so also were chapters 3d and 4th.*

        * Magazine, Vol. II., p. 8.


Petitions were received from Harrisburg, Oxford, Columbia and Marietta, Pa., requesting that their respective circuits be detached from the jurisdiction of the Baltimore District and attached to that of the Philadelphia. A long and exciting debate followed, but the prayers of the petitioners were, in the end, rejected. As to the other alterations and amendments which were made to the Discipline, they are to be found in detail in the magazine of that date.*

        * Magazine, Vol. II., pp. 9-10-18.


On the eighth day Elder Quinn, who had been appointed by the General Conference of 1840 to the very important office of missionary to plant churches in the far West, made the following report:

        DEAR BRETHREN:--That duty I owe to this General Conference and the western community at large, for a faithful notice of what has been done in this enterprise, compels me to submit for your consideration a brief outline of the rise and progress of our mission in the West. Being appointed four years ago by your honorable body, then in session among our people in the states west of Ohio, I now proceed to report to you as follows:

        
Number of colored inhabitants in the states of Indiana and Illinois 18,000
Number of Churches established 47
Number of Communicants 1,080
Number of Local Preachers 27
Number of Traveling Preachers 20
Number of Traveling Elders 7
Number of Congregations 72
Number of Lay Members 2,000
Number of Schools 40
Number of Scholars 920
Number of Teachers 40
Number of Colored Teachers 36
Number of Sabbath-schools 50
Number of Scholars 2,000
Number of Teachers 200
Number of Colored Teachers 100
Number of Temperance Societies 40
Number of Camp-meetings 17

        Our people in these states are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits,

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and are rapidly improving themselves by cultivation of the ground, from which they make, under the providence of God, a good living for themselves and families, and sustain churches and schools in a manner truly surprising. Although many of them, within the last ten or fifteen years, broke away from the fetters of slavery and settled with their families in these states, yet, by the dint of industry, they are not only supporting their families, schools and churches, but many of them are also acquiring wealth amid opposing laws and chilling prejudice. There is, however, a very good state of feeling evinced toward our people by the more enlightened part of the white community in those states. There are many useful mechanics among them, such as shoemakers, blacksmiths and carpenters. They have, in a word, every constituent principle among them, when suitably composed, to make them a great and good people.

        Beyond the limits of these states the mission has been extended to the states of Missouri and Kentucky. Though slave states, yet a more friendly feeling exists towards our enterprise among the ruling authorities than could be easily anticipated. The church located in St. Louis is in a very prosperous state. It numbers one hundred and fifty communicants. Also the church erected in the city of Louisville, Ky., is in a flourishing condition. I am fully persuaded this mission, if faithfully conducted, will, at no distant period, accomplish wonders for our people settled in these western states in their moral and religious elevation. They need nothing more than proper encouragement and proper direction in order to attain an elevated position that will be truly enviable.

        This grand region of missionary enterprise is truly an interesting spot to excite the benevolent sympathies of the spirit of missions, being broad in its extent, inviting in its agricultural qualities, and grand in its commercial position. There is an immense mine of mind, talent and social qualities, all lying measurably in embryo, but by a proper direction of the missionary hammer and chisel, they can all be shaped to fit in the great spiritual building of God."


        This report of Elder Quinn, as a statement of the condition and prospects of our people west of the state of Ohio, presents a graphic view of what they were at that time, and produced important effects upon the minds of the brethren. For, up to the present moment, many of the eastern men were prejudiced against him as a man, but more particularly as a candidate for the episcopal office. The majority of them went to this General Conference with the determination to place another brother in that important office, but when they saw how useful and important Brother Quinn had been, they said within themselves, "Surely this is the man for the Bishopric." The episcopacy was, therefore, strengthened by the election and ordination of Rev. William Paul Quinn to the office of Bishop in the Church of God under the following circumstances:

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        The subject of electing and ordaining another Bishop was introduced on the ninth day of the session, whereupon a committee of seven was appointed to "confer with the Bishops, Rt. Rev. Morris Brown and Rt. Rev. Edward Waters (both of whom at that time were about seventy years of age), "to know of them whether they in their judgment would be able to travel through the Connection the ensuing four years, and whether there was any necessity for the election and ordination of another Bishop." The committee performed the duty assigned to them, and reported the concurrence of the two Bishops in the desire to see a suitable man elected to that high office, as both felt their advancing years. The next day, therefore, the brethren proceeded to the election which placed Brother William P. Quinn in the episcopal chair, and on Sunday morning, May 19th, 1844, he was consecrated to that office by Bishop Morris Brown and five elders.

        The office of general book steward was created at this Conference.*

        * D. A. Payne was the author of the resolution creating this office, and was subsequently elected to it, but declined to serve.


