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[Illustration: WILLIAM BLACK]
WILLIAM BLACK
THE APOSTLE OF METHODISM IN THE
MARITIME PROVINCES OF CANADA.
BY
JOHN MACLEAN, PH. D.,
Author of "Canadian Savage Folk,"
"The Indians of Canada,"
"The Making of a Christian," &c., &c.
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA:
THE METHODIST BOOK ROOM,
1907.
Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada,
in the year one thousand nine hundred and seven,
by John Maclean, at the Department of Agriculture.
PREFACE.
While there are several sketches of the life and work of the subject
of this book, they are all based upon the "Memoirs of William Black"
by the Rev. Matthew Richey, D. D., which was published in Halifax,
Nova Scotia, in 1839. Some additional information is to be found in
Dr. T. Watson Smith's History of the Methodist Church of Eastern
British America. The former volume contains the interesting Journal of
the famous missionary, and is therefore of great value. As it has long
been out of print, and it is well-nigh impossible to secure an old
copy, and as there is no likelihood of it being republished, we have
deemed it commendable to publish the following pages. We have sought
to condense as far as possible, giving the chief facts in his life,
and to produce in popular form a volume which might be read with
profit, and within the reach of all. As a study of spiritual forces
and an appreciation, it might have been enlarged to considerable size,
and it has been difficult indeed to keep within the limits which we
had set for the volume, but that would have been to defeat our object,
of writing a small book, in which the salient features of his life and
work were seen, and at such a price that the poorest in the land might
secure a copy.
We dare not forget the work of our fathers, and we must not permit the
memory of William Black to be lost in oblivion, for he builded better
than he knew, and we are heirs of his work and influence, and his
example is a stimulus to us all. In that spirit have these pages been
written, and we hope that they will help keep alive the memory of a
great and noble man, a pioneer and patriot, who gave his life for
Christ and his fellow man.
JOHN MACLEAN.
WESLEYAN OFFICE,
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
CONTENTS.
_Chap._ _Page._
I. The Birth of a Movement 9
II. Making the Man 17
III. The Maritime Itinerant 24
IV. The Intrepid Pioneer 33
V. Black and Wesley 40
VI. Personal Characteristics 49
VII. Last Days and After 57
_WILLIAM BLACK._
I.
THE BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT.
Had Longfellow the poet extended his studies a few years later than
the time of the event which formed the subject of Evangeline, he would
have come in contact with another race of men, of different breed,
language and faith, than that of the Acadians, who were as brave as
any of those who sailed away from the valley of the Gaspereaux. For
almost coincident with the expulsion of these hardy folk from the
fertile fields of the Annapolis Valley, there came visitors from the
New England colonies, induced by offers of land, but these were
deterred from settlement on account of a fear lest freedom of
religious worship should not be accorded them.
Brought up under the influence of the descendants of the Pilgrim
Fathers, they prized too highly their religious liberty to barter it
for lands or gold, and not until a second proclamation was issued,
granting liberty of conscience and worship to all Protestants, did
settlers come in large numbers. Five years after the Acadians were
expelled emigrants began to arrive in considerable numbers from New
England and from Great Britain and Ireland. This was the beginning of
a new era, in which the principles of the Protestant Reformation were
to be tested, upon soil consecrated by the faith and piety of the
Roman Catholic exiles, and an opportunity was found for the expression
of the new faith in the moulding of individual character.
While the province was issuing invitations for new settlers and
wishing to grant concessions to sturdy and loyal folks, a great
awakening was taking place in England, the influence of which was
destined to become a strong factor in making a new race on the Western
Continent, and to mould in a great measure the social and religious
life of the people of Nova Scotia. A revival of spiritual life was in
progress under the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield, which was
quickening the consciences of the people, imparting high ideals and
renovating the social and political life of the nation.
Methodism was doing greater things for the English speaking race than
Luther among the Germans, as it infused a spirit of joy and freedom
from ritual, with greater liberty of thought and action. It was an era
of great names beyond the pale of the national church. The passion for
souls became so intense in the hearts of many of the clergy that they
gladly espoused the hated name of "Methodist," while others no less
zealous stood aloof from the special movement because of its Arminian
doctrines.
Whitefield, the prince of orators, stalked through the land
proclaiming salvation for sinners, and not content with conquests won
in the sea-girt isles, he needs must cross the ocean to tell the story
of the ages to wondering thousands. John Berridge, the witty yet
zealous vicar of Everton, itinerated through the country and in one
year saw not less that four thousand awakened. William Grimshaw, the
eccentric curate of Haworth, superintended two Methodist circuits
while attending to his own parish, and Vincent Perronet, vicar of
Shoreham, who was so trusted a counsellor that Charles Wesley called
him the Archbishop of Methodism, gave two sons to the Methodist
ministry, and besides being the author of the hymn, "All Hail the
power of Jesus Name," Wesley dedicated to him the "Plain Account of
the People called Methodists."
