A Short Account of the Rise and Progress of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in America/Chapter 7
CHAPTER VII.
Of the First and following Yearly Conferences.
On the 21st of June, 1821, being the day fixed upon by our Preachers for the first yearly Conference of our connexion, the Preachers, of both the Asbury and Zion Churches, came together in Zion Church, about half past two o'clock in the afternoon. Joshua Souls and Doctor William Phoebus, being invited to attend the meeting, they accepted the invitation and met with our brethren. They proceeded to elect one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church for their Superintendent, and the Bishop being not present, they chose Doctor William Phoebus for the President of the Conference, pro ax viso. They then proceeded to adopt some by-laws for the order of the Conference, and adjourned until three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day.
The Preachers came together on the 22d, according to adjournment; Doctor William Phoebus presided, and Joshua Souls consented to be Secretary. On the 25th, the fifth day of the meeting, Freeborn Garretson also attended the meeting, and advised the brethren to proceed and do as well as they could, until the next General Conference of the white Preachers, when he thought an African Conference would be established by that body, to be governed by the same rules with the whites. There were Preachers from New-Haven, Long Island and Philadelphia attended this Conference. On the 27th the Conference closed. Abraham Thompson was appointed to take the charge of Zion Church; William Miller, of the Asbury Church; Simon Murray, of the Wesleyan Church at Philadelphia; (he was first elected Deacon, and the necessity of the Society there requiring it, he was elected Elder, that he might take the charge of the church in that place,) and William Carman was elected Deacon for Long Island. James Varick was appointed District Chairman, a kind of Presiding Elder over the Preachers in New-York, Long Island and New-Haven; that is, to preside at all their quarterly Conferences. This is an office that is not known in our Discipline; but, under the present existing circumstances, it could not well be avoided.
The order of the names of the Preachers on the minutes, were as follows, viz. For New-York, Zion Church, Abraham Thompson, Leven Smith, Christopher Rush, John Dungy, (who afterwards left the connexion) Charles Anderson, James Smith, Timothy Eatto, Samuel Bird, and Peter Vanhas—ames Varick, District Chairman—10. Asbury Church; William Miller, Abraham Marks, Christopher Atkerson, and John Palmer—4. New-Haven; James Anderson. Long Island; William Carman and Elijah Jackson—2. Philadelphia, Wesleyan Church; Simon Murray and Edward Johnson, present, (Durham Stephens, Daniel Pernal, and Arthur Landford, were not at the Conference)—5. Total number, 22. The number of members returned: Zion Church, 763; Asbury Church, 150; New-Haven, 24 ; Long Island, 155; Wesleyan Church, 300; Easton, Penn., 18. Total, 1426. Amount collected for the Conference—$27,30, in Zion Church; $7,78, in Asbury Church, —whole amount, $35,08. They agreed that the next yearly Conference should be in Philadelphia, on the 16th day of May, 1822.
It may not be amiss to state here, that about this time our new house was finished, and on Sunday, the 18th March, 1821, it was considered consecrated, although not in the usual form, because we had been holding meetings in it all the time from the time the floor was laid.
During the interval of the two African yearly Conferences, great anxiety existed in the minds of the official brethren, relative particularly to the case of ordination and being established as a connexion, for they found that while they were waiting for uncertainties in regard to what their white brethren would do, things were getting more and more out of order, so that about the 27th September, there were three different opinions existing among them; one class was for consulting to return under the government of the old connexion; another was for getting ordination from William M. Stilwell and his associates, as soon as possible, and be thereby established under the African Methodist Discipline ; and a third was for continuing as they were and be content with electing to orders until the next General Conference of the white brethren; but were not able to come to any decision on either side. They received letters from various parts, written by our coloured brethren, advising and recommending, according to their ideas and judgment, how to proceed at this critical and very perplexing moment; but these letters served mostly to increase perplexity of mind, being none of them to the point, and therefore could not render any satisfaction.
About this time, John Dungy left the city of New- York, and went to New-Haven, to reside. He had not been long there, before information was received in New- York, that he had applied for and received preaching license from the white Methodist Episcopal Church, and that he was endeavouring to persuade the society there, of coloured people, to submit themselves to that government, which caused some unpleasant feelings among them there, as the case relative to our government remained yet unsettled.
