USA > Delaware > Methodism of the peninsula, or, Sketches of notable characters and events in the history of Methodism in the Maryland and Delaware peninsula > Part 2
USA > Maryland > Methodism of the peninsula, or, Sketches of notable characters and events in the history of Methodism in the Maryland and Delaware peninsula > Part 2
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Another thing that distinguished the Peninsula in
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THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE.
olden times, and that is not yet quite obliterated, was the far-famed hospitality of its people. Attentive kind- ness to multitudes of uncles and aunts, and cousins, induced a like kindness to other multitudes who were liable at any moment to become such by marriage; and, by this time, the habit of hospitality had grown into fixedness of character; and indeed, so marked was it, that the stranger was made to forget he was away from home and kindred; and was himself, forthwith metamorphosed into a cousin to all the denizens of the neighborhood where he chanced to be sojourning. The difference, aforetime, between the great progressive people to the north of us and ourselves, was that the wide-awake, thrifty Pennsylvanian, used in the home, what he could not sell to best advantage; whereas, the Eastern Shore man, and his Delaware neighbor, sold and put in his pocket, what he was unable to pack into the stomachs of his household and their jolly visitors.
With great variety of climate for so small a territory, and with almost every variety of soil, our Peninsula will produce everything, from the hardiest vegetables and the cereals, to the fascinating narcotic and the snowy cotton; from the winter apples of Newfound- land, to fruits and flowers well nigh tropical. Almost all species of game are supplied by its rivers and forests, and every aqueous luxury abounds in its diversified waters. Said Bishop Janes to a company of ministers and laymen, in Hon. Jacob Tome's parlor, during the Port Deposit. Conference: "Having seen about all our
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
own country, and much of the world beyond, were I a young man about to settle down to agricultural pur- suits-if I wanted a home, and all that word implies, I should pass by all the world and invest my money in Peninsular land. And if I were a young Methodist minister, about to enter upon my chosen life-work, I would knock at the door of the Wilmington Conference."
What an outrage upon nature and the will of the Creator, plainly indicated in the metes and bounds of our territory, is that unaccountable blunder of the powers managing political divisions, by which we are partitioned off into three State governments! This great wrong ought somehow to be remedied; but, per- haps, cannot be until Peninsular Methodism shall have so developed the Maryland section, that it shall more highly esteem its grand future possibilities, than its past proud history; shall have so modified the vanity of Accomac and Northampton, that they shall cease to glory in an ideal, but defunct chivalry ; and shall have so taught little Delaware the alphabet of modern pro- gress, that she shall break loose and drift away from her precious old fossils of political bourbonism. Who shall declare that a Peninsular State-Virmadel, or Delmavir, or Mavirdel-is without the domain of future possibility ?
It is with matters pertaining to this peculiarly cir- cumstanced territory, and these peculiar people, that one of their own number, to the manor born, essays to deal. The task is by so much the more difficult, because
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THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE.
it is hard to step outside ourselves, so to speak, and see ourselves as others see us. As an acceptable and wholesome meal cannot be constituted of mere spice and flavoring, but requires some substantial ingredients; no more will thoughtful, serious, hungry souls be content with a literary production having only its humorous flavor to recommend it. The author hopes to meet this
reasonable demand of the Christian reader's appetite, and aid in the symmetrical development of his higher and better nature. He hopes also, by this humble effort, to stimulate others to undertake a similar task; so that the remaining fragments of the rich and heroic history of Peninsular Methodism may be gathered and preserved, to be sometime remoulded by the pen of a more accomplished historian, for the instruction and entertainment of future generations.
From these sketches, many a tempting bit of spicy and attractive history, must needs be omitted, because the still living actors might fail to enjoy the diversion; or indeed, to see that there is anything entertaining in the recital. Most living persons better enjoy a laugh when it is not at their own expense. Besides, it is much safer for the historian to employ the weapons of his wit upon those only who will not be likely to cherish resentment. Not being apprehensive of personal danger from ghosts of any religious persuasion, the author anticipates no risk or harm from the liberty he proposes to take with the ante mortem idiosyncrasies of departed worthies, lay and ministerial, now among the proba-
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
tionary graduates of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He will not hesitate to take all legal advantages of these crowned warriors. He will represent only chosen fragments of their earthly doings. He will watch the opportune moments in their life dramas ; pull aside the curtains sometimes just at those critical junctures, when he shall happen to surprise them in some strange freak or adventure, or ludicrous episode; and will give his readers a chance for a quiet little peep here and there, and for an occasional smile; meanwhile, presenting suf- ficient of their life histories to make those glimpses intelligible. The author is by no means certain that he shall present these historic incidents in the order the actors would prefer; for, not being a medium, he has not had opportunity to consult them. If they have any " complaints or appeals," they must wait for an adjust- ment until the unintentional transgressor shall have graduated to their "Quarterly Conference."