The great revival brought into greater prominence Rowland Hill, the
eccentric preacher; Augustus Toplady, the author of the Hymn "Rock of
Ages;" Howell Harris, the famous Welsh orator, and the Countess of
Huntingdon. These and many others were brought into closer touch with
the great spiritual movement, at the period when Nova Scotia was
bidding for settlers, by the famous controversy on Calvinism, which
was full of spleen, and has shown us how good men may retain their
piety, and still say bitter and nasty things, and use gross epithets
in their zeal for religious doctrines.
But Methodism, though treated as a sect composed of ignorant and
illiterate folks, was not lacking in men of culture and force. It had
discovered the secret of picking men from the streets and transforming
them into saints and scholars, and it was successful in its efforts.
It found Thomas Olivers, a drunken Welsh shoemaker, and led him on,
till he became known as a great force in the pulpit, and the author of
that majestic lyric, "The God of Abraham praise" and of the tune
"Helmsley," sung to the hymn, "Lo, He comes with clouds descending."
It laid hands upon Samuel Bradburn, the shoemaker, and developed his
gifts by the grace of God, until his discourses, rich in sublimity,
and pulsating with great thoughts, charmed multitudes, and his
eloquence was so irresistible that Adam Clarke, the famous scholar,
declared that he had never heard his equal, and could give no idea of
his powers as an orator. In its ranks at this period were to be found
able scholars as Joseph Benson, the commentator, Fletcher, the saintly
and acute theologian of the new movement, and Thomas Walsh, whom
Wesley called, "that blessed man," and of whom he said, that, he was
so thoroughly acquainted with the Bible that "if he were questioned
concerning any Hebrew word in the Old, or any Greek in the New
Testament, he would tell after a brief pause, not only how often the
one or the other occurred in the Bible, but what it meant in every
place. Such a master of Biblical knowledge he says he never saw
before, and never expected to see again."
There were many others possessed of great gifts and culture, whose
hearts were set on fire with a passion for souls, and the revival
started spiritual forces which were felt far beyond the shores of
Great Britain.
Wesley was drawing near to seventy years of age, and while travelling
incessantly, and preaching every day, he was engaged in the
publication of a collected edition of his works, in thirty-two
duodecimo volumes. The Calvinistic controversy was at its height, the
first anniversary of Trevecca College, the pet scheme of the Countess
of Huntingdon, had just been held, and Fletcher was writing his famous
"Checks to Antinomianism," yet, the founder of the Methodist movement
was looking for other worlds to conquer, by the preaching of the
Cross.
Wesley's early associations with America as a missionary to Georgia,
naturally gave him an interest in the affairs of the western
continent, and Whitefield's frequent visits helped to deepen Wesley's
love for the people among whom he had spent the early years of his
ministry. Whitefield had crossed the ocean and visited America seven
times, and his visits were seasons of great power, when thousands were
converted, and when he suddenly died at Newburyport, there passed from
earth one of the greatest pulpit orators and evangelists in the
history of the Christian Church. His death was an invitation to
renewed efforts for the evangelization of America. The Countess of
Huntingdon and her ministers organized a missionary band, which
labored with much success in Savannah and the surrounding country,
especially among the African population.
Methodism was neither silent nor powerless in sharing in the progress
of the Gospel, and striving to evangelize the new world. While the
great revival was stirring the heart of England, a small band of
German "Palatines" which Methodism had redeemed from demoralization in
Ireland, emigrated to New York, among whom was Philip Embury, and
these were followed by Barbara Heck and her friends, through whose
efforts Methodism found a secure place in America. The new movement
received an impetus from the preaching of Captain Webb, and a call for
preachers was sent to Wesley, with the result that Richard Boardman
and Joseph Pilmoor were sent. Later Francis Asbury, the faithful
preacher and administrator, followed, and Methodism became a church.
Meanwhile Lawrence Coughlan had found his way to Newfoundland, and
laid foundations upon which others built.
Bermuda had been visited by Whitefield, and in the general awakening
it could not be expected that Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island would be forgotten. It was a period of emigration and
revival, and in the great commotion, the present Maritime Provinces of
Canada shared in the blessings of the new movement.
During the period of emigration to Nova Scotia, four different parties
came from Yorkshire, England, the first arriving in 1772. It was
natural to expect, that coming from a district, memorable as the scene
of many visits from the Wesleys, a bit of land consecrated with the
tears and labors of John Nelson, the stalwart hero, and kept fresh
with the hallowed memories of the saintly Hester Ann Rogers, there
should be among the emigrants many who were loyal and devoted
Methodists. Yorkshire Methodism was of that strenuous type which must
give expression to its faith in hearty song, and lively preaching, and
these sturdy settlers were an acquisition to the province, which the
politicians were sufficiently alert to see, could not fail to supply
the elements of stability and growth.