Among other perplexities and dissatisfaction in regard to the conduct of our coloured people, manifesting instability, we mention another, viz., that the Trustees of the Asbury Church, contrary to the expectation of the official members of Zion Church, had granted the use of their church to the Allenites, to hold their yearly Conference, which was to take place in June next.
On the 15th of May, 1822, Abraham Thompson, Christopher Rush, Leven Smith, William Carman, Timothy Eatto and Samuel Bird, embarked for the second African Conference, to be held at Philadelphia. On their arrival there, they did not know what to do relative to holding the Conference, particularly as it respected who should be the President. The Bishops of the old connexion at this time in Philadelphia, said they could not attend on them officially, and Ezekiel Cooper, who was also in the city at this time, was so engaged as rendered it out of his power to attend; therefore, on the 16th of May, the appointed day for the Conference, they concluded to appoint Abraham Thompson, President.
They found the Trustees of the Wesleyan Church, di- vided in their opinion, relative to the government of the church, and had much trouble in trying to get them reconciled. Bishops Roberts and George, called on them during the time of the Conference, in order to advise them to wait until the meeting of their General Conference, and see what they would do towards organizing our church according to the views of the New-York annual Conference of our white brethren the last year, and urged their advice by mentioning that as the door of the old connexion would be shut against the Stilwellites, so it would be shut against our people also, if they should conclude to get their ordination from that source.
During the sitting of this Conference the official members of the Wesleyan Church came to a resolution, declaring in what manner they would be satisfied to continue in union with Zion Church, viz.; that if the government of the connexion is established according to the Discipline we selected, they would continue in the union; but if Zion Church returned under the government of the whites, they would not go with her, and therefore would no longer be in connexion with her.
At this time the dissatisfaction which took place in consequence of the proceedings of the Trustees of the Asbury Church, in New-York, had gone to some length, insomuch that the members of that church were called together, in order to consult about their joining the Allenites, and an official letter was sent by them to the Conference at Philadelphia, informing that they had concluded to act in a kind of independent manner, and should allow whom they pleased to preach for them. However, James Varick was appointed to take the charge of them, provided they would receive him.
On the arrival of the brethren from Philadelphia, a meeting of the official members of the connexion in New-York was called on the 30th of May, 1822, to consult about what was best to be done in order to be established some way or other. At this meeting an official letter from the Wesleyan Church was read, in which an immediate establishment by ordination was advised, and the mode suggested, viz., to let three of our Deacons ordain an Elder, or to call the assistance of an Elder from some other church, who, with two of our ordained Deacons might ordain an Elder, and so be established under the discipline we selected for the connexion. They further stated that they would have no more to do with petitioning the white Conferences, and that they wished not to receive ordination from William M. Stilwell, fearing it might be an injury to them at Philadelphia.
As there was no particular resolution entered into at the yearly Conference, on the case of ordination, it was thought best, at this meeting, to take up this case; and Leven Smith having informed the brethren that he understood that Bishop McKendree (who was at this time in New-York) had spoken favourably respecting our situation, a committee of five persons, viz., Abraham Thompson, Christopher Rush, Leven Smith, James Varick and James Smith was appointed, to call on the Bishop, in order to learn more correctly, whether it would be in his power to perform ordination for us during his stay in the city. His answer was that he could not do any thing contrary to the wish of his white brethren, and wished that a written instrument might be presented to him, stating the desire of the African Society. In order to meet the views of the Bishop, the committee, which was appointed to call on him, was continued, and authorized to draw up an instrument of writing to present to him, stating pointedly what was the immediate desire of our brethren, and George Collins, who was anxious to forward the work of so great importance at this time, drew up, for the committee, a few items, which were as follows: viz.
We, the committee, appointed by the official members of the African Methodist Zion Church, in the city of New-York, to obtain information of the best method for ordaining the Preachers of that church, under existing circumstances, are instructed to state as follows: 1st, That the said church in New-York, several societies on Long Island, a society at New-Haven, the Wesleyan church at Philadelphia, and several societies in the States of Pennsylvania and New-Jersey, have resolved to be established in a connexion, according to the rules and regulations of the Discipline, selected and printed in New-York, for an African Methodist connexion.