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
CHAPTER II.
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS.
EV. THOS. WARE was born and grew up to manhood in the State of New Jersey. As a Revolutionary soldier, he aided in expelling the Briton and in procuring American Independence. On the expiration of his term of service, he returned to his home. Here he heard that flaming herald, Caleb Peddi- cord, preach; and under his ministry was awakened and converted. He had not been more valiant as a follower of Washington than he now became as a soldier of Jesus Christ. His burning zeal pushed him out preaching without license or church authority. Mr. Asbury. came to Jersey where Mr. Ware resided; heard of his remark- able gifts; sent for him; and at the conclusion of an interview, in which he made the impression on the young man's mind that he was about to receive a severe repri- mand for his presumption, Asbury tenderly embraced him, and at once commissioned him for Dover circuit. "Here," says Ware, "I was caught, and how could I decline?" Accordingly, in 1783, the young soldier of the cross came, with a timid and heavy heart, to the capital of Delaware.
Mr. Ware was not the only young man who began his itinerant life in Dover. Tradition tells of a junior
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preacher who once came thither, evidently without "a timid and heavy heart," and thus introduced himself on the occasion of his first appearance in the pulpit: "Some p-preachers allers p-p-put their best foot fo'most only on great occasions, or when they're a g-goin' to preach in a place the first t-time. But I w-want you to under- stand I allers p-put my best f-foot fo'most; and I don't 'spect to p-preach no better to-day nor I shall any other t-time." He was soon given to understand that he could employ both his best and his worst foot in some more appropriate itinerant field. Memory still vividly and painfully serves another of Mr. Ware's itinerant descend- ants, of his introduction to a junior preacher's life, thirty-three years ago; and of an embarassment so overwhelming, as he stood before his Dover congregation for the first time, that, for some moments, he could not tell the book, chapter and verse of his text. Not infre- quently, during that year, did the poor fellow get his theological skein into such a terrible tangle, as to extort 'from him the mental wail, "O, for a lodge in some vast wilderness !"
Like this latter young minister, Mr. Ware sometimes lost his ware-abouts, and broke down. On such occa- sions, he tells us, he would stand and sob, like a boy who had stumped his great toe, until he became calm and collected, when he would gather up the loose ends as best he could, and proceed with his discourse. Sometimes the tears of a sympathetic membership would mingle with those of the discouraged and humiliated preacher ;
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OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS.
and he was always soothed and comforted by the fraternal and loving manifestations of the eminent ladies and gentlemen leading in the Dover Methodism of that day. Their descendants inherit their kindly instincts.
During this year, Mr. Ware was invited to occupy the pulpit of the Church of England chapel at Duck Creek Cross Roads, afterwards called Smyrna. This church was probably without a pastor at that time, its rector having no doubt fled to the mother country. There was then no Protestant Episcopal Church in existence; and the communicants of this chapel had not received the revelation that Methodist preachers are not to be ecclesiastically recognized as Christian ministers. The young itinerant accepted the invitation, and pro- ceeded with the services. But before he had finished his introduction, three desperate looking men came marching up the aisle, one of whom announced himself a vestry- man, seized Ware by the collar and proposed to expel him headlong from the church. A Mr. Skillington, a giant of a man, seized the irate vestryman in like man- ner, and aimed a blow with his huge fist that must have felled the ruffian to the floor but for the intervention of Judge Raymond. This honorable conservator of the peace, begged Mr. Skillington to withhold the merited blow, and finally pacified him, when he expelled the intruders by a threat of commitment.
While travelling Kent circuit in Maryland, the fol- lowing year, Mr. Ware went on one occasion to hear a young English clergyman read his trial sermon.
