Nathan Bangs · 17 of 28

Chapter 6. From the Close of the General Conference of 1820 to the Beginning of the General Conference of 1824. · 1823

The work of God this year was steadily advancing within the bounds of the several annual conferences. Some of the circuits in the older parts of the work, in consequence of the increase of members and societies, were much contracted, and the number of stations was necessarily multiplied. In this manner the work was becoming more and more compact, pastoral labor more easily and punctually performed, and the local interests of each society more minutely attended to. Still, new circuits were formed in the frontier settlements, new missions opened, and some villages and neighborhoods not before occupied by our ministry, through the aid of the Missionary Society, were supplied with the word and ordinances of God. These I shall endeavor to notice, so far as authentic documents and other sources of information will enable me to do it correctly.

The Missionary Society, having been recognized by the General Conference, was now considered as an integral part of the general plan of carrying on the work of God, and was becoming more and more identified with the other institutions of the Church. Its blessed results, also, which were seen and felt, more especially among the wandering savages of our country, entwined it around the affections of our people, and called forth their liberality for its support.

The cause of missions was also much aided about this time by the eloquent appeals of the Rev. John Summerfield, a young minister who came over from Ireland and joined the New York conference in 1821. He had attracted much attention since his arrival among us by the sweet and melting strains of his pulpit oratory, and as he entered into the spirit of our Missionary Society with great zeal and energy, he contributed much to the diffusion of its benevolent principles among the people at large. While stationed in the city of New York, in 1822, where he drew vast multitudes to listen to the accents of redeeming love, which fell from his lips in the purest strains of gospel eloquence, he adopted the practice of delivering lectures to the children at stated times, at which he made collections to aid the Missionary Society. And the hearty and efficient manner in which he espoused this noble enterprise of the Young Men’s Missionary Society of New York to elect him as their president. His zeal in the cause of God, and the popularity of his talents for addressing public assemblies on anniversary occasions, induced so many applications from the benevolent and charitable societies for his services, to which he yielded with perhaps too great a readiness for his strength, that he found himself wearing out by the intensity of his labors. This induced him, by the advice of his physicians and friends, to make a voyage to France for the benefit of his health. While there he sent the following address to the society of which he was the president, and which, as a sample of the writer’s manner of communicating his thoughts, and an evidence of the ardor with which he entered into, this subject, I think worthy of preservation. It is as follows: —

“Marseilles, February 20, 1823

“My Dear Brethren: — You are too well acquainted with the circumstances which prevent my filling the chair upon this pleasurable occasion, to require that I should dwell upon them; indeed, it would be irrelevant to those important objects which have assembled you together: not private sympathies, but the public good, will be your present theme; and in this I realize my full share of joy with you, for although in a far distant land, and that a land of strangers, my affections point to those ‘whom I love in the truth,’ and with whom I glory to be in any wise associated in carrying on the cause of our common Lord.

“Upon the occasion of an anniversary like yours, exhortation to renewed zeal might be deemed impertinent; the pulse of every heart beats too high on such an occasion to anticipate any decay in your future exertions. This is rather a of congratulation and rejoicing; and in commencing another year of labor and reward, I devoutly implore for you a continuance of that grace which has enabled you to remain ’steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.’

“In common with all who love the interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom, I rejoice at witnessing that increase of missionary zeal and missionary means which the past year lays open, not only in your auxiliary and its parent society, but among other denominations of the Christian church; in this ‘you also joy and rejoice with me,’ for ‘whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, all are ours;’ — so that in whatever part of the vineyard the work is wrought, we view it not as the work of man, but as it is in truth, the work of God;’ for ‘neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth: it is God that giveth the increase.’ We may collect from different funds, but we bring to the same exchequer; and have no greater joy than in the accumulation of the revenue of that relative glory of the divine character which redounds from the salvation of men, ‘through Christ Jesus, unto the glory and praise of God the Father.’

“But, abstracted from general views of the mighty work of missions, I regard the branch to which you are attached with peculiar pleasure on this occasion. You know that, from the beginning of our existence in the religious world, Methodism has always been a ‘history of missions;’ its venerable founder, considering that this was the first character of the Christian church, and believing it would be the last, even at that day when ‘many shall run to and fro, and knowledge be increased,’ wisely instituted a ministry which should be a standing monument of what God could do by this means. ‘And what has God wrought? Some there are, whom the frost of many winters has not chilled to death, to whom our father’s words may still be spoken,

‘Saw ye not the cloud arise? Little as a human hand’

“Its present state we ourselves have lived to see:

‘Now it spreads along the skies — Hangs o’er all the thirsty land! When he first the work begun, Small and feeble was his day; Now the word doth swiftly run, Now it wins its widening way! More and more it spreads and grows; Ever mighty to prevail, Sin’s strong holds it now o’erthrows, Shakes the trembling gates of hell!’

“Indeed, there are seasons wherein the overwhelming influence of these reflections so rests upon the mind, that unless we heard the warning voice, ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’ we should stand at the base of this mighty structure, and wholly spend our time for naught, in admiring the symmetry and proportion of all its parts, beholding ‘what manner of stones and buildings are here!’ But, thus warned, we too ‘arise and build.’ Thus ‘instead of the fathers are the children, and the children’s children shall yet add thereto, till the topstone be raised, shouting, Grace, grace unto it!’