It was made his duty to travel throughout the Connection to solicit support for the book concern. Power was given him to make arrangements with the district stewards so as to be supplied with books for sale in different parts of the Connection, to remove books from one point to another, wherever he deemed it necessary, giving his receipt for the same, and to collect all moneys from the district stewards, preachers and local agents. He was made amenable to the Annual Conference, having jurisdiction over the book concern, and was subject to the interrogations of any Annual Conference in whose territory he might be operating, and bound to answer, either in person or by proxy. This General Conference also constructed the Parent Home and Foreign Missionary Society. The last important act of this body was to elect Rev. M. M. Clark as general book agent of the A. M. E. Church. The total amount of moneys collected for the support of this General Conference was $219.98, of which the city of Philadelphia gave $168.82.

        As the important business of the General Conference of 1844 has been laid before the reader, we will now content ourselves with making a few general remarks on its character. We believe that we speak the sentiments of every intelligent and reflecting mind when we say that there was never before such an amount of talent and general information concentrated in any ecclesiastical

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assembly among us since the memorable convention of 1816. And when we consider the difficult and important questions discussed, we believe that we hazard nothing in saying that there was as much unanimity and order as generally prevail in such large and exciting meetings. The various amendments that were made to the Discipline, and the new enactments that were ratified, if faithfully executed by the different officers of the church, tended to confer great and increasing benefits upon ourselves as a church in particular and the country in general.

        The east was made personally acquainted with the west, and the west with the east, and thereby friendships were formed which tended not only to prove beneficial to the individuals concerned, but also serve to strengthen those cords of union which we hope and pray will forever bind our Connection together, and keep us one till the church militant shall be assembled with the church triumphant in the paradise of God. We cannot close these remarks without briefly noticing the spirit of Christian union which was manifested towards us by our white brethren in Pittsburg. Their churches were kindly opened for the preaching of our clergy, and many of them daily attended the deliberations of the Conference, evincing a liberality of feeling that puts to the blush that narrow-heartedness which distinguishes some professing Christians to-day. The General Conference closed its deliberations on the 20th, and the members took leave of the generous-hearted citizens who had spared no pains to please and make them comfortable. This spirit leads us to speak of our journey to this General Conference in this connection:

        It was on the morning of May 1st that the majority of the eastern delegation left Philadelphia for the seat of this General Conference, taking the cars for Harrisburg, where this mode of travel was exchanged for the packet boat. At this point several white passengers joined us, among whom were two clergymen of the Congregational Church in New England. In this company we proceeded to Hollidaysburg, again changing to the cars for Johnstown, Pa., where we took the packet boat for Pittsburg, the then smoky city of western Pennsylvania. The journey occupied three days, and its interesting character leads us to make mention of it here. The scenery through which we passed was indescribably beautiful, even as we find it nearly fifty years later, but the mode of travel and the time taken gave an opportunity

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to appreciate the beauties of nature as it is not possible with the swift, more direct locomotion of later days. Deep valleys and towering mountains were overspread with the green drapery of nature; crystal springs gushed out of the rocky hills; rivulets, creeks and rivers flowed in graceful meanderings through the vales, and produced musical murmurs among the shrubbery and rocks over which they passed. The artificial waterfalls of the dams contrasted their deep bass with the shrill accents of the birds, and all things were well adapted to inspire the mind with emotions of wonder, love and praise, causing the soul "to look through nature up to nature's God." These valleys, mountains and rivers seem to have been made to test the genius of man. And he has gloriously evinced his God-like power in the structure of canals--those mimic rivers, the formation of railroads, and the application of steam power to these latter. He will not be overcome by difficulties, for if rivers oppose the progress of his canals, he will glide over them by means of aqueducts; if hills intervene, he will pierce their rugged bosoms, and run his liquid pathway through their stony hearts; he will climb their towering summits and descend their precipitant sides upon inclined planes, so that neither length nor breadth, nor height nor depth, nor distance nor time, can hinder his locomotion, but swift as the mountain eagle he flies from point to point, and unites the most distant points of this rolling earth. But it was not nature alone that made this journey an interesting one. It was the companionship as well. Every evening the company of fifty assembled in the cabin, and one of the clergy was appointed to conduct the religious services, which consisted in reading and expounding the Holy Scriptures, prayer, and singing the sweet songs of Zion. At other times conversation embraced topics natural, political, moral and religious. The following incident is worthy of note: One of our clergymen had been separated from his brother when only two months old and sold into grievous bondage. More than thirty-two years from childhood to manhood had elapsed, and he had never seen him; consequently he knew not his person. That brother was now on the boat with him as steward. He saw him again and again, and even spoke to him, but knew him not, till one of the ministers who knew them both introduced them to each other. Who can describe such a scene or utter the rapture of their hearts? They embraced--they kissed each other--they rejoiced--they wept. "I cannot

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express the emotion of my soul," said one, "but I feel all over." The joyful surprise, like electricity, went from soul to soul, exciting the whole company. Upon this journey, the evening before we reached Pittsburg, the venerable Bishop Brown was called to the chair, and an invitation extended through a committee to one of the passengers, an aged gentleman, and one high in civil office, to address us. He complied with the request, and in the midst of his interesting remarks urged us with great emphasis to "establish a college" for the education of our children and young men, as one of the most powerful and successful means of attaining the rights and dignity of American citizens.*

        * This gentleman was the President or Superintendent of the Public Works of Pennsylvania.


