USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Brooklyn, N.Y. : an illustrated centennial record, historical and biographical > Part 21
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He was one of thefounders of our Missionary Society; he wrote its con- stitution, its first circular to the conferences, its first appeal to the churches, presided at its first public meeting, and during more than twenty years wrote all its annual reports. While its resident secretary, he devoted to it all his energies, conducting its correspondence, planning its mission fields, seeking missionaries for it, preaching for it in the churches, and representing it in the conferences. It will be monumental of his memory in all lands to which its beneficent agency may extend, and if no other public service could be attrib- uted to him, this alone would render him a principal historic character of American Methodism, if not, indeed, of American Protestantism. 8
No other man ever had a primary or initial agency in so many of the great interests of our denomination as Dr. Bangs. He founded Methodism in Quebec, and many other parts of Canada; assisted in the organization of the Delegated General Conference; is recognized as the founder of our periodical literature, the originator of our conference course of study, and "one of the founders of our present system of educational institutions." He was the first clerical editor of The Christian Advocate, and the first editor of the Quarterly Review. He is styled "the founder of the American literature of Methodism," and, as Dr. Stevens affirms, he " wrote more volumes in defense or illustration of his denomination than any other man, and became its recognized historian."' A writer for M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopedia says : "Dr. Bangs was a man of vigor and
Conference Minutes, 1863, p. 65.
9 Hist. M. E. Church, vol. iii, p. 481. For complete list of his works, see Alumni Record, Wesleyau University, ISS3.
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force-a fighter, if need be, to the last." In his well-written conference memorial his character is thus described :
Ile was robust in intellect, in soul, and in body. In his prime he was a weighty preacher, a powerful debater, an energetic and decisive, if not an elegant, writer. He was a steadfast friend, a staunchly loyal Methodist, a charitable and truly catholic Christian.
He had his faults, and, like every thing else in his nature, they were strongly marked. But if he was abrupt sometimes in his replies, or emphatic in his rebukes, no man was ever more habitually ready to retract an undeserved severity, or acknowledge a mistake.
For about two years after his superannuation he went in and out among our metropolitan churches, venerated and beloved as a chief patriarch of Methodism. As he approached the grave his character seemed to mellow into the richest maturity of Christian experience. His favorite theme of con- versation and preaching was "entire sanctification." 10
He died in great peace, in New York city, May 3, 1862, aged eighty-four years and. one day. His funeral took place in St. Paul's church, New York, and his remains were interred in "Greenwood." A valuable history of his life was written by one of our ablest men.11
MARY (BOLTON,) his widow, died in New York, May 23, 1864, in the seventy-eighth year of her age. She was a native of Canada, and was of French origin on her mother's side. She is buried by the side of her husband in Greenwood ceme- tery, and their graves are designated by a granite monument.
Seven of their eleven children are dead. The following list is copied from the Wesleyan University Alumni Record, 1883.
Nancy, b. 1867, d. 1807 ; Lemmel, . 1; W. K . , d. 1852 ; Nathan, b. 1813, d. 1856; Mary Eliza, b. 1815, d. 1857; Elijah Keeler, b. 1817 ; Grace Shotwell, b. 1819, d. 1847 ; Susan Cornelia, b. IS21, d. 1822; Joseph Henry, b. 1823, d. 1860; Rebecca, b. 1825; Francis N., b. 1828.
Lemuel Bangs is a well-known citizen of New York. I'm. M' Kendree Bangs was an honored minister of the, Methodist Episcopal Church. Elijah Keeler Bangs, of Bangs & Co., Neiv York, was graduated at the Wesleyan University. Francis N. Bangs, LI .. B., has been president of the New York Bar Associa- tion. Mary Elisa and Rebecca Bangs were members of Sands- street church.12
10 Conference Minutes, 1863, p. 65.
11 " Life and Times of Nathan Bangs," by Abel Stevens. 12 See Book IHI of this volume.
XLI.
Alexander . le Caisse
ANDS-STREET church was the last pastoral charge to which the REV. ALEXANDER M'CAINE was ap- .pointed before entering the Protestant Methodist Church.
