A Short History Of The Methodists... - Media Sabda Org

incorporated, which was done, and done without the consent of all the conferences. And the trustees
who were named in the act of incorporation had the management of the institution among
themselves, and the conference was deprived of all the power of making rules or giving orders for
the future welfare of the children.
This step was disliked by many of our friends; who from that time concluded that the institution
would not prosper. And the business was not well conducted afterwards. On the 4th day of December
1795, the college took fire by some means, but we cannot tell how, and was all burnt down; and the
library was consumed with the house.
It was but little upwards of ten years from the time the house was begun, until it was burnt: and
there has been no attempt made to rebuild it, from that time till now.
In 1785 we had three conferences. The fourteenth conference was held at Green Hill's, in North
Carolina, on the 20th of April. The fifteenth conference was held at Mr. Mason's, in Brunswick
county, in Virginia, on the 1st day of May. The sixteenth conference was held in Baltimore on the
1st day of June.
This was the first time that we had more than one regular conference in the same year. For a few
years before this, we had two conferences in the same year, but they were considered only as one,
first begun in one place, and adjourned to another. Now there were three, and no adjournment. I have
therefore considered the conferences as but one in the year, and have numbered them accordingly;
but from this time I shall consider the number of the conferences as I find them in the minutes.
This year, and the two succeeding years, the minutes were called, "Minutes of the General
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America."
The business of the three conferences was all arranged in the minutes as if it had all been done
at one time and place. And for the first time we had the annual minutes printed; which practice we
have followed ever since.
This year at the three conferences we took in seven new circuits; one was in the state of Georgia,
called Georgia; and three were in South Carolina, by the names of Charleston, Georgetown, and
Broad River. There was one in North Carolina, by the name of New River; one in Virginia, called
Lancaster, and one in Maryland, called St. Mary's.
There were three more places taken on our minutes; two of them were in Nova Scotia, Shelburne,
and Fort Rosway. And one called Antigua, in the West Indies. The three places last mentioned at that
time belonging to the American conference, and for the first we now sent preachers to them.
We admitted twenty-eight young preachers on trial. We had fifty-two circuits in all, and one
hundred and two preachers. We added to the society three thousand and twelve members this year;
including those in Nova Scotia and in Antigua. The whole number of members was mentioned this
year in the minutes, without telling us how many there were in each circuit.