2d, That the aforesaid societies wish to be in perfect union with the mother church, as respects brotherly and friendly affections or ties, so that the one may not be in opposition to the other, in their religious course or travels.
3d, That they think the foregoing may be happily ac- complished, if one of the Bishops of the mother church could be allowed to preside at the yearly Conferences of the African Methodist connexion, from time to time; and in case of his absence, the Superintendent, contemplated by the aforesaid Discipline, to be appointed at a yearly African Conference, shall have full power to preside and perform the duties of a Bishop, so far as it may become essentially necessary for the prosperity of the aforesaid connexion, and without any opposition to the interest of the mother church.
4th, That in order for the accomplishment of the third item, regulations can be reciprocally adopted, to secure to the Bishop of the mother church the prerogative of superintendency at the African Conferences, whenever it may be in his power to attend said Conferences, from time to time; also, to secure to him a compensation for his extra service and expense attending the same, and also for the time and place of meeting the aforesaid Conferences, in order to suit the conveniency of said Bishop, and not too laborious or expensive for the African Preacher's attendance.
5th, That the members, particularly of Zion Church, are sorry to see and hear of so much division among the people called Methodist, and especially the divisions and sub-divisions among their African brethren of this name. They believe that unhappy divisions among their African brethren will continue to exist, unless there is another permanent African Methodist connexion formed, besides that of our brother Richard Allen's. They have great reason to expect that an establishment, in the foregoing manner, would be the most likely means of uniting all their African Methodist brethren into one solid body in time, and so prevent the unhappy feeling now existing between families, friends and brethren.
6th, That if the foregoing items are thought to be impracticable by the Bishops and Conferences of the mother church, we shall be under the necessity of procuring the means of ordination otherwise, in the best possible manner; but without the least intention of opposition to the interest of our white brethren, as the unity of the aforesaid societies depend on our obtaining ordination for our Preachers this summer, if possible, and thereby become established, according to our selected Discipline, which these societies have approved and determined to be governed by.
The foregoing items were approved by the aforementioned committee, and by the official members of Zion Church, and the instrument of writing was handed to Bishop McKendree, according to his request.
On the 6th of June, 1822, Abraham Thompson, Christopher Rush and James Smith, three of the committee, called on Bishops George and Roberts, (McKendree being gone out of town) and received an answer from them, relative to the instrument of writing which was presented to Bishop McKendree; which was, that they could not do any thing for us if it were to save their lives and ours, unless we submitted to their government as heretofore; and they, at the same time, informed the committee, that William Miller and some more of the officers of the Asbury Church, had given the charge of the said church unto them as heretofore, and had agreed to give one hundred dollars a year for the service of a white Elder. So much for delaying and waiting for Bishops and Conferences.
On the evening of the same day, (6th of June) the official members held a meeting to hear the result of the few items sent to Bishop McKendree; and being informed that nothing would be done by the Bishops and Conference of the old connexion, or mother church, they again continued the same committee, and authorized them to seek for information of the best manner of obtaining ordination elsewhere.
The committee, thus authorized, promptly went for- ward, and shortly after obtained the consent of Doctor James Covel, Silvester Hutchinson and William M. Stilwell, all regularly ordained Elders of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and members of the Methodist church lately established in this city, (having recently withdrawn from the old connexion, for reasons mentioned in the foregoing part of this work,) and on Monday night, June 17th, 1822, they attended the appointed meeting in Zion Church, and after an appropriate and solemn sermon, delivered by Doctor Covel, they ordained Abraham Thompson, James Varick and Leven Smith, Elders in the church of God, in the presence of a large and respectable audience. Thus, after twenty-one months struggling through a kind of spiritual wilderness, Zion Church obtained three ordained Elders.
At this time, the Asbury Church had returned to the old connexion, and during the time of the yearly Conference of the Allenites, William Miller had allowed their Preachers to preach in his church; therefore, being thus separated from Zion Church, he deprived himself of the privilege of ordination.