Mr. M'Caine was born in Tipperary County, Ireland, Feb- THATY 17, 1773. His father, Alexander M'Caine, a devout member of the Church of England, was "for many years em- ployed as steward of the estates of the Earl of Farnham."1 The son was classically educated2 in Dublin, with a view of his entering the ministry of the established church; but at the age of twenty-four he came to a decision which overthrew the hopes of his friends in that direction. Concerning this choice the Rev. Samuel E. Norton says:
In the year 1787 he united with the people called Methodists. It was then that he "formed the resolution that by the help of God he would strive to get to heaven and called upon God himself to witness the sincerity of his vow." It was a most solemn act of an earnest, intelligent mind, * * * an act of very great moment, bred up as he had been, to come out in advocacy of a course so en-
1 Letter to the author by Mrs. Sarah A. Brett, daughter of the Rev. Alex. M'Caine.
2 Methodist Quarterly Review, 1830, p. 76.
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tirely opposite not only to his own past experience, but to that of his entire family. He felt that it was to stand alone.3
Coming to this country in 1791, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church,4 and soon afterward began to preach.
MINISTERIAL RECORD : 1796, (traveling connection,) Broad River cir., N. C., with Rufus Wiley : 1798, Washington, D. C., with S. Cowles ; 1799, ordained deacon -- Norfolk, Va. ; 1800, Huntingdon, Pa .; 1801, ordained elder-(Baltimore District,) Fell's Point, Md .; 1802, (Vir- ginia Conf.,) Richmond, Va .; 1803, Greensville, Va., with Win. Johnson ; 1804, presiding elder, Salisbury Dist., Va .; 1805, (Baltimore Conf.,) Balti- more, Md., with G. Roberts and T. F. Sargent ; 1806-1817, located ; 1817, in Philadelphia, Union ch., with John Emory ; 5 1818, (Phila. Conf.,) Tren- ton, N. J. ; 1819, 1820, Brooklyn, Sands-street ; 1821, located ; 1829, president of the Va. Conf., Methodist Protestant Church; 18-, (S. C. Conf .; ) 18-, (Alabama Conf.)
His daughter states that his location, in 1806, and again in 1821, was on account of physical infirmity, "which rendered him unfit for the active duties of a minister." She says :
In 1815 he was living in Cincinnati, where he had a book-store. There my mother died, which compelled him to bring his little children back to Bal- timore. Ile taught school in that city in 1816.
In Philadelphia, in 1817, there was not a little friction be- tween him and his colleague, John Emory, who afterward pub- lished an account of the troubles, in order to prove that Mr. M'Caine was captions and discontented." During his pastoral term in Brooklyn, the colored members of the Sands-street church withdrew and formed an organization of their own. Con- cerning his ministry in Brooklyn his daughter writes to the anthor :
My recollection of Sands-street church is interwoven with my earliest im- pressions. The parsonage fronted on the street back of the church, the grave- yard intervening. This was our play-ground while we stayed there. Even now I can see the form of my dear father as he entered the gate, while his voice echoed back, "I am the resurrection and the life," over the re- mains of a child that had died. The church was a white frame edifice, modest in its construction compared with houses of worship of the present day.
Writing of my father's inability to occupy the pulpit at times, calls to my
3 Funeral Discourse, p. 6.
4 Sprague's Annals.
5 See Methodist Quarterly Review, 1830, p. 71. Compare Conference Min- utes, which say James Ridgaway was appointed to that station.
6 See Methodist Quarterly Review, 1830, pp. 71, 83.
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mind a conversation I overheard when we lived in Brooklyn, to the effect that a stool be made high enough for him to sit while delivering his discourse. I am not certain, but I think he preached one or two sermons in this way. He went from Brooklyn back to Baltimore ; could not preach, consequently had to teach school again.
Alexander M'Caine was ordained by Bishop Asbury ; he was for years his confidential friend, and some time his traveling companion. Several letters addressed to him by Asbury have been preserved, and they show that the bishop loved him as " bis own son." It is also said that the language addressed to him by Dr. Coke "could not have more clearly indicated the great respect in which he held the character and attainments of the person with whom he corresponded."7 In the General Conference of 1804 he acted a prominent part ; and he was sec- retary, but not a member, of the General Conference of 1820.8 He appealed in 1820 from the decision of the Philadelphia Conference, condemning him for alleged maladministration, and the sentence was reversed by the General Conference.
