Passages in the life and ministry of Elbert Osborn, an itinerant minister of the Methodist episcopal church, illustrating the providence and grace of God.

Front matter

PASSAGES

IN THE

LIFE AND MINISTRY

Contents

CHAPTER L

Birthplace — Parents — Instance of Yankee ingenuity in 1686 — Death of an uncle in battle — Timothy D wight — Youthful folly and sin — Death of a brother — Heman Humphrey — Seth Crowell — Surprise in a Methodist meeting — Zalmon Lyon — A class meeting — Author's conversion — Jonathan Lyon and N. W. Thomas — Author unites with the church in early life — The first Methodist church in New-England — Quarterly meeting there — Books read in childhood — Billy Hibbard and Isaac Candee — Camp meeting — Aaron Hunt — Arnold Scholefield — John Russel — Nathan Emery — D. Austin, a Presbyterian minister — Revival — Thomas Thorp licensed to preach — Death — Alfred Bronson — Mr. Crowell on Reading circuit — Coles Carpenter — Jabez Tredwell converted when seven years old — Becomes a minister—Dies shouting — Elijah Woolsey — Henry Eames, and his pious father — Mrs. Eames' usefulness — Nathan Bangs presiding elder in 1813 — English minister at quarterly meeting — A great blessing received by faith — Temptation — Amusements — E. Washburn and R. Harris — Good class-leader — His death — All-day preaching — Dictionary of the Bible — Revival in Reading — E. Woolsey useful to the author — Exercises on the subject of preaching — Impediment of speech — Samuel Bushnell — His death — Samuel Merwin — His remarks in love-feast

CONTENTS.

Chapter II

Appointed class-leader — Great cross — Quarterly conference — Original anecdote of Dr. Clarke — Camp meetings on Long Island in 1821 and 1822 — Ministers who attended— J. Soule — P. P. Sandford— W. Thacher— H. Bangs — J. J. Matthias — M. Richardson — S. Martindale — J. N. Maffitt — Sinners awakened — Sermons of Lewis Pease and William Ross — Many converted — Affecting interview — A great change — Happy meeting — Recommended for license — Preaches twice on trial — Licensed by S. Merwin in the district conference — Early repulse — Some fruit — Labors in various places — Thoughts of traveling — Samuel Cochran — Some discouragements — Sent by S. Merwin to Durham circuit — Heavy cross at a watch-night — Sent to Amenia — Trials — Support — Admitted on probation — Appointed to Gosh en circuit 69

Chapter III

Journey to Goshen — A man awakened — Camp meeting — Mrs. Elvira Stillman eminently holy — Tract — Grave of Rev. Gad Smith — His usefulness — Deceased brother — And nephew, Gad N. Smith — Charles Sherman licensed to preach — His pious father — Death of father and son — Revival — Course of study — Memoir of

CONTENTS.

Bramwell — Its influence — Reappointed to Goshen circircuit — A. Scholefield — A kind colleague — Camp meeting at Burlington — Pursuit of a stranger — His conversion — Subsequently becomes a minister — Camp meeting in Canaan — J. B. Husted — Account of the hemlock preacher — Camp meeting at Nassau — Bishop George in the prayer meeting — Powerful exhortation — The love-feast — Sent to Dutchess circuit — Peter Eighmey — James P. Horton— His piety, zeal, and singular expressions — His last exhortation to the author — Receives a message for Mr. Wesley — Visit to Alpheus Jewett, in Sharon — Journey to conference in Troy — Examination — Ordination — The bishop's pathetic address — His remarks in conference — Burlington circuit — Colleagues — Revival — Marriage — Camp meetings — Young man converted, now a presiding elder in New-Jersey — Conference in 1826 — Joel Ketchum — His useful conversation on secret prayer — Elijah Chichester — Deep snows — Father's death