The majority of these people settled in the county of Cumberland, and
began life anew, with intense loyalty to the institutions, and high
ideals. The province had not fully recovered from the effect of the
spirit of disloyalty which culminated in the expulsion of the
Acadians, although there followed a period of peace, but despite the
efforts of the Government in making roads, and instituting public
works, the settlements were sparse, and the Indian was still in the
land. There was only one minister in the county, the Rev. John
Eagleson, who had been sent out in 1769 by the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel, while in the province there were a few
Anglican, Congregational, Presbyterian and one Baptist church, but
places for holding religious worship were few and far between, and the
first Methodists consequently began prayer meetings in their homes,
and through them souls were led to Christ. Whatever religious services
were held they attended, and thus kept alive the glowing embers of
their faith and zeal.
An incipient rebellion, induced by the Revolutionary war, and
maintained by the sympathy of the colonists who had revolted in New
England, unsettled the minds of the people, and made it dangerous for
them to attend religious worship, and consequently the cause of
religion suffered, and many forsook the faith of their fathers. A few
still remained true, and amid many discouragements prayed for the dawn
of a new day.
Without any propagandist effort, Methodism was spreading.
Spontaneously it had gone out over Great Britain and Ireland, and into
what is now the United States, to the West Indies, and Nova Scotia,
but the time was ripe for complete organization as a missionary
church. The time had come and with it the man in the person of Thomas
Coke. While Nova Scotia and the American colonies were suffering from
the Revolution, Wesley and Coke had met for the first time, and thus
began a union which made Methodism a great missionary organization.
The man for America had not yet come to the fullness of his power,
but Francis Asbury was reaching out and getting ready to become
essentially the founder of Methodism in the United States. The man for
Nova Scotia had not yet arrived, as he was only a stripling at his
father's home in Amherst, and was still a stranger to the grace of
God.
The introduction of Methodism into Nova Scotia was not the
establishment of a sect or a party in dogmatic theology, but it was
the revival of spiritual Christianity, exempt from the trammels of
ecclesiasticism and the exclusiveness of dogmatism. As such it became
a strong and elevating factor in the social life of the people,
imparting lofty ideals, which were wrought out in moral strength,
making loyal citizens and men and women of power and gentleness.
There was something lacking to secure unity and strength in the
scattered forces of the new movement. Prayer meetings and preaching
services were held, and souls were won to the faith, still there was
no organization and there could not be until a leader should come
forth, who would command by his genius and concentrated effort unity
of administration.
Though not the original founder of Methodism in Eastern British
America, the man who in the providence of God was destined to unite
the scattered forces and to give birth to the new movement, and who,
by his intrepid spirit and enthusiastic and incessant labours as a
great evangelist, was to spread the doctrines which were so full of
power in the revival in England, throughout that portion of territory
now known as the Maritime Provinces, was William Black, a man of faith
and power, whose memory is revered by thousands, and whose descendants
still abide with us.
II.
MAKING THE MAN.
William Black was well born. The time was auspicious. The date of his
birth is 1760, and with that date as a centre, despite the fact that
the tone of public morality was low, there are names belonging to the
period which suggest genius and influence. Edward Young had just
published his "Night Thoughts," Thomson, the poet and author of "The
Seasons," and Isaac Watts had just passed away, Lord Littleton had
written "The Conversion of St. Paul," Gray's "Elegy in a Country
Churchyard" was being eagerly read by the people, Blackstone's famous
"Commentaries on the Laws of England," had made a profound impression,
Johnson had completed his "Dictionary" and Oliver Goldsmith was
writing his immortal works. There were others who were in the heat of
the literary battle. This period saw the beginning of the modern novel
in the writings of Richardson, Fielding and Smollett, then too was
published Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations," Hume's "History of
England," and Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." The two
great literary frauds in our language were then given to the world in
Chatterton's "Poems," and Macpherson's "Ossian." It was the age of
Pitt and Burke, and Fox, of Horace Walpole and Chesterfield in English
politics, Benjamin Franklin was then a potent force in America, Butler
and Paley and Warburton, and Jonathan Edwards and Doddridge with many
other equally powerful names were moulding the theology of the age.
Greater than any of these, however, were the Wesleys and Whitefield,
as they raised both sides of the Atlantic to new ideals, and stirred
the nation to a larger and deeper life.
William Black came into the world at a time when great events were
being done, and though he was still young when he left the land of his
birth, the silent and unseen forces which work upon men's minds and
souls could not be without their influence upon him.
He was born at Huddersfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England,
an important market town, beautifully situated on a slope of a hill in
the valley of the Colne, fifteen miles distant from Bradford, and a
little over sixteen from Leeds. It was a place of considerable
antiquity, being mentioned in Domesday, but its chief importance dates
from the establishment of the woolen industry, being now the principal
seat of the fancy woolen trade in England. Kirlees Park, three miles
from the town, is popularly supposed to be the burial place of the
famous Robin Hood.
When William Black was only five years old John Wesley preached to a
large congregation in the Rev. Henry Venn's Church in the town. This
man of God was a zealous Methodist Churchman, who made Huddersfield
the headquarters of extensive labors in all the neighboring region,
sympathizing with the great Methodist revival, accompanying Whitefield
on evangelistic tours, and for more than thirty years, he co-operated
with the Wesleys and other workers in many parts of England and Wales.
