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The History of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America:
Comprising Its Organization, Subsequent Development and Present Status:
Electronic Edition.

Phillips, C. H. (Charles Henry), 1858-1951.

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

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Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2000.

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Source Description:
(title page) The History of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America: Comprising Its Organization, Subsequent Development and Present Status
C. H. Phillips, A.M., M.D., D.D., LL.D.
Third Edition
2 v. in 1: 623 p., ill.
Jackson, Tennessee
Publishing House C.M.E. Church
1925
Call Number 287.8 P558A (Divinity School Library, Duke University)

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Library of Congress Subject Headings, 21st edition, 1998

Languages Used:

LC Subject Headings:

Revision History:

        

        

THE HISTORY
OF THE
Colored Methodist Episcopal Church
IN AMERICA:

COMPRISING
ITS ORGANIZATION, SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT
AND PRESENT STATUS.

BOOK ONE

BY

C. H. Phillips, A.M., M.D., D.D., LL.D.,
A Bishop of The Church.

THIRD EDITION

JACKSON, TENN.:
PUBLISHING HOUSE C. M. E. CHURCH.
H. P. PORTER, AGENT.
1925.

Page verso

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1898,
By C. H. PHILLIPS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Page 3

        

Dedication.

TO MY BELOVED, SAINTED MOTHER,
WHO GAVE ME MY FIRST LESSONS IN SPIRITUAL THINGS:
TO THE HUNDREDS OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN
WHO ARE IN OUR SCHOOLS IN PURSUIT OF AN EDUCATION; AND
TO THE ENTIRE CHURCH IN PARTICULAR, AND
TO THE READING PUBLIC IN GENERAL,

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

BY THE AUTHOR.

Page 4

        REV. C. H. PHILLIPS, D.D.

Page 5

PREFACE.

        THERE is generally a universal desire felt in the votaries of any institution or organization to know something of its rise, progress, and subsequent position; and no less is the desire to learn of the prominent characters that have largely been instrumental in making these results possible. The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church is now in its twenty-eighth year as an organization, and it is not too early for some one to attempt to write its history. For some time the Church has been indebted to Rev. F. M. Hamilton for his "Plain Account of the C. M. E. Church," a pamphlet of 136 pages. This has been our only published record, and has met a long-felt want. When we began this work it was not our intention to write a history, but rather to write up some matter which we purposed to include in a book to be known as "Our Twenty-Fifth Mile-Stone." This work was to be a compilation of the cuts and communications that appeared in the Quarto Centennial Number of the Christian Index, May 11, 1895. But as we wrote the work grew upon us, and finally we decided to discard the idea of producing "Our Twenty-Fifth Mile-Stone" and write "The History of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church" instead. It was not without some misgivings that we pursued this undertaking. We had no books containing any considerable amount of information in regard to our Church to which we could refer. Indeed, no such books exist. But fortunately for us, we came into the possession of some old copies of the Christian Index, the official organ of the Church. From 1870 to 1878, the paper then being published monthly, we obtained almost every copy. The bishops wrote more in those days than now, and from their communications and those of other prominent writers we were reliably informed of all the important doings and movements in the Church. Since 1878, the year we began our ministerial career, we have been identified with and fully cognizant of almost every move the Church has made. These qualifications should

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in some degree evidence the fitness of the author for assuming the responsibility of writing a history of the Church. It has not been our purpose to write biographies of the preachers, but mention has been made of some of those who have been prominent in the Church and in previous General Conferences. The author will be more than amply repaid for the labor he has expended in writing this history if a generous constituency will give it an impartial consideration; if it to them, in any appreciable degree, represents the purposes for which it was designed; and if it receives a circulation that will place it in many homes throughout the land. In conclusion we desire to reiterate that our subject has been to give the Church a plain, practical history of its doings and movements from the General Conference of December, 1870, down to the present time. How far we have accomplished these ends must be determined by those who will carefully peruse these pages.

C. H. P.

Jackson, Tenn., April, 1898.

Page 7

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR.

BY J. W. SMITH, D.D.,
Editor Star of Zion, Official Paper of the A. M. E. Zion Church.

        IT affords me extreme pleasure to introduce to the public generally one of the brightest ministerial stars in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America--Rev. C. H. Phillips, D.D. He was born in Milledgeville, Ga., January 17, 1858. His parents had twelve children, of whom he was the tenth. The two youngest died before they had reached ten years, leaving him the youngest of the family, a place which he has filled for more than a quarter of a century. His mother was named Nancy and his father George Washington. They were both converted when young, and thus were able to throw around their children a holy influence which shaped their lives for good and for fields of usefulness when they had reached manhood and womanhood. His father has been a gospel minister for more than fifty years. In June of 1890 his dear mother, at the age of seventy, laid down the cross, took up the crown, and went home. Of the ten children that grew up to mature age, four were boys, and all are now ministers of the gospel save the oldest brother, John, who died about six or seven years ago between the age of fifty and sixty, after having traveled about twenty-two years as an itinerant minister and member of the Georgia Conference.

        At the age of seventeen young Phillips was happily converted, and joined Trinity C. M. E. Church, in which he had been reared, the Rev. Frank Ford, who has since died, and who during his lifetime was one of the leaders of the Georgia Conference, being his pastor. With his conversion began the unfolding of those avenues which have led him to his present position and status.

        December 16, 1880, he was married, by Rev. J. Braden, D.D., President of Central Tennessee College, to Miss Lucy Ellis Tappan (a daughter of a prominent Baptist minister in Nashville), a graduate of Fisk University. Cultivated in mind and heart,

Page 8

and influenced by the Holy Spirit, she has ever been his helpmeet, and has done much to make the favorable impression he now enjoys.

        Educationally Dr. Phillips is a ripe scholar. When a boy he always had a love for books, and received an elementary education at home while working on his father's farm. He would go to school after the crop was laid by during the summer and after the farm produce was gathered in the fall. Along this line he continued his education, making progress in the science of farming as well as in books. Having an insatiable thirst for a deeper education, whereby he might be the better prepared for the Christian ministry, to which honored position he felt a divine call immediately after his conversion, his father, after the holidays of 1875, sent him to Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga., where he joined the Junior Preparatory Class, and continued in this institution until he had completed his Sophomore year in college.

        In September, 1878, while Principal of the city schools of Barnesville, Ga., he was licensed to preach by Rev. R. T. White, the presiding elder at that time of the Barnesville District and still the acknowledged leader of the Georgia Conference. Thus was carried into consummation the impression made on him just after his conversion.

        Two months after he had been licensed to preach he went to Nashville, Tenn., and entered Central Tennessee College, where be could study theology with his classical studies. He progressed rapidly. He never lost a year nor was he ever turned back. He read Latin and Greek with an ease that delighted his professors and astonished his classmates. On entering this college he found that he was behind his class (Junior Classical) in mathematics and ahead in the languages; therefore in mathematics he formed a class of one, and had to "wade through" this science all alone. Loomis' ten books in geometry, spherical trigonometry, surveying, analytical geometry, and differential and integral calculus, he studied alone, and he never received a mark below ninety, marking on a scale of one hundred as perfect. By this time he had caught up with his class in mathematics, and with them took up their last study in that science, a work on philosophy, by D. Olmstead, LL.D. He easily led his class in the languages, and in the absence of the

Page 9

professor would often hear his class recite in "Horace" and in "Odyssey."

        In May, 1880, he graduated as Bachelor of Arts from Central Tennessee College. In this same school he received his theological training, and graduated from there in medicine in 1882. During the years of 1884 and 1885 he was Principal of Lane Institute, then known as the Jackson High School. He gave form to this school by grading the classes, creating its curriculum, and publishing its first catalogue. At the meeting of the Board of Trustees in May, 1885, he, by a motion made by himself and seconded by Rev. W. T. Thomas, of Alabama, had the name changed from Jackson High School to Lane Institute. Since that time the school has been named Lane College. In this year 1885 his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In June, 1890, Philander Smith College, of Little Rock, Ark., and Wiley-University, of Marshall, Tex., almost at the same time (he being ignorant of the intentions of these two schools, which are among the best of the great M. E. Church), conferred upon him the degree of "Doctor of Divinity." Thus step by step, by assiduous study, which will accomplish almost anything, this promising young divine has climbed from the lowest to his present heights in the intellectual ladder.

        He joined the West Tennessee Conference at Trenton in 1879. During his college days he served the Pilot Knob Circuit with great success. This was his first itinerant work. Here he held his first revival, which resulted in thirty-five accessions to the church. He made a splendid report at this Conference, and was ordained a deacon by Bishop L. H. Holsey.

        In December, 1885, his Conference met at Memphis, and Bishop Lane appointed him to the pastorate of Collins Chapel, the leading appointment in Tennessee. At this Conference he was elected a delegate to the General Conference which met in 1886 at Augusta, Ga. He was not only the youngest man ever appointed to Collins Chapel up to that time, but also the youngest ever elected by his Conference a delegate to any preceding General Conference. His rising prominence in his denomination was evidenced by the fact that the bishops unanimously nominated, and his General Conference then in session at Augusta confirmed him as a proper person to go as a

Page 10

fraternal delegate to the General Conference of the great M. E. Church, South, which was in session in Richmond, Va. Bishop Holsey was the first delegate ever sent to this body, and Rev. Phillips was not only the second, but the first ever selected from the rank and file of his Church. His speech before that Conference was most favorably commented upon by the press of the country.

