Autobiography of Bishop Isaac Lane, LL.D. : with a short history of the C.M.E. Church in America and of Methodism

Front matter

BISHOP ISAAC LANE, LL.D.

( AT EIGHTY-TWO YEARS OF AGe)

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Preface

In writing this little book the purpose of the author is to narrate in a brief manner the most important events in his own life, give a short biographical sketch of the early bishops of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America who were his contemporaries, and at the same time point out some of the conditions and circumstances attendant upon the organization of his Church. The author has set his hands to this task, using such manuscripts and documents as he has in his possession and relying very largely upon his own memory for much material which he has used freely. He was a witness, if not a party, to every important movement in the Church from its very organization to the present time. What contribution he has made to its progress and development he is perfectly willing for others to estimate and record, but suffice it for him to say that he has done what he could for his Church and for the race.

In this work the author has had the encouragement of a great many ministers and laymen who have insisted upon his putting in permanent form some of the historical data that he has used so often in his sermons, addresses, and lectures. This he has felt free to do.

While selecting the material for this book the author has kept constantly in mind two classes of

AUTOBIOliRAPH^- OI- BISHOP ISAAC LANE persons who may read it — viz.: (i ) The young men of the Church who should he acquainted with the strugi^les of their Church in its infancy, the amhition of the founders (their sacrifices, failures, and successes), and who want to get a clear understanding of the special mission of their Church in the world, its purpose and its polity (2) The other class of persons whom the author has held in mind is the reading puhlic at large. I refer to that great hody of intelligent men and women who w^ant information concerning the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America, along with the other great ecclesiastical organizations having for their purpose the saving of the people. The author realizes that it is very difficult for many well-meaning persons to understand why there was ever a demand made for the organization of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America, and still more difficult for many to understand its relation to other Methodist Churches, and especially to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. A studious effort, it appears, has heen made to impress the world that this Church was ''set up and off" contrary to the wishes and desires (►f the memhcrs. Our records show that such was not the case. Sexcral of our Annual Conferences formally and openly petitioned for an independent hody regularly organized and properly manned, and it was upon these petitions and in keeping with them that the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, took action.

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If the author has accompHshed nothing more than to show how the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was organized, and to set forth its necessity and the great service it has rendered mankind during these forty-five years of its splendid history, he feels amply repaid for all the efforts he has put forth.

A Dissertation on "Why Baptize Children?" 189

II Illustrations

Page.

Bishop Isaac Lane, LL.D., at Sixty Years of Age 19

Trinity Church, Augusta, Ga 67

Residence of Bishop Isaac Lane 75

Old Main Hall, Lane College 99

Girls' Hall, Lane College 105

Boys' Dormitory, Lane College 11 1

New Main Hall, Lane College 115

Lane Tabernacle, St. Louis, Mo 121

Front View of New Buildings at Lane College 125

Mrs. Frances Ann Boyce Lane 135

Bishop J. A, Beebe 149

Bishop L. H. Holsey, D.D 153

Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Long Smith Lane 157

Bishop R. S. Williams, D.D 161

Bishop Elias Cottrell, D.D 165

r.is'iop C. H. Phillips, LL.D 169

Bishop M. E. Jamison, D.D 173

Bishop R. A. Carter, D.D 177

Bishop N. C. Cleaves, D.D 181

Introduction

It is with a sense of peculiar joy that I introduce to the reading pubHc Bishop Isaac Lane, D.D., LL.D., as an author. The joy in doing the pleasant task is not due to my ability to do it well, but to a desire I have always cherished to be in some way associated with the life and deeds of great men. The privilege I esteem very highly because of the very helpful acquaintance I have had with the author, the powerful influence of his saintly life upon me, the unblemished life he has lived among the people, and the large service he has rendered his Church and race in particular and humanity in general.

The author is a bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, having been elected in 1873 at Augusta, Ga., and remained in active service until May, 19 14, when, upon his own request, he was granted relief from episcopal responsibilities.

Bishop Lane is a rare product and gives value and nobility to the age that produced him. Born in slavery, deprived of educational advantages, surrounded by untoward conditions to hinder the progress inspired by the determination of his own soul, he has pushed his way from gross ignorance to a plane of intelligencje inferior to none of like surroundings and superior to many of more favorable advantages ; he has pushed his way from abject slavery to the highest peak in the esteem and confidence of the best people of both races.

As a man he has embodied and exempUfied the virtues of a noble manhood — industrious, frugal, and rigidly honest ; polite and courteous to everybody; humble but not cringing, respectful but not subservient ; noble in purpose, lofty in aim, and persevering in worthy efforts.

