History Of Methodist Reform, Volume I - Media Sabda Org

Eutaw Street church pulpit. On the tenth day of May, the public burial took place, the double coffin
borne by twelve pall-bearers, was carried from the Light Street church, where the General
Conference had assembled, to Eutaw church, a distance of over one mile, the bearers alternating, in
a procession composed of all the members, and a vast concourse estimated by William Black at
"about 20,000 or, as some suppose, 25,000 persons were present in the procession, and out of it, as
spectators on the solemn occasion. Previous to the interment Bishop McKendree delivered a short
discourse, in a very faint and feeble voice, to as many as could crowd into the chapel, embracing
some of the leading traits of his history and character. It was about twelve minutes long, but I fear
was not heard distinctly by one-third of the people. On the following Sabbath, a funeral sermon was
delivered in each of the eight or nine chapels occupied by the Methodists. It was my lot to preach
in the Light Street chapel on that solemn occasion. The congregation was very large, and almost
silent as death. The chapel contained about three thousand, but hundreds were obliged to go away
for want of room." [5]
Asbury's remains, after reposing in this place until June 16, 1854, were again disinterred and
finally deposited in Mt. Olivet cemetery, on the suburbs of Baltimore, west, in where are also
deposited, some by direct burial and others by removal to this place, the following of the earlier
ministers — Robert Strawbridge, died 1781; Reuben Ellis, 1796; Wilson Lee, 1805; Francis Asbury,
1816; Nathan Richardson, 1816; Jesse Lee, 1816; Hamilton Jefferson, 1822; John Hagerty, 1823;
Abner Neal, 1824; James Smith, 1827; Enoch George, 1829; John Emory, 1836; Beverly Waugh,
1858; Henry Smith, 1863, and sixty-nine other ministers up to 1888. For eulogies on Asbury, those
of Boehm, Bangs, and Stevens are exhaustive, but none of them excels Snethen's oration, delivered
soon after Asbury's demise. It was published, but no extant copy is known; the original manuscript,
however, is preserved among his literary remains in possession of the Pittsburgh Book Concern of
the Methodist Protestant Church. The Baltimore Conference through its committee in 1817-18,
appointed Rev. Dr. Samuel K. Jennings to write a "Life of Asbury," and he was making good
progress with the work up to 1824, when the bitterness and prejudice against him as an ardent and
uncompromising Reformer of that time hampered him, of which more will be given in its
connection. The Conference of 1824 appointed Rev. Henry Beauchamp to do the work, but his death
soon after forestalled it, and no "Life" was written until years after, when Strickland's appeared, and
is an admirable production. He was aged seventy years, seven months, and eleven days. The writer's
pen-portrait of him, given earlier in this volume, is believed to be the fullest and most accurate so
far given, as it was compiled from sources some of which were not at the command of his
predecessors in historical labors. The author of "The Conference, etc.," in his masterly summation
of his character as an appendix to the work, may be cited a little further. "As a preacher, although
not an orator, he was dignified, eloquent, and impressive: his sermons were the result of good sense
and sound wisdom, delivered with great authority, and gravity, and often attended with a divine
unction which made them refreshing as the dews of heaven. . . . His talents as a preacher were
respectable, but his chief excellency lay in governing; for this, perhaps, no man was better qualified;
he presided with dignity, moderation, and firmness over a large body of men. . . . A man of less
energy would have given up the reins; and one of less wisdom, prudence, and moderation would
have committed the same error as Phaeton; and the whole system would have been confused and
distracted but Mr. Asbury managed the vast economy with singular ability. . . . His prudence was
equal to his integrity; he never committed himself; hence he had few things to undo. . . . Many
deviated from the work, but his step was firm; though opposed, he was unmoved; neither friends nor