Isaac W. Wiley, late bishop of the M. E. church. A monograph

Front matter

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I. Early Mpe M® Ministry

HENRY A. BUTT2, D. D.

tHE story of Bishop Wiley is the story of a life consecrated to the highest forms of activity and usefulness. Eventful, full of sorrow and yet full of joy, successful in the loftiest sense, it will remain as an inspiration to those who in the future would live wisely and well. Beginning life in the way common to American youth, he closed it in the most honored office known to the Church of his fellowship. Intrusted with vast power by the Church, he wielded it for unselfish ends and to the glory of Christ. A bishop of the Church, he was always a lover of the pastorate, and he died in the mission field where he had spent the earliest years of his ministry. Full of honors and widely loved, his name is as precious ointment, and his life is embalmed in thousands of hearts throughout the world. Successively physician, missionary, pastor, educator, editor, and bishop, he was faithful to every trust confided to him; and the Church, with united voice as it reviews his life, exclaims with deepest thankfulness, "Well done, good and faithful servant f " He rests from his labors, and his works do follow him."

The record of Bishop Wiley's life must therefore be full of interest. It is, however, the record of a man quiet

ISAAC W. WILEY.

rather than ostentatious, prudent rather than aggressive. He won his way to his high position by real worth and solid work, accompanied by the blessing of Him whose follower he was, and in whose service he lived and labored and died. The time of the birth and of the death of a great man are not in themselves so important; but they give completeness to his history, and form the boundaries of his career. They are also valuable in determining the movements in which he was called to act. The tracing of the life between these two points is the function of biography. This chapter is devoted to that part of Bishop Wiley's career from his birth until his entrance upon his work as an educator, save that most interesting part in w r hich he was a missionary to China, which forms a special era in his history and fitly constitutes a chapter by itself.

Isaac W. Wiley was born in Lewistown, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, on the 29th of March, 1825. The place of one's birth has much to do with the un foldings of his character. It has been said that the mountains of New England, among which Daniel Webster passed his early years, had much influence in stimulating his mental powers. In the biography of the late Dr. Horace Bushnell, it is stated that he w T as reared among the rocks and hills, valleys and lakes, of one of the most romantic parts of Connecticut. In his after years he refers to it with his accustomed philosophic manner, saying, "No ornamental work is needed to set off the landscape. Nature's rock will stand, and the toil that is necessary to clear the soil is just what is required to sharpen the vigor of our people. The necessities of a rough country, and an intractable soil, are good necessities." Amid scenery of a similar kind Bishop Wiley was born. No one who has ever passed through the valley watered by the beautiful Juniata River — with its variegated forms of relief, with its mountain slopes and its water-

EARLY IvIFE; AND MINISTRY. 6

courses — can fail to recognize his deep insight as shown in the remark which he made concerning it : " My mind was much influenced by the scenery and the mountain ranges." In this romantic region, away from the bustle and strife of the great city, where nature wears her choicest garments, the subject of this sketch was born.

But a far more powerful influence on his life was that of his parents. Their character and words made a deep impression upon him. In the autobiographical notes, written by his own pen for Dr. Liebhart and published in the Western Chiistian Advocate, to which the writer of this chapter is greatly indebted and from which he has found frequent occasion to quote, Bishop Wiley gives us a delightful view of them, showing alike their worth and his own filial love and admiration. We quote his language : " My father was a grain merchant, carrying on considerable trade by the river, and subsequently by the canal, with Eastern cities. My parents were members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. . . . My father remained in connection with the Protestant Episcopal Church till within a year of his death, at which time he was converted at a Methodist camp-meeting. He died a triumphant death. His death was my first great sorrow. I was then six years old, and he had been an invalid for three years, the result of an accident. In his sick-room I spent much time — and dearly loved my father. His death first brought me into contact with the great mystery, and made an impression upon me which has lasted through life. It solemnized me, and my mind immediately began to work on religious matters. Soon after, I entered the Methodist Sunday-school, and had for my teacher one of the most saintly of women. For over sixty years she was a most exemplary Christian, was the means of leading many souls to Christ, and was for all those years a benediction to the town. I well remember a cluster of six godly women, members of our Church, of whom my mother was one, whose names were held in reverence in all the place as examples of real religion. My mother lived to be eighty years old — having been more than fifty years a Methodist."