As a Christian he has given evidence of genuine repentance, sound conversion, and regeneration unquestioned. His loving heart, gentle and forgiving spirit, broad humanitarian sympathies, loyalty to truth and justice, and unswerving devotion to the right stand him yonder upon a pinnacle, pure and white, sun-crowned, with his head and heart lifted to God.

As a preacher he is soundly orthodox, sublime in his conception of God and his eternal attributes, firm in his faith of the ultimate triumph of righteousness. He is deep and profound in thought, logical in reasoning, persuasive in argument, and powerful in delivery.

As a bishop he has been abundant in labors, safe in his leadership, and wise and honest in his management of the affairs of the Church. His services have been unselfish, untiring, and abundantly fruitful. He founded Lane College and has contributed much in energy, time, money, and sacrifice to its gnnvtli and perpetuity No man in his Church has done more to upbuild and expand the kingdom than has the intrepid Bishop Lane. During the fortv-one years of his active service as a bishop there was never a cloud or suspicion over his moral character, and his official conduct has never been called in question. He is still respected, honored, and revered.

He has been a close student of men, books, and conditions and is fitted by study, travel, and wide experience to talk or write in a most interesting manner. For years he has been importuned by people of both races to write a book, and after years of hesitancy he has finally yielded to the wishes of his many admirers.

This book will be found interesting for its simple, direct, and easy style. The contents are both informational and inspirational. In a style all his own, the author recites interesting incidents and experiences in his own life with a humility that is charming. If the reader finds himself wishing for more than is told, it will be due to disinclination of the author to write fully about himself. He gives also the origin of Methodism in England and in America and then narrates interesting facts concerning the beginning of the various bodies of Methodists. With becoming brevity he discusses essential items of the General Conferen.ces of his own Church, gives a brief sketch of each of the bishops, and furnishes extracts from some of his sermons and lectures.

With a noble and unselfish purpose, the book is sent forth in the name of Christ. May the blessings of heaven rest upon all who may read its pages !

J. Arthur Hamlett.

Jackson, Tenn., August 27, 1916.

CHAPTER I. The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America Organized

Shifting scenes and events brought on by the War between the States forced the recently emancipated Negro to face new conditions and to hve a new life. Slavery was abolished, but all of its attending evils did not pass with it. The South had been devastated, her wealth destroyed, and her resources depleted. The Southern white man had not only suffered the sting of defeat on the battle field, but his wealth had been destroyed, and he began to realize that he and his family must erect and support hereafter a lower standard of living than what they had enjoyed before. He could no longer order the slaves to do his bidding. His sons, who had been indulged in idleness and who had acquired a great averseness to labor and been taught by the awful system of slavery to look down upon work as menial and bene'ath the dignity of a "gentleman," were then forced to till the soil and do all manner of work with their hands. Naturally the Southern white man, smarting under the sting of defeat of arms, dejected in spirit because of a lower standard of living forced upon him and his family as a result of the war, was in no frame of mind to sympathize with the colored man, although the Ne- Z 17 autobio(;raphy of bishop isaac lank gro's condition was most trying. What the white man had lost under arms he now attempted to gain through the courts and legislation, and thus the Negro had new fields to enter and new battles to fight. Homeless and penniless, he was turned out upon the world without shelter and food; yet the Negro resolved, by the help of God, to find a way or make one. He did not find it, but he made one.

In the social and economic life of the Southern white people a break had come, and it ran all the way through the whole social fabric. The Methodists and Baptists, the Presbyterians and Episcopalians, all had Negro contingents, and the new conditions in the South made imperative an adjustment in matters of Church and religious affairs to correspond with those which had taken place already in the civic and political life. It was of mutual advantage to both the white man and the Negro for a separation to take place; and, fortunately for the good of the cause, both were able to see it and work in harmony for the same end.

When the Civil War broke out there were two hundred and six thousand colored people who sustained the relation of quasi members to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. I say advisedly that the colored people were, after a manner, members of the Southern Methodist Church, in that religious services were provided for them, they were enrolled as members, and, with certain restrictions, they were permitted to have their own meetings. After eman-

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BISHOP ISAAC LANE, LL.D. (^Vt sixty years of age.)

cipation it can be easily seen that this relation was not satisfactory, and at once a movement was inaugurated to give the Negroes a separate and independent organization that would be regular and orderly in every way. We were severely criticized and maligned because we did not rebel and secede. Other independent Negro Methodist Churches had rebelled and seceded, and because we chose to be regular and orderly we were charged with being sympathizers with slavery. In many places we were called Democrats and the like.