Chapter IV

Ordained elder in 1827 — Sent to Granville circuit — Preaches in Granville, Blanford, Chester, Westfield, Peeding-hills, Southwick, Suffield, Windsor, Wintonbury, Granby, &c. — Visit to the state prison — Methodist religious papers — Davis Stocking joins society — Licensed to exhort — Now a minister — Alden S. Cooper — Edwin E. Griswold — His first license to preach — Enters the traveling connection — Saybrook platform — Saybrook camp meeting — An instance of powerful awakening — Converted sailor — Revival — Illness of A. Scholefield — T. Merritt— W. Eisk — His labors in the temperance cause — His affability — Visit to a murderer — Happy

CONTENTS.

death of a pious woman — Foster's Essays — Illness on a journey — Camp meeting at New Lebanon — Happy season — Growth of Methodism in Westfield — Short interview with Bishop Hedding — Removal to Chatham circuit — Shakers at New-Lebanon — S. Merwin — Camp meetings — Sudden conversion followed by lasting piety — David Weager and J. Gregory, local preachers in the circuit — Dwelling consumed — Revival — Conversion of a revolutionary soldier — Contrast — Revival — Conversion and happy death of W. H. Cox — Growth of religion on Chatham circuit . . . Page 128

OF

ELBERT OSBORN.

CHAPTER L

FROM THE AUTHOR'S EARLY CHILDHOOD TILL HE WAS LICENSED TO EXHORT, 1800-1821.

On the banks of a little stream which winds its way among the hills and valleys of Fairfield, in Connecticut, I spent the years of my early childhood. Sasco is the name of this rivulet, and it is evidently a name of Indian origin. I was born April 7th, 1800. The place of my birth was about two miles from its mouth, where it pours its humble tribute into the Long Island Sound. My grandfather's grandfather, whose name was Richard Osborn, resided in the town of Fairfield; and from him, I believe, descended the numerous families of that name still residing in Fairfield and the adjacent towns. He was the owner of one of the long lots, as they were termed, which were from twenty to fifty rods in width, and eleven or twelve miles in length. The curious reader may wish to know the cause of fields being laid out in such a singular form. As it gives a specimen of Yankee ingenuity, counteracting royal oppression, I will give the account which has been handed down from our ancestors : — In the reign of King James II., Sir Edmund Andros was sent over to abridge the liberties of the New-England colonies, and take away the power of electing governors from the people. Public property was to be seized in the name of the king. The inhabitants of this part of the coast of Connecticut were anxious to have as much land as possible surveyed and recognized as private property. Hence, they laid out these fields, or " lots," as they called them, extending northward, from a road running parallel with the shore, eleven or twelve miles, into the unsettled part of the country. Each of the inhabitants, I suppose, had a lot running thus far back ; and hence, a large tract became private property, which would otherwise have fallen into the hands of the crown, if King James's abdication had not led to the removal of his creature, Andros, from the government of New- England. My father owned a small piece of land, including about four acres, which was a part of the original Osborn long lot, and there,

OF ELBERT OSBORN.

II when hoeing corn and performing other kinds of agricultural labor, have I often exclaimed in my mind, " Our fathers, where are they ?"

My father's name was Levi Osborn, who, when about seven years of age, was deprived by death of his father. His widowed mother was soon after called to behold the lifeless body of her eldest son David, brought home from the field of battle, near the principal village in Fairfield, when that village was consumed by the British army in the revolutionary war. He had previously been a prisoner of the British in the city of New- York, but had been released, and, not long after his return, fell in battle while opposing the invaders of his country. Often have I heard, in my childhood, my dear parents relate the awful scenes of those days. And the reader will not wonder that I early imbibed a dread of the horrors of war, and that I rejoice in hoping the time will come when " swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into pruning-hooks."

I believe my parents both thought that they obtained peace by believing in Christ, before their marriage ; and, soon after their marriage, they were admitted into the Congregational Church in that part of Fairfield called Greenfield. The minister who performed the marriage ceremony, and with whose church they were afterward connected, was the Rev. Timothy Dwight, D. D., afterward president of Yale College.