The relations of Bishop Wiley to Methodism grew, in part at least, out of his early religious environments. He Mas born in the same year in which the Lewistown Circuit first appears in the conference minutes as a Methodist appointment. Methodism, however, had been introduced into that part of the country about ten years earlier; and his mother was one of the earliest results, and through her the introduction of her son into the Methodist Church, and finally the ministry, took place. The death of his father, when he was but six years old, impressed him deeply ; and, even in his childhood, his mind was turned to the ministry. A devoted lady, a teacher in the Sunday-school which he entered soon after his father's death — "one of the most saintly of women," as he called her — was one of the most important instruments in his training for his life-work. His own words will best describe this period in his history: " I used to preach to my invalid father in his sick-room, and was called by him his little preacher. I gathered my sisters and neighboring children into our attic, and there we had prayer-meetings, class-meetings, and even miniature campmeetings. When about ten years of age my good Sunday-school teacher led me to the ' mourners' bench,' and prayed with me till I felt a new light in my heart. I do not know whether this was conversion or not. I knew I loved God, and his people, and all his works — and could not remember when I did not. My name was put down as a 'probationer' on the Church books, and there remained four years without any further allusion to it or me. Another gracious revival took place in our Church when I was fourteen. Again I was found at the altar, and again my name was entered as a pro-

EARLY LIRE AND MINISTRY. O

bationer. But little attention was given in those days by the Church to the religion of children, and all religious experiences of childhood were looked upon with much doubt by even grave old class-leaders. However, at the end of six months, I was received into full connection."

At this stage in the life of the youth who was destined to fill so conspicuous a place in the history of the Church, it is fitting that we pause, and contemplate his relationships outside of his Church-life. A country village of that time had few of the opportunities which are now afforded to youth both in city and country. There were few libraries; there were no Christian associations, with their net-work of precious influences, which are now so helpful to youth starting to prepare themselves for usefulness. The Sunday-school appliances were, in some respects, very inferior to those which we have now ; but the people were not without some compensations. The want of communication with the outside World, the lack of facilities for study at home, often impelled the youth to more earnest efforts ; and the few opportunities which they had were improved to their fullest extent. All the possibilities of their surroundings were secured, and obstacles yielded to pluck and persistence. This is especially true of the subject of this memoir. He was the center of an association whose influence has been perpetual ; and if he had done nothing more than he did in that relation, he would not have lived in vain.

Dr. A. P. Heichhold, of Erie, Pennsylvania, in a letter to Rev. Dr. Wentworth, brings to our view a decidedly interesting and instructive portion of his life. He states that, in the Winter of 1841, he was among the organizers of the Apprentices' Literary Society, which commenced its work with probably thirty members. " Mr. Wiley had, some time before that, become a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a most worthy and exemplary young man.

ISAAC W. WILEY.

The society which he helped to organize, and of which he was the first secretary and subsequent president, received favorable attention from the people of Lewistown, and has proved the stepping-stone to usefulness to many an apprentice. It still lives, and is now incorporated and owns property." He quotes the Hon. H. J. Walter, of Lewistown, as saying, concerning this society, "The bench, the bar, the pulpit, the press, the medical profession, trade, commerce, army and navy, state and national legislatures — all have or had representatives from it." He remained a member of this society until he left Lewistown. Dr. Heichhold adds: "I assure you, that few men ever wasted less time than did Bishop Wiley."

Such testimony from those who knew him so early in life is certainly of the highest value. His position as secretary of the society when in his seventeenth year, and his subsequent presidency of the same, show the confidence of his associates, as well as his recognized ability. Dr. Wentworth very justly characterizes this as an "extremely interesting incident" in the bishop's early life, "showing the secret of his interest in working-men." The resemblance of this incident in the history of our lamented bishop to one in Benjamin Franklin's early life will occur at once to every one familiar with the career of the great American philosopher and statesman. It exhibited his breadth, his humanity, and his capacity. It is possible that here is the germ of that feeling which afterward, under Divine guidance, led him to consecrate himself to the missionary work.

It is, however, his Christian relations which chiefly concern the present inquiry. His fidelity as a Christian is shown in his rapid promotion, for one so young, to the various positions of usefulness which the Church opens. When sixteen years old he became assistant class-leader, at seventeen an exhorter, and at eighteen a local preacher.