With a view to our permanent separation, before our ministers had obtained their credentials from the Annual Conferences of the white Church, and before we had been organized into Annual Conferences of our own, we had respectfully requested to be given a separate and independent Church organization. The bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, helped in every way the perfecting of the organization; and so, after three years of labor and much prayer and supplication, our Church was organized in Jackson, Tenn., December 15-21, 1870, and thus began the only regular independent Negro Methodist Church organization in all the world.

This Church has grown until to-day it has about two hundred thousand members, eight bishops, eleven general officers, with the following departments properly officered and manned — viz. : Boards of Missions, Church Extension, Ministerial Relief

AUTOHK )GRAPITV ( BISHOP ISAAC LAXE

Society, E[)\v()rlli League, Education, and Publication of Church and Suntlav School Literature. These departments are seeking to help in fostering the many interests of the Church and in developing the intellectual, moral, and spiritual life of her constituency Being the youngest daughter of the Alethodist family. *'to her much has been given, and of her much is required."

The Church has property whose value runs into millions of dollars. Lane College, Paine College, Mississippj Industrial College, Miles Memorial College, and Phillips College are the leading institutions of learning.

The greatest asset of the Church is the loyalty of its members and the consecration of its ministers. These "servants of God" are willing to sufYer for the advancement of the ''Church our blessed Redeemer bought with his own precious blood."

Chapter II

How AND BY Whom the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America Was Organized.

In order to throw more light on this subject, we give below the address of the bishops that was sent out in 1873. It is worthy of a careful reading, in that it throws much light on how the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was organized:

To the Members of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America.

We esteem it our duty and privilege most earnestly to recommend to you, as members of our Church, our form of discipline, which has been founded on the line of a long series of years, as also on the observations and remarks we have made on ancient and modern Churches.

We wish to see this little publication in the house of every Methodist, and the more so as it contains the Articles of Religion maintained more or less, in part or in whole, by every reformed Church in the world.

Far from wishing you to be ignorant of any of our doctrines or part of our discipline, we desire you to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the whole. You ought, next to the Word of God, to procure the articles and canons of the Church to which you belong.

We deem it proper in this place to give you a brief account of the organization of our Connection:

From the introduction of Methodism on this continent we have ever constituted a part of the great Methodist family, first as members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America and also after the change took place by which we were known as the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States; and when the division took place, in 1844, which we regard as a legal and constitutional division of the Church, we formed a part of that division called the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which relation we have continued to sustain until the organization of our Church took place at the General Conference held at Jackson, Tenn., which began its session December 15, 1870, which day was spent in prayer and supplication to the Almighty, that his blessings might rest upon us ; and on the following day the regular business of the session began. Bishop Robert Paine, D.D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in the chair.

The circumstances which led to our separate and distinct organization were as follows:

When the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met in New Orleans in April, 1866, the Conference found that by revolution and the fortunes of war a change had taken place in our political and social relations which made it necessary that a change should also be made in the ecclesiastical relations, and provision was made for our organization into separate cc>ngregations, districts, and Annual Conferences, if we desired it, and that two or more Annual Conferences should be formed, if it was our wish and met the approbation of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; we should have a General Conference organizatif»n like that of the General Conference of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South, as deacons and elders; and, should a General Conference be organized and suitable men be elected to the office of bishop, that the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, would ordain and set them apart as chief pastors among us.

At the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church,^ South, at Memphis, Tenn., in May, 1870, it was found that five Annual Conferences had been formed among us and that an almost universal desire had been expressed on our part that we might be organized into a separate and distinct Church, which was acquiesced in by the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and recommended to said Conference in their address. Whereupon, hy our request, the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, together with Rev. A. L. P Green, Samuel Watson, D.D., Edmund W Sehon, Thomas Whitehead, D.D., R. J. Morgan, D.D., and Thomas Taylor, D.D., were appointed by said Conference to aid in organizing our General Conference at the time and place above specified ; and at the succeeding sessions of our Annual Conferences delegates were elected to attend our General Conference, in accordance with the DiscipHne of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

It was further determined by the acts of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1866 that, should the time arrive when we should be fortped into a separate and distinct organization, all property which was intended for the use and benefit of people of color held by trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church should be transferred to trustees appointed by us, to be held forever for our use and benefit.

It \\ ill be seen from the facts in the case that our record is clear and that we have descended regularly from the very fathers of Methodism and that our organization is both legal and constitutional.