        When he had rounded out two successful years at Collins Chapel, adding one hundred and forty persons to the church, finishing up its front, a part of which at that time was exposed, running up the brick work of the tower to its present height, and making round reports each year at the Conference, he was at Jackson, Tenn., in December, 1887, transferred to the Virginia Conference and stationed at Washington, D. C., as pastor of Israel Metropolitan C. M. E. Church. Here he entered upon a career that gave him a national reputation. Washington opened new fields and new facilities and opportunities for further development. He found the church embarrassed by a debt of $13,400, upon which the members were paying seven per cent. interest. The interest alone amounted to over $900 a year, yet he was able to keep it down and reduce the principal. The winter of 1889, just after the holidays, he began a revival which resulted in one hundred and five additions to the church. Some of the present trustees and stewards of Israel Church were converted in that revival.

        Dr. Phillips has traveled extensively. In the spring of 1889 the Sabbath-School Union of the District of Columbia elected delegates to attend the first World's Sabbath-School Convention, which convened in London in July, 1889. He was not present at any of the Union meetings in Washington, but in his absence was one of the three delegates elected, Rev. W. H. Brooks and Rev. George Moore being the others. June 19, 1889, they sailed, having in their company Rev. A. Walters, who has since been elected to the bishopric of the A. M. E. Zion Church. He spent two months abroad, traveling through France, England, Ireland, and Scotland, visiting such cities as Liverpool, London, Manchester, Paris, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. He preached in several of these cities and lectured upon some phase of the negro problem. Returning to America, he met his Conference at Lynchburg, Va., in October, 1889, and was elected

Page 11

the second time as a delegate to the General Conference of his Church, which met in Little Rock in 1890.

        In 1891 he was one of the delegates to the Ecumenical Conference, which met in Washington, D. C., in October; was the only representative of his Church on the program; and his able speech before that learned body elicited a most favorable comment. The Washington Evening Star said: "One of the most earnest and eloquent addresses of the day was the one on 'The Legal Prohibition of the Saloon,' by Rev. C. H. Phillips, D.D., of this city, a well-known preacher of the C. M. E. Church. When he left the platform he was presented with a handsome bunch of flowers from the W. C. T. U., and Bishop Wayman remarked that he had carried off the palm." The Washington Post said: "The speaker in his tribute to water indulged in a flight of florid rhetoric that captured the audience. Dr. C. H. Phillips was heartily applauded as he stepped down from the platform, and this demonstration was renewed as he received a bouquet of flowers, and Bishop Wayman remarked that he had carried off the palm."

        Immediately after the adjournment of this great Conference, his church in Washington (Israel Metropolitan) gave him a farewell reception, at which Frederick Douglass, the lamented Dr. Price, Dr. I. B. Scott, of Texas, his classmate, now editor of the Southwestern Christian Advocate, Hon. John C. Dancy, and Dr. J. C. Waters made addresses. Nearly all the city pastors of color and the writer were present. He was pastor of this aristocratic church four years, being the only pastor of his Church who served there that length of time. He reduced the debt from $13,400 to $10,000, and the rate of interest from seven to six per cent., and added two hundred members to the church.

        His Conference meeting in Petersburg, Va., October, 1891, transferred him to the Kentucky Conference, and stationed him at Center Street Church, Louisville, Ky. The first year he added sixty converts to the church, repaired and made it inside the most beautiful church in the city; increased the congregation considerably; raised in one collection $650, the largest ever known in the history of that church; and at the close of two years left the church in a much better condition than he found it. His ability as a preacher was quickly recognized,

Page 12

for the Louisville Courier-Journal and Louisville Commercial occasionally reported his sermons. The daily Commercial, after publishing his sermon on the necessity of establishing a refuge for colored girls, and also publishing his biography, closed with these words: "Dr. Phillips' sermons are attracting large congregations. Higher honors are waiting for him in his Church, and it is generally conceded that he will yet reach the goal."

        At the Kentucky Conference, which met at Paducah September 27, 1893, he was the third time elected delegate to the General Conference, which met in May, 1894, at Memphis, Tenn.

        At the Paducah Conference Bishop Beebe appointed him presiding elder of the Mt. Sterling District, which he improved financially and spiritually. He was a-visitor to the General Conference of the A. M. E. Zion Church, which met at Pittsburg, Pa., and made a rousing speech, which was loudly cheered. The Doctor is a popular man, and has a host of popular friends in Zion Church. He attended the Parliament of Religion in Chicago during the World's Fair, and he and Bishop Holsey were members of the Advisory Council. At the brilliant reception held in Chicago in the A. M. E. Zion Church he grandly represented the C. M. E. Church on the program.

        In 1894, at his General Conference, he was elected editor of the Christian Index, after having come within three votes of being elected to the episcopal office.

        In 1896 he represented his Church before the General Conference of the M. E. Church, which met at Cleveland, Ohio. His address received favorable comment from the religious and secular press.

        In October of 1896 he was one of the invited speakers at the centennial celebration of the A. M. E. Zion Church, held in New York City. He spoke on "The Relation of the C. M. E. Church to the A. M. E. Zion Church."

        At his Conference in October, 1897, he was elected for the fourth time a delegate to the General Conference of his Church.

        As a man Dr. Phillips is modest, genial, dignified, sincere, liberal, and broad in his sympathies. These qualities are daily winning for him friends. As a preacher he is a splendid organizer,

Page 13

a shrewd financier, a successful revivalist, a bustling pastor, and a people-gatherer. As a speaker, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, he is impressive, forceful, thoughtful, suggestive, occasionally humorous, intensely earnest, his sermons and speeches often being graced by choice flowers of rhetoric and burning with fervid eloquence.

        This is an honest write-up of my friend, who in the fulness of his intellectual powers is strong, loyal, and influential in the grand denomination in which he is a pillar, an adornment, and a support. May his influence and his possibilities continue to shine with increasing luster as the days roll by!

Charlotte, N. C.

Page 15

CONTENTS.

Page 21

ILLUSTRATIONS.

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HISTORY OF THE COLORED M. E. CHURCH.

CHAPTER I.

        The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South--Important Question Asked and Answered--Religious Oversight of the Slaves before the War--Some White Preachers who Labored for their Spiritual Good-- M. E. Church, South, Takes Initiatory Steps Looking toward the Organization of Its Colored Contingent into a Separate Church.

        WHEN the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met in April, 1866, in the city of New Orleans, this important question was asked by that body: "What shall be done to promote the religious interests of the colored people?" It was indispensably necessary that such a query should be raised. The war had just ended, and amid the changes of fortune and the vicissitudes of time the relation of slave to master had undergone a radical change.

        When the war came on, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had 207,000 colored communicants. Their spiritual wants were administered to by faithful and earnest ministers of the Southern Methodist Church. Georgia and South Carolina alone had as many as sixty ministers who served as missionaries to the slaves.

        Bishop James Osgood Andrew, ninth bishop of the

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Methodist Episcopal Church and second bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, having become connected with slavery by reason of a colored girl in his possession bequeathed him by a lady, also by reason of a boy belonging to his daughter, and other legal slaves of his whom he secured to his second wife, actually became unacceptable to many Northern Conferences, and precipitated the occasion, if not the cause, of the great split in Methodism in 1844. That General Conference declared that "it is the sense of this body that Bishop Andrew desist from the exercise of his office so long as this impediment remains." Upon that resolution the North voted in the affirmative, and the South in the negative. The inevitable separation of this Church came; and in 1846, at the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, J. O. Andrew, who had been the ninth bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, became the second bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Bishop Joshua Soule being the first. While Bishop Andrew owned slaves, and thus indirectly, if not directly, gave a tacit assent to the perpetuation of the "peculiar institution" of slavery, which John Wesley declared to be "the sum of all villainies," yet he was a man of warm and tender heart, and frequently rose to sublime heights of eloquence when pleading for the religious instruction of the slave. The services of Dr. Lovick Pierce and James E. Evans; of Bishops George Pierce, John C. Keener, and Rolland N. McTyeire

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shall never be forgotten. They labored assiduously for the Christian civilization of our race. In 1807 John Early, afterwards a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was first sent to labor among the slaves of Thomas Jefferson, in Bedford County, Virginia; while Bishop William Capers' monument erected over his grave bears the inscription: "Founder of the Missions to the Slaves." These men simply followed in the wake of unselfish pioneers who had preceded them.

