321 – A Methodist Circuit Rider

Mark Jarvis

On Wednesday, October 9, 1793, in a log cabin in the Pennsylvania Appalachian Mountains, Martha Cheney gave birth to her ninth child. She named him Shadrach, a namesake of his paternal grandfather.

Shadrach Cheney is our 4th great-grandparent.

Children of Gilbert and Martha Cheney

Shadrach grew up in a large family. He was second youngest of ten children. His eldest sibling was sixteen years his senior.

We don’t have any record of whether Shadrach attended school or was home-schooled. We do know he was quite literate by the time he was a young man.

His father Gilbert died when Shadrach was age 12.

The Presbyterian Church

The tiny village of Manor Hill was never platted, but sprung up along an early road.

About 1789, a meeting house, probably of log, was built at Manor Hill. A Presbyterian minister, Rev. John Johnston, was called to preach. Johnston soon withdrew his services, and the congregation was without a full-time pastor until 1798.

By 1804, a petition of 69 names sought to incorporate the congregation. On February 23, 1805, the congregation incorporated as “The Presbyterian Church of Shaver’s Creek Manor.”

Among the petitioners was Gilbert Cheney. The Cheney family worshipped here. The graveyard surrounding the church holds some Cheney burials.

The congregation outgrew the meeting house, and a stone church was built in 1823. Here’s the same 1823 building today. The current Highway 305 follows the old road, but intersects the cemetery.

Presbyterian Church – 1823 building seen today

The Methodist Church

Just down the road from the Presbyterian meeting house, another group of parishioners built a small brick meeting house for Methodist meetings.

Among the early Methodists were John and Shadrach Cheney. We don’t know why John and Shadrach moved from their parents’ Presbyterian Church to the Methodist, but the calling must have been strong. Shadrach became a Methodist minister.

The congregation outgrew the meeting house, and a current brick church was built in 1837. Here’s the same 1837 building today.

Methodist Church – 1837 building seen today

Here are both meeting houses on an 1856 map of Barree Township. They’re both close to the Cheney households.

A Methodist minister, a circuit rider

Shadrach found a calling in the Methodist faith. In 1820, he began the process of becoming a Methodist minister.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was the largest religious body in the United States from the 1820’s through the 1840’s.

In 1820, the year Shadrach Cheney joined, the Methodist Church had 695 traveling preachers and over 200,000 members. By 1844, there were four thousand circuit riders and a million members.

The church’s dramatic expansion was largely due to the efforts of the circuit rider, the traveling preacher.

Circuit Rider – Image from the General Commission on Archives and History for the United Methodist Church, Drew University.

Once each month, and occasionally more often, the traveling minister appeared in a community. Methodist ministers on horseback were familiar figures in both eastern and frontier regions; and the itinerant’s infrequent visits and constant travel were noted characteristics of the Methodist ministry in the minds of the American people. During the early nineteenth century, American citizens often described the severity of a storm by stating, “There’s no one out today, but crows and Methodist preachers.”

Methodist circuit-riders in America, 1766-1844 – William A Powell, Jr.

A typical circuit

Circuits varied from two weeks to six weeks and were from 120 to over 600 miles in length, but most circuits were four weeks and from 100 to 500 miles long. Each of these regions included many communities where a minister had “appointments” or previous commitments to preach. The traveling preacher, on the scheduled day, appeared in the area and held a religious service.

Methodist circuit-riders in America, 1766-1844 – William A Powell, Jr.

A circuit might have 25 to 30 meetings a month, preaching in meeting houses, private homes, barns, public inns, and outdoor venues.

Methodist Camp Meeting – 1836

Early assignments 1821-1825

In 1821, at age 25, Shadrach was admitted to the Methodist Episcopal Baltimore Conference on a trial basis. There were no qualifications for ordination. The church accepted any sincere man as a candidate. Women were not admitted.

Shadrach moved to Baltimore. After training, he was assigned to Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Early in 1822, Shadrach was assigned to the Monongahela/Randolph Circuit in Washington County, Pennsylvania. While in Monongahela, he was accepted as a full member, and in 1823 became a deacon.

The bishop of the conference assigned each preacher to a circuit. Typically, a preacher would be reassigned every year or two.

Each preacher’s character and behavior were examined during the annual conferences. Any whose conduct was faulted was expelled.

Shadrach Cheney Circuit Assignments

In 1823, Shadrach was assigned to Lewis County, Virginia. (Lewis County is in West Virginia today, as West Virginia was created from the state of Virginia in 1863.)

A courtship

Young woman

While preaching his circuit in Lewis County, Shadrach met Mary Squires. She was a congregant at one of his circuit meetings.

Shadrach and Mary began a courtship.

Timeline

Sources:

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