EJA.RLY LIKE AND MINISTRY. 7

It must not be forgotten, however, that these were years of mental as well as spiritual growth. He passed four years in the ordinary drill of the public school. At the age of fourteen he had settled it in his own mind that he would be a Methodist preacher, and thought it his duty to enter upon a course of preparation for his high calling. He accordingly entered an academy to begin his preparation for college. "This was a new thing," he says, "in our region, for a Methodist boy to begin to prepare for college with a view to becoming a Methodist preacher." It was no common task for a boy of his age to begin such a course of study. The encouragements were not as many then as now. There were many obstacles in the way ; and yet, so far as we have any information, he had no fear of obstacles, but boldly undertook to get ready for the sophomore class in Dickinson College. He endured bravely the sneers of that time, and the terms "Methodist," "the preacher," etc., applied to him by his fellows — which were really aimed at his denomination, rather than at himself — and but for an interference, which grew out of his devotion to Christ and his work, he would no doubt have completed a full academical course. It was a singular interruption of his studies — especially when we take into consideration his intention of becoming a minister — and, perhaps, one which has in it the marks of Providence, which directs more wisely than we can comprehend.

An extensive revival of religion took place in his part of the county when he was in his eighteenth year. He gave himself wholly to it. He gave up his studies, and was engaged directly for months in working for the salvation of souls. He devoted himself to it with all the enthusiasm of his youthful nature. About three hundred were converted to God in connection with that charge.

This excessive labor resulted in great damage to his health, especially to his voice. In "the judgment of all, his voice

ISAAC W. WILEY.

was permanently gone." This, however, did not prevent him from nobie aspirations and earnest efforts. He continued his studies for six months in the academy, then taught school for the Winter. The belief that his throat difficulty would prevent his becoming a preacher led to the change in his profession, and his abandonment of his college course. In the Spring of 1844, he began the study of medicine in the village of Mifflin, Juniata County, Pennsylvania. It was here he met Miss Frances J. Martin, who afterward became his wife. He describes her in his autobiographical sketch, already mentioned, as "a. sweet-voiced, devotedly pious, and earnestly working Christian girl." She was the daughter of Mr. Amos H. Martin, and was married to Dr. Wiley at her father's house, in October, 1846.

In jmrsuance of his purpose to become a physician, he entered the medical department of the University of the City of New York, where he remained until 1846. The same year he began the practice of medicine, on a physician's license, at Blairsville, Pennsylvania, fifty miles east of Pittsburg, and in the bounds of the Pittsburg Conference. In the Autumn of this year he was married to Miss Martin, already mentioned, and he devoted himself to the work of his profession. They little thought that the course of medical study through which Dr. Wiley had passed was to be the means of opening to them another field of labor in a far-off land, and that Mrs. Wiley was to be one of the first of the heroic servants of Christ who should give their lives for China. His success as a practitioner of medicine, however, was not marked; and he remained in Blairsville less than two years. Mrs. Wiley won the high esteem of the people of the place ; and the doctor, in addition to his practice, served occasionally as a local preacher. It is said that an old man, now living in Blairsville, remarked, when he heard Dr. Wiley's first sermon : " The world will hear something great of that man yet." Dr. Wiley says, of his practice of medicine at this time, " It was a failure. I was not happy ; I was not satisfied that I was in the line of duty. I had plenty of work to do, and had good success in healing the sick ; but, financially, it was not a success."

Meanwhile, before his marriage, many of his friends had urged him to enter the ministry, and among them the "eccentric Jacob Gruber." He tried to persuade him "to give up both the marriage and the medicine." Marriage was at that time an almost insuperable obstacle to entrance upon the itinerant ministry.

The year following his entering upon the practice of medicine, and after his marriage, by the advice of his pastor and presiding elder, to whom he had opened his heart, his name was presented to the Pittsburg Conference; and, as "there was no room for married men in the conference," he was not admitted.

In his brief narrative, he mentions the conclusion which he had now reached. The circumstances which had prevented his early studies for the ministry, and led him to abandon it, had now disappeared, for his voice had been completely restored; but a new obstacle had arisen apparently more fatal to his hopes and desires than the other. To us now it seems strange that a man so well qualified, who had "gifts, grace, and usefulness," should be barred from our ministry by the mere fact that he was married; but the circumstances then were different, and we must not misinterpret the motives and acts of our preachers and people of that time. Nevertheless Dr. Wiley felt the disappointment, as shown by his determination to surrender his license as a local preacher. He now reached the conclusion that his true work was to be a physician; and when, in the same year, he removed to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, ninety-three miles from Philadelphia, within the bounds of the Philadelphia Conference, he declined to take a certificate as a local preacher — desiring only to transfer his membership. His pastor, Rev. Wm. F. Lauck, declined to give any certificate that did not include his license as a local preacher, and Dr. Wiley declined to receive a certificate unless the local preacher's certificate was omitted; and so he went to his new home without it. His pastor, however, carried his point by sending the certificate, both as a member and local preacher, to Rev. J. B. Hagany, the pastor of the Church at Pottsville, who reported the same to Dr. Wiley. Dr. Wiley adds : " At first I was inclined to resent this ; but, in a little while, felt that these good ministers were acting better and more wisely than I in the matter, and on the following Sunday night I preached for Brother Hagany."