        Thus the religious nature of the slave was developed; thousands took on the civilization by which they were environed, and thousands more cast their lot with the Methodists. It was not unnatural that the Southern Methodist Church should, after the war, have shown a disposition to do what was best for her colored contingent. Gradually this contingent was either going into the African Methodist Episcopal Church and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church or into the Methodist Episcopal Church. Such were the persecution, misrepresentation, ridicule, and stratagems brought to bear against the Church, South, and especially its colored communicants, that many were toled away; for, out of the 207,000 on the roll before the Civil War, only 78,000 were found at its close. To save this remnant was the supreme thought of the leaders of the Church, South. To organize them into an ecclesiastical body occurred to them as the only feasible thing to be done. Consequently when the General Conference in 1866

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asked, "What shall be done to promote the religious interests of the colored people?" that same body wisely resolved that "when two or more Annual Conferences shall be formed, let our bishops advise and assist them in organizing a separate General Conference jurisdiction for themselves, if they so desire and the bishops deem it expedient, in accordance with the doctrine and discipline of our Church, and bearing the same relation to the General Conference as the Annual Conferences bear to each other." It was found at the General Conference of the Church, South, which met in Memphis in 1870, that five Annual Conferences had been organized, whereupon the bishops, in their message, inserted these words: "It is our purpose, unless you otherwise order, to call a General Conference to be holden next winter for the purpose of organizing them into an entirely separate Church, thus enabling them to become their own guides and governors."

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CHAPTER II.

        The First General Conference--Bishop Paine, Senior Bishop of the M. E. Church, South, Presiding--Revs. Green, Watson, Taylor, and Others Present--Forming Committees-- Eight Conferences Represented, viz.: Memphis, Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas--Remarks on W. H. Miles, R. H. Vanderhorst, L. H. Holsey, Isaac Lane, I. H. Anderson, and R. T. Thirgood.

        THE time appointed by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Memphis in 1870, for holding the first General Conference of its colored members was December 15, 1870. Rev. A. L. P. Green, D.D., of Nashville, Tenn.; Rev. Samuel Watson, D.D., of Memphis; and Rev. Thomas Taylor, D.D., of Jackson, Tenn., were present, with others, to assist in the organization, having been appointed by the Southern Methodist General Conference at its session in Memphis. Bishop Paine, of the same Church, presided. After opening the Conference with divine service, he made a few impressive and appropriate remarks. Rev. James A. Heard, pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Jackson, acted as Secretary pro tem. Upon the request of Bishop Paine, Dr. Green read the action of the General Conferences of 1866 and 1870 of his Church, so far as it related to the organization of our Church. This done, our fathers then proceeded to found a Church against which "the gates of hell should never prevail."

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        In May, 1870, we had five Annual Conferences; but at the organization of the General Conference in December, these had increased to eight. The list of delegates from the several Annual Conferences was called and those present answered to their names. These were the Conferences and persons who represented them:

        MEMPHIS CONFERENCE.--Clerical: Isaac Lane, John W. Lane, T. N. Stewart, Benjamin Bullard, Job Crouch, Silas Phillips, and Beverly Ford. Reserves: J. Merriwether, S. B. Stinson, and, C. Henning. Lay Delegates: Augustus Bostic, Little John Scurlock, Berry Hill, Charles McTyeire, Samuel Craighead, Moses Harding, and R. Shields. Reserves: John Tuggle, R. Goodloe, and Isaac Blair.

        MISSISSIPPI CONFERENCE.--Clerical: R. Polk and Frank Funchess. Reserves: John Dorsey and Frank Ambrose. Lay Delegates: M. Mitchell and Nat. Harris. Reserves: P. Barnes and William Jones.

        ALABAMA CONFERENCE.--Clerical: Anderson Jackson, Moses Pringle, Ezekiel Reynolds, Robert Thirgood, and A. Hawkins. Lay Delegate: J. Brockman.

        GEORGIA CONFERENCE.--Clerical: Richard H. Vanderhorst, Isaac H. Anderson, Edward West, and Lucius H. Holsey. Lay Delegates: Solomon Garrett, F. Ford, Green Saltmarsh, and William Chesnut.

        KENTUCKY CONFERENCE.--Clerical: Barnett S. Newton, R. Marshall, and W. P. Churchill.

Page 29

Reserve: W. H. Miles. Lay Delegates: James Graves and William Watson.

        ARKANSAS CONFERENCE.--Clerical: R. Samuels and Solon Graham. Reserve: Boston Welborn. Lay Delegate: Isaac Simpson.

        SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE.--Clerical: R. Valentine and Richard Moses.

        TEXAS CONFERENCE.--Clerical: William Taylor.

        A majority of all the delegates elected being present, the Conference effected a permanent organization, with James A. Heard, Secretary, and L. J. Scurlock, Assistant Secretary. The rules of order as contained in the "Manual of Discipline" of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, were adopted for the government of the Conference; the bar was fixed on an imaginary line across the room from the side of the window nearest the pulpit; and the hours of meeting and adjournment were fixed at 9 A.M. and 12:30 P.M. Thus cautiously, systematically, and prayerfully the framers of our Church institution proceeded in the great work which devolved upon them.

        By motion, the Committees on Organization, Episcopacy, Discipline, Books and Periodicals, Itinerancy, and Boundaries were composed of one member from each Annual Conference. They were as follows:

        ORGANIZATION.--Memphis Conference, Benjamin Bullard; Kentucky Conference, Barnett S. Newton; Mississippi Conference, Frank Ambrose; Alabama Conference, Anderson Jackson; Arkansas Conference, Richard Samuels; Georgia Conference, Isaac

Page 30

H. Anderson; South Carolina Conference, Richard Moses.

        Episcopacy.--Memphis Conference, Augustus Bostic; Kentucky Conference, R. Marshall; Mississippi Conference, William Jones; Alabama Conference, E. Reynolds; Arkansas Conference, Richard Samuels; Georgia Conference, R. H. Vanderhorst; South Carolina Conference, Richard Valentine.

        THE DISCIPLINE.--Memphis Conference, J. W. Lane; Kentucky Conference, B. S. Newton; Mississippi Conference, Nat. Harris; Alabama Conference, R. T. Thirgood; Arkansas Conference, Isaac Simpson; Georgia Conference, L. H. Holsey; South Carolina Conference, Richard Moses.

        BOOKS AND PERIODICALS.--Memphis Conference, Isaac Lane; Kentucky Conference, James Graves; Mississippi Conference, F. Ambrose; Alabama Conference, A. G. Hawkins; Georgia Conference, R. H. Vanderhorst; South Carolina Conference, R. Valentine; Arkansas Conference, J. Simpson.

        ITINERANCY.--Memphis Conference,--Isaac Lane; Kentucky Conference, W. Watson; Mississippi Conference, F. Funchess; Alabama Conference, A. Jackson; Georgia Conference, Edward West; Arkansas Conference, R. Samuels.

        BOUNDARIES.--Memphis Conference, T. N. Stewart; Kentucky Conference, B. Ball; Arkansas Conference, J. Simpson; Mississippi Conference, F. Ambrose; Georgia Conference, G. D. Flannagan; South Carolina Conference, R. Valentine; Alabama Conference, Robert T. Thirgood.

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        SUNDAY SCHOOLS.--T. N. Stewart, L. H. Holsey, W. P. Churchill.

        FINANCE.--P. Bell, L. J. Scurlock, Silas Phillips.

        PUBLIC WORSHIP.--Isaac Lane, Jordan Merriwether, Charles Lea, Job Crouch.

        The men that composed this General Conference and formed these committees were the pioneers of our Methodism. The work they accomplished has stood the test of more than twenty-five years. It was clear, simple, and permanent. The moral temper of the Conference was in striking contrast to political conventions, where inordinate ambition, self-aggrandizement, and unholy rivalry mar the proceedings and too often thwart the plans of patriotic men looking to the best interests of the people. Truth, and an unselfish love for the general welfare of the Church, illuminated their thoughts and seemed to direct their way to wise conclusions. Dr. Samuel Watson, who attended the meeting of this body from start to finish, and who, before its close, was requested to edit the Christian Index, made these complimentary and terse remarks about the Conference:

        It was a most interesting occasion. Delegates from eight Annual Conferences were in attendance. They came from South Carolina to Texas, on the south and west, and Kentucky, on the north. I have never seen a more harmonious Conference of any kind. There was a good degree of intelligence among its members. A distinguished judge, who attended the Conference daily, said it would compare favorably with the Tennessee Legislature.


        Such views of the character and ability of the men

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that were with the Church in its formation are not overdrawn.

        Some who were prominent in that Conference, and helped to give tone and dignity to it, as well as shape the destiny of the newborn Church, have largely shaped its policy ever since. In no one General Conference has the Church found so much bishop timber and so many men possessing such admirable elements of leadership as those that constituted our first General Conference. William Henry Miles, a reserve delegate from the Kentucky Conference, and Richard H. Vanderhorst, a regular delegate from the Georgia Conference, were, on December 21, the fifth day of the session, elected the first bishops of our Church; but they were not all the bishop timber in this Conference. There was a young man from Sparta, Ga., about the age of twenty-nine or thirty, who, unconscious to himself, exhibited to others possibilities and a life of great usefulness to his Church. Allusion is here made of Lucius H. Holsey. Quick of apprehension, apt in instruction, brilliant, brainy, gifted, and endowed by nature with an intellect destined to expand and develop, this body saw in him a future bishop, and at a subsequent General Conference he was elected and consecrated to the episcopal office. Isaac Lane, L. H. Holsey's senior by five or six years, also a leader in 1870, was afterwards elected a bishop. Time has verified the wisdom of the body that elected them. Mention should be made also of Isaac H. Anderson, who has maintained his hold upon the Church

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ever since its organization. He has been a member of every General Conference, except the one of 1874, and has just rounded out eight years as Book Agent and manager of the Christian Index.