Though still retaining his connection with the Church of England, he
continued in labors abundant, preaching in private houses, barns and
in the open air, until old age. His son, the Rev. John Venn, became
the projector of the Church Missionary Society. Methodism was firmly
established in Huddersfield, and its influences were not unknown to
the Black family. In 1767, one fourth of the members of the Methodist
Church in the United Kingdom were in Yorkshire, and among the first
settlers who came to Nova Scotia were some who were identified with
that church, and had listened to Wesley and his preachers.
William Black, the father of the future pioneer and evangelist, was
born in 1727, in Paisley, Scotland, a large manufacturing town noted
for its shawls, great preachers, and the birthplace of Tannahill, the
poet. He came of an independent family, as learned from the fact that
his father kept a pack of hounds, and spent his leisure in the chase.
When he attained his majority he became a traveller for a large
industry, which necessitated some journeys to England, and there he
met his future wife, and made his home in Huddersfield. The spell of
Scottish literature must have fallen upon the young man, for Robert
Burns, the poet, was then at the height of his fame, Alexander Wilson,
a native of Paisley, had not yet won his place as a poet, though he
too, emigrated to America, and became the pioneer and founder of
American Ornithology, but there were other writers whose impress must
have been felt by the Scotch youth.
In Elizabeth Stocks he found a lady of refinement and wealth, and the
future missionary a good Christian mother. She had been converted at
sixteen years of age, and her influence upon the home, and especially
upon the lad was elevating, and destined to leave its mark upon the
future. The father, with Scotch shrewdness, made a visit to Nova
Scotia to spy out the land before removing his family from their
English home. The mother watched tenderly over all the members of the
family, but William, the second oldest, seemed to call for special
care, and her tears and prayers found full fruition in after years,
when she had passed to her reward. Frequently did she relate to her
son William the story of her conversion, and with tears besought him
to serve God. Alone she prayed with him, and pressed home upon his
conscience the necessity of being born again. Surely this child was
born well, and his future was not all of his own making.
He must have been a precocious child, or else his religious
sensitiveness must have been induced by his mother's teaching,
influenced by the great doctrines of the Methodist revival. We are not
now accustomed to hear a child of six years of age, bewailing his lost
state in language suggestive of Bunyan's condition, when he was under
deep conviction of sin. He tells us that when he was five years old he
had some serious impressions, and God's Spirit began to operate upon
his mind, and when he was six, he often wished that he was a toad or a
serpent, because they had no soul, and were not in danger of being
lost forever. Again he says, that many times before he was ten years
old, he "would have overturned God's government and dethroned the
gracious Author of my being." He enumerates his early vices and lashes
his soul in despair. Such religious sentiments in one so young seem to
mark him as one who had in his soul the elements of a monk, and we
should not have been surprised had he become a zealous disciple of
Saint Francis of Assisi.
Like John Wesley, whose escape from perishing in the burning of the
Epworth parsonage is noted as a remarkable providence, William Black
had a narrow escape from drowning in a large trough when a child, and
this circumstance made a lasting and favorable impression on his mind.
In his mature years he recalled the event with gratitude to God.
Several years of his childhood were spent with his maternal uncle, Mr.
Thomas Stocks, at Otley, where he was placed at school. There he
remained until he was about thirteen years of age, when the
disciplinary rules of the school, and very likely a severe
castigation, so annoyed him, that he left his uncle's care and
returned to his father's home. His father was at that time making
preparations for his voyage to Nova Scotia, and deemed it prudent to
allow the lad to remain with his mother, though he had decided
objections to his apparent ingratitude and stubbornness, in leaving
the home of his uncle. Under the influence of his mother's teaching
and prayers, his religious impressions were deepened, but the jests of
his companions at school made him stifle his convictions, and continue
his career of youthful carelessness and sin.
In April 1775, the whole family, consisting of the father and mother,
with four sons and one daughter, sailed from Hull, and after a
prosperous voyage arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they remained
a fortnight, proceeding afterward to Cumberland, which they reached in
June. A serious blow fell upon the family in their new home, by the
death of Mrs. Black, about a year after they had settled in the
province, she having been seriously injured when boarding the vessel
at Hull. Unfortunately for the lad of sixteen, so sadly bereft of his
good mother's care and influence, he was thrown among gay companions,
who in a new country gave free rein to their passions, in wild orgies
by day and night. His evenings were spent in dancing and playing
cards, yet amidst the frivolity he was unhappy, and he betook himself
to prayer, that he might be able to break the chain of evil habits.
For three years this condition of affairs existed, and the spirit of
unrest increased, with discord in the family, but the dawn of a better
day was close at hand. There were several in the neighborhood who
enjoy the honor of being the first Methodists in Canada, among whom
were the families of Dixon, Wells, Trueman, Fawcett, Newton, Scurr,
Chapman, Oxley, Donkin, Dobson and Weldon, whose descendants, with
those of the Black family, remain with us till the present day.