After his location, in 1821, he became one of the foremost of the agitators who contended for lay representation in the chief councils of the church. From his own statement we gather that when the General Conference of 1824 decided adversely " to the complaints and demands of the laity and local minis- ters," he, "being fully convinced of the justice of those de- mands," was all the more inclined to investigate the subject and keep up the agitation. He writes :
New thoughts were waked up, and forebodings felt, which he [Mr. M'Caine] had never before experienced. fle determined, therefore, to examine the groufds of such unheard-of claims. He was resolved, if possible, to ascertain the means by which traveling preachers had arrived at these pretensions, and find the authority which Mr. Wesley had given to justify them in saying he "recommended the episcopal mode of church government." 9
In the course of these investigations he addressed letters of inquiry to several of the ministers then living, who had taken part in the organization of the church. The following is the . letter addressed to Freeborn Garrettson, transcribed from the
7 Mr. Norton's Sermon, p. II.
" It was customary at that time to choose some person not a delegate as secretary. See Methodist Quarterly Rev., 1830, p. 99.
9 Preface to " History and Mystery of the Episcopacy."
₹
Record of Ministers. 219
original, which is written in an exceedingly neat and beautiful hand. This letter was never before published :
BALTIMORE, Sept. 25th, 1826.
REVEREND SIR :
The General Conference of 1824 having in their circular denied the right of local ministers and lay members to be represented in that body ; and having, moreover, intimated their determination to preserve to the traveling preach- ers forever the exclusive "authority to make rules and regulations for the church," it is, in my opinion, a matter of great importance, in view of the dis- cussion growing out of this subject, to ascertain how the traveling preachers became possessed of this " authority." This inquiry carries me back to the origin of our church government, an account of which is published in the Minutes of Conferences for 1785, and in the book of Discipline, chapter 1, section 1. In this account I find it asserted that the conference, " follow- ing the counsel of Mr. John Wesley, who recommended the episcopal mode of church government, thought it best to become an episcopal church." This statement I have compared with the document on which it is professedly founded, (see Minutes of Conferences for 1785,) and cannot perceive in it any "counsel " or " recommendation " to adopt the episcopal mode of church government in " preference to any other." And as I have not been able to perceive, either in the documents alluded to, or in any part of Mr. Wesley's writings, any recommendation to adopt the aforesaid form of government, it has occurred to me, that as you are among the oldest preachers now living, and as you are supposed to have a knowledge of our church affairs at that early day, you may be able to give some information upon this subject. Per- mit me, then, to ask yon,
I. If you have seen any document or letter in which Mr. Wesley explicitly " recommended" to the Methodist societies in these United States the episco- pal form of government ? If you have seen such a document, can a copy of it be procured :
2. Have you read Mr. Weshe's original manuscript letter, dated Septem- ber toth, 1754, an extract of which is given as the sole authority for the adop- tion of our present form of church government ?
- 3. Have you ever seen any letter or paper in which Mr. Wesley gave any " counsel " or advice to Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, or any other person to ordain a third order of ministers in our church, meaning by that phrase, an order of bishops distinct from and superior to an order of presbyters ? If so, can you tell if that paper can be produced ?
4. Are you able to inform me in what year Mr. Wesley's name was left out of the Minutes ? At what conference was the vote taken ? By whom was it done ? And for what reason ?
That you may have a full understanding of the import ince which . I attach to this investigation, it may be proper to state to you that I have prepared an essay for the press, which, in my opinion, will have some bearing upon the episcopal office in our church. And, as my sole object is to obtain informa- tion, I would be extremely thankful to you if you could give me such infor- mation as would serve to correct the conclusions (if they be erroneous) to which Ihave been conducted by the perusal of those documents to which I
16
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have had access. And, before I close, it may not be amiss to remark, that if the liberty I have taken in making these inquiries be considered by you an improper one, I hope you will ascribe it to a good motive ; for truly it is my wish to obtain all possible information before I give my essay to the public.
With sentiments of respect I remain yours in the Gospel,
REND. FREEBORN GARRETTSON. P. S .- Favor me with an answer as soon as convenient.
ALEXANDER M'CAINE.