We remain your very affectionate brethren and pastors, who labor night and day, both in public and private, for your good. William H. Miles,

Joseph A. Beebe, Lucius H. Holsey, Isaac Lane.

CHAPTER III. Origin of Methodism in England and in America

The early history of Methodism makes interesting reading matter. It began in the year 1729 in the University of Oxford, England. It was here that John Wesley, George Whitefield, Charles Wesley, and a few others, while students, banded themselves together for their own intellectual and spiritual improvement. They were so systematic about all things that the less serious-minded students of the University in derision gave them the name of Methodists.

The name was so appropriate that we find no record of its ever being resented by the Wesleys or any of their followers; and now, after the name has been glorified by more than a century of splendid achievements, there is no stigma or reflection in it as seen or felt by any one.

The organizations were known first as Societies and continued by that name for more than fifty years. The first Methodist Society was organized in London, England, in 1739 by Mr. Wesley. Like all other great movements, it had a small beginning. There were about ten persons who formed it, but soon a great revival spread over all Britain, so that shortly thereafter there were hundreds who joined the little band of earnest believers. It is a subject that has been commented upon frequently that in the

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BISHOP ISAAC LAKE midst of spiritual darkness God raised up three servants the equals of whom the world had not seen since the da}-s of the apostles — viz. : John Wesley, the bishop, a man of great spiritual power, unusual executive ability, a ripe scholar and parliamentarian ; Georg-e W^hitefield, the preacher; and Charles Wesley, the poet. To these men more than to any others Methodism is indebted for its existence.

Methodism began with experimental religion in the heart, and by spontaneous energies it projected itself in every direction by leaps and bounds. Through its class meetings, love feasts, and prayer meetings it propagated itself until its power was felt far and near. Mr. Wesley's own experience as he told it set the work on fire, and soon the fire which "strangely" warmed his heart was felt in the hearts of men the country over. But Methodism that was sweeping over England was not to be confined to that country. It soon spread to America, where it found plenty of material on which to glow and burn.

Methodism in America.

The first Methodist Society in America was organized by Philip Embury, a local preacher, in the city of New York in 1766. Barbara Heck, a Christian woman, w^as the prime mf)vcr in the work; and so a woman was in the lead in the formation of this dnirch, and it is a fact worthy of noting that woman has been used largely by Methodism ever since in forwarding its good work. The first Methodist church was built in John Street, New York, in 1768. Thus began an organization that has spread from one end of our country to the other, and the world is better by reason of its influence and good work.

The First Annual Conference.

Robert Strawbridge, Richard Boardman, Joseph Pilmore, Francis Asbury, and Richard Wright were all prominent workers in establishing the early Methodist Churches in this country. Francis Asbury soon became the most influential man in American Methodism because of his zeal and power as a gospel preacher. The first Annual Conference was held in Philadelphia in 1773. There were then but ten traveling preachers, six circuits, and eleven hundred and sixty members. Thomas Rankin, an honored minister of much influence and power, presided over the deliberations of the Conference. The business was very simple, and the session was brief. The most important work done was the agreement on the part of the preachers to abide by the doctrines and discipline of John Wesley. These Conferences were held each, year at different places until December 25, when the last one was held in Baltimore in Lovely Lane Chapel. This session brought to a close the era of Wesleyan Methodism in America and at the same time prepared the way for the Methodist Episcopal Church. At this time there were eighty-three traveling preachers and fourteen thousand nine hundred and eighty-six members,

In 1784 the Methodist Episcopal Church was formally organized. Thomas Coke, an assistant of Mr. Wesley in England, was sent over for the purpose of consummating the organization. Thomas Coke, LL.D., and Francis Asbury were elected the first bishops by the Conference (called the Christmas Conference), which met December 25, 1784, and continued in session until January 2, 1785. This organization now gave greater prestige to the Church as a Church. They had been called Societies, and now they were to be known as Churches. They had been considered members of the Established Church of England; now they were to be considered as a separate and independent organization. Mr. Wesley himself continued during his lifetime a regular presbyter in the Church of England and gave Dr. Coke authority to exercise the office of a bishop in America, calling him a superintendent, which is only another name for bishop. Mr. Wesley also directed Dr. Coke to ordain Francis Asbury to the same office ; and thus began the episcopacy which has been kept up through all of these years in the various branches of American Methodism.

The First Methodist General Conferenee.