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
While he was vigorously pounding Mr. Wesley, and the Methodists-many of whom were in the congrega- tion-after the fashion of that day, and branding them as enthusiasts, he took occasion to say : "The preaching of the Methodists can only enkindle an enthusiastic flame-a mere ignis-fatuus." At this point, an interest- ing and pious Methodist lady, who enjoyed the con- fidence and esteem of the entire community, rapturously cried out: "Glory to God! If what I now enjoy in my soul be enthusiasm, let me always be an enthusiast !" It was quite manifestly evident, that the spontaneous and pious rebuke was approved by the parson's con- gregation ; and the young gentleman was thrown into serious confusion. If he would have gracefully retreated or apologized; he labored under the difficulty, that, nothing of this sort having been contemplated, the apology wasn't written. After much hesitation and embarrassment, he rushed on through his reading, but stumbling and making matters worse all the way. In the interview with the vestrymen that followed, he quar- relled with them on the salary question; told them they might all perish before he would serve them for a less sum than he had named; and finally wound up the interview in a towering passion, with an avalanche of abuse on the heads of the poor Methodists, very greatly of course to their advantage.
In Wilmington, where, ninety-five years ago, there was one Methodist congregation, with Thomas Ware as its pastor, there are now twelve Methodist Episcopal
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OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS.
Churches and chapels, besides several of other Metho- dist denominations. Mr. Ware had been absent from the Peninsula several years. Of his appointment to Wilmington he says: "This was my first station; but I sighed for the back-woods, which were a Paradise to me compared with this suffocating borough." Poor Thomas Ware was not the only preacher well-nigh stifled by a city appointment.
Wilmington seems also to have been affected with a mystical miasm on the subject of religion. The Methodists were unsparingly denounced by the Hick- sites and their natural allies, the Deists, as "hirelings and will-worshipers;" and, worse still, the sons of Belial were accustomed to surround the old Asbury Church by hundreds, with ribald blasphemies and wicked threats, while the long-suffering congregations were composed of scarcely fifty persons. On account of the outrageous conduct of these ruffians, women dared not venture to the church after dark; and, for their accommodation, it became necessary to hold evening services before sundown.
Mr. Ware afterwards travelled Cecil circuit. He relates the following interesting incident concerning a quarterly meeting occasion, where Dr. Chandler, Presi- ding Elder, was in charge. The weather was heavy and threatening, and the congregation gathered from many miles around, and with little opportunity for adequate shelter in the neighborhood, became anxious and restless. On Saturday of the meeting, Dr. Chandler arose, and 2
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
calling the attention of all, said: "Mark my words ; there will be no rain in this vicinity until this quarterly meeting is ended." He then exhorted the gathered saints to banish all anxiety, and worship God as if the sunlight were smiling upon them. "The morning of the Sabbath," says Mr. Ware, "was the most dark and threatening I ever saw. The clouds of heaven seemed surcharged; and there was a general expectation that the Doctor would prove a false prophet. But the rain was withheld until the services were all ended and the people had reached their homes, when the very windows of the skies seemed to be opened; and the rainfall exceeded anything known in that region within the memory of the oldest inhabitant."
A similar circumstance, but yet even more remarkable, occurred at the first camp-meeting held on the Peninsula. It was near Smyrna, Delaware, in the year 1805. Dr. Chandler, apparently sub-bishop for the entire territory of the Peninsula, presided. One day during the meet- ing, a terrific thunder-storm arose, and the congregation became excited and restless, but lingered on the persua- sive words of the minister of God. Just at the juncture when the preliminary gust burst upon the encampment, and the alarmed audience began to scatter, Dr. Chandler sprang to his feet, and interrupting the speaker and calling the congregation to prayer, he pleaded mightily that God would stay the rain, that the preacher's message might be concluded. Instantly the dark rolling cloud began to part; a little spot of blue ether opened above;
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OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS.
and, although it rained furiously on either side, and indeed all around within a few rods, scarcely a drop fell within the consecrated circle.