        Of the preachers who composed our first General Conference, I. H. Anderson, now of the North Mississippi Conference, and R. T. Thirgood, of the North Alabama Conference, are the only ones, Bishops Holsey and Lane excepted, who are in the itinerant service of the Church. Not ten of the clerical delegates are living, not eight of the laymen, who saw the old Colored Methodist Episcopal ship launched, with flag and pennant streaming wide, a quarter of a century ago. They have passed over to that bourne from whence there can be no returning.


                         What is life? A transient bubble,
                         Like the ignis fatuus' gleam--
                         Full of crosses, full of trouble,
                         Passing like a fevered dream.

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CHAPTER III.

        First General Conference--Report of the Committee on Church Organization--The New Church Named.

        THE report of no committee was looked forward to with more eagerness, solicitude, and interest than the Committee on Church Organization. I. H. Anderson, the Chairman, in submitting his report, gratefully acknowledged the obligations of his brethren to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for what they had done for them; believing, however, that the time had come when, for the glory of God and the best interest of both races, they should have a distinct and independent organization, provision for the same having been made, as we have already seen. This report was preceded by a touching and forcible address by Bishop Paine upon the present and future relations of the Church, South, to the Church about to be organized. He urged upon the Conference the sine qua non of a pure ministry and the great importance of a spiritual membership. There was absolutely no difficulty in giving a name to the new Church institution. The eight members of that committee, representing eight Annual Conferences, were of one mind, soul, and spirit. Their knowledge of early Methodism enabled them to select a name that would be closely related to the one by which the followers of John Wesley were first known in this country. This was the report of the committee:

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        Whereas the Methodist Episcopal Church in America was the name first given to the Methodist Church in the United States; and

        Whereas we are a part of that same Church, never having seceded or separated from the Church; but in the division of the Church by the General Conference in 1844 we naturally belonged to the South, and have been in that division ever since; and now, as we belong to the colored race, we simply prefix the word "colored" to the name, and for ourselves adopt the name, as we are in fact a part of the original Church, as old as any in America; therefore be it

        Resolved, 1. That our name be the "Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America."

        2. That while we thus claim for ourselves an antiquity running as far back as any branch of the Methodist family on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, and while we claim for ourselves all that we concede to others of ecclesiastical and civil rights, we shall ever hold in grateful remembrance what the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, has done for us; we shall ever cherish the kindliest feelings toward the bishops and General Conference for giving to us all that they enjoy of religious privileges, the ordination of our deacons and elders; and at this Conference our bishops will be ordained by them to the highest office known in our Church. No other church organization has thus been established in the land. We most sincerely pray, earnestly desire, and confidently believe that there will ever be the kindliest feelings cherished toward the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and that we may ever receive their warmest sympathy and support.

        3. That we request the bishops to organize our General Conference on the basis of the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in its entire doctrine, discipline, and economy, making only such verbal alterations and changes as may be necessary to conform it to our name and the peculiarities of our condition.


        Along the lines mentioned in this chapter the

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Church was established and named, and at no time since has there been a general desire to change its name or modify or alter the basis upon which it was founded. While there has been no great desire to change the name, there has been a desire to see the phrase, "in America," dropped; and this can, and doubtless will, be done in the future, without any injury to the name of the Church.

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        THE PUBLISHING HOUSE, JACKSON, TENN.

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CHAPTER IV.

        First General Conference--A Publishing House Founded-- An Official Organ Created.

        MEASURES looking forward to the creation of a Publishing House were adopted at the third day's session, or December 19, 1870. I. H. Anderson moved that the Publishing House be located in Memphis, Tenn. The motion was first laid on the table, but afterwards taken therefrom and adopted. From the very beginning it became apparent to these framers of the Church that a Publishing House, where the literature of the Church should be created and deposited, was an indispensable necessity. L. H. Holsey, a young man of promise and ability, after showing the need of a Publishing House, offered the following, which was adopted:

        Resolved, 1. That we have a Book Agent.

        2. That we empower the associate editor to act as Book Agent.

        3. That we require the Book Agent and Editor, with the assistance of the preachers and presiding elders, to get as many members and other friends as possible to subscribe five dollars or more for the future establishment of said Publishing House.

        4. That said subscriptions or donations shall be forwarded to the Publishing Committee, who shall constitute the managers of said fund for said purpose under the supervision of Dr. Samuel Watson.


        Thus were our publishing interests founded, which

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have undergone some change at each recurring General Conference.

        For two years before the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church had assumed tangible form, a paper known as the Christian Index had been published in its interest by Samuel Watson, D.D., of the Church, South. This Conference resolved that it should continue to be published, with Dr. Watson as editor, and that the office of Assistant Editor should be created. A cash system was adopted, and it was resolved that each preacher should procure ten subscribers for the paper, and that in no case should a paper be sent unless the cash accompanied the subscription. No General Conference since has been able to make any improvement on this cash system.

        The Publishing Committee was to be composed of the Presiding Elder of the Memphis District, the stationed preacher at Collins Chapel, and Augustus Bostic, a prominent layman of the same church. It was further decided that, at the General Conference which was to meet in Augusta, Ga., the first Wednesday in July, 1874, the Publishing Committee should make a full statement of all moneys received and expended during the quadrennium.

        Our readers can clearly see that the legislation of this first General Conference reflects credit upon the men of that day. Their work has been permanent; their record is written on high. They have bequeathed to us a glorious history, a history that shall shine with increasing luster as the years roll by.

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CHAPTER V.

        First General Conference Concluded--Report of Committee on Episcopacy--The Election of two Bishops Recommended --B. S. Newton and L. H. Holsey Appointed Tellers --Divine Guidance Sought in the Election--W. H. Miles and R. H. Vanderhorst Chosen Bishops--L. J. Scurlock Elected Book Agent--Fixing Salaries of the Bishops --Conferences Bounded--Bishops Consecrated by Bishops Paine and McTyeire, Assisted by Elders West, Bullard, Stewart, and Churchill--Petition from Winchester, Ky. --Closing Remarks on the First General Conference.

        THE Committee on Episcopacy, of which Augustus Bostic was Chairman, on December 21, 1870, recommended the election and consecration of two men to the episcopal office. The report was adopted; but before the election the Conference sought Divine guidance and aid in the selection of the men who were to be the first bishops of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. Our forefathers did not resort to wire-pulling, political jugglery, and hypocritical demagogy in order to elect the men; neither did they indulge in misrepresentations to blight the possibilities of any man; they relied upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Like the apostles, when they were filling the place of Judas, who, by transgression, fell, they prayed: "Lord, thou knowest the hearts of all men: show which two men among us thou hast chosen, that they may take the lead of our ministry and this Church which under thy providence has just been

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founded." After such a season of prayer and devotion to God, it was not likely that they should err in their selection.

        L. H. Holsey, of Georgia, and B. S. Newton, of Kentucky, were appointed tellers. The balloting began, and ended with the following result:

        First ballot (votes cast, 40; necessary to a choice, 21)--W. H. Miles, 27; R. H. Vanderhorst, 16; Job Crouch, 12; W. P. Churchill, 9; T. N. Stewart, 8; B. S. Newton, 2; R. Marshall, 2.

        William H. Miles, of Kentucky, having received a majority of votes cast, was declared, by Bishop McTyeire, duly elected Bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America.

        Second ballot (votes cast, 40; necessary to a choice, 21)--R. H. Vanderhorst, 20; Job Crouch, 15; W. P. Stewart, 7; W. P. Churchill, 3. No election.

        Third ballot (votes cast, 40; necessary to a choice, 21)--R. H. Vanderhorst, 26; Job Crouch, 12; W. P. Churchill, 2.

        Richard H. Vanderhorst having received a majority of all votes cast, Bishop McTyeire declared him duly elected.

        The election of bishops over, the Conference, on the third ballot, elected L. J. Scurlock Book Agent, L. H. Holsey running him closely.

        Consequently W. H. Miles and R. H. Vanderhorst became our first Bishops, and L. J. Scurlock our first Book Agent.

        It is a little interesting to see how the Committee

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on Episcopacy fixed the salaries of the bishops. Bishop Miles was to receive a salary of $1,000 per year, and Bishop Vanderhorst, $700 per year. Each Annual Conference was to pay the bill of traveling expenses that should be submitted by the bishop as having been incurred by him in the discharge of the business or duties of the Conference visited--in other words, they were to receive the salaries already stated and their traveling expenses.

        We have seen that eight Conferences were represented at the opening of the General Conference; but before its close the Virginia and Tennessee Conferences were formed, making ten in all. The Committee on Boundaries fixed the territory of these Conferences as described below:

        To raise the $1,700 which had been appropriated for the bishops' salaries, the following assessments were made:

        As small as these assessments were, they were not all collected, and the result was the bishops were not paid in full. They did not fail to travel, however; for they labored unceasingly to spread the Church and add souls to her number.

