The Life of Rev. James Alexander Shorter, One of the Bishops of the African M. E. Church (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from The Life of Rev. James Alexander Shorter, On...)
Excerpt from The Life of Rev. James Alexander Shorter, One of the Bishops of the African M. E. Church
Such men are the substantial men of life who live not merely within the cycle of a generation, but along the course of centuries and through the rounds of ages. They are examples for the world, and eminent in this respect, when endowed with strong mental powers and cultivated according to moral law. Thus qualified, they constrain the depraved to follow them and observe a better method of living. They do something to show the value of true manhood, and go through eventful lives which immortalize their names along the lines of history.
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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
(Excerpt from Cyclopædia of African Methodism
Within the ...)
Excerpt from Cyclopædia of African Methodism
Within the range of this work it will be ascertained that the leading character in the establishment of the organization was the distinguished Richard Allen, who was set apart as the first Bishop. His labors and fidelity are clearly set forth, and a brief account is given of the twelve other bishops who have succeeded him. This is an interesting part of the work within itself; for it is the presentation of men who have' been recognized as representatives amid all the circumstances of the Church.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Alexander Walker Wayman was a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Background
Alexander Walker Wayman was born, a freeman, in Caroline County, Md. , the son of Francis and Matilda Wayman. As a boy he worked on a farm with his father, and learned to read by the light of a wood fire. In those days practically his only reading book was the Bible, and his copybooks, the sand and the sides of old buildings. When he was fourteen he was hired out to Benjamin Kerby of Talbot County, whose children taught him all they knew. Returning to Caroline County in 1836, he lived with a James Glanden. Soon afterwards he was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Career
Impelled by the desire to get more education and become a preacher, in 1840 he left home and went to Baltimore, proceeding from there, after a few weeks, to Philadelphia. Here he joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was licensed as an exhorter. A Quaker, whose coachman he had become, gave him instruction in English composition. In 1842 he was an assistant on the Princeton, N. J. , circuit, taught a small primary school at New Brunswick, and was aided in his efforts to educate himself by students of Rutgers College. The following year he was admitted on trial to the Philadelphia Conference, and after serving two years on the West Chester Circuit was ordained deacon (1845). Subsequent appointments were to Little Wesley Church, Philadelphia, the Salem, N. J. , circuit, and Trenton. In 1847 he was ordained elder. Transferring to the Baltimore Conference in 1848, he became as time went on one of the leaders in his denomination, contributing much to the administration of its affairs and to the extension of its bounds. From 1848 to 1864, with the exception of two years, he was pastor of churches either in Washington or Baltimore. In addition to caring for his own parishes, he organized Ebenezer Church, Georgetown; St. Paul's, South Washington; and Allen Chapel, Good Hope, Md. He was a member of all the General Conferences held during this period and served as assistant secretary. In 1860 he was appointed, with two others, to prepare and publish a new edition of the Discipline. At the General Conference of 1864 he was elected bishop. His activities were incessant and his episcopal duties carried him throughout the greater part of the country. At first his labors were largely in the East and South. Soon after the Civil War was over, he inspected the mission work in South Carolina and Georgia, and in 1867 made a tour through these states and Virginia. Subsequently he organized the Virginia, Georgia, and Florida conferences. In 1872 he was assigned supervision of the district that included Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and California, and thereafter made several journeys to the Pacific Coast. He served as chaplain, October 15, 1874, at the unveiling of the Lincoln Memorial at Springfield, Ill. In the course of his numerous activities he found time to contribute to the historical records of his denomination. He continued his labors well down to the time of his death, which occurred in Baltimore in his seventy-fifth year.
Achievements
His book, entitled My Recollections of African M. E. Ministers, or Forty Years' Experience in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1881), contains much detailed information of value. He also published Cyclopædia of African Methodism (1882).