The first Methodist General Conference convened in Baltimore, Md., November i, 1792. The Conference directed that the next General Conference should meet after an interval of four years. Although recognizing its full ecclesiastical authority, the members bound themselves not to make any changes in the doctrine and polity of Methodism as enunciated by Mr. Wesley or in any of the recognized rules observed by the Methodists in the past, unless the new measure received a two-thirds majority vote. The presiding elder's term of office in any district was limited to four years, which rules have been followed in practice ever since.

After the organization of the first General Conference of the Methodist Church, the others were held regularly, and the ordinary routine of work was done from time to time as the welfare of the organization demanded. The question of slaveholding disturbed the peace and quietude of the Church as well as that of the State. The more prominent this question became in the halls of legislation, the more serious it became in the Church. So finally, in 1840, the question of slaveholding became an issue claiming much prominence in the General Conference. This storm, that threatened the unity of the Methodist Church was brooding over the organization, without much hope of its being arrested or turned back. So at the very next General Conference, held in New York City May I to June 10, a Plan of Separation with the South was adopted. A fuller report of the separation is given in another chapter of this book.

In 1856 Bishop Burns, of Liberia, was ordained the first colored bishop in the Methodist Episcopal

AUTOBIOCiRAPHY OF BISHOP ISAAC LANE

Church. He was a missionary bishop and as such exercised the duties of his office only in Africa,

This great Church has grown until to-day her membership is three million six hundred and fifty thousand five hundred, with eighteen thousand nine hundred and fifty ministers and thirty thousand churches. Of these, there are more than three hundred thousand Negro members, who are represented in every sphere of service in the gift of the Church, save that of bishop as a general superintendent. Besides secretaries of the various departments and editors of official organs, Negroes preside over and teach in some of the best schools supported by this Church for Negro people. In these positions of honor and trust they have reflected credit upon the Church ^md the race to which they belong.

The proposed organic union of the Methodist Churches, and especially the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at this particular time (1916) is receiving considerable attention. How this union, when consummated, will affect the status of the Negro membership is a question that is as interesting as it is speculative. It will be recalled that colored Conferences were established in this Church in 1852, and by i860 practically all of the colored Churches belonged to the distinctive Negro Annual Conferences, and this svstem remains to this day; so the contact is not so frequent or so close as to be objectionable even to the most prejudiced of their fellow Churchmen,

CHAPTER IV The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Organized

There were perhaps several causes leading up to the separation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, from the Methodist Episcopal Church, but slavery was the one that furnished the background for the most of them. It was the one that could not be held in check or averted. The following resolution, offered by Griffith and Davis, two delegates to the General Conference of 1844, is self-explanatory and indicates the nature of the trouble that was brooding and the one on account of which the great Church was to be divided. (See General Conference Journal, May 23, 1844.)

Whereas the Rev. James O. Andrew, one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, has become connected with slavery, as communicated in his statement in his reply to the inquiry of the Committee on Episcopacy, which reply is embodied in their Report No. 3, offered yesterday ; and whereas it has been, from the origin of said Church, the settled policy and the invariable usage to elect no person to the office of bishop who was embarrassed with this "great evil," as under such circumstances it would be impossible for a bishop to exercise the function and perform the duties assigned to a general superintendent with acceptance in that large portion of his charge in which slavery does not exist ; and whereas Bishop Andrew, himself nominated by our brethren of the slaveholding population, was, nevertheless, free from all personal connection with 3 33

\UT01ilOGRAPHV OF BISHOP ISAAC LANE slavery, and whereas this is, of all periods in our history as a Church, the one least favorable to such an innovation upon the practice and usage of Methodism as to confide a part of the itinerant general superintendency to a slaveholder ; therefore

Resolved, That the Rev. James O. Andrew be and is hereby affectionately requested to resign his office as one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

There were other documents of a more conciliatory nature introduced, but they served only as oil poured upon the flames already kindled. The delegates from the Southern States were already determined as to their course, and those from the Northern and Eastern States were equally determined in their course. All were able to see that a separation was inevitable. A Plan of Separation was adopted, and soon the movement for a separate and independent organization was set on foot. This plan left the initiative and the final decision with the delegates from the Southern States, and they were not very slow in acting. A general convention was called to meet the next year in Louisville, Ky.

The Louisville Convention.

The Church in the South and Southwest, in her (juarterly and Annual Conferences, approved the course of their delegates in the General Conference and declared her conviction that a separate organization was necessary to her existence and prosperity Delegates representing fifteen Annual Conferences assembled in Louisville, Ky., in accordance with the call, May i, 1845. Bishops Joshua Soule James O. Andrew presided, and Rev- T N. Ralston and Rev. T O. Summers were elected Secretaries. The following resolutions were adopted, with only three dissenting voices: