USA > Ohio > History of Ohio Methodism : a study in social science > Part 8
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History has been enriched through the auto- biographic literature of several noble pioneer preach- ers. Some of these men led eventful lives. The rec- ord of their marvelous deeds possesses the glitter of romance, and compares favorably with anything re- lated in the annals of the Christian Church. We will sketch briefly the lives of a few of these historical characters in order that we may obtain a faint idea of their heroic valor, and catch in some measure their spirit, and go forth anew with consecrated energies into the Master's work.
Rev. John Kobler was born in Virginia in 1768. His pious parents gave him a thorough religious
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training, and did all they could to help mold his character, and form habits based on Christian prin- ciples. Under these genial and godly influences he experienced the joys of salvation, and made an open profession of religion. At the age of twenty-one he obeyed the Divine call, and entered the itinerant min- istry. He left home and friends for the Northwest Ter- ritory to endure the hardships and privations of a pioneer preacher. It was in 1798 that Bishop Asbury appointed him to the work in Ohio, where he formed the Miami Circuit. He was the first regularly ap- pointed Methodist preacher in the Northwest Ter- ritory.
Let us bear in mind that at this time Ohio was mostly a dense and uncultivated forest. The few in- habitants were settled in small neighborhoods, and occupied log-cabins. There were no Church organi- zations, no Methodist meeting-houses, and no roads or facilities for travel. The settlements were con- nected by means of indistinct paths, or by following blazed trees through the forests. The preaching was usually in a log-cabin, but the fervor of soul and spir- itual unction manifested made of such a place none other than a house of God and the gate of heaven. John Kobler labored earnestly and zealously for the upbuilding of the Church; but such were the hard- ships, toil, and necessary exposures of his itinerant life that his naturally robust constitution yielded to disease, and he was induced to locate in 1809.
"He is described as tall and well-proportioned; his hair black and long, extending over the cape of his coat; his dress neat, with a straight-breasted coat,
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and in every respect such as became a Methodist preacher in that day. He had a most impressive countenance. It showed no ordinary intellectual de- velopment, united with sweetness of disposition, un- conquerable firmness, and uncommon devotion. His manner was very deliberate at the commencement of his discourse, but as he advanced he became more animated, and his words more powerful."
His ministerial career covered a period of eighteen years. His dignified bearing, Christ-like spirit, and zealous cfforts for the salvation of men won for him many friends, and enabled him to help plant Method- ism in Ohio on a strong and permanent foundation.
When this joyful old patriarch had lived three- quarters of a century, he said, on his dying-bed: "I have dug deep, and brought all the evidence to bear, and I find I have a strong confidence, which nothing can shake; but all is through the infinite merits of my Lord and Savior. I wish it to be known to all that the principles which I have believed, and taught, and practiced in life, I cling to in death, and find they sustain me. I have tried all my life to make my min- istry and life consistent." About the time his spirit was leaving his body, he prayed these words: "Come, Lord Jesus; come in power, come quickly!" Thus ended a noble life and an enviable career.
The Rev. Henry Smith, made venerable to the Church by his long and useful life, was born at Fred- erick City, Maryland, in 1769. He joined the Meth- odist Church when about twenty years of age, and en- tered the itinerancy in 1793. He began his ministerial career on Berkeley Circuit, Virginia. The following
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year he was appointed to the West, where he braved the frontier trials, and became one of the chief found- ers of Ohio Methodism. He was a successful pioneer of the Church, having traveled throughout Kentucky, and preached for some time in Ohio. He was ap-
HENRY SMITH.
pointed to the work in Ohio in 1799, and joyfully shared the trials and triumphs of the itinerancy. He formed the Scioto Circuit, and labored earnestly to organize societies in all the new settlements. He was required to preach twenty sermons every three weeks.