The above was not the only instance where the divine protection was apparently vouchsafed to a camp-ground in response to the pleadings of God's people. In the year 1836, an army of locusts, probably the Caloptenus Atlantis, attacked the forest where the historic and renowned Spring Branch campmeeting was held. It was located in the neighborhood Bishop Asbury called "Perdens," near the site of the present town of Felton, Delaware. These destructive insects encompassed tlie forest, as the Assyrian army environed the Prophet. Day after day the wave of destruction rolled in, con- verging towards the apparently fated camp-ground. Every evening, after the day's work was ended, devoted souls visited the scene, and prayed the God of Elisha to interpose his protecting power, drive back the ravening Egyptian insect army, and save the foliage as a canopy for his worshippers. The entire grove was denuded by the tide of destruction, until it reached the outer margin of the tenting-ground, where the desolating wave ceased ; and, apparently, not a single leaf was touched within the divinely enchanted spot.
Should one of our modern Peninsular camp-grounds -"Wood-lawn" and, possibly, "Wye" excepted-be thus threatened, could any really sincere, intelligent and pious soul offer a petition for its protection? What would the Head of the Church think of such a prayer?
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
Reader; forgive this profane step on your modern holy- ground, and let us change the subject.
Another of the remarkable characters moulded by the divine hand, through the influence of American Methodism, was Rev. Benjamin Abbott. Like Ware, he was a product of New Jersey; but did no little itinerant and evangelistic work within the bounds of the Peninsula. His early opportunities for education were meager; and Christ found him and thrust him forth into the Methodist field of evangelism, an illiterate and poorly furnished young man. But while cultured mockers at first felt inclined to ridicule the uncouth, asinine jaw-bone, with which he was equipped for the battle against indifference and vice; they very soon learned to stand in awe of the more than Samsonian strength with which his rude armor was wielded. His power over an audience was ofttimes simply wonderful. One incident will illustrate scores of a similar character, that might be produced.
Mr. Abbott was, on one occasion, delivering his Master's message at a private residence, crowded with a promiscuous company, gathered from all the surround- ing regions. Though angular and verbally uncouth, the sermon was so direct and earnest as to compel atten- tion. But when he came to make the application, some- what in the style of Nathan to King David-" Thou art the man!"-such was the fiery, magnetic influence attending his utterances that the people fell, shrieking for mercy, all about the house. The few saints present
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OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS.
shouted for joy. The wicked, terribly affrighted, rushed for the doors and windows; and, in their mad haste, fell out pell-mell in heaps, where they lay wailing in peni- tential agony. So great became the outcry that Mr. Abbott was forced to discontinue his appeal. With the purpose of drowning the heartrending cries of distress, hre announced a hymn and requested that it be sung. A brother attempting to raise the hymn was struck by the overwhelming power and pitched under a table, where he lay as a dead man. A second person made the effort, and he instantly lay sprawling and bellowing upon the floor. The preacher himself then tried it; but the mysterious influence that disabled the two laymen, came upon him in such measure, that he could do naught but cry out in amazement at the wonderful manifestation of supernatural presence and power. The meeting con- tinued throughout the day and during all the following night; attended by "signs and wonders" in the conver- sion of many sinners, and in the entire sanctification of most of the former believers present. Such things can only be explained upon the hypothesis, "It is not by (human) might or power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord."
A long, strong, beautiful life, that stretched all the way through the first century of American Methodism, was that of Rev. Henry Bohm. In his stalwart young manhood, as travelling companion to the then enfeebled Bishop Asbury, he traversed almost every part of the Peninsula. Afterwards, as Presiding Elder and in the
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
pastoral relation at various points, he became a promi- nent factor among the agencies of God in building up Peninsular Methodism. Indeed, some of the first years of his ministerial life were spent within this territory. Mrs. Ann Hewit, of Elkton, died in 1883, ninety-three years old. The writer heard this devoted saint tell of her conversion at Purnell's Meeting House, near where Felton afterwards sprang up, when she was a little girl
but about ten years old. But little attention was given to children in those days, and the penitent child was kneeling alone in a corner; when, near the close of the meeting, Mr. Bæhm, the young preacher, approached her, raised her head gently, and exclaimed, "Why, if this isn't my little Annie!" and then spoke so encoura- gingly and lovingly to her, that in a little while she was rejoicing in the salvation of Him who said, "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come." It must have been a most delightful episode, when seventy-five years afterwards, the same devoted man of God met this precious mother in Israel, and heard from the lips of her he once called "my little Annie," but whom he had supposed long since dead, the above story of her conver- sion through his instrumentality. Since that day they have met again.