        On the night of the same day of their election, in the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, they were consecrated to their high office by Bishops Paine and McTyeire. Edward West and Benjamin Bullard presented W. H. Miles, and T. N. Stewart and W. P. Churchill presented R. H. Vanderhorst, and assisted the bishops in the ordination exercises. Those who were present and are still living will not forget the solemnity of the occasion. Bishop Paine resigned the chair to Bishop Miles as soon as the ordination was over, and he, after presiding for awhile, resigned in favor of Bishop Vanderhorst. Thus was the machinery

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turned over to our bishops, and by them it has been manned ever since.

        Before concluding this write-up of the first General Conference, we desire to show our readers how the hearts and minds of the people were turned toward Jackson, Tenn., when representatives from all parts of the country had gathered there to form the new Church. Among the petitions that were presented none were more important, none indicated more clearly the trend in which legislation should be directed, none looked forward with more favorable apprehension, showing more palpably the interest that was coeval with the followers of this Church, than the petition that was presented by W. H. Miles, from Winchester, Ky. It was dated November 25, 1870, and read thus:

To the Colored General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South:

        "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

        We thank our God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, that our Church is widening its sphere of usefulness, and is gathering into its fold true and penitent believers; for we desire nothing so much as the spreading of the gospel of Christ. May your deliberations be guided by wisdom from on high; and, in your instituting a new order of things in our Church, our daily prayer shall be: "May the Lord direct you." If it be the will of God, our desire is that colored bishops be appointed or elected to take charge of and preside over the colored Church. It is our desire that our organization be known under the name of the "Methodist Episcopal Church"--not that we wish to sever our connection with the "Methodist Episcopal Church, South;" not that we want to unite with the "Methodist Episcopal

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Church, North;" but as our Savior called us to come unto him, let us imitate his goodness and purity, and in name avoid all stumbling-blocks, and, looking heavenward, move on triumphantly to the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. Some of the churches in Central Kentucky have engendered some bitterness of feeling on this account; and this slight change would produce harmony and unity of action that would render us invincible against the hosts of this world, and perhaps would be the means of saving many a wearied and lost soul.

        We trust that you will listen to our prayers, and accept this graciously from your brethren in Christ at Allen's Chapel, main cross street, Winchester, Ky.

        Signed by the Church through us as its officers: John Allen, Thomas Webb, Richard Trotter, Harrison Martin, Jacob Carey, Stewards; James Austin, Class Leader; Edward Massie, George Gardner, Sheet Irvin, Trustees; Reuben Taylor, Pastor Dry Fork Station; Moses Hall, Pastor Owingsville Station; Stephen Brown, Pastor Mount Sterling Station; and Richard Wells, Pastor Red River Circuit.


        These petitioners were earnest; they plainly saw that if the colored contingent of the Church, South, were to have a future, then they must assume a new relation to that Church.

        Our first General Conference was the most important one yet held. It had conditions, and not theories, to confront. It had to shape and outline the policy of the new organization; define its relation to the Church that gave it birth; resolve to abstain, as a Church, from participation in politics, and know nothing among men, save Christ, and him crucified. Having no Discipline of its own, the Conference adopted the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, taking out and putting in such things as would be for the highest interest of the Church. It

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also decided to patronize the Sunday school literature of the Church, South, both in books and periodicals.

        Legal and constitutional in organization, legitimately descended from the very father of Methodism, clear and spotless in its record, firm and unwavering in the doctrines and principles of Methodism, the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church entered upon its career clear as the sun, bright as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners.

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CHAPTER VI.

        The Church Organized--The Work Begun in Earnest--Bishops Miles and Vanderhorst Holding District Conferences --Isaac Lane, Presiding Elder Jackson District--Letter of E. B. Martin to H. H. Hammel--Some Faithful Preachers --First Episcopal Plan of Visitation--Dr. Watson's Editorial --Bishop Vanderhorst and the Georgia Conference-- Some Personal Reminiscences--Estranged Relation Between C. M. E. and A. M. E. Churches--The Cause--Bishops Miles and Vanderhorst Memorialize A. M. E. General Conference--Their Letter--Bishop Vanderhorst Dies --Remarks Concerning Him--Bishop Miles Calls an Extra Session of the General Conference--L. J. Scurlock Resigns the Assistant Editorship of the Index--E. B. Martin Succeeds Him--Letter from Wyatt Low--Letter from Bishop Miles--Chapter Concluded.

        THE Church organized, bishops elected, and the line of policy outlined, the ministers of the new Church began at once to spread and extend its borders. Bishops Miles and Vanderhorst traveled extensively, building up circuits, missions, and stations, and taking back members who had been toled into other denominations by misrepresentation of the relation of our Church to the Church, South.

        In the summer of 1871, Bishop Miles held District Conferences in Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, and other States; and Bishop Vanderhorst was engaged in the same kind of work in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Faithful men in all parts of the Church were laboring for her expansion.

        This year we find Isaac Lane presiding elder of the

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Jackson District, and E. B. Martin at Palona, Miss. Writing to H. H. Hammel, of Nashville, Tenn., the latter says:

        I have a great deal to do; I have not had any money since April; I have eight places to preach at on this circuit. I am in the wilderness; I never hear a car whistle, only when I ride twelve or thirteen miles to the little station where the post office is. But I am the servant of God; and if the Lord says stay here, I will stay and do the best I can. I believe God blesses my labors, for the Church here was nearly all gone to the Baptists. I called them, and they came back to the fold again. I had a great meeting and baptizing the first Sunday in the month. God takes care of me. I say sometimes, like good old David: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."


        The above letter was dated Palona, June 17, 1871.

        E. B. Martin was afterwards pastor of Collins Chapel, Book Agent, editor of the Christian Index, and pastor at Louisville, Ky., where he finally deserted the Church; and after becoming for a few years the pastor of a congregation which he drew out from Center Street Church, he connected himself with the Baptist denomination.

        In the various Conferences were to be found zealous men who considered no sacrifice too great for them to make for the good of the cause which they represented. L. H. Holsey, I. H. Anderson, and Edward West, in Georgia; B. S. Newton, R. Marshall, W. P. Churchill, and J. W. Bell, in Kentucky; J. A. Beebe, a coming young man in North Carolina--all these were fruitful in labors.

        The District Conferences held by the two bishops were interesting and usually well attended. Several

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Conferences were organized, and the degree of enthusiasm was such that the young daughter of Methodism was fast making her place among other Christian bodies.

        The first plan of episcopal visitation appeared in the Christian Index of July, 1871. Here it is:

        In making out the above plan, the bishops evidently intended to accompany each other, for Dr. Watson, the editor of the Index, made this explanation:

        Bishops Miles and Vanderhorst will visit and hold these Conferences together, wherever practicable. This was the ancient style of Bishops Coke and Asbury. Thus our bishops will have an opportunity to get acquainted with the churches, and the churches with them.


        Bishop Vanderhorst held the Georgia Conference, which met in December, in Milledgeville. The writer was only thirteen years old, but he remembers that the Bishop preached a great sermon from 2 Pet. i. 10: "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." We do not remember the outlines--it is enough, young as we were--to remember the text--but we do recollect that his sermon

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was eloquent, powerful, and pathetic, and made a great impression upon the people. The intonation of his voice, his graceful gestures, his beautiful cadences, his anxious look, his elegant diction, and his native eloquence marked him an orator of the purest type. He was a tall, erect, dignified black man. Dr. Watson, when describing the two bishops at one time, said: "Bishop Miles is bright, but Bishop Vanderhorst, as a Kentucky brother said in the General Conference, is black enough for any of us." These men of God, undaunted by persecution--for this they did not escape--pressed forward in protecting the rights and defending Colored Methodism from the attacks of her enemies.

        In these days there arose an estranged relation between the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, by reason of the former Church occupying property belonging to the latter, to which, by the action of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, it was justly entitled. In the ante-bellum days the colored Methodists of the South held their membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; nor was said membership held by choice, but by necessity; they could not do otherwise. They were not allowed to form organizations among themselves, as they had done in the North. Hence when the African Methodist Episcopal Church made the attempt to gather them together, that Church was driven out as an Ishmael; but when the war had knocked off the shackles from the slaves, "Bethel" again came upon the scene and gathered

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many under her banner. This was not all; churches that belonged to the Colored Methodist Episcopal Connection, which had been turned over to it by the Church, South, the African Methodist Episcopal Church held for its own use, and many were never recovered. The General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church met in Nashville, Tenn., in May, 1872, and to this body Bishops Miles and Vanderhorst addressed a memorial letter. It was dated Memphis, Tenn., May 1, 1872. This memorial is in point here, as it will show that our Church had ample reasons for complaint. The letter is published in full:

To Your Honorable Body, Hoping God's Blessing May Attend You, and That You May Have a Pleasant Session--Greeting:

        DEAR BRETHREN AND SIRS: This being the first session of your General Conference since we have effected our separate organization, we desire to live in peace with all men, and especially with Christians. So we concluded to drop your honorable body a few lines, asking you to take some steps to settle the difficulty that now exists between our Churches with regard to our church property which your congregations are now occupying without any legal right by the decision of the General Conference at Memphis, Tenn., in 1870. We assure you that we wish to live in peace with your Church, and do not wish to go to law for our churches. If it pleases your honorable body to appoint a committee to meet us, rest assured that your committee will be met with due respect on our part. We believe these little questions in law are injurious to our race, and we think that something should be done on both sides to stop the contention and bring peace between us. Some of your ministers in the past have been very hostile to us, forbidding us to preach in our own churches that were occupied by your congregations, for which we are very sorry. We only ask that which is ours under the law of the land,

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and we assure you that if we have any of your houses of worship we are ready and willing to give them up; and we ask your honorable body to turn over to us all of our church property throughout the South without the trouble of lawsuits. We await your answer.