In consequence of the unfinished state of the second yearly Conference, held at Philadelphia, it became necessary to have an extra meeting or convention of the Preachers, in order to carry out or finish the business of that meeting, and the brethren, therefore, fixed upon the 18th of July for that purpose. Accordingly, on Thursday, July 18th, 1822, the extra .meeting commenced in the city of New-York.
At this meeting, on Sunday morning, there were six Deacons ordained, viz., Christopher Rush, James Smith, James Anderson, William Carman, Edward Johnson and Tilman Cornish, and in the afternoon the same persons were ordained Elders. This was done in consequence of the necessity of Elders to take the charge of a number of societies already formed, and others who were willing to be formed into circuits, in connexion with Zion Church. There were twelve Preachers attended this meeting: eight of New-York, two from Philadelphia, one from New-Haven, and one from Long Island. James Varick was elected Superintendent of the connexion, according to the Discipline. Abraham Thompson was appointed to take the charge of Zion Church; Christopher Rush, to take charge of the Newark Society, and others on the Jersey side who might be willing to accept of his services; Leven Smith was appointed as a Missionary, to go on as far as Boston; James Smith, to assist William Carman on Long Island; Edward Johnson, to take charge of the Wesleyan Church at Philadelphia; and James Anderson, left at New-Haven.
In consequence of the faithful exertions of Christopher Rush, an Incorporation was obtained for the Society at Newark, and on Monday, April 7th, 1823, the corner stone of a Meeting-house was laid, at that place, and arrangements made to build a house of worship, forty feet long and thirty feet wide.
On Wednesday, the 21st of May, 1823, the Third Yearly Conference commenced in the city of New-York. The Preachers that attended were, James Varick, Superintendent; Abraham Thompson, Christopher Rush, Ja's Smith, Samuel Bird, Timothy Eatto, Peter Vanhas, William Carman, George Tredwell and James Anderson.
In consequence of a dissatisfaction amongst the official members of the Wesleyan Church, in Philadelphia, which took place soon after the extra Conference, none of their Preachers attended this third Conference. They had an an agreeable time, and the Conference closed the following Monday. George Tredwell, a young Preacher from Long Island, was received at the meeting, on trial. Samuel Bird, Timothy Eatto and Peter Vanhas were ordained Deacons. Leven Smith was appointed to the charge of the society in New-York, but was allowed to go on to Providence and other places eastward, if he thought proper, for a few months, and in that case James Smith was to fill his place until his return. James Anderson was continued at New-Haven, embracing a small society of twenty-one members at Middletown, which he reported having been joined together within the last year. William Carman was continued on Long Island, and Christopher Rush on the Jersey side. Abraham Thompson was considered a superannuated Preacher.
About this time, William Miller, of the Asbury Church in the city of New- York, at length shewed himself openly, by going to Philadelphia; joining the Allenites there; was ordained an Elder by them, and received an appointment to the charge of a society at Washington, in connexion with the Allenites; and, to complete the transaction, the said Asbury Church shortly afterwards put themselves under the government of that connexion, and thus changed their church government twice in the course of twelve months.
In consequence of the dissatisfied state of mind of a number of the official brethren, and their sending an address to the General Conference of the white brethren, our yearly Conference, which was to take place on the 20th of May, was postponed until the 15th of July, in order to understand what the said General Conference would resolve upon for the benefit of their coloured brethren; and when our brethren found that nothing was done that would be of any advantage to our people, they held their Fourth Yearly Conference, on the 15th of July, 1824, according to postponement. James Smith was appointed to the charge of Zion Church, in New-York; Leven Smith, to Newark; William Carman was continued on Long Island; James Anderson, to Middletown; and Christopher Rush was appointed a Missionary. The society at New-Haven, being dissatisfied, because the Elder had excluded from them a man who had been guilty of a gross crime, and whom they thought ought not to be expelled, because he was the only man of usefulness among them, were left to determine whether they would consent to be governed by the Rules of Discipline, and be continued in the connexion.
May 19th, 1825, the Fifth Yearly Conference took place in Zion Church, in New-York. There were no Preachers attended this meeting, but those who belonged to the city of New-York, and there was no extra Preaching, as is usual in the time of Yearly Conference; therefore, they had a very flat time. Christopher Rush was appointed to the charge of Zion Church, in New-York; Peter Vanhas, to be ordained Elder, to take the charge of the society at Harlæm; and Abraham Thompson consented to take the charge of Newark and Elizabethtown.