We trusted then that such wholesome advice, coming from one so high in office, so experienced in age, so far-reaching in knowledge, and so virtuous in character, would make a deep and lasting impression on our minds, and after the lapse of many years we feel that such was the case. He was followed by one of the Congregational clergymen, whose eloquent speech, flowing from a generous soul, kindled in our bosoms such a flame of Christian affection and fraternal sympathy as made us feel that we are indeed the children of one Father, the heirs of the same heavenly inheritance, and that neither complexional distinction nor sectarian predilections can sever those that have been washed in the blood of the same Saviour, and whose hopes are in the same Gospel.

        At Harrisburg we met in peace, at Pittsburg we parted in love, hoping that in the morning of the resurrection we would all be united in the same heaven to join in the same song of praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was thus auspiciously that we were to enter upon the duties devolving upon us in the General Conference of 1844, and we have already seen how this same spirit of Christian union pervaded the city of Pittsburg during our deliberations, and made it possible to feel that God would crown with his blessings all that was done and said at that memorable session.

        What was done in the Annual Conference in this year can be told in a few words. The Baltimore churches met in the city of Washington on the 8th of June, and continued their deliberations for ten days. All the Bishops were present. Rt. Rev. Morris Brown opened the Conference with an impressive address. Brother Samuel Watts was received on probation

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into the itinerant ranks, and Samuel Wilmore into the local. Henry Waters, William Gaines and Adam S. Driver were received into full connection, and John L. Armstrong was ordained an elder. Brother William Gaines was ordained a deacon before he had finished his probation. The rule of discipline was suspended in his case for the following reasons: The church at Fredericktown, Md., was destitute of an ordained minister, and as the laws of that section of the country rendered it difficult to change ministers according to our Discipline, and in view of the fact that Brother Gaines had secured the confidence of the white community, therefore it was deemed proper to set him apart for that office.

        The churches of Carlisle prayed Conference to alter the dimensions of the Chambersburg Circuit so as to make it consist in the future of Chambersburg, Carlisle, Yellow Beaches and Messersburg, and that but one preacher be sent them for this year's service, which was granted. Another petition prayed for the division of the Harrisburg Circuit, and the division was made as follows: The Harrisburg Circuit was made to embrace Harrisburg, Mount Joy, Marietta, Columbia and Wrightsville, while Lancaster, Pemingtonville, the Valley, Britton, Canastogen and Russellville were constructed into the Lancaster Circuit. A missionary society for the Baltimore District was organized as an auxiliary to the Parent, Home and Foreign Society, and as a step toward the higher education. Rev. H. C. Turner was authorized to establish a high school in the city of Baltimore.

        The statistics show the existence at that period of nine Sunday-schools, with eight hundred and sixty-nine scholars; three common schools, with one hundred and twenty-eight pupils; one educational society; one church library attached to Israel Church, in Washington D. C., and containing forty-five volumes; also three temperance societies, with one thousand and five members.

        Numbered among the dead was Rev. William Nichols. He was one of the persons who aided the martyred Torry in covering the escape of many slaves from the District of Columbia to their asylum in Canada West. Soon after the arrest of Torry he accidentally learned that he was known to be in connection with him, and it is supposed the fear of being arrested was so great as to induce the paralysis which lead to his rather sudden death on the 20th of September, 1843. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and was firmly opposed to the extravagant zeal

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and rude manner which distinguished so many of the leading men of our denomination in the city of Washington, D. C.; for in that early period the men and women who made the most and the greatest noise, and the most extravagant gesticulations, were regarded as the greatest Christians. Brother Samuel Dickerson was another who departed this life this year.

        Four days after the rise of the Baltimore Conference, that of the Philadelphia District was convened in the city of Philadelphia, June 22d. The important transactions were few. Alexander Davis was admitted on probation as a local preacher, and Brother Henry Davis as an itinerant. Following the example of the Baltimore Conference, the Rev. David Ware was authorized to establish a high school in the city of Philadelphia. Little Wesley, or Hurst Street Church, was converted into a station. Rev. Walter Proctor was appointed a home missionary, and Rev. Stephen Smith a foreign one.*

        * Neither the high school nor this missionary work was made an actuality.


The Conference was called upon to record the deaths of two of its strong men and earliest laborers--Rev. Richard Williams and Rev. Joseph Cox. The former was one of the earliest itinerants--faithful among the faithless. Many entered the itinerant ranks about the same time who were like stumbling horses, for they were always falling down with their burdens on their backs; others fell to rise no more, despising themselves and disgracing the whole Connection. But this minister of God was upright and faultless in his moral character, and, always willing to obey the orders of his superior in office, he performed some of the most painful, laborious and important missions of the itinerant service. He was the first regularly ordained and accredited elder who, amid great privations, carried the banners of the African Methodist Church and planted them on the shores of Canada and Western New York. During this lo