For a few years my father endeavored to serve God ; but the state of experimental religion was very low, I fear, in that vicinity in those days. Contentions arose in the church, which were increased by political prejudices ; and these things, in connection with worldly cares and the desire of riches, gradually drew his heart away from the Lord. In such a state of mind, the faults and failings of professors of religion, and especially of ministers, were magnified in his views ; the arguments of skeptics insinuated themselves into his mind ; their sophisms shook his faith ; and some of the opinions which he had been taught made the downfall more easy ; and before I was six years of age he was secretly infidel in his sentiments. O how much harm is done by quarrels among professing Christians, and how carefully ought ministers, especially, to shun the appearance of evil, lest through their fault some soul should perish for whom Christ died !

My pious mother, though she did not know that her companion had become an unbeliever in theory, yet saw, to her sorrow, that he was

OF ELBERT OSBORK.

neglecting the practical duties of Christianity, and doubtless offered up fervent prayers to God in his behalf. It was a grief to her that he was disposed to permit a part of his house to be occupied occasionally as a ball-room. In the mean time, although I was very fond of reading and study, yet the exhibition of pride and self-will, which occasionally took place in my conduct, must have pained her heart. One of the earliest circumstances which I can remem ber was this : — A schoolmate of my elder brother called one morning on his way to school. He addressed some conversation to me in a friendly way; but there was something in his manner which disgusted me, and, to his great surprise, I struck him in the face with my fist.

At another time, when I put on a pair of new shoes, my vanity and inconsideration were such that I well remember walking in a very consequential way back and forth across the room in which my brother, ten years older than myself, was sitting. As these shoes were made sharppointed at the toes, according to the fashion of the times, I took the liberty of giving my brother now and then a slight kick with my newly shod feet. He remonstrated, but I foolishly persisted : he threatened to cut off the toes, but I did not heed his threats, supposing he would

PASSAGES IK THE LIFE not put them in execution ; but when he took them off my feet, and laid one of them on a block, and raised the ax, my consternation was great. He however contented himself with cutting off such an extremely minute portion of the point of the sole, that no injury was done, but I was effectually cured of my kicking propensities.

Young as I was, the amusements in my father's ball-room excited my attention, and led to some attempts at imitation. What would have been the result to me had my father continued his course is known only to God. The members of churches in that vicinity, in general, said nothing against dancing. It is true, my pious mother advised me to read the Bible, and I followed her advice ; and one passage particularly made a strong impression upon my mind, namely, Matt, xii, 36:" For every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment." But my heart was yet under the dominion of pride and other evil passions of our nature ; and my pride was often flattered by the remarks made by many of the acquaintances of my parents concerning the proficiency in learning which they were pleased to say that I exhibited.

My eldest brother, David, who was thirteen

OP ELBERT OSBORNyears older than myself, was very studious. He took great pains to assist me in my studies, and particularly in acquiring some knowledge of the rudiments of arithmetic. He was an affectionate brother, moral in his habits, and I trust truly pious. My father loved him very tenderly, and had not ventured to communicate any of his infidel notions to him, when that God, who often takes his children from the evil to come, and also, by affliction, frequently brings the prodigal to a sense of his situation, saw fit to call my eldest brother from time to eternity. A fever of nine days' continuance terminated his mortal existence, in May, 1807. He was enabled to give satisfactory testimony to his friends, who conversed with him in his last illness, that Christ, the Saviour of sinners, was precious to his soul. This bereavement had an awakening influence on my father's mind. Even before his son's death, such a sense of his own ingratitude to God pressed upon his mind, that he sunk down to the ground and cried for mercy. If I recollect right, he told me that Jesus Christ seemed to be very near him, and that his presence filled him with awful horror. No more balls were attended at my father's house after the gentle spirit of my brother fled to the better world. Dr. H. Humphrey, then minister of a Congregational church about four miles from my father's house, and since president of Amherst College, Massachusetts, preached the funeral sermon from Psalm xxxiv, 19: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous ; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." After a few weeks, the bereaved father obtained a satisfactory sense of reclaiming and forgiving mercy. Now he visited the house of prayer, and talked with his family on the things of religion and of God, Occasionally he went some distance to hear the preaching of Methodist ministers, and was much pleased with their mode of preaching, and their views of gospel doctrines. And here let me say to the backslider, (if any such person should read these pages,) that perhaps God may take from him a beloved child, or some other dear relative, to call him back to God; or, what would be more awful, the wanderer himself may be cut off in his sins. Had my ungodly father, instead of my pious brother, been taken away, how dreadful would have been the event !

