Life and times of H. H. Kavanaugh, D. D. : one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South

Preface

Dear Madam, — Upon me has devolved the task of writing the life of your sainted husband. No duty has been assigned me, at any time, to the performance of which I have addressed myself with greater pleasure than to portray the character, and follow the varied fortunes, of one to whom I am so much indebted, through the vicissitudes of a long and eventful life, devoted, as it was, to the amelioration of mankind.

When he was a young preacher, and I only a child, I heard from his lips the message of life, — a message I had never heard before, under Avhich I was impressed with the necessity of a change of heart and the duty of a Christian life. The teachings of that occasion were never effaced from my mind, but followed me continually until I was led to the Cross and gave my young heart to God.

Of honorable birth and parentage, favored with religious instruction in his early childhood, it is not surprising that, in the rosy morn of life, he sought and found the pearl of great price, nor that he ever afterward maintained that high eminence as a Chris-

PREFACE.

tian, whose godly walk and conversation commanded the respect of all who knew him.

The heroic days of Methodism were still fresh in the minds of the itinerant ministry when he entered the ranks as a traveling preacher. Indeed, the fields of labor he occupied in the first years of his ministerial toil were sufficient to remind him of the sacrifices which were met and the privations which were endured by those who had preceded him, while the vast amount of labor he performed, together with the success with which his ministry was crowned, leaves to the Church a legacy on which is written — labor and rest, warfare and victory -

For more than sixty years he bore aloft the banner of the Cross, thirty-one of which were spent among the mountains and plains, in the cities and villages of his own loved Kentucky, and thirty in the discharge of the duties incident to the exalted office of a bishop in the Church of God. In the vast extent of his travels he was not surpassed by any of his self-sacrificing colleagues while in the pulpit; for the constancy of his labors and the earnestness with which he presented the grand and ennobling truths that had molded his own life and imparted inspiration to his hopes he had scarcely a rival.

Although he lived to an advanced age, it is gratifying that his mental powers had shown no signs of

PREFACE.

decay, but that to the last he exhibited, in the social circle and in the pulpit, that intellectual vigor that had distinguished him in the morn and noon of his life.

If he did not close his life in the pulpit, yet in that sacred place his labors as a herald of the Cross terminated. From thence he was permitted to look through the veil upon the crown he was so soon to wear, and upon the exceeding great and eternal weight of glory in which he would share.

The probabilities were that he would die away from home. Always at work, responding to the calls of his brethren, it could scarcely have been expected that death would overtake him beneath his own roof; but it is gratifying to know that friendly hands ministered to his comfort in his last moments, and that you, who, for nearly twenty years, had stood by his side, accompanying him in his extensive journeys, and whispering words of cheer, were with him when the final summons came calling him from labor to reward.

With my best wishes and sincere prayers for your happiness in this life and in the life to come, I beg permission to dedicate this volume to you. Your brother and friend,

A. H. REDFORD.

Bowling Green, Ky., June 21, 1884.

Chapter I

FROM THE DEATH OF CHARLES II OF ENGLAND TO THE DEATH OF THE REV. WILLIAMS KAVAN- AUGH.

James II 11

William, Prince of Orange 11

Louis Eugene Cavaignac 13

Philemon and Charles Kava-

naugh 17

Their emigration to America 17

Origin of the name 18

Philemon KavanaugU 19

Williams Kavanaugh, fir 19

Removal to Kentucky 19

Birth of Williams Kavanaugh,

Jr 20

Conversion and call to the

ministry 20

Becomes a traveling preacher.. 20

Green Circuit 20 !

Brunswick Circuit 22

Cumberland Circuit 22

Franklin and Salt River Circuits 22

Dr. Thomas Hinde 22

His marriage to Mary T. Hubbard 23

The blister-plaster 28

Dr. Hinde's conversion 29

His fervent piety 31

His death , 35

Mrs. Mary Todd Hinde 36

Her conversion , 37

Letter from Bishop Kavanaugh , 37

Hannah Hubbard Hinde 40

Her conversion 40

Conference of 1797 41

John Kobler's letter to Will-

iiims Kavanaugh 42

Williams Kavanaugh 's marriage and location 42

Invited to join the Protestant

Episcopal Church 44

Considers the proposition favorably. 44

Ordained by Bishop Claggett... 45 Rector at Lexington, Louisville, and Henderson, Ky.... 47

His death 47

His Christian character 48

PAOB.