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The first quarterly-meeting of the Scioto Circuit was held in March, 1800. In his memoirs he says: "We had no elder to administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; but the great Head of the Church deigned to be with us, and blessed us indeed. Many tears were shed, and some thought they never were at such a meeting before. We had twelve classes, and eight or nine local preachers, and some exhorters. I was reappointed to the circuit, and returned in June, 1800. No preacher was sent to the Miami Circuit that year, so I was alone in the wilderness, as it was then, for about eighteen months, and withal I was much afflicted, and not able to do much. Our first quarterly- meeting (for Scioto Circuit) for this year began at Moore's meeting-house, on Scioto Brush Creek, on the 27th of September. I believe this was the first Meth- odist meeting-house that was built on that side of the Ohio River. We had no presiding elder present; but the Lord was with us, of a truth, and condescended to manifest himself to us in the house that we had built for his worship. Our next quarterly-meeting was at Pee-pee on the 27th and 28th of December, and the Lord made it plain to us that he does not despise the day of small things, for he deigned to meet with us in our cabin on the banks of the Scioto, and we had a very refreshing season indeed; yea, in the presence of the great Head of the Church, and the enjoyment of his love, we were as happy as if we sat among the thousands of Israel in some magnificent building. Miami Circuit was then in a woeful sit- uation, and so continued until the autumn of 1802, when Elisha Bowman was sent there. That year
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things took a favorable turn, and a great and glorious change was soon visible. I dragged on through great difficulties and much affliction, and ended my labors at the quarterly-meeting on the Scioto Brush Creek on the 29th and 30th of August, 1801, and returned to Kentucky on the first day of September, following, having spent nearly two years in the territory north- west of the Ohio."
He organized the first Methodist Church in Chil- licothe July 7, 1800, with eighteen members. Wher- ever he preached he manifested the most ardent de- votion to the welfare of the people. He says: "I never labored among a people that I did not love, and take a deep interest in their welfare; generally, the last I was with I loved the most." He served the Church forty-two years; "thirty-two years," he says, "in a single life, for I had not the heart to subject a wife to the privations, poverty, and hardships of those days."
When this genial veteran had reached the age of ninety-four years, he wrote from "Pilgrim's Rest," near Baltimore: "Thank God, although my means are limited, I have not been in real want of any necessary or good thing. I am often sorrowful, yet can always rejoice. I am striving by grace to be a contented and happy old man, waiting patiently in my 'Pilgrim's Rest' till I shall hear the call, 'Come up to that higher rest prepared for all God's weary pilgrims.'"
Rev. John Collins was born of Quaker parentage in the State of New Jersey, in 1769. At an early age he was licensed as a local preacher. He moved to Clermont County, Ohio, in 1803, and settled on the
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East Fork of the Little Miami, and built a cabin. He labored with his own hands during the week, and, as opportunity presented itself, preached on the Sabbath. In the capacity of a local preacher he delivered the first sermon in Cincinnati, in 1804, under the fol-
JOHN COLLINS.
lowing circumstances. He had gone to Cincinnati to purchase salt. "Being in the store of Mr. Carter, he asked that gentleman if there were any Methodists in the place. To this the storekeeper responded, 'Yes, sir; I am a Methodist.' The local preacher was taken
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by surprise at the joyful intelligence, and, throwing his arms around his neck, he wept. He then asked him if there were any more Methodists in the place. The response to this was equally full of joyous intel- ligence: ' O yes, brother; there are several.' This caused the heart of the sympathetic Collins to leap for joy. 'O,' said the zealous young preacher, 'that I could have them all together, that I might open to them my heart!' 'In this you will be gratified, my brother, as I will open my house, and call together the people if you will preach.'" Some twelve persons were gathered into the upper room of Brother Carter's house, and Brother Collins preached and formed a small class, which became the nucleus of the Church . of Cincinnati. He labored four years on the farm, when, in 1807, he was admitted into the traveling con- nection of the Western Conference, and was appointed to the Miami Circuit. His preaching was attended with the demonstration and power of the Spirit, and great prosperity followed his labors. He organized the first class in Cincinnati, Columbia, Hillsboro, Dayton, and other places. John McLean, once Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, was one of the fruits of his ministry. He was a preacher of more than ordinary talent. He was a man above the medium height, with a large head, a keen and pen- etrating eye, and quick and graceful motion.
His clear, musical voice, prepossessing man- ners, sweet and gentle spirit, and touching pathos, enabled him to sway vast audiences with the irresist- ible power of his eloquence. Hundreds of people were awakened and converted under his ministry.
