Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia, by James Callahan, 1913 Church Devlopment - METHODISM IN WEST VIRGINIA This file was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm From the Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia, by James Callahan, 1913. pg. 525-532 Church Devlopment The Editor and Committee, unable to obtain a general treatment of this subject in a single article, decided to assign brief articles to representatives of each denomination. They were able to secure articles for five denominations which have the largest membership in the state. METHODISM IN WEST VIRGINIA By William B. Mathews, Clerk of the Supreme Court of West Virginia. Methodism has never been slow in following the pioneer into a new country. Her church polity and the genius of her institutions have been such that she has kept pace with man's migrations even when he has wandered into remote regions. The "circuit rider" in his long and weary rounds in early days did not overlook the sparsely settled communities. As a result, that church was firmly planted throughout our entire borders, and has kept pace with the wonderful growth and development of our great State. Wesleyan preachers did not begin systematic work or hold their first conference in America until 1773, although Wesleyan societies were or- ganized in New York and Philadelphia a few years before that time. Pre- vious to that year, settlements were made within the present boundaries of West Virginia, at Shepherdstown and other points in the eastern panhandle, Lewisburg, Morgantown, Wheeling, Clarksburg, Moundsville, and Brownstown, now Marmet, near Charleston. The first Methodist preaching on West Virginia soil was probably in the Shenandoah Valley as early as 1775, only twelve years after the Methodists first became a factor in the religious life of America, and nine years before the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. In that year John Haggerty and Richard Owings preached at the home of Major Lewis Stephens, son of a pioneer settler in the territory which afterwards became Berkeley and Jefferson counties. A "class" was formed, and the first Methodists within our bounds were its members; the Stephens family, John Hite and sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Hughes, and John Taylor and wife. In 1778, Berkeley Circuit, covering that territory was formed, with Rev. Edward Bailey the first regularly appointed Methodist pastor in West Virginia. Next, Methodism entered the Greenbrier Valley, covered by the Allegheny Circuit, organized in 1783, and later by the Greenbrier Circuit, organized in 1787. Rehoboth Church, at the "Sinks of Greenbrier," near Union, completed in 1786, and still standing, is said to be the oldest Methodist Church west of the Alleghenies. Bishop Asbury preached daily in this church, when he held the annual conference May 21-24, 1792. at the cabin of Edward Keenan, near by. The annual conference of 1793 was also held there in May of that year. Among the presiding elders of that region were Richard Whatcoat, William McKendree and Enoch George, all of whom afterwards were elected bishops of the church. John Tunnell, James O'Kelly and Francis Poythress, men of note, were itinerants in that territory. The people called Methodists followed Braddock's road and penetrated the wilderness to the Monongahela at Redstone Creek, where Brownstown. Pa., now stands, but instead of defeat they won many victories in extend- ing the Kingdom of God. Redstone circuit, embracing the whole Mononga- hela Valley, was formed in 1784, the year the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. John Cooper and Samuel Breeze were the first pastors In 1785, Peter Moriarty, John Fidler and Wilson Lee were appointed pastors, and Lee carried his ministrations through the wilderness as far as Wheeling, where a "class" was formed with Mrs. Elizabeth (McCulloch) Zane, as probably the first member. The work so rapidly developed that in 1787 Ohio circuit, embracing a large territory along and east of the Ohio River, was formed, and Charles Conaway and George Callahan were its first pastors. Methodist "societies" rapidly multiplied. Clarksburg circuit was formed out of Redstone in 1787, with Robert Cann and Richard Pearson as pastors. Randolph circuit on the upper tributaries of Tygart's Valley and Cheat Rivers was formed in 1790, Anthony Banning, pastor. In the same year Kanawha circuit was formed and preachers assigned, but as no reports were made it is probable the work was not taken up at that time, and the statement in Atkinson's History of Kanawha county is correct that Rev. Wm. Steel of the Little Kanawha circuit preached the first Methodist sermon in Charleston on January 1, 1804. The latter circuit was created in 1779, with Robert Manley, the first pastor. The large Guyandotte circuit embracing settlements along the Ohio and as far up the Guyandotte and Great Kanawha Valleys as white men could be found was formed in 1804, Rev. Asa Shinn, one of the founders of the Methodist Protestant Church, being the first pastor. The organ- ization at Charleston was probably effected in 1815, by H. B. Bascom, afterwards a bishop in the Church South. The progress of Methodism in West Virginia for the first two decades, as reported by the official minutes, is as follows: YEAR. NUMBER or PREACHERS. MEMBERSHIP. White. Colored. 1780.................. 3 205 1790.................. 7 1,472 130 1800.................. 