Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain) Foreign Missions: America The British Dominions in North America Correspondence 1791 - 1893 Finding Aid Compiled by - Rev. D.A. Bacon. - 1973 4 Volumes Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain) Foreign Missions: America The British Dominions in North America In 1769, two Methodist ministers, Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor, travelled from London to New York, Carrying with them the blessing of John Wesley and a grant of L50 from the Methodist Conference, these two men constituted the first missionary enterprise formally sponsored by the Methodist Conference of Great Britain. In subsequent years the mission to North America expanded, and in 1785, Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury were appointed joint Superintendents of Methodist work in America. A committee to assist Thomas Coke in his work ،in 180 ؛'was set up by Conference, first in 1795, then more ,,authoritatively Although Thomas Coke and Thomas Parker had proposed to Conference in 1784 a "Plan of the Society for the Establishment of Missions among the Heathen", it was not until 1790 that evident concern for missions was manifested. In that year a "Committee for the Management of our West Indian Affairs" was formed by the Conference. The first Methodist Missionary Society, however, did not begin to function until 1813, the year in which the "Methodist Missionary Society of Leeds District" was constituted. The rules of this organization provided for the creation of "Auxiliary Missionary Societies" or Branch Societies in every circuit of the District. Other Districts followed suit. In 1815, Jabez Bunting proposed a "New Constitution" for the management of missionary affairs, and with the cause becoming an increasing priority in the minds of the Wesleyans, a society encompassing the whole of the English Conference was founded in 1817 with a full code of "Laws and Regulations", under the title, the "General Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society". Although mission work was given a new impetus by the formation of this society, it should be noted that it was the Methodist missions themselves which gave rise to the Missionary Society, and not the reverse - 2 - Missionary Notices, a publication which conveyed mission news to Methodists, was first published in London in 1816; this journal proved very popular with the laity and was instrumental in awakening among them an enthusiasm for missions. Much of the material which was published in these "notices" was taken from the letters sent to the mission secretaries in London from the missionaries on the field. Hence, portions of the correspondence found in this collection were extracted and printed in the Missionary Notices over the years. What follows is an outline of the development of Wesleyan Methodist missions within the bounds of present day Canada, from their beginning to 1855• By 1855 all Methodist bodies in Canada had gained complete autonomy, and their missions were totally independent of the parent conference in England. NEWFOUNDLAND Four years before Boardman and Pilmoor sailed for New York, a protégé of Wesley, Laurence Coughlan, travelled on his own initiative to Newfoundland, to preach the Gospel to the long-neglected people of this old British colony. Arriving in 1765, Coughlan continued to work on the island until 1773; he re­ turned to London once during this period, in 1767, to be ordained a priest of the Church of England by the Bishop of London. Still, Coughlan maintained that he was yet a Methodist, and he continued to conduct class meetings. Bishop Coke of the Methodist Episcopal Church, although asked by Wesley to visit Newfoundland, failed to reach the island during his lifetime, and for some time the region was without Methodist leadership. John McGreary was appointed Methodist itinerant on the island in 1790, by the English Conference, and one year later his spirit was lifted when William Black, Presiding Elder of Nova Scotia, visited the colony. Black had been given charge over missionary work in the northern colonies by Thomas Coke, at the American Conference of 1790, held in Philadelphia. - 3 - After 1800 missionaries were appointed by the British and Irish Conferences to Newfoundland, and the island was considered a direct responsibility of the English Wesleyan Mission Committee* By 1808, three itinerants worked in the colony, and by 1812, four* Gradually new circuits were formed, and numbers grew* While the first circuits bordering Conception Bay continued to be the strongest on the island, new chapels were built in St* John's, Bonavista, and other settlements. When the Missionary Society was created in Great Britain in the years 1813-1817, the mission staff in Newfoundland gained much needed re­ inforcement* Two men replaced one missionary in 1814, and two more were added In the latter year, William Ellis was appointed the first Chairman of in 1815٠ the Newfoundland District. The number of ministerial staff remained virtually unchanged during the next forty years, and the circ١uits already served were -built up and extended as their numbers warranted it* Among the early Methodist missionaries on the island, the following were the most prominent: John McGreary, George Smith, William Thoresby, James Bulpitt, John Remington, William Ellis, Samuel McDowell, Sampson Busby, John Lewis, John Pickavant, James and Thomas Hickson* NOVA SCOTIA* NEW BRUNSWICK, and PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND In the 1770's a group of Yorkshire farmers settled in Cumberland County, .in Nova Scotia, on lands bordering the present day province of Ne٦٠r Brunswick The greater part of these folk were Wesleyans, and although they lacked clerical leadership, they held regular prayer and class meetings in their homes, accord­ ing to Wesley's design* The William Black family was one of this group* Additional Methodists streamed into the eastern province in the 1780's, United Empire Loyalists, exiles from the new Republic to the south* A good proportion of this group were negroes in transit to the "free" colony of Sierra Leone* The second son of the above-mentioned Black family, also named William, proved to be the real father of Methodism in the province. As early as 1780, young Black began exhorting in local home-meetings, and in the same year he and - i* - two other young men began a regular plan of preaching In settlements near Amherst، By the summer of 1781, two hundred people were meeting regularly In Methodist classes in the area» By June, 1782, Black had extended his circuit to include Halifax، In 1785 when Coke and Asbury were appointed Superintendents of the work In America by John Wesley, the Methodist leader anticipated that these two men North America، When Nova Scotian leader ئ would direct all Wesleyan Missions , William Black and Robert Barry, wrote to Wesley in 1782 and 1784 respectively pleading for additional missionaries for the province, Wesley in his reply, urged them to consult with Coke on the matter، Hence Black presented his request to -Coke at the !'Christmas Conference" in Baltimore in 1784 nd the American Super Intendent promised that help would be forthcoming، In 1785 Freeborn Garrettson and James Oliver Cromwell journeyed north from the United States to begin their ministry in the colony of Nova Scotia، They , along with Black and John Mann were the only circuit appointees for the year، The four were joined by a fifth American, John Mann, in 1786، In the same year sixth itinerant, ؛in Halifax, the first "Conference" was held in the province William Grandin was added to the ranks at that meeting، The "Conference" once again approached Wesley with requests .for additional workers, and hearing the repeated cry from these Nova Scotian missionaries, Wesley finally ordained James Wray, Superintendent of the Nova Scotia district in 1788، Through want of tact, Wray found his office untenable, and although he continued to serve In Nova Scotia for a few years, he resigned within a few months from the office of Superintendent، At the American Conference of 1789, William Black — who along with James and John Mann had been ordained at that Conference — was designated "Presiding Elder" In Wray’s stead، , saw six new preachers appointed to the district. One of these 1791 the first Wesleyan itinerant in the ؛John Bishop, was sent to New Brunswick -5- province, he based his mission in the city of st» John. In the same year Duncan McColl began his ministry at st. Stephen, New Brunswick. McColl, Grandin, and James Mann were appointed itinerants in New Brunswick in 1793٠ In 1792, William Grandin had established a mission on Prince Edward Island (then st» John’s Island) at Tryon. The first regular appointment of a Methodist itinerant to the island, however, was not made until 1807 when James Bulpitt landed at Murray Harbour» By 1799, it was evident to Black that the American branch of Methodism was not supplying the Maritimes with a sufficient number of missionaries» Con- sequently Black went to England to seek recruits. The fruits of that visit determined that from the year 1800 onward, Methodist missions in Eastern British America would be an integral part of the mission programme of the British Con- ference» For the next fifty-five years, all work in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and adjacent islands, was directed by the Methodist authorities in London and/or their appointees in the province. CONNEXIONAL ORGANIZATION IN EASTERN BRITISH AMERICA. In the year 1807, the District of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (including Newfoundland) was recorded for the first time in the Minutes