The "essay " to which he refers was published in 1827,10 10 in pamphlet form, and was entitled " The History and Mystery of the Methodist Episcopacy." Mr. Garrettson's reply to the last question in the letter was quoted by Mr. M'Caine in the Appendix, as favoring the views of the author of the pamphlet, as set forth, also, in his letter to Mr. Garrettson, and blame was attached to him for withholding from the public the other por- tions of Garrettson's reply, which could not be so construed.11 This " essay," which all admitted was ably written, stoutly de- nied the right of Coke and Asbury to the title of "bishop," and reflected somewhat severely upon the motives and action of those men. The work occasioned "no small stir" in the church, and called forth that same year a vigorous reply by the Rev. John Emory, entitled " A Defense of our Fathers." M'Caine issued a second pamphlet in 1829, entitled " A De- fense of the Truth," etc. In the latter treatise he pronounced the name " Methodist Episcopal Church " a " boasted title," and the term " bishop " a " pompous appellation; " and, profess- ing a " reverence unfeigned and profound " for Mr. Asbury, be nevertheless affirmed that the bishop's " ruling passion " was the " love of power," and that " he gave proof that he was will- ing to sacrifice every thing for the title of bishop."" In 1830 Emory and Bangs reviewed the whole matter in three numbers of the Methodist Quarterly Review.
The controversy became very bitter, and it was deemed proper to expel from the Methodist Episcopal Church a consid- erable number of the leaders in the disturbance. Emory men- tions M'Caine's " expulsion," and his election to the presidency of the Associated Methodist Reformers, in Virginia, previous to 1$30.13 Ile was identified with the Methodist Protestant Church from its origin.
10 Not 1829, as stated in Sprague's Annals, and M'Clintock and Strong.
11 See Methodist Quarterly Review, 1830, pp. 340, 341.
12 See " Defense of the Truth," pp. 91, 92, 96.
13 Methodist Quarterly Review, 1830, pp. 80, 82.
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Mr. M'Caine was married to Mrs. Kituel Hall, of Baltimore, Md., December 23, 1805. After her death he was again united in marriage to Miss Frances Griffith, of Baltimore, September 1, 1816.14
While in the South he wrote and published "Letters on Methodist Episcopacy," and " Slavery Defended from Script- ure; " also, "Twelve Letters on the Catholic Issue." The papers concerning Catholicism were written a short time be- fore his death, and published in the Montgomery (Ala.) Ad- vertiser. They furnished additional proof of his remarkable ability as a writer.
He left a considerable amount of manuscript, but would not consent to the publication of any of it after his death. He retired for some time to Aiken, S. C., and his last days were spent at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. J. M. Brett, in Augusta, Ga., where he closed his mortal life on the first day of June, 1856, aged eighty-four years. His daughter writes:
His death was the calmest moment of existence, full of hope of a blessed immortality. 15
Another eye-witness thus describes the closing scene :
Many a time had he prayed that God would grant him to retain his mental faculties to the close of life. He was heard in an eminent degree. The mind and heart of the man lived on when the great frame was dead ; when hardly a vibration of life's chord could be felt, the light of his mind shone out like the dying glories of a splendid sun. * * * I talked with him day after day, and hourly during the day. He always accompanied me in my petitions,
14 This lady is described as a woman of " brilliant " mind, but from cer- tain statements, which the author has seen and heard, it is suspected that the union did not prove permanently happy, and was finally dissolved. Mr. M'Caine had trouble with one Rev. Will J. Walker, at Lynchburgh, Va., in 1829, who afterward indirectly accused him in the public prints of not only separating himself from his " ancient friends " in the church, but from " very dear relations."- The Christian Advocate, September 8, 1841. On the au- thority of Judge Dikeman this refers to a divorce granted to her by the courts. The Rev. Mr. Norton, after ascribing to Alexander M'Caine far greater depth and steadfastness of friendly affection than has generally been accorded to him, says: " It may have been observed that in these remarks I have been speaking of the man as to his general relationships to society. I have not alluded to his domestic life. My acquaintance does not extend farther than to a knowledge of Mr. M'Caine since his children have grown up and settled in life. Into that period of his life it does not now concern us to inquire. It may be remarked however, that at every period his habits of study and consequent seclusion must necessarily have modified the exercise of his moral qualities in a very considerable degree .- Memorial Discourse, p. 10.