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During his itinerant life he did not hesitate to endure dangers and hardships in order to make full proof of his ministry. In 1845 he died a blessed death, his last words being, "Happy! happy! happy!"
One of the chief heroes of Western Methodism
WILLIAM BURKE.
was William Burke, a native of Virginia. education was limited, but he availed himself of the best English education given at the time. He was converted in 1790, when twenty years of age, and the following year was licensed to preach.
His first appointment was on the New River Cir-
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cuit, on the headwaters of the Kanawha River. This circuit was five hundred miles in extent. He suffered and achieved more for the Christian cause than any man of his day. His early experiences in the ministry are very interesting. He traveled extensively, and would sometimes go one hundred miles without find- ing a single house. His circuits led him to cross mountains, ford rivers, camp all night in the wilder- ness, and encounter the perils of Indian warfare, "preaching in forts and cabins, sleeping on straw, bear and buffalo skins, living on bearmeat, venison, and wild turkey." The account of his labors, sufferings, and extreme poverty shows that he experienced the hardest service in his itinerant life. While traveling the Salt River Circuit, in 1794, he writes: "I was reduced to the last pinch. My clothes were nearly all gone. I had patch upon patch, and I received only money sufficient to buy a waistcoat, and not enough of that to pay for the making." In 1796 he had mar- ried Rachel Cooper, of Summer County, Tennessee. He preached for years in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, when the allowance for him- self and wife did not exceed sixty-four dollars a year. In his autobiography he tells us how he was obliged to practice the most rigid economy.
"During this year I had to pay nearly a hundred dollars for a horse, and I found it hard to raise the money, and support myself, and pay the board of my wife; however, I economized in every way. I bor- rowed a blanket, and wore it instead of a great-coat through the winter, and by that means paid my debts. Upon the whole, I spent this year very agreeably, and
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with some success. I left the circuit in the spring of 1799 for Conference in Kentucky, at Bethel Academy. This year I received my appointment on Danville Cir- cuit for the second time, having been absent for seven years. Part of this year I had Henry Smith for my colleague, who, I believe, is yet living in Maryland. I had many difficulties to contend with, being the first married preacher that had ever attempted to travel with what the people and preachers called the incum- brance of a wife; and everything was thrown in my way to discourage me. The presiding elder thought I had better locate; for, he said, the people would not support a married man. But I determined to hold on my way, and my wife encouraged me. She wrought with her own hands, and paid her board, and clothed herself; and I divided equally with my col- league, and by this means kept everything quiet."
In 1802 he preached on the Limestone Circuit. He speaks thus of his experience: "When I entered upon my circuit, I found that, to a very great extent, the people were prejudiced against a married preacher, and I could find no house open at which I could board my wife, either for love or money. In this state of affairs I was brought to a stand. I had some little money, and found a few friends; and in those days I considered myself equal to any emergency, and im- mediately set about cutting logs for a cabin, and a few friends assisted me in getting them together, and I purchased some plank and brick, and in the course of a few weeks had a snug little room fitted up adjoin- ing Brother L. Fitch's, about three miles from Flem- ingsburg. During the time I was building my cabin,
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I attended my Sunday appointments, and through the week attended to my work and collecting materials to fit out my cabin; and having accomplished that busi- ness, I entered regularly upon my work."
In the fall of 1803, he was appointed by Bishop Asbury as the first presiding elder to the Northwest Territory to form the Ohio District. Here he labored acceptably two years, when he was appointed to the Kentucky District. "In 1811," he says, "I was ap- pointed to Cincinnati Station, it being the first station in the State of Ohio. I organized the station, and many of the rules and regulations that I established are still in use. We had but one church in the city, and it went under the name of the Stone Church. I preached three times every Sunday, and on Wednes- day night; and while stationed in that house my voice failed me. The Methodists being too poor to buy a stove to warm the house in winter, and on Sunday morning it being generally crowded, their breath would condense on the walls, and the water would run down and across the floor. The next Conference I did not attend, but was appointed supernumerary on the Cincinnati Circuit. I was not able to do much, but to give advice in certain cases. This year I closed my itinerancy, and sold my horse, bridle, saddlebags and saddle, and gathered up the fragments, and the fortune that I had made from twenty-six years' labor amounted to three hundred dollars."