Father Bohm's "Reminiscences" cover an ample stretch of time and space, and are of a general interest that will well repay perusal. His references to the Peninsula are frequent, and are sometimes tinged with a vein of humor that shows he was by no means an ascetic.
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OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS.
In this he was no doubt influenced by his associations, which were with men of the most genial natures and habits. No set of men who ever blessed the world with their sunny presence, could better tell or more heartily enjoy an innocent joke, than the old itinerants of early Methodism. Of course they had due regard to King Solomon's rule of " a time and a season to all things." In fact, the more we study them in the mature light of the century whose dawn ushered them upon the stage, the more we are convinced that they were of just such materials as Methodist preachers are made of to-day.
There are sour spirits in the Church here and there, who comfort themselves annually with a summer spell of hydrophobia, or horror of watering-places patronized by ministers of the gospel in search of rest and relaxa- tion. "Just think of such men as Asbury and Bohm and Chandler fooling away their Lord's time after that fashion !" say they. But they did; and modern preachers who visit the seashore, are but following the example of the ancient Methodist worthies. Young Mr. Bohm visited at least two watering-places the same season, while preaching on the Peninsula. He employed his vacation in July, in a visit to his brother's farm in Pennsylvania, whereon was a watering-place of refresh- ing, flowing springs. One hot day, with the mercury at 90°, he amused himself mowing in his brother's meadow until he was dripping with sweat and nearly sun-struck. Then, on his way to the house, he waded neck deep through a pond of the flowing spring water, to "cool
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METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.
himself off." The experiment was successful. In fact, he very nearly cooled himself off permanently. Dr. Chandler, being a Medical Doctor as well as Presiding Elder, took his case in hand; bled him well; adminis- tered stimulating restoratives, and cared for him until he became convalescent and able to travel a little; when he took him by easy stages to the seashore near Lewes, Delaware, to recuperate his prostrate energies. So depleted was he, that when bathing, he was frequently knocked topsy-turvy by the breakers. On these occa- sions, Dr. Chandler, he tells us, would indulge in a hearty laugh and exclaim: " Ah, my boy; that is the medicine for you !"
An incident related by Mr. Bæhm, will serve to illus- trate the depth of ignorance that once prevailed in certain portions of the Peninsula. On one occasion, Rev. Free- born Garrettson, travelling at night through the wilds of lower Sussex, became hopelessly bewildered and lost amid the labyrinths of the great Cypress Swamp. At length, seeing a light and following its guidance, he was led to a friendly cabin and received under its hospitable shelter. After some little conversation with his host, he ventured upon the subject of religion, and wound up by inquiring whether he were acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ; when he was astonished by the manifestly innocent reply : "No, sir ; don't know 'im; an' I've never hearn wher the gentleman lives at !"
Mr. Bohm once heard the celebrated Lorenzo Dow, while on one of his hurried trips through the Peninsula,
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OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS.
preach at old Union Church, on Duck Creek circuit. He had travelled all night and until 10 o'clock, A. M., to be in time at his appointment. He preached to three thousand people within and without the church. His text was, " Watchman ; what of the night ?; " and the sermon was characteristic. When he concluded his dis- course, he leaped out from the pulpit window ; remounted his horse, and rode away to Duck Creek, where he preached again to a great multitude. On that occasion, this wonderful man rode eighty miles and preached five sermons without sleep.
The prophet Elisha was not the only instance of a man of God providentially fed by a bird of heaven. A widow Rouark, a Metlrodist lady of "ye olden times," resided on Hooper's Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Rev. Jos. Everett, one of the early itinerants, one day quite unexpectedly, and just before the hour for dinner, sought the hospitality of her home. Spring chickens had not yet ripened, and the pious widow was greatly distressed that she had nothing suitable to set before her disting- uished visitor. Excusing herself, she left the house, and started forth from the yard, in tearful agitation and dis- tressing perplexity as to what expedient she could possibly hit upon to relieve her mortifying embarrassment. But, at that moment, the burden of her heart was strangely lifted. A fish-hawk, sailing over her head, dropped at her feet a fine large bass-fish, which she received with joyful gratitude, and dressed and served to her reverend visitor.
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