Through the zealous labors of these families in class meetings and
prayer meetings, there was a great revival in the spring of 1779,
which stirred the whole neighborhood. Among those who were awakened
and soundly converted, were all the members of the Black family.
William was then nineteen years of age, and shortly afterward he wrote
an account of his conversion to John Wesley, who introduced it in his
journal, under date of April 15th, 1782.
The story of his spiritual struggles, his prayers for release from the
burden of sin, and the great joy he experienced when light came to his
soul, form a charming bit of biography. The change in his own life was
thorough, the home was transformed by the conversion of every member
of the family, and though he subsequently experienced doubts and
temptations, he gradually grew in grace, being confirmed in the faith,
until the Sabbath became a market-day in his soul.
Like every new convert he became anxious for the spiritual welfare of
his fellow men, and first of all he became solicitous for the
salvation of those in his own home. His father having married again,
and all the members of the family being strangers to the joy of the
forgiveness of sins, his first care was for their salvation. On the
Sunday that he found peace, he spoke to his brothers one by one,
waking them from sleep, and they too, were led into the light. Then he
roused his father and stepmother, and they besought him to pray for
them, and peace came to their souls. And the climax was reached, when
next day his sister found the Lord. Thus the whole family through his
exhortations and prayers, became earnest followers of Christ. Along
with the joy of seeing all at home possessors of the joy of
forgiveness, he set up the family altar, and then became anxious for
the souls of his neighbors. As he passed them on the road he lifted
his heart in prayer for their conversion, in company, he seized the
opportunity of denouncing sin, much to the annoyance of some, but
ultimately with spiritual profit. His early efforts at winning souls
were so richly blessed, that he seized every opportunity of speaking
of the good things of Christ.
In the summer of 1780, at a Quarterly Meeting held at Mr. Trueman's,
he received so great a blessing that he wept, and the same evening at
Fort Lawrence he made his first attempt at exhortation. From that hour
he exhorted or prayed at every meeting, and though his knees trembled
with fear, his tongue was loosened, and he spoke with much liberty.
During the following winter he was invited to Tantramar to hold
meetings, and had great joy in seeing many led to Christ. Assisted by
some of the old class leaders and local preachers, he travelled over
the country, exhorting as often as his duties on the farm would
permit.
His first attempt at preaching from a text was in the spring of 1781,
when he visited a settlement on the Petitcodiac River, and the word
was with power. With so many tokens of the divine favor, it was
evident that he was a marked man, and though not quite twenty-one
years of age, and without any special training, he was being literally
thrust out, and seemed destined to be the man who should lead the
forces, and lay the foundations of Methodism, far beyond the limits of
his own neighborhood. The man possessed of gifts and grace, in whom
the people had confidence, and who was singularly blessed in winning
souls had come, and the stripling on the farm was called to leave the
plough and go forth, to proclaim the great truths of the Gospel of
Christ. He was truly a chosen vessel, and fitted for a great work.
III.
THE MARITIME ITINERANT.
The population of Nova Scotia in 1781 numbered twelve thousand, of
whom there were about one hundred Acadian families, and exclusive of
Cape Breton, three hundred warriors of the Micmac, and one hundred and
forty of the Malicete tribes of Indians. Places of worship were few
and widely scattered over a large extent of country, and so destitute
were the people of religious privileges that many of them seldom heard
a sermon, and as some of these people had been brought up in the
bonds of the faith, they naturally felt very keenly their condition.
These facts could not fail to impress very deeply such a sensitive
soul, rejoicing in his first love, and possessed of a burning passion
for the salvation of men, whose lips had been touched with holy fire.
When his labors had been so richly blessed in the conversion of many
souls, while preaching in the time spared from his labor on the farm,
his mind was led toward a complete consecration to the work of a
Christian minister, and when he had arrived at the age of twenty-one
years, he dedicated himself wholly to the cause of Christ, as the
first Methodist missionary in the Maritime Provinces. Without any
college training, or the help of any minister or church institution,
he left his father's home on November 10th, 1781, and commenced a
career of undaunted energy, and boundless influence, laying
foundations for others, and becoming essentially the founder of
Methodism in Eastern British America.
During the eight years of his life from 1781 to 1789, he passed from
the position of a raw youth, entering alone amid great difficulties
upon the work of a pioneer evangelist, to that of Superintendent of
the Methodist Church in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward
Island, and Newfoundland. With the zeal of an apostle he entered upon
a career of usefulness, which for courage and incessant travelling and
preaching, place him side by side with John Wesley and Francis Asbury.
Here and there, all over the province he went proclaiming the message
of salvation, preaching every day, and sometimes more frequently, as
we learn of him preaching eighteen times in eight days, and upon
another journey which occupied eighteen days, he preached twenty-four
times.