W. H. MILES,
R. H. VANDERHORST,

Bishops of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America.


        This letter might appear a little caustic and pungent, but these blemishes and pert utterances disappear when we consider the style of the writer. Bishop Miles, who doubtless wrote the letter, was a plain, positive man. He always wrote or spoke what he thought, never seeking to confuse or mislead by so doing. The letter breathed the spirit of Christ; it only asked to be treated after the manner of the golden rule: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."

        This memorial letter was perhaps the last official paper to which Bishop Vanderhorst ever signed his name. He left Memphis in May, 1872, and died in July of the same year. Bishop Vanderhorst was really a worn-out preacher when elected to the episcopal office. He was fifty-seven years old at the time of his election, and was of frail constitution. His episcopal career, though short, was brilliant, useful, and successful. His death necessarily increased the labors and responsibilities of Bishop Miles.

        The General Conference at Jackson, Tenn., adjourned to meet in Augusta, Ga., in August, 1874; but the death of one bishop, the rapid growth of the Church, and its flattering possibilities necessitated a

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called session; consequently Bishop Miles called an extra session of the General Conference to meet in Augusta, Ga., March 19, 1873. Not only was the election of more bishops necessary, but there were other matters of importance that needed attention. L. J. Scurlock, who had been elected Book Agent and assistant editor of the Index, left his post for a more lucrative field and became a member of the Mississippi Legislature. E. B. Martin, pastor of Collins Chapel, having been appointed to act in his stead, was actually in training for the editorship of the Index, a position which, in the Index of February, 1873, Dr. Watson declared he could fill no longer than the ensuing General Conference.

        Notwithstanding some irregularities, impediments, and drawbacks, the work progressed steadily onward. Wyatt Low, an earnest preacher in Georgia, writing to the Index in November, 1872, says:

        The Merriwether Circuit is doing well. I have received over a hundred members this year. I have baptized one hundred and ten. I will soon have four new churches on my circuit. Elder J. T. Phillips*

        *J. T. Phillips was the brother of the author. He died in peace, July, 1892.


will dedicate a church the third Sunday in November, and we hope to have Bishop Miles preach a dedication sermon of a church near West Point after the Conference. I feel that God has blessed my circuit this year.


        While missions, circuits, and stations were being increased with a healthy membership, Bishop Miles was holding Conference after Conference, getting them in readiness for the fast approaching General

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Conference. The East Texas Conference met at Marshall, November 6, 1872. Bishop Miles, writing of that session, says:

        Rev. Daniels, presiding elder of the district, had made an arrangement with the officers of the Methodist Episcopal Church to hold the Conference sessions in their church. After religious services, several women came in, claiming to be members of that Church, and ordered us out. One very old lady, bending over a long staff, said: "My God, brethren; I am a radical all over! Go away from here, you conservatives!" I felt sorry for the old lady, to think that politics had so deranged an old woman who was nearly in the grave. I withdrew the Conference from their church in good order. I told the brethren not to say anything; and we then marched up to the Public Square, and halted in front of the courthouse, where the Cumberland Presbyterians offered us the use of their church. We did well after that, and had a good time. We bought a lot on which to build a church. The East Texas Conference is doing well. They had an increase of 1,620 members, and ten preachers were admitted on trial.


        What is true of this Conference was true of all the rest: they were constantly growing. Thus Bishop Miles, an indefatigable servant of the Church, with far more responsibility than any other one man in the Connection, performed his duties faithfully until the General Conference at Augusta elected three other men to share with him the responsibilities of the episcopal office.

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CHAPTER VII.

        The General Conference of 1873--J. W. Bell Elected Secretary --Some Visitors from the M. E. Church, South-- Bishop Miles' Memorable Message--Its Reception--Referred to the Various Committees--J. A. Beebe, L. H. Holsey, and Isaac Lane Elected Bishops--Their Consecration --Memorial Services to Bishop Vanderhorst-- Some Legislative Work--The Educational and Missionary Work of the Church--Some Important Reports--The General Missionary Board Appointed--The Annual Conferences Assessed for the Support of the Bishops--A Committee Eulogizes the Life, Labors, and Character of Bishop Vanderhorst--E. B. Martin Makes a Report on Publishing Interests--Afterwards Elected Editor and Book Agent--Conference Adjourns.

        IT is noticeable that very little writing was done through the Index by delegates respecting the election of bishops and measures that were to be discussed and perhaps adopted by the General Conference of 1873. So quiet were they that the editor had occasion to remark:

        We would like to hear of the movements of the Bishop. He may not have time to write much, but there are others who can take the time; and if they do so, we can keep the readers of the paper posted in regard to Church in matters. Wake up, brethren! Let us hear from you about measures to be adopted by the General Conference.


        In the February number of the Christian Index Dr. Watson urged the delegates to make the selection of bishops a matter of special prayer to God; that much depended upon the men who were to be chosen

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for the standard bearers of the cross of Christ; that men sound in body and mind should be chosen; and then the Church would enter upon a new era of prosperity.

        Accordingly the second General Conference of the Church met in Augusta, Ga., in Trinity Church, Wednesday, March 19, 1873, at 10 A.M. Bishop Miles, the only bishop of the Church, conducted the devotional exercises, and J. W. Bell, of Kentucky, was elected temporary, and afterwards permanent, Secretary.

        Since the first General Conference, Bishop Miles reported having organized the Northwest Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Kansas, and North Carolina Conferences. Their delegates were seated and a quorum was announced.

        Among the visitors from the Church, South, were Bishop George F. Pierce; Dr. Abby, of the Mississippi Conference; Rev. J. E. Evans, Rev. C. W. Key, Rev. Thomas Seals, and Dr. Hicks, of the North Georgia Conference; and Several others.

        Much interest centered in the Bishop's message, as it was to be the first message delivered to the new organization. Below is the full text of that memorable document:

        REVEREND AND DEAR BRETHREN: The present session of your body has been made necessary by the rapid growth of the Church, the increasing demands of the work, and by the lamented death of my beloved colleague, Bishop Richard H. Vanderhorst. He was a good man, and commanded the respect and confidence of the whites as well as the people of his own race. He died in peace. I trust you will order a suitable memorial of his character and services. Since

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the sad event to which I have referred, the sole oversight of our rapidly-expanding Communion has devolved upon me. The work is too great for me, and the Church must suffer unless the vacancy be filled. The interest at stake is too vast and precious to be periled by waiting for the regular quadrennial session. To strengthen the episcopacy is at present an urgent demand. It is not three years since we were set up as a separate and independent ecclesiastical body. Then we had no certain statistics as to the number of preachers or members embraced in our jurisdiction. Eight Annual Conferences were represented in the General Conference assembled at Jackson in 1870. As reported to you on yesterday, I have organized four more-- viz., the Northwest Texas, the Missouri and Kansas, the Louisiana, and the North Carolina Conferences. Two other Conferences were made in regular session, and their delegates are here to take their seats with you in this meeting. Now I report to you 14 Annual Conferences, 635 traveling preachers, 583 local preachers, and a membership of 67,888. In view of the opposition from certain quarters, these results are very inspiring. Let us thank God, and take courage.

        The territory embraced in our Conferences is very large. One or two men in the episcopacy can only make transient visits to the chief points. A more thorough personal oversight is necessary to an intelligent and effective administration. As the result of my observations upon the State and necessity of the work, I recommend the election and ordination of at least three bishops.

        It is eminently proper that I remind you officially of the Christian kindness and consideration of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, toward us as a people. Under the authority of their General Conference, their bishops assisted in our organization by presiding at our first session, ordaining our bishops, publishing our Disciplines, and helping to redeem in spirit and to the transfer of church property. The brethren of the Church, South, have shown us great favor; and their debtors we are for sympathy and encouragement, for brotherly counsel and material aid, and for the transfer, under all the forms and securities of law, of an amount of property which, left to

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ourselves, we would not have realized in a generation. Let our brotherly love toward them abound, and let us vindicate their confidence in us by fidelity to our work and active consecration to the mission whereunto we are called.

        Our publishing interests demand your careful examination. Without specific advice, I suggest that they ought to be permanently located, judiciously manned, and some plan devised for the more liberal patronage of the Christian Index and the Discipline. These things are important, not only for the sake of financial results, but for the advancement of our people in intelligence and in Christian morals, for the right training of the young, and to put to silence the reproach of our enemies. We must become a reading people if we would acquire influence, overcome opposition, and maintain ourselves respectably among the Churches of the land. Next to the maintenance of sound doctrine and godly discipline (and it will be tributary to these), the most vital point is the education of our people, and especially the improvement of our ministry. With regard to the latter, I suggest, as the best we can now do, to urge great caution in licensing men to preach by the Quarterly Conferences and to enforce in the Annual Conferences the requirements of the course of study, holding all persons steadily to the rule. As to the general subject, my conclusion, after much thought, is to recommend the appointment of a committee, with instructions to take counsel and elaborate a scheme of education, to be submitted to the General Conference at its regular session a year hence.