15 Letter of Mrs. Brett to the author.
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and responded at the close with a hearty amen. At such times his heart seemed greatly to be encouraged. The light from above shined upon his mind, and he would speak very encouragingly to us all about his expected change, and then quietly clasp his hands upon his breast and close his eyes as if waiting for that change. * ** * It came at last-calmly, peacefully. Not the desperate surging of the mad billows, but the gentle laving of the retiring tide. All is still, save the wailings of bereaved ones, burdening the night air. The race is run ; the fight ended. The soul is at rest. 16
The funeral services were held in the "St. James Methodist Episcopal Church," in Augusta, on the 3d of June, and a ser- mon was preached by the Rev. Samuel E. Norton, who chose for his text the words of Paul, "I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." The preacher said :
The subject of this discourse was a man of large proportions intellectually and physically. His mind had been well trained by severe and critical study, and developed itself in a remarkable degree in the varied experiences of a long life. His powers of analysis were exceedingly acute, and served him eminently as a writer and controversialist. His judgment was most discrim- . inating. It may be safely affirmed that he took nothing upon trust. He must go down to the root of the matter. He was not a retailer of other men's sayings. He wished to be certain that what he declared was so; and he never remained satisfied until he could arrive at a conclusion based upon rea- son and common sense. * * * With him, language had no beauty, thought no charm, earnestness awakened no answering feeling, unless the author based his teachings, sustained his doctrines upon the immutable foundation of truth. * * * Ile was a most attentive listener to the sermons and speeches which he happened at any time to hear. Habitually closing his eyes and folding his hands, he sat patiently listening to the remarks that fell upon his car, rarely looking up, unless something marked for strength, or peculiar for originality, or dangerous because erroneous, fell from the lips of the speaker.
le was a man of most methodical habit. * * * With him there was em- phatically " a place for every thing, and every thing in its place." Nothing written-no correspondence was destroyed ; his letters and manuscripts, amounting to hundreds, dating back to the years of Asbury, Coke, and others, have been most carefully numbered and arranged for reference. * * *
Ilis well-trained mind developed itself in the active duties of ministerial life. It was in that sphere he shone pre-eminent. He was emphatically a preacher. Christ was his subject. Calvary was ever before him. In his judgment a sermon without Christ was nothing worth. There was with him no time for trifling.
In person he was one of the most remarkable men whom the speaker has ever beheld. Six feet four inches in height, and bulk in proportion, with no surplus ; hair white and flowing; forchead high, brow prominent, from beneath which shot forth the glances of a sleepless mind ; a nose large, prom-
16 Rev. S. E. Norton's Discourse, pp. 14, 15.
Record of Ministers. 223
inent, and singularly expressive ; all these characteristics combined to make him a man singularly venerable and influential, both as to mind and person. A man of such large intellectuality and such varied experience in human affairs would be quite likely to act out the suggestions of his own mind oftener than to follow in a path marked out by others. Few men were less disposed to be led than was the subject of this discourse. Mr. M'Caine acted from conviction ; hence he was independent in action. In this respect I think he has been greatly misunderstood. He has sometimes been regarded as adhering to his views with a tenacity amounting to stubbornness. He has perhaps, been regarded as somewhat arbitrary. Mr. M'Caine was as largely characterized by the exercise of indomitable will, as perhaps any man who has lived; but he was certainly not a stubborn nor an arbitrary man. Follow- ing out the convictions of his own independent mind, he may have often acted in opposition to the views of others ; but it does not follow that it would have been wiser or more amiable to have acted differently. *
Mr. M'Caine's habits of study modified his intercourse with others. * Ilis inflexibility in acting out the convictions of his own mind-his strong will, gave to his manners and language a steriness that sometimes seemed to amount to harshness. The speaker is entirely aware that his writings, particularly, have been thought open to this objection. * * * His intellect- uality isolated him. Men of intense thought are not always good com- panions. Lions go not in herds. The eagle soars alone. Mr. M'Caine lived within as much as any man I ever knew. This was particularly the case for some years preceding his decease. Always inclined to study and reflection, he grew more disposed to the seclusion of his own heart and home, as his contemporaries passed from his companionship. It was at times difficult to draw him out of his silence and seclusion. * * * But when he could be removed from the influence of unfavorable circumstances-when he was among his brethren-when the elements of congeniality were around him- certainly no man could be more agreeable in manners, more entertaining in conversation.
We have given more space to the characterization of Mr. M'Caine than almost any other of the pastors of Sands-street church, partly because of the intrinsic interest and importance of the subject, and partly because very little can be learned concerning his personal history from the historical and biograph- ical literature of our Church.
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