He travelled on snow-shoes in the winter, and by boat or on horseback
in the summer, and when these failed, he journeyed by log canoe, or
walked over the bad roads. Once he walked forty five miles that he
might spend the Sabbath with the people in Windsor. Sometimes he was
in dangers by the sea, and glad after a hard day's work in the winter
to have a little straw to lie upon, and a thin cover to shelter him
from the cold. Like the early preachers he was often compelled to
suffer opposition, rough fellows disturbing the services by shouting
and seeking to break up the meeting, and some who were possessed of
education demanding his authority for preaching the gospel, but to
them all, he was patient, and some of his revilers were soundly
converted, and learned to revere him as a man of God.
As a preacher he was eminently successful in awakening the people from
a state of spiritual torpor, and winning many souls for Christ. In
nearly every service there were conversions, and deep manifestations
of the presence and power of God. When he preached at Memramcook,
"some were deeply affected;" at French village, he left the people in
tears, and the truth had a softening power upon the hearts of the
people; and when he was leaving them, "weeping was upon every hand,"
and they pressed him so hard, that he remained another day, when many
were deeply affected, and he left them in tears. On the same day and
the one following, he was at Hillsborough, when "it was a moving time,
many were in great distress, as appeared from their heaving breasts
and weeping eyes;" at Tantramar, "many were remarkably happy," and one
little girl of seven or eight years of age, "got up on a form, and
told in a wonderful manner, what Jesus had done for her soul," and in
this journey of eight days he preached eighteen times, and excepting
two meetings, he says, "I know not a single occasion in which it was
not evident that many who heard the Word were melted into tears, if
they did not cry aloud for mercy."
All through his journal, there are evidences that he was a preacher of
great power, eminent in the conversion of the people, for the pages
abound with references to the services as "a time of power," where
"many were in sore distress" as they hung around him, "eager to catch
every word," and "weeping was on every hand," as they besought him to
remain longer with them. When preaching one evening a young man
trembled exceedingly, and cried out in agony of soul, and about
bed-time, the preacher heard him praying and crying in the barn. On
one of his missionary tours there were so great manifestations of
power, that at Horton many cried for mercy, and others rejoiced and
shouted aloud; at Cornwallis the arrows of conviction were felt by
some "as they had never felt them before, and wept aloud most of the
time;" and at Falmouth, "many felt the power of the word," and
rejoiced exceedingly.
There were many notable conversions under his preaching. At
Petitcodiac a lady whose sons had been converted looked upon him as a
deceiver and opposed his work. "She wrung her hands in great distress,
and cried 'O that Black! that Black! he has ruined my sons! He has
ruined my sons!'" But she too found peace to her soul, after some days
of deep conviction. At Horton a lady who had opposed the work of
grace, was laid upon a bed of affliction, and she became so greatly
agitated that for three weeks she could hardly sleep, but when William
Black was praying with her, she burst forth into transports of joy in
finding Christ precious to her soul, shouting, "the Lord has delivered
me! O I am happy! I am happy!" All through the pages of his journal
there abound remarkable accounts of striking conversions, and of
people being stricken down by the power of God.
Churches were organized at the places he visited, nearly eighty
persons being enrolled during one visit to Hillsborough and
Petitcodiac. There wore notable revivals at Windsor, Cornwallis,
Granville, Horton, Liverpool and other places. The most difficult part
of his extensive field was at Halifax, where wickedness abounded, and
the opposition was so great that at one time, when he was on his way
to the city, his friends tried to persuade him to delay his visit, as
they feared the press gang, but he went boldly forward, and preached
with power.
During his labours he was not forgetful of the needs of the coloured
people, who flocked to hear him preach, and many of them were soundly
converted. In 1784, he preached to about two hundred of them at
Birchtown, and during the year upwards of sixty of them found peace
with God. Of two hundred members at Shelburne and Birchtown, there
were only twenty white people, and at Birchtown alone, there were
fourteen classes in a prosperous condition. At Digby in the following
year, there were sixty-six coloured people members of our church.
A study of the topics and texts of his sermons shows that he preached
the old doctrines, from familiar texts, easy to be grasped by the
people, and he laid special emphasis always upon sin, the need of
regeneration, and repentance and faith, and as he pressed home these
great truths upon the souls of his hearers, there was seldom a service
at which conversions did not take place. Like many other faithful
ministers, he was often compelled to mourn on account of the
backsliding of the people. These were seasons of depression, when he
became subject to severe temptation, and mourned the leanness of his
own soul. The beginning of every year however, was a time of
refreshing, as he regularly and solemnly made the renewal of his
covenant with God.
Despite the fact that the whole province of Nova Scotia and part of
New Brunswick lay before him as a wide field of enterprise, he yearned
after larger conquests, and therefore in 1784, at the earnest and
repeated request of Benjamin Chappel, he paid a visit to Prince Edward
Island.
He spent about a fortnight there, preaching in Charlottetown and St.
Peters, with small tokens of success, and returned mourning the
spiritual condition of the people.