10 1,636 66 Bishop Asbury. Thus was accomplished the beginnings of Methodism in the latter years of the Eighteenth Century within the limits of the State of West Virginia. At that time it was only a wilderness. No one can record the privations and heroism of the pioneer preachers who achieved that work so comprehensively, planting the church in every part of our territory. Bishop Asbury, who, with Bishop Coke was the general superintendent of the church, evidently regarded the hills and valleys of Western Virginia as his especial diocese. He showed his devotion to it by making it frequent visits, nearly every year from 1789 to 1816, the year of his death. He states in his Journal: "I have frequently skimmed along the frontiers for four or five hundred miles from Kentucky to Greenbrier, on the very edge of the wilderness, and thence along Tiger's (Tygart's) valley to Clarksburg and on to the Ohio. These places, if not the haunts of savage men, yet abound with wild beasts. * * * The people cannot tell what I have to cope with. I make no doubt the Methodists are, and will be, a numerous and wealthy people, and their preachers who follow us will not know our struggles but by comparing their improved state of the country with what it was in our days." Bishop Asbury labored with incessant and unflinching zeal. He preach- ed daily. On account of his military bearing he has been called the Field Marshal of Methodism, but his Christian affability and knowledge of human nature gave to him such a genius tor organization that, without the advantage of inherited church affiliations on the part of the people, he built so firmly, and laid foundations so far reaching that the Methodist bodies today constitute by far the largest number of communicants of any ecclesiastical family in the state. Portions of our territory have belonged to the Virginia conference, the Western conference, and the Kentucky conference. In 1825, after the Pittsburgh conference was formed, this territory was divided among the Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Ohio conferences, and In that year, there were within our bounds 22 circuits, 32 preachers, and 10,405 members, of whom 523 were colored. A detailed account of the growth and development of this great religious denomination, with historical accounts of the tacts leading up to the sep- aration of 1828 which resulted in the Methodist Protestant Church and that of 1844 which resulted in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, are necessarily precluded from the limits of a brief article. It is sufficient to say that all parties to these differences were sincere and conscientious, and that at the present time no differences are apparent to prevent a re- union of these aggressive forces in the church militant. Potent Factor for the New State. West Virginia being the border land between the North and the South, it was inevitable that feeling should be intense and partisanship at white heat. The ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, led by the great mind of Gordon Battelle, were solidly against slavery and in favor of the creation of a new state, and likewise almost the entire rank and file of the laity of that church, led by Arthur I. Boreman, Waltman T. Wiley, Ches- ter D. Hubbard, James C. McGrew and many others. The Influence of the circuit riders among the people as they traversed these mountains ana valleys just preceding the outbreak of the war, constituting themselves missionaries of freedom, both in and out of the pulpit, can hardly be estimated. It certainly went far, and probably was the controlling factor in causing the western counties ot Virginia to remain loyal to the Union, and in time to become one of the sisterhood of States. Many of the number left their pulpits and went to the front to advocate their principles in the final arbitrament of arms. The West (formerly called Western) Virginia Conference was organ- ized in 1848. Its rapid growth may be seen at a glance from the following official statistics for the years named: YEAR. MINISTERS. MEMBERS. VALUE or PROPERTY. 1850. ................ 54 14,201 Not reported 1875 ............... 159 31,413 $ 605,455 1900 ............... 226 54,892 1,188,715 1912 ............... 290 69,886 3,087,674 Besides the above, there are a number of churches in West Virginia belonging to the Pittsburgh and Baltimore Conferences, and a large number of colored congregations belonging to the Washington Conference. West Virginia Wesleyan. One of the greatest achievements of the West Virginia Conference is the establishment of a successful Christian college. The West Virginia Conference Seminary, Buckhannon, was opened Sept. 3, 1890, with Dr. W. B. Hutchinson as president. Many cities had sought to be the site of the school but Buckhannon was chosen because of its central location, ita high moral tone, its inexpensive living and its beauty and health- fulness. In 1903 its faculty and curricula were enlarged and the institu- tion was chartered as the West Virginia Wesleyan College. Its standard of scholarship has always been high. Although founded and chiefly supported by the Methodists, the college is wholly undenominational. No religious tests are prescribed upon trus- tees, faculty or students, though the school has always been noted tor its high Christian Influence. It has emphasized the belief that education should include character forming as well as scholarship. Commencing with a barren field in 1890, the college now has a well- wooded and beautiful campus ot 43 acres, on which are seven buildings: (1) College Hall, (2) Woman's Hall, (3) Music Hall, (4) Gymnasium, (5) Haymond Science Hall, (6) Heating Plant, and (7) President's Resi- dence. Its assets exceed $400,000. It has a library of 7,000 volumes, well equipped laboratories and other facilities for the best instruction. Courses are given in the College of Liberal Arts, leading to the degrees ot Bachelor ot Arts and Bachelor ot Science. It has a preparatory school, a depart- ment of music, of commerce, of art, of oratory and a flourishing normal school. In February, 1905, a fire destroyed the main building; but College Hall, larger and better was immediately errected to take ita place. The school has always been well attended by students from West Virginia and other states; but during the past five years the enrollment has shown a steady and continuous increase—as the figures indicate: 1909, 373; 1910, 423; 1911, 476; 1912, 507; 1913, 628. The students of strictly college rank have quadrupled in the last four years. The faculty consists of twenty-eight persons, with President Carl Gregg Doney, at the head. They are graduates of good universities or colleges, and technical schools. The thirty-six trustees are representative men and women of the state. Though young, the alumni include two state officials, twenty school principals and superintendents, over one hundred men teachers, eighty ministers, thirty lawyers and leading men and women in all the honorable walks of life. The college has been of inestimable value to West Virginia and its growing strength is promise of still greater service. Methodist Protestant Church.* *Acknowledgment is made to Hon. A. D. Williams for statements relative to the Methodist Protestant Church, of which he is a prominent member. The history of Methodism is one until 1828, when what is now known as the Methodist Protestant Church was organized. The reasons for the division were the refusal of the election of presiding elders, refusal of the right of appeal and representation for local ministers and laymen, by vote of Bishops McKendree and Soule in 1820. The publication of a paper known as Mutual Rights, edited by Rev. Asa Shinn, lent color to the situation surrounding the general movement for lay representation at this time in Methodism. The first Methodist minister to be expelled for advocating the reading of this journal was D. B. Dorsey, who spent a part of his life at Wheeling, West Virginia, and his declining years at Fairmont. Among the active and conspicuous figures in the early history of the formation of West Virginia was Francis H. Pierpont, the provisional governor, who was an active lay member of the Methodist Protestant Church, and represented it as a delegate from the Pittsburgh Conference in the general conference of 1846, 1858 and 1871, at which conference he was elected President being the first and only layman ever to serve as President of a general conference of Methodists. In 1875 he was commissioned as one of the nine members on church union, to meet with the southern division of the Methodist Protestant Church, and in 1877 was a member ot the con- ference that united the two divisions. The first Methodist Protestant church organized in the State of West Virginia was at Hackers Creek, in Lewis County, October, 1829, by Rev. John Mitchell and David Smith, and is known as Old Harmony Church. The building was erected in October, 1819, and is still preserved. Rev. H. K. Bonner was elected class leader. The next society was organized at the forks of Hackers Creek. Rev. John Smith was elected leader. In 1830 a class was organized at Morgantown by Rev. Cornelius Spring- er, a veteran of the war of 1812, and a participant in the division dis- cussions of 1820 to 1830. This class produced three prominent minis- ters, Joseph A. Shackleford, Asby Pool and John Clark. The same year Springer and Marshall formed a society at the forks of Cheat river. In February of the same year, Rev. George Brown formed societies in Palatine near the home of the late William Barnes. Societies were also formed at Pruntytown and Rockford. Rev. George Nestor in the same year made organizations at Harrisville, Morristown and on Teter Creek in Barbour County. There were also organizations formed in the Greenbrier Valley, and at Flatwoods in Braxton County. The West Virginia conference was set off from the Pittsburgh Con- ference with 3,000 members and P. T. Laishley appointed President, and organized October 2, 1885, at Pruntytown. Rev. P. T. Laishley was a representative from Monongalla county, and also chaplain, in the first convention at Wheeling, in May, 1861. He and other Methodist Protestants were active in the formation of the State. The church has at present in the state 78 ministers and 70 charges. besides those included in the Pittsburgh and Baltimore conference; a membership of 17,092, church property valued at $455,091; 264 Sunday Schools, with 18,000 endrollment. The present officers of the conference are President, Rev. J. N. Holt, Colfax, W. Va.; Secretaries, J. H. Moss- burg, Flemington, W. Va., W. H. Hodges, Morgantown, W. Va. Methodist Episcopal Church South. The Methodist Episcopal Church South was organized pursuant to the plan of separation adopted by the General Conference of 1844, at a convention of duly elected delegates from the southern conferences, which met at Louisville, Ky., in May, 1845. With great unanimity this convention declared a separation was necessary in order to save to Methodism its members in the South. A general conference