        My judgment, brethren, is that you should not at this time enter upon the work of general legislation. This session was made necessary by the death of Bishop Vanderhorst, the increase in the number of Conferences, and the growing demand for episcopal service. Let us attend to these things, make such preliminary arrangements for the other interests to which I have called your attention as you judge best, and then adjourn to resume our active ministerial labors in our several fields of labor.

        As an ecclesiastical organization, our growth has not only been rapid, but healthy, and seems to contain all the elements of permanence and broader development. Let us hold fast whereunto we have attained. Let no man take

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our crown. With the same singleness of purpose, the same freedom from all entangling alliances with outside questions, let us do the work of evangelists, and make full proof of our ministry by preaching a pure gospel and building up the Church in faith and holiness.

        May the great Head of the Church guide you in the selection of the chief pastors of the flock, and also to such plans as shall bring glory to Him through the moral and spiritual improvement of all our people.

March 20, 1873.

W. H. MILES.


        The address of the Bishop, which sent a thrill of joy through the hearts of all the delegates and visitors; was referred to the respective standing committees which had already been appointed.

        The Committee on Episcopacy reported that they had examined the character and administration of Bishop Miles, and also the labors of Bishop Vanderhorst up to the time of his death, and found both blameless in their lives and official administrations. Upon the recommendation of the committee, their characters were passed unanimously. The committee further recommended the election of three additional bishops, and the Conference concurred.

        On Saturday morning, March 23, 1873, after a few pertinent remarks by Bishop Miles and a fervent prayer by Bishop Pierce, who prayed for the guidance of the Spirit in the solemn matter before the delegates, the balloting proceeded. Votes cast, 41; necessary to a choice, 22.

        On the first ballot Joseph A. Beebe, of North Carolina, and L. H. Holsey, of Georgia, each received 39 votes, and Isaac Lane, of Tennessee, received 13, being third next highest. A number of complimentary

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votes were cast for W. P. Churchill, I. H. Anderson, R. T. White, and others.

        J. A. Beebe and L. H. Holsey were declared elected Bishops of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church by Bishop Miles.

        On the second ballot Isaac Lane received 27 votes, and W. P. Churchill, 13.

        Bishop Miles announced that Isaac Lane, having received a majority of all votes cast, was duly elected bishop.

        Congratulations by the people and speeches by the bishops-elect over, the Conference, on motion of I. H. Anderson, elected Bishop Pierce to preach the ordination sermon on the Sabbath, March 24, at 3 o'clock, and Bishop Miles to preach the memorial sermon of Bishop Vanderhorst at 8 P.M. Rev. B. S. Newton, Rev. Job Crouch, Rev. Stokes Steele, and Rev. William Taylor assisted in the ordination of the newly elected bishops.

        This Conference displayed a disposition to remove the Book Concern from Memphis to Nashville, the question being discussed pro and con. Finally it was continued at Memphis. The assessment of twenty-five cents per member was changed to ten cents, for the support of the Book Concern, and the presiding elders were to see that the same was collected. An editor was elected, who was to have charge of the Book Concern, as well as edit the Christian Index. Some wanted to elect a general traveling agent to travel in the interest of the Index and the Book Concern, and see to the judicious distribution of the literature of the Church throughout the territory embraced

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in its organization. A wiser plan was reached, however, when the Conference ultimately decided to have the bishops act as agents for the circulation of the Index and literature of the Church. Special agents for publications in the Church have rarely ever proven successful.

        To this General Conference is due the credit of beginning the educational and missionary work of the Church. The substance of the report on education was: The bishops were instructed to take measures looking to the establishment of an institution of learning; to unite on the subject of education to the extent of their opportunities; to receive donations and contributions for the benefit of the cause, and acknowledge the same in the Index; that all preachers give it their strict attention, and lecture on the subject occasionally; and that the bishops bring the matter before the several Annual Conferences for their consideration.

        The report of the Committee on Missions was no less interesting. They adopted Chapter 10 of the Discipline of that day, after saying twenty-five percent, instead of forty per cent, of missionary moneys raised shall be paid into the treasury of the General Missionary Board. The officers elected were: B. E. Ford, of Mississippi, President; I. H. Anderson, of Georgia, Vice President; and E. B. Martin, of Tennessee, Secretary. R. T. White, of Georgia; A. Bostic of Tennessee; and S. Bobo, of Mississippi, were elected a Board of Managers.

        The Conference voted an annual assessment of five dollars on each Annual Conference for the support of

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the widow of Bishop Vanderhorst during her lifetime.

        The Church was sadly in need of a well-regulated financial plan, but it was necessary for the new organization to become experienced in financiering before such a plan could be inaugurated. To raise money for the support of the bishops, the General Conference made an assessment directly upon the Annual Conferences rather than upon individuals. Each Conference was assessed as follows:

        These assessments were never paid, and so the bishops experienced many hardships; yet their zeal for the Church abated not, neither did they cease their labors.

        On the last day of the Conference, E. S. West, R. J. Brown, J. A. Beebe, R. T. White, and Emanuel Asbury, as a Committee on Eulogy, reported a preamble and resolutions eulogizing the life, character, labors, and achievements of the late Bishop Vanderhorst,

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and recommended the erection of a suitable monument to his memory.

        Dr. Watson, of the Church, South, who had edited the Index from its creation until the assembling of the General Conference, having given notice that he could in no sense longer hold the position, was, by the members of the Conference, tendered a unanimous rising vote of thanks for his pious labors and valuable assistance in their behalf.

        E. B. Martin, the Acting Agent, by reason of L. J. Scurlock's desertion, made a report of the paper and book interests. From January, 1872, to March 1, 1873, $983 had been expended on the paper; $936.25 had been received; books on hand were valued at $290.80; cash, about $60 or $70; while $1,630.90 was the total amount paid out during the fifteen months.

        There were several new men in this body who were not in the General Conference of 1870. Among these were R. T. White, who has attended every quadrennial session of the Church from that time; R. J. Brown, who has long since died in peace; J. A. Beebe, who in the same Conference was elected a bishop; J. W. Bell; E. B. Martin, and others.

        The last legislative act of the Conference was the almost unanimous election of E. B. Martin to the Book Agency and editorship of the Christian Index. This done, the proceedings of the second General Conference passed into history.

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CHAPTER VIII.

        Fraternal Letter from the Bishops of the A. M. E. Church-- Editorial Comment by E. B. Martin--Death of Senior Bishop William Paul Quinn, of the A. M. E. Church.

        The General Conference at Augusta, Ga., continuing in session only seven days, adjourned before the following fraternal letter from the bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church reached Augusta. At their request, it appeared in the Index, April 1, 1873:

PHILADELPHIA, March 26, 1873.

To the Members of the General Conference of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, now in Session in Augusta, Ga.

        DEAR BRETHREN: The members of the Board of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, in session at their episcopal rooms in the city of Washington, D. C., on behalf of the said Church, send you their Christian greetings. They take this method of expressing to you their deep interest in your success in the new organization effected under the generous auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. We confess that we would have been more than pleased if, in the providence of God, you could have seen your way clear to have united with us instead of increasing the number of independent organizations of Methodists by one. This, we believe, you would have done had you previously known and entirely understood the history of the rise and progress, with the designs, intentions, and manifest utility, of our Church, as you will, we trust, hereafter know and understand them. Whatever the result or consequence of such acquaintance may be, we trust that the day is not far distant when you will be thus acquainted with us and when all colored Methodists shall become one great, united family. Indeed, is it not desirable that the whole Methodist family should become one, under

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one united system of doctrine, discipline, and government in the United States of America? We believe you will say with us that such a condition of Church fellowship is most desirable. If the will of the Lord be so, we hope and pray for it. Until then we shall rejoice in the success which God may give to you. May it be your lot, dear brethren, to help increase the membership of the Church of Christ, and thus spread abroad a knowledge of his kingdom upon the earth. We shall rejoice in your educational enterprises, in your financial strength among our dear people throughout this land. We thank God for the apparent peace and prosperity which thus far have attended your Church. May continued success attend your true and faithful ministrations in the Lord.

        We could not close our communication without alluding to the fact that you, like we, have been called to mourn the loss of one of the members of your Episcopal Board, the Reverend Bishop Vanderhorst. In this loss we can sympathize with you, as you may with us in the loss of our senior bishop,*

        *The bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church refer here to the death of Bishop William Paul Quinn, senior bishop of that Church, which occurred at Richmond, Ind. Feb. 21, 1873.


who left this world in great peace, leaving behind him a most satisfactory testimony of his having gone to that rest which remains for the people of God.

        We are your brethren in Christ.

        Signed, on behalf of the Board of Bishops,

JABEZ PITT CAMPBELL,
T. M. D. WARD,

Bishops.


