USA > Ohio > History of Ohio Methodism : a study in social science > Part 9
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It is a significant fact that many of the local preach- ers of early times, who worked zealously to promote the interest of the Church, rose to positions of dis- tinction in the State. There was Scott, who, after serving the Church acceptably, became a judge of the Supreme Court. McCormick was a judge of the Supreme Court for more than two decades. Bostwick exerted not only a good influence in the Church, but was an influential citizen, and rose to distinction in
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the medical profession. Burke served as postmaster in Cincinnati for twenty-eight successive years. Tiffin was a brilliant preacher, a skilled physician and sur- geon, a gifted statesman, and became the first gov- ernor of Ohio, and, after serving two terms, was finally chosen to occupy a seat in the United States Senate. These men, and many others like them, "gave a char- acter and impulse to Methodism in Ohio" to which must be ascribed much of its subsequent power over all the Old Northwestern Territory.
Wm. McKendree, a leading pioneer of Western Methodism, was born in Kings County, Virginia, July 6, 1757. He was a volunteer in the Revolutionary War. At thirty years of age he was converted, and in 1788 received into the ministry on trial. He became a great leader in the armies of Israel, and one of the saintliest brothers of the Church. In 1796 he was made presiding elder, and in 1801 he was sent to take the supervision of the societies in Ohio. He was elected the fourth bishop of the Church in 1808, and "was prepared to enter upon episcopal duties and services with a heart touched with itinerant trials." For twenty-seven years he filled the office with honor and devotion to the Church.
The Sabbath before his election to the episcopacy he preached at Light Street Church, Baltimore, when a large number of members of the General Conference were present. His sermon was delivered with remark- able power, and it "was spoken," says an eyewitness, "with a soul overflowing with the most hallowed and exalted feelings, and with such an emphasis that it was like the sudden bursting of a cloud surcharged
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with water. The congregation was instantly over- whelmed with a shower of Divine grace from the upper world. At first sudden shrieks, as of persons in distress, were heard in different parts of the house; then shouts of praise, and in every direction sobs and groans. The eyes of the people overflowed with tears, while many were prostrated upon the floor, or lay helpless in the seats. A very large, athletic- looking preacher who was sitting by my side suddenly fell upon his seat, as if pierced by a bullet, and I felt my heart melting under emotions which I could not well resist."
This citation reveals the remarkable power of the man as a preacher. It has been well said of him that "he was a man of great energy and genius, deeply pious, and modest almost to timidity. His mind was clear and logical, his knowledge varied and extensive, his imagination lively, but well regulated, his elo- quence unusually powerful. He was careful in the administration of discipline, and introduced system into all the operations of the Church." The character of this strong man of God continued to shine more and more as years went on, and when death came, in 1835, his last response to a companion-watcher was: "All is well! All is well!"
Wm. H. Raper was born in Pennsylvania in 1793. When quite young, he removed with his parents to Columbia, Ohio. At nineteen he enlisted in the army, where he did excellent service. In 1816 he joined the Church, and in 1819 was received on trial and ap- pointed to the Madison Circuit. His ministerial career was exercised in Ohio and Indiana. He was a bold,
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fearless preacher, a good administrator, a profound theologian, and possessed of a large amount of gen- eral information, together with a tactful and affable manner. His social qualities and conversational powers were of a superior order, which naturally won for him a host of admirers and friends, and marked a fruitful ministry of thirty-three years. He died in 1852. Before the chariot of the Lord came to transfer him above, he remarked to a brother: "I feel like one at a way station, on the platform, with my trunk packed, waiting for the cars."
One of the great pioneers of historic importance in early Methodism was the Rev. Asa Shinn. He was of Quaker origin. He began to preach before he had ever seen a meeting-house or a pulpit. He entered the ministry in the year 1800, traveled extensively, and labored with success in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky, and in several Eastern States. In 1803 he organized a four weeks' circuit on Hockhock- ing with fifteen societies. "His intellect was of the highest order found among the strong, but uneducated men of the Methodist ministry of his time. As a preacher he was pre-eminently able and powerful, logical, clear, and full of persuasive force. He had no imagination, no poetical ornamentation; his power arose solely from concentrated thought and moral feeling." "He wielded a strong and sharp pen, and became a champion of the secession which led to the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church. Four times he suffered attacks of mental derangement, and died in the insane asylum in 1853."
Another venerable representative of the Church
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was Rev. James Quinn. He was born in 1775, and heard his first sermon when eleven years of age. In 1792 he was converted, and joined the Meth- odist Church, and became an active member of the same. He entered the itinerant ranks in 1799, and
JAMES QUINN.
labored for more than half a century with apostolic zeal, and made full proof of his ministry. "In 1804 we find him," says Abel Stevens, "traveling the Hock- hocking Circuit, Ohio, an immense field, comprising not only all the settlements of that river, but those
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of the Muskingum and of the Scioto, from the high bank below Chillicothe as far up as the site of Co- lumbus, and those also of many other streams. He was still a pioneer and founder, forming societies in almost all the sparse communities. His family was placed in a cabin, exposed to the Indians, and on his occasional visits home he had to carry flour to them more than forty miles. He went through the country, scattering the 'good seed' of the gospel broadcast. Quinn continued to labor in Ohio with great success; on Muskingum District in 1808; Scioto Dis- trict in 1812; Fairfield Circuit in 1816; Pickaway Circuit in 1817; at Cincinnati in 1818, and at Chilli- cothe in 1820." Later in life, in reviewing his work, he wrote: "In each of these fields it may be safely asserted that during the last forty years thousands of redeemed sinners have been called, justified, sancti- fied, and taken home to heaven, while thousands more, to the third and fourth generation, are still on the way. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for what my eyes have seen! If the men that labored and suffered here were unlearned in the classics, and therefore, in the judgment of some, incompetent ministers, yet hath the great Head of the Church, through their instru- mentality, given to his people and the world many competent ministers who have been, and still are, both burning and shining lights." After a half cen- tury of faithful service to the Church, he stood in a Conference in Ohio, and could say: "And now here I am, 'a reed shaken with the wind,' a feeble old man, trembling, as I lean upon the top of my staff; but where am I? In the midst of a Conference of min-
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insters, nearly one hundred and fifty in number, most of whom have been twice born since the time of which I speak. Among them are the sons, the grandsons, and the great-grandsons of those who kindly received me, and to whom I ministered in their humble dwell- ings. No doubt I have taken some of these min- isters in my arms, and dedicated them to God in holy baptism; and on some of them I have laid my hand in consecrating them to the sacred office and work of the ministry. O, why should my heart yield to fear? The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is yet our help."
He was an instructive and powerful preacher. When delivering his sermons, he became "over- whelmed with his subject, manifestly endued with power from on high, and a sacred unction and Divine influence accompanying every sentence; the enchained multitude stood in solemn awe, till finally the awful silence was broken by a sudden outburst of the groans and cries of sinners, and joyful acclamations of Chris- tians from all parts of the densely crowded congre- gation." Dr. Abel Stevens sums up his chief charac- teristics in these words: "There was a deep vein of poetry in his nature. He loved the great bards, and his sermons abounded in fine citations from them. His manners showed a singular blending of dignity and amenity, the truest style of the real gentleman; solemnity and pathos characterized him in his relig- ious exercises; his form was manly, nearly six feet in height, and well proportioned; his forehead prom- inent and broad; his eyes dark, deeply set, and shaded by heavy brows. He died at an advanced age, and
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thus closed a long and faithful career of a great leader of the Church." He died in 1847, his last words being, "All is peace."
Another evangelical pioneer of the West was Rev.
JAMES B. FINLEY.
James B. Finley. He was born in North Carolina in 1781, and spent his childhood in Kentucky, and his early manhood in Ohio. In his youth he was rough, reckless, and irreligious. He cultivated the hardy habits of the early backwoodsmen. The story of his many adventures with the Indians and with wild
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beasts reads like a romance. He was powerfully awakened and converted when a young man. In 1809 he was received into Conference, and began work on the Scioto Circuit. He attained distinction as a preacher by his extraordinary ability, zeal, and suc- cess. His erect, stalwart frame, expressive mouth, large, benevolent eyes, and courageous spirit, com- manded the respect of even the opposers of religion. "Withal his heart was most genial, his discourses full of pathos, and his friendships most tender and last- ing. All over the Northwest he worked mightily through a long life to found and extend his Church, traveling circuits and districts, laboring as missionary to the Indians and chaplain to prisoners, and in his old age making valuable historical contributions to its literature." His burning zeal and deep devo- tion to the Church did not cease until his death, in 1856.
Another accomplished and heroic soldier of the cause was John Strange, a Virginian. He was born in 1789, and commenced preaching in 1811. He came to Ohio in his twentieth year. He labored success- fully until his death, in 1832. "He was," says a fellow- laborer, "one of the brightest lights of the American pulpit in the valley of the Mississippi, in the early part of the present century. He was formed by nature to be eloquent. There were times when his audiences were held spellbound by his eloquence, and sometimes they were even raised en masse from their seats." Few men were ever more devoted to the interests of the Church. His last words to a friend were, "Serve God, and fight the devil."
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One of "the giants of those days" was William Swayze, who was born in New Jersey, in 1784, and joined the itinerant ranks in 1807. He soon was able to attract "great crowds of people to his ministry, speaking with a power and pathos that few have ever equaled, moving and exciting many, some to tears, cthers to cry for mercy, while others would shout for joy." He was eminently honored till he departed to his final rest, in 1841.
Russel Bigelow was born in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, February 24, 1793. He was converted, and joined the Methodist Church in his thirteenth year. In 1812 he came to Worthington, Ohio, and was licensed to exhort at the age of nineteen years. He started for his first circuit in 1814, and gave twenty years of toilsome service to the ministry. He was a man of medium size, with a towering forehead and brilliant eyes. He had a good education and a natu- rally logical mind. His fresh thoughts, fluent words, emphatic delivery, and sublime utterances made him an impressive orator. He could appeal to the hearts of his hearers with powerful effect.
In 1839, at Doughty's Forks, Holmes County, he preached a sermon on the "Solemnity of the Judg- ment-day," and so moved his audience that, at the close, one thousand persons, "with outstretched arms and uplifted hands," cried aloud for mercy, and five hundred penitents knelt at the altar. Russel Bigelow was a man of great faith and prayer. This consecrated pioneer preacher possessed the spirit of a martyr and the zeal and courage of an apostle. He had "the manner of a gentleman, the graces of a Christian, and
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the gifts of an orator." Through exposure and un- remitting toil he met his death at forty-three. He closed his earthly life calmly and triumphantly, in 1835, at Columbus.
Charles Elliott, born in 1792, was a man of genial
CHARLES ELLIOTT.
character and tireless energy. He served the Church as circuit preacher, presiding elder, missionary to the Indians, editor, college professor, and president.
Alfred Brunson, "the veteran of long and useful service," was a man signally successful as a preacher,
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presiding elder, chaplain, state legislator, and mis- sionary to the Indians.
Thomas A. Morris, born in Virginia in 1794, was converted and joined the Church in Cabell County in 1813, under the labors of David Young, and was ad-
THOMAS A. MORRIS.
mitted on trial in the Ohio Conference in 1816. He was a successful minister of the gospel until 1834, when he was appointed editor of the Western Chris- tian Advocate. Two years later he was elected bishop. His tranquil piety, vigorous style, and practical wis- II
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dom gave him great influence throughout the Church.
The ministerial achievements of Jacob Young awaken our wonder. He was a native of Virginia. He was a studious youth, and grew to be a finished
DAVID YOUNG.
gentleman of the Virginia school. He joined the Methodist itinerancy in 1808. From 1811 to 1849 he labored successfully in Ohio, where he exerted a commanding influence. His grave and dignified manner, general intelligence, logical methods, im-
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pressive manner, and fervency of spirit enabled him to electrify whole audiences by his preaching. This "weeping prophet" died in Zanesville in 1858, saying: "I am calmly, though through great physical suffer- ing, nearing my better home."
JACOB YOUNG.
Another successful and extraordinary minister of the gospel was Henry B. Bascom. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1796, and joined the Conference in 1813. He was tall, well-proportioned, with black eyes and symmetrical features. His fine imagination, rhetorical force, and wonderful power soon won for
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him unrivaled fame as an orator in the American pulpit.
Rev. E. C. Gavitt did heroic service in the Church. He was reared by pious parents near Granville, Ohio, and at the age of eleven preached his first ser- mon. He joined the effective ministry of Methodism in 1828, and continued for more than a half century a faithful servant of the Church. He traveled on horseback a sufficient number of miles to go round the world and back, preached more than eight thou- sand sermons, and received at least ten thousand persons into the Church.
One of the strong men of genius raised up in the West was John P. Durbin. He was born in Ken- tucky in 1800, and eighteen years later entered the Methodist itinerancy. He soon became distinguished as a strong, eloquent preacher and a fine scholar. His entire self-possession, artless manner, patient indus- try, and executive ability were among the great ele- ments of his strength. His unique thought, clothed in simple language, together with deep pathos and a peculiar voice, gave him a mystic power over his hearers. He was appointed missionary secretary in 1850. For nearly a quarter of a century his piety and zeal inspired hope in the Church. His heroism and faithful services in developing and extending the power of the Missionary Society will always receive the grati- tude of the Church. In 1876 the world sustained a great loss when such a moral force as John P. Durbin passed from earth to heaven.
Space and time will not admit the record of the lives of many other noble pioneer preachers in Ohio,
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who are as worthy of special mention as any we have named. When the annals of the Church are fully written, the record of their deeds can not be omitted without detracting from the brilliant history of the Church. The stirring memorials of the first pioneer preachers have many lessons for our own in- spiration, as well as instruction for future generations.
JOHN P. DURBIN.
The Methodist preachers performed a work of sublime importance for the civilization of the West. "The population was generally, though not univer- sally, of the rudest character," says Stevens, "much of it likely to sink into barbarism, had it not been for the gospel so persistently borne along from settlement
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to settlement by these unpaid and self-sacrificing men. We have already shown from a contemporary author that bankrupts, refugees from justice, deserters of wives and children, and all sorts of reckless adventur- ers hasten to these wildernesses. It was soon demon- stratively evident that the 'itinerancy' was a provi- dential provision for the great moral exigencies of this new, this strange, this vast Western world, almost barricaded by mountains from the Christian civiliza- tion of the Atlantic States, but not barricaded from the civilizing power of Christianity, as embodied in the indomitable ministry of Methodism."
The lesson this history teaches is that we can not solve our modern social problems and correct the evils in our social system by trusting alone to natural- istic principles. We must go deeper, and touch the taproot of the difficulty. Only by recognizing the im- portance of man's religious instincts and accepting the supernatural power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to meet and satisfy man's need of pardon and of salvation from the power of sin, may we hope for the gradual elevation of society to the plane of Christian civili- zation.
The Methodist itinerant foresaw that the new Western Empire that was filling with the teeming mil- lions, attracted by the vast extent and marvelous fer- tility of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, must be supplied with the gospel, to save the country from barbarism. The Methodist Church, with its mounted itinerant ministry, was the greatest evangelical agency in existence, to cross rivers, sweep over mountains, penetrate forests, and keep abreast of this westward
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flow of humanity. The Lord used the Church to ac- complish a work of transcendent importance. Social and religious feelings received intelligent guidance, and contributed to social and industrial progress. The natural instincts of humanity for individual freedom, for the family, for power and possession, for ethical and religious life, were made so to blend as to usher in a larger life for the people.
Our present social order can not be explained if we leave out the character and services of the old-time Methodist preacher. He is graphically described by Rev. Fletcher L. Wharton thus: "He helped to make the sour mud-swamps and the bristling brier-patch of the early days into the fruitful meadow of to-day. His message and spirit have contributed to the best life of the Republic, and have transformed many a wild Western settlement into a garden of the Lord. The historians of the future will have more to say of the Christian evangelists of the earlier times than those of the past have said. These early Methodist preach- ers, the circuit-riders, who are just now finally dis- appearing, were providential men. They mysteriously answered to times big with opportunity. They strangely, almost unaccountably, appear at a critical hour in the life of this young Nation, and, on the other hand, how these men came to answer to these fateful times is no less impressive. When we have found out all the causes that lie in the springs of human action, we have not then entirely accounted for these men. Think of it. They were in the fields plowing, in the shops manufacturing, behind counters trading, in the courts pleading, in the sick-
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chamber prescribing, in the woods clearing. They were for the most part men of no special education; men who had grown up in obscurity, without antici- pation of great responsibilities, and with little thought of anything outside the limits of daily toil. Under the sway of an impulse, fitly named divine, they abandon the plow in the furrow, and the iron in the forge, and the goods on the counter, and the ax and the saw, and begin to preach. Literally without purse or scrip, they go at God's command to the wilderness. They boldly push on from settlement to settlement, with fervid, trembling lips shouting the message of Christian righteousness and redeeming love, to the very outposts of human habitation on this continent. Future generations, which will have been made nobler by their messages of God's truth, will see, as we do not, the colossal characters they were. These men who have been, are already coming to be pictured in the imagination of men. In that picture is the noble horse, with proudly lifted head, tossing his mane to the wind, with intelligent eyes and wide forehead, and broad chest netted with silken veins, sleek limbs and shining flanks, with dainty feet lightly picking his way over tangled paths. His easy rider is clothed with the old-time great coat and leggings, and buffalo shoes and heavy gloves. The bronze of the wind is on his face, his keen eyes flash, his lips set firm, and a mild resurrection light is in his countenance. Under him are his honest saddlebags, bulging with clothing and books and Ohio Wesleyan University scholar- ships, while the great trees bow to him as he rides swiftly on to his appointment through the woods.
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The old-time Methodist preacher was a providential character. It will take at least another hundred years for the world to find him out. To the world at large these early itinerants will stand as civilization-builders. To our own Nation, where they have lived and worked, they will stand alongside our statesmen and patriots. In every period of this Nation's history these Meth- odist preachers have stood for conscience and edu- cation, the bulwarks of a nation. Without these, such a government and social order as ours were impossible. These preachers never for one moment let the Nation forget God. Tireless as the feet of love and faith, they hurried from community to community, on street-corners, and in grove and schoolhouse and humble church, preaching Christ, lifting up the stand- ard of the righteousness of eternal love. At the im- pulse of the message they bore to the listening mul- titudes, wave on wave of revival of Christian feeling and faith steadily swept over the country. With a wild, rugged eloquence, almost unmatched in the his- tory of public speech, they pleaded with men against their sins, turning the hearts of thousands and thou- sands toward God. Under the power of their appeals wild, lawless communities, whose pastimes were drunken bouts, whose humors were the brutal inflic- tion of pain, where God and human goodness were almost totally discredited, under the force of the ap- peals of the itinerant, these communities were trans- formed into societies of beautiful domestic life. And out of them have come much of the strength and the character of the Nation of to-day." Their moral and religious influence has been in a great measure con-
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served and perpetuated. In every community throughout the State, wherever a Methodist church has been planted and maintained, the good influ- ences of these sturdy and pious preachers are still operative, and will continue to enrich and build up a higher type of Christian character with each succeed- ing generation.
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Chapter VI.
Experiences
of Itinerants.
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LESSED is the soul which hears within the Lord speaking, and receives from his mouth the word of consolation. Blessed are they who dive into things eternal, and strive day by day through spiritual exercises to gain a deeper capacity for receiving heavenly secrets."-Of the Imitation of Christ.
HE soul once brought into inner and immediate contact with a divine power is never left to itself."-Diman.
OW on in faith !
Sow the good seed! another after thee
Shall reap. Hast thou not garnered many fruits
Of others' sowing, whom thou knowest not? Canst tell how many struggles, sufferings, tears, All unrecorded, unremembered all,
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