Firmly convinced now that his calling was to be a physician, and not a preacher, he gave himself to his profession. His love for souls, and for the work of the ministry, however, did not abate. He still hoped that the door of admission to the conference would open. In the Fall of 1848 he removed to Port Carbon, where he remained until he sailed for China.

The Rev. H. E. Gilroy, of the Philadelphia Conference, who was his pastor at Port Carbon, and with whom personal friendship was continued to the close of the bishop's life, gives a most interesting account of Dr. Wiley's call to China, in a letter to the writer: "In the Spring of 1849 I was appointed to Port Carbon, Pennsylvania. Here I found him a local preacher in the charge, aod engaged in the practice of medicine. He had located here only a few months before I was appointed to the place. Both of us being comparative strangers in the community, and living near to each other, we soon formed an intimate friendship — which ripened into a strong personal attachment, and a confidence in which we could freely converse one with the other on matters of a private character. It was during the time I was his pastor (which was from the Spring of 1849 until he left for China) that I learned to know the man ; and a truer and more noble spirit never lived — a man, and the ' highest style of man' — as his subsequent history showed. 'The throat trouble' which changed the purpose of his life to the practice of medicine was removed, and with this returned the burning desire for the purpose of his life. But now another trouble was in the way which seemed to exclude all hope. He was then married, 'and your conference,' he said, 'does not receive married men, and there is no chance from any other source,' as he was not known to any extent among the preachers of another conference, and only to a limited one among those of our own. He feared that if recommended he might not be received, and this would be more than mortifying to his feelings; but I urged, and finally prevailed upon him to consent to be recommended. The result was as he feared — there was no opening at the conference (1850), and this was to him the end of all hope, 'for he would never consent to it again,' he said. Dr. Durbin was present at the conference when his case was represented ; and shortly after conference I received a letter from him asking certain questions concerning Dr. Wiley, and to inquire of him if he would be willing to go as missionary physician to China. I did as requested. His reply was : ' This has been the wish of my life.' I then let him know the source from which it came, and he said : ' Write at once, and say, Yes.' A correspondence soon followed between him and Dr. Durbin, and a personal interview — then the appointment — and a more happy man than he was could not be found. It was the supreme wish and purpose of his life." He spent the Summer of 1850 in arranging his affairs preparatory to his missionary work. 2

The missionary item of the Northern Advocate, of September 4, 1850, says: "Rev. I. W. Wiley, of Port Carbon, Pennsylvania, has been recommended by our missionary board at New York to be ordained and sent out as a missionary physician to China." He was received the same year into the East Genesee Conference, which met at Bath, New York, and, at his own request, transferred to the Philadelphia Conference, which bade him God-speed in his important work. He pursued a further medical course in the University of the City of New York, received his degree, and sailed for China, March 13, 1851. It is not the province of this paper to speak of his success in that far-off land in this early period of the missionary activity of our Church. It belongs to the record of his missionary life, and will be traced by another and more fitting pen.

His health at length failed again; and, after years of toil, in 1854 he returned with his two motherless daughters to his native land. His wife, who went out with him, had fallen in the battle for Christ. She died in China, in November, 1853, and was buried at Foochow. Her character and her heroic services have been embalmed by his own tender hand, in his book on "The Fallen Missionaries of Foochow."

On his return to America he entered the pastorate, and was appointed by Bishop Morris to Asbury charge, Staten Island, New York. At the session of the Newark Conference, in the Spring of 1855, he was transferred from the Philadelphia to the Newark Conference, with which he was identified until his election to the episcopacy in 1872 — beloved and honored by both preachers and people. It was here that he became widely known as a preacher — a sphere in which he has shone with peculiar luster.