After much thought and prayer, he was married on Feb. 17, 1784, to
Miss Mary Gay, of Cumberland, an estimable woman, who had been led to
Christ about two years previously under his preaching. She was
possessed of gifts and grace as her letters testify, and was eminently
qualified for the high duties of a minister's wife.
So extensive was the territory and so great the spiritual needs of the
people that the young missionary of twenty three years of age, with a
burning passion for souls, wrote to John Wesley in 1783, earnestly
requesting him to send missionaries to Nova Scotia, who replied that
he had hopes of sending assistance a few months later when Conference
met. There being no missionaries, however, sent from Great Britain, he
naturally looked towards the United States for help, and a few months
after his marriage, he started for Baltimore where the Conference was
to be held under the superintendence of Dr. Coke. He travelled by way
of Boston and preached twice in the city, when under the first sermon
one person was converted, and at the second service several were
deeply convinced of sin. As he passed through New York he preached in
the Methodist Church, and after the services visited a dying woman,
whom he found in great distress about her spiritual condition, and he
had the great joy of leading her to Christ, as she died next day,
shouting, "Glory! Glory be to thy blessed name!" On his journey he
preached at every opportunity and always with blessed results, and
before the Conference assembled in Baltimore on December 24, 1784, he
gave Dr. Coke a detailed account of the state of the work in Nova
Scotia, and the Conference appointed Freeborn Garretson, and James O.
Cromwell to labor in that field. Both of these ministers hastened at
once to that province, but William Black spent some time in the United
States preaching here and there, and called for his wife who was
visiting her friends in Massachusetts, she having been born in Boston,
and with the tedious travel he did not reach Halifax till the end of
May. As he was returning homeward, he and his wife spent over three
months in Boston, where he had the honor of laying the foundations of
Methodism in that city, "the first Methodist preacher who appeared in
New England after the visit of Charles Wesley," says Dr. Abel Stevens.
He preached in several of the churches, removing from one to another,
as the edifice became too small to accommodate the crowds who flocked
to hear the young minister from Canada, until the largest church was
filled to overflowing with three thousand people. A gracious revival
followed this visit, and as there was no Methodist organization, the
converts united with other denominations. After a period of thirty
years, he preached again in the city in 1822, and many hung around the
pulpit, glad to listen to the man who had led them to Christ in 1785.
Six years before Jesse Lee preached under the old elm on Boston
Common, William Black declared the old doctrines of Methodism, and
witnessed many conversions.
With the arrival of Freeborn Garretson the work of organization was
begun, as he was a leader, a man of zeal and piety, "of cordial spirit
and amiable simplicity of manners, but a hero at heart," says Abel
Stevens, the Methodist historian. He was a gentleman of wealth and
character, who as a preacher in the United States, had been stoned,
imprisoned, and his life imperilled by angry mobs with firearms, but
he was dauntless in his labors for Christ. Under his preaching there
were extensive revivals in the province, societies were formed and
churches built. There were now five missionaries at work, Freeborn
Garretson who acted as Superintendent, and made his home at Shelburne,
James Oliver Cromwell at Windsor, William Black at Halifax, William
Grandine, a young man who had formerly been a Methodist in the Jersey
Islands, and who had just begun to preach was at Cumberland, and John
Mann who came from the United States, was stationed at Barrington.
At the first District Meeting of Nova Scotia, which was held in
Halifax, commencing October 10th, 1786, and lasted four days, William
Black and Freeborn Garretson were appointed to the Halifax circuit,
which embraced Halifax, Annapolis, Granville, Digby, Horton and
Windsor, a field sufficient to tax the powers of a dozen strong men,
but these were heroes in the brave days of old. Before the next
District Meeting Garretson and Cromwell had returned to the United
States, and their places were filled by William Jessop and Hickson.
With the departure of Garretson there was lost to the province a man
who was eminently fitted to lead the forces and unite them, and
William Black mourned greatly that he was bereft of a friend, and a
gentleman of ability and grace.
IV.
THE INTREPID PIONEER.
The mantle of Garretson fell upon Black and he was again compelled to
lead the forces, and take the initiative in opening up new places and
preaching at every opportunity. Aroused by the sad spiritual condition
of the people, he spared not himself in excessive labors, and so
successful were his efforts for the conversion of souls, that John
Wesley became more concerned than ever, in the affairs in the Maritime
Provinces and Newfoundland. Dr. Coke who constituted in his own person
the Methodist Missionary Society, was commissioned by Wesley to visit
Nova Scotia, and he embarked on September 24th, 1786, with three
missionaries for Nova Scotia, but a dangerous storm which cast the
vessel on the ocean for nearly two and a half months, compelled them
to land at Antigua, in the West Indies, and Black was left without the
promised help, as the missionaries remained there, and a new era of
successful missions was begun. His field was large enough surely, for
Wesley had said in a letter to him dated London, Oct. 15, 1784, "Your
present parish is wide enough, namely Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I
do not advise you to go any further." During the year 1786, there was
a great revival in Liverpool under John Mann, a church had been
erected in Halifax in which William Black preached for the first time
on Easter Sunday, and at Barrington and Horton, there were several
notable conversions, still through lack of missionaries, there could
not be given any assistance to Cumberland, Annapolis, Digby, and the
whole Province of New Brunswick. He was however greatly encouraged by
a visit to Liverpool where the revival was in progress, and by good
news from River Philip, where his eldest brother John had settled as a
farmer, and who had begun to exercise his gifts as a local preacher,
and with so great success, that at one meeting, ten persons rejoiced
in having found Christ.