“My dear brethren, if there is a scene within the universe of God calculated to lift our minds to heaven; if there is a scene calculated to bring down the heavenly host to earth, it is that which portrays in anticipation the final triumph of the ‘gospel of the grace of God.’ Yes, the gospel must ultimately and universally triumph! Well may we exclaim, What an object is this! It is the fairest scene that the pencil of heaven, dipped in the colors of its own rainbow, can delineate; and even the great voice issuing from the eternal throne can utter nothing more exhilarating and sublime than the consummation of this event, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men!’ Yes, my brethren,

‘Jesus shall reign where’er the sun Does his successive courses run.’

“The glow which pervaded the apostle’s mighty mind did not cause his pen to aberrate; the spirit of inspiration sat upon him when he declared that Jesus ‘must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.’ That day will come! Do we expect to swell the number who shall grace his triumph? Do we burn with seraphic ardor to be among his train ‘when he shall be revealed from heaven with power and great glory?’ Then ‘gird up the loins of your mind; be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ!’ Wherefore ‘comfort one another with these words,’ for truly ‘it is with the same comfort wherewith I myself am comforted of God.’

“You, my dear brethren of this auxiliary, who are the managers of its concerns, I hail. I am also one of you. ‘I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you.’ Early separated from the world, and ardently employed in seeking the interests of ‘a better country, that is, a heavenly, God is not ashamed to be called your God, for he has prepared for you a city.’ ‘Walk therefore by the same rule, mind the same thing.’ ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.’ ‘Set your affections on things above, and not on things upon the earth.’ Soon you shall hear it sounded, ‘Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee’ ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!’

“The friends and subscribers of this auxiliary are entitled to your thanks; they have merited them will; by means of the numerous little streams which have been directed to our reservoir by the friends of missions, our ‘water-pots,’ if not always full, have never become dry. On this occasion, however, you look to have them ‘filled even to the brim;’ and may He who can convert our base material to subserve his glorious purpose of saving men, ‘draw forth’ therefrom that ‘wine of the kingdom which cheers the heart of God and man.’

“I remain, my dear brethren, your fellow-laborer and servant,

J. SUMMERFIELD.”

A mission was commenced this year among the Pottawatamy Indians, a small tribe settled in the neighborhood of Fort Clark, on the Fox river, in the state of Illinois, and the Rev. Jesse Walker was appointed to prosecute its objects.

But though he succeeded, after much toil and expense, in establishing a school and conciliating the friendship of some of the adult Indians, yet the missionary was compelled, after seven years of hard labor, to abandon the enterprise as hopeless. Their strong attachments to savage life, and incurable suspicions of white men, together with their final determination to remove west, frustrated the benevolent attempts to introduce the gospel and the arts of civilized life among them.

A fragment of the Wyandot tribe of Indians was settled in Upper Canada, on the banks of the river Carnard. These were first visited by Mr. Finley, and were afterward transferred to the care of Mr. Case, to whom the superintendence of all the aboriginal missions in that province was committed. About twenty of these Indians embraced the Christian faith, and became members of our Church.

In the bounds of the Tennessee conference there was a missionary district formed, embracing that part of Jackson’s Purchase that lies in the states of Tennessee and Kentucky, which was committed to the charge of the Rev. Lewis Garrett. This was a new country, rapidly filling up with inhabitants, and there were no less than nine preachers appointed to supply them with the means of salvation. As before remarked, Mr. Garrett was first appointed a missionary to this region of country, which contained not less than ten thousand square miles, in 1820, and he succeeded in forming a four weeks’ circuit, in which he was assisted, by the appointment of the presiding elder, by Andrew J. Crawford. And so successful had they been in 1821, that in 1822 there were returned on the Minutes of the conference one hundred and fifty-five members, thirteen of whom were colored people. The inhabitants generally received the messengers of the gospel with joyful hearts, opening their doors and making them welcome, and also contributing, according to their scanty means, for their support, for as yet the Missionary Society was able to appropriate but little for the furtherance of domestic missions.

These men of God, though they had to contend with poverty, bad roads, and to preach in log huts, or under the foliage of the native trees, penetrated into every part of the country where settlements had been formed, and succeeded in establishing several circuits, in which they returned for the Minutes of 1823 one thousand one hundred and twenty-six members, one hundred and one of whom were colored, chiefly slaves.

This year the gospel was more extensively introduced into the territory of Michigan, which was erected into an independent state and received into the Union in the year 1836.

This country was originally settled by the French, who sent Catholic missionaries there as early as 1648, and the city of Detroit was founded in 1670, by a few French families. Its growth was slow, but the people gradually enlarged their borders on each side of the Detroit river, a strait about twenty-four miles in length, which connects Lakes St. Clair and Erie. In 1763 this country, together with Upper Canada, passed, by the right of conquest, from the French into the hands of the British, and so remained until the war of the revolution separated it from the British empire and connected it with the United States. After this, emigrants from different parts of the Union began to mingle with the original settlers.