It was not till early in the year 1808 that I heard a Methodist minister preach. His name was Seth Crowell, and it was in a private house. I had never seen a person kneel in prayer before ; and I looked at the kneeling minister, and the few kneeling individuals also, with amaze-

OF ELBERT OSBORN.

ment. I was still more amazed to hear some of them " speak out aloud in meeting" saying " Amen/' in time of prayer. The next day this same minister preached in a school-house near another place of worship. I wished to hear Mr. C. again, but feared the scorn of some of my acquaintances ; I therefore waited till they had gone into their place of worship, and then I ran over to the school-house. Young as I was, I found that " the fear of man bringeth a snare." Mr. Crowell's text, on that occasion, was 1 John i, 8-10. Those who will turn to Dr. Bangs' description of this servant of the Lord, as found in the History of Methodism, vol. iii, pages 374-377, can form probably a better idea of the sermon than I can give them. One circumstance occurred which I will mention : — A thoughtless young woman amused herself by whispering and laughing in time of preaching ; but her mirth was suitably and effectually reproved by the minister, who said to her, in a most solemn manner, " Will you laugh an ambassador of God in the face ?" During the next day Mr. Crowell called at our house and took dinner there ; and this was the first pastoral visit made at my father's residence by a Methodist minister. In the mean time, the sermons and pious conversations which I had 2 heard, and the religious books which I had read, tended, with God s blessing, to make some favorable impression on my youthful mind concerning the necessity of the religion of the heart. At length my father took me with him one evening to hear another Methodist minister, the Rev. Zalmon Lyon, who now rests, I trust, in Abraham's bosom. " God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son," &c, was the blessed text on which this good man preached on that occasion. The meeting was at a private house. I suppose there were a few Methodists there from another neighborhood, and some other serious persons, and so the good minister held a class meeting after preaching. My father and myself tarried in the class meeting. This was the first meeting of that kind which either of us had ever attended. Something which I saw, or heard, or felt, in that meeting, led me to say in childish simplicity to my dear mother, when I returned home, " I believe I shall be a Methodist."

Not long after, perhaps the next day, while praying alone to God for his blessing to be communicated to my soul, I trust he answered my prayer. I well remember the place where I prayed. It was in a retired spot, in the open air ; and it was on a cloudy sabbath morning

OF ELBERT OSBORN.

when I trust that I was first enabled to rejoice through Christ Jesus in the light of God's reconciled countenance. This occurred when I was between eight and nine years old. After this event ray feelings were very different from what they were before, particularly in one respect. Before, I had been exceedingly fond of praise, but after this I was more anxious to please God than to be applauded by man. Before this, some little attempts at composition had been commended by individuals, much to my gratification. But after this I felt desirous to write something which would do good to some one. A letter which I wrote to a cousin, and another to an uncle residing some distance from my father's house, were kindly transcribed by an only sister, a few years older than myself, so as to render them legible to those to whom they were written. The exercise of putting my thoughts on paper was a pleasing employment to me in those days.

