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

Circuit) for this year began at Moore's Meeting-house, on Scioto Brush Creek, on the 2th of
September. I believe this was the first Methodist meeting-house that was built on that side of the
Ohio River. We had no presiding elder present; but the Lord was with us of a truth, and
condescended to manifest himself to us in the house that we had built for his worship. Our next
quarterly meeting was at Pee-pee, on the 27th and 28th of December, and the Lord made it plain to
us that he does not despise the day of small things, for he deigned to meet with us in our cabin on
the banks of Scioto, and we had a very refreshing season indeed; yea, in the presence of the great
Head of the Church, and the enjoyment of his love, we were as happy as if we sat among the
thousands of Israel in some magnificent building. Miami Circuit was then in a woeful situation, and
so continued until autumn, 1802, when Elisha Bowman was sent there. That year things took a
favorable turn, and a great and glorious change was soon visible. I dragged on through great
difficulties and much affliction, and ended my labors at the quarterly meeting on Scioto Brush Creek,
on the 29th and 30th of August, 1801, and returned to Kentucky on the first day of September
following, having spent near two years in the territory northwest of the Ohio." He organized
Methodism at Chilicothe, July 7, 1800, after preaching there under the trees. The first society
consisted of eighteen members. Tiffin, though residing at Chilicothe, still remained a member at
Davenport's, where he preached regularly.
Meanwhile an important acquisition was made by the struggling society in the arrival, on the
scene, of one of our earliest and most interesting heroes. Philip Gatch emigrated, with his family,
to the Miami region, and appeared there but a few months after the coming of Kobler. He was born,
as we have noticed, in the same year, and began to preach as early as William Watters, who worthily
ranks as the first native Methodist preacher of the United States, having anticipated Gatch a short
time on the records of the Conference. But Gatch was more conspicuous than Watters for his
sufferings and activity in the early history of the denomination. We have seen him, after his marriage,
locate, but continue his labors, in Virginia. In October, 1798, he started for the West. "My mind,"
he writes, "had dwelt on the subject; still I could not relinquish the enterprise. I viewed the evils of
slavery at present as great, and apprehended more serious results in the future, if some effectual
remedy should not be applied. Before setting out I met with a large assembly of my neighbors and
acquaintances, and discoursed to them on Acts xx, 25. We reciprocated warm feelings, and shed
many tears on the occasion. On the 11th of October my brother-in-law, Rev. James Smith, my friend
[24]
Ambrose Ransom, and myself, with our families, set out." He was now a neighbor of, and a
co-worker with McCormick, and his home became a "preaching place" and a shelter for the
itinerants. Most of his children were here gathered into the Church. Kobler, who had known him in
the East, was delighted to meet him. In his Memoirs, Kobler is described as "tall and well
proportioned; his hair black and long, extending over the cape of his coat; his dress neat, with a
straight breasted coat, and in every respect such as became a Methodist preacher of that day. He had
a most impressive countenance. It showed no ordinary intellectual development, united with
sweetness of disposition, unconquerable firmness, and uncommon devotion. His manner was very
deliberate at the commencement of his discourse, but as he advanced he became more animated, and
his words more powerful." While the Miami Circuit was without a preacher, as noticed in the
extracts from Smith, Gatch labored hard to supply it, and "a great revival," he says, "took place in
our settlement." And now, for the remainder of his life, he was a representative man of his Church
in Ohio, preaching often, and promoting zealously its rising interests. He was made a magistrate, was
a delegate to the convention which formed the Constitution of the state, and was appointed by the