When this country was first visited by a Methodist missionary, in 1804, it was in a deplorable state as to religion and morals. In Detroit there was no preaching except by the French Catholics, and their influence in favor of the pure morality of the gospel was extremely feeble. The few Protestant emigrants who had settled in Detroit and some of the adjoining places were entirely destitute of a ministry of their own order, and were fast assimilating into the customs and habits of those with whom they associated. And though repeated efforts had been made, from time to time, to establish Methodism in Detroit, they must have been attended with but little success, for we find no members returned on the Minutes of conference for that place until the year 1822, and then the number was only twenty.

This year, 1823, the Rev. Alfred Brunson was stationed on the Detroit circuit, which stretched through the country for four hundred miles. This he and his colleague, the Rev. Samuel Baker, surrounded each once in four weeks, giving the people a sermon every two weeks; and their labors were so far blessed, that in 1824 the number of Church members had increased to one hundred and sixty-one.

This year a small society was formed at St. Mary’s. This was a military post belonging to the United States, situated on the strait by that name, about eighty miles in length, and which connects Lakes Superior and Huron, and is about four hundred miles in a northerly direction from Detroit. The most of this distance, at that time, was a wilderness, infested with beasts of prey, and dotted with here and there an Indian village. It was at this place that a few pious soldiers, who had been converted at Sackett’s Harbor, were removed, and, being almost destitute of every religions privilege, formed themselves into a class, chose a leader, and met together for mutual edification and comfort, holding their meetings in the woods until the barracks were erected, when they were allowed the use of the hospital. They were much assisted by the good countenance of Lieutenant Becker, a pious member of the Presbyterian Church, to whom they were attracted by a congeniality of feeling, and they were mutually refreshed and strengthened in their social meetings. In the course of the winter their number increased to about fourteen, which much encouraged them to persevere in their work of faith and labor of love.

This state of things in that part of the country induced Mr. Brunson to call loudly for help, and this led to the establishment of St. Mary’s mission a short time after.

The territory of Florida had recently been ceded to the United States, as an indemnity for the spoliations committed upon our commerce by Spanish cruisers; and as it is the policy of the Methodist Episcopal Church to enter every open door for the spread of the gospel, a missionary, the Rev. Joshua N. Glenn, was sent this year to St. Augustine, the oldest town in North America, and capital of East Florida. Most of the inhabitants of this place and the surrounding country are of Spanish descent, and members of the Roman Catholic Church. There were, however, a few Anglo-Americans settled among the Creoles, to whom our missionary addressed himself in the name of the Lord, and he succeeded in raising a society of fifty-two members, forty of whom were people of color. This, however, has been a barren place for the growth of Methodism; for even now, 1840,) after continued efforts of seventeen years, St. Augustine is scarcely represented among our stations. This, however, is owing to other causes than the want of a disposition on the part of the people to receive the gospel. The late Indian warfare has exerted a most destructive influence upon the religious state of the population through all that region of country, and more particularly upon the citizens of St. Augustine, the chief rendezvous of hostile armies.

Chatahoochee, in the bounds of the Florida territory, was also selected as missionary ground, and its cultivation was committed to Messrs. John J. Triggs and John Slade. They entered upon their work with zeal and perseverance; and notwithstanding the newness of the country, and the scattered state of the population, there were returned on the Minutes for 1824, as the fruit of their labor, three hundred and fifty-six members, sixty-four of whom were colored people.

The Rev. Alexander Talley was appointed a missionary this year to Pensacola, Mobile, and Blakely. Though no immediate fruit of his labor in these places was seen, yet he opened the way for the introduction of the gospel into that region of country, which has since flourished under the labors of those who succeeded him in his work.

St. Mary’s, situated near the mouth of St. Mary’s river, in the state of Georgia, near the frontier of Florida, was visited this year with a revival of the work of God, under the ministry of the Rev. Elijah Sinclair. Though there had been in this place once a flourishing society, it had become scattered abroad, so that when Mr. Sinclair arrived there, in 1822, he could scarcely find a “place for the sole of his foot;” but he soon obtained favor in the eyes of the people, and God so blessed his faithful labors, that in 1823 there were returned forty-one members of the Church; and the good work has gradually increased from that time to this.

Cumberland mission, in Kentucky, was commenced this year by the Rev. William Chambers. He so far succeeded in his efforts as to return two hundred and sixty-one members, two hundred and fifty-one whites and ten colored, in 1824.

In 1821 Methodism was introduced into the town of St. Louis, by the Rev. Jesse Walker, who went there as a missionary under the direction of the Missouri conference. St. Louis is the largest town on the west bank of the Mississippi river, and second to New Orleans in importance as a place for commercial pursuits. Its original settlers were French Roman Catholics, this being another in the range of settlements which they established along the course of the waters from Quebec to New Orleans. It had been, for some time before this, rising in importance, and increasing in its population by emigrations from different parts of the United States and from the old world, and was considered the center of commerce in that part of the country. In this mixed population the missionary had some prejudices to encounter, and the more so on account of the indiscreet conduct of some who had represented the citizens of that place to the eastern churches as being but little removed from barbarians. Mr. Walker, however, was kindly received by a few, and he gradually gained the confidence of the community, raised a society of about one hundred members, and succeeded in building a house of worship thirty-five feet in length and twenty-five in width. The Rev. Alexander McAlister, in giving an account of this work, adverts to the Missionary Society in the following words: —

“It is yet in its infancy, but its growing importance portends greater good to mankind than any institution of the kind hitherto known. I am induced to believe that there will be both numerous and liberal contributions to support the institution, since the money so raised is to be deposited in the hands of men who will, no doubt, distribute it with an economical hand for the support of those missionaries whose zeal is not a transient blaze, but a constant flame, consuming vice and iniquity before it, and with a gentle hand leading the penitent sons and daughters of men up to the throne of grace, where they may obtain the mercy and salvation of God.”