        After closing the above document, they touched upon the letter which Bishops Miles and Vanderhorst had addressed to their General Conference with regard to adjusting property disputes between their members and ours. Concerning this they said:

        Touching the question of property, we are willing to act strictly according to the principle of equity and right,

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and earnestly hope that all disputes regarding the same may be amicably adjusted.


        E. B. Martin, editor of the Christian Index at that time, among other things, writes as follows concerning that fraternal letter:

        We are very much gratified at the spirit and the subject-matter of the letter. We regret it did not come in time to be presented to and acted upon by the General Conference. Let us respect and love each other as brethren beloved, laboring for the same glorious end. The causes that led us to be in separate bodies were in existence before most of us were brought upon the stage of action. We have nothing to do with the dead past, but with the present and future of our beloved Methodism. Whatever we can do without compromising our self-respect to bring about the best state of Christian fellowship we will most cheerfully do. Our brethren of the African Church may learn a lesson from the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Their bishops appointed one of their number, with another distinguished minister, to attend the General Conference of the latter Church, which met in Memphis, May, 1870. Although they were received most cordially and treated with the utmost kindness and hospitality, yet officially they could not be received, because they were not sent by their General Conference. When the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was held in Brooklyn, May, 1872, they appointed fraternal messengers*

        *The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in refusing to recognize the accredited fraternal messengers from the Methodist Episcopal Church, must have done so because it was customary or lawful for such appointments to be made by their General Conference. The fact that they were so cordially received in 1874, at Louisville, having been appointed by their General Conference at Brooklyn, fully justifies the statement. The General Conference of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church has delegated the power of appointing fraternal messengers to the bishops; and, so far as we know, other Methodist bodies have done the same.


to attend the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which met in Louisville, May, 1874. They will doubtless be received with
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pleasure. We contend, therefore, that the document which came to us from the African Methodist Episcopal bishops should have sprung from their General Conference. The Methodist Episcopal Church sent delegates; we say to our African brethren: "Go thou and do likewise."


        This fraternal message from the bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, breathing, as it did, a spirit of union of all colored Methodists, was the first of its kind to reach our Church; hence it is recorded, that it may find a place in the early history of our Methodism.

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        MORNING CHAPEL, FORT WORTH, TEX.

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CHAPTER IX.

        The Bishops Holding Annual Conferences--Their Field Not an Easy One--Some Epithets by which the Church was Called--Some Early Persecutions--Letters from the Bishops--Chapter Concluded with an Interesting Letter from R. T. White, of the Georgia Conference.

        ACCORDING to the episcopal plan of 1873, Bishop Miles held the Missouri and Kansas, Tennessee, North Mississippi, and Kentucky Conferences; Bishop Beebe, the Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia Conferences; Bishop Holsey, the Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama Conferences; and Bishop Lane, the Northwest Texas, East Texas, and Louisiana Conferences. As far as possible, the three new bishops held the District Conferences belonging to their districts. J. A. Beebe, who was a presiding elder in the North Carolina Conference at the time of his election to the office of Bishop; L. H. Holsey, who was a pastor at Augusta, Ga.; and Isaac Lane, in charge at Jackson, Tenn., wound up the affairs of their charges before entering upon the duties of the episcopal office.

        No easy field lay before these consecrated men. The Church was in its infancy; it was maliciously misrepresented, wantonly maligned, and frequently calumniated by stronger religious denominations. The relation of our Church to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was the prolific cause of most of the misrepresentations that were heaped upon us. The Church was called a "Rebel Church," "Democratic

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Church," and "the old Slavery Church." These were powerful weapons used against us, for the reason that our people were naturally credulous, especially concerning anything that might be said about those who had kept their forefathers in slavery for more than two centuries. Some were odiously inclined to the Church, South; others refused social relations with those who in any way affiliated with that Church. Thus the credulity of the ignorant was played upon with ease, and they joined in the rabble cry: "Demolish the new Church!"--the "Democratic Church."

        The persecutions of those times have undergone such changes, and we are so far removed from the environments and conditions of those days, that it is best for the present historian to let the men of that age tell us of those persecutions. Bishop Miles, writing to the Index in January, 1873, says:

        I have traveled over a large portion of our work, and have seen a great deal of the world. I find our work is doing well. Men and means are what is wanted to do a great work for Christ. We still have the political influence of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church to contend with. I wonder if they will never get tired of telling falsehoods on our Church. Through it all we have a right to thank the great Head of the Church that, notwithstanding all they say and do, we are yet on the gaining ground.

        The Missouri and Kansas Conference met in first session near Santa Fé, Mo. The church having been burned just before the Conference, we held the session in the woods, and had a very pleasant time.


        The letter of Bishop Holsey, which appeared in the Index of June 12, 1873, is in point here:

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        I have just arrived home from a tour to Florida. I went by way of Savannah; stopped there over night, and preached two sermons in old Andrew Chapel to a small congregation. The pastor, M. B. King, seems to be hopeful of a better time. Sisters Susan Deas and Susan Carrier have stood the storm of persecution from their African friends like true heroines of the Cross; and they are still, to a great degree, "the staff and stay" of the Church. When will this spirit of persecution die?


        Concerning the Church work at Tallahassee, Fla., the Bishop wrote:

        The Church here has had many hard and sore trials; and after being "in the furnace of affliction," she comes forth purer than she was before, and is destined to distinguish herself in a glorious career.


        On his return from Florida, he remained over in Thomasville, Ga., on the Sabbath, and preached twice, to the delight of the people. Of the church there he wrote:

        The church in this place has been burned by our enemies, but a new one has been erected on the smoky ruins. The present building is in debt, and has only a few members; but these are faithful and true. Their African brethren are still waging an unholy war of persecution and slander against the innocent few because they choose to worship God according to the dictates of an unfettered conscience. What a crime to divide Churches, and then burn the building! Is not this the frightful spirit of the beast? Answer, ye church burners, if ye will; if not, ye shall do it in the day of judgment.


        The Bishop concludes his letter jocosely:

        I left Thomasville and came to Macon, Ga., where I met my beloved colleague, Bishop Beebe, who was in fine health and high spirits. After twenty-four hours spent at the home of R. J. Brown, I bade them adieu. The "iron horse" soon brought me home, where I found my family sick with mumps and measles. Two of my children had been near

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death's door, and a "new" member of the family had also arrived two weeks before I did.


        Bishop Lane, in October, 1873, left Jackson to visit or hold what was then called the Northwest Texas Conference, which met at Waxahachie. Arriving a little ahead of the preachers, he visited the African Methodist Episcopal Church of that town. The impression of his visit he afterwards wrote to the Index. Speaking of the African Methodist Episcopal brethren, he said:

        I was pained to meet with some opposition from them. The minds of the people were prejudiced against us by reason of certain rumors put in circulation by some of our opposers. It would not be amiss to say that they charged us with being a "Democratic" Church, which every one who is acquainted with our organization and its operations knows is not true. They also charged us with being under the control of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which everybody knows is not true. The Church, South, controls its organization, and we control ours. At the same time, we are pleased to say (which is nothing but what truth and justice require) that the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is very kind to us, and always greets us in Christian love and fellowship.


        Bishop Beebe, in a letter to the Index, dated March 25, 1874, says:

        Our work in North Carolina is progressing, not withstanding the strong opposition by the Zion Church, which has monopolized the largest portion of the members of our Church because of the continued slander and unreasonable accusations brought against us. Time has shown that we are not a political Church. Our aim is the glory of God and the salvation of the souls of men. The peaceable manner of our Church has won for us the confidence of the majority of the most intelligent people of our State.


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        Much more might be written respecting the early struggles of our Church, but enough has been recorded to give those of this age, and those who are yet to come upon the scene of action, a fair knowledge of the forces against which this youngest daughter of Methodism had to contend in order to obtain her present position of influence and prestige.

        We conclude this chapter with the interesting article of R. T. White, a prominent preacher in the Georgia Conference. It appeared first in the quartocentennial number of the Christian Index, which celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Church on May 11, 1895. It is as follows:

        The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America was ushered into the world under the most unfavorable circumstances, and at a period the most critical ever known in the annals of Church history. The political struggle of the country had just terminated, leaving the colored man what has been called a free man. Over this blessed bone the colored people went wild with enthusiasm. In the midst of universal rejoicing and gladness, thought was given the Church as to how best to arrange for our people. Among the leaders of the race some cried one thing and some another. Propositions coming in from the North and also from the South, the leaders of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church accepted the offer made them by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which resulted in what is known as the the independent Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, a Church the very type and image of the one organized and set up by Christ himself; not noted for wealth or culture, but a Church noted for piety, integrity, and truth. The object of her organization was never more or less than the education of the race and the salvation of precious souls. The very existence of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church is a demonstration of the fact that, though her elder sisters are

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doing a great work, they could not do all of the good work in the world that God wanted done. Her existence is truly providential. She is the creature of heaven. Pure in motive and fair in every feature, her work was given her of God, and must be done. Men and devils may hinder, but cannot stop her in her onward march. At the time of her eventful birth many Herods of every cast and color stood in the way inquiring of the wise men concernin