After he retired from the effective work of the min- istry, "he was appointed judge of the county, and afterwards postmaster of the city of Cincinnati, and held the latter office twenty-eight years under suc-
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cessive Administrations. He died in peace in the year 1855, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty- five years.
Rev. Shadrach Bostwick "was a glorious man," born in Maryland, in 1769, and joined the itinerancy in 1791. He preached in several Eastern States; in 1798 was made presiding elder of a district in the New England Conference. In 1803 he was trans- ferred to the Baltimore Conference, and appointed missionary to Deerfield, Ohio. He was the first Meth- odist preacher sent to the Western Reserve, and formed the Deerfield Circuit, the first organized in Eastern Ohio. He had obtained a good knowledge of medicine, and entered upon its practice. He preached two years at Deerfield, and found time to penetrate the forests into other towns, and form so- cieties, and preach the gospel. This he did in Youngs- town, Hudson, and other towns. He was deservedly popular, both as a preacher and a physician, and rendered efficient service to the Church. "He was a remarkable preacher, famous through all the extensive regions of his labors for the intellectual and evangelical power of his sermons. His talents would have se- cured him eminence in any department of public life. His discourses were systematic, profound, luminous, and frequently overpowering; his piety deep and pure; his manners dignified and cordial."
After 1805 he located, on account of domestic ne- cessity, but continued to serve the Church in a local capacity. He traveled extensively, and preached ac- ceptably. This zealous and devoted minister died in Canfield in 1837.
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Henry Shewel, a native of New Jersey, and a local preacher, was one of the apostles of Methodism in Eastern Ohio. He penetrated the unbroken wilder- ness, and settled in Deerfield, Portage County, as early as 1802. He soon formed a few Methodist fam- ilies into a small society, and became their spiritual guide. His education was limited, but his mind was well stored with a knowledge of the Bible. "Enjoy- ing a deep and rich experience himself, and possess- ing an ardent temperament, with almost unbounded zeal, attended with much divine emotion, enabled him, when dwelling upon this subject especially, to produce a most thrilling effect upon his congregations." He was a real pioneer in carrying the gospel into the sur- rounding neighborhood; he would toil with his hands during the week, and on Sabbath he started on foot to some neighboring settlement to preach and form classes or organize Churches.
Dr. Edward Tiffin, the first governor of Ohio, was a preacher of no ordinary ability. He was born in England, in 1766. At an early age he studied medi- cine, and emigrated to Virginia. When twenty-four years of age, he went to hear Thomas Scott preach, and was awakened, converted, and joined the Church. He soon began to preach, and his ministerial labors were greatly blessed. He was ordained a local deacon in 1792. He removed to Chillicothe in 1796, and con- tinued to practice medicine in the surrounding coun- try. He also found time to preach regularly on Sabbaths at Anthony Davenport's, twelve miles north of Chillicothe, where he organized a society before any traveling preacher visited that part of the country.
IO
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He was elected a member of the Territorial Legis- lature in 1799, and three years later was elected a dele- gate to the Convention which adopted the first Constitution and formed Ohio into a State Govern- ment. The next year he was elected the first governor
EDWARD TIFFIN.
of Ohio, and, after serving two years, he was re-elected for a second term. He was chosen senator to Con- gress in 1807. His wife died the following year, and this domestic misfortune led him, in 1809, to resign his seat in the Senate, and retire to private life. He was again chosen to be a member of the Legislature
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and a speaker of that body for two sessions. He was chosen in 1812 by the President and Senate as com- missioner of the General Land-office. The following year he removed, with his family, to Washington, but in 1814, at his own request, he returned to Chillicothe, to fill the appointment of surveyor-general of public lands. This office he held fifteen years.