Mr. Walker was reappointed to St. Louis in 1822, at the end of which year there were returned, including the station and circuit, one hundred and sixty-six white and forty colored members of the Church. He was succeeded this year by the Rev. William Beauchamp, whose labors were acceptable and useful, and the cause has gradually gone forward from that time to this.

The aboriginal missions, which had been begun under such favorable auspices, and which promised so much good to the wandering tribes of our wildernesses, continued to prosper this year more than ever. These, together with the exertions which were made in their behalf, tended powerfully to awaken a deep and lively interest through the ranks of our Israel in favor of prosecuting the cause with increasing zeal and energy. The Wyandot mission, which had been committed to the care of Mr. Finley, was this year visited by Bishop McKendree, who entered most heartily into the cause of missions, contributing to its support, and giving, by his example, an impetus to the work in every direction. And as his testimony is that of an eye-witness, capable of estimating the nature and importance of the reformation which had been effected among these people, the reader will be pleased to read it in the bishop’s own words. It is as follows:

“On Saturday, the 21st of June, about ten o’clock in the morning, we arrived safe, and found the mission family and the school all in good health; but was much fatigued myself, through affliction and warm weather, which was quite oppressive to me in crossing over the celebrated Sandusky Plains, through which the road lies.

“In the afternoon we commenced visiting the schools, and repeated our visits frequently during the five days which we stayed with them. These visits were highly gratifying to us, and they afforded us an opportunity of observing the behavior of the children, both in and out of school, their improvement in learning, and the whole order and management of the school; together with the proficiency of the boys in agriculture, and of the girls in the various domestic arts. They are sewing and spinning handsomely, and would be weaving if they had looms. The children are cleanly, chaste in their manners, kind to each other, peaceable and friendly to all. They promptly obey orders, and do their work cheerfully, without any objection or murmur. They are regular in their attendance on family devotion and the public worship of God, and sing delightfully. Their proficiency in learning was gratifying to us, and is well spoken of by visitors. If they do not sufficiently understand what they read it is for the want of suitable books, especially a translation of English words, lessons, hymns, &c., into their own tongue.

“But the change which has been wrought among the adult Indians is wonderful! This people, ‘that walked in darkness, have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ And they have been ‘called from darkness into the marvelous light’ of the gospel. To estimate correctly the conversion of these Indians from heathenish darkness, it should be remembered that the Friends (or Quakers) were the first to prepare them in some degree for the introduction of the gospel, by patiently continuing to counsel them, and to afford them pecuniary aid.

“The first successful missionary that appeared among them was Mr. Steward, a colored man, and a member of our Church. The state of these Indians is thus described by him, in a letter to a friend, dated in June last:”

“‘The situation of the Wyandot nation of Indians when I first arrived among them, near six years ago, may be judged of from their manner of living. Some of their houses were made of small poles, and covered with bark; others of bark altogether. Their farms contained from about two acres to less than half an acre. The women did nearly all the work that was done. They had as many as two plows in the nation, but these were seldom used. In a word, they were really in a savage state.’

“But now they are building hewed log houses, with brick chimneys, cultivating their lands, and successfully adopting the various agricultural arts. They now manifest a relish for, and begin to enjoy the benefits of civilization; and it is probable that some of them will this year raise an ample support for their families, from the produce of their farms.

“There are more than two hundred of them who have renounced heathenism and embraced the Christian religion, giving unequivocal evidence of their sincerity, of the reality of a divine change. Our missionaries have taken them under their pastoral care as probationers for membership in our Church, and are engaged in instructing them in the doctrine and duties of our holy religion, though the various duties of the missionaries prevent them from devoting sufficient time for the instruction of these inquirers after truth. But the Lord hath mercifully provided helpers, in the conversion of several of The interpreters and a majority of the chiefs of the nation. The interpreters, feeling themselves the force of divine truth, and entering more readily into the plan of the gospel, are much more efficient organs for communicating instruction to the Indians. Some of these chiefs are men of sound judgment, and strong, penetrating minds; and having been more particularly instructed, have made great proficiency in the knowledge of God and of divine truths; and being very zealous, they render important assistance in the good work. The regularity of conduct, the solemnity and devotion of this people, in time of divine service, of which I witnessed a pleasing example, is rarely exceeded in our own worshipping assemblies.

“To the labors and influence of these great men, the chiefs, may also in some degree be attributed the good conduct of the children in school. Three of the chiefs officiate in the school as a committee to preserve good order and obedience among the children. I am told that Between-the-logs, the principal speaker, has lectured the school children in a very able and impressive manner, on the design and benefit of the school, attention to their studies, and obedience to their teachers. This excellent man is also a very zealous and a useful preacher of righteousness. He has, in conjunction with others of the tribe, lately visited a neighboring nation, and met with encouragement.