Letter from Bishop Smith 48

Death of Mrs. Kavanaugh 51

Thomas W. Kavanaugh 51

Leroy H. Kavanaugh 52

Mary Jane Kavanaugh 54

Benjamin T. Kavanaugh 56

Williams B. Kavanaugh 61

Chapter II

FROM THE BIRTH OF HUBBARD HINDE KAVANAUGH TO HIS AD- MISSION INTO THE KENTUCKY CONFERENCE.

Hubbard Hinde Kavanaugh. .. 63

Early life 63

Apprenticeship 63

Conversion 64

Joins the Methodist Church. .. 66

Licensed to preach 67

Editor of the Western Watchman , , , 67

Trial Sermon 67

Benjamin Lakin 69

Daniel H. Te vis 73

Wm. McCommas 74

Nelson Dills 74

Daniel Black 75

Thompson J. Holliman 75

David Wright 75

Clement L. Clifton 76

Richard I. Dungan, 76

George Richardson 77

Abram Long 79

John S. Barger 80

Newton G. Berryman 81

Chapter III

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1823 TO THE CONFERENCE OF 1827.

Little Sandy Circuit 85

Andrew Monroe 85

Conference in Shelbyville 92

John Tevis 94

Miss Julia A. Hieronymus 94

Science Hill 95

Newport Circuit 96

Salt River Circuit 97

John P. Finley 100

CONTENTS.

Chapter IV

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1827 TO THE CONFERENCE OF 1831.

Page.

Lexington Circuit 106

Marriage 107

Conference in Shelby ville 108

First sermon we ever heard 109

Stationed in Bussellville Ill

Visits Bowling Green 112

Littleton Fowler 116

Danville and Harrodsburg 123

Chapter V

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1831 TO THE CONFERENCE OF 1835.

Mr. Kavanaugh as a preacher.. 127

Bardstown and Springfield 128

Elected to the General Conference of 1832.. 129

Revival in Bardstown 130

Frankfort 130

Barnabas McHenry 131

Marcus Lindsey 135

Peter Akers 148

\V m. C. Stribling 152

Lexington 160

Revival in Lexington... 161

Amusing incident 161

Chapter VI

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1835 TO THE CONFERENCE OF 1839.

Wm. Adams 164

The slavery question 171

Louisville 173

Discouragements 173

Bardstown 175

Meeting in Mt. Washington 175

Resolution of the Kentucky Conference requesting Bishop Roberts not to transfer Mr. Kavanaugh to Missouri. 176

John Newland Maffitt 177

Superintendent of Public Instruction 190

Augusta College 199

John P. Fin ley president 200

Peter Akers appointed agent.. 200 E. W. Sehon and H. H. Kavanaugh agents 201

E. W. Sehon 201

Chapter VII

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1839 TO THE CONFERENCE OF 1842.

Re-appointed agent for Augusta College 206

PAGK.

J. S. Tomlinson 206

H. B. Bascom 213

Maysvllle 240

Jonathan Stamper 241

Augusta College 264

Transylvania University 265

Returns to Maysville 270

Chapter VIII

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1842 TO THE CONFERENCE OF 1848.

Brook Street Church 271

Richard Corwine 271

Revival in Louisville 274

James S. Lithgow 274

Re-appointed to Brook Street... 278

Kentucky Conference at Bowling Green 286

Bishop Janes 287

Sermon by Mr. Kavanaugh 288

Shelbyville 291

Mr. Kavanaugh's speech before

the convention of 1845 294

B. T. Crouch 295

Geo. C. Light 309

Presiding elder 315

Lexington 317

T. N. Ralston 318

Wm. H. Anderson 326

Chapter IX

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1848 TO THE CONFERENCE OF 1850.

Border war 331

Expositor and True Issue 331

Corresponding editor 332

Roule Chapel 332

Delegate to General Conference 333

BurrH. McCown 333

John H Linn 335

G. W Brush 347

Chapter X

FROM THE SESSION OF THE KEN- TUCKY CONFERENCE OF 1850 TO THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1854.

Death of Bishop Bascom 359

Second year in Covington 360

G. W. Morritt 360

Edward Stevenson 364

Winchester and Ebenezer 379

Versailles 379

Second year in Versailles 381

Delegate to the General Conference of 1854 381

CONTENTS.

Chapter XI

FROM THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1854 TO THE GENERAL CON- FERENCE OF 1858.

Interchange of sentiments between delegates 383

Spoken of for bishop 383

Failure in the pulpit 384

Elected bishop 384

Bishop Pierce 384

Bishop Early 391

First conference 397

Conference in Jefferson City. .. 398

At Riley's Chapel 398

Wachita Conference 398

Mrs. Kavanaugh 398

Conferences in 1855 399

First visit to California 400

Arkansas Conference 401

East Texas 404

Chapter XII

FROM THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1858 TO THE GENERAL CON- FERENCE OF 1870.