was appoint- ed to meet in May, 1846, and every tour years thereafter, so that the gen- eral conference of the two Episcopal Methodisms alternate, convening two years apart. The Western Virginia Conference of the Church South was organized at Maiden in 1850. At the time of its organization it had 24 charges with an aggregate membership of 5,293. After the separation the south- ern churches in western Virginian territory had been placed under the care of the Kentucky conference, and constituted the Parkersburg, Green- brier and Guyandotte districts thereof. In 1860 there were five districts, 60 effective preachers, 93 local preachers, 12,694 members and 126 church- es and 9 parsonages, valued at $114,100. No sessions of this conference were held on account of the war from 1860 until 1866. The members of this body stood staunchly tor their political principles and like true Methodists endured hardships and the dangers incident to a sanguinary struggle with fortitude and self-sacri- fice. Only about one-third of the former members of the conference answer to the "sad roll call" at Greenup, Ky., Feb. 22, 1866. Bishop Kavanaugh, who preached in the Great Kanawha Valley when a young man, presided. From that time, the growth of this branch of Methodism has been rapid. Great good has been accomplished by it among the West Virginia hills, although its beneficent jurisdiction extends also into Ken- tucky. In 1912 there were reported 114 preachers, 27,612 members and church property valued at $1,208,940. A number of the pastoral charges of the Baltimore Conference, South, are located in this State. Morris Harvey College. Previous to the war, Marshall College was under control of this Con- ference, but the institution was not re-opened after its close, and the property was disposed of to the State tor use as a Normal School. However, when the county seat of Cabell County was removed from Bar- boursvllle to Huntington, the county buildings at the former place were se- cured, mainly through the efforts of Dr. T. S. Wade, of honored memory, and thus was established Barboursvllle Academy, now Morris Harvey College. This institution was incorporated as the Barboursville Seminary May 16, 1888. One year later it was accepted by the Western Virginia Annual Conference, M. E. Church, South, and operated as the Barboursville College. By this name it was known until May 27, 1901, when, in con- sideration of the beneficence of Mr. Morris Harvey, in the gift of several thousand dollars to the school, the Board of Trustees thereof changed the name to Morris Harvey College. The buildings consist of an Administration Building, Rosa Harvey Hall for girls, a Music Hall and Billingsley Hall for boys. Its present faculty consists of eight members, headed by President R. H. Alderman, and it has a student body of nearly two hundred. Comparative Statistics. A U. S. census bulletin gives the following figures relative to church membership in West Virginia for the year 1906, and it is probable that the ratios indicated therein practically remain the same. The totals, however, are below the actual number of members, since some 800 church organizations failed to report. The census gave for 1906 a membership of 115,825 in all Methodist bodies in the state, distributed as follows: DENOMINATIONS. MEMBERS. Methodist Episcopal .......................... 61,641 Methodist Episcopal, South ................... 36,632 Methodist Protestant ......................... 16,004 African Methodist Episcopal .................. 1,002 Wesleyan Methodist ........................... 238 Free Methodist ............................... 150 African Methodist Episcopal, Zion ............ 86 Colored Methodist Episcopal .................. 72 TOTAL ........................................ 115,825 The same bulletin gives a further table, showing that the Methodist bodies had, in that year, over 38 per centum of the entire church mem- bership reported in the state. This table contains the following stat- istical presentation: BODIES. MEMBERS. PER CENT. Methodist Bodies ................... 115,825 38.5 Baptist Bodies ...................... 67,044 22.2 United Brethren Bodies .............. 19,993 6.6 Presbyterian Bodies ................. 19,668 6.5 Disciples or Christians ............. 13 323 4.4 Lutheran Bodies .................... 6,506 2.2 Protestant Episcopal Church ........ 5,230 1.7 Reformed Bodies ..................... 886 0.3 Congregationalists .................. 228 0.1 Other Protestant Bodies ............. 11,101 3.6 Total Protestant Bodies ............ 259,804 86.1 Roman Catholic Church ............... 40,011 13.3 Latter Day Saints .................... 1,385 0.5 All other bodies .................... 365 0.1 GRAND TOTALS ....................... 301,565 100 Of the above number, there were about three males to every four fe- males. There were 3428 church edifices reported with a seating capacity to accommodate nearly the entire population of the State at one and the same time. The value of church property nearly reached $12,000,000. There were 3486 West Virginia Sunday Schools reported with 27,677 teachers and 212,577 scholars. In all this equipment for promoting religious and civic righteousness in our fair State, Methodism has had an honorable part in the past, is willing to cooperate in bearing the burdens and responsibilities of the present, and looks to the future with enthusiastic faith and hope that our commonwealth as it becomes greater and more prosperous may like- wise become better and more righteous.