“On the third day after our arrival we dined with Between-the-logs and about twenty of their principal men, six of whom were chiefs and three interpreters, and were very agreeably and comfortably entertained. After dinner we were all comfortably seated, a few of us on benches, the rest on the grass, under a pleasant grove of shady oaks, and spent about two hours in council. I requested them to give us their views of the state of the school; to inform us, without reserve, of any objections they might have to the order and management thereof, and to suggest any alteration they might wish. I also desired to know how their nation liked our religion, and how those who had embraced it were prospering.

“Their reply was appropriate, impressive, and dignified, embracing distinctly every particular inquiry, and in the order they were proposed to them. The substance of their reply was, that they thought the school was in a good state and very prosperous; were perfectly satisfied with its order and management, pleased with the superintendent and teachers, and gratified with the improvement of the children. It was their anxious wish for its permanence and success. They gave a pleasing account of those who had embraced religion, as to their moral conduct and inoffensive behavior, and attention to their religious duties. They heartily approved of the religion they had embraced, and were highly pleased with the great and effectual reformation which had taken place among them.

“In the close they expressed the high obligations they were under to all their kind friends and benefactors, and in a very respectful and feeling manner thanked their visitors, and the superintendent and teachers, for their kind attention to themselves and to their children; and concluded with a devout wish for the prosperity and eternal happiness of them and all their kind friends. It was an affecting scene, and tears bespoke their sincerity.

“To this school there are Indian children sent from Canada. Others which were lately sent were detained and taken into another school, at the rapids of Maumee, under the direction of the Presbyterians. An apology was written by the superintendent thereof to ours, stating that the detention was made on the presumption that our school was full, &c.

“When we reflect upon the state of the Wyandots, compared with their former savage condition, we may surely exclaim, ‘What hath God wrought!’ ‘The parched ground hath become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; the wilderness and the solitary place is made glad, and the desert blossoms as the rose.’ The marks of a genuine work of grace among these sons of the forest accord so perfectly with the history of the great revivals of religion in all ages of the Church, that no doubt remains of its being the work of God.

“That a great and effectual door is opened on our frontier for the preaching of the gospel to the Indian nations which border thereon, and that we are providentially called to the work, I have no doubt. The only question is, Are we prepared to obey the call? The success of our missionary labors does not depend on the interference of miraculous power, as in the case of the apostles, but on the ordinary operations and influences of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of a gospel ministry, supported by the liberality of a generous people.

“We have lately received an invitation from a distinguished officer of the government to extend our missionary labors to a distant nation of Indians. A gentleman of this state who has visited New Orleans has taken a deep interest in its favor; and from the great increase of population from other states, and the great probability of doing good at least among them, he urges another attempt. And from his influence, his ability, and disposition to minister to its support, we entertain a hope of success.

“From a general view of our missions, and of what the Lord is doing by us, we certainly have abundant cause to ‘thank God and take courage,’ and to persevere faithfully and diligently in the great work, looking to the great Head of the Church, that he may bless our labors and crown them with success.

“Yours in the bonds of the gospel of peace.”

Nor is the following account less interesting and illustrative of the power of gospel truth. It is from the pen of the Rev. G. R. Jones, who was present and witnessed the ceremony which he describes in the following words: —

“At our late Ohio annual conference, held in Urbana, there were several of the red, and one or two of the colored brethren present, from the Wyandot mission at Upper San dusky. Several interviews took place between our general superintendents and them, during the sitting of the conference, at Bishop McKendree’s room, at one of which I was present part of the time.

“A few friends were invited to be present at this interview. As breaking bread together has been a token of hospitality and friendship among most nations, a cup of tea was prepared by the family, and at a suitable time they were waited on with it. Bishop McKendree, without any previous arrangement or design, appears to have been made a kind of master of ceremonies — he was waited on first. The sagacity of the red brethren was quite observable; they kept their eye on him, and conformed in every particular. Jonathan, a man of color, (who has served the mission from the beginning as an interpreter, and who, while engaged in this work, became convinced of sin, and happily converted to God,) was one of the company; he modestly declined partaking with them, but, being pressingly solicited by Bishop McKendree, yielded. After the repast was over, the red brethren joined in singing several hymns in their own tongue, during which a number in the house within hearing crowded into the room, until there might have been as many as forty present; Mononcue (a chief) rose, and, approaching Bishop McKendree respectfully, held out the hand of friendship, which was cordially received, and a warm embrace took place; this appears to have taken off all restraint. Between-the-logs (another chief) followed his example, and they proceeded round to all in the room, while sighs and tears witnessed the feelings of most who were present; but they were sighs of gratitude and astonishment, and tears of joy. The spirit of hostile foes in the field of battle was lost in the spirit of harmony and Christian love, which appeared to fill the room. I have witnessed few scenes which carried stronger conviction to my heart of the truth and excellence of the religion of the meek and humble Jesus. I was ready to cry out and say, ‘What hath the Lord wrought!’

“A worthy gentleman, high in office and respectability, had received an invitation, and was present at the interview. It seems he had imbibed an opinion, which is perhaps prevalent among politicians, that it is impracticable to Christianize the aborigines of our country. He was placed in a part of the room farthest from the door. When the chiefs approached him all his unbelief appears to have, given way, his arms were open to give the friendly embrace, while the flowing tear bore witness to a reciprocity of feeling. He was heard to exclaim, a day or two afterward, ‘I am fully converted!’ At the close of the singing by the red brethren Bishop Roberts made a few appropriate remarks, and we all joined him in singing, at the close of which, from the fulness of his heart, he offered up a fervent prayer. We again joined in singing, and one of the chiefs, (Between-the-logs,) being called on, prayed in a very feeling manner, while every heart appeared to respond the hearty amen! The meeting was then drawn to a close.”