Dr. Wiley's first appointment after his transfer from the Philadelphia to the Newark Conference, in the Spring of

1855, was to the Halsey Street Church, Newark, New Jersey. This is one of the oldest Churches in the conference — the mother of Newark Methodism, now so strong and vigorous. He found a Church with a large and intelligent membership. In its pulpit he had been preceded, and has been followed, by many of our ablest and most successful ministers. This Church required in its pastor not only pulpit ability of a high order, but also large pastoral experience. The difficulties in his way were great, owing to his inexperience in the home work. His entire pastoral life in this country had been limited to a few months on Staten Island the preceding year. He had entered the ministry, and gone directly to China; and now on his return he was placed in a Church with a large membership, and where the preaching and pastoral responsibility were more than ordinarily severe. He brought to the active pastorate, however, a preparation which was both broad and deep. He had not only a rich religious experience born of communion with God and chastened by deep affliction, but intellectual qualities of a high order, and a training suitable to his work. He was preparing for the sophomore class in Dickinson College when his health broke down ; he had pursued a classical course in the University of the City of New York when a medical student; he was a regular graduate in medicine; he had studied Chinese when a missionary ; he was well read in language, literature, and philosophy. His scholastic attainments were recognized, at a later period, by the different degrees conferred upon him by institutions of the first order, and also by the works which he produced, which will bear his name to the future. Besides, his missionary life was no inferior teacher for a man working for sinful men everywhere. Thus was he prepared by grace and culture for his great work in the home field.

Here he wrought, however, with great fidelity — growing constantly in the affections of the people, and doing a grand work for the cause of Christ. There was little of public demonstration, little to attract public attention, either in his preaching or in his methods of work ; but he laid broad and deep foundations, and won the confidence of the Church and of his brethren of the ministry to a marked degree. He left the Church, at the end of two years of faithful service, in an excellent condition, and has always retained the high confidence and esteem of its members, and his visits to them were always hailed with delight.

It was at the beginning of his pastorate at Halsey Street that he was united in marriage to Miss Adeline Travis, daughter of Captain Travis, of Staten Island. Her memory is still precious to the people to whom he ministered, and she was known and loved by all in the several relations they were unitedly called to fill. Her death occurred at a later period in the history of his life ; but her marriage connects itself directly with the period now under consideration, as an important factor in his usefulness among the people for whom they jointly toiled.

In the Spring of 1857 he was appointed to Trinity Church, Jersey City. This was also one of the oldest and strongest Churches of the conference — and here, too, he had been preceded and has been followed by many of our ablest ministers. He found an intelligent and appreciative Methodist people. They received him cordially, and soon an attachment sprang up between pastor and congregation which was broken only by his death. All through his after life, in the varied positions to w T hich he was called, he was ever mindful of Trinity — and it was always a joy for him to preach to them, and for them to listen to him.

At the close of his pastorate at Trinity he was appointed to the presidency of Pennington Seminary, an institution under the control ot the New Jersey and Newark Conferences,

of Christian education for five years. This also marks a distinct epoch in his life.

The attachment between Dr. Wiley and the people of Trinity was such that, after five years' absence as principal of Pennington Seminary, he was reappointed to this charge. He had fairly entered upon his work, when he was elected by the General Conference as editor of the Ladies' Repository, and removed to Cincinnati.

The pulpit was Dr. Wiley's chosen field during his time of pastoral service. He loved to prepare sermons. He loved to preach them. He was a growing preacher. When he first began his work as a preacher he attracted only ordinary attention, and his congregation scarcely recognized the greatness of his abilities; but he steadily won his way, and became a great favorite as a preacher and as a platform speaker. It is somewhat difficult to analyze such a preacher as Dr. Wiley. His excellence consisted not so much in the predominance of any one faculty, or characteristic ; but in the harmonious blending of many. It was not exegesis only; but his exegesis of his text was exact and discriminating, and his sermon was built upon his text. It was not rhetoric merely; though his style was singularly lucid, and his language felicitous. It was not the power of strong emotion exhibited before his audience; for whatever emotion he might feel was kept under control. It was not logic merely ; though the logical consecution of his thoughts and the force of the argument were marked characteristics. There was nothing singular or dramatic about his manner; in fact, there was the entire absence of all attempt at display. His power lay in the harmonious blending of many elements. Above all else, it lay in his firm faith in the sufficiency of the truth itself, accompanied by the Spirit of God, to produce the most profound conviction.