In the course of that year Rev. N. W. Thomas and Rev. Jonathan Lyon were sent to that circuit. Mr. Thomas, in company with Rev. Aaron Sanford, (a local preacher, residing in Reading, about fourteen miles distant,) called at my father's house, took dinner, offered up prayer, and left an appointment for Mr. L. to preach.

It would seem from Dr. Bangs' History of the Methodist Episcopal Church, vol. i, p. 292, that Mr. Satiford was the first man who united with the Methodists in New-England. He, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Lyon, are yet living, while multitudes, whom they have been instrumental in gathering into the church of Christ, have gone before them to the fields of the blessed. Mr. Lyon came at the appointed time, and preached, I think, from these words, 66 This man receiveth sinners." At this meeting, for the first time in a public assembly, I kneeled during prayer. This I did from a sense of duty, for I had read those passages in the Bible which speak of this posture of devotion as practiced by ancient saints, as well as the invitation to " bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker." Conscientiously, therefore, did I worship in this manner, while my father, mother, brother, and sister, continued to stand, according to their former custom. Once in two weeks Mr. T. and Mr. L. preached at my father's house on Saturday evening ; and after the lapse of five or six months, both of my parents, my only brother, my only sister, and myself, offered ourselves for membership to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were admitted on probation by the Rev. Mr. Lyon.

OF ELBERT OSBORN.

In the course of that summer I often rode with my father about seven miles on sabbathday to hear the gospel preached in a small Methodist church, called Lee's Chapel. This name was given to it in honor of Jesse Lee, who may be called the apostle of New-England Methodism. This building was the first Methodist church erected in New-England. Well do I remember that small, plain building, as well as the first love-feast which I ever attended. It was in the summer of 1808, and was held in Lee's Chapel. The house was full, not only of people, but, as it seemed to me, of the glory of God. One of the ministers, who is still living, and a member of the New- York Conference, was so overwhelmed with the presence of God, that for a time his bodily strength departed from him. To my soul it was a solemn and joyful occasion. Many were the seasons of religious enjoyment which I also had in private prayer. But sometimes, through unfaithfulness, and at other times by the temptations of the enemy, I was cast down in my feelings. The following passage of Scripture made a lasting impression on my mind: "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." But while I rejoice that I read these words with so much interest, and while I mourn that I have not been more careful to act accordingly, I am sensible that, through the weakness of my childhood, I had some very mistaken notions about my duty, which in some cases produced needless solicitude.

Being very fond of study and reading, and going to school most of the time, my health was probably in some measure affected, and this may have had some effect in depressing my spirits. Yet I was not confined to my room by illness, except in a few cases, and for a very short time. Some of my father's acquaintances, however, supposed that my life would be very short. But while I am writing I can adopt the language of Caleb, (see Josh, xiv, 10,) " The Lord hath kept me alive these forty and five years." Doubtless he has seen fit to preserve me that I may labor to do good. But ah ! how feeble have my efforts been ! Among the books which I read before I was twelve years old were the following: — Edwards's History of Redemption, Haweis's Church History, one volume of Wesley's Sermons, Simpson's Plea for Religion, Fletcher's Appeal, Memoirs of Mrs. Rogers, Lackington's Confessions, Life of Dr. Samuel Johnson, one volume of Robertson's History of America, a volume of the Spectator, Dr. Young's

OF ELBERT OSBORN.

Night Thoughts, Mrs. Howe's Devout Exercises of the Heart,

Several of these books were purchased by my father of the Methodist ministers who preached on that circuit, and some of them were borrowed of my father's neighbors, A number of these books were of a decidedly religious tendency. I have reason to thank God for the deep and lasting impressions made on my mind through their instrumentality ; and I have no doubt much good has been done through the books which the Methodist itinerants have scattered through the land.