The mission now contained one hundred and fifty four members of the Church and sixty scholars, who were taught letters and the duties of domestic life.

This year Mr. Finley, in company with some of the converted chiefs and an interpreter, set off on a visit to the Chippeways, on the Saganaw river, with a view, if practicable, to establish a mission among them. They at length arrived at the Wyandot reservation, on the Huron river, where they were cordially received and entertained by a white man called Honnes, who had lived with the Indians for many years, having been taken a prisoner when quite a lad. He was now supposed to be not less than one hundred years of age, could remember nothing of his parentage, nor of his days previous to his captivity, only that he was called Honnes. He was now much crippled and nearly blind, but was very intelligent and communicative. He sat upon a deer-skin, and, through an interpreter — for he had lost all knowledge of his vernacular language — he addressed our missionaries in the following manner “My children, you are welcome to my cabin; and I now thank the Great Spirit that he has provided a way for us to meet together in this world. I thank him for all his mercies to me. He has fed me all my life. He has saved me in the field of blood, and has lifted up my head when I have been sick, and, like a kind father, has protected and provided for me.” These affecting remarks from this patriarch of the woods were listened to with great attention and respect, being interrupted now and then, by those Indians who were present, by the expression, “tough,” which signifies, all true, and then the pipe of peace was lighted, passed around the company, and returned to the aged sire. This ceremony being ended, Mr. Finley informed him that, having often heard of him, he had come some distance out of his way to see him, and then proceeded to explain to him the gospel of Jesus Christ. The tears which coursed down his withered cheeks, while he listened with solemn attention to the words of truth, bespoke the deep feeling of his heart, and the lively interest which he took in the subject. The discourse being closed, he took Mr. Finley by the hand, and, calling for blessings on him and his associates, said, “I have been praying for many years that God might send some light to this nation.”

After hearing, the next day, some historical anecdotes of the Wyandots from this aged man, who had been for so many years shut out from civilized life and immured in the dungeon of heathenism, Mr. Finley bade him an affectionate adieu, and continued his journey in search of other lost sheep of the house of Israel. These men of the woods, however, were not forgotten by the Christian missionaries, but were sought out and provided with the means of salvation, the benefits of which some of them received. Of the destiny of Honnes, whose simple story is so affecting, I have not been informed, but trust the God of all the families of the earth did not forget him in his lonely retreat, nor refuse his prayers for more light to the nation. who had adopted him as a brother. He seemed, indeed, like the Nestor of his tribe, and to be preserved to this good old age to welcome the harbingers of peace and good-will to the borders of his land and nation.

For that abandoned class of females who have been seduced from the paths of virtue by the wiles of the other sex, many efforts had been made by the pious and benevolent in the city of New York, as well as in other places where this destructive vice had become so predominant, but without any permanent effect. It seems, indeed, that among all the vices which infect mankind, this, when its corrupting sway has been once permitted to gain an ascendency, is the most inveterate, and of course the most difficult to eradicate. Not, however, entirely despairing of success in attempting to effect a reformation even among these unhappy subjects of seduction, a mission was undertaken this year for their special benefit, and the Rev. Samuel D. Ferguson was appointed to its charge. Though he labored indefatigably, in conjunction with some local preachers and exhorters who volunteered their services to aid him, and some good impressions were made upon a few, yet they were soon effaced, and they were compelled, after using every exertion to accomplish their object, to abandon their enterprise in despair; and though subsequent efforts have been more successful in a few instances in which reformations have been effected, it would seem that more powerful means must be resorted to before this soul-destroying vice can be banished from the community.

In consequence of this failure in the primary object of the mission, the missionary, in the latter part of the year, turned his attention to some destitute portions in the west sections of Long Island, where he was more successful. Here he formed a regular circuit, and raised two classes of fifty-two members, which have continued to flourish, less or more, to the present time.

As it was one object of our missionary societies to supply destitute places in the older settlements where the people were either unwilling or unable to support the institutions of religion, some such were either partially assisted from their funds or wholly supported for a season, as the case might be. Among others may be mentioned, as showing the good effects of this policy, the town of New Brunswick, in the state of New Jersey. This, though an old settled place, had been a barren soil for Methodism. Our preachers had long preached there occasionally to a feeble few, but under great discouragements. In 1821 the Rev. Charles Pittman was sent there as a missionary, under the patronage of the Philadelphia Conference Missionary Society, and again in 1822. He met with much opposition, owing to the deep-rooted prejudices cherished against the peculiarities of Methodism. His congregation was small, not amounting to more than thirty for some weeks during the first year of his ministry. He and the little flock, however, persevered in the strength of faith and prayer until a revival of religion commenced, which terminated in the conversion of quite number of souls, so that in the month of February of this year they numbered about one hundred communicants. From that time the work has steadily advanced, and we have now a flourishing society and a commodious house of worship in that place.

In many other places, too numerous to mention, the work of God prevailed in the older circuits and stations. On the New Bedford circuit, Mass., where a good work had been progressing for some time, in the month of August of this year it had extended for twenty miles, so that an entire new circuit had been formed, large enough to employ three preachers.

The camp meetings continued to be held with profit to the souls of the people. At one held in the Ogeechee district, in the state of Georgia, not less than one hundred white and upward of forty colored people were made partakers of the grace of life. At one held in the same place last year a work of God commenced among the students of Tabernacle Academy, a literary institution under our care, and the reformation was advancing among the students this year most encouragingly.

At five camp meetings held in the Baltimore district for this year the Lord poured out his Spirit, and about one hundred and twenty, white and colored, professed to find the pearl of great price, among whom were two females, one eighty and the other sixty years of age. The latter was a Quakeress, whose charming simplicity of manners and conversation, after her conversion, reminded one of the primitive days of Christianity. Such evidences of the power of grace were not unlike the Pentecostal showers of divine mercy, and they tended mightily to strengthen the faith of God’s people, and to baffle the speculations of an infidel philosophy.

We have already seen that the cause of education began to engage the attention of some of the annual conferences, and that two academies had been put in operation. This year I find on the Minutes of the Kentucky conference that John P. Finley was appointed to the charge of Augusta College, though I believe the college edifice was not erected until 1825. Our brethren, therefore, west of the mountains have the honor of founding the first college in the United States under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church; and I am happy to say that this institution has gone on prospering, though sometimes depressed from pecuniary embarrassments, shedding on that region of country the blessings of science and religion, greatly to the joy of its friends and patrons.

Forty-four preachers were located, forty-seven returned supernumerary, and fifty-nine superannuated, and nine had died during the past year. These were, Philip Kennerly, Walter Griffith, John Dix, Samuel Davis, William Wright, William Ross, Alonson Gord, James Griggs Peal, and William Penn Chandler.

A strong testimony is given in favor of these devoted men of God, that in their last days they maintained their integrity, triumphing in the hour of dissolution, and died in hope of the glory of God.

Dr. Chandler was appointed the presiding elder on the Delaware district in 1801, about the time the camp meetings were introduced into that part of the country, and his talents were peculiarly adapted to promote their objects. His zeal in the cause of Christ was ardent, and his talents as a preacher were more than ordinary, and often the most astonishing effects were produced under his powerful appeals to the consciences of his hearers. In consequence of his devotion to the cause, and the character of his talents, he exerted a commanding influence upon his district, winning the affections and inspiring the confidence of the people committed to his charge. The ardency of his zeal and intensity of his labors so exhausted his physical strength that in 1808 he was returned superannuated. In 1813 he received a location; but his warm attachments to his brethren in the traveling ministry led him back to the Philadelphia conference in May, 1822, where he remained in the relation of a superannuated preacher until his death.

While preaching the gospel of the Son of God in the Ebenezer church, in the city of Philadelphia, on the first sabbath of May, 1820, he was suddenly prostrated by a paralytic stroke in his left side. Though he partially recovered from this, yet while at the island of St. Eustatia, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, a second stroke deprived him of the use of his right side also, which took from him and his friends all hope of his recovery. He returned home, however, and lingered for about twelve weeks, when he exchanged a world of labor and suffering for a world of rest and reward. His expressions upon his death-bed were no less consolatory to his friends than they were satisfactory to himself. On being told by a friend that it was Sunday, he replied, “Go then to the meeting, and tell them that I am dying, shouting the praises of God!” Then, turning to his wife, he said, “My dear Mary, open the window, and let me proclaim to the people in the streets the goodness of God!”

The following testimony is from an affectionate brother, a physician, who attended him much in his last sickness:

“I visited Dr. Chandler daily during his last illness, which was of long continuance. His disease was an almost universal paralysis. The attack had at first been confined to one side, and after a partial recovery only of that side, the other became affected in like manner with the first. His mind as well as his body felt the effects of the disease, which at times caused a considerable derangement of intellect: but notwithstanding the confusion that was apparent in his mental operations, his constant theme was his God and the salvation of his soul; and on these subjects it was truly surprising to hear him converse. Although Dr. Chandler seemed incapable of rational reflection on other subjects, yet on that of religion, at intervals; he never conversed with more fluency, correctness, and feeling at any period of his life. He appeared to be exceedingly jealous of himself; and occasionally laboring under fear lest he might have deceived himself; and that he should finally become a cast-away; but of these apprehensions he was generally relieved whenever we approached a throne of grace, which we were in the habit of doing on almost every visit. In this state he remained until within a few days of his death, when the Lord was graciously pleased, in a most extraordinary manner, to pour out his Spirit upon his servant; and although his body was fast sinking, his mind, for two days, was restored to perfect vigor and correctness. During this time he seemed to be in the borders of the heavenly inheritance. He spoke of the glories, the joys, and the inhabitants of heaven as though he had been in the midst of them. He remarked to me, at the time, that he felt that his soul had begun to dissolve its connection with the body; and that there was a freedom, a clearness, and ease in its views and operations that was entirely new to him, and that he had never before formed a conception of — ’ in fact,’ said he, ‘I know not whether I am in the body or out of it.’ Soon after this he sunk into a stupor, in which he remained to the last. On the sabbath following his funeral sermon was preached, by the author of these lines, to a large and deeply affected congregation, from these fine words of the apostle: ‘But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, Concerning them that are asleep, and that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope.’”

