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A Short History of the Methodists

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A Short History of the Methodists WESLEYAN HERITAGE Library M. E. Church History A SHORT HISTORY OF THE METHODISTS... By Jesse Lee “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” Heb 12:14 Spreading Scriptural Holiness to the World Wesleyan Heritage Publications © 1998 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE METHODISTS, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; BEGINNING IN 1766, AND CONTINUED TILL 1809. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THEIR RISE IN ENGLAND, IN THE YEAR 1729, &c. BY JESSE LEE, Author of LEE'S LIFE, and CHAPLAIN TO CONGRESS. The LORD hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad Ps.126,3 Come thou with us, and we will do the good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. Numb 10, 3 We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Zech 8, 9 BALTIMORE, PRINTED BY MAGILL AND CLIME, BOOK-SELLERS, 224, BALTIMORE STREET. 1810. District of Maryland, to wit: BE IT REMEMBERED, That on this fifteenth day of December, in the thirty-fourth year of the Independence of the United States of America, JESSE LEE of the said district, hath deposited in this office the Title of a Book the right whereof he claims as Author in the words following, To wit; "A Short History of the Methodists in the United States of America; Beginning in 1766, and continued till 1809. To which is prefixed a brief account of their rise in England in the year 1729, &c. By Jesse Lee, author of Lee's Life, and Chaplain to Congress." The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. -- PSALM CXXVL. 3. Come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. -- NUMB. x. 29. We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. --ZECH. VIII. 23. In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An Act for the encouragement of Learning by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned." And also to the Act, entitled, "An Act, supplementary to the Act, entitled, 'An Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned,' and extending the benefits thereof to the Arts of Designing, Engraving and Etching Historical and other Prints." PHILIP MOORE, Clerk of the District of Maryland. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE METHODISTS By Jesse Lee CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Of the rise of the Methodists in England in 1729, and of the beginning of Methodism in the United States of America in 1766 CHAPTER 2 From the first society in New-York in 1776, to the first conference which was held in America in 1773 CHAPTER 3 From the first conference in 1773, to the conference in 1779. CHAPTER 4 From the year 1779, to the time of our being formed into a regular church in 1784 CHAPTER 5 From the first general conference in 1784, to the end of the year 1786 CHAPTER 6 From the beginning of 1787, to the end of 1791, the year in which Mr. JOHN WESLEY died CHAPTER 7 From the beginning of the year 1792, in which the first regular general conference was held, to the end of the year 1793 CHAPTER 8 From the beginning of the year 1794, to the end of 1795. CHAPTER 9 From the beginning of the year 1796, including the second general conference, to the end of 1799 CHAPTER 10 From the beginning of the year 1800, including the third general conference, to the end of 1803 CHAPTER 11 From the beginning of the year 1804, including the fourth general conference, to the end of the year 1806 CHAPTER 12 Containing a list of all the itinerant Methodist preachers. CHAPTER 13 From the beginning of the year 1807, to the end of 1809 CHAPTER 14 The conclusion Appendix Sketch of the life of Rev. Jesse Lee A SHORT HISTORY OF THE METHODISTS By Jesse Lee PREFACE MR. WESLEY, in a letter to a friend in America, which was written a few weeks before he died, says, "I have given a distinct account of the work of God, which has been wrought in Britain and Ireland, for more than half a century. We want some of you to give us a connected relation, of what our Lord has been doing in America, from the time that Richard Boardman accepted the invitation, and left his country to serve you." In compliance with this request I have written the best account I could. Withal, it has long been the wish of many of the Methodist preachers and people in America, that some account of the rise and progress of the Methodists in these United States should be published, for the information of the world in general, and of our own societies in particular. And I believe no preacher born in America has had a better opportunity of being thoroughly acquainted with the Methodists than I have. When I became a member of the Methodist Society early in the Spring of 1774, there were but 1160 members in the whole of the United States. I continued four years as a private member; and five years more as a classleader, exhorter and local preacher; and have since been regularly traveling and preaching for upwards of 26 years. I have also traveled extensively from St. Mary's River in Georgia, to Passamaquoddy Bay in the District of Maine. As no person has yet appeared willing to engage in this work, I have thought good, by the advice, and with the consent of many of our preachers, to publish the following SHORT History; in which I have been as careful as possible to state dates and facts, such as I think will be for the information and consolation of pious people. The materials from which I have chiefly compiled this work, are the Minutes of the Annual and General Conferences. The Societies having been formed by the labors of the preachers, they have also been preserved as one body, united by one spirit, by the blessing of God, by our rules and regulations formed at those conferences. The origin, increase, and establishment of the Societies, must therefore be sought for chiefly in these records. I have inserted all the Minutes of importance. 1. Those which relate to Doctrines. 2. The rules by which the preachers are called to, and directed in, the work of the Ministry. 3. Those which were made at different times for the regulation, and well-ordering of the societies. And, 4. Those which concern strangers, or persons not of our society. I have noticed these things at the times and places when they occurred. I have also taken notice of the increase and decrease of Methodism; and in some eases have spoken of the places where the greatest revivals have been: and also of particular declensions, and the causes which produced them. I have consulted every author that I could find, which I thought would afford information on this subject; especially Wesley's Journals, his Ecclesiastical History, and his Life, written by Dr. Coke and Mr. Moore, and that by Dr. Whitehead. Also, the Methodist Memorial, published by Mr. Atmore. Mr. William Myles's Chronological History of, and Mr. Joseph Benson's Apology for, the people called Methodists. Mr. Francis Asbury's Journals, bound, and unbound. And the Magazines published by the Methodists. Also, Mr. Freeborn Garrettson's Travels, and William Waters's Life, published by himself. -- I have also read over more than 2000 pages of my own manuscript Journals, and consulted many of the traveling and local preachers, in order to ascertain historical facts, and to find out useful things which have never yet been published. There has been, in general, very many errors and imperfections in the Minutes of the Annual conferences; but I have used my utmost endeavors to avoid those errors, and to send into the world the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In order that every one may understand what the principles, doctrines, and discipline of the Methodists are, and what is the economy and government of their Church and Society. I also wish the Methodists to see what great things the Lord has done for them, and for their fathers and friends before them. I desire to show to all our societies and friends, that the doctrines which we held and preached in the beginning, we have continued to support and maintain uniformly to the present day. We have changed the economy and discipline of our church at times, as we judged for the benefit and happiness of our preachers and people; and the Lord has wonderfully owned and prospered us. It may be seen from the following account, how the Lord has, from very small beginnings, raised us up to be a great and prosperous people. It is very certain, that the goodness of our doctrine and discipline, our manner of receiving preachers, and of sending them into different circuits, and the frequent changes among them from one circuit to another, not allowing them in general to stay more than one year in a station or circuit, and in no case more than two years, has greatly contributed to the promotion of religion, the increase of our societies, and the happiness of our preachers. I have in some cases stated things which took place among us, that were not approved of by all the preachers, and that were afterwards given up.
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