May 18th, 1826, the Sixth Yearly Conference took place in Zion Church, New- York. The Preachers that attended this meeting were, James Varick, Superintendent, Christopher Rush, Leven Smith, Peter Vanhas, Timothy Eatto, Abraham Thompson, Charles Anderson, William Carman and George Tredwell. They had an agreeable time. Charles Anderson and George Tredwell were ordained Deacons, and Timothy Eatto ordained Elder. James Varick was re-appointed Superintendent; Christopher Rush appointed to New-York; William Carman and George Tredwell, to Long Island circuit; Timothy Eatto and Charles Anderson, to Jersey circuit; and Peter Vanhas, to Harlæm.
May 17, 1827, the Seventh Yearly Conference took place in Zion Church, in the city of New-York. Joseph Preston Hopkins, from Buffalo; James Anderson, from New-Haven; William Carman and George Tredwell, from Long Island, attended, together with all the Preachers attached to the city of New-York. The appointments were left the same as last year, except two, viz., Peter Vanhas was appointed for Newark, and Timothy Eatto for Harlæm.
This year, Jacob Matthews, who became a Preacher while he was a member of Zion Church, and had a few years past withdrawn from Zion and joined the Asbury Church, and had afterwards attached himself to the Allenites, previous to their having a church in this city, made application to return to the bosom of Zion Church again, and was, on the 15th of August, 1827, received to membership as Elder.
May the 15th, 1828, the Eighth Yearly Conference took place in New-York. James Anderson, from New- Haven, and George Tredwell, from Long Island, attended, together with the Preachers of the city of New-York. Christopher Rush was elected Superintendent of the connexion, and Jacob Matthews was appointed to the church in New-York.
On the 21st of April, 1829, Christopher Rush, the Superintendent, read to the official members a letter, received from the official members of the Wesleyan Church, in Philadelphia, informing that they had resolved to become united to our connexion, and had appointed Delegates to attend the next yearly Conference, to communicate their determination personally.
May 21st, 1829, the Ninth Yearly Conference took place in New-York. The names of the Preachers who attended this meeting were, Christopher Rush, Superintendent, Leven Smith, James Smith, Peter Vanhas, Timothy Eatto, and Jacob Matthews, of New-York; William Carman and George Tredwell, from Long Island Charles Anderson, from Newark; Edward Johnson Richard Phillips, David Stevens, and David Crosby, delegates from the Wesleyan Church, in Philadelphia; David Smith, from Fredericksburgh, and Jacob Richardson from Harrisburgh, Western country, state of Pennsylvania. By reason of sickness, James Anderson, of New Haven, did not attend personally, but wrote to the Conference representing those under his charge.
On the 28th of May, two days after the Conference raised, a Preacher, named Hamilton Johnson, arrived here from Prescott, Upper Canada, hoping to be in time to join the Conference, and represent a society in that part of the country.
The appointments were as follows, viz., Jacob Matthews, to Zion Church; Charles Anderson, to Middletown and New-Haven; George Tredwell, for Long Island; Peter Vanhas, to Newark, and Timothy Eatto, to Harlæm. The appointments of the Preachers from Philadelphia and westward, were not made out at this Conference, as it was found necessary to set off another Conference, to be held in Philadelphia, on the 13th of June, 1829. Charles Anderson and George Tredwell were ordained Elders, on Monday night, May 25th, 1829.—James Anderson, being in an ill state of health, located; James Smith also located this year; and Leven Smith was appointed occasional Missionary.
The aforesaid set-off Conference met in Philadelphia according to appointment, on the 13th June, 1829, and the Preachers who attended were Christopher Rush, Superintendent; Jacob Matthews and Timothy Eatto, from New-York; Edward Johnson, Durham Stevens, David Stevens, George Stevenson, David Crosby, Jonathan Gibbs, Arthur Langford, Tower Hill, John Marshall, Richard Philips and David Smith, of the Wesleyan Church, Philadelphia; Jacob Richardson, Samuel Johnson and Abraham Green, from the Western District of Pennsylvania. Edward Johnson was appointed to the charge of the Wesleyan Church; Jacob Richardson to the charge of the Western District; David Smith and Richard Philips were appointed Missionaries.