The account of his death concludes in the following words: —

“As a Christian, and as a Christian minister, W. P. Chandler was a man of no ordinary grade. In his deportment, dignity and humility, fervor and gentleness, plainness and brotherly kindness, with uniform piety, were strikingly exemplified. In the pulpit his soul was in his eloquence, his Saviour was his theme, and the divine unction that rested upon him, and the evangelical energy of his sermons, gave a success to his labors that has been exceeded by few. He studied to show himself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth: and how good a proficient be was in this study, thousands who were blessed under his ministry can heartily testify, many of whom are living witnesses of the happy effects of his labors, while he is now reaping his eternal reward.”

Among others who departed to another world this year was John Steward, who first carried the gospel to the Wyandot Indians. Of his early life we have seen something in our account of the Wyandot mission. He seems to have been peculiarly fitted for his work. Sincere, simple-hearted, much devoted to the cause in which he had engaged, he adapted himself with a ready and willing mind to the condition and circumstances of those people, won their confidence and affection by his honest simplicity, and, by the blessing of God on his exertions, conducted them away from the absurdities of heathenism by the charms of gospel truth and love.

His entire devotion to the interests of the mission, his intense application to meet its spiritual wants, and the privations to which he was subjected in his early residence among them, so wore upon his constitution, that in the course of this year it became manifest that his health was fast declining, and that the days of his pilgrimage were near their end.

When so exhausted in his physical powers as to be unable to labor for his support, his temporal wants were provided for by his friends, about fifty acres of land, on which was built a cabin for his accommodation, being secured to him in fee-simple. Here he lived the remainder of his days, and on his demise the property was inherited by his brother. In this place, loved and honored by those who had been benefited by his evangelical labors, he lingered along the shores of mortality until December the 17th, 1823, when he fell asleep in Jesus, in the thirty-seventh year of his age, and the seventh of his labors in the missionary field. On his death-bed he gave the most consoling evidence of his faith in Christ and hope of immortality, exhorting his affectionate wife to faithfulness to her Lord and Master, and testifying with his latest breath to the goodness of God.

In the contemplation of such a man, we cannot but admire the wisdom of God in the selection of means to accomplish his designs of mercy toward the outcasts of men. Born in humble life, destitute of the advantages of education, unauthorized and unprotected by any body of Christians when he first entered upon his enterprise, influenced solely by the impulses of his own mind, produced, as he believed, and as the event proved, by the dictates of the Holy Spirit, Steward sets off on an errand of mercy to the meandering savages of the wilderness. Here he arrives, a stranger among a strange people; and opens his mission by a simple narration of the experience of divine grace upon his heart, and of the motives which prompted him to forsake home and kindred, and devote himself to their spiritual interests, Having gained their attention, he explains to them, in the simplest language of truth, the fundamental doctrines of Jesus Christ, contrasting them with the absurdities of heathenism and the inummeries of a corrupted form of Christianity. No sooner does the word take effect, than a violent opposition arises against this humble and unpretending servant of Jesus Christ, which he meets with Christian courage, and bears with the fortitude of a well-trained soldier of the cross. By the strength of God resting upon him, he manfully buffets the storms of persecution which raged around him, and calmly guides his little bark over the threatening billows until it is conducted into a harbor of peace and safety. Seeking for the wisdom that cometh from above, he is enabled to unravel the sophistry of error, to refute the calumnies of falsehood, to silence the cavilings of captious witlings, and to establish firmly the truth as it is in Jesus. Did not God “choose the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty?”

Who does not look on with a trembling anxiety for the result, while the umpire was deliberating upon his fate, at that memorable time when he submitted his Bible and Hymn Book to the inspection of Mr. Walker, that he might determine whether or not they were genuine! And who can forbear participating in the general shout of exultation when the momentous question was decided in his favor! During these anxious moments the heart of Steward must have beat high amidst hopes and fears, while the fate of his mission apparently hung poised upon the decision of a question which involved the dearest interests of the nation for whose welfare he had risked his all! But the God whom he served pleaded his cause, silenced the clamor of his enemies, disappointed the machinations of the wicked, and gave a signal triumph to the virtues of honesty, simplicity, and godly sincerity. In this triumph was fulfilled the inspired and inspiring declaration, “One shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to flight.”

In all the subsequent conduct of Steward we behold a combination of those excellences which the Spirit of God alone can engraft and nourish in the human heart. “The excellency of the power,” therefore, which was conspicuous in the life and conduct of Steward, reflected the rays of Him who had most evidently made him “a chosen vessel to bear his name unto the Gentiles” in the American wilds. Humble and unpretending as he was, his name will ever be associated with those men of God who had the high honor of first carrying the light of divine truth to the darkened tribes of our forests. And this record is made as a just tribute of respect to the memory of one whom God delighted to honor as the evangelical pioneer to the Methodist Episcopal Church in her career of usefulness among the long neglected children of our own wide domain.

Numbers in the Church: Whites This Year: 267,618; Last Year: 252,645; Increase: 14,973 — Colored This Year: 44,922; Last Year: 44,377; Increase: 545 — Total This Year: 312,540; Last Year: 297,022 — Increase: 15,518 — Preachers This Year: 1,226; Last Year: 1,106; Increase: 120.