In the year 1809 Billy Hibbard and Isaac Candee were appointed to our circuit, which embraced the whole of Fairfield county. Now, in that county there are about fifteen ministers of the Methodist E. Church employed, so that there is a far greater amount of stated ministerial labor, and especially of sabbath labor, enjoyed now, than in former days. " Where much is given, much is required." Mr. Hibbard was a very eccentric man, but a very devoted minister of Christ. His manner of speaking, his gestures, and the appearance of his countenance, were so singular, that I often gazed upon him with deep interest while he was speaking. Soon after he came on the circuit a camp meeting was held within the bounds of the circuit, at Stamford, about eighteen miles from my father's house. We all felt a great desire to be present, at least a part of the time. I will not disguise the fact that some curiosity mingled with my desire for spiritual benefit. I had heard much of these meetings ; much was said for and against them, and I wished to see for myself. Glad was I when I learned that my father had made arrangements with a neighbor of his to go with him in the same wagon to the camp meeting. Accordingly, about two o'clock in the morning of Thursday, the neighbor and his wife, together with my father, mother, sister, and myself, set out for the tented grove. It was a little after sunrise when we arrived within hearing of the mingled sounds of prayer and praise which ascended from different parts of the encampment. Probably it was a time when a large number of the friends on the ground were engaged in family devotion. Such a combination of voices sounded strangely in our ears. The man who was with us, a stout, athletic farmer, when inquired of, whether the peculiar appearance of his countenance arose from fear, acknowledged that he was a little frightened. We soon ventured within the inclosure of the

OF ELBERT OSBOEN.

tents, and shortly met with some Christian friends, whose kindness tended much to make us feel at home. About ten o'clock A. M. the congregation was called to the stand, and I listened to the first sermon which I ever heard at a camp meeting. It was from these words : " Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty ; they shall behold the land that is very far off." In the afternoon another minister preached from this passage : " As for this sect, we know it is everywhere spoken against.''' In the evening another spoke from these words: "One thing I know, whereas I was once blind, now I see.*' These three ministers now slumber in the silent tomb, and no doubt a large proportion of the vast assembly who listened to them on that occasion have also gone to the eternal world. Earnest were the prayers of Christians, and great the joy which many of them experienced at that meeting, while many professed to find the Saviour's love. On Friday morning the last sermon at this meeting was preached from these words : " TThen He, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." This discourse was delivered with great solemnity by a minister who is still living, Eev. Aaron Hunt. He was then the presiding elder of a neighboring district. This was the first time that I ever saw him. Little did I think when a child nine years old, listening to that sermon, that thirteen years afterward he would give his vote to license me as a preacher of the gospel. Mr. H. told me at the session of the New- York Conference in 1845, that Long Island was his first circuit, and that he traveled in company with Dr. W. Phoebus, having been called out by the presiding elder, probably in the year 1790. Long Island was then but one circuit, and their only preaching place in Brooklyn was a private dwelling. Now there are five or six Methodist churches in that city, and there are thirty -two traveling preachers laboring on Long Island. But to return. After singing a farewell hymn from the stand, the camp meeting closed, and we returned home. Twelve years elapsed before I went to another: not that I lacked the inclination, but circumstances rendered it impracticable.

Mr. Candee, one of our circuit preachers, was a man in feeble health, and such was the nature of his complaint that it affected his nerves, and made him think that he was more feeble, and his situation more dangerous, than was really the case. In short, he was greatly afflicted with hypochondria ; yet, when he could be prevailed upon to preach, he was generally very fer-

OF ELBERT OSBOPwX.

vent, and I believe often successful in winning souls to Christ. It was either in consequence of his illness, or because he was called elsewhere, that a young man was sent to the circuit by the presiding elder, to labor with Mr. Hibbard. This young man was Arnold Scholefield, who afterward became eminently acceptable and useful. Indeed, during the three months which he was employed on that circuit, he was much beloved by the people. I recollect that on a sabbath morning, (when he had sat down at my father's table to breakfast,) in religious conversation, my father and Mr. S. soon became so happy as to prevent them from eating their breakfast. But I may speak of him more hereafter.