Bishop Kavanaugh 's sermon .. 407 Kentucky, West Virginia, and

Virginia Conferences 408

Missouri, St. Louis, Kansas Mission, Arkansas, and Indian Mission Conferences in

1860 409

The civil war 409

Fall of Fort Sumter 410

Kentucky invaded 410

Kentucky Conference 410

Bishop Kavanaugh in sympathy with the South 411

Louisville Conference 411

Kentucky Conference in 1863... 412

Exciting times 412

Death of Mrs. Kavanaugh 413

Arrest in California 414

His release 419

Louisville Conference 421

Second marriage 421

Conferences for 1865 421

Bishops elected 423

Appointed to California 423

Deathof Bishop Soule 425

Feeble health 428

Annual meeting of the bishops 428

Episcopal field for 1868 428

Conferences for 1869 430

Gentle reprimand 431

Chapter XIII

FROM THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1870 TO THE ANNUAL MEET- ING OF THE BISHOPS IN 1875.

PAGB.

General Conference in Memphis 432

J. C. Keener elected bishop 432

Bishop Kavanaugh's work 432

Bishops Doggett and Kavanaugh in Nashville 434

Confined at home, 437

Death of Bishop Andrew 438

Bishops' meeting in 1871 438

His episcopal district 438

At the conferences 439

Death of David Thornton 442

Semi - centennial sermon at

Lexington 444

At Russellville 446

In Texas 447

General Conference in Louisville, 1874 449

Arkansas, White River, and Little Rock Conferences 449

Chapter XIV

FROM THE MEETING OF THE BISH- OPS IN MAY, 1875, TO THE GEN- ERAL CONFERENCE OF 1878.

Bishop Kavanaugh in California 451

Kavanaugh Camp-ground 451

Sketch of the bishop by Mrs.

Emma Hardacre 454

In Oregon ... 461

His conferences 462

St. Joseph, Mo 462

Paroquette Camp-meeting 463

Falls in the pulpit, in Nicho-

lasville, Ky 464

At the conferences 464

At Lebanon, Ky 465

In Nashville, Tenn 465

At the conferences 465

Death of Bishop Marvin 466

Chapter XV From The General Conference Of 1878 To The Death Of Bishop Kavanaugh

AtVanderbilt University 467

District conferences '. 467

Camp-meeting 468

Holston Conference 468

Alabama Conference 469

At home, February, 1879 469

District Conferences 469

Kavanaugh Camp-meeting 469

Kentucky Conference 470

CONTENTS.

PAGK.

Caverna, Ky 470

Memphis Conference 470

Greenville, Miss 470

Mississippi conference 470

District conferences 470

Commencement sermon at

Whitworth Female College. 471 Illinois, Indiana, and Louisville Conferences 471

In California 471

Death of Bishop Doggett 471

At home 474

Death of Mrs. Charlotte Thornton 474

Death of Bishop Wightman 476

Bishop Kavanaugh's district... 477

Battle Monument 478

Death of Bishop Paine 479

South Georgia and Florida

Conferences 479

Annual meeting of bishops 479

Immense labor 479

Camp-meeting 480

Last visit to Versailles, Ky 480

Visit to Bowling Green, Ky 480

His last tour 481

Conference in New Orleans 483

Pleasing incidents 484

His last sermon 485

At Ocean Springs 488

Last attempt to preach 488

His death 489

Letter from Rev. J. H. Scruggs 489 His remains en route for Kentucky 495

Funeral services in Louisville. 495

Funeral sermon by Bishop Mc-

Tyeire 496

His burial 501

Chapter XVI. Tributes To The Memoky Of Bishop Kavanaugh

Memorial service in Nashville,

Tenn 503

Address by Bishop Pierce 503

Preachers' Meeting in Louisville 511

Christian Advocate 512

New Orleans Advocate 514

Raleigh Advocate 515

Central Methodist 515

Wilmington Star 516

Wesleyan Christian Advocate. 517

Episcopal Methodist 518

Richmond Advocate 518

Southern Christian Advocate.. 519

Colorado Methodist 519

Pacific Methodist 520

Bishop Keener 520

C. G. Andrews, D. D 521

T. N. Ralston, I). D 526

Rev. W. M. Grubbs 532

Lines, Josephus Anderson, D.D. 542 Bishop Kavanaugh's tribute to

Methodism 544

" Our Last Trip," by Mrs. Kav-

anaugh 545

Centennial Address, Dr. Messick 552

LIFE AND TIMES

OF

Bishop Kavanaugh.