History of the M.E. Church, Vol. IV - Media Sabda Org

Early in the spring of 1808 he returned to New York, after a fatiguing tour in the South, and more
than five thousand miles travel within the preceding twelve months. "O my soul, rest in God!" he
exclaims as he journeys onward. "I hear and see and feel many serious things; but I must take care
of my own soul. My care is to love, to suffer, and to please God." He arrived, by forced rides, on
Friday, 15th of April, ut New London, Conn. "My last two days' rides," he remarks the next day,
"were severe. My flesh is not brass, nor my old bones iron; but I was in peace an communion with
the Father and the Son." On Sunday he preached in the Baptist chapel; it was more capacious than
the Methodist house, and the Church which occupied it very generously exchanged it for the, latter.
The session began on Monday, the eighteenth, with forty preachers, besides the probationers. There
is an account extant of the financial affairs of the Conference. A brief allusion in the records
indicates that Asbury brought the usual donation from Baltimore. Doubtless the deficit was as great,
if not greater, than heretofore, for Martin Ruter "drafted an address to the brethren requesting their
charity for the distressed traveling preachers." Asbury says: "The Conference sat till Friday. We
wrought in haste, in great order, and in peace, through a great deal of business. There were seventeen
deacons, traveling and local, ordained, and nine elders ordained in the Congregational Church before
fifteen hundred or two thousand witnesses. I know not where large congregations are so orderly as
in the Eastern States. There was a work of God going on during the sitting of the Conference. The
General Conference hastened our breaking up, the delegates thereto requesting leave to go. There
were deficiencies in money matters, but no complaints." The bishop parted immediately after the
adjournment. On Tuesday, 26, after a ride of thirty-eight miles in a rain-storm, he arrived in New
York city. "I feel," he writes, "my shoulders eased a little now that I have met the seven Conferences.
I have lived to minute five hundred and fifty-two preachers in this country. The increase this short
year is seven thousand five hundred members in round numbers."
The ensuing year was one of great success, though of some local drawbacks. In Maine Joshua
Soule and Oliver Beale guided, with much success, the labors of twenty-two itinerants, among whom
were Hillman, Munger, Cobb, Martin, Steele, Kilburn, and Fogg. They added two circuits to their
already extensive field, and more than four hundred members to their classes. The joint returns of
the two districts of the province amounted to three thousand two hundred and twenty-four. Elijah
Hedding concluded his labors this year on the New Hampshire District, where he had superintended
the travels of William Hunt, Lewis Bates, Ebenezer Blake, and others. They passed through severe
struggles and privations, and made no remarkable progress. The gains of the district fell short of
fifty. An additional circuit had, however, been formed.
Elijah R. Sabin superintended the New London District with success. Bonney, Lambord,
Washburn, Clark, and some seven others, traveled under his supervision. They reported a
membership of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, and had increased more than three
hundred during the year. The session of the Conference at New London left a deep impression upon
that city. A "reformation" ensued, which lasted through most of the year, and spread over much of
the district. John Brodhead had charge of nearly a score of laborers on Boston District, among whom
were Pickering, (who traveled this year as a missionary,) Webb, Ruter, Merrill, Kibby, and Merwin.
They enlarged their field on every hand, and returned two thousand and forty-five members, an
increase during the year of four hundred and sixty-e. There were now three hundred and thirty-seven
Methodists in the metropolis. On Ashgrove and Rhinebeck Districts there were also large additions.
Almost every circuit reported gains. The membership of the New England Conference proper