At the second District meeting held on October 15th, 1787, in Halifax,
there were present, William Black, William Grandine, William Jessop,
and the two brothers, John and James Mann, who had come from the
United States to labor as missionaries in Nova Scotia. After the third
District Meeting which was held in the May following, William Black
spent about a month visiting Shelburne, Barrington, Cape Negro, Port
La Tour and Port Medway, and when he returned to Halifax, he was
greatly encouraged by the good work which had gone on under James
Mann's labors during his absence. Meanwhile, the Rev. James Wray had
been sent out from England with a general charge to superintend the
work, as William Black and the other missionaries had not been
ordained, and could not therefore dispense the sacraments, but the
relations between Wray and Black became somewhat strained, and
threatened seriously to interfere with the advance of the Kingdom of
God. With good judgment and much patience William Black laid the whole
matter before John Wesley, but without his counsel the breach was
healed, and they labored again in harmony. James Wray felt that the
duties of superintending the work in the Province were too onerous
for him, and he requested to be relieved of the position, and Dr. Coke
appointed William Black, Superintendent of the Methodist Church in the
Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland, James Wray removing to the West
Indies, where he died in 1790.
The growth of Methodism was somewhat retarded by the fact that William
Black had not been ordained, and consequently could not dispense the
sacraments, and it was felt that his influence would greatly extend
were he to assume all the responsibilities of a Christian minister. An
opportunity was afforded him of being ordained, by the presence of Dr.
Coke at the Conference held in Philadelphia in 1789, and accompanied
by John and James Mann, who went for the same purpose, he attended the
Conference, and on May 19th he was ordained a Deacon, and on the
following day, an Elder. During a month spent in that city, he lost no
opportunity of seeking to do good, and was cheered by learning of some
being blest, among whom was a lady who had been converted under a
sermon preached there by him, during his previous visit in 1784.
In a report sent to John Wesley during the year, there are shown
gratifying results of the labors of the missionaries in Nova Scotia,
as the church in Halifax had grown in numbers and spirituality, and
throughout the Province there were about five hundred members, and
with pardonable pride and joy, William Black remarks, how greatly he
was comforted, as the church had grown in two years, "eight times
larger, and eight times more serious and spiritual." The care of the
churches pressed so heavily upon his soul, and there was so great
need of additional missionaries to meet the growing demands of the
wide field, that William Black hastened to Philadelphia to consult Dr.
Coke, and had the pleasure of attending the Conference held in that
city commencing on May 17th, 1791, at which the venerable Bishop
Asbury presided. The following week, he attended the New York
Conference, when six missionaries were appointed to labor in Nova
Scotia. About three weeks after his return home, he went on a visit to
Newfoundland, which was marked by a gracious revival, and the cause of
Methodism in the ancient colony was saved.
The story of Methodism in Newfoundland, reads like a bit of romance.
The first missionary Lawrence Coughlan went there in 1765, and
remained seven years, amid great persecutions, being prosecuted in the
highest court, an attempt made to poison him, yet not only was he able
to rejoice in many conversions, but his enemies were silenced, as the
Governor acquitted him, and made him a justice of the peace. His
health failed, and he was compelled to return to England. His
ministrations in Newfoundland however led to the founding of Methodism
in the Channel Islands, as Pierre Le Sueur, a native of Jersey, during
a visit to Newfoundland was deeply convinced of sin under a sermon
which Coughlan preached, and when he returned to his home, spoke of
the knowledge which he had received, but his friends thought him mad.
When John Fentin, a recent convert, returned from Newfoundland to
Jersey, Le Sueur and his wife found peace to their souls through
Fentin's instructions and prayers, and a great revival commenced,
which swept through the islands, and laid the foundations of religion,
which have continued till the present time. After Coughlan's
departure, John McGeary was sent to fill the vacancy but all that was
left of the good work were a few women, and he suffered so many
hardships and witnessed so little fruit of his labors that he became
so despondent, as to entertain serious thoughts of abandoning the
field. William Black arrived in St. John's on August 10th 1791, and
spent one day in the city, during which he waited upon the
Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Mr. Jones, who was a man of catholic
spirit, and whose spiritual life was deep and genuine. The next day he
went to Carbonear, where John McGeary was stationed, whom he found
"weeping before the Lord over my lonely situation and the darkness of
the people," and when he began to preach, a great revival followed,
and Methodism in the colony was saved from disaster.