During the last four or five years of his life most of his time was spent in bed, suffering from nervous disease. He died in 1829, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Dr. Tiffin stood five feet six inches tall, and was active and quick of movement. He possessed a buoyant spirit, an expressive countenance, pleasing manners, firm and independent convictions, and an intense love to help the poor and needy. He was like- wise methodical in all he did, and always spoke with clearness and force. "His discourses were delivered with great animation, and with eloquence and power; and his appeals to the hearts and consciences of his hearers were pointed, forcible, and effective. In the country around Chillicothe, where the doctor had so often preached, he was deservedly very popular, and his labors in the pulpit much sought after; and at quar- terly and camp meetings he was always assigned at least one of the chief appointments on the Sabbath. To the active labors and influence of Dr. Tiffin the Church is more indebted than to any other man for the introduction and establishment of Methodism in Chillicothe and the surrounding country."
Philip Gatch, called "the Prince of Zion," was a man of remarkable courage and power. He was born near Georgetown, Md., in 1751, and was one of the first
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Methodist preachers in America. From 1775 to 1784 he traveled extensive circuits in Virginia. He suffered many persecutions during his early itinerancy. An incident will reveal his courageous Christian spirit. On one occasion, while traveling the Frederick Cir- cuit, he was riding along with some friends to his appointment. On the way he was met by a mob, who proceeded to tar him. Two men seized the bridle of his horse while his assailants did the work. "The uproar," he writes, "now became very great, some swearing, and some crying. My company was anxious to fight my way through. The women were especially resolute; they dealt out their denunciations against the mob in unmeasured terms. With much persuasion I prevented my friends from using violent means. I told them I could bear it for Christ's sake. I felt an uninterrupted peace. My soul was joyful in the God of my salvation. The man who officiated called out for more tar, adding that I was 'true blue.' He laid it on liberally. At length one of the company cried out in mercy, 'It is enough.' The last stroke made with the paddle with which the tar was applied was drawn across the naked eye-ball, which caused severe pain, from which I have never entirely recovered. In taking cold it often becomes inflamed and quite painful. I was not taken from my horse, which was a very spir- ited animal. Two men held him by the bridle, while one, elevated to a suitable height, applied the tar. My horse became so frightened that when they let him go, he dashed off with such violence that I could not rein him up for some time, and narrowly escaped having my brains dashed out against a tree. If I ever
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felt for the souls of men, I did for theirs. When I got to my appointment, the Spirit of the Lord so overpowered me that I fell prostrate before him for my enemies."
Four weeks later he returned to the same place, and preached. The leader of the mob and several of his associates were afterwards converted. Judge Mc- Lean says of him: "He was perhaps the subject of more persecution for his Master's sake than any of his contemporaries." On account of ill-health he was obliged to locate, but continued to serve the Church as a local preacher, and was very successful in extend- ing the work of Methodism.
There came into his possession, by marriage, nine slaves. He determined to liberate them. The deed of emancipation again reveals his manly spirit. It reads as follows: "Know all men by these presents, that I, Philip Gatch, of Powhatan County, Virginia, do believe that all men are by nature equally free; and from a clear conviction of the injustice of depriving my fellow-creatures of their natural rights, do hereby emancipate and set free the following persons." One object of his moving West was to get rid of slavery. He says: "I viewed the evils of slavery at present as great, and apprehended more serious results in the future, if some effectual remedy should not be ap- plied."
When he moved to Ohio he became a neighbor and co-worker of McCormick. He was active in preaching in various settlements. He did all he could to promote the growth of the Church, and became a representative Methodist in Ohio.
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He was chosen a delegate to the Convention which formed the Constitution of the State. The Legislature appointed him associate judge. He served on the bench of the Court of Common Pleas for twenty-two years, and "reflected honor on the public justice." In advanced life he wrote: "I am now grown old, and what can I say respecting Methodism? I believe its plan is of Divine origin, and millions with me will have cause to thank and adore the Lord through eternity for it, and for the whole of Methodism. I do not believe there ever was such a set of men since the apostolic days for zeal, fortitude, and usefulness in bringing sinners to the knowledge of themselves and of Christ as our traveling preachers. My journey through life will soon be brought to a close. I have no other plea to make 'but that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.'" This venerable man, who had rendered invaluable service to his Church and country, preached his last sermon when he was eighty-four years old. In 1836 he died "in great peace and unshaken confidence in Christ." His last words were: "Glory, honor, immor- tality, eternal life."
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