The Preachers of the old connexion of our white brethren, manifested a very friendly disposition towards us, so that Jacob Matthews, the Elder in charge of Zion Church, easily effected arrangements with them to fill appointments for him in Zion Church, once in two weeks, commencing on the 13th of September, 1829, and at their annual Conference, held in this city, our Pulpit was offered to them, which they readily accepted, and preached for us during the sitting of their Conference, which commenced on the 6th of May, 1830.
May 17, 1830, the Tenth yearly Conference commenced in the city of New-York. Those who attended were, from Philadelphia, Edward Johnson and David Stevens; from Fredericksburgh, David Smith; from Connecticut, Charles Anderson and Jehiel C. Beman; of New-York, Christopher Rush, Superintendent, Leven Smith, Jacob Matthews, Peter Vanhas and Timothy Eatto; none from Long Island. Jehiel C. Beman, being recommended to the Conference by the church at Middletown, was ordained Deacon and Elder, the two first days of the sitting of the Conference, to serve the church in that place, and he, having left his wife very ill at home, was under the necessity of returning immediately.
William Miller, having returned from Washington, where he had charge of a society of Allenites, and having somewhat repented of the error of straying from his African mother church, made application to join our connexion again, with the society under his charge, viz., the Asbury Church, and was received by the Conference. The appointments were, for New- York, Timothy Eatto, for both Zion and Asbury Churches; for Harlæm and vicinity, Leven Smith; for Newark, Charles Anderson; for Connecticut, Jehiel C. Beman, and for Long Island. George Tredwell. The Philadelphia Conference took place on the 12th of June, 1830.
The arrangements with the Preachers of the old connexion of our white brethren, for filling appointments in Zion Church, once in two weeks, continued, being renewed by our Elder, Timothy Eatto. Henry Draton joined the connexion this year.
May 21st, 1831, the Eleventh Yearly Conference took place in this city. The names of the Preachers were, Christopher Rush, Superintendent; Jacob Matthews, Leven Smith, William Miller, Timothy Eatto, George Tredwell, Jehiel C. Beman, Henry Draton, Charles A. Boyd, Charles H. Anderson, and George Garnett. Total number of members reported this year, 1016. The Yearly Conference, at Philadelphia, met on the 11th of June, 1831. Fourteen Preachers and 673 members reported this year.
May 19th, 1832, the Twelfth Yearly Conference took place in this city. Preachers present, Christopher Rush, Superintendent; William Miller, Jacob Matthews, Leven Smith, Charles Anderson, Timothy Eatto, Charles A. Boyd, Henry Johnson, William H. Bishop, Jehiel C. Beman, Hosea Easton, James Simmons, Peter Vanhas, Henry Draton, David Blake, Adam Ford, Daniel Vandevier, Francis P. Graham, John Lewis, and George Garnett.
May 18th, 1833, the Thirteenth Yearly Conference took place in the city of New-York. The persons who attended were as follows, viz.
Elders—Christopher Rush, Superintendent; William Miller, Jacob Matthews, Peter Vanhas, Leven Smith, Henry Draton, Timothy Eatto, Henry Johnson, George Tredwell, Jehiel C. Beman, and William Carman—11.
Deacons—James Simmons, William H. Bishop, John W. Lewis, Hosea Easton, George Garnett, John W Robinson, and George Matthews—7.
Preachers—Adam Ford, David Blake, Daniel Vandevier, William Fuller, and John Williams—5. Total, 23. John W Robinson, George Matthews, John Williams, and John Tappen, were received on trial.
Having given, in the best manner we could, a short sketch of the Rise and Progress of our Zion Church, and of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in America, down to this date, we are under the necessity of closing our scanty narration, in consequence of the want of matter and opportunity to fill out the vacancy down to the present time. It is possible that the continuation of the Treatise may be taken up at some future time and carried out, by some person who